Buenas Tardes!

So first thing is first shout out to mom for coming in clutch this last week with a good idea! I think you sent me the picture of those missionaries giving out lemonade as a joke....

buuuuut I don´t joke around (ok well that part is a joke). Anyway... This week vacations in chile have been in full swing. That means that nobody is home, all of our investigators have peaced out and are enjoying life on the beach so every time we knock on a door there is nobody behind it! Soooo we have had to get creative here in Chile.

We decided that if we can´t go to the people we would make the people come to us. We set up a table with a sign that said ¨jugo gratis y un mensaje de jesucristo¨ which means free juice and a message of jesus christ. We put ourselves right in the middle of the Feria... which is like the chile version of a farmer´s market. And then we just started giving juice to everybody we could. I even chased ladies across the street with cups of juice for them! It was a funny awesome crazy thing all in one. We feel like it went really well! And if you know me you know how much I love lemonade stands so it was a win win.

I have been studying about the mission of Ammon and his brothers this week and the struggles they had among the lamanites. But how their joy was full because of the souls they brought unto christ. In doctrine and covenants it also talks about the joy that we recieve as we seek and work to bring souls unto christ, even so that if we bring but one soul to him our joy will be full but it wants us to imagine how incredibly happy we will be if we bring many sould unto him. Missionary work isn´t just the work of the nametags and ties but everyone! Everyone who has been baptized a member of the church and a disciple of christ can understand and earn this promise of the scriptures.

Hope that all is well in sunny SLC. or as they call it here La Fabrica, or the factory... because that is where every missionary comes from. haha

Keep it real

and as always my friends,

Rip it up.

Elder Holdstock

Buena Buena Chiquillos

It is a new change here in Santiago Oeste. Our Zone is practically completely new everyone in the zone has a new companion and we are all ready to get going! Earlier this week we had a cool experience with a lady outside on the street. We were contacting and I saw this lady sitting down on a bucket. In our mission president woodward´s catch phrase, or his vision for us as a mission is ´Hablar con Todos´ which means Talk with Everyone because we never know who will be in our path that is ready to hear the gospel. It sounds a lot easier than it is but we do our best. So with that in mind I walked up to her and asked her how she was doing. I realized after I started talking that she was bawling.

She wouldn´t talk to us so I just crouched down by her and asked if we could pray with her. She nodded and I asked what we could pray for. She told us everything About all the problems with her family the struggles she is having and how hard it´s been for her. We said the prayer and shared various scriptures with her. She calmed down and by the end of our little visit was back on her feet and determined to just face the problems head on. I don´t even know if I will ever see her again because I don´t think she lives in our sector but I loved being a part of seeing how the hope in Christ will help us in whatever situation we are in. If a few verses of scripture could pick up a chileana of the streets of Santiago and give her the perspective to go out and give it her all they can do the same for any one of us. That´t what they are their for to help us learn and to give us hope. Just open them up every once in a while. Christ is there waiting inside to receive you.

Our ward has been shrinking slowly because vacation season is still going strong but by the end of the month we will be back to ourselves.

Oh and Buena Buena chiquillo is what my new companion allllways says and its kinda catchy so try it out... I promise you won´t be disappointed.

Keep it real,

Rip it up.

Elder Holdstock

Oh Cielos

And Just like that 2 changes are done and in the books! It´s crazy that I have already been here in chile for that long. I received a new companion today and we will both work in my same area. We are excited to get going. His name Is Elder San Martin and he is chilean... So all the bad habits of chilean spanish that I have been trying to avoid I will probably pick up with him... haha Just kidding. 

Chile is starting to chill out a little bit. The incendios have died down and people are starting to come home from vacations. Because if chileanos aren´t sleeping or eating lunch or working they´re probably on vactions. February is about the end of the vacationing season though and so there should be lots more people home these coming weeks! Which is good because I don´t know about you but I don´t love Gritando at an empty house. 

I was able to give the class this week in our district meeting. We studied about how to use our time wisely and how to work more efficiently. I had us study Jacob 5 and we related our experience in our own sectors to that of the parable of the Vineyard. The part that gets me everytime is when the Lord of the vineyard cries and asks himself what else he could have done for his vineyard. God wants all of us to succeed soooo badly. And he works tirelessly every day to help us do it. Afterall it is his work and his glory. But at the end of the day he might even cry because some people are lost. But we know the truth and we know that following christ will make us happy and those tears that the lord sheds won´t be because of us.

 oh and this is our amigo Steve. 

He loves to follow the missionaries around. One day he followed us for about 8 hours. Even when we would go into a house he would just chill outside and lay in the shade to wait for us and then keep walking with us. It is way funny actually 

Hey rip it up errybody.

Elder Holdstock

Buena Buena

Two things

The prophet had mercy on us and we get to sleep until 7 AM TODOS LOS DIAS.

I started to wear pleated pants.

We had a zone conference this week and Presidente let us know about the change in our schedule. We now wake up at 7 and get back to the house at 10. It is great because Chile loves to sleep during the afternoon when its really hot outside so we have lots more success finding people in the nightime.

I know mom doesn´t love the pleated pants but I found some in our pension and I dig. Sooo.. hahaha

This week has been a good one! we have been teaching Florencia. She is 9 years old and her parents are members but she has never been baptized. It is always an experience teaching her because we have to be creative so that she stays interested. This sunday her and her family came to church for the fist time in a long time So that was really cool! We are hoping she will be able to be baptized in the next 2 weeks.

There is Trump fever down here too that´s for sure. Everybody wants to hear my opinion but tricks on them I just teach them about Jesus. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang and so that is always a good talking point for us! Hey if youre intereseted in trump you should watch the choir that sang for him!

I have been studying and coloring in my scriptures because they´re super awesome! It is incredible how much you can learn just from a few verses. I have been reading in Alma, and a little quote I really liked is in Alma 2 verse 28, It talks about how the pueblo had been clamoring to God or praying fervently to him to help them. and it says that the lord heard their cries and freed them from their bondage. Faith and hope are two of my favorite topics to study about and to teach about. Because they go hand in hand you can´t have one with out the other and as you increase one you´ll increase the other also.

I hope it´s all super well up north and that everyone is keeping warm.

Elder Holdstock

The best thing about being a missionary is when everyone sees that you have blonde hair and blue eyes and just start yelling ¨HELLO HELLO¨ or ¨Come on Come on¨ it cracks me up every time. But every once in a while you get somebody who speaks more than just a few phrases. We found this guy named Rodolfo who came out of his house and just started speaking to me in english. Every time it happens it takes me a second to realize that he´s speaking english and not spanish, it´s kinda trippy. We got to talk to him about the Book of Mormon and how important it is that we have another record and another testament of christ. 

At the end he just asked us how he could get one and if we would sell him one so he could read it. I tried to sell mine to him for 500 pesos but my companion just gave him one instead. Hahaha. The Book of Mormon is so cool though in all seriousness. But don´t take my word for it (cue Reading Rainbow Music) you´ve gotta read it for yourself!

This week one of our retention or recent converts completed her first year within the gospel. She is so awesome. She is 25 the mom of two kids and just got called to be in the young womens presidency. Seeing her and the change the gospel has had in her life gave me a little bit of perspective to the importance of missionary work and the impact it has on people and not only their lives but the lives of their family and on their eternity.

I hope that all is well donde se encuentran and that you are enjoying every moment of everyday! 

My favorite thought this week is from Elder Holland, he says, that it doesn´t matter how far you think you´ve gone how bad you think you are how low you feel you are, the light of christ will reach you. There is no darkness that the light of christ cannot penetrate, but the catcher is we have to let it. We have to let christ in. We are in control, he is knocking but we have the key to unlock the door, to unlock our hearts and to let him fix us.

Elder Holdstock

Sacando la mugre means going hard. like going all out. Just working til you drop. Just thought you would want to know that little tid bit of info to carry you throughout your week! 

i have now been out for 8 weeks which means I am just about done with my training. I can talk on the phone in spanish and Sister Knudsen told me when I could do that I would know I am fluent buuuuuuuut I don´t feel like I am fluent still. 

Ahh I am trying to type fast but this guy wants to close up his shop so I will hurry. 

This week we continued teaching our investigators and they are doing awesome! we found one lady this week who is recently seperated from her husband as we met with her she started telling us. Anyway the next lesson we had with her she told us the night before we knocked on her door she had just been praying super hard for God to help her in someway have some sort o peace. She said that ever since we had visited it had been a lot more tranquilla a lot more calm. It was neat to be a part of that little miracle. We watched the video on president monson´s life this week and he said that his favorite thing is when he is the answer to someone else´s prayers and how true that is. 

Everyone has the ability to answer prayers you just have to be willing to do it and willing to listen and heed the call.

Until the next one,

Elder Holdstock

P.s. I think I am healthy hahaha we are protected as missionaries we can eat whatever and be fine. just kidding... no I am doing good!!

FELIZ AÑO NUEVO,

So I remember when I wrote you guys last time... even though it was last year.. (ba dum tss) My dad jokes have not stopped in case anyone was wondering. They´re just more funny to me now because Latinos don´t really understand that kind of humor and so I just have to laugh to myself. Which I do often. If you can laugh at yourself you can laugh all the time.. or at least I can.

I hope you guys had the best new year ever. We had un año nuevo super tranquillo. We ate desserts with the bishop and his family and hit the sack early. The holidays are taken very seriously here in chile. Nobody works because they need to rest! So that means that everyone is home with their families during the holidays. It´s also legit because if there is a holiday on a sunday that means it starts on saturday and lasts til monday or tuesday... just so you get the most out of it! 

We have seen some small miracles this week as we have focused ourselves in talking with everyone possible. Whether it´s a guy out on a park bench or little kids with a soccer ball in the streets (thats not so hard for me) we talk to them. We found a lady who had met with missionaries about 2 years ago but was never baptized because she wanted to do it with her family. But now she told us she is ready to do it with or without them. We were excited to hear that because we know about how the example of a mother can change a family. I know I was blessed with that example and though others weren´t they still have the chance to make the difference for their children.

We are teaching a little girl named florencia who is 10 years old, she reminds me of abby so I enjoy teaching her. We draw a lot to help her understand what´s going on. Her family is less active but want to come back to church so that´s awesome. her little brother is named leo and has a dirty mouth so I am learning some good words to avoid from him. But I do magic tricks for him when he is nice so he´s slowly improving.

                        (Flashback video of Clayton performing magic at the Ward Talent Show in 2008)

Enjoy the snow, and enjoy the holidays. Keep on keepin on. 

As our stake president here in olimpo told us the other day ´rip it up´

Elder Holdstock