Capilla Abierta Side walk chalk Hot Cold Who Knows what (April 10, 2017)

This week has been a busy one! We had an Open Chapel for the Stake this week which is where they convert the stake center into like a portable visitors center complete with the Christus and everything.. haha it is kinda funny actually because the Christus is a picture of the one in Salt Lake Printed on a pendant sort of thing but either way it was still cool! We had a good time the whole entire zone was in our sector for a few hours running around like crazy inviting everyone and anyone to come check it out. We are excited to see all the results this week.

Elder Lazo and I hit the Feria this weekend but we didnt give out juice... we drew the plan of salvation out on the ground with sidewalk chalk. and invited everyone to the open chapel. It was fun. Feria is life. I always forget to take pictures.... sorry.

We played with teddy bears this week..... awkward I know.... hahaha To help the members in the ward get excited about Misisonary work we bought a teddy bear cut apart a white shirt put the white shirt on the bear put a tie on the bear made him a name tag and made him a backpack. His name is Elder Donoso... which is punny if you know spanish because noso in spanish is bear. hahaha We give him to a family each week and their job is to gift the materials that are in Elder Donosos backpack. Every one seemed pretty excited about it. 

this week we found a russian orthodox lady that is super chill and always invites us in to talk with her. Russian orthodox's are a dime a dozen here... not. 

We have also started to teach english classes because i know english pretty well and we thought it might be a good way to get people to come to the church! Our first one was ehh three members came but they all promised to bring their friends next time.

I hope everyone has a wonderful easter and watches the easter videos because they are awesome!!! 

Keep it real

And keep rippin it up.

Elder Holdstock

P.s. this is what happens when you go play soccer at the chapel and forget to pack a tie... but there is a rag laying around. 

PPS. i might be getting slow and losing my touch but today I juggled 357 times without dropping it.. so #watchout @Mitchell @Sam

Conference and Completos

hehe I actually havent had any completos this week I just couldnt think of another word that started with C... 

This week has been a good one! Our Mission president presents us with a plan de capacitacion or a training plan every six weeks so that as a Mission we are all focused on one purpose and that we can learn line upon line how to be better missionaries. This week we were taught about how we can work better with the members in our wards. We have been counseled to have more members with us as we teach and especially that we have the right members there when we teach not just the members that are always available.

We are teaching a 70 year old mom and her 50year old son... we started to think about who we could ask to come along with us to teach and we finally settled on a brazilian sister who is about the same age as the sister we are teaching. We went to visit her to ask her to accompany us but unfortunately she couldn't... but she told us about another sister that might be able to help... so we went there next the next sister.. sister blanca received us and we asked her about her conversion to the church and her experienec with the missionaries. She told us all about it... We finally asked her to come share that experience with our investigator and she agreed. The day came and we went to our appointment.. as we approached the house the sister looked at us and said 'oh dont tell me we are going here!' I thought that for some reason she was not excited to have arrived where we did.. but just the opposite as she went walking into the house on her own. We had arrived to a child hood friend and long time neighbor of sister blanca. As we taught we really saw the wonderful effect that sister blanca had on our investigator she was able to help her understand better and animate her a little more!

That was a testimony builder for me that the Lord is in every aspect of our life especially the life of missionaries. as we do our small part the lord will always do the rest! 

I was super stoked that we got to listen to conference this week. I loved all the talks and I wish I had time to tell you what I liked about each one buuuut... time goes faster in chile hehe... Just kidding.. but I did love Elder Braggs talk on the light of christ and how as we seek the light it will shine brighter and brighter until the perfect day. 

Our new zone is ochagavia... it is the sketchiest part of the mission.... haha i only say that because it is true.. but i also only say it because our sector is super tranquilo super calm because if it wasnt I wouldnt say anything becauuuuse I wouldnt want to scare anybody. oh shoot I forgot to take pictures of our house... but its pretty normal nothing super cool about it!

But here are some old pictures of my first district and of me and my new companion! Elder Lazo.. El Chileano... I think president wants me to develop a love for chileanos cuz this is my second one... haha just kidding he is great!

hope everyone has a wonderful week!!!

Rip it up.

Elder Holdstock

La Davila

Week one from the Davila has come to a close. Elder Lazo is super awesome and we have been having a great time together. Today I went on the metro for the first time because I had to go do a part of my visa. It was quite the experience. ya know in the movies when people are crammed in the bus and on the train?? That is real life. We were in a part of santiago that felt like new york city honestly.. They could film a movie there and nobody would know the difference.

I have started to study creole which is the language that the haitians speak because here in the sector there are quite a few haitianos. I know a few words but I still have lots to study and lots to learn!! The people here are awesome and super humble and love to listen about anything that has to do with Jesus or God. 

I am super pumped for general conference that is coming up!! We will be watching it in the stake center because when you live in chile you have to watch it at church not in your PJs at home. but I am stoked I have no doubt that it will be great. I have been telling people that on saturday and sunday that the prophet will be talking to us.. and they are just kinda like wait what?? And that really is a pretty incredible thing when you think about it. all these people know about abraham and noah and adam but they don´t know that there is an actual prophet hoy en dia. Which is a great blessing to us that we have leaders that are inspired and chosen by god to lead us. 

I hope the cruise was wonderful and that everyone came back fluent so that we can speak in spanish when I get home. Chilean homework this week will be to eat soapapillas with pebre (which is like pico de gallo but it is called pebre here and its made with aji instead of jalapeno) becuase they are super good. 

Everyone be good and do good deal?? 

Rip it Up.

Elder Holdstock

Ochagavia

Today I am writing from my new zone! I have completed my time in Olimpo and have been transfered to ochagavia. Last night was like leaving home because you make all your friends and start to just love everybody you teach and work with and then you have to leave. But that is how the mission rolls and how life rolls too. 

Without change there is not progress and I am super stoked to get working here in my new area! This last week was a good one though and these 4 and a half months have flown by. 

Soccer is already starting which is crazy! I hope that everyone wins every single game by 3 goals. CHile vs. Argentina is coming up this week I think so that should be a fun one to hear about. 

I know you guys are going on a cruise but where to exactly?? I am glad you finally are getting out a little bit! ;)

I have enjoyed the pictures and hope you all send me more! Oh and eat lots of soft serve ice cream. cuz that is what I would do if I was there. 

Next week I am sure I will have lots of awesome stories to tell you! Oh and mom you should start to read the new testament because it is super good even though I know you like the Libro de Mormon the best. but give it a shot every once in a while.

Que esten super! Siempre estan en mis oraciones.

Con amor,

Elder Holdstock

Oh Cielos

This week has been a good one! We had the chance to watch the face to face with Elder Holland and President Eyring which was so good. If you havent seen it... I am gonna have to recommend it si o si. Because it is a 7.

Oh there is a little chilean lesson for the day In chile the best grade you can get is a 7 it is like an A in the USA. so everyone says that something is 7 when it is really good. Like when it is 10 out of 10 that is 7. 

So since the Face to Face is a 7 you all have to watch it. It helped me understand the importance of prayer and the sacredness of prayer. Sometimes we think that we should just have a casual conversation with heavenly father so we can feel extra close to him but President eyring counsels us that maybe we should take our prayers a little more seriously.

If there is one thing that living the gospel of jesus christ will help you obtain its love. The savior loves us perfectly and so as we begin to live like him we will realized that we are able to have a more pure christ like love for those around us. That means we will be able to forgive a lot easier. a few weeks ago we were in a members house for lunch and she was feeling down about somethings her family had done to her and she was a little bit bitter. So I just thought that I should invite her to listen to Uncle Kevíns general conference talk about forgiveness. This week she told me that that talk changed her. She said that she has been applying it´s teachings and that she has seen a change in herself and in her life. So shout out to Elder Duncan for his inspired messages that are changing peoples lives all the way down here in chile. 

I hope every enjoys your spring break and that if youre going on a cruise without your oldest son you take lots of pictures 😉 hahaha just kidding.. but really I want pics deal?

Have a wonderful week!!

Rip it up

Elder Holdstock

March Madness

this email has nothing to do with basketball but I couldn´t think of anything else to put as the subject so that´ll just have to do! We had a good fast week this week! We felt like we were running everywhere to try and see everyone we wanted to! 

We had one day that was full of little miracles! we left in the morning to go out and try to find some people to teach. The mornings are always a little slow because if people aren´t already at work they are still in their beds. But we headed out and knocked a few doors when we arrived to a house, the lady saw we were missionaries and told us to wait a second. She came back with the keys and opened the gate and told us to come in. Don´t worry my husband is here I know you can´t come in if I am alone she said. So we went in and sat down. She told us her husband wasn´t feeling well and work wasn´t going great for him and the last time this happened, over twenty years ago the mormon missionaries knocked on her door and offered to pray with them. That was really cool to hear so we shared a quick message with them and were getting ready to leave when the husband started singing a hymn. hahaha He knew it perfectly! it was incredible. That was one little miracle from that day...

The other was we finished up a lesson at about 9 35 and we have to be in our pension at 10 00 so I told my companion, who isn´t the fastest little guy that we had to just do our best to get back in time, so we started to run I was saying a little silent prayer in my heart that a taxi or something would pass by so we could get there in time because we were pretty far from our house and in an area that not many cars pass by. When not 2 minutes into our jog a truck passed by and asked where we were going. We told him and he told us to hop in the back and he took us to our street. We got home just in time. 

It was a crazy good day and some days more than others you can for sure see the hand of the lord in your life. But we can see his fingerprints everyday is something that I have learned. The brother of Jared saw the finger of the Lord and everyday we hope to see him helping us and see his hand in our work but if we just look a little harder and are a little more sensitive to the spirit we will realized that his fingerprints are all over our lives every single day. 

I hope that soccer starts well for everybody you´ll have to give me detailed reports of all the games so I can send my coaching tips haha just kidding but if you ever catch a sick goal on film I wouldn´t be opposed to seeing it. Keep on keepin on.

And don´t forget to 

Rip it Up.

Elder Holdstock

4 Months in a Blink

It is crazy to think that I have already been here in chile for 4 months now and it has honestly felt like a few weeks! That is what happens when you´re working hard right?? This week we were able to start teaching a girl who has received the missionaries before but for some reason they just stopped coming. So we found here again and she is way awesome! She lives about 45 minutes walking from the church and she walked with us all the way there through the rain and back. We are super excited that we are able to teach her. 

We also changed houses! My companion and I now live in our own little house across the street from the stake president. It is nice because it is way clean (because sisters used to live there) and it is closer to our area. We are all settled in now!

February is coming to a close so that means school in chile starts and vacations end!!! WHOO that is a good thing for missionaries since it is always a struggle to find people in their houses during vacations. But thankfully that won´t be a problem any more because all the kids will be in school. 

On the way here we had a cool experience. The driver of our colectivo (or taxi) asked us what elder meant. We told him it meant missionary, then he connected the dots and realized we were mormons. And said ohhh joseph smith and the gold plates right? We told him yep that is us. He was just full of questions so we ended up teaching him lesson one practically all the way through just on the way to the city. We gave him a book of mormon and he started reading it the second we got out of the car. He told us he would love to be able to find a church that he really felt was true and that he could get closer to. He was in awe that joseph smith was a prophet and that he didn´t write the book of mormon by himself but translated it. There are lots of people who are confused about the doctrine of the church and just need a little bit more clarity and they are ready to accept it. Don´t ever forget to share what you know.

Keep on keeping on.

Elder Holdstock