Off to Argentina!

Elder Holtry is now officially in Buenos Aires, Argentina!

 President and Sister Ayre

Que Macana...

Last P-day before the field! Wow, I must say, this is exciting! We received our flight plans last Friday, so we'll be leaving this upcoming Monday at 8:30.  We'll fly from Salt Lake to Atlanta, Georgia, and then to Buenos Aires!!!! All of the Elders in my district will be going on the same flights, so that's also fantastic! Oh, and I heard about Candiss and Twyla's baptisms! So cool!!!

The district right above us departed recently, so we're officially the eldest in the zone... for a few more days! Also, we're getting a new District today, which will be composed of 8 elders and 4 sisters! For those of you not familiar with how small some of these classrooms are... that's a large district! Another fun fact is that i recently completed reading the Book of Mormon from cover to cover! We started when we first got here, so I'm pretty satisfied with that.  Several others in our district finished as well!  Anyways, now i'm reading it in Spanish (which takes quite a bit longer! :) ) 

I'd like to again thank everyone for your emails and letters/packages!  Nothing lights up our day here as much as a little surprise from home! (And the spirit of course :) ) So, also, i'll get responding to actual letters soon, so don't worry folks! Oh, by the way, what did the Janitor yell when he jumped out of the closet? Supplies!!!! (One of the Hermanas in my district is obsessed with that joke... :)

Here's a little spiritual thing that I learned this week.  Live your life in such a way that the Holy Ghost is COMPELLED to dwell with you, as well as enjoys dwelling with you.  We need to make this a goal in our lives as we strive to be like Christ! 

Thanks you all so much for your love and support! I love you folks, and you're all in my prayers every night!  

Hurrah for Israel! 

-Elder Holtry

Our District Volleyball team! Left to Right. Elder Hoopes, Christiansen, Sargent, me (holtry), Hardcastle, Steele

 Me being epic

Marco, our favorite person! He was sick, so we taught him over Skype!

Macanudo Mes!

Howdy folks!  First off, i'd like to thank everyone for your emails and letters! Those things are gold here! It's great getting letters at night (We can get actual letter during the week) and your emails on Wednesdays... or Excuse me, Miercoles as my people would say! Hahaha! On a little side note, Elder Steele and I are now Zone leaders, so we have a few more responsibilities, and along with that, flip phones! Now, these can only call and receive calls from the front desk here, but still, pretty cool, right? hahaha!

Well, there's a few things i'd like to talk about, but first off, Mr. Max M. Wright departs for Peru this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Elder" Wright is such a spiritual giant, and i'm grateful for his example.  He's seriously going to help so many people in Peru! (I met a Peruvian while here. they're crazy!)  Another thing is that I got to go to the broadcasting of Elder Packer's funeral this past week.  I'm thankful for the knowledge we have of God's plan for us, so times like that aren't times of terrible mourning, but rather, they are times to lift up our hearts, and know that Elder Packer- A master Disciple of Christ and teacher- now dwells with his Lord.

One cool experience that I'd like to share from this week is my first Priesthood blessing.  Elder Steele has been a bit sick this week, so he asked me to give him a blessing.  Up to that point, i'd never given anyone a blessing, so i was a bit hesitant.  However, I was feeling the spirit strongly that night, so i was ready.  I'm so grateful for the experience that I had. As I began the blessing, I felt the words placed into my mind that I needed to say.  One of these phrases was "You will be healed according to your faith".  Looking back on this now, I am reminded of the times in the New Testament and 3rd Nephi when Jesus Christ would heal individuals that had faith in Him.  

Well, I have about 12 days left, so i'm getting ready for the language smack-down in Argentina right now! But, I know that as I am faithful i can obtain the gift of tongues.  (I apologize that I can't put accents on these letters, but...) Yo estoy agradecido por El Plan de Salvaccion.  Estoy agradecido por Ustedes, y este iglesia.  Jesuscristo es el Salvador del mundo, y mediante Su Expiacion, es posible a llegar a ser limpio de nuestras pecados.  En el Nombre de Jesucristo, Amen

-Elder Holtry

Misericordia

Well, i'm halfway there!  In 3 weeks, i'll be in Argentina! It was a bit sad not being at home for this fourth of July, but I know I'm where I need to be! It's still intense trying to learn the language, and right now, i'm focused on learning vocab. So. Much. Vocab.  On the bright side, volleyball's still good! Hahaha! My zone and I go out to the sand volleyball pits every morning (except for Sunday, obviously) and play.  Today was P-day, so we got to be out there for like 2 hours, as opposed to our regular 50 minutes! Whilst playing, a slight drizzle started to fall, and then it got to the point where it was raining hard, and we all got totally soaked! So fun! Also, Elder Richardson (my old dorm mate from BYU) was there, so that was flippin fantastic!  

There's also a few really cool experiences that I wanted to share.  One was while Elder Steele and I were teaching our investigator Marco. We were in the middle of the lesson, and I was explaining some aspect of the gospel (i don't remember what right now), but i was stuttering a bit.  Now, this probably doesn't sound like a big deal, but it's SOOO frustrating when i know exactly what I want to say in Spanish, but I can't say it.  Marco noticed me getting frustrated and he told me to stop.  He then told me to look him in the eyes and proceeded (with difficulty) to stand up.  Now, i should mention, Marco has Polio (Yes, irony, i know...) so he has crutches, and thus, a difficult time moving around.  I don't remember his exact wording, but he talked about his disability, and how he worked to overcome it.  He explained to me how I could overcome mine by trying to relax. Marco beautifully demonstrated what I need to be doing when I get to Argentina- Assisting people in overcoming spiritual problems that they have. The spirit was so strong as we continued to teach Marco.  

Another cool thing that happened was while I was at a devotional.  I can't remember what the speaker's name was, but he talked about Joseph Smith and the first vision. He reminded us to "never let the first vision become commonplace" It is such an important and vital event!!! After centuries, the heavens were opened again.  He told us that no matter how many times we recited it as missionaries, it is important to remember the uniqueness and sacredness of that event.  A funny but true quote he put in was "If you really want to know if the first vision happened, just ask God... He was there!"  It's funny but true. It's so great that we can pray to go to know the truth!  

I'd like to briefly explain the title of my email.  Misericordia means "Mercy".  It's so cool, because it's a combination of the words "Miseria" and "Cordero".  Misery and Lamb.  So, through the misery, or suffering of the lamb, Christ, we obtain Mercy.  Yo estoy agradecido por la Expiacion, y por mi Salvador Jesucristo.
--

PS- Oh, by the way, if anyone wants to send mail, an easy way is on "Dear Elder".  http://www.dearelder.com, it's apparently pretty easy.  OR, my mailing address is

JUL 28-BAN

2009 N. 900 E. Unit 181

Provo, UT 84602

-Elder Holtry

I found Elder Brundage!

 Elder Holtry. Elder Steele, Elder Hoopes & Elder Christenson

Misc. items that have been accrued. (The drawing was sent to him from Hannah)

Another Letter

What a week! It's really funny how time just blends together here! Looking back on some of these days, I can hardly tell which events took place when! It's really hard to explain... Anyhoo, the language is gradually coming along.  Elder Steele and I taught the first three lesson to our investigator Marco in TRC (Teaching resource center).  Teaching lessons is the hardest but greatest thing! Prior to our most recent lesson with Marco, I had an impression to bring a hymn book with us.  It was kind've weird, because usually we simply pray and then teach, but this time (after having a short conversation with Marco) i suggested that we sing a hymn, and he was all for it.  We sang "How great thou art" in Spanish, and it brought a wonderful feeling to our meeting.  The peace I felt during that lesson was so incredible! 

Another cool experience I had was while teaching another individual named "Alberto".  usually, i'm super nervous and stutter a bit over some of my words while i'm stringing longer sentences together, but during this lesson, there was a moment when I was testifying of the Gospel when I received an overwhelming sense of calm, and I was able to put together a few sentences fluidly, and without hesitation.  I love the little moments like that in my work here! 

So, i've kind've gotten into the rhythm of things here, so i'm used to the class and duties i have planned out from morning to night each day.  I actually just memorized Josheph Smith's first vision in Spanish, so that's awesome!  We had a devotional last night, and during the devotional review afterwards, we talked a bit about what we gave up to come out here.  Scholarships, jobs, school, friends, etc.  But everyone was also able to say that they don't regret their decision. I know that i'm personally giving up a couple years of education, but that's pretty insignificant considering the knowledge and blessings that I'm going to receive during the course of these two years of serving the Lord.

I'd just like to close with my testimony (in poor Spanish):  Estoy agradecido por mi Salvador, Jesucristo, y la oportunidad a servir un miccion.  Yo se que El Libro de Mormon es la palabra de Dios, y yo se que la iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias es verdadero.  Estoy agradecido por Ustedes, y por la amor de Jesucristo y Dios.

En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen.

--

-Elder Holtry

 Elder Holtry & Elder Blackburn

 Elder Holtry & Elder Broberg (One of his college friends)

 Elder Sargent, Elder Steele and Elder Holtry

 Elder Steele and Elder Holtry

 Elder Holtry climbing up his residential hall wall - YIKES!

Elder Holtry's Argentine Flag