¡Roger Waters!

fua... una semana mas... Like in the Mtc, time doesn´t seem to function properly here in the mission field! Sometimes, i´ll look down at my watch to see that the time has jumped forward about 15 or 20 minutes, and sometimes it hasn´t moved more than 5.  It´s really hard to explain, but oh well, no importa.  One fun thing that I want to share is regarding music (also, i don´t remember if i´ve mentioned this already, if so, sorry, but... They listen to a TON of music in English down here! ¡En serio!) Well, Elder Cedeño and I were listening to some of the music on my Ipod, and at one point, we were listening to Scott Rivers´s album. (¡Que Bueno es eso!) Anyways, we were listening to that one night, and it was flippin fantastic! 

So, the next night, it was about that time again, and Elder Cedeño said: Let´s listen to Roger Waters!! Jajaja! Maybe you had to be there, but ya, pretty funny!

I´m still getting used to the fact that I´m in Argentina.  It´s just so weird sometimes! I´m working right now to try to think in Spanish more, but it always comes down to the structure.  Sometimes, it´s exactly like English, but sometimes, I need to switch things up a bit.  There´s that, and I´m working on focusing more so that I can consistently understand what people are saying.  I understand enough to follow the conversation, but still, there´s a ton of random words that I don´t know, and those trip me up!  

Well, this week has been pretty long, and some days pretty rough.  One day, I woke up and thought to myself, I don´t think that I can handle today... That morning was filled the my prayers to the Lord, asking for the strength to handle what was ahead of me. Well, I can definitely testify that there is power in prayer, because that day was one of the best that i´ve had in the field! I learned a ton (both Spiritually, and in Spanish) and just was enjoying the day! 

Well, once again, thank you all for your support, I love you all, and pray for you every day!! Hurrah for Israel!

-Elder Holtry

Pictures from his area, Munro

Bowling on P-day

Elder Hopkins, another English Speaker

 A package that we were able to have sent to him. He says he's rationing it!

 "a piece of cake, to show you that i´m not starving."

Disfrutar las pequeñas cosas

Wow, what a week! It´s really interesting, because sometimes, life is terrible here, and other times, it's wonderful.  I stress myself out way to much, so i´ve realized that I really need to enjoy the little things more.  One small thing that I can enjoy about the language, is that my accent is pretty flippin good.  A ton of people have told me that, and in our last Reunion de Zona, one of the missionaries from peru told me that he could barely hear the accent at all, so i´m pretty stoked about that.  Now it´s just... vocabulary I guess... hahaha! Well, one other funny little thing is that I was on the train the other day, and this guy with an accordion just started going to town! It was awesome! Another thing that I can enjoy is the food.  Soooooo good! I love it! (Except for the occasional blood sausage...) But still, i have been sick once or twice.  But, i´m alive, so that´s good!

I´m pretty much at the point where I can understand and follow conversations generally, and put in my 2 cents where I can.  But when People ask me a question, and it has one word i don´t know, i get thrown off.  However, i can consistently follow the conversations about religion.  The gift of tongues kicks in a bit more for that.  

We walk alot every day.  Like, a lot.  There´s a ton of ground to cover in between appointments, and we don´t have bikes. Pero, esta bien.  Oh, one fun thing is that I can sing a song called "Dramatic Song" by Tobuscus and nobody understands it! (Along with others) Still, they listen to a ton of music in English down here! It´s crazy! Oh, and if ya´ll want, go ahead and look up El Himno de Gran micción buenos aires Norte!

Anyways, la obra continua, continuamos para predicar a verdad a esta gente, y continuamente buscamos para la ayuda de Cristo. Yo realmente se que esta iglesia ES la Iglesia de Jesucristo, aquí en la tierra para ellos quien estén preparado a recibir la palabra de Dios. Estoy agradecido para esta gran obra, y para nuestro salvador, Jesucristo, quien esta a la cabeza de esta obra.  Yo he sentido el espíritu de Dios Diariamente, Y yo se que estoy exactamente donde yo necesito. ¡Dios os Bendecirá! 

Elder Holtry

Dramatic Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WteF0j5gYGk
The other hymn he wrote to look up I couldn't translate so I couldn't figure that one out. 

I had a company who does package delivery in Argentina hook Josh up with some treats from home. Peanut Butter, Oreos, Skittles, Goldfish, Hershey Kisses. Sadly they didnt have Hershey Bars but at least he got a few things. I cant send him any packages from the US so this was the next best thing. 

Vale la Pena

¡Una Semana mas! Pues, here I am once again! I´m going to start this one off with a funny story.  So, one morning at a Zone meeting, I was talking with a few of the Elders about how horrible it is that Argentina doesn´t have Hershey´s Candy Bars (seriously, it´s terrible) so, all that morning, I was just really wanting a Hershey´s bar.  I don´t think any of you understand how much I love Hershey´s Chocolate, but suffice to say... Alot. Entonces, I was in our apartment building later on, looking for a good sweater in my bag (because it´s flippin cold here right now) and I found a Hershey´s candy bar that my mom had packed! Pues, that was a crazy emotional ride. I was a bit exhausted, so i pretty much laughed until I cried! Jajaja! 

Well, that was one thing, another is that I gave my first blessing in Spanish a few days ago to Daryl.  He´s been struggling a bit because his Uncle is in the hospital, so he asked us for a blessing.  that was a great experience! Usually, i stutter a bit when I speak in Spanish, but during the blessing, i was able to speak clearly and calmly.  

The mission is definitely a refining process, and sometimes it´s just strait brutal. On the bright side, I know that this church is true, so that knowledge givces me the desire to improve daily.  I just wish that I could help out Elder Cedeño a bit more! At this point, when people speak clearly I can understand them.  It´s when they have a heavier accent that I need them to speak slower.  It´s a little discouraging thinking of how much more vocab i need to learn, but... No importa! On the bright side, I speak Spanish clearly and with a good accent, so people can understand what I can say.

Well, the mission life goes on, and next week i´ll have a month here, fua!!! Gracias por su amor a ayuda! Yo espero que todo sea bien allí!  Yo sé que este iglesia es de Jesucristo, y que mediante sus enseñanzas, personas puedan hallar Gozo y felicidad en sus vidas! 

¡Con fuego! :)

-Elder Holtry
editors note: He didn't send captions, so I really have no clue where most of these are!

He and his companion, Elder Cedeno

Their flat

Fua!

Hello there! Alright, just a few things to note for this week! First off, I had to give a talk (Short testimony really) on Sunday.  In the meeting, I was sitting in my pew, and it sounded like they said that I was going to be speaking.  I thought to myself "I must be interpreting that wrong". But as it went on, it became very apparent that I was in fact going to be saying a few words! Well, I went up there and gave a little talk on Faith.  It went decently well. 

In general here, some days are great, and others are just brutal.  Sometimes, the only thing keeping me walking is my Faith and Knowledge that this is where I need to be. Another great thing that I have to keep me going is my Companion Elder Cedeño! What a Capo! He´s still only speaking in Spanish to me, which is awesome! And sometimes, after a days work, we´ll make a smoothie and listen to some uplifting church or Disney or whatever music! 

It´s a bit difficult sometimes, because I know that this is what people need in their lives, and after some lessons, they give it up for other things in their life.  So, Elder Cedeño showed me this awesome video of a talk that Elder Holland gave.  In that, he pretty much said that Salvation isn´t cheap, and that as representatives of the Savior, "Why should it be easy for us, when it was NEVER easy for him?" So epic, and it reminds me to keep working hard, and find those that the Lord has prepared for us to find. 

Well, I want to thank you all again for your love and support, I´m a little pressed for time at the moment, so I won´t be able to respond to emails or upload pictures this week... Next week... 

Well, Hurrah for Israel!!!

Elder Holtry

¿Donde Estoy?

Well, I'm here in the Gran mission Buenos Aires Norte! It's been a wild ride this week! On the plane ride over, I had the opportunity to teach a lesson or two, so that was good.  I arrived in Buenos Aires with my District, and we all pretty much said Ohhhh nooooo... But it´s all good! We got picked up by our mission president and his wife, and then proceeded to go to the mission home, and the mission office, enduring torrents of Spanish all along the way!  

I got assigned to my new companion.  His name is Elder Cedeño, and he is from Ecuador! After dinner with the zone, we went to our apartment, which I’ll try to attach pictures of.  Wow, what a change! hahaha! One change I’ve had is that I haven´t had breakfast in a week! We usually wait until Lunch to eat.  Another minor change is that we don´t speak in English here... at all... seriously, I miss English so much! hahaha! I only spoke to my Companion in Spanish for the first few days, and i was under the impression that he didn’t know much English. and then one night he mentioned that he knew some English.  The next day, while we were heading to an appointment, I asked him how much English he knew, to which he responded in pretty good English: "I´m pretty fluent"... hahaha! Still, we only speak in Spanish, and it´s intense sometimes... On the bright side, I´ve had the opportunity to have lunch in several members homes, and it´s a very humbling experience.  We´re in Munro, which is a "Provincia" area.  This means that there´s little money here... I´ll be attaching pictures of the capital area, but I haven´t had the chance yet to take pictures of our actual area! well, it´s cool in peoples small and humble homes to see pictures of Christ and family taped up on the walls.  They´re so awesome! On Sunday, I met the ward, and they´re super friendly and helpful! My Spanish isn´t the best, but I was able to communicate with them alright.  It all depends on how fast they talk, because some people I can understand very clearly! 

Elder Cedeño is an awesome and SUPER funny guy and we actually have a girl named Maryn as a mutual friend! hahaha! Also, I should probably say that we´re getting fed well enough.  Our Lunches are HUGE, and they´re in the homes of awesome members.  One time, we were in the home of one member who kept speaking English to me! One funny phrase was "I hate you Yankee!" (He was Kidding) but ya, this place is so cool! The busses are INSANE! I saw a bus run into a parked car the other day, back up, and keep on going! The driving is cutthroat, and I love it! hahaha! Wow, this week has been insane!!! On Sunday, we had the baptism of Daryl, who is a super awesome guy! Daryl had to be baptized like 7 time because his foot or hair or something kept coming up every time! So funny! (Yet spiritual) Also, Elder Cedeño and I fasted for a miracle, since we weren´t teaching as many lessons as we felt we needed to, and that came in the form of Solidad! She visited our ward with some family on Sunday, and that night we taught her about the Book Of Mormon.  As we testified of the Book Of Mormon and Prayer, she had tears in her eyes, and the Spirit in the room was so strong! I was having a bit of a bad day that day, and that was exactly what I needed to reenergize me!

I always feel stupid when kids talk to me in Spanish and I can´t understand them... oh well! We have a strong ward, and Elder Cedeño is seriously AMAZING!! It´s been quite a week! One fun fact is that I haven´t used toilet paper in about that time... Suffice to say, we have one of those water-spraying things in our bathroom... Anyway, I love this place, but i just really want to know the language! I know that I shouldn´t beat myself up over it, but it´s the most frustrating thing that I’ve ever experienced!!! Munro is a run-down place, but I love it!

Well, this place is awesome! I love it, and I love all of you! Thank you so much for your love and support!

-Elder Holtry

Editors note- His camera battery died, so pictures will be coming next week hopefully!