En Mi Vejez Me Ha Nacido Un Hijo

Hey Family (And friends). This´s been yet another swell week, and the time proceeds to fly by. This Monday, we were up later than normal, because we had to wait for the transfer calls... and turns out that the Lord´s called me to train. So, Monday, I went to the mission home, where I received Elder Martinez. He´s from Mendoza, Argentina. I´ll only have him here for 1 or 2 transfers, since he´ll eventually go to Ecuador when he gets his Visa. So, we´re going to have a great time until that happens. 

It´s been another week of work, but there´s also been several investigators that haven´t completed with their commitments. We may have to drop several of them. I´d like to mention briefly the principle of honor. When we say we´re going to do something, and that something is within our power... we need to do it. Our word should mean alot. People need to know that when we say that we´re going to do something, we intend to, and we´re going to do it. This is a principle that will help us alot in life, so that people trust us. It goes the same for God. In Ecclesiastes 5: 4-5, it talks a bit about this... 

Anywho, one man that´s kept his commitments is Walter. I mentioned him last week. Well, he entered into the waters of baptism Saturday and received the gift of the Holy Ghost Sunday. I know that he´ll be a grand building block for the church, for he´s already expressed his grand desire to share the true gospel with his friends and family. He´s learned about the temple work, and the significance of it has impacted him greatly. He knows that he´s found the pearl of great price. I hope that we all know it as well. I for one, testify that this is the work of the Lord, and that this gospel and church are true, and that they can bless the people of the world without measure (If they allow it). Let us carry on with faith in Christ! Hurrah Por Israel! 

-Elder Holtry

Empanadas

 Walters Baptism and my new companion Elder Martinez who I am training

My first (and hopefully) last trio

A look into the Villa from the Godoy's window

 Elder Rios' "trunky" suitcase

 A neighbor of the apartment in their area wrote this hahaha

 At the mission home

Es Preciso Que Haya Una Oposición En Todas Las Cosas

What a week! Well, a little update on my mission life. Elder Ríos left this morning, so right now i´m in a trio with Elder Ryan and Elder Arguello until my new companion arrives tomorrow. We had a great teaching moment with Walter this last week. He arrived for our appointment in the church building, and the first thing he said was "I don´t think I´m going to be able to keep going with the church and the whole baptism thing" Turns out, he´s been going through a few things lately that are making his life difficult. In short, he´s facing alot of opposition. We invited him to come in and sit down, and there, we began to read the scriptures with him. The first scripture that came to my mind and that we shared with him is in 2 Nephi 2:11, where it explains that it´s necessary for there to be opposition in all things, and then I don´t remember the other scriptures we shared, it was totally spirit-guided, but after we were finished he said "You know what, hearing that gives me the desire to continue onward... we´ll keep going" Wow, that was a testament to me that the scriptures have great power for he who seeks with real intent. Also, Walter came to both sessions of Stake Conference this last weekend, and he asked "So nobody gets paid here? It´s just that everyone seems so happy" hahaha good ole Walter! But ya, also, the members from Munro were there at the Stake Conference, so I had a joyful reunion with many of them (And finally with fluid communication... hahaha!) But ya, we had a decent week of work, and despite some of the last-minute stuff that my comp had to get done, we could get some good work in. 

Well, I just want to emphasize the main point of this email, that it´s necessary for there to be opposition, because it helps us grow. I remember once when I went to a youth camp that they showed us two pictures. One was of a tree alone on the plains, small and a bit shriveled, and another tree amidst others in a forest, subject to winds and the attacks of other plants, but strong nonetheless. The point is that if we´re not subjected to forces from outside, we won´t grow as much as we should. So, we should except challenges so that we become strong like our father in heaven wants us to be. I might as well close with a cliche quote "Life isn´t about waiting for the storm to pass, it´s about learning to dance in the rain". Cheesy, but true. Confide in the scriptures, and trust in that the challenges that God gives you will make you stronger. 

Cuidaos! 

--

-Elder Holtry

Día Tras Día

Happy Monday everyone. Well, it´s been quite the week. We´ve seen many challenges and difficulties, but we´ve also seen miracles. anywho, one thing that I can mention is that we had interviews with our mission President last Friday. before the interviews, we worked in the general area. That area is what we´d call "cheto" (Rich/hard-hearted) here in the mission. We found a ton of people who basically said "Nope" immediately when we presented our invitation. We even found an atheist named Jesús... But ya, it was a great time hahaha! Anywho, there in the interviews, I got a ton of great advice on mission work. When I speak with the people, I also have the hope that they´ll accept, and the charity that corresponds therewith, and because of that, it hurts when the people don´t want anything to do with an invitation from Christ and his church. 

One thing that my mission President told me was that instead of focusing on me and the pain of the rejection, I can focus on Christ. Christ had a pretty rough mission, he and the prophets. Something that now gives me comfort is that when I´m rejected be the people, I stand with the prophets of old and with Christ himself.  Basically, we all just need to have that thought: make it about Christ. 

A thought that came to me this week is in respect to our journey to perfection (To become like Christ). It´s like playing the Piano, and imagine that we want to learn all the hymns in a hymn book. Obviously, it´s going to take some time, and we go perfecting one principle after the other, until (Through our diligence) we perfect all the songs. likewise, we go perfecting different things in life (Our daily prayers, scripture study, tithing, fasting, etc.) Until we´re perfect in all those aspects. Obviously we´ll never come to be like our Father in Heaven, who can play any song with perfection, but we can complete our earthly requirements to achieve our lesser/earthly perfection. day after day, prayer after prayer, fast after fast. 

I know that we can get there as we hearken unto our Heavenly father, and his beloved son Jesus Christ. Be diligent, and always try to progress! 

¡Que Dios los bendiga!

--

-Elder Holtry

chilling in the Villa Hidalgo (Those are some abandoned/burned cars behind me)

An awesome gift from the Godoy Family! I love them so much! Now i´ll be able to drink my tereré when I get home!

P-day Chillin

¡Crean en los Milagros!

Yet another week has passed! Wow, one really feels the need of Pday after fighting throughout the whole week. This really has been a week of effort, and it´s a bit frustrating when one works hard, and has faith, and then some things don´t come through. Well, quite simply, the Lord asks patience of us. But the interesting thing is that we (Normally) won´t see the blessings of our obedience, or the consequence of our sins, until "A season" after the fact.

Anywho, I can´t believe that I´m about to write this, but I went to Munro yet again this Week in splits!... I´m honestly a bit tired of going back now, but whatevs. This time I worked with Elder Freitas, an Elder from Brazil that got here about a month ago. It was cool, because he´s a bit shy (Much like I was when I began) so I got to show him how to "talk with everyone", in the train, in the streets, and in every place possible. We were able to place several Books of Mormon, find new people, and obtain some nice references. Elder Freitas told me after that he had lost his fear of talking with the people, and that was the objective, so I´m happy. 

Anywho, One great experience we had this week was with an investigator named Sofía (Not the one who needs permission from her Mother to get baptized) But ya, we´ve taught this Sofía many times, and she has great desires to learn and apply the gospel in her life. Well, we decided/felt that we needed a member to help us in the lessons, because she´s been progressing well, but needs more support. So, we brought Lucas, a recent convert in the ward. Lucas helped alot, and was able to explain a few doctrinal points very effectively from the point of view of someone who has recently come to know the doctrine. Halfway through the lesson, she teared up a bit, and explained to us that earlier in the week, she had been praying for more understanding, and the ability to understand the discussions better, and that help came through Lucas. It was a special moment, and it´s yet another testimony for me that God answers prayers! :)

Another investigator (And a really interesting one) is Alejandro. I think I´ve mentioned him before, because we found him like 4 or 5 times miraculously in the street, and he basically committed himself to baptism when we taught him. He´s a funny guy, and has a humble home. There were a few cockroaches scuttling around, so I told my comp to protect me and flick off any that managed to find their way onto me (Sorry for adding that) But ya, alls well that ends well. 

Well, there´re more things to recount, but the emails already long enough. Well, as always my invitation to you is that you can always seek opportunities to share the gospel (With Joy and gratitude) and learn more about Christ and his dealings with the children of men (Get your scripture reading done). The church is true! 

Love,

-Elder Holtry

Splits in Munro with Elder Zapata (The Spainard)

 Soccer on P-day 

"No kid is born a thug"

 More grafiti in Munro

Just the sky

 Rainbow

 Sunday Morning

I´m going to be "Killing" Elder Ríos this transfer (I´ll be his last comp before he "Dies", or in other words, goes home),