No Llores Por Mí Argentina

Work work work. Just do it. Hurrah for Israel! Etc. So ya, it´s been another fantastic week here in Buenos Aires! finally, i´ve been able to actually work in my own area for a whole week, and Elder Lucas and I are getting along great.  We´ve been focused on talking with a ton of people in the street this week as always, and I don´t know what happened, but the people have been really hard-hearted this week. It´s really required extra work and extra prayers to share the Gospel and Books of mormon with those that we could. As I´ve said before, I´ve really come to understand what Alma meant when he said: 1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people! 2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.

I wish that I could comunicate this message with the power of an angel to make this people understand it. I honestly don´t have the strength that this message deserves, and though I always plead for more strength from the Lord, I can´t be perfect, I can just try and try to do my best. As Alma said also: 3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.

The Lord has been merciful in the blessings that he´s granted to me, and though I probably don´t deserve it, he keeps blessing. As the Psalmist said: "For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised" We should be grateful that the Lord knows  us, and that he´s always willing to help us in all our labors and trials. I testlfy that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World, and that this is his church. I invite you all to dedicate yourselves time and time again to be his disciples!  As we dedicate ourselves to the Lord, we will find greater happiness and light in a world that so desperately needs it. 

I love you all, have a faith-filled week! 

--

-Elder Holtry

My new comp, Elder Lucas from GuatemalaA 25nd of May activity ( basically Independence day here) with Locro

 

La Consagración

Solid week. I really enjoyed being able to work with my companions Elder Andrade and Elder Bradbury. One of the things we came up with this last week to really light up the area was "Bulldozer mode". Basically, one Elder goes on one side of the street and knocks doors, and another likewise on the other side, while the last Elder goes down the center of the street, contacting and talking to the people. It worked pretty well, and in the week we were able to find 40 people that accepted a book of Mormon and a visit from the missionaries. 

Oh ya, one fun fact that I forgot to mention last week was that Boca and River (two of the biggest Soccer teams here) played, and we were in the Villa teaching a lesson right before the game ended. While we were teaching, River scored a goal, and the world went crazy, with everyone screaming "GOOOAAAALLLL!!!!" And shooting guns in the air (And then a bunch of people started fighting) hahaha! I missed the Villa so much. 

Well, also in the news, I have a new companion to come with me to Boulogne. His name´s Elder Lucas (From Guatamala). He´s been in the mission for about a year now, so we´re going to be working strong these last 3 weeks before I leave! Honestly, I just want to use well this last bit of time that I have left in the mission. There is still much to do! 

one of the things that I was pondering this week was Doctrine and Covenants 4:

1 Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.2 Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that yeserve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.3 Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;4 For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in storethat he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;5 And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the gloryof God, qualify him for the work.6 Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience,brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.7 Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen.

Basically, the thought that comes to my mind while I read this is of consecration. When we dedicate ourselves to something, we can´t hold back. It doesn´t mean we need to be constantely perfect, but we do have to do our best. We can´t be on the fence. I just want to invite you all that as you dedicate yourselves (And continue dedicating yourselves) to the Lord, that you may take the decision to hold nothing back. Don´t let fear, laziness, or doubt cloud your minds. Today is the day to consecrate ourselves. I know that this is the work of the Lord. The church is true. The scriptures that the Lord has revealed unto us (Including the Book of Mormon) are true. I love this Gospel, and I love my Savior. Continue with Steadfastness in the Lord Jesus Christ.

-Elder Holtry

A protein shake that Elder Bradbury and I made with Milk, eggs, protein powder, lettuce, peanut butter, and some other good stuff :)

Back to the Villa (Of José León Suárez)

Crossing the plains

Tirando basura no mas... 

Mas de la Villa

The workout gear in the aparment (There were extra boxes of the Book of Mormon, so Elder Bradbury made this! hahaha)

Us crossing a "bridge"

La Trinidad

What a week. It´s been an interesting one! Well, I guess one big thing I should mention  is that Elder Martinez left on Wednesday, so now, I´m working with the Elders of José León Suarez - Elder Andrade and Elder Bradbury.  We´re in a trio, and are working between the two areas of Boulogne and Jose León Suarez.  It´s been a great week, and I love my companions a ton. I really enjoy working with them.
My birthday was pretty good. Elder Bradbury and I worked a bit in Boulogne that morning in the local fair, sharing Books of Mormon, pamphlets, cards and other fun stuff with people. We were able to do alot of contacts.  

Of course, Sunday (Mothers day for you guys) was fantastic. We had a few investigators in the church building (Oh ya, the other Elders dropped me off with a member named Lucas Godoy in the morning so that we could help some investigators get to church. Later after lunch (The father of the family was accompanying me, but it was super weird being the only Elder there with the family...) I was reunited with my companions, and I made my Skype call to the family. I had a great time talking with them, and it´s weird to think that I´ll see everyone in a little less than a month.

Well, there´s one awesome guy named Emanuel. He has a baptismal date in these upcoming weeks.  We actually found him a couple weeks ago. like I´ve said before, we´re trying to talk with everyone we can, and we saw him one day seated with Joaquin (The brother of another investigator). We went over and said Hi to them, and Emanuel was super psyched to learn more. He´s already gone to church a couple of times and we´re teaching him. Joaquin´s already a member, so he´s been able to support him. I just mention this story I guess because we all have people around us that the Lord has prepared to receive the gospel. With just a simple invitation, Emanuel was like "Ya, let´s go!". So ya, just pay atention, and pray so that the Lord gives you those opportunities to share the Gospel with others. 

Well, take care and have a great week. The church is true. Hurrah for Israel!

--

-Elder Holtry

We dont have an oven so......(I sent him a cake mix and candles for his birthday)

Skype call home to the family!

 My new comps

 Ingrown toenail again :(

They ate A LOT of ice cream today!

Metas y Milagros

Good Week. Can`t complain. Well, I don`t remember if I mentioned this last week (I assume so, but I’ll say it again anyway) We´re making a great effort in our mission to leave early in the morning and contact a ton of people (Talk with everybody!) It`s been going well, and one morning we were out doing just that, talking with as many people as we could, and we passed by an old man. Instead of us contacting him, he started talking to us (Thinking that we were some people from a gas company or something like that) but we explained to him that we were missionaries and that we would like to visit him in the future, so he told us where he lived and we passed by a couple of days later. When we were looking for his house, we weren´t really sure which one was his, so we started knocking on a nearby door, just at that moment Oracio (The old man) came out and called us over. It was a miracle that he came out at that moment! Well, we met him and his son ( Named Oracio as well) and they came to church on Sunday. Oracio Junior especially loved it! Before, he was saying that this week was going to be an exception, and that he would keep going to his normal church after, but after church, he said "Well, we´re going to be seeing each other quite a bit more often now!" So ya, thanks to our Mission Presidents inspired plan we found them. Obedience (including obedience to our leaders) brings blessings! 

Anywho, this Sunday we also had testimony meeting. Walter (A recent convert I`ve mentioned before) got up and gave his testimony about the Priesthood. He said that that was what he lacked before he was a member, and that it`s been a great help to him.  It was awesome seeing him give his testimony since he`s only been a member for a little over a month now! He also has strong desires to share the gospel! It`s my prayer that we can all appreciate the blessings of the Gospel as much as he does! 

I`ve seen that when we push ourselves to achieve worthy goals, the Lord blesses us. He really does. We`ve seen miracles this last week, and I know we`ll see them this week if we keep pushing ourselves to achieve those worthy goals we have. Goal-setting is a principle that I want to apply continually during my entire life! 

Anywho, we´re working with several people so that they can make the covenant of Baptism and receive the blessings that the Lord has for them. I know that this is the work of the Lord! This is his Gospel, and he is at the head of the church! 

Hurrah!

--

-Elder Holtry

P.S. Happy Birthday Mom! (This Wednesday!) 

Los Talentos

I have one word for you: Mosquitos. So we have a happy infestation of mosquitos this year, which has been fantastic for us missionaries, since we´re always outside talking with people (insert sarcasm here). But ya, in and of itself, the week´s been dandy. Honestly, right now in the mission, we´re just trying to talk to everyone. We utilize all our time in the morning to just get outside and talk with people. We even dedicate time during our training sessions with the mission president to go outside and contact as many people as we can. Doing this once in the mission President´s general neighboorhood, Elder Martinez and I went and talked with a black lady sitting on a bench, I mention that, because they (the people from Haiti) always speak a ton of languages! We started talking to the Lady, and she asked us if we were "Jehovahs Witnesses", but she said it in English, turns out, she didn´t know a lot of Spanish, so i basically did the whole contact in English, which was super fun! I also realized I need to practice my English (Never thought I´d say that) becuase i was saying crap like "We want that you read this book"... lolses. 

But ya, anywho, Shout out to Tate Wright, who got married this last week!!! I got the invitation a bit late (a few days ago) so I couldn´t make it sadly.... :) But ya, as my Grandpa Jackson would say: "What a guy!!!"

Hey, before closing this epistle, I just wanted to throw in a subject that we touched briefly on Sunday. We were talking about callings and their importance, and really, being the Prophet or being the secretary both have great importance, the church doesn´t consist of a social ladder that we´re trying to climb. I´ve talked about this with my mother about this subject as well. Really, it doesn´t matter what calling we have. It matters what we do with it. We have to magnify our callings. It makes me think a bit on the parable of the talents. One servant received 5, another 2, and another 1. Those who recieved 5 and 2 doubled that which they had, so that they had 10 and 4, respectively. But he who had 1 did nothing. Those who duplicated their talents (Both multiplied by 2, so they made the same effort basically) received the exact same blessing, but he who used not his talent received a curse. So, let us be diligent, and use well the gifts, talents and calling that the Lord has given us!!! Love you all! The church is true! Jesus Christ lives! 

--

-Elder Holtry

 The last Planner!! 

 Do you see a theme here?