Week 22

November 11th, 2013! (Almost my 5 month birthday) (:

This email will be so hard to write because the delete button is broken so I have to type very slowly!  It is a holiday today so all the libraries are closed hence our members are awesome and let us use their house (: 

Thanks for all the emails and pictures today!! I LOVVVED the one of y’all at the Marriott center with my seat open (: Made my day!!  Glad to hear the bball team is coming out strong!!  Also glad the bulldogs are being represented well as usual by Kyle!  Aint no party!!!  Sad to hear about the football team....but GUESS WHAT?  We were eating at a restaurant on Saturday and the BYU GAME WAS ON TV!! It was like right in front of my face too....I was like hahaha oh boy!  As badly as I wanted to watch it, obviously I could not but I did take a few glances here and there hehe (:  It was fun to see Bronco and Taysom and a bunch of other people I knew! It felt like seeing family!!  Notre Dame this week should be a good game!! 

So update on Carolyne!  She is going strong for baptism on November 30th.  President Smith had to come down and interview her on Saturday!  She was the one getting interviewed, not me!  But it was a great day to see them meet and as long as she quits smoking then she is set for the 30th!! I have faith!! It will all work out how it’s meant to!  We had one of our former investigators show up for church on Sunday. We were SHOCKED!!! It was great to see her there but bless her heart.  She wants to be baptized BEFORE she gets the lessons!!  Hopefully she will allow us to teach her.  I guess she will have to if she really wants to be baptized!!  Another one of our investigators experienced the death of her cat.  She asked us all these questions about if cats were sealed to us and if they go to the spirit world and I was just like Oh Boy....not so sure how to answer those questions but I think we did okay and lifted her spirits a little!!  HA!  I'm telling ya....the people in the South are CRAZY about their animals!!!  I have decided I'm NEVER having a pet haha!! 

We also got a new investigator this week.  He is the grandson (26) of an older returning member!  We were able to teach him the first lesson and it went well!!  Funny story after the lesson though!  We were riding our bikes away from the house and the song "Cruise" came on from a distant car and both Sister Sam and I were OBSESSED with that song before we came out so I turned my head to see where it was coming from and she had stopped her bike to see and then BOOM I crashed into her hahahah!  Luckily no one was hurt so we just laughed and laughed for like 10 minutes! 

We went to a baptism on Saturday for someone we actually initially taught!  He was referred to the missionaries from a member of our ward but he lives in the Callaway area so we had to let them teach him but we've gone to lunch with him a few times since our first meeting and then we got to see him get baptized!!!  There was a GREAT SPIRIT  there!!!  Perfectly clean (: 

I was thinking about how many attacks are put on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how many people think so negatively and try to prove us wrong.  That is really just a HUGE testimony to me that ITS TRUE!!! Why else would Satan work so hard to tear our church down and convince men to as well if it weren't true!!  I just love being a missionary and bearing the truth to all the haters out there!!  (:

Last Monday when we went to Pier Park....AHHH IT WAS A BLAST!! What a fun cute mall.  It is an outdoor mall and just really sweet!  They had pretzel bites so OF COURSE I got some (: They also had a RED ROBIN!?!? I about died!!! They also had a Dicks Last Resort.  Remember when we went there in San Diego with all of Dads friends!?  It was fun shopping and seeing stylish normal clothes again!! There were lots of cute things but not really for the mish if ya know what I'm saying!!  I also didn't find any good Christmas gifts for anyone yet :( Still working on that!!  It was just the perfect weather though and we got to watch the sunset on the beach and it was awesome!! In one of the stores we walked into the employee was like "Woah, you guys really stand out.  I like that." and then walked away!  Haha.  We all have that light of Christ in us that is SOOO recognized by the world!

We did have dinner with the Petersons on Monday night! He did not say ONE thing about him playing football with you though!?!?  They were the nicest people.  It worked out because Sister Sam was good friends with their daughter so President gave permission for them to take us out!  It was really fun! Their daughter is wayyyy nice so I hope I get to serve with her one day! HOLMOE/PETERSON the 2nds!! (:

Oh I finally am connected to Esther now on Family Search (:

Dad, I forgot to mention...I read a paragraph from your conversion story in the paper to Carolyne.  It was like the very last paragraph and she just LOVED IT.  I think that was part of what made her finally say yes to baptism! 

A member this week gave us a Christmas tree (:   So our apartment is already for Christmas!!

A member took us to a Mexican restaurant this week and I got a burrito hoping it would be SOMETHING AT LEAST A LITTLE SIMILAR TO COSTA! It was not TOOO bad but definitely not costa material!!!  MAN, do we crave those on the daily!!!  Another member this week took us to Target and let us pick out 3 pairs of tights each and toilet paper and other things we needed!  HOW NICE WAS THAT!?!  These people are the greatest!!  The weather is weird.  Some days are wayyy cold and some days are way hot again.  I will keep you posted about mailing one of those coats!  I’m definitely turning into a true Floridian because it gets to be like 60 degrees and I'm cold???? Where’s the UTAH in me!?!  haha!

Thank you so much for the package!!!! It had everything in it I needed!!!  The pictures were awesome!  Danny is the new Malcom!!!! Love it!  The Doll Room looks great!!!  The girls camp pics hahaha oh boy!  I miss that Hope Squad hoodie!   Sad to hear about J.D.  Hopefully he will heal quickly and with prayers from a missionary; maybe it will help (:  I was just thinking about the Middleton’s pumpkins the other day!!  Those were always so rad!  NORDSTROM. ahh how was the sale!?!  There are NO nordys here that's for sure!  I miss that heavenly place!!  Dad, your articles you sent me were AWESOME!  Sister Sam and I definitely got a good laugh out of them!  You’re awesome.  How come we were not in the paper for our FH booth? (:

I heard about the Philippines.  Wow, how scary is that.  We heard that all the missionaries were safe so hopefully Madi Evans and more people I know there are all protected.  At least it’s something they knew was coming so they could prepare.  Sad to hear about all those deaths though......heart breaking. :(

Bad news....we can’t have iPods anymore..........I'll have to mail it home sometime in the near future....lame sauce I know!  We have no idea why but President’s decision has been made.  No iPods.  The mornings have been so quiet this past week! I miss my Jenny Phillips!!  Oh well!

So for this month of Thanksgiving each day Sister Sam and I write something we are grateful for and one thing I thought of was back at home when I would wake up and Mom would surprise me with McDonald pancakes or Einstein bagels!!  SURPRISE BREAKFASTS!!  Those were the best!!

We have exchanges this week. I have to go to Callaway this time with Sis Treiber.

I started the BOM over again this week!  I LOVE IT! I'm reading and studying it really slowly to get new insights and it’s going great!  I have decided to impose a CHALLENGE!!! A family CHALLENGE!!!! I challenge everyone in the family, or anyone for that matter who desires, but specifically in the family to read and finish the book of Mormon before I come home!!!  You can start Jan 1st if you'd like or get a jump start now but THAT’S THE CHALLENGE (:  I've thought about it since last Monday and think it’s a great idea!! (:

A new favorite verse from the BOM would be 1st Nephi 17:50 Nephi says, "If God has commanded me to do all things I could do them.  If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth and if I should say it, it would be done." THE FAITH OF NEPHI IS RIDICULOUS!!

Anyways, this week was GREAT!! I love love love this area, the people, the colder weather, and all (: THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT AND LOVE!!! <3 I miss watching the Cougs BADLY!!! But know I'm cheering them on from Florida!!! So pumped that Oregon lost so FSU will move to 2!!! YEAH BUDDY! The south will rise again!!!

Have an amazing week and know I love you all so much!!!!!!!!!! And miss you more than costa burritos and my jeggings combined! (And that's saying something) (:

<3, Sister Holmoe!!!