................Sister Lauren Holmoe..... .......Tallahassee, Florida Mission....: Week 34

February 3, 2014

Hello Fam!!

This week has been AWESOME! The snow was UNREAL! It felt like we were back in Utah! I thought I wasn't going to see snow until I arrived at the airport in SLC! The southerners were just going crazy and the students at Troy were loving life. They had all week off except for Friday so it was like another winter break for them! As for us, we were stuck inside one day and then just froze walking around all the other days! You would think the western girls would be used to it but not so much haha!!

Lots of great things happened this week but one of the highlights was Sister McFarland and I got permission to go to the Troy Chinese New Year Celebration on Friday night! It was SO FUN! There was dinner and entertainment and TONS of people were there. It was a great finding activity. We got tons of new contacts, set up appointments, connected with returning members, and were able to show our support to the international students! They LOVED us! We were like celebrities. We were like the only white girls there so people came and asked to take pictures with us. We were dying! Some of the Chinese boy students sitting near us were freaking out about my eyes. They were like, "Those real?? No way??" They were laughing hysterically which made us laugh hysterically! The next day on campus all these Chinese students were saying hi to us and acting like we were besties! It was GREAT that we went. It was also fun to see the different dancers and singers. There were even some Chinese hip hop dancers. Soooo classic! I didn't know they knew how to break it down! Sis McFarland and I also got hooked on these Chinese candies I'm going to send home in a package one day! They were so good! Funny pictures of that night coming your way!

This past week we taught an atheist! It was definitely a unique experience but one I'll never forget! The guy’s heart was SOO hard in the beginning but at the end of the lesson he SAID A PRAYER...it was amazing, spirit was so strong! We basically were just testifying of God in our lives and telling him how much his Heavenly Father loved him and I think it touched him. I think deep down he is not truly atheist but he just wants that title for himself as he is on his own in college. We kind of left it up to him if he wants to meet with us again. We told him he has to understand and have faith in God before we can truly go on!

We got a BCD (baptism confirmation date) for Feb 15th with a girl named Kelsey. Kelsey is 19 and has a 2 month old baby. She comes from a part member family and has had a crazy past but she’s come to church for the past 9 months. She has never wanted to be baptized before so no one has forced anything but last week we decided to ask her and BAM, she said she’s been thinking about it for a little bit now and thinks now is the right time! We've been able to teach her a lot this past week and will continue teaching her and preparing her for the 15th!

On Saturday we were able to be a part of a broadcast from Orlando. It was with L. Tom Perry, President Rasband, and a few others but I can’t remember their names! There were 7 general authorities there which apparently never happens!! All ward councils and full time missionaries from the FTM, Jacksonville, and Orlando missions were listening. It was SOOOO GOOD!! It was all about the ward councils and missionaries working together to Hasten the Work of course! L. Tom Perry was HILARIOUS!! He was so enthusiastic and sincere about this topic, cracking jokes left and right, but you could tell how much he cared about this topic!! The last hour of the broadcast was questions and answers from the audience or via text message! It was pretty sweet!! We learned a lot and I hope the Troy Branch got some good insight so they can help us out more!!!

Crazy story from the week. We were in the Troy Public Library during the week and all the sudden I hear, "Sister Holmoe!?!." I freak out wondering who it would be and it was Sister Shields and Sister Cronwell from LYNN HAVEN!!! Y’all, it felt like I was seeing family!!! It was the happiest moment!! It kind of gave me a glimpse of what it will be like to reunite with y’all in December!! They were up here for a soccer tourney for their kids. What are the odds!? We took pics and they said they would show the ward when they got back!

This week I also saw many answers to my prayers! One day it was just FREEZING! We decided to walk to campus and try just contacting people in the buildings but it seemed like no one was there. I said a silent prayer that SOMEONE would be there for us to teach and literally 10 seconds later a guy walks around the corner and BAM, an hour later the first discussion was taught! It was awesome! Another experience, this one is pretty random. We were just going about our day and randomly my ring finger on my right hand lost like ALL FEELING. It turned completely white and I could not feel it. It was the weirdest thing ever cause I wasn't cold or anything! We were slightly freaking out but laughing at the same time so we decided to say a prayer and then AGAIN, 10 seconds later it went back to normal and it hasn't bothered me since! Heavenly Father has been good to us this week (:

Being in Troy is also an answer to my prayers! I always wanted to serve somewhere like a big city where there would always be people to talk to and this is the place for that! Next week we have appointments with people from Egypt, India, Thailand, Holland, and a country near Tajikistan! It’s unreal all the "OYMing" (open your mouths) we do! I love it!!

We have some GREAT plans coming up as well. This week Sis McFarland and I are going on a TV SHOW! It is called "LA news" (LA stands for LOWER ALABAMA! haha cracks me up!! The video footage should be on the FTM blog one day! PRAY FOR ME! We also are planning a Branch Chili Cook Off ANDDDD...in the works of creating a yoga/dance class for me and Sis McFarland to teach on campus once a week!! We are still in the works of getting permission and planning all the little details but so far it’s moving right along!! It’s going to be awesome!!! We are going to do like an hour yoga/dance and then a 15 min spiritual message on topics like our divine nature, word of wisdom, bodies are temples, we are daughters of God, show "I am Mormon" messages of dancers, watch Mormon messages and have tons of pamphlets and BOM's there! It should be GREAT if we can get all the details squared away!! It would be awesome to use our talents to find people to teach! We'll see!!

Funny story, this week one of our returning members said I have the strongest Cali accent ever! haha! No one here believes I'm from Utah because of my voice! I love it hehe (:

On the day we were snowed in I got to read and finish the book by Elder Ballard called "Our Search For Happiness"! IT WAS SOOO GOOD! I recommend it to EVERY nonmember to read it. It clarifies and explains all that we believe, why we believe it, and why we are so excited to share it! I learned a TON and highly recommend it to all but specifically to nonmembers!!

We have Zone Training in Dothan tomorrow which should be fun! Lots of great things to come this week but I'm grateful that today is P-day!!!! So good to hear from y’all!!!! SOOO glad BYU beat St. Marys!!! HALLELUIAH!! Also, so excited to get a new nephew TODAY! (: LOVE YOU ALREADY BABY BRIGGS!!!! Have a great week and know y’all are all in my prayers every day!!! <3/ Sister Holmoe!

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