Hello!

May 25, 2015

Hello Everyone!

Happy memorial day! I hope that the lack of emails is because everyone is having fun vacationing! Don't worry, its all good here in LA! This week was Fun! my new companion is great! hes got a lot of energy and we have fun! we have seen a lot more miracles and success in the area this week! Tuesday was a great day! we had 3 lessons! I think that surprised me more than my companion for the first day together! Then next day was supposed to be just as great, but almost everything we had planned canceled. so we walked a lot and got a lot of conversations. it was fun! Long but fun. Then  Thursday we had a special training with President.  He had some trainings last week! But as he was there, the august transfer kept coming to his head. so he was thinking about it. in the august transfer that goes home, there are about 35 of us. the biggest group in the mission. it's pretty nuts. And he was very impressed, to invite us to do something astonishing! he went into this training with us, not having any plan, and letting us talk and make a plan. so we went in, he read a little bit from the Book of Mormon,  about the story of the sons of helaman. He was talking and then we said a group prayer (actually I said the group prayer) and then we went off for 15 min to make a plan for our area, and mission. we came back and talked a little bit more and then set a very high expectation, and goal. as a mission we usually average about 10 baptisms a week. President invited us to double that number by the time we go home. so we talked a lot about uniting in faith and working in a way to be able to do that. It was a super spiritual meeting and we all came out of there more energized and excited to go out and work like a dog, with whatever it may be. It was a super spiritual lift for me.

Cool Miracle. there was this lady that came to church. I had seen her a few weeks ago, but thought it was someones investigator, then a member commented on her, and so I told myself when she comes again I will ask her who she was, and get to know her. come to find out. she has come about 4 times. She is struggling really bad right now, her husband doesn't want her to go to a church, but she through prayer made a promise to find a church, if her daughter would get healed. So her daughter is progressing a lot right now, so she is on a search to find a church. a family friend gave a Book of Mormon to them and she kept it for 4 years. She called the visitor center number I think and they gave her the address of the church. So she has come, against her family's will and is loving it. shes been reading the Book of Mormon. She doesn't want us to go to her house because her husband doesn't want it. but she does and shes going to keep coming to church. So we shall see how it goes. she doesn't live in our area, but we taught her and hopefully we can figure out where she lives and get the missionaries to teach her.

Thanks for all the support and love i get from you all! I hope you all have a great first week of summer vacation! its crazy to think that its already here! have a great week!

Love,

Elder Hollingshead

Transfers!!!!!

May 18, 2015

Well, I'm staying! I'm going to be with Elder Villanueva. he was Elder Delgado's comp in the MTC. so Hopefully it will all be good :) its only a 5 week transfer! So its going to go by quick!  So this week we had a little more success. we found 5 new investigators. and it really lifted our spirits. sometimes we as missionaries thing of tall the things that go wrong, and it really just brings us down, but as we start to work and have fun, it really helped us see the good and the fun in the work. our relationship improved and it really just mad the week less stressful. We still had our moments, but its been good. We found this couple, ** and **, they are young have a couple of kids and she's 6 months pregnant, but they are very interested in learning and getting closer and more into churches. It was a good lesson, they committed to come to church, but didn't come, but little by little I hope we can find some good things in it all. Then also we had an awesome experience at a Chinese restaurant... So Saturday night we didn't have dinner and our apartment is far so we just stop and eat in the area, there's a Chinese food place that's cheep and decent, so we stopped by and grabbed our food. as we finished eating the one girl who was basically running the place, starts cleaning the tables and floor, so we started talking to her, and she was telling us how she feels like she needs to change a lot in her life, and get closer to God, she says she goes to various churches just to see what they have, but she feels a little judged. as we talked more and shared what we do, she became really interested. so we exchanged info, and hopefully we are going to meet up some time. we thought she was like 21,but she's 17 so it was really cool to see someone who wants to change. she told us some of the things she does and she is just like I feel horrible, but I haven't found peace. so she was a cool finding miracle that day. Funny thing was that day we contacted like 4-5 teenage girls and many of them said yes they were interested. So who knows maybe that's going to be our teaching pool for a little bit.

 

So this week in my Book of Mormon reading. I found a chapter that I really liked. Its Abinidi's finial teaching to the king. and he is talking about Christ, But they way he talks is like its already happened. It struck me that that is Abinidi's testimony. he knows (150 or so years before his birth) that Christ is the redeemer of the world. These words I thought were really powerful "   But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death‍ is swallowed up in Christ.  He is the light‍ and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death." (mosiah 16:8-9). He is that light! Its so true, there was also a part in the new Ensign, Elder Bednars talk "Therefore they hushed their fears" And it talks about how a firm Faith, founded on Christ, Chastens away Fear (any fear). I'M So Grateful for this mission and the opportunity its given me to establish my firm faith in Christ, sometimes I get fearful or lazy, or tired, but that light lifts me up and I feel its love!

 

Thanks for all your prayers and support! Keep it up and Have a great last week of School for those kids that are in school! Don't freeze at the cabin this weekend!

 

Love,

Elder Hollingshead

Mother's Day

May 11, 2015

For those Mothers' that are reading! HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! Sorry its a day late, but that's just the way it goes.

This week was good. we had been struggling in a lot of parts of the work. That's another problem we are trying to fix, but we had a couple of good stories this week. One I shared with my parents yesterday on Skype :) We have been  trying to contact this potential named **, that we met with trying to look for a part member family. we have passed by like 4 times, and this was going to be our last stop by. So as we start talking she told us to come by when her husband was there, so we asked her how she knew the church. it was silent then she told us that she's a member, we looked puzzled and then she was like, I lied to you,  I'm the person you were originally looking for **. So we asked her about that? she told us she was baptized 5-6 years ago in palm springs. she was super active, but then there was some family situation that got brought into the church, and the bishop didn't do much and actually made a bigger mess, so she left and did not want to know much about the church. she says that recently she has been seeing missionaries everywhere! And she lied to us so we wouldn't stop by, but the patient perseverance we kept giving, her heart softened and she knows its good down inside and she wants to help her husband out who is not a member!  so that was one of our cool stories.

 
Another was just a few minuets before that, we were walking down the street, it was early in the day and we hadn't contacted much yet, but I had the feeling talk to this lady, who was working in the yard. So I stopped and introduced ourselves and then she was like yeah! your the Mormons! so we asked her how she knew about us. She was like oh like 10 years ago, my x husband was a member and he took us the church over on Vermont and also in Huntington park. She was like im not a member but I love what your church teaches! so we are going to visit her, this week, we invited her to church, she said she would come but she didn't, but that's not the first time that has happened so no big deal right now. Then we also had a lesson with this lady named **. Shes cool, and the lesson went well. And almost committed her to baptism!

Well keep me all in your prayers! Things sometimes get rough, But I know that The work of salvation will continue forward. I know that the power of Prayer works! Im reading a talk right now called "the fourth missionary" it is great and talks about the ways to serve your mission. As he states, there are 2 ways to live the gospel, the easy way and the hard way. Many times they have the same outward appearances; obedient, faithful, does what one should, follows councils... etc. The problem is inside, Many times we take the gospel as things we have to do, But that's the hard way to live it, If we take the gospel as Things we want to do out of pure love we enjoy the process much more and we had a smile on our face always. There are some things I need to work on, but I hope It will all be for the best!

I love you all! Have a great week!

 

Elder Hollingshead

 

Mother's Day ALREADY?

May 4, 2015

Wow I cant believe that this Sunday is mothers day, it seems just like a month ago when i talk to you before on Christmas. Wow but yeah so this week was alright. We both had a hard time this week. It was just well i guess. We had lots of appointments go through and lots of time that was not very efficient with anything.

WE went on exchanges this last Tuesday, but nothing extremely exciting happened. I left the area again and we walked alot but the last like 15 min we were heading back to the apartment and we ran into a man, and he started talking to us. he was really cool. not interested in what we share, but was very happy we were doing it in "this neck of the woods" hes a Vietnam vet, ex-Professional baseball player, and he asked us what are the most important 4 things in life. I didnt know where he was going with the question so i told him to answer. he Said 1, Put God First, 2 Take care of your Health, 3 Make sure your Happy, 4 Family.  He said thats the way he did it in life and he really found lots of good things come from it. But i really enjoyed it, because those 4 things are very true. And to make it Even better just put an eternal Perspective and it really makes everything else Fit into place. anyways, We also found another former investigator that was in the area book. She is pretty cool, She has received an answer, but just doesn't want to act on it. That's a big problem that i've seen here In LA, people Believe all the time, but when it comes to acting there like "but i have to work", "Its too hard", "I don't have to act, God just loves us all like we are" , God is always with us" and the list goes on. But in all reality, people just don't really understand our purpose, nor the fact that there really is life after death. Even among all the religions many people just don't believe that there is life after death,and if they do, the don't understand the purpose of the After life. We always just read Alma 34:32 "this life is a time for men to prepare to meet God" so yeah, we shall see if she'll understand the relationship between Acting and Faith.

I cant believe how fast time is going. we just started our 6th week, and this is a 7 week transfer... so wow it doesnt seem like its been that long. So yeah! Hope you all have a great week! Ill be seeing some of you all on Sunday! It will be FUN! Love you all!  Keep me in your Prayers!

Love,

Elder Hollingshead