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

What a Week!

Well Hello Everyone!,

SO this week has been busy, We found lots of new people! Lots of more work and lots of little miracles :) This Sunday was also my performance at the visitor center with about 20 other missionaries. It turned out great, not at ton of people came to the second showing, but it was still great, there were lots of good things that were said, some of the songs were just super great, There was one by sally deford, called Because of him, it was a duet and it turned out great, then there was another that was called "I did not see, yet i believe," the Elder who sang that one was super great! he sang so great, and then there was another, that we all sang, which is come unto Christ, it was the youth theme song last year, it was our last song we sang together and it really turned out great, that was the main theme was Coming unto Christ in our lives! So yeah :) But now i have all my P-day time back, no more 3 hours cut out plus travel time in LA Traffic, it cut more than half of our time out!

This week we found 9 new people to teach, 2 of them cant read, have no true knowledge of anything except of the traditions of their family, then 1 is a 17 year old girl who is super cool and really wants to come closer to God, We found this old guy named *** who is convinced that Catholic is 100 % truth, and then We found this family of 5, 2 teenagers a mom, and 3 little kids. she was super fun to teach, because  she connected the dots herslf of the Restoration, and she had already heard the story of the Mayan history and how they have in their hieroglyphics, a story of someone coming and visiting them in white and coming from the heavens (ie Jesus Christ in Americas) and how  He appeared unto them, why wouldn't he appear unto Joseph smith! so It was great lesson. Oh and a family in our ward got sealed so that was fun! The *** family, they've been members for about 2 years and they finally got sealed. we went to the little celebration  on Saturday night and got dinner, but i think they forgot to plan who was going to serve the food, so when we were sitting down they grabbed us 7 missionaries and told us to help them serve everyone food, so we ended up giving like an hour of service then ate, then went back to our area, but then on our way back to the area, I ran over a nail, and it was in the middle of the intersection so i quickly just rode and then jumped off the bike, but it was too late, because i rode it flat, i got 5 other holes in the bike, so we just went back to the apartment, because i took the time to patch them all, it would have been too long and had to return home anyways. So i've been bike less since Saturday, today im using another bike that was in the garage, and then im going to go and buy new tires because mine are almost all worn out, my back one has like 3 chunks out of it and any little piece of glass or small throne pierces it and then i have to fix the flat. so that's that.

Thanks for all that you do for me! Thanks for your Prayers and love! I feel that Power every day. Sometime you think wow just a little prayer cant really make a difference, but I have completely change that thought being here in the mission. With Prayer comes the spirit. This week as we were walking around, 2 appointments feel through and so as were trying to heading to a former investigators house, I had the feeling to stop by and visit *** a young adult who had basically grown up in the church, So as we were walking by we stopped at the house and found her mom and her mom just starts talking to us and she told us she is a member, so we asked her why she doesn't come to church? She says she works and so we had a long conversation about how its so important to help her kids grow up in the gospel, so we hopefully have some success this week with her and find her in her house. But just little miracles or times when the spirit guides us is when i know that this truly is gods work, if we are doing exactly what we need to be doing and being diligent, then he will guide and put people in our path or put us in their path and let them find the truth!

I love you all!

Elder Hollingshead

ps. if you check out the visitor centers Facebook page, and maybe the mission blog, you might find pictures of the music event!

Zone Conference

 

April 20, 2015

 

Well This week has been... well.... its over. And yeah that's about it. we had the potential of getting many new investigators, but people just don't know how to keep appointments... its really frustrating. But I had a good change yesterday. That's why i love Sundays. Go to church, take the sacrament, pray and then move on. if anything ive learned in the mission is that the Lord is willing to forgive, if we recognize what we need to do different. So we repent. and move on. So thats what i know as a fact and this week there are lots of little things that i want to change about my thoughts and my actions. and mostly not letting my actions and desires change because of what others to do us or with their lives. Change comes with time, but if we never start we will look back to many empty yesterdays.

We did have zone conference this week, and we had a good hour long conversation about motives. Love vs. Duty.... many times both of these missionaries have similar results in an outward aspect, but the inward change and desire is completely different and we talk alot on how our motive to share the gospel changes others around us. If we get 20 conversations just to get 20 conversations, do you think everyone of those people are going to sense your true desire to help them out. But If you get 20 conversations because you truly want to help people out, they are going to feel it and in return actually grow in the gospel in one way or another. If you commit someone to come to church and promise them so many blessings that if they come to church "x" thing will happen in their lives, but we moan and groan about all the meetings we go to how are we supposed to help others see the blessings. Just little though/ desire processes can really change what happens in myself and our area. That was the biggest impact that was taken from zone conference. I love this mission! its been a blast ;) so many good memories. something that has really made me happy is seeing the change that has happened in the Hernandez family. Being back in the same ward is fun to see how people change over time. The Whole family comes to church every week. Ivan the Dad has the Melqusidec priesthood, The sons pass the sacrament every week! they share their testimonies in the class and it just brings Joy to me to see, how it really has changed me and because its changed me i see it change others! I love it all the time.

At zone conference i had the opportunity to play the EFY  medly as the missionaries sang along. But just Before that we watch the conference talk from Elder Holland, from oct 2012 about "the first and great Commandment" And in that talk it talks about exactly that love that we need to follow the savior! I felt the spirit so Much! I love That, I Know that God Cares for each and everyone of us!

I Love you All! hope you have a great week!

Love

Elder Hollingshead

Funny Happenings

April 13, 2015

Well again this week was not super exciting. we've had our struggles. My patience has been tried.... But don't worry about me, its the work of salvation and there's nothing bad about, it :0 I"m still having a blast, but just been a long week and many times i just was frustrated about little things. But today is good. I had a great fast yesterday and it really boosted me up today. The work is just slow, were really struggling to get those new investigators and so Hopefully It will pick up this week. thats what i said last week, but at least we have appointments and lists of people we can visit now. I Think the problem now is making sure they will be in the house. So yeah, were going on exchanges tommorow. So im excited and it will be good :) i love exchanges, not becasue i want to get away from my comp, but just to get to know other missionaries.  Anyways. Here are some fun storries for this week.

Last night, We get home at like 9:10 were putting our stuff down and then i sit in my chair and elder Delgado sits in his and about that same time, I feel a big jolt and Vibration, but only lasted for like 2 seconds. Now since i've felt 2 earthquakes before i knew exactly what that was, And so i told elder Delgado that it was an earthquake. He didnt believe me so we walked out side and then our neighbor also walked out and we came to the conclusion that it was an earthquake, but a really small one. So maybe in a couple of weeks we will have another bigger one. that's what happened last year.

Story #2. so we had dinner at a returning member family. They are super cool. and we get out there and their house is kind of small and there was no man so we just sat outside and had the carne asada, under the tree and porch. And after we were done eating, we were just talking and then we hear this rustling in the tree above us and so we kind of stopped and looked up so we could avoid being hit. we thought it was a branch or something that was stuck in the tree. I was looking up and i saw this brown thing that looked like a branch, come down and it was about 8 inches away from my head. then it hit the chair that i had been sitting in, and rolled to the ground. so i went to look down to see what it was and IT RAN!!!!! Needless to say, a rat fell from the tree and almost hit my head. it was about 6 inches long with out the tail.... The sister freaked out! because it landed right in between me and her.

Story #3. So this is not so much funny, but just a little awkward on what we both did. so we contacted this lady on the street, she was probably mid 20s she told us we could stop by on Saturday, we contacted her on Thursday. So we came by on Saturday, and she was like "im busy" so we just tried to see if we could get in for like 15 min. then she is like well its that i just had my baby on Friday..... Awkward. it didnt seem like she was pregnant, but apparently she was, and on Thursday went to the hospital the next day and had her baby.... And we had no idea and when she told us that, at first i didn't think she was telling the truth, but then i put it all together and believed her, but we both just looked at each other and didn't know what to say to her..... It was super awkward.... But we will be seeing her later this week.

But yeah, That has been my week! I'm so thankful for your prayers and Support! Stay Strong, and I hope you all continue to get things out of conference and keep learning From living day Prophets. I listened to a few talks this morning, and i learned even more things! its great, i love inspired people! its like God is talking straight to me!

Love you all!

Elder Hollingshead

Ok thanks so much mom. Oh and Elder Anderson is from Mesa??? i had no idea. Ill have to read that talk again, I remembered it being a great one that really spoke to me! Thanks for your love and support, ill always be grateful for it. My companion is the only member in his family, and i really see a good desire, but he still learning a lot. He was baptized end of may 2013, and so he really doesn't have much time as a member, but he really has a great testimony. I love you all.

Nothing Much

April 6, 2015

Well hello everyone! this week has been very uneventful. My new/returned area is alright they just had a bunch of baptisms, but there is no investigators right now, my comp is alright. he's  a recent convert and hes still learning alot, hes been out here for almost 5 months so hes still pretty new and he wants to leave the area really bad, so he hasn't worked very hard lately... so its a work in progress. Its been a long crazy week. We had conference and it was great. I really got a lot of things out of it again. I just love it. one of my favorites was Elder Hollands, Elder Bednar, and President Eyring priesthood.  I really got a lot out of it and the great thing is that I really wanted to learn about the atonement and how i can better apply it in my life, and there were lots of talks that talked about that. it was great! Sorry I really don't have time  to email to day, My companion had an interview with president and then i had music rehearsal so we have about 3 hours to do everything else. thankfully president let us email up here at the mission office :) hes the greatest. Then also It was super great to see a bunch of people from HP again. the Hernandez family was super excited to see me again and he got the Melchizedek priesthood. they are progressing super great! Basically the whole weekend was just conference. 

 

I hope you all enjoyed conference! it was great! i love it so much! And thanks for all the pictures of the new Addition to the family. I hope everything goes well with them!  

I love you all so much!

 

Elder Hollingshead