I thought I would put the two of these together since they are both so short! I was hoping the library would be open today, but had a feeling it wouldn't be! :( Hopefully next week it will be open for sure!! At least he sounds good and Happy!! :) Thanks for supporting Elder Holbrook! ~ Michelle
3/24/14
Hey Family and Friends,
This week has been a pretty fun one, we've been really busy with helping some less active families out. This is going to have to be another short one, the library is closed once again.
Our investigators are doing great! They're making progress and Rolene has set a baptismal date! I'll give you all the details next week though.
This week we had transfers, and the south Elders have been replaced by Sisters. It will be awesome for this ward, the Relief Society has wanted to participate with missionary work, so it seems they have gotten an answer to their prayers!
I love you all, and I know that this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ. We have prophets in the latter days and they are helping us make it back with our loving heavenly father!
Thank you so much,
Elder Holbrook
3/17/14
Hey Family and Friends,
The library is closed for a week for construction, so I am going to have to make this short because I'm on a member's computer.
We had a decent week here in Duncan. The weather has been getting a little weird as of late, showing signs that tornado season is well on its way of being here.
Our investigators are making slow progress. We haven't been able to meet with the Tucker's yet, Rolene's health went out the window. She got Pneumonia, so we won't be able to visit them for a little while. We don't have any new investigators this week, we put a focus on making appointments with all of our investigators.
I hope that this message is received with all of you in good health and safety. Remember that I pray for all of you everyday.
Love you all,
Elder Holbrook
Monday, March 24, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Stop Smoking Workshop and Word of Wisdom 3/10/14
Hey Family and Friends,
Hopefully this finds everyone in good health and safety! We have had one crazy week down here with the weather (thunder-snow/hail). It's pretty strange from just the average blizzard, but it sure looked cool.
Other than the strange weather, we have had a pretty good week for our area. On Tuesday a member fed us down in a smaller town south of Duncan called Warika. Most of it is farmland, and they live on a huge cattle ranch. The family was basically contracted to take care of the ranch by a large cattle company. It would be crazy to own over 1,000 acres. On Wednesday, we were able to have a great appointment with the Tuckers, which I'll talk about in a little bit. On Friday we finally got in contact with a potential investigator who said that she wanted to take the Stop Smoking Program that we had to offer, and on Sunday we were able to finally teach her and her husband.
So this week we were able to teach the Tuckers the Word of Wisdom, and Rolene and Windell took it well, but it could have gone better. Windell has some problems about removing coffee completely from his life, and Rolene needs to give up tea. We gave them a promise that if they would follow the Word of Wisdom, they would be able to feel the spirit stronger and receive physical blessings from obedience. In the end they committed to live the Word of Wisdom and to study more in the scriptures.
I have some bad news about our new investigator, Jerry. His wife is in the hospital and he said to us that he may be diagnosed with colon cancer. We haven't been able to set up another appointment with him but we're still trying him. He seems really down right now, and I would ask that you would all keep him in your prayers. He really needs all the help he can get at the moment.
We haven't been able to get with Elaina or Miranda this week because of their busy schedules. We do have an appointment set up for Elaina on Tuesday, so we'll see how it all goes.
Last but definitely not least, we have two new investigators, Louise and Sam. We street contacted Louise on a cold day, and she was smoking. Elder Nibley asked if she wanted to quit. She said that she did, and we set up an appointment. Over the course of a few weeks, we've been trying to get with her and something has either come up or she has cancelled on us. It was ridiculous. Several times we considered dropping her because her visits were turning unproductive. However, on Sunday, we were able to teach her and her husband, Sam. He also wanted to quit smoking and he said that he'd be willing to do anything as long as it means that he could quit. We taught them the Stop Smoking Workshop, and then they asked us what church we were from. We explained a little bit about our belief's and what we know to be true. They seemed to be moved by our testimonies, and now this Saturday we're planning on teaching them the first discussion. It's crazy how the Lord works, sometimes. Sam expressed that he wouldn't have been interested at all if we would have just shown up at his door. Without that first contact on a small street leading to an alleyway, we wouldn't have had the experiences we did have on Sunday. I have been learning to open my mouth to everyone, even if they don't seem like they'd be interested.
I've only been out for a little while, but I feel like I have learned a lot. I know that I still have much to learn about missionary work and this Gospel. It's a lifelong study experience. This mission has helped me grow and progress, and I have a testimony about missions and the experiences that they provide that we cannot gain anywhere else. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to grow up in a home setting that had taught me about going on a mission.
Thank you all for your support and love,
Elder Holbrook
Hopefully this finds everyone in good health and safety! We have had one crazy week down here with the weather (thunder-snow/hail). It's pretty strange from just the average blizzard, but it sure looked cool.
Other than the strange weather, we have had a pretty good week for our area. On Tuesday a member fed us down in a smaller town south of Duncan called Warika. Most of it is farmland, and they live on a huge cattle ranch. The family was basically contracted to take care of the ranch by a large cattle company. It would be crazy to own over 1,000 acres. On Wednesday, we were able to have a great appointment with the Tuckers, which I'll talk about in a little bit. On Friday we finally got in contact with a potential investigator who said that she wanted to take the Stop Smoking Program that we had to offer, and on Sunday we were able to finally teach her and her husband.
So this week we were able to teach the Tuckers the Word of Wisdom, and Rolene and Windell took it well, but it could have gone better. Windell has some problems about removing coffee completely from his life, and Rolene needs to give up tea. We gave them a promise that if they would follow the Word of Wisdom, they would be able to feel the spirit stronger and receive physical blessings from obedience. In the end they committed to live the Word of Wisdom and to study more in the scriptures.
I have some bad news about our new investigator, Jerry. His wife is in the hospital and he said to us that he may be diagnosed with colon cancer. We haven't been able to set up another appointment with him but we're still trying him. He seems really down right now, and I would ask that you would all keep him in your prayers. He really needs all the help he can get at the moment.
We haven't been able to get with Elaina or Miranda this week because of their busy schedules. We do have an appointment set up for Elaina on Tuesday, so we'll see how it all goes.
Last but definitely not least, we have two new investigators, Louise and Sam. We street contacted Louise on a cold day, and she was smoking. Elder Nibley asked if she wanted to quit. She said that she did, and we set up an appointment. Over the course of a few weeks, we've been trying to get with her and something has either come up or she has cancelled on us. It was ridiculous. Several times we considered dropping her because her visits were turning unproductive. However, on Sunday, we were able to teach her and her husband, Sam. He also wanted to quit smoking and he said that he'd be willing to do anything as long as it means that he could quit. We taught them the Stop Smoking Workshop, and then they asked us what church we were from. We explained a little bit about our belief's and what we know to be true. They seemed to be moved by our testimonies, and now this Saturday we're planning on teaching them the first discussion. It's crazy how the Lord works, sometimes. Sam expressed that he wouldn't have been interested at all if we would have just shown up at his door. Without that first contact on a small street leading to an alleyway, we wouldn't have had the experiences we did have on Sunday. I have been learning to open my mouth to everyone, even if they don't seem like they'd be interested.
I've only been out for a little while, but I feel like I have learned a lot. I know that I still have much to learn about missionary work and this Gospel. It's a lifelong study experience. This mission has helped me grow and progress, and I have a testimony about missions and the experiences that they provide that we cannot gain anywhere else. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to grow up in a home setting that had taught me about going on a mission.
Thank you all for your support and love,
Elder Holbrook
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Learning obedience... 3/3/14
Hey Friends and Family,
We have had a really good week here in Duncan, Oklahoma! We managed to find some new people to teach and we have one new investigator who is really interested in the gospel.
So the baptismal dates that we had with Elaina and Miranda unfortunately fell through because our mission has a rule where investigators have to attend church three times in a row before they can be baptized. Our mission president wants to make sure that our investigators are able to fully understand the importance of the covenant of baptism and what it really means. There are a lot of other churches in Oklahoma and many preach that baptism isn't really that big of a deal. There have been missionaries that have had papers handed to them that say "all you need to do to be saved is to sign the paper and give it to your local baptist minister." It's funny, in a sense, but frightening in another. Satan works really hard to hinder the Church's work as much as possible, even though he knows he has already lost in the long run.
Our new investigator's name is Jerry. He's an older man and has recently run into a lot of health troubles. We have had him as a potential investigator for awhile, but he has either not been able to meet or has "dodged" us, which means that he forgot to show up to his own house for our appointment. We tried him on the spur of a moment, and he let us in and we began to teach. He expressed a lot of interest in Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He said that he had never heard of the Book of Mormon before and said that he wants to read it. We left him with a commitment to read and pray to know that the Book of Mormon is true. He seems like he is solid, so we're going to keep on working hard with him.
Elaina and Miranda are kind of in the same story right now. We've been teaching both of them but they haven't been able to make it to church yet because of weather and car problems. We're pretty sure Elaina is being honest about it all but Miranda doesn't seem to be all too comfortable at coming to church. We're planning on doing a church tour with the both of them this week.
James and Sara Walquist moved away to Kansas this week. It was sad that they were going but we helped them move some stuff out to their van. I told him about www.mormon.org and how he can still be taught by the missionaries in Kansas. He seemed excited and I'm glad that I was able to help plant some seeds so that he could be taught again.
The Tuckers have been keeping commitments that we give them and they learn a lot from the lessons we teach. They haven't been able to make it to church with us this last week because of the weather but they said that next week they'll be able to show. I am excited for them so that they can feel the spirit again and listen to other messages the ward members have to offer.
Mable Bracken said that she would be willing to take the discussions, so we're planning to visit her tomorrow night to teach her about the Restoration. It will be a great lesson, she has already been reading out of the Book of Mormon and she understands a bit about how the Book of Mormon came to be.
Elder Nibley and I have been working hard for our area so that we may be able to see more success in it. We've seen a lot of improvement in our investigators this last week and we're grateful that the spirit has been there as we invite them to live the restored gospel. We have had many small miracles happen for us and we feel like many more are going to come to us as long as we continue to show our faith by working hard and being obedient. I have seen a lot of blessings come from being obedient to the mission rules and the commandments, and I am beginning to come to a better understanding about Obedience being the first law in heaven. I know that this gospel is true. I have a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I understand that if the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that we have a fullness of the Gospel here on this earth today.
Thank you all,
Elder Holbrook
We have had a really good week here in Duncan, Oklahoma! We managed to find some new people to teach and we have one new investigator who is really interested in the gospel.
So the baptismal dates that we had with Elaina and Miranda unfortunately fell through because our mission has a rule where investigators have to attend church three times in a row before they can be baptized. Our mission president wants to make sure that our investigators are able to fully understand the importance of the covenant of baptism and what it really means. There are a lot of other churches in Oklahoma and many preach that baptism isn't really that big of a deal. There have been missionaries that have had papers handed to them that say "all you need to do to be saved is to sign the paper and give it to your local baptist minister." It's funny, in a sense, but frightening in another. Satan works really hard to hinder the Church's work as much as possible, even though he knows he has already lost in the long run.
Our new investigator's name is Jerry. He's an older man and has recently run into a lot of health troubles. We have had him as a potential investigator for awhile, but he has either not been able to meet or has "dodged" us, which means that he forgot to show up to his own house for our appointment. We tried him on the spur of a moment, and he let us in and we began to teach. He expressed a lot of interest in Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He said that he had never heard of the Book of Mormon before and said that he wants to read it. We left him with a commitment to read and pray to know that the Book of Mormon is true. He seems like he is solid, so we're going to keep on working hard with him.
Elaina and Miranda are kind of in the same story right now. We've been teaching both of them but they haven't been able to make it to church yet because of weather and car problems. We're pretty sure Elaina is being honest about it all but Miranda doesn't seem to be all too comfortable at coming to church. We're planning on doing a church tour with the both of them this week.
James and Sara Walquist moved away to Kansas this week. It was sad that they were going but we helped them move some stuff out to their van. I told him about www.mormon.org and how he can still be taught by the missionaries in Kansas. He seemed excited and I'm glad that I was able to help plant some seeds so that he could be taught again.
The Tuckers have been keeping commitments that we give them and they learn a lot from the lessons we teach. They haven't been able to make it to church with us this last week because of the weather but they said that next week they'll be able to show. I am excited for them so that they can feel the spirit again and listen to other messages the ward members have to offer.
Mable Bracken said that she would be willing to take the discussions, so we're planning to visit her tomorrow night to teach her about the Restoration. It will be a great lesson, she has already been reading out of the Book of Mormon and she understands a bit about how the Book of Mormon came to be.
Elder Nibley and I have been working hard for our area so that we may be able to see more success in it. We've seen a lot of improvement in our investigators this last week and we're grateful that the spirit has been there as we invite them to live the restored gospel. We have had many small miracles happen for us and we feel like many more are going to come to us as long as we continue to show our faith by working hard and being obedient. I have seen a lot of blessings come from being obedient to the mission rules and the commandments, and I am beginning to come to a better understanding about Obedience being the first law in heaven. I know that this gospel is true. I have a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I understand that if the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that we have a fullness of the Gospel here on this earth today.
Thank you all,
Elder Holbrook
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