Hey Everybody!
Sorry this is late, the library was closed for memorial day. We have had a very busy week. It seems that it's either feast or famine here in Lawton, and we have had a feast for sure. I'm just going to dive into the investigators we've seen so far:
Jay and Patricia Vickers: Jay is the definition of 'elect'. He has been seeking the truth his whole life and he has expressed that he has finally found it. He has a baptismal date for the 14th of June, which is pretty awesome! We saw him at the beginning of the week intending to teach him the Plan of Salvation, but we ended up spending our time answering his straight questions for us. This is when his wife, Patricia, joined in on the conversation. She was just as interested as Jay was. Later in the week, we taught him the Plan of Salvation and he really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, Patricia was asleep because of her health, but we plan on teaching her soon. Jay made it on Sunday for sacrament meeting and he told us that he really enjoyed it! We're going to visit them tonight, so I'll update you all next week!
Donna (Former): Donna is a former investigator that the Elders in this area have been teaching for quite some time. We had a short visit with her; she said that she wanted to know more about the spirit world and what that means for her and one of her deceased family members. We explained what happens to us after we die and that we will all be resurrected again. I feel that the spirit touched her heart to our message. We set up another appointment for the week, so we will see how it goes.
Gwen (Former): Gwen has been taught before as well. She is a faithful woman and she strongly believes in Jesus. She has had difficulty in keeping commitments that we had set before, so we're going to see how the next appointment goes.
Susie: Susie has been going through some trying times recently but she has been pulling through. She has sought our guidance and she has appreciated the prayers that we have had with her. We taught her a scattered Restoration, but we had a really good Plan of Salvation discussion with her.
Hannah: Hanna has been taught before in a different state. She was an electronic referral that we got from the other missionaries. We haven't been able to have a discussion yet, so we've been doing simple doorstep discussions with her. She seems solid, but very busy right now. We are going to continue to try her.
Other than our investigators, we've seen some less active members as well. To follow up on those I talked about last week, Sister Smith wasn't able to make it to church. Nathan Smith has been sick and he wasn't able to make it either. We talked a bit with Abbi on Saturday but she had already committed to going to work that day. We're going to keep on them though, I know that they all have testimonies.
I'm grateful for this church and for the teachings of Jesus Christ. We have the fulness of the restored gospel here on earth today.
I love you all,
Elder Holbrook
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Slow week... 5/19/14
Hey Everybody!
We've had a good week here in Lawton! It was a little slower than usual, but it was alright. The weather has been warming up and it doesn't look like it's going to stop, so I think the infamous hot season of Oklahoma is on its way. I'm kind of excited for it actually.
So as I previously mentioned, this week has been a bit slower than usual. Appointments that we've set up this week kept dropping on us. It's alright though, it's a part of missionary work. The extra free time allowed us to drop by on some less active members. A lot of them are pretty awesome, so I'll share about them:
There's Nathan Smith, a specialist in the Army. He's been going through a really rough divorce and last October he got into a pretty bad motorcycle accident that is still effecting him. He's a great guy with an awesome personality who has a desire to be active again.
I was able to meet with Marlene Smith, an elderly sister who, until recently, was undergoing some health struggles. She has had some amazing inexplicable medical miracles happen to her and her testimony of the priesthood is incredible. Her health has significantly improved, but she still gets tired quick. She says that she's working on coming to church this next week, so we're excited to see her there!
We were able to meet with a recent convert sister named Abbi. She was baptized in December, but she's fallen away into her old habits again. She struggles a bit with the Word of Wisdom and she knows that she needs to quit. We're helping her along with the stop smoking workshop.
We have been able to talk with a lot of people last week, so I am excited for this week because we have a lot of new people to teach. I love it when we find new people. It's a very simple formula to find new people, you simply talk to them. Many will not be interested, but some will. When you have faith and you focus on those some, or the "elect" as the scriptures call them, the miracles that you can see are amazing. A promise that was made in Doctrine and Covenants is that if we open our mouths, they will be filled with the words of Christ. (D&C 30:10-11; 33:8-9) This doesn't just apply to those who are on missions. This applies to every member of the church. As we open our mouths, miracles will happen. Our harvest will be great.
I am glad to be a missionary at this time. It has been a wonderful experience for me and my testimony has been tested and strengthened. I believe that now is the time to act on this great work. Let us continue to do missionary work out in the field and back at home.
Love y'all,
Elder Holbrook
We've had a good week here in Lawton! It was a little slower than usual, but it was alright. The weather has been warming up and it doesn't look like it's going to stop, so I think the infamous hot season of Oklahoma is on its way. I'm kind of excited for it actually.
So as I previously mentioned, this week has been a bit slower than usual. Appointments that we've set up this week kept dropping on us. It's alright though, it's a part of missionary work. The extra free time allowed us to drop by on some less active members. A lot of them are pretty awesome, so I'll share about them:
There's Nathan Smith, a specialist in the Army. He's been going through a really rough divorce and last October he got into a pretty bad motorcycle accident that is still effecting him. He's a great guy with an awesome personality who has a desire to be active again.
I was able to meet with Marlene Smith, an elderly sister who, until recently, was undergoing some health struggles. She has had some amazing inexplicable medical miracles happen to her and her testimony of the priesthood is incredible. Her health has significantly improved, but she still gets tired quick. She says that she's working on coming to church this next week, so we're excited to see her there!
We were able to meet with a recent convert sister named Abbi. She was baptized in December, but she's fallen away into her old habits again. She struggles a bit with the Word of Wisdom and she knows that she needs to quit. We're helping her along with the stop smoking workshop.
We have been able to talk with a lot of people last week, so I am excited for this week because we have a lot of new people to teach. I love it when we find new people. It's a very simple formula to find new people, you simply talk to them. Many will not be interested, but some will. When you have faith and you focus on those some, or the "elect" as the scriptures call them, the miracles that you can see are amazing. A promise that was made in Doctrine and Covenants is that if we open our mouths, they will be filled with the words of Christ. (D&C 30:10-11; 33:8-9) This doesn't just apply to those who are on missions. This applies to every member of the church. As we open our mouths, miracles will happen. Our harvest will be great.
I am glad to be a missionary at this time. It has been a wonderful experience for me and my testimony has been tested and strengthened. I believe that now is the time to act on this great work. Let us continue to do missionary work out in the field and back at home.
Love y'all,
Elder Holbrook
Monday, May 5, 2014
First week in Lawton..New area and Companion 5/5/14
Hey Family and Friends,
I successfully survived transfers and I'm still integrating into my new area! So far, being in Lawton has been a learning experience. I've been able to work with a lot of members this first week and I can tell that this is going to be a great place for me. I'll be able to work closely with a lot of military members and veterans alike.
Alright, so my new companion is Elder Chavez, from the familiar city of Salt Lake, Utah. He loves to wrestle and he has trained pretty hard to do well. He's an awesome missionary and he knows how to work well with members. We are getting along really well and I'm excited for this transfer and this companionship. It's going to be great!
I've only been able to meet a few members and investigators but I'll try to update y'all with some important events that's happened so far:
We met a man named Tommy who has been struggling with some PTSD and marital issues who has needed a lot of counseling and guidance. We were lucky enough to catch him when he was having a bad day, so he really opened up to us and we were able to address a lot of concerns that he had about the purpose of life and why we're really here. His countenance changed a lot during our visit and you could tell that the Holy Ghost was working with him through his struggles.
Elder Chavez and I went over to Bro. and Sis. Kile's home on Thursday. They have been returning into activity for a little while now. Sister Kile threw her back out and needed a priesthood blessing, and it turned out that we happened to show up right when we were needed. We gave her a priesthood blessing and shortly afterward departed. On Saturday our ward had a temple baptismal event and we were able to go. Sister Kile was able to make it to the temple and help perform the baptisms of several of her ancestors. It was a really cool miracle to see.
It's been a great week. I'm loving it here in Lawton. The gospel is strong here and I'm excited to help the ward grow here. I'm thankful for this opportunity to be a missionary. I know that this gospel is true and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. My testimony of my mission and this gospel grows stronger everyday.
Love y'all,
Elder Holbrook
I successfully survived transfers and I'm still integrating into my new area! So far, being in Lawton has been a learning experience. I've been able to work with a lot of members this first week and I can tell that this is going to be a great place for me. I'll be able to work closely with a lot of military members and veterans alike.
Alright, so my new companion is Elder Chavez, from the familiar city of Salt Lake, Utah. He loves to wrestle and he has trained pretty hard to do well. He's an awesome missionary and he knows how to work well with members. We are getting along really well and I'm excited for this transfer and this companionship. It's going to be great!
I've only been able to meet a few members and investigators but I'll try to update y'all with some important events that's happened so far:
We met a man named Tommy who has been struggling with some PTSD and marital issues who has needed a lot of counseling and guidance. We were lucky enough to catch him when he was having a bad day, so he really opened up to us and we were able to address a lot of concerns that he had about the purpose of life and why we're really here. His countenance changed a lot during our visit and you could tell that the Holy Ghost was working with him through his struggles.
Elder Chavez and I went over to Bro. and Sis. Kile's home on Thursday. They have been returning into activity for a little while now. Sister Kile threw her back out and needed a priesthood blessing, and it turned out that we happened to show up right when we were needed. We gave her a priesthood blessing and shortly afterward departed. On Saturday our ward had a temple baptismal event and we were able to go. Sister Kile was able to make it to the temple and help perform the baptisms of several of her ancestors. It was a really cool miracle to see.
It's been a great week. I'm loving it here in Lawton. The gospel is strong here and I'm excited to help the ward grow here. I'm thankful for this opportunity to be a missionary. I know that this gospel is true and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. My testimony of my mission and this gospel grows stronger everyday.
Love y'all,
Elder Holbrook
Transfer Information 4/28/14
Hey Family and Friends,
It's time for some transfer information! I got it on Sunday night. On Wednesday, I will be transferred to Lawton, OK. It's only 30ish miles away from Duncan. Lawton is mainly a military town because of Fort Sill, and I believe I will be doing some work inside Fort Sill. My new address is: 402 NW Sheridan Road Apt. # 503 Lawton OK 73505
My new companion's name is Elder Chavez. I'll meet him on Wednesday, so I'll update you all next Monday.
President Walkenhorst has emailed us and told us that for Mother's Day we may be able to use Skype. It's no guarantee because we have to set it up using a member's computer, but it could happen. This is President's test run for skype, and depending on how well it goes over, we could gain the privilege of skyping again.
This week we have been able to get appointments going for our investigators. On Friday, Elder Dewsnup and Elder Nibley were on exchanges and taught the Tuckers the Law of Chastity and went through some of the baptismal interview questions. Rolene passed the questions with flying colors, according to Elder Nibley. However, we are going to have to go over the Law of Chastity again, as Rolene and Windell are not married and they haven't gotten to that stage yet. Right now her baptismal date for May 11th isn't going to work out, so we will have to push it back again.
Our part member family that wanted to come back to church again ran into some issues and they said that they couldn't get to church. We're going to put some extra effort into getting them to church, any excuses aside. They know that it will help them throughout their lives.
The appointment for Linda and her family fell through, but we set up an appointment for Friday, so I hope that Elder Nibley and his new companion will end up teaching them.
Rachel hasn't been answering her door or her phone, so she has been put on the backburner for a little while as we put a larger focus on finding people to teach.
I am excited to be going to a new area. I have loved Duncan, it has such a great ward and I hope that everything will continue to progress and move forward. I'm sure that I will enjoy Lawton just as much as Duncan. This mission is full of great things happening, and I am so glad to be here in Oklahoma. The people are loving and pretty receptive. Many know about God and Jesus Christ, and they want to know more of the truth. I love it here and I have learned to trust in the Lord more. I know that this gospel of Jesus Christ is true and that it will lead to a lasting happiness with our Father in Heaven.
Love you all,
Elder Holbrook
It's time for some transfer information! I got it on Sunday night. On Wednesday, I will be transferred to Lawton, OK. It's only 30ish miles away from Duncan. Lawton is mainly a military town because of Fort Sill, and I believe I will be doing some work inside Fort Sill. My new address is: 402 NW Sheridan Road Apt. # 503 Lawton OK 73505
My new companion's name is Elder Chavez. I'll meet him on Wednesday, so I'll update you all next Monday.
President Walkenhorst has emailed us and told us that for Mother's Day we may be able to use Skype. It's no guarantee because we have to set it up using a member's computer, but it could happen. This is President's test run for skype, and depending on how well it goes over, we could gain the privilege of skyping again.
This week we have been able to get appointments going for our investigators. On Friday, Elder Dewsnup and Elder Nibley were on exchanges and taught the Tuckers the Law of Chastity and went through some of the baptismal interview questions. Rolene passed the questions with flying colors, according to Elder Nibley. However, we are going to have to go over the Law of Chastity again, as Rolene and Windell are not married and they haven't gotten to that stage yet. Right now her baptismal date for May 11th isn't going to work out, so we will have to push it back again.
Our part member family that wanted to come back to church again ran into some issues and they said that they couldn't get to church. We're going to put some extra effort into getting them to church, any excuses aside. They know that it will help them throughout their lives.
The appointment for Linda and her family fell through, but we set up an appointment for Friday, so I hope that Elder Nibley and his new companion will end up teaching them.
Rachel hasn't been answering her door or her phone, so she has been put on the backburner for a little while as we put a larger focus on finding people to teach.
I am excited to be going to a new area. I have loved Duncan, it has such a great ward and I hope that everything will continue to progress and move forward. I'm sure that I will enjoy Lawton just as much as Duncan. This mission is full of great things happening, and I am so glad to be here in Oklahoma. The people are loving and pretty receptive. Many know about God and Jesus Christ, and they want to know more of the truth. I love it here and I have learned to trust in the Lord more. I know that this gospel of Jesus Christ is true and that it will lead to a lasting happiness with our Father in Heaven.
Love you all,
Elder Holbrook
4/21/14
Hey Family and Friends,
I hope that everyone has had a great Easter! This week has been a really fast one. We've had a pretty busy week; we were able to find a family to teach and we were able to do some work for our part member families. The weather has calmed down a lot, except for last night we had a nice rainstorm blow in which is desperately needed in Oklahoma right now due to drought conditions.
Elder Nibley and I have had some great missionary experiences this week. We were able to get into the home of a part member family that have been cancelling our appointments for a few months. We showed them the new church video "Because of Him". The spirit was invited and we were able to commit them into coming to church for the first time in years. Teaching with church media is very effective and it seems to be the key to many minds and hearts when it comes to their reception of the gospel message. We also had the chance to teach a family that we had learned about from a referral from a member family in the Duncan ward. They had been taught before by Elders it seems, we saw several copies of the pass-along Book of Mormon's and a restoration DVD. It was a really good lesson though, the kids got into it just as much as the parents did.
Our investigators haven't been able to meet with us, which is frustrating. But we have had a lot of finding time because of it, and thankfully the Lord had put us in the paths of some who need the gospel in their lives at this time. We were able to visit with an elderly couple who had seen us riding our bikes and walking around, and they wanted to know what we did and why we were all over Duncan. Throughout the conversation we taught restored truths and that got them interested enough for us to visit them again and teach them the Restoration this week. We met a woman by the name of Rachel who was very interested in our message. She said that now wasn't a very good time but that we should try her sometime this week.
It's been a great week out here in Oklahoma. I hope all is well with everyone back home. I want you to know that I pray for you daily. The gospel is true, Jesus Christ lives and because of that we will all live again, and Joseph Smith was a prophet that opened this dispensation. We have a living prophet here on this earth today, Thomas S. Monson.
Thank you all for your loving kindness,
Elder Holbrook
I hope that everyone has had a great Easter! This week has been a really fast one. We've had a pretty busy week; we were able to find a family to teach and we were able to do some work for our part member families. The weather has calmed down a lot, except for last night we had a nice rainstorm blow in which is desperately needed in Oklahoma right now due to drought conditions.
Elder Nibley and I have had some great missionary experiences this week. We were able to get into the home of a part member family that have been cancelling our appointments for a few months. We showed them the new church video "Because of Him". The spirit was invited and we were able to commit them into coming to church for the first time in years. Teaching with church media is very effective and it seems to be the key to many minds and hearts when it comes to their reception of the gospel message. We also had the chance to teach a family that we had learned about from a referral from a member family in the Duncan ward. They had been taught before by Elders it seems, we saw several copies of the pass-along Book of Mormon's and a restoration DVD. It was a really good lesson though, the kids got into it just as much as the parents did.
Our investigators haven't been able to meet with us, which is frustrating. But we have had a lot of finding time because of it, and thankfully the Lord had put us in the paths of some who need the gospel in their lives at this time. We were able to visit with an elderly couple who had seen us riding our bikes and walking around, and they wanted to know what we did and why we were all over Duncan. Throughout the conversation we taught restored truths and that got them interested enough for us to visit them again and teach them the Restoration this week. We met a woman by the name of Rachel who was very interested in our message. She said that now wasn't a very good time but that we should try her sometime this week.
It's been a great week out here in Oklahoma. I hope all is well with everyone back home. I want you to know that I pray for you daily. The gospel is true, Jesus Christ lives and because of that we will all live again, and Joseph Smith was a prophet that opened this dispensation. We have a living prophet here on this earth today, Thomas S. Monson.
Thank you all for your loving kindness,
Elder Holbrook
First tornado experience! 4/14/14
Hey Family and Friends,
Sorry this was a day late, I typed up about half of it before a Librarian kicked us off the computers because of the amount of people that wanted to use the computers. It has been a bit of an exciting week. Last Monday it was Zone P-Day, so we were gone the entire day in Lawton. I was able to see President Walkenhorst and talk with him a bit, which is really nice. We've been a bit busy with service as of late, several storms have come in with high winds and blew debris all over people's yards. We've mainly helped out with members, but next Tuesday we're going to help out with an investigator's yard.
We were able to have our first tornado experience on Sunday. The city put on the air raid siren's for a few minutes as we got blasted with text's and phone calls from members checking up on us and where we were. Apparently a storm formed over Duncan and a tornado began to form over us. Luckily the wind blew the storm southeast of us and the tornado touched down near Velma, just a few miles away. I believe it only tore through rural fields and it did no damage to any building. It's amazing how fast these storms can develop. All in all, no damage was done. It was a good rundown of what we needed to do and to be prepared for so that we can respond to the situation faster. The seasons in Oklahoma are sweet!
A quick update on some of our investigators:
Unfortunately we dropped Sam and Louise. We stopped by on Saturday and Louise asked us not to come back. It's sad, but I know that Elder Nibley and I planted seeds. I have a hope that they'll grow one day.
Rolene Tucker has been in Commanche for this week, so we haven't been able to visit with them for very long. We went to see Windell to check up on him and share with him a short scripture message. Windell is a pretty funny guy once you get to know him. We touched on priesthood authority as we talked and Elder Nibley and I have decided that we're going to use some teaching analogies next visit to help explain why it's so important that we have that unbroken authority from Jesus Christ.
On Wednesday we're meeting with Elaina at our church building to have a church tour. It helps a lot to get investigators to come to church. She has expressed and interest with coming to our church and I think that she will be able to feel the spirit; I hope that it will increase her interest in our church.
It's been a busy but short week for us. I'm glad to be serving here in Duncan! It's been a great experience so far and I'm excited to see where I will be able to serve around for the next couple of years! A mission is the best experience anyone can have. It has helped me grow a lot in myself and the gospel. I have gotten many seen and unseen blessings from serving a mission and I know that what I am doing is what is best for me. Thank you all for your support,
Elder Holbrook
Sorry this was a day late, I typed up about half of it before a Librarian kicked us off the computers because of the amount of people that wanted to use the computers. It has been a bit of an exciting week. Last Monday it was Zone P-Day, so we were gone the entire day in Lawton. I was able to see President Walkenhorst and talk with him a bit, which is really nice. We've been a bit busy with service as of late, several storms have come in with high winds and blew debris all over people's yards. We've mainly helped out with members, but next Tuesday we're going to help out with an investigator's yard.
We were able to have our first tornado experience on Sunday. The city put on the air raid siren's for a few minutes as we got blasted with text's and phone calls from members checking up on us and where we were. Apparently a storm formed over Duncan and a tornado began to form over us. Luckily the wind blew the storm southeast of us and the tornado touched down near Velma, just a few miles away. I believe it only tore through rural fields and it did no damage to any building. It's amazing how fast these storms can develop. All in all, no damage was done. It was a good rundown of what we needed to do and to be prepared for so that we can respond to the situation faster. The seasons in Oklahoma are sweet!
A quick update on some of our investigators:
Unfortunately we dropped Sam and Louise. We stopped by on Saturday and Louise asked us not to come back. It's sad, but I know that Elder Nibley and I planted seeds. I have a hope that they'll grow one day.
Rolene Tucker has been in Commanche for this week, so we haven't been able to visit with them for very long. We went to see Windell to check up on him and share with him a short scripture message. Windell is a pretty funny guy once you get to know him. We touched on priesthood authority as we talked and Elder Nibley and I have decided that we're going to use some teaching analogies next visit to help explain why it's so important that we have that unbroken authority from Jesus Christ.
On Wednesday we're meeting with Elaina at our church building to have a church tour. It helps a lot to get investigators to come to church. She has expressed and interest with coming to our church and I think that she will be able to feel the spirit; I hope that it will increase her interest in our church.
It's been a busy but short week for us. I'm glad to be serving here in Duncan! It's been a great experience so far and I'm excited to see where I will be able to serve around for the next couple of years! A mission is the best experience anyone can have. It has helped me grow a lot in myself and the gospel. I have gotten many seen and unseen blessings from serving a mission and I know that what I am doing is what is best for me. Thank you all for your support,
Elder Holbrook
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