Baptismal date!

Hello Family and Friends!

Elder Rumsey and I have had a good week! We're gaining some momentum in our area and we're receiving people to teach!

Joyce has accepted a baptismal date for 28 February! We were able to teach her about the Plan of Salvation, and she readily accepted. She wants to know for herself that the Book of Mormon is true, and she is now keeping commitments! The biggest struggle now will be getting her to church, so we will see what we will be able to do for this week!

Jimmy Compton is a part member family/less active that we met with. The rest of the family is catholic and he had a separate meeting with us. We didn't really have the opportunity to meet with the rest of his family but we were able to talk with him. We're going to continue to meet with him and see if he is willing to come back to the Church.
Sophie Fanning is moving to the village ward, so we will be losing her soon. She hasn't made it to church yet but she is reading and praying often, which is a significant improvement from when we first met her.
Jose Ramos wasn't able to make it this Sunday due to work, but he told us beforehand so it wasn't that big of a deal. Tuesday night we met with him and with Bishop Francis. They got along well and Jose expressed a lot of his feelings. I think he's coming along just fine!
We received a referral from our Zone Leaders for a Julie Hensley. We haven't been able to meet with her yet, or anyone who lives in the home for that matter. She requested a Book of Mormon, so we are excited to be able to discuss with her why it's important!

Elder Rumsey and I went to Lawton on Saturday! Jesse Martin, an investigator I was teaching was baptized! It was a bit rushed and I wasn't able to take any pictures. It was a wonderful experience and I was able to say Hi to a lot of people from the 1st ward in Lawton, my last area. The work down there is going well!

We had Stake Conference this weekend! we met at a conference center in the middle of the City. It was pretty big, and we were in a concert hall so there were tiered seats with boxes on the sides. It was a wonderful Stake Conference and I was definitely spiritually fed!

I love the Lord for this opportunity I have had to be here in Oklahoma. My mission has been incredibly revelatory towards who I am and what my purpose is, not only as a missionary but as a child of God. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that he is at the head of this Church. When we exercise our faith in him we will be willing to repent, to change our lives according to God's will. As we make and keep our sacred and solemn covenants we will enjoy a fullness of the Spirit in our lives that will help us stay on the path towards eternal life. The fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has blessed me so, and I know that it may bless all lives that live it the best that they are able.

Thanks for the love and support,

Elder Holbrook

New investigator 1/20/15

Hey Family and Friends!

Oh boy, where to begin! It has been a pretty crazy week here in Quail Creek!

My companion and I have been on a hopeless quest to get a good map of our area. We decided last Tuesday to go to a business that made custom sized maps. We ended up talking for a little bit about what we wanted and what was all needed and the bill racked up to be about $2000 for two maps of our working area and our full area. Needless to say, we didn't take them up on their offer.

We do service every Wednesday at the Red Cross. We have been taking packets of info sheets containing survival/preparation tips for all sorts of different disasters and taking them apart and sorting the sheets so that they can repackage. There's a lot about tornadoes in the sheets. I guess they are preparing for the next season.

Our work with less actives is making progress. We've had one reactivation so far! We have been working with Jose Ramos, who has been working here in OKC by himself. His family is in Mexico still. Jose has served in the Marine Corps, so naturally we get along just fine. He got a bad taste in his mouth from some bad experiences from members. He has been difficult to get him to come to church, but he has come three times in a row now, so I'd say he's doing great! We're also working with Sophie Fanning. She's 22 and has had a struggling testimony since her teens. We've been trying hard to get her to come to church. She said that she almost came on Sunday, but unfortunately she woke up a bit too late. We're probably going to give her a wakeup call come Sunday morning!

Elder Rumsey and I finally nailed a new investigator! Her name is Joyce and she was formerly investigating the church, but she made no progress it seems. We taught her the Restoration on Sunday and she ate it all up! We left her with a commitment for baptism, she said that she had to think on things first, but she accepted to read the Book of Mormon and to pray about it. We will see her again on Friday.
Chelsae White has been very busy with her school activities. Another appointment fell through to meet her. The Murphy's are still engaged though, so we aren't worried about it. She will come around when it is her time.

Oh yeah, on Saturday the stake had a youth conference, and the missionaries in our district as well as the Spanish district were invited to host a class entitled "Mission preparation". We went over how important it is to extend commitments and to follow the spirit when teaching. We had a Q+A session with each of the groups and the youth had some awesome questions! The youth that we have in the Church will be amazing missionaries!

Yesterday we had a great P-Day! We actually played outside because it was 68 degrees! Oklahoma has been going through a warm spell, which has been an incredibly nice break but today the temperature has started to fall again. We will see how cold it gets this time around! :)

I have had some incredible experiences here in Oklahoma! I am striving to keep a journal to record as many events as I can. This mission has been the most enjoyable experience I have had in my life. I know that this Church is true, that Jesus is the Christ, and that through his atonement we can be healed from our spiritual infirmities. I love the Lord for all that he has done for me. I hope to give back what little I can through my diligent service.

Thanks for all of your wonderful support!

Elder Holbrook

A little bit of home!

Stake Youth Conference

Still finding... 1/12/15

Hey Everyone!

We had a pretty crazy week and I'm going to have to be quick for this update!

Our area status is still finding. Chelsae White hasn't been able to make any progress. We're going to meet with her when her schedule clears up, which she said should be happening soon but we don't exactly know what "soon" means. We've found some awesome potentials and we've followed up with some former investigators we have in our area book, so this next week looks like it's going to be a booming one.

The weather has been a bit chilly. We've had some small amounts of precipitation but nothing too big. Last night we had some pretty dense fog, which was really cool.

Elder Nibley, my previous companion in Duncan who is now my Zone Leader, has been sick in bed for several days this week so we have been going on exchanges with Elder Duffin, his current companion. Luckily it looks like Elder Nibley is doing better so I think he will be able to work today, so no more emergency exchanges! Yay!

Elder Rumsey and I are doing awesome out here, even though we aren't seeing a whole lot of fruit from our labors. We know it will come eventually, and even if it doesn't, we know that we are planting seeds here in Quail Creek. The ward knows we are working and more importantly the Lord is pleased with what we are doing here. Keep us in your prayers for some finding miracles!

Thanks everybody for your support and love. I know that this gospel is true. Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. Jesus Christ is our loving savior and redeemer, and he offered us an atonement that we can use to become like him. I plead with you to use it, for in it is true peace and joy that comes from the healing of our spirits from our sins and iniquity.

Love you all,

Elder Holbrook

1 - Black Mold! In our Apt.
2 - You do what you have to do when you have black mold!
3 - Dream car!

 

What happened to 2014? 1/5/15

Happy New Year Everyone!

I can't believe it's already 2015! I'm still not quite sure what happened to 2014 but I am excited for this year!

This week we had some serious setbacks in our area, at least investigator wise. Basically every investigator that we had other than Chelsae White has dropped us or we have had to drop them. Elder Rumsey and I both decided at the same time that the slate we had needed to be completely wiped clean due to the lack of progress they are showing.

It's the end of the transfer and on Wednesday there will be some changes to our district. Our district leader, Elder Hightower, is getting a new companion who has only been out for two transfers. We're excited to have a fresh greenie! We are also losing a sister missionary, but she will do great at her next area. Elder Rumsey and I are staying together for another transfer!

It has been a struggle to get the ball rolling with our area, but we are making small, incremental progress. We're looking to baptize Chelsae this transfer. It's been really difficult to meet with her and we still have not been able to. She's crazy busy right now, so we may have to keep waiting to see any fruit come from this seed.

The weather over here is pretty chilly. An ice storm barely missed us, so on Saturday night it was just raining a bit.

This week I went on exchanges with my District Leader, and we went downtown OKC for a bit to find an address. I wouldn't ever call myself a city lover, but there were some pretty cool things that they did to make downtown look cool. I've attached some pictures.

Notice how that grass is so green? It's 'cause it's so fake!

I love this gospel so much! It's been changing me for the better as I have been living it. Jesus Christ is my savior and redeemer! I know that he lives and he wants all of us to live righteously. I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Holbrook

Pictures of downtown OKC....

Merry New Year! 12/29/14

 Hey Family and Friends,

We had a wonderful Christmas! It was great being able to see my wonderful family doing well! I will be eternally grateful for the blessings the Lord has given to my family while I have been away performing the Lord's work in Oklahoma!

This week weatherwise it looks like the temperatures are going to start falling. There's news of a storm that is going to find itself in Oklahoma come New Years, so it seems that we may be getting some freezing rain and other odd weather events. Many have said that this winter is supposed to be a difficult one, but we haven't seen any harsh effects quite yet.

This week was filled with door knocking and less active finding. We have had some former investigators express interest to be taught again so we're excited for this week!
On Saturday we went to go visit Randy and Shirley Sheppard, however when Randy answered the door he said that they were no longer interested in learning more. Unfortunate, really, but I think with time he may come around again.
Chelsae White has been out of town, so she hasn't been able to meet with us still. It's really questionable when you set a baptismal date with someone and then you don't see them for a month. We hope to get back into contact with her soon.

Well, this is going to have to be shortened a bit, we have a busy P-day this week. I will leave with pictures of our district, zone, and some other random one's I've taken along the way.

1181 - Einstein was a genius! Basically all quotes apply to missionary work, and this one definitely applies!
1078 - The silly picture we took of our district at Bev's Breakfast Restaurant. Notice that my companion is smiling!  (Note from Michelle: This photo actually never got put on this letter! )
1177 - The normal picture we took at Bev's.
1167 - Our Zone P-day we had last Monday. A crazy Christmas party with a ugly sweater contest! (I don't have any ugly sweaters...)
1182 - Gingerbread houses we made that made me late for my skyping appointment with my family!

Keep your faith strong in the gospel! Get to know your savior better through the scriptures. And remember, always apply 1 Nephi 15:24-25!

Love ya!

Elder Holbrook

"Keep doing what's possible, not just what's expected!"
                                                                                            ---Elder Holbrook

1181

1177

1167

1182

Elder Holbrook's Investigator Organization board

 

Pictures!

Lake Hefner

Owls!...pretty cool but a little blurry!

Merry Christmas! 12/21/14

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I hope we are striving to remember Christ this Christmas season! It's a great opportunity to be reminded to continue to worship, adore, and be grateful to the Father for Jesus Christ, the greatest gift any of us has ever received.

My companion and I are seeing many miracles right now! Yesterday right after church, we had the chance to go see a referral we had received a day earlier. The name for the referral was Randy Sheppard, and we called him just before we left to make sure that he would be home so we could stop by for a visit. He answered and said that he would be grateful if we could come as soon as we could, so we drove up there with one of the senior couple missionaries that live up near the town Crescent, which we cover as part of our area. We met him and his mother, Shirley. We introduced the Book of Mormon to them and Randy was all about it. He had a friend several years ago that introduced him to the teachings of the church and I guess the spirit worked on him 'till he got the courage to refer himself. Shirley is a bit interested, not as much as Randy, but we will see if she makes some progress!

Chelsae wasn't able to make it to church this week. I think that she was intending to come but something fell through. We're hoping to be able to meet with her sometime this week. We haven't had close contact recently, but she says that she's reading and praying so she still is making progress.

I'm really excited for the Christmas season and all that it brings! Remember the spirit that we feel in Christmas can be with us continually as we strive to remember Christ in all things!

Love you all,

Elder Holbrook