One year!

Today marks Elder Holmquist's ONE YEAR mark!! 

It's amazing how the time has flown by! 

It has been A LONG TIME since I have updated the blog!  Sorry to everyone who has been waiting for an update!

Sam has been doing wonderfully!  He is back down in Monterrey and loving it!  Each week his emails are showing he is loving the work even though they are struggling to find inventigators.  He always ends his letters with his tesitmony of the gospel and how much his loves the work!

Here's a couple of excepts from a couple of recent emails:
"we are so blessed. i know this church is true and that we can be together forever, through the savior jesus christ and through his holy power, which is only found in the holy temples of this church.  be good examples, and show them all who the *mormons* truly are.  i always tell the people that call me mormom... i am not mormon.  i am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  and then i explain what it really means to be a part of the church OF jesus christ.  it is the only church that carries his name.  and that has the same organization he put on the earth 2000 years ago.  we are so blessed, i wish i couldve seen it before the mission, but i know thats one of the reasons the Lord has brought me to this point in my life.. so i could really appreciate what it is that we truly have."

"so something fun we did this week was that we went to a stake activity, for the mexican independence day.  it was really cool, there was a program where all the wards danced, or acted or sang.  the culture here is way different but im starting to really appreciate these amazing people, even if they are alot different than me, and the way that i live.  i have grown to appreciate.. tortillas and slasa.  they have really got me addicted to those.  i cant eat now without tortillas and salsa.  you would think it would get tiring after awhile.. .but not really haha. i dont know why.  but the fiesta was actually alot of fun, and we had a few investigators come.  i think it mmight have overwhelmed them a bit because there was so many people.  but they atleast got to see we are normal people to, which is nice. "

"we had a great week.  we didnt have a ton of sucess but we did get some work done.  we are working with a girl named alejandra.  she is 19 and she came to church last week with an x missionary from california.  they came to church and we found out she had actually learned all the missionary lessonsabout a year ago, and had been reading the book of mormon ever since.  she is way cool, but doesnt want to be pressured into baptism like the other missionaries had done. we are actually going with her today to talk with her about baptism.  we gave her some scriptures to read and she is going to tell us today what she thinks."

Monterrey!!

Sam has been moved from Acuna to Monterrey!  He was really sad to leave the members and especially his converts there, but it really excited to be in a new area. 

Mom: how fast did they move you guys - tell the truth, were you in any danger????
Sam: no mom, the changes are always that fast haha.  I am super safe no worries

Good to know :o)

More updates to come soon!

It's been a while!

I know it's been a while since I have posted an update on Sam!  So sorry!!  There has been a lot going on and we were waiting for pictures!  We finally got some! Take a look below!

Can you believe Sam has been gone for 5 months!?  It seems like much longer for us!  

Elder Holmquist continues to do well in Mexico.  He is learning a lot about the people and language (and wants us to thank everyone for their prayers, they are helping with his Spanish!)  He had an experience about a week or so ago where he was at dinner with a member family. As they were sitting down to the break the fast, the family was joking around with the elders. Sam was able to understand the entire conversation AND join in!  He was so excited!  We are so happy for him and the fact that he is understanding the language and loving his mission.

Please continue to pray for his Spanish, safety and health!  

Snow and cold in Provo! (before leaving for Mexico)

For anyone that really know Sam... this picture says it all! From the MTC.

This is just for Ashlyn and Jared :o) Thought you might like his shirt!

Another baptism in Mexico

Early rise

Dirty after a long day of tracking

Baptism!

Excerpts from his latest email:

"so i had amazing experiences this week. i got to baptize ! that was an amazing experience! i have never felt the spirit so strong.. other than maybe my first temple endowment. but standing in the water with someone ready to follow our savior was so sacred, i cant even describe it.  i was so happy to be here and i just get these experiences for 2 years.

we need to thank heavenly father every single day to have the gospel in our life,  because there is 6.5 billion people in the world who don't have it right now, and we need to show that gratitude by living it every single day. we know its true, Joseph smith couldn't have written the book of Mormon- it would have been impossible- and he could not have done all he did without heavenly father helping him."

We love him so much and am so proud of his willingness to serve. We know he is struggling at times, but also know he is happy!  Please continue to pray for his Spanish and for opportunities. 

A few PICTURES!!!!

Mexcio so far!

Elder Holmquist has been in Mexico for almost 2 weeks!  We are getting emails from him on Mondays now, as that is is P-day.  We also have a new mailing address for him (check out the upper right hand corner of the blog for this!).  U.S. mail is much easier to use, so please feel free to send letters or cards that way!  It does take about 6 weeks to receive mail, so don't expect a speedy response :o)  A tip we received from the mission home there is to add a picture of Jesus Christ or a cross... apparently the mail is less likely to be tampered with when religious materials are on it.  

Here are a couple of excerpts from his latest email:

Well I am learning a lot and am starting to understand what people are saying better. I don't feel like my speaking ability is getting that much better but I am happy that I can at least understand a little bit of what they are saying.  one day i woke up and for some reason could just understand a lot better! it was definitely the gift of tongues. 

Our apartment is disgusting, and the bathroom smells horrible.  sometimes we have to pour water down the toilet cuz it wont fill up again... oh the mission life.... so... i really miss carpet... everything here is just concrete or dirt floors.. even in rich people's houses all they have is tile.. so our apartment is super cold, and we only have 2 little heaters that we have to turn off when cooking, but my bed is actually very comfortable, which is really nice.  I had to buy a bike this week. $500 pesos.  which is like $45 US dollars.. super cheap and its actually really nice.  this area of the Monterrey mission is super spread out and we need bikes to get around. A little about my area : Acuna.  its cold, huge, tons of people and  lots of work to do!  me and my comp. ride bikes everywhere and it takes a while to get to appointments.  oh and its not flat ground.. its hills.. EVERYWHERE my legs hurt so much but they are getting so strong and its only been 2 weeks.  and I am going to be in this area for 6 months...

Anyways, I am good here other than tired.Ii get frustrated when I cant speak but I know it will come with time. I have faith in our savior and his atonement and know he knows what I am going through.  and every time we are riding up a huge hill  and don't think I can do it anymore I think of what he did and the pain he felt for us.. I can take a little soreness to bring souls home to him.  I know this work is true, I know the savior is with me and that the gospel was restored through Joseph smith.  I love my life here.. I really have a purpose and I love you all so much. My love has grown for my family so much now that I have been away and I miss you all like crazy. please pray for my Spanish.  I love you and cant wait to talk to you at Christmas!

We are so happy for him and pray that he continues to love his mission life!  We are grateful for the opportunity he has to be in Mexico and to be serving the people there and the Lord. 

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!