SKYPE NOTES FROM
LAUREN’S MOM:
It was so fun to skype
with Lauren. Her face is full of joy and light and she is soooo happy as
a missionary. I asked her if she ever gets discouraged and she said
“there isn’t time for that – there is so much to do.” Her trio consists
of Sister Bill from Canada, who has been out a year and Sister Tucker from
North Carolina, who has been there a few weeks. Sister Bill’s native
language is French and she uses lots of hand movements and facial expressions when
she talks which Lauren has caught onto. Lauren was hilarious when she
would randomly make hand gestures to explain something. Megan would say
wait do that again and we all would laugh. Their study time in the
mornings is personal study, then companionship study, then the 12 week study
for Sister Tucker, then language study for Sister Bill. So they are
having LOTS of study time. Lauren expects that next week a 4thsister
will be added and then they will split up again. There are 7 wards in
their stake, a retirement branch, and a Spanish branch. On Sundays they
split and each goes with a sister member so that they can cover more
wards. The North part of the stake has been “neglected” and is excited to
have motivated sister missionaries to work with them.
They have 3
investigators right now – a couple who has come to church a few times and
another lady who is enjoying learning about the Book of Mormon.
They work with a lot of
less-actives there and basically teach them the same things they would teach
new investigators. They set temple goals so that someone who is baptized
gets on Family Search within 2 weeks, then takes those names to the temple 2
weeks after that. She gave us the quick lesson on how she introduces the
Book of Mormon. She is such a gifted teacher. We apparently should
all get copies of the 2013 edition with the pictures in the front – the
pictures introduce it all step by step.
Megan and Nathan comment
that she only wants to talk about the gospel and teaching, which is true.
It just shows me that she has immersed herself in missionary work and that is
all that is on her mind. Which is what she is supposed to be doing!
She is in what I would
term a scary part of town. I try not to worry and pray daily that she
will be protected. I asked if she feels safe. She said “Yes. We don't go
contact people at night. But thankfully it's light until about 8:30 now.
And we have a car. So it's a lot better. And Sister Bill says she's really good
at kicking stuff :) So yeah, we feel safe for the most part.“
Her quote for this week
was cute - "We don't raise couch potatoes, we raise future
missionaries." From
one of the service
missionaries :)
The nurses from the
hospital called on Tuesday to report on Lauren’s annual. This
is where they do a cath through her leg and look at her coronary arteries and
take tiny samples of her heart tissue to see if there is any rejection.
The report was fabulous – coronaries are nice and clear and biopsy is basically
perfect. That news is always such a relief to hear.
So, there is the
report. We have to wait until Christmas to see her cute face – that is 7
months!
LAUREN’S EMAIL MONDAY
MAY 12th
GOOD MORNIN' BARNYARD!
Well today is gorgeous
outside. And it's not too hot. And there are mountains. And I'm finally NOT
coughing!! oh, and I'm a missionary :) So life is pretty fantastic today and I
hope you all can catch the spirit! Because life is a beautiful thing and it's
such a blessing to be able to experience everything we do each day! The gospel
is true and it brings so much perspective to life!
Yes, I'm happy today :)
First off, Happy
Mother's Day to not just my own mom, but to all of those women who have led,
taught, and guided me and been incredible examples for me to follow. I love
each one of you so so much! Mom, you're the best. And I love you so much!
My annual biopsy was
this week and all is well!! I've never been healthier and I'm enjoying every
single second of it.
It was a BLAST talking
to my family yesterday! Basically, I have the best family ever. And it was
so fun to see all of your cute faces and see how tall Nathan is now (sorry
Megan) :) I LOVE that because of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, our families can be together forever. What an
incredible blessing that we will be an eternal, forever family as long as we
keep the promises we have made to our Heavenly Father.
This morning as I was
studying in chapter 2, I read Doctrine & Covenants 88:118 which
says that we are to seek out of the best books words of wisdom and seek
learning by study and faith. BUT what stood out to me today was actually in the
first few lines - the WHY of learning and studying. "And as all have not
faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom."
We are to study and
learn as much about the gospel as we can, but not for ourselves. We build up
our own testimonies and knowledge and understanding so that we can then go
forth and help others build their faith. When we know and understand the
doctrine, we will be able to teach it simply and according to how people need
to be taught to build their faith.
And then I was reading
on page 18 of Preach My Gospel,
there's a study activity where it asks, "What influence did [Joseph
Smith's] study have on future generations?" Think about that. Because
Joseph Smith was studying the Bible, seeking for answers, and later on when he
was translating and studying the Book of Mormon looking for guidance, look at
what we have today: the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Wow. Think about the
effect that our studies and our going forth to share those studies can have on
others?!
My personal study time
will forever be a daily priority. I would not be able to have the spiritual and
physical stamina for this work without the help of the Spirit and the guidance
and revelation given during those morning study hours. That time I have each
morning to study and listen is sacred for me, and I love continually learning
about the gospel. This is a restoration of questions, and I love finding new
questions to ponder and go into the scriptures with. I love receiving
revelation and discovering even more questions. It's a wonderful process that
really allows us to learn and to follow the Spirit in that learning process.
I love this gospel! I
love being a missionary! I love my family! I am so grateful for this restored
gospel that makes not only this life an incredible joy, but also the possibility
of eternal happiness in the life to come. Family - you're the best. Keep being
awesome :)
Remember to smile and
look for the little miracles in every single day!
Love,
Sister Holbrook
Me and Sister Taylor at the hospital for my annual biopsy. Everything checks out splendidly!! As in I've never been healthier :)
Me and my sweet, wonderful, fantastic, hilarious family who I love a whole lot!
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