Week 74: Change is a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ

Just when you think you've mastered change.

President Spendlove called us Saturday night with transfer information.

Sister Soelberg is going to Tooele North Stake.

I'm going to the Bountiful North Canyon Stake to finish training Sister Hay.

Sisters Poppleton and Armstrong will be whitewashing our area.

Bittersweet transfer. 

Centerville South and Bountiful North have become my home. Leaving these people will be one of the hardest things. They're my family now. But there's comfort in knowing that this is Heavenly Father's work. He will take care of these people more than I ever could.

At least I'll see them in a few months, right?

Time flies far too quickly.

New address:

967 Chelsea Drive, Bountiful UT

Joshua 3-4

The children of Israel had seen miracles and had been wandering in the wilderness for years. They saw Moses part the Red Sea. And here they are faced with crossing the river Jordan.

However, this wasn't the miracle they expected. The river didn't part on its own. We learn that they had to get the soles of their feet wet before the water stopped coming, before they were able to pass through on dry ground.

What kind of faith do we have? Do we wait around for miracles? Or do we go out and get our feet wet? Do we show Heavenly Father that we will do everything we possibly can before we expect His help? 

What can you do to get your feet wet?

The amazing thing in this area has been seeing people choose to get their feet wet.

For example, the Alan family. 

Sister Alan is absolutely amazing. We stopped by a few months ago, and since then, she's been coming to church, bringing her boys, and doing everything within her power to get to the temple. She called us the other day to tell us about how she's working towards receiving her patriarchal blessing and her next step is to go to the temple. Her husband isn't too supportive. But she will do anything and everything within her power to live the gospel of Jesus Christ every single day. 

Her faith is incredible. And because she got her feet wet, miracles are happening.

I love this gospel! I love this work! I know it is His. We wouldn't be able to do it otherwise. I love you all so much. Sorry this is short - time is short. Just know that I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I wish I could share all that I've learned and experienced here. I love the Lord and I know He will always help us. He loves each one of you so much. He answers every prayer. 

Remember to smile!

Love,

Sister Holbrook

#timetopack

#idespisepacking

Matthew 19:20 Ask Christ for your next step in changing, but be willing to make that change and give your whole self to Him.

Me and Sister Soelberg with Tom! He is just the best. He was [in]active for a long time and has been coming to church for almost a year now! We're helping him to keep building his faith.

Week 73: My fro wasn't big enough, so they didn't send me to Africa

Title courtesy of Rachel (see picture below).

Our new mission president is officially here! 

We'll meet him tomorrow for the first time.

Headaches resolved: it's a sinus infection.

So grateful it's nothing major.

Antibiotic power now.

We did a lot this week, and I'm really struggling to remember it all.

One of the most frustrating things is when you know you've done everything you possibly could have done, and people still won't keep their commitments. We've been coordinating with members, showing up at doors, and inviting and texting and calling to get our investigators to come to church. The only thing we haven't done is take away their agency which we can't do. It's frustrating, but mostly heartbreaking. You know how much it will bless their life if they will just do it! It takes faith to put aside everything and go to church, but the Lord always gives us tenfold for the sacrifices we make for Him.

It's interesting to see how hard Satan works on these people, how much he will throw at them so they won't keep these commitments and feel of that joy. We have to be out daily, finding them, helping them, texting them, sending members to visit them. They need that daily contact to build up an armor against all the temptations that are in the world today. Heavenly Father's power and love is so much stronger than anything else - we need to help them feel that constantly.

President Eyring's last General Conference talk about continuing revelation really struck me this morning. I love his comments about "confirming revelation." We need to ask for and receive that witness from the Holy Ghost that the direction from our leaders is what God needs us to do. I know that as we listen and follow the words of the prophet and apostles, as well as our leaders in the Church and at home, we will feel our Heavenly Father's love and His Spirit in our hearts and in our homes.

Zone Conference this week was incredible. Saying goodbye to President Hansen was hard, but I know that the new mission president has been called of God to help us at this time. Heavenly Father directs us as we seek His help in planning for all we do. As we work with members and leaders more effectively, more of His children will be able to experience all the gospel has to offer. This is about helping all of God's children get to the temple to be able to experience all the blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It's not something to just check off a list - this is the eternal salvation of the children of God.

I love you all! I testify that Heavenly Father is aware of each of His children. He knows them individually and perfectly. If we ask for His help in those opportunities to teach, serve, and love, He will lead us to them. I know this gospel is the greatest source of joy! 

Love,

Sister Holbrook

Dinner with the Stenquist's!!

Me and Rachel!! She's getting ready for her mission in Louisiana! She leaves April 22nd. Crazy, right? Anyway, she's our adopted third companion and is just the best.

Week 72: What percentage of your mission is little awkward moments?

One hundred percent, sir.

Best question ever.

Other awkward question from our youth fireside last night: Are you less attracted to guys now that you're missionaries?

Yup.

I just love the youth.

Alma 59:1-2 When we experience joy, we naturally want to share it with others! Captain Moroni is one of my heroes. He's an expert planner, follows the Spirit, and loves to share the gospel!

Andy was baptized on Saturday! It was amazing to see all of his friends and family members attend. There were powerful messages about Christ and the importance of daily habits.

"Our habits determine who we will become." -President Hollingshead

"God is bilingual." -Hermana Dickson when I was on exchanges in the Spanish program for the day! Yes, I survived because everyone would start talking English when they saw me haha :) But I got some good Spanish practice that day.

Alma 58:11 is a wonderful verse about the Lord giving us peace in the hardest of trials.

This week, I simply want to bear my testimony of God's promises. They are sure. One of the best feelings in the world is to do everything within my power, ask for His help, and then step back and watch Him make everything work. There are no coincidences. Ever. His hand is in every moment of our lives, if we will just look for it.

I know that the blessings He promises will always come to pass. We simply need to do what He asks us to do. In Preach My Gospel we read, "When you have done your very best, you may still experience disappointments, but you will not be disappointed in yourself. You can feel certain that the Lord is pleased when you feel the Spirit working through you."

We can feel that power every single day as armor up, prepare for the daily battle against Satan, and rely on His strength. This week has been a week of giving everything I could but it not being very much with various problems of being sick. And yet, as Sister Soelberg and I have given everything possible, the Lord has placed us in people's paths. We have two new families to teach. We have a less-active man who wants to come back to church. We have a woman who came to church on her own for the first time even though she felt sick. We have ward mission leaders finding people for us to teach. It's incredible.

This is the Lord's work! I know it is true. I know that as we ask specifically for the answers we seek, Heavenly Father will be specific with us. He loves you. He wants to pour out blessings upon you. Ask for His help, and He will run to give it.

I love you all. Thank you for your prayers and support. It has meant so much, especially the past few weeks. There is strengthening power in prayer. Keep smiling and look for those miracles!

Love,

Sister Holbrook

Our district! Elders Siebert, Perkis, Bishop, Smith, Sisters Sammartano, Armstrong, Soelberg, Cox, Stratton, and me :)

Exchanges with Sister Fluegel. Love that girl. We were trying to get the horse in the picture, too, but epically failed. Oh well. 

Week 71: Yearnings and Diligence

Migraines are basically the worst things ever.
I love Chik-Fil-A peppermint shakes.
Missionary variety shows are the greatest inventions ever.

Alma 57 talks about how the army of Helaman was doing everything they could to prepare to go to battle to take back one of the cities they had lost to their enemy. Amazingly, while they were preparing, the people in that city just left and the city fell back to the army of Helaman.

If we will do everything within our power, Heavenly Father will pour out blessings upon us. Often times they can be pretty big ones that just fall into our laps.

On Wednesday we got a text from a Bishop asking about a baptism in his ward the coming Saturday. After many texts and phone calls, we found out about Andy, a sixteen year old kid who lives in our area who's been taught by the Elders in a neighboring stake. He will be baptized this coming Saturday!

Sister Soelberg and I have been working and praying to be able to see miracles in this stake, and we have. Every single day. It has been amazing to see the fulfillment of the promise in my favorite scripture, Doctrine & Covenants 123:17:

"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power. And then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for His arm to be revealed."

As we work and pray our hardest for those yearnings of our heart, we see miracles. I know that is true. 

I love my mission for the clarity of an eternal perspective. Everything makes sense. Of course we should pray and read our scriptures. Of course we need to go to the temple. Of course baptism is important. Of course we should open our mouths to share our testimonies with others. I am so grateful to have this time where the distractions of reality can fade to the outside for a bit. To focus on the things that matter most is something I will forever treasure. I hope that perspective can stay with me for the rest of my life, that the distractions and clouds of Satan won't bind me down.

I love serving the Lord. I love being in this mission. I love being a missionary! I love opening my mouth. I love teaching. I love acting on the Spirit. I love being with these people and feeling Heavenly Father's love for them. This is a time I will forever treasure. I am so grateful Heavenly Father has let me stick around on earth at least long enough to have served His children during this time.

I just want to share Alma 29:9 in closing.

I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.

I love you all! Remember to smile :) Thank you so much for your prayers, letters, and general awesomeness. I have the best people in the world surrounding me. Thank you for being those people!

Love,

Sister Holbrook

In the ER getting a CT scan to check for blood clots - btw it came back clear :)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!! Our ward mission leader brought us the cutest cookies ever :)

AMAZING THINGS. Hopefully you can follow the chart. That's been the topic of every meeting for the last 2-3 months: faith, obedience, and diligence (notice the emphasis on yearnings)

Week 70: New mission president and responding

Mom asked a bunch of questions and since I only have a few random things to share, I'm going to respond to those questions at this time.

 Any interesting people in those lessons to tell us about?  Are they all to less-active or new members or who?

Well, they all are interesting. Most of them are to less-active members. We have one couple who was married in September and they want to work towards going to the temple! They are amazing. Then we have a bunch of newer people that we're teaching in the Bountiful stake. One family, the mom is so excited to be coming back to church! She invited us over last week when her kids were blessed. That was such a sweet experience. We have a government-subsidized housing complex where we're working with a bunch of less-actives. That's always an adventure. We have a few new investigators this week, and one solid girl who is so excited about learning about the gospel!

How are the new members doing - the 2 young women and the one boy?

Amazing. The boy is teaching us the new member lessons, and his mom is starting to be more involved which is amazing! The young women are so good. They made us cookies during the last lesson. Their mom has been so touched by the Spirit the past several visits. 

Do you ever dance around aimlessly for exercise (Nathan's question)?

Um.... possibly... :)

How do you train the sisters? Do you get inspired about what they need and have a class with them or is it all done during splits in an informal 

kind of experience? How many splits do you do each week?

So splits are with active members in our area, but we do exchanges with each companionship of Sisters. We have one or two exchanges each week. That's usually when we talk about struggles and how we can continue to improve. We meet with them all pretty regularly and talk to them via phone almost daily. We do receive a lot of revelation on what will best help the Sisters, and we work a lot with the zone leaders in deciding the direction we want our zone to go in. We use district and zone meetings as our priority training meetings with exchanges and other visits as secondary opportunities for training.

We are on splits with members multiple times per day. We have too many people to see

Sleep - how many hours of quality sleep do you get per night?  (Nathan says quality sleep begins before midnight)

Um probably 60 minutes... since we go to bed at 10:30 and I still take forever to fall asleep.

We liked the pic of your district - when do you have those meetings? 

Every Thursday at 1:30pm. Zone meetings are every first Thursday.

Who always drives the car? 

Usually me. If we're on exchanges or if Sister Soelberg wants to get to know the area better then she'll drive.

Since you are over 2 stakes, do you have 2 correlation meetings per week?  

Yep! Every Sunday at 6:45 am and every Wednesday from 7-9pm.

Is the 1st counselor who is currently taking over for Pres Hansen a local man - anything about him? 

Not sure. He might live in Salt Lake? We're currently on hold for the new mission president coming at the end of the month. President Hansen is still our acting mission president.

You must get time on the computer to do family history and to find the links you send to us.... Is that all on P-Day or do you have other times you get to do things like that?

Typically we get paper copies for trainings or for personal study. Then I just find the link on lds.org to send it to you.

Our sister missionaries are always showing videos on their ipads.  Do you ever show videos and know all the great ones that are out there - do you just borrow the computer of the people you are with or how do you do that?  In my day, we used to bring a filmstrip projector and find a spot on their blue walls - it gave a cool background:)

YES! We love the videos that are out there. We just ask for an iPad or computer to show a video on. We typically use the Because of Him and Origin videos. We also use them for dinner appointments, lessons, youth events, and trainings with missionaries.

We will be getting a new mission president! 

President and Sister Spendlove are from Texas, have five kids, two of whom are 16 and 13 years old. Sister Spendlove grew up in Beaverton which is pretty fantastic. They should be coming at the end of the month. 

I have been treasuring every moment we have with President Hansen. I love being able to go to all the extra leadership meetings where he continues to teach and encourage all of us. He gave us incredible training on the spirit world this past week, and the power of living righteously in order to have our covenants sealed in heaven as well as on earth.

Desire leads us to action, but as our desires grow into stronger yearnings of our soul, that will lead us to diligently act for the rest of our lives.

I love you all! Keep on smiling. Life is good. The gospel is true!

Love,

Sister Holbrook

Pictures!

Me, Sister Soelberg, and then our zone leaders with President Hansen! Love that man.

Also I don't have any other pictures... working on it.

Week 69: Family History, are you doing it?

From Renee - 

I have been worried about how Lauren is doing after losing Sis Hansen. 

She says “I'm ok. Promise. The peace has been incredible. The gospel is true! Through and through.  It's just amazing how the Lord gives us exactly what we need. The hardest part will be saying goodbye to both President and Sister Hansen. But all will work out. It really will and I really believe that.“

Then some other cute things she included in a note to me:
We had almost 40 lessons this week:)  We had a baptism postponed this week. Yup. 
I heard about the snow this morning by a nice lady at Target! My mission has scarred me from ever going to Walmart ever again by choice. You should be proud :) 
It is totally crazy how time flies. All these kids have been saying they're 14 and 18 and I'm like wait... that's how old my siblings are. Weird. I'll send Megan a bday note today! 
Thank you for teaching me organization - we're working on that with Sister Soelberg :) 
Actually, I figured out yours and dad's secret to life success: you're expert planners. It's that simple. I love you too :) You're just the cutest :)

Lauren's email

Lots of coordinating emails today, so I'm just going to share a brief testimony and procedural information about family history work!

Family history is what we do when we are researching the information and stories of our ancestors. It has the power to link us together, to bring us closer together, and to invite the Spirit into our homes even more strongly than before. Most people are interested in talking about families. As we focus on the family, the Lord will help us find even more people who are prepared to receive the restored gospel.

Temple work is made possible through the Priesthood, the power and authority of God on the earth given to man to bless His children. We research our ancestors, find their stories, learn of their struggles, all so that we can help them have the opportunity to choose to accept the gospel. We take the names we find to the temple, so that acting as proxy, we can perform the ordinances for them to ultimately go to the celestial kingdom and to be eternal families.

That is the power of family history. It opens hearts, strengthens bonds, and invites the Spirit to testify of the truth of the restoration of the gospel!

Some resources to check out once you're on familysearch.org:

• Pandora's Hope Chest - available through Google Chrome, allows you to easily find those people who are ready to have their names taken to the temple or those who need more information.
• Puzzilla.org - you can view the descendancy easily to see where work needs to be done
• rootsmapper.com - View where your ancestry comes from and see who else is from those areas

Challenge for this week: Get on familysearch and feel of the power that comes as you work on finding your ancestors. I know that the Spirit will touch your heart. The joy of the gospel will fill your heart! You will gain a better understanding of what it means for us to be eternal families. Our Heavenly Father's plan will take on new meaning. 

What an amazing gift from our Heavenly Father.

I love you all! The gospel is true! Miracles happen! Our Savior, Jesus Christ, lives and loves us. He will always help us. As we live worthy, the Spirit will lead and guide us in every aspect of our daily lives. As we follow those promptings, we will always know that we are doing what God needs us to do.

Love,

Sister Holbrook

This is an amazing talk by President Hinckley about the importance of our role as members in sharing the gospel.

PICTURES!! Your favorite part :)

Our fantastic district: Sisters Goormastic, Sammartano, me, and Soelberg. Elders Isufaj, Brown, Chang, Siebert, Clark, and Bishop.

Making Pho (Vietnamese soup) with the Pham's, Sharp's, and Bradley's! Best dinner ever.

Week 68: No Empty Chairs

My mind is in a million places right now.

Big announcements this week. 

First off, we found out that our mission will be getting iPads in the next two months!

Craziness.

Secondly, Dylan was baptized on Saturday!! And he invited all of his non-member and less-active friends. He's basically the best missionary ever.

The power of covenants.

Thursday morning our zone leaders were calling and texting us telling us to call them as soon as possible. I'll never forget standing in the laundry room next to Sister Soelberg with our zone leader telling us that Sister Hansen, our mission president's wife (also known as our mission mom), had passed away Wednesday night. 

I burst into tears immediately. We knelt and prayed. Then we opened our companionship study by singing Sister Hansen's favorite hymn, "Behold, A Royal Army." You can just picture her up there telling us to get to work, to be better, to drink some Gatorade, to polish our shoes, and to give everything over to the Lord. Words can't express how much I love Sister Hansen. 

That was probably the most shocking news I had ever received. But I'm ok. We're all ok. The peace that has been present is most definitely due to all of your prayers. Thank you. Those have strengthened me and others more than you know. 

The following several days have been interesting, controlled chaos, but also a converting experience.

Logistical details: We will be getting a new mission president. The first counselor in our mission presidency is currently taking over until that point.

Beyond that, we have transfers tomorrow and the work carries on.

We had a special memorial service on Saturday specifically for the Hansen family and the missionaries. That was a powerful, sacred meeting that I will always treasure. The funeral today was also powerful, but I won't go into details on that. There are other thoughts to share.

I love President and Sister Hansen. They have become my second parents. They are disciples of Jesus Christ through and through. They have consecrated everything to the Lord. Everything. Their total trust in God leaves them to fear no man. They always do His will. They always seek to teach through example and every interaction with them. I will miss them more than I can possibly express.

But there is great comfort in the gospel. President Hansen held up his and Sister Hansen's temple sealing certificate. That is the power of covenants. Only once did we see that man cry this week. He has been smiling, holding up all those around him, and reminding us of the power of living the gospel in our lives. He and Sister Hansen have been sealed for time and all eternity. That is possible because of the Priesthood power restored to the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith. That is the authority Christ gave to His apostles, and it is the same authority that leads the Church today. They will be together for eternity not only because of that covenant with God, but because of how they lived their covenants daily. They both give everything they can to Heavenly Father every single day.

At the end of the funeral today, Elder Oaks turned to the missionaries in the back - all 220 of us - and said with great power, "GO and do thou likewise."

This has been a refining six weeks. I know the Lord strengthens, magnifies, and comforts us in all things. Everything truly is possible with His help. I have given everything I possibly could this transfer. I'm exhausted and incredibly motivated. I love these people more than I ever thought possible. I hope I can be half the woman Sister Hansen is. The Hansen's have shown me the power of an eternal family. They taught us how to live, and Sister Hansen went right ahead to show us how to die. They taught me how to truly rely on the Lord in everything. And that is the power of eternal covenants.

I know we will live again. I know that is only possible because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He lives! And if we will live our lives according to the promises we have made and will yet make with our Heavenly Father, we can live with Him again. I know we will see all of our loved ones again. I know I can give Sister Hansen a big hug again one day and tell her how grateful I am for her influence on my life.

I have just one invitation to each of you.

I could not have made it through these past weeks without a testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Without knowing that He will strengthen me. 

Get on your knees.

Ask Him.

He is there. He is watching and waiting to comfort and to bless. 

He loves you. 

The Spirit will touch your heart if you will ask with a sincere desire to know if these things are true.

I know it's true. And I invite each of you to come to know that, too.

Sister Hansen always talked about having no empty chairs in heaven. When we all sit down together in heaven, let there be no empty chairs because one of us didn't act as we should have or do what we knew we should. Let us do all in our power to fill every single chair at the table of our Heavenly Father. There will be no empty chairs in the celestial kingdom as we all strive to do our very best to be ready to return to Him at any moment.

I love you all. Remember to smile! Miracles happen every single day! Prayers are powerful. Covenants are powerful. But the greatest power comes from our Savior, Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father and Their love for us. I love this gospel. I love this work. I know that as we give our very best, there will be no empty chairs.

Sister Holbrook

Alma 40:12

Philippians 4:7,13

With Sister Hansen near the beginning of her mission. Here is the article about her death 

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865620132/LDS-mission-presidents-wife-dies.html?pg=all

President and Sister Hansen at our last Christmas party :) Aren't they just the cutest?!

Dylan's baptism!!! I love these people with all my heart.