"You reap what you sow" from Søster Holbrook

This week Søster Holbrook did a lot of "finding" new people and a "it" of knocking on doors too. She came to this door and it says in danish.. " Jehovah's Witnesses.. NO THANKS" . 
 

These Sister are having a good time :o)

 The sign .. "You are on the TOP".. JUST love it!

Hey everybody!

This week has been a good one! We ended up putting two more people on baptismal date which was awesome! We are working hard and I feel like the Lord is blessing us so much. The two new people on date are T and Y. T is not really believing, but is willing to investigate. Sister Whitlock and J got past the cultural no and now look where he is! Y is also not really believing, but at the same time she kind of is. She is sincere and is ready to receive the Restored Gospel. Also she is probably the most adorable person ever.

We taught M the law of chastity and that also went well! He really understands what we teach and why we teach it. He also came to church and to two UV (young adult) activities this week. He is well on his way to baptism!

Some highlights of the week: 

We went to Odense (a city on the island Fyn) to do a training for the districts there. I got to see Sister Nelson and that was awesome! :)

I gave a talk in church! I got to choose my own topic and originally I chose to talk about Heavenly Father's nature and plan for us, but as I was writing my talk I felt inspired to change it to obedience. Our opening hymn was "choose the right", the other speaker also spoke on obedience and what it means to "Come, follow me." and the Primary sang the "I will go and do" song about Nephi. That is an incredible testimony to me that God really does live and He gives us our own personal promptings or commandments everyday! 

We were invited to a fælles spisning (a get together with food) after church for all the ancient single people in the ward. It was SO adorable eating with all the old people in our church! I even got to walk one of the 90 year old ladies across the street. How cute is that?!

I love Vejle. I love Sister Whitlock. I love the work!

Love,

Søster Holbrook

 Søster Whitlock is AWESOME look what she can do with a fight spinner. VERY Impressive.

 I am telling you Ice-Cream is SO GOOD in Denmark.

 UV - Young Adult fun with the young people in Denmark.

 

The weeks go  by really fast these days and that is GREAT for this missionary Momma. I love getting the emails and hearing how much she is growing.... BUT I am also missing her more and more every week. KEEP up the GREAT work and know you are LOVED and MISSED ;o)

Becoming the Message from the Denmark Copenhagen Mission

Another week in Vejle with Søster Holbrook. She is doing SO GOOD and learning so much.

 This picture says it ALL. They are raising up the Book of Mormon and I LOVE IT!!

 Look at those SWEET faces.. You can't both LOVE them.

Søster Holbrookis loving Vejle and so did her Daddy... His FAVORITE place in Denmark where he served.

Hey Everyone!

Our mission has put a big emphasis on "becoming the message" and Sister Whitlock and I have had a great time with it! Becoming the message basically just means to be happy and positive and radiate light! Our message is a message of joy and as we become the message, as we become joyful, people will notice and will be attracted to that light! So Sister Whitlock and I have been doing what we call "smile training." Before we leave the house or during times where we aren't necessarily smiling we coach each other on how to smile and we try to make the most ridiculous smiles. For example, Sister Whitlock will start with a blank face, and then I tell her to "open your lips into an horizontal oval. Keep your teeth together. Curve the corners of your mouth slightly down. Open your eyes wide.." and then we start laughing and laughing because it is just too funny. We are of course deepening our faith in the Savior everyday because that too will help us become the message. We are seeking out faith promoting experiences, and it has been helping us grow and really become deep rooted in the Savior. Basically Sister Whitlock is awesome and I am super happy. :)

Some other things that contribute to our happiness:

Our zone has a goal called OYM. It stands for "open your mouth", meaning talk to everyone. The goal is to talk to and offer the gospel to 15000 people this transfer. So we are supposed to count how many people we OYM to each day. In Sister Whitlock's words, "It's a great goal because it really gets us talking to people we wouldn't have otherwise. For example, we've started bike contacting, meaning when we bike past people we stop and talk to them. Yesterday Søster Holbrook tried doing it to these two guys but she approached too fast and actually just screeched up and fell of her bike a little, and she laughs in uncomfortable situations so she just started laughing and couldn't talk. So I had to cover for her. But we probably look so ridiculous stopping on our bikes with our helmets on and being like "Hi do you believe in Jesus?" Ha-ha-ha."

We taught M the word of wisdom and it went so great! He doesn't drink alcohol or coffee already so he said it would be no problem to follow it! and he said that it made a lot of sense. Finding a 20 year old who doesn't drink in Denmark is SO rare. Holy Hullabaloo. It was a such a great appointment! He ended it with a closing prayer and said "I am glad I am working towards baptism. Please help me with my omvendelse (which means either repentance or conversion) process."

We went shopping at little Asian food shops and genbrugs (thrift shops) this last p-day and that was a blast! I found adorable/brand new sandals for 45 Kroners (around $7)!! and we bought all sorts of Asian foods that we enjoyed throughout the week. One of the foods was called "glutinous rice balls" if that is any indication of the kind of food we got.

Life is good. God is good. :)

Søster Holbrook 

 Nice bench Søster Holbrook found.. Denmark is just a little different and I think it is pretty cool in many ways.

 FOOD in "town" not often but sometimes a good little break to a very busy missionary lifestyle.

We are grateful for Søster Holbrook and Søster Whitlock and the message they are bringing to the Danish people. It is a true gift from God and the BEST place for them to be ;o)

Zone Training, POURING RAIN and other good stuff in Vejle with Søster Holbrook

SO YES I am WAY behind on Søster Holbrook's blog and the only thing I can use as an excuse is.... LIFE happens and I will do my BEST to do better in the future. :o) SO here I go with the last "few" weeks.

 The MOST rain in Denmark in one week since Søster Holbrook got there nine months ago.

 Søster Holbrook is says "JA TAK" YES please and I LOVE when she says that!!

We love these sisters!!

Hey Everyone!

This week was definitely one for the books. It has rained almost nonstop! It was dumping so hard on Friday that we were soaked through our rain jackets and everything! Also, Mormor told us that Vejle was the city that had received the most water! Lucky us! We also had our longer zone conference this week as well. We got the chance to play ultimate Frisbee and it was so fun! It has been way too long.. We talked more about what Elder Andersen taught us. Here are some more things that he shared when he was here:

We are working counter cultural here, but our mission is not harder than any other mission out there. We are called here to keep the faith alive in the country. Become deep  rooted in the Savior. Put Him deeply into our bones. 

Anyway, it has still been an incredibly productive week and we ended with four new investigators and a handful of positive potentials!

Sister Whitlock and I were also in a Mormon Message last week! I have no idea when it will come out, but hey! It was a sweet experience!

We met with M (our friend on baptismal date) and taught him Jesu Kristi Evangelium and he already knew so much about it! He also came to church so we can already see him begin to repent and it is awesome! We met with A and M this week as well. We knocked into M and even though he is not religious, he invited us to come back because his girlfriend is! When we came back and taught the restoration, he  listened to the entire lesson. We gave A a Book of Mormon and read the line in the introduction that says something along the lines of, "you will know it is true by the power of the Holy Ghost and by that same power you will also know that Jesus is the Christ.." and she loved it! We closed with a prayer and as we left we could see that M's eyes were a little red, so we also offered him a Book of Mormon and said that the promise is true for him as well. He accepted it and said something like "I guess it's as good time to learn about God." I look forward to seeing where things go!

Oh and Happy Father's Day to all the important Father figures in my life! (especially you Daddy!) 

Thanks!

Søster Holbrook

 I am thinking that Søster Holbrook LOVES Danish ice-cream and let me tell you I am with her... IT is the BEST!!!!

 Ultimate Frisbeewas one of Søster Holbrook's FAVORITE games out door's games. Here is her team!

 This picture takes me to the time when Søster Holbrook was running Track and Cross Country in High School. She is so into the "game" and very good at it!!

The Jylland Zone. Great look group of Missionaries.

I LOVE our Søster Holbrook. She is such a great example of HARD work and dedication to the gospel. She loves the people of Denmark and enjoys being a missionary. Even when she gets soaking wet and still gets to work ALL day , she is touching peoples hearts.She is the BEST!!

First week in Vejle And first Mission Leadership Training Meeting for Søster Holbrook

So we have not gotten hardly any pictures for our sweet Søster Holbrook in a while and this week is not any different so not much to look at but good that the Danish Mission blog had some pics I could "borrow" :o)

Mission Leadership Council

Hey Everyone!

This week as been awesome! I can officially say that I LOVE Vejle. It is SO pretty. The city is by a fjord (or inlet) so we have our own little beach. and then the city is completely surrounded by massive hills! So if you try to leave the city you will always end up going up hills! And to top it off the hills have tall trees on them so when you are in the city it looks like there are little mountains surrounding you. I LOVE IT. It is probably the prettiest city in all of Denmark. :)

We went to MLC this week and it was great! It was different than I thought it would be, but still good. We talked about the future of the mission and what it needs. The mission is having a huge turn over! We are about to go from a very mature to a very young mission. For example, In two transfers, there will only be 4 sister companionship not in training or leadership. 1/3 of the mission is going home in the July transfer. It is crazy! I look forward to working with all of the new missionaries! I think it will be a great learning experience!

Sister Whitlock is my new companion and is from Arizona. She is my first companion that lives over an hour away from me. I know I have been super blessed so far. She is a great example of efficiency and hard work! I have learned so much from her already!

Yesterday, we had spent about 4 hours stopping by potentials and finding new investigators and we ran out of almost all of our supplies. Anyway, it was time to go home and so while we were biking home, were trying to give out our very last card. So we stopped one guy but he was not interested at all. However, as we got close to our house we saw a guy walking and so we stopped him as well! He ended up being very interested in our church and earnestly accepted a Book of Mormon and the Restoration pamphlet. Which was a miracle that he spoke English because all of our danish supplies were gone! It was such a miracle to get one new investigator at the very end of the day with our very last card and Book of Mormon! It is just a testimony that God uses every single effort that we give Him!

Keep on keeping on!

Søster Holbrook 

 Great food and awesome friends.

Danish language lesson.

 AND here is the 1/2 way mark for  Søster Holbrook. It is the box I sent to her and I really enjoyed making it. We are over the hump and it is downhill from here :o)

Another wonderful week for Søster Holbrook. She is being pushed to learn and grow at a fast pace and that is awesome! So glad she is serving in Denmark and loving it. She is loving Vejle just like her Daddy :o)

An Apostle comes to Denmark, Seeing Mormor and Morfar and tranfer week for Søster Holbrook

So we thought for sure that Søster Holbrook was going to stay with Søster Lanham for another transfer because they were in the middle of the new missionary training time ... but that did not happen. Søster Holbrook was called to be a Sister Training Leader in Vejle. Lincoln served in Vejle for 9 months on his mission and it was his favorite place for sure.

Søster Holbrook and Søster Lanham in Copenhagen

Hey everyone!

HUGE WEEK!

1. Elder Andersen came to the mission! I feel like I learned so much from him! Three things I have already begun to apply are 1. pray every morning "Don't let me waste the day. Give me the faith and energy to find someone today." 2. Memorize scriptures that I really truly believe and learn how to apply it so smoothly like Elder Andersen roll played for us. 3. Increase my faith, because he promised us that "it will grow if it is your desire." I so look forward to the upcoming months. I see a lot of growth and I feel ready to face it!

2. K gave his old teacher a Book of Mormon! He is following the Savior's counsel that "when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." I look forward to hear about his progress in the upcoming weeks! 

3. I got transferred to Vejle! Another Sister will take my place and finish training Sister Lanham, and I will be an STL for the South Jutland zone. It was hard to say goodbye to Sister Lanham, but I am super excited to serve the sisters over here! I feel humbled to have such an incredible opportunity. Before I got the transfer call, I put the following verse on my planner: "He raised up unto them [Søster Holbrook] to be their [servant]; to whom he also gave testimony and said, I have found [Søster Holbrook] the daughter of [Lincoln], a [wo]man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will." Acts 13:22. I didn't imagine how true that scripture would come to be! God has been raising me up to be a servant for the sisters, and even though I only got one transfer with Sister Lanham, I know that this is where God wants me to be. That gives me a lot of comfort. Especially because I felt so inadequate.. Me?! As a trainer I often questioned "Am I growing?" "Am I who God excepts me to be?" "Am I really helping Sister Lanham become the missionary that she needs to be?" and surprisingly I often felt unsure of my answer. But getting the call from President on Saturday morning helped me really feel like I am on the path of progression that God wants me to be on! He is, like the scripture says, bearing testimony of me as I try to obey every personal commandment that I receive.

4. God works in mysterious ways. Sister Lanham and I were biking to the church and her skirt got stuck in her back bike tire! It happens occasionally and you can still bike and it is fine, but Sister Lanham, without any signal slams on her brakes! So hard that her back tire lifted off the ground about a foot and a half and she almost went over her handle bars! I was biking close behind her and of course had no time to stop so I crash directly into the back of her and fly into the middle of the street! We were both fine so we got a good laugh. But the little miracle? Sister Lanham's bike's gears were out of alignment so her bike stuttered and popped all the time, but somehow me crashing into the back of her realigned her tires! She has has almost zero popping since then! Crazy huh?

Well. I hope you all are doing well.

Love,

Søster Holbrook

 Quick food with Mormor and Morfar before going back to Esbjerg.

 A sweet Lady on Amager did this painting of Søster Holbrook, pretty neat and fun I think.

 Søster Lanham and Søster Holbrook :o)

All the missionaries in Denmark after the fireside with Elder Anderson. Can you find Søster Holbrook?

 Yardwork is ALWAYS fun :o)

 I just LOVE this picture... She looks so HAPPY!!

Wow what a week for Søster Holbrook. She had a chance to listen to a prophet's voice in Elder Anderson from the 12 Apostles. She saw Mormor and Morfar for a quit bite to eat and she was transferred to Vejle, where she will be a Sister Training Leader. Not a bad week at all. We are so grateful for all that she is becoming and all that she is learning!

Just another GREAT week for Søster Holbrook in Denmark

Søster Holbrook is loving training Søster Lanham and they are having a great time together. They are teaching some sweet people and they are seeing the seed of the gospel grow. What a wonderful thing to do and be part of.

 Søster Holbrook at the deer park having fun.

REALLY ... She need to be a little more careful I think ;o).

Søster Lanham trying to teach the Book of Mormon every where she goes. I LOVE it!!

 These two are just TOO precious.

 

You just gotta LOVE them :o)

Hey everyone!

This week has been incredible! why?? Because I finally got to Skype home to my family! I only had to wait for six days, but when you love your family as much as I love mine, that is a LONG time! IT was so great talking to them. I am sure that you all would agree that they are just the bees knees! :)

In other news.... 

K BELIEVES THAT JOSEPH SMITH RESTORED THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST!!! He is talking to his long time christian teacher/mentor in his conversion to Christianity today and telling him everything!! So we are keeping him in our prayers for sure! We are so excited for K!!! :) :) :)

We went on splits this week in Vejle and I could really picture myself serving there! It is a great place with great people! We contacted for 6 hours straight and saw more success than I have ever had in one day!

Enjoy the pics! The one with my hand is holding a small little thing that popped my bike tire. Crazy how something so small can cause so much trouble.

I testify that miracles happen everyday!

Thanks for the support!!!!

Søster Holbrook

 

 This is what popped her bike tire.

 

 

 The food is so GOOD in Denmark.

 AND now she looks REALLY small. This was in Vejle when she was on splits.

 

It was WONDERFUL to see Søster Holbrook this week and to feel of her spirit. We miss her a lot but know she is where she is meant to be. She is working hard and loving life and that makes us so happy and proud of her.

Late skype time for Mother's day was finally here.

Yep..... we had to wait another 6 days to see and talk to Søster Holbrook this time around because Mika was in Costa Rica and McKay was coming home from Japan. Also Lincoln was scheduled to be on a business trip that got move to another week so really it would only have been me that was home. Let me tell you it was worth the wait to talk to her.

 Look how happy she looks :o) So grateful for the SWEET family that took the picture and let her Skype from their home.

Saying HI !!

She is still as BEAUTIFUL as ever.

Our three treasures that Heaven sent to us!!

 Søster Lanham and  Søster Holbrook.

Another GREAT time spent with our FAVORITE missionary. She is love life in Denmark and she still has her own wit and fun way of being.  We miss her but are grateful that she is serving in denmark.