September 5th

Everything here in the DR is going well. We had a good week we didnt have a lot of people at church but we feel good about the way we worked. We had a special fast for our investigators and we are working hard for them. We are teaching a lot of families and are hoping that they can work hard also. We are teaching one family that the wife is a member and the husband was into drugs and a lot of bad stuff but he changed his life around and now he only has a problem with drinking. He really has astrong desire to stop drinking, the temptation is strong for him and in this country it is worse. He is a great guy and has a great spirit. We are still teaching Espinal and he was interviewed and is ready for baptism but we are not sure if we are going to do it this week or next. but we think this week.

We have been working hard and having a lot of faith and things seem to be changing a lot. We are working on really giving everyone a chance and giving all that we have for every single investigator and contact and it is working. We are finding a lot of people. My spanish is getting a lot more clear now that I have beeen with Elder Moreno and hearing real spanish has helped a lot.

The weather has been Really hot lately, very humid and the sun has been strong. But that is about it from the Republic. I hope all is well with you guys and that your working hard in all that you do. When we put our mind to something and work towards it you will achieve it. Especially spiritual things when you have the help of The Lord. And the Goal is Exaltation for all and Gozo Sin Fin.

Con Amor,

Elder Holmes

August 29th

Well another what was it 5 days passes by. It does seem like it was a
week though. E. Moreno and I have been working really hard lately, but
things dont seem to be going the way we want. We will continue to work
hard and we will see some success. We are teaching a lot of families
which is awesome cause you can see them changing there lives and the
atmosphere of the house changing. We have been struggling with finding
new people so we have been talking to a lot of new people looking for
the chosen people that have been prepared by the lord. There are a lot
of great people in this area. It is just getting them to church and
getting them to realize the importance of this message.

We also have an older guy that we are teaching named Federico but his
nick name is Espinal which means spike. It is a perfect name for him.
He is a very funny guy and very upfront with people. He has a great
desire to follow Christ and we are helping him learn about the true
church. He already says that he is a member and loves going to the
church. The other day we were teaching him and somebody walked by with
a megaphone preaching, which is normal in this country yes, but he
told us that we as mormons need to repent. So espinal said. Callase su
boca! Callase su boca! Which means shut your mouth. Then he was about
to go chase him down but the guy left. He is such a funny guy. He
always says funny stuff to us.

Today we went to eat at a Mexican place so that E. Moreno could eat
something good, and it was really good, just was a little expensive so
we have to be carefull with our money for a little bit.

I had to give a talk yesterday in the branch. I did alright I think
people can actually understand me good now over a microphone so that
is nice.

Well I hope that everything is going well for all of you. I pray for
your well being spiritually and physically daily and hope that we all
will be diligent in following Our Lord Jesucristo. love you all so
much.

Con Amor,

Elder Holmes

August 24th

Well, new comp and new area and everything is going great. We got to go to the temple today so that was a blessing to be in the house of the Lord for a while. The temple grounds in this temple are beautifull. I am still getting used to the area, it is a lot different then my others. It is more poor and there are a lot of alleyways so it is hard to learn the area. It is right on the river. My comp, Elder Moreno from Mexico is awesome. He is a great missionary and works hard. I am learning a lot from him. We only speak English cause he has a test coming up for his english certification so I am helping him a lot with his english. It is nice to hear actual spanish being spoken it has helped my accent a lot having more clear spanish reguarly. We are teaching a lot of families right now which is great. All of them need to get married before baptism so we are working on that right now.

It is my first branch and the branch is kind of a mess. The leaders dont really want to do anything. E. Moreno and I do a lot and it will be hard to handle all of it after E. Moreno leaves. After the Temple we went to El Conde where all the tourists go to buy things. there is a lot of cool things and a lot of old colonial things too and old catholic churches that were way cool. I have some good pictures but I will have to upload them next week.

I am learning how to teach very simply right now as we have some investigators that are slower. It is amazing how simple the gospel can be and the little knowledge we need to be able to follow the path. Well I hope everything is going well for everyone and that everyone is happy. Count your many blessings and you will truly see how many blessings that we receive for nothing. Love you all so much.

con amor,

Elder Holmes