Elder Critchlow/Elder Holmes

Cousins make the best friends

This past week Dax ended his first transfer on the mission and our cousin, Matt, ended his last transfer.  For me, it was interesting to see the difference between someone beginning their mission and somebody ending. From reading Matt's last email I could feel how much he loves the people of Argentina, and how hard it was going to be to leave. Dax really is doing well, but he is still a little homesick, still trying to get the mission stuff down, and obviously has not yet developed the love for the people that Matt has. This song really sums up the emotions both of these boys are feeling. I thought it would be cool to share Elder Critchlow's last e-mail as a missionary with Daxon's this week :)

ELDER HOLMES

Kia Ora Everyone!

I hope everyone has had a great week! it seems like just yesterday that I was here in the email shop emailing you all! Time flies by!

Well, I went on another exchange this week and I led the area again because I'm cool like that I guess haha jk. It was a really good exchange we visited heaps of people talked to heaps of people got honked at a few time haha it was an all around great day!  Last week on pday we had very intense dodge ball game at the church, and my team won every time! I got a little competitive but it all worked out good haha.

These last few days we went to a few meeting at the church by a man whose name is brother jones, he is a Maori and he gave a bunch of presentations on how the Maori culture is in the book of Mormon and he has travelled all around the world and has tied in book of Mormon history to American indian culture as well as Maori culture and pretty much all pacific island cultures he has tied clear back to the book of Mormon it was really cool.  he was showing all these physical evidences of the book of Mormon not just in America but here in New Zealand. However as cool as all the physical evidence of the book of Mormon is the only true way to know if the book of Mormon is true is to ask Heavenly Father in the name of Christ if it is true believing that you will receive and answer. 

Well this week is the last week of my first transfer out in the mission field, I have been in the field for six weeks now and the time has gone by quick, I hope everyone has a good week thank you for all the prayers they can be felt out here in New Zealand there is strength that is holding me up that is not my own! and it comes from all your prayers thank you so much!

Shout out to the Worlds greatest missionary Elder Critchlow! he is the reason I came on a mission he is the best "Older brother" I could ever ask for Thanks for all you have done and all the good advice you have given me Elder Critchlow! Your are without a doubt the best missionary in the world in my book! and don't forget it!  Everybody Give him a nice big hug from me at the airport!

have a good week everyone love you all!

ELDER CRITCHLOW:

Well family.. It is here. this will be my last email home. I can`t believe my last week as a missionary is already here. I can`t even begin to explain how I am feeling right now.. I feel so happy and sad. So excited and so nervous. It really doesn`t make a whole lot of sense unless you have served a mission. It is just a really hard feeling to overcome! All I know is that I am so grateful for this wonderful experience I have had as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It has been the best experience I have ever had. 

To be honest, I have no idea what to say because my mind is just racing! I feel like there is so much I still need to do and with only one week left in the mission field, I have no idea how I am going to get everything done! Haha I do know that this coming week is going to be very special. Tomorrow I have my exit interview with President Ayre, Friday we have Carolines baptism (which will be the last time I get into a baptismal font as a missionary), Saturday I have my farewell party with our ward here in Parque Patricios, and Sunday is the big farewell that my group will have with our entire mission and all of those who come with them. This week is going to be an emotional roller coaster! I am sure I will be crying a lot this coming week! Haha 

Last week was a good week. The more time I have with Elder Duffin.. the more time I just want to stay with him. We get along together so well.. probably too well! Everyone tells us that we act like we are best friends and I think it is because it is safe to say that we are! Haha I am just happy that we will be able to end this transfer together with a very successful baptism!

I also had my last appointment with Dr. Darling this past week and even that brought some tears. Most of them came from Meriam.. Dr. Darlings secretary.. Haha I am going to miss them so much! 

I am so grateful for all of you and for all that you have done in these 2 years to support me. To be honest, I have the best family and group of friends an Elder could have. I am so happy to be able to see all of you again and share all of the amazing experiences I have had in these past 2 years. I hope that you all have a wonderful week and know that I will be so excited to see all of you at the airport next Thursday! I know that this church is true, I know that this work is the work of our Heavenly Father. I am happy that I can say that I have been my biggest convert and that I have no doubt that this is the church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I love you all and I will see you next week!

Slow, but good

Well I hope everyone has had a great week, my week has been a little slow, but it was still good!

So on Tuesday I went on my first exchange with the District Leader, he came over to our area and so I was leading it was so fun I thought I did a pretty good job to haha, but since neither of us can drive we just walked everywhere which wasn't really that bad, we got to talk to heaps of people!

We were supposed to meet with our family this week but all of the appointments to meet with them fell through, so we stopped by on Saturday and luckily caught them and they said they would come to church, but then they didn't and neither did our other investigator.  which is sad because that means that all of them can no longer be baptised on the dates we had them set for... so we will have to find different dates for them all, but we will still continue to work with them and it will all work out.

that is really all for this week not to much stuff, I hope everyone has  a great week this week, can't believe it is already March Madness time...  crazy how the time flies!

And Happy Birthday to Jared Barrett!!!!! getting old somebody give him some birthday spankings also haha Hope you have a good birthday Jared!

Love you all have a great week!

Daxon holding his dinner, jk

He's Alive

Hello Everybody, I hope everyone is doing well!

So to start off this week, I'll tell you the worst part of the week, on Friday we were over at the Bishop's house for a feed and everything was all good and then they gave us dessert and that's where it all went downhill, I took one bite and immediately my throat got super scratchy, so I didn't eat anymore told the bishop so it wasn't rude that I wasn't eating any of the desert and then shared a spiritual thought, and the scratchy throat started to go away.  We left bishops and started walking to a place where we were meeting the sister missionaries because they got permission to take our car to go see one of there recent converts. so while we were walking I got really really hot... and long story short I broke out into heaps of hives... and we had to walk back to our flat which made it worse and I felt awful... but we are all good now and I’m still alive!

Best story of the week though, so you all remember the family I talked about last week? Well we met with them again on Wednesday and... they set themselves for BAPTISM!!!! it was crazy we didn't even have to ask they asked us when they can get baptised and we set a date! it was awesome! They are set for April 4th!

Then there was zone conference yesterday, we had S. Gifford Neilson of the 70 come talk to us and that was an amazing experience it was such a great meeting!  we had the opportunity to shake his hand and it was great!  He had us laughing a lot and also had it very serious at the same time so it was a perfect meeting, it was pretty much exactly like Elder Bednar, only with about 500 less missionaries which was great cause it got a lot more personal!

Well I hope everyone has a great week!

And a Big Shout Out to my buddy Job Huxford! who is the big 17 now! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOB!!!! Somebody give him 17 birthday spankings haha!

Tauranga week 3

Hey everybody!  Hope everyone had a good week!

Well on Tuesday like a I said we got to go and listen to Elder Bednar and it was awesome! I'm trying to think of other words to describe it other than awesome but I can't... It wasn't like he gave a talk the whole thing was like question and answer!  the best part though this sister asks a question Elder Bednar has his wife answer part of it then he gets back up and goes "Lets read in D&C section 97 verses 7&8  now I don't know why we are reading these verses but I know you answer is in verse 8" so he reads the verses and then says "I saw you smiled when I read verse 8 does that mean it answered your question?"  the sister says yes Elder bednar then asks why it answered her question and she says "because that was the scripture my great grandpa read to me the night before he died"....  Just picture a head exploding because that is pretty much happened to everyone in the room all jaws hit the floor, and Elder Bednar was just like this is just another day at the office it was crazy!

Next cool experience we were having a very slow day all our appointments were not working out, we were trying to figure out what to do and I said lets go see this family that me and one of the members of the bishopric tried to visit but couldn't because no one was home, so we knock on the door and the dad answers and goes "Elders!"  and long story short they invite us in and the dad is a less active and his partner not a member and his five kids not members two of the kids are over eight.  so anyways the partner tells us that she has been praying for guidance  and the night after she prayed for guidance was when me and the 2nd counselor went over, then she said she had been praying again and then shaboom me and elder landis show up!

It was amazing only problem mom and dad are not married... so we will have to have them get married but if all works out that is 3 baptisms and then maybe 3 more when they hit 8 so pray that it works out with this family they are wonderful!

 I hope everyone has a great week, I will be emailing on Tuesday next week so Monday for all y'all back home because we have zone conference!