Tauranga

Well it was my first few days in the mission field and my I am in the Tauranga Stake and the Otumoetai ward, my area is huge!  but on the bright side that means we get a car! even though getting in the car here is really scary! and everyone is on the wrong side of the road!

So the best on Thursday my first full day in the field I asked one of our investigators to be baptized and he said yes!  His name is shane, but he has a few problems he has never kept a commitment and he smokes... and since he didn't come to church on sunday we need to push back his date... but what do yah do I guess, we will be seeing him on Tuesday and we are going to work really hard with him.  we don't have too many investigators we have loads of potentials so we are going to be focusing on that for a little while and trying to build our teaching pool.  I really want to focus on Less Active members and referrals from members and I think we will have success doing that instead of knocking on doors and being told to go away...  that's really all there is for this week hope everyone has a good week.

Daxon's e-mails are really short, so I will fill you in a bit. His companion's name is Elder Landis from Orem, UT and he has been out for three months. He had a good week, but it is starting to miss everyone back home. Please keep him in your prayers, I know he would appreciate it. I know he would also appreciate some letters, so hopefully we will have an address for him next week!

I think he appreciated the candy Jess!

Dax next to his new companion during transfers.

Saying goodbye to the Samoan Zone

Studying with some other Elders

A view of Tauranga

Outside the Hamilton Temple

Into the Field

I was on Facebook last night and saw this picture! I was so excited!
They had a brunch at the Mission Home before they were transferred.
First picture we have seen of Elder Holmes since he has been gone.

Hey everybody well It has been an exciting last week here in the MTC last night we said goodbye to all the Samoan Elders at our elders devotional and it got super emotional and the spirit was so strong!  I am so grateful for the opportunity the Lord gave me to be a Zone leader I have gained so many friends all of whome I look forward to seeing again!  So instead of a spirtitual thought for the Devotional me and my comp said several of the Samoan elders could come up and share a few words with us and they all also sang I need thee every hour in somoan and everyone was crying! it was awesome! the spirit was so strong!  When one of the elders got up bore his testimony then sat down another elder got up did the same thing and when he was bearing his the MTC president looked at me and said we can't have a testimony meeting.... Lets just say I almost exploded, luckily I held it all in but I was not happy the Lord prompted me and my comp to let them do that and he stepped on it... I am going to leave it at that before I say anything else... haha

I leave for the field tomorrow where I will be assigned a trainer and a area I am so excited and look forward to it!  I want everyonoe to know that this is the true church! I know it and that The Book of Mormon is the word of God!  There is  nowhere I would rather be right now! 

Love you all have a great week! 

Kia Ora

Kia Ora from New Zealand everyone! I hope everyone had a good week and enjoyed the super bowl!  I really missed watching that but my Sunday was one of the most spirtual I have ever had so its all good!

So I am a zone leader of 77 missionaries and it is crazy!  the first few days were good but now is when we are starting to have to deal with lots of drama between sisters and believe it or not Elders also... the other day we had and Elder just walk out of class and just started crying I wont go into details but we dealt with the problem and he is doing a lot better.

They feed us so much here I bet I have already put on some weight!  each meal is huge and it feels my little body up!

Well my teaching is going great me and my comp have been told by several teachers that they think we are the strongest companionship even though there is lots we still need to work on! but teaching is going well I feel really confident in my teaching(not my words the teachers haha) so all is going well!

I hope everyone has a good week and I will be leaving for the field next week on Tuesday!(monday for you guys)!

Welcome to New Zealand

Hey the flight was very good,  I met up with several sisters and elders in salt lake about an hour before the flight took off so I was alone most of the time, the elders were Elder Ith and Elder Saurey and there were like 3 sisters whose names I can't remember right now.  Umm the sim card in the box is my old one I'm pretty sure so it doesn't work.  So big news is they asked me to be one of two zone leaders, and the MTC is packed the most it has ever been we have a total of like 80 people here and the president told me that I will be in charge of 77 elders! and boy do we have some work to do!!!  I am doing great the flight here was well awful because it was so long and uncomfortable, It seems like a dream right now still and this day has been so long, I have been up since about 5 san fransicso time and it is only 10:33 a.m right now! this day is never going to end!  I am doing really well though I know this is where I am supposed to be and  I have alredy become very good friends with lots of the other elders.  Its pretty hot here and so I took my suit coat off and one of the ladies here reminded me that Elders don't take their suit coats off... haha what do yah do I guess.  So cool story on the plane to san fran I sat by a lady who is from NZ her name was Sila she came to salt lake to see her half brother and sisters and I guess her half brother is a member and his family also she said he was in leadership in the church but she didn't know what cause she isn't a member, but anyways she told me about NZ and we talked for like the entire flight and she started asking me some questions and I answered it was pretty cool!  then when boarding the plane for Auckland some guys asked me and Elder Ith and Elder Saurey why we were dressed so nice so we told him we were missionaries and then Elder Ith tried to give him a pass along card and totally got rejected haha. it was kinda funny.  Here at the MTC we met an elder from Australia going to Australia his name is Elder spark, and we are pretty sure that he doesn't know that swearing is a sin... haha once again kinda funny.  We get to go to Hamilton next week on Thursday and go to the Temple! so we are all super excited for that! Well there is like a countdown clock on my browser and I don't want to know what happens when the time runs out so that will be all for now!  I love you guys and thanks for the book you are all in my prayers. I will try to send some pictures next time!  Love you all!!!

No Looking Back

We dropped Elder Holmes off at the airport this morning. It was a bitter sweet moment, and we are looking forward to the e-mail that says he has arrived in New Zealand safely! We know this is the best thing he could be doing right now. We got some good pictures of him last night and this morning.

Dax with Grandma and Grandpa Anderson

Dax with Grandma Holmes, we know Grandpa was there too.

Daxon with Dave and Jello

He had to get a shot with his trusty Antoinette

I was really proud of this candid shot

Mom and Dax

Dad and Dax

Dax with Grandma Pink

Dax: "You know you're my best friend right?"

Glad I married someone that loves my family as much as I do.

Dax with the parents

He loves his mom

No looking back

We just got a call from Dax at the Salt Lake Airport! He will be there until 3:30 then fly to San Francisco, have a short layover there, and will then fly for 13 hours to Auckland. I know he would appreciate some prayers as he travels. He sounds great, a little nervous, but that's okay! He hasn't seen any other missionaries yet, but we are hoping some will arrive soon so he will have someone to be with on his flight to San Fran.

New Zealand Hamilton Mission

Hello my name is Elder Daxon Holmes, I have been called to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. For the next two years I will be serving in the New Zealand Hamilton mission.  I report to the New Zealand Missionary Training Center on January 29th.  I opened my call almost five months ago, and now the time has finally come!  It has been a long wait, but it was totally worth it. I made the decision a long time ago that I would not go on a mission just because that's what all my friends were doing and people wanted me to. I made the decision that I would go when I was ready to go for me and when I knew I needed to go. As it turns out that is almost six months after most of my friends, but now I know that it's what I need to do and it is where I'm supposed to be.  I am so excited for the opportunity I am getting to serve the people of New Zealand, and I can't wait for what the next two years have in store for me.