Holly Arrives in Barcelona!

I received the following email today from Holly's mission president along with a photo of Hermana Thomas!

Dear Families of our new missionaries,

We are pleased to inform you that your daughter has safely arrived in the Spain Barcelona Mission. Hermana Waddell and I, along with the two assistants, met her at the airport. The group of missionaries we received are wonderful young men and women, ready to go to work. Their enthusiasm reflects their love for the Savior and we are grateful for the privilege of guiding them along as they serve the Lord.

Every area in the Spain Barcelona Mission is unique and beautiful, rich in history and tradition. More importantly, each city is full of children of our Heavenly Father, waiting to hear the glad news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thank you for the trust you have put in us to shepherd your daughter. Please know that we feel a great responsibility to guide and protect “our” missionaries. We love your sons and daughters as if they were our own. With the Lord’s help, we intend to make their mission experience in Barcelona the most memorable time of their lives.

Sincerely,

President and Hermana Waddell

Holly at the Madrid MTC

Holly's amazing story continues . . . here are some excerpts from her Madrid MTC stay (no pictures yet):

9-11-07: I'm on the airplane . . . Sharing the gospel is so amazing and I want to share it with everyone and anyone who wants to listen. Yikes! Watch out Spain!!! I can't even tell you how amazing this experience has been and will only begin when I get to Spain! We just took off and I said my last goodbye to the city of Salt.

9-12-07: Oh mom, it's beautiful here. I can't even hardly function right now cause I am so jet lagged out. . . Spain feels like Central America . . . the Temple is beautiful! It's almost as if I live at the Temple cause it's my backyard. There are only 16 missionaries here because nobody is getting their visas. . . On p-day we get to leave the MTC and take the metro around and play at the park or to go the mall or just go explore. It is so awesome. . . The language is going to be so much easier to learn while I'm here. I plan on spending every second of the day either studying or learning the language. On Saturdays we get to take the metro into the city and contact people in the Retiro Park in El Centro de Madrid. I am scared-nervous-excited about this. . . I can't believe that I am actually here. It all feels like a dream. I am actually in Spain right now. And I love it. Best ever.

9-20-07: Can you believe that I have been in Spain for an entire week as of yesterday? . . . And that I have been a missionary for a month! . . . I got an ear infection and my companion has been sick all week long. . . we're both better now. . . Today we went to the Temple. Ah. The Temple here is so amazing. . . Oh mom. I wish I could let you into my mind right now. There is so much in there and so little time to transfer it from my brain to my fingers to you! I am so happy. Things make so much sense in the gospel. Joseph Smith saw God. It's a fact. He just did. The Book of Mormon is true. It just is. It was written for you and for me and for the people of Spain, because God loves us. We are going to live with God again. This life is but a probationary time for us to prepare to meet our Father in Heaven. It's true. And I am living it! And I am loving it. And I am going to give my all to the people here in Spain . . .

10-08-07: Welcome to the beautiful dia de Reposol (Sabbath Day). I am sitting here here in my study spot admiring the beautiful Madrid Temple. I am definitely going to miss the Temple when I leave in 2 weeks! Can you believe it? . . . I am so excited though. I will miss the MTC. It has been so great. And I have learned so much. . . My espanol is improving and I am able to communicate better finally! We went to the park on Saturday we got three referrals! It was way cool too, cause I was with 2 Italian sisters who didn't speak any Spanish and we had prayed to find some Italians to teach and the first 2 people we found were Italian and got a referral for them! It was so cool. And then we found an inactive member from Bulgaria and we are sending the missionaries to teach her again, and some guy from India who was way excited about hearing the missionaries. It was really great. . . So. What can I say about the awesomness of serving a mission? Once again, it's pretty much the coolest ever. I can honestly say I haven't looked back once and I would never miss this opportunity if I were anyone else!

10-12-07: Hermana Fuerer (my new comp) has been an answer to my prayers. She and I are exactly the same. We both snowboard intensely, we both love to mountain bike, we are both fitness and health freaks, and we both have the same mannerisms and all that jazz. We were definately sisters in the pre-exist and I hope hope hope that we will get the chance to be companions while we serve in Spain . . . The work is still going. I will be in Barcelona on the 23rd of October . . . I miss home, but I am in love with Spain.

10-18-07: Yep! It's the last p-day that I have here in Madrid! How do you like that? I'll tell you that I am so excited to go to Barcelona! I don't feel nearly as prepared as I need or want to be, but I am ready to get out there and start baptizing some Spanish souls!

10-22-07: Surprise! Since we leave tomorrow, we got permission to write . . . we leave the MTC for the airport at 5:30 am. . . Can you believe it? I am a real live missionary as of tomorrow! Yikes. . . Oh mom. It is been so amazing, and it is only going to get better. Wow. What a life. And tomorrow, I meet my Mission President and find out where I am going to be sharing the gospel for the next 6 weeks. . . Life is good. I am not struggling at all. I am speaking the language and I am ready to preach the good world of God to the people. Scripture of the day is Mosiah 7:33 and Moses. I forgot, but it's when Noah builds the ark and God holds it in his own hand. That's what God is doing for me. He is holding me in his hand and helping me become my best self. So yeah. Do I sound like a missionary or what?? . . . Madre, te amo. Te amo, Te amo. Quiero compartir me testimonio en espanol que se que Dios vive. Jesucristo es su hijo y nuestro hermano. El Libro de Mormon es la palarbra de dios. Con todo mi corazon se que Jose Smith era un profeta.

Holly at the Provo MTC

Holly's stay at the Provo MTC was only 3 weeks. Below are some pictures she sent right before she left for the Madrid MTC. She had a wonderful experience at the Provo MTC, as you can see from the pictures and read from some excerpts from her letters:

8-23-07: Hola! Saludes de el MTC. Wow. Can you believe that I am a missionary? Yeah. Me neither. So, I have survived my first day and a half. How exciting, eh? . . . The MTC is so much work. I am pretty much in a classroom all day long. And the classrooms are tiny. But don't worry, I am doing great! Missionary work is fun. I can't wait until I get to Spain, and start teaching the people.

8-28-07: The MTC is so great. So so so so great! I love it here. Absolutely. The language is good but I am struggling definitely to catch on. I feel like I have gained a lot in terms of my testimony since I have been here, but not very much when it comes to the language. I am still trying and I have 8 weeks left to learn, but 8 weeks will come before I know it!

9-4-07: YES!!! I got my visa! I'm scheduled to go to Spain Sept. 11 at 6:00 a.m. Yikes! . . . Today is my last p-day, which means that it is the last time that you are going to hear from me before I leave for Spain. . . Last Tuesday night Jeffery Holland spoke to us about missionary work and that totally lit my fire and my desire to serve my mission with all my carazon alma mente y fuerza. It was so amazing. The language is good. I am learning so much Spanish it is incredible. . . Oh man. Mom, the mission is already the best part of my life, ever! I am so happy that I am here. . . I wish I could lend you my eyes and ears for a day to see what goes on here.

9-10-07: So. This is it. The night before I leave for Spain. . . Wow. I still can't believe that this is happening. It has already been 3 weeks since I've been here. I have learned so much and have grown even more. It is amazing how little I actually knew my strength and the strength of the Lord before I came here. I have gotten to know so much more about myself in these short 3 weeks than I have in an entire 21 years of living with myself and searching for who I am. It is unbelievable even to me. And I still have 17 months and 1 week to discover myself even more. How exciting. I can't wait! Teaching is coming really well. I have taught the first lesson probably a dozen times . . . but I am more excited to get out and teach real people. It is going to rock my socks. Yaya. . . Oh, so get this. Sister Susan B. Tanner was our Relief Society guest speaker this Sunday and my comp and I were asked to give the opening and closing (me) prayers! It was so cool. We got to sit on the stand and we got to meet her and shake her hands! It was so great.

This is awsome -- it's a rubbing from her missionary name badge!