Pioneer Day?

Hello From Huntington!!!

So yup Utah has a holiday called Pioneer day, to remember the Pioneers that came across the planes to build up Utah. Well It was quite uneventful for us cause we already had our celebrations with Cleavland days, so it was just a day that there seemed to be no1 in town. Well we still decided to celebrate (South African Style) so we decided to make Malva Pudding!!!! hahaha yup!! We also cooked some beetroot and their leaves (didn't know you could eat the leaves... well tasted like spinach...) and for those of you who really know me I don't know how to cook - but I have a feeling I am going to be learning pretty fast cause people want to feed us with their fresh veggies from their gardens! it is so great we got 1 1/2 dozen free eggs this week (which was great cause I was able to make eggs for the STL's that came over for exchanges this last week) So if anyone has any tips on cooking please I am open to ideas and to learn. Got 2 x Squash that I will be cooking up this week so we will see how that goes. But I can bake and I can follow recipes which is great! We also made some crepes last P Day cause we wanted a change.

Well as for missionary work this week has been pretty slow, I think alot of people went camping this weekend and it was crazy.

Like I said we went on exchanges on tuesday evening and it was good cause one of the sisters  used to serve in this area and so she was able to help sister Schneider out alot, they went by and saw people that Sister Holister knew and taught a lesson to one of our investigators, I went with sister Pene (from Samoa) - GREAT MISSIONARY!!! 

I love her - we came out together and we get along real well. After the exchange ended we set some goals and I wont lie it was good to hear how we can improve. We also had our interviews with the mission president and his wife and they asked us to read D&C 93 and share what we learned in the interview - WOW if you have not read it - it is full of crazy information! Maybe I will share some of my insights/questions to ponder:

• What is the fullness of the Father? (Knowledge, Love, Glory, Wisdom, Power, Understanding, Exaltation)
• Christ always said the Glory be thine forever, yet Christ received a fullness of glory, I know that the Father is also merciful and will give Christ love and glory so he too will be exalted.
• What is Golry? (Light, Truth, Love)
• How do we receive Glory? - To glorify we honour, so we can only receive an honourable reward after we have done something good/great. So I think we would receive glory from our works  - So what are you doing? Did you do something Good today?
• Even Christ had to receive the fullness "grace for grace", line upon line, precept upon precept. Nothing comes all at once.
• As you cross reference grace for grace (Phil 2:8 & Heb 5:8) it speaks about obedience - so we can receive things grace for grace as we are obedient. 
• Christ was obedient to the Father. He showed us the perfect example of obedience but he had his agency. 
• Agency and obedience, I would say are the 2 most fundamental principles taught in the Plan of Salvation.

Now that your brain is Fried. I know that the plan of Salvation is real I know that opposition is real and that satan is working hard on us to choose the wrong or slightly easier path and helps us to justify alot of things, even just some simple commandments. I hope and pray that we can all have the strength we need to get through this week.

We also had a few good lessons this week - one of which is a family we found and one of the kids is 13 and not baptised and doesn't actually know much about the church but he had a powerful experience at the manti pageant a few weeks ago and I bet that is going to help us teaching them. When we first contacted that house we knocked on the door and he answered and he wanted to run away! wanted to not speak to us but when he realized that no one else was there to speak to us he came out and spoke to us haha was fun. But if it was not for them we would have really lost it cause the work was so slow. But we are excited to have the castle valley pageant on this week and next we will only really be going next weekend for friday and saturday But we are real excited to invite everyone to this free production - apparently it is better than Manti so we are excited! We will also be IN a county parade this weekend! going to be fun!!!

Anyway Love you all hope you have a super fantastic week!

All My Best,

Sister Karen Hollander

Utah, St George Mission

881 South River Road

St. George Utah, 84790

United States

Cleavland Days

Well for those who are not native to Utah, on the 24th of July Utah has a public holiday called Pioneer day and each of these small towns in Emery County celebrate it differently, and on different days. So we had Cleavland days on Friday/Saturday. It was great got to go to another parade and got to speak to some people, it was great to see the small community to get together and to celebrate good times. It wasn't the most successful activity for us but we don't have anything better to do really on saturdays cause everyone goes to Price or Provo to shop and in this case everyone was going to the cleavland days to celebrate and have some fun. In the evening they also had some fireworks (which are like the best fireworks ever - everyone just wanted us to see them but alas, We were only allowed to stay till 10 and they only started the  fireworks at 10. we got to watch them in out rear view mirror on the way home and they were pretty AMAZING!!! I wont lie!! Also got to contact a few in actives while we were there. so that was at least good. But I was shocked at how many people came from out of town to check out the fireworks, a few from salt lake and from st george, from all over. Was pretty cool. And yes from what I saw it was definitely worth it!! 

But in other news, we had a rather slow week trying to contact people all week, working through a part member family list. But the holidays are proving difficult to get people at home. But we were able to check out a different part of our area called Lawrence, its just outside of huntington but it is real pretty. (even though there is nothing there)

So I don't think I told y'all that sister schneider is a huge america fan! She is absolutely in love with the american flag. And we are having a real blast together! 

I learn so much from her every day and she really tests my english skills but asking what certain words mean - I feel like a walking dictionary and I don't know if that is a good thing for me to describe things - like to describe a hole punch I came up with: "a punch that makes holes" :| yeah, terrible. then she goes to her german-english dictionary and realizes what I have just said and just strats laughing!!!! She also sometimes just wants to speak german to me - guess I must look like a german JK. But we laugh ALOT. she finds the smallest things to laugh at and it is real refreshing! we all need more laughter in our lives! 

It is also so great to go through the 12 week program again for new missionaries cause we are able to really go through PMG and the district videos to learn how to become effective missionaries! and Sister Schneider is great she gets right into the role plays and is doing well. She also has a talent for discerning needs of investigators to finding what they truly desire in life - we just need to work that in to asking inspired questions during the lessons and I think we will see a real change in our investigators. Well we are hoping for a baptism this weekend with a girl named Hope, she had taken the lessons before and was not ready then but now she even thinks she is ready. But will see if family schedules will join with her schedule.

We have also been checking on john every night to make sure he is doing well. and he is! So we decided to take a picture one day:

Well I encourage you all to watch these "patterns of light" videos if you have not already:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Hope you all see miracles today!

All My Best,

Sister Karen Hollander

Utah, St George Mission

881 South River Road

St. George Utah, 84790

United States

A German and South African Meet Cowboy Country

Good Morning everyone!! 

So last week seemed pretty unproductive cause we had some time in our area on monday night, but tuesday and wednesday were total write offs cause I had to travel to St George in the transfer van so I could be there for the trainers meeting wednesday morning. It was crazy!! We left Huntington at 11 30 got to Salina at 1 30 then had to transfer everyones luggage and then were on our way to ST Geezy. Had to make a few more stops on the way and It was great cause I was able to see sister David (who I served with in Cedar city cause she was headed to my greenie area of Kiabab!!! Oh she is going to see miracles there!! I am really excited for her. she told me that george is not doing too great - remember the 93 year old, yeah well he is in a nursing home now he had a heart attack soon after I left. But things are looking up a lil.

Well It was great I was able to spend some time in the Visitors center tuesday night and was able to see my "mommy" Sister Allen who has now been called to be an STL (sister training leader) I am really excited for her!!! she only has 2 transfers left, so I don't think I will see her again :( Unless they take me down to st george after training.

WEll I also was able to stay with sister Hee and her German Comp Sister Lipke for the night in the VC apartments it was so much fun!! they are two laid back yet diligent missionaries!!! It was great to be with them and to learn from them! 

If you were wondering how sister Phagwah is doing, she is doing loads better! I was impressed at how well she handeled the trip down to St George. I hope that being in the VC will help her recover better.

So The wednesday got some training on how to be a trainer, then Met My new companion....

SISTER SCHNEIDER from Ruesselsheim GERMANY (Close to Frankfurt - so thats where we say she is from :) She is a great missionary! She speak real good english - cause they all take english in school. But she is still perfecting her grammar. But it's crazy she barely has an accent and our District Leader says that I have more of an accent than she does. LOL. Well I really have loved these few days that we have been together, she is SOOO Excited to be here in Utah (was actually one of the places she wanted to go). She is a great example to me! She has already  called me to repentance and we have been working on being Preach my gospel missionaries. She is a bit shy to start talking because of her english, but really it is perfect. I am learning from her each day and I am excited to be her companion and help her to learn more about missionary life. We had a slow week though because we were not able to see too many people I think everyone goes to price or Provo for the weekend and so its hard to catch people home. But I am excited for things to start happening this week we are ready to see many many miracles!! and  to have a blast!

So Here is our 3 generation picture :):

Our first day together and we pretty much wore matching outfits - NOT PLANNED :)

Fun tracting:

Thank you for all the letters and all the love! Keep it coming and remember the mission address has changed to the below address.

Love you all!

All My Best,

Sister Karen Hollander

Utah, St George Mission

881 South River Road

St. George Utah, 84790

United States

​

Crazy times in Huntington

Attention!! New mission mailing address:

881 South River Road, 

St. George, UT 84790

Please hold off on sending mail between 13 and 17 July :) Thanks btw for all the letters I have been recieving lately I really appreciate them! <3

Well the excitement of transfers and complications with my bank account has left me with no time for my general email.

So many things happened this week!! Like My companion had an emergancy appadectamy - in other words she got her appendix removed, this was on tuesday evening at 11:30pm. It was pretty scarry but it all worked out for the best. I wish I could tell you the events leading up to it - quite a dramatic story, but She is doing good now. It was amazing how we just told the right people about her symptoms and they said it was her appendix, and bobs your uncle they were RIGHT. We had to go up to Price to do the surgery and lucky for us serving in Utah, The surgen on call happened to be a Bishop in the Helper (near Price) stake, He had just come from a meeting and gave the surgery. It was pretty crazy, the member that helped us out was a true angel and she slept at the hospital with us too. Sister Phagwah only came out of the surgery at 1:30am because of her tiny body they struggled to wake her up, but by 4:30am she was awake and feeling good. She got discharged that same day and we spent most of the week at a members home who just happend to be the sister of the previous mission president. I feel like she is a second mom to us now, she took such great care of us!! And i was then also able to go out and teach apointments while sister Phagwah rested, but wow she just wanted to get up and teach, almost had to hold her down. haha. 

But it was a good week. had fun with the 4th of July celebration, went to the parade in the morning. And tracted a bit at the park (where all the people were) it was good. We even found a new investigator there! :) It was great!

Transfer Call: Sister Phagwah is going back down to St George. It will be ESP good for her recovery! And I will be staying in Huntington! And will be Training a NEW missionary and I know she is from Germany! I am really excited! Wish me luck!

All My Best,

Sister Karen Hollander

St. George, Utah Mission

​881 South River Road,

St. George Utah 84790

United States