Yesterday, all missionaries from the Houston Texas area had the privilege of hearing Elder Holland speak in the Bering Chapel in Houston (just outside of our mission boundaries). It was a special treat to be in the presence of an Apostle of the Lord. Before he spoke, he took the time to shake the hands of every missionary. His counsel was warm and direct and all who attended felt uplifted and inspired. He challenged the missionaries to live up to the rich tradition of missionary work in the church. People have sacrificed everything, including their lives, to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. He also talked about the importance of preparing ourselves each day to testify of the gospel and encouraged us to "not waste a single minute" of our missions. We are sorry to only have a few photographs of the event. The ones below are of missionaries before and after the meeting. Our daughter somehow managed to get a picture with Elder Holland right before he got into his car to leave. We have also included two pictures of our wonderful sister missionaries that were taken this week at the temple.
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| Elder Jeffrey R. Holland |
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Elders Thorpe, Bateman, Gray, Hardman, Johnson,
Fisher, Tamanalevu, and Zurligen |
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| Elders Moody, Barton, Chadwick and Ulugia |
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| Elder Holland with Mary |
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| Sisters Schlauder, Cramer, Rodriguez and Fonua |
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| Sisters Schlauder and Fonua |
