Welcome to Elder Holmes' Missionary Blog

Welcome to Elder Holmes' missionary blog. This is James' Mom, Tonya. I will be posting on here as I receive his weekly letters and (hopefully) pictures! You can follow along on his missionary experiences and adventures. If you are not a member of the LDS faith there may be some missionary lingo you don't understand so please read the following and if you have any questions let me know.

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), a mission is a voluntary service opportunity. All missionaries who choose to engage in this service opportunity do it of their own choice and at their own (and their parent's) expense.  Most range in age from 18 to 25 although the bulk is in the younger range of that age spectrum.  Additionally, Senior Missionaries are folks retired with their kids grown and gone who choose to spend their retirement in missionary service. We consider missionary service a blessing, yet a meager means of giving back to the Lord, in gratitude, for all He gives us.  Although, if you ask any missionary returned from their service, they will tell you they have probably come home in further debt to the Lord than when they left because of all the blessings, growth and increase in faith they have received from serving.

MTC: Missionary Training Center - There are 19 MTC's scattered throughout the world. Elder Holmes is currently at the Provo MTC. For missionaries speaking in their own native language they spend two weeks in the MTC.  It is here that they learn the lessons they will be teaching and the culture of the area they will be serving.  For those learning a new language, they spend six weeks in the MTC. On top of learning the lessons and culture they learn the new language they will need to know to teach in the area they are serving.

COMPANIONS: Missionaries are assigned a companion of the same gender as soon as they enter the MTC. Once you are assigned a companion you are with him/her 24/7.  Why? The reason is two fold. First and most important, the Lord has declared by the mouth of two or more witnesses shall His word be declared.  Second, and still very important, companions serve as a protection and support for one another.  Once a missionary is assigned to their area, there is a Senior Companion and a Junior Companion.  The Senior Companion has typically been out longer and looks out for and trains the Junior Companion.  As a missionary progresses, they will have the opportunity to serve as a Senior Companion and be given other leadership responsibilities.

DISTRICT:  A small group of companionships working in the same or nearby geographic areas.  One missionary in one of these companionships serves as the District Leader and is responsible for leading the group in word and deed.  The District meets together weekly to gauge the progress of their work, determine areas where they can improve, teach each other, discusses the needs and progress of the people they are working with.  While in the MTC, the District is a small group of companionships that arrived on the same date, leave on or near the same date, and are learning the same language.

ZONE:  A zone is a group of Districts, anywhere from four to eight, working in the same geographic region.  One set these companionships serve as Zone Leaders and are responsible for working with the District Leaders.  A Zone meets once a month in a Zone Conference.  This usually includes the Mission President and his wife.  There are sessions of instruction and training for all the missionaries in the zone.  Small group session are conducted along with Personal Progress Interviews with the Mission President.  Zone Conferences are often time of great spiritual feasting and learning.  Missionaries come away rejuvenate, energized and refocused on their callings and work.  While in the MTC, the Zone is a small group of Districts that meet together weekly.  They will all be learning the same language but each District may be somewhere different in their timeline of progression through the MTC..

MISSION:  A large geographic region whose boundaries are the boundaries in which a missionary is called to serve and work.  There are currently 405 missions throughout the world in just about every country.   Here at home, we are part of the Charlotte North Carolina Mission which encompasses primarily the western half of our state. Elder Holmes' has been called to the Singapore Mission, English speaking. The mission also covers parts of Malaysia. There are a couple of languages spoken in the Singapore Mission - English, Mandarin Chinese, Malay, Tamil and Iban. Malay and Iban are mainly spoken in Malaysia. English is spoken in most businesses and is taught in school. Some Chinese youth are fluent in 3 languages: Mandarin, English and Malay. Elder Holmes will get to experience year round warm, 80 degree, tropical weather because Singapore is so close to the equator. But it also rains a lot. Especially during monsoon season!

MISSION PRESIDENT:  A Mission President and his wife are called to serve over a mission for three years, at their own expense.  Often these are older couples, but at times they will have children at home that will travel with them into the mission field.  The Mission President and his wife are responsible for leading, teaching, guiding, loving, and caring for 200-250 missionaries. They become their parents away from home to all the missionaries under them.The President calls missionaries to serve as his assistants.  Together they prayerfully make plans and decisions for the entire mission (zone conferences, who will be companions, how long companions remain together, where in the mission each set of companions will live and work, etc.). Elder Holmes will be serving under  President and Sister Mains during his missionary service.

Hopefully this will help you out while reading.