These people and this town have made me better than before!

It has been an amazing week in Nauvoo, and I have so much to tell you all. First of all, thank you for your prayers and love. We are, collectively as a band, doing so much better! Also, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to the most incredible dad :) I love you and am so grateful for all you've taught me!!

Last Sunday, we got to go have our Hymn Fest at Carthage. We changed it from our typical random assortment of hymns to be a program based around Joseph Smith and his life. The Spirit was so incredible strong as we bore testimony of Joseph Smith and his divine calling as the Prophet of the Restoration only a hundred feet from where he sealed his testimony with his blood. I know the he was a prophet and he was called of God! I know that he saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in the Sacred Grove and that that was the beginning of the work he was called to do. I am indebted to him and the sacrifices he made that have brought me to where I am today. I can't imagine my life without the Gospel. And the best part is that he was a prophet and we have a living prophet today! Thomas S Monson is a prophet and he receives revelation from the Lord for us. How incredible is that?!

There were so many funny moments this week, and I wish I could remember all of them and have the time to tell you about all of them. Elder Dialogue and I both got involved in the Audition two nights this week in Sunset. In fact, some of the stage missionaries said my face was better than the Audition itself because I was actually dying. I have to tell that story in person though :) On a rainy day, we moved into the Cultural Hall for our afternoon performances, so we played dress-ups with the senior missionaries' costumes in the basement :) Enjoy the pictures of that great activity! The four of us are all 19 so it's fun to have other young missionaries who like to do crazy things like that haha

On our prep morning, we are supposed to clean our houses, and then the Mursets come in the afternoon to make sure we have cleaned everything. So we decided to play a joke and we built a blanket fort in the front room with a Welcome sign and everything. The Mursets thoroughly enjoyed our joke. The best part was that the band Elders also built a mattress/blanket fort in their front room for the Mursets but we hadn't planned it at all! Great minds think alike! 

Dad, I thoroughly enjoyed your story about the plumbing struggles at our house this week because our little trailer here has had some toilet struggles too...the other night Sister Parkin tried to replace the toilet paper but half of the toilet paper holder and the spring flew out of her hand into the toilet as it flushed...so now we don't have a toilet paper holder but we have a hilarious story to tell about it! We were literally on the floor crying and not breathing as she told us this story because it was sooooo funny! So hopefully our toilet doesn't stop working because we flushed down a spring and piece of metal...oops!

The other wonderful thing we did this week was choreograph Bugler's Holiday. I don't have a picture of us yet, but it's pretty amazing. We may or may not play someone else's trumpet in the middle of the song. It's hard to describe but be prepared to be amazed :) The audience loves it. Speaking of which, we became a tourist attraction yesterday as people came and sat on the front of the bandwagon to take pictures with us. It wasn't just one family though, it was like 7 or  8 different groups. We are famous and will end up in lots of people's scrapbooks haha one more thing, we almost have our mariachi music ready to perform. It's amazing! I would tell other funny stories but you have to know the people or the context and I don't have time. But be prepared to hear them later on!

We also had a spiritual week, don't worry. The subject of my email has become the theme of being here in Nauvoo for me. We went and saw the stage missionaries in "The Promise"on Friday and Saturday this week. One of the main characters sings a song where he talks about how Nauvoo has changed him and the main line is "These people and this town have made me better than before." It's so true! I am not the same Sister Holbrook that left Chicago on May 2: I am a better Sister Holbrook. I have become better in so many ways and I have strengthened my testimony in so many ways. Nauvoo has a way of changing people, and it has changed me. I love being here and serving here so much!!!!

The other night at Trail of Hope, I had a cool experience. Every time I take a group down the trail, we tell them at the top about how it used to be called the Trail of Tears because it's the road that the Saints walked down as they left Nauvoo. But when President Hinckley came to dedicate the temple, he changed it to the Trail of Hope because, although the Saints were sad to be leaving, they were filled with hope as they headed towards a better future in an unknown place. As we got to the end of the trail, I felt like I needed to share one last thing with the group. Rather than talking about what I have said before, I instead shared with them my testimony that this is a Gospel of joy, and that our own trails of tears in our lives can really be trails of hope, if we will only remember that the entire purpose of our lives is to have joy. I know that's true: I know that we can find so much happiness through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, if we will just allow ourselves to remember. I love the joy and happiness that I have in my life, despite the challenges we face every single day. 

I love you guys so much!! I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true, and I am privileged to wear that name over my heart each and every day. I know that we can receive strength through Jesus Christ and His Atonement, and I know that because of Him, we can be with our families forever. I love being here, and I love the Gospel!! I know that Heavenly Father has a specific plan for each of us and that there are no mistakes or coincidences.

Life is SO good and the Church is TRUE!

Sister Holbrook :)

The blanket fort :)

Nauvoo Temple with a full moon

American Gothic: Nauvoo version

Dress-ups are fun :)

The adorable little girl who followed me and Sister Parkin everywhere!

There is no way to summarize this week...

Hello family and friends :) This has been a week to remember....

First of all, it was Bible Camp week!! So I had my acting debut haha I thought it was going to be awful, but I loved it!! I loved getting to talk to the kids everyday and to share our testimonies, even though it was through a cheesy skit, about how much God loves each and every one of them. The kids were so cute and really loved having us there, which was awesome! The downside was that it was in this super old building and it took us until the third day to realize the awful smell was mold so most of us have had awful allergies this week.

Speaking of allergies, I love horses...not. I usually have a really runny nose on the bandwagon because I'm allergic to horses. Some of the teams (Bill and Bob for example) make my allergies worse than others. But I keep taking my allergy meds and kleenex and suffer through it becuase Heavenly Father has blessed me with the ability to play my trumpet no matter what physical ailment I have. 

We got to work in the Cultural Hall and Seventies Hall this week! I love working in the sites- there are some amazing senior sisters that we get to talk to and learn from, but we also get to talk to tourists and share our testimonies with them. Especially about missionary work in the Seventies Hall- I love that place!!! It has a really special spirit for me and I love that I get to testify of Christ where I opened my mission call. 

I spent half of Thursday in the ER and we went to Annie's custard that night. We really needed to have that bonding time as a band because on Friday after HymnFest, we had a meeting in which we found out that one of the band elders had to go home for medical reasons. We, especially the elders, have done everything we could to keep him here, but the doctor and President Gibbons decided that he needed to go home and get the proper medical attention. It's been hard. Really hard. I wasn't that close to him (he plays trombone), but after serving together in the band and having been through everything as a whole band, it's kind of like we lost a brother in our family. And there are other elders who had to return home from full-time missions for medical reasons as well, so this is hard on them too. At the same time, most of us have some kind of physical ailment- whether it be asthma, allergies, a cold, bronchitis, a sore back, or anything else. Others have mental ailments- depression, stress, etc. Others are struggling emotionally or spiritually with various other things. Satan is trying to attack the Nauvoo Brass Band and tear us all down at the same time. He is getting each of us in our own way and is attacking us at our weakest points. Please pray for each member of the Nauvoo Brass Band. We are trying our hardest and praying as much as we can, but any extra help we can receive from your prayers is much needed.

I know without a doubt that Heavenly Father answers our prayers. He loves us so much and wants to bless us, but we must ask. Whether it be a prayer on your way to the hospital asking for comfort, strength and guidance, a prayer that the yellow jacket at Sunset won't sting you, a prayer for the safety and help of someone else, or any little prayer you offer. Heavenly Father hears and answers every single one. Sometimes, He will test our faith and ability to endure and wait patiently for answers, but they will come. 

I also know that Satan is real. I know it sounds weird, but he is! And he is trying to stop the work of the Lord from progressing. He will do everything that he can to stop us from spreading the joy of the Gospel. But we must go on!!! I know that Heavenly Father is stronger than any temptation or trial we have. Through the Atonement we can be strengthened and blessed beyond our wildest imaginations. Prayer works, the Atonement is real, and Heavenly Father loves us.

Sorry for the scatterbrained and short email, I'm not exaggerating when I say it we need your prayers. As a band, we will get through this stronger than we were to start. But it's going to take time and work and an added measure of the Spirit. I love you all so much!

Sister Holbrook

Please don't think we aren't having fun though- we are still having a great time!! There have been a couple nights this week where companionship study ended because we were all laughing so hard that we couldn't breathe! Plus they started doing the cheerleader version of the audition at Sunset and it's the most hilarious thing I have seen! Bible Camp was hilarious and so much fun to be pirates haha and there are lots of funny things everyday- little moments to appraciate life and just laugh. Yesterday, our laugh just happened to laughing at how dead awful our band as a whole looked.

Bible Camp

Annie's

Bible Camp (again)

Our last pre-Sunset concert with Elder Law

My Heavenly Father Loves Me

Hi family :)

Heavenly Father loves me, and He loves you. He loves each one of us so much and you can see it in everything all around you! Pay attention to it this week as you go through your normal activities- look for the tender mercies of the Lord that will remind you just how much He loves you and knows you personally!

This week has been quite the week! I say that every week, but it's true!! Also, I apologize in advance if I'm super scatterbrained. There's so much to tell in so little time!!!! Also, everything I talk about is typically on top of our normal bandwagon runs and such. Always busy...

Sunday- after email time, we went to Carthage to do a hymn fest there. It was absolutely incredible! We got to testify of Joseph Smith through music at one of the most sacred places I can think of. Playing Praise to the Man was just amazing. I know he was a prophet who was called of God, and I am so grateful for his sacrifices so that we can have the Gospel today. What an incredible man and true hero. We also got to go to a musical fireside that night by the Sister missionaries focused on the Atonement and all the different aspects of it. Through the Atonement, not only can we be cleansed from our sins, but we can also be strengthened and enabled, we can find comfort, and we can do anything asked of us. What an incredible gift that we have been given! But if we don't take advantage of it, then there's no reason to have it. So pray that you can use the Atonement and that you can have extra strength through Christ because I know it's possible!! After the fireside, we had Trail of Hope which is always an amazing experience.

Monday- was Memorial Day! We had a normal morning on the bandwagon but the afternoon was spent playing in a little parade and ceremony at the Nauvoo Veterans Memorial. We are like rock stars in Nauvoo and it's great.

Tuesday- we got to wake up early and go to the temple as a band. Though it was early, it was so worth it! There is something unifying about serving together in the temple. What an amazing way that was to start our day! That afternoon, we performed for the Nauvoo Elementary School- like I said, we are rock stars there

Wednesday- our prep morning!! We woke up just as early as ever and went to Keokuk so we could finally have some groceries! (I also bought a trumpet stand and it was probably one of the best investments ever) We had to be back and have our house cleaned by 11:00 am when we performed at the fire station for the old people in the community (I can't think of a different way to phrase that- it was a senior citizens luncheon.) That afternoon, we worked in the sites! My companionship was at the Heber C Kimball home and gave no tours in the four hours we were there, which made for productive journal and letter writing time! Also, we taught the senior sisters how to take a selfie which resulted in a hilarious conversation about how Sister Jones wants a facelift now after taking a gross selfie haha that night at Trail of Hope, I got to lead a group down the trail. Unlike the other nights, I felt prompted at the end to bear my testimony of the Atonement. Just like the saints faced their unknown future with faith, we can each face our unknown futures with faith because we are not alone. Heavenly Father loves us and Christ has been through everything we will ever experience. We will never be alone and that brings so much comfort. When we face our own unknown futures, we can have hope like the Saints did because we know that we will be helped through them with the most powerful Being in the universe. What a blessing it is to have that knowledge. 

Thursday was our only normal day of the week :) Though after lunch, some of us did the dishes (like we usually do for the Meyers) but it was way funnier today because I got soap on the ceiling and we learned how to use the sprayer to race bowls through the sink and various other things like that. Bonding time doing dishes is a highlight of the day!

Friday- we started off with an amazing district meeting at 7 am all about Christlike attributes. I am surrounded by the most amazing people and am learning so much from all of them!! Then we had a drivers ed course (no, that's not a joke). Brought back good memories and has led to some hilarious driving experiences :) After Sunset that night, we went to community band rehearsal...not my favorite thing. Plus, all of our chops were dead so we were struggling to stay focused. But Elder Keller, Elder Dialogue, and myself played pedal tones almost the whole time, and we joked about how we were starting a whale migration by playing notes that low :) We keep ourselves entertained pretty easily to say the least haha  

Saturday- nothing too terribly exciting happened all day. We sweat like no other (like usual), so at Sunset, we were done with the heat. So Elder Dialogue and I decided to do a rain dance (no, I won't ever teach it to you. It's a very powerful rain dance!!) About halfway through the show, the wind started picking up and people started preparing for rain. Then all of a sudden the windows of heaven opened and poured us out a storm unlike any other. It dumped on us!!! I have to say that one of the happiest 30 seconds of my life was realizing our rain dance had worked and then staying on stage with the brass while we finished the song and laughed at the senior sisters running off the stage while they were singing. It was hilarious and so fun and so exciting! Being Illinois, it stopped like 5 minutes later but everyone was gone by then. But for real, I made it rain :) And I'm pretty proud of that haha

Last night, we got to watch the stage YPMs run through their Carthage vignette. It was so powerful and so moving! Joseph Smith truly was a prophet, and I know that to be true! 

Look up Numbers 29:1- that's my new life motto :)

The tender mercies of the Lord, like I was saying earlier, really are amazing. There have been quite a few times this week when I have seen simple things that remind me that Heavenly Father is watching out for each of us. Whether it's something like gorgeous clouds, the answer to a simple prayer, finding mariachi music (not a joke, it was a needed blessing), a prompting that changed my day, or anything else, Heavenly Father is taking care of us. When I don't think I could possibly play another note and then I have to finish the Sunset show with a beautiful solo about the Saints, I know I am not playing by myself. I have angels all around me, supporting me. Both in the form of fellow missionaries and in angels that I can't see. The Spirit is real, the Church is true, Heavenly Father loves you, and I love being a missionary!!! 

Love you all!!!!

Sister Holbrook :) 

The band at Carthage on Sunday

The peonies outside our house (Mom- those are for you :)

My trumpet :) Elder Dialogue's idea!

All the trumpets :) I love this picture

Dishes with companions

Elder Brague is "cool" (that's what he's spelling with his hands and eyes. I love that man- he's so cute and so funny!!!)

Just a little wet.....(after the torrential downpour)