Happiness

Family, family, family!

I have news -- very surprising news. We heard about transfers this morning and .... I'M STAYING IN AMSTERDAM. With Zuster Kremer. Crazy! That'll be 5 transfers here that's a loooong time. Haha luckily I love Amsterdam and I love Zuster Kremer. I really thought I was leaving though. Everyone did. The ward was like giving me gifts and saying their farewells. Haha -- so crazy, but I get to stay! I'm very happy. :) Another 6 weeks in this beautiful city. The work is really going well too. There are a lot of people I am excited to continue to help. This is a blessed area.

I'm glad to hear things are going well at home. William, good luck with Hairspray! Sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun. Please send pictures! I can't believe it was 70 in Kentucky! It's definitely warming up here but dang -- that's warm. Spring is definitely coming though, we're already seeing signs of tulips here and there.

So the miracles of the week. Wow, I don't know where to begin, it's been a great week. We have such a big teaching pool right now. Wednesday night when we went to go eat dinner at Jennifer's house we were introduced to her friend Charlotte. She's 21 and has just seen how Jennifer's life is and her example and the peace that she has, and she wants it too. We taught her about the love of God and how she is a daughter of God, and she was really touched. She is willing to learn and she came to church yesterday! I'm excited to teach her and help her progress to baptism.

Thursday we had an amazing appointment with a man named Ramcil who we met going along doors. He had actually met missionaries a few years ago, but had never been able to find the church. He said that he knew that it was a sign that we knocked on his door. So he is awesome as well.

Everyone else is doing really well. Percy, William, everyone is progressing and reading and growing and yeah...what could be better?? Baptisms are coming soon. :)

I guess the biggest miracle of the week was yesterday. Yesterday we had stake conference and it was really special. It was the 50-year mark of the first stake here in Holland. Elder Kopischke from the Area 70 came as well and the Spirit was powerful. We had 4 investigators who were able to come, which was great considering it was a bit far away. We all met as a ward and took a big bus up. That was fun.

I love this ward. I love being able to work with the members here. I really have come to realize this past week how perfect this mission is for me. I love the Netherlands. I love Belgium. I love Dutch. Really, honestly, I do. The Church is small here. Dutch is a totally random language. But I really feel like this is where I was supposed to come. That's a nice, peaceful feeling to have.

The theme of the conference was "Kom tot Christus" "Come unto Christ." Every talk, alles, focused on the Savior and his atonement. I think that's why the Spirit was so strong. One of my favorite things that was said was in Elder Kopischke's talk. He was talking about why we have hard times, and he had us read Mosiah 24:13-14. He talked about how we have hard times so that the Savior can deliver us, and then we can testify of his healing power. I was so touched by that because I have experienced that. I know the Savior can heal us. I don't always know exactly how, and maybe I can’t always understand it, but I know that there is a healing power that is more than what the world can offer. It cleans us from the inside.

There is a Dutch name for Jesus Christ that doesn't really have an English translation, but I love it. The word is “Heiland.” I guess “Savior” would be the best translation, but it means more like healing, making something whole again. And I love that because that's what Christ does. We are all broken. From sin, from sadness, various things, but we all need the Savior’s healing power.

After the conference Zuster Kremer and I went to a park to do finding, and as we were walking I suddenly just felt inspired to pull out my Book of Mormon and tell Zuster Kremer how much I loved the scripture in Mosiah that we had shared. I pulled it out to read it, and then said to her, “I really want to share this with someone." I said that, and then out of nowhere, a man sitting on a bench who we hadn't seen yelled at us and said, "Jesus Christ? What's the message today?" And so I walked over to him and asked him if he wanted to hear the message. He said he has been addicted to alcohol for years but he wanted to hear it. We read that scripture to him, and then proceeded to have a 45 talk with him about the healing power of Christ and God's plan for us. He changed during that conversation, and I know I did too. I saw him as a child of God, I saw him in white. He accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon, we exchanged numbers, and we made plans to meet him again next week in the park. It was a miracle.

I know that Christ lives. I know that He heals, that He loves us, and that He suffered and gave His life for us so that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father. This life does have to be hard sometimes, but we don't have to do anything alone. I am so grateful for a Savior who stands by me. I am happy to be His missionary and to testify of his delivering, healing power. I am so far from perfect, and I try so hard everyday to improve, but it's ok. I know that I can do all things through Christ.

I really pray that we can all continue to strengthen our testimonies of Jesus Christ's atonement. Let's make it the focus of our lives. Ok, maybe this is corny, but I really feel prompted to ask all of you to pray tonight and ask for a confirmation that Jesus Christ lives and that He is your Savior. I know that you will feel his love, I know it because I've done it, and I feel his love for me every day.

Thank you for your testimonies and your prayers. I love you all!

Met liefde,
Zuster Holbein