So Many Miracles

Dear Family!

It has been such an amazing week! Really, really, one of those weeks when you just look back and think, you know what, that was great. So worth it. We definitely had our struggles this week, but it all has worked out for our good and the good of our investigators. So many miracles seen! I appreciate everything you all have been doing for me. All the prayers and fasting and everything is really working.

And guess what? THE SUN IS SHINING TODAY. :) That gets the miracle of the day award for me. Spring is coming, everyone here says give it another 4 weeks. When I write you next week I'll have heard about transfers. I'm 99.879% sure I'm getting transferred. Who knows where to? It'll be hard to leave. I love Amsterdam with all my heart, and I love working with Zuster Kremer. She's an angel. I'm going to have to start saving up for a trip to Hungary after my mission -- haha.

So miracles. We were able to get back in contact this week with an old investigator named Ger who after our first lesson with him a month ago wasn't too interested, but when we called back he told us that since he stopped meeting with us everything in his life has fallen apart and he wants to learn again. He came to the ward dinner on Wednesday and got a blessing and made a lot of friends with the members. He was a Temple Square referral so we're super excited to start teaching him again. He is uitverkoren.

Speaking of people who are so prepared to receive the gospel, let's move on to Percy. So on Thursday we went to our appointment with William, and when we walked in there was another man sitting on the couch who William introduced as his neighbor Percy. William had given him a copy of the Book of Mormon and Percy had been waiting for us to come and he had so many good questions. He asked us all about the sacrament and going to church and the nature of God, and we were able to answer all of them teaching a first discussion using scriptures from the Bible and Book of Mormon. It was so so amazing. The spirit in the room was astounding! Percy said he had looked all, been to so many different churches, and knew that God was close to him, but he said he just never could find the truth. We testified to him that this was it, and that he could come to find the truth for himself by learning and making covenants with God. He totally committed to a baptismal date and to preparing! William is getting baptized on April 23rd and Percy on April 30th. Such a miracle. He came to church yesterday and he got up and bore his testimony that on Thursday when we walked into the room that he saw light streaming out from us. He said that he knew he had found the truth he has been looking for. It was such a powerful Sunday. I felt the spirit so strongly testifying to be that well, the church is true! And missionary work is great.

Next miracle -- on Saturday we went to go and have an appointment with Vili, our Bulgarian speaking investigator who speaks a little Dutch.
Every lesson really is a gift of tongues miracle; I don't know how we communicate. Anyway, we went and she had her brother’s wife visiting from Bulgaria who doesn't speak any Dutch, but who wanted us to pray for her because she is having a really hard time. So we all knelt to pray and I said the prayer in Dutch because yeah, I can't speak Bulgarian. I really prayed silently before we started that I could be led by the Spirit and that Tanya, the brother’s wife, would feel the Spirit. After the prayer I looked at Tanya and she was crying. She said, Vili translated, and that as I was praying she felt so warm inside and almost like she could understand what I was saying, even though she doesn't speak Dutch. We had a powerful lesson reading from the scriptures about Christ and the atonement. They also both came to church yesterday.

There are so many miracles happening here. God is so aware of all of his children.

Well because of crazy situations I have to go. We are actually locked out of our house -- a LONG story. So time to go figure that out.

I love you all!

Met liefde,
Zuster Holbein