Many Smiles

People I love!

Today is such a beautiful day here in Gouda! This past week has been cold and rainy, so today is the perfect P-day treat. I hope it stays the rest of the week, though people here say it's going to get cold again tomorrow. People here talk about the weather ALL THE TIME. It's such a popular topic of conversation. I feel like in America we do it just if there's nothing else to talk about or if we're trying to change the topic. Here though it's like the most normal thing ever. Great way to start converstations on trains. :)

How are you all doing? William-good luck finishing up school! You can do it! Thank you so much everyone for your cards and emails. They mean a lot to me, and the letters always seem to come just on the right days. This week has been intense! Awesome though, so many things are happening! It's so funny the way things go up and down. The Lord is at the head of this work; it's great.

So with finding we are still struggling a bit. We've been faithful in getting out there and just knocking on doors, talking on the streets, but we're still waiting to see the fruits. That's ok though because the investigators we do have are doing so well! And we keep seeming to find people through other random ways. I feel like if you show the Lord that you're willing to just go out and knock and talk that He blesses you with investigators, even if they'don't come from those hours.

Mevrouw Idema is amazing! She's making such great progress. We had a lesson with her on Wednesday about the gospel and SHE was the one asking all the questions about being baptized and authority and everything. She wants to be baptized, she feels the Spirit so strongly when we come, and when she reads and prays. She just wants to keep learning a bit more before she sets a date. She is great though; I know she's going to act soon. Baptism for the dead and the temple came up, and she was so touched and got all emotional when we told her that her husband who died a year ago could get baptized too, and that they could be sealed together in the temple. We have another lesson with her tonight and the bishop''s wife is coming on joint teach. Have I mentioned that we have the best members here in Gouda? Well we do.:)

Our other miracle investigator of the week is an amazing woman named Neda. She's from Iran but has lived here for 18 years and speaks great Dutch. She was raised Muslim but converted to Christianity 3 years ago. She found us! She's friends with a member, and after talking to her she decided that she wanted to know more about what the Church is all about. We went and had an appointment on Wednesday, and then on Saturday she came with us to a baptismal service in Rotterdam, and then came to church in Gouda on Sunday with her sister! SHE LOVES IT. All of it. She loved the baptismal service and started crying and said she felt so much love when we were singing. Yesterday at church she kept talking about how she wants to tell everyone about the Church and how great it is. She said, “It’s like I've been looking for this forever, but just never knew where to find it.” YES!

In other news, Noah's ark has come to Gouda. Yes, it's gotten that bad here -- we're taking drastic measures. Ha. No but really, it's an imitation Noah's ark and it's big. We're going to go visit it today. Apparently the inside is a Christian book store. And funnily enough, it came last Monday and it's been raining all week.

Oh other big thing that we just found out today -- there is a big, strict Protestant college here in Gouda and one of the religion classes was assigned a research project on our church and they're giving the presentation to everyone this Wednesday night and they want representatives from our church to come and do a Q&A session after. So guess who's going? Zuster Perry, our ward mission leader, the institute teacher, and me. Ahhhhhh! Talk about awesomely intimidating. I'm super excited and yes... maybe a little nervous. But faith and fear don't go together right? It's going to be great! If God be for us who can be against us? I will definitely let you all know how that goes. :)

Well dears, you all are geweldig. I love love love you and pray for you all the time. Never forget, ok? Things here are great. :)

Met liefde,
Zuster Holbein

Oh and give my love to Karina, Lindsay and Greg! Congrats to them all! Missions are the best.