Dear Family,
Oh my goodness what a busy week! I wish I had more time last Monday to write because now it feels like I have so much to say and not enough time to say it all! So first things first, we found out about transfers last night and... I'm staying! Haha no surprise since Zuster Driggs is leaving, but what the surprise is that I'm training! Haha weird, when did I become old enough to do that? I will be training Zuster Kremer (her picture is on the blog already). She came a week early and spent the week in Antwerpen while President decided who her trainer would be. She is from Hungary and absolutely amazing! I met her at the sisters’ conference, and even though I didn't get to talk to her a lot I can tell she will be a lot of fun to work with. So yeah, that's crazy and exciting and a little intimidating and all that but I'm really excited!
Miracles of the week. So members keep telling me that there is a street here in Amsterdam called Holbeinstraat, and we'd been meaning to look it up but never had time. The other night though we were praying and it just felt right to go there and do some finding. So we went and had an awesome consecrated hour of finding! It was hilarious because when I would introduce myself to people or they would look at my name tag they would say "You know this is HOLBEINstraat, right?" And I would laugh and say something like "What... really?" Haha it was great. We actually found a bunch of awesome new investigators so that was cool. We also set another baptismal date this week! We got a referral from someone who had looked at the Dutch church website and ordered a copy of the Book of Mormon. Her name is Melinda and we went over to deliver the book, had a great lesson with her and set a date for the 18th of December. She's lived all over the world and actually knows a lot of members of the Church in Germany and she would always talk with them about the Church but no one ever gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon! And then a couple of months ago she saw “Legacy” on TV ... random, I know ... and was really touched. So she decided to investigate a bit on her own, and then she asked for missionaries to come. She already knew so much when we came and is totally on board to prepare for baptism. When we challenged her to the 18th she said, "Oh well that would be a wonderful Christmas present for me." Haha ELECT. She's great, I'm so excited to teach her.
Everything with Daphne and William our 2 investigators with dates is going well; people are just getting really busy around here and are hard to meet with. That can be hard. But we're not worried and everything is going to work out.
A funny moment was this week in a lesson with a new investigator named Glen. One of the older woman from the ward came with us, and we had a really good first lesson. At the end of the lesson I was going into challenging him to baptism and I started to say something along the lines of how we would be having a baptism on the 11th of December and before I could finish my sentence, you know, “would you prepare yourself to be baptized on this date” or something, the older sister says, "...and we'd like to invite you to come and watch." Bahh haha I don't think I've ever wanted to hit an old woman before that moment! Haha ok so that's harsh; I wasn't upset, I just thought it was hilarious. I was like oh...haha...ummm, yeah that too... but the date is for YOU. Anyway, we had to go and it didn't end up working out. I'm taking that as a sign though that we just needed to wait. We have another appointment on Wednesday though and I am totally going to try again!
Saturday we got to go to the temple again. That was of course amazing. It was great for Zuster Driggs to be able to see Sekou Kieta a man she baptized a year ago and it was beautiful. The session was in French because that's his moeder taal, so we all had headphones and got to listen in English. I love the peace of the temple. It was a great end to the week and preparation to finding out that I was training.
Yesterday was stake conference and William was able to come which was great. The ward rented a bus and we all traveled together. It was about a hour trip and it was a lot of fun. Wijk Amsterdam is so great!
The longer I've been in the Netherlands the more random things I keep learning about “The Best Two Years,” and the more people I keep meeting who are in it. It's funny, no one is going to want to watch it with me when I come home because I'll keep saying, "know him, know her, been there..." But the funniest one was this week. The Reijnders are one of those big families here in the Netherlands, kind of like the Hattons in Kentucky, and they are all over the movie. We were having lunch yesterday after Stake Conference with one of the sons, Jos, and his wife and somehow got talking about it. I asked him if he was in it and he said "Yeah, I'm the jerk missionary who stole the girlfriend." Haha, apparently they had him come and do this photo shoot and then gave him 20 euro and told him that it might be in the film. And then the movie came out, and before he had seen it someone called him and was like "Hey, so you got the part of the bad guy!" Haha which is so funny because he is one of the most soft spoken people ever. Anyway, so when you watch the movie and it shows the picture with Elder Rodgers and Elder Christiansen (I think is his name) you can know that is Jos Reijnders and he does have a beautiful wife and he is nice and they feed us dinner all the time.
Well that's it for this week. Ik hou van jullie! Happy birthday again Dad! Thank you for the cards, the emails, the prayers, the love, and your testimonies.
Liefs,
Zuster Holbein
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
November 1, 2010
Dear Family,
Sorry this email is so late. I am writing you from the mission home in Brussels right now. We are having a 2 day sisters conference here. It's been the best day ever. We had a super fun time today just having P-day together. This mission has hands-down the best sisters. Last night we spent the night in Antwerpen and it was so good to be back. I got to see a lot of people and it was a tender mercy I needed. I wish I had more time but all the sisters are waiting to email so I don't have time. But quickly -- the temple was amazing! We did the session in Dutch and it was beautiful. I have a very strong testimony that when we go to the temple with a question the Lord will answer it. Zuster Driggs and I actually get to go again this week with an investigator of hers that got baptized last year. It's going to be a great week!
And happy birthday Daddy! I am so happy that you got my cards.
Anyway, that's about all I have time for. I feel your prayers and I really appreciate your love. Everything here is going really well. Pray for opportunities to share the gospel! I promise next week's email will be better. We find out about transfers next week -- crazy to think the transfer is already almost over! So yes, everything is great and I love you all and I pray for you all the time. Blij maar geweldig. :)
Met liefde,
Zuster Holbein
Sorry this email is so late. I am writing you from the mission home in Brussels right now. We are having a 2 day sisters conference here. It's been the best day ever. We had a super fun time today just having P-day together. This mission has hands-down the best sisters. Last night we spent the night in Antwerpen and it was so good to be back. I got to see a lot of people and it was a tender mercy I needed. I wish I had more time but all the sisters are waiting to email so I don't have time. But quickly -- the temple was amazing! We did the session in Dutch and it was beautiful. I have a very strong testimony that when we go to the temple with a question the Lord will answer it. Zuster Driggs and I actually get to go again this week with an investigator of hers that got baptized last year. It's going to be a great week!
And happy birthday Daddy! I am so happy that you got my cards.
Anyway, that's about all I have time for. I feel your prayers and I really appreciate your love. Everything here is going really well. Pray for opportunities to share the gospel! I promise next week's email will be better. We find out about transfers next week -- crazy to think the transfer is already almost over! So yes, everything is great and I love you all and I pray for you all the time. Blij maar geweldig. :)
Met liefde,
Zuster Holbein
Thursday, October 28, 2010
October 25, 2010
Dear Family!
It has been such a wonderful week. I love working here in Amsterdam and I love working with Zuster Driggs. She is absolutely hilarious; I am really going to miss her when she goes home. She asked for your phone number though because she wants to call you when she gets back. Haha, so you can expect that. She is great! I've started running again in the mornings, but there were some problems for a while, and Zuster Driggs is such a sport. She doesn't like to run so she just sits in the cold and watches me run up and down the street. The mornings have gotten really cold here, we really have to buddle up to go outside. Actually, it's basically just always cold here now. Mom, I am so grateful for the rain coat we bought. And I'm glad we bought the bigger size because I can wear my winter coat and then put the rain coat over it. It's helped a lot! I rains every day here. The heater in the church broke too and so the building is freezing! The Snugglie has made its way to Europe and the members are starting to wear their Snugglies to church. It's hilarious. Happy almost birthday Daddy! I am sending a surprise in the mail.
This week was great and this coming week is going to be even better! I can't believe I forgot to tell you last week but...WE GET TO GO TO THE TEMPLE TOMORROW!! I hope you can read the enthusiasm in my voice. I am above and beyond excited to finally get to go back to the temple. People asks us all the time if we are homesick and I always say, no offense to you all, but that I'm temple homesick. We really were spoiled in the MTC to be able to go every week. That's a goal I want to have when I go back to BYU. I've been preparing the last few weeks to come up with questions or just things that have been on my mind. I cannot wait till tomorrow. Haha, it's like Christmas.
So our miracle of the week is a woman name Unique. She is from Suriname, which means she has the most beautiful Dutch ever (besides Vlaams) and we met her through a member here named Jennifer Linkers. We went over to Jennifer's on Thursday to have dinner and Unique was there. She was very, very curious about what we do as missionaries and we ended up teaching her a very full, beautiful first lesson. She loved it! She was a little "skeptical" but believed that she could ask God for an answer. We got her info, but as it turns out she lives in Almere which is just north of here. But we have elders in Almere and it turns out they had knocked on her door before but she hadn't been interested. We told her we could give her info to the elders, but she said that she was going to be in Amsterdam through the weekend and she wanted to know if we could teach her more. Haha, umm... yes, that was possible. We went over every day after that and taught her the plan of salvation, gospel of Jesus Christ, word of wisdom, and law of chastity. She has some problems with the commandments now but she was so touched and knows that what we've told her is true and she needs to change her life around. She read tons from the Book of Mormon in between our visits and she really got it. It was wonderful! During our last appointment yesterday she cried and said she really felt God's love and she wanted to progress to baptism. Oh my goodness I love her! I am so excited for her to continue to be taught by the elders. And she said she comes down to Amsterdam every once in a while so we will see her again. Talk about prepared people. And talk about amazing members. Seriously THIS IS THE WAY TO DO IT -- Jennifer is great. :)
Funny story of the week also comes from Jennifer's. She is also from Suriname and people from Suriname make VERY spicy food. The elders came for dinner as well on Thursday and Elder Wood dared me to eat this small, yellow pepper with him. Everyone was like no, no don't do it, you'll regret it. But... we did it anyway. Oh. My. Gosh. It was so hot! My mouth caught fire haha and I couldn't breathe. Definitely not the smartest thing I've ever done. So Elder Wood and I are sitting there crying and Jennifer starts going off about how we were her guests and so if we were suffering she needed to suffer too. So she pops one in her mouth too! Haha, so we are all sitting there crying and everyone else is laughing and oh man, you just had to see it. Well, you live and learn. And now I have a funny story.
Last night we had a wonderful appointment with the Relief Society President Zuster Van Leeuwen and her husband. They are incredible! Their son is actually on a mission HERE now and he was in my zone in Antwerpen which is cool. They are both awesome members and we talked a lot about working with the ward to get the work done. We gave them a lesson on what my other insight last week was. So people always think, "Oh wow, missionaries are so smart in the gospel. They know so much and when they come home they are just so great. They know everything." And Zuster Driggs and I were talking about that the other day and we were trying to figure out why people think that. People always think that we know everything about the gospel. But the thing is... we don't. And the knowledge that we do have just comes because we study the basics. Every day. Haha for 2 years/year and a half really all we study every day are the first 3 lessons in PMG. Like I study the plan of salvation a lot. I like to study faith. Or just read from the Book of Mormon. It's the basics that make up the gospel. And that's available to everyone, missionary or not. There is no big secret. That's what I love about the gospel. It's simple.
I love you all! Keep praying. Study Preach My Gospel. Really that will help so much!
Met leifde,
Zuster Holbein
It has been such a wonderful week. I love working here in Amsterdam and I love working with Zuster Driggs. She is absolutely hilarious; I am really going to miss her when she goes home. She asked for your phone number though because she wants to call you when she gets back. Haha, so you can expect that. She is great! I've started running again in the mornings, but there were some problems for a while, and Zuster Driggs is such a sport. She doesn't like to run so she just sits in the cold and watches me run up and down the street. The mornings have gotten really cold here, we really have to buddle up to go outside. Actually, it's basically just always cold here now. Mom, I am so grateful for the rain coat we bought. And I'm glad we bought the bigger size because I can wear my winter coat and then put the rain coat over it. It's helped a lot! I rains every day here. The heater in the church broke too and so the building is freezing! The Snugglie has made its way to Europe and the members are starting to wear their Snugglies to church. It's hilarious. Happy almost birthday Daddy! I am sending a surprise in the mail.
This week was great and this coming week is going to be even better! I can't believe I forgot to tell you last week but...WE GET TO GO TO THE TEMPLE TOMORROW!! I hope you can read the enthusiasm in my voice. I am above and beyond excited to finally get to go back to the temple. People asks us all the time if we are homesick and I always say, no offense to you all, but that I'm temple homesick. We really were spoiled in the MTC to be able to go every week. That's a goal I want to have when I go back to BYU. I've been preparing the last few weeks to come up with questions or just things that have been on my mind. I cannot wait till tomorrow. Haha, it's like Christmas.
So our miracle of the week is a woman name Unique. She is from Suriname, which means she has the most beautiful Dutch ever (besides Vlaams) and we met her through a member here named Jennifer Linkers. We went over to Jennifer's on Thursday to have dinner and Unique was there. She was very, very curious about what we do as missionaries and we ended up teaching her a very full, beautiful first lesson. She loved it! She was a little "skeptical" but believed that she could ask God for an answer. We got her info, but as it turns out she lives in Almere which is just north of here. But we have elders in Almere and it turns out they had knocked on her door before but she hadn't been interested. We told her we could give her info to the elders, but she said that she was going to be in Amsterdam through the weekend and she wanted to know if we could teach her more. Haha, umm... yes, that was possible. We went over every day after that and taught her the plan of salvation, gospel of Jesus Christ, word of wisdom, and law of chastity. She has some problems with the commandments now but she was so touched and knows that what we've told her is true and she needs to change her life around. She read tons from the Book of Mormon in between our visits and she really got it. It was wonderful! During our last appointment yesterday she cried and said she really felt God's love and she wanted to progress to baptism. Oh my goodness I love her! I am so excited for her to continue to be taught by the elders. And she said she comes down to Amsterdam every once in a while so we will see her again. Talk about prepared people. And talk about amazing members. Seriously THIS IS THE WAY TO DO IT -- Jennifer is great. :)
Funny story of the week also comes from Jennifer's. She is also from Suriname and people from Suriname make VERY spicy food. The elders came for dinner as well on Thursday and Elder Wood dared me to eat this small, yellow pepper with him. Everyone was like no, no don't do it, you'll regret it. But... we did it anyway. Oh. My. Gosh. It was so hot! My mouth caught fire haha and I couldn't breathe. Definitely not the smartest thing I've ever done. So Elder Wood and I are sitting there crying and Jennifer starts going off about how we were her guests and so if we were suffering she needed to suffer too. So she pops one in her mouth too! Haha, so we are all sitting there crying and everyone else is laughing and oh man, you just had to see it. Well, you live and learn. And now I have a funny story.
Last night we had a wonderful appointment with the Relief Society President Zuster Van Leeuwen and her husband. They are incredible! Their son is actually on a mission HERE now and he was in my zone in Antwerpen which is cool. They are both awesome members and we talked a lot about working with the ward to get the work done. We gave them a lesson on what my other insight last week was. So people always think, "Oh wow, missionaries are so smart in the gospel. They know so much and when they come home they are just so great. They know everything." And Zuster Driggs and I were talking about that the other day and we were trying to figure out why people think that. People always think that we know everything about the gospel. But the thing is... we don't. And the knowledge that we do have just comes because we study the basics. Every day. Haha for 2 years/year and a half really all we study every day are the first 3 lessons in PMG. Like I study the plan of salvation a lot. I like to study faith. Or just read from the Book of Mormon. It's the basics that make up the gospel. And that's available to everyone, missionary or not. There is no big secret. That's what I love about the gospel. It's simple.
I love you all! Keep praying. Study Preach My Gospel. Really that will help so much!
Met leifde,
Zuster Holbein
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
October 18, 2010
Dear Family,
2 Timothy 2:3 has become one of my favorite scriptures. I love thinking of missionary work as a battle, because that's very frequently what it feels like it is. This week was great but it also had its share of harder times. My goodness, do people need the gospel. Sometimes the world is just a little too messed up, haha especially here in Amsterdam... no, it's a great city, and there are problems all over the world. But really, PEOPLE NEED THE GOSPEL. So thank you all for your examples and the ways that you do missionary work. William, way to go inviting so many friends to church! Don't worry if they say no or back out, you're getting a taste of real missionary work. And in the end it always works out. God has a plan for every one of his children. I frequently say to myself "Ik doe mijn best, en God doet de rest" We just do the best we can.
So today has been a great P-day! We and the elders went to the Anne Frank house this morning. Wow. I learned a lot and actually really felt the Spirit when reading parts of her journals. It was also very sad, for obvious reasons, but it gave me good insight on a lot of things. I learned a lot I didn't know. Like the fact that their hiding place was in Amsterdam. Or that her dad survived. Or that she wrote her journals in Dutch! That was the most surprising. They had the originals on display under glass, and we all looked at them and could actually read them! That was insane but really cool. So yes that's been today.
Other exciting news -- We set another baptismal date! His name is Lewis van de something (bahh I'm so bad with names) and he is awesome. We met him my first day here on a tram and his date is for the 21st of November. Both he and Daphne the other woman we are helping to prepare for baptism are strong people and they both are really enthusiastic about the gospel. Pray that they will be able to make it to church on Sundays. That seems to always be the problem. Oh and this past Saturday there was the baptism of a wonderful woman named Priscilla. She was one of the elders’ investigators but we also worked with her a little. The doop dienst was so wonderful. When she got baptized and came back up her grandson yelled "Nog een keer!" (One more time!) Haha it was so cute. We also did an awesome musical number with the elders. We sang "Come Follow Me" to the tune of "I Like To Look For Rainbows" It was beautiful. My mission has made me love singing. And I don't think I'm that bad actually. Haha though it's probably just a gift of the Spirit. I bet I'll come back and not be able to. We shall see.
So we've had a lot of finding time this week and I came to two cool realizations. Story of my mission -- I feel like my mission is opening up my mind to what the gospel actually is. What is means to be a Latter-day Saint. You know? It's like I got it before, but not really. Or just not all of it. Here I have had so many "Ah-ha!" light bulb moments. I love it.
This week while finding we met some of the most amazing people. One woman we met started crying as soon as we said we were from the Church of Jesus Christ. She totally opened up about how unhappy she was and how she doesn't know where to turn. We had a powerful lesson with her on the street about the atonement and we read with her from the Book of Mormon and prayed. Another woman we met doing doors said she didn't believe it God at all, but she let us pray with her, and when we finished the prayer and looked at her she was crying. Another young man let us sing "Count your Blessings" for him and happily took a copy of the Book of Mormon. Another man asked me specifically what the center of our gospel was and I got to boldly and plainly testify that Jesus Christ and his atonement are the center, and because he loves us he still guides us today through a prophet.
Another time a man was talking about the Holy Ghost, and a scripture came into my head that I had read earlier, but I couldn't remember where it was. I prayed though and just opened the Book of Mormon, and there it was. I shared it with the man and he was openly touched. So many little miracles. That's how God works. I believe 100% in a God of miracles.
There have been so many wonderful people that we've met and shared the gospel with -- but the thing is, none of them would give us their information. They all said they would call us. From the beginning of my mission until just this past week that has really bothered me. I've thought, "Oh come on! You felt the Spirit; I know you did. Why don't you want to learn more?" But just this past week it hit me. Sometimes it takes people many times to actually accept the gospel; and you know what? I believe that. A lot of the people who have recently been baptized here in Amsterdam are those who were FORMER investigators or had come in contact with the Church before. It just wasn't their time then. And I thought Dad about how you always say that every card, every smile, every song, every prayer, every Book of Mormon given away has a purpose. It helps someone. Maybe they don't become an active investigator right then and there, BUT they do get one more contact closer. One contact closer to accepting it. So maybe I have to talk to 100 people, and go along the doors, and feel the Spirit with people, and then they say no. It's okay. Because it's all just laying the foundation. I'm happy to help do that.
Haha, time's up. I'll have to share my other insight next week.
I love you all! I'm happy and loving it, and really couldn't ask for more. Blij maar geweldig.
Met liefde,
Zuster Holbein
2 Timothy 2:3 has become one of my favorite scriptures. I love thinking of missionary work as a battle, because that's very frequently what it feels like it is. This week was great but it also had its share of harder times. My goodness, do people need the gospel. Sometimes the world is just a little too messed up, haha especially here in Amsterdam... no, it's a great city, and there are problems all over the world. But really, PEOPLE NEED THE GOSPEL. So thank you all for your examples and the ways that you do missionary work. William, way to go inviting so many friends to church! Don't worry if they say no or back out, you're getting a taste of real missionary work. And in the end it always works out. God has a plan for every one of his children. I frequently say to myself "Ik doe mijn best, en God doet de rest" We just do the best we can.
So today has been a great P-day! We and the elders went to the Anne Frank house this morning. Wow. I learned a lot and actually really felt the Spirit when reading parts of her journals. It was also very sad, for obvious reasons, but it gave me good insight on a lot of things. I learned a lot I didn't know. Like the fact that their hiding place was in Amsterdam. Or that her dad survived. Or that she wrote her journals in Dutch! That was the most surprising. They had the originals on display under glass, and we all looked at them and could actually read them! That was insane but really cool. So yes that's been today.
Other exciting news -- We set another baptismal date! His name is Lewis van de something (bahh I'm so bad with names) and he is awesome. We met him my first day here on a tram and his date is for the 21st of November. Both he and Daphne the other woman we are helping to prepare for baptism are strong people and they both are really enthusiastic about the gospel. Pray that they will be able to make it to church on Sundays. That seems to always be the problem. Oh and this past Saturday there was the baptism of a wonderful woman named Priscilla. She was one of the elders’ investigators but we also worked with her a little. The doop dienst was so wonderful. When she got baptized and came back up her grandson yelled "Nog een keer!" (One more time!) Haha it was so cute. We also did an awesome musical number with the elders. We sang "Come Follow Me" to the tune of "I Like To Look For Rainbows" It was beautiful. My mission has made me love singing. And I don't think I'm that bad actually. Haha though it's probably just a gift of the Spirit. I bet I'll come back and not be able to. We shall see.
So we've had a lot of finding time this week and I came to two cool realizations. Story of my mission -- I feel like my mission is opening up my mind to what the gospel actually is. What is means to be a Latter-day Saint. You know? It's like I got it before, but not really. Or just not all of it. Here I have had so many "Ah-ha!" light bulb moments. I love it.
This week while finding we met some of the most amazing people. One woman we met started crying as soon as we said we were from the Church of Jesus Christ. She totally opened up about how unhappy she was and how she doesn't know where to turn. We had a powerful lesson with her on the street about the atonement and we read with her from the Book of Mormon and prayed. Another woman we met doing doors said she didn't believe it God at all, but she let us pray with her, and when we finished the prayer and looked at her she was crying. Another young man let us sing "Count your Blessings" for him and happily took a copy of the Book of Mormon. Another man asked me specifically what the center of our gospel was and I got to boldly and plainly testify that Jesus Christ and his atonement are the center, and because he loves us he still guides us today through a prophet.
Another time a man was talking about the Holy Ghost, and a scripture came into my head that I had read earlier, but I couldn't remember where it was. I prayed though and just opened the Book of Mormon, and there it was. I shared it with the man and he was openly touched. So many little miracles. That's how God works. I believe 100% in a God of miracles.
There have been so many wonderful people that we've met and shared the gospel with -- but the thing is, none of them would give us their information. They all said they would call us. From the beginning of my mission until just this past week that has really bothered me. I've thought, "Oh come on! You felt the Spirit; I know you did. Why don't you want to learn more?" But just this past week it hit me. Sometimes it takes people many times to actually accept the gospel; and you know what? I believe that. A lot of the people who have recently been baptized here in Amsterdam are those who were FORMER investigators or had come in contact with the Church before. It just wasn't their time then. And I thought Dad about how you always say that every card, every smile, every song, every prayer, every Book of Mormon given away has a purpose. It helps someone. Maybe they don't become an active investigator right then and there, BUT they do get one more contact closer. One contact closer to accepting it. So maybe I have to talk to 100 people, and go along the doors, and feel the Spirit with people, and then they say no. It's okay. Because it's all just laying the foundation. I'm happy to help do that.
Haha, time's up. I'll have to share my other insight next week.
I love you all! I'm happy and loving it, and really couldn't ask for more. Blij maar geweldig.
Met liefde,
Zuster Holbein
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
4 Weeks Condensed
At the beginning of my mission I used to always try and say the longest prayer with all the big Dutch words I knew just because I couldn't always say lot else and I wanted to make sure I got something in. Haha, does that make sense? But learning at conference helped me to realize the importance of teaching to people's understanding. Prayer is so important for these people. No one will learn anything unless the Spirit teaches them, and the biggest way he does that is through prayer.
---
I am so happy and excited and nervous and just 54,321 different emotions as I write today. Mostly just happy and excited because we found out about transfers last night and... I'm going to AMSTERDAM!! :) Honestly this was not at all where I thought I would go, but I kind of secretly prayed I would, and I guess Heavenly Father felt it was a righteous desire. Zuster Driggs will be my new companion. This is her last transfer so once again I will be having to learn a city in 6 weeks to take over. I'm beyond excited though. It'll be super hard leaving Antwerpen, haha and just Belgium in general. How crazy is it that in this mission you can get transferred to a different country? I feel like it's the right thing and I'm excited for the adventures that await me. I've learned so much these past 6 months in Antwerpen and it will always have a special place in my heart. There are so many people here I love, but I know that they will always be a part of my life. I love D&C 130:2. And I will miss working with Zuster Fritz. She really has become one of my best friends and she's helped me through so much. Haha, thank goodness we both go to BYU.
We've had so many amazing appointments here with members and investigators. The Church is strong here in Belgium; it has a really bright future. There are so many people here I wish you all could meet! Seriously Family Schiltz, Zuster Van Wauwe, Broer Nuyens, Grace and Joseph, Katie, Heidi and Marie, Joseph Mendy, Andy Thomas, all the investigators -- just everyone. Anyone up for a trip to Belgium after the mission? These people have been my life and I love them more than I ever knew was possible. My mission has taught me so much about love and the capacity to help people. I'm so excited to see who is waiting for me in Amsterdam. I can't wait to find them. We also had zone conference this week in Utrecht and Elder Wells, Verwey and myself did an awesome musical number. They both play the recorder and so with my flute we played "Alles wat Adam heeft" (Praise to the Lord). It was so pretty! Thank you for sending my flute, I love having it.
---
Here I am in Amsterdam and I love it! It's completely different from Belgium, but I already feel at home. Major differences: 1) It's clean. No offense to Belgium, but it's not the cleanest country. Everything is very new here; it reminds me a lot of America. 2) The language! Haha this is not Flemish that's for sure. It's so much easier to understand -- I should've started my mission here. It's pretty though. And 3) The people are so much nicer! Ok, that sounds horrible to say, but in Belgium, you just don't naturally talk to people on the street; they think it's weird. But here, it's so natural to talk to people. Everyone says hi on the street or at a stoplight on a bike and it's so nice! It makes contacting a lot easier. There are 6 missionaries in the city, well 8 actually. Us, 2 sets of elders, and the Pancratzs a senior couple. There is a lot of work to do! We are finding, finding, finding. We're doing a lot with the members. The ward here is legit -- they know how to get things done. I have already met so many members; they feed us all the time, and I love them already. They are very willing to help with missionary work.
---
You receive this email today from a very happy Zuster Holbein. Why am I so happy? Haha, I don't really know. Maybe because it's been a great week and it's a beautiful sunny fall day today. Maybe just because I'm a missionary and that is always reason to be happy. Whatever it is I woke up really happy this morning. Just thankful for all the tender mercies of the week and the love that I've felt from my Heavenly Father.
Amsterdam is one multicultural city. In one consecrated hour we met people from Russia, Portugal, Brazil, Australia, Germany, France, and Bulgaria. Crazy! I am working on learning the name of the Church in lots of other languages. I've got French and Spanish the best. I can say, “We are missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” And Zuster Driggs knows Russian which is cool and helpful.
Know that I am really happy and I feel your love and prayers. We are so blessed to be members of this church; honestly, I don't think I have ever realized it so much in my life. The Book of Mormon clearly is the word of God. It changes lives; it brings light. I love it.
Keep on keeping on.
Met liefde,
Zuster Holbein
---
I am so happy and excited and nervous and just 54,321 different emotions as I write today. Mostly just happy and excited because we found out about transfers last night and... I'm going to AMSTERDAM!! :) Honestly this was not at all where I thought I would go, but I kind of secretly prayed I would, and I guess Heavenly Father felt it was a righteous desire. Zuster Driggs will be my new companion. This is her last transfer so once again I will be having to learn a city in 6 weeks to take over. I'm beyond excited though. It'll be super hard leaving Antwerpen, haha and just Belgium in general. How crazy is it that in this mission you can get transferred to a different country? I feel like it's the right thing and I'm excited for the adventures that await me. I've learned so much these past 6 months in Antwerpen and it will always have a special place in my heart. There are so many people here I love, but I know that they will always be a part of my life. I love D&C 130:2. And I will miss working with Zuster Fritz. She really has become one of my best friends and she's helped me through so much. Haha, thank goodness we both go to BYU.
We've had so many amazing appointments here with members and investigators. The Church is strong here in Belgium; it has a really bright future. There are so many people here I wish you all could meet! Seriously Family Schiltz, Zuster Van Wauwe, Broer Nuyens, Grace and Joseph, Katie, Heidi and Marie, Joseph Mendy, Andy Thomas, all the investigators -- just everyone. Anyone up for a trip to Belgium after the mission? These people have been my life and I love them more than I ever knew was possible. My mission has taught me so much about love and the capacity to help people. I'm so excited to see who is waiting for me in Amsterdam. I can't wait to find them. We also had zone conference this week in Utrecht and Elder Wells, Verwey and myself did an awesome musical number. They both play the recorder and so with my flute we played "Alles wat Adam heeft" (Praise to the Lord). It was so pretty! Thank you for sending my flute, I love having it.
---
Here I am in Amsterdam and I love it! It's completely different from Belgium, but I already feel at home. Major differences: 1) It's clean. No offense to Belgium, but it's not the cleanest country. Everything is very new here; it reminds me a lot of America. 2) The language! Haha this is not Flemish that's for sure. It's so much easier to understand -- I should've started my mission here. It's pretty though. And 3) The people are so much nicer! Ok, that sounds horrible to say, but in Belgium, you just don't naturally talk to people on the street; they think it's weird. But here, it's so natural to talk to people. Everyone says hi on the street or at a stoplight on a bike and it's so nice! It makes contacting a lot easier. There are 6 missionaries in the city, well 8 actually. Us, 2 sets of elders, and the Pancratzs a senior couple. There is a lot of work to do! We are finding, finding, finding. We're doing a lot with the members. The ward here is legit -- they know how to get things done. I have already met so many members; they feed us all the time, and I love them already. They are very willing to help with missionary work.
---
You receive this email today from a very happy Zuster Holbein. Why am I so happy? Haha, I don't really know. Maybe because it's been a great week and it's a beautiful sunny fall day today. Maybe just because I'm a missionary and that is always reason to be happy. Whatever it is I woke up really happy this morning. Just thankful for all the tender mercies of the week and the love that I've felt from my Heavenly Father.
Amsterdam is one multicultural city. In one consecrated hour we met people from Russia, Portugal, Brazil, Australia, Germany, France, and Bulgaria. Crazy! I am working on learning the name of the Church in lots of other languages. I've got French and Spanish the best. I can say, “We are missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” And Zuster Driggs knows Russian which is cool and helpful.
Know that I am really happy and I feel your love and prayers. We are so blessed to be members of this church; honestly, I don't think I have ever realized it so much in my life. The Book of Mormon clearly is the word of God. It changes lives; it brings light. I love it.
Keep on keeping on.
Met liefde,
Zuster Holbein
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Another Week
Dear Family,
... It's been an incredible week. I love it here in Antwerpen. And I love working with Zuster Fritz, we have so much fun together. President Brubaker always says if you're not having fun, you're not doing it right. I agree with that! Brugge was amazing last week. It really is like a fairytale town. Julia, Mom, and Brittney -- I got you each something made with lace, and I got to watch the ladies making the lace. Super cool and way pretty. The best part was meeting Zuster Van Wauwe's friend Dirk. It turns out he did speak Dutch and we had an awesome day talking with him. He accepted a Book of Mormon and told Zuster Van Wauwe that he was very impressed with us -- that would be the Spirit. We're seeing him again in 2 weeks when we go to Brussels for a P-day and we're going to get him together with the elders.
So we set 2 more baptismal dates this week! We now have 7 people who we are helping prepare, and oh boy are we busy! It's so crazy but so wonderful. Florence and Samuel are the story of this week. We met them in the train station about 2 weeks ago and gave them a copy of the Book of Mormon. When we went to teach them they had already read through 1 Nephi 5 and they loved it. They had so many questions about authority and baptism. Yes, they brought it up! It was so great! They committed to October 17th and we are so excited to get them ready. The ward has been so great with coming on joint teaching appointments too, so they will feel right at home. Everyone else is progressing really well. I love these people so much. Haha I frequently feel like a proud parent or something.
Anyway, we had a awesome lesson with Juliette and Hendrik on the Gospel of Jesus Christ on Wednesday. Br Nuyens came along, and it was more like a big discussion which I love, that's how lessons should be. And I had this really cool realization during the lesson. Right before we went to teach them all this frustrating stuff kept happening; people just fell through and it was blah. Really, I felt gross inside. But then as soon as we started the lesson, I felt this warmth inside, and I got really happy. So it sounds really stupid and really simple, but I realized in this “oh duh” moment, that I love talking about the gospel. It brings me so much joy. Nothing else can replace it. People would think that coming to Europe, you know, if you are having a bad day you should go sight seeing or shopping or do something cool -- but no. That's not it. It's just being with people, helping them, and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ that brings happiness. I'm so blessed to be able to do it all the time! It's a happiness I've never felt before.
So here’s the crazy moment of the week. This part you HAVE TO MAKE SURE MY ROOMMATES SEE. :) So last night we went to a young adult fireside to talk about missionary work. We walked in and were talking to some people when all of a sudden we heard a group of boys talking in English. We turned around and asked them why they were speaking in English and they said because this guy doesn’t understand Dutch. And I looked at the guy they were talking about and it was this guy named Fernando who my friend Nikki dated Freshman year! SO CRAZY. He recognized me and we were both very… “Oh my goodness, what are you doing here?” Haha it turns out his parents are Belgian so he is here for a few months. Weird. But cool to see him. The world really is so small sometimes.
Elder Ballard comes this Wednesday! I am so excited and also SO nervous about playing my flute. Elder Relitz and I are playing “Beautiful Saviour.” Pray that it goes ok! I will definitely tell you all about it next week. Also, next Sunday is a special stake conference and Bishop Burton is coming. That will also be great!
Dad you asked about the Dutch -- haha it's funny, I guess I haven't really thought about it in a while. There are still moments when I get frustrated like when really old people speak Antwerps, a dialect that NO ONE understands. But I've noticed if I don't get frustrated and just pray and do my best, the language comes. I love it. I think Vlaams is beautiful and I'll be sad to leave it when I go to the Netherlands. I will forever have my Belgian accent though and say all the little French words they use. Haha for example here they say "Wat 'blieft?" when they don't understand, and in the Netherlands they say "Wat zegt u?' So I'll probably sound Belgian for the rest of my life. Oh well. ☺
Thanks for all the support, love, prayers, letters, cards, emails and everything. This gospel is true. The world needs it. We are all children of God and it's our duty to share the knowledge we have with others. Everyone on the earth chose the gospel of Jesus Christ once, we just have to help them choose it again! Ik zie jullie graag.
Met liefde,
Zuster Holbein
... It's been an incredible week. I love it here in Antwerpen. And I love working with Zuster Fritz, we have so much fun together. President Brubaker always says if you're not having fun, you're not doing it right. I agree with that! Brugge was amazing last week. It really is like a fairytale town. Julia, Mom, and Brittney -- I got you each something made with lace, and I got to watch the ladies making the lace. Super cool and way pretty. The best part was meeting Zuster Van Wauwe's friend Dirk. It turns out he did speak Dutch and we had an awesome day talking with him. He accepted a Book of Mormon and told Zuster Van Wauwe that he was very impressed with us -- that would be the Spirit. We're seeing him again in 2 weeks when we go to Brussels for a P-day and we're going to get him together with the elders.
So we set 2 more baptismal dates this week! We now have 7 people who we are helping prepare, and oh boy are we busy! It's so crazy but so wonderful. Florence and Samuel are the story of this week. We met them in the train station about 2 weeks ago and gave them a copy of the Book of Mormon. When we went to teach them they had already read through 1 Nephi 5 and they loved it. They had so many questions about authority and baptism. Yes, they brought it up! It was so great! They committed to October 17th and we are so excited to get them ready. The ward has been so great with coming on joint teaching appointments too, so they will feel right at home. Everyone else is progressing really well. I love these people so much. Haha I frequently feel like a proud parent or something.
Anyway, we had a awesome lesson with Juliette and Hendrik on the Gospel of Jesus Christ on Wednesday. Br Nuyens came along, and it was more like a big discussion which I love, that's how lessons should be. And I had this really cool realization during the lesson. Right before we went to teach them all this frustrating stuff kept happening; people just fell through and it was blah. Really, I felt gross inside. But then as soon as we started the lesson, I felt this warmth inside, and I got really happy. So it sounds really stupid and really simple, but I realized in this “oh duh” moment, that I love talking about the gospel. It brings me so much joy. Nothing else can replace it. People would think that coming to Europe, you know, if you are having a bad day you should go sight seeing or shopping or do something cool -- but no. That's not it. It's just being with people, helping them, and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ that brings happiness. I'm so blessed to be able to do it all the time! It's a happiness I've never felt before.
So here’s the crazy moment of the week. This part you HAVE TO MAKE SURE MY ROOMMATES SEE. :) So last night we went to a young adult fireside to talk about missionary work. We walked in and were talking to some people when all of a sudden we heard a group of boys talking in English. We turned around and asked them why they were speaking in English and they said because this guy doesn’t understand Dutch. And I looked at the guy they were talking about and it was this guy named Fernando who my friend Nikki dated Freshman year! SO CRAZY. He recognized me and we were both very… “Oh my goodness, what are you doing here?” Haha it turns out his parents are Belgian so he is here for a few months. Weird. But cool to see him. The world really is so small sometimes.
Elder Ballard comes this Wednesday! I am so excited and also SO nervous about playing my flute. Elder Relitz and I are playing “Beautiful Saviour.” Pray that it goes ok! I will definitely tell you all about it next week. Also, next Sunday is a special stake conference and Bishop Burton is coming. That will also be great!
Dad you asked about the Dutch -- haha it's funny, I guess I haven't really thought about it in a while. There are still moments when I get frustrated like when really old people speak Antwerps, a dialect that NO ONE understands. But I've noticed if I don't get frustrated and just pray and do my best, the language comes. I love it. I think Vlaams is beautiful and I'll be sad to leave it when I go to the Netherlands. I will forever have my Belgian accent though and say all the little French words they use. Haha for example here they say "Wat 'blieft?" when they don't understand, and in the Netherlands they say "Wat zegt u?' So I'll probably sound Belgian for the rest of my life. Oh well. ☺
Thanks for all the support, love, prayers, letters, cards, emails and everything. This gospel is true. The world needs it. We are all children of God and it's our duty to share the knowledge we have with others. Everyone on the earth chose the gospel of Jesus Christ once, we just have to help them choose it again! Ik zie jullie graag.
Met liefde,
Zuster Holbein
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