Emmen...

Thanks for the loving support that you send every week.

My first transfer ends on Wednesday. I will be staying in Emmen with Elder Bell!!!! I am excited.

Top Ten 10 things that are different here in Holland:

10 their public transportation system works effectively and people use it a lot.

9 it seems like there is a holiday or a day off work every other weekend.

8 the toilet is in one room and the shower is in another

7 when it rains, it pours - it is drier in a shower than outside

6 they have this dessert called Vla (said fla) and it is sooo good. It’s like a mix between pudding and yogurt

Top 5

5 we are not allowed to wear helmets on bikes as missionaries. No one does. Kids throw rocks at people with them on and break them when they are left with the bike.

4 bikers have the "right of way"...Always

3 almost every House (I’m not saying apartments) shares a wall with another house

2 people say heel laas pindakaas which literally translates as unfortunately peanut cheese.

#1 people ride bikes in the rain with their umbrellas out and open


Miracles are being poured out from heaven. Our district (only 8 missionaries in 4 cities) has 10 baptismal dates. We have just set one.

Found 6 new investigators yesterday.

loves
Elder DeMeester

helaas pindakaas

Already we had 4 new investigators come to church yesterday!!! It was sweet. 3 from Africa (Congo) and a Dutch man Arejon. Hopefully we will be having more next week.

At the beginning of the week we set a baptismal date for a Dutch guy named Elmar but yesterday he didn’t come to church and so we visited him and he doesn’t want to make a return appointment...which means he dropped us.

I am starting to realize that control over people really is an illusion. There is no control that we have as missionaries over people. We meet with "friends" for 30-45 min 2-3 times a week, we expect them to come to church and become baptized. We have to rely on God for the rest. He is the one that prepares people and guides them with the light of Christ and the Holy Ghost everyday for every choice. I have a testimony that the only thing we can attempt to control is our attitude and our actions. Me as a person, I can choose to wake up on time or not. I can choose the music that is played and I can choose to work hard or waste time. With each choice that we chose we can come closer to God or further ourselves from him. When obedience becomes a quest, that is when god endows us with power. The more obedient we are the more power He will trust us with. that is why mission presidents give us so many more rules than in "regular life", because we need more power to change people in those 30-45 min that we have sharing the gospel. With greater obedience comes a greater amount of spirit thus we must always watch our actions and smile at the tender mercies that the lord gives us

Elder De Meester

Weekly letter from Emmen...

Hi all. Grandma Newton, thank you so much for getting my baptismal clothes ready for me (she hemmed his pants) because I am doing a baptism this weekend! We are baptizing a Chinese student that is up here for college. We have taught him in English and he has such a great testimony. His name is Chen Zhi but he goes by Jules! He is 19 (we have been putting missionary thoughts into his mind) and he asked me to baptize him on May 30th! We also have a woman being baptized on June 6th ish but we might have to move it because of her finals. I love this city!
My “Hand of the Lord” experience this week: for two of our appointments the investigator calls us before we get there and is like "Is it all right if I bring some friends?" and of course we were like ja. So basically the Lord gave us 4 new investigators and was like, "Teach them" with no work on our side. Blessings of being obedient in the small things I think. We have interviews with the mission president tomorrow-- my "first” and "last" because he is leaving and we are getting a new one. I love you so much. The work is hard but satisfying! Letters take about 1 week to get here. Happy Memorial Day! I can’t wait till this weekend! My first baptism and I know that with the help of the Lord there will be many more :D

Happy Days Will Come To You All Year!!!

Happy Birthday to Grandma Lil! If the candles are too much to blow out... use your garden hose! We love you and wish you the best of today and the whole year! Wish we could all be there with you.

First P-Day in Emmen...

Hey everyone! Its Monday preparation day! It has been the best 6 days ever! My trainer is Elder Bell from Idaho. I got to my city, Emmen on Wednesday and on the train rides up I got to meet him. Also on the train rides up we had both of our appointments cancel on us :D typical right. So we decided to go finding with our bikes (they typically have an extra one at this city if one breaks or if someone like me doesn’t have one...) turns out that the key to the extra bike went to de Hagg with an elder and my companion’s promptly breaks. So we came up with a backup plan for our backup plan and we started talking to people in the bus station. The good part of the story was that we got 3 numbers from people to call them back. One couple that we found later on Saturday found us and told us that they had read the pamphlet and wanted to make an appointment. We are going to be meeting them on this coming Sat. On Friday we had a baptism, Elder bell baptized and I was a witness :D. She was a Chinese student who has good English and her friend, Jules has a baptismal date on the 30th! We also have Elmar, 32 years old who came to the baptismal service for Melody and yesterday came to church for the first time. We have complete confidence that he can kick smoking and we can get him a date soon. Azadeh has a baptismal date on June 6th and we are working closely with him. The work goes on and I am loving it. As for the jet lag! Such a myth!! It hasn’t slowed me down a bit. I’m sure all those long nights "studying" at BYU-I help out there. Tomorrow is district meeting so I am going to Zwolle for the meeting (my companion is the district leader) and then Nijmegen with another elder for exchanges! I got to bear my testimony in church on Sunday, it was leuk. There is a strong branch. I am buying my bike tonight (the key hasn’t come back yet and my companion’s bike is in the shop) so till now we have been using the bus and walking. P.S. I am loving the food here! But all things in moderation as dad would say:D. Sister Ekstrom is in de Hagg right now and i am sure my Danish MTC companions are loving life in Denmark. ps. Ganzenveld 70, 7827 SC Emmen, Netherlands is our address so you know. my love goes out to you all!

Elder DeMeester has arrived safely! He looks excited and enthusiastic about his mission. We are delighted to have him with us. His first assignment will be in the city of Emmen. His address will be:

Ganzenveld 70
7827 SC Emmen
Netherlands

We are continually impressed by the eagerness and strong testimonies of the new missionaries arriving in the mission field. We are happy for his addition to our missionary corps and assure you that we will do everything possible to make this a rewarding, cherished, and spiritual experience.

As you know, missionary work can be quite demanding. To help maintain a positive attitude for your missionary, communication from family and friends is especially important and should be supportive. May we make the following suggestions: write each week; make your letters optimistic and encouraging; avoid references to problems at home unless absolutely necessary; show genuine interest in your missionary’s daily activities and especially in his accomplishments.

Sister Woodland and I wish to thank you for this ambassador of the Lord. We know that you will

be blessed during the service of Elder DeMeester. We have frequent opportunity to review each missionary’s situation and needs. We hold zone conferences one month and personal interviews the next month. We do our best to love, encourage, sustain all of our missionaries, and to take personal interest in each one of them. They keep me informed as to their specific circumstances through a weekly letter. If you know of anything that would help me in assisting your missionary, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Know that your missionary is in the hands of the Lord and under His protection (Matthew 28:19).

We are most appreciative of your constant support for your missionary.

Sincerely yours,
Paul R. Woodland
President

Elder DeMeester Letters...one month in and one month out

Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2009

So this is the halfway mark! this sat is the 11th and i came on the 11th of march and i leave on the 11th or may!!!!!! yeah i dont think that I have the language half way done tho. seems like there is a lot mre to learn but that will come with more time. i love doing english fasts. we had two last week and we are having two this week. we will be haveng more as the weeks go on. that really is one of the best way of learning the language...just speaking it. i love being with my two companions. they are great examples for me.it is a blessing to have sister ekstrom speaking dutch with me. she is a dilligent worker and we help each other learn and grow in dutch and in english. on monday we taught 4 lessons 3 of wich were compleatly in dutch. it was the first time teaching in dutch and so we are getting as much practice as we can. tho it can be hard to teach cause the person who is learning is usualy one of your teachers or a tutor who comes in. but we are doing our best. thatyou so much for the package with the one shirt and socks. also thanks mohameds for the letters and picts and everything else in the envelope. no i have not gotten McKay woods package, i hope to soon. i am also looking forward to the other package with more shirts and everything else moms putting into it (including those cookies!) I have gained 3 pounds in the 4 weeks ive been here, so lay them on me :D (that was not a lie either, the food just isnt as good as your cookin mom so i just dont eat as much of it) i loved general conferance!!!!!!!! wow it was soo good. highlight stories, ya uchtdorfs priesthood session talk, story of the lightbulb. i loved it. i also loved how he stressed that we are all "doing a great work and can not come down". what a great man i Loved elder hollands talk. what a passionate speaker. my mouth was droped and tears streaming the whole time. i love it when he talks about our savior. did anyone else feel the stress that was put on going to the temple? just because they are dead doesnt mean that they dont want their work done for them too:P please take advantage of having a temple close!!! what a blessing it truly is. i also loved elder todd chistoffersons talk. it was so profound when he said " in times of distress, let your obediance be exact so that you can ask, with nothing wavering of the lord." i know that i have been striving to do that. i need and hvae been recieving the gift of tongues. god is truly with his missionaries. i love it. the holy ghost leads and guides us on what to say and when ot sayit. our fireside that sunday night was one of the best. the old mission presidnet opend it up for the missionaries to sugest songs and then to sing the first verse of them. i sugested and we all sang be still my soul. i love that song, and hearing 2000 missionaries sing it was so powerfull. i cant bleive how fast these weeks are going. we have already had english missionaries come after us and leave. that is hard beacuse for 3 weeks we are able to get to know these great young men and then they are gone. some might even get a baptism in this next month...which would mean they would be baptizing while we are still in the MTC... kinda a funny thought. this is not an easy work. being in the classroom at 7:00 am and leaving at 9:30 pm. that is 14 and a half hours of mind-work-ness. but its all good. i love the gospel! i whish i had more time at the end of every day to learn. 14 hours is not enough.i know that i am on the lords errond and that he watches over every one of his missionaries. i love having the restored gospel in my life and i know that it changes and purifies us as we strive to live it. i love being able to hear the words of the prophet! i always took that for granted till now. he is the porphet of the world, not just for our church. i am so that that people are being humbled and i pray everyday to have the lord guid our footsteps. dont be afraid to open your mouth and talk to people. this gospel only has the power to bless lives. we are so blessed to have it, and if we dont share it then we are not furthing gods work. i challenge you to opem your mouth today and talk with all those on your path.love elder demeester

Talmage's farewell

Before Talmage left for his mission, we wanted to have one last partay! So we packed up (just ask the uncles...they were packed) and headed up to Silver Star. We had a blast! We did a little tubing (that was one big chain of tubes!) BEFORE: AFTER:We did a little Rock Band... We played some games...
And we had a lot of fun! Talmage did hurt his foot on Thursday and after making sure it wasn't broken, he got to spend the entire day Friday with his nephews while we skiied;>

Then on Sunday he gave a wonderful "farewell" talk and then Nelson and Mckay headed to the airport...but not until I made them take a couple more pictures. Yes, I'm the Nazi with the camera!

Good times were had by all! I'm so grateful that we've been so blessed to be a family!

Our Alison

Say a little prayer for our Alison so she will be up and about and her usual perky self.

We love you Ali bo bali and want you to know we think of you! I sure hope you aren't missing that hospital food too bad. You know, you aren't very far away that Dan could probably go pick some up for you!

Get better soon.

Oh, and Dan, thanks for not screening our call and talking to us last week!