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