dear family: 

i will try and sum up this week. the gospel of Jesus Christ is brilliant. its true. its lovely. its everything we need to live good lives and have wonderful relationships with ALL people. God is our Heavenly Father. He LOVES us so dearly. this week i had the opportunity to give my closing testimony. i will be leaving this blessed mission over four short weeks. i was grateful that many of the elders in my mtc group were also present because we all came together and have experienced everything together up until this point. i was nervous but when i got up there i was fine because i realized that its all the same. there is no end to missionary work. i am grateful to be here and i will be grateful to go home because i love people. you, my family, are the reason i am here. and you are also the reason i will be happy to come home. this life is about relationships. and i am super blessed to be best friends with each of my siblings, their spouses, their children and my parents. i love it. i love that God has given us this time to come here and build such great frienships with others. that we can CHOOSE to follow his way and be happy. i love it so much. i am grateful to be able to share that with others. 

"our religion is not merely theory, it is a practical religion to bring present enjoyment to every heart" - brigham young

as often as we like to complicate things and get down to the nitty gritty - the answers of life will always remain the same. love one another. work hard. make it happen. no matter how you swing it. i love you all. seriously. i know that this email doesn't have any interesting stories. i know. i know. ahhhhh!!!!!! but sometimes i run out of time because i like to email you individually and then i realize that i only have five minutes so i always choose to share my testimony. ahhh1!!!!! next week i will plan better. wait a minute. i have said that every week. we'll see. 

loves - katelyn 

dear family - 

guess what? i had another crazy week. hah. why do i even write that?!?!?! its always this way. but this one felt more legit crazy. we travled back and forth between our countries about five times. not an exaggeration even. meetings and hullabaloo. all of it good. let me be splain. 

conference was great by the way. WOOO!!!!! i loved it. i could watch it all again RIGHT NOW. 

so, monday and tuesday were great. we had some super golden lessons with our investigators. the church is true, my friends. that i know. the restoration happened and continues to bless our lives. the book of mormon is the way to figure it out. 

wednesday we had exchanges and i went to gouda again. i LOVE that city. the people are amazing. we found some super cool new people and had a couple great appointments. at our last appointment of the evening, we saw quite the miracle. brother and sister gruppman (the russian musical genius couple that lived in provo for thirty years) had us over for dinner with a newly baptized member. we were having an enjoyable evening when the doorbell rang. we hear a voice of a dutch man...sister gruppman quickly explains his situation and that he hasn't been active for three years and they've had no communication until tonight...the night they have the missionaries over...then he walks in. what follows is one of the funniest and most interesting nights of my mission. i can't describe it exactly but i know that God arranges things brilliantly. the newly baptized brother bore his testimony of the truthfulness and said that he would live it for eternity. the gruppmans encouraged him to keep searching and not give up. although he was somewhat standoff-ish... i know that the spirit touched him. we talked, sang a hymn and prayed. the testimonies of all present were strengthened. it was super cool. and on the train home that night we got an appointment with a preacher named...preacher mike. it doesnt get better than that! woo! 

thursday we booked it back to belgium for a day of appointments and haps..packed our bags and went  back to nederland...stayed with the sisters in den haag while z.nielsen and i went to the mission leader council and our companions went on exchanges. friday was the council and oh what a delight it was. super awesome training from the classiest people. (president and sister robinson) and then the council part...which reminded me somewhat of LOTR. we discussed the haps of the mission and what needs to change with all the new missionaries coming in..and how to make exchanges, district meetings, and training more efficient. it was truly delightsome! i sure learned a lot about the importance of order and structure in the church. 

we traveled back that evening with the sisters to zoetermeer. (z.kova needed to take the ACT in antwerpen) this is when our adventures began. we only had one train going directly to belgium but in order to take it all the way....and stay legal...meant that at one stop, we'd have to check out with our dutch train cards and get back in the train...z.juchau and rigdon decided to be the runners...and booked it out as soon as we pulled in..we thought it would be great...z.kova and i stayed behind with our prime seats and our stuff. it was a while...and we got a call...they said..get off the train!!!!!! i hung up and with all our might mind and strength we began to grab our stuff and run out of the train. backpacks, scarves, coats, jackets, purses, too much stuff...the train was packed...people lined the aisles and we had to wade our way through like mad...the doors were closed and i opened them anyway and jumped out  of the train...we got out JUST AS IT PULLED AWAY. the lady who checks tickets got mad at us and i thought she was going to give us a ticket but she got back on the train and left. we sat there in stunned amazement. twas a sheer miracle. 

skip to next morning....we leave the house at 6:30 so she can get to her test on time at eight...the tram is late...then there are no trains or buses...we are freaking out a bit...we decide to call president. i ask if we can take a taxi..haha...we end up taking a taxi van across the city to a small little town. in the taxi we are all praying our hearts out hoping that we will make it on time...and that it wont cost a fortune. 20 minutes later...what seemed like hours...we arrive with fifteen minutes to spare! SWEEEEET!!!! 

okay. i have no time now. but the rest of the day and the next day was pure success and awesomeness. we found some sweet new people and rode our bikes around in the sunshine the whole day, talking to people about the good word. i am so grateful for this adventure.

i love you all. i know that heavenly Father knows us all and loves us individually. i am super grateful that He cares so well for us. i love you all! have the best week! lovessssssssss

 - katelyn marie 

dearest family of mine! hello and greetings. general conference was a delight! we have one more session to watch today and i am thrilled. the talks were clear and brilliant. i loved the themes of preparation and obedience. golden! well, daylight is burning and i have much to tell. let me sum up. 

on monday we had a great appointment with a member and her friends (a cute belgian family) who she wanted to introduce to the church but in a subtle way at first. so we just talked and they asked questions about missionary life. at one point the mom was a little shocked that we couldn't see films or listen to certain music and such. they wanted to know WHY we enjoyed it and had a good time. as i began to explain the goodness of the last 17 months of my life...i got a little choked up because it is so real and so precious to me. i was able to explain that it was my family and the love i have for them that made it all worth it. seeing peoples lives truly change and helping others know of their great worth was WELLLL worth the small sacrifice of entertainment and leisure. i was very grateful for the opportunity to share my testimony and help them feel that love too. 

on friday one of our investigators, Vrede, made a goal to be baptized in may. he is a surinamse man who has been living in nederland/belgie for the past thirty years. he is soooo cool. he plays the trumpet and wears many gold rings. although he is hard of hearing, we were finally able to have a breakthrough lesson where he understood the restoration. speaking super clearly, loudly and having him read. the spirit is the real teacher and that was made evident in that lesson. i am SOOO GRATEFUL. 

saturday and sunday were absolutely brilliant. we had two investigators at conference and even an inactive sister and her son who we've been working with. hallelujah! we also had a loaves and fishes miracle but with Gnocci! (italian dumplings) we were expecting a small potluck of seven missionaries...turns out we had 15 or more who showed up (without food to share) and random odds and ends we found to cook ...with prayers everyone was able to enjoy a delicious feast. i will tell you what. i have seen this many times in my life. if we are WILLING to share. if we are WILLING to do what is right and have the DESIRE for good, everything works out. 

AHHHHH i am running out of time. well. i wanted to share with you alma 44. it brought me much peace and solace this week. i can't go into it but its a good quick little read and it will lift your spirits. 

 3 But now, ye behold that the Lord is with us; and ye behold that he has delivered you into our hands. And now I would that ye should understand that this is done unto us ^abecause of our religion and our faith in Christ. And now ye see that ye cannot destroy this our faith.

 4 Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are^afaithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into transgression and deny our faith.

 5 And now, Zerahemnah, I command you, in the name of that all-powerful God, who has strengthened our arms that we have gained power over you, ^aby our faith, by our religion, and by our^brites of worship, and by our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to our ^cwives and our children, by that ^dlibertywhich binds us to our lands and our country; yea, and also by the maintenance of the sacred word of God, to which we owe all our happiness; and by all that is most dear unto us—

these are the verses i loved the most. the Lord makes up the difference. He will make it more and He will strengthen our arms as we have the right desires and intent. i am super grateful for you all. i miss you all so dearly. i want you all to know that your prayers and love are what motivate me and fill me with hope. family is my absolute favorite thing and i am eternally grateful that i have such a great one! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! 

i love you all dearly! til next week. 

loves - katelyn marie stout

dear family - happy easter! i love easter. 

 7 And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no ^asting, there could have been no resurrection.

 8 But there is a ^aresurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of ^bdeath is swallowed up in Christ.

 9 He is the ^alight and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.

these words mean something different to me this year. i have found such a comfort in knowing that there is more - that we can learn and understand what that "more" means. i have a renewed desire and motivation to live a more consecrated life and enjoy the blessings that we have received in the atonement and resurrection. this week i saw how the joy and light of the Saviors love reached the hearts of many we met. 

tuesday we had a lesson with a man from turkey. his girlfriend is in our ward and was our joint teach. as we taught him the plan of salvation and explained that we lived with our heavenly Father before we came here...he was quite confused, this sister bore testimony of how her life has changed since knowing this truth. her testimony was strengthened as she shared it and i saw more clearly the comfort that these truths bring. 

thursday was a busy day and we ended the day with a dinner appointment with a member, Wenche (my favorite norwegian). she told us how her step father tried to demean her and take away any feeling of worth that she had, so much that she ended up moving out at a young age and living with an aunt..when she met the missionaries she had very little self worth and didnt go out much, didnt feel happy about life and thought she had little to offer. as she learned about the Savior, she felt such a healing joy enter her life, she realized that she had a lot to live for and a lot to give, she has since then dedicated her life to doing whats right and serving others. she is humble and diligently serves and loves others around her in a quite sweet way. she actively spreads Christs love and light. 

friday we visited an inactive family from portugal. i brought my hymnbook and we sang joyful easter song and read the account of Christs resurrection from the gospel of john. the mother who suffers from depression began to weep as we read this story. she was reminded of the Saviors very personal mission and gift to us all. just as the Savior called to mary, and she knew who he was immediately...He calls to us, and He called to that family that day. i was reminded how involved He is in our lives and how any reminder of his love and sacrifice on our behalf can do miracles. 

sunday as we walked to the tram stop, we caught up with a man from our ward. he told us that it was a hard week for him because his nephew who was 25years old, passed away and he wasn't able to go visit or do anything for him or his family...he told us of the strength he received when he found out that we can do the work for our dead, that he can be baptized and that there is hope. he then told us how excited he is to also have this work done for his beloved grandmother who raised him and paid for his education. this wonderful man shared so simply why he is a member of this church and why he is so faithful.

what a practical and healing gift we have received. these last few weeks since hearing the news of my dear nephew, Marshall, have been quite difficult and also quite lovely. He has helped me become more converted. i have been continually reminded of the reasons we have to rejoice and to live. that kindness and understanding go a long way. i know more clearly and firmly that God is our heavenly Father, that Jesus Christ, His son and our brother, came here to secure a way for us to return and to give us such a beautiful life and that we can have the constant guidance and comfort of the Holy Ghost as we follow the commandments. this is a small moment in eternity. Life continues and as we learn and grow in righteousness, we WILL live with our families for eternity. we WILL enjoy life in our resurrected bodies and that the sting of death and sorrows of life our swallowed up in Christ. i am reminded of this daily and am holding on to these truths forever. i love you all and hope you have the best week! 

loves - katelyn 

ps: i just received a call from the sisters in Haarlem, telling me that Fabien, that fabulous girl from ukraine that i taught for 7 months...has decided to get baptized!!!!!!!!!! glory be!!!!!!! 

dear family - today is the COLDEST 24th of march that belgium has seen since the year 1879. that is fact. i saw it in the paper. wow. let me tell you what. its pretty cold. people in belgium are a little peeved about the weather lately. but i don't see why because its always cold here. so many people we contact on the street complain about the weather. one lady we talked to said..."if God exists he would give us better weather". nou zeg. that comment was so intriguing to me. I am grateful that our loving Heavenly Father allows such opposition as weather. we learn so much from it. i frequently find myself complaining about it too. why is it such a matter of conversation anyway?

 

11 For it must needs be, that there is an ^aopposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.

 

for as much as i am peeved with the weather, when i stop for a second and think about it, i am very grateful. that is life. what a brilliant reflection we can learn from. the opposition adds richness, depth and beauty that we would simple not understand nor enjoy in a world of only sunshine and tulips. good gravy.

 

as i approach the end of my mission (the thought of which is ever looming above my head...literally...we made a paperchain) i am led to reflect on what i have learned. i immediately panic...have i learned enough!??!?! nooooo!!!!! not yet!!!! i have so many faults and shortcomings that are just not quite ironed out!!!!! haha...such thoughts as these are ever present in my mind. obviously such chaos leads nowhere fast. i stopped and said i would not think of this anymore. i realized that MY ENTIRE LIFE will be this way. that is okay. i have learned quite a bit and i am planning on learning quite a bit more in these next eight weeks. why not, eh?

 

to conclude this existential rant of mine i will end with the lyrics to one of my favorite songs. april showers by...???

 

life is not a highway strewn with flowers

still it holds a goodly share of bliss

when the sun gives way to april showers

here's a thought that you should never miss

though april showers may come your way

they bring the flowers that bloom in may

and if its raining have no regrets

because it isnt raining rain you know

its raining violets

 

yes. that is about it. this week was crazy. as usual. i am very grateful for this gospel. the basic basic basics are everything we need to have a fullfiling and enjoyable life. truly. i am grateful for you all and your unending love and patience and kindness to me. you are a great example to me of WALKING in ways of righteousness. for realsssss. i hope you all have a wonderful Easter! I am grateful that regardless of the weather - the light of His love can always be with us to give us the comfort we really seek. i know this is true. I have consistenly felt the love of my Savior throughout my life. He lives!

 

"i am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" - john 10:10

 

i know this is true if we seek it. lets use our blessed gift of agency to choose happiness and joy. :) hallelujah!

I LOVE YOU ALL SO DEARLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

loves - z. katelyn marie stout

dear family! hello from antwerpen for another six weeks! we had transfers and i am staying with z.juchau for another six! it will be a delight! :) i am quite pleased. this week has been super crazy and stressful and then another scoop of crazy. tuesday we had exchanges - z.townsend came for a day in antwerpen and we had a riot of a time. we had a freak snow storm...even though its still winter, my soul had already switched to spring...we talked to many people and had a delightful time. we had some great lessons with new people, saw a lot of progress made with the work in our area...studied the good word, made applesauce after planning...oh - at zone conference we had a competition. we were asked to memorize the first lesson in dutch...and we went up against the other zone. turns out i am super competitive and so is the rest of zone antwerpen and we totalllllly were victorious. i am so pleased. we went to an awesome baptism from the elders - a super cool man named Hassan. we biked up a super super long hill in gale force winds....what does gale force mean? i shouldnt throw out terms i dont understand...but the wind was strong and against us, like it always is..and i learned again the importance of trials in our lives. on st.patricks day i made z.juchau green eggs and ham. i wore a green sweater. i greeted the irish lady in our ward with festive irish greetings, i then tried to convice all around me how swell st.patricks day actually is...and then...as we left the station later that day, our senses were delighted with the sound of BAGPIPES. yes, ladies and gentleman...there was a large group of bagpipers in front of an irish pub. we stood in amazement as they completed my holiday by playing praise to the man. glory be! we finished our week by enjoying possibly the best ghanaian food in the world and missing our stop on the tram. i have not quite described the insanity of our week because it is exhausting. mostly appointments which fell through - but blessedly led to meeting a lot of cool new people. oh - and i asked a JW for a referral...he said he would never tell me. haha...good times. 

well - this has been a crazy time here down in belgium. the insanity doesn't seem to stop. i love this great land and i think i am finally starting to feel a part of it. i admit i went through a little culture shock when i first arrived...i was so in love with the netherlands and i didnt know what was going on - but now i feel like i belong. everyday i become more grateful that this church is true, that God wants us to be happy and that He provides a way for us to do that. I am beyond thrilled that general conference is in our midst and that we have the privilege of hearing a prophet speak to us. i think i look forward to this more than christmas!  the reason i love it so much is because it brings me clarity. just when i really need it. it gives me motivation and strength to continue on. I love how simple the plan of God is and that we decide every day to accept his help and become better. "look to God and live"  - the key is just to keep looking even when we can't see it clearly. these past few weeks have been a bit blurry for me - i still am not quite sure how i feel or what is going on...but i do know that I am a child of God and that he cares for me, that i can be a good person, that i can serve others. i know that blessings come to those who keep the commandments. i know that the greatest joy we can experience is in eternal families. i am grateful that i am part of an eternal family that loves me so much. that is what i want for everyone. i am so grateful. thank you for your love and prayers. 

- z. stout

dear family! this week has been quite a riotous one. turns out that i left my planner at home so i can't quite give you a play by play. alas - we laughed, cried and saw miracles. 

let me start with one of probably the funniest things that happened. 

i told you before of that FABULOUS couple in our ward...brother and sister schiltz.

he is belgian and she is irish.

we went to their house for dinner on sunday and she made chicken, potatoes and corn. 

as i ate a bite of corn...i IMMEDIATELY thought of what about bob...

this is what proceeded. 

stout: sister schiltz...is this corn hand shucked?

s.schitlz: what?....no, its green giant....no one in ireland cooks their own corn. 

i laughed SO hard. they hadn't seen the film but it still worked out perfectly. they are the funniest couple i've ever met. okay. i hope you find it hilarious. its shocking how often quotes from that film come into my mind on the daily. 

okay. what else happened. our district went from zero baptismal dates to TEN. we have a few of those and we are really excited about what is happening here in antwerpen. the Lord is putting a lot of people in our path and we are so grateful. what i have been thinking and studying a lot about lately is UNITY. why unity is so important. in a ward, in a family...in any relationship really. i made a list of a few things that can tear us apart from people. the attributes of the natural man that destroy unity rather...one of the biggest players i think is our need to feel independent. we want to do things ourselves...we want to be accomplished and smart, able to work, move, do....EVERYTHING ourselves. it keeps us from trusting and relying on others. its keeps us from accepting help. it is interesting how time and again, we are faced with a challenge that we can't actually solve or endure ourselves. we always need the Savior. He is always more than willing to help us. His mercy is infinite. at such a fundamental level...we will never be able to be independent...and really, that is okay. the breath we breathe is lent to us (mosiah 2:21) and we are given all that we have. this is a hard thing to realize sometimes...harder to let it change us....but that is why we are here, so we can change...so we can understand and apply that. in a way i can see what Heavenly Father desires of me...i know that everything i am, all that i know and understand is because of my heavenly and earthly parents. i will gladly admit that the goodness i have is because of them. easy peasy. true story. when we accept that...and understand WHY then we start to become truly unified with each other. our wills are aligned and we see eye to eye. i love it. i want to strive my whole life for this. i am grateful that this gospel is true. hallelujah! it would be SUPER difficult if it wasnt true. glory be. 

i love you all. i know that we are here to learn and be happy as we do it. everything we are asked to do, every commandment, is to help us love one another. thank you for your love and prayers. until next week! lovesssssssssss

-- z. stout