mijn geliefde familie:

what a week. it has been grand. the sun is finally shining for reals. we had a lovely p-day with zr.brubaker, our mission presidents wife. she is so cool. we went to a groovy little vintage store and had delicious fresh mint tea at the cutest little cafe. twas a lovely day to be sure. that night we had a great lesson with gina about the ten commandments. as i explained the commandment "thou shalt not covet" it really hit me as to why its so important. i've never really thought of it as being up there with the other commandments, but as i studied it later in the week, it really was quite interesting. God knew exactly what he was doing when he created us and placed us in this earth. we all have much to learn, and have different experiences in life, but its so important to be happy with what we have and GRATEFUL for what we have. i believe it goes hand in hand with being humble. pride and selfishness are some big hitters when it comes to human interactions that lead to sorrow - and because this life is about people and helping others - it is so necessary that we stay humble and aware of the real purposes of life. oh man there are so many things i have to learn. good gravy! charity never faileth. its so easy to forget - but so vital.

on tuesday we had an appointment with a girl named ellen. she is sort of an investigator...she learned everything but isn't progressing. she just hasnt been coming to church, but we still meet with her once in a while. we all made dinner together at the church and had a nice little lesson. we also watched together forever (classic) and talked about the plan of salvation. while we were cooking, a man named Andre that we gave a book of mormon to a few months ago, called us. he said he had been reading in the book we gave him and that he knows its true and wants to come to church! what a miracle. Andre is from the ivory coast and speaks french and a bit of english. we set up an appointment with him on saturday. zr. brubaker came with us on joint teach because she speaks french, it went really well. he is a riot. he came to church on sunday and really liked it. luckily one of the bishopric speaks french and translated for him. he is so great - i will keep you updated on his progress!

we've had a crazy and long week. because of the nice weather we have been biking a lot a lot a lot and its so nice. i am grateful for the sun. we have two baptisims coming up on easter - from the elders te amsterdam. so exciting! we have such an awesome and diverse ward. on sunday during our gospel principles class we had in a row, john benjamin from pakistan, godfred from ghana, jaqueline from brazil and andre from the ivory coast. what a riot. so great.

well, its transfer week and zr. jeffs is going to haarlem. i am staying in amsterdam (hallelujah!) and zr. hill is coming here. it will be quite fun. this next week is going to be great. we have transfer shuffle on wednesday - hopefully that is smooth. and then we have GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!!! holllller. i am so excited. what a wonderful time of year. i love conference. we are inviting everyone we see. whenever we have a lesson we invite them to write a question that they have and take it to conference and we promise them it will be answered. i will be doing the same and inviting you all to join me. what a great opportunity we have to hear the prophets voice. blessed be!

well - during this last transfer, zuster jeffs and i have sung the ENTIRETY of the dutch hymnbook. yes yes...i know its quite impressive. haha. we sing a lot. i've sung songs ive never heard before. good times. just thought i would announce that. oh! and we got little carpet things for our stairs so we dont fall down them any more. its nice. well - today has been quite nice. we went to an old vintage markt in the centrum. we drank freshly squeezed blood orange juice and looked through piles of old strange things. twas much like portabello road, if you will. good times.

now, i hope i have given a proper over view of my week. there are so many things that happen everyday - its hard to keep track. i will say this - life is great. i miss you all and love you all dearly. i am grateful for the love and support. what a brilliant and beautiful world we live in. liefs! - katelyn marie