dierbare:

 

greetings! first things first. i am now in the magical and lovely city of HAARLEM. i adore it beyond all reason. while of course i love and miss the people from amsterdam - i couldn't me more happy about where i am. i love change and i LOVE good change. this is such a wonderful city. wow. a m a z i n g. i am here with the great sister hinchcliff. we were already friends at the mtc where we spent three weeks together. good times indeed!

we are cleaning up the apartment - making new goals and making them happen! life is SWELL.

 

okay. now i shall tell you a few golden things.

 

we are teaching a man named Riaz. he is a stud. really. what a guy. he has stopped smoking ciggarettes and weed, cleaned up his life, and is getting baptized on july 7. i met him when he came to Jenny's baptism so its really cool to be teaching him now. really - he is teaching me. on sunday we asked him how he feels since hearing the gospel and he said '"dat mijn hart niet meer rode is, maar wit is." that his heart is red no more...but white." i LOVED that. you could just feel the joy. i love seeing that healing and purifying power of the atonement. oh it was marvelous. he is so thirsty for knowledge. im so grateful to be a wtiness to this great happening.

 

next. THIS WARD. THIS WARD IS GREAT. wow. oh wow. i am so blessed. amazing. i feel so edified. my first sunday may have been the most epic and spiritually uplifting sabbath of my mission yet. snap. the members just envelop you in love. i felt instantly welcomed and cared for. i am so grateful to be in this ward. they work with UNITY and they have the spirit with them. i have already learned so much from these people and i know its just the beginning. i love them.

 

so - a bit of sad news... a dear senior sister in our mission - sister moore - passed away a few days ago. she was so lovely and i will miss her dearly. her sweet husband is flying home now to be with his family. they were in charge of the YSA's in den Haag and they will be so missed. i am grateful to have known them. i am grateful for eternal families.

 

well - my studies have been pretty interesting this week. i have been reading conference talks from this last GC and it is great. i love it. my favorite talk so far was about catching the vision. "having the vision to do" by elder haleck. i loved the scripture he shared from proverbs "where there is no vision, the people perish" proverbs 29:18. i thought a lot about dad's farewell talk from his mission. (i have it on MP3) and how his entire theme from his talk was "catching the vision" and that when we can do that...it is easier to do everything else. but to catch it - catch being a verb...means we need to make and ACTION to UNDERSTAND it. classic. i love it. as we begin by applying it to our lives - we come to understand it by living it. whether it be the language, teaching, a gospel principle, or some kind of skill - it only comes by doing it. i love that we have been given so many guides to help us accomplish this. i love that real chage requires ACTION. then i know what to do. i remember a talk from e.bednar in the mtc when he said - any problem or issue comes from a lack of understanding of a basic gospel doctrine. i thought that was really great. and true. so - that is what i am working on. peeling back my questions and thoughts to the basics and starting there.

 

okay. i must go. but this week has been great. i love you all and i am so grateful for your support and prayers.

oh - and something funny. the FIRST day i got to haarlem...i broke our key in the lock. totally in half. luckily i had my swiss army knife to pull the rest of it out so we could get in with a spare. hallelujah for the swiss.

 

LOVE YOU ALL. :)

tot volgende week.

 

- zuster katelyn marie stout