dearest family:

this week has been SWELL. let me tell you of some adventures.

 

miracle: just finished district meeting and headed back to amsterdam centraal. (district meeting is in a'dam)

we decided to email at the library in centraal because we werent able to email on monday.

while on the train home...a man came by to check our tickets and i go to get my wallet..

it wasnt there. it was not in my bag. i remembered that i had FOOLISHLYYY used it to prop up my keyboard and

forgotten it! unbelievable. i was freaking out a little. i didnt want to get a ticket or a fine...but especially because i didnt have my wallet!

so - he came by and i told him my plight...he said "alles goed, fijna dag!" first miracle. WHAT IN THE WORLDDD. he didnt get mad. turns out - he was just taking a survey and wasnt there to check tickets. amazing. and if he hadnt of come by...i wouldnt have realized my wallet was gone for a while. we had an appointment that we couldnt miss so we went to that in haarlem...and afterwards called the library - they hadnt seen anything. we decided to go back anyway. we caught the train and i was really worried. i didnt want to call the banks and cancel everything...get a new licence, and everything...i was worried. i said a prayer - and read a letter that bekah had sent to me. in the letter she said that i don't need to worry - that all is well. she didnt know i was freaking out at that moment - but it calmed me and i felt peace that it would work out. we finally got to the library - my wallet wasnt where i had left it - i was looking around and a girl stopped me and asked if i had lost something...she had found it and put it in her back to turn in! i am so grateful for honest people in this world. have about 3 1/2 hours in one of the busiest cities in the world...and my wallet was still there! miracle!!!!!!!!!!!!! i checked to see if anything was missing - someone had taken 4 euros and my OVchipkaart (for public transit) - that is all. i was so grateful. and maybe someone really needed that card and some cash. i was so grateful. just one more evidence of Gods love for us. such tender mercies. that day was a little crazy for me. that was one of many things that were just a little amiss - but i am grateful for that because i have learned so much. always carry an extra pair of tights (totally got shredded early in the morning...haha), NEVER use your wallet to prop up a keyboard, never leave your bike keys in your bike and ALWAYS trust in the Lord.

 

Riaz is getting baptized on saturday! we have been meeting with him almost every day. he has stopped smoking and is doing a great job. i am so proud! i love seeing the change in peoples lives. also - i love how much our small choices decide our salvation. i know that if he continues on this road - reading, praying and going to church - nothing can stop him. no addiction, no opposition. that is the same for us! this is the perfect plan and i am so grateful for it. it suits every life and every culture.

 

remember how i really wanted to go to ukraine on my mission? i may have even prayed a time or two for that? well - guess what, Heavenly Father has answered my prayer in a better way. we are teaching a girl named Fabian. she is ukrainian. she is fabulous. naturally. she is here as a nanny for some ukranian families. she is a miracle. she was found a few weeks before i came to haarlem. it was a rainy day (totally normal) and apparently she had been praying for help at that very moment when zr.jeffs stopped her and invited her to church. she had been coming for a few weeks but wasnt really interested in the lessons. then a week or so before i came she started meeting with the sisters - and now we are going to make borsch on thursday! woohoo! its great. i am so excited! i shall keep you updated. she is golden.

 

small story: on thursday we were coming home...had about ten minutes before we had to go home - and zr.hinchcliff suggested we stop at the classy egyptian snack bar across from our flat. so we go and buy and ice cream cone and begin talking to this kid who is eating a slushy. we ended up having a great conversation with this cool 10yr old muslim kid who loves america. he was so awesome! he reminded me of nathanael. i still have that green toy car that nathanael gave me and i've been carrying it in my bag in case i see him again! :)

 

i've been trying to learn all the idioms and sayings that i possibly can. luckily there are a lot of older sisters in our ward who are more than happy to teach me! :) my favorite is "daar komt de domenei voorbij" which means..the domeni just walked passed...which is what you say when there is a sudden lull in the conversation. its great.

 

alright. so this week has been great. a week of miracles. best miracle yet...on saturday our evening appt. cancelled  so we decided to go look up this lady and just talk to every single person we see. our plan of course was to find a family. we talked to so many people. just everyone. not a single taker! but we worked hard and did our best. that night we prayed that a family/new investigator would come to church. guess what. totallllly happened. the CUTEST family from Iraq showed up at church. they were looking for a presbyterian church but came to ours instead. no coincidence!!!! they stayed for the ENTIRE MEETING and even the soup and bread afterwards! they loved it! they are coming to riaz's baptism on saturday! GOLDENNNN. seriously - Heavenly Father is amazing. i was overjoyed. also - we had almost all of our investigators at church - it was an epic sunday indeed!!!!!!! and to top it off - we ate dinner by familie reijnders and after i asked if he could adjust something on my bike because i had heard he was the bike master of haarlem... he raised my  seat and handle bars and now i dont feel like i am riding a kids bike! i can bike so much faster! its great. haha. tender mercy indeed!!!!!

 

welll - i miss you, dear family. i found a quote to describe how i feel. "heaven is a place but also a condition, it is home and family. it is understanding and kindness. it is interdependence and selfless activity. it is quiet, sane living, personal sacrifice, genuine hospitality, wholesome concern for others, it is living the commandments of God without ostentation or hipocrisy. it is selflessness. it is all about us. we need only be able to recognize it as we find it and enjoy it." - president spencer w. kimball.

 

that pretty much sums up how i feel about you all. heaven is indeed around us if we look for it! most of my studies this week have been reading the conference issue again. almost all of the talks are about families and service. i am so grateful for you all and the love and support. this world is amazing! "but behold, I, nephi will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance..."- 1nephi 1:20

 

i love you all dearly! thank you for your prayers! LOVESSSSS.

- zuster katelyn stout