dearest family :

greeetingsss from haarlem. yes. i am staying here for at least one more transfer. one year out on my mission and still in my second area. i am quite pleased. most likely i will be transfered in januari. for now - i will enjoy my last few weeks in this beautiful city with these beautiful people.

monday - we made cinnamon rolls with a sister in our ward. i had owed her these for about two months. its just kind of a long process. it took up our whole pday. i will never do it again. but it turned out beautifully and we had a great time. :) zr. rigdon also sang many many verses of her own version of last christmas. turns out i wont even miss a year. haha.

tuesday:  we had a swell district meeting. the last one with this district. many of the elders are being transfered. we took some great photos too. the one i am sending is me with the elders from my original mtc district that i have been serving with for the last couple months. it was such a joy. we get along splendidly if the photo didn't already express that. twas bittersweet!

wednesday: went over to sister goudsbloms to set up her christmas tree. it was great. we put on some christmas tunes and trimmed the tree - it was such a sweet time. we also brought her a sinter klaas gift. (a pretty scarf and an ornament for her tree) she had a great time and we could tell that she felt loved. the rest of our day was crazy - we biked around in the freezing cold hail. to and fro. sister jansen (mother of helena) called us and invited us over for some hot chocolate. we spent our last minutes of sinterklaas with them - which was SUPER GEZELLIGGGGGG. they are the funniest couple in the world. great great day.

thursday: the big day. the birthday of sister goudsblom. we set up a little area on the stage in the church with a table and chairs...a space heater, a birthday sign, bunting, fake candles, a cute tablecloth...even a pillow for her seat...we went all out. i made a lunch of spanish fritatta, green beans with walnuts, onions and bacon (green beans are her all time favorite food), pumpkin soup and for dessert - a four layer american chocolate cake . it was awesomeeeeeee. she LOVED ITTTTTT. it was the most beautiful birthday ever. the spirit was present and we had a wonderful lesson with her about her divine nature. a m a z i n g.

friday: after a great session of weekly planning we went to our evening appointment a bit early and stopped by sis goudsblom...her daughter was there and they invited us in. we havent ever met her daughter so this was great. her daughter informed us how much her mom had LOVED her birthday party and that she had a great time. it was cool to meet her daughter. she said she would love to meet with us sometime with her mom. sweet!!!!!

saturday: everything was frozen. we had to walk everywhere or take the bus. it was CRAZY. we made our way to correlation by way of the grote markt in the centrum. we needed to pick up a christmas gift for our ward mission leader. what greeted us was the greatest hustle and bustle haarlem has ever seen. there were people dressed up like the christmas carol - musicians all over the place - people buying flowers and bread and the church bells chiming. it was so magical to witness. it was a great adventure.

sunday: the longest church service of my life. i woke up in the morning TERRIBLY sick. so bad. and i thought...wow...usually i would stay in bed. but i am on a mission...i must go to church! how can you not go to church!??! what about our investigators?!!? so we went. and i am glad i did. it was a beautiful day. i love this ward so much. it feels like i am at home almost. we had a great time. and at the end of sacrament meeting...the second counselor came up to me and asked if i would speak next sunday. sweeeet. my prayers were answered. he said i could even pick my own topic. haha. yes! we will see how that goes. the day ended with a beautiful blessing from a brother in our ward - who sent me off with a bag full of vitamins :) and we talked to a cool kid from the Philippines at the bus stop. turns out his neighbors were LDS and he has his own book of mormon. :) just swell.


this was a crazy week. i just wrote the highlights. i will tell you what though - people are great. there are so many good people in this world. i am grateful that we are here on this earth together. that is what makes it so great. i recently read one of my favorite talks by president monson - about his ABC's of the abundant life. he talks about attitude - belief and courage. and i loved it so much. i read it quite frequently to try and remember these things. one thing i would add though...which would totally throw off the poetic flow because it begins with K...is kindness.

kindness is my favorite thing ever. i want to become more kind. because i have seen how simple and sincere kindness can heal the human heart. i am so grateful for kind people and the kindness that my Heavenly Father sends to me everyday through this tender mercies. kindness is more powerful than we realize. to me - kindness is attainable charity in this life. it is an action. it is a thought. it is a motivation. thank you all for your unending kindness towards me. i am grateful for you all and so glad that even though we can enjoy this christmas season together - we can feel the warm, kind and loving spirit of Christ wherever we are. hallelujah! 

love - katelyn marie stout