dearest family and friends:

 

another week has come and gone. we woke up at midnight to the sounds of a war. turns out it was just fireworks.  i saw a man who was wearing a large white fluffy sweater. that was pretty interesting. we sang hymns in the town square. i ate a waffel in belgium. we wrote new lyrics to the poplular beatles song "no reply". it was a great week.

 

also - this week i pondered greatly over many great ponderous things. i realize that sometimes life is WAY more simple then we allow it to be. i also realized once again, how absolutely lovely and fragile, people are. everyone just wants to be loved and accepted. i love that Heavenly Father totally understands what is going down here on this earth and has the best plan ever. i am not a fan of chaos. i love the order that the gospel brings to our lives. i love how it changes our character - changes us to who we REALLY are. i love how effecient and quality life can be when we follow the spirit. i love it.

 

lets break the week down into classy paragraphs for your convenience

 

monday: weird day! had to be inside at four. turns out i took a three hour nap and i woke up feeling like i was in a different realm. then i made a birthday cake. then we cleaned. then we went to bed at 10:30. oh wait. we heard fireworks THE WHOLE DAY. loud. super duper loud. i jumped at least three times. they were pretty consistent. at 12am there was no way i couldnt get up. it was so so so so loud and constant. one hour SOLID of fireworks. can you imagine how much that costs? ugh. but it was exciting to watch. we toasted to generic seven up and made photos. after the worst of it died down - i went back to bed. only to be awoken at six am with MORE fireworks. really? i have never experienced such a thing. crazyyyytimes!

 

tuesday: district meeting. our friend e. shoemaker was jarig (birthday) and we threw him a party. we gave him the cake and a magic kit. it was a smash hit. on the train home from haarlem we met a lot of cool people. one of them as a man from antwerpen. he had a very strange accent. i guess i hadnt ever really heard vlaams before.

 

wednesday: exchanges. turns out i went to antwerpen and listened to vlaams all the day long! i was suprised how i could understand it even though it sounds like a different language. it was a lovely experience. the people are great. but i am convinced that people are great all over the world. we had a great time and i didnt learn any vlaams. but they did mistake me for being dutch! i was so glad. haha.

 

thursday: returned home and had a SWELL lesson with sister goudsblom. she is ready. she is excited. she has faith. she is GOLDEN. oh- and we had a cool miracle. let me explain. we had an appointment with hanneke at sister onstiens house. hanneke said she couldnt come because her sister had to go to the hospital last minute. we went to dinner and sister onstien sent us home with food for hanneke that we would drop off. i decided to take a different route for some reason - thinking it would be faster. turns out it was the super long way home and it was ridiculous. oh well. we finally got to hanneke - hung it on her door because she wasnt home yet...and started biking home. on the way home...WE SAW HANNEKE. she had just stepped off the bus. JUST. we would not have ran into her had we gone the normal way home! and it was so important to see her and give her a hug of comfort in this hard time for her. it isnt going well with her sister and she needs all the love and support she can get. Heavenly Father is so good! i love when he does that!!!!! miracle.

 

friday: the baptismal interview day for zr. goudsblom! she passed with flying colors. it was lovely. our district leader and his companion - e.stanley and e.lewis loved meeting her and learning new dutch phrases. it was super great. then we decided to sing hymns in the town square until we got played off the stage by the blasted church bells!!!! ahhh!!!! but we didnt give up. we just went to the station and sang hymns to our dear brasina, the accordinan playing roma that we love. she was so touched by the song. it was AWESOME. and later that day we had an appointment with a lovely family and their two inactive sons - one of them STAYED THE WHOLE TIME and talked to us until we left. it was a miracle. turns out we are friends. i guess z.rigdon and i are cool enough to keep up a conversation with a hip 18yr old kid. halleljuah. what a riot.

 

saturday: awesome day for weekly planning and people finding. we also stopped by a sweet inactive sisters house. i wanted to say goodbye to her before i get transfered. it was so nice to talk with her. she ended up giving me a cute little figurine of Ot en Sien (characters from a classic kids storybook). i asked her if she had any of her personal or family history written down. she said her family said they wouldnt be interested in that so she threw away all of her journals years ago. it broke my heart to hear that! she was never married. she has no children. i am so glad i was able to get to know her. i will remember her and her stories. i will cherish her life - even if her family doesnt. i am so grateful for people that care about the history of their family and friends. it is so important!

 

sunday: church was great. just beautiful. AN ENTIRE ARUBAN FAMILY WALKED INTO SACRAMENT MEETING! and they have been sealed in the temple! they are all amazing. talk about a miracle for wijk haarlem!!!!!!! oh it was SO GREAT. exactly what they needed! and they deserve it! oh it was such a sweet miracle to experience. and the dear relief society president had been fasting for a family to come to church. prayers are answered for reals.

 

I LOVE THIS LIFE. i must type that in capitals. its just soo cool!!!!! i love learning so many new things and meeting new people and figuring out who we are. i love that we are here to learn and be happy. i love that real happiness doesnt just lie in temporal or monetary pleasures but in obedience and righteousness. our trials and struggles make life rich and deep - and the happy times SO MUCH BETTER. i love you all dearly. i am grateful for your love and prayers. i feel it everyday! thank you!!!! lovessssss

 

 

- zuster katelyn marie stout