dear family! hello from antwerpen for another six weeks! we had transfers and i am staying with z.juchau for another six! it will be a delight! :) i am quite pleased. this week has been super crazy and stressful and then another scoop of crazy. tuesday we had exchanges - z.townsend came for a day in antwerpen and we had a riot of a time. we had a freak snow storm...even though its still winter, my soul had already switched to spring...we talked to many people and had a delightful time. we had some great lessons with new people, saw a lot of progress made with the work in our area...studied the good word, made applesauce after planning...oh - at zone conference we had a competition. we were asked to memorize the first lesson in dutch...and we went up against the other zone. turns out i am super competitive and so is the rest of zone antwerpen and we totalllllly were victorious. i am so pleased. we went to an awesome baptism from the elders - a super cool man named Hassan. we biked up a super super long hill in gale force winds....what does gale force mean? i shouldnt throw out terms i dont understand...but the wind was strong and against us, like it always is..and i learned again the importance of trials in our lives. on st.patricks day i made z.juchau green eggs and ham. i wore a green sweater. i greeted the irish lady in our ward with festive irish greetings, i then tried to convice all around me how swell st.patricks day actually is...and then...as we left the station later that day, our senses were delighted with the sound of BAGPIPES. yes, ladies and gentleman...there was a large group of bagpipers in front of an irish pub. we stood in amazement as they completed my holiday by playing praise to the man. glory be! we finished our week by enjoying possibly the best ghanaian food in the world and missing our stop on the tram. i have not quite described the insanity of our week because it is exhausting. mostly appointments which fell through - but blessedly led to meeting a lot of cool new people. oh - and i asked a JW for a referral...he said he would never tell me. haha...good times. 

well - this has been a crazy time here down in belgium. the insanity doesn't seem to stop. i love this great land and i think i am finally starting to feel a part of it. i admit i went through a little culture shock when i first arrived...i was so in love with the netherlands and i didnt know what was going on - but now i feel like i belong. everyday i become more grateful that this church is true, that God wants us to be happy and that He provides a way for us to do that. I am beyond thrilled that general conference is in our midst and that we have the privilege of hearing a prophet speak to us. i think i look forward to this more than christmas!  the reason i love it so much is because it brings me clarity. just when i really need it. it gives me motivation and strength to continue on. I love how simple the plan of God is and that we decide every day to accept his help and become better. "look to God and live"  - the key is just to keep looking even when we can't see it clearly. these past few weeks have been a bit blurry for me - i still am not quite sure how i feel or what is going on...but i do know that I am a child of God and that he cares for me, that i can be a good person, that i can serve others. i know that blessings come to those who keep the commandments. i know that the greatest joy we can experience is in eternal families. i am grateful that i am part of an eternal family that loves me so much. that is what i want for everyone. i am so grateful. thank you for your love and prayers. 

- z. stout