dearest family of mine! hello and greetings. general conference was a delight! we have one more session to watch today and i am thrilled. the talks were clear and brilliant. i loved the themes of preparation and obedience. golden! well, daylight is burning and i have much to tell. let me sum up. 

on monday we had a great appointment with a member and her friends (a cute belgian family) who she wanted to introduce to the church but in a subtle way at first. so we just talked and they asked questions about missionary life. at one point the mom was a little shocked that we couldn't see films or listen to certain music and such. they wanted to know WHY we enjoyed it and had a good time. as i began to explain the goodness of the last 17 months of my life...i got a little choked up because it is so real and so precious to me. i was able to explain that it was my family and the love i have for them that made it all worth it. seeing peoples lives truly change and helping others know of their great worth was WELLLL worth the small sacrifice of entertainment and leisure. i was very grateful for the opportunity to share my testimony and help them feel that love too. 

on friday one of our investigators, Vrede, made a goal to be baptized in may. he is a surinamse man who has been living in nederland/belgie for the past thirty years. he is soooo cool. he plays the trumpet and wears many gold rings. although he is hard of hearing, we were finally able to have a breakthrough lesson where he understood the restoration. speaking super clearly, loudly and having him read. the spirit is the real teacher and that was made evident in that lesson. i am SOOO GRATEFUL. 

saturday and sunday were absolutely brilliant. we had two investigators at conference and even an inactive sister and her son who we've been working with. hallelujah! we also had a loaves and fishes miracle but with Gnocci! (italian dumplings) we were expecting a small potluck of seven missionaries...turns out we had 15 or more who showed up (without food to share) and random odds and ends we found to cook ...with prayers everyone was able to enjoy a delicious feast. i will tell you what. i have seen this many times in my life. if we are WILLING to share. if we are WILLING to do what is right and have the DESIRE for good, everything works out. 

AHHHHH i am running out of time. well. i wanted to share with you alma 44. it brought me much peace and solace this week. i can't go into it but its a good quick little read and it will lift your spirits. 

 3 But now, ye behold that the Lord is with us; and ye behold that he has delivered you into our hands. And now I would that ye should understand that this is done unto us ^abecause of our religion and our faith in Christ. And now ye see that ye cannot destroy this our faith.

 4 Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are^afaithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into transgression and deny our faith.

 5 And now, Zerahemnah, I command you, in the name of that all-powerful God, who has strengthened our arms that we have gained power over you, ^aby our faith, by our religion, and by our^brites of worship, and by our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to our ^cwives and our children, by that ^dlibertywhich binds us to our lands and our country; yea, and also by the maintenance of the sacred word of God, to which we owe all our happiness; and by all that is most dear unto us—

these are the verses i loved the most. the Lord makes up the difference. He will make it more and He will strengthen our arms as we have the right desires and intent. i am super grateful for you all. i miss you all so dearly. i want you all to know that your prayers and love are what motivate me and fill me with hope. family is my absolute favorite thing and i am eternally grateful that i have such a great one! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! 

i love you all dearly! til next week. 

loves - katelyn marie stout