HELLO FAMILY!!!!Oh my goodness, it has been such a good week and it has gone by so very fast it isn't even funny!! We have done a lot of work here in Turnhout and we are really enjoying it. The Lord has blessed us and blessed us more than we desearve this last week. We had a ton of success!!
It sounds like everyone back at home is busy and maybe going a little bit crazy!! Elizabeth, I hope that you feel better!! It is no fun to be sick. Rachel, don't stress too much about your play!! I am sure that you are going to be great!! Dad, don't work too hard....ok? Mom, I hope that you have a more restful week planned this week. It sounds like a lot of stress for one week!! Jake, Don't go crazy about midterms!!
Guys, Isaac is going to be baptized!!! I am so excited!! He had an interview with the Branch president and they set an exact day and time. The guy is so cool!! I am so blessed to be able to teach him!! He came from no Christian background to making the decision to be baptized. Now that is faith. I hope that someday I can develop faith like his because it is super cool to see and his faith can move mountains!!! So two weeks everyone!!
Oh, one cool thing that I started doing two or so transfers ago was writing down one thing everyday that I learn from someone specific in my area or someone I am working with. It is probably the coolest thing that is in my journal. Acutally, the reason I am talking about it is because I read through it this morning. It is super awesome!! And you remember why you love certain people so much!!
We have met a lot of interesting people this week on the street. Apparently, the celebrate Halloween here too. Well, we have met a lot of people dressed up like witches and other scary objects, people dancing in the middle of the street in costume, and other weird things. The weirdest thing though, was that we tried to talk to someone who looked normal on the street. She didn't look very happy, so we tried to cheer her up. We asked her about her religion....guys.....she is a witch. Like, that is what she believes in....and the reason she was unhappy was because of the witches dancing through the streets.....it was just weird.
We had a super cool district meeting this week!! We talked about the stuff that President talked about during Zone Conference. We in the mission are going through a Total Mind Shift. We are following steps that President has given us so that we can become better missionaries and more effective here in Belgium and the Netherlands. The steps are:
1Realize that nothing is too hard for the Lord.
2 The Silver Bullet is the Holy Ghost.
3 Find-Teach-Baptize
4 Ask the Lord to Give me success
5 Know that the Field is White
6 Set Spiritual Goals.
I love these steps and I see the blessings that have been coming here in turnhout because of them. We have been working really hard to set spiritual goals daily for our numbers and the Lord blessed us with 4 new investigators this week!! None of them were the people or potentials that we thought they would be. They were actually all brought to us by other investigators. I love that!! I love being able to see the love that our investigators gain from the gospel and of the gospel that they want to share it with others!! Isn't that how we as members should be? I need to be better at that when I get home!!
We have had another week full of super member presence!! Mom, this is something I want to do the entire time I am home for the summer!! The progress you see in your investigators when they get to spend an evening in the home of a member is just miraculous!! I am so grateful for the members here who are so missionary minded!!Ok....so.....I have some kind of good news but news that is also a little bit of a bummer.
We got transfer calls this morning....And I have been transferred to Deventer, Nederland. This is a bummer because we have two baptisms here in Turnhout in the next three weeks. I am really bummed about that. I haven't been able to see a baptism of someone I have taught since Ans Jansen in Den Haag. But I am hoping that life in Deventer will prove to be swell.My new companion will be Sister Thorley. I don't really know a lot about the city or anything. I just know I have to get up there on Wednesday. I am excited to be back up in the Netherlands for olliebollen season though. I was getting a little bit worried.
It seems like the Lord doesn't want to keep me in an area for more than two transfers. I am not really sure why....but maybe that will be different these last 4.
I love you all and I miss you a lot!! I am really excited for this transfer because I get to go to the temple!! It seems like it has been forever!!
Don't go to crazy by being too busy!!
Ik hou van jullie!!
Liefs,
Zuster Israelsen
Always inspiring to read your letters!
ReplyDeleteXo Aunt Annette I. :)