Mastering Dutch, Frikandele, and Investigators

MIJN GEWELDIG FAMILIE!!!

Hoe gaat het met jullie?!?!?! Ik moet zeggen dat ik jullie heel veel mis!!! Elke avond kijk ik naar de fotos van jullie en elke keer ik lach!! Wij zijn heel grappig!! Ik hou heel veel van jullie en ik hoop dat jullie veilig en gezond zijn!! Ik hoop ook dat iedereen heel goed in school is!! En dat jullie worden niet TE gek zonder ik!!

That is just a little taste of my Dutch. It's still not perfect but everyone here is really surprised at how much I understand and how much I can speak. I still sound like Elder Calhoun though....because I am more focused on understanding and making sense than what I sound like. Don't you worry!!! I have a goal to have a Dutch accent by the time I come home....you all won't be able to understand my English....and then you will see how ridiculous my life has been!!

I have officially hit my 5 month mark on a mission. Isn't that weird? It feels like just yesterady that I was in the MTC wishing that I would be able to come here to the Netherlands!! Tomorrow....I will have been here in the land for 3 whole months!!! That is CRAZY SAUCE!! But for real!! The time really does move fast....and d-day(aka....when all of the new sisters come into the mission) just keeps getting closer and closer. May 1 here we come!! I am hoping that my Dutch will be good enough to be able to help those coming in to learn and feel comfortable!! I hope that I can also help them to have a blast while here in the Netherlands....because...come on!! We are in the land of the tulips....aren't we?

Doordrecht is SUPER COOL!! It's a lot less busy than Den Haag was but I like the change. I feel like I am going to be able to get to know and work with this ward a lot faster than Den Haag. I feel bad for missionaries in the states because their wards are so HUGE!! That's what Den Haag was like, but active members here in the Den Haag ward....is about 50....or so. I love it here though!!

I had a really cool experience this last week. I had my first yorkshire pudding. You might be asking yourself,"What in the world?!?! I thought that you were serving in the Netherlands." Yes, ladies and gentleman....I am indeed serving in the Netherlands. BUT there is this super sweet familie in our wijk. The Van Bieman familie. The husband is Dutch and he runs all of the church financial stuff for Belgium and the Netherlands and his wife is WELSCH!!! Super cool huh?!?! They both served their missions in England(different places at different times) But they met randomly outside of the London,England tempel after their missions!! They are a super cool familie and their kids have Dutch accents when they speak Dutch but Welsch accents when they speak English!! We got to hear a lot of super cool and really hilarious mission stories and we have another dinner appointment with them next week!! We have decided that we love the Van Biemans(even though they have a dog the size of a horse....I am not kidding. I will take a picture next time and then you will see why I was afraid that he was goint to bite my head off!!)

We also live with the coolest JoVos(Young Adults....or jongevolwassenen in Duth) EVER!!! I really love being in a home with them and being able to have someone else to talk to at the end of the day!! They are also super good at coming on joint teach with us!! Especially Madeleine!!! This last week she saved us more than once and she is also making sure that we are eating only the most delicious foods here in Nederland!! This last week she had us try a Frikandele. It's this super huge braught (sp?) with curry, onions and other delicous ingredients on top!! It was super good and it made me really happy because we had forgotten to schedule in dinner that day.....(we have a goal not to do that again this week) Anyway, I really love her so much and I am glad that we are now best friends/roommates!!

We had a special zone training this last week. So, our mission president came into this mission and his way of doing missionary work is to follow the keys of the priesthood. And the men who have the keys over the actual missionary work in the any given area are the Stake President and Bishops. So, our special zone training was to receive the Rotterdam Stake mission plan for this coming year. I think that it is a really cool idea to get the missionaries and ward members to work more with one another. The plan, simply put for the missionaries is: Every member an investigator. We are to go and meet with at least one member a day to build relationships with them and help them to continually build their testimonies. The gospel is a pattern of living that doesn't end after you are baptized, or married or wat dan ook. It is something that should always be a part of our lives, but sometimes we forget about it and we need help to have a continuous living testimony. And the plan for the members is: Every missionary a child of our family. So they are supposed to treat us like their children. It's a cool idea....I don't know how they are going to treat me like their child.....but it is a cool idea. It helps everyone see that they have a role to play in this exciting work of the Lord!! I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK!!

Also, we found an American Candy Store!!! It is a beautiful thing that we have found!! I got some Runts....and the candy man(is now our best friend) is ordering Dr. Pepper for my companion and I...and he is also going to get goldfish(Zuster Hinchcliff really misses them) So that was a way cool find this week!! It made us both so very happy!! I think that I may have to get some Reeses!!! Spannent!!

So, we have a lot of investigators!! But we have two really solid investigators that we are working with! I really just love them!!

One is named Merel. She is super smart!! I am not cool enough to be able to answer her questions. Everytime she reads something....there is something that she has a question about and I don't even know if I could answer them well enough in English to satisfy her needs. But, so here's the cool story, the whole time that we have been meeting with her she hasn't understood why Jezus Christus is so important in everything. She thinks that people really don't put enough emphasis on Heavenly Father. So, when she prays, she prays in the Name of Peace.....BUT this week has been really cool for her. Somehow, we were able to help her see that the baptism she has had was not complete because she didn't receive the Holy Ghost. That was a miracle!! Then, we had an appointment with another investigator and we had been looking for a joint-teach for five days and no one could come, so she volunteered. We were a little afraid, but in this lesson, she prayed in the name of Jezus Christus, and she helped us teach a really powerful word of wisdom lesson!! She bore her testimony and everything!! That was super cool!! But the coolest part of this week was during sacrament meeting, she got us to bear her testimony and she told everyone there that she was finally beginning to realize how important Christus is in her life. And that He is a centraal part of Heavenly Father's plan for us!! It was a week full of miracles with Merel!!

And Sana, the man from the Ivory Coast. We had the word of wisdom lesson with him and Merel this week. He finally admitted to us his problems with the word of wisdom and he told us that he is at a place in his life that he is ready to stop smoking and drinking!! That was a really cool lesson that we had together!! And we made a plan with him to help him to quit so that he can be baptized. So we are putting together service projects every day to get him out of his house!! I love working with Sana!! He is a super cool guy!!

Also, I had my first Fufu ever this week. The Ampems are a family from Ghana and they had me eat this stuff with my hands....and I had to eat the bones too......it was yummy but it was also weird.

Really, I just love being here and able to do the work of the Lord!! It is so amazing to be able to see the difference in the lives of others when they embrace the gospel in their lives!! It is so cool and it helps me to realize that if I continue to better myself through the gospel and do those things that I am asked to do that miracles in my life can happen!! It is a beautiful plan that our Heavenly Father has given to us!!! I LOVE IT!!

I love you all so much and I miss you!!
Take care of each other!!
Tot Volgende Week!!
Liefde,

Zuster Israelsen

P.S. The picture of me and my companion on by the water is when we are actually on the water bus!!! I love the water bus!!

Church in Building used by Nazis in WWII, Apartment in the Attic, Doordrect and Amsterdam

February 25, 2013

HELLO MY WONDERFUL, AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL FAMILY!!

I love you guys so much!! I love the opportunity to be able to write to you every week and update you on all of the crazyness that is going on!! It really is the only thing that seperates the days and the weeks because everything just blends together!! This week has been super crazy and I am just loving life as a missionary!!

This week started out with me actually becoming a legal resident here in the Netherlands. I had to pick up my verblijfsvergening, which is my ID so now I don't have to carry my passport around with me all over the place. That is a nice thing because I have been worried about losing that the entire time I have been here....it's a worry of mine. But now, I just have this little card....I might end up losing that easier than my passport, but I guess we will see.

But Pday was super exciting because we got to go to Amsterdam!!! I love Amsterdam!! It is a super cool city!! I thought Den Haag was big, but I walked out of the train station and my breath was taken away. Amsterdam is super pretty. The buildings are really old and it is super cool!! I mean, we were in the nice parts of Amsterdam....I have heard what goes on there. But we went to the Hard Rock Cafe there and it was DELICIOUS!!! It was the first real hamburger I have had since we have come here!! I miss my good old burgers, but It was a beautiful thing to be able to enjoy something normal. We don't really buy meat very much here because it is super expensive so I got the biggest burger that I could afford because I miss my red meat!!

On Monday night, and part of Tuesday I was able to say goodbye to some of the members of the Den Haag ward because I think that they are super cool and they helped me out a lot while I was there in that city!! It was super sad to leave, and we were super busy so I didn't really get a lot of time to pack, so everything just kind of got thrown into my suitcases(one of those things was my camera....and I still have not had enough time to dig it out of my stuff.....so I don't have any pictures this week....I am so sorry!!! I will make it up next week!!) And on Tuesday, we had five different appointments with people that we had finally found!! It took us so long to build up an investigator pool there in Den Haag, so I was sad to leave right when we had people to teach, but I know that the work is still going forward there and that they are going to rock it!!

So, I am now here in Doordrecht. Doordrecht itself, is a super small town. It is the oldest harbor town in the Netherlands and it is super special because it didn't get bombed down in World War II. It is super cool and super cute!! The architechture of the town is so old and it is picture perfect Europe!! We have a super huge church called 'Grote Kerk'. It is super huge and they are restoring it right now, but one of these days we are going to get inside and tour it so I am excited!! Our area is super huge and it is pretty much a lot of little islands seperated by huge canals....like huge canals!! The bridges to cross over them are super huge and it is a killer to have to bike up them!! We do it at least five or six times a say!! BUT we found this super cool thing that is called the Water Bus. Pretty much, it is a boat that we can get on and take our bikes and then they take us where we need to go. And it is super cool to be on a boat. Don't worry, it is totally allowed, President actually asked us to use that more than biking on the bridge because the bridge is more dangerous!! So I get a boat ride a few times a day, There aren't very many missionaries who can say that, now are there?

Our living arrangements here are pretty cool. So the Bishop made an apartment for the missionaries in his attic, and now we have three Young Women who are return missionaries who live here with us. First, we have Elizabeth, she is American and her dad was the bishop(he got released on Sunday). She is super cool and served her mission in Greece!! Then, we have Madeleine. She is Dutch and she served her mission in California. She loves musicals and she is helping me to know what Dutch musicals I should look up when I go home!! And then we have Tatiana, she is Russian and served her mission in Russia!! She is super cool! I love all three of the girls, it is a little weird though because I feel like I should just be in college while I am around them, but it really nice to have them around too because they really know this area better than I ever will!!

In Doordrecht, we have a ton of investigators, we have five progressing investigators as well as others on top of that. We are super busy, all of the time!! I love all of the investigators I have met so far, but I haven't even been here long enough to have had a meeting with all of them!! It is super cool to see that change and to learn to love people as soon as you meet them!! I love it!!

Our church building is probably the coolest thing I have ever seen in my entire life. Zuster Hinchcliff and I have decided that this next week, we are going to make a video tour of the building so that we can show you all of the cool things!! But it is a super huge, super old house that the Nazis used in World War II!!! I think it is super cool!! Oh my goodness, it made me so happy to be able to see that!! The bishop took us on a tour yesterday....and they even have vaults in the basement where the kept prisoners of war and things!!! It is super cool!! And it really just makes the whole ward feel more like a family because we meet together in a home!! I love it!!

Yesterday, it was a crazy Sunday, because they called a new bishop in the ward, so I still don't really know who is a real member of the Doordrecht ward because there were a ton of stake leaders and their entire families!! But it was an exciting day at church, in an old historical building!!

Ok, so I know you are going to ask me....so I will now tell you about Zuster Hinchcliff!! She is super cool!! She is from North Carolina. She attends BYU....I am still trying to decide if I can forgive her for that mistake....but she will probably win me over here soon. She is super loud and crazy and fun!! She uses the phrase 'turns out' all of the time. She has man like legs from biking everywhere here in Doordrecht! and she bakes delicious cookies!! I will tell you more about her as I get to know her more. But I really do love her and we are getting along quite nicely!!

You all are super lucky!!! Because of a snow storm, you got to have no church yesterday....we also had a snow storm, but naturally, I just got to hop on my bike and bike through a blizzard :D I did survive though so that is the good news!!

I love you all and I hope that you have a wonderful week!!! You are always in my prayers!!
Love,

Zuster Megan Israelsen

Pattern of Prayer, Sushi, Heart Attacks and Doordrecht

Hello My Amazingly Wonderful Family!!!

This last week, in honor of Valentines Day, we went around and 'heart attacked' a bunch of people in our ward!! We hope that they liked it....we were trying really hard to be anonymous.....but we aren't sure how well that worked out!! Zuster Nielson....is not the best at being sneaky!! But we had a good time and we hope that we were able to spread the joy a little bit here in our ward!!

This last week, I started reading through the Book of Mormon to understand and study the Pattern of Prayer. I heard about this pattern in a talk in the MTC by Elder Richard G. Scott and since I have been out here, I have been reading the Book of Mormon for a specific purpose. I have found that when you get a clean copy of the Book of Mormon and have a goal to learn and really study one topic within one reading that I have been able to learn a lot more than I have ever before with my scripture study!! But I really learned this week how important it is to always be growing your testimony. I learned from Laman and Lemuel how not to listen to a prophet of the Lord, and not pray to know that what that prophet has said was true. In Preach my Gospel, at the end of the Restoration lesson, we teach 'Pray to Know'. Why don't we apply that more in our lives? At first I thought it was silly to keep asking Heavenly Father for a confirmation of the truth because I had received an answer for a specific question many times. But I learned that in order to continue to grow my testimony, I need to pray to know that what someone testifies is true. I need to have a living testimony and, as I study the scriptures and learn from my Heavenly Father every day, that I can pray for an answer to know that what I have studied is true, that what I have learned has really been through Heavenly Father and not just something that I came up with. I challenge all of you to try this this coming week. Everyday, when you get a scripture study, go to seminary, or have an opportunity to hear someone bear their testimony to you, pray and ask your Heavenly Father to know, for yourself that it is true!! It really makes a huge difference!!! It's the difference of doubting everything that is going on or what you have learning and knowing for assurety!!

I have learned that agency....is sometimes a bummer. :D Ok, that is a joke. But it is really hard when you are able to find someone and they are super ready for the gospel but they still choose to reject what you have to teach them. My purpose is to INVITE others to come unto Christ. My job is to give people the opportunity to make a choice for themselves. That's the beauty of the Plan of Salvation!! But we watched the Steenheusens this week decide that they had found peace in their own belief and that they did not want to continue to investigate. That was super hard because I really made friends with their kids and I just loved their family, but they still have connections with people in the church and we think that eventually they will be able to see that what they are looking for is in the gospel!!

We finally have found some real new investigators here in Den Haag!! It was really exciting because we now have 5 new investigators and 2 progressing investigators!! I love each and everyone of them for different reasons. Elinho, he speaks Portuguese.....so we have a little bit of a hard time teaching him, but we take members who speak the language and they translate for us. Mr. Lesley Cederburg, he is a DJ and a bike fixer man....he is pretty cool and he is Surinamese!! And we found a family from Suriname also!! They are super cool and we have appointments with a lot of other potential investigators this week!!

Exchanges this week were super fun!!! I had a great day with Sister Stout!! We had a party and a lot of adventures. It was finally starting to warm up here, and that day, it was randomly cold again....and Z. Stout was really not prepared for that....so we had an interesting day trying to keep her warm, but because of her need to thaw out her feet on the trams, we found 3 new potential investigators that we all have an appointment with this next week!! We got lost a lot....but it was a good day!! And at the end of exchanges we had a sister lunch with all of the sisters in the mission!! We had that lunch in Doordrecht and it was a beautiful adveture!!! Zuster Robinson even joined us!! Party!

Well....here we go.....here is the most exciting part!! We got transfer calls yesterday. AND.......I have been transferred to Doordrecht. It is a really small city, in fact, it is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands. My new companion will be Sister Hinchcliff!! I don't know a ton about her yet....I know who she is though so that's a start!! I travel there on Wednesday. It is definitely a bitter-sweet experience. I feel like I was just starting to be able to make friends and get to know the ward here in Den Haag and there are a ton of places here that we haven't even had time to get out to yet.....but I hope that I will be able to make as many friends in Doordrecht and that I will be able to have fun there too!! I also hope that I can begin to understand why I am needed there instead of here int Den Haag..but in order to do that, I will have to get there first!! Here we go!!



Last week, we had a great P-Day. We went to eat all you can eat sushi.....ok, it wasn't really 'all you can eat' but it was a huge challenge. You get two hours to get through 4 rounds of sushi with 8 items a round. Sounds easy enough right? Well...it's not. We were dying a little bit after we ate it. But you will be proud to know that I was really adventurous and I ate fish eggs......I don't recommend it. It's really salty....but I had to say that I had done it...because if the elders could do it...so can I right? That is what I though at least!!



I love you all!!!
I hope you have had a great week!!!
Please keep having fun!!

Love,
Zuster Israelsen

Hope, The Beast and a Huge Bag of Sour Gummy Treats

Hello Beautiful Family!!

So this week has been super cool!!! Last Monday, we went to Scheveningen to the BEACH!!! It was a really warm day and we got to play football, eat some lunch, buy some souveniers and see the oldest pier in the Netherlands!!! It was so cool and just exactly what we needed for a good P-Day to start our week!! It is the oldest pier in the Netherlands and there is a whole board that shows it's evolution throughout time and it is so cool!! The coolest thing there was the huge building that you can see behind me in the picture. It's called Kurhaus. It is a really old building and it used to be owned by some super rich man. I don't really know a whole lot about the building but it is the name sake of Scheveningen!!! I got a little magnet of it so that I can always remember it!! :D But it was way fun to be on the Beach and to be able to be out in public in jeans!! (that never happens by the way!!)

The other picture of the beach says 'I love Nederland!!!' Just in case you can't read it!! We had the Elders from Den Haag, the Zusters from Haarlem and Gouda and us there the entire day!!! It was super fun!!!

So, my bike, which was so nicely given to me, is super old. And the tires on him....kind of blew. Just the outer tires though....so I had to go and buy new outer tires for him so that I could ride him and not die when I get a flat tire every single day. Bruno(my bike) is a beast. Like, he is huge and he can take most anything I do to him....but I put that off long enough and it was time to treat him with a little bit of love....mostly so that I could stop getting frustrated!! So...as you can see, I bought some beautiful tires this week!!!

At district meeting, we learned a lot about hope. Our district has been having a really hard time lately. Almost every single companionship has been in the hospital more one reason or another in the last two weeks. So our district leader, Elder Taylor, taught us about hope and what we can do to get through the hard times. One thing that I realized, that I hadn't ever put together before is something that is spelled out for us in Preach my Gospel!! About hope, it says,"Hope is manifest in CONFIDENCE, ENTHUSIASM AND PATIENT PERSERVEREANCE.' So I realized, that lately I haven't really been confident(I know, hard to comprehend) or enthusiastic and I am not really sure yet how I am going to learn how to be super patient. But that I needed to change my outlook on what was going on. Life is hard enough and we have a lot of problems. But when we have a bad attitude, or only focus on what we can't do (like speak Dutch for example) we are not going to get anywhere in our lives. I have learned that I need to change my outlook from,'I can't speak Dutch, I'm a faliure.' To, 'I know so much more than four months ago. I can have conversations with people, and though my responses in Dutch are never perfect, I can understand and I am understandable!!' It has really helped me this week. It has helped me to feel more prepared to train here in about two months and it is no longer something scary because, as long as I am doing my best, the Lord will bless me with the things that I need in that time. I have to remember that it is in His time, and not mine.

So, in the MTC, I promised myself that when I hit the 4 month mark on my mission that I would begin to study the scriptures in Dutch. So I did and guess what?!?! I understand!! I am able to read so much better in Dutch everyday!! It is so cool to see that progression!!! I still spend about half of my time in English in personal study, but that is a step further than I thought I would be at this point!! Cool huh?

Mom, I am getting my hair cut this week. I had been asking people in the ward where they get their hair cut to be able to find a place and the only person with super cute hair gets her hair cut when she goes back to the states....and everyone else just cuts their own hair. Unfortunately....idon't really trust them, so I asked the mission president's wife where to go and she gave me a place where the people are American and they do a really good job. So we will hope and pray that it looks good!! I think I am going to take a little more off this time so that I don't have to get it cut in two months...but more like four because I have to save my monies!!

I have been working super hard to learn specifically the restoration lesson backwards and forwards for the last few weeks. After Ans, we haven't had a real progressing investigator to teach and I have been doing my best to be able to prepare to be able to teach with my companion and to memorize the lesson so that I can give it better in Dutch!! We got to teach it to our first investigator yesterday!!! It felt super good and I could understand everything that was going on. I am still not perfect, and I have a lot of work to do, but it feels so good to see that I am making progress and that I am getting better!!

This last week, Zuster Nogueira got sent home. She is on a medical release and if the doctors in Protugal figure anything out then she will be able to come back to the mission!! It was really a hard thing for our entire district and we are just trying to get back onto our feet. She is always in our prayers and we hope that she can return soon.

You asked me more about my companion. She is a lot like me. She doens't really have anything to do with music. but she is sporty and super cool. The coolest thing about her is that she was a speed skater training to go to the Olympics, but that she choose to come on a mission instead of continue on that career track!! Because of that, she is super dedicated and super fun to be around. We get along great(even though we are together 24 hours a day) and we both really like the chocolate here. We also like the sour gummy treats that they have here and we get a huge bag of them every week!!! Her dutch is super good because her mom was born here in the Netherlands and her dad served here so she has had Dutch in her life....her entire life.

Today, to celebrate the almost end of the transfer, we are going right now to go and eat sushi!!! YAY!! I am so excited!!
I love you all!! I can't wait to hear from you again!! Keep up being the best family ever!!!

Leifte,

Zuster Israelsen

Memorize in Dutch, Bell Ups, Friets and This Book is Really Interesting!

HELLO WONDERFUL FAMILY!!!

First off, I would love to wish the best little brother ever in the world a VERY GELUKKIG VERJAARDAG!!! You are so old kro!!! What does it feel like to feel old? I sure love you and hope you have a great birthday....also, did you get my letter? You and Dad should have gotten one each!! Happy Birthday!! Don't have too much fun....ok?

This week has been full of miracles!! We have seen a lot of cool things this week, and also a lot of frustrating things....which I guess that is what missionary work is like, isn't it?

On Tuesday, we had our first appointment with Ans as a new member of the Church!! So cool!! She is really progressing even more that she has been baptized!! I love being able to watch how much she changes between every appointment we have with her!! It is truly amazing!! The coolest thing though, is that Tuesday, we set a tempel day with her to receive her begiftiging....or endowment. And as long as she stays on the same path as she is right now, I will be able to go through the temple with her next Februari!!!! Wow huh?!?! I think that is so amazing!! We made a calendar for her with different temples every month and we set a day for her to go to the temple every month with the young women and young men so that she can start to get her family names through the temple!! She is truly amazing and has just embraced the gospel and everything that it is about!! We really love her!!! I don't ever want to leave Den Haag because of her!! I would be happy just being able to teach and learn from her for the rest of my mission!! She is an example of faith to me!! I love her!!

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to go to Brussels, Belgium....because I had to fill out three whole papers for legality. Fun huh? BUT we got a full day trip out of it!!! We got to see some of the cool sights down in Brussels....I felt like I was in a different world because everyone was speaking French and also, the buildings are a whole lot older in Brussels than in Den Haag. I guess that is normal though because Den Haag is a relatively new city. Anyway, I got to ride down to Brussels with Elder Bryan Andrews, Elder Van Over Beek and Zuster Noguiera!! It was a party and we had a good 6 hour drive total that day!!! Let's just say....that we know each other way too well now!!! :D I got to see my entire MTC group again!!! That was super exciting and we were all able to kind of relax a little bit because we realized how much better we are actually getting at the language and alles!! I also got a Belgian waffel!!! Yes....be proud!! It was delicious!! And we ate this super huge sandwich for lunch. I have no idea what it is called because....it's a french name.

But it was truly delicious and the friets(fries) in Belgium are like a million times better than the ones in Nederland. Weird right? But it was a good day!!

On Thursday, we saw some really cool miracles with our less-actives that we are working with!! One, is Sabeta Salik. She is from Suriname and has some issues with depression and anxiety. But she really likes us sisters becasue we are the coolest, so she has us over a lot. This last week, we went over and she had a friend over. That was weird because...she doesn't really get out very much. But he sat in on the lesson with us. His name is Alvo....and guess what?!?! He is now a new investigator. We had an appointment with him for this last Saturday but he got called in to work at the last minute....like we were literally there with him and he had to leave because he got a page. So we have another appointment with him this next week. It was so cool in our lesson with him and Sabeta though, because we just went with what we had planned for her that day and we gave them a scripture to read out loud and then we were discussing it and we asked Alvo a question and he said, "sorry, can you ask that again....I was still reading....this book is really interesting!!" I thought,"Why yes it is....it is just the truth after all!!" SO COOL!!

Another Less-active that we have been working with since we came here came to church again this next Sunday!! Her name is Giang and she is really making progress!!! She just had a baby and her husband is not a member of the church but she has made the decision that she really wants to be an example for her son and be able to raise him with the gospel!! And she is really working on developing her habits of church attendance and scripture study!! It's so cool to see someone realize why they joined the church again!! And to be able to see why it is so important to keep going with the simple gospel principles!! Too cool!!

Unfortunately, we saw most of our appointments this week fall through. That is really frustrating....because you think that you are going to be able to do so much good one day, but then your plans change all of the sudden and you don't feel as productive. We are working a lot on finding people now because we don't have any progressing investigators this week. We have a lot of potentials and a lot of investigators but we don't see them every week or our appointments fall through with them. I guess it is a good thing because I am learning how to be able to communicate through bell-ups(It is ridiculous how hard it is to be able to understand people when they speak through those things!!) and I am getting really good at contacting on the streets!! It is a life-long skill. I know Jake, you will love it when I get home because I won't have to send you to go and talk to the cashier....or will I? I might only speak Dutch when I come home!! :D But we are just working really hard everyday so that we can find and do our part so that the Lord can bless us. I have learned that principle really well here on my mission. The Lord really can't bless you until you get out there and work. I like what Zuster Robinson says,"You need to pray as though everything depended on the Lord and then you need to get up and work as though everything depended on you." That is when the Lord is really able to bless you and help you!! I have seen that with my language skills. President Robinson challenged me to memorize the Preach my Gospel lessons in Dutch, and I have been working my best to do just that and I have seen how much the Lord has blessed me with my ability to speak the language!! This morning, we read an article in a Liahona that is a billion years old, and I could understand almost everything!!! That is a HUGE improvement!!! So I am here, and I am doing my best to work hard so that the Lord can help me become who I need to be!!

I kind of had a little bit of a scare this last weekend. Mom, please don't be concerned. I had super bad abdomenal pains, and Zuster Robinson thought that it could be apendicitous....(sp?) So she took me in to the hospital. They did a lot of tests and they found out that it wasn't my apendix, but that I had a super weird reaction to the milk products here and that my kidneys and intestines are having a hard time processing them. I guess that this happens to a lot of people and it shows up in everyone differently. But it was starting to be an infection, so they gave me some antibiotics and they told me to watch how much dairy products that I am putting into my body. They said that if I take it slow here for a while and slowly build up more milk and things that I would be able to handle it but that I just need to be careful so that I don't have this problem again!! I am feeling much better right now and it gets better and better everyday. I just am letting you know, I am fine, don't worry.

Rachel, I am SO PROUD OF YOU!!! I am so happy that you made it into the show choir!! You are going to LOVE it!! And also, you are a wonderful example of a great swimmer!!! I wish I could be cool like you!! I hope Elizabeth is loving choir!! I wish I could play words with friends with her!!! Elizabeth, make sure you practice really hard because I am really good at that game!! Mom, I don't know.....any of the seniors besides Jake this year. I am sorry that I don't have any ideas for a musical number!! And Dad, I am so happy that you watched the Super Bowl!! I wish I could have been there and eaten the delicious food!! You are a beautiful family and I love you so much!!

Oh, and this transfer, I get to go on exchanges this transfer with....drum roll please.....ZUSTER STOUT!!! It is going to be a party!!!

I am loving missionary work and I am just loving it here!!

I love you guys!!

Tot volgende week!!
Love,

Zuster Israelsen

Snowball Fights, Baptisms and Miracles

HELLO WONDERFUL FAMILY!!!

I can't believe that another week has come and gone. I just looked at my laundry today...and I thought I had just done it like two days ago....but apparently that was like....a week and a half ago. Time really does fly when you are having fun!!

I love hearing about everyone's week!!! It really is a highlight of my week to be able to hear from my family and know that everyone is doing well!! I think about you guys everyday. I worry about you and I pray for you!! I really Love you!!

I did end up getting boots this week. But I was way smart about how I did it. I had a Dutch young woman for me on P-Day. She knew exactly where the sales were, what boots were going to be warm and water proof and what were also going to be cute. I got them for 70% off so I think it was a pretty good deal. I am not sure if it is the money I am really worried about or trying to determine what I really need. I guess I was trying to convince myself that I already had boots and that I was going to be fine. But wow....new, really warm boots really do make a difference!!! Especially when it is so cold and always wet outside!!

This week....it snowed every single day.....all day long. It was so cold!!! And the Dutch keep saying that this isn't normal....it's way too cold here!! They were getting really excited because it was getting cold enough that they might have been able to do their 11 city skating race....but in the last two days it has started to warm up....and the Dutch are not happy about it.....but they predict more snow and crazyness in February....so it isn't over yet. I am pretty sure that we had a snowball fight with the Elders in Den Haag every day this week!! I am getting really good at making snowballs....and I don't think that the Elders believed me when I told them that I was competitive. Well....let's just say that they learned that they want Zuster Israelsen on their team!!! I don't hold back!! The funniest moment was watching Elder Li try to make an attempt to come and pummel me with snowballs....and as he was running across the street, he totally slipped and biffed it. It was priceless!!

Zuster Nielson and I have seen a lot of miracles this last week. We have felt that we were truly led to the right place at the right time. There were a lot of times we were going to just swing by someone's house, or look up another member in the ward that we haven't met yet, and they ended up needing us and our help really badly. One example, was we were in Voorburg because we had an appointment...and as usual, our appointment fell through. So we were going to look up Zuster Bidjai, who was our back-up plan. And we walked up to her door just in time to help her move huge boxes from her apartment to a new place that she is moving to. Her sister was also there trying to help her...but these boxes were way too heavy for a 70 year-old to be trying to carry down 5 flights of stairs. It was really miraculous. And we have done our best to be able to help the ward members so when we are able to randomly come and help them it is way cool. It really feels awesome to be an answer to prayers of others and really, the Lord is helping us to know who we need to get in contact with because we have no idea who really needs our help.

WE GOT 3 NEW INVESTIGATORS THIS WEEK!!! It felt like we were going through a drought for a long time. We had Ans and she is so golden, but she got baptized this last week and we were really concerned because we didn't have anyone else to teach. This week really proved to me that the answers really don't come until the trial of your faith. We have spent three weeks, in the freezing cold, contacting people who are not so very happy that we are trying to talk to them, and doing our best to be obedient and not give in to the temptation to just go back to our apartment and warm up before we really freeze. And because we did all of this, the Lord is now really blessing us with people to teach. One is a family, I think I told you about how we had an appointment with them this week, but they accepted baptism!!! (They weren't comfortable enough to accept a date) but they are commited to continue to learn and search our message and ask our Heavenly Father. They see how happy the Bidjai family is with the gospel and how much their children benefit from it and they want that for their kids too!! We are going to have FHE with the Bidjai's next week and they have invited the Steenheusens to come and experience that with us!! So cool!! The other new investigator, walked into church randomly this week. She is so cool!! She is from the Philippines and she is living here with her mom. She said that she had come into contact with the missionaries in the Philippines but she didn't really listen to them. But she has been having a hard time here in the Netherlands and the missionaries promised that their message would help her and bring more joy in her life, so she looked up the church and came on Sunday!!! We have our first real appointment with her this week and it is going to be amazing!!

We had Zone Training this week!! I love our zone!!! We are one of the best!! Elder Li and Elder Wright talked about being able to recognize things so that we could apply them in our lives. My favorite question that they asked us was,"What did we promise our Heavenly Father in the pre-existence, to be able to enjoy the blessings and experiences we have now? And are we living up to our promise to our Heavenly Father?" I learned that I need to start looking for the will of the Lord more in my life. Because whatever I promised Him before I came to earth is in line with His will. If I am seeking to do His will in my life, I will be fulfilling His expectations.

We had a wonderful week in Den Haag this week. We had someone from every single companionship in Den Haag baptized. That's right, 3 WHOLE BAPTISMS!!! Den Haag is on fire!! The work is really hastening. I don't know if I can explain how wonderful it is to see someone make the decision to be baptized and follow the example of Jezus Christ. Ans Jansen is my first baptism that I have been able to witness from the beginning to the end. Wow. This gospel is true!! I have seen her change from someone who was very skepticle of the church and anything that we had to teach, to someone who is alreay a support for others in the ward. She has already been working to help re-activate as many people as she can. She is so amazing. I have been able to witness the little changes along the way, but I also see the new Ans at the end. I think that that is why our Heavenly Father sent us to earth. He can see all of the little changes that we make along the way but he is also able to see the end product. That brings so much joy and increases your love for someone because you were able to help them along their way. It is so cool!! I have seen the Lord work through her, I have felt the Spirit testify through me and to me of the truthfulness of what we have taught and what she can now bear as her testimony and it is truly amazing. There were a ton of people at her baptism despite of the horrible weather and she was so grateful for the ward. The thing that meant the most to her this last weekend was the blessing she received when she was set apart. Elder Li was really listening to the Spirit because she told us that everyday this week she was asking for Heavenly Father to help her biological brothers and sisters to be pleased with her decision and to just support her in the things that have made her happy because ever since she told them she was going to be baptized, they haven't called her or answered any of her phone calls. Elder Li, through our Heavenly Father, told her that she had now received many new brothers and sisters that were there to support her and were so happy with her decision. That the ward loves her!! So cool!!

I love you all!! Here we go for another week in paradise!!
Love,

Zuster Israelsen

Prayer and Het is Waar, Het is Waar!!! Mensen moeten het leren!!" Which means "It's true, It's true!!!

HELLO FAMILY!!

I think about you guys everyday and wonder how everything is going!! I am so happy that I got a letter from almost everyone this week (*cough cough* Rachel) and to hear that everyone is doing well. It really does make a difference in my day when I am able to hear from you!! I look forward to my hour on the computer every week!!

Well, last week I told you that we were getting a mini missionary, and we were. But on Monday night, when she was out with her family for her fathers birthday, her wallet was stolen with all of her IDs and her OV chip card and money. So she was unable to come with us for the first two weeks of this new transfer. They hope for her to be able to come out here before the end of the transfer in Den Haag, but they will have to see because she has to arrange everything with the police and earn more money to be able to come out and experience missionary life. So they are postponing until she is able to come again.

It snowed....and it continues to snow. It snows everyday. It is ridiculous!! By the end of the day I am so frozen that I have to come home and change into a different three or four layers of clothes and sit in front of the heater until I have warmed up.

The most ridiculous thing about our apartment, is that in the bathroom and kitchen, we don't have any ventilation systems. Really we don't have any in the whole apartment because it is an old building. But that means that we have to keep certain windows open so that we don't get mold problems later in our lives. So we shut the doors to our study and bedroom and trap the heat in there....but if we need to shower, or use the restroom, or eat....we book it into those rooms and then grab or do whatever we need to do quickly, and then book it back into the warmth. Don't worry mom. I am going to be fine. I have found out that the boots that I have aren't really warm enough for this weather....and also...the leather isn't really meant to trek through the snow...so we are going to buy a pair of boots while the sales are still going on. Also, don't worry...because we aren't biking in this weather. We watch other people almost die everyday trying to bike through the ice. They do alright though, because they are in pants and if they start to have a problem, they just stick their legs out and balance themselves....that doesn't really work with a skirt....yes I tried....and I will never, ever bike in the winter here again!! The only problem with not biking...is that the trams are all sorts of unreliable when it snows...and it is cold if you are walking too.....but we have figured it out, and we pretty much spend most of our time in one area for a day. Like yesterday, after church, we went down to Delft and spent 6 hours down there looking people up and contacting the two other people that were on the street.

We found two new investigators this last week!! The Lord really does provide for you, especially when you prove to Him that you are here to work, when you are outside for hours on end. The first is Mrs. Brussee. We went by her house to look up her husband who is a member of the church....but we found out that he passed away six years ago. That is how out of date our ward list is....we are working on that don't worry!! But she let us in and we were able to share with her the Plan of Salvation. She really began to understand why our religion is so important for us. And the prospect of her being able to be with her husband again really made her think about whether or not this was true. We are going back tomorrow to teach her the Restoration so that she can understand by what power we are able to return and be with our families!! It is so cool to see the seed of hope be planted into someone's heart. Their faces start to light up and every time you return, you see it grow if they are open to the message you have to bring. The gospel really changes lives!!

The other is an entire family (so I guess that they count as more than one investigator). But when Phebe Bidjai was baptized, she invited her entire school class to the baptism. It was so cool to see how many people came out to her baptism and how many people were also religious and didn't realize that the Bidjai's were a religious family either. One of those families is the Steenheusens. We talked to them on Phebe's baptism and they seemed really interested. They told us about how, over the last six years, they have tried to become more religious so that they could teach their children correct principles. They knew that as they involved the Lord more in their lives, that their children would have more of a chance of success here in this world. We tried to make an appointment with them, but they said that they would just like to look at the website and then if they found anything interesting that they would call us. So we thought that....you know....we wouldn't hear from them again. But this last week, we decided that we would call them to see how they liked the website....and they picked up and said,"Wow, it's the sisters. We were just talking about you and said that if you called, we would make an appointment." So, we have an appointment with them this next week and they are all sorts of prepared with questions and they have done their homework so we are super excited to meet with them!!! A whole entire family could be brought to the gospel!!! Cool huh?

Ans Jansen is going to be baptized this next Saturday. She is so excited!!! The whole ward just loves her and everyone is making appointments with her to be able to spend time with her. Heck, she gets more dinner appointments with the ward than we do!! (Maybe we should tag along) She is doing so well and is really trying her best to continue to progress to her goal of going to the temple. We are going to set a temple date with her after her baptism and then we are going to help her to get ready for that day. I could go through the temple with her!!! In a year!!! So COOL!!! She is also just a natural missionary!! She has given us more refferals and invited more people to her baptism that I think I have ever known in my entire life. She just keeps telling us about people who are coming and people we need to talk to because she thinks that they reallly need this message in their lives. She always says,"het is waar, het is waar!!! Mensen moeten het leren!!" Which means "It's true, It's true!!! People must learn it!!!" She is so funny!!! We are just trying to get super prepared for her baptism this week and make sure she is still on the right path!! We met her husband this last week!!! He is super funny and they are perfect for each other because he doesn't say anything....and you can't get her to be quiet!!! But he is really good at giggling in the right spots and showing empathy when it is required!! Too cute!!

I have learned what a blessing prayer is over this last week. We have an investigator named Steven. He has been in the hospital for a long time and is really not doing so well. We have been going by at least once a week and visiting with him and teaching him little simple parts of the gospel because he has a hard time understanding. And this last week we were really focusing on prayer. He says everytime that he prays everyday for the Lord to help him get better and we asked him if he would offer a prayer for us at the end of our last meeting. He was trying so hard and we went through every step really clearly and tried everything we could to be able to encourage him and make him feel comfortable with prayer. I imagine a life where I wasn't able to speak with a member of my family because I didn't know how. I don't ever want to feel like I don't know how to be able to communicate with my Heavenly Father. It really is a blessing that we have the knowledge of how to pray and that we are able to utilize this gift everyday of our lives!! I have really grown to realize what a blessing it is and I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for giving us a way to be able to communicate with Him and find peace in this crazy world!!

Transfers were this last week, and we lost one Elder from our ward. We said goodbye to Elder Maughn....the one other Aggie here in our Zone. But we gained Elder Wright. He is the new zone leader and he is still trying to get his feet on the ground here in Den Haag but he seems like a pretty cool guy!! I am excited for the opportunity to be able to work with him this transfer and also the other three Elders, Elder Li, Elder Taylor and Elder Praag!! We are quite the group and we are going to tear Den Haag up!!

Also, Mom. Thank you SO MUCH for the hand warmers!! I don't know what I would do without them!! It really is a blessing and I am so grateful that you sent them to me for Christmas!! I used them yesterday and it totally worked the whole time we were in Delft!! So Thank you!!!

I LOVE ALL OF YOU!!! I can't wait to hear from you again!! Have a great week!!

Love,

Zuster Israelsen