interview with lindsey stirling

So on Tuesday evening Bonnie L. Oscarson and David L. Beck (young men and young women general presidents of the Church) met with world-renowned (I even met fans of hers in Belgium!) dancing violinist Lindsey Stirling and did this really cool broadcast called a face2face, which essentially just means it was a live interview and that youth from all over the world could ask Lindsey questions.

I watched it and loved it! I love her testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I love that she keeps her standards, and that her team calls them "Lindsey rules" on tours. I love that she is real with these kids. She isn't ashamed of sharing her own experiences to help them.

Share this with friends! Share it with family! Her story is inspirational and she has great things to say!

P.S. If you're interested, there was also one with David Archuleta on the 24th of June! You can find that video here.

another idea

So last Tuesday one of my favorite people got home from one of my favorite countries!

On Sunday I had the opportunity to go to listen to Sister Chelsea Elting speak about her experiences in the Netherlands. I even had the honor of preparing a musical number with the lovely and extremely talented Sister Andrea Wood, which went quite well if I do say so myself! Maybe I'll see if I can get the audio on here at some point.

Anyway. As I talked to Chelsea about the struggles of being home and such, we joked about how there should be a returned missionary recovery program. One thought led to another and we ended up deciding that actually... A recovery program would be really helpful. And a blog would be an easy way to start that up.

And thus... An idea was born. In the next several weeks, there will be several changes that go down on this blog! I will be adding Chelsea as a contributor and we will be posting about the things that are difficult about being home and about the things we and others do to cope!


Stay tuned, friends. It's going to be really cool.

starting again

So...

I'd like to apologize for writing that post about being back and how I was going to keep a record of my efforts to build the Kingdom and such, because I said that and then I didn't start recording any of that. The truth is that the last six weeks have been surreal. I have trouble speaking English. I have trouble not eating the food I'm used to. I have trouble having free time (wish I could have told my mission self that one!). I have trouble not planning every second of every day. And... I have trouble getting the motivation to start doing some of the things that I did before I left. Blogging is one of them. So it's taken me a while to really want to write anything. The good news is that I think I'm ready to start documenting my spiritual journey here. And that's mostly because I feel like this is one of the ways that I can truly continue to "paint [my missionary badge] on [my] heart."

I'm glad I came to that conclusion, because that's honestly been one of the hardest things about being back. I'm not entirely sure how one goes about doing missionary work at home. I've been so unsure about how to be an effective member missionary - how to continue to make a difference and help the Lord in His glorious work. But I am convinced that this blog, among a couple other things I've been figuring out, will help me be able to share what the Lord wants me to share.

I realized on my mission that we don't just belong to a Church. We belong to a lifestyle. Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ means not only attending Sunday meetings, but living the way that the Savior lived. Loving as He loved. Using that love to become a better, stronger person. Doing our best to live up to our divine potential. We are children of our Heavenly Father, who sent His only Begotten Son to suffer and die for us to enable us to not only return to our Heavenly Father, but also to be okay along the way. To find happiness in enduring. To find motivation to reach out to others and serve. To bring as many as we can with us!

I went to my YSA (Young Single Adult) ward today and it was awesome. It was probably the first time I've been to all three hours of church since I've been home due to homecomings and things. The peace I felt was wonderful. I went to the temple last night and the peace was wonderful. I love the peace I feel after a good talk with my Heavenly Father. Or reading my scriptures! Spending time with my family! Basically I just love that it's so easy to feel my Heavenly Father's love. I mean, He sent His Son for us! And Jesus Christ Himself... Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends! (John 15:13) We are so loved. God is watching out for us. He's given us tons of things to help us out of hardship and lift us up! I'm so grateful for that. I have no idea where I'd be without all those things and the knowledge that I have that I am His daughter.God lives. Christ lives. I love Them! I'm so grateful that the Spirit has testified those things to me.

Life is good. I think it's safe to say that, though I miss many things about my mission, I'm okay. :)

home

Well everybody... After an incredible year and a half, I'm back. I've actually been back for a week and a half, but I must say, it's been a little weird getting back into "regular life." 

I've been thinking about what I want to do with this blog, as I am no longer on my "18 month adventure to Belgium and the Netherlands". I've decided to keep it going as part of my continued effort to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So, this will be a record of my spiritual experiences and things I learn that I'd like to share.

I invite anyone reading this to join me in my spiritual learning process. And please, share your own insights and thoughts and experiences of faith and hope and religion in general!

jacob 7:27

Family -

Well, I can't say I thought this day would actually ever come. It always seemed like such a far-off idea that I didn't think very much about how it would feel. Now that it's here... I can't say that I'm enjoying it very much. As people have asked these last few weeks about how I feel, I've been honest - conflicted. I'm excited to see you all, but I'm going to miss this work so much! However, I must admit that I am really glad that taking off the tag doesn't mean that missionary work ends. It just means that it changes.

This week was really weird. Not in a bad way, just... Unusual. We had some incredible miracles, but I'll be the first one to say that they were nothing we were expecting. We received some realllly incredible revelation for Hans at the conference with Elder Ballard on Thursday. We can see the light of Christ shining in Mellonie's eyes... And so can the members. We went to Ward Council for the first time. We had an 48-hour exchange during which my dear Sister Verdegem survived a 9 hour trip to the hospital and all four of us sisters saw that there is no such thing as coincidence. We watched the selflessness of a nervous Elder Rozendaal as he leaped into action to help an injured man. And Anthony, who I met with Sister Clement on exchanges last transfer, agreed to be baptized on the 29th of November. It was an incredible week. An amazing last full week.

Upon thinking about what the most memorable experience of my mission might be, I quickly realized that because I've had so many incredible experiences, it's hard to choose just one. I decided I'd like to share the common element in all of them, which is the healing power of the Atonement.

I've seen it countless times. In Dordrecht I watched a Moroccan man, Boumedian, be reduced to tears by the beauty of the Plan of Happiness. I watched him as he tried to find another job to replace the one he had selling alcohol at a concert venue after we taught him about the Word of Wisdom. In Deventer I watched a recent Afghani Christian convert, Latif, agree to attend General Conference the day that we met him. The next day I listened, amazed, as he told us he wanted to be baptized. In Turnhout I watched Jobe, a reckless, dishonest Gambian man, turn into a selfless, honorable citizen. He turned his life around - by the last time I saw him, he was even picking trash up off of sidewalks. And last, but not least, I've watched the transformation of 15-year-old Mellonie as she turned from a closed off, ghost-obsessed know-it-all to an eager, sweet young woman who's becoming more and more prepared for her baptism every day.

My most memorable experience, then, is the thread that connects all of these stories and the many others I could share. It's the Light of Christ that began to shine in their eyes. Their countenances changed as they accepted Christ's atoning sacrifice and used it to help them become whole again.

I am so grateful for the opportunity I've had to watch that healing process. I know that the Atonement works. I know that not just from seeing others use it, but from using it myself. I'm so grateful that it applies not just to the big things, but also the little ones. It's been an incredible blessing to be able to share that, full-time, with the people here in the Netherlands and Belgium. I have felt Christ's love for the people here, whatever their nationality. I know that He loves us more than I or any of us can comprehend. I'm grateful to know that He loves me!

I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is truly Christ's church restored to the earth. The Spirit has confirmed that to me so many times as I've been out here in the field. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, and that the Book of Mormon is God's word.

I'm grateful for all I've experienced out here, and for all of the incredible people I've met. I would not trade this mission for anything in the world. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. As said in D&C 76:22, "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which [I] give of him: That he lives!"

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,

Sister Anjewierden

Saying goodbye to "The Final Frontier." You served me well, my friend!

Zuster Verdegem, me, and Mellonie

Passing the torch. Okay fine it's a small Dutch Bible. :)

I love my Zuster Verdegem! She's going to be a great Sister Training Leader!

MARIO'S BROODJES. I will miss these so much.

Elder Rozendaal, Elder Toole, me, and Zuster Verdegem

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAAAAAAAAAAAD.‏

Family -

 

I love you guys! Dad, have a great birthday. Elder Ballard is coming on that day so I'll be celebrating with him. :)

 

Goodness gracious, I can't believe that time is going so quickly. I had a terrible realization last night that in less than two weeks, I won't get to do this all day every day. It's getting a lot harder to not let it affect me than I thought it would be.

We did have a great week though! I won't go into too much detail due to time, but Me. and Ha., though they're our only real progressors at this point, are doing super well.

We saw Me. almost every day this last week and we're really getting a special bond with her. The most incredible thing has happened - you can see the light of Christ in her eyes. That's fairly recent! She's such an incredible girl, and I'm so glad that she's made the decision to let the Atonement work for her. It's taken a lot of darkness out of her life!

We're working with Ha. on gaining a testimony of the Restoration of Christ's Church. We had a fantastic lesson yesterday with him and Sister de Vries. We watched Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration, then bore testimony of Joseph Smith, and the Restoration. Sister de Vries shared some incredible things about her coversion that Ha. really needed to hear! We invited him to be baptized on the 18th of October. He's not sure yet - he asked if he could think about it. We said yes, and pray about it and the Restoration!

Also. We had a great time at the Relief Society activity! We were able to get to know a bunch of the sisters better and they were all super happy that we were able to come.

Sister Verdegem and I are pretty excited for Elder Ballard to come on Thursday! It'll be a great conference!

 

Also, something silly - my bike blew a tire again. 25 euro later. :p

 

Well, we're excited to go see the Dom Kerk today. Especially the catacombs! Woohoo! That's the reason we changed our P-day. I'll send pictures next week! Maybe.

 

Love you allllll!

 

Zuster Anjewierden

Double Redemption Weeks

Ahhhh it's super crazy how time has sped up the last few weeks! I feel like it was just barely P-day!

What a jam-packed week. We had exchanges with Gouda on Tuesday. I went with Sister Mizell, and was reminded how much I love working with previous companions. The unity that you had when you were companions is always still there. It's really cool, because every companion is so much different, so it's fun to be reminded, I guess. We had some good lessons and some good conversations as well. I love her a lot! It's just weird to think that we'll both be gone in a couple of weeks.
Wednesday we switched back at zone conference, which was marvelous. We were glad we got to figure out travel for the Elder Ballard Conference next week - don't want to be late for that! Anyway, it was neat to have the opportunity to give my "dying testimony". I kind of dreaded it because I knew it'd be hard, and that it'd just make me emotional (especially with Sister Larsen and Sister Mizell going after me, and then a beautiful musical number), but I love testifying because the Spirit always testifies to me! I was just reminded of the fact that the Atonement covers everything - not just the big stuff. And even though it's been hard getting to know myself really well on my mission, I think it'll help me develop a lot of strengths in the rest of my mission on earth.
We've been doing more service for members, which is great! Really building up those relationships. Our agenda also exploded with dinner appointments for the next few weeks! It'll be great to spend some good quality time building the members up.
We struggled number-wise this week. I hate getting discouraged but it's been really hard to keep myself from it the last few weeks. I've resolved to repent though - We deemed the next 2.5 weeks "double redemption week," and we're planning on doing everything we can to help Utrecht GROW before next transfer! So. I'm excited for that. :)
Hs. and Me. came to church yesterday! As did a bunch of other non-members. I'm really excited for these next few weeks... I can just feel that they're going to be wonderful!
OH also, it was marvelous to take the sacrament again! :)
Love,
Sister Anjewierden

Sinterklaas stuff already on shelves! Yes, I can stock up!
Splits with the zone leaders. Love these guys!

Starting Again

FAMILY!

Well, we had a pretty great week as far as personal growth, helping other missionaries grow, and making plans for the zone/for our own city, but as far as investigators go it was a pretty hard week! We realized on Saturday that we really only have a couple of investigators who are still positive. It's time to replenish our teaching pool!

We visited Rotterdam distrcit on Tuesday, which felt really strange, but was good! It was fun to be able to see how someone else's district works. Elder Pouwer is a power(haha)ful teacher and we learned a lot about using the Book of Mormon in teaching. Sister Kohlert and I headed back to Utrecht and had a great exchange. We had a lot of fun together and taught some great lessons to Me. (Word of Wisdom) and Ib. (Law of Chastity).

Wednesday we switched with Gouda and Sister Hoff and I also had a great exchange! While at a dinner appointment we heard about the new documentary coming about about members of the Church - Meet the Mormons. They showed us the trailer. Looks like it'll be good! I'm excited to see it, but not as excited as I am about watching Elder Bednar's talk from Education week - the members have all been talking about that, too.

Thursday was a HARD DAY. Everything went wrong. Ib. dropped us. We were late to everything. People dropped appointments. We were an hour late to our dinner appointment. It was about as ridiculous as Murphy's Law can get. I turned to Sister Verdegem at one point and said, "I just want to crawl in a hole and die." Haha. But we did visit a cute less active family and they were kind of the highlight of our day, along with our dinner appointment with familie Dubbeld! Once we got there.

Friday was Mission Leader Council and wow, I got so many ideas of how to improve my teaching these last few weeks. I can't believe that I haven't been using them all before now! Like... Writing down frequently asked questions in my study journal and studying answers for them? Or focusing in on baptismal interview questions when planning lessons? They just seem like common sense but hey, we're all still learning, right? Anyway, I'll definitely be applying it all. It's weird to think that I won't have another Mission Leader Council though!

The rest of the week involved District Leader Council, visiting members, and re-evaluating our situation. We dropped Jy. (it's almost impossible to contact him lately), Ib. dropped us, Ro. and Ma. haven't been responding to us... Me. is doing great, so that's fantastic. Ha. needs to gain a testimony of the Restoration. So... We're going from that. Almost back to square one as far as investigators go, but we do have some really positive potentials.

Quick spiritual thought. Due to a series of unfortunate events, we missed the sacrament yesterday morning. It was really frustrating because we walked in with Me. and they were singing but they started saying the first prayer and we waited for them to come out and they never did. I even tried to go open the door so they'd know we were there. BUT they wouldn't let us in. And I was so upset! I fought back tears as we went into the chapel - I thought about how difficult the past week had been WITH the sacrament and didn't want to think about how it'd be this week without it. Then I thought of the parable of the ten virgins. I have never felt more like one of the foolish virgins. I felt like we were knocking at the door of the Bridegroom but we were too late! If we had been more prepared, it wouldn't have been a problem. I decided I never want to feel like that again. So. New life goal. Always be prepared!

All righty. Til next week!

Love you all. :)

Sister Anjewierden

With Sister Kohlert in Utrecht!

The Book of Mormon is true!

FAMBAM!

 

We had a great week! The weather was sure weird, and we certainly had some weird experiences (as always), but it was much better than last week! Which is cool, because last week was hard, but in the end wasn't so bad! Also... All of our cool stuff this week revolved around the Book of Mormon. Which is cool.

Ib. is progressing slowly but surely. He came to a fireside that we had on Tuesday by a BYU professor about DNA research as related to the Book of Mormon. He's a doctor (he studied for six years in Guinea) and so he seemed pretty interested in all of the biology-related stuff that was talked about. I loved the fireside - basically, the conclusion was that the Book of Mormon can be neither proven nor disproven through DNA research because the odds that DNA is at all the same as then is little to none, and that the only way to truly know is to read it and to pray to know for ourselves. We liked that - that's what we've been trying to get Ib. to do! He reads it but I'm not sure he's been praying about it yet.

Ro. is another one of our investigators and she's doing so well. She has so many great questions and really wants to know everything! She's been reading in the Book of Mormon and understands it pretty well which is cool! The Spirit is really strong in her lessons and I think that there's potential for things with her to go pretty quickly!

Ha. is also doing well. He's starting to TRULY make connections between the Bible and Book of Mormon. He loves the Joseph Smith Translation. He found it on lds.org and he's been reading it and sharing things with us.

 

Me. is also back! Still excited about her baptism in October. We'll meet with her tomorrow.

So cool miracle - we were getting our bikes out of the garage where we park them (for free! woohoo!) at the station and one of the guys that works there started talking to us! Turns out he talked to the elders a few months ago and they said they'd bring him a Book of Mormon and never did. So we gave him one and we're meeting with him soon! It was super cool.

 

IIII love you all. Until next week!

 

Love,

Sister Anjewierden

 

PS I saw pictures of FSY (european EFY) this week and it made me want to be a counselor. Haha. Maybe next year?

The Dom kerk (church). Basically the symbol of Utrecht.  (Tower behind the red building)

Miracles and Heartbreak always come together

Well, to be honest, this week was pretty awful for many different reasons. BUT we learned a lot. And had a surprising amount of successes and miracles. So that's cool!
Updates: Li. finally talked to her husband and sure enough, he said he will not let her or the kids be baptized. :( It seriously broke our hearts. She told us Tuesday night in a phone call and we both had a really hard time after that. Actually, the hardest part is that she said that even though it pains her, she would like to find a church where he will let her be baptized. We spent the next few days trying to figure out how to make it clear to her that it's not the same... Then we went over Friday for one last lesson with her. What her thoughts are now, I'm not sure, but I do know that we felt the Spirit strongly in that lesson, and everything ended on a good note. I don't think this is the end of the road for her. We still pray that the Lord will soften her husband's heart.
Ib. did not agree that the Godhead is made up of three separate beings, and was actually very condescending about his views... It was scary. We had a terrible lesson with him on Saturday where I lost my patience with his contentious behavior and called him to repentance with 3 Nephi 11:28-30. Naturally, because it was bold but not loving, that didn't bring the Spirit either, and then I just felt bad that I'd said it. It really was overall a bad lesson. We came home to eat dinner and I cried and prayed for forgivenes... Then on Sunday I repented. We had a fantastic lesson! It went super well. So while he's no longer on date for baptism, he's closer than he was on Saturday.
Not a ton of other updates other than Me. is on vacation and Hs. came to church again! Woohoo. Apparently in Priesthood he said that he's not planning on getting baptized yet, but that he's not ruling it out as a possibility, and that though he loves the Bible, he's open to the Book of Mormon maybe being true. Haha. At least he understands what we're helping him work towards!
Well... Oh! Huge miracle. Da. - We were walking to catch a bus to go home from Hs' and then we saw it coming. I sprinted like my cross country days to wave it down (the bus driver laughed really hard - little blond girl in a skirt with a big bag, running to catch the bus) and we got on. It stopped for five minutes at a bus station along the way and we watched as a rather feminine looking (and sounding) man got off to smoke a cigarette. I really need to work on my not-judging skills because I was totally judging him! Then. He walks back into the bus and stops by us. "Can I ask you a question?"
I thought he was going to call me out for looking at him funny or something, but said "Sure!" Then he says, "Are you Mormons?" Turns out he investigated the church for a year and a half in Greece but lost contact when he came here. He'd fallen back into habits (drinking and smoking) and really felt like he was missing something. He wondered if it might be the church, so he prayed that he'd find members of the church if that's what it was! It was such a cool thing. If we hadn't caught that bus... Wow. Haha. He's on vacation for a couple weeks but when he comes back he wants to be taught again! And come to church!
There are others too but I've got to go! That's the story of mission life. So much to say, never enough time!

Sister Anjewierden

PS Jb. is being taught in Turnhout again! Best news ever! :)

(pictures from last week that never sent)

Top picture is with Ib.
Bottom is on the domplein.

Double 2 Double 4

Aug. 4, 2014

Well, I didn't think I'd end up having any sort of transfer patterns, but I will end up with one. 2-2-4-4. 2 in Dordrecht and Deventer and 4 in Turnhout and Utrecht. So that's kind of fun. :) That's right, I'm staying in Utrecht for my last transfer! With Sister Verdegem. :) So... Here we go!

 

I'm grateful for the opportunity that I get to finish out with Sister Verdegem here in Utrecht. I must admit that I had a hard time here at first, but I have truly grown to love this city. And Sister Verdegem, too! We're really becoming great friends so we're both glad we get another transfer to continue that. :)

 

What a miraculous week. We seriously saw some incredible wonders happen. It's amazing how that happens. Generally right when you feel like you absolutely don't deserve it, too. Humility is weird. I can't figure out the balance - either I feel like the "unworthy creature" that King Benjamin talks about or I feel like I'm entitled to things. So... I want to find that balance of "hey, I know that I'm a daughter of God who's priceless in His sight, but I owe everything I have and receive to Him." It's just hard. I guess that's really what we're here on earth for though. To strive for that balance in everything.

 

Li. is still on date for August 16th, but she's struggling with her husband not being supportive. He hasn't told her she can't be baptized, but he's not interested so she feels like there's no point in telling him. The problem is... She has to talk to him about it. :\ We're a little bit concerned. But other than that, she's ready. As far as we can tell!

 

Ib. is incredible. He has this awful, war-torn past, and has every right (by the world's standards) to complain about EVERYTHING, and yet he is humble and realizes that God has helped him through it all. He even told us that he feels like the Gospel is the reason that he had to end up in Utrecht. He LOVES it. He LOVES the Book of Mormon and church and us and just all of it. He got a blessing of comfort yesterday from the Zone Leaders and afterward he just said, "I'm happy." The Spirit was incredible. Another miracle - Sister Chardon came on joint teach to like 3 appointments with him this week. Also once to Hs. Actually she really just deserves her own paragraph, she's basically been our mission mom/third companion this week. she also fed us. And this morning we went on a long walk with her and Sister de Vries along the Krommerijn (river). It was beautiful! Then we ate pannekoeken. I love these people.

 

Hs. is coming slowly. But he's coming. He truly frustrates me sometimes. He has this habit of arguing with EVERYTHING that we say, and questioning very little of what he reads on the internet. He found something about Joseph Smith joining the Methodist church in 1828 and now he's all contentious and stuff again. We're praying hard for him. I really think he'll come around. But when?

Me. is really going through incredible changes. I'm super excited for her! She came to church again yesterday and it was wonderful. She even seemed less bored this time, which is great. We're still going to try to find more ways to help her like it though.

 

SUPER miracle - Our ward mission leader gave us a referral (less active member and his wife). Then invited them to church. THEN THEY CAME! Then tomorrow we're eating with them. So that's super cool! I'm amazed at how much better our relationships with the ward have become. I love these people. :)

 

Well... I'm excited to finish out as Sister Training Leader. I think it'll be nice to not focus on myself as I sprint this final stretch! These sisters are amazing and I'm excited to do all I can to help them succeed!

 

Love you sooooooooo much,

 

Sister Anjewierden

 

Buah!

July 28, 2014

OH MY GOSH I can't believe this didn't send! :( I am so so so so so sorry. I feel terrible. :(

 

FAM! Goodness gracious what a week. Here we go.

 

Let's see... Updates. Li.! She came to church on Sunday and brought her brother's girlfriend, which is cool because we taught her about missionary work last week. :) She's doing so well. She's very ready for baptism, but she's afraid to ask her husband. She already told him that she wants to be baptized, but she didn't tell him that she wants to be baptized on the 16th of August... We're praying and praying that she'll have the courage to do it!

Hs. came to church yesterday - with the bus! We were super proud of him. It was really a big step for him to put that much effort into coming to church. We've noticed that he seems to like deep doctrine, so we're trying to really push the Book of Mormon with him, because that's the answer to all of his arguments! If he reads it and prays about it, he'll know it's true. And the other stuff too! We're working on getting him on date this week.

Me. is on date to be baptized on the 11th of October! Her parents have given her permission and she told us that she's really been thinking about it and it's something she really wants to do. She also came to church yesterday for the whole three hours! She was pretty bored so we're going to have to help her to be more entertained the next time, but she stayed the entire time! Super neat.

Quick miracle - we had a little bit of time left last... Friday I think? And we didn't really want to contact people at the station because they tend to be in a hurry and such, but we decided to confront our self-limiting beliefs and just do it. We talked to this man named Ib., who's from Guinea, and he said we could bring him a Book of Mormon! Also, Sister Verdegem contacted him in French. It was super neat! We had a first lesson with him yesterday and he's very positive. Also he lives around the corner from the church! What?! We have another lesson with him tonight.

Zone training went very well. I was amazed at how the Spirit was able to work through me, even though I didn't feel like I had a lot to share about my topic (charity). I realized that charity is just the atonement in action! And then I decided that I'm going to take Moroni 7:48 and truly pray for charity all the time. And do my best to develop it!

 

Love you all. :)

 

Sister Anjewierden

 

Pictures -

Elder Eastmond is headed home! What?!

Haha thanks for the package. I'll try to stave off the trunky. :)

NOooo Tiiime!!!!

We have the cool opportunity today to go shopping with an inactive member! :) She's really cool and we're really thinking it will help us to build up a better relationship with her. It should be lots of fun, but we also don't have tons of time before we leave so this is going to be pretty quick!

The sisters are doing so well! I've really seen a difference in the last couple weeks. They're more hopeful and they're working super diligently to find and maintain investigators. And to help them progress! I had a great couple of exchanges this last week - Tuesday with Sister Rosenlof and Wednesday with Sister Thorley. Both went super well and I think I'm figuring out how to help the sisters in Rotterdam zone a little bit better.

It's crazy, I really wasn't in Utrecht for a lot of this week! And the days that I was... Were really weird. Lots of bike issues, creepy men, terrible humid heat, and just straight up crazy things. Luckily Li. is still doing well, Jy. and Hs. are even better than they have been, Me's mom says she can be baptized, and we found a couple of new investigators - Mn., Re., and a potential, Ay., that I found with Sister Clement on Friday.

We had a really cool sacrament meeting yesterday! There was a lot said about the plane scandal in Ukraine, and a lot said about the Plan of Salvation! The Spirit was super strong. And then we sang the EFY Medley with a couple of the jovos and it brought the Spirit really strongly as well! Really neat.

I'm really looking forward to Zone Training on Wednesday. It should go well - we're excited about our plans! Focusing on the Savior and on Preach My Gospel.

LOVE YOU

Sister Anjewierden

Fwd: News Letter #29

:)

Walking through lakes and such

Faaaamily. :)

 

Well, we were pretty bummed that Nederland lost to Argentina, but I will also say that we were half asleep by the time the penalties were kicked so we were kind of just glad the game was ending, even if it was terribly sad. I think I was sadder the next day! I don't know how people in regular day-to-day life function on less than eight hours of sleep. I'm not sure how I did it myself at home! But I definitely have gained a greater testimony of our schedule as missionaries. And it's certainly not like it's hard to go to bed at 10:30 - we're exhausted by then anyway!

Our week was kind of crazy, actually. I feel like we just barely had last week's P-day, but then yesterday it was Sunday and I thought to myself, "Whoa, wasn't I just here?" The time! It goes so quickly! Especially with exchanges and interviews and everything this week. Our relationships with members continue to grow, we're getting increasingly more appointments with our less-active members, and our investigators continue to progress! Sometimes I feel like we're doing that spinning plates on sticks thing. And we just keep running back and forth trying to keep everything spinning. Haha. :)

Well, we had our first exchanges of the transfer and they were fantastic! On Tuesday I went to Capelle aan den Ijssel with Sister Kohlert. We've been on exchanges before, but we just had an especially good one this time! We found out that we've had a lot of similar experiences in our lives. I'm so amazed at her though - she and Sister Brophy are on fire! They've really been seeing some incredible miracles in Capelle. :) I think it's really come a lot because of their unity. They're basically living the law of consecration over there - it's like nothing I've ever seen before!

Wednesday was Sister Verdegem's 6-month mark. It was weird to look back on my 6-month mark and remember where I was. And how long ago that was. But it feels like it just happened! Anyway, it was a super busy day. It rained a ton and we had a couple of appointments with inactive members, and then I managed to get us incredibly lost for over an hour. It was nuts. But! Our new Buddhist investigator from last week, Pa., remembered our appointment, and his 17-year-old daughter El. sat in on our lesson! She's super sincere and asked tons of questions. We like her a lot. Hopefully she'll be there this coming Wednesday at our next lesson!

We finally had another appointment with Jy. He had some issues happen with the bank (he tried to take money out of an ATM and not all of it came out and they're taking a long time to give him the rest of it) that made him really frustrated so he wasn't super focused in our lesson. But! We're having another one tonight, after which he should be back on date to be baptized!

Elder Giles' district meeting during interviews was fantastic. He had a bunch of different missionaries share their own experiences and testimonies on what it really means to have success on a mission. The spirit was very strong! I'm grateful he's our district leader. He's one of the most passionate missionaries I know! I also appreciate his input at District Leader Council every couple of weeks. Which has been going very well, by the way! It's helping SO much. I really feel like we actually work together as leaders now instead of setting goals at the beginning of the transfer and then forgetting about them because we rarely talk to each other. It's been a real blessing!

Sister Jones and I had a fun experience on Thursday evening - we went out to teach Hs. in Doorn, which is forever and a half away. Well, we got there and it looked like it'd been raining, which was weird because it was super hot in Utrecht, but didn't think much of it. Halfway through our appointment with Hs. we hear the loudest thunder I've ever heard. And then we realized it was pouring! And hailing, too. At the same time. Walking back to the bus stop we had an umbrella but we still got soaked, and we were walking through 4-5 inch puddles of water! Luckily it was the last thing we were doing that evening. Crazy!

 

Oh! Almost forgot! I'm crazy. Li. is back on date! She also came to church yesterday and it's basically just like she's already a member. She'll be getting baptized on the 16th of August. :)

 

It's crazy to think that this coming week will be even more jam-packed with stuff! I'll only be in Utrecht for three days this week! Nuts. Exchanges and Mission Leader Council!

 

I love you all! Have a marvelous week.  :)

 

LOVE

 

Sister Anjewierden

 

PS My planner

Getting soaked with Sister Jones

Happy Fourth!

Time flies, I feel like I was just writing last week's email! I feel like that's how time is out here - it just gets faster and faster. Even though I always think there's no way it can continue getting faster! Glad to hear your fourth was fun, mine was pretty un-America-y, haha. :)

Well, this week was another preparation sort of week. We had lots of good plans but many fell through and our backup plans weren't super great... So this week, that's changing! BUT we were able to see a lot more inactive members this last week, which was AWESOME. And we scheduled return appointments so we're meeting with them all again this week!

Li. is doing super great. She couldn't make it to church because of visiting family but should be there next week! We met her husband. He seems really nice! We're just praying and praying for his heart to be softened.

HS. CAME TO CHURCH. It was amazing! And he loved it! And he wants to come again! It's amazing to me how far he's come since I met him in April. Truly amazing.

We set up two appointments with Jy. for this week, and they WILL go through. I'm going to pray so hard for that. I know he's so close! Just has to get serious.

Our musical number was forgotten yesterday, which is a bummer because we got JoVos in on it to help us! (Diederik and Ronan) and it was going to be great! We'll just do it another time. :)

Not tons of time... Let's see here. Sister Verdegem and I are starting to truly become great friends. We were working together, and it was going all right, but wow, it's amazing now!  ALSO. This was the most successful Speak your Language week I've ever had. It helps to have a Nederlandstalige companion. :)

I read Elder Holland's talk from the Saturday Morning session of last conference for my study this morning and wow. I feel so privileged to be out here and to "[suffer] it" just a LITTLE bit like Christ did. What a great talk! Go read it or watch it, it's SO good.

 

LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

 

Zuster Anjewierden

 

Eating turkish food (doner) with Ronan

Fourth of July outfit

 

The Madness!

We were also happy to hear that Nederland won both matches this week, though I was a bit sad to hear that the US was beaten by Germany. But it'll be interesting to see if Belgium or the US wins tomorrow because that's our companionship. Hahaha. A member brought that up. But I'm also really glad that we're not allowed to watch the matches because that's gotten us out of some weird situations! Anyway.

 

Well, another week has flown by! I can scarcely believe it. Actually, not a ton happened this week. We decided that it was due to a lack of unity and planning last week, and we've repented and are working (HARD) on both things!

 

Li. continues to be an amazing miracle. She also continues to terrify us with the way that she brings things up! She went to the doctor this week and was told she's overstressed and so she's telling us this and all I can think is that the next thing she's going to say is "So you should probably stop coming." But she didn't, she just told us her plans to lessen the stress and told us that she was planning on taking the bus to come to church on Sunday (two buses, actually). She's so full of faith. She just continues to surprise us! Pleasantly! Gi. is also loving church and talking to us, which is so neat! Especially because he's so young! Six years old and he loves talking to people about Jesus. What a good kid. :)

 

Got back in contact with Jy. He was really upset that his baptismal date had passed. We were secretly happy because we're thinking that should help us to help him see that he has to take this all seriously if he wants to be baptized. He needs to meet with us, and come to church, and keep his commitments. They're not suggestions, they're important to his salvation! Ah!

 

Hs. is also progressing beautifully! He couldn't come to church yesterday but he's coming next Sunday. We have a lift for him and everything! He accepted the law of chastity and tithing and fasting beautifully!

 

Oh! We went to the relief society activity on Wednesday and several sisters commented on how much they loved that we came. It was cool because we were able to build up our relationships with a couple of them! A couple were even inactive so it was really neat to be there. :) We're looking forward to the Ward BBQ in a couple weeks for the same reasons!

 

We've started to plan zone training and I'm really excited to see how everything will turn out. We're focusing it Christ and on using Preach My Gospel with members. I'm really getting super excited for everything we're planning for this transfer!

 

I found a cool scripture this morning. Doctrine and Covenants 95:11. "If you keep my commandments you shall have power to build it." The Lord is talking about the temple, but it really hit me about the fifth stake. If we are obedient, we'll have the power to build it! I loved that. And it's true! And it totally applies to the rest of life as well. If we're obedient, we'll be okay. And as Mosiah 2:41 tells us, we'll be blessed and happy. :)

 

I love you all so much!

 

Sister Anjewierden

Hup Holland Hup!

 

How's the US doing in the World Cup? Nederland is doing pretty well, I hear. Haha. Everything is decked out in World Cup decorations over here and it's super fun. :)

 

WHOA there's a lot to say and I've got like NO time. Which really just means I will probably end up not saying half of it. But here we go!

I'm excited to be staying here in Utrecht with Sister Verdegem. I'm excited to become better friends with her and to really get the work here moving! :)
The biggest and greatest news of this week is that Li. came to church!!! With Gi. and La. :) Which was a big deal, because her husband continues to not be supportive, and he's the one with the car, so she biked, and the Muurlings saved the day and picked up La. and Gi. She said the most sincere prayer after Gospel Principles - lots about how she was so glad that she chose to come and she hopes that her husbands heart will be softened so that they can be unified and go to church as a family! She's amazing - I am constantly in awe of her faith. Gi. is doing much better, luckily. Apparently he has sickle cell attacks like every three to four months, so while it wasn't nice, it wasn't anything new for them. He's the cutest kid. He loved church! Especially primary, but even sacrament meeting! He's one of the coolest 6-year-olds that I know :)
Ha. would like to come to church, which is a big deal, seeing as the first time we asked him he was very lukewarm about it. Something along the lines of "I'll think about it... Maybe..." But now he wants to come! We've found him a ride for this coming Sunday and are praying that everything will work out so that he can get there! He's still got tons of questions, but we re-invited him to be baptized and he paused before saying "Yes, if I know it's true." So his progress isn't quick, but it's definitely there!
Jy. has disappeared again. It's really frustrating to try and get ahold of people who have no credit on their phone to call you with, because the only way it'll work is if they answer when you call! So. Crazy. We're still trying.
Sister Verdegem and I did a musical number this week - "My Soul Hungered", which is a Seminary song from the Book of Mormon year. It's about Enos and it's so good! On the note (haha) of Enos, my prayers have been drastically better this week. But still need to be better! Still working on it. Also, we're working on getting the members to read Preach My Gospel and I'm convinced that it's going to bring about MIRACLES here!

I've decided that I need to magnify my calling better this upcoming transfer. I've been coming up with some ideas as to how I can do that and I'm excited to implement those with the sisters! It's really going to be a great transfer, I can feel it. :)

SO MUCH LOVE! :)

Zuster Anjewierden

Sister Hoff and I got egged....Really.

Sister Brophy and I made banana bread while stuck in our apt. during the world cup game.

Progress

Fammmmily. :)
Sometimes weeks come that look really daunting from a distance (two, three weeks before), but then they're actually really fantastic, and not even as jam-packed as I thought previously! This week was such a week. With Mission Leader Council and Zone Conference and other stuff, I wasn't sure how we were going to do it all! But we did, and it was really wonderful!
Sister Verdegem's birthday was this week and the ward was SO great to her. :) We got a dinner appointment the day of! It was super neat. It's been really interesting to have a companion who's a native speaker. We switch back and forth between Dutch and English day in and day out! She's a really incredible teacher, and she's amazing with the members - I'm so glad to have her here!
BIG NEWS - We're invited to ward council! We asked about it yesterday and the bishop said we could come! That's really great. :) It'll be really helpful, I think!
Li. wasn't able to come to church yesterday because her son Gi. is in the hospital :\ He has sickle cell anemia and had an attack last week. We went to go visit them there, and Li. says she'd love for him to have a priesthood blessing. I am so amazed at her - she's really incredible. An acquaintance of hers tried to anti her this last week and she handled it so well! She's still just as strong as she was before - stronger, I'd say. We're going to have to reschedule her baptismal date, but I know she wants this. And needs it. :)
Jy. is getting closer but he has all of these random questions all of a sudden! Mostly things that aren't terribly important, about word usage and such things - He just needs to read and pray about the Book of Mormon! It's amazing how literally everything comes back to that wall of faith - if the Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the same church that Christ established, restored to the earth. Ha. also needs to pray about that. He told us on Friday that he finished the Book of Mormon, but still hasn't prayed about it! We made him promise to do so. :)

Zone Conference was amazing! Elder and Sister Boom taught me so much in the few hours that we had to listen to them. I'm super excited to start applying it all!

 

My goal this week is to have better prayers. I pray a lot (mornings, for study, meals, when we leave the apartment, in lessons, etc) but I want to have more meaningful prayers. That's how we really use the Atonement, and I'm currently... Not really using it! So. Wanna work on that. :)

 

Love you all so much!

 

Sister Anjewierden

With my comp. and Elder Castillion.

With Elder Knudsen (also from Bountiful).