Baptism and Brussels!

We ended up getting 20 lessons this week! It was beautiful. They definitely didn't come where we thought they would, but they did come! It was neat to go back through our week and realize that we've been having 3 lessons a week with quite a few of our investigators. We're really just loving life over here. It's certainly not always easy, but it's so, so worth it.

We are currently teaching two families - one from Romania (Familie D.) and one from Ghana (A., Jl., and their four sons). They are so wonderful, and they've truly been so prepared for the gospel! They've been pretty busy, but we've been able to have at least a couple lessons with them weekly. We're hoping to raise that number and get them to where they're truly progressing!

R’s baptism went really well! It was a beautiful service in both Dutch and Portuguese. :) It's gotten to where I can sometimes understand Portuguese, which is really fun! Sister Clement and I did Savior Redeemer of My Soul as a musical number and it went well considering we'd only practice a couple of times! There were fantastic talks by Sister Van Den Berg and Brother Arts on Baptism and the Holy Ghost, and then there was the baptism itself! There was a little bit of awkwardness as it was R's first time getting baptized and Brother Lolas' first time baptizing someone, but it all went fine and he's now half a member of the church until next Sunday when he gets confirmed. :) 

We got a ride with Ja. and Jo.(investigators) and I felt like I was on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, but we did live.  Ja. has some incredible road rage though. It includes some not so nice words, which is hilarious, but doesn't provide an environment that invites the Spirit. We ended up on the way to Nederland and she just kept repeating a few choice words and saying things like "C'mon baby" which is also hilarious because she doesn't speak English. :) We eventually got it all figured out and came back home and all was well. :)

Jb. is doing well - not a ton to say but he came to church yesterday, which was wonderful. Like last week he was early. He is coming to a family home evening with us tonight. :)

Studying obedience was super interesting because at first as I read through the Isaiah chapters, I thought, "These don't have anything to do with obedience!" But the more I thought about it, the better I could see it. I want to be obedient to the Lord because I know what He's done for me, and I want to share that with people! I loved 2 Nephi 25:26 and 29 - that's why I want to be obedient.

We're doing super well over here. We're headed to Brussels today, so I'll probably have to send some pictures later. :) Love you so much and until later!!

Zuster Anjewierden

 PICTURES! Brussels... Manneken pis... Why? And drinking hot cocoa in our matching sweaters. We are cute.

We have all the same experiences!

Sister Clement and I have been loving life down here. The last couple of weeks have been incredible! They certainly have not been without their difficulties, but the hard things have only made the miracles more worth the effort. 

First things first, R. is getting baptized next Sunday! :) We are so excited for him. What an incredible man. Humble and quiet and just jam-packed full of faith! He is an inspiration, really. He believed Thomas S Monson was the prophet without hearing anything about him but his name. He said, "I don't have to know. I believe." It was really neat!

Js. has sadly been dropped. He won't keep appointments or come to church, and we really feel that we need to use our time with other people. We hope he will call us like he says he will!

Jb. is on fire. He came to church on Sunday and LOVED it. It's so interesting to see the difference between him and R. . R. had already given his life to the Lord, and baptism is simply the next logical step for him - it just all makes sense to him! Job has done some not so great things, and has a lot to overcome, but he's so willing to change! He's been doing all the things we tell him will help him, and he's been feeling the Spirit in our lessons and when he prays! He just keeps saying, "This feels right. I really think this is the right path!" It's so neat - he was raised with Islam, but has come to know that Christ is his Savior. How beautiful!

Sister Clement and I just love each other. We've truly become best friends here. It's hard not to when you see so much good come from a person! We always joke that we have all the same experiences, so we can read each others' minds. 

Through studying hope this week, I decided that 2 Nephi 9:3 describes why it's so important that there's so much about hope in the Book of Mormon. Hope brings a confidence in the Lord and that He will help us with our work! I know that I have been so much more confident in our message this week. It's true, and I love it!

This week we will be working on Obedience if you want to study along with me!

Zuster Anjewierden

So many Miracles!!!!

As I type this, I think Sister Clement is being picked up by a guy here in the library. She's setting up an appointment with him! WOOO. But also... This is missionary work, haha. He just left... Apparently he asked her to dinner. She explained that we're missionaries and now we're meeting with him on Saturday. We shall see how that goes...

 I want to (very first, before I say anything else) share our transfer goal for baptisms. We are planning on having four baptisms this transfer. Really the coolest thing about this goal is that we have names for even more than four! I'm really excited for this transfer. It's started out incredibly, and I know it has the potential to be the best transfer of my mission thus far. I am absolutely determined to make it be the best!

 We had lost a few baptismal dates but we gained a couple this week. We are back on track with a couple, but I want to share specifically about our newest one. On Tuesday Sister Clement and I wanted to have an appointment with Js. because one of the members, Sister N., had said that she could go on joint teach that night. We tried calling him but he didn't answer. We then tried V., who we hadn't met with in a while, in hopes that maybe he could meet that night, but he said he could not meet until the next day (more on that later). 

 After getting back from district meeting we ended up going to Js. apartment to see if he was there so that we could ask him about that night. He was not there, but we had another potential, A., who lived in the same building, so we figured we would ask him. We knocked on his door and he answered - his friend, Jb., was visiting him. We asked if we could come by around 7:30 and he said that was fine, but that he wouldn't be there at first, only Jb. would be. We thought it was all a little weird, but we were excited that we had an appointment to bring Sister N. to, so we finished our other plans for the day, and came back that night. 

 When Sister N. arrived, we explained the situation and headed in. A. did end up being there as well, but as we talked about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it was Jb. who was answering our questions, and who started to ask us more questions about it all! We finished up the meat of the lesson and we asked them both if they would be baptized. A. didn't really respond, but Jb. said, "You know, I've been wanting to make changes in my life. I drink, I smoke; there are a lot of things I really want to change in my life." He agreed to prepare to be baptized, to read the Book of Mormon, and to pray to know that it's all true! 

 When we had our return appointment yesterday, he told us that he had started the Book of Mormon. He explained to us the Testimony of Joseph Smith in the introduction. It was so neat because he truly understood it! We talked about the plan of salvation and you could almost see the clicking in his head. It was seriously incredible. At the end of the lesson, we asked him and A. if they would be baptized on the 15th of February. Again, A. didn't say much. Jb. said sure, but that he's coming to church before he makes any promises. :) "This is a choice that will change my life, and I want to make sure I know what I'm getting into!" What an incredible man. He is so prepared! I know that the Lord led us to him. I hope that we can touch A. as well, but the Lord sure works in mysterious ways! Jb. also told us that he had a dream that he was walking and talking with three women the week before we came the first time, and after we'd left, he told A. that he thought that was us. Who knows, but still cool!

 We had a really sad meeting with V., where we ended up telling him that he has our number and can call us if he'd like to know more... He ran into some anti-stuff and stopped reading the Book of Mormon. :( BUT, R.  is still on date (the 25th). We have an appointment with Js. this week and we'll see what's going on there. 

 We saw so many miracles this week. It was interesting that they all happened as we were studying diligence, because I sure didn't feel so diligent a couple of times, but it was when we pressed on that the miracles happened! We got soaked in the rain a couple times, all of our appointments cancelled, we ran out of back-up plans... But when we were diligent... When we prayed for help and continued on even though it was getting difficult, we found Jb., a beautiful Czech family of parents and 4 daughters, and a big extended Romanian family which includes a woman who has really great memories of meeting with missionaries a few years back! I will keep you updated on them all as more happens with them.

 I love my mission, you guys. Seriously, it's incredible. It's just like everyone always says- it's SO HARD. But. It's so WORTH IT. The Gospel is true. I know that for a surety! 

 Thank you so much for all your prayers. I love you so much. :)

 Zuster Anjewierden

1- our last district meeting

2- a not so attractive but very accurate depiction of Thursday... WET

3- zone sisters at zone conference

2014- A New Year! Transfers?

It's always great to look back on the week and see the great things that have happened! This week is no different, there were many great things that happened. I mean first, it's a new year so... Happy new year!!!!

New Year's Eve was spent inside! We did get out of bed at 12 and go bang pots and pans and watch some fireworks out our window, mostly because they were so loud that we couldn't sleep anyway. But yeah. :) (Side note: We had to be off the streets and inside by 3:00 p.m.)

First things first, Sister Clement and I were SHOCKED when the Zone Leaders called us this morning and told us that we were both staying! Of all of the scenarios we'd thought of, that one didn't even cross our minds! Or at least my mind, I guess I can't speak for her. Sister Clement will have been in Turnhout for almost half of her mission by the end of this next one! Too weird, I'd already been in two cities and was headed to the next one when I was where she is now.

We are very excited for another great transfer here in Turnhout. Our first and biggest goal this transfer is to get people baptized! We didn't do that last transfer, which means there should definitely be enough people this transfer to make up for it! We haven't set a specific goal yet, but we do know that we want to change things up a bit - get out of our habits and have a great transfer with fresh ideas! Stay tuned.

In other news, we lost a few baptismal dates, but we are determined to get them back on date as soon as possible. We know that it's so important for them to have that goal, and to really strive toward something! We are super blessed with those we still have though. R. is amazing. We are so excited for him! It's so amazing that we put so much time and effort into some people to help them to come closer to Christ through baptism, but when someone is really, really, incredibly ready, it just feels basically like we aren't doing a thing! When we challenged him to fast last week, he said absolutely, yes, he would do that, because he's done it before and seen the miracles it can bring. WOW. J. is now also on date! S. and S. are doing renovations so we can't meet for like another week but I have high hopes for them!!

We saw a lot of huge life changes this week (in other people's lives, I mean). One was that J. and I., who dropped us a few weeks ago, now have a new baby! Sister Clement saw I. on the street on exchanges with Sister Brophy and he said that we could come see him, so we did on Saturday. We were able to talk to J. a bunch about how a new baby really is such a miracle, and how it can help someone to feel closer to God. She said that she'd been pondering a lot of things like "Why am I here" and "What comes after this life" since little A.  was born. How neat! They said they'll continue reading the Book of Mormon... I truly believe that they will see the truth of it all someday!

I loved spending a day in Gent on exchanges with Sister Meier. It has been a while since I've been temporary companions with someone from my MTC group! It was really neat to see how far we've come, but also to talk about how far we still have to go. I loved learning from her example that day and look forward to doing so again soon!

I didn't know what to do with myself not having a Christlike attribute assigned this week, so I did kind of a review. I must say though, I must have still been more focused on hope than the others or something because I just felt like I continued to learn many things about it. That and patience. Also... Charity. Okay, maybe it was all of them. I loved the chapter and section assigned for this week though. As I read Doctrine and Covenants 67, I saw so much of myself in it - specifically verse 3. I think that I've had too many fears this last little while. How can I expect the Lord to come through on His promises if I don't make good on mine to Him, and strive to act as He would - no respecter of persons, and with the charity to be bold, but loving. I still haven't made goals for this new year or for the oncoming transfer, but I think that will be a great part of them. I want to get to the point where my will aligns with His will - where I have the hope and faith that He WILL fulfill His promises if I do what I have promised Him! 

Love, 

Zuster Anjewierden