March 16, 2015

The Best Language... Music!


The weather is absolutely perfect here in Friesland.
The sun is shining but the air is still cold enough to wear a jacket.
Random flowers are still popping up everywhere...
Spring is a comin'!

Zuster Bush... Alive?

The missionary work is moving along here in Leeuwarden! We handed out sooo many cards this week and talked to lots of people. We are praying that someone calls us back.  One thing that our zone is working on this transfer is extending a baptismal commitment everyday. Sounds bold and difficult, but it is easier than we think. I've been learning a lot about how it is important to teach the covenant of baptism more than the ordinance. Baptism is making a promise with our Heavenly Father, and when we teach people about that promise they are a lot more likely to listen to us and understand that it's not as scary as they think.

So we started a new trend here in Leeuwarden. It's called Drachten Donderdag. Drachten is a city and Donderdag means Thursday. We spend our whole day in that city eeeeery Thursday. We eat lunch at the Branch President's house- he has 4 sons 4 daughters and the youngest is 18. Identical family basically. Then we contact and look up referrals. We actually even got a new  investigator this week named N. She was a past investigator of the sisters but she moved houses and lost contact. She is 21 years old with a 1 year old baby. She is Dutch but prefers to speak English to the missionaries so we don't mind that at all! She also speaks English to her daughter because she is hoping to do musical therapy for children and travel the world. We had an awesome first lesson with N. It was rough at first because we were sitting outside while she was trying to build a fence in her backyard. Both her dog and daughter were being really distracting, but somehow we were able to have a really nice lesson. We ended up talking about the apostasy and the priesthood and why it was neccesary to have a Restoration of the Gospel. It's hard for her to understand the difference between the power of the Holy Ghost and The Priesthood. She is really open to learning though and it is amazing all of the knowledge she has and her love for God because she is so young and lives a busy life.

We spent a lot of time outside this week doing our favorite thing as missionaries.... Contacting!
Z Romney and I set a goal at the beginning of the transfer to contact AT LEAST 903  people by the end. (Editor mom: Wow! Typo? or the power of positive thinking.) Which means we have to add one person we contact everyday. We started off with 1 and we are just making our way up. It's been really good for both of us  because at the beginning of the transfer we didn't have lots of time for contacting because we were Always at lessons, but we've hit a spot where we need more investigators.

Zuster Romney... Cat Whisperer

It's really fun contacting with Zuster Romney because we find cats everywhere we go. I just take pics while Z Romney goes crazy with petting all the cats :) Sometimes we even let the cats guide us and decide where we want to contact. One night we had extra time before our dinner appointment and we weren't sure where to contact people. We of course found a cat and started following it around. It took us past a parked car on the side of the street, but we didn't notice there were 2 young girls in it until they said hi. They stopped us and asked us what we were doing. They had been watching us and were curious because we had long skirts like Jehovah Witnesses. We told them who we were and they were still very curious. We gave them a card and told them to look on the website to find out more about us. One of the girls then asked if we could explain what we believed in because she wanted to know the difference. I stopped for a sec because I was so surprised! It's not usual that we meet someone that wants us to tell them right away about what we believe in. The words flowed out so nicely though and I quickly gave them a summed up version of the Restoration in the first lesson. I finished and they were so intrigued. The Gift of Tongues was definitely present at that time because I don't remember anything I told them. The only bummer thing is they live in Rotterdam, but hey! We got the Rotterdam missionaries a referral.

We had a lesson with K. this week. It had been a while so we were kind of worried, but it ended up being a good one. We got to talk to his wife for a good 15 minutes before he got home, and she shared with us her favorite verses in Enos and also shared with us what she liked in 1 Nephi 2 ( the assigned chapter for K. this week.) Zuster Passial is a member but has to work on Sundays so she isn't able to come very often. K. got home and told us he hadn't done his huis werk (homework). He understands our purpose as missionaries and knows that he needs to keep our commitments but has just been very busy. We read the chapter together and it was really cool to see what he learned from the chapter. His favorite verse ended up being his wife's favorite. We helped him understand that he can be like Nephi and also pray to know the truth. He just needs to have Faith that his prayer can be answered. It's been a joy to watch this family learn together. I can see Zuster Passial's testimony growing as she opens up and shares what she knows with her husband who is trying to know.

Philomena

We also got to do some Yard Work this week. We wore pants and it was the best thing ever. Philomena is a branch member from Nigeria and she fed us fufu and we helped weed her backyard. We had a jolly good time playing with worms and telling each other stories. She is also the most motivating person I've ever met. I told her I had bad memory and she said, "no Sister Bush. You have to be optimistic. Tell yourself you have good memory." We love Philomena.

Two Peas in a Pod

Oh! I should probably tell you why my title is about music. Yesterday it was almost time for us to be done contacting and go home, but we decided to go to the train station across the street from our church so Z Romney could play the old piano that is sitting in the corner of it. She started playing hymn arrangements and I stood there and watched as people would be walking through in a hurry and just stop to enjoy the music. Lots of people gathered around and some even stayed for several songs. I would catch them as they were walking away and give them a mormon.org card. We usually don't get the best response when we hand out a card, but all I saw were big smiles and people telling me they'd look up the site. There was also a cute little Asian lady that was waiting for her turn for the piano. I tried talking to her in English first but she didn't understand a word so of course, the only other language that I kind of know was Dutch. She just started chatting away in Chinese and I just smiled and gave her a card trying to explain to her to look up the website. She put the card away but 10 min later got it back out and saw the picture of another Asian lady on it. She got really excited and started chatting again. I have no idea what this lady told me, but I truly believe that music is a greater language. So many different people walking in and out of that train station from different countries and different circumstances, but they could all enjoy the language of music. Zuster Romney played a couple hymn arrangements and then switched over to a song from the movie ÜP and it seemed like everybody dispersed and nobody clapped. But as she started playing religious music again people clapped and got closer to the piano. We ended off the night with a few hymns as I attempted to sing along in Dutch. It was a fun method for us to contact, and now I just have to learn how to play the piano so Z. Romney can see the reactions of everyone :)

Somewhere Beautiful

I'm thankful for music this week and for the chance Heavenly Father is giving me to practice having Faith. We weren't able to teach as many lessons as we hoped to this week, and we definitely didn't see as many positive reactions from contacting but I know that blessings will come in the time of the Lord as long as I exercise patience and Faith. I'm thankful for the chance I have to strengthen my own testimony as a missionary as well as see others testimonies being strengthened.

Love you all and I'm thankful for you!

Make it a good week!

Liefs,
Zuster Bush

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