Be Still and Know That I am God

This last week started out with a good game of Bison bowling in the Centrum against the Elders- we beat them again! We also had the most spiritual lesson with Alpha a man from Ghana. This was my first time meeting Alpha, but the sisters taught him a lot in the past. We somehow chose 3 Nephi 11 to read together, and it was the most beautiful thing ever. We didn't have time to read the whole chapter, but the spirit was so strong as we took turns reading the words of Jesus Christ. This man was in a car accident and broke his spine a while back, and he believes in Jesus Christ so strongly. What a cool thing to go in with Zuster Karlson and teach completely by the spirit. These are some of my favorite lessons.

We got to work in the Garden of this awesome lady whose daughter is a convert and was baptized in Utrecht- now lives in Scotland. She has one of the biggest gardens I've seen on my mission with tons of fruits, veggies, and flowers. I kept telling her about my Mom's garden at home and she wanted me to send some pictures home so you could see them mom. She takes a lot of the sickle from the flowers and creates jam or liquid to put into tea. Crazy stuff. Also she has tons of berries called Rode Bessen. They look like bird berries but they are edible and so good. Kind of tart but perfect for yogurt or cereal. Do we have those in America?? So good.

We had only a couple hours to work between that service project and another one, so we changed back into our proselyting clothes and knocked some doors. We were pretty tired and almost just took the rest of our lunch break, but the first door we knocked on was super positive. Suriname family with 14 and 10 year old boys, and both of the parents. The mom had to use the restroom right as we knocked, and most people would just tell us they were busy and to "come back another time" but she let us wait so we could tell her about the Book of Mormon. Going back next week!

Exchanges this week with the amazing Z. Duncan. Our lesson with a joint teach didn't go through, but our joint teach gave us the idea to go visit with Ellen a recent convert. We've met with Ellen several times before, but something about this visit was so special. Ellen can't communicate very well anymore, so she types everything on her iPad, and sometimes we guess to what she is saying. She so so smart though and understands everything we say. We decided to teach her about The Plan of Salvation to get some good practice in, but it turned out to be just what she needed. I have never taught anyone about the Ressurection and have it mean so much to them. She was so happy to know that her body will be restored to its perfect form and everything sicknessand disability she is experiencing now will be taken away. I love the plan that Heavenly Father has for us. After teaching this plan to so many people it has helped me to remember that I need to be more patient with things that happen in my life, because it is all part of the plan.

Okay highlight of the week- We have a new investigator and he is on date to be baptized! He's from Ethiopia and knows a bit of English and Dutch. We taught him the Restoration and gave him a Book of Mormon in Amharic, and he is excited to prepare to follow Christ. He talked with some missionaries during Konings dag here in Utrecht, and came to church a couple of months ago, and we just got along to having a real lesson with him. Something cool is that he's roommates with the guys from Ginuea who are French speaking, so we are just teaching the whole apartment!

Okay and one more story just because I type fast :)

Lesson with Frank O from Congo this week went super well. He has a lot of Doubt in the fact if God exists or not. He knows a lot of factual information and lets that get in the way of his faith and feelings from the spirit. We taught him a bit of the Plan of Salvation, and helped him to realize that God is his Heavenly Father, and wants him to be happy. We asked him where he finds happiness and he just kept talking about things that happen in the world, and how there is n't much. We showed him a mormon message called "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father" and I wasn't the only one crying this time! We looked over at him and his eyes were watering, and he said "That is happiness."

Some of my favorite parts on my mission have been seeing people realize the love that God has from them, and how aware he is in the situations in their lives. I know that God is our Heavenly Father and he is sooo aware of what we need to experience in order to grow.

This week was super hard for me to be patient in my own skills as a missionary, and I found myself getting frustrated a lot because I feel like I've been in a rut and not progressing as much as I could, but after teaching so many people it's helped me to remember to be patient and trust in God. It makes me think of the scripture "Be still and know that I am God"

Love you all!

P.S. This city is getting ready for the Tour de France. It starts here in myyyyy city! Sooo cool. We've been getting passed up by teams of bikers lately

pics-

Frank O

He thinks my last name is hilarious.

Boat Guy

And how could I forget? 

I contacted a guy from on top of a bridge this week. 

He was down in his boat taking pics, and took one of me. 

So I dropped a card down at him, and he let me take a pic of him. 

He almost fell out of his boat for that card. 

What would you do for a Mormon.org card? ☺