Mijn Dierbare familie,(My dear family,)
Happy NEW YEAR!!! Your new years eve will probably be a little more "exciting" than mine, but mine will definitely be filled with anticipation for our flight to the Netherlands!! We got our flight plans a few days ago, and we are all set to leave on Jan 5 at 5 in the morning! We're holding our breaths that none of us get a "visa call" from the travel office. As far as visas go, no news from the travel office is good news- so far we haven't heard any bad news, but keep praying!!I will be able to call you all from my layover in New York City on the 5th. Will you be in route to Idaho? Let me know through dear elder where you will be so I will know which phone to use. Our flight plans are as follows:
Departure- SLC 8:30 am
Arrive- JFK 2:59 pmDeparture- 7:30 pm
Arrive- Brussels, Belgium 9:10 am, Jan 6th
This week has been a fabulous one- we are all super excited, which makes studying a bit less effective, but a ton of fun! Our teachers are starting to share some of their stories and experiences from the Netherlands with us which are very inspiring and usually pretty funny. I am going to miss the MTC and all of the friends I've made here. Our district is sad to be split up- we're already planning our reunion at any mission conferences we may have!
As far as the language, I still feel woefully unprepared to speak the language, but I know enough to get by, and with the Lords help, I know I will be able to say all of the things He needs me to say to accomplish this work. I have already seen so many miracles since I have been here- grammar principles just seem to stick overnight even though I feel like I have no understanding of them really. When I call I will have to give you a sample- despite really hard, gutteral g's, dutch is actually a very beautiful language. There is a dutch missionary here learning mandarin, and we spoke to him the other day- his dutch is sooo smooth and very beautiful sounding. It will be awesome when some day I can speak fluently and really make the language sound like it should. The gospel is beautiful in any language, but even more so when it is spoken in the fluent dialect that people call their own- language is such a blessing from the Lord. He has promised that the earth will all hear the gospel in their native tongue- and I get to be a part of that amazing work. It truly is inspiring. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity!
Anyways, so we have had a ton of fun getting ready to go. The other week we went to an "enhancement class" that they offer as an option for the sisters. Basically, NuSkin donates like 10,000 dollars worth of free makeup to the MTC each month, and then they called two sisters to run a little class to help the sisters look a little more nice. So my companions and I went to this class and got makeovers and 200 dollars worth of free makeup- It was awesome! The elders were all jealous and think they deserve free pull-up bars or something to take with them on their missions. I tried to explain to them that a scary looking sister missionary is a very scary thing to behold, which they responded to by expressing that a scrawny elder was just as scary... ahh, 19 year old boys... I'm gonna miss them. We took before and after pictures that I will send with my box of things I'm not taking with me.
We also had the best devotional last night by Elder Pearson from the seventy. He is a former businessman and taught us about the gospel in a CEO-style fireside. It was actually very inspiring. He talked about deciding to be dedicated disciples of Christ and changing our weaknesses to become strengths so that we can become even stronger witnesses for the Lord. It was awesome! I was so inspired to think about myself and what I can change to better serve the Lord. I think I will decide to no longer be "tired", but "tire-less" in the service of God. Very inspired don't you think?
Well, I don't have much more time, but I Love you all and look forward to talking to you all in just a few days. Oh, before I forget, as far as I know, we will have access to e-mail for my whole mission, so there shouldn't be any problems keeping in touch- we get more time out in the field too, so e-mailing each other back and forth will be great! Then we can for sure hear from each other once a week.
I love you all so much!! Talk to you soon!
Love,Cherie Gulliver
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
Almost Time to Go!
Gellukige Kerste Avond Familie!!!
Happy Christmas Eve!
Today is a fabulous Christmas eve! The Christmas spirit is totally alive and my companion and roommates and I are planning on having a fabulous Christmas. Everyone has promised us that we will have an absolutely amazing Christmas program tonight and tomorrow, so we're all excited! My roommates and I are planning on waking up early and opening presents and stockings in our pjs before we get ready for breakfast. It will be an early morning, but that will make me feel completely at home.
I have been so blessed to have such loving family that sends me so many goodies during the holidays. I got your other package with my little presents and goodies in it. They look soooo tasty! The stockings you sent have made our room very Christmas-y and my roommates are all excited to open our stockings! Actually, I have 2 stockings- one from you all, and a rather large stocking from Ryan... it'll be twice the fun! We have a Christmas Eve fireside tonight, and then 2 firesides tomorrow and one mystery activity that we haven't heard anything about yet. I am really excited! I'll write to you all tomorrow and let you know what exactly is going on. You'll have to be sure and send me some pictures as soon as you can after Christmas. I'm just dying to see them, and once I go to the Netherlands (in 11 days! ) picture delivering will be much more difficult. I'm just dying to see what everyone got for Christmas and how you holiday was having the little family with you and all.
We still haven't heard about our travel plans and visa- we have heard that we'll most likely hear about it on Friday, so keep praying for a successful visa acquisition! Of course, I feel so unprepared as far as the language goes, having more time to study dutch would probably be a blessing ;) Of course they keep telling me I'm doing fine, so I guess either way, the Lord will send me when I am good and ready... or at least when He thinks I am! In my class, our teachers choose personas and pretend to be "investigators" that we tract into and then teach throughout our week. One of my teachers decided that the Zusters needed a challenge and decided he was an anti-Mormon atheist who is quite insulting. We have been attempting door contacts for like 3 weeks, and we usually get our classroom door slammed in our faces after a very rude rebuttal about us needing to go back where we came from and get boyfriends (all in Dutch of course). The other day, however, we finally got him to agree to give us a return appointment. He said we could have only 10 minutes to show him that God exists. We taught him about the first vision, and afterward, he told us we did a great job, and that we have learned to deal with combative situations that many people do not have experience with until well into their missions. It has been a very good learning experience for me, and kind of fun- surprisingly, my dutch is very good if I am very mad at the person I am talking to and bearing testimony that I am not, in fact, brainwashed, but that I know for myself that these things are true. The gift of tongues just has a way of working when you need it most.
Oh, I got the shoes you had sent- both pairs! I received them just a day apart from each other. Should I just mail the second pair back to you? I have a few shirts I need to mail back home before I leave, so that would be the easiest. Just let me know through Dear Elder as soon as you can and I can get that taken care of. We're definitely down to the wire- this is my second to last e-mail before I leave! Oh, and Daddy, I got the package you sent with the pens- My district LOVES them! They all use their "white parkers" whenever the opportunity arises, and carry them around in their shirt pockets- apparently it makes them look like "cool missionaries". I think I accidentaly told you there were 8 of us in my district- there are actually only 6, but my two teachers were totally excited to have white parkers as a Christmas Gift from our district. You are officially the coolest Dad in the district Daddy-o! Thank you so much for sending them!
I am feeling great. I have been blessed with excellent health and a surprisingly optimistic attitude despite my deficiencies in a language I must speak constantly in only 11 days. I have re-dedicated myself to working even harder than before to make my last week and a half as effective as possible before I leave. Today is one of our "English fast" days where we speak only dutch all day- it is a lot of fun. We can communicate pretty well during the day. Our sentence structure may be completely ridiculous, but we get the general point of what we are trying to say, and it is a bit of a relief to think that even if I sound like a speech-delayed 3 year old, people will still get the basic idea I am trying to convey :) My teacher told us that by the end of our transfer, people will understand what we are saying and we'll understand most of what we hear- so there's hope!! YAY! That means only 6 more weeks of utter confusion in a foreign land... not bad, plus I hear the cheese is great in the Netherlands! Baguettes and Cheese- here I come!
I hope you all have a very, very merry Christmas and that the true spirit of the Season is with you over the next couple of days. Remember how blessed we are to have a knowledge of a little baby born in Bethlehem who would die for each of us so that we may live in eternal happiness with our families and loved ones. We are so blessed. I am so grateful for our Savior and the chance we have this season to put aside our cares of the world and just remember what He did for us. He gave us everything we have and everything we could ever have by allowing us to be redeemed from our sins and become perfect through His atoning sacrifice. I love you all and wish you the merriest of Christmas seasons! I will miss you all, but I am so grateful to have the chance to give my Savior the gift of my time in his service this year on His birthday. Gellukige Kerst!
Love,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver
Happy Christmas Eve!
Today is a fabulous Christmas eve! The Christmas spirit is totally alive and my companion and roommates and I are planning on having a fabulous Christmas. Everyone has promised us that we will have an absolutely amazing Christmas program tonight and tomorrow, so we're all excited! My roommates and I are planning on waking up early and opening presents and stockings in our pjs before we get ready for breakfast. It will be an early morning, but that will make me feel completely at home.
I have been so blessed to have such loving family that sends me so many goodies during the holidays. I got your other package with my little presents and goodies in it. They look soooo tasty! The stockings you sent have made our room very Christmas-y and my roommates are all excited to open our stockings! Actually, I have 2 stockings- one from you all, and a rather large stocking from Ryan... it'll be twice the fun! We have a Christmas Eve fireside tonight, and then 2 firesides tomorrow and one mystery activity that we haven't heard anything about yet. I am really excited! I'll write to you all tomorrow and let you know what exactly is going on. You'll have to be sure and send me some pictures as soon as you can after Christmas. I'm just dying to see them, and once I go to the Netherlands (in 11 days! ) picture delivering will be much more difficult. I'm just dying to see what everyone got for Christmas and how you holiday was having the little family with you and all.
We still haven't heard about our travel plans and visa- we have heard that we'll most likely hear about it on Friday, so keep praying for a successful visa acquisition! Of course, I feel so unprepared as far as the language goes, having more time to study dutch would probably be a blessing ;) Of course they keep telling me I'm doing fine, so I guess either way, the Lord will send me when I am good and ready... or at least when He thinks I am! In my class, our teachers choose personas and pretend to be "investigators" that we tract into and then teach throughout our week. One of my teachers decided that the Zusters needed a challenge and decided he was an anti-Mormon atheist who is quite insulting. We have been attempting door contacts for like 3 weeks, and we usually get our classroom door slammed in our faces after a very rude rebuttal about us needing to go back where we came from and get boyfriends (all in Dutch of course). The other day, however, we finally got him to agree to give us a return appointment. He said we could have only 10 minutes to show him that God exists. We taught him about the first vision, and afterward, he told us we did a great job, and that we have learned to deal with combative situations that many people do not have experience with until well into their missions. It has been a very good learning experience for me, and kind of fun- surprisingly, my dutch is very good if I am very mad at the person I am talking to and bearing testimony that I am not, in fact, brainwashed, but that I know for myself that these things are true. The gift of tongues just has a way of working when you need it most.
Oh, I got the shoes you had sent- both pairs! I received them just a day apart from each other. Should I just mail the second pair back to you? I have a few shirts I need to mail back home before I leave, so that would be the easiest. Just let me know through Dear Elder as soon as you can and I can get that taken care of. We're definitely down to the wire- this is my second to last e-mail before I leave! Oh, and Daddy, I got the package you sent with the pens- My district LOVES them! They all use their "white parkers" whenever the opportunity arises, and carry them around in their shirt pockets- apparently it makes them look like "cool missionaries". I think I accidentaly told you there were 8 of us in my district- there are actually only 6, but my two teachers were totally excited to have white parkers as a Christmas Gift from our district. You are officially the coolest Dad in the district Daddy-o! Thank you so much for sending them!
I am feeling great. I have been blessed with excellent health and a surprisingly optimistic attitude despite my deficiencies in a language I must speak constantly in only 11 days. I have re-dedicated myself to working even harder than before to make my last week and a half as effective as possible before I leave. Today is one of our "English fast" days where we speak only dutch all day- it is a lot of fun. We can communicate pretty well during the day. Our sentence structure may be completely ridiculous, but we get the general point of what we are trying to say, and it is a bit of a relief to think that even if I sound like a speech-delayed 3 year old, people will still get the basic idea I am trying to convey :) My teacher told us that by the end of our transfer, people will understand what we are saying and we'll understand most of what we hear- so there's hope!! YAY! That means only 6 more weeks of utter confusion in a foreign land... not bad, plus I hear the cheese is great in the Netherlands! Baguettes and Cheese- here I come!
I hope you all have a very, very merry Christmas and that the true spirit of the Season is with you over the next couple of days. Remember how blessed we are to have a knowledge of a little baby born in Bethlehem who would die for each of us so that we may live in eternal happiness with our families and loved ones. We are so blessed. I am so grateful for our Savior and the chance we have this season to put aside our cares of the world and just remember what He did for us. He gave us everything we have and everything we could ever have by allowing us to be redeemed from our sins and become perfect through His atoning sacrifice. I love you all and wish you the merriest of Christmas seasons! I will miss you all, but I am so grateful to have the chance to give my Savior the gift of my time in his service this year on His birthday. Gellukige Kerst!
Love,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
The MTC is the Place to Be!
Hallo Family!
Zuster Gulliver here. Just had to write about the truly fabulous week I have had here at the MTC. It truly has been an awesome week. I have made some serious progress with my language as I have humbled myself and choosen to look at how much the Lord has already blessed me with in terms of language assistance (after all, I have only been learning Dutch for 6 weeks, and I am already basically conversant) instead of all of the phrases I can't say in Dutch that I would like to. My teachers have been telling me this all along, but I guess I just had to realize it myself so that I could truly be grateful instead of critical of myself. What can I say... I've always been a bit hard-headed I guess :)
Thank you Mom, Dad, and Jamie for your sweet letters. Hearing from you, even just a little note, makes my day and helps me remember that I'm not only here to learn and grow, but to work for everyone else outside the boundaries of the MTC. sometimes its easy to forget about the big world outside the MTC when you spend all day in a classroom, but your letters help a lot. Oh my goodness, the pictures you sent me from Thanksgiving were soo awesome! Not only was the photography work amazing, but you all looked so happy and beautiful :) It was good to see what a great holiday you all had. I must say, I do feel loved- I get more letters and photos from my family than anyone else in my district :) I guess that's good, because in about 2 1/2 weeks, I'll be oversees and letters will take forever to get back and forth.
As far as we know, our departure date for the Netherlands is still Jan 5. They have been moving some dates around because of the holidays, but we haven't heard that ours is adjusted, so we should be leaving about 2 weeks from Monday. YIKES! Its scary to think about, but I guess it will be a bit scary until I actually get there and begin teaching real people about the Gospel and my Dutch starts improving.
We got a new Zuster here in the MTC. She just arrived, so she's 6 weeks behind us in the language. She is a sweet girl from St. Kits in the Caribbean. She has very dark skin, which is interesting- the Dutch are notoriously racist against Africans in their country. She will have struggles, but she seems determined to succeed, and that energy is infectious. We are very glad to have her in our branch here at the MTC.
I had a very cool experience with the language the other day. I was asked to pray in a large group meeting with lots of different languages, so I was to pray in English rather than Dutch. That was the first English prayer I have said in a few weeks, and I realized half way through that I was using Dutch pronouns (u and uw) instead of the English pronouns (thee and thy). It was awesome! It was a little embarassing, because the dutch pronouns sound a lot like the informal English pronouns (you and your) so everyone else probably thought I was using improper prayer language, but for me it was cool to see that praying in English is becoming foreign to me. It felt unnatural to pray in English, which I know is a blessing as I am trying so hard to make Dutch a meaningful language to me. I know the Lord has blessed me with the ability to efficiently learn this language so that I can teach his children the truth about God and His son Jesus Christ (or "God en hij zoon Jesus Christus" as we say in Dutch :) ).
The Christmas season is in full bloom all around the MTC. We sing Christmas hymns all the time, and enjoy celebrating the true spirit of the season. The Christmas season is so rich and full when you focus on the Savior and what He has done for us. He truly was the son of God and died that each of us may live after this life. He was born a baby, but lived a perfect life to show us each the way that we can all be happy now and for eternity. I am so grateful that we can have an eternal family and the understanding that our relationships here are not over with death, but will live on forever. This is a peace and happiness that I cannot wait to share with the world!
I love you all so much and pray for you nightly. Keep writing me notes and letting me know whats going on- we've got to take advantage of our relative closeness :) Ik houd van jullie!!Love,Zuster Cherie Gulliver
Zuster Gulliver here. Just had to write about the truly fabulous week I have had here at the MTC. It truly has been an awesome week. I have made some serious progress with my language as I have humbled myself and choosen to look at how much the Lord has already blessed me with in terms of language assistance (after all, I have only been learning Dutch for 6 weeks, and I am already basically conversant) instead of all of the phrases I can't say in Dutch that I would like to. My teachers have been telling me this all along, but I guess I just had to realize it myself so that I could truly be grateful instead of critical of myself. What can I say... I've always been a bit hard-headed I guess :)
Thank you Mom, Dad, and Jamie for your sweet letters. Hearing from you, even just a little note, makes my day and helps me remember that I'm not only here to learn and grow, but to work for everyone else outside the boundaries of the MTC. sometimes its easy to forget about the big world outside the MTC when you spend all day in a classroom, but your letters help a lot. Oh my goodness, the pictures you sent me from Thanksgiving were soo awesome! Not only was the photography work amazing, but you all looked so happy and beautiful :) It was good to see what a great holiday you all had. I must say, I do feel loved- I get more letters and photos from my family than anyone else in my district :) I guess that's good, because in about 2 1/2 weeks, I'll be oversees and letters will take forever to get back and forth.
As far as we know, our departure date for the Netherlands is still Jan 5. They have been moving some dates around because of the holidays, but we haven't heard that ours is adjusted, so we should be leaving about 2 weeks from Monday. YIKES! Its scary to think about, but I guess it will be a bit scary until I actually get there and begin teaching real people about the Gospel and my Dutch starts improving.
We got a new Zuster here in the MTC. She just arrived, so she's 6 weeks behind us in the language. She is a sweet girl from St. Kits in the Caribbean. She has very dark skin, which is interesting- the Dutch are notoriously racist against Africans in their country. She will have struggles, but she seems determined to succeed, and that energy is infectious. We are very glad to have her in our branch here at the MTC.
I had a very cool experience with the language the other day. I was asked to pray in a large group meeting with lots of different languages, so I was to pray in English rather than Dutch. That was the first English prayer I have said in a few weeks, and I realized half way through that I was using Dutch pronouns (u and uw) instead of the English pronouns (thee and thy). It was awesome! It was a little embarassing, because the dutch pronouns sound a lot like the informal English pronouns (you and your) so everyone else probably thought I was using improper prayer language, but for me it was cool to see that praying in English is becoming foreign to me. It felt unnatural to pray in English, which I know is a blessing as I am trying so hard to make Dutch a meaningful language to me. I know the Lord has blessed me with the ability to efficiently learn this language so that I can teach his children the truth about God and His son Jesus Christ (or "God en hij zoon Jesus Christus" as we say in Dutch :) ).
The Christmas season is in full bloom all around the MTC. We sing Christmas hymns all the time, and enjoy celebrating the true spirit of the season. The Christmas season is so rich and full when you focus on the Savior and what He has done for us. He truly was the son of God and died that each of us may live after this life. He was born a baby, but lived a perfect life to show us each the way that we can all be happy now and for eternity. I am so grateful that we can have an eternal family and the understanding that our relationships here are not over with death, but will live on forever. This is a peace and happiness that I cannot wait to share with the world!
I love you all so much and pray for you nightly. Keep writing me notes and letting me know whats going on- we've got to take advantage of our relative closeness :) Ik houd van jullie!!Love,Zuster Cherie Gulliver
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Christmas is coming to the MTC
Goede Dag!!
Zuster Gulliver here!
Well, it has been yet again a fabulous week here at the MTC. I have sooo much to tell you! The half hour I have really does fly by :)
First, I got your cute stockings in the mail! They were awesome! I was so excited when I opened it and even more excited when I realized i could share them with my companions. Sister Smith's new companion actually had to postpone her mission, so we're still the same threesome, which is a lot of fun. We hung up the stockings on our bunks, but have all committed to not opening them until Chrismas morning so we can all have a little suprise. They make our room look realy cute, and my roomates were really excited. They don't hear from their families as much as I am blessed to, so they really loved having a homey touch of christmas! Thank you so much!
I'm glad you got my pictures- I hope you enjoy putting some faces to the names I may mention.
So as you can probably tell from all of the smiley faces, I am very happy to be here at the MTC learning Dutch.
My dutch is more behind than it ever has been, but despite my mounting fear of being thrown into a country where I can't communicate at all, I am getting really exited about leaving for the field in less than 4 weeks (yikes!). I have, however, seen how the Lord can take our weaknesses and have them become strengths to us. Whenever we have companion inventory, my companions always mention how happy and sensitive I am to them and to others around us. I have been amazed at this. I have tried hard to cultivate sensitivity and optimism, and prayed a lot for these attributes, and it seems that the Lord has helped me turn what I thought were weaknesses into strengths. I know if he can do that for me, surely my largest weakness (past-tense verbs) will become a strength for me as well. That will be such an awesome day!
The Christmas Spirit is very alive here at the MTC. When we have a fireside and sing silent night or any chrismas song, I can feel the strong spirit of the missionaries around me and the true spirit of Christmas is so evident. I know I will miss you all and our Christmas traditions, but I will so enjoy being here in the mission field for the holiday. The Christmas lights are up around the grounds, and they are so fun to walk through after dinner time.
You all asked about my typical day, so here's a little run-down-
6:30 gym
8:15 breakfast
8:45 class(language/doctrine)
11:00 gym
1:00 Lunch
1:45 Class (language/doctrine/teaching)
6:00 dinner
6:45 Personal Study
7:45 Companion Study
9:00 Companion planning
9:30 return to our rooms
10:15 quiet time
10:30 lights out
Its pretty much the same- every once in a while a fireside or meeting, but thats the general schedule. It is a lot of fun, and suprisingly, I don't get tired of being in the same room ALL DAY LONG. It is quite a unique and amazing experience to dedicate all of our time to studying and serving the Lord. Gym time is fun- Sis. Bennett and I have goals to run a mile and a half straight before we leave- so far I can do a mile and a half but I have to take a 2-3 minute break and walk a lap after 4/5 of a mile- I'll get there though! Oh, and I have successfully gained 2 pounds- thats for you Daddy! We don't get culture classes except on the last day, but our teachers always tell us little things about our mission- like how the Dutch are typically racist against the Turks and black people. Also, the Jehovah's Witnesses are HUGE in the Netherlands and quite aggressive, so people aren't exactly friendly toward proselyting people, but we can easily overcome that with our kind approaches and acts of service. Also, we will ride our bikes everywhere- rain or shine- so we will be very wet most of the time :) Mom, I got the white shirt and it is perfect- I wanted it to wear underneath things, so the fit is fine- Thank you so much! Oh, and Phil, I got your letter- thanks for thinking of me!
Well, my time is up- I love you all and am excited to be where I am. I miss you all- send me pictures when you can! The church is true, and the Gospel is VITAL to everyone we meet- remember that! Ik houd van jullie!!!
Love,Zuster Gulliver
Zuster Gulliver here!
Well, it has been yet again a fabulous week here at the MTC. I have sooo much to tell you! The half hour I have really does fly by :)
First, I got your cute stockings in the mail! They were awesome! I was so excited when I opened it and even more excited when I realized i could share them with my companions. Sister Smith's new companion actually had to postpone her mission, so we're still the same threesome, which is a lot of fun. We hung up the stockings on our bunks, but have all committed to not opening them until Chrismas morning so we can all have a little suprise. They make our room look realy cute, and my roomates were really excited. They don't hear from their families as much as I am blessed to, so they really loved having a homey touch of christmas! Thank you so much!
I'm glad you got my pictures- I hope you enjoy putting some faces to the names I may mention.
So as you can probably tell from all of the smiley faces, I am very happy to be here at the MTC learning Dutch.
My dutch is more behind than it ever has been, but despite my mounting fear of being thrown into a country where I can't communicate at all, I am getting really exited about leaving for the field in less than 4 weeks (yikes!). I have, however, seen how the Lord can take our weaknesses and have them become strengths to us. Whenever we have companion inventory, my companions always mention how happy and sensitive I am to them and to others around us. I have been amazed at this. I have tried hard to cultivate sensitivity and optimism, and prayed a lot for these attributes, and it seems that the Lord has helped me turn what I thought were weaknesses into strengths. I know if he can do that for me, surely my largest weakness (past-tense verbs) will become a strength for me as well. That will be such an awesome day!
The Christmas Spirit is very alive here at the MTC. When we have a fireside and sing silent night or any chrismas song, I can feel the strong spirit of the missionaries around me and the true spirit of Christmas is so evident. I know I will miss you all and our Christmas traditions, but I will so enjoy being here in the mission field for the holiday. The Christmas lights are up around the grounds, and they are so fun to walk through after dinner time.
You all asked about my typical day, so here's a little run-down-
6:30 gym
8:15 breakfast
8:45 class(language/doctrine)
11:00 gym
1:00 Lunch
1:45 Class (language/doctrine/teaching)
6:00 dinner
6:45 Personal Study
7:45 Companion Study
9:00 Companion planning
9:30 return to our rooms
10:15 quiet time
10:30 lights out
Its pretty much the same- every once in a while a fireside or meeting, but thats the general schedule. It is a lot of fun, and suprisingly, I don't get tired of being in the same room ALL DAY LONG. It is quite a unique and amazing experience to dedicate all of our time to studying and serving the Lord. Gym time is fun- Sis. Bennett and I have goals to run a mile and a half straight before we leave- so far I can do a mile and a half but I have to take a 2-3 minute break and walk a lap after 4/5 of a mile- I'll get there though! Oh, and I have successfully gained 2 pounds- thats for you Daddy! We don't get culture classes except on the last day, but our teachers always tell us little things about our mission- like how the Dutch are typically racist against the Turks and black people. Also, the Jehovah's Witnesses are HUGE in the Netherlands and quite aggressive, so people aren't exactly friendly toward proselyting people, but we can easily overcome that with our kind approaches and acts of service. Also, we will ride our bikes everywhere- rain or shine- so we will be very wet most of the time :) Mom, I got the white shirt and it is perfect- I wanted it to wear underneath things, so the fit is fine- Thank you so much! Oh, and Phil, I got your letter- thanks for thinking of me!
Well, my time is up- I love you all and am excited to be where I am. I miss you all- send me pictures when you can! The church is true, and the Gospel is VITAL to everyone we meet- remember that! Ik houd van jullie!!!
Love,Zuster Gulliver
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Hello Family!!
This has been another amazing week here at the MTC. Lots has happened, and I will try to squeeze as much as I can into this letter.
First of all, Thanksgiving was an awesome experience. We had an ok, but quite salty, dinner. They ran out of pie, but overall it was not bad. The highlight of the day, however, was our service project. We all went into the cafeteria and sat at tables and assembled first-aid kits for Haiti and cuba. All together, we put together 10,000 kits, and we sang hymns together while we all did the service. It was an awesome experience with humanitarian work. We also saw a really neat presentation on humanitarian work throughout the world, which was very inspiring. It was just neat to have all of the missionaries unified for a single cause. Very cool :)
I found out that they have pulled all of the sisters out of Antwerpen, Belgium, so currently there are no sisters serving anywhere in Belgium, of Belgie as we call it. I guess that means no flemish for me! Thats ok though, I like the dutch accent better.
We had a change in our companionship. Our solo sister is getting a new companion today, so we will just be a normal twosome now instead of a threesome. That will in many ways be easier to manage, and we can speak dutch more consistently during the day now. My companion is still awesome! We get along great. I am now the senior companion (which doesn't mean much here in the MTC, but still is kind of a cool experience).
Oh, side note- they have put up the Christmas lights (Kerstmas lichts) here at the MTC and they are beautiful! I will send pictures soon. I have had the best missionary experiences this week. My companion Sis. Bennett and I decided we would spend an extra hour a week in the RC taking referral phone calls (people who want a free DVD or Bible, or Book Of Mormon). We both had awesome experiences yesterday as we had long talks with two people who really needed to talk to us and hear our testimones. I talked to a man who was comforted by our message of eternal life and the eternal family. He accepted a visit from the missionaries and had a lot of questions. He was definitely prompted to call when he did and prepared to hear the Gospel. Sis. Bennett has been a little bit down lately, and her experience has lifted her spirits and helped her find joy in her service as a missionary.
While I still have a minute, I would just like to thank you for being the supportive, loving family you are. I am truly blessed to have your love, support, and letters. You have made it possible for me to have every possible advantage here on a mission, and I feel so blessed.
Dutch is still totally killing me! It is difficult, but I can already see the gift of tongues as I teach our pretend investigators in Dutch. We teach our first full 35 minute lesson on Monday so I'll have to let you know how that goes. I am starting to get really excited about leaving now that we're half-way through the MTC. I know there are people in the NL that I have been sent to teach, and I can't wait to meet them and share this beautiful Gospel with them.I love you all and hope you are all doing well. Dad, I hope that back gets better soon- don't go doing things that will make it worse... I know you. Thank you all so much for your letters. They mean so much to me! I will try to send pictures soon!
Ik houdt van jullie ( I love you all)
Love,
Zuster Gulliver
This has been another amazing week here at the MTC. Lots has happened, and I will try to squeeze as much as I can into this letter.
First of all, Thanksgiving was an awesome experience. We had an ok, but quite salty, dinner. They ran out of pie, but overall it was not bad. The highlight of the day, however, was our service project. We all went into the cafeteria and sat at tables and assembled first-aid kits for Haiti and cuba. All together, we put together 10,000 kits, and we sang hymns together while we all did the service. It was an awesome experience with humanitarian work. We also saw a really neat presentation on humanitarian work throughout the world, which was very inspiring. It was just neat to have all of the missionaries unified for a single cause. Very cool :)
I found out that they have pulled all of the sisters out of Antwerpen, Belgium, so currently there are no sisters serving anywhere in Belgium, of Belgie as we call it. I guess that means no flemish for me! Thats ok though, I like the dutch accent better.
We had a change in our companionship. Our solo sister is getting a new companion today, so we will just be a normal twosome now instead of a threesome. That will in many ways be easier to manage, and we can speak dutch more consistently during the day now. My companion is still awesome! We get along great. I am now the senior companion (which doesn't mean much here in the MTC, but still is kind of a cool experience).
Oh, side note- they have put up the Christmas lights (Kerstmas lichts) here at the MTC and they are beautiful! I will send pictures soon. I have had the best missionary experiences this week. My companion Sis. Bennett and I decided we would spend an extra hour a week in the RC taking referral phone calls (people who want a free DVD or Bible, or Book Of Mormon). We both had awesome experiences yesterday as we had long talks with two people who really needed to talk to us and hear our testimones. I talked to a man who was comforted by our message of eternal life and the eternal family. He accepted a visit from the missionaries and had a lot of questions. He was definitely prompted to call when he did and prepared to hear the Gospel. Sis. Bennett has been a little bit down lately, and her experience has lifted her spirits and helped her find joy in her service as a missionary.
While I still have a minute, I would just like to thank you for being the supportive, loving family you are. I am truly blessed to have your love, support, and letters. You have made it possible for me to have every possible advantage here on a mission, and I feel so blessed.
Dutch is still totally killing me! It is difficult, but I can already see the gift of tongues as I teach our pretend investigators in Dutch. We teach our first full 35 minute lesson on Monday so I'll have to let you know how that goes. I am starting to get really excited about leaving now that we're half-way through the MTC. I know there are people in the NL that I have been sent to teach, and I can't wait to meet them and share this beautiful Gospel with them.I love you all and hope you are all doing well. Dad, I hope that back gets better soon- don't go doing things that will make it worse... I know you. Thank you all so much for your letters. They mean so much to me! I will try to send pictures soon!
Ik houdt van jullie ( I love you all)
Love,
Zuster Gulliver
Saturday, November 29, 2008
A Great Week at the MTC
Goede Dag Mijn Familie!
Zuster Gulliver here! Just thought I'd write and tell you all about my FABULOUS week here at the MTC!!First off, last week was very disapointing that my e-mail was deleted. I'm being extra careful this week so as not to repeat the same mistake. I wrote down everything from last week and this week that I wanted to write to you about, so here goes...
So we had Elder Holland come and speak to us last week, which was absolutely amazing! He gave an amazingly inspiring talk about missionary work and how we can become effective in our callings. It was touching and I was re-committed to being the best, most obedient missionary I can.
We had interviews with our teachers last week, to check on our progress with the language and as missionaries, and Sister Bennett and I were flattered by what our teachers said. Sis. Sander told us that we were the classiest looking sister missionaries ever (woohoo! Nice work on the wardrobe ladies ;) ) And Bro. Bond, who just got back from his mission a few months ago, said that there are some sisters that you would trade for any elders, and Sis. Bennett and I were developing into those kind of sister missionaries. We were very flattered, and I was very grateful to know that I was living up to the expectations of a dutch-speaking sister missionary. My companions are great, especially Sis. Bennett. We get along really well. We clash every once in a while about what we should teach or approaches we should take, but we always seem to resolve them. We had a tense moment the other day when we did a contacting exercise in the resource center. It was in Dutch, and I am still struggling a lot with the language- Sis. Bennett has much stronger dutch than I do at this point, and I got lost in the converstaion, and she just talked the whole time without letting me get back in, which frustruated me. I as frustruated because I knew my dutch wasn't nearly where it should be, and I felt like she wasn't helping me. Needless to say, I had to give myself a good talking to, and we talked about it later and resolved our differences, and are dedicated to working more in unity. She has really been an example and blessing to me, and on top of that, we have the time of our lives with each other and with our district. We sometimes have a little too much fun, but we are all dedicated and get back on track very quickly.
I found out a little bit about the mission from the 3 dutch sisters that left this week. Apparently Sisters only serve in Den Haag (the Hague), Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Antwerpen. They don't serve in any other cities other than those, and they have lots of restrictions in Amsterdam to keep them safe and out of the "moral pitfall" areas. The sisters were a great example and a huge help with the adjustment to MTC life. I am totally excited for the day I get to report! Of course, I need all the time I can get to work on my Dutch, so I'm happy where I am :) Oh, and one sister didn't get her visa, and she's serving in New York until her visa comes in. Start praying for my visa to go through, I know I am!!
The other day, I had quite a hilarious experience watching a church film. Every Sunday night, the MTC plays 4 different church films that we can watch if we want to. Usually they have a few MTC devotional recordings and then a few movies such as The Testaments playing. Well, last Sunday, they were showing Legacy, and my companions and I decided we wanted to watch it. Well, 3 of the elders in our district sat in front of us who had never seen the movie, and as the movie progressed, we all suddenly remembered how much of a love story it is. You should have seen the Elder's faces during the kissing scenes. They were bright red. Finally, one of the elders shielded his comanion's eyes from the movie using a copy of Preach my Gospel, and that was the end of any kind of spirit that movie might have had. We were laughing so hard and the poor Elder's were just trying to survive until the movie was over. They are such good Elders, but we all enjoyed watching them squirm a little :)
Thank you all so much for you letters. Many of your little notes have come as answers to prayers when I needed a little boost, and I feel truly blessed. We have some time tomorrow to write letters, so I will try to write a few notes back to each of you to address the questions you asked, cause my time is running out on the computer. I got your Thanksgiving decoration- it is the absolutely best thanksgiving present ever! I love, love love it!Well, my time is up, but I love you all so much! The church is SOOOOO true! Have a Happy Thanksgiving, and remember how blessed we are to have the Gospel and the blessing of Eternal Families!
Ik Houdt fan jullie! (I love you all!)
Love,Zuster Gulliver
Zuster Gulliver here! Just thought I'd write and tell you all about my FABULOUS week here at the MTC!!First off, last week was very disapointing that my e-mail was deleted. I'm being extra careful this week so as not to repeat the same mistake. I wrote down everything from last week and this week that I wanted to write to you about, so here goes...
So we had Elder Holland come and speak to us last week, which was absolutely amazing! He gave an amazingly inspiring talk about missionary work and how we can become effective in our callings. It was touching and I was re-committed to being the best, most obedient missionary I can.
We had interviews with our teachers last week, to check on our progress with the language and as missionaries, and Sister Bennett and I were flattered by what our teachers said. Sis. Sander told us that we were the classiest looking sister missionaries ever (woohoo! Nice work on the wardrobe ladies ;) ) And Bro. Bond, who just got back from his mission a few months ago, said that there are some sisters that you would trade for any elders, and Sis. Bennett and I were developing into those kind of sister missionaries. We were very flattered, and I was very grateful to know that I was living up to the expectations of a dutch-speaking sister missionary. My companions are great, especially Sis. Bennett. We get along really well. We clash every once in a while about what we should teach or approaches we should take, but we always seem to resolve them. We had a tense moment the other day when we did a contacting exercise in the resource center. It was in Dutch, and I am still struggling a lot with the language- Sis. Bennett has much stronger dutch than I do at this point, and I got lost in the converstaion, and she just talked the whole time without letting me get back in, which frustruated me. I as frustruated because I knew my dutch wasn't nearly where it should be, and I felt like she wasn't helping me. Needless to say, I had to give myself a good talking to, and we talked about it later and resolved our differences, and are dedicated to working more in unity. She has really been an example and blessing to me, and on top of that, we have the time of our lives with each other and with our district. We sometimes have a little too much fun, but we are all dedicated and get back on track very quickly.
I found out a little bit about the mission from the 3 dutch sisters that left this week. Apparently Sisters only serve in Den Haag (the Hague), Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Antwerpen. They don't serve in any other cities other than those, and they have lots of restrictions in Amsterdam to keep them safe and out of the "moral pitfall" areas. The sisters were a great example and a huge help with the adjustment to MTC life. I am totally excited for the day I get to report! Of course, I need all the time I can get to work on my Dutch, so I'm happy where I am :) Oh, and one sister didn't get her visa, and she's serving in New York until her visa comes in. Start praying for my visa to go through, I know I am!!
The other day, I had quite a hilarious experience watching a church film. Every Sunday night, the MTC plays 4 different church films that we can watch if we want to. Usually they have a few MTC devotional recordings and then a few movies such as The Testaments playing. Well, last Sunday, they were showing Legacy, and my companions and I decided we wanted to watch it. Well, 3 of the elders in our district sat in front of us who had never seen the movie, and as the movie progressed, we all suddenly remembered how much of a love story it is. You should have seen the Elder's faces during the kissing scenes. They were bright red. Finally, one of the elders shielded his comanion's eyes from the movie using a copy of Preach my Gospel, and that was the end of any kind of spirit that movie might have had. We were laughing so hard and the poor Elder's were just trying to survive until the movie was over. They are such good Elders, but we all enjoyed watching them squirm a little :)
Thank you all so much for you letters. Many of your little notes have come as answers to prayers when I needed a little boost, and I feel truly blessed. We have some time tomorrow to write letters, so I will try to write a few notes back to each of you to address the questions you asked, cause my time is running out on the computer. I got your Thanksgiving decoration- it is the absolutely best thanksgiving present ever! I love, love love it!Well, my time is up, but I love you all so much! The church is SOOOOO true! Have a Happy Thanksgiving, and remember how blessed we are to have the Gospel and the blessing of Eternal Families!
Ik Houdt fan jullie! (I love you all!)
Love,Zuster Gulliver
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Family,
Zuster Gulliver here! The computer just ate the e-mail I just wrote to you. I am very sad, and I have no time to write it again. I will do the best I can, and write you a hand-written letter with the rest of it. I love you all and miss you like crazy. Thanks for the pictures- I got them! They were perfect. Oh, and I hope your back is feeling better Dad- I put your name on the prayer role, so you should be doing better soon :). I am happy and loving the MTC. Dutch is presenting a challenge, but it is ok- the language is great anyways. I'm trying my best to not get discouraged. I hope you are all doing great. Your letters mean a lot to me- thanks for writing. It makes me feel very loved and supported. I will hand-write the rest of what I wanted to say.
Love Always,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver
Zuster Gulliver here! The computer just ate the e-mail I just wrote to you. I am very sad, and I have no time to write it again. I will do the best I can, and write you a hand-written letter with the rest of it. I love you all and miss you like crazy. Thanks for the pictures- I got them! They were perfect. Oh, and I hope your back is feeling better Dad- I put your name on the prayer role, so you should be doing better soon :). I am happy and loving the MTC. Dutch is presenting a challenge, but it is ok- the language is great anyways. I'm trying my best to not get discouraged. I hope you are all doing great. Your letters mean a lot to me- thanks for writing. It makes me feel very loved and supported. I will hand-write the rest of what I wanted to say.
Love Always,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver
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