Happy and Healthy

Oi Mooie Familie!!!(Hello beautiful family! * the dutch use beautiful to describe everything!*)

Today is a gorgeous day here in NL! Actually, today really is quite beautiful- rather warm and even sunny! This week has been a great one. For a while over the past few weeks, I have been battling a nasty cold that didn't seem to want to go away, but I survived and feel great now. Its amazing how the Lord strengthens us here in the mission. He needs us in tip-top condition and sees that we have all of the strength we need to be effective.

We saw an awesome miracle yesterday with one of our investigators. His name is Jose. He is from Capo Verde and speaks portuguese and Spanish and only a little Dutch and english. Communicating with him directly is very hard, but with ward members help, we always seem to manage. After only having the 1st and 2nd lessons (which took quite a few appointments each to teach becuase of the language barrier), we asked him if he would be baptized. Without even hesitating, he said "Sure. What day?" The member with us was totally taken aback and said something like "are you sure you think you're ready?" but Jose was totally ready and he will be baptized in March! He is an amazing person that I am learning to love despite our inability to communicate. That puts our number of investigators with a baptismal date at 3 currently!!

To answer a few of your questions:Other than my cold, I have been feeling great. I can't even tell that I ever had a stomach issue. It hasn't bothered me one little bit- regardless of how much belgian/dutch chocolate I eat!In a typical day, I have some sort of muesli/granola for breakfast or cheerios from the military base (one of our senior couples was in the military and brings us cheerios!). Lunch is usually pitas with Gouda and lentils or something of that nature, and dinner is usually pasta unless we go to a members house in which case it is somthing awesome like split pea soup( which is amazing here in Holland) or something potato-ey and meaty. I am keeping a little "food diary" of all of the fun things I get to eat (all of which are tasty and usually not scary at all- thank goodness for modern food handling systems!). I will have to mail you all a few pages- its kind of fun! My latest favorite is patat (or belgian frits if you're below the border) with awesome curry sauce. Its basically a paper cone filled with french fries and sauces. It is so amazingly awesome- I think I just might break 110 pounds if I'm not careful...As for the e-mail situation, I have exactly 30 minutes total to read and write my e-mails. I don't have a chance to print any, so if you send any extra good ones, be sure to print them out and save em for me! I don't usually have a total time crunch- as long as no one writes me a novel, i should be fine!I

t is so fun to hear from you all. It makes me happy to get to check in with you all every once in a while and hear about the new happenings around the house. I hope that apartment situation works out- it sounds like it'll be a lot of work- but a blessing as well! And I can't believe Cozy is walking! That is just awesome! Take a pic of her standing sometime and send it on over!!

I can feel myself slowly adjusting to life on a mission. Its sometimes really really hard, exhausting, a little embarassing/humiliating, and awkward, but overall, it is a rewarding and joyful experience. The language continues to be a challenge- the more I speak the more I realize I don't know how to say much! The Lord has blessed me though, and I can see drastic improvement from just 3 weeks ago when I arrived here in the field. Every once in a while I get to teach someone in English, and it is like a little gift from Heavenly Father reminding me that I know how to do this- I just need to work and wait for the language to come.

The work is so awesome! Well family, I love you all lots! Niki- good luck with the LA trip and the academy- let me know how it all goes! Heather and Phil- my prayers are with you for your success with the job/apartment situation. Jamie- Hang in there with school, things are always harder at the beginning. Mom- Thanks for your sweet letters- I really appreciate you keeping me updated about the family. Dad- skiing? SWEET! Et smakkelijk!

I love you all and miss you! Pray for missionary experiences!

Love,Zuster Cherie Gulliver