Hello Family! 4/27/2009
I sure do love you all. I hope you know what an amazing family you are! I consider myself very blessed to be able to come from such a wonderful, faithful family.
The Subject line in this e-mail this week comes from one of our referrals we received from an investigator in Zoetremeer. We called up this man, who lives in our area, and he turned out to be from Nigeria. We have lots of "African Brothas" who live here in the Netherlands, and they love to hear the "word of God" whenever we come by. Their English speech pattern is really quite comical at times and they just say some of the funniest things. Anyways, we talked to our African Brother on the phone and he explained that he was really excited to meet with us and already had a Book of Mormon. He had received it from "the ladies patrolling the streets of Rotterdam". My companion and I couldn't help but laugh at that one. If any of you are ever concerned about the state of the city of Rotterdam, have no fear-- Zuster Gulliver and Wieland are on patrol!
This week was a rough one. I experienced for the first time life as a really sick missionary. Tuesday I started feeling really sick at district meeting, and by that evening, I went home an hour early because I had a really high temperature and couldn't really function. We had to take an hour out of each of the next two days so I could sleep, and I was pretty much miserable for like 4 days in a row. It really stunk. The worst part was that I really, really wanted to be out working and doing the work I was called to do here, but I had to stay in bed. It was NOT fun. I'm pretty much recovered, I still have cold-like symptoms, but I don't feel nearly as weak as I did earlier this week. It really makes me grateful for my health, and also for senior missionaries who mother us like crazy when we're sick!
Another blow this week was that, while I was sick with the flu, we went and visited Albertina, our baptismal candidate for this week, and in talking to her, she admitted to us that she was actually not fully living the word of wisdom yet, making her not quite worthy for baptism. We had to get busy real fast to call off her baptism, which was not very much fun. She is a great woman and will be baptized soon, but it was still disappointing to have it not go through.
Despite the unique challenges this week, we are still doing great. We are definitely in a time of learning and growing, which is quite painful at times, but reminds me of who is really in charge of this work. I know the Lord makes us enough for our callings- he always has for me, and I know he always will. I love the Lord. Serving Him as a full-time missionary has already blessed me more than I could ever imagine.
Well, I have to go. I love you all!! Take care, and parents- you're amazing!
Love,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver
Monday, April 27, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Keukenhof and Allergies
Hello Family!
It is always so good to hear from you all! It sounds like Jamie is loving BYU-I apartment-style. Hearing about how busy the play keeps you all reminds me of junior high. Ahh, those were the days of craziness!
Thanks for the member missionary info, it is really helpful. We are working really hard right now to involve the members in our missionary work, which is really having a huge impact on our success in our areas.
As for the mother's day call, they still haven't told us anything about when we will coordinate that. I do know that you will have to call me from there. I hear most families use skype because it is so expensive otherwise.
Today was a super special p-day. We went to Keukenhof, which is a huge tulip garden/fields here in NL. It is one of the main tourist attractions, and it is absolutely gorgeous! You'll have to look up some pictures online. We drove up as a district and spent a few hours walking around. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I am turning into such a flower person. Tulips have always been my favorites, and now I am just obsessed with them! They really are one of the wonderously beautiful creations of our Heavenly Father. We'll have to plant some next year so I don't get too lonesome when I have to come home. Which reminds me-- My mission is like a third over! The year countdown begins in just a few weeks. It is hard to believe, the time just flies!
With the miraculously beautiful spring comes some interesting challenges. We stop wearing 2 pairs of leggings under our skirts, which is quite liberating, but also very tricky on the bike if you can imagine :) Also, I have suddenly developed very mild allergies to something that grows around our apartment-- my eyes itched like crazy for like a week straight! Luckily, its not too bad, and now I just sneeze a little more than usual.
We will have a baptism this week for Albertina, one of my very favorite investigators. She is a great woman and is ready to make this covenant with the Lord. I'll have to let you know how it goes.
Oh, before I forget, I finally ran into that second cousin of mine Elder Rindlsbach (that is definitely not spelled right... wooops!). We were at Keukenhof, and another district was there and suddenly an elder came up to me and was like "hey, we're second cousins!" I was so excited. I've been looking for him at every zone conference and all that stuff, and we have just somehow never connected, but today we finally did, and it was a lot of fun. He seems like a good man and from what I've heard, he's a great missionary. He's serving in Delft right now with an elder from my district in the MTC.
Life as a missionary is great! We are facing some really hard challenges being new missionaries, but we have lots of support from the ward and our district, which makes it all just fabulous. We are seeing miracles every day and we are having a great time. Missionary life is tiring though! After going non-stop for 6 months, you start noticing how much it wears on your body. I have lost like all of my flexibility because our muscles are always really tight, which makes stretching in the mornings a really funny experience.
Well family, I love you all! Seeing so many families here in and out of the church just helps me to better appreciate how awesome our family is and how grateful I am for covenant keeping parents and righteous siblings. There is nothing in this world that can compare with the blessings that come from a righteous family. Thank you for being the kind of parents and sisters you are. It helps me so much!
Ik hou van jullie!
Zuster Gulliver
It is always so good to hear from you all! It sounds like Jamie is loving BYU-I apartment-style. Hearing about how busy the play keeps you all reminds me of junior high. Ahh, those were the days of craziness!
Thanks for the member missionary info, it is really helpful. We are working really hard right now to involve the members in our missionary work, which is really having a huge impact on our success in our areas.
As for the mother's day call, they still haven't told us anything about when we will coordinate that. I do know that you will have to call me from there. I hear most families use skype because it is so expensive otherwise.
Today was a super special p-day. We went to Keukenhof, which is a huge tulip garden/fields here in NL. It is one of the main tourist attractions, and it is absolutely gorgeous! You'll have to look up some pictures online. We drove up as a district and spent a few hours walking around. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I am turning into such a flower person. Tulips have always been my favorites, and now I am just obsessed with them! They really are one of the wonderously beautiful creations of our Heavenly Father. We'll have to plant some next year so I don't get too lonesome when I have to come home. Which reminds me-- My mission is like a third over! The year countdown begins in just a few weeks. It is hard to believe, the time just flies!
With the miraculously beautiful spring comes some interesting challenges. We stop wearing 2 pairs of leggings under our skirts, which is quite liberating, but also very tricky on the bike if you can imagine :) Also, I have suddenly developed very mild allergies to something that grows around our apartment-- my eyes itched like crazy for like a week straight! Luckily, its not too bad, and now I just sneeze a little more than usual.
We will have a baptism this week for Albertina, one of my very favorite investigators. She is a great woman and is ready to make this covenant with the Lord. I'll have to let you know how it goes.
Oh, before I forget, I finally ran into that second cousin of mine Elder Rindlsbach (that is definitely not spelled right... wooops!). We were at Keukenhof, and another district was there and suddenly an elder came up to me and was like "hey, we're second cousins!" I was so excited. I've been looking for him at every zone conference and all that stuff, and we have just somehow never connected, but today we finally did, and it was a lot of fun. He seems like a good man and from what I've heard, he's a great missionary. He's serving in Delft right now with an elder from my district in the MTC.
Life as a missionary is great! We are facing some really hard challenges being new missionaries, but we have lots of support from the ward and our district, which makes it all just fabulous. We are seeing miracles every day and we are having a great time. Missionary life is tiring though! After going non-stop for 6 months, you start noticing how much it wears on your body. I have lost like all of my flexibility because our muscles are always really tight, which makes stretching in the mornings a really funny experience.
Well family, I love you all! Seeing so many families here in and out of the church just helps me to better appreciate how awesome our family is and how grateful I am for covenant keeping parents and righteous siblings. There is nothing in this world that can compare with the blessings that come from a righteous family. Thank you for being the kind of parents and sisters you are. It helps me so much!
Ik hou van jullie!
Zuster Gulliver
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Pictures Finally!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Tulips A Plenty!
Dearest loving family,
Dad, way to go with the gopher- its the small things in life, right? I think you need to go camping or something... you know a farm boy's been in the city too long when a garden gopher becomes ''big game'' :)
As for the Netherlands, it is absolutely beautiful. Yesterday was second easter (the Dutch people have 2 separate days where they celebrate every holiday) so we couldn't e-mail at the library like usual, but today we all came to the church for interviews with the president, so we all got to e-mail on the church computers. My companion and I came to unlock the church and we were walking around at 8 o'clock this morning unlocking doors and the sun was shining and the tulips were just starting to open in the sunshine, and the whole thing was just beautiful. I have never seen a spring as beautiful as the spring here in Holland. Tulips have always been my favorite flower since I was little, and my love for them has just grown and grown since coming here. They are absolutely gorgeous! It makes missionary work much easier when you don't have to wear a huge wool coat and ugly boots :)
Sis. Wieland and I are having a great time. We are challenged every day with the language and our inexperience, but the Lord still takes care of us and we see miracles when we turn to him and do our best to follow his directions instead of thinking of our own ways to do the work. Our mission president re-aligned the boundaries and so today we found out we are now in charge of North Rotterdam and also a little city called Cappelle- which pretty much doubles our area. The Zone leaders were working in the area a few days a week, but they have now turned it over to us. We are both feeling too overwhelmed by the task to talk about it or even think about it really, but it is a beautiful area and it will be neat to have so many brand new investigators and less-actives to look up. It is stressful, and we are always dead tired at the end of the day, but we have grown so much already just in the 2 weeks we've been here alone. I have truly received the gift of tongues and my Dutch has improved A LOT! I can understand people much better now than before, and I have a lot more confidence to speak up and say what I think needs to be said. Sis. Wieland and I get a long just great- we are quite different personality wise, but we both love the work and we love each other. We were truly blessed to get to work together 2 transfers before taking over the city alone- we don't have any problems with our relationship, which makes the work much easier.
Well, I must go- it's my turn to be interviewed. Soon we will return to the beatiful outdoors and my beautiful tulips outside- I just love spring! Dad, you have to grow me tulips next year-- I'm going to miss them SO MUCH when I get home!! Its hard to believe the time is going by so fast. I love you all and miss you! You are always in my prayers!
Ik hou van jullie!
Love,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver
Dad, way to go with the gopher- its the small things in life, right? I think you need to go camping or something... you know a farm boy's been in the city too long when a garden gopher becomes ''big game'' :)
As for the Netherlands, it is absolutely beautiful. Yesterday was second easter (the Dutch people have 2 separate days where they celebrate every holiday) so we couldn't e-mail at the library like usual, but today we all came to the church for interviews with the president, so we all got to e-mail on the church computers. My companion and I came to unlock the church and we were walking around at 8 o'clock this morning unlocking doors and the sun was shining and the tulips were just starting to open in the sunshine, and the whole thing was just beautiful. I have never seen a spring as beautiful as the spring here in Holland. Tulips have always been my favorite flower since I was little, and my love for them has just grown and grown since coming here. They are absolutely gorgeous! It makes missionary work much easier when you don't have to wear a huge wool coat and ugly boots :)
Sis. Wieland and I are having a great time. We are challenged every day with the language and our inexperience, but the Lord still takes care of us and we see miracles when we turn to him and do our best to follow his directions instead of thinking of our own ways to do the work. Our mission president re-aligned the boundaries and so today we found out we are now in charge of North Rotterdam and also a little city called Cappelle- which pretty much doubles our area. The Zone leaders were working in the area a few days a week, but they have now turned it over to us. We are both feeling too overwhelmed by the task to talk about it or even think about it really, but it is a beautiful area and it will be neat to have so many brand new investigators and less-actives to look up. It is stressful, and we are always dead tired at the end of the day, but we have grown so much already just in the 2 weeks we've been here alone. I have truly received the gift of tongues and my Dutch has improved A LOT! I can understand people much better now than before, and I have a lot more confidence to speak up and say what I think needs to be said. Sis. Wieland and I get a long just great- we are quite different personality wise, but we both love the work and we love each other. We were truly blessed to get to work together 2 transfers before taking over the city alone- we don't have any problems with our relationship, which makes the work much easier.
Well, I must go- it's my turn to be interviewed. Soon we will return to the beatiful outdoors and my beautiful tulips outside- I just love spring! Dad, you have to grow me tulips next year-- I'm going to miss them SO MUCH when I get home!! Its hard to believe the time is going by so fast. I love you all and miss you! You are always in my prayers!
Ik hou van jullie!
Love,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver
Monday, April 6, 2009
There is sunshine in my soul, even if it's not in the sky!
Hello family! 4/6/2009
I sure do love you all. Mom and Dad, thank you for your letters. They really do mean so much to me. Its just so uplifting to hear from home and your little snippets of testimony throughout your letters just keep me going.
Well, our first week without Zr. Kriser was a good one- challenging, but good. Its just kind of funny when something doesn't go according to plan, and I look at Zr. Wieland and then she turns to me with this blank stare and says something like "uh, so what do we do now?". She is doing her very best and is really doing great as a brand new senior companion. It is a bumpy road with two young missionaries together, but I feel like I am learning very fast to be the missionary the Lord wants me to be. I really don't have a choice actually- the work has to get done. It is sobering and humbling to think that we are totally in charge of the progress of these special children of our Heavenly Father- it really is a daunting task. Luckily, we're never alone and as long as we try our hardest to remain close to the spirit, we are always guided by a much greater "senior companion".
It was, naturally, a week of hilarious experiences! Actually, Zr. Wieland and i have had quite a problem this week with unwanted attention from young men... which is a really awkward and hilarious experience as a missionary. Saturday, a Chinese student approached me and asked me for directions to the metro station. We were going in the same direction, so he and his 6 friends all started walking with us to the metro station. They were a bunch of college guys on vacation to Amsterdam, but were somehow lost in Rotterdam. We had a good conversation- a little choppy due to the broken English, but still good, and then we got to the metro station and gave them a card. They all started talking to each other in Chinese and pointing to each other like they were choosing who had to say thank you or something, and then they all started saying "hug, hug" and one started in to hug sis. Wieland. I just watched and laughed until his buddy came over to me and started in...Yikes! My sister missionary protective-reflexes definitely kicked in and I pushed his shoulder away and said something like "uh, no, that’s ok". They all started laughing and laughing- and then the cameras started coming out. We decided that a picture was ok, so of course they all had to get a picture with the "American Mormon girls". Keep an eye out for some blog with a picture of me and a bunch of Chinese guys!
Now that its down to just two of us, we don't teach quite as many lessons and work a lot more with members, which slows us down a little bit, but the work here is still amazing, and the Lord is still working hard with his children here in Rotterdam. We have been challenged by our mission president to re-read the Book of Mormon between now and July 1st and pray for an additional witness that it is true. It will be awesome! I have truly learned to love the scriptures way more than before my mission- I just love scripture study! I hope that is something I will always have. Oh, on a sad note, we just found out that one of the sisters who was in the MTC with me (in the group before me with just 3 sisters in it) decided to leave the mission and go home. We were all so sad to see her go, and it made me so grateful for the support I have from my family, Ryan, and all of my friends. I feel truly blessed to have such an awesome network of support from such strong members of the church- I would never dream of leaving, and you would always support me in staying!
Ik hou van jullie!
Zuster Gulliver
I sure do love you all. Mom and Dad, thank you for your letters. They really do mean so much to me. Its just so uplifting to hear from home and your little snippets of testimony throughout your letters just keep me going.
Well, our first week without Zr. Kriser was a good one- challenging, but good. Its just kind of funny when something doesn't go according to plan, and I look at Zr. Wieland and then she turns to me with this blank stare and says something like "uh, so what do we do now?". She is doing her very best and is really doing great as a brand new senior companion. It is a bumpy road with two young missionaries together, but I feel like I am learning very fast to be the missionary the Lord wants me to be. I really don't have a choice actually- the work has to get done. It is sobering and humbling to think that we are totally in charge of the progress of these special children of our Heavenly Father- it really is a daunting task. Luckily, we're never alone and as long as we try our hardest to remain close to the spirit, we are always guided by a much greater "senior companion".
It was, naturally, a week of hilarious experiences! Actually, Zr. Wieland and i have had quite a problem this week with unwanted attention from young men... which is a really awkward and hilarious experience as a missionary. Saturday, a Chinese student approached me and asked me for directions to the metro station. We were going in the same direction, so he and his 6 friends all started walking with us to the metro station. They were a bunch of college guys on vacation to Amsterdam, but were somehow lost in Rotterdam. We had a good conversation- a little choppy due to the broken English, but still good, and then we got to the metro station and gave them a card. They all started talking to each other in Chinese and pointing to each other like they were choosing who had to say thank you or something, and then they all started saying "hug, hug" and one started in to hug sis. Wieland. I just watched and laughed until his buddy came over to me and started in...Yikes! My sister missionary protective-reflexes definitely kicked in and I pushed his shoulder away and said something like "uh, no, that’s ok". They all started laughing and laughing- and then the cameras started coming out. We decided that a picture was ok, so of course they all had to get a picture with the "American Mormon girls". Keep an eye out for some blog with a picture of me and a bunch of Chinese guys!
Now that its down to just two of us, we don't teach quite as many lessons and work a lot more with members, which slows us down a little bit, but the work here is still amazing, and the Lord is still working hard with his children here in Rotterdam. We have been challenged by our mission president to re-read the Book of Mormon between now and July 1st and pray for an additional witness that it is true. It will be awesome! I have truly learned to love the scriptures way more than before my mission- I just love scripture study! I hope that is something I will always have. Oh, on a sad note, we just found out that one of the sisters who was in the MTC with me (in the group before me with just 3 sisters in it) decided to leave the mission and go home. We were all so sad to see her go, and it made me so grateful for the support I have from my family, Ryan, and all of my friends. I feel truly blessed to have such an awesome network of support from such strong members of the church- I would never dream of leaving, and you would always support me in staying!
Ik hou van jullie!
Zuster Gulliver
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