Dearest of families, 8/24/2009
Well, its been another fabulous week here in the Netherlands... uncomfortably warm, but fabulous. We are just grateful the really warm weather only lasts about 6 weeks. The rains will come before we know it!
Today marks a very special milestone in my mission. I am officially to the point where I am starting to collect souvenirs to take home with me... I bought some klompen!! (Wooden shoes in English). They're fitted to me and everything. The Roberts (our host family) took us to Kinderdijk today and then took us to a little shop close by there where they hand paint the wooden shoes. I got them for a great price (20 euros) and they're super cute. I am so excited! Also a little bit sad. I really shouldn't be so close to the end considering I just got here...
Zr. Driggs, my greenie, is doing great. She picks up the Dutch really fast, and loves to try it out as much as possible. She's teaching me patience as she tries to find the balance between talking too much (or attempting in Dutch) and dominating the contact and letting me talk. We had a few contacts this week where the people at the door obviously had NO idea what she was talking about, and she just kept going on and on and on. I just waited to see if she would actually pause and let me talk- she did at the very end and I did my best to translate what she had said into what she meant to say, and it ended up being a good contact, and probably a good learning experience for her. It's just funny to see the awesome blessings and also challenges that come from working with a new missionary. As people, we get along really really well, which makes life really fun.
After talking to other sisters, I have realized how blessed I am to be enjoying my mission as much as I am. There are a lot of sisters that just don't seem to be enjoying their missions, or they're emotional all the time or something. I just love it! The great days are the best ever, and the challenges are just great opportunities to grow and learn, and at the end of every challenge is just another great day really.
Our investigators here are making a lot of progress. It is so exciting to see our investigators feel the special spirit in the church and watch them grow in their desire to know if these things are true and act on their desires. They are making progress, which is making the branch a lot more interested in the work we are doing and we are seeing more participation from the branch, which is really exciting. They also decided to open a young adult outreach center in Dordrecht, which is similar to an institute, but more missionary work based. It means that we will start working with the young adults in the area a lot more, which can only make the work even more exciting.
Outside the work, I am doing great. We just keep working hard and the Lord just keeps blessing us, so everything is great.
Good luck with the beginning of school, seminary, and everything else. Now that the little family is home, I assume I'll hear from them :)
I love you all!
Love, Zuster Cherie Gulliver
P.S. Ik hou van jou
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