Yikes!

Family Hello, 8/3/2009

Well, anything I was planning on putting in the e-mail this week has been swept out of my mind ever since the APs called me last night and informed me that I will be embarking on a new adventure here in Dordrecht this transfer... as a trainer. Yikes! :-O (this is my "oh my, I'm going to die" face)

Apparently there is a poor little sister sitting in the MTC right now dreaming of what an amazing, experienced, talented, and capable trainer she will have come Wednesday... SURPRISE- she's getting me!

Elder de Maas (the Dutch AP) prefaced my new assignment by saying something about how the Lord has been preparing me to take on a new assignment, one which I am ready for, blah blah blah. I just covered my eyes and braced myself. He said that the Lord wanted me to serve as a trainer and asked me if I would accept the assignment. I said of course and immediately, I received confidence that everything would turn out ok and that, despite my weaknesses and many many shortcomings, the Lord would take care of this area and my groentje (greenie) and use me to somehow get his work done here in Dordrecht.

By the time I got off the phone, Zuster Owen had figured out what had happened and that she’d have to be transferred somewhere else, and had locked herself in the bathroom crying. I went to try and get her, and she came out, but wouldn't really talk to me for the rest of the evening. She took it REALLY hard- having to leave, that is- and was pretty much a wreck all night. She is really struggling to figure out her purpose here in the mission, and she just felt very uprooted, and that mixed with her depression sent her into a really bad mood. Any stress I had had about becoming a trainer was consumed with trying to comfort Zuster Owen and praying that she would be ok and find some peace about being transferred. She is going to Rotterdam, which is an amazing city, so she'll be fine there. She's just got to get there and see how amazing it is. When we told our host family, they were all really sad about Zuster Owen leaving, so the fact that I was becoming a trainer really didn't phase them at all. They were all just heartbroken about Zuster Owen leaving. It was really weird. I always figured if I became a trainer, my thoughts would all be consumed by my new assignment and I would be nervous, and that’s all I would think about, but with Zuster Owen's breakdown about transfers, that is totally not the case. Then again, that’s just typical mission life- your thoughts and efforts rarely are focused on yourself, but on the others around you.

It is so interesting how the Lord blesses us with trials in our life. Heavenly Father must really want me to learn to be a strong missionary, or at least a completely self-sufficient missionary. I will have to set aside a lot of my hesitancies and reservations to show this new sister how missionary work is done- something I'm still trying to figure out myself. I know that Lord will help me and lead me if I just stay focused on him and the work that needs to be done. Its going to be a wild ride, but the blessings that I know will come are going to be amazing! I am grateful for the opportunity I have been given to have this assignment. There are some missionaries older than I am who have never trained, and I have no idea why I was chosen to train our new sister, but I really am grateful and excited to see what happens. Pray for me!

Ik hou van jullie!
Love,Zuster Cherie Gulliver
P.S. I hope you loved your China trip! It sounds amazing. I’m dying to see pictures!!