Zuster Gulliver eating raw herring...yum!
Zuster Gulliver in the middle.
Zuster Gulliver on the right.
Zuster Gulliver singing with her companion.Monday, September 28, 2009
Pictures!
Zuster Gulliver eating raw herring...yum! Zuster Gulliver in the middle. Zuster Gulliver on the right. Zuster Gulliver singing with her companion.
Groningen!
Dear family,
Hey there! It has been another FABULOUS week here in Groningen. What an adventure!
On Monday, President Brubaker called me and asked me to come down to Brussels to represent the Dutch sisters in a leadership council with all of the zone leaders from the mission. It was so cool! We had to leave Wednesday night and ride for 5 hours in the train and then find our way around the metros of Brussels to the sister's apartment there. Then we spent the night with two French speaking sisters and the next day sister Ekstrom spent the day proselyting with sisters in Brussels and I went to the mission home with the French sister representative Sister Frische. She is native to France, so communicating was really fun :) It was a 6 hour council that started with some training from the Assistants and President. In the training, they asked us (zr. Frische and I) to do a role play. We didn't know it, but they wanted to test the sisters and see how well we would react in a certain teaching situation. We went through the role play, and at the end, they were all super impressed and said things like "see, we knew the sisters would pull through". It was really funny. They pretty much drilled us sisters through the entire council. I think President Brubaker really has a lot of faith in the power of sisters in teaching, so he wanted us to be there to show the other Elders or something. It was really fun. After the training, we all got in cars and went to the memorial at waterloo. We studied the tactics of the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon in the battle that took place there and then talked about the battle against Satan and what it takes to be a good leader and take care of our "troops" in the mission field. It was amazing to be there, on the battlegrounds of waterloo, and compare the very real battle to the battle we fight as missionaries. It was such a neat learning experience, and I learned so much about mission leadership and leadership in the church in general. It was so cool!
I feel so privileged to have been able to go and have that experience in Brussels. It took a lot of time out of the work here in Groningen, but it was so inspiring. Heavenly Father has given me so many special opportunities to grow and learn in the mission, and I know it is because He will be requiring much of me now, and throughout my life, and I am so excited to apply the things I have learned to better serve Him.
I love you all!
Love,Zuster Cherie GUlliver
Hey there! It has been another FABULOUS week here in Groningen. What an adventure!
On Monday, President Brubaker called me and asked me to come down to Brussels to represent the Dutch sisters in a leadership council with all of the zone leaders from the mission. It was so cool! We had to leave Wednesday night and ride for 5 hours in the train and then find our way around the metros of Brussels to the sister's apartment there. Then we spent the night with two French speaking sisters and the next day sister Ekstrom spent the day proselyting with sisters in Brussels and I went to the mission home with the French sister representative Sister Frische. She is native to France, so communicating was really fun :) It was a 6 hour council that started with some training from the Assistants and President. In the training, they asked us (zr. Frische and I) to do a role play. We didn't know it, but they wanted to test the sisters and see how well we would react in a certain teaching situation. We went through the role play, and at the end, they were all super impressed and said things like "see, we knew the sisters would pull through". It was really funny. They pretty much drilled us sisters through the entire council. I think President Brubaker really has a lot of faith in the power of sisters in teaching, so he wanted us to be there to show the other Elders or something. It was really fun. After the training, we all got in cars and went to the memorial at waterloo. We studied the tactics of the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon in the battle that took place there and then talked about the battle against Satan and what it takes to be a good leader and take care of our "troops" in the mission field. It was amazing to be there, on the battlegrounds of waterloo, and compare the very real battle to the battle we fight as missionaries. It was such a neat learning experience, and I learned so much about mission leadership and leadership in the church in general. It was so cool!
I feel so privileged to have been able to go and have that experience in Brussels. It took a lot of time out of the work here in Groningen, but it was so inspiring. Heavenly Father has given me so many special opportunities to grow and learn in the mission, and I know it is because He will be requiring much of me now, and throughout my life, and I am so excited to apply the things I have learned to better serve Him.
I love you all!
Love,Zuster Cherie GUlliver
Monday, September 21, 2009
Apartments...uhg!
Hello family! 9/21/2009
I just love you all! Thank you sooo much for your letters. They make me so happy :) It is so great to get a little update from everyone. It makes me feel connected a little bit, even though I'm way over here in Groningen.
This week has been a big adventure. My last few days in Dordrecht were really great. I got to see most of our investigators that I had worked with, and it was so great. I was worried about leaving them, but in our last appointments, they all bore beautiful testimony of the restoration (some stronger than others) and I just got the sweetest peaceful feeling that I had accomplished my work there and that these people would be fine once I left. I had to say goodbye to Laurie and Den over the phone, and it broke my heart having to say goodbye to her- she started crying, and it was so difficult. I felt for a moment like I was deserting her, but I know that it is all for the best. It was neat to look back at the people I worked with and see how much progress they had made in the last 3 months. I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of their progression. Kamara (one of our investigators from Sierra Leone) should be baptized this week, and from what I've heard, everything is all in order for that, so Wednesday, I gave Zr. Driggs the phone and turned my sights toward the North... way up north.
We got here and our apartment was still empty. The ward here is amazing and managed to get us a few beds and pieces of furniture, so at least we could live in the apartment, even if our first few days were a bit like camping (no refrigerator or hot water - brrr!). The elder who stayed in the city is Elder Morrow, and he did a great job getting us food and things to last us a few days. He is a sweet elder, but easily stressed out and kind of short tempered- an interesting combo to work with. I learned, however, that patience and kind words can really change a situation that is going really ugly really fast to something quite pleasant. Working with elders here has taught me a lot about positive feedback and helping people be their best selves instead of succumbing to their weaknesses. That goes for a lot of things, but works especially well for people with short tempers. Kindness and love are sooooo important in church callings. Everyone responds favorably to it and the Spirit can guide the situation much, much better. That is one lesson that I hope to carry with me always.
Meeting the ward Sunday was awesome as well. They are so excited to have sisters here. Apparently there were sisters here about 6 years ago and they had something like 10 baptisms a year between the sisters and elders, but that has dropped to 1 or 2 a year since then. Everyone thinks that the sisters coming back will change that... no pressure :) Luckily the ward members really are great and are prepared to do their part from what we can see. Groningen is a beautiful city, and we have had so much fun finding our way around. Zr. Ekstrom is from Alaska and is such a trooper. We get along great and have stayed positive despite the long hours and hold-ups involved in opening an apartment. It'll be really fun to work with her.
Well family, I love you all! I forgot my address, so I'll send it in a future e-mail. Take care and don't forget to write!
Ik hou van jullie!
Liefs,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver
I just love you all! Thank you sooo much for your letters. They make me so happy :) It is so great to get a little update from everyone. It makes me feel connected a little bit, even though I'm way over here in Groningen.
This week has been a big adventure. My last few days in Dordrecht were really great. I got to see most of our investigators that I had worked with, and it was so great. I was worried about leaving them, but in our last appointments, they all bore beautiful testimony of the restoration (some stronger than others) and I just got the sweetest peaceful feeling that I had accomplished my work there and that these people would be fine once I left. I had to say goodbye to Laurie and Den over the phone, and it broke my heart having to say goodbye to her- she started crying, and it was so difficult. I felt for a moment like I was deserting her, but I know that it is all for the best. It was neat to look back at the people I worked with and see how much progress they had made in the last 3 months. I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of their progression. Kamara (one of our investigators from Sierra Leone) should be baptized this week, and from what I've heard, everything is all in order for that, so Wednesday, I gave Zr. Driggs the phone and turned my sights toward the North... way up north.
We got here and our apartment was still empty. The ward here is amazing and managed to get us a few beds and pieces of furniture, so at least we could live in the apartment, even if our first few days were a bit like camping (no refrigerator or hot water - brrr!). The elder who stayed in the city is Elder Morrow, and he did a great job getting us food and things to last us a few days. He is a sweet elder, but easily stressed out and kind of short tempered- an interesting combo to work with. I learned, however, that patience and kind words can really change a situation that is going really ugly really fast to something quite pleasant. Working with elders here has taught me a lot about positive feedback and helping people be their best selves instead of succumbing to their weaknesses. That goes for a lot of things, but works especially well for people with short tempers. Kindness and love are sooooo important in church callings. Everyone responds favorably to it and the Spirit can guide the situation much, much better. That is one lesson that I hope to carry with me always.
Meeting the ward Sunday was awesome as well. They are so excited to have sisters here. Apparently there were sisters here about 6 years ago and they had something like 10 baptisms a year between the sisters and elders, but that has dropped to 1 or 2 a year since then. Everyone thinks that the sisters coming back will change that... no pressure :) Luckily the ward members really are great and are prepared to do their part from what we can see. Groningen is a beautiful city, and we have had so much fun finding our way around. Zr. Ekstrom is from Alaska and is such a trooper. We get along great and have stayed positive despite the long hours and hold-ups involved in opening an apartment. It'll be really fun to work with her.
Well family, I love you all! I forgot my address, so I'll send it in a future e-mail. Take care and don't forget to write!
Ik hou van jullie!
Liefs,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver
Monday, September 14, 2009
Goodbye South Holland
Dearest of families,
Wow! Sounds like quite the week of excitement. I will send some photos today, I promise. How bout some photos of the family? I haven't calculated like you Dad, but I don't think I've seen much photo evidence either in quite some time now...
Oh, and I tried herring the other day- pure grossness.
Stroopwafels, patat, and pastries- pure delight. I'll bring some home :)
Well, as the subject line gives away, I received a call last night from the mission president himself (usually it’s the zone leaders, or at most the assistants) to tell me that the Lord has a new adventure for me this transfer. I will be opening a sister's apartment in a city called Groningen. If you grab a map of the Netherlands and look at the very top, you'll see it. It’s one of the larger cities in the northern part of Holland. There have been Elders there forever, and there is a good sized ward, but apparently the work has started booming, and the Lord wants sisters to take over half of the area. I am so excited! There haven't been sisters that far north in a long, long, long time. Usually sisters stay in the "hub" of south Holland, so I never expected to be able to serve that far north. My host mom, Sister Roberts, said that it is a very traditional area of the Netherlands, but they have an accent that’s really hard to understand. It'll take me back to my greenie days for a while with the language, but I am so excited for this adventure. Zr. Driggs was really sad that we were being separated, but she will do a great job taking over the work here. It is interesting how the Lord helps us grow. We just got to a point in the work here where it was going really, really well and staying pretty consistent. We have baptisms set up for the 25th and also October 16th and have 6 really awesome investigators who are consistently in church and making awesome progress. I was just feeling totally comfortable like I knew what I was doing handling the work and training all at once, when the Lord decided to send me somewhere else and have a whole new set of experiences. I have decided that the Lord has decided that complete immersion is the best method for me to learn- if he throws me in the deep end, I learn that treading water isn't really as hard as I thought. I know the Lord will support me if I trust in Him and allow him to guide me through this new experience. It’s going to be awesome.
My new companion will be Sister Ekstrom- she is an amazing sister from Alaska. It is her 4th transfer, so I'll be a senior comp, but she is such a hard worker and doing really well with the language. It'll be so much fun to work with her! I am so excited for the next transfer and all that it will bring.
I love you all so much. Thank you for the letters and prayers. I miss you all! Take care of yourselves, and don't forget to write and send pictures!!!!!
Ik hou van jullie,
Liefs,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver
Wow! Sounds like quite the week of excitement. I will send some photos today, I promise. How bout some photos of the family? I haven't calculated like you Dad, but I don't think I've seen much photo evidence either in quite some time now...
Oh, and I tried herring the other day- pure grossness.
Stroopwafels, patat, and pastries- pure delight. I'll bring some home :)
Well, as the subject line gives away, I received a call last night from the mission president himself (usually it’s the zone leaders, or at most the assistants) to tell me that the Lord has a new adventure for me this transfer. I will be opening a sister's apartment in a city called Groningen. If you grab a map of the Netherlands and look at the very top, you'll see it. It’s one of the larger cities in the northern part of Holland. There have been Elders there forever, and there is a good sized ward, but apparently the work has started booming, and the Lord wants sisters to take over half of the area. I am so excited! There haven't been sisters that far north in a long, long, long time. Usually sisters stay in the "hub" of south Holland, so I never expected to be able to serve that far north. My host mom, Sister Roberts, said that it is a very traditional area of the Netherlands, but they have an accent that’s really hard to understand. It'll take me back to my greenie days for a while with the language, but I am so excited for this adventure. Zr. Driggs was really sad that we were being separated, but she will do a great job taking over the work here. It is interesting how the Lord helps us grow. We just got to a point in the work here where it was going really, really well and staying pretty consistent. We have baptisms set up for the 25th and also October 16th and have 6 really awesome investigators who are consistently in church and making awesome progress. I was just feeling totally comfortable like I knew what I was doing handling the work and training all at once, when the Lord decided to send me somewhere else and have a whole new set of experiences. I have decided that the Lord has decided that complete immersion is the best method for me to learn- if he throws me in the deep end, I learn that treading water isn't really as hard as I thought. I know the Lord will support me if I trust in Him and allow him to guide me through this new experience. It’s going to be awesome.
My new companion will be Sister Ekstrom- she is an amazing sister from Alaska. It is her 4th transfer, so I'll be a senior comp, but she is such a hard worker and doing really well with the language. It'll be so much fun to work with her! I am so excited for the next transfer and all that it will bring.
I love you all so much. Thank you for the letters and prayers. I miss you all! Take care of yourselves, and don't forget to write and send pictures!!!!!
Ik hou van jullie,
Liefs,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Time Is Flying!
Hello sweet family,
It was soo good to hear from all of you. Another week has flown by and with it went my 10-month mark. That means that I am half way done with my time in the land. Boo *thumbs down* :(
I miss it already...On the other hand, hearing all about life back home is fun and reminds me that there is such thing as fun times in the "real world". I'm proud to hear that my cougars pulled through against Oklahoma- even if they have to go without my extra-loud cheering on the sideline this year.
The work is still AMAZING in this area. I just love it so much. I am to the point where I really do enjoy the work- part of missionary work. I've always enjoyed the high points and the exciting moments, but learning to truly love the hard, sometimes painful, work has taken a little longer. There's just something very satisfying about being on your feet all day, riding through driving rain and wind, and talking to tons of people everyday who do everything in their power to avoid you on the streets (it’s kind of like a hunting game). In short, it’s a ton of fun! I think training has taught me a lot about hard work. Knowing that I have to be an example for my trainee and show her by my own diligence what the Lord expects from us has helped me to re-evaluate my own dedication to the Lord's work. It has been such a great transfer of growth and learning. I still love Zuster Driggs to death- we spent the last few hours shopping and had a blast trying on really cute shoes that we would have totally bought in a heartbeat in our "former lives" (the European styles are sooo cute ). In the end we settled on some really boring (but practical) black knee high boots for this winter. We're starting to see the signs of fall, which is beautiful, but chilly :)
We had a really funny experience this week. Funny, but a little bit frustrating. We have a new member, Zr. Overweg, who is struggling a little bit with the word of wisdom, so our branch president bought her some grain-coffie (essentially postum) and we were supposed to take it to her. Well, I forgot to take it to her like 2 weeks in a row, and she was getting very impatient with me always forgetting, so I told her I would bring it to church with me. Well, I did, and was very careful to pack it in my bike bags very nicely and I even put it in a little bag for her to carry home. Well, we got to church, and she wasn't there. Apparently she was sick, so we decided to go by later to bring her her drink. During the last hour of church, I set the bag on the floor by the wall of the relief society room, and the meeting was great... until the oldest of old ladies went to walk out of the room and totally STEPPED ON THE COFFIE!!!! The canister totally popped open like a firecracker in the bag and like half the coffie spilled out. Luckily, it all stayed in the bag. But anyways, it was totally unbelievably ironic that after forgetting it so many times, it got ruined before I could give it to the sister. Figures eh? I guess the Lord just figured I would need some humbling. The following task of describing to Zr. Overweg why we didn't have her coffie in Dutch was probably even more of a train-wreck than the coffie breaking (what is the Dutch word for canister anyways?). In the end, she laughed with us about the whole experience.
Anyways, I've got to go, but I love you all!! I hope that you have a wonderful week. Good luck with school, work, and everything else!
Love,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver
It was soo good to hear from all of you. Another week has flown by and with it went my 10-month mark. That means that I am half way done with my time in the land. Boo *thumbs down* :(
I miss it already...On the other hand, hearing all about life back home is fun and reminds me that there is such thing as fun times in the "real world". I'm proud to hear that my cougars pulled through against Oklahoma- even if they have to go without my extra-loud cheering on the sideline this year.
The work is still AMAZING in this area. I just love it so much. I am to the point where I really do enjoy the work- part of missionary work. I've always enjoyed the high points and the exciting moments, but learning to truly love the hard, sometimes painful, work has taken a little longer. There's just something very satisfying about being on your feet all day, riding through driving rain and wind, and talking to tons of people everyday who do everything in their power to avoid you on the streets (it’s kind of like a hunting game). In short, it’s a ton of fun! I think training has taught me a lot about hard work. Knowing that I have to be an example for my trainee and show her by my own diligence what the Lord expects from us has helped me to re-evaluate my own dedication to the Lord's work. It has been such a great transfer of growth and learning. I still love Zuster Driggs to death- we spent the last few hours shopping and had a blast trying on really cute shoes that we would have totally bought in a heartbeat in our "former lives" (the European styles are sooo cute ). In the end we settled on some really boring (but practical) black knee high boots for this winter. We're starting to see the signs of fall, which is beautiful, but chilly :)
We had a really funny experience this week. Funny, but a little bit frustrating. We have a new member, Zr. Overweg, who is struggling a little bit with the word of wisdom, so our branch president bought her some grain-coffie (essentially postum) and we were supposed to take it to her. Well, I forgot to take it to her like 2 weeks in a row, and she was getting very impatient with me always forgetting, so I told her I would bring it to church with me. Well, I did, and was very careful to pack it in my bike bags very nicely and I even put it in a little bag for her to carry home. Well, we got to church, and she wasn't there. Apparently she was sick, so we decided to go by later to bring her her drink. During the last hour of church, I set the bag on the floor by the wall of the relief society room, and the meeting was great... until the oldest of old ladies went to walk out of the room and totally STEPPED ON THE COFFIE!!!! The canister totally popped open like a firecracker in the bag and like half the coffie spilled out. Luckily, it all stayed in the bag. But anyways, it was totally unbelievably ironic that after forgetting it so many times, it got ruined before I could give it to the sister. Figures eh? I guess the Lord just figured I would need some humbling. The following task of describing to Zr. Overweg why we didn't have her coffie in Dutch was probably even more of a train-wreck than the coffie breaking (what is the Dutch word for canister anyways?). In the end, she laughed with us about the whole experience.
Anyways, I've got to go, but I love you all!! I hope that you have a wonderful week. Good luck with school, work, and everything else!
Love,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver
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