Still Kick'in

Hello family!

Well, this week was pretty quiet here in Groningen. The temperatures have dropped, and with it comes tons of memories of when I first came into the land. I had a special evening on the 5th as I looked back in my journal and read my accounts of my first few nights at the MTC. It is hard to believe that it has been a year since I reported for duty. It has been such a blessed year. I am so grateful for the many, many things I have learned and experienced. The special moments I have had this year have been life-changing experiences that I am eternally grateful for. Reading about my own excitement and faith at the beginning of my mission was really uplifting for me now as we sit in a difficult area here in Groningen.

We did see a really special miracle this week. We were able to teach lessons to 2 non-member husbands of women in the ward, and also received the names of 3 friends or acquaintances of ward members who we will go by and see this week. It is so great the ward is beginning to become so involved in our missionary work. The true success in this work comes from that teamwork. We are so excited. We have worked hard to build trust relationships with the members, and it is so good to see the fruits of our labors.

I miss children/babies!!! Yesterday was the primary program here, and it was SOOO CUTE! The children here (there are about 40) love the sisters, and it was so cute to see them all waving to us from the stand when we walked into the chapel. What a special spirit! The songs and everything were so cute and really well done. It made me wish I was a primary teacher. Children just have such an ability to love others. If we´re ever feeling down as missionaries, we just need to see some of the kids in the ward here and we´ll know that we´re pretty much super-heroes to them. The love they show the missionaries is awesome. The funniest thing is that they speak Dutch to us, but don´t understand that we´re not native speakers, so sometimes they´ll say something and get really confused as to why we don´t understand them. They also think our accents are hilarious! Even though we have to be really restricted in our contact with children for legality reasons, the kids here have been one of the highlights of my mission.

I love you family! Thank you for the little details about life back home. They really mean a lot to me. They are a great source of support. Dad, good luck with the next two weeks!

Ik hou van jullie!
Love,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver