White Christmas

Fijne Kerstmis!!

Hello family! Well, this week has been exciting- we´ve seen a TON of snow- very unusual for this area, that has made missionary work, and biking, a little crazy! There is about 6 inches of snow on the ground, and it has been pretty consistently snowing for the last couple of days. Crazy! Most of the wards in the north here cancelled church yesterday because of the snow. Of course it would be a crazy winter the winter I got sent to the frozen north :) Luckily my comp, who´s from Alaska, doesn´t mind it too much and keeps me going when I think I´m going to die from the snowy conditions!

I had the weirdest experience this week. I soft-boiled an egg to eat it, and then didn´t, so I put it in the fridge. Then the next day, I wanted to warm it up, so I stuck the whole egg in the microwave and warmed it up for a minute. I then peeled it, and put it on my plate, and when I stuck my fork into it, the egg exploded! I was covered in really nasty smelling egg yolk and the whole thing was everywhere. Of course my trusty sidekick/companion helped out by laughing hysterically at me. It was so weird! Lesson learned: don´t put a boiled egg in the microwave with its shell on.

Our plans for Christmas are really great. We´re spending Christmas eve with an older lady and an older couple in the ward who are so much fun. They´re throwing a little party together, and they are just the cutest Dutch people ever. It should be really fun. In the Netherlands, they always celebrate 2 days of every Holiday, so the 25th is "first Christmas" and the 26th is "second christmas". Its really fun. The first day is the big, religious holiday, and the second is more of a shopping/family day. We will be spending Christmas with a family from Curacao, and second Christmas with our favorite investigator, Joanne, and another Dutch family in the ward. It will be a really fun week.

I have so much enjoyed my studies this week, which have all revolved around the role of the Savior in the plan of salvation. In church on Sunday, a member of the stake presidency came to speak and invited me up, unexpectedly, in the middle of his talk to bear my testimony. My heart was full as I had the opportunity to share my feelings about the wonderful sacrifice our Savior has made for us all. It was so special to share those feelings with the members in church. We get to share our testimonies with non-members more often than the members, and it was really a special opportunity. I just love all of the unexpected opportunities on my mission to testify of the Savior. It is really something we all have the opportunity to do every day if we are open to looking for the opportunites, to do it. There is a reason our baptismal covenant is that we will witness of Christ- the opportunities are all around us, waiting for us to take advantage of them. Missionary work is just so exciting!

Well, I love you all very much. I wish you all a wonderfully merry Christmas! I will be thinking about and praying for each one of you this season. I hope you all know how much I love and cherish each one of you. I feel truly blessed to have been given such wonderful parents, sisters, brother in-laws, and niece(s). I am looking forward to talking with each of you. Be safe, and don´t forget to think about your little missionary here in Nederland!

Veel liefs,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver