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!!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Veilige Feis!
Veilige Reis! (Have a safe trip!)
Dearest Family,
It is with deepest heartfelt emotions that I receive this news about my dearest obi. He was a good fish. A little depressive (given his suicide attempts), but in the end, he lived great, and he died great... at least his last moments were comfortable-ish. Thank you for wrapping him in a paper towel- it beats a toilet bowl burial any day :)
Anyways, it’s been another week of the highest highs and the lowest of lows with the work here in Dordrecht. My companion was struggling a little bit staying positive this week, which made it a little bit harder to keep her, and myself, motivated, but we worked really, really hard and had quite a few awesome moments this week. We had three investigators at our pioneer day bbq this last week, and it was awesome! The branch did such a good job accepting them and answering their questions. It was great to see our investigators just being enveloped by the branch. It was a really high point of the week. Yesterday, we came home for dinner break, and our host father said "sister, you look tired". I just looked at him and smiled and said "yah, but it was a great week". He just laughed and said that he remembered what that was like from his mission here. I have learned to appreciate black circles under my eyes as a sign of hard work- something only a missionary could appreciate :)
Aside from the black circles that have found a permanent home under my eyes, my health has been really good. I eat plenty every day (our Dutch host mom makes sure of that :)) and I have been really enjoying running every morning. Our neighborhood is Dutch farmland, which makes morning runs really beautiful.
We had a hilarious experience this week. Dutch doors are funny in that they all automatically lock behind you- its just a part of the culture or something. In addition to the automatic lock, there is a deadbolt that locks with a key from the inside and also outside for extra safety. Because of this, it takes Dutch people a long time to open their doors when we knock, because first they have to find their keys and then open the door, which is really funny if they end up shutting the door immediately after spending 10 minutes looking for their keys. Anyways, so we were in the church after the services Sunday, and we were eating a little bit of lunch before heading out to work. We were the last ones in the building, and as we were leaving, we realized that the branch president had locked the deadbolt from the outside, and we didn't have a key for the inside lock, only the outside one. Yes, its true- we were locked INTO the church. After checking all of the windows and finding them all barred off, we finally found a little window next to the door that was close enough that I could reach my arm through the bars and unlock the front door from the outside, freeing us from the church building. It was a hilarious experience!
Family, I hope you have an AWESOME time in China- I will miss hearing from you next week, but I know you will be having a great time. Stay safe! I love you family! Take care of yourselves, and write me when you have time!
Ik hou van jou!
Love,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver
Dearest Family,
It is with deepest heartfelt emotions that I receive this news about my dearest obi. He was a good fish. A little depressive (given his suicide attempts), but in the end, he lived great, and he died great... at least his last moments were comfortable-ish. Thank you for wrapping him in a paper towel- it beats a toilet bowl burial any day :)
Anyways, it’s been another week of the highest highs and the lowest of lows with the work here in Dordrecht. My companion was struggling a little bit staying positive this week, which made it a little bit harder to keep her, and myself, motivated, but we worked really, really hard and had quite a few awesome moments this week. We had three investigators at our pioneer day bbq this last week, and it was awesome! The branch did such a good job accepting them and answering their questions. It was great to see our investigators just being enveloped by the branch. It was a really high point of the week. Yesterday, we came home for dinner break, and our host father said "sister, you look tired". I just looked at him and smiled and said "yah, but it was a great week". He just laughed and said that he remembered what that was like from his mission here. I have learned to appreciate black circles under my eyes as a sign of hard work- something only a missionary could appreciate :)
Aside from the black circles that have found a permanent home under my eyes, my health has been really good. I eat plenty every day (our Dutch host mom makes sure of that :)) and I have been really enjoying running every morning. Our neighborhood is Dutch farmland, which makes morning runs really beautiful.
We had a hilarious experience this week. Dutch doors are funny in that they all automatically lock behind you- its just a part of the culture or something. In addition to the automatic lock, there is a deadbolt that locks with a key from the inside and also outside for extra safety. Because of this, it takes Dutch people a long time to open their doors when we knock, because first they have to find their keys and then open the door, which is really funny if they end up shutting the door immediately after spending 10 minutes looking for their keys. Anyways, so we were in the church after the services Sunday, and we were eating a little bit of lunch before heading out to work. We were the last ones in the building, and as we were leaving, we realized that the branch president had locked the deadbolt from the outside, and we didn't have a key for the inside lock, only the outside one. Yes, its true- we were locked INTO the church. After checking all of the windows and finding them all barred off, we finally found a little window next to the door that was close enough that I could reach my arm through the bars and unlock the front door from the outside, freeing us from the church building. It was a hilarious experience!
Family, I hope you have an AWESOME time in China- I will miss hearing from you next week, but I know you will be having a great time. Stay safe! I love you family! Take care of yourselves, and write me when you have time!
Ik hou van jou!
Love,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver
Monday, July 20, 2009
Zoonlicht!
Dearest of Families,
What a joyful day! Your letters have made me SOOO happy. They were nice and long, which makes my letter a little shorter, but I don't mind :)
As for Niki's question about an exchange student, there aren't any member girls here or in Rotterdam who are your age, but I will keep my eyes peeled- maybe I'll find one who's family will be baptized this transfer :-D
What a week! It has been an interesting week of some of the hardest trials of my mission and also some of the tenderest mercies and miracles I have ever seen. Quick miracle: We talked to a lady after we knocked on her door and she said in the typical Dutch blunt manner that she already was religious and really wasn't interested, so we went and knocked on the door of her upstairs neighbor. He was an atheist, and we had a really cool conversation about how he could know if God really existed of not through prayer, but in the end, he didn't want to meet with us again or anything, but as we were walking down the stairs, the woman opened her door and said "you are welcome here" and kind of nodded toward her apartment. I was caught off guard and must have looked at her funny because she said Ï know I just told you I wasn't interested, but really, you are welcome to come in. Can I get you some water?". I was still stunned- luckily Sister Owen was there to say yes, of course we wanted to go in and pushed me through the door. It was so obvious that she was listening to the Spirit that told her to go back and get those girls. We shared a first lesson with her and will go back and see her in a few weeks when she has had a chance to read a little in the Book of Mormon. It was awesome! The experience came after a few days of really, really hard work and discouraging times (not to mention some of the hardest rain in my life), but in the end, it was worth the hard days and tough times that humbled us enough to be in tune to know where to go to find Kory (that’s the woman's name). I don't know if she'll become an investigator, but what a neat experience!
The work is still going great- we set goals this transfer to work more with the members, and we were able to increase our number of member-present lessons this week from 1 to 4!!! That was awesome! They haven't been getting more than 1 or 2 here since they came. IT was so great, because we really felt a difference in the work when we were doing our best to follow our leader's council to bring members to teach with us. Living with the Roberts is still great. Today Pres. Roberts fixed my brake cables while we were studying (they snapped yesterday while going down a hill- exciting!). I didn't realize that he had fixed them for me, so when we rode our bikes over to the bike shop to get them fixed, I realized that they were fixed and my first thought was “öh my goodness... What a miracle!” Then I realized that there was a very charitable branch president that is probably responsible. They are such a great couple!
Well, my time is once again up. Mom and Niki, safe travels to go get Jamie. I hope you all have a great time in China. Take lots of pictures and send me some! I love you all so much!! Thank you for your words of wisdom and advice. I always write them down and they help me remember that many more people have fought this same fight before me- and survived! Stand tall!
Ik hou van jullie!
Love,Zuster Gulliver
What a joyful day! Your letters have made me SOOO happy. They were nice and long, which makes my letter a little shorter, but I don't mind :)
As for Niki's question about an exchange student, there aren't any member girls here or in Rotterdam who are your age, but I will keep my eyes peeled- maybe I'll find one who's family will be baptized this transfer :-D
What a week! It has been an interesting week of some of the hardest trials of my mission and also some of the tenderest mercies and miracles I have ever seen. Quick miracle: We talked to a lady after we knocked on her door and she said in the typical Dutch blunt manner that she already was religious and really wasn't interested, so we went and knocked on the door of her upstairs neighbor. He was an atheist, and we had a really cool conversation about how he could know if God really existed of not through prayer, but in the end, he didn't want to meet with us again or anything, but as we were walking down the stairs, the woman opened her door and said "you are welcome here" and kind of nodded toward her apartment. I was caught off guard and must have looked at her funny because she said Ï know I just told you I wasn't interested, but really, you are welcome to come in. Can I get you some water?". I was still stunned- luckily Sister Owen was there to say yes, of course we wanted to go in and pushed me through the door. It was so obvious that she was listening to the Spirit that told her to go back and get those girls. We shared a first lesson with her and will go back and see her in a few weeks when she has had a chance to read a little in the Book of Mormon. It was awesome! The experience came after a few days of really, really hard work and discouraging times (not to mention some of the hardest rain in my life), but in the end, it was worth the hard days and tough times that humbled us enough to be in tune to know where to go to find Kory (that’s the woman's name). I don't know if she'll become an investigator, but what a neat experience!
The work is still going great- we set goals this transfer to work more with the members, and we were able to increase our number of member-present lessons this week from 1 to 4!!! That was awesome! They haven't been getting more than 1 or 2 here since they came. IT was so great, because we really felt a difference in the work when we were doing our best to follow our leader's council to bring members to teach with us. Living with the Roberts is still great. Today Pres. Roberts fixed my brake cables while we were studying (they snapped yesterday while going down a hill- exciting!). I didn't realize that he had fixed them for me, so when we rode our bikes over to the bike shop to get them fixed, I realized that they were fixed and my first thought was “öh my goodness... What a miracle!” Then I realized that there was a very charitable branch president that is probably responsible. They are such a great couple!
Well, my time is once again up. Mom and Niki, safe travels to go get Jamie. I hope you all have a great time in China. Take lots of pictures and send me some! I love you all so much!! Thank you for your words of wisdom and advice. I always write them down and they help me remember that many more people have fought this same fight before me- and survived! Stand tall!
Ik hou van jullie!
Love,Zuster Gulliver
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
So!
Hello Family!
Well, we had a surprise this week. On Tuesday, we were called by the "big bosses" in the office in Brussels and told that we were needing to vacate our apartment the next day so they could come and clean it before the new senior couple comes here to Dordrecht. Unfortunately, we also had to be in Antwerpen the next day, so we ran (or actually biked) home and threw our things into a suitcase or two and then headed down to Belgium the first thing the next morning. By the next evening we were totally moved out-- and now are living in Hendrick Ido Ambacht! It was a surprise, but its a relief to have all of the moving over with.
Meeting President Brubaker and his wife was a very special experience. I just love them! They are very sweet. Zuster Brubaker is all smiles and I even impressed her while she was introducing herself by being the only sister missionary who could explain to the elders what a sampler is... I think she likes me :) They have sacrificed so much to be here and follow the call of inspired leaders. Apparently being mission president was not at all in their life plan, yet they dropped everything and are now doing a great job figuring everything out here. I am looking forward to next week when we have our first interview with him. It will be great to get to know him a little more personally.
As far as our new home, it is AWESOME! Dad, good work with the restricted info-- you got the address right! It is:
Gemeenlandskade 12
3343 NB Hendrick Ido Ambacht
Netherlands
Sister Roberts is probably my favorite person ever. They work the home like a boarding house for us-- so she cooks a warm meal every night, and if we're in the area, we come home and eat it, and if we're not, we eat it for left-overs the next day. She is Dutch, so we have fun speaking Dutch with her and getting to know her really well. She is such a mom for us. She always comes running out the door after us to give us apples, or raisin-currant rolls (yummy!) so we don't get hungry while we're out working-- so sweet! We are just living in a little attic room upstairs, which is tight quarters, but really a lot of fun, and very Dutch. Hendrick Ido Ambacht is a beautiful little village/city/dorpje and is so much fun to live in. It is covered in little Dutch farms and new housing neighborhoods with young families. It is very traditional as far as what the land looks like and the layout of the city. I am so grateful to be living here!
As far as the work, it continues to be difficult as I try and learn from the Spirit what kinds of approaches will touch the hearts of the people here. It is very different, and my companion is quite jaded from being here for so long, so it is a challenge to keep her momentum up. She is willing, just a little bit tired. Despite the difficulty and the lack of new investigators, I am enjoying the work more than ever. The pure joy that comes from doing your best and staying worthy to be directed by the Lord is possible no matter how hard circumstances may be.
My talk on Sunday went great! I was nervous, and there were a few times when my Dutch wasn't exactly "the queen's Dutch", but I got through the talk and even got those old Dutch men to chuckle once or twice, so I'd consider it a success. It was really a miracle- some of the members who Sister Owen considered a little less friendly to the missionaries said that they were really impressed with our talks, and even invited us over for dinner! It was awesome! I love this language. It’s getting to the point where I can say just about anything I want to, even if it is sometimes in a roundabout way, and I am finding that I love speaking it. It’s just a great language! I love the Netherlands!
Oh, a quick question- is it true that our last name of Koch is formerly a Dutch last name that is spelled kok? Because I meet people with that last name a lot here. Let me know if you know.
I love you all! I hope you are all enjoying your summer. We had a really rainy week-- probably to teach me not to complain about it being too hot :)
Ik hou van jullie! Don't forget to read your scriptures- they're awesome! :)
Love,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver
Well, we had a surprise this week. On Tuesday, we were called by the "big bosses" in the office in Brussels and told that we were needing to vacate our apartment the next day so they could come and clean it before the new senior couple comes here to Dordrecht. Unfortunately, we also had to be in Antwerpen the next day, so we ran (or actually biked) home and threw our things into a suitcase or two and then headed down to Belgium the first thing the next morning. By the next evening we were totally moved out-- and now are living in Hendrick Ido Ambacht! It was a surprise, but its a relief to have all of the moving over with.
Meeting President Brubaker and his wife was a very special experience. I just love them! They are very sweet. Zuster Brubaker is all smiles and I even impressed her while she was introducing herself by being the only sister missionary who could explain to the elders what a sampler is... I think she likes me :) They have sacrificed so much to be here and follow the call of inspired leaders. Apparently being mission president was not at all in their life plan, yet they dropped everything and are now doing a great job figuring everything out here. I am looking forward to next week when we have our first interview with him. It will be great to get to know him a little more personally.
As far as our new home, it is AWESOME! Dad, good work with the restricted info-- you got the address right! It is:
Gemeenlandskade 12
3343 NB Hendrick Ido Ambacht
Netherlands
Sister Roberts is probably my favorite person ever. They work the home like a boarding house for us-- so she cooks a warm meal every night, and if we're in the area, we come home and eat it, and if we're not, we eat it for left-overs the next day. She is Dutch, so we have fun speaking Dutch with her and getting to know her really well. She is such a mom for us. She always comes running out the door after us to give us apples, or raisin-currant rolls (yummy!) so we don't get hungry while we're out working-- so sweet! We are just living in a little attic room upstairs, which is tight quarters, but really a lot of fun, and very Dutch. Hendrick Ido Ambacht is a beautiful little village/city/dorpje and is so much fun to live in. It is covered in little Dutch farms and new housing neighborhoods with young families. It is very traditional as far as what the land looks like and the layout of the city. I am so grateful to be living here!
As far as the work, it continues to be difficult as I try and learn from the Spirit what kinds of approaches will touch the hearts of the people here. It is very different, and my companion is quite jaded from being here for so long, so it is a challenge to keep her momentum up. She is willing, just a little bit tired. Despite the difficulty and the lack of new investigators, I am enjoying the work more than ever. The pure joy that comes from doing your best and staying worthy to be directed by the Lord is possible no matter how hard circumstances may be.
My talk on Sunday went great! I was nervous, and there were a few times when my Dutch wasn't exactly "the queen's Dutch", but I got through the talk and even got those old Dutch men to chuckle once or twice, so I'd consider it a success. It was really a miracle- some of the members who Sister Owen considered a little less friendly to the missionaries said that they were really impressed with our talks, and even invited us over for dinner! It was awesome! I love this language. It’s getting to the point where I can say just about anything I want to, even if it is sometimes in a roundabout way, and I am finding that I love speaking it. It’s just a great language! I love the Netherlands!
Oh, a quick question- is it true that our last name of Koch is formerly a Dutch last name that is spelled kok? Because I meet people with that last name a lot here. Let me know if you know.
I love you all! I hope you are all enjoying your summer. We had a really rainy week-- probably to teach me not to complain about it being too hot :)
Ik hou van jullie! Don't forget to read your scriptures- they're awesome! :)
Love,
Zuster Cherie Gulliver
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Hoi Hoi!
Hello family!
Well, my first full week in Dordrecht has been really, really HOT! Well, probably not that hot in degrees, but when you're in the sun all day, it gets pretty toasty. I've never sweated so much before in my life. At least when you're on the bike, you get a little bit of a breeze, so that cools things off a bit.
This last week we said goodbye to our mission president and we will all go to Antwerpen on Wednesday to meet Pres. Brubaker. Apparently he is an amazing man, and we're all excited to meet him.
As far as the work here in Dordrecht, it couldn't be more different than in Rotterdam. It is just a very Dutch area- not many people from different nationalities. There are also a LOT of Jehovah's witnesses that live here, and they have pretty much burnt everyone out as far as tracting goes. Probably one in 10 doors will close the door before we even say ANYTHING just because we have skirts on and are holding books-- its kind of funny. After those doors, I usually look at Zr. Owen and say something like "is my outfit really that bad?" and she starts laughing-- laughter always beats discouragement. The work here is kind of what you would imagine stereotypical Dutch missionary work to be like- we tract for most of the day and at the end of the week, we had only 1 new investigator, but on the upside, we have a wonderful girl we're working with for baptism and we had 2 investigators in church on Sunday! Even if the volume is low, the Lord will still find his elect wherever they are.
Oh, by the way, don't bother sending any mail to the address I sent last week. The new senior couple coming to the mission will be working with us in Dordrecht, and will take the apartment where we are living, and we will be moving. They tried to find a new apartment for us, but no one wanted to rent to “the Mormon church", so we're moving in with our branch president and his wife. It'll be awesome! They live in a little town in the outskirts of Dordrecht called Hendrik Ido Ambacht, so we will start working in the little towns a lot more. It’s going to be so fun! I can't wait. As far as letters go, however, it’s probably fastest to send them to the mission office- we will get letters from the office almost every week this transfer.
Well, I once again must go. Despite the hard work here, I have never been happier. Oh, and a side note- Zr. Owen and I fasted for opportunities to help the members with missionary work, and we both got invited to give 15 minute talks next week- yikes!! Be careful what you fast for :)I love you all!!
Ik hou van jullie
Love,Zuster Cherie Gulliver
Well, my first full week in Dordrecht has been really, really HOT! Well, probably not that hot in degrees, but when you're in the sun all day, it gets pretty toasty. I've never sweated so much before in my life. At least when you're on the bike, you get a little bit of a breeze, so that cools things off a bit.
This last week we said goodbye to our mission president and we will all go to Antwerpen on Wednesday to meet Pres. Brubaker. Apparently he is an amazing man, and we're all excited to meet him.
As far as the work here in Dordrecht, it couldn't be more different than in Rotterdam. It is just a very Dutch area- not many people from different nationalities. There are also a LOT of Jehovah's witnesses that live here, and they have pretty much burnt everyone out as far as tracting goes. Probably one in 10 doors will close the door before we even say ANYTHING just because we have skirts on and are holding books-- its kind of funny. After those doors, I usually look at Zr. Owen and say something like "is my outfit really that bad?" and she starts laughing-- laughter always beats discouragement. The work here is kind of what you would imagine stereotypical Dutch missionary work to be like- we tract for most of the day and at the end of the week, we had only 1 new investigator, but on the upside, we have a wonderful girl we're working with for baptism and we had 2 investigators in church on Sunday! Even if the volume is low, the Lord will still find his elect wherever they are.
Oh, by the way, don't bother sending any mail to the address I sent last week. The new senior couple coming to the mission will be working with us in Dordrecht, and will take the apartment where we are living, and we will be moving. They tried to find a new apartment for us, but no one wanted to rent to “the Mormon church", so we're moving in with our branch president and his wife. It'll be awesome! They live in a little town in the outskirts of Dordrecht called Hendrik Ido Ambacht, so we will start working in the little towns a lot more. It’s going to be so fun! I can't wait. As far as letters go, however, it’s probably fastest to send them to the mission office- we will get letters from the office almost every week this transfer.
Well, I once again must go. Despite the hard work here, I have never been happier. Oh, and a side note- Zr. Owen and I fasted for opportunities to help the members with missionary work, and we both got invited to give 15 minute talks next week- yikes!! Be careful what you fast for :)I love you all!!
Ik hou van jullie
Love,Zuster Cherie Gulliver
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