Belgium Netherlands Mission

Dear Family, 

I can't believe it's already the end of my first transfer. It's actually insane. This is such an adventure, and I'm learning so much. I'd have to say that this is the most humbling, spiritual, wonderful experience I've ever had. Being a missionary is so unlike anything else. If you want to know what it's like, go on a mission yourself :)

We had a really busy week. Last Thursday, we did exchanges with Haarlem again, and it was just so fun to be in that city again. I was there with Sister Otteson, who is from Oregon, and she is just adorable. We did some finding (aka centrum contacting, and doors) and it was just a lot of fun. We had some great conversations with several people. Contacting is long, but it is always so interesting and so fun to see the opinions of others, and the ways that god has been working in their lives. 

Friday was the rainiest day in the history of ever. Not really, but it was only the second time that it's really rained here, as far as Nederland standards go for rain. That night after we got back from exchanges, Zr F and I had a great discussion with someone. Her questions are wonderful. She is so amazing and so smart and so cute. She wanted to know about the Bible, and we taught her about what is in the Bible and how it came to be. Church was great and we are looking forward to more great lessons.

That night, we took the metro home and somewhere along the way, my wallet got stolen. When we got off at our stop, I just felt sick. It had basically everything inside of it, but luckily not my passport. I was so upset, but then Zr F was just the most positive, uplifting, helpful person and she cheered me up right away. I'm so grateful that we have companions as missionaries, because I don't know what I'd do without her.

Amsterdam is Crazy. :)  I love it though. While we were on the metro that night, we saw these two guys rolling up weed. It was hilarious, and I thought,"only in Amsterdam!" It's so crazy how much we smell it every day! There are a ton of coffee shops around the city, but apparently when it's spelled with a C it's a weed cafe and when it's spelled with a K it's a regular coffee shop. Most of them are spelled with a C. haha

Saturday was a day of miracles. We had three appointments one after the other and all in different corners of A'dam, so we weren't sure if we'd make it. Especially because I don't have my public transport pass (it was in the wallet) But somehow we made it to all three appointments and they were all wonderful! We taught our investigator the Plan of Salvation with the ward mission leader again, and it was really good! She had so many questions that had to do with the afterlife, and it felt like we had to keep saying, "don't worry,we'll talk about that in a minute" It was so fun. It's so wonderful when people have questions, because then the lesson feels so much more engaging. She is an extremely cool woman.

We also taught another lady who is from Curaçao and her friend was there as well. Just before we started into the lesson, their friend came too. So we ended up teaching the Doctrine of Christ to these three women who are so sweet and so full of love for Christ. It was so cool. They said they're coming to church next week, so that's exciting.

We've been trying to get ahold of this girl for a while, because her boyfriend is a member in another city and he gave the sisters who were here before us her information to meet, but it just hasn't really worked, or she hasn't been home. But guess what?! She was at church on Sunday with her boyfriend and we're meeting with her next Tuesday! She seems like the cutest dutch girl in the world and we're just so excited to talk to her! What a cool boyfriend that isn't afraid to share what he believes with her. Member missionary work is so so essential. 

We had so many referrals this last week and we're meeting with them later in the coming week, so I'm just really excited! Also transfer calls were yesterday, and Zr F and I are staying together! The crazy thing is that they're closing Haarlem to sisters and are white washing it with elders! I'm so glad I got to do exchanges there three times. It's just crazy. I'm excited for this next transfer! We're just having so much fun :)

Yesterday we biked all the way from Diemen (southeast end of a'dam) to Westerpark (northwest end of a'dam) and then back down to RAI (South end of a'dam) without a map and we just felt really proud of ourselves because we know this city pretty well now and that makes us happy. 

My favorite scripture this week is Job 23:10. Job testifies,"when he (the Lord) hath tried me, I shall come forth as GOLD." I just love that image. The trials we face in this life are sometimes overwhelming and it's hard to see why we have to go through them, but they're going to be for our good. I love that so much. It reminded me of the verse in the hymn "How Firm a Foundation" where it's like it's the Lord speaking and he says "I only design (intend) thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine." The trials we face can make us better if we allow them to. I'm so grateful for my trials because I know that they're there for a reason. Also the scripture in Matthew where the Lord says that his burden is light and his yoke is easy (Matthew 11:30). I love that so much. Because if we follow the bounds and commandments that Heavenly Father has asked us to follow, our lives will become easier. Christ was the perfect example. He had the perfect perspective and he knew what was worthwhile and what wasn't. As we repent and try our hardest to become like Him, we 'shall come forth as GOLD!"

I love that. 
I love you all!
doei
Zr watts

Wowowow so much has happened this last week, here we go.

I tried Haring last week on Monday. It was not too bad, actually. I didn't mind the taste so much as the texture. Which was slimy and a little bit different.

Temple Conference was last Tuesday! We went to the Zoetermeer Temple. Zoetermeer means "sweet lake", which is funny because of Salt Lake. 

It was so cool to go through the temple in Dutch. It was a lot easier to follow than I thought it would. I am just so grateful for the temple and for all of the things that I learn there. It's such a place of peace and revelation. I always learn so much whenever I'm there.

Wednesday night we had a dinner appointment with a family that lives in Zaandam (just north of A'dam) who are from America. We brought an investigator, with us and taught her the gospel of Jesus Christ. The family were a really good joint teach and really helped a lot. That was a really cool night.

We had left our bikes chained in Amsterdam and when we got back that night, my lock had been tampered with! The key wouldn't go in all the way and I couldn't turn it at all. So we texted our ward mission leader, and left our bikes over night. He said he'd be able to do something the next day. It was funny. But also a little bit scary.

The next day, we went to teach another investigator. She was super receptive to the message of the restoration and was enthralled while we were talking about Joseph Smith. We brought our ward mission leader along on joint teach because he's AWESOME. Our investigator is one of the most spiritual people I've ever met. I love her. Even though she insists on calling us by our first names. It's cute, though. 

After that appointment, Bronno biked all the way from East Adam to West Adam to rent a grinder tool to GRIND THE CHAIN OFF OF MY BIKE so we could get our bikes! He's the best! We're so spoiled in Amsterdam!

While we were waiting for him at the station we were contacting a few people. We were talking to this girl who wasn't really interested when I looked over at this girl who was crying and hugging this boy. Turns out, that boy was Ansel Elgort! The actor that's in Divergent and The Fault in our Stars. So that was cool. We were standing like 10 feet from Ansel Elgort. haha

But the important thing is, I got my bike back! Hooray! People were looking at us really funny as Bronno took the grinder to my chain and we videoed it. I wanted to tell everyone that it was my bike and not to worry, but it was just funny. I didn't even need to buy a new chain, because when we went on exchanges later this week to Haarlem, Zr Robbins gave me her extra chain like the lieverd she is!

So much has happened this week and this computer is going really slowly, so we'll see how this goes. 

Last Saturday at I Holland was insane. It's the biggest market in europe and it only happens every couple of months. Imagine two massive warehouses and they're just filled with stalls of things for only 2 euro. I found my winter coat for 7 euro and a shirt and sweater for 2 euro each. It was wondrous. 

We also went Stedelijk museum where I saw two authentic Picassos and a Jackson Pollock. I think I died and went to heaven. It was amazing and I'm going to have to go back.

General Conference, right? Wow. I just can't believe how wonderful and powerful and motivating that was. I love it. We got to watch it in English, and I was really grateful. It's interesting because I really think you get more out of gospel things when it's in your own language. And besides, in Dutch the whole "Lord, is it I" quote is directly translated "It's not me, is it Lord?, which loses some of it's meaning in my opinion. Conference was a really cool humbling experience. I loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk about gaining a testimony on the Saturday morning session, where he shared 1 Corinthians 2:14, 16. Some knowledge is gained spiritually and some is gained by other means, but you can't base your spiritual knowledge on something you learned from what you could see or touch. I love the scripture in D&C that says, "seek wisdom by learning, but also by faith" Faith and humility were huge themes (at least to me) from conference. I loved the counsel "Do not delay the moment to seek to grow your testimony of light and truth." and "the church is not a place only for perfect people: it is a place where we go to be perfected in the name of Jesus Christ." The gospel is all about becoming better slowly, day by day. M, M, D, I hope you're reading the scriptures and praying every day and trying to learn all you can! Now is the time to gain a testimony. Every time you read the Book of Mormon, pray about what you've read and pray to know it's true. I've already seen a lot of people who lost their testimonies and it's just really really really sad. 

Sometimes there are people who really doubt their testimony because they have read some anti literature or about the history of the church from anti sources, and I was feeling sad about it one day. I was listening to MoTab, like a classic missionary, but they sang some words that really helped me, "That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never no NEVER no never no never forsake" If we're not progressing in the gospel, we're losing light. The path to eternal life is like those moving sidewalks at the airport that is going the opposite way. If we stop moving forward, we can't help but be pulled back. 

Satan is going to fight his hardest, but we have the power to crush his head. I've been reading in 2 Nephi for personal study in the Isaiah Chapters, and I actually really love them. They're the "what not to do chapters" and they really are so bold and intense in the language that is used to describe what will happen to those who know the will of the Lord but still rebel. We have knowledge, and that means we have a responsibility. God is really clear about that. 

I think a few of my goals after conference are to be more humble, and more charitable. I loved conference, but we still have to watch the Sunday afternoon session and Women's conference. I'm excited to get even more of that good stuff! Ah I love it!

We had a blitz in Rembrandt plein last week with the elders. We were just all in this one little square talking to people about the gospel. The first guy Zr Djoukeng and I talked to asked me if I was Anastasia because my rain poncho totally looks like her jacket. That made me happy. We talked to a ton of people from all over the world. Zr Djoukeng speaks fluent french, and we found two separate people who spoke only french! That was really cool. We talked to a guy from Austin, Texas whose sister is a member of the church. A girl from Seattle that's here on an exchange program and said she was looking for a church to go to so she could feel a sense of community while she's away from home, and just so many more cool people who all had their own story. I love talking to people!

I tried my first ollie bollen this week. They're a lot like scones, and are delicious!

This last Saturday we had the first Sister's Conference in the history of the Belgium/Netherlands mission! All of the sisters in the whole mission came to the mission home and we just had a super gezellig time. Zuster Robinson and President Robinson spoke about the priesthood, and about being women in the Lord's church. She brought up Nehemiah 6:2-15, which is the story of the man of Judah who was building the wall, and his enemy kept on trying to get him to come down, but Nehemiah said Ï'm doing a great work and cannot come down" Nehemiah knew two things: Distractors were to do him mischief, and that he was about a great work. He wasn't going to let satan get to him. We talked about how many women don't understand the priesthood and they are getting distracted by things and people who mean them harm--harm to their testimonies. Every act in the church is done under the direction of priesthood keys and all people, under those keys, can have access to the priesthood authority and power if they serve faithfully. The keys of the priesthood all belong to Jesus Christ, and he's the one who decides how it is delegated and used. It's not up to the first presidency. It's up to the lord Jesus Christ.

There was a lot more that we talked about in the sisters conferernce, but I'm running out of time. I just love the scripture "Look to me in every thought. Doubt not, Fear not" That sums up everything. We need to look to the Lord.

One of my favorite scriptures is 1 Peter 2:9. If you read it look at the footnote. It's pretty great. I love you all so much!
Wish me luck today, I'm going to try haring..... so that'll be a good
I'm now accepting letters at my residence. (Please contact my mom for the address, she is too paranoid to post it here. ;) 
Packages still need to be mailed to the office.)

Zuster Djoukeng goes home this week! So that's really sad and we're doing everything there is to be done in A'dam today because it's her last p day.

haha love you all!
Doei
Zuster Watts

ps galatians 6:11

Holy Cow what a week.
Time is flying by. Last week on P day we went to the Rembrandt house and it was just incredible. So much history! Ah it was amazing. I don't even have words for it.

There's a YOVO (YSA) here who was recently baptized, so we meet with him every once in a while and just make sure he's doing okay. On Tuesday, he took us to this really nice pannekoeken house and it was delicious! The pancakes here are very different from the way they make them in America. It's a lot bigger and thinner, and they make it with all sorts of toppings. Mine was a spek en kaas  (bacon and cheese) It was delicious. And the little restaurant was just so cozy and wonderful. It was in a little place just outside of Amsterdam, so it was nice to get away from the craziness of the city. We talked for a long time about prophets and about Joseph Smith.

I am so spoiled here food-wise. We were knocking doors on Sunday after church and came across this woman named Laura who said that she was on her way out to work, but was so enthusiastic about meeting us another day. We went back on Tuesday just to see how she was doing, and she invited us for dinner a little later. We had a dinner appointment with the family we do FHE with, but we said we'd come by. So that's how we accidentally had two dinner appointments in one day. They were both delicious meals, and it was just so much food I thought I was going to explode. Laura is a member of the C3 church, a christian church that originated in Australia. It was really fun to talk about Christ with her and she was just so sweet. I hope it goes somewhere with her.

We did exchanges this week with our Sister Training Leader, so Zr Frandsen and I went to Haarlem, and Zr Robbins came here to Amsterdam with Zr Djoukeng. Haarlem is GORGEOUS. We got permission to take an hour out of our p day to go to the Corrie Ten Boom house! Pictures were allowed, but they don't want you to share them online or anything, so maybe I'll show you someday. Or you'll just have to come and see it for yourself ;) The spirit in that house is incredible. I have heard her story a few times before, but just being there and hearing the story in the place where everything happened was just overwhelming and beautiful and sad. I just can't believe how good she was. If you don't know the story of her, you can look it up online for more details, but basically she was just this lovely christian lady who, during WWII, took in and hid Jews who were in the Netherlands. She,  her sister, and her father were eventually caught and taken to a concentration camp, where her father and sister passed away. She survived and went around giving speeches about love and forgiveness. It's just an incredible story. I definitely felt the spirit there. 
Haarlem was so much fun. We just did a lot of look-ups and contacting. The people there are very Dutch. (read: not open to talk about religion) It was really funny, because they would open the door only enough to peek their heads out and just say "no"and close the door. There was one man who said, "I'm too smart to believe in God" We just died. He's not going to feel so smart after this life when he meets God. hahah just kidding, but really. I guess people in Amsterdam are just really liberal, so even if they're not going to continue with the lessons, they at least are willing to have a short, intriguing conversation about God or religion with you. It's just funny how different Haarlem was, when it's only a 30 minute train ride from Amsterdam Centraal.
It's a beautiful city. The canals are just gorgeous and clean and it's incredible. The members are so sweet! They had a genealogy night on Wednesday, so we got to meet a few of them there.

We had District Meeting yesterday and interviews with President and Sister Robinson, which was just exactly what I needed. Sister Robinson and I talked about how it's hard to overcome the natural man inside of us. It's just frustrating because I feel like I know what I need to fix and change, but I make mistakes without really thinking about it because it's just a habit or just second nature. We talked about charity, and how that is the one thing that will help us the most. If we have charity, we won't be impatient. We won't be judgmental. We won't be grumpy. I love the scripture in 1 Peter 4:8 that says "And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins." It was cool because I'd read that a few days ago, but it didn't really hit home until she brought up that point. Another thing she said that really stuck out to me was that with time, you'll start to catch yourself making those mistakes a lot quicker. It was just a lovely interview all around. I love President and Sister Robinson! They're amazing.

Later in the day, we were on our way to find a referral we'd gotten from headquarters, and we didn't really know the way. As we were walking along, we saw a man sitting on a bench by the canal just smoking a cigarette and looking out onto the water. (It was a gorgeous view)  We stopped and talked to him. He's from Spain and isn't a church goer but he believes in Christ and said he'd be interested to hear more about Christ, so we got his address so we could give him a spanish book of mormon another day. As we continued on to find the referral, we realized that we'd gone two bridges too far and had to backtrack for a little bit to get to her house. If we hadn't walked too far, we wouldn't have found & talked to Miguel. And maybe he won't be interested for very long, but I still think that it's cool that Heavenly Father is in this man's life, and he wants to give him this chance to receive the gospel. I'm so grateful for experiences like that. There are no coincidences!

Last night we had dinner at a cute member's house. They're an older couple from Ghana, but they've been living here in Nederland for 20 + years. The food was a little bit interesting. I'm getting the best and what I'm not used to right from the start. I guess that's just Amsterdam, though. The food was a really thick potato-like dish with little or no seasoning, and then we had a fishy-spinachy cake that went with it. At first it tasted fine, but then as it got colder it was just a little bit hard to get down. The cute sister asked me if I wanted more after I finished my first plate, so I asked for just a little bit more. I. Was. So. Full. Like more so than the night with two dinner appointments. It was crazy. I feel like I'm still feeling it in my stomach now. haha African food is great. We're really getting the full spectrum of foods. We got Brazilian food from a member earlier this week, we've had suriname food a few times, Taiwan, and now African. So much fun.

I love my companions. We're having the best time and I'm learning so much from them. They're both so spiritual and they basically know the scriptures out of their heads. It's amazing. I just love working with them so much. Zuster Djoukeng loves the song "Happy" by Pharrell and it's just funny. She always asks me to sing it to her. We're having a blast together.

Our district leader shared this scripture with us at District Meeting, and it was just wonderful so here you go:
D&C 123:17
 17 Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.

If we do all we can, Heavenly Father will take care of the rest. I love that :)
LOVE
zuster watts

Hoi!
tjonge jonge there is so much to tell!

Last Monday we went to a market for most of the day and I got these awesome earrings that are crushed velvet and dark blue. They're lovely. But I wore them to church yesterday, and one of the elders told me that for a split second they looked like gauges.  haha it was hilarious.

We do FHE with this really adorable little family every week and they have two little boys  (7 and 4). We were saying goodbye and the four yr-old said, "mag ik je een kusje geven?" I was laughing so hard. I looked at his mom and she was just laughing too and he gave me a little kiss on the cheek. Death by adorableness.

On Thursday we had zone training, so I got to see Zuster Robbins, who was in my MTC group, so that was a blessing. I love her so much! Zuster Djoukeng is so funny, she volunteers me to play the piano at any opportunity, so I played for zone training. She tells everyone I'm really good, so they're probably disappointed when they see how well I actually play :) 
     [Note from Nannette*: Piano is her solace and she loves to play ;]

Later that day, we went to a dinner appointment with a member and her nonmember friends, Marit and Rutger. Marit comes from Suriname, and Rutger is a native Dutchman. They made us the best meal of authentic Suriname food and it was just delicious. My companions told me that it was the best meal they have ever had on their missions! 

It was seriously so good. I wish I could remember what everything was called. We had a good discussion with them about the nature of god. It's always interesting to hear other people's opinion about religion and our relationship to god. It seems like everyone has a different take on everything. I highly reccomend that all of you go watch the mormon message "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father" It's a really beautiful way to look at our relationship with our Heavenly Father. 

Saturday was a day that I don't think I'll ever forget. I think I ended up writing around 3 whole pages in my journal about it. So much happened! We had correlation with our ward mission leader, Bronno, in the morning, and afterward we all just went contacting in the neighborhood around the church. The 4 elders took one side of the street, and we took the other side. Nobody was really interested, the typical "I'm not religious" or "I've already found Jesus Christ" and whatever. We knocked at one door and nobody answered so we were starting to walk away, when we heard someone tapping at the window. There was a really elderly man there and he was trying to say something through the window, so we had this awkward moment where we had no idea what was happening, but then he came and opened his mail slot and talked to us through his mail slot until he found his key and came outside. He wasn't interested, but we had a good chat about religion. Actually I couldn't really understand him. (Old Dutch people are so difficult to understand! They are all lief, but I can't understand them for the life of me) Anyway, we were trying to say goodbye, when he asked me if I was Celibate! hahahahaha Oh man I was trying so hard not to laugh. We just died. My companion was like, "well yes, while she's on her mission. But she can get married after her mission!" It was so funny.

Later that day we had a Relief Society activity that we were helping with, and everyone was bustling around getting things set up. All week we'd been contacting and inviting women to come, so I kept looking out the front window to make sure nobody was waiting by the front gate, but nobody came. I was kindof sad, but then I noticed a lady sitting outside in her car, just parked in front of the church. I kept looking out and not knowing what to do for about 5 minutes because Dutch, but then Zuster Djoukeng came by and I pointed the lady out to her.
She went over and talked to the lady, who said she had come there to pray, and that she came there often. So zr D invited her to come inside. The woman was just in tears and we took her into the chapel and left her there for a few minutes. We went back to the activity and sang the opening song, "Nearer, My God, To Thee".
The woman came into the room after we had finished praying, just tears streaming down her face and told us a little of her story. Her name is Farida and she's from Suriname. She said she used to live around here and she would come there all the time to pray and to just think. She came that day and was just so distraught, but as she was sitting there in her car, she looked up at the steeple and saw a bird fly away from the nest up there. To her, that meant that God was telling her "You're free!" Then she looked at the door of the church and thought, "what if that door opened?" And right at that moment was when Zuster Djoukeng walked out the door to talk to her. She said she had the most beautiful, calming spirit come over her while she was in the chapel. 
THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES. Heavenly Father is real. I know he is watching over us. He cares so much about each of his children and he loves us. If you need to feel love and comfort, he will give it to you!

I love being a missionary. It's hard, and people think we're Jehova witnesses, and the tortillas are disappointingly bland, but it's the most rewarding thing I've ever done! I love the knowledge and the perspective that I have from this gospel. I'm learning so much about humility and about faith. It's so important to be humble. I know my purpose in life and I'm so grateful for that.
Hopefully this language will get easier haha I just have to remind myself that I'm only starting my 3rd week here, even though it feels like it's been a lot longer :)

I love you all! thank you so much for your support and your love. I miss you and hope all is well!

Tot Ziens!
zuster Watts