Belgium Netherlands Mission

Hallo hallo 


Another great week here in Nederland that went impossibly fast. 
Last week's District meeting was absolutely incredible, and I think was one of the most impactful meetings I've attended. It was really incredible because it was one of those meetings where you feel like your eyes are being opened and Heavenly Father is lovingly, but firmly showing you ways that we need to improve and change. It was cool because I had read a verse this week in Hebrews 12:5-6 "...despise not thou the chastening of the Lord... for whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth..." (The surrounding verses are awesome as well) But I've just realized more than ever this week that the correction that God gives us are actually so lovingly given and we just need to receive it well. 

I've been thinking a lot about the conference talks on "what lack I yet" and ponderizing. I re-read my notes from conference and was writing down my goals from conference, and I kindof had this epiphany moment of how those two talks work together and would help me to achieve my goals that I've made from conference. As we ask God what we lack, He will tell us. As we select scriptures to ponderize, we can pick ones that help us with those attributes we're trying to better during the week, and because you have a verse that is constantly tumbling through your head, it acts as a reminder that helps you accomplish your goal. I'm really excited about this. I am so grateful for General Conference and for all of the inspiration we can get from it. It's soooo cool!
Apparently there's a ponderizing app, that looks pretty cool. A YSA was showing us on Sunday. People are funny :)

This week was just incredibly full of amazing revelation and wonderfulness. :)

We went to the temple on Tuesday and that was just amazing. I can't believe that was my last temple conference of my mission :( The temple in Dutch is just so amazing and I love the insights I get. Dutch is just such a cool language. In the celestial room, I was sitting and praying and pondering about a LOT of things, and after a little bit I grabbed the Bijbel and read Proverbs chapter 3. (my plaque scripture is Prov. 3 5-6)  I don't think I've read the whole chapter in a while, so that was really cool to do. It was just choc full of revelation that seemed just tailor-made for me. I liked it a lot :)
The peace and love that I feel in the Temple is unlike any other place on earth. It's indescribable, and so wonderful. I want to go all the time when I get home! 
And of course the conference was awesome. We had some great presentations about reaching our potentials and stepping out of our comfort zones. I love our inspired leaders! So good.

It's cool also to see how random people can be the answer to our prayers in totally unexpected ways. On Friday, we had an appointment with this less active man in the library. It was a really difficult appointment, and to be discrete I won't share all the details, but a lot of hurtful things were said, and we were doing our best to keep the spirit there with us. It was the most sincerely (desperately?) I think I've ever prayed in my mind for guidance of what to say and asked for the words we needed. We did our best to help him see the positive side of things, and after the appointment I just felt really crummy. I definitely cried a little.
But the great miracle-part about this whole thing is that right after the terrible appointment, we had another appointment with a different less-active man, and we had the most uplifting discussion and a lot of the things he said put my heart to rest. It was funny because I wanted to cry again, but this time out of gratitude and joy at the mysterious ways that Heavenly Father works. I just know that Heavenly Father is there. It's so cool too, because even in the midst of insult and hurt during the first appt, I could feel love for that man, and see his potential. I think this is just a rough patch that he really can come out of, and I truly believe that Heavenly Father was helping us and putting his love in our hearts so we could see that man the way He sees him.

I just want to also share a few quotes from my planner (someone made me a nice planner with cool quotes on every page) because they've been amazing this week:

Monday: "If you are helpless, he is not. If you are lost, he is not. If you don't know what to do next, he knows. It would take a miracle, you say? Well if it takes a miracle, why not?" -Boyd K. Packer

Tuesday: "God cares about you. He will listen, and He will answer your personal questions. -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Wednesday: "Every attempt to reflect upon the Atonement, to study it, to embrace it, to express appreciation for it, however small of feeble it may be, will kindle the fires of faith and work its miracle towards a more Christ-like life."- Tad R. Callister

Thursday:  "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith" :)

Friday: "Believe in miracles. I have seen so many." Jeffrey R. Holland

Saturday: "You may sometimes be tempted to say, 'will my influence make any difference? I am just one. Will my service affect the world that dramatically?' I testify to you that it will. You will never be able to measure your influence for good." Thomas S. Monson

Sunday: "Dedicated missionary service returns a dividend of eternal joy which extends throughout mortality and into eternity." Thomas S. Monson

today: "If someone only changes his behavior while a missionary, then, when he goes home, he will be the very same person he was when he left, subject to the same problems that plagued him before. But if someone changes his nature, he will go home a new (wo)man, with the power and discipline to conquer his old Goliaths." Tad R. Callister

Anyway, just wanted to share those. I love you guys so much. Missions are a refiners fire, but they're also FULL of joy and love.

I woke up yesterday with a cold, and at church I ran out of my kleenexes just in 1st hour, but this super cute member gave me some hello kitty scented kleenexes and it was magical. I love her :) People are so goooood!

you lost the game

proverbs 3: 25-26 "for the lord shall be thy confidence"

Have a good week!!!!
Zr Watts

​The rest of General Conference was just incredible! Every year they seem to just give the most amazing thoughts and I am reminded again and again of how grateful I am for the gospel. I loveeed the "ponderize" talk :) I wondered how they would translate that into Dutch. That seems like it would be hard. But really, the idea of "ponderizing" was a really good thing. This week we're going to ponderize Moroni 10:3-5 as a mission. :)The talk by Elder Holland made me think of all the mother-figures that have just blessed my life, and I had to think of my mom and grandmothers, and even some of my companions! You are all such a powerful testimony to me of the love of God. I loved what he said, "Have faith. You're doing it better than you think." :) You are all amazing.
You too Marley! :) You'll be a great mother someday. 

So much happened this week, I'm not sure where to start...
There was this former investigator that we looked up, and she let us in. We had a really cool first lesson with her. She's from Iraq, and is Christian, came here to escape persecution. She loves the Bible and had a beautiful copy in Arabic. (That language looks like magic) She told us about her difficult life experiences, and that every time she thought she couldn't go on, she would get a dream that she was sitting next to Jesus and that he would be telling her, "Don't be afraid"
The spirit was so strong! She is really incredible. We are excited to meet with her again this week.

Another incredible thing about conference was that we were able to use the thought from Elder Christofferson's talk in two lessons the same day we heard his talk. It was incredible, and just totally resolves one of the biggest excuses/concerns I've come across on my mission. It was amazing. I love the modern day prophets. They are seriously inspired.

Funny quote from a less-active Surinamer man we meet with: "Ik ben geen bad people" (the nederengels is strong with this one.) I love when dutch people throw in random english words in their sentences.

We had an awesome lesson with this investigator family, about tithing and fasting and offerings. To illustrate--and to try to get him to participate in the lesson more--we gave the husband a bag of 10 pieces of candy. Then Zr Jones asked him to give one piece back, & he said "yes of course!" Then he taught himself about fast offerings by throwing a piece to me and his wife because we didn't have any. It was like, "ok, the lesson's done everyone!" haha So Awesome. :)

We went out to Enkhuizen, (it's across the dike) for some lessons with our investigators over there. There's this family we are teaching out there, the husband is from England, and the wife from here, and they are just super cool. She loves Halloween, so the house was decked out with decorations. I told her about Mom's ghost tours and she thought that was super cool! They are so awesome.

There's another investigator, who is from Somalia, and he's on date to be baptized in November, but he had to cancel our appointment this week. We were a little bummed, but then on the phone he told us "I know this is true and I am so grateful for this book. I think you sisters are angels God sent to me to tell me the truth." Let's just say that we were smiling after that :)

MOM. I met some real-live South African ladies this week! They were so pleasant and lovely. I liked their accent a lot. :) There's a lady in our ward, who's from South Africa, and this week Zr Jones felt prompted to bring cookies over to her and just share a quick scripture. When we got there, her mom and her sister were there, so we just had a cozy little cup of tea and cake with them. The mom & sister aren't members, but they were all excited to hear that you had served your mission there. The sister lives in Port Elizabeth currently, but the mom and member live here in Lelystad. It was such a blessing. I love South Africans! (also, zr Jones' little brother is going on his mission to South Africa, leaving in December. I will ask which mission)

There's nobody in our branch who plays piano, so everyone was SUPER excited to find out that I can. :) It was funny how excited the Relief Society was when I told them. This ward is awesome, and I'm just loving them so much already.

Temple conference is this week, and I'm just SO beyond excited. To prepare, president asked us to read this article in the Liahona from Sept 2015, called "The temple and the Natural Order of Marriage" IT WAS SO GOOD. Please read it. It will prepare you for the temple, whether you've never been, or have been going for several years now. It was amazing. 

I love you guys so much!

Have a great week!
Zr Watts

Hey hey hey so I'm here in Lelystad now, and I can't believe how much has happened in just one week. Monday and Tuesday were just full of packing and cleaning and writing up a White-wash report for the elders, so we were busy. We had a really great dinner appointment with Shelly and Jona, two members in our ward, and Tuesday we went over to the Jones family's house for dinner and were surprised that they'd invited some other members over as well! They are so sweet and it was so good to get to say goodbye to them. They gave us each a cute gift bag with a MASSIVE bar of milka chocolate and some cute lotions and face masks etc. They're amazing over in Arnhem. I love them.

Wednesday, transfer day, actually went pretty smoothly, considering we had 6 suitcases and 2 bikes to get to Utrecht, then Leiden, and then to Amsterdam and Lelystad respectively. Broeder Van Drogen, our favorite old dutch member man, drove with our suitcases to station and waited with us on the spoor until we got everything loaded on. Then there were missionaries waiting for us at Utrecht to help with all the stuff. Zr Maughan and I sang on the train ride for the last time together. I miss her beautiful voice so much already! So Bittersweet. Also, an investigator called us back while we were on the train! We'd left a message before, but it was good to get the actual goodbye in and officially invite her to accept contact from the elders. God is good.

The rest of transfer day was fun. There is a jovo member here in Lelystad, Christiaan, that was randomly at Utrecht station so he rode with us the rest of the way back it was so funny and random. I got to see Zr Kimmons, Karlson, Hopkin, Ramirez, so basically all my former companions! It was awesome :) 

I was thinking about it the past couple days, and those 6 transfers that Arnhem was open for sisters were just a wonder. I am So grateful I got to serve there for the 3 transfers I got, and I know it was no accident. I learned a lot there. I will definitely miss those people!

But the people here in Lelystad are also super cool. This place is just booming as far as missionary work goes. Zr Jones is one of the most bubbly, happy people I've ever met in my life, so it's been real fun so far.