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.
[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!
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