Lieve Familie,
SNOWWWW!! My first
time seeing snow in almost 2 years just happened this week!! It snowed (on Friday
night and Saturday) surprisingly A LOT here for Nederland and lets just say...
you could definitely tell that I was the only driver on the road that day that
knew how to drive in snow conditions (donuts, drifting, etc.) hahha joke. But
seriously seeing the snow was so great and for a little bit I felt like I was
back home in Salt Lake. Yes I did have a ``ski trunky´´ moment, however it was
much needed! My comp loved the snow also.. We ended up having to do lots of
driving that day due to missionaries getting stuck in cities (all trains
stopped working) and other emergencies inside the zone and about 3/4ths of the
time Elder Lee was fulfilling the stereotype of Chinese people with Cameras in
their hands; he probably took about 100 photos of miscellaneous things in
the snow. I loved it!
Well it was great to
see you all and talk to guys on Christmas. Sorry if I was a little weird or
awkward. Holidays on the mission are cool, but they definitely are different (especially
Christmas). It was great to see all the new people added to our fam and the new
one joining. I loved all of it and I love you all!
This week was a great
weeek. Christmas eve was spent doing service, teaching, and cooking for
members. Yes you better watch out peeps my cooking skills are going UP! Elder
Lee is like a professional cook so he is teaching me how to make gourmet
food!
Following Christmas day we spent ``tweede kerst dag´´ caroling
to members in Den Bosch as a Zone and watching the faces of people being filled
with joy and the Christmas spirit. It was great, however, I need to definitely
work a little more on my singing voice. Saturday night we spent with Barry (our
Chinese investigator) and had dinner with him. We ate delicious home cooked Chinese
food that he made and also that Elder Lee made. It was 3x´s better than Panda
Express! Lekker Lekker Lekker.
This upcoming Saturday we are
planning to hold a baptismal service with John. It would be great to see him
baptized and see some fruits of our labor. So pray for him! Other than that we
have a good week planned and also have New Years, which is world war 3 here in
Nederland. Looking forward to it!
This email is already long
enough, but I will just end it by saying a couple of things that I have learned
since June 12, 2013. I have learned that all trials in our lives are really
just blessings in disguise, without them we would never learn or grow. I have
learned that lust and love are not the same thing, that there is a big
difference between temporal happiness and eternal happiness. I have
learned that Charity is a gift from God and that all gifts/talents in which we
possess ``cometh of Christ´´(Moroni 10:18). I have learned that we must first
seek to understand before being understood. That life is sometimes not fair,
but that is why we have the Gospel:
``The gospel isn’t a guarantee against
tribulation. That would be like a test with no questions. Rather, the gospel is
a guide for maneuvering through the challenges of life with a sense of purpose
and direction.”
In all honesty I have learned lots. More than I could even write
down. I am so grateful. Look back on this last year, the year of 2014, and ask
yourself
``what
great blessings has he bestowed upon us? Can ye tell?´´ (alma 26:2)
We have all been blessed. I am looking forward to learning more
this upcoming year and getting closer to our Savior and our Father in Heaven.
Out of all the many things I have learned, thee most important is the reality
of the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Love you all and have a great week. Enjoy to the End!
Love,
Big Dude
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