Ere zij God (Glory to God): Missionary work and Christmas

Merry Christmas allemaal! (everyone)

So one of the highlights of this week was the stellar member missionary work going on at our branch Christmas party. We invited several people, including less active members, and none of them showed up (including a few that told us that afternoon that they'd be there). But three of our members brought friends and the less active sister of another member came, with her nonmember boyfriend! And a few other less active members came too and had a good time. Sister H. and I were actually able to teach lessons to two of the friends that members had brought during dinner, just because they were asking questions about us and about the church. So that was super cool!

We also had some cool miracles yesterday that came from "looking for the reason." So often we get discouraged about things that fall through in missionary work, or things that don't go as we planned. And what we are forgetting is that we need to always look for the reason that it didn't go through. Why? Because the Lord is the one who is in control here. It's not us. He is more concerned about our success than anyone else, including ourselves most of the time because we don't really get what's at stake. When something goes "wrong," it's because something else needed to happen. Yesterday all of our appointments fell through, and one of the potentials we were excited about had actually given us the wrong address and then when we did find her, wouldn't talk to us. But we were able to find two potential families that we're even more excited about now! There's always a reason.

 

The Lord knows and loves each one of us and He will never leave us alone. The Lord has commended us to have peace and to be of good cheer. Why? Because He wants us to be happy and He's given us every reason to be because of His Son, Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate! I love missionary work and I love life and I'm excited for Christmas!

And I love all of you and hope you have a wonderful Christmas season.

Love,

Sister Stevens

President Texeira and the Great Christmas Conference

President José Texeira, who is the president in the Area Presidency for Europe (and thus a member of the first quorum of the 70), came on a mission tour this week. I got to spend two days with him: first at zone conference, and then at mission leader council.

This week was fantastic. It was one of the craziest weeks of my mission: I went on two exchanges plus zone conference and mission leader council, so I left Assen Monday night and got back to Assen Friday night. Lots of sleep-overs! But it was good. I learned so much from this week, especially from President and Sister Texeira, and we were able to finish off the week with some really cool miracles.

I think that one of the biggest things that I learned from President Texeira was how to change. He talked a lot about repentance, and about how ultimately what that requires is a change of our thoughts and feelings, which will then lead to a change in behavior. If we change our belief/priority system, then we will also change our behavior. We cannot make the change that needs to happen in our stewardship if we do not make changes in ourselves. And what it comes down to is working harder, and better, and with more faith in God that He can and will give us the success that He is asking if we leave EVERYTHING on the altar and then act in complete faith. Ultimately it requires a mighty change of heart and a mighty change of mind. Our focus needs to be totally on our mission and our responsibilities here! These trainings from him have been exactly what I needed. We learned so many things from him in terms of doing missionary work better. I'm excited to implement them! But what was more important is how it inspired us to do better: to work harder and with more faith. And we've already seen the miracles from it!

This week, like I said, was pretty crazy, but we also had some amazing miracles the last few days too. We were able to find 3 new investigators still, and teach several lessons, some of which were not even scheduled appointments. And our branch president's wife came with us on joint teach last night even though she lives 20-30 minutes away and it was in the evening, and the lesson went super well! We're staying busy and we're very happy.

Keep being awesome and share the gospel!

Love

Sister Stevens

No Such Thing as a Dead City

First of all, I would just like to say that there is no such thing as a dead city. I guess I don't know a ton about the history of Assen and the missionary work here, but from what I have heard and seen, particularly the fact that it's been opened and closed so many times, this place was a challenge for a lot of missionaries in the past. Ten minste, lijkt het zoals voor mij [at least it seems like to me]. And I have to admit, I sometimes had my doubts as well, despite our baptism, because of the dip that we had afterwards. And I have been told by members before that Assen is one of the difficult cities in the mission.  I don't understand it, because I have to say I couldn't possibly deserve it, but things have exploded over the last two weeks. We have had so many new investigators and been teaching so many lessons. It's taken awhile to get going, and if I've learned one thing here it's that change takes a lot of time, but we are busy busy busy and I couldn't ask for anything more (except for all of those new investigators to start progressing and for a lot more baptisms. I'll put it on my Christmas wishlist...). We've got potentials, we've got investigators! We're getting dropped sometimes too, but that comes with the territory. The Lord has asked us to do something, and as we do our part of what He's asked, He will provide the miracles. Punt. We can always do our part better. But He understands that and that's why we have the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He loves us no matter what and forever. He's happy when we do as much as we can. And He'll take care of the rest. That I know. That doesn't mean that it'll be easy. But let's be honest, none of us signed up for this because we thought it would be easy. But we did because we knew it would be worth it. And we had faith in Jesus Christ that it would be possible. The gospel is true! And so is 1 Nephi 3:7 (I will I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.). I just wish that will all understood that better. Moses 1:39--this is the Lord's work, and He's doing it! (For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.)

One of the biggest miracles of this week was meeting a super cute couple -- he let us into this student-type housing so that we could try to teach another guy that we had made an appointment with a few days before. We went up to try to teach him, but we weren't sure how to find him, but this other girl who lived there helped us look for him (he wasn't home) and then we taught her a lesson. Then we went back to our appointment's apartment, who was there and we made a new appointment with him because we didn't have a joint teach. Miracle, especially because if we'd had a joint teach that other lesson with the girl wouldn't have been possible. But then we went back down and ran into to guy who had let us in. He said we could come back with a Book of Mormon. When we did, we taught him and his girlfriend and invited them to baptism. They are actually going out of town for a month for the holidays, but they're very positive and we've got an "appointment" to meet with them when they get back. They are awesome!

Life is good and the gospel is true! I love you all!

A Time to Thank

Nederland doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, but I have much to be thankful for.

First, I'm thankful for miracles. This week was the most successful week on my mission in terms of finding and teaching. We really got this transfer started off well with getting a lot of new investigators! One of the miracles that happened this week was on Tuesday. We had already taught 3 other lessons that day, and we had an appointment with another potential in the evening. But we went over there and it fell completely through. So we knocked a few doors around there, and I felt prompted to knock a specific street. The first door we knocked on that street was these super cool people. They let us in and we were able to give them a first lesson with a baptismal invitation. His health problems would hold him back with some things, but he is definitely open to learning more. In many ways he is very prepared to hear the restored gospel. 

We also had a couple of really good lessons (with members present) with some investigators who hadn't been making a lot of progress, but those lessons went really well and I think that they'll both start progressing soon! Also, on Saturday we found a Chinese woman who we were able to teach the Restoration to that day (with the DVD in Cantonese). And we gave her the Book of Mormon in Chinese and have a follow-up appointment set up!

Second, I'm grateful for lessons learned. The biggest thing I think I was reminded of this week is that God hears and answers prayers. I didn't earn the success that we saw here this week. But the Lord blesses us when we try our best and when our will is in line with his will.

Third, I'm grateful for you. I love you all so much and I am so grateful to be a part of your lives, whether we are family or friends.

And fourth, I am grateful for Jesus Christ and His Atonement and for His restored gospel on the earth, and that I have the privilege to share that with people every single day!

I love you all!

Forget yourself and get to work

One of my biggest miracles this week was zone training. I had prepared quite a bit for it, but the last couple of days before had been crazy and I just didn't feel very prepared right before. I prayed so much right before, but I just wasn't sure how it was going to go. I also really just don't like talking in front of large groups of people, so basically I was scared. But the Lord helped me so much with it. I was able to feel the Spirit working through me and it went so well, better than I could have imagined. That was not me. I had nothing to do with any inspiring thing that came out of my mouth. It wasn't that I was saying anything unusual or unexpected. It isn't that I was saying anything super profound. But I could feel the Spirit there and I know that the other missionaries felt the Spirit there as well. And that was incredibly powerful and humbling for me. I know that the Lord makes up for us where we fall short. I know that the Atonement covers that part of our service--the part where we've given everything but where we alone are not enough.

We had lots of other really cool miracles this week! We were able to talk to one of the recent converts who was baptized back in March and almost immediately went inactive. He still wants to come back, and even though I don't quite get what's holding him back, I have faith that he will come back. Also, we've had some really incredible experiences finding people! We're booked the rest of the week almost, and that is super exciting for Assen. This is the Lord's work and He is doing it!

In other news, transfers are this week and Sister Hoff and I are both staying! I'm so excited to be here in Assen for another transfer! It's going to be awesome!

I love you all! Stay strong and keep being amazing!

Ik ben een kind van God (I am a Child of God)

Yesterday a girl returned from her mission to Latvia home to our branch, and Sister Hoff and I and her mom and another sister in our branch sang "Ik ben een kind van God" (I am a Child of God) complete with alto and obligato. And the homecoming was super cool.

And, this week was great! We worked really hard and saw lots of miracles. One of the biggest for me occurred on Friday at/after Mission Leader Council. I learned a lot there. One of the bigs things I learned was about sacrifice. Sometimes we have to sacrifice the small disobedient things that we are doing--like staying up late or coming home late--sometimes it's bigger things that we need to sacrifice, like pride. And sometimes we have to sacrifice our fears, or laziness, or the things that we're not doing. I was thinking a lot about sacrifice as we got on the train to go home and decided that I would make an effort to travel contact--that was my sacrifice (because I don't really like travel contacting). During the first few trains/fellow travelers that I talked to, nothing really happened. I was able to have short conversations with a few of them but mostly not very much happened. But during the last train I talked to a woman to whom I was able to give most of the first lesson. At the end she had some questions but we were out of time so I got her number and she got mine (she was actually the one who asked for my number first) and she seemed interested in talking more. She lives in Rotterdam, so I passed on the referral to the zone leaders there, but it was just unbelievably cool for me to see my sacrifice honored in that way. The Lord sees our hearts and knows our efforts. And He does and will respect and honor every honest sacrifice that we make.

I love you all! Keep up the good work!

Hurray for Members!

I have to say, the members are often the highlight of my week. On Saturday we called one woman to ask for a joint teach for that evening, even though she lives about half an hour away, and she came. And when she found out that we would be somewhat in her area to contact a referral, she fed us dinner beforehand too. And she was a perfect joint teach for the woman we were teaching. The woman still dropped us, but it was so great to have that member there. Lots of the members are helping us out, and that makes things a lot better.

This week I learned a lot about the Atonement. This one woman we're teaching is really struggling right now with a lot of things in her life and we were trying to teach her about Jesus Christ and the Atonement and she just didn't seem to get it. And that hurt so much because I know how much the Atonement could help her. And I know that because I know how much it's helped me. Not just in repentance, but in getting through hard things. We saw some hard things this week with investigators. But the Lord is making me into something better and the Atonement is carrying me. I know that Heavenly Father has things under control and that is enough.

We had two pretty fantastic miracles this week with investigators. One of them is a self-referral from mormon.org. We went to her house right after we received the referral, but she wasn't there so we left a note. We tried to go back a few other times but it never quite seemed to work out. But last Monday evening we finally made it over and she was home and let us in. We had a first lesson with her and extended a baptismal invitation and she accepted! She is super prepared already--she'd been reading the Book of Mormon online but wanted her own copy. She has lots of her own ideas, but is very open to the Spirit telling her what is right--even if it means that her own ideas are wrong. Sister Hoff and Sister Larson went back on exchange and gave her much of the second lesson and asked her to think about being baptized on a specific date. She couldn't go to church for some reason, but she said that after she does go to church she will pick a date. She is amazing. Another big miracle of this week is a JoVo (young adult--jong volwassen) from Africa (Angola) who had had lessons from the Elders for awhile, but always with a group of people, so he missed some things. But he had been going to church just on his own and has a strong desire to do what is right. We'd been trying to work with him, but wasn't progressing a ton. Also he said that he had already been baptized and thought that was enough. But we'd managed to teach him some things, and he finally set up a real appointment with us and we went through the first lesson again and asked him what it would mean to him to know that it was true and he said that if it was true he'd be baptized again! That was super exciting.

Missionary work is the best and the church is true! I love you all and I hope you are as fantastically happy as I am right now!

Tegenstelling Brings Miracles

Well, this week was pretty crazy! We had lots of exciting miracles, but as always we had a healthy dose of tegenstelling (opposition) to go with it to keep us humble and healthy. Tegenstelling is sort of like the vegetables in a meal. So you need to have lots to keep up your vitamins.

One of the most exciting things that happened was that when I was on exchanges in Apeldoorn Sister Hoff had a first lesson with a baptismal invitation with a couple. The woman is a member referral and we've had to reschedule our appointment with her twice now. She was actually an investigator about 15 years ago, but one of the problems seemed to be her boyfriend. But it sounds like most of the lesson was for him, and he accepted a baptismal invitation (if he comes to know it's true, of course)! That was very cool.

Thursday we set a baptismal date with that man that came to church for the first time last Sunday! That was super exciting, but he called us on Saturday and said he had to leave town for a month or more, starting on Sunday. That was, obviously, disappointing, but here's what I wrote after that in my planner (this is one of my big lessons learned this week): "This is it. I've done all that I possibly can. I can go no further. Now is the time to 'Be still and know that I am God.' (See Psalm 46:10) I've got to turn it all over to the Lord and He will take care of the rest. He promised. And I believe and trust Him. I know that He will keep His promises." One of the reasons this was difficult is because he was our second baptismal date that dropped us this week. But it's okay because we're doing everything we can and we're still seeing lots of success. This is just an extra good reminder that this is the Lord's work. On the bright side, he actually called us to tell us that he was leaving, and that he would make sure to make contact with us when he got back, and that he would take his Book of Mormon. So it'll just take him a little longer to get baptized, that's all.

We also lost our phone last night, which makes things a little trickier, but it'll get worked out soon. And we've got lots of appointments this week to keep us busy, which is always the best!

I love you all!

I love to see the temple!

The highlight of this week, obviously, was temple conference! We went to the temple in Zoetermeer on Tuesday and it was such a good reminder of why we do what we do. That's the goal, is to help people go to the temple. There is no better place on earth. It was also super cool go to the temple in Dutch. Then we had temple conference afterwards with President and Sister Robinson and the APs and that was fantastic. Always a good spiritual boost to get you going again!

This week was packed full of miracles. Aside from temple conference, which was wonderful, we had all kinds of incredible things happen. I went on my first two exchanges (one to Leeuwarden, and the other with the Groningen sisters, but I was in Assen). We saw a lot of success and had a lot of fun too. During the last three days we were able to get ahold of 4 people that we've been trying for forever (sometimes 2 months or more) to get ahold of! One of these investigators came to church yesterday and he talked for quite a long time with some of the members afterward. He's really positive and now excited to go further with the lessons! I'm really excited about that and about some of our other investigators.

Since someone asked about my duties as a sister training leader: I go on exchanges with the sisters in my zone -- there are 3 other sister cities in Zone Apeldoorn. These are Leeuwarden, Groningen, and Apeldoorn. So that's at least 6 exchanges per transfer, plus more if I feel like it's necessary. Sometimes we go on splits with the sisters in their city to help them out finding or whatever. Plus I go to meetings, but not too many. There are some pictures on the mission blog. (http://belgiumnetherlandsmission.blogspot.com/). Also, when there's zone trainings (just with our zone, run by the zone leaders, as opposed to zone conferences which are with more than one zone and run by President and Zuster Robinson and the APs), I'm supposed to participate in the training with the zone leaders. That's pretty much it.

I learned a lot this week. One thing that I learned (or re-learned) is that whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies, even if He has to make you into a totally different person to do it. I've always really looked up to the other leaders in our mission and always thought that they were just super good missionaries, and they are. But with me I know for a fact that I'm not a sister training leader because I'm all that good. I have literally watched the Lord take my meager capacity and make it better during those couple of days on exchanges with Sister Western and Sister Larson (Sister Larson was one of my MTC companions and it was so wonderful to be with her again). I was a better missionary during those two days than I think I've ever been before. I don't know why I am a sister training leader, but maybe one reason is because I needed to witness that--how much this is the Lord's work. I am just grateful that I am close enough to witness and sometimes participate in it.

The gospel is true! I love you all!

Hope Transfer

Well, transfers always bring all kinds of exciting things! We need to keep changing in order to keep growing, so that means we need lots of change. Sister Hoff is a fantastic companion: an excellent teacher and a great friend. We're going to have a great time in Assen.

We had some pretty fantastic miracles this week. The biggest I would say is that we are now teaching two families! We're still not sure where it's going yet with either of them, but that was something that we've been praying for for the last two transfers, so that's a big deal for us. The first family we met a few weeks ago langs de deur (literal translation, through the door), and she gave us 9 referrals on the spot. We had a lesson with them on transfer day and it went really well. They had already read 3 Nephi 11, Alma 32, and Moroni 10 because it was on the Questions of the Soul card and said that they really liked Moroni 10. We taught them the Restoration and extended a baptismal invitation, and they said they want to meet with us again and that they're going to keep reading! The Spirit was really strong and it was a super good lesson. We don't have a follow-up appointment yet, but we do have a promise of one, and I think that it'll go through. The other family was found by some of our Elders during the blitz. She hadn't taken a Book of Mormon after our first lesson because she thought we were a sect, but we had a super powerful lesson with her the other night and at the end she wanted a Book of Mormon. Her husband wasn't there the whole lesson, but he was in the background for part of it and I know that she tells him everything. I've got very high hopes for both of these families!

Every transfer I work on a Christlike attribute from PMG, plus whatever one I'm working on during the week. My Christ-like attribute for this transfer was hope. I can't explain how much I learned about hope this transfer. Hope conquers discouragement. Everyone has trials. But when we keep on keeping on and keep hoping and keep knowing that things will work out for our good as we put our faith and hope and trust in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, then eventually we will see the blessings. We will see miracles! This week was a week of miracles. The last day of the transfer was when we got our baptismal date, even though that was our goal the whole transfer. The Lord hears and answers prayers and He keeps His side of the bargain. I love Alma 25:17 ("Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and Himni, and their brethren did rejoice exceedingly, for the success which they had had among the Lamanites, seeing that the Lord had granted unto them according to their prayers, and that he had also verified his word unto them in every particular."), especially after reading Alma 17:7-11: (excerpts: "they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the traditions of their fathers, which were not correct. ... And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.")

In other news, we had mission leader council on Friday at the mission home. It was super duper good and I learned a lot.

This is the Lord's work and it's true. If life was easy it wouldn't be hard, and if it wasn't hard it wouldn't be worth it. But it is ALWAYS worth it.

We've got temple conference tomorrow! I'm so excited!

Transfer Calls!

Well, as you can maybe guess, transfers are this week and the calls for them happened last night/this morning. And they were a bit exciting, mostly because a week ago we weren't expecting changes. But, here's the verdict, to be declared after a short inspirational interlude about miracles from the week.

Biggest miracle of this week is that our recent convert is all right! He's going through a hard time right now, but we hadn't been able to get ahold of him for over a week, so when our branch president called us and said that he'd been over and gotten to talk to him we were pretty relieved. Then we were able to talk to him today and Sister Watkins had a chance to say good-bye. He's going through a hard time, but he's still got a strong testimony of the gospel. Baptism is the best, but unfortunately it's not a miracle pill that cures all opposition. And actually, that is good, because we do need opposition to grow, whether we want it or not. 

Another quick miracle is that we were able to talk to the lady that said she'd pray about the Book of Mormon (and who thought we were a sect) and we've got another appointment with her! She actually still thinks that the Bible is enough, but she agreed to set up another appointment. Also, her husband was a lot more positive this time, which was cool.

So, verdict. I'm staying in Assen, and Sister Watkins is being transferred to Utrecht. My new companion is Sister Hoff, who was trained by Sister Nielson the transfer after I was companions with her. I was also called as Sister Training Leader for our zone, so that should be exciting.

The gospel is true and the Lord has His hand in our lives! We just need to look for it and to ask for it!

Missionary work is the best!

Christmas for Missionaries

The highlight of this week was General Conference! As you can maybe guess from the title of this email, we discovered that General Conference is a lot like Christmas for missionaries, at least here. We get to sing hymns about the prophet during companion study the whole week, we spend the whole day with other missionaries and members (and sometimes investigators!), and we also eat and are spiritually uplifted for most of the day. It's so wonderful! We watch the Saturday morning session on Saturday evening from 6-8, then on Sunday we watch Relief Society or Priesthood in the morning, Saturday evening in the afternoon, and then Sunday morning in the evening. We miss Sunday afternoon, but that's what the Ensign is for. :)

On P-day today we are going to the Dead Sea Scroll exhibit in the Drenths museum with our district.

The weather has been crazy. It was cold last week but warmed up this week. It gets quite chilly with all the humidity, even if it stays dry (which is a huge blessing; it has been dry lately).

Highlights for me from conference: all of the talks! I especially loved the talks from the First Presidency, and of course all the ones about missionary work. Exclamation Point! Also...one of our investigators came to conference! (She was referred by a member who is still very much involved in helping her, which is so exciting to see.) She really enjoyed it and she also told me how much our lesson helped her, and how she's now praying morning and night, which is something that she had never done before.

I learned so many things this week. One of the lessons came originally from district meeting, a quote from Elder Holland from when he was in Apeldoorn as saying "Don't think for an instant that Heavenly Father isn't working with one of His children." I love that becasue it's such a good reminder that we're not in this alone. We're the Lord's servants, not the other way around. It's not that we're here worrying about all these people and the work and everything while the world and all the forces of Satan are combined against us and boy, what a lucky thing it is that we have prayer. Oh no. What it really is is that Heavenly Father and other sources are working very personally and individually with every person on this earth. Some of them are currently refusing help. Some are pushing aside the work done with and for them and are using their agency the way they originally hoped they wouldn't--at least for right now. But some of them are prepared and when we exercise our agency and "wait upon the Lord" and work hard and exercise faith, the Lord grants us the blessed privilege of being a part of HIS work. This principle was confirmed to me in Conference from Pres. Eyring.

I love being here, I love being a missionary, and I love love love the gospel and the Savior and his Atonement. The gospel is true, and I love you all!

Zone Conference + a healthy dose of miracles

This week was awesome! We've been doing plenty of finding, and now we're finding and teaching a bunch of positive, prepared people. The work of the last transfer and a half has started to pay off, and we're building up a good base of investigators here. One day we were out finding and we tracted into a lady who appears to be active in her own church, but who said she was interested in reading a Book of Mormon and who asked us if we could set up the appointment so that her husband could also be there. She's got three kids and is open to hear more. She also asked us for our phone number, just in case, and gave us hers before we suggested it. And when we asked for a referral, she ran back inside and pulled out a list of people that lived nearby that went to the same church as she does. 9 referrals on the spot! None of them so far have turned out to be positive, but we're sure excited for our appointment with her and her husband. Unfortunately it has to be in a week and a half from now, but we're pretty sure that she'll read some of the Book of Mormon (she asked us if there was anything specific she needed to read). We had some other great lessons with single, middle-aged Dutch men, a segment of the population that most people don't expect to teach. We've got a ton of support from our branch and we're really excited about these potentials/investigators.

The other miracle of the week was zone conference. (BTW, thanks for all the letters! I got 9 in this batch and was grateful for them all! I love zone conference and I learned so so much from this one. One of the things they really focused on was that we need to pray and fast and ask for miracles, and expect them to happen. Sometimes success comes in lessons to be learned rather than in new investigators or baptismal dates, but the success always comes as we ask for it.

The gospel is true and it is such a blessing to be able to share it with others! Enjoy General Conference this week, I sure will!

Brussels, Blitz, and Bomb First Lessons

Dearest family and friends.

This week was a really good week! We had lots of miracles happen, including some unexpected lessons. The day of the blitz in Assen was probably one of the best days we had this week. On Thursday, the zone leaders, our district, and our sister training leader and her companion came to blitz the city and they found several potential investigators. We visited one of them last night and they let us in and we taught a Restoration lesson and extended a baptismal invitation! We'll see where it goes--she was seriously concerned that we were a sect and her husband was less than positive (he was actually gone for most of the lesson putting their son to bed, which turned out to be a blessing). But she said that she would pray about it and she seems to have a lot of real intent, so that was really good. Then after the blitz on Thursday Sister H., our sister training leader, and I went on splits. Sister W. and Sister H. kept tracting, while we went to teach a lesson to a lady who was a member referral. The lesson went super well. The lady is super sweet and we had a good lesson about prayer and ended up resolving one of her concerns that we didn't even realize that she had. But at the end of the lesson she said she was really grateful that we had come because what we said perfectly answered her question that she'd been struggling with for awhile. Also, yesterday while we were tracting we ran into a man who we were able to essentially teach a first lesson to. He also accepted a Book of Mormon and said he'd read it and made a return appointment with us! We're really excited about that.

I also went to Belgium to finish up my legality. I talked to a man from Brussels in English the whole way down (he speaks French and English and not a lot of Dutch) and a girl from Nederland in Dutch most of the way back. They both took Books of Mormon, so that was good.

One of the things I re-learned this week is that everyone needs to feel loved. That includes entire wards/branches as a whole. Good thing we love Assen! They are wonderful. Read D&C 18:10-16 and remember who you are because you are something special.  (Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him. And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance. And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth! Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people. And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!)

I love you all dearly! The gospel is true!

Love,
Sister Stevens

Statue of Bartje. Bartje Bartels is the main character in a series of Dutch books written by Anne de Vries

Belgian Waffle

Menorah in Assen

Alles wel! Alles wel!

Dearest family and friends,

This week's title comes from hymn #30 ("Come, Come, Ye Saints") in English or hymn #15 in het Nederlands, because it was related to what we talked about yesterday in Sunday School and because that's one of my favorite hymns. We have so much to rejoice for and be grateful for! We have the gospel of Jesus Christ, restored on earth today! I love Elder Porter's talk from last Conference, "Beautiful Mornings". (Click here to read). And another Conference is coming up! I'm so excited!

This week our greatest miracles came from working through members. At the beginning of last week we decided to stop by some members and talk to them more about their family mission plan and what that really meant and how we could help. We were able to get some of their questions resolved and the next morning the wife called us very excited, wanting to set up an appointment with us both for her personal mission plan and goals and for their joint plan and goals. My companion and our sister training leader met with her during exchanges about her personal plan and we've got an appointment tonight to talk about their joint plans. They're getting really excited about it and that's neat to see. Also, yesterday a member brought her friend (who she actually hadn't seen in a long time) to the baptism of a child in our branch. She really enjoyed it and we've got an appointment with her now. She really felt the Spirit yesterday, she really likes us, and she already said that she does want to come to something else too, so those are all good signs. Also, Friday night some members joined us for our dinner appointment with a part-member family that they home teach. They suggested that the wife take the lessons from us and she agreed. It won't happen until after the husband's surgery, but it was definitely a big step.

Life is good in the hood, and also in Assen! Hopefully there also, wherever there is for you. I'm grateful for you all and I love you! The gospel is true and miracles happen. Of that I have no doubt. We just have to be brave enough to open our mouths--we all need that courage, whether we are missionaries or members. But the Lord will help with all the rest, because this is His work, always and forever.

I love you all!

Stake Conference and Transfers!

This week was great! Yesterday was stake conference in Zwolle and that was pretty swell. President and Sister Robinson both spoke and so did some recently returned misisonaries. Transfers happened last week: 30 new elders! The mission blog's got the details. (Click here for the blog). We now have 148 missionaries in our mission! And a year ago there were only 68. Crazy amount of growth! But it's awesome. It's way cool to see everybody stepping up to the changes. And it's way exciting to see so many missionaries here! Most of the sisters stayed more or less the same. I'm super excited for another great transfer in Assen!

One of my favorite things to do now is to work with members. Strong members are so important, especially with missionary work! I also love to see how much the Lord is involved in this work. Really, this is His work, and He's doing it. We are just privileged enough to be allowed to be a part of it.

I love you all!

Love,
Sister Stevens

It's a Miracle!

First of all, everyone needs to read the talk "It's a Miracle" from Elder Neil L. Andersen from last conference. Amazing and so so true. (click here to read)

Second of all...our investigator got baptized!!! And confirmed yesterday. Pretty much two of the best days ever. It is so incredible to see someone taking that step in their life towards something so much greater! And he was so ready. He bore his testimony after his baptism, sharing the story from how he felt he needed to go home early from his bike ride after he saw us at his neighbor's house, and how it looked like there was more light than usual in that carport where we were standing when he first saw us trying to get ahold of his neighbor. He also said that he knew that if he went back, his life would be changed. Well, changed it was! The branch welcomed him really well and we're way excited for him and for them. Being there for his confirmation was even more special than his baptism, especially because I know how much that gift of the Holy Ghost will mean to him personally.

I'll be staying here in Assen with Sister W. this transfer! Now it's all of the Elders going through major changes: 30 coming in this transfer, no more sisters for now.

I learned a lot this week about how to recognize and follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost as they come to me, and also a lot about how and when to testify. The how is with the Spirit and with conviction, and the when is always. The other day we were given a non-member referral, who we contacted. The man almost immediately began bashing on Joseph Smith, whose name he didn't even know properly (he kept saying John Smith). This might not have been the most powerful or clear testimony I've ever borne, but I was able to stand without backing down, look that man in the eye, and say, "Joseph Smith was a prophet of God." I don't remember what else I said, but I know that I was able to say that much, for which I am grateful. We can't get frustrated or angry when confronted by such people, that only drives away the Spirit. But we can always testify, no matter what else they do or say or how little they listen. Just because some people won't act on our message doesn't mean we shouldn't invite them to action. They can't act without an invitation. And if they turn it down, that is their loss. The purposes of God are still being accomplished.

I love this quote from President Monson, "[Missionary work] requires long hours and great devotion, selfless sacrifice and fervent prayer. As a result, dedicated missionary service returns a dividend of eternal joy which extends throughout mortality and into eternity."

And this one from Elder Eyring about missionary work: "Since you know that the Lord always prepares a way to keep his commandments, you can expect that He will do that for each of you."

It's true! So go out and share it!

Hooray for Members!

I don't have a ton of time this week, but I just wanted to say that good members involved in missionary work are indispensable. This week especially demonstrated that to me. Everyone needs to read Preach My Gospel! Also make a family/personal mission plan, kind of like a stake/ward mission plan, but more specific (and with dates). That is something our stake is doing, and it is amazing to see our members rising to the occasion on that one.

I'm doing great! We had another zone training this week (thanks so much everyone for the letters), and that was fantastic. I learned tons.

I've learned a lot about faith this week, and more over this transfer. Faith precedes and produces miracles, of that I have no doubt.

The gospel is true!  

Onward and Upward

Howdy!

Our baptismal date is making so much progress! I'm super excited for him! Because of Stake Conference, we've moved the date up to August 31st, which is fast, but he's totally ready.

This week was awesome! We finally found a recent convert who lives far away and who no one has been able to make contact with. We've got an appointment with him to go through the new member lessons with him!

Life is good and missionary work is great! We need more member missionaries, so invite your friends to church! Read your scriptures and stay strong!

I love you all!

Faith Precedes and Produces Miracles

Hallo from Assen, (actually Arnhem right now, but I´ll explain that in a minute)

So, my first full week in Assen the Christ-like attribute I was working on developing was faith. And boy we needed it. Things started out a little slow there. But at the beginning of this last week, every day of that faith paid off. 

Our first Sunday night here we were looking some people up, and were debating knocking there or going somewhere else when a man rode up on his bike, just back from a training bike ride. I felt like we needed to talk to him, so we did. And he wasn´t interested. Believed in ¨something¨ but not necessarily God, not religious, and not interested. Those of you who have served or are on missions know the type. But I kept talking to him, using ¨comebacks¨ as our mission president has asked us to, and it turns out he just had a lot of great unanswered life/soul questions, all of which can be answered by the gospel. So we taught him basically the entire restoration, there on his driveway, and committed him to read the Book of Mormon and invited him to pray about it too (said he would on the first, the second he was less enamored with). We said we´d come back in a week to see how he´d like it, which he said was fine. Then, I figured we´d gotten that far, further than I expected, and so I asked him if we could pray with him right there on his driveway. He gave me about the funniest look ever, but said okay, so we did.

Then we went by on Monday, figuring maybe he´d glanced at the Book of Mormon if we were lucky. He´d read up through 2 Nephi 29 and had prayed and gotten an answer. Plus he had found D&C online and had read up through section 60. Say what?! Yes. And then he showed me Mormon 7:10 (And ye will also know that ye are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the people of the first covenant; and if it so be that ye believe in Christ, and are baptized, first with water, then with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the example of our Savior, according to that which he hath commanded us, it shall be well with you in the day of judgment. Amen.) So, naturally, I extended a baptismal invitation. And he said, basically, probably, but I know I need to change some things in my life first. 

So we set up an appointment, in which he more or less taught us the Plan of Salvation (also online) and the Word of Wisdom. And so we´re working towards 7 September with him for his date. And he came to church on Sunday and we had another lesson with him at a member´s home on Saturday! He´s about the coolest, most prepared person I´ve ever met, and he´s Dutch, which is even cooler.

The Lord prepares people. And our faith and the faith of the members here and throughout the world and family and friends truly produce miracles as we trust the Lord and ask for those.

On a side note, I went to Brussels for legality on Wednesday (so much fun, the waffles were unbelievable and I saw nearly everyone in my MTC group again, which was the best). And we are having district P-day right now in Arnhem! (We had district meeting here earlier today). Life is the best! The gospel is true and I love you all!

Love,

Zuster Stevens

Hallo again! From Assen

Hoi!

As the work always is when opening a new area, the work has been just a little tiny bit slow this week. But things are picking up and it's all good. We had Zone Training on Friday, which was awesome, as always. Learned lots and got another good boost that should last until the next one. We finally were able to meet with the most promising of the Elders' former investigators. The members still love us, the weather's getting significantly better, and life is good in the hood, and in Assen (which, by the way, is one of the most beautiful places in the world. And when vacantie [vacation] is over, few people will be as happy about that as I, but that's another story. I am doing great, I love the work and I love Assen. Read your scriptures!

Love,

Zuster Stevens

Opening and Training, Round 2

Well, here I am, sitting in Assen and being pretty happy with life right now, especially missionary work. We had a very adventurous transfer day up to Assen on Wednesday, with all my stuff, including my bike, plus all of my new companion's stuff. I'm grateful that we made it. There was a member at the station to help us with our bags to our new apartment, so that was great. Sister W. is my new companion! And she is wonderful. Very ready to work, very fun to work with, and very great just all around. She's from Salt Lake City and was going to Utah State before, studying biological engineering. We're going to get along great.

Assen is wonderful. It is a beautiful city, and relatively small, which is nice. Our area reaches pretty far down south, to Meppel, but so far we've mostly been working in Assen. We don't have too many investigators yet, it's taking a little while to pick up where the Elders left off 3 transfers ago, but we're working on it, slowly but surely. We still managed to get a couple of on the door lessons in, which is always exciting. The branch LOVES us. Everyone is always so excited to see us, even those who don't come to church often, which is cool. And we love them! Great things are in store for Assen!

Thought for the week, from Elder Hales' Conference talk from last October: "For many, the call to be a Christian can seem demanding, even overwhelming. But we need not be afraid or feel inadequate. The Savior has promised that He will make us equal to His work. 'Follow me,' He said, 'And I will make you fishers of men.' As we follow Him, He blesses us with gifts, talents, and the strength to do His will, allowing us to go beyond our comfort zones and do things we've never before thought possible." (to read the rest of the talk too, click here) It's true! I know it, and the gospel is true too. 

To Assen

So, here's the verdict on transfers. I'm leaving for Assen (sounds kind of like awesome, I don't think that's a coincidence) on Wednesday, via Leiden to pick up another brand new missionary, fresh off the airplane tomorrow. So I'll be training again! Assen sounds great, and the accent is sure to be different. It's been closed for the last 3 transfers, and they've never had sisters before, so it will definitely be an adventure. Sister A. will be staying here and training too! I'm way pumped for the baptisms scheduled for Saturday. I won't get to see them, but I've had the privilege of being a part of the whole teaching experience, and that has been wonderful. We're revving up for more miracles in Assen.

On a prompting on Saturday we went by a referral that had seemed not too positive (but we were going to give them another chance). Met a man on the door a few doors down in a wheelchair instead, and he took a Book of Mormon. We testified of the Plan of Salvation (and of course the Resurrection) and set up a return appointment. The people we went to see weren't home. So always follow those promptings, you never know why you get them!

Stay strong in the gospel. Always. Some of the hardest appointments I have been in have been with members who have decided that they have something better and are now inactive. What could be better than eternal life? The gospel is true. The Church is true. Not everyone in the church is perfect (actually, no one in the church is), but it's still true.

And so the work continues...faster and faster every day

Hoi!

So this week was one of the best weeks we've had so far, which is awesome because it means that hopefully we'll be finishing the transfer up strong. Transfer calls are next week Sunday or Monday morning, so you'll find out then what I'll be doing for the 6 weeks following July 24th. I will be too. But, now for some updates:

The family that is getting baptized next week (the 27th) is so solid! We had two lessons with them this week and they are the best people ever. I love them so much. This week for ward council Bishop lined up joint teaches (all from the ward council) for all of the rest of their lessons, so that they can be as welcomed and fellowshipped as possible. We had two lessons with another family we've been working with, and although the kids aren't ready to set a date yet, they are excited to have the lessons again and hopefully are all set up to be reading out of the Book of Mormon and Book of Mormon stories. Also, they should be coming to the baptism next week! Which I think will help a lot. Exchanges with Breda this week were awesome--I was with Sister N. again in Heerlen for a day.

Some thoughts for the week. It is our responsibility to open our mouths to teach. It is others' responsibility to open their hearts to listen. Remember that at one point or another we are every one of the people in the story of the Prodigal Son-- both sons and the father. No matter where we are, we can always come back, and those who are waiting for us to do so (the important ones at least) are waiting with open hearts and open arms, and with great joy. The gospel is true.

I gave a talk this week (in Dutch): if you want the most important part, it's in Elder Holland's talk "The First and Great Commandment" from October Conference. (click here to read)

Love love and more love,

Zuster Stevens

The Field is White

Most beloved family (and friends),

This week truly has been a week of miracles!

We've had quite a few appointments fall through this week, which made for lots of patience developing, but we finished off with a bang. Yesterday we went over to visit a family who is new in the ward. It was an adventure getting there, because I didn't realize they could come pick us up from the station (which was a 30 minute train ride to get to), and then they lived about 5 km away. And it was hot yesterday. But we got there, and they were super nice. Almost immediately we found out that the man and the son were not baptized! But the son really wants to be. So we were working on getting the son set up with a date, July 27th, and still talking, and we asked the husband if he would like to be baptized then too, and he said yes! Miracles do very much happen. One of our baptismal dates from last week is no longer going through the day that was scheduled, but we'll see. The other one is hopefully still solid.

We watched the Hastening the Work broadcast last night and it was the best thing ever. EVERYONE should watch it.

I love you all! The work continues!

Love,

Zuster Stevens

The Best Work on Earth

Miracles are definitely occurring daily here! Often they aren't the miracles you expect or hope for, but just remember to hope and trust in the Lord and his promises and be a little flexible with expectations. :) We set two baptismal dates this week!! That is so exciting because it brings so much power into those peoples' lives. And we met our goal in that, which is exciting, but a little funny because we set the dates with people that we didn't expect to and weren't able to set them with the people we had hoped to...so all is well.

Thought for the week from President Uchtdorf's talk from Priesthood Session in October 2012 conference: "Being able to feel the sublime peace and joy that grow from being a small part of this great cause and work, I would not want to miss for anything in the world.  ... [This is Christ's] work, in which we are privileged to assist." He was talking specifically about the priesthood, but it applies to missionary work too! And ALL other church service. I highly recommend reading the rest of the talk. (click here to read)

We're learning lots and loving life and Heerlen! We're busy, which is good, and seeing progress, which is better.

Love you all,

Love love love,

Zuster Stevens

Greetings from Heerlen

Dearest family and friends,

Hallo! Greetings from Heerlen once again! I've got miracles to report this week! One of the biggest miracles was zone conference on Friday. It was with our zone and Den Haag zone in Leiden, and it was wonderful. 

Sis. Aldous (my companion), me, Sis. Nielson (my trainer), Sis. Hoff (her companion)

I learned so much and hopefully I'll be able to apply it all this week. One of the things we talked about was loving the people. Sister Robinson shared with us this idea. If you are having trouble loving someone, it's probably because you can't forgive them for something. Maybe it's that they have tattoos, maybe it's that they smell bad, maybe it's because they kicked your dog, or maybe it's for some other reason. Either way, the fact remains that it's on you to forgive them for whatever it is. She shared the story of Abigail from the Bible, 1 Samuel 25 (specifically verses 24 and 28; synopsis: Nabal rebuffed David and refused to give him food—Abigail interceded, saves Nabal, and gives David a present—David is pacified; verses 24 & 28:  And [Abigail] fell at [David's] feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. ... I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.) Jesus Christ acted as an Intercessory for every one of us just as Abigail did for her husband. When we don't forgive someone, we are really in effect saying to the Lord that we don't forgive Him, since He has asked us to forgive everyone. So, love everyone! And forgive them. As Elder Holland reminded us last conference, none of us are perfect! But that's why we have the Atonement. And I am very grateful for it.

Another miracle of the week: We had a family come to church!  The ward was excited to have them and they all said they plan to come next week! That was truly a miracle.

I can tell every one of you that the gospel is true and that it changes lives, always, always for the better. I'm so grateful for it and for all of you! I love you!

Love,
Zuster Stevens

Missionaries love...Mail, Miracles, and Members

Dearest family and friends,

Thank you so much for all the support. Because of transfers, I got mail! 7 letters, thank you so much everyone for your support. I loved every one of them and I'm glad to hear that you're all doing well.

I've got a new companion! She is from Provo, UT (sound familiar?), and she is awesome. She is super prepared and has already hit the ground running. I'm so impressed by her! She's going to do great, and we're set up for some really great things in this area.

We've been staying plenty busy! Lots of teaching, which is great, lots of Dutch, which is even better, and lots of successful teaching, more or less in Dutch, which is a miracle. We've had some way good contact with people on the streets and other places, and we are busy, busy, busy, which is the best.

The members are super supportive and feeding us all the time now, which is awesome. We love our ward!

Lots of lessons learned this week, but here are just a few short thoughts from yours truly. First of all, none of us are perfect. As unfortunate as that sounds, that is why we have the Atonement! I am certainly not a perfect trainer, missionary, or person. But I am so so so grateful for the Atonement for that reason. As missionaries/as people, we tend to think that we can fix the world, that any problem we come against is fixable by us. But that's not true. What is true, though, is that the Atonement covers everything. It covers the pain of people whose faith is faltering because of impossible hardships in their lives. It covers the disappointment, hardship, and difficulty in any life-including one of a missionary. It covers the vilest of sinners and their intentional misdeeds. It covers the unintentional hurst that we sometimes as very imperfect humans cause to other people. It covers the hurts other people cause us and the hurts that we bring upon ourselves--whether through sin or mistake. Jesus Christ, in some incomprehensible way, took that all upon Himeslf. He covered it all--even when we don't accept His offering. He is always there to pick us up, lift us when we fall, and love us not matter the cost or what we ever do. He is also there to make any impossible task possible, and believe me, He has done that this week with a few very inexperienced missionaries who are just out to help save the world. He is always there for us, and He loves us all. As 2 Nephi 9:5-7 says, "Yea, I know that ye know that in the body he shall show himself unto those at Jerusalem, from whence we came; for it is expedient that it should be among them; for it behooveth the great Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto him. For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord. Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more." The Atonement can fix everything, and I'm so grateful for it!

The Book of Mormon is true. Read it! And try the promise at the end. (Moroni 10:3-5: Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.) I promise it can change any life for the better.

This is the Lord's work, and it is most definitely Him that's doing it! I'm grateful that I get to be a small part of it.

Hope all is well with all of you! I love you all.

Love love love,

Zuster Stevens