Let it Snow!

We had our first proper snow of the year during the last couple days! It was cold, but exciting. It's been a very warm winter here so far, so the snow was sort of fun. Hopefully it stays fun.

We had zone training this week! And it was great, as always. One of the big things that I learned from this one (and from this week) is that the Lord knows perfectly what we need to learn and how we will grow. He knows what we can handle, even when we think that it is too much, or more than we can bear. An interesting conversation that came up this week is what exactly is the will of God and what comes as a result of the choices of us or others that God allows? It's a difficult question to answer--it's very hard to tell someone that their pain was the will of God at that time. I can't pretend to know the answers to everything. But what I am grateful that I can testify about is that God knows best what we need, even when it means that we must suffer. He will not take away those experiences because He wants to give us every chance to become like Him. And we cannot ever do that if we don't have trials, if we don't have challenges. His Only Begotten Son suffered more than any of us can imagine. Why did God allow that suffering? Because He loves us and because He loves Jesus Christ.

I’ve thought a lot about following promptings lately too. As I am obedient to the promptings of the Spirit, not only am I blessed with peace of conscience, but I am blessed to see miracles, such as the miracle a few days ago. I had the idea that we needed to go out to a little dorpje (hamlet) pretty far away to visit a potential. In order to make it a little more worth our time we were going to also combine it with a trip to a dorpje that is close to it to visit an inactive that no one knows. So we headed out and couldn't find the potential. No one we talked to in the area was interested. We went to the inactive and he said that he's not a member and never has been (still don't know what's going on there). No one in that area was interested from the first few doors. I was feeling somewhat discouraged at that point and like we'd just wasted a bunch of time. So we prayed to know if we should just head back or keep finding there. Afterwards, we each picked a few doors and tried them--nothing. We started biking away, but then I felt like we should try just this one more house. We went back, and a man answered. He wasn't super positive, but he gladly accepted a Book of Mormon and said that we could come back in a few months once he'd read it. He was open enough for our message that I felt that it had been worth the time and effort to give that Book of Mormon. I don't know what will happen with him, or if anything will. But I do know that the Lord is the one in control of this work and He rewards our obedience.

Our investigator is still doing great. He was sick last week, that's why he wasn't at church. But he's stopping smoking for good and he's excited for his baptism in a few weeks!

Just another week of the best work on earth

We saw some really great miracles this week. As always, one of our biggest miracles was our "baptism date". We had a great lesson with him and finished nearly all of the lessons. We just need to finish a few more commandments and then we're going to start the lessons over and go through them all again, partly because he asked us to so that he can really internalize it. He has the best questions and is so excited to learn more and make the changes in his life necessary to be baptized. We went through the baptismal interview questions with him and he’s got it down. He's going through so much, but the gospel really helps. He asks tons of great questions and keeps us on our toes! It is truly a privilege to teach him. We're a little worried about him because we haven't been able to get ahold of him for a few days now, but I'm sure everything will turn out okay.

We had a lot of cancelled appointments, but on Saturday we decided to bike out to Bovensmilde to see a potential whose boyfriend had told us that she would be there then. We had considered not going because it is kind of far away and we didn't have a lot of time but we decided to anyway. And she was there! She had just gotten home, actually, so the timing was perfect. She let us in and we had a great lesson with her. At first it was a little awkward because she didn't seem super open or receptive, but suddenly she started asking us a bunch of questions and we were able to have a good lesson with her. She has two kids and her boyfriend has two also and she gladly accepted a Book of Mormon. And she set up a new appointment with us this week and said that she thought that she might come to church sometime! So we're pretty excited about her.

And we had another investigator come to church! She has been making really great progress and said that she would come to church at our last appointment last Sunday night, but then she wasn't there for the first two meetings (we have Sacrament Meeting last). So I called her after Relief Society and asked if she was still planning on coming, and she said that she'd forgotten and that she was busy with homework, but that she'd think about it. But then she came! That was super exciting.

One couple dropped us this week, which is too bad, but it'll work out, I know. They've still got a Book of Mormon and if the time in their life comes that they want to find more, they know where to find us.

Everything happens for a reason, but that as we do our absolute best, the Lord will give us success. That success looks different in every different time in our lives, but the Lord truly loves us and wants us to be happy! That’s our message to the world, that life is all about happiness. Ultimately the most important happiness comes from living the gospel, because the Lord knows best of all how we can be the most happy. I’m so happy, and I hope that all of you are too. :)

Awesome Assen: Take 5

This week has been great. It's always good to start the transfer off well. Sister Andersen and I have been doing really well so far and seeing lots of miracles. The biggest of those miracles is our baptismal date. He is so willing and ready to make the changes in his life necessary. We had a lesson with him about the Word of Wisdom on Wednesday and basically we just told him what it is and he accepted it! He is a smoker now, but when we told him that smoking is against the Word of Wisdom he just said, "Okay, I'll stop." Then yesterday during onderzoekers class he had a question about tithing because he'd heard it being discussed during priesthood and we told him and he just accepted it. He's having a lot of trials right now, so he's really stressed, but we ran into him accidentally the other day and he told us that he's stressed, but also reading, and it helps! That's a miracle in and of itself because reading the scriptures tends to be hard for him. He reads it all two or three times so that he can understand it better! He also said that he wants to go through the lessons twice before getting baptized, which is really cool. The branch loves him and is friendshipping him so well, and we're really excited about it all. Also, we got ahold of some other investigators who have been gone for a long time, and set up an appointment. They were really positive before, so I'm really excited to be able to teach them again.

I learned a lot about diligence this week. We’re doing a Book of Mormon reading as a mission, focusing on a Christlike attribute each week, and this week’s was diligence. One way that I worked on enduring with opposition is by trying to just keep working and looking for the reason. We had a lot of appointments fall through this past week, but we were still able to get a lot done because we always had back-ups and tried to find a reason for why something didn't happen. For example, we were able to set up that appointment with the other investigators (mentioned above) because one of our appointments fell through. It's good to be realistic about your situation, but the best way to do that is to recognize that this is the Lord's work and if something happens outside of our control, it's because He has a good reason for it. Work hard, work smart, and share the gospel.

Also remember that you are a child of God and that He wants to hear from you!

A Happy New Year and a Happy New Transfer

Dear everyone,

Happy New Year! I hope it was great. We had to be inside our apartment at 4 because Nederlanders really love their fireworks, so that's safest. I have to admit, I wasn't sorry to be out with all of the fireworks going off! But it was super cool to see and to hear from inside the apartment.

So, transfer calls came last night. And I'm staying in Assen! That's pretty rare to stay for 5 transfers, especially because Sister Hoff has only been here with me for two. But transfers are inspired and I'm sure that the Lord has His reasons! I'm not complaining--I love Assen with all my heart. It's just a little awkward now because I already told everyone at church good-bye...but that's okay. Komt goed [it's good]. I'm very excited about my new companion. She was just in Apeldoorn, so I've worked with her already a little bit this past transfer. She's great.

One of the big miracles of the week is our baptismal date, as always. He missed his appointment on Wednesday and then we just couldn't get ahold of him. We were pretty worried, but then we ran into him while biking to another appointment. He had some problems come up all of a sudden and had to arrange quite a bit of stuff, but he said that he was coming to church! And he did, all three hours. During investigators class we were able to teach him with three other really great members of our branch, and he just loved all of church. He kept saying that investigating for him (with no religious background) was hard, and when we asked him what was so hard he said that it was that he didn't have a habit yet of praying, so it was hard to remember to do it. The branch has been fellowshipping him super well and we're really excited for him! 

A few more of our huge miracles this week also happened on Sunday. Yesterday we went over and taught a first lesson to a family in the branch. The husband is a member of our church, and the is Christian, but not a member. Their oldest son just turned 8, and so their home teachers are helping them with a lot of things, including making a decision about whether or not their son should get baptized. So we taught the family with the home teachers there, and it went really well, even if it was sometimes a little hectic. Their 3 kids are very active! But they're a lot of fun. 

Then after that we went to another investigator, who we've been teaching for a few months now, and her biggest problem has been that she hasn't felt comfortable praying. But we taught a great lesson on prayer and at the end invited her to pray (again--she always says that she doesn't feel comfortable because she's not good with words). And she did! For the first time ever. It was so sweet and pure and innocent. It was a wonderful moment. It is wonderful to remember why we pray--because we're talking to our Heavenly Father, who loves us more than we can imagine and who wants more for us that we know, and even more than we want for ourselves sometimes. That's why I'm here, to help people realize that! And I love it.

Hope all is well with all of you!

Love,
Zuster Stevens