Jan 27, 2014
Hey guys, Í might be in freak out mode this week... Why? Well.. It´s almost hump day.
This Saturday to be exact.
Ah.
In other news, this week has been pretty uneventful! We have had a lot of time with the members which is really nice. I really like the relationships we are building with these people. Last week, I forgot to mention a few things to add to the drama. Like that a member told me my hair looked like a rats nest the week before, and he is glad I finally did something about it.. .Ouch? And then my bag just fell apart as we were walking up the stairs. So Monday we had an appointment with this super sweek old lady who is pretty alone, and we love her a lot. I mentioned how my bag had broken, and she conveniently had one she was planning on giving away! What?? So she let me have it. It was super sweet of her.
Tuesday I went on exchanges to Gouda and that was pretty interesting. But then we met up again the next day for Zone conference!
Space Themed...
We have decided that in order to be called to the Belgium/Netherlands mission, you have to be weird. Why? Well, we are all just a little odd... But the space theme did make for a good time. There were "viruses" and everything! (Meaning videos of our Zone Leaders with mustaches doing strange things...) I like it a lot here :)
We had 2 appointments with M this week, because he likes to talk a lot and that´s how long it takes to get through simple concepts. He keeps saying he wants to come to church, but never actually does it... So this week that is what we will be attacking. He is on date though! Which is kind of exciting! We set a date so he can see the progress and have a legitimate goal. I think this might actually work!
Other random news, S got the priesthood this week! I wasn't there for it, but we talked to him right before and he seemed really excited! I love watching his testimony grow! It is pretty much one of the greatest blessings. Also, Br. D is right on track for quitting smoking! In fact, he is ahead of the schedule we set with him! I love it! P is having a pretty rough time right now, and could use some extra prayers. It´ll work out, the government just needs to cooperate and let him pay his darn bills off.
That´s about it for this week! I love hearing about the girls back home! And how everything is going so good! I´m praying all the time for you guys, so it better be working! Ik hou van jullie!
Have a wonderful week!
Liefs, Z Packer
Jan 20, 2014
So, you might be wondering as to why the subject this week is "A bunch of bad jokes." Well, you are about to find out.
This whole week was a joke.
We wanted to climb the Grote Kerk this week during one of our lunch times (or Big Church) and well apparently it's closed during the winter. Make sense? No, not at all. That same day our dinner and service appointment got cancelled. And it started to rain before the day was even half over... We made the mistake of wishing we could just randomly get sick and go in, because well...
Zr Aston was sick the next day. She had a really nasty cold so I made her sleep a lot. (thank heavens I worked in a pharmacy!) We did go to a few appointments that day. One with our favorite old man inactive... He planned an entire introductory sequence for the elders.. We didn´t really need to know the kind of women he was into.. (if you are wondering they are slim and educated women like Nicole Kidman...) Funny guy though, I think we are BFFs.
S is preparing to receive the Priesthood, so we talked with him a bit about that. And he is meeting regularly with the bishop! Woohoo!
The next day Zr. Aston was still pretty sick so we stayed in and did our weekly planning session. Pretty simple.. Every time she took a nap I felt the urge to cook. So, we have been eating pretty good lately.
We met with another inactive who likes to take us on crazy tangents about his volunteer work. This week it was about how people only steal the butter, Why the butter? Just wait, that part is important for later. The real joke came on Saturday... Be prepared to laugh.
So we were asked to prepare a little lesson for primary which involved cookies. So we bought some simple ingredients for cookies (flour, sugar, butter) And made our way to the church. We planned to just leave our bikes there because we needed to take a bus to our appointment. So we did that. The appointment was good, I learned there are movies like Ice Age 4? and Red 2? Anyway, we then had the most awkward car ride home of my life. 1 of the elders was squished in the back with us, and it is a pretty tiny car... So he was being super awkward the whole ride back... We get back and someone had raided Zr. Astons Fiets taas. ( bike bag..?) And stolen everything EXCEPT THE BUTTER.... You´re kidding right? Well. We hop on our bikes to find one last open store and find.... I have another flat tire.. Good gravy.
P fixed it for me yesterday, and it is flat again. Kill me.
On the bright side though, we do have heat finally! The guy came and fixed it today! Woo, and we are meeting with M again today! So hopefully all continues to go well! I love you all, and have a dandy week!
Liefs, Z Packer
Jan 13, 2014
I´ll be honest, I don´t know what happened to time since I've come on my mission. It´s all over the place.
This week was pretty good! It was transfer week, and even though we aren't going anywhere we definitely got pulled into the madness of it! There was some fire going on between Rotterdam and Dordrecht, so some missionaries got stuck here, we went to "help"and didn't really do a whole lot.
We have elders again! So that is pretty nice. They are both a couple transfers behind us, and frankly a little awkward. But what can you expect? The ward is super excited to have them here! Everyone was pretty surprised to see that I am still here. HAHA! sorry Dordrecht, you aren't getting rid of me that easily.
This week we had 2 lessons with our new investigator M! Both on the plan of salvation, and I´ll tell you it was pretty interesting. The first one was Monday night, and well, we spent a lot of time discussing dimensions, and evolution, and other sciency things I couldn't care less about... So that was a little frustrating. However, last night we had another one, with a bit of a review from Monday, and the rest of the plan. We had a killer joint teach with us, and the lesson went super well! He is definitely a talker! So that makes it hard sometimes, but I know he is feeling something! He has even started trying to pray. He says he doesn't know if there is a God, but he asks us to pray for his parents... I think he is figuring it out ;)
We also had an appointment this week with a family of `dry members` meaning they have been in the church for about 5 years... But won´t get baptized. They invited us over for dinner and a family home evening, and it was one of the most spiritual appointments I think I´ve ever had. They have an amazing spirit in their home... I just can´t figure out why they aren´t baptized yet... But an amazing family none the less.
That´s about it that happened this week. S is getting ready to receive the Priesthood, and P is getting back up on his feet. Just needs to make it another month!
I´m glad everything is going well at home, Ik hou van jullie allemaal.
Liefs, Zr Packer
This week we got stranded out in the middle of nowhere trying to look up a few inactive members. We found both of them, and they were home and open to our visit. Just not right then... So it was good and tiring because that meant a lot of train/bus time. We will have to find time to look them up again soon.
Another miracle of the week was M. Our favorite less active :) She was surprised to see that I was here one more transfer! And we had a really great dinner with her and her boys. She was so sweet and open with us as usual, and we shared some mormon messages with her. That invited the spirit really strong and we asked if she would come to church. She wants to but kept talking herself out of it... Well during sacrament meeting, right as the bishop began testimonies, she walked in. I have never been so excited in my life! She and her boys squished in next to me and she just grabbed right on to my hand. I was so excited to see her there, and her boys loved church! It was truly a blessing and as she was leaving she said she will be seeing us again. Hopefully next week!
