Hoi!
Things are going better this week. I did a lot of praying and realized I needed to humble myself... Things are getting better. I hate how prideful I can be sometimes--it really is the universal sin, and one that keeps coming back to haunt me! I get over one form of pride only to find that I have another.
Yes, the picture was of me eating herring. They usually give a lot of onions with it. It actually wasn't that bad. Definitely not my favorite food of all time--but I didn't throw up, so that's a good sign...
So, news for this week-- Melvin came to church yesterday! It was GREAT! He really liked it. He has been telling us he'd come to church for weeks--then this week we had given him a pamphlet and there was ONE SENTENCE in there that talked about how attending church is a commandment--the next time we met with him he told us that he didn't realize church was so important and that he would come from here on out. He's really progressing. He still doesn't see why he needs to be baptized (he was baptized when he was 12 and doesn't understand that the authority is important)--so pray for him that he will understand that.
Someone else also came to church yesterday-- Sheri Dew. And Elder Russel M. Nelson's wife. And guess who had to give a talk? Yup. Me. I walked into Sacrament Meeting with Melvin and was sitting in the audience with him when I realized who was sitting on the stand. Oh dear! It's bad enough giving a talk--let alone a talk in a language that you don't know perfectly--and then just add in that two important figures in the church are there. Tjonge Jonge! Well, I spoke on Faith in Christ as the first and most important principle of the gospel. One of my favorite scriptures that I rediscovered this week as I was studying for my talk is Moroni 7:33 that talks about receiving power through faith in Christ (actually-- I'm not positive what it says in English-- but that would be the literal translation from the words in Dutch). I definitely know that I have received strength and power from my faith in Christ to do all that is asked of me--including giving that talk!
A couple of other people were there in church as well:
One of my best friend's (Marci Murray) home teachers--she had told him to stay on the look out for me (and it's easy to find someone when they give a talk in the ward you attend) as well as a girl who had served her mission with two of my friends from high school (NaDene Lemmon and Chase Hochstrasser). Good times.
This week we've had an English fast--so from Wednesday of last week until the upcoming Wednesday the only time we are allowed to speak English is when we are talking with people who do not speak Dutch. We even have to do all of our scripture reading in Dutch. It's been a crazy experience, but really good. Having planning sessions and all of our studies in Dutch is interesting, but I've definitely learned a lot.
We've also found a lot of positive people this week--so hopefully they will become investigators soon. We are teaching a lot of wonderful people--pray that they will make more progress.
Well, I'm going to try to add a couple of pictures. If I have time, I'll tack on some more writing. I love you all!
The pictures are of us in traditional Dutch costume, and then last p-day we went to the I AMsterdam monument and had a sports p-day (that's why we aren't in missionary attire). Enjoy.Zuster Fowler
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