Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

From e-mail dated December 21, 2009

Tjonge Jonge! The snow here has been falling like crazy. It makes me feel a little better about missing Christmas at home, because at least we have a bit of snow now. Apparently they don't really get snow this early in the year (if at all) in the Netherlands--so the public transportation is taking a hit. But it's been fun. The whole neighborhood around the church yesterday was basically a huge snowball fight--we were walking down the street and got in snowball fights with random people on the street. It was a good time.
The concerts this week were much better attended. However, the outdoor singing was a lot colder and a lot less productive--I'm not sure if the culture is just so different between the Netherlands and Belgium, or if it was just so cold that no one would stop...
So, Kim is in Utah. I miss her like crazy! (And I'm not just saying this because she found my blog and is probably reading this--) I'm definitely looking forward to her coming back in a week and a half. Daisy (Marijke's granddaughter), is doing well. We had a lesson with her this week and talked again about baptism. I'm pretty sure it will come--she just says she wants to learn more first--but she knows it's all true. Kim is really good for her--she talked with her that night at a ward dinner and I was almost expecting Daisy to tell Kim she was going to get baptized on the same day or something.
We set a baptismal date with a new investigator named Moses this week. But he didn't come to church yesterday-- so I'm hoping he'll pull through. His date isn't until February-- but when a baptismal date doesn't come to church, you get worried that they aren't really serious about it.
Yesterday, we decided to take the tram for finding because it was so cold and nobody was outside. Now, it doesn’t really yield lessons to do consecrated hours in public transportation because it’s really difficult to pray with people in a tram or metro, but we felt good about a specific tram when we prayed about it. As we were there, the tram didn’t come and didn’t come—but we were able to talk with a woman at the stop for a long time—and when the tram finally did come, the conversation continued. It was a really positive experience—and I really hope that we have an appointment with her in the future.
So, I bought a pair of boots at the beginning of the fall-- and a week later I had an injury to my foot (I didn't really tell you about it because I didn't want you to worry--), so I bought new boots because the old ones caused too much pain when I walked. Well-- then the new ones got holes in them last week. So, I was back to wearing the old ones for a week--that was bad news with the outdoor concerts and such--and some people noticed that I was in a lot of pain-- so apparently they gathered up a bunch of money and gave it to Zr. Fritz so that I could go buy new boots. A part of me feels so guilty--it's not like I don't have money to buy new boots-- but Zr. Fritz keeps telling me I just need to swallow my pride and buy the boots with the money they gave me because they wanted to do something nice. I'm having a really hard time with it, but I think I'm also learning a valuable lesson about humility and accepting help.
To close up, I'll share something Ive been thinking a lot about with Christmas. I've been thinking about the wise men and how they searched for Christ. They didn't know exactly what they would find or where they would find him--they had faith, they searched long and far, and they gave all they had to find him. Just like the wise men, we need to search for Christ. In Ether 12:41 it talks about seeking Christ and how we will be blessed for it. Especially as we are in this Christmas season, I encourage you to seek Christ--He is the way, the truth, and the light. He is the Savior of the World. I love Him so much. and I love you!
Well, I've gotta run, but I'm looking forward to talking with you on Friday.

Zr. Fowler
P.S. Don't worry about me or my foot--everything's fine--it was just this last week that I've been having problems.