I loved all of your emails, and Dad, yours made me laugh a lot. I read my companion the part about running around saying "Neeeeiiigh," and she said, "No, we asked, but they wouldn't let us talk!" Also, I am a missionary now, and am far above such petty things as BBTan scores (although I doubt the validity of your claim) Just to answer some questions, my companion was one of the Boise State mascots, but not the one who went to football games since she was a freshman. My investigator was role play, but more on that later. The other 2 Dutch districts are going to my mission, and all of the zone's classrooms are right next to each other, and we do everything together, so I associate with the other Dutch and the Huns quite a bit (especially the sisters because we room either together or right next to each other). That's so cool that you got to meet a Belgian! I feel like I do a fair amount of spitting here, too, so I'm glad you got a small taste of it. I'm sure Landon did great, and he is really going to appreciate those short sleeve shirts in the MTC. That's what the Suriname elders (my district) wear, and I think they get great pleasure out of watching the other elders swelter during devotionals in their suit coats. I have seen Elder Whiting a couple times this week, and he says he's doing good. I kept trying to get him to tell me if he needed anything, but he seemed like he was adjusting pretty well. I will definitely keep BYU in my prayers, especially because my companion is a BYU hater, and it would really annoy her if we got into the Big 12.
Mom, I'm glad you had fun in Utah. The scones sound way better than the food here. The first week I thought, "I don't know what Dad was talking about, this isn't that bad," but by the second week, I have become a big fan of the salad and fruit bars, because most everything else seems pretty gross. Umm.. as far as things I need, if you could find a BYU t-shirt or two, I forgot mine and would like some to wear for when my companion is wearing her Boise State stuff. Also, if you happen to see some sort of shower caddy somewhere, that would be very useful for the shower situation here, but mostly I'm good. Also, I have been really curious as to how girls camp went, so I would love a report. Oh, and I still need Evie's address, please. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know next week. Thank you for the cookies though! That was super sweet, and you became very popular with the sisters in my zone. Some of them were quite certain they were the best cookies they had ever had.
So, this week. It began with a little something called "Magic Tuesday," which I had heard about in a letter the old Dutch zusters left us, but I guess the elders didn't get the same kind of warning. Belgium is apparently very concerned about the health of those who they let into their country, so in order to get a visa, you have to have blood tests and stool tests. Like I said, I knew about this, but when the elders heard that all the Belgium/ Netherlands missionaries were going to the nurse, they didn't believe that it could possibly be for a stool test. One elder in particular was adamant that this was a big joke everyone was playing on him. The whole walk up there, he was saying, "That can't be a sound medical practice," "There's no way they would have us do that," and "I'm not pooping for anybody." Let me just say that when the nurse walked out with eight pooper scooper kits, his face was priceless. His eyes got big, his jaw dropped, and he just looked horrified. Then when the nurse started explaining the less than pleasant process, he just starts shaking his head, and then puts his head in his hands. This is making the rest of us laugh hysterically, and so the nurse turns right to him as she finishes the explanation of how once you collect the sample, you have to put it in a solution and mix it up until it becomes liquid, and he turned beet red. It was soooo funny! Also, they couldn't find my vein at the MTC, so I got to take a visit to the Student Health Center to get blood drawn. So, just a fun fact, manhandling your poop is quite the experience, and they make you place it in a vial that has the poison warning label, and then put that in a ziplock bag that has the hazardous waste symbols all over it, so it really makes you feel good about your poop.
A highlight of the week was that Gijs committed to baptism! Unfortunately, we were "transferred" the next day, so we don't get to teach him any more. The person who was playing Gijs, though, is now one of our teachers, so we got to meet the real person. It was actually kind of sad. I know it was just role play, but I think the Lord allows it to be real in a strange way, because the person playing Gijs (Bruder Cooper), is a member, has been on a mission, etc., but when we were teaching Gijs, we got to watch him become converted. As we taught him, there was more and more light in his eyes. He visibly softened. It was such an incredible experience, and I grew to love him. So when I met the real person, it was like my investigator had died, because the person I had come to love and see truly grow closer to the Lord was no longer there. It's hard to explain, but I know that God's love for His children is real. I know that this gospel is the only way that we can return to Him, and I know that it has the power to change lives and change people. I can't wait until I can share it with true investigators and watch them come to love the Lord. We have a new investigator that we're meeting and teaching tonight, though. Her name is Monique. Teaching in Dutch is a lot easier now. I know a lot more of the language, but I'm also better at relying on the Spirit and worrying less about how good my Dutch is and more about inviting the Spirit to teach.
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| Hard at Work |
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| What we all feel like at the end of the day |
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| I love going to the temple |
Saturday we worked on street contacts for about 15 minutes, which pretty much meant that we role played 3 minture, then 2 minute, then 1 mintue contacts with each other with no preparation. It is hard enough to teach the whole first discussion in 3 minutes in English, but it is way harder when you have to translate everything to Dutch in your head. Then our teacher was like, "Alright, let's go!" And we went outside and had to contact other missionaries sitting outside. It was kind of funny, because they didn't know Dutch, so it should have been super low pressure, but it was actually really nerve racking. I was surprised though that I could say mostly what I wanted to say with no preparation and under a time crunch. It made me feel better about how much Dutch I've learned, because sometimes it feels like you're making no progress, but sometimes (like that time) you look back and think, "It's been less than two weeks, and I can get invite the Spirit and teach gospel truths in another language!" The gift of tongues is real.
So, Sunday. It was pioneer day, and so for a special treat, they brought in the Nashville Tribute Band to sing and do a devotional instead of the regular Sunday devotional (they are a Mormon country band which is kind of weird, but kind of cool). It was better than I expected, and it was a fun change of pace. We had to get to choir rehearsal early, since we had to rehearse with the band, and we had to be really early if we wanted seats in the actual choir stands (the choir was about 2000 strong last night). So anyways, we spent a lot of time waiting in line for the doors to open, and so some of the missionaries in this massive line started singing hymns, and everyone joined in, and it was really fun, but then this missionary decided he should do a "gospel rap." It was kind of weird, but it was short, and I thought that was going to be that, but then this big Polynesian guy lifted up this scrawny, nerdy white guy and yelled "White guys can rap, too!" And then all of the Poly guys in their district kind of beat boxed, and this little white elder in the district rapped "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree" and then all of the Polys were like, "Yeah, take that!" It was really funny, but now that I'm typing this I'm realizing it might have been a "had to be there" kind of moment. Oh, well. We don't get much humor or entertainment here, so the little things are way funnier than usual.
A few quick spiritual thoughts from this week: This world is a scary place. People are hurting, people are suffering, people are dying. Everyone out there is facing some kind of problem, and all of their problems and needs are different, and so many of them don't know how to fix it. I am going out as a missionary, because I know how they can fix it. I can help. I carry the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that is the answer to every problem. The gospel can heal all of those suffering, struggling people. There is not a problem in this world that gospel cannot fix. At home, it seemed nerve racking to share the gospel, because I didn't know if people would want it, and I didn't want them to feel like I was forcing it on them, or all sorts of other silly reasons. Now I realize how dumb that is. I am not a used car salesman. I am not offering them something that they might want. I am offering them the true doctrine of Jesus Christ, the only way to salvation. I am offering them the way to find happiness, the way to be healed, the way to face all of the horrible things in this world. Everyone needs that so desperately. I feel so blessed that I get to share that message of hope and joy and healing with the people in Belgium and the Netherlands. The way to salvation is so simple, and so doable, but so many people just don't know about it. What a privilege we have of being instruments in bringing them to know their Lord and Redeemer.
I love and miss you all, and I pray for you every single day!
Feel lifde,
-Zuster Cluff
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