Well then, on to the week. The Belgians love their holdiays. They have Sinterklaas, Kerstavond, Kerst, Tweede Kerst, New Years Eve, New Years day, and second New Years Day (I don't really know what that is, but the stores are closed today and people are off work, so yeah). Gotta be honest, I am super done with the holidays. People aren't home, and it has made meeting with people a little difficult, so I'm very ready for everything to get back to normal. New Year's Eve was fun though. We had to be in at 4:00 for safety (more for the Netherlands missionaries. The Dutch go CRAZY with New Years), so we had a very relaxing night of talking and coloring and reading the Book of Mormon. Also, a lot of our neighbors shot off a ton of fireworks and confetti, so that was fun to watch.
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| I just really love Centraal (The Christmas tree is huge, but Centraal makes it look puny by comparison) |
The Church did a Joy to the World campaign where people who were interested could order a free DVD and talk to the missionaries about it, so we spent a lot of time this week looking up referrals who weren't home (refer to the complaint about the holidays). But, we also had some really cool experiences.
First, one of our investigators, Joy, has been going through some really hard things in her life, so the elders came over to give her a priesthood blessing. It was such a powerful experience! The words that were said were such a testimony to me of how aware Heavenly Father is of Joy. He knows exactly what she is going through, and He has a plan for her. I am so grateful for the priesthood. The power of God is on the earth today. It is real, and it has blessed my life.
Second, we had another really good lesson with Seoud where we talked about the importance of reading your scriptures, praying, and keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. When we talked about the Sabbath Day, he said, "Oh, I go to the gym on Sunday. That's okay, I can change that, I'll just work out at home instead. Wait, no, I won't do it at all. I'll just focus on God." His simple faith touched me. He was so immediately willing to make a change in his life to come closer to Christ. We didn't even have to invite him- he heard what God had asked of us, and he just immediately committed to do it. I hope that I can develop that kind of faith and desire to follow God.
I love this gospel. I'm so grateful to have the fullness of the truth on the earth today, and I'm so grateful for the Book of Mormon. I finished it on the last day of the year, having marked every time Christ's name was mentioned and making a list of every different name used for Him. There are over 100 names and countless times that He is mentioned. I have truly come closer to Him as I have read it, and I have been reminded of how central He is. In Dutch, they say that He is "de kern". He is the absolute core and center of the gospel, of the Book of Mormon, of God's plan, and of our lives. I love my Savior, and I feel His love for me and all of the people we talk to and work with here every single day.
Fijne week en een gelukkig nieuwe yaar!!!!
met liefde,
Zuster Cluff
Zuster Cluff
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| Our last district meeting before transfers |
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| ANTWERPEN! (kind of if you squint a little.. and use some imagination) |
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