Thanksgiving!!!

Maandag 24 november 2014

Heeeeey allemaal!!!!

Man, wat is deze week voorbijgevlogen!

Last week was a tough one for our district. We all had to drop some investigators. Some 'investigators' are not progressing... The elders got dropped by their investigators who had a baptismal date in December and the other elders lost also all their investigators as well. And nobody in the district seems to be able to find new ones

So right now it's hard not to get discouraged. It's tough to see your numbers drop so drastically. But this week I found a new motto. It's a phrase from the hymn 'Let us all press on'. In the 2nd verse it says:

'We will not retreat though our numbers may be few'. our numbers may not be great (to say the least), but we won't stop! We're not giving up!!! Satan may try whatever he wants, but we're fighting back with the mighty sword of truth! Don't you just love that!

 

Last week I went on exchanges and I went to a YSA (= Young Single Adults) area for a day with sister Aiasau :) We had a lot of fun. It was definitely different to teach people my own age, since I'm so used to teaching kids and older people :) Since we were in YSA we were able to go to Institute!!! Yeeeey!!! And I learned something pretty profound. They were talking about Abinadi (prophet in the Book of Mormon) and I was just reading about him the other day. And I learned that even Abinadi had 'only' one convert, or actually one reactivation on his mission, and that was Alma. He sacrificed his life to deliver that message so that at least one person would listen. one person... but we all know what happened to Alma and his posterity! For generations his posterity was the one presiding over the Church! And think about all the people that Alma and his posterity brought to the knowledge of the Gospel! :) 

I love y'all a whole lot and I hope you'll continue to be a light in the darkness! :) Let your light shine and stand tall!!! Be strong and courageous! :) 

Lots and Lots of Love

Sister Spijkerman <3

Gratitude and Winter

Maandag, 17 november 2014

Heeeey iedereen!!!

It's wintertime!!!! :D wooohooooo!!! The first snow has fallen and we made our first little snowman! :D

This week we were calling the elders about something and we asked if there was something we could do for them. Elder Lins (from Brazil) asked if we could build him a snowman. Well, at that time there was definitely not enough snow to build a snowman. But Saturday we had about 1.5 inch of snow!!! :D So we decided to drive to their apartment. Make a little tiny snowman. It was about the size of a hand, so it was very little, but it was very cute! We knocked on their door and give it to him :) hahaha, the look on his face! It totally made our day! :) He put it in the freezer so he could keep it as a reminder, hahaha :)

 

This story is part of the things that I learned the most this week. I think lately I've been allowing myself to get a little bit disappointed and discouraged, because we don't have a lot of things going on anymore. Which was a very strange feeling, because I've never felt like this before. I've always been optimistic, cheerful, happy and nothing seemed to be able to get me down. So just feeling the opposite felt so strange and so not like me. So rather than focusing on myself and pushing for our numbers and goals I decided that I really wanted to serve the individuals.

 

The biggest miracle that I definitely saw was a miracle in me. When I started focusing on others. On small and simple things that would make them happy, I felt a change in me. Did it change our numbers? Not really. But it changed me. Charity, the pure love of Christ, has the power to change people, both the receiver, but even so more the giver.

 

Since Thanksgiving is coming up we shared a lot of messages with people on gratitude. I realized that I been focusing too much on the things that are not happening rather than the amazing things that have happened in the last couple of months to us.

 

In D&C 18 it says: 'And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!' 

 
Just the fact that we have been able to be part of bringing one soul into the kingdom of our Father should be a great reason to rejoice rather than a reason to complain because 'it was only one'. So I  humbled myself before the Lord, ask Him for forgiveness and start reflecting on the amazing and wonderful experiences that I've had with people on my mission so far.
The work is still hard, as President Uchtdorf said: 'Attitude determines altitude'. Remember the blessings that our Heavenly Father has bestowed on you before. And if He has done it before, He will continue to do so, because that is His nature and His solemn promise. 

I love all of you very much! I'm so grateful for your prayers, thoughts and love :) I need it :)

Lots and Lots of Love

Sister Spijkerman <3

ps. yesterday morning, at 8 am, it was 16 degrees Fahrenheit, so that like -9 degrees celsius... it was soooo

coooooooold!!!

Count your blessings

Maandag 10 november 2014

Lieve Lieve Allemaal!!!
Afgelopen week hadden we een moeilijke week.

It seems like after having baptisms Satan is trying so hard to keep people away from the truth and to get us discouraged. As Sister Guy and I always say: 'There is no rest for the weary'. So last week we worked..., we worked....and we worked...President Eberhardt asked us to set higher goals to stretch ourselves. So we tried sooo hard to find people, to teach people, to put people on date...But without any great results... And it seems like the harder we try the less effective it gets... So, that's been hard on us.

I know we were just so incredibly blessed in the last couple of months with so much work. But I feel like it's time for us to learn another lesson again. A lesson of patience, hope and faith. The other day during personal study I read Enos, and Enos 1:12 stood out to me that day:

'And it came to pass that after I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said unto me: I will grant unto thee according to thy desires, because of thy faith.'

The Lord will eventually bless us, but we need to show our faith and diligence first. After all we have done that we could have done, He will bless us (in His own time) :) Another quote that we read in this mission every morning at the beginning of our companionship study is by Elder Holland and I just loooove this quote!!!

 

He said: 'Anyone who does any kind of missionary work will have occasion to ask, Why is this so hard? Why doesn't it go better? Why can't our success be more rapid? Why aren't there more people joining the Church? It is the truth. We believe in angels. We trust in miracles. Why don't people just flock to the font? Why isn't the only risk in missionary work that of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font? You will have occasion to ask those questions.

 

I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him?'

Don't you just love that? :)

Anyways, besides downs, we also had some ups! We will start teaching a part member family onder het mom van 'practicing the lessons on them, since we don't have enough opportunities to teach' (we use that one aaaaall the time :) The new converts were ordained as a deacon and as a priest! :D wooohooo!!!

 

Then a less-active couple that the Lord helped us find came to church for all three hours for the first time, and they're getting married soon as well! yeeeeeeey!!! :D The elders in the other half of the stake had a convert baptism on Saturday :D This stake is on fiiiiiireeeee!!! :D At least, it was... We're working on it :) The first snow is starting to fall!!!! yeeeeey!!!

 

A little bit scary though, because the mountains are very steep, so that will be interesting with our little car. I'm so excited that Christmas is coming up again!!! You won;t believe the amount of Christmas stuff they sell over here!!!! O.O It's crazy!!! :D But it makes me happy :3

 

I'm driving Sister Guy crazy with my Christmas music probably. She's not quite ready for the Christmas hymns yet, hahaha :) 

I love you all. I hope you will have a great week! Send my love to the rest of my family! :) And vergeet niet....Wie zoet is, krijgt lekkers ;)

Lots and Lots of Love

Your Loving Missionary in the field
Sister Spijkermanm <3

The Lord Is My Light

Maandag 3 november 2014.

Heeeey lieve allemaal!!!

 

And behold, it came to pass that I, Sister Spijkerman, and my companion, Sister Guy, were blessed with another baptism in the Salt Lake Emigration Stake. And now behold, my soul is filled with exceedingly great joy! :D wooohooo!!! Yeah, that was pretty awesome!!! This little fellow is 9 and he wanted to have halloween decorations at his baptism (at the linger-longer kind of thing), hahahha.

Speaking of Halloween...I LOVE Halloween!!! It's sooo cute! All these little kids dressed up in adorable costumes! :3 I had the greatest Halloween EVER!!! We had lunch as a district at Hires!

At 5 a.m. we went to the temple! It was such an amazing experience to be there with the whole mission (except for Wyoming and Park City) and serving the Lord in His house. All dressed in white. I think that is what Heaven must be like! I can't wait for our recent converts to go to the temple to make those covenants! Our converts will receive the Priesthood next week. The Bishops will talk to them about a temple recommend soon as well!!! :)

I am SOOO happy to be here for another transfer!

Honestly, I couldn't believe it! So now we have to prove ourselves to be worthy to be here :) We found two new investigators last week. One of them lost his wife a couple of months ago. We took our reactivated members with us to teach, It was one of the most spiritual experiences of my mission! They shared their conversion story with him and testified to him as well! It was amazing!!!! Sorry, I'm such a scatter-brain!

About Friday night... Halloween night and after the temple we went to the mission office. It was already 8.20 or so. We still had to eat dinner and start the talentshow!



Halloween talentshow USLCE mission 31 October 2014

We had a great time at the talent show! I love my mission and the other missionaries sooo much! There is no mission where I'd rather serve! Elder Lins, Elder Mohlman, Sister Guy and I sang 'I Am A Child Of God', and Elder Lins and I sang in our own languages (Portuguese  :) It was sooo much fun to see everybody again! I'm so grateful for the friendships that I've developed here and for the people that I've grown to love SO much! :) 

So...what do you do after baptizing 3 people in 8 days? Well, right now we're trying really hard to find solid new investigators... Everybody that we found is out of town, so that's not very helpful....!

But man, being a missionary is the greatest thing ever! Sometimes it is so incredibly hard! Especially on slow days. When you feel like you're not accomplishing anything. But it's so worth it! I always keep D&C 18 in mind:

 

And if it so be that ye should labor all your days in crying repentance unto my people and bring safe it be but one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father' (or something like that, I just quoted it from memory).

 

We're here to find the one.The one that we promised in the life before we came here to find. I have found some of these brothers and sisters of mine! I pray that we may continue to find those friends :)

I love you all so very much! I pray for you by name every day :) I love the eternal plan of happiness! The Church (Gospel) is true! 

Lots and Lots of Love

Sister Spijkerman <3