Transfer Week 12/22/2015

Dear Family,

So Zr. Zeegelaar doesn't start until after Christmas on the 27th so until then I'm with Zr. C and her comp Zr. Parker. Sooo, needless to say it's been a crazy week. They've been staying with me because they don't have an apartment yet but their area is like a 45 min bike ride from mine. We've tried going between both of the areas. I'm actually really excited for Zr. Zeegelaar to get here so we can start working together. I'm doing her real training. She's my newest "daughter".

Friday was fun becuase we got to go to the other branch's Christmas party. I'm pretty sure I know members from the entire district. It's always really fun when i can see everyone. The picture is of a girl from one of my fav families the Geffries. I don't know yet if we are allowed to go to my branch's Christmas party. Pres Egbert doesn't really like us going to branch activities. It's the weirdest thing so we have to get permission. 

The wind was so strong some days this week which made biking hard. It's also now the small rainy season now. The last two days have been all rainy. It's funny cause I actually get cold here. It's sad I know. 

Hmmm well we saw Beppi this week and had a pretty good lesson with her. She still hasn't come to church yet but I'm not losing my patience yet. I think she has great potential. We really didn't see a lot of our investigators this week. There was transfers and meetings and traveling and cleaning and parties. 

Sister Parker is really cool. She is from San Diego but she's lived through the world. Her mom is from the Netherlands so she is really excited to learn Dutch. She doesn't speak it.

We are having a missionary party today with a gift exchange and games. Should be good. No really awesome plans for Christmas. We will probably just deliver treats to members and things like that. 

I'm going to Trinidad on the 8th for MLC. I'm really looking forward to that. It'll be a lot of fun. 

I will be skyping around 7 pm my time. We will try to get people in for a group call so be prepared. My skype name is elizabethcwood. Sorry my letter is a little boring this week. 

Ding Dong, Ding Dong 12/14/2015

Dear Family,

Where is the time going?? I can't believe how fast this month and year has gone. Man I'll be calling home for Christmas just now! I'll ask about getting two phone calls. Can we not conference call on skype? I'll be calling on Christmas about 7 pm my time. 

So I guess everyone wants to know my transfer calls. I'm staying in my area and serving with Sister Zeegelaar. She actually is a member from my branch. She got her mission call earlier this year to Utah but her visa isn't done yet. Sooo she is getting set apart and starting her mission here with me. Kinda fun and crazy. I'm actually really excited. First of all she's black--therefore bumping my social status here in Suriname haha. Second, she can help with Dutch. Third, she is soo awesome and I think it'll be really good for me and our area. She won't be starting until after Christmas so until then I'm gonna be third wheeling it somewhere. Sister C is opening up another area with sisters with a new sister. Her name is Sister Parker. Yes I'm still STL still...probably until I die. 

Food here. Hmmm there is some good things but not everything. I don't complain though. I don't get fed that much in this area. I get to buy things I like at the grocery store so that's nice. We shop at a store that imports stuff from the Netherlands and America. It's nice. 

Update on people:

Sandia--actually had a good lesson with her this week. She is going to all these activities with Sister Pelswick (the member that referred her). So that's cool she's got friends. She was totally open this week to talk about things. We are skipping resto and talking about Plan of Sal with her. It think it's a better way. We need to first help with faith in Jesus.

Beppi--Had a really good lesson with her again this week. We brough Sister Jetty who is the best member missionary. We are really helping her understand the Restoration and helping her understand that if she wants an answer to her questions then she needs to make the actions.

Renate--Awesome lesson with Br. Wehl. She committed to come to church and she DID! I can't say how much she liked it though...she was acting kinda weird and then a member gave her a ride home after sacrament. But still she came. We'll find our more this week. 

Sister Klas--Less active we found like a month ago. She is a little crazy but nice. She doesn't understand anything we teach. Just says yes to everything. But she came to church. First time in years.

Lucille--Came to church. She is on and off.

We met a family yesterday that used to meet with the Elders like 12 years ago. They loved the Elders. They were so nice and said we could come over whenever. Hopefully we will get to teach them soon.

Man I love and miss you all soo much. Of course I am loving every minute I have left but I also can't wait to reunite with my even bigger now family. You all are awesome examples. 

Love,

Elizabeth

A Hard Working Week...Inside. 12/8/2015

Dear Family,

I'm very excited about the new addition to the family! Welcome to the world Caroline! Girl power!

Well this week Sister Walsh was dead with Dengue or some other weird mosquito disease. Is it bad to say the week really flew by? Haha. I was able to get out of the house on Wednesday and go on exchanges with Sister Ashcraft. They have a really cool new area. 

I actually had a great time studying and reading this week. I also watched the Old Testament Seminary DVD's. Learned some cool things on there like the story of King Josiah. I also wrote a 12 page mini autobiography of my mission. It was really fun reflecting and thinking about all that I have done. Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing or have accomplished anything but as I reflected obviously I realized that I have. I have learned so much and because of my experiences I am a better and stronger person. It doesn't matter who you are or even if you have served in the same place, your mission is so personalized for you. Heavenly Father gives you experiences for you to learn and sometimes no one else. 

The Book of Mormon has become so real to me. I know that it is the word of God. The people and things that I read are real. I have loved reading about Alma and Amulek. I love the eternal perspective of Alma while watching the women and children burn. Later in Alma 15:18 it talks about Alma taking Amulek home and comforting him. I totally hit me that I'm sure Amulek's wife and children were burned in that fire. Of course he wanted to stop it. Alma took Amulek in as he had done with Alma. The people are real and their experiences are real. People today are like the people of old. We can learn so much from the examples we read about. 

Also a cool verse in James 1:8. It talks about being double minded. I always think about maybe going to church on sunday but wishing you could live the life of the world other times. Or even being on a mission but you really want to be home. When you want two things it leaves you unstable. The Lord wants you to invest everything into every righteous thing. 

We were able to get out towards the end of the week. We had a really good lesson with Beppi. We went through the restoration with her again. She really understood and it was a good step with her. We hadn't seen her in a long time. We didn't have any investigators at church but we had some less actives come so that was good. 

Also we had MLC on friday and it was really good! We talked about the book of mormon. Sis C and I did a role play for everyone. It went really well. ALSO we are flying to Trinidad for MLC next month with Elder Cornish. Hopefully I'll still be STL but I'm pretty positive I will be. It will be a great new transfer. I'm excited for a breath of fresh air. Transfer calls are this Saturday. 

Love you all! Miss you all too. 

Love,

Elizabeth

Thanksgiving and on to Christmas! 11/30/2015

Dear Family,

This past week on P-day we had a big thanksgiving dinner at a members house. It was a lot of fun. They did Thanksgiving the best they could--some toast, turkey, corn, peas, and mashed potatoes. Not too shabby. It was really nice of them. I can't believe December is tomorrow. Where did this year go?! I have a feeling it will be very hard to get appointments this month. People are a big fan of, "Contact me in the new year." Christmas and New Years should be fun. New Years is a BIG holiday here. Apparently there are so many fireworks all night you can't sleep. You also can't see anything because there is so much smoke. 

Thanksgiving Feast!

We are doing a City blitz this week to contact people. Should be fun. The church always has some sort of contacting campaign they do that accompanies a video. I haven't heard about it yet. 

What happened this week? Good question! It was kinda a rough week. Still a lot of our main investigators we didn't see this week. We started meeting with a new woman named Jony. The other sisters actually contacted her. She is a really nice lady but I guess is really involved in this other church. One of the ones that comes on tv. 

I went to Kwatta area with Sister Jensen this week. It was a lot of fun. Their area has so many great members from our branch. We have about 3 active members. There area? Too many to count. It's pretty rough in our area when it comes to members especially when we need some referrals.

Shenelva is doing good. Like I said we've started the lessons over again. I really want to make sure she is keeping commitments and preparing for baptism. I want to make her a strong member. That's one thing I'm glad on my mission that I haven't just baptized people. Like you were talking about Stephen. I'd rather plant seeds and work with less actives than just baptize people. I've seen so many people that missionaries have baptized since I've been here not go to church anymore. 

We did however find a new less active that lives by our investigator Astrid! We haven't met him yet but we now we know where he lives. So that was cool!

Beverly Ibrahim opened her mission call this week to the Netherlands mission. She is sooooo cool. She will be an amazing missionary. That family is amazing. I will be friends with them forever. Bev is going to BYU-ID after her mission so that'll be great. 

Suriname Missionaries

Sister Walsh was sick yesterday and we will see how this week goes. She might have Dengue or Chicken Guniea or something like that. We'll see. Yesterday she slept all day while I watched two church movies and made it through hours and hours of mormon messages while I cleaned the house and collapsed like a gazillion boxes. Good times. 

Two Peas in a Pod!

One thing I love about the scriptures is how alive they have become as a missionary. Whenever I read about the evil people I just think how similar it is to the world today! I can relate with the prayers of Alma in chapter 31 haha. But it makes me realize how much better I have to be and how many people need rescuing. I can't wait to share the gospel the rest of my life. 

Well enjoy pictures and we'll talk to you all soon! Love you lots!

Love,

Elizabeth

The Church is True! 11/23/2015

Dear Family,

We had a good week here in Balona Park. Our area is struggling a bit now finding new investigators but it's not discouraging so that's good! Here is an update on people:

Renate--Still doing the same. We met with her once this week. She always reads but I feel like there is a lot of background information that still needs revealing. She will need a lot of help and patience.

Beppi--Also still the same. She moves soooo slowly. But man does she have GOLDEN questions. Like, "Why can't I feel the Holy Ghost all the time. I know I can feel it when I read and pray." or "I want to make sure I'm really on the right path." She always says things like that. Even though she hasn't come to church yet I just feel like I can't give up. She is a really sweet woman.

Roberto--Haven't seen him in two weeks

Shenelva--She came to church again but our lesson fell through with her this week. She is really hard to catch with her school and work. She's great though. Saramacans phrase of the week is (spelled phonetically) eee-die-boonoo-wang which means you are the best. 

Sandia--We had a lesson with her this week that was OK. She is sooo nice. But the concept of religion is soo far. She doesn't understand that it's a way of life. Well she doesn't understand most things actually. She is cool though. 

Shanice--She is doing ok. She hasn't been to church the last two weeks.

Lucille--Also hasn't been to church in a while. We had some good lessons with her this week. I think she needs some good friends in Relief Society. We will work on that. Most people in church don't even know that she's a member...

We found this one guy that I started talking to. We were having a cool convo then I pulled out the BOM and he said he knew of the book. He expressed all the false things he know about it. What I liked about him is that he let me bear my testimony and listened. He wasn't defensive. He also said I agree that you have to read it before you make judgments. It was cool. He asked us to come back. 

I went on an exchange with Sister C this week. Every time we are together it feels like vacation! It goes sooo fast! Mostly because it doesn't feel like work with her, it just feels like life. We had some cool spiritual lessons. She is awesome and can't wait to be her friend always. 

The members here are great! I wish you could meet all of them. So amazing and faith filled. Of course there needs to be a lot of training done (always) but overall I am really impressed with them. We are having a district finding activity in December. It is always fun involving Christmas into finding. 

The being in at 7 is only for the sisters. It's a really hard rule when it comes to having lessons planned in the night with the member and then having the member cancel last minute. Then you can't go to your lesson when you otherwise would've just gone. I'm glad I didn't have the rule for my whole mission but I think it'll be good for other sisters. 

I love my mission! It's really, really hard and sometimes I get tired of all the logistics--nightly phone calls, reporting numbers, meetings, area bounderies, etc. However it's such a special time to grow. I love my solidifying testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith and the other divine leadership of our church. I know that it is a church of God and not man. No man can set up a church like this. I know that. 

Love you and thanks for all the support!

Love,

Elizabeth

And the Work Shall Go Forth! 11/17/2015

Dear Family,

First Happy 1st birthday to Leona this week! So happy to hear you are taking steps and looking cuter and cuter everyday. Also did everyone see Catie in the Conference issue of the Ensign? She's famous!

Funny Faces!

We had a better week! First of all we had Zone Conference on Tuesday. President Egbert was able to make it by a miracle! I'm so happy he could come. His eye healed and they were on the next flight to Suriname basically. The theme of Zone Conference was the people had a mind to work- Nehemiah 4:6. Pres Egbert loves the Old Testament. We talked about working with members. It was good--I have to say a little boring because a lot of it was learning from the red handbook. But you can def see it's importance. We have great members here. I'm trying to get more involved with Relief Society. It's so important to build your members up and seem like you are really there to help. I've been a member longer than most of the strongest members here. 

I had an interview with Pres Egbert and talk about the work. It's always good to have time with him. On Wednesday Sister Egbert came to a lesson with us! She is soooo fun and cool. A total mom. We taught a member family about family history work and it was a lot of fun. It was Diwali that day so the only place that was open to go out to afterwards was McDonalds. Classic. We had fun with her. 

I went to Munder area on Friday and served with Sister Jorgensen. It was fun being back with my "daughter". She is doing really good and has already grown so much. We had some fun times together. 

My Dutch is coming along well. People are ALWAYS so surprised when I tell them I learned it here and have been here for 10 months. It's just so special as a missionary. I'm sure other missionaries through the world can testify of that. 

At church Consuela came (we started seeing her again), Sandia and her daughter came (we didn't teach them this week) and also Shenelva. 

Shenelva is 17 almost 18. She has met with the missionaries for 4 years and has to wait till she's 18 to baptize. She has a bap date for February.  I'm impressed that she's held on for so long!

I love you so much everyone!! Thanks for prayers! I know the church is true!

Love,

Elizabeth

One of Those Character Building Weeks 11/10/2015

Hello Family!

Happy Birthday Grandpa and Josh! 

I feel like a lot happened this week and not at the same time. A lot of lessons fell through this week, rejection, and biking in the hot, hot sun. We didn't have anyone at church on Sunday. Sad to say that we don't have a lot of success stories to tell this week! Don't worry everyone...I'm still trucking along with a smile. 

We will not be teaching Chayen and her family anymore. It's really, really sad. I hope one day they will find the gospel again whether in this life or the next. It's not safe to go there with the old man there. He has completely brain washed the family. They are the most ridiculous lies ever but you really can't argue. Life goes on! 

We didn't get to see Stephanie this week so hopefully we will see her this week. We had a member referral that we were finally able to visit this week. Her name is Sandia. She grew up Hindu but she's not really Hindu just celebrates the holidays kind of thing. I think we will go slow with her but she is really cool. Member referrals are the best.

We did a really fun service project with the branch this weekend. We restored this playground that is actually in our area. It was really fun and the people in the neighborhood loved it. We got some contacts from it. 

Sister Jensen got Dengue this week. So they haven't even been out in their new area this week. We went on splits with them so Sister Walsh could show Sister Ashcraft around a bit. It was fun being with Sister Jensen. Hopefully she'll get better fast. 

We are supposed to have zone conference tomorrow but Pres Egbert had an eye surgery in Santa Domingo and we don't know if he's coming yet. We'll see! I hope so! 

I loved reading everyone's letters this week. Our family is growing and growing up. It's fun to see. I'm doing some growing up too...at least spiritually. 

Mom, I really did love my package! Thanks for everything, It was all exactly what I needed! And Sister Ibrahim gave me a big hug! You can always talk to her.

Sister Walsh and I are gonna almost start over on our area, so pray for us! Love you all!

Love,

Elizabeth 

Transfer 10 11/2/2015

Dear Family,

Transfer calls are in and President Egbert said he likes the way Sister Walsh and I are working together so we are staying. I'm really happy about it. I've been having a great time with Sister Walsh and we are really figuring things out together. Other surprising news is that they are taking sisters out of Wanica and putting them in our branch. So Sister Jensen and Ashcraft are also coming to Tamenga. I'm really sad that they are taking them out of Wanica. They say it's dangerous but I honestly don't think so. Wanica is going to be sooo sad! I forgot to tell you of our new rule for sisters that started like 3 weeks ago. We are not allowed to be out past 7 unless we are with a member. At first I was mad but then it started being ok because it forces us to get members to our lessons and the members know they have to help us. It's fun! A member Sister Geffrie who is from wanica came with us last monday and it was really fun. And we've had other member lessons at night that go really well. The members are great here in Tamenga. However I have to say that we don't have a lot of members in our area and the ones we have aren't so interested in coming over. We've done a lot of trying but nothing  yet. It's frustrating.

This Sunday Shanice and another less active Lucille came to church again. I was really happy to see them. 

I'll try and explain Chayen's situation more. Basically there has been this old man that has started hanging out there at Matilda's. He has money and he's a smart man that was a priest (ggggreeeaat). He's been nice and quiet for a loooonng time. And then literally out of nowhere one day he just explodes. Saying he is the man of the house, we are a cult, we can't come back, blah blah blah. It was terrible. I wasn't scared of him--what scared me was the terrible feeling I had. We obviously left right away. I talked to Pres Egbert about it. We called Chayen and Tatiana on the phone. They still want to meet with us. So we went over this week with President Ibrahim and he talked to the old man. We agreed we wouldn't go back there. However they still want to meet with us so we had it set up to meet at the church and stuff. Well it just makes things super comlicated when you can't go to their house and talk and then you try to meet up and they aren't answering their phones. They all said to us the the man is crazy but the situation is complicated. I don't even know everything. Maybe he has money over them, I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen yet but they still haven't been coming to church like they promised. It's just a whole situation. 

Savita texted us yesterday saying she doesn't want to read the book or meet with us anymore. So that's that. Sad but honestly I'm starting to become a little numb to rejection. I try my best but if they choose it's their choice. People's agency sucks! 

We had a really cool lesson with Stephanie this week. She understands everything about the restoration so far. I think we need to work on getting a testimony really sunk in her heart. Her boyfriend doesn't seem too interested but maybe we could push a little harder. She was visiting her mom this weekend and didn't come to church.

Beppi our older lady is also doing really good. She moves really slow and has a lot of questions. I know as soon as she comes to church she'll love it. She's building up to it but I know she will come eventually.

Renate is still not coming to church but we are having good lessons with her. I still can't quite figure out what it is.

We had a cool experience with a new investigator named Roberto last night. He grew up Roman Catholic but he said that he has seen some bad things happen in church so now he prays at home and doesn't go to church. He then asks, "Is that a sin?" I basically just tell him very boldly yes and then bear my testimony. I know the spirit was hitting him because he was just speechless and staring. At the end he says, "What is the church address and when does it start??" I love that power as a missionary, to testify boldly. It's so powerful. 

We have some other cool people but I'll let you know about them later. We are doing good though! Even with so many disappointments everyday I can still say that I never go to bed sad. I always am happy to start the next day. 

Thanks for the emails. I love you all and love hearing updates. Send me pictures! 

Love,

Elizabeth

I know you all want to see my chaco tan line...

The Gospel is True! 10/27/2015

Dear Family,

As a missionary you are always checking up on your testimony I feel. Like do I REALLY know this is true? I think that's part of the reason your testimony grows so much is because you are constantly working on it to make it stronger and stronger. Not even for your investigators but for yourself. I had many manifestations this past week that this truly is a church led by the Savior. The more that I have come in contact with other faiths the more and more obvious it seems. As Uchtdorf says, the gospel is just simple. It makes sense! And the best part is, is that you don't gain your knowledge from being convinced or going to school--it comes simply from God, a manifestation through the Holy Ghost. When I come in contact with "scholars" in religion that are ready to prove me wrong or intimidate me, I can't help but laugh inside and smile on the outside. They just don't get it. Maybe I'm not old in my age and maybe I don't have degrees in religion and have read the bible 15 times, BUT I do know that between me and them, I'm on the right path. I have a relationship with God and I am on my way to the Celestial Kingdom. It's a wonderful blessing to have the gospel and understand how blessed I am. 

Sister Walsh and I had a crazy but great week as always. We really worked on contacting this week. We found a lot of great potentials. I'm starting to come to the realization that even though I'm looking for the elect, we still have to talk to everyone. That's the only way you will find the elect. Sounds simple--I know haha. We had a lot of first lessons. 

Wednesday I had Sister Ashcraft on exchange with me in my area. It was good to have her here. She is a really sweet girl, and she is really starting to bloom into a missionary. Friday I also went on exchange with Sister Christiansen. It was soooo fun to be with her! It was like a vacation working with her. I didn't want it to end. Crazy I had to come to Suriname to find such an amazing friend. Sister C's area is really different from Wanica and Balona. Her area has a ton of Brazilians and Venezelan's. So add Portuguese and spanish to the many languages you have to learn! 

Let's see. I can't remember much about this week but first I'll start with Chayen (that's really how you spell it). It's kind of a complicated situation and I don't even know how to all explain it but there is this older man that has been coming by their house. Anyway it's a long story but he turned stuff into a big situation. Sorry I know I'm being so vague. Hopefully we can get everything back on track because this week we had a great lesson with Matilda and her other daughter Tatiana. They didn't come to church again though.

Savita was sick this week and then watching her grandkids so hopefully we will see her this week. We have an investigator named Stephanie who is really cool. She is 18 and living with her Hindu boyfriend and his family. She is so excited about the gospel and understands everything. 

We met a lot of cool people this past week and have lots of other appointments with new investigators this week so hopefully I'll have good news for next week. 

It transfer call time this week. I don't know what's going to happen. I think everything will stay the same but on the other hand, Sister Walsh has been in the same branch for 9 months so I think they might switch her. I don't know! Pres Egbert is always unpredictable. 

I'm so grateful for all of you! I have the most amazing family in the world! Love you all! For one of my pictures I must explain that douche in Dutch is shower. I think it's funny. Love you!

Love,

Zuster Wood

Congrats and Birthday Wishes 10/20/2015

Dear Family,

WOW! I loved seeing the wedding pictures. Everyone looks great and that wedding looked fabulous. Of course I would have LOVED to be there but I have to say I'm not really sad. It's a weird feeling! I'm so happy that you're married Jacob, that's so cool! That's right everyone--The next Wood wedding is mine so prepare yourselves. Find me a cool man people! No boys from the Philippine's dad.

Happy Birthday Mom and Edmund! You'll have to send me pictures from those celebrations too! Man, it's just crazy how long I have been gone. It just all feels like a dream. I love my mission soooo much. It's just been a once in a lifetime experience that I would never trade. I really needed this time to focus on what's important.

So my week. It was great! I was very happy all week (still am). Had a couple flat tires this week which is never fun- haha. Especially because the spare bike we have is Sister Johnson's old bike. It is almost ready to fall apart. It's TERRIBLE!  The seat rides right on up there and it's stuck in this really low gear and is so loud. It's does the trick, but I might not be able to have babies though- jk. Wednesday we had zone meeting with President Egbert. It was a really great zone meeting. I taught with the zone leaders. I have to throw it in there that President Egbert said it was the best zone meeting he had been to ;). My interview with him was really good. We didn't talk about much but i asked for a blessing and that was a cool experience. He told me God is proud of me and to keep working hard and I'll see success. I'm just gonna enjoy these last 6 months because I know they are going to fly.

This week we went to see a less active. Her sister is married to a JW preacher. Of course we show up the same time as they do. He comes right up to us and starts talking. He's a nice guy and the convo starts out ok then he get's into calling God Jehovah. At this point I'm letting Sister Walsh do this on her own cause I want to stay out of it. But then it's escalating so I step in. Sister Walsh was getting vexed haha. I went in and settled it and then changed the subject. It was pretty funny though. That's just one religion I don't get. 

We found a cool lady this week. Her name is Savita. She is older maybe 50's or 60's. She is originally from Guyana but has lived here since she was 16. She used to be Hindu but now she's christian. Doesn't go to church though. You can tell she is really spiritual. She has a close relationship with God. We just had an awesome first lesson with her. The spirit was strong and she definitely felt it. She is excited to read the BOM. I have a good feeling about her.

Chayen is doing well. That family just has so many problems and things going on. It's hard to help get things in order and to have them focused. I know I can't expect too much out of them. I just hope they keep strong. They didn't come to church again.

We had one of our less active's come to church this week though. Her name is Shanice. She is 20 and super cool. I think she just lost her testimony a bit and probably broke some commandments but we've been working with her. She came to church and it was great! 

I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful family! I love you all soo much and thanks for all the support and letters. The gospel is definitely true--no doubt. It just can't not be! 

I attached a picture of our house. Yes I live in a mansion (just the bottom floor). 

Liefs,

Zuster Elizabeth Wood

Wedding Fever for Everyone But Me 10/13/2015

Dear Family,

First HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! Sorry that you are sick and you celebrated in 3 countries. The 3 country part is cool though. I don't know how you say happy birthday in japanese otherwise I would say it. Second I'm really sad to miss the wedding but don't worry I'm doing ok. I think it will be more sad when I see the pictures. Right now I'm still pretending that it's not happening.

What a week! It was a busy and great week. Where to begin! We got to see a lot of people this week including some new investigators. Sad no one came to church this week but it's ok. We aren't giving up. 

Renade is doing pretty good. Still not coming to church but we had a good lesson where we talked about prayer. I a feeling she wasn't sinerely praying and she admitted she wasn't. I know if she just prayed with an open heart that she would get her answer. I also know church would help. Still working on it. 

Sheyenne is doing good! She's great but for some reason she didn't come to church. We went early and her mom said she was showering. We called right before and her mom said she was on her way. Still no one came. Don't know what happened yet...

We have a new investigator Stephanie. She is really cute. She is Christian but is dating and living with a hindu guy and his hindu family. It makes for an interesting lesson when all the hindu's sit in the lesson haha. I love hindu's they are so nice. I got sooo many mango's from them this week. However it's hard to get a word in our lesson when they are there. It's pretty funny and frustrating. 

Wanica was a really fun time with Sister Jensen. She's awesome! We got to do service for Lorna which I love! I miss her and helping her in her garden. We got to see some other great members. It was a great day. Sister Jensen is doing awesome. I've seen her grow a lot which is fun to see. 

President Egbert comes tomorrow. I'm going to the other zone in Wanica to help teach zone meeting since now we have two STL's in the North Zone. It'll be a nice long bike ride. 

Sorry I haven't taken any good pictures lately but I'll take some this week. I can't wait to see all your pictures next week. Everyone, send me all the pictures you take!

I hit my year mark last week. It was really weird to think it's been a year! So much has happened! It's caused me to do some soul searching. What I love about being a missionary is the change you see in yourself. Sometimes it's hard to see because it is so gradual but I know it's there. I'm very grateful for every experience I've ever had. Good or bad! Love you all!

Love,

Elizabeth

Missionary Vacation 10/6/2015

Dear Family,

As I said General Conference is the closest thing we get to vacation. But I will be clear it is better than any holiday ON the mission. Holidays at home are awesome! Haha. But anyway I did love conference. Amazing as usual. I loved Uchtdorf's talk, Lawrence talk about progressing, Holland's talk (WOW), and Nelson. They were all just beautiful talks. But I learned from all of them. I can't wait for the magazine to come out so I can read them all over and over and over again. 

We had a good week this week. We got to see some of the great members in our area this week and build some connections. We don't have a whole load of members in our area but we've been really trying to work with them. Haven't gotten any referrals but that come with trust. 

One investigator that is great is Renade. She hasn't been to church yet but she is so nice. She is a single mom with three kids. She is super nice and is reading. She is willing to take the challenge to find out if it's true so I'm praying that she will receive the answer she needs.

Sheyenne and Matilda are doing good. Sheyenne is great. She came all day on Saturday to conference and really liked it. She had a family thing on Sunday though and couldn't come. We didn't sit with Matilda this week. I know she has a lot to change and I'm willing to work with her. She is so nice, she just needs help. We pushed Sheyenne's baptismal date to the 24th. We want to get her mom more on caught up and going. I also want to talk to Pres. Egbert about her in my interview next week.

This week I'm going on exchanges to Wanica this week with Sister Jensen. Should be a great time. I like going on exchanges. It's been nice having Sis. C in the North Zone. I get to see her way more which is always fun. 

We made some good new contacts this week which we will follow up on. Everything really is going good. Sometimes I feel like it's groundhog day though. It's the same day over and over but it's also a new story every day. I just love changing. But changing requires trials which is the not fun part. I'm happy to hear everyone is doing well! Love you all. 

Love,

Elizabeth

Ups and Downs 9/29/2015

Dear Family,

FIRST: Happy Birthday Jana and Kaeli! Hope both of your days were awesome! Love you both!

It just feels like it was one of those weeks. Every appointment fell through, the sun is blazing hot, and people are frustrating. I feel like I haven't been having too much to write about. City life is not as exciting as the jungle life in Wanica.

I said good bye to Sister Jorgensen on Wednesday and sent her with Sister Christiansen. They have been doing really well. They are starting their area from scratch basically. So now it is just me and Sister Walsh. It's nice being a pair again. Three is sometimes a crowd but I miss Sister Jorgensen. 

Sheyenne is still doing really well. We've been teaching her and getting her prepared for baptism. We had another really good lesson with Matilda. HOWEVER she is very frusturating at the same time. We arrainged a ride for them on Sunday. We even stopped by early Sunday morning to check up on them and they said they were coming. We go to church and the member that went to pick them up comes in. She said she went and the whole house was closed up. HUH?? We stopped by later and I guess they went school shopping (haven't taught Sabbath day yet...). I was so mad, still am. But c'mon people! 

We had a great lesson with Nelly this week. I guess she loved church. She said she came home after church and felt so peaceful. She laid down and she felt it in her heart that this was it. She is so sad that she is leaving tomorrow. She came to church again. So sad. Maybe God blessed us with her to give us the faith to find more people like her. 

I was feeling a little down on Sunday after a long hard week. I showed up to the church to watch the Women's Session. I get there and everyone from Wanica is sitting outside. They were all so excited to see me. Everyone is giving me the biggest hugs and telling me how much they miss me and how they want me to come back. I was so touched and I needed it. I love them so much. And then wow the session was amazing!! Blew my mind. General Conference is better than any holiday ever. 

Sometimes as a missionary I feel like, "I don't deserve this! I'm giving my heart to everything!" Then I think of Jesus Christ and how he truly never did anything! Yet he had to go through everything. Makes my problems seem small. 

Love you all sooooo much. Thanks for the prayers and love. 

Love,

Elizabeth

I Didn't Hold a Sloth, But Nonetheless- Great Week! 9/21/2015

Dear Family,

I don't have too much to report on this week. We got transfer calls and guess what!? They are taking my daughter away from me! Haha Sister Jorgensen is moving to Paramaribo with Sister C. They will have a great time. It's hard to let go of her so fast! But it will be nice to be back in a pair.

This week we had some cool experiences. First was with Nelly, the lady we contacted last week. We continued to have some cool lessons with her. She came to church with her daughter and grand daughter. I think she really liked it. Bad news is Gospel Principles was a terrible lesson on Law of Chastity and a baptist lady was visiting the church and she gave Nelly a card and told her to visit. WOW. Oh and also bad news is that Nelly teaches school in the Jungle and leaves next week. SO SAD! You never know what her future holds though.

Other miracle was with Matilda. We had a turning point with her this week. She didn't come to church but still it was awesome. We had this one lesson on Thursday night and she just completely opened up and told this long story and how she needs all these answers. It's too long to tell but lets just say we were able to testify of how the gospel can help answer all her questions and they little by little she will be able to have the life she wants. She just cried throughout the whole lesson. It was really powerful. Sheyenne is 13 and just on fire. She's awesome. I have no worries about her. She prayed and knows it is all true. She LOVES church, and reads her BOM everyday. I'm not a fan of teaching these younger kids but man they just progress so much faster than their parents. She's great. 

We did more contacting and finding. Finding Nelly gets me excited to find other great people. Our area is just getting better and better. I hope to leave it better than how I found it. 

I'm really sorry everyone but I honestly don't have a whole lot to report on! I gave a talk on Sunday about fearing God and not man. That has been my fav mission topic that I have studied. I love it! 

Have a great day!

Love,

Elizabeth

Pictures!!

FUN DAY IN THE JUNGLE!

Adventure is Out There! 9/15/2015

Dear Family,

Don't worry everyone I saw the sloth again! I'm in love but no I will not take it home! Pretty cool though. Kind of another wild week. We had a mini missionary with us, Sarafina. She is 19 and in our branch. She wants to go on a mission. She is great!

So let's see. I'll start with my miracle of the week. Wednesday I was on splits with Sara because Sis Walsh went to the doctor because of some back pain. We were on our way to an appointment which naturally fell through. We said a prayer together and started walking. We both felt like we should go see this one lady we talked to the night before. We were asking her to see if her neighbors were home. But we never contacted this lady. So anyway we went back to see her. We told her we came to see her. She was really friendly and let us sit down. We just started having a lesson about God is our loving Heavenly Father. We just testified that she was important to God and that he had a plan for her. I felt impressed to tell her that the spirit guided us to her that day. She said, "Well I have a story for you." She went on to tell us that for the past 5 years she has been scammed by this guy. And she was dealing with all the results. She had been praying to God for help and asking if he was there. She said, "I think you are my answer!" We went back a couple days later and had a cool resto lesson. She couldn't come to church this week but she said for sure the next week. I feel really good about her. I hope it will continue well.

Consuella is doing well. She is so ready to be baptized. We haven't caught her boyfriend this week but we have a game plan to get him this week. The key is going to be him. We have to get him pumped and ready to go. It's gonna be quite the challenge but hopefully it will all go well.

Matilda is so so. Her daughter Sheyenne is still doing really well. She is pumped on the gospel. She came to church this week by herself and just loved it! She is a real cutie.

A little boy named Christopher
fell asleep on my lap during a discussion!

Friday I went on exchanges in Wanica with Sister Jensen and Sister Ashcraft. The picture you see is me wearing Sister Jensen's clothes for a service activity we were going to do. I'm wearing a classic Sister Jensen outfit so it was sooo funny to be wearing it. Sister Jensen is awesome! I love her a lot. I had a fun time in Wanica. We did service for Sister Rama. Classic. She fell this last week so she can't walk. There was a lot of work to be done fore. Had to bathe her this week. It's super hard work taking care of her. I'll take care of you mom and dad but I'm not working in a old folks home. We had some other lessons with some members. None that I was super close to but it was still fun. 

Saturday there was a great baptismal service from a family in another branch. They were so cute and so happy to be baptized. They were referrels from a couple in my branch the Kabelie's. The Kabelie's are awesome! So solid and they were just baptized end of last year. 

Today we went to Brownsberg which is this cool place in the jungle. It was soooo cool and pretty! We had a lot of fun. I love getting together with Sister Jensen and Sister Christiansen. They are my homies. 

Love you all so much! Thanks for the prayers.

Love,

Elizabeth

My Mission is Complete 9/8/2015

Dear Family,

Well all is well in this wild country of Suriname. How did I get here again?? Haha. We had a crazy week with lots of adventures. If you're wondering about my subject line the reason behind it is that I held a SLOTH! Dream come true. It was pretty awesome. They problem is the picture was on Sister Jorgensen's camera and she lost it. Good news is we are seeing it again tonight. It was cute. It hung on like a backpack. 

So this week. I don't know what it was about this week but we had so many lessons fall through! Besides all that we did pretty well. We dropped some people that weren't progressing and did a lot more finding. That means I got a nice tan. I really am getting quite tan which also means tan LINES. Oh boy...haha. 

Wednesday I had Sister Jensen and Sister Ashcraft with me in Tamenga. We had a fun time together. Of course we had a day filled with bike problems and lessons falling through. But what are you going to do? They are both great missionaries. 

Update on some investigators. We had an awesome lesson with Consuela this week but her man wasn't there. It's hard to get them together! The spirit was really strong again. I know Heavenly Father wants them so bad! I hope I can help them make those steps. Consella was at church with her daughter. She has lots of friends in the church so that's nice! She bore her testimony in Relief Society. 

Matilda is so hard to meet with. I feel like she is always too "busy" to sit with us. Her daughter Sheyenne is still doing really well. She remembers everything and always reads. 

We took Sister Ibrihim out teaching with us yesterday and we saw this one investigator we hadn't seen since my first day here really. Her name is Beppi.  She is this really sweet older lady. We always bring members when we see her because she loves asking them questions. Sister Ibrihim was answering all these questions Beppi had about the BOM and our church. It was really fun to listen to their discussion. Sister Ibrihim is the best!

This week we prayed as a companionship on how many people the Lord has prepared to be baptised by the end of next transfer. We feel that there are two people so we will acting completely in faith knowing that there are two people waiting. It's exciting. We are also praying to know what members to go seek referrals from. Member referrals are always the best. When I'm home one day I'm going to refer basically anyone I meet to the missionaries!

Like I said we did a lot of contacting. I've gotten a lot better but I still hate it. I'm glad I'm not in a mission where they have to contact the whole day... no thanks.

Dutch is still coming along and I've been making improvements. It feels actually normal to speak. I'm still not perfect though and I know I never will be. 

I got Stephen and Richard's packages this week! Thanks sooo much! I loved it all and really appreciated the thoughts! Mom still no card yet...

Well I don't have any pictures this week but I love you all! Missions are hard and tiring but always an adventure.

Love,

Elizabeth

Zone Conference 8/31/2015

Dear Family,

I had a good and crazy week as usual! We got to have some meetings with great members and investigators. I could really feel the Spirit this week in the lessons so that's always good. Also we had an awesome Zone and District Conference this weekend!

So let's see! First I'll tell you about our District President here. His name is President Verway. He is supppper solid and only 26 years old. His wife is 23 and so cute. We are good friends. They have a baby who is almost 1. They are awesome and super solid. We have fun with them. We went there this week and did a challenge with them to find people to meet with the missionaries. Hopefully it works out. President Verway talked at District Conference about the scripture in BOM about how Lehi dwelt in a tent. He compared it to leaving your success and following God. He also included how the Apostles of JC left their job just after they had so much success to follow Jesus. It was a really cool talk and a good metaphor.

Probably the best lesson of the week was with Consuella's Boyfriend. He is interested in the church too. We had such a powerful lesson. He is so prepared to change and willing. I asked him what he wants for his future and he said he wants to get married, and raise his children in the church so they are on the right path. Good answer! I have heard that sometimes they can be wishy washy but I hope this time they are for real. He said this is my third and last chance with the missionaries. Consuella came to the Saturday session of conference. 

Suriname Sisters at Zone Conference

Matilda and her family are doing well. Matilda is not married soooo, yeah. We did start teaching her Boyfriend though and we had a really good first lesson. I don't know, we will see what happens. They didn't come to church this weekend because their grandpa died. We had some good lessons with them this week though. Hopefully they continue to progress!

SO. we had Zone Conference this weekend with Elder Martinez from the 70. It was awesome! We had interviews on Friday with Pres. Egbert. They were really good. It's funny. I love how much he trusts me.  He talks a mile a minute- haha.

Zone Conference on Saturday was awesome! I can't even begin to summarize all that was said. All I know is that is was awesome and made me want to be better. I really, really liked Elder and Sister Martinez. I had fun with them. Mom, they told me to tell you thanks on their behalf for making me take piano lessons. 

All the district conference sessions were really good too. I had so much fun seeing all my members from Wanica! I really love the members here too. Everyone said they missed me in Wanica which made me feel good. Sunday after church we went to the Ibrihim's. We had such a fun time there. It's always great there. 

All of us after District Conference

In the youth session on Sunday night in the middle of Elder Martinez's talk to the youth, he called me out to come up and bear my testimony on D&C 4. Ha- I think it was good...I saw people crying, but I don't think my Dutch was very good cause I was nervous! I think the spirit delivered my message-hopefully! Haha. And it's a good thing Elder Martinez can't understand Dutch...But it was a cool experience. 

My companions are both doing great! I love them and we have fun. I really want to keep working hard and I want to find someone really prepared. It's a struggle but I have to find more faith!

Thanks for all the support and I love you all!

Love,

Elizabeth XOXOXOXO

Chantol's mission call opening.  She is going to
Salt Lake City West Mission!