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