Monday, October 26, 2015

yay

Dear wonderful family and friends, 

This week has been a great week for us here in Amsterdam. I love this trio of mine!!!!!! We love working together and it gets better and better every day. We love the work and are working hard everyday to the point of exhaustion. I love it. Last week was so good. We met a member and his girlfriend last week at church. His girlfriend, Kelsey wants to get baptized! So we are teaching her and she is so great :) He is a great member present, Stephen. She is studying out here and he was visiting for a few weeks. Both are from America. Lovely people. 

This ward here in Amsterdam has some amazing people. I am absolutely in love with these people and this city. There is always work to be done and it's so great! sometimes it's easy to feel inadequate and Satan will make you think you're not doing anything and that you're useless but then I remember that THAT'S NOT TRUE! If we just open our eyes and look around, there are miracles  from missionary work. I love being a missionary.

Last night we got one of our investigators, Michael, on baptismal date! we set it for January 10th. He said he wants to do just as Joseph Smith did and investigate and pray and we were like OK! We will be your guides :) it was too good. God loves His children. I love my Heavenly Father! 

Last week 2 people we were teaching dropped us but they just weren't ready to accept the gospel and change. and that's ok. We gave them our testimonies and our love and they will eventually accept it. I trust God has a plan for them. Now we will just find people who are ready. We have been praying to find people who are ready, and we found that with Kelsey. God just dropped her on our paths! We love her so much and we're excited to see her baptized. 

Last Saturday we went deep sea fishing with our ward mission leader, Bronno. It was fun and very cold :) also the saturday before that we went mini golfing with all the missionaries in Amsterdam and we brought a girl we found while street contacting who is from Germany! she is an intern here and we met her on the first day she was here and invited her to go mini golfing. and she went! it was super fun. sorry about not emailing last week! we switched our p-day to use the mini golfing vouchers that a member had given us that could only be used on Saturday

well I hope you have a great week, everyone! remember this: "The Lord needs us to be brave, steadfast, and immovable warriors who will defend His plan". Go out and be BRAVE. Stand for what you believe in. Stand for the truth. You never know who is taking courage from your bravery and strength. Be strong. and remember 3 Nephi 12:8 "And blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God."


I love this work. I love being a missionary. This is my life. 

p.s. SHOUT OUT TO PAPA HARRIS!!!!! HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT BIRTHDAY!!! THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO FOR ME!!!

I LOVE YOU ALL


Love, 
Zuster Harris :)



 

Monday, October 19, 2015

Temple!!!

Goede Morgen! :)

This past week has been so great. Seriously so happy to be able to testify of Christ and be His missionary in this day. 

To start off, Monday we had a pretty chill p-day. We went to the Stedelijk Museum, which is a very modern artsy museum...a little bit too abstract and hipster for me but nonetheless it was chill. Then we went and walked around at a HUGE park called Vondell Park. It was so pretty. The leaves on trees are starting to turn red and orange and I love it. I love being in Amsterdam during the fall season! Because I love fall and I love Amsterdam. Ha!

Tuesday, we did service at the Hermelijn in Haarlem again where we paint the brick walls of  a mentally challenged school for little kids. They are really so cute. I love serving there. we then went back to Diemen and looked up a few potentials and gave a book of mormon to one american lady who loves family history...we talked a lot about the importance of doing our family history. it was cool. Later that night, 4 belgium sisters came and slept at our apartment for Temple Conference the next day. and one of the sisters was the lovely Sister Johanson!!!! It was so great to catch up with her and reminisce on the ole' Assen days. Love her. We practiced a last minute musical arrangement of The Army of Helaman medley that we sang with the Amsterdam elders. It went pretty well for being put together last minute... :) Then, THE TEMPLE!!!!! I can't believe that the last time I went was 6 months ago. I loved it and cherished every moment I was there. This temple trip really gave me a bigger perspective of how much the Atonement of Jesus Christ is totally the center of every thing we do in the temple and of the Gospel. I really felt close to Him there and the veil was thin. It's been a while since I've had an experience like that. 

Later that night we came home and had dinner then looked up a man we gave the first lesson to a few weeks ago that we lost contact with for a while. We showed him the restoration video and testified of the book of mormon and the truth therein. We talked about baptism with him and he told us he was already baptized but we taught him more about the priesthood and he seemed to understand a little bit more about the authority needed to perform baptism. We invited him to pray about it. I have really come to love the story of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith. each time we testify of it or watch the Restoration, my conviction becomes stronger and stronger of the truthfulness of it. It feels so good. 

Thursday we had a lesson with our investigator, Gerard. We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the steps that are needed to be taken in this life which are faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. We talked more about baptism and he mentioned he'd already been baptized and explained the importance of the right authority and again, he seemed to understand but was still not fully willing to say yes. I realized how much more bold we needed to be. I asked him, "Gerard, is this something you want? I mean we come and teach you and you came to church and you're a good man, how much do you want this or do you even want it?" and he said "yes. but there is so much I need to change about my own life. I don't know how I can do it." and at that moment I realized how releasing and freeing the Atonement is. I had never testified so boldly that through repentance and prayer and faith and living the gospel, that Christ would free him of his problems and provide a way for him to do it. we committed him to praying about it and he said yes. we are excited about him and we are believing and having faith that Christ will help him. 

Yesterday, Friday, we weekly planned and set a lot of goals that are pretty high, but reachable. The mission has a new standard of reaching 23 hours of proselyting a week...sounds easy, but it's hard. It requires talking with people about the gospel 4 hours every day...so we are contacting on trains, buses, trams, metros, stopping people while biking, and always on the way to lessons. We set a goal of reaching 30 hours this week. we have faith that the Lord will provide miracles for our hard work. 

Pray for the success of us in Amsterdam! 

Bye

Sister Harris

love you guys :)

Monday, October 12, 2015

Believe in Miracles

Last week was great. Started out with our P-day visiting the Rijksmuseum! That was really cool. Later that night we taught the first lesson to a man we met on the street. It went really well and he responded positively to the Book of Mormong and having us over again to teach him more. We also visited a few less active members and watched the womens conference. That was so cool; the spirit was so strong in their house! I love that. also, I got pooped on my a bird hahahaha it landed on my face and went down my shirt...#awkward. lol. we were biking to a less active's house. Also we got a member to give one of our investigators, Gerard, a ride to church! I think he liked it. It was a great week of miracles. That's something that hit me this week: Believe in Miracles. I realized that when I was a newer, younger missionary that I totally believed in miracles happening and that God would provide a way for something to be done. Well, now that I'm further into my mission, I started to become numb to that idea and thought "Well, people have their free agency so how could a miracle happen here" and I, unknowingly, stopped believing in miracles!! Well the thought hit me the other night sitting on a tram ride home that I can still believe in miracles. God's hand is in everything. I know His plan is far greater than my plan. I know He still performs miracles. 

My birthday was great, though still stressful (whoever thought missionary work wasn't stressful was terribly wrong) (I can't think of anyone who's every thought that though haha) but it was good. we worked with the zone leaders and did some finding (of course we had no lessons) but we ate at a chinese restaurant for my birthday for lunch then did more work then later that night we had the amsterdam elders who live across our street and the Zaandam elders come to our backyard to have mexican burritos and deliciousness. it was fun. I still am not a fan of birthdays however haha. it's weird to be 20...I still feel 15. where does time go?!?!? 

I am loving working in this threesome. The past week has just been so fun. We are working until we are exhausted each day...and loving it. I love this work. I love being a missionary. It's who i am and I want to be one for the rest of my life...good thing every member a missionary right??? ;) 

LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!!!! Remember Mosiah 4:9 and Luke 1:37

Believe in Miracles. 
Veel Liefs, 

Zuster Brigette Harris
 




 

Monday, October 5, 2015

Who we are is not who we can become :)

Lovelies <3
 
This week has definitely been an adjustment and probably will be for the rest of the transfer lol but it has been good. Transfers were last week and I received 2 new companions of which are fantastic missionaries. We are all polar opposites, but it works. I love them. 
Last week we visited a member sister who has 3 adorable kids and she doesn't come to church very often. we visit them every week with the elders. most of time I am trying to get Chi Chi (her son of age 6) off my lap hahah but they're so cute. we love going over there and doing fun gospel games or reading out of the children book of mormon together. and this past week the two boys actually listened and read along! it was wonderful. I love that family. The kids warmed right up to the new sisters. 

We also had a cool appointment with an old lady who was a referral from her member sister who is living in California. Her caretaker showed up and we got talkin with her and ended up teaching her the whole first lesson and dropped the baptism question. she was super cool and so sweet. she was pretty interested. we are hoping to meet with her again. 

We also had a lovely lesson with our investigator Ike at centraal station. it was a beautiful day so we sat outisde of the station which was pretty busy, but it was quieter than inside because people are playing the piano and singing and it echoes. so outside it was. so we are sitting on this bench, and this guy sitting next to me starts mumbling something to me. I couldn't understand him and tried to speak dutch to him and english but he wasn't understanding me and I couldn't understand him....I finally understood that he was speaking russian and was like...dude, I don't speak russian...like I can't help you and we're having a conversation with this guy (while trying to teach about tithing and fasting) but the guy keeps talking to me and I tried to understand him but couldn't so I tried to get more into our conversation with Ike the the Russian guy kept knudging me haha I felt so bad. Turns out he was trying to sell drugs to me, and then asked if I has a lighter (we understood him through his hand signals) and then eventually the police came up and escorted him away. He also tried to give me one of his knives...or we was motioning at cutting me hahah ohhhh Amsterdam, how I love you. But the lesson with Ike ended up being really good and he understood the law of tithing and the law of the fast. 

well, wasn't General Conference wonderful?!? I still have yet to watch the last session and hopefully we can do that with some of our investigators who weren't able to make it to the church to watch it. Last night for the Sunday morning session we went to a half-member house to watch it. They are a newly married couple, both from Great Britain, and both wonderfully hilarious. I love them hahaha. The wife is a member and her husband is an atheist. but they are so great, and he watched the beginning part with us. They fed us a delicious lasagna dinner with other lekker things. The spirit was strong. The wife has been becoming more and more activated just this year and I think she realizes just how important the gospel is. I can see it in her eyes. hopefully they will be at church this week. 

Well, I hope you all remember the things that stuck out to you during conference and apply it to your lives. read through your notes and read the conference talks and mark them up and make small goals for each day to apply the things you learned! I know I will be doing that :) Elder Holland's talk was amazing. Mom, I love you. Thank you for being so strong and courageous in your faith. I have definitely leaned on your faith to help me during hard times. I do not doubt, because I know you know this gospel is true and I have gained a testimony of my own that it is true. I love this gospel,  I love my mom, I love my Savior, and I love you all!!!! Dad, you have also helped me so much as well. Keep on keepin' on!!! 

IK HOU VAN JULLIE HEEL VEEL

Zuster Harris :)