faith is not a perfect knowledge

this week was pretty cool. I fell into a dirty little river thing as we were crossing a bridge to get to a lesson with a woman. It gave me a good laugh. Heavenly Father really does have a sense of humor, when we got to the lesson, she talked about how she knows the book of mormon was true in her heart, but the names didn't make sense to her. we told her that the most important thing was that we have faith, and that faith is not a perfect knowledge. even if we desire to believe, thats enough. Last night we taught a woman who was frustrated with her dad, and daughter, and neighbors. I felt prompted to tell her that we can always have comfort and a reason to smile, because God is our father, and He loves us. and I told her that she was a daughter of God. We truly do have every reason to find joy and be okay.My companion said When we a partners with God, it's up to us whether we fail, because He is perfect and will always keep His side of the deal. I know that God lives, that He qualifies, and that through Christ we can come to know who we are, and who others are. Ik houd van jullie!! 

Hey mom, sorry it's a day late. the internet was down yesterday, That story from him is super cool. He gave up everything to go help that family. He is a perfect example of someone who is Christlike. I learn more about the type of person Christ is everyday. It's an amazing opportunity to be here. As I spend more and more time with the people i feel more love for them. yesterday, we taught a man who didn't really end up accepting the gospel, but as a looked at him and saw myself in his car window, i thought about how i am a son of God, and he is too. I felt more significance of my missionary calling, that we have so many people around us who have no idea who they are, and what amazing potential and power is inside of them. so many people know about God, but they don't know the extent of who he is, and who they are. anyway, I love you mom, thanks for the email, and your inspired thoughts. I love you so much, I'm glad thanksgiving was good. LOVE YOU!! 

believe before they even pray about it.

this week went super fast!! i feels like yesterday i was on this computer haha. it's been good, i've seen a solid amount of dead frogs, and today i got a bonus and saw a dead dog!! (sorry animal lovers) anyway we were riding our bikes back from a members house doing service, and i looked up at the sky and said wow those clouds are cool, then i looked alittle more left and said HOLY CRAP (those clouds were even more gorgous) this is such a beautiful place. I love the light rain and the mellow nights. the people here are wonderful, There are so many that have so much humility. they believe before they even pray about it. they are so willing to follow God. that kid named scott i talked about last week has no piercings now! he looks more full of light and is doing better. The spirit really helps the missionaries too. My trainer asked me to lead one night this week and we found a man sipping a cup o' joe in his pajamas. he said he was hindu but he was very kind and so we startedto leave. then rain started pouring, henry yelled back at us from his porch for us to come back to get out of the rain. I listened to my companion talk to him (still not too good at dutch) and he talked about how he loves the word of God and he showed us his bible and karan, then we gave him more scripture (the book of mormon) and he was super excited, he said he would read it :) a similar experience happened with another man the next night, we got there and immediatley he sat up chairs for us like he was expecting us. the spirit is amazing and guides us. Heavenly Father is wonderful, and He helps His children. love you all!!

Absolute heroes

 I wanted to share two cool experiences with you two. there was one night when i was thinking about what you two have gone through and experienced together as a couple. you two are my absolute heroes. You both have depended and loved each other so much, and that was so visible to me growing up. I love you two so much, and I am so happy you two are my parents. I had another experience today in the temple. Today was my last day to be in the temple for two years and so i Pondered that, then I opened the scriptures and read about Christ in matt 9-10, and when He called his disiples and what he told them they would go through and what they would experience. I feel like that was the best thing to be learned today. I love you two so much and look up to you both so much. LOVE YOU!!

Hey everyone! well my travel plans came this past week, and so I'm not leaving until monday! (i think) it makes me feel like Moroni at the end of the book of mormon, because I'm not done here yet hahaha anyway, I'm super excited to see Jared before i leave off to se! It'll be super cool to fly with my district, they're a good fun group of elders, so it should be good! I'm pretty excited, but I'm happy to be here, and learn just a bit more of the language. I love the Dutch language, theres a phrase that says "voor de lols" which means "for the heck of it" haha, anyway, it's been a super good week, I've heard there's been some flooding near the se area, so that'll be quite the experience to come to! anyway, I love you all, I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ, and that joy and happiness comes from working hard and being true to what we know.

Nov 1

Hey mom! I got to s.... just a few days ago! it is so beautiful here, and wonderful. its hard work, but man i love it. I love the people here haha, especially the kids, theyre so cute and sweet. alot of them remind me of home. I'm so glad I was able to see you and dad and jared in the mtc before i left. I never noticed how much jared acts like dad, and how much i act like you. hahaha, I can barely speak dutch, but I can usally get my message across, so that's a really big blessing, there are also alot of investigators that speak english. there is one 14 year old boy named scott that i really click with. He has some family troubles, and has some depression, and I'm glad that we have the opportunity to bring the light of Christ into his life. I'm still not quite adjusted to the mission life, so I'm learning to exersise faith in Christ, everytime i teach a lesson, or proselyte, I feel happy. honestly, throughout my whole experience, I have never reached a point where I have gotten really homesick, I have been so blessed mom. there is  a blog with afew pictures of me: ..... anyway, I love you so much, thank you for your testimony. man, thanks again for helping reach this point in my life, I'm so glad I have this opportunity. It's weird, I always feel like when I read yours and dads letters, I'll feel alittle homesick, but instead it's the opposite, you make me want to work hard. I love you for that. thanks again mom! ❤

p.s. packages are going to be WAY expensive for you if you send them to me, so don't worry too much about them, instead money for personal stuff is good! :) (pps thats what they told me (just the messenger boy))