Temple Conference and Keukenhof!

April 13, 2015

Hello everyone!

I'm sooo excited for Cierra! That’s so awesome! I really want to visit Italy. Haha tell her to send some pics from Italy to me! This week was really good. We had a potluck dinner at church after sacrament meeting and then we visited an elderly member after. We went to the temple and it was a really great experience. Keukenhof is beautiful and the pictures don't show how beautiful it is. We got our transfer calls and I'm staying in Kortrijk! I love it here and I know the Lord called me here. We talked about in district meeting how we are called to certain areas in the mission because the Lord has a work for us to do in our specific areas. Our district leaders invited us to pray this week and ask God why we are serving in the areas we are in and try to focus on finding the reason we are here. As I go out and serve everyday, I find my answer. Faith takes action and the Lord will help and strengthen us as we do His will. This week was pretty busy with travel for temple conference. We took a train to Antwerpen on Tuesday and then bought tickets to Rotterdam Central. From Rotterdam, we were able to use our NS business cards and took a train to Den Haag where the ZL's picked us up and we stayed at their apartment for the night. We traveled with the elders from Bruges and Gent. The next day, we woke up and took a tram to the temple in Zoetermeer. It was a really great session. We all went to the church building in Zoetermeer and President and Zuster Robinson bought us pizza and then we took a bus to Keukenhof, which was amazing. I might stay in Kortrijk another transfer after this because Elder Price is dying (going home) after this transfer and a new elder will come in. Love you guys, have a great week!

Love, Elder DeWitt 

Happy Easter!

April 7, 2015

Hi everyone!

Thank you so much for that inspiring poem and for the e-mail! I really enjoyed the poem and something our mission president told us is that when we have faith in Christ, it leads to action. The man who moved the mountain did not waste time and was not slothful; he knew what he had to do and went to work knowing that the Lord would strengthen him.

I had such a good week and General Conference was so good and powerful. I know the prophet and the apostles are called of God and are inspired. We spent Easter at Luc and Vivian Leman’s house and watched the Priesthood session in the morning there with his son Angelo and Angelo's sons, Aaron and Absalom. They're all such good people. When we got to their house, Vivian had the entire place decked out with Easter decorations and chocolate everywhere. After the session, more of the Leman's came over and we all had a big Easter lunch with them. Luc had on a big bike race called the Tour de Flanderen. It's a really big cultural thing here and he used to be a professional cyclist, so everyone was really into it. We played soccer outside and the weather was beautiful. It was so much fun and it was like I was at a family Easter gathering back home. We left to go to Eric’s house to watch the Saturday evening session. He is a single guy in his 60's who is awesome. We biked there which took a little bit longer than expected because a bridge was out. We found another route and arrived just in time. He loves when we come over and it’s always so fun to go over and spend time with him.

Elder Price and I are traveling to Nederland today to sleep over at the Den Haag elders' apartment so we can be at the temple on time tomorrow. It's going to be a busy day of traveling but I can't wait to go to the temple and see the gardens at Keukenhof. I'll take a bunch of pictures and send them next week. Transfer calls are coming this Sunday and I might be getting transferred. I would really like to stay here in Kortrijk my whole mission but I'll go where ever I'm called. Love you guys so much and I keep all of you in my prayers. It's so great that you guys have the missionaries over for dinner. Tell them I say, “Hi” and thank them for serving. I love you all and have a great week! Our investigators are doing well but they haven't come to church yet. A lot of people have work on Sunday here and it's hard for them to get to church. We keep praying for them and we taught the plan of salvation to Styn this week. The Spirit was so strong and we asked him a lot of questions which is one of the best ways that I've found of teaching. Love you guys, have a great week.

Love, Elder DeWitt :)  

Happiness in Helping

March 30, 2015

Hey Everyone!

I'm praying for every one in the family and let them all know that I'm thinking about them. I'm really happy that you got to go see The Hobbit at Edmond Town Hall and go to Pepe's after! Those were always really fun nights. It's great that Dad and Caleb got to go give Grandma the sacrament and that Dad gave her a blessing. Do you know Grandma's E-mail? You sent it to me once but it was really long and funny looking. It's good to hear that KC is doing well. Elder Price and I are going to a castle in Gent today and I'll take pictures :)

This week was quite rustig (quiet). Elder Price was sick in bed all week and I wasn't feeling too good either. We are feeling better now and should be getting back to our normal schedule this week. We got to help out a member in the ward this week with yard work and he was really happy. He's an older guy who's awesome and we had a great time helping him move tree stumps and planting new trees. One of the things I've learned is that when I’m helping other is when I feel my best. It brings true happiness and I really recognize that and try to look for opportunities to help people. We also had zone training in Antwerpen this week and it was really good. President and Sister Robinson will be leaving in  two transfers and these will be the last few zone activities we will have with them. They're such good people and I know they're inspired to help the people and their missionaries here in Belgium and the Netherlands. At the end of zone conference a few missionaries were called to go up and bare their testimonies about how the Spirit plays a roll in their mission and in their life. I was called and it was a good experience. I talked about how the Spirit guides and directs us in all that we do even when we're not entirely sure what we should do. As we go forward in faith, God will be at our side and the Spirit will teach and inspire those we talk to. I shared 2 Nephi 32:2-3 about how through the Holy Ghost, we can speak with the tongue of angels and speak about Christ.

Temple Conference is next week and we get to go to Keukenhof after! I can't wait. I love going to the temple and going to Keukenhof is going to be so beautiful! I'll take tons of pictures. Love you guys so much! I hope you have a great week!

Love, Elder DeWitt

Peace in Living the Gospel

Mar 23, 2015

Hey everyone!

I'm happy it's starting to warm up in the northeast! You guys should start looking for a house down south and move there this year! That would be sweet. Happy birthday Dad! How old are you? Almost 50? haha grapje (joking). I hope you have a great year and I'm so happy you're my dad and for all the great times we've had. Love you Dad. I remember going to the movies and then going to Pepe's after! How was the third Hobbit? Kaylee is coming home so soon! That's crazy. Does it seem like she's been out for a long time? It's going to be so cool for you guys to see Kaylee come home! And Cierra is going to Italy in a few weeks! She's going to love it. Make sure she speaks a lot of Italian and tell her to say, “Hi” to missionaries if she sees them there. I met some missionaries in the MTC who were going to Italy. She's going to want to bring enough clothes because she's probably not going to wash any there. The hotels aren't like American hotels. They are not as modern. I guess it depends on where you go. She'll probably want an adapter and she'll be good. Does she have a passport? Make sure she has it with her all the time and if police stop her tell her to play the American card and to make sure she gets her passport back after they scan it. She's going to love it. Italy is beautiful and let her know that she doesn't have to take too many pictures but to enjoy it while she's there. I'm really excited for her. I want to visit after my mission.

Elder Price and I had a really good week and we found a lot of new people. We taught a good amount of lessons this week and I asked someone if they would be baptized after they found out if these things were true or not and they said, “Yes!” It was such a cool experience. I know the peace that comes from living the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I love sharing it with others. We have district meeting once a week on Tuesdays and have weekly planning usually on Fridays. We were too busy this week for weekly planning so we'll probably do it today. Weekly planning takes about three hours for us. I love you guys so much and I hope you have a good week! Make sure you guys are good missionaries too. Try to find people for the missionaries to teach and ask if they need joint teaches. Missionaries love that. I'm really excited for Cierra. She's going to have such a good time in Italy.

Love Elder DeWitt

Easter Referrals

March 17, 2015

Hey Everyone!

Just got back from district meeting in Gent and the weather is so nice today! The sun is out and district meeting was great. We talked about recognizing the Spirit and how it is so important in the work we do. Kortrijk is a pretty big city and our area also covers a big area. Our area covers West Flanderen all the way to Popperinge. We don't go to the western half a lot because it takes so much travel time on the train but we have been getting out there lately for Easter referrals from Facebook. You guys should definitely move to South Carolina or Georgia. That would be sick! Do you know when Erik leaves for his mission? I e-mailed Dalton from university and Eric. Dalton is in Sao Paolo Brazil and Eric is in Mexico. They're both doing really well and it's really good to hear from them. Elder Price and I have been talking to a lot of people this week on the street and knocking a lot of doors. It's hard to get in and teach a lesson but we're trying to find people. We have faith :) The Easter referrals are nice because some of them are interested in Christ and God. For the Easter referral campaign on Facebook, people order the Finding Faith in Christ DVD and then we go deliver it to them and talk about Jesus Christ with them and testify of Him. Then we make a return appointment (hopefully) so we can teach them about the restoration and so forth. This week has been great and we have been working with a lot of the members lately. The Kortrijk Branch is full of really good people. Our ward mission leader is the a really cool guy who used to be a professional cyclist and he won a really big race years ago and raced in the Tour de Flanderen ook (also) competed in the Tour de France. Love you guys! Beste wensen (Best wishes).

Love,

Elder DeWitt  

p.s. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Learning from King Benjamin

March 9, 2015

Hey Everyone!!!

I'm so happy that Ci got into BYUI!!! That's so awesome!!! I love you guys so much and thanks for the e-mail! Will I be home for spring track? I finish July 20th next year. Sounds like there's a lot of snow on the East Coast :) Cierra got to go on her final ski trip! Did you guys go? Thanks for the bit from Kaylee. She's a great missionary and she gets it. She really understands the work and loves the people. Haha we make jokes all the time how sister missionaries are way better than elders. They're awesome and they bring something that elders don't have. They're awesome. The patats are delicious and that’s a really big dish here. Friets are sometimes just eaten as a dish here and that could be an entire meal. It's kind of funny how people make fun of Americans and cheeseburgers when all they eat here are just a bunch of fries. People also get offended if you call them French fries because they take pride in their friets.

This week has been full of a lot of exciting things. I said good bye to Elder Lindstrom, and exchanges were on Wednesday. We exchanged in Antwerpen Central which is a beautiful place. You guys should look it up on the internet. We did a lot of contacting this week and it almost got to 60°! The weather is starting to get warmer and it's so nice. I think I want to live in a tropical place in a few years on the ocean. We have 6 new potential investigators, and we have afspraken (appointments) with them next week. We've been giving a lot of Book van Mormons away and we're seeing so many of the blessings that the Lord promises to us while we are on a mission. Elder Price is a great missionary and is a really hard worker. He only has one more transfer after this one and his Dutch is great. It's still pretty difficult to completely understand people when they are talking but I can say pretty much all of the things I want to say. Something I've learned this past transfer is to have faith and trust in the lord. If we do this, everything will go well and He will turn us into something we could never become on our own. He wants us to have happiness and joy in this life and He will help us. I love you guys so much and I hope you have a great week!!! Love you all and I'll keep doing my best to serve the Lord. I really like Mosiah 2 when King Benjamin speaks to his people. You should read it for family home evening! It's brought me a lot of comfort on my mission and has helped me to turn outward instead of inward. I love you all so much and I hope you have great week! 

Speaking From the Heart

March 2, 2015

Thanks for the e-mail! Cierra's a potato!!! She’s going to BYUI! Guess we're going to university together! We had a really good week and transfers are this Wednesday. Elder Lindstrom is leaving and Elder Price is coming here to Kortrijk. Haha we're going get lost a bunch, I have no idea where anything is here in Kortrijk. We had a really good week and the baptism was great. I gave the baptism talk and I was all ready to read it off the paper, but then I got the feeling that I should just speak to the woman who was baptized and not read the talk I had prepared. I was a little nervous, but I ended up using what I had written down as more of a guideline. I know Heavenly Father was helping me out and the Spirit spoke to her. I hope. Haha she was really grateful for the talk and Lindstrom conferred upon her the Holy Ghost which was really good. She cried a lot and she was so happy. We had dinner at her house on Sunday and we made American burgers for her and her son. 

We just got back from Ieper and it was so cool. It was really historical and there were so many things from the war there. There was so much information and it was really interesting. There was a huge grave site that honored all of the fallen soldiers in World War I. There were a lot of soldiers from Europe, England, South Africa, Canada, and New Zealand. There was also some information about Tolkien and I think he wrote The Hobbit while he was a lieutenant fighting in Ieper. Here are some pictures!

  

His Hand is Always Outstretched

February 23, 2015

Hallo Iedereen!

Thanks for the E-mail! I'm happy to hear that KC is doing well and that you're having the missionaries over so much! I'm sure they love all the dinner appointments. Tell them I say, “Hi” and thank them for the time they're taking to serve the Lord. It sounds really cold back home. It's been getting pretty warm here and I hope it stays this nice. Today Elder Lindstrom and I will be going to Brugge for our p-day. I'm really excited to finally see the history and beautiful architecture there. I'll take lots of pictures and eat lots of delicious food while I'm there :) Transfers are coming up and I think Elder Lindstrom will be leaving because this is already his third Transfer in Kortrijk. We will be getting calls this coming Zondag and we'll see where everyone ends up getting called to. Next week the branch president said he would take us to Ieper which is going be really cool. There is a ton of history there. Battles in the Middle Ages were fought there, trench warfare in the first World War were fought there, and a other historical things happened there, as well. 

The member who is getting baptized this week asked me to give the talk before her baptism, and it will be an honor. We have been teaching her the lessons and it's been really cool to see how ready she is to be baptized. Her testimony is so strong it's really inspiring. She has such a good understanding of Christ and of the Atonement, and the amount of love Christ has for all of us. His hand is always outstretched and He is always there, we just have to decide to take His hand and He will lift us up. The Atonement is good enough for everything and everyone. It will make everything that is not fair in this life right. When we have nothing left, it’s the power of the Atonement that we run on. God's plan is perfect and we can always rely on Christ and put our faith in God. If we put God first, all other priorities will work themselves out, and some might even go away. Heavenly Father knows us better than anyone, and he wants us to have joy and success in this life and the next.

Zone p-day was a lot of fun and there are a few European missionaries in the mission. Most of them are from Nederland or Belgie. They're not really better at soccer just because they're from Europe, they're just normal people haha. There were some young members there, who are about my age, who played with us as well. A lot of members in the church here go on missions. It's a little different here because there are not as many members, so they all go on missions at the same time and it's actually really cool. I know this is the true Church of Jesus Christ restored on the earth and I know it through the feelings I get everyday from the Holy Spirit. I heard from Eric that he got his mission call!!!! I'm so happy for him and he's pumped to get out there and serve. I love you guys and try not to freeze! Love you all have a great week!

Groetjes, Elder DeWitt  

Looking Forward to the Sun

February 16, 2015

Hello Everyone!!!

We had zone p-day and played voetball for a long time so that’s why this message is so late. I might send more tomorrow because the library closes kind of soon. That’s so awesome that Eric is going to Chicago Illinois!!!! He’s going to be an awesome missionary. We had a pretty busy week this week. We're teaching a new member the after baptism lessons, which are the same lessons we teach before baptism, just after baptism. We are meeting with a lady who wrote herself out of the church because her husband made her when she got married. She is now divorced and sent papers to the Church to be baptized again and she got the papers back!!!!! We're so excited for her and she will get baptized in two weeks. We are teaching her the lessons and she's a really cool person. She's so sorry for writing herself out and she's so spiritual. Our lessons with her are so good and she pretty much teaches us. She cries every lesson and has so much love for Christ. She's really amazing and has such a strong testimony and reminds me how simple the Gospel is.

It's been really warm here and I love it. I can't wait for the warm weather and the sun to come. I love the sun so much. During the winter it's rainy and foggy. The spring and summer are going to be so nice. It's pretty hard to do the work here in the winter because things wear you down faster but now that the sun is out more it should be better. There was a pot luck meal after church this week and a ton of people from other wards came. The church was so packed and it was awesome. I can understand Flams a lot better now and I'm so grateful for the gift of tongues. I can understand what people say to me now for the most part and can say pretty much whatever I need to in Dutch, at least enough to get my point across. Alles komt goed wanneer goed is met ons :) I love you guys and I hope you have a great week!!!!

-Love Jeremy

Miracles Are Happening

February 9, 2015

Hi Mom and Dad and familie and friends!

Wow sounds like you guys had a great week. I can't believe Caleb is home already! I'm happy you guys went to his coming home dinges (thingamajig) at the airport. Let Grandma and the familie know that I love them and say, “Hi” to every one for me! I'm really thankful for what you said about enjoying the mission and that there really is no other time like it in my life. It is a consecrated time and I was struggling with enjoying the work until about a few weeks ago. I really do love this work and I know the joy and peace that comes from living and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A district goal of ours this transfer is to find meaningful scriptures out of the Book of Mormon and the Bible that are applicable to our lives. One I really like is Mosiah 2:41 “And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.”

This was a crazy sick week. I went on exchanges with the DL's on Thursday in Gent, and then on Friday I went straight to Antwerpen for exchanges with the ZL's. It was a really great experience and we talked to a guy who was from Oregon! We gave him a Book of Mormon and it was sweet! He was a really cool guy, and we shared the promise in the last chapter of Moroni with him. He said it was quite a promise and we exchanged numbers. That was in Gent, so I'll see if they ever follow up with him, or if he gives them a call. Jenny got baptized this week! She has been investigating the church for 15 years and she made the decision a few weeks ago. Lindstrom and I were the two witnesses and it was a really cool experience. She was a little scared about the water but she did it! The next day we stood in while she received the gift of the Holy Ghost and she cried afterwards and the Spirit was strong. Also, one of the new members received the Aaronic Priesthood! He is an awesome guy and set a great example for his dad, who wants to wait to find out more about the Priesthood before he gets it. Miracles are happening, and I'm so happy to be here doing Christ's work.

Lindstrom and I also had quite the experience yesterday with a member who fed us. We had some soup which was lekker (delicious) and then came out the main dish. He dished it up for us and put steaming hot cow tongue on our plates :) It was really nice of him to make it for us. He also made homemade chocolade mousse for us after, which was heel smak (very tasty). Love you guys!!! Have a great week!! Love you guys!!!!!!!

Well Cared For In Kortrijk

February 2, 2015

Familie!!!!!!!!

Jammer (bummer) the Partiots won :(  Kortrijk is awesome!!! The members are great here and we have dinner appointments almost every night! We got a ton of food in church yesterday from the members and the chocolade (chocolate) here is lekker (delicious). We are going to have two baptisms soon, one being this Zaterday (Saturday) which is awesome. People speak a lot of French here, but also Dutch. Every one speaks at least Dutch and French here, and ten million other languages haha. The French key board is a bit different with key placement, and there are letters with things above them and you have to press shift to use the numbers. I'm getting used to it. Caleb goes home so soon!!!!! The missionary whose blog you read is a ZL in Rotterdam right now and he served in Kortrijk last year. He's been on his mission for a while and he's an awesome guy. The son and dad who he saw get baptized are in the ward I am serving in now, and Elder Lindstrom and I are teaching them the lessons again because we have to after they get baptized. They are an awesome familie, and I hope they all get baptized! Tell the missionaries in our ward that I say, “Hi” and I also thank them for serving! Elder Lindstrom has been out for a while and speaks really good Dutch. He's going home in three transfers. I love you guys so much and I hope you all have a fantastic week.

Ik willen jullie een geweldig sneeuw dag te hebben!!!!

Settling In

January 26, 2015

Hi Familie!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for sharing the stories about moving the rock and the mountain with me, and for telling me how everything is going on back home. The transfer is going well and I got the train out to Kortrijk just fine. I’m typing on a French keyboard so well see how it goes :) It’s been pretty rainy and cloudy here, which kind of stinks, but it doesn't sound as bad as Danbury haha. It’s great to hear from you and it’s awesome that you got Nan a photo album of the Utah trip. Belgium is so different and sooo European! All of the buildings are super close and old. It’s beautiful. The people are pretty difficult to understand down here, but I’m getting used to it. The members here are awesome and we get a ton of dinner appointments. I love you guys so much and I’m so happy that Cierra got accepted to BYUI!!!! Do you know if Erik got his mission call yet. I can’t find the question mark on the keyboard haha. I’ll send pictures of the awesome city next week. Still settling in and getting used to everything. My new collega is Elder Lindstrom and he’s awesome. I love you guys so much! Have a great week!

-Jeremy :D

Happy almost Valentine’s Day!!!!

                                                            

Off to Belgium

January 19, 2015

Hi Familie!

On that note, I got called to Kortrijk in Belgium!!! It's on the France border and a ton of people speak French there! It's the farthest south in the mission we can go and I heard that we see more of the Paris/France missionaries than of our own missionaries. I'm really excited to have this opportunity, but I'm pretty nervous to. I heard that we shouldn't drink from the faucets, but I think it's okay if we do. It's a completely different culture down there than here, and I'm going to learn how to speak Flans (Flemish). They use a few different words for things than in Dutch, and the g's are soft, and the w's sound like w's instead of v's.

Erik emailed and told me that he handed in his papers! I can't believe Caleb is coming back so soon! I said good bye to the de Graaf’s yesterday and they want me to come back and visit after my mission. I'm so grateful for my mission and for all of the experiences I am having. I really liked hearing about the experience that Kaylee and her companion had, where they were able to help bring comfort to the woman who was usually unkind to the missionaries! It's true, you never know how much you can help someone just by saying or doing a simple thing.

Haha Dutch people do like to keep eye contact and they also love to use their hands when they talk. Dutch men are usually really funny when they open their door. They get a really painful look on their face when they try to read our name boards and then they usually have a strong opinion or just say, “No” and close the door. Haha some people are nice too.    

So, we got a ticket this week and had to pay it. The ticket was because we left a garbage bag out by the dumpster because it was jammed and wouldn't open. We paid for three garbage bags and thought that would be good and we left them next to the dumpster (like everyone else did) and the police showed up at our door with evidence that we left a garbage bag by the dumpster. Thus I am in sore need of money right now.

I'll send some more pictures tonight! This week hasn't been very eventful and we've been doing a lot of door knocking. Thanks for the beach pictures! Can you send some family pictures, as well as pictures of Nan and Gramps with me, and pictures of extended family? Love you all and have a great week!!!!

Transfer Calls Are Coming

January 12, 2015

Hi Mom and Dad and Everyone Else!,

I got a pen!!! Thanks for giving a speech for me! That was so cool to hear that the Danbury Exchange Club honored Eagle Scouts! That’s awesome that Eric is going on a mission! I can't wait to hear where he'll be sent to. There's a lot of European missionaries in the ward now. There are a ton of people from Suriname who moved here and that's basically all the people we talk to in Lelystad. They're the only ones who are open to at least hearing about religion haha. I haven't met anyone who has been affected by the plane crash but it's still pretty big news here and the government of Nederland is pushing to get more information about it from Russia and Oekraïne. I know a few elders who just went to Suriname and it sounds like a pretty sweet mission. Thanks for the quotes! They're quite uplifting and inspirational. Our recently reactivated member is doing well, we are going to try to give one of our investigators a baptismal date next week, and her husband isn't really too interested in church right now. We're going to try to give him a baptismal date, too. We'll see how it will work out. They're both working on the Word of Wisdom, and we'll explain it more to them next week. We visit a member who can't come to church for health reasons, but is so awesome. Transfer calls are next Sunday and I think I'll be transferred! I don't know if I will, but I think I will be. This has been a pretty good week, super windy and rainy and lots of talking to people. We had a Vietnamese loempia which was delicious. It's pretty much just a fried roll with chicken and vegetables in it. We handed out a book of Mormon yesterday and a lot of people want us to come back and talk to them! I'll send more pictures tonight. You guys are awesome. Love you!!!

Groetjes, Jeremy

Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!

January 5, 2015

Hey Familie!!!

Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!!!!!!!! Wow, this has been such an amazing year with so many opportunities and blessings. I'm so grateful for you guys and for my mission, and all of the opportunities I was able to have. This year is my full year dedicated to serving God. I'm so grateful that I was called here and for all of the experiences I've had, and all of the things that I've learned. Something I've learned while I’ve been out on my mission is the blessings of trials. Trials can be tough times that get our spirits low and we can feel alone or just beat. What I’ve learned, is that Heavenly Father gives us trials to strengthen us. Trials are times that God gives to us to make us stronger and more mature. Trials are such a blessing and when we are faced with a trial, remember Heavenly Father, and that He is always with us. He wants us to learn something and become more like Him. The next time you recognize a trial, pray for help and look for the things that you can learn through dealing with the trial in a good way. Chapter 6 in Preach My Gospel is about developing Christlike attributes. For family home evening, you guys should read the Christlike attributes and look up some of the scriptures that are given.

It's so good to hear from you all and I’m so excited to hear about Cierra and Kaylee and how they are doing! Elder Steenblik and I were able to go up on the roof of our apartment during Ouders Jaars Avond (old years night) and see the vuurwerken (fireworks). It was something I’ll never forget. As New Year’s came around, the sky was lit up with fireworks everywhere. It literally looked like a movie. Everywhere we looked, 360 degrees, there were fireworks. It was amazing. Everyone was outside throwing fireworks around and it was an experience I’ll never forget. It was so cool. We had a good week but we didn’t get to proselyte on Wednesday because we all had interviews with the mission president and had to go straight home. We talked to a lot of people this week and knocked a lot of doors. We have to record our finding time now and we are striving for 2 new potentials every day. We've had faith and we have almost met our goal this week.

I've eaten all the food you listed and it's all delicious. The poffertjes are only in Belgium but they're pretty much just small oliebollen, I think. We had veel oliebollen on New Year’s Eve and appelflap. It's tradition here for everyone to eat oliebollen during New Year’s feestdagen and it's awesome They're doughnut balls that they fry and put poeder suiker (powdered sugar) on. It's deliciousness. Love you guys so much!!!!! Have a great year and a great week!

Groetjes, Jeremy