Halloween in Holland

November 3, 2014

Hi Familie!!!!

I know I say this every week but I love hearing about all the things you guys are doing! I hope Kasey is okay. haha I remember going to the vets with her when she had to have her nails trimmed. I´ll keep her in my prayers.

How was Halloween? We had a great week in Lelystad. We carved pumpkins with the ward and helped out at a church dance. They really went all out and decorated the entire church with decorations. It was really cool. Elder Warner and I worked in the haunted house and scared people all night. It was so much fun and it felt like trunk or treating back home. haha A member who was in the haunted house, dressed up like a witch, kept swearing at people. There were containers people put their hands into and they had to guess what they felt. Just to scare people she said it was…. Well, you can take a guess. Elder Warner and I just looked at each other and started laughing when she said it because it caught us so off guard. Elder Warner explained to me that American swears don’t really mean anything here and people say them all the time and don’t think much of it. However, there is an English speaking ward in Holland and they went through the haunted house, too.

I ate horse this week! It was pretty good. Tell everyone in the Ward I say, “Hi!” A good Dutch recipe that’s really common here is called stamppot. You can look it up online. It’s really good. It’s mashed potatoes with herbs, veggies and sausage. Do the Netherlands as your host country for Missionary Month!!!

I decided that when I get home I want to take Italian classes, so I can go to Italy and do family history work. It’s so awesome that you guys are working on it! Jesus the Christ is such an amazing book. I love reading it and the guy who wrote it has so much knowledge. I began to read it, but I don’t have much time between everything that needs to be done. My Dutch is coming along, but it’s still pretty difficult. I love the language but it’s hard. I know with the Lord’s help and the gift of tongues, I’ll learn it. Faith and the Atonement has been the focus of my studies this week, and I love the Atonement. You should read Preach My Gospel and study the lessons. It’s an amazing book. If anyone has questions about the church, go straight to Preach My Gospel. Ít’s an inspired book and it states everything so clearly and gives scriptural backup. We may teach a guy who is Jehovah’s Witness. He’s really chill and would be awesome to teach.

I love you guys so much, have a great week! To answer your question, we exercise in the morning. Biking is also good exercise and we bike everywhere. We ride the train a lot, too. We have NS-Business Cards which the Church gave us. They’re sweet and really official. And also, thank you so much for reminding me about Elder Bowen and Elder Levitt. It really helped me remember why I am on my mission. You should email them. They would love to hear from you guys. Love you!