HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Monday, November 22, 2010
Hey Family! I can't believe that you have had so much snow in the past couple of days! The winter season has finally hit! It is pretty chilly here but at least we have no snow...yet! Are you getting excited about all of the holidays coming up? I just can't believe that Thanksgiving is this week! We were invited to go to a Thanksgiving with Familie Koot and the four elders here in Den Haag which I am sure will be a lot of fun! Sister Koot's mom is from America so she knows how to make a real Thanksgiving dinner with all of the fixins’ so I am sure that we will be spoiled! I will be thinking of you and especially how THANKFUL I am for all of you! I hope that you have a very Happy Thanksgiving full of love and gratitude!
We had a week of miracles again...I don't think I will ever not have one on my mission! Our teaching pool has been filled and we are busier than ever! Cevesta still has a baptismal date for the 18th of December and he is working towards that. He is keeping his commitments to read and he really hungers for the truth as we teach him. We are hoping to give him a church tour this week! Mary is also getting so much more interested in the gospel and what the Restoration means to her personally. She came to church yesterday and the ward members are receiving her very well. She is planning on attending allof the holiday festivities with the ward and we can see that her desires and testimony are growing and changing. Suleyka, an investigator that the elders were teaching that they passed to us, is on the verge of having a baptismal date too! She is 22 and so amazing! She has been taught all of the lessons but now needs to develop a testimony and receive a confirmation that the things that we are teaching are true. She's coming right along! Rose came to a church tour on Saturday with her 2 grandchildren! We were so excited that she actually showed up! You know, I think I let myself get so casual with the church buildings that we have and that we are blessed to be able to use but during the church tour I was reminded that the church buildings are dedicated buildings and that the Spirit is present there. I could feel it as we walked with Rose through the building! When we entered the chapel there was a special peace and warmth that flooded over all of us. She committed to come to church this next Sunday! And do you remember Kimberly? The one who never wanted to come to the church again? Well, every once in a while we get a feeling that we need to just call her up. I got that feeling on Friday and after the conversation on the phone I knew exactly why! She made an appointment to meet with us the next day, Saturday, and we had an excellent appointment! She has been reading in the Book of Mormon on her own and she said that she would come to the YSA center this coming Thursday and that she will definitely come back to church! I have such a special and deep love for her and I know that Heavenly Father's love for her is even stronger. I know that she feels the Spirit but all of the changes that would come with becoming a member of the church seem so overwhelming to her. Her family is really active in their Methodist faith and I think that she is scared with how they would react to her joining another church. I hope that she'll have the strength and faith to do it! We also have a new woman that we are teaching, Iteke Blauwer. She is 61 and her husband passed away from cancer 2 years ago. When we knocked on her door she told us that she had a Book of Mormon sitting on her shelf in her living room. She invited us in and sure enough she had one there! It was one of the older versions that her husband had received when he had investigated over 20 years ago. It is really wonderful because she is open to the gospel because it was something important to her husband. She wants to learn more about the Plan of Salvation, especially life after this life, and we can't wait to teach her this week!
We also had a Zone Training Meeting this week and we talked about extending commitments to people as well as ways we can reach our goal of 150 baptisms for the year 2010! We have already had 111 so we are really close! Please pray that we can reach our goal!
Thanks so much for all of your love and support and prayers! I am so thankful for all of you and for my Savior Jesus Christ. I am so thankful for the plan that Heavenly Father created for us that brings us so much joy, happiness and hope! Have a great week! I love you!!!!
Love, Lauren