What an amazing Mother's Day!!!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Hello! It's so fun to be writing right now because I feel so close to you after having just talked to you! You all sounded SO good and so happy!!! I am so thankful that you made those 30 minutes so extra special! Last night as I went to bed your words of love and happiness just kept playing over and over in my head...that was a 30 minute conversation that I will never forget! I still would have liked to share more words of love and gratitude with you but I feel so satisfied and energized with the time that we did have. Just never forget that I LOVE YOU and THANK YOU for everything! I hope that you all had a wonderful Mother's Day and I hope that you also know that you made my Mother's Day extremely special.
I didn't get to tell you yesterday, but I spent a day in Amsterdam this past week! Zuster Stapleton had to go to a leadership conference in Brussels with another sister, Zuster Ekstrom, so I spent a day in Amsterdam working with Zuster Vels, the only true Dutch sister in the mission. It was a shocker! I am so used to the smaller cities like Zwolle and Groningen and going to big old Amsterdam was a little overwhelming! I loved it though and I learned once again that wherever I go I immediately just fall in love with all of the people that I meet. It was really awesome to work with Zuster Vels and learn from here. She has such an amazing gift because she is Dutch, she can speak the language so perfectly, and she can relate to the people. Finding with her was awesome and we saw many miracles in our time together. She also helped me with my Dutch accent...I loved it! I wouldn't mind having another chance to serve with her again but maybe up here in the North...I like the quieter, smaller cities!
Swinda is still doing really well. I am going on exchanges on Wednesday with Zuster Fowler and I am hoping that we can get an appointment with Swinda for that day and that Joanne can come as a joint-teach. Joanne can play the violin really well and we are hoping that she can bring her violin and play and Zuster Fowler and I will sing a hymn with her accompanying us. The power of music in bringing the spirit is so amazing and I think it would really touch her heart. Keep her in your prayers! Dave isn't doing so well. Luckily we are going to be teaching primary this next week and we will be making cards from the primary children to Dave so that will hopefully give him and Swinda a little boost of hope and allow them to feel the love of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ!
We are also still teaching Ying Na and her 6 year old son, Run Ze. They are Chinese and they have no Christian background. I took my gospel art book the last time we went to teach them and I sat for about 45 minutes with Run Ze going through the book and telling him story after story about Jesus Christ and the people in the Bible and the Book of Mormon. At times I thought it would be too difficult for him to understand but he couldn't get enough! He begged me to bring the book back and I promised him I would to share more stories with him. I am amazed at the faith and understanding of small children...I really need to learn from them. I think that he might end up being the key to his mother’s heart to help her understand and accept the gospel!
I love you so much and I hope that you have a wonderful week! The Lord lives and this is His church! I am so thankful that I have the truth and that I get to share it with others. Thank you for your prayers and love and support! I pray for you too!
Love, Lauren