18 Months.

Well Family and Friends....18 months. I really can't believe I have been gone that long and that my time here is up. It really seems like last week I was being "kicked to the curb" in the MTC. And now here I am trying to find the motivation to pack my bags (I hate packing...with a passion.) :)

As I look back on my mission I am only grateful. Grateful for the hard times and the good times. Grateful for the amazing experiences I had and for the life long friendships I have made. And especially grateful for everything I have learned while being out here. Its been one of the hardest things I have done but also one of the greatest things. 

When I was in the MTC, Sister Sherri Dew came and spoke to all of us and gave an AMAZING talk that I have never forgotten. She talked about 4 things that she thought every missionary should learn while being out on their missions. The 1st was to figure out who you are and why you are here. The 2nd was to really, deeply understand who the Savior is and what he did for you personally. The 3rd was to figure out how I receive revelation and the 4th was to better understand Gods power, or the Priesthood. From that day on I was determined to make sure I learned/figured out all of those things while I was out here. So that talk quickly became my "mission goals". Luckily I can say that I have figured those 4 things out. On my mission I have figured out who I am and who I want to be in the future. I know my relationship with my Heavenly Father and that I am loved and admired. I came out here to the Belgium/Netherlands mission and worked really dang hard and saw so many miracles. During the hard times when I felt alone and was feeling extra home-sick and really was wanted some Cafe Rio ;), is when I came to know who Jesus Christ is and what he did for me. And that we NEVER need to feel alone because we never are. And one really cool part of being a missionary is you get the opportunity to be Gods hands. I couldn't even count how many times I have said something to an investigator or member, or whoever it may be, and heard my own words and knew that it hadn't come from me. I learned how to really communicate with him and he communicates with me. We are literally just the lords mouthpiece in this amazing work and we all get the privilege to take part in it. I have seen the Gospel change lives and I know Gods power is real. The Priesthood is a real thing and its the way God work with us today. I know Joseph Smith was a true prophet and translated the Book of Mormon so we could have it today. There isn't one bone of doubt in my body. Ive loved every single second of these past 18 months  and I know there is nothing better I could have been doing instead of this work. I love you all and I can't wait to see you in just a few short days!!! :) Thank you one last time for all of the support and love! You are all amazing!! See you on the flip side!! 

Love, Zuster Brophy

ITS DECEMBER. Cue the Freak out.

Hello Family and Friends-

Wow.....time is just weird. We are really getting down to the Nitty Gritty and I never thought I could experience so many emotions at the same time and it is quite the experience if I do say so myself. I am freaking out. But okay. Thats normal...so I hear.

This week was so busy and it went by soooo fast!! We saw lots of miracles and we had lots of events! We had a zone conference in Zoetermeer and Elder Moreira, from the seventy, came and spoke to our mission and it was sooo good. It was super funny because he was actually my companions brothers old mission president. Small world! I gave my dying testimony in front of everyone...no I didnt cry too much. And got to see lots of people for the last time! We have been staying busy this week with investigators and members. We have been going crazy with finding and keeping as busy as possible. If there is one thing I am doing at the last end of my mission...that is working. I dont want any regrets! Its getting super cold here...a small taste of the Netherlands winter before I head out. I dont have a winter coat but that purple rain coat is working out really good. Layering is going to be my best friend this next week and a half. Haha this week we are going on exchanges for one last time and it is also SinterKlaas on Friday the 5th. Which is basically when the Dutch celebrate Christmas. Its when they get all of their presents and have all of their parties. So we are going to be partying it up :) I LOVE THIS WORK. And I love all of you! You are all the greatest!! Keep being awesome.

Love, Zuster Brophy

Fixing Amber..good times :)

 Us with our investigator Nick. He is so cool!

 I am going to miss Zuster Jones :)

 Us and our investigator Sophie :)

 Us after conference.

TURKEY BOWL!!

Hello Family and Friends-

Happy Thanksgiving!!!! I cant believe it is that time of year again!! Time flies! We were able to have a really fun Pday today with our zone in Den Bosche and played some good ol American Football and all got lunch together in celebration of Thanksgiving. This week we are going to an American Families house and she is making some really yummy food for us all and I am super excited. I got lucky both years for Thanksgiving with a traditional American meal. :)

This week was a really great one! One of our biggest miracles was our new Investigator Mitchel! Apparently when Zuster Lemich was traveling down to Belgium with the other missionaries two weeks ago for Legality she contacted this guy and ended up getting into a really good conversation with him and gave him a card when she got off the train. Well, Tuesday after district meeting the phone starts ringing and I see that its an unknown number and answer it and its this guy, and he goes Hey this is Mitchel, I met you guys on the train about a week ago and I am interested in learning more about your message and what you guys believe. My jaw literally dropped. haha you dont see that happening very often. We made an appointment with him for the next day and we were both super excited. We have met with him twice already and he is super positive and super open to learn about what we believe. :) SO cool. Our other investigator Nick, is making incredible progress! He came to church for the first time yesterday and loved it! He participated in all of the lessons and got along really great with everyone. He literally texts us almost daily asking for another chapter to read in the Book of Mormon. Me and and Zuster Lemich decided we should tell him to start on page 1 and make his way through the whole book. Haha we have seen so many miracles, its insane! We currently have 6 progressing investigators and we are super happy.

This upcoming week is super busy! We have two crazy days and then a Conference in Zoetermeer on Thursday with the Den Haag and Antwerpen zones. Im super excited to see everyone for the last time! We are also going to Den Haag on Friday for more Legality things for Zuster Lemich and Saturday and Sunday are already booked with appointments. Life is good :) Its really a weird feeling coming down to the end. Its such a sweet and sour feeling and my brain really just doesnt know what to do with all my emotions right now. I am realizing more and more everyday how much my mission has meant to me and how much I love it. I wouldnt trade these last 18 months for the world! I love this gospel and I know its true! Thanks for all the support and prayers. I love you all!

Love, Zuster Brophy

 You know you are in the Netherlands around Christmas time when you see Olie Bollen.
SOOOO lekker.


 Soo.. I joined the Dutch Army. :) yes....those are real guns.

4 day exchanges....why not?

Hello Friends and Family-

What a crazy awesome week!! We went to sleep last night and I woke up this morning and started doing a normal regular thing and Zuster Lemich started cleaning the apartment up (like we always do on Mondays) and I realized that it was Monday again!! Idk what my problem was but I had literally forgotten and not realized it. Haha weeks just go by so stinking fast its crazy. Especially right now...Im just freaking out.

We got to go on a 4 day exchange with Zuster Kohlert and Zuster Maughan from Utrecht and it was so much fun. Zuster Lemich and Zuster maughan needed to go back down to Belgium for more legality issues so me and Zuster Kohlert just got to party it up here in Breda. We did lots and lots of contacting and found some awesome new investigators. We also celebrated our 17  month mark with some take out chinese food and Ben & Jerrys. It was delicious. And we have been seeing miracles just left and right in this city! One of our progressing investigators,  Nick, texts us almost daily now with questions about the gospel and also asking for more reading assignments from the Book of Mormon. And he wants to be baptized sometime in December or January and I am SO excited for him! He is so golden. Sophie is still progressing and has come to church the past few weeks. We also found another Golden investigator last Tuesday. His name is Ali and he is from Iran. He let us right in on the door and we gave the Restoration lesson and he basically asked us for a return appointment instead of the other way around. We took an awesome joint teach this last Friday and he is super prepared with lots of questions and things for us to help him with. We have lots of good potentials we are working with as well. All ones that have gotten the number off of our card and called US. That doesnt ever happen!! Z Lemich turned the big 20 on Friday, so of course we had a nice little party in celebration of her being really old. Made some good cake, took some great pictures. Life is just really great :)

I am enjoying every second out here!! Its one very bittersweet feeling about having this experience end very soon but I am just soaking it all in as much as I can. Thanks for all the support, love, and your prayers! You are all the best and I cant wait to see your faces soon!

Love, Zuster Brophy

Yes....I got to go back to BELGIUM!!!

Hello Family and Friends-

Another week has come and gone and It went by wayyy too fast! We have been staying busy and the days just mush together into one big happy event and I dont know how to describe it! Yes...you read it right....BELGIUM. Zuster Lemich had to do some legality things down in Brussels so we got to go back for my first time since I left and I was sooo much fun! Ah, how i love that place. We traveled with the elders through Antwerpen and then straight to Brussels and Zuster Lemich had some really delicious Belgian frites and some good waffles. So much fun! We have been teaching alot as well. We got a member referral from a family here in the ward named the De Wildes. They have two kids on missions, one in the states in Ohio and the other in London England. And it was their daughters work friend and his name is Nick and he is 26 and is absolutely GOLDEN. He is totally open for the gospel and they let us come over, all have dinner together at their house, and then give a lesson. Super Member Presents! Woo! We are hoping to set a baptismal date with him very soon. This last Tuesday night we were out knocking doors super late at night and we get to our very last one and this girl named Angela opens the door and right when I saw her face I got this feeling that I needed to talk to her about the Plan of God and tie that into the Book of Mormon. So immediately I did that, and she got this really cool look in her eye and accepted the book and asked US to come back and share more about it (because she was busy at the time). It was SOOO cool. Those are the moments when you just know that the spirit is speaking through you to these people and its the coolest feeling ever. So we made an appointment for the next night at the same time. So we were both super excited and everything was good. Well the next night came and we had an appointment with another member literally on the other side of the city and it ended up going later than we thought and we werent going to make it back out to Angela on time/ let alone at all because it was so late. Through the whole appointment I was just dying inside because I wanted to go back so bad and we didnt even have her number to call her. When we get outside I pull the phone out of my pocket and check to see if we had missed anything and there is a missed call from a random number and a voicemail. I listen to it and guess who it is?! ANGELA. She had gotten our number off the card we gave her and called us. And she ended up not being able to do it that night anyways and she said in her voicemail that she wanted to make another appointment with us. This never happens people. Ever. Dutch people just dont do that. It was such a miracle and we were both just freaking out. So we called her back and we have an appointment with her this week and I am so excited to see what happens! Missionary work is the best.

This week is going to be a really great one! Zuster Lemich is turning 20 on Friday and we are going to party it up! We get to go on exchanges this week and teach some really awesome lessons! Life is good. I love and miss all of you!! Thanks for the support and prayers!

Love, Zuster Brophy

Starbucks!

 Me with all the greenies getting their legality done. I was the oldest sister there and was in charge of leading everyone around in Brussels. Now if thats not weird...I dont know what is.

                      
 This is what happens when you bike in skirts...haha so funny!

 More Belgium :)

First belgian waffle..yummy!

 Eskimos :)

Breeeeeeeeeeeeeedda :)

Hello Family and Friends-

I am in love with this city. There is no doubt about it. It is so beautiful and so much fun to be living here. We have a DISHWASHER. Do you know how amazing this is?! This is a miracle. We live across the street from the church and literally a 2 minute walk to the grocery store and a 20 minute walk to the centrum. I am a happy camper to say the least :) It has definately been a crazy week though! Saying goodbye to everyone in Capelle was definately not the easiest thing to do. Lots of tears were shed with investigators and members. I really loved that city and those people and It will always be a very special city for me. Somehow I got everything packed, man I have accumlated SOOO much junk on in the last 17 months and I cant figure out how. Somehow I got it all to fit in my two suitcases and dropped it off early in the morning in Rotterdam Centraal with the zone leaders. I went up to Leiden to the mission office and picked up my little daughter, Zuster Lemich!!! She is almost 20 and is from Cedar City. Lets just say....Our mission president is inspired. We are literally the same person. We both have a Diet Coke Addiction, both love Cafe Rio, both pass out when we get shots or touch a needle in general, and all of our interests and mannerisms are the same. Haha its kind of crazy. Needless to say, we have had a very exhausting but amazing first week together! Her Dutch is amazing, she has that amazing drive and motivation to work hard, and this transfer is just going to be a blast!  On Friday night for Halloween we went and got her first Speculoos cake and dressed up as mother/daughter. It was so great. White washing has of course made it super exciting and stressful. Since this is my first time training its just made it all that much more fun. However, we literally just walked straight into a gold mine. This city is amazing! Thursday morning, we were walking to the bus stop and I saw this lady and in my head I thought, Hey you should talk to her. So we get over to the bus stop and Im trying to figure out how a good way is to start a conversation without being completely awkward. Eventually I start talking to her and we had a really good conversation and she ended up coming to church on Sunday and we have had 2 lessons with her now. SO awesome! The sisters before us had also left alot of good investigators and potentials that we have been able to look up and that has been great and fun! On Sunday we were able to go to church and this ward is so amazing! They are all pro-missionary work and ready to help us with whatever we need. The Bishop is one of the nicest, loving men I have ever met and we are just so happy to be here. I have made a goal that I wanted to make this transfer one of those transfers where every night when you get home you just fall into your bed because you are so tired. And so far, we have literally done that every night. There was one night this week I didnt even make it to the point of changing my clothes I was so tired. Haha I love missionary work and I am loving being here with Zuster Lemich to help these people in Breda! I love and miss you all and thank you for your support and love!

Love, Zuster Brophy

Me and Zuster Lemich

Halloween Night..dressed up as Mother and Daughter :)

Breda is Beautiful!

Well....Im ending it with a BANG :)

Hello Family and Friends-

Welll.....We heard about transfers and.....IM TRAINING AND WHITE WASHING IN BREDA!!!! WOOO!! I am beyond excited!! When I wished to end it with a bang, I really did get my wish. haha I am super excited to see another city, and I have been to Breda once and it is SOO pretty and the cutest little dutch city. And I get to have a little baby daughter greenie :) Its going to be an adventure to say the least....white washing with kohlert six months ago was one of the funnest, most stressful things Ive done....so im excited!  Zuster Greenwell is also training but staying here in Capelle/Rotterdam. She is freaking out about taking over the city and everything but I know she will do just fine. Pretty much my whole group of sisters that go home in a transfer are all training-white washing/ or sister training leaders for their last transfer. President is keeping us busy for this last one  :) very very wise. So I will be packing all of my stuff up and going to the mission office on Wednesday morning with all my stuff and pick up my greenie. Then we will haul all of my stuff and her stuff all the way down south to Breda where I am hoping someone will be there to take us to our apartment? haha idk we will see. And then there ya go.....a last transfer of miracles!! I am beyond excited!! YAYYY! oh and just to put the cherry on top of the cake...I am in the Antwerpen, Belgium stake so I will beable to see alot of the members from Gent right before I die. :) How much more perfect can it be?!!

We had a good week here in Capelle! I am really going to miss this city. It will Always be such a special city for me and I will miss these people soooo much!! Thank heavens for technology after the mission! We had alot of good appointments this week with our investigators and said alot of goodbyes and visited alot of members. We had a huge party last night with our investigator Mano. His whole family came over and made indonesian food and 8 other elders from our district also were able to come and it was a blast. Lots of singing and dancing and having a good time. They are seriously a miracle family. We gave the spiritual thought that was very centered on Christ and the spirit was SOOO strong! Afterwards, the dad of the family looked at me and said Thank you so much for knocking on our door. Everytime you come over I get this really warm feeling and it makes me feel good. I know you guys are doing a good work and we are going to miss you alot. AHHH I died. They have been making so much progress and its amazing to see. We also were able to visit Iris this week, unfortunately she got sick so we couldnt meet with her on Thursday but we both had a feeling on Friday night that we really needed to visit her. So we went over and went up and started chatting with her. Turns out she had been having a really hard day and needed someone to talk to. We read out of the scriptures and the spirit was there. Its one of the coolest things in the whole world to see the changes and the progress these people make. I have never seen it in my life before now, and I will probably never see it again. Last night....I kind of freaked out for the first time. I think getting my last transfer call and actually seeing and knowing how its going to end really hit me and I balled my eyes out for the first time about going home. haha I miss and love all of you, but man- I want to stay here. I love it this place and there is nothing like the work I do here! The Gospel is true. I see it day in and day out!  I cant wait to just go down to Breda and go crazy! Its going to be a blast and a perfect ending to everything. Thank you for all the prayers and support!

Love, Zuster Brophy

All of us after visiting Mano

 Waiting for a bus after Stake Conference...drinking Stoofperen vla....natuurlijke :) 
                                     
 Mano and the crew :)

We received our Halloween Package...yea!

Ik vind het leuk om kruidnoten te eten. :) Uh Oh....dit is een probleem.

Hello Friends and Family-

Sooooo I love Europe around the Holidays. They just do it SO much better than America when it comes to the food. Mainly just the pastries. Last year around this time I was in Belgium which is very different than the Netherlands so I didnt get the gevulde speculaas and the Kruidnoten and Kerst Pannekoeken! They are SOOO DELCIOUS. Its seriously a dangerous environment over here. And there real Christmas holiday is Sint Nicolaas and that is on December 5th. So I will be here just in time to catch the big one here and just in time back in America to catch the one there :)

We have had a great week. We went to the TEMPLE!!! For the last time...in dutch. That was a really weird feeling when I left there. But I finally got to see one of the new temple videos!! WOO. They finally finished translating it to Dutch. I thought it was super good but also very weird. haha idk how to describe it. I guess I just didnt really know what to expect, but it was super great! We had a really good conference after with everyone and good trainings. We have been doing alot of good finding lately and trying to find some good investigators. We have seen some success but not alot this past week. We taught this new woman and her name is Sibel. She is from Turkey and she is hilarioussss. She doesnt speak Dutch and only a little bit of English so she is constantly making funny comments and trying to figure out what we were saying. But the good news is...we made it through the Restoration lesson and it went really good and the spirit was strong! Iris is still doing great. We moved her bap date AGAIN to Nov 15th and we are praying she makes it. Transfers are next Wednesday and we find out this upcoming Sunday if I am leaving or not. I think I am leaving Capelle but im not so sure. We will see what happens! Another one of our investigators Mano, is throwing a huge party for me with his family and all of the elders in our ward are coming next Sunday and I am super excited. Mano speaks fluent dutch but he likes to practice his English with us so most of the time we end up speaking a mix of the two. But in his broken english he told me I really hope you can stay here...you are the Sunshine in this house. haha I laughed super hard. When he says it in Dutch it sounds a lot less sketchy and creepy....but he translated it directly so it sounded really funny in English. He is so great! We are hoping to set a baptismal date with him very soon.

This upcoming weekend we have Stake Conference here in Rotterdam! We are getting transfer calls on Sunday and we are busy with lots of appointments! Life is good. And not to mention...the weather here is sooo abnormally warm for this time of the year! So I am counting my blessings :) I love you all!!

Love, Zuster Brophy

Jason from Apeldoorn came and visited me in Rotterdam! SO fun!  

                                        

Lunch at Vapianos. LEKKER

At the temple in Den Haag

Hellllllllllllllo Herfst :)

Hello Family and Friends-

We are wittnessing miracles here in Capelle!! We had a super great week and we are staying super busy. Just to start off with a miracle, we have found 3 new investigators and  less active that we are teaching, all in one week! We decided to go do some bell ups by our house and we push this number and this sweet little lady comes up and says Hey are you guys the mormons?! and We say yes we are the mormons. And she goes...I am also a mormon but I am not active anymore. WHAT! So cool. We made an appointment with her for the next day and had a really great appointment with her. She is from Peru and has been inactive for about 14 years, but at the end of the closing prayer she looked at me and Zuster Greenwell and said Im so glad the mormon church is back in my life! :) She is so awesome. She wasnt able to come to church this week but she wants to come really bad. We also have found some really great positive investigators that we have appointments with this week! Super excited for those. Iris is doing great! She is planning on being baptized on November 1st and I am sooo excited. Even if I get transferred and dont stay in Rotterdam, you better believe I will be at that baptism. She has made soo much progress and I just love that woman so much.

We had a sisters conference this past Saturday with all of the sisters in the mission at the mission home. It was super fun and cool since it was my first time going to the mission home and dang- it is BEAUTIFUL! It was very weird because there were probably a total of 45 sister missionaries there and by Jan 15th there were only 12 there that would still be on their missions. So we talked alot about the mission culture and traditions that we have had and started together and how we want those sisters to keep up with it and keep it going. It was super weird to realize I am one of those actually getting ready to go, it hits me more and more- especially since I got one of my "dying letters" this past week! AHHH. Crazy. Me and Zuster Greenwell are having a total blast over here and seeing soo many cool things. We get to go to the Temple Tomorrow and I cant wait! It is Always much needed after 6 whole months of not going. I am so grateful for this gospel, I see it change lives and Its been the best experience in the world to come here on a mission. I wouldnt change it for the world!! I love and miss you all!!

Love, Zuster Brophy

All the Sisters that have served in Gent, Belgium :)

All of my companions except for Zuster Meier, Gallego, and Israelsen

 My companions that I served 3 transfers with :) Zuster Kohlert and Zuster Djoukeng.

Algemene Conferentie is mijn favoriete weekend van de jaar!!

Hello Family and Friends-

I just sat down at the computer to write this email and I seriously cant even remember what happened this week. All of my days are just smashing together. So I apologize in advance if this email is really scattered all over the place. GENERAL CONFERENCE IS AMAZING. Especially the Sisters Conference. We basically camped out at the church all weekend long. Because how it works here, is they have broadcasts in the church and they watch the General Young Womans meeting in the afternoon saturday, and then watch the Saturday morning session live at 6pm our time. And then Sunday afternoon you watch the Saturday Afternoon session and then watch the Sunday afternoon session live at 6pm. And then us poor missionaries have to find some way to watch the Sunday afternoon session by ourselves since we dont have any internet. haha So its kind of cool. Everytime I watch the sessions where it is live, I Always think of all you guys watching the exact same thing with me. Kind of a fun thought :) I love our prophet and all of those great men and their inspiring words. I need to go back and review all  of my notes.

Today we went to the Zoo in Rotterdam with the whole zone and it was SOOO fun! We all pre ordered our tickets and luckily it turned out being decent weather and didnt rain or anything. We had a good time and I may or may not have somewhere around 200 pictures to prove that. This past week went by sooo fast and was a really productive one. We have alot of good potentials right now that are just waiting to turn into new investigators! We have been trying over and over again to meet with this lady named Adrianna that we met doing bell-ups. But everytime we go over there she isnt home and we have to reschedule! So frustrating. I have never wanted to teach someone more in my life. She is just soo positive! We have been seeing lots of success with our teaching and less-actives we are working with. We had lots of investigators also watch the conference online which was awesome! Iris is still doing really well. We are hoping she gets baptized sometime this month, but if not for sure in November. We have a zusters conference that is on Saturday in the Mission Home and I am SOOOO excited! We are going to have an absolute blast and I cant even wait. And then the week after that we have Temple Conference! WOO! We are just partying it up here in the Netherlands! I cant believe that its already halfway through the transfer.....time really needs to slow down. I am starting to freak out with the amount of time I have left. Its kind of scary! I love all of you and miss you! Thanks for all the support and prayers!

Love, Zuster Brophy

Enjoy the zoo pictures :)

Missionary work. So great.

Hello Family and Friends-

Capelle aan den Ijssel is such a blesssed city. Holy cow we are just seeing sooo many miracles left and right and it is amazing! Me and Zuster Greenwell are having an absolute blast. This past weekend we had a Relief Society Activity and Iris was able to come together with some members. Then we had a great baptism for a man name Jan-Willem. He has been investigating the church for over 2 years now and was finally baptized on Saturday night. I had asked Iris the night before if she wanted to come and she said Nahhh I am really tired and I need some time for myself, but I will come to church on Sunday for sure. So I just let it go, feeling like I shouldnt push it or anything. Then Saturday morning we get a text from her and she says Hey I slept really well and I am coming to the baptism tonight! AHHH we were so happy. It was really cool to see HER take the initiative and come on her own. She loved it and really felt the spirit and it was a great night! Then she also came to church on Sunday. SO 3 days in a row in the church. I was just so proud of her! I also was able to go on an exchange this last week from Wednesday to Thursday with Zuster Kohlert!! Much needed. It was as if we had just been on a week long exchange and then came back together. It was actually pretty confusing. haha but super fun to work with her again in Capelle. While we were on exchanges we were out contacting on the street and saw this man walking his dog. When I first saw him I remember thinking...you should probably stop him and talk to him, he looks nice...so we stop him (turns out Kohlert had the same impression to stop) and start talking to him about the Book of Mormon. He had heard and seen us before and had always wondered what we did, so we were able to get his name, address, and phone number and he told us we could definately stop by sometime. GOLDEN CONTACT. So we call him up on Saturday night and make an appointment with him for Sunday night. We called Zuster Wilkins, a member, and she came with us on joint teach. Cooolest lesson ever!! We taught the Restoration, bore our testimonies, and shared personal experiences. And one of the best things was....he listened. That is such an important part and one of the first things I always notice about people. If they listen, they have an open heart and are more willing to accept your message. We extended the baptismal invitation and he said YES! SOOO great. He is definately a prepared person that we needed to talk to. 

We had a really good zone training this past week. Lots of good tips and things to remember about how to teach really good lessons. Our zone leaders and sister training leader are so inspired. We found out that we are having a Zusters conference at the mission home in a few weeks with all the sisters in the mission. HALLELUJAH. I finally get to see the mission home before the end of my mission. We also have temple conference coming up on the 14th of October and I am so excited to go one last time. Lots of great things are happening and I am just so grateful to be out here right now. I love Nederland and the people here and wouldnt want to be anywhere else! Thanks for all the prayers and support! I love and miss you all! 

Me and Kohlert..it was cold!

 Having fun with the girls :)

Change.

Hello Friends and Family-

This week has been one crazy week. Lots of change and you all know how I usually do with that kind of stuff. We had lots of goodbyes on Monday and Tuesday and then had Transfers Wednesday. Its hilarious how tired you seriously are after Transfer day. Hauling suitcases off and on trains, seeings so many missionaries, and unpacking and reorganizing everything. Zuster Greenwell was coming from Zoetermeer which isnt very far away so we were both back in Capelle by 1 PM or so on Wednesday. Its been very different with Zuster Kohlert. When you are with a companion that you get along with so well for 3 transfers, its quite a shock to all of a sudden switch! But the good news is, I am really enjoying Zuster Greenwell as my companion. She is Always so helpful and super loving. We get along really well. She turned 21 this past Saturday so we had a nice little party/lunch with all the elders. She also got her bike stolen that night. haha SO sad. Rotterdam is sketchy which is why having a really janky, beat up bike like mine is the only way to go. We have been keeping really busy with investigators and we have set some really high goals for this transfer. I decided that these last two transfers are going to be some of the hardest working transfers of my whole mission. I just want to be soooo tired from working that I just sleep the whoooole way home on the plane from exhaustion. And luckily she is also on my same page and we have already seen some really amazing miracles!! Its so great how the lord works. We found 2 new investigators, received 2 member referrals, and taught 16 lessons in one week, 13 of them being after Wednesday/transfers. SOO cool. We are super excited to just blow this city up the next 6 weeks.

We have zone training this upcoming Wednesday and we are all super excited. We are already super busy and we havent made appointments with half of our investigators. I am SUPER excited for general conference and everything coming up! Its starting to get colder here and actually feel like fall. Thanks for your prayers and support! I love you all!

Love, Zuster Brophy

Kralingse Bos, last pday

District photos before Transfers

Transfer day :(

Happy Birthday Zuster Greenwell!

Well folks.....Time for the next season.

Hello Family and Friends-

TRANSFERS. Are great. And also very very sad. We got the phone call last night and it turns out I will be staying in Capelle/Rotterdam for my 4th with Zuster Greenwell and Zuster Kohlert is headed over to Utrecht with Zuster Verdegem and Zuster Wood. MAN. How I am going to miss her sooo much!! BUT, the lord is awesome. And Im pretty sure our mission president really thought this one through knowing that we would die if we didnt see each other. Because it is seriously the best situation we could have asked for. We are still in the same zone so we will see each other for zone training in a week, temple conference in 4 weeks, and she is the sister training leaders companion so we will be going on exchanges as well!! How awesome is that!!?? We were very happy. And I am really excited for Zuster Greenwell to be my comp. We stayed in the same room in the MTC so I already know her pretty well and she is a total sweetheart so it should be fun. This also means I will be doing a 6 week wonder in a random city for my last transfer! WOO! That should be interesting and fun. Overall, I am glad to be staying in Rotterdam. I love this city and these people, and Ill be honest.....6 months/4 transfers in a city is the bomb. 

We got to hear and listen to Elder Ballard this past Thursday and it was SOOOOOO great. We all got to shake his hand and talk to him personally along with two members of the Seventy. It was such a great day and I didnt wash my hands for at least three days. Joke. Haha he gave some really great counsel for our mission and for about 30 minutes we just got to ask him all different kinds of questions about our work and how he could help us and he gave some really great advice. That man speaks with the SPIRIT. The second he walked into the room you could literally just feel the change in the atmosphere and it was such a good experience. When he bore his testimony, you could just feel the truth from his words. I have NO DOUBT that man has the keys of the priesthood and helps lead this church today! It was such a great experience I will never forget. It was also really great to see the whole entire mission at one time! There were just so many people to talk to, I didnt even know where to start. We were all soo socaily exhausted by the end of the day. Then we went on exchanges, Zuster Anjewierden and me went back to Capelle and Zuster Kohlert and Zuster Verdegem went to Utrecht. Long story short,  we got a text from Utrecht Friday morning saying that Zuster Verdegem was in the Hospital because she woke up with a numb left arm, after already having heart problems before this, so we rush to Utrecht and end up sitting in the hospital with her the WHOLE DAY while they just pricked and poked her with needles to figure out what was going on. One of the most exhausting days ever! Me and Kohlert ended up staying in Utrecht that night. I hadnt brought any pjs with me so I slept in my clothes. haha pretty hilarious. So that made for a really interesting weekend. She is doing lots better now btw, just a little scary. 

This week we are crazy busy with appointments. Iris is in the process of picking a new baptismal date and now that I know I am staying here in Rotterdam, I have decided that me and Zuster Greenwell are just going to BLOW UP this place and find some new people to teach. That is all we will be doing for the next few weeks, is finding. I love this ward, I cant wait for zone training next week, I cant wait for General Conference in a few weeks. I love and miss you all and cant wait to see your beautiful faces soon! Thanks for all the prayers and support! 

Love, Zuster Brophy

 Me, Zuster Djoukeng, and Zuster Morris

 My MTC District...love them!

 All of the missionaries in our mission from DAVIS! Go DHS!

Me, Elder Muse, and Elder Alston

So who hired the band for the Ward BBQ?....Oh just the Sister Missionaries.

Hello Family and Friends-

Oh my goodness I feel like my brain/head is so crammed full with information and things to do that I dont know where to begin in my emails. That seems to be happening almost every single week now though. I wish there was an easier method to tell you guys everything that has been happening, because my brain just becomes mush by Mondays.

BUT, we had a realllly great week this week! Did lots of fun things and saw alot of cool miracles! We had a really fun ward BBQ this past Friday and yes.......we may have accidentally hired a band and offered ourselves to be the main singers. haha you can only imagine how that turned our. We met this really awesome guy named Mano a few weeks ago and got started teaching him. We found out that he played guitar and he found out that we liked to sing so apparently he formed us into a band without telling us. He asked if he could come to the BBQ and play his guitar. We said he could thinking ya he can totally just sit on the grass and play the guitar....no big deal right? Welllll...he ended up bringing his amp and guitar with two other friends he had that also can sing. hahaha funniest night of my life. We ended up singing and dancing for the whole ward all night long and being the main entertainment. SO fun! I was extremely nervous and a little bit scared at first, but then everything turned out great! The ward loved it. I have a really great video that I can show all of you later. Then on Saturday night me and Zuster Kohlert were able to do something that no other missionary was able to do......go to Rotterdamse HavenDag!!! Its this really awesome show that they do every single year in September in Rotterdam, where they have all of the different kinds of boats come to the Harbor and have a show and big firework show on Saturday night since Rotterdam has the biggest Harbor/Haven in the world. Iris, our investigator, invited us to go with her and her son to see the Haven and the firework show on Saturday night. So we called our mission president to see if we could get permission to go, kind of scared thinking he would say no, but since we have the coolest mission president EVER he was just like Ya sure....just make good choices and have fun!! WOOO Bomb! So we got to see that and it was SOO fun! Thenn.....to top it all of for this week...we have some members in our ward here in Rotterdam that live INSIDE a Windmill. So they gave all 6 of us missionaries in the ward a private tour of the Windmill this morning :) It was a great week full of lots of non missionary ish things I guess? haha so fun.

We only have a week left of this transfer and I cant figure out where the time has gone! Me and Kohlert may just cry on Transfer day next week. I wish we could just finish out our missions together but unfortunately that cant happen! I am excited to see who gets to leave this beautiful city though. I am very torn at what I actually want though. We have a VERY busy week this week. We have a mission conference this upcoming Thursday and we get to listen to ELDER BALLARD. SOO excited. Its going to be bomb! I hope you all enjoy the pics :) Love and miss you all!

Love, Zuster Brophy

HavenDag!

 Me, Zuster Kohlert, and Elder Conatti

 HavenDag :)

Our private tour of the "windmill house"...so fun!

Ï feel like I woke up and my hair was dyed blue."- Zuster Kohlert

Hello Friends and Family-

 

What a week! Its been a rough one to say the least physically and emotionally and I am happy I can say its over! We started off the week with Zone Conference on Wednesday in Zoetermeer and it was sooo great! President had some really great hilarious one liners and we were all spiritually fed :) Luckily we get to see everyone again next Thursday the 11th for Elder Ballards Conference. SOOO excited. And its SEPTEMBER. I woke up this morning and looked at the phone and I realized that It was already September. Barf. Time goes by too fast.

 

Unfortunately Iris didnt get baptized. It was all planned and ready and it ended up falling through on Thursday morning. We had seen her on Wednesday night and everything seemed fine and she had smoked her last cigarette. But turns out, she needs a little bit more time to quit smoking and she wanted to really take some time to think about it. When me and Zuster Kohlert read the text that she sent us on Thursday morning that she wanted to change her date, I have never had my heart break and drop like that before. It was SOOOO sad. I knew that it was the right thing but knowing how bad she wants to be baptized and with how much I care for her and love her, it was so heart breaking for us. I will admit....I may have shed some tears for her. Haha sounds crazy, but its true. We saw her yesterday after church and were able to talk everything through and she is still just as strong and she still wants it. And she is progressing. She is really good busy with the things she should be doing and she is a strong lady, so I know everything will work out. We had a really great weekend as well. Kind of a funny story, Saturday morning we had just gotten done with personal study and we had just sung a hymn to begin companionship study. I stood up and started to stretch and all I remember is getting REALLY light headed, and I went to grab the chair and the next thing I remember, Is I was on the ground all tangeled up in my chair. haha I had NO clue what had just happened. Zuster Kohlert said that I had totally just passed out and hit my head really hard on the wall next to my desk. So needless to say I wasnt feeling very good all day Saturday because I had a massive headache. I went to bed Saturday night not feeling so good, but woke up Sunday morning feeling lots better. Went to church and had a meeting after, when all of a sudden my headache came back. As the night went on it got worse and worse and we had a member of the ward on joint teach with us and she looked at me and said "you look terrible and you need to rest because I can tell you do not feel good." Everyone started getting worried because apparently I looked like a zombie. I got a blessing from some of the elders late last night, called the mission presidents wife to inform her, and we came to the conclusion that I probably have a very mild concussion. Haha go figure! So I slept in today (The best thing ever) And am going to be taking it easy the next few days to get myself back into health. So that made this weekend extra exciting and exhausting! My body is falling apart is really the good conclusion.

 

We have a really great, busy week planned! We have lots of appointments with our investigators, we have a ward bbq this friday and I am making the really good sour creme bundt cake that my mom makes and its going to be delicious!! :)  I love missionary work, even when you wack your head aganist a wall, and I love the people here! Thank you for all the prayers and support! Love and miss you all!

 

Love, Zuster Brophy

LARPING.

Hello Friends and Family-

This week felt like a really quick week....but then it also feels like I emailed a year ago. SOO much has happened in just 7 days its crazy! We started off the week with helping one of the young single adults, Tahira, move out of her apartment. We were seriously busy doing that for a good 6 hours, missed dinner and went straight to an appointment at 8 pm with our investigator Iris on Tuesday. Iris is making unbelievable progress!! Its one of the coolest things- I get to just sit here and be apart of the changes she is making in her life! So awesome. She is getting baptized next Saturday (Aug 30th) and she is trying really hard to stop smoking. She is making progress but not completely off of it yet. She got a blessing from a member yesterday after church and man the spirit was sooo strong!! Its super amazing to watch your investigator really feel the power of the Priesthood for the first time, there is nothing really quite like it. The blessing was super detailed and had the counsel that she needed. She knows she is strong enough to overcome smoking and so do we, so there is nothing that will stop her! I cant wait to see all of the amazing things she is going to do. She is going to be one of those, that once she is a member, she will stay a very strong member and be a huge help to the ward here in Rotterdam! I just love her so much!

Oh and guess what? I SANG in church yesterday. Did you guys know I could sing? Cause I definately didnt. Since Ive had Zuster Kohlert as my companion, we have been singing alot because she loves to sing and I discovered that my voice actually isnt that bad (especially when I dont have my opera talent going on :) ) So that was fun and we sang Come Thou Fount! We had lots of good appointments with Iris and had dinner with a member and her last night. The spirit was super strong and everything went just the way we needed it to. Life is GRAND! I love being a missionary. All of the experiences that I get to see and experience are so amazing and I am so grateful for this oppurtunity Ive had. The Gospel is True! I know it without a doubt! Thank you for all of the prayers and the support! I love you all!

Love, Zuster Brophy

WIJ BLIJVEN ALLEBEI!! :):)

Hello Family and Friends-

Ohhhh what a beautiful day in the neighborhood!!! We are both staying!!! And we are beyond happy. We were totally expecting for one of us to be transferred but President Robinson is totally bomb and let us stay a third together. Lets just say...its going to be a party. But that does mean that next transfer calls are going to be extra exciting. We will see!

We had a really great week in Rotterdam! It seems like it was just Monday yesterday and all of my days have been mushing all together and its been a little crazy. I was able to go on exchanges with Zuster Anjewierden in Utrecht this past week and that was a blast. We had lots of appointments with our investigators and did LOTS  of service. We helped cute Zuster Hoppen and cleaned our her entire basement for 5 hours on Saturday, we cleaned up someones garden, and anything else you can think of....we probably did that as well. I havent worn pants so much in one week on my whole mission. It was really great- Im not gonna lie. I forgot how much I really liked those things! So overall, it was a really great, productive week for us. We are currently in vacation time over here in Europe so members and investigators are constantly out of town doing awesome things. So for a missionary, it isnt the best thing in the world. This next week we are planning on doing lots and lots of finding to build up our investigator pool again and finding new people to teach. We are just so excited to be working together still. It will be such a party :) Also, huge shout out to my bro, ELDER Brophy!!! So proud of you and hope you are doing good over there in Chile!! I thought about you and even took a picture at the time you were taking off. Funny story- one of the elders in my district came up to me this past weekend and said (knowing Connor had left on his mission already) So how is Elder Brophy doing? And my first thought was....ummm last time I checked I am a Zuster, not an Elder. haha Totally spaced that I actually do have a brother on a mission now! So cool! But other than that, nothing too crazy happened this week! I love you all and miss you dearly!! Have a great week!!

Love, Zuster Brophy 

Me and Kohlert in Vlaardingen (right outside of Rotterdam)

One of my favorite families...The Martes Family