HOT Baptism!!

Goedemiddag Friends and Family-

Wow we have had such a great and HOT week! We reached a good 93.4 degrees Farenheit with 86% humidity on Saturday! Woo...talk about burning hot! It is exactly the same as last year being that Thursday is my year in the land mark!! How crazy is that?! I remember my first few weeks it was just like this...burning hot and humid and I had the worst jet lag and could not sleep even if I took some sleeping pills. Luckily I have just gotten so used to it now that you just learn to deal with it and fall asleep anyways. :) And for the rest of this week it seems to just stay nice and hot. Lekker lekker lekker!

Serenity and Usha are BAPTIZED and I am soooo happy!! It was such a great day. Me and Zuster Kohlert used one of my favorite cookie recipes that I brought from home (the chocolate chip cookie one with vanilla instant pudding). But we revised it a little bit and put M&M´s in there instead of chocolate chips since you cant buy those here and added oatmeal. They were delicious. Everyone was asking how to make them and for the recipe. I will say....we Americans have just got the cookie thing down. I dont know what we do differently but we just do. The girls were super super nervous but everything went well! Afterwards we were helping them get dressed again and Serenity says Wow I just feel so happy! And Usha said Yeah I just feel the warm feeling that mom Always talked about! It was sooo sweet to hear and it just made me tear up! Zuster Kohlert played the violin and she did BOMB. And lots of the ward members came to support and we all just had a party. We had a picnic today with the girls and I just couldnt love them more. SO proud of them!

We are still working with Chanel, Iris, and Lugarda! They are all preparing for their baptismal dates this upcoming month and we are super excited for them. Iris is making huge progress with her smoking and drinking! I see the change in her eyes every single time we go over there. We have zone training coming up this Wednesday and lots and lots of appointments planned. Me and Kohlert are having way too much fun over here in Rotterdam and we are hoping for a third transfer together, since transfer calls are now less than two weeks away. Time flies! I love you all and miss you! Thank you for all your prayers!

Love, Zuster Brophy

My cologne: Waffle- President Robinson

Hello Friends and Family-

Wow what a great and exhausting week! We are staying crazy busy over here in Rotterdam and it is great. We are preparing for Serenity's and Usha's baptism for this upcoming Saturday and they are soooo excited. We brought them to church because there mom was sick yesterday and they are starting to make lots of friends with the other kids in the ward and everything. Because we see them so much and have become so close with them, it almost feels like we are their little moms. Haha we both have gotten really attached and I am scared for the time when we have to say goodbye! We told them yesterday that in about three weeks one of us would probably have to move somewhere else, and they both just stopped talking and wouldnt do anything for like 5 minutes. It was so sad! Definately a hard part of a mission- saying goodbye to people! But we are super excited for the baptism and will take lots and lots of pictures :)

Nederland got third place and it was super fun to watch the game on Wednesday night! I am stillll recovering from going to bed at 2am but...in the end it was all worth it even though they lost to Argentina. We went to a members house and did face paint, wore our orange, and ate some good food. It was super weird...it almost felt like I was a normal person for awhile. Haha On Friday we were able to see a really cool miracle. We received a really awesome member referral. Broeder Vermeer told us that he had some neighbors he wanted us to meet. So we made an appointment and went over there and he introduced us. They are sooo prepared! We talked alot about the Book of Mormon and The Plan of Salvation and we have a return appointment for this upcoming Wednesday night. It was so cool to see the spirit work through them and to see how much they wanted to know more and more about the Book of Mormon. We are super excited to see what happens as we continue teaching them. We also had interviews this past week with President and Zuster Robinson- oh how I love them! They are so hilarious hence the quote in the subject line. I had walked in the room and it smelt like waffles and I said something to President and he goes- Its my cologne. hahaha I died laughing. It was super awesome to sit and talk with him about the work and everything. Other than that, we are just staying busy and are booked with appointments this week. We barely even have time to go finding! But I love you all so much and I hope you have a great week!

Love, Zuster Brophy

Emotional Roller Coaster of a Lifetime!

Hello Friends and Family-

 

SOOO many miracles to tell! First, we are now allowed to watch the World Cup games since Nederland is in the Semi-Finals. And if they win that and go to the Finals then we get to watch that game next Sunday!! Our president is just so awesome. He just randomly called the asssistants one morning and said "You guys should probably let all the missionaries know they are allowed to watch the games now." Haha so we are going to be at a members house for the 10pm game on Wednesday aganist Argentina so everybody, pray that they win and keep going! All of the Dutch people are freaking out.

 

Second Miracle....Chanel, the 16 year old girl from last week, is getting BAPTIZED!!! On July 19th!! We had our appointment with her Monday night and it was one of the coolest lessons I have ever given. She literally asked to be baptized and planned to come to church with her mom on Sunday all before we said the opening prayer! Her mom came in a little later and we realized that she couldnt speak Dutch or English, so we asked Chanel what language she speaks and she goes Öh we are actually gypsys" Haha how awesome is that? So apparently she only speaks some crazy language that they made up and Chanel had to translate every time she wanted to say something. But what was amazing is that through the whole lesson her mom wasnt understanding alot but every once in a while she would just say "These people are really good people. They were supposed to be here and meet us." And usually by the end of the lesson you invite your investigator to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it but not with Chanel. At the end she grabs the Book of Mormon and says Ï am going to read this book and pray about it and I know I will get an answer because I can feel the love of God." Like I seriously thought I was dreaming. It was the coolest thing ever. And then her mom all of a sudden interupts us and starts saying something to Chanel. And she turns to us and says Öh my goodness, she says that she has seen you (pointing to me) somewhere and has talked to you but she just cant remember where, but she knows that she knows you." And immediately I had the strongest impression and I knew without a doubt that I had met and spoken with her in the Pre-mortal life! Its as if, that whole memory just came flooding back into my head. She started crying, I started crying and we just had a really good moment! One of the most unforgettable experiences I have ever had. Her mom also wants to be baptized, we are not sure when yet but she will be one day very soon! We were able to meet with Chanel three times this week and trying to get her ready for baptism. We are SOOO excited! She will be baptized with two other little girls who are now just our best friends, Serenity and Usha. They are 8 and 11 and we have been teaching them all the lessons and they are so excited for their baptism too. I would say...Life is good :)

 

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July! We were able to go to a members house and she had decorations and made delicious food and we all wore red, white, and blue. Me and Zuster Kohlert threw a BBQ for our whole zone this past Saturday night in celebration of America and it went really well! We have interviews this coming week with President and Zuster Robinson and I am super excited. We are super super busy with lots of investigators and we are teaching alot! Love missionary work! It is super super hot and humid and the mosquitos (spelling?) love our blood with a passion. We gave up trying to sleep upstairs because it was way too hot and pulled our mattresses downstairs, stacked our mouse infested couchs on top of each other, and have been sleeping on the floor. Haha its great fun! I love you all and miss you!! You are the best and have a great week!

 

Love, Zuster Brophy

Free Foot Massage and Chanel....dont mind if I do. :)

Hello wonderful family and friends-

What a week of miracles!! Seriously I dont know how it is all happening. Me and Zuster Kohlert just run around this city laughing and miracles come out of nowhere. Its the coolest thing I have ever seen. But first miracle...NEDERLAND WON!!! This place was freaking out! Our neighbors were screaming, we were screaming even though we hadnt even seen the game, we saw a guy crying and kissing all these girls at the same time, you name it. We were happy. So that means they go into the quarter finals so we will see what happens!

So I met the most prepared person on the street that I have ever seen on my whole mission thus far. So in a nutshell, on Wednesday my bike brakes decided to literally just snap in half and I successfully ran over 3 curbs and a pole and fell right into the bushes, all in front of a police man. Haha it was hilarious and lucikly I wasnt hurt. So we took that to the bike shop right as it was closing and they told me we had to come pick it up the next day after 2pm. So the next day our lunch appointment with one of our investigators ended up going lots longer than planned so we didnt get back over into the city center until around 3:30pm. We quickly picked up my bike and then we only had about 30 min before we had to start biking to our next appointment and we had to quickly make a baptismal calendar for our investigator. So we found a bench by all the shopping malls and starting making it. This girl comes over and sits next to us and I saw her from the side and I remember thinking "we should talk to her" but then I just kind of brushed it aside because I kept thinking "ya but its Always awkward because you dont know how to really start the conversation when they are just chilling right next to you" terrible I know. But we end up seeing an old missionary walking by with his mom so we stand up and start talking to them about random things in english. After we get done talking to them we sit back down and immediately this annoying sales person comes up to me and starts trying to get me to sign something to save the birds and as that is all going on I look over and this girl that I had seen was talking to Zuster Kohlert!! So I finally get the bird lady to go away and I start talking with them. Turns out, she is 16 and her name is Chanel. She believes in God and we starting talking about the Book of Mormon and we gave one to her and she took it and said "wow, this book is the word of God. I can just feel it" WHAT?! Coolest thing ever. She kept saying how we were angels and that we were meant to meet each other and that her mom would also love to meet us. She started crying and kept saying "I dont know why I am crying...I just feel so happy inside!" We were FREAKING out. It was so awesome! So we have an appointment with her tonight and I cant wait to start teaching her! All because my brakes broke and we were in that area (normally we are never in the city center) Best 40 euros I have ever spent :) We also found this other amazing family and had a lesson with them and ended up setting 2 baptismal dates for August!! We are planning our other 2 baptismal dates for the 19 of July and they are progressing so great. Life is fantastic! This is truly a blessed city.

We also went on a Relief Society activity with all the sisters in our ward and we went to the BEACH. It was so much fun!! I hadnt seen the ocean in Nederland yet so it was definatley a highlight of the week. We have been busy working with the members and doing alot of service for them. We made 200 M&M oatmeal cookies this past week and delivered them to all the members just telling them how much we appreciate and love them. I am loving my time here in Rotterdam. Missionary work is the best and I wouldnt want to be anywhere else but here! I love and miss you all! Thank you for your prayers and support!

Love, Zuster Brophy

A little soccer, football, and Ultimate Frisbee... :)

Hello Friends and Family!

What a wonderful week here in Rotterdam! Just so you all know...the Netherlands are doing SOO good in the world cup so far and they play Chile tonight. So connor....watch out, our missions are playing each other and we are going to win! Haha jk but it will be fun to see who wins. I also heard that America is doing alot better than normal so that is always good.

Yesterday we all got transfer calls and me and Zuster Kohlert get another fantastic 6 weeks together in Capelle. We had alot of good mix ups though in our district. Elder Elkins is headed down to Belgium and I am super sad that we only got to serve together for one transfer but I am super excited because Belgium is SOO awesome. There are a few other elders that are leaving and going to different places which is bittersweet. We had a huge zone pday today in Den Haag and played sports with the Den Haag zone and Rotterdam zone. Its so funny because now we are considered the old missionaries and all of the new little elders coming in I have no idea who they even are. Its such a weird feeling because I feel like I was just that little greenie that barely knew anybody and was still in that culture shock phase. But we were there basically all day just running around having a good time...which is always needed on a good pday. We had a really great week over here in Capelle and we are staying really busy. I was asked to give a talk in church last Thursday so of course I said yes. Come to find out...President and Zuster Robinson were also coming to give talks which just added to my nervousness. Haha its always a little bit nerve racking to give a talk but then do that in a foreign language. But compared to last time...it was soo much easier and it went really good. Have I ever mentioned how much I just love my mission president and his wife? They are seriously the coolest people Ive ever met.

We found this really cool new potential investigator this last week and his name is John. Me and Zuster Kohlert were walking home from an appointment with an investigator and he was walking on the other side of the street. We both had a prompting that we needed to go over there and talk to him about the Book of Mormon, so we did. Turns out, he had heard alot about the book and was super interested to learn more so we made an appointment with him for this upcoming week. The Lord works in mysterious ways. We are seeing so many amazing miracles with our investigators and our baptismal dates. Serenity and Usha are still planning on getting baptized the 19th of July and are progressing soo much. They love church and are always wanting to learn more. We have a super crazy week planned and are always busy finding new investigators and people to teach. I love you all and miss you! Have a great week!

Love, Zuster Brophy

"Chillin in our Crib...and making lots of Banana Bread."

Hello Friends and Family!!

What a fantastic week over here in Rotterdam!! I feel like so many things happened that I dont even know how I would even begin to tell you all everything. First, I am glad that all the family made it safe and sound back home from Costa Rica. Still super jealous but so glad you all had fun!

So first I hit my year mark!!!! What?! Me and Zuster Kohlert just couldnt believe it the whole time. We woke up on the 12th and made panacakes, bacon, and eggs. And then by the end of the day we had a lesson with one of our investigators that definately makes my top 5 best lessons on my mission. It was a perfect day and a great way to celebrate! Her name is Iris and when we got here about a month ago she had a baptismal date for June 14th. But due to both of the sisters leaving at the same time, she actually had a really tough time with that and we had a hard time meeting with her for the whole transfer up until just about 2 weeks ago. She told us that she kind of just wanted to take it easy and then maybe pick a baptismal date again in the future. So we kind of didnt know what to do but figured, ok we will just be patient and the lord will take care of the rest. So the morning of our lesson with her, we picked the date of August 16th for her next baptismal date and decided that we would bring up Baptism if the spirit was right. So we get there with our joint teach, Zuster Verhoeven, and we start reading in Jacob chapter 4, which talks alot about prophets and the Holy Ghost. Somehow Baptism came into the conversation and we were talking about how it really is like a new beginning and a new spiritual life and how you can have the knowledge of your past because its important to still have that knowledge so you can learn from it, but the guilty feelings and the pain of those experiences can be gone through Jesus Christ. And Iris said "I just need someone to pull me into it. I just am too scared to do it and Its too hard with my son (she is a single mother) and I just dont know what to do." And our joint teach goes, Ïf you really want it....you will do it and everything will be ok. Even if you cant see that step in front of you and its scary." and all of a sudden you could just see the light in her eyes, like she was thinking..wow that really does make sense and I DO want it. And thinking back on my past when ive had to take that step in the darkness when I chose to go to Weber State instead of going to UVU when I didnt know why, and when I decided to go on a mission. It was all super super scary and I was totally taking a leap of faith but I can see now how everything works out and the lord takes care of you no matter what.  So I was able to tell her a little bit about that and testify. So Zuster Kohlert asked her if August 16th would be a good day for her to be baptized and suprisingly (not really) that weekend her son is with his dad and she has time to take the time for herself and it was perfect for her!! It was so cool! Such a great way to celebrate my year mark!

We also had zone conference this past Saturday and had the opppurtunity to listen to President Boom of the area 70. He was SOOO good. One of the best zone conferences I have been to on my whole mission. The spirit was so strong the entire day and I took like 6 pages of notes. We were also with the zones Apeldoorn and Eindhoven so I was able to see lots of my good friends and lots of my old companions! Such a great week. This gospel is true!! I see it every single day in the small and big things. I love Rotterdam, I love my companion, love missionary work and basically just love life. I love and miss all of you!! Have a great week!

Love, Zuster Brophy