This is not the end..........only the beginning. Well done Zuster Western.

 Hi,

We had an awesome week, it was a good last week, I'd say. We found a couple of new people, and had great lessons with our existing investigators. One of them, we've been teaching for almost two months, and he doesn't believe in God as a person, but that God is everything. Weird, but okay. Anyway, this past week we had our lesson with him, and we showed him the "Because of Him" video that the church made about Jesus Christ, because last week he had a question about Christ. Have you seen it by the way? it's really good. Anyway, we thought he teared up during the video, but he's a man, so we aren't sure... And then he said that he wishes that he could have the kind of faith that we do.  And then he starts talking to himself for a little bit, and then blurts out that maybe he actually does believe in a God as a Heavenly Father picture but that he for some reason doesn't want to. And then he went on to talk himself into believing it and having this big old long discussion with himself about the creation and a creator and all this stuff, and it was super cool! Easily one of the coolest lessons I've had. Seeing someone find their faith, it's awesome.

Bernadettte, from Assen called me and said goodbye this week.  It was soooo cute. Assen sisters called, and handed her the phone, and I'm like "hello?"  And she just starts crying and saying how much she loves me and misses me and that I was the "Best best best best sister missionary" that she ever had. It was really cute. Then she made me promise to write her, which of course I will, I sent her a postcard a little while ago and I know it made her really happy. By the way, the mom and kid from Assen are going to be baptized next week I believe.

The twins are freaking out that I'm leaving. They made me goodbye presents, so that was nice. I took pictures of them for you, but forgot my camera. But that's okay you can see them on Thursday. :)

The other day we were at a bus stop talking to this old lady, and she just interrupts me and goes, "You have such beautiful Dutch for a German"  and I'm like uh... thanks, but I'm not German. And I'm pretty sure if I was German, that was meant to be an insult. But that's okay.

For this week, tonight we have an appointment with the Robinsons, A member is cooking for all the Den Haag missionaries, but we're eating it at the mission home, haha.  Tomorrow we have a couple appointments, one with the twins, I think that will be my last lessons. Other than that, it's just talking to as many people as possible. Wednesday I'm going to Leiden and doing all the exit stuff, and Thursday I'm flying home. Saturday is fine for my eye appointment.  I'll go to the temple whenever you want.

I don't need to ship my bike home, the Romigs are going to buy it from me. I don't need anything from the store, Katelyn's getting it. :)  And Cafe Rio is good by me. Do I have an appointment to be released already?

Well, I can't believe it's the last email and that I'm coming home this week. It's all really weird. But at the same time I feel like I've been gone 100 years, or like 6 months. Depends on the day. But I'm really grateful for the chance I've had to serve a mission. It's definitely been really hard at time, but so rewarding. I've changed other people's lives, and they've changed mine. I know I've brought people closer to Christ, but I've come a lot closer to him as well.  My faith is strong and I know that what I've preached this last year and a half is true, and it will bring us hope and happiness if we let it.

I love you and I'll see you soon.

Love, Karoline

Temple Conference, Update on the Twins, An Investigator with a Baptism Date

Hi,

So, we had temple conference this week, and it was awesome. We finally saw one of the new films, and it's waaaay better, I liked it a lot. Yes, they split the mission in half again. It was weird because I had to get up there and give my dying testimony, but there were also like 10 other people giving theirs the same day, so I kept it short and sweet and to the point. Because it's a testimony, not a dying talk telling everyone how awesome and great you are. Also, I'm proud of the sisters because only one sister cried while she was talking, (no, it wasn't me.) yes, I'll be staying in a hotel again when I leave, because there will be too many of us. What the heck is with me and sister Packer being on different flights? We're pretty sad about that one.

The twins came to a baptism service this past week and loved it. They were also really reverent, so good for them.  Dominika, one of the twins told me she wished I was her mom, and I told her she can't say that because that would make her mom sad, so she said I could be her step  mom haha. The mom said she wanted to come to church this past week, but then she was called into work, sad day. The twins had to give talks in primary this week on baptism and the holy ghost. I'm beginning to wonder if the primary president realizes that they're not members, but that's okay because it gave us the chance to teach them all about baptism, so that was cool.

One of the days this week, there was this random van that sold coffee parked outside of our apartment because the business below us was having a party, and the guy asked if he could use one of our outlets, and the first thing I told him was that we were from the church, and we actually don't drink coffee, so it would be weird for us to support his business like that. haha, I've gotten so churchy.

Sister Fredrickson had to go to Brussels for legality this week, so I was on exchanges with Sister Schwab, and we were out finding and we accidentally crashed a birthday party. We were ringing bells, and some guy let us up, even though he saw we were from the church, and we walk in and realize it's a birthday party for some girl turning 20, but we taught them anyway. They don't want us back, but it was still fun.

Oh yeah, we set a baptismal date with one of our investigators. He's been investigating forever, and he set a date with us for December 27. I hope it works out, that would be cool, he's a nice guy. He's taking us to get Roti this week. It's delicious. 

Okay, I love you. I miss you. I'll see you next week.

Love, Karoline

Haring!

So, we picked the twins up for church again yesterday, and I think one of them is prepping herself for when I leave. She kept asking me if I really had to go back to America, and complaining that she was only going to see me two more times. It was sad. I'll miss them. But then she asked if we could skype and write letters, so of course I told her I would. During sacrament yesterday, she took my nice dutch triple out of my bag and started asking all kinds of questions, and then just opened the front, and read the first 8 pages of the Book of Mormon, and then understood, and asked questions. It was weird. Even adults can't just pop open the Book of Mormon and go for it the first time they read it. but it was really cool to see. It was just nice to see both of them get wrapped up in the book.

As you saw from the Romigs pictures, we ate haring this week. Oh my gosh it's disgusting. I wasn't planning on doing it, but I got a little forced into it. Oh so gross! I haven't ever done it before. the texture is absolutely terrible. It's like chewing on your tongue. I gagged, and then sister Fredrickson gagged, but we both swallowed it so whatever. And then the rest went promptly into the trash. I don't mind eating fish, unless it has bones, then it's hard for me to eat it, but I've had to eat a lot of freaky fish on my mission so you get  used to it.

The sisters meeting was pretty good, it was the first one we've ever had. Sister Robinson talked about the priesthood and president Robinson talked about the 12 tribes of Israel and the premortal life. It was cool. It was also the first time I've been to the mission home, so that was fun.

The lady we are teaching to read, her son and five other members of her family just died from E.bola, so, we made her pumpkin chocolate chip cookies this week, that was delicious. Our week was really slow this week. A lot of our appointments got canceled, and we pretty much went finding all day every day. So nothing too exciting. It's getting cold and windy and rainy, but I pretty much refuse to wear tights. So cold legs it is.

Okay have a good week, . Love you, miss you.

Love, Karoline

Not much to update, Free Jewelry! and Pictures!

Our week was kind of boring, I don't feel like very much happened.

We saw conference, except for the Sunday afternoon session. I liked Elder Callister's talk. I thought it was weird that pretty much every talk Sunday morning was about sustaining the prophet. Probably because President Monson is really sick. We didn't have any investigators watch conference with us. We don't have zone conference anytime soon.  Well, we have a sisters conference this Saturday, and next week is temple conference.

Pretty much everything was updated in our apartment. New floors, we got a stove and an oven, yay! Um... a new shower head  thingy, since I'm pretty sure the other one was from when the apartment was built 100 years ago. all the old wallpaper is gone. It looks nice.

We had a nice appointment with one of our investigators this week. He doesn't believe in God as a person, more like a thing. Anyway, this week he was totally prepared to hear the lesson we had for him, and he's cruising through the Book of Mormon. He loves the stories. He's not totally  understanding how to apply it yet, but that's okay. He's really into it though. He kept telling us not to spoil it for him, and if Nephi was really going to kill Laban haha. 

We also had the appointment with the guy who called us last week and then came to church. I don't know what happened to him, but he was a completely different person. He was not the same person who showed up to church on Sunday. He was just completely anti and everything. It was really sad, but that happens. 

On Saturday, we were out finding. And we rang this bell, and they let us up, and this guy answers the door and motions to let us know that he's deaf. And I don't think he could read our lips because we're American. Anyway, I wrote on a piece of paper about why we were there and that we share the book of Mormon and yadda yadda, and he points to some words on his wall  that are about God and then takes a Book of Mormon, and then invites us back! Cool. The appointment is in two weeks, so we'll see. But it was fun to talk to someone so positive. 

One of the elders has called me Sister Westren instead of Western for the last transfer and a half, so yesterday I corrected him one last time and told him that if he called me sister Westren again he was going to have to buy me something pretty, and he said okay as long as it was in a 10 euro budget, so 30 minutes later, he called me sister westren, and today, he bought me a new necklace. I don't think he'll be making that mistake again. But yay for free jewelry.

Have a good week, love you.

Love, Karoline