Suriname sisters.....UNCHAINED!

This week was good! T
oday we just got back from hanging with some of the south zone, and we played sports! It was so much fun! Actually way fun, we were the only sisters that went and the only ones from south zone, but it was like sooo much fun!! Got a little wet, from the rain(normal) and a little dirty from the sand and grass and mud! It was good!
      Big news ya'll!! So sisters have not been able to go out past 7 unless we had a member with us, well the rule is not back so we can go have lessons normal time till 9:30! We can't contact past 7 but we can be out later!!! Yay!!!!!!!! We are so happy! It is so cool here at night!! It is so much cooler literally! Haha, we are so stoked by it!!
      Remember, last week I talked about Dwayne.. well he is on date! I am not saying when because I do not want to jinks it. Just know he is on date! So yay!! He asked us right before we were going to tell him when he was like,"So when am I getting baptized?!" We were so happy!!! It was good!!
      So you know that one week I talked about the investigator who left us at the restaurant and wrote directions how to get to his house and what not? well....the same thing happened with another investigator, Armand! Oh man this guy is hilarious! He always seems like he is drunk and high, but we know for a fact he is not. He is high up there in the police department, and really rich. He totally has our back, he is the homie here. He promised us last week to take us to the restaurant (supper cool and good place btw) but his work called him in. He does not like to break promises so he told them he is ziek, and so he said ok you two, here is my credit card, you go to the ATM right there and this is my pin, take out 300 SRD, and while you do that I will take a shower and then we can go. So we did it! Hahaha crazy man! But we love him! Don't worry we did not steal anything. It was just crazy! But then he orders us like 9 dishes!! We looked around and everyone else has like one per person, and you get to us, you can not even see the tables and there are these two white girls! Then he says well I have to go the people are working on my house, paid for it and he left! Oh man...crazy adventures here!
      I am so happy to be here. I was praying to open my personal study one time, and I was thinking about how much I have changed, even the way I think is so different now! I know that it is only because I am here. If I was not here on a mission I could not be the person I am. I could not be this better version of myself. I am still not close to perfect, but I am way better than how I was before. I know it is because of so many things, but one quote I liked was from this talk by James E. Faust. "The atonement advances our mortal course of learning, by making it it possible for our natures to become perfect." I love that!!
      Well I love all of you!!! Remember to always use the atonement!! lobie!!

A little flooded, not as bad as it will be though.

My tire popped today, I rode on the back of her bike. Such a great comp!

Practicing my art again, a little rough but I need to get back in shape.

Picture from last week.

Doop!

So this week, I am sorry I can not remember much. I forgot to write down what happened. But to let you all know it was a good week! Same amount of creepers, same amount of biking, same amount of rain, same amount of rejection. But...we got two investigators to want to be baptized!!! One has a date! But we may need to move it back, but the other will hopefully tonight! He is so cool!! So his name is Dwayne and he is 18. Still in school, plays football and is super nice. We were teaching the the plan of salvation and after we explained it all, we asked him: "Now Dwayne which kingdom do you want to go to?" Obviously all in Dutch, and he said the celestial, like it was obvious. Then we said "What do you have to do to get there?" and he pointed at the 5 things we need to do on earth, and we said yes!! So the first one, faith in Jesus Christ, you have that right? He said yeah! Then we said second, repentance, that is a process, but you are going through that right? He said yes! Then we said baptism....and then he said..no...I have not done that. I must be baptized. I have to be baptized, and he was all serious!! We were so happy!!!!! So we asked him and explained about the right way to be baptized through the priesthood, and he wants to! This is will be super exciting!! The area is improving a lot! We are contacting more!
I was contacting with my comp, and after a lot of rejecting and people not being able to understand us, humbling ourselves. We ran into a guy and talked to him and I do not even know how but I was able to speak the whole time in dutch and I had no problems really and he was shocked that I have only been here for this long and said to my comp, "did you understand all of that?" Because he didn't know how much she knew. I was so happy!! I know the only way I am learning this language so fast is through Heavenly Fathers help! i
I love you all and I hope you all remember how much Jesus Christ loves you. It is almost that time soon and I invite you all to learn more about the atonement of Jesus Christ. because it is the best way to bring yourself closer to Him and His teachings. I can promise you that for sure.
Ik hou van jullie!

 Palmen Town

Went to Overbridge today, so fun!

 All the zusters in Suriname

 

Me and Sister Ashcraft

 Cutest kid!

Yes there are chicken feet...yes I ate it. No it was not bad, just creepy!

Ate some sugar cane, so good!

These are pictures shared with permission from Elder Burr. PDay 2/22/16. Jackie sais thos waters are invested with piranhas. 

 Elder Lewis on the tight rope

 Elder Burr

This one was taken and shared by Elder Hardy and shared with by his mom Stephanie van Deventer.

Pure Happiness!!

This week was good!
     I fell of my bike, little scrapes here and there but I am good. It was bound to happen sometime right? Thank goodness for helms!!
    So this week something funny/random happened. So I was on exchanges with sister Jorgensen, and we went to go see a potential investigator but we did not know where he lived and he said he would meet us on this one street and then he would drive and we would follow him to his place. So we are following him and we are at a restaurant, so confused. He said it is a custom that we feed out guests but I do not think you would like the food my wife made so I am taking you here to eat, but I already ordered and payed for the food you two can sit here and eat and I have a couple things I need to do and I will draw out directions to get to my house from here and once you are done you can come over.(he is a lawyer).  We are like uhh umm ok and he left. We go inside and there is no one. The place is kinda darker got this weird foreign music on and we just were like what the heck. Well we have to eat it I guess. It was good food! But soo weird he just left us there. But yeah pretty funny.
     But now for a more spiritual note. I was talking about this with z. Ashcraft.: We were talking about the happiness you feel on your mission. As a missionary you are meeting randoms and you are constantly feeling the spirit. You feel so happy when you see someone take that step closer to God and see them how God sees them. You can literally feel Gods love for them! And it is the purest happiness there is, because you are not happy because of something you have done but you are happy because of how happy someone else is and the love Heavenly Father has for them. I love this feeling above anything I have felt, because it is so pure! Yes, you might think you are happy and you probably happy when you are at Disneyland, but this is on a new level. This is what helps you through your mission, because it does not happen everyday where you see success and see people coming closer to God. But when you do, het is zo mooi! The most beautiful thing. I love my mission, I love having this front row seat to Gods work, and that I can just be a little tool to help him! I love you all and I hope you remember to help others always, and love one another!
Zuster Parker

 

OUTSIDE ONE OF OUR LESS ACTIVE'S HOUSE

 

THIS IS THE ROAD WE TAKE TO HER HOUSE

 

 SAME HOUSE, SHE MADE US CRAB THAT WAS COOKED IN MASALA...SOOO GOOD!!!!

CAN YOU GUESS WHICH PLATE IS MINE? THIS IS SAOUTO SOUP AND IT IS SO FRICKEN GOOD!!! ONE OF MY FAVORITE DISHES HERE!

THIS IS THE PEPPER THEY MAKE THAT YOU PUT IN IT...SOOO GOOD!!

THIS WEIRD DRINK, I STILL CAN'T TELL IF I LIKE IT. BEST DESCRIPTION WOULD PROBABLY STRAWBERRY RICE-MILK.

Cutest kids!!! Sad story; Their dad got a hold of anti Mormon stuff and won't let them and his wife be baptized but they want to get baptized,  and he has people watching them to see who they talk to! so sad!! :(

 

 

THIS IS OUR WARD LEADER, BROTHER UBETANA. OH MAN, HIS DREADS REACH HIS MID-THIGH

ME, ZUSTER ASHCRAFT, BROTHER UBETANA AND BROTHER SIMON

THE STREET TO OUR APARTMENT

CUTEST PUPPIES

Chinese New Year

So Chinese new year happened so everything was closed yesterday. So today we can email and all that!
So funny story; at district conference, Pres. Egbert came and all the members and all the people we are teaching were invited, and so we are sitting in church and this one lady was speaking and all of a sudden a bat flies in the room and is flying all over the room above our heads and no one moves or screams or makes a sound. But everyone's eyes are on this bat, and then after a while it ran into the fan that was on high, and it fell on the floor, you heard everyone gasp! But the lady is still going with her talk! Oh man it was crazy! But funny! President Egbert was here for that and zone conference and he told us to set a goal for 1 bap per transfer, not because of numbers but because every time you help someone be converted to the gospel it is a very spiritual experience that not only helps them but it help your own testimony. I love that! We are trying to do that! We will!! Words of faith right!

So I also heard they are going to start a Portuguese group down here too!! That would be so great!! There are so many Brazilians!! It will be cool!!

I love you all so much and I am so happy to be here serving the lord, even though it is hot and rainy and you don't know if you are wet because of sweat or rain, it is all worth it!! remember God loves you!

 

 Marillia and my new comp! She is a member from Brazil. Nous amo ella!

Working too hard!!

When it rains

Cats love me

 

Only in Suriname can an elder wear these!

 

The District 2016!!
In order: Elders Hood, Lewis, Hardy, Burr, Sisters,?, Jorgensen, Ashcraft, Parker

 

Sorry!

Sorry only got 5 min left but. I am now with my new comp! She is from Utah, came out a transfer before me and knows way good Dutch! Cool experience; we taught this Portuguese investigator Julio and we taught him the restoration lesson (all of it) in Portuguese. We used the pamphlet that we have in Portuguese. and we just picked sentences from that and had him read it! Super cool!!! We even asked him to be baptized!! He did not say yes but he did not say no. He has to think about it more. But elder Parella from the Mesa mission said maybe we could Skype him because he is from Brazil! and maybe we could have a lesson with me and my comp and him and his comp! So we will do that!! hopefully!!!! I love you all and we felt the spirit so strong even thought is was different languages!!