Week 7! In Nederland!

Hallo!!

I'm here! The mission field is so different than the MTC. But different in a good way! I do miss the food, but other than that, it is way better.

Nederland is soooo beautiful! Almost every building here is a work of art. The canals are absolutely amazing, and every street is picturesque.

You may have noticed, but my p-day is on Saturday because we are in the same district as the office Elders, and they take it on Saturday.

I am serving in IJmuiden, a suburb of Haarlem. My trainer is Elder Stanger, and I totally believe that he is the best trainer in the mission. He speaks Nederlands very well, and he actually laughs at my sarcasm (that is a relief, because no one in my MTC group understood it).

The people of Nederland are super nice! Every once in a while you meet a crazy one, or a rude one, but for the most part if you talk to them as a friend they will talk to you as a friend. Everyone before my mission told me that "it is a hard area," so I am happy to say that you are wrong. It may not be South America, but there are many people here who are interested in the gospel.

One incredible investigator we have is named Joelle. She is amazing!! She is more comfortable in English(she is from a small country in South America), so I got to help teach her the 2nd lesson. Everytime we say something she says,"That makes so much sense," or "Wow, that is amazing." She has felt the spirit, and is consistently reading the Boek van Mormon and filling out the pamphlets we gave her. She wants to go to church tomorrow, and we didn't even talk to her about it. She is so ready for the gospel, and I love it!! I would not be surprised if she was baptized within this transfer.

One small miracle happened yesterday right at the end of the day. We were contacting, and an older woman was walking her dog, and for no reason it just layed down. This gave us the opportunity to catch up to her and talk to her. She is planning on coming to church tomorrow, and we got her contact information. It was pretty amazing, and I hope something more will come out of it. I know that God is helping us find those who are ready, and that dog did not lay down for nothing.

So many other amazing things have happened, but I don't have time to tell everything. My hardest thing has been going out of my way to talk to people, mostly because I am super afraid of speaking to them in Dutch. I have been able to start a few conversations on the bus and train by asking people if I can practice my Dutch with them. After a while they get curious and ask why we are here, and then we can tell them about our church :) (we aren't allowed to "proselyte" on public transportation, but there are ways around it.)

Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Thornton