Zuster Adams....Made it!

Well the last 6 days have been quite a roller coaster...there were
moments I wanted to cry and moments I wanted to stay here forever. I
will be honest though...most were of wanting to go back to the MTC.One
of my teachers at the MTC warned me that getting here would be like
being hit by a bus...well it kind of was. Today is the first day that
I am actually beginning to like it and I guess if it only took 6 days
than I am doing good!!

Nederland is so beautiful!!! I love it here!! I love how flat it is
and how green it is!! It reminds me of my childhood on the green side
of Oregon!! The Flowers are beautiful though not as many as I thought
there would be. But at the end of the month we have Temple Conference
and we get to go to Keukenhof to see all the tulips...I AM SO
EXCITED!!! I am serving in Breda in southern Nederland. My companion
is great!! Her name is Sister Spencer and she is super nice and
patient with me!! I love the mission president! He is very quiet but
you can tell he is the one leading this mission. I was sad to say
goodbye to the Elders but I know they are doing great!! Elder Conatti
is in my zone and I actually got to see him today, which was great.
Elder Heinricks...hahaha went to Antwerp...he didn't want to go to
Belgium!!! I got a good laugh out of it!! The missionaries are great
here and they are here to work! I found out that there is an Elder
serving in the North that I went to EFY with in Sandy, UT...crazy
stuff!! My apartment is nice, the ward is great, the Bishop is
AMAZING, and the food is good!! Everyone already knows me...it is kind
of weird...Susannha Boom called me the first or second day and I guess
she has been telling all the missionaries around there that I was
coming...it was super nice!! She is one city over and is planning on
coming to see me at some point and possibly joint teach with us!! An
Elder came up to me today and said that some family from my home ward
told him about me months ago in Amsterdam...the word gets around!! I
get to go to Heerlin this week and that is where the military base
is...I'm kind of really excited!! I am so close to home and it is kind
of hard. All the smells make me think of traveling with my family and
oh I think that has been the hardest thing. I feel at home which is a
huge blessing...but it also is really hard. I can do it!!!

Okay...now on to the amazing spiritual things...being a missionary is
hard. There were times this week that I just wanted to go home. I
didn't want to knock on another door. I didn't want to pedal any
further...but I did. How I kept going, I don't know. The Lord has
given me just enough strength to keep going and I do it. All of my
life, I have hated talking to people I don't know. I don't like
speaking a different language for fear of messing up. I am super shy
in uncomfortable situations and not assertive. I have worked on it and
am getting better but I still have never liked it. I also do not like
being a sales person. I don't like feeling like I am forcing something
down your throat...This is the amazing thing, for the first time in my
life those things do not scare me. I don't like them but I can do
them. I feel peace. I can knock on people's doors and talk to them. I
can talk to complete strangers in a language I don't really know and
I'm not scared. How on earth is that possible??? All my life, I have
not been able to do those things and now I can! The Lord is so
merciful! He loves us so much!! He knows I don't like those things,
but he gives me just enough strength to do them. It is truly an
amazing feeling. The Lord knows all that I am sacrificing to be out
here so he helps me do what I need to. I really don't like tracking
because I feel like it is pointless...no one ever lets us in. BUT, I
realized that if everyone was letting us in, we would have too much
work. There is only me and my companion in a city of 200,000 people.
The Lord will give us just enough people to keep us busy. So even if I
have to keep knocking on doors, there will always be people to
teach!!! I also realized that by knocking on the endless doors we are
showing our faith. It has been a hard week but one of so much learning
and growth. I loved Conference!! There were so many things that I
needed to hear!! It was a huge blessing! I needed it! Well I am almost
out of time...there is so much I want to say and so little time!

I can make it! I can be the missionary the Lord needs me to be! I am
willing to do the work and I can't wait to see the miracles! By the
way, I have about 6 investigators that are close to baptism and it is
really exciting!! I have a busy week ahead and I am excited to hit the
ground running!!

Zendelinge werk is de beste!!

Zuster Adams