I am so glad to hear from you all today! Thanks for the e-mails, and for telling about how you liked L*'s baptism. I am SO SO SO glad that you got to go to that (not that I really gave you a choice!)! I loved hearing how you liked it. I just talked to L* this morning and she said you were all super nice. She also said, about Joshua and Garrett, "They looked exactly the same! They were so adorable!" hahaha. Looking at the pictures Dad sent, I'd have to agree! You look very similar. You've both only gotten handsomer since I've left. And I liked the new ties you were sporting. Very nice. It is such a miracle to me that you got to go to the baptism. I know it meant a lot to her, but it also meant so much to ME! I would have loved to be there, but knowing that you were there representing Broekhuijsen blood is awesome. I'm glad you got to experience a little bit of why I'm out here! Seeing people's lives change like I know L*'s has is what it's all about.
I don't have a lot to update you on - we've just been going about the work! This past week was a bit hard because almost everyone (members AND investigators) was out of town. But the people we DID get to meet with were just great.
We had a fun New Year's Eve party! We bought pizza (and G* gave us a bunch of free stuff AND a 40 percent discount so that we got 3 extra large pizzas, cheesesticks, breadsticks, AND chicken tenders for less than 30 bucks! haha) and had a fun little party in the apartment. We chucked our Christmas tree over the balcony of our apartment and dragged (drug?) it into the dumpster. That was a fun and fitting NYE activity. :) Over the past couple of days we've been cleaning more (there's ALWAYS a layer of hair on the carpet, no matter how many times we vacuum) and rearranging our furniture. I'm now back against a wall, and it's just fun!
I am still loving Sister Edwards, so that's nice. We get along really well and are both working on pushing ourselves to be bold and talk to more people. We have set goals for ourselves this week! I'll tell you what, it's going to be hard. So if anyone out there would like to direct their prayers for me.... please pray that we'll be blessed with boldness so that as we try our hardest we can meet our goals and bless other people.
On Sunday I was asked to direct the music is Sacrament Meeting. Guess what they had chosen for the closing hymn? Mom's favorite: Hymn #215. Oh man that is an annoying song. [Editor's note: That hymn is "Ring Out Wild Bells" - I don't mind the lyrics, but the tune to this particular song really grates on my nerves! It always gets sung around New Year's because it is about "ringing out the old and ringing in the new, but no one knows it very well because we only sing it once a year and it isn't pretty. :-)]
Well, I'm really excited for the coming week! P* will be back in town tomorrow, and we're excited to meet with her again. it will be great to have her back in Boston. We've got some members getting back too, so our schedule will be a bit more full. Busy is always nice!
As always, I'm so thankful that I get to hear from you every week, and that you are there praying for me! What a great blessing it is in my life to know that when I am done with this mission that I love so much, and get to go home to a family that I love too, just in a different way :)
Have a great week, and know that I love you and that I have a testimony that what I'm doing is important.
-Sister Broekhuijsen
Editor's other note: Melissa also mentioned in a separate email that she has a "guilt ulcer" because she owes so many people letters and "thank-yous." She said she has received so many nice packages, letters, cards, etc. and she is woefully behind on answering them all, but she LOVED LOVED LOVED them and is so thankful for all of the support! She will try to eventually send out personal "thanks" but meanwhile, if you sent her something, you can just know that she is GRATEFUL! :-)
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