Well, since last week's email got cut short, Melissa made up for it this week by sending us a tremendous epistle! Hooray for long emails! My favorite.
Well hey.
This has been quite a wonderful week. Sorry about the overly dramatic cliff-hanger last week - I hate not having a billion hours to e-mail you! But I shall try to tell all my stories from THIS week, the remainder of my stories from LAST week, and some Book of Mormon insights. I didn't ever doubt that you enjoyed hearing them... but I thought it was maybe a little boring for you. BUT since listening to those sound clips from Steaver, I decided to be better about including those. It's nice to hear that they are appreciated, so I will try to share them more.
Before we begin, I would just like to announce that eating healthfully, exercising regularly, taking multivitimins, and getting plenty of rest are apparently NOT the solution for completely avoided illness because I woke up this morning SMITTEN with sickness. Ugh. I had a sore throat yesterday but this morning it has spread to dried out sinuses, massive headaches, and a cough. BOOO. Let's all take a moment to pray that (for the sake of the WORK - not even for my own comfort) I will not get sicker. And because faith without works is dead, I will take 800 packets of Emergen-C today.
*WARNING* this is going to be disjointed and probably only mildly funny because I'm going to actually try to be funny. And if I've learned anything from Andrew, it's that some jokes are funny and some are not. So I'll just throw out a numbered list. Let's see how high we can get to today!!
1) The Olympics are going on! Ah! I love those Olympics with a great percentage of my heart molecules. How were the opening ceremonies? Are there any heroes? I keep seeing Appolo Anton Ohno's face on Subway Sandwich stores around here and getting very confused because I thought he was a winter olympics olympian. Shouldn't it be good ol' Michael Phelpsey? Have you watched any beach volleyball? I will name all the athletes I can actually remember from the '08 olympics and you can tell me if they are still kickin' nowadays: Shawn Johnson. Michael Phelps. The Beach volleyball chicks. That one male gymnast from Idaho (might be the '04 olympics....). Usain Bolt. YEP - that's all I've got.
2) The story of M* — M* is this wonderful Bengali man who works in the Budget Mart right by our apartment. We stopped in for an emergency dishwasher soap run and started talking to him. His English is less than perfect but still understandable. When we explained that we were missionaries he said, "Oh, that is why you appear different than most people who come into this store. You are light. You are much more pleasant than normal people." hahah. Yes, M*, that is exactly why. So we asked about his background and he came here from Bangladesh about 10 years ago. He works 7 am to 7 pm SEVEN DAYS A WEEK - aka EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE WORLD - without any time off. That is just crazy to me. So we called up our zone leaders and said, "How soon can you get us a copy of the Book of Mormon in Bangla?" They had one to us the next day. That is because they are awesome. So we were SO excited and we ran home after district meeting last week (er... two weeks ago, now) to give it to him. Sister Jordan said we had a present for him and that it was a book, he got a little sad and said, "My English is not too good but I will try to read it" so she whipped it out and gave it to him and as he read that gold lettering on the blue background his face lit up and he said, "How did you get this? I didn't know you collected books in Bangla!" hahaha it was so cute! He was thrilled and then started firing off a billion perfect questions, " If there is just one God who created us, why are there so many religions?" "When we die is it the end? Or should I be preparing for another life after this?" "How can I know what God wants me to do?" Yeah. I'm being serious right now, even though it sounds like a demonstration video with a fake investigator. It was wonderful. So we gave him an English copy of the BoM as well and had him find 2 Nephi 31. He promised to read it and we told him we'd stop by and check on how he's doing. We've done so once so far and he said he reads it when he doesn't have any customers but he's not too far yet. It was just the coolest story. I'm glad I finally got to type it all out because I sure as heck haven't had time to journal lately (as in... for the past 8 months).
3) The weather has been absolutely stellar here. I don't know why I am being showered (ha! meteorology pun) with so many blessings in this department but I am going to proclaim my gratitude from the rooftops. Did you know that (with the exception of 3 days in the past 2 weeks) it has been COOL in the morning when we're running? That's right. Cool. And even during the day time it's not too hot! There are many nice breezes. Hallelujah.
4) Another episode of, "Public transportation is a doozy but I love it" (<-- that's for you, JenMo). On the Orange Line (train) last week, there was a man who looked like Zach from Saved by the Bell (90's blond wavy hair and all) who was holding a cat. It was a Bengal and she was beautiful. He keep kissing its face and she was very affectionate back. He would play with her and then stuff her into his over-sized fanny-pack when he was done. Then get her out again. It was a DELIGHT to witness. We got off at the same stop and then he walked over and we got on the SAME BUS. Score! Let's hope I see more of this guy in the future.
5) Interfaith fireside. Not last Friday but the Friday before, we got a call from President Packard. He told us that there was an interfaith fireside down in Bridgeport, Connecticut the next Sunday (as in a week ago yesterday) and that he wanted Sister Jordan and I to perform. We of COURSE agreed and arranged something that very night. It was so cool! President and his two daughters, Natalie and Angela, picked us up around 2:00 in the afternoon and we drove down to that oh-so-remote little town. It was quite the drive. Along the way he asked our opinion of the rules and genuinely wanted our feedback! Then we got talking about Michael Jackson and he agreed with me that Man in the Mirror is totally about the Atonement so it's okay to sing. Then HE went off about how great Michael Jackson is and how there's no one that will ever compare to him because he's just ultimate. Yes. All of these words that you are reading are true. What a great little conversation! He told us a story about how his younger brother ended his farewell talk with, "Make that change." hahahaha. It was a fantastic conversation. Anyway the fireside went great. Natalie accompanied us on our own arrangement of "I Need Thee Ev'ry Hour" which was very well received. Then we stayed for some mingling and finally left the church building at about 9:45 pm. We didn't get home until 12:20! Holy cow it was late but I was with President so I'm not too worried about getting in trouble.
6) On the drive down, President also told us a story about how when his oldest son (who is now 19) was about 13, he (President Packard) let his inlaws borrow his car for the day (it was a BMW - he's a lawyer, remember?) and he (President Packard) used their (the in-laws') Buick. Well, when he was dropping off his son at school, his son asked if he could be dropped off like 3 blocks away and then WALK to school. President Packard FLIPPED OUT at him and said, "Are you saying you're too COOL to be dropped off in this Buick? Oh NO. You've got the coolness disease. That is DEADLY for people your age." So he dropped him off RIGHT AT the school and then sold his beamer that night and bought the Buick from his inlaws and used that car until his son turned 16 at which point it became HIS car. HAHAHA. Isn't that a great story? That just shows how you can be successful and even rich and still be down to earth. Love it.
6) Friday morning I was taking my vitamins and something very strange happened called, "I forgot how to swallow." I took a sip of water, then put my hand to my mouth and put the pills in, then spit it all back out into my hands and all over my desk. It was like I got all the steps except for closing my mouth and swallowing. Man, it was rough. And I just sat there for a minute, incredulously, staring at the caplet dissolving in a pool of water in my palm and wondering what happened to me. Then I laughed but to be honest I am still a little confused because I do NOT know how that occurred.
7) A couple weeks ago, Sister Jordan and I were tracting a bit around our dinner appointment's house because we got there early. At one place we talked to this guy for a little while but he was really skeptical. So we gave him a card and I just wanted to shake his hand and say goodbye. So I said something like, "Well, have a good night. By the way my name is Sister Broekhuijsen, what's yours?" and extended my hand. He just looked at me and grumbled/moaned... "uhhhhhhhhhhhh" and closed the door. It took a lot of self control to not just bust up. Luckily we held it in until we walked around the corner and then laughed there. It was a great time and is now a fond memory as a high point in tracting awkwardness for me.
8) P* is doing well! We had a dinner with Sister G* and her adorable little two year old, S*, and P* came late (he got held up at work) and we got to have a lesson with him. It was a wonderful evening overall because we got to learn about Sister G*'s background (point 9) and the food was AMAZING. She kept saying that she's not much of a cook but oh BOY I am a fan of Nepalese food. I swear their naan is better than Indian (or maybe I was just starving [or maybe both]). Anyway, in the lesson, P* had a lot of good questions about the pamphlet we had left him and even SAID THE CLOSING PRAYER! It was his first prayer aloud, presumably in his whole life. So that was really cool and he did a great job. We love teaching him so hopefully he will be a regular occurrence in these e-mail updates.
9) Sister G* is incredible. She grew up in Nepal (as did Brother G*) but she was always outcast because of her father, who, when she was in middle school found Christianity and started reading the bible and preaching Christian truths to anyone who would listen. That was not very popular and he lost his job, and the whole family was shamed. Even their relatives turned away from them and she never got to date or have friends because she was "the daughter of a CHRISTIAN." She said that people didn't even know what that meant (SHE certainly didn't - she just knew that her Dad read the bible) but that because it was abnormal, it was apparently shun-worthy. So she had a really hard time as a teenager and didn't even get to finish school because she had to come home and work to support her father and brother since her father couldn't hold a job. Somehow (I don't remember all the details) she got an arranged marriage and came with Brother G* to the United States. She said her Dad was so thrilled for her when he found out she got to come to America and told her, "Now you can learn about God and Jesus Christ! Now you can learn all you need to learn because you will be in a FREE land!" (*Yes, in case you had ANY doubt, I was sobbing as she told us this story*). So she came and wanted to learn about Christianity. She talked to her husband's uncle who just happened to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and he invited them to come to church with him in Cambridge. She read the Book of Mormon and was quickly converted. She was baptized 5 years ago, and since then her husband has been baptized and they got sealed in the temple! They had been trying to have kids for a long time and then got pregnant less than a month after going to the temple so they call S* their "temple blessing". She said she has been wanting to share the gospel with her father but that he lives in a very very remote part of Nepal (they don't have running water or electricity) and the only missionaries in Nepal are in a main city and aren't allowed (for legal reasons) to leave the city. Her father is like 80 years old but he makes the long, expensive trek (including two days of walking and another 3 or 4 on a bus) once a year. So she is going to arrange it so that he can meet with them when he's in town next. Such an amazing story! She got so excited when we offered P* a Book of Mormon in Nepalese because she wants to send one to her father so he can read it before meeting with the missionaries. Isn't that lovely? I am so lucky to be around such incredible people.
10) While getting on a bus this past week, I smiled at the busdriver and she asked, "how are you doing?" Without knowing what I was doing I yelled, "THANK YOU" and walked away to find a seat. WHAT? why??? I cannot answer either of these one-word questions. As with the pill incident, I am still rather confused.
Well, 10. That's a pretty good number! I should come up with one more so that it can be a prime number.
11) Ooh. Sister Jordan and I did a duet for the musical number in Sacrament Meeting yesterday! We did "Abide with Me" and it turned out nicely, I think. I recorded us practicing both this song AND the "I Need the Every Hour" from last Sunday at the fireside so whenever I get a chance to mail out an SD card, you can hear/see those.
Now some Book of Mormon insights because I'm almost out of time! Yikes!
- 1 Ne 7:3-4. Looks like Laman and Lemuel didn't murmur at ALL when commanded to go back to Jerusalem for THIS reason. hahaha.
- 1 Ne 7:17-18. The Lord doesn't always answer our prayers in the way we expect/ask for. But He will always deliver us if we have faith. I love this because Nephi (like most 16 year old boys I have known) asked for strength to burst the bands with which he was bound. I'm sure he had faith that God could just bless him with some really meaty forearms so he could make this happen. But God instead just loosed the bands. What an interesting example.
- 1 Ne 8:11 and 1 Ne 11:21-24 - I made some cool connections here. If the tree = the love of God in the form of sending his son to die for us, then the fruit of the tree - the works of the Son, specifically the Atonement. So partaking of the fruit = applying the atonement in our lives and REPENTING! I'm sure most of you already knew that but I had never seen it spelled out so plainly before and I just loved it.
- 1 Ne 15:3 - How many times do I get angry or frustrated rather than asking the Lord for the gift of understanding? Probably more often that I should.
- 1 Ne 16:2 - I read this really great quote by Neal A. Maxwell who explained that this cutting ("cutteth them to the very center") is part of "spiritual surgery... painfully severing pride from the soul." Isn't that cool??
- 1 Ne 16:18 - Another good one from Elder Maxwell. Saying that the broken bow was not devastating to Nephi, it was merely irritating. He then explained that "Irritation often precedes instruction." oooh. You are so wise, Neal!
- 1 Ne16: 23 - I love that He could have just prayed about where to go to get food, but he knew that asking his father would soften his heart and show humility and respect. And guess what? He was right.
- 1 Ne 17:51 - That is an interesting point, Nephi! If my investigators truly understood how remarkably powerful God is, perhaps giving them an answer to their prayers wouldn't seem so outlandish.
- 1 Ne 18:1 - I like the use of the phrase "from time to time" here. The rest of the time, Nephi had to rely on his own brain. He was instructed by the Lord, but he wasn't spoon-fed.
- 2 Ne 4:13 - Even thought I'm just the messenger, I may still get rebuked. That's okay - I'm in good company.
- 2 Ne 5 :10-11 - I've come up with a math equation (shocking, I know): obedience + work = prosperity. Cool, right?
- 2 Ne 10: 23 - Isn't that cute that we are told to be cheerful because we have agency? I think that is a great way to show our gratitude. We should be cheerful that we GET to choose. So as long as we want eternal life badly enough to actually choose the intermediate steps that get us there, we can make it. ALL BECAUSE WE CAN CHOOSE! So be cheerful, people!
Alright that's about it. I love you all. I loved the CD from the Millward reunion and I loved the pictures that you sent last week and this week, Pa. Thanks so much for thinking of me. I know that a major reason I am doing so well out here is because I have a force of prayers coming from back home on my behalf.
I'm going to go grocery shopping and then to bed, now. Hopefully that (in addition to my 800 packets of Emergen-C that I promised) will annihilate this cold pronto.
Love,
Sister "I get hit on a lot more in the city than I did in Oxford" Broekhuijsen
P.S. Happy Birthday to Sarah on Wednesday and Grandma and Joshua on Saturday!
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