Emails, please!

Dear Blog Readers,

Sister Broekhuijsen has a request.  Since next week (Wednesday, 6 February) will be her last Pday, she thinks it would be fun (for some inexplicable reason) to receive a whole bunch of emails!  So, if you'd like to take this amazing once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to send an email to Sister Broekhuijsen, here is her email address:

melissa.broekhuijsen@myldsmail.net

Of course, her email time is somewhat limited, so if you have 3 pages worth of stuff to say, just send her a letter!  But if you just want to say "Hi.  I think you're one of the three most amazing people on this planet" or some other pithy yet sweet message like that, this is your last chance to do it!  

She'll be home on Friday the 8th - did I happen to mention that to anyone?  (Besides the whole world, multiple times?!)  :-D   CAN'T WAIT!!!!!

If you DO need to get her an actual snail mail letter - the address you'll want to send that to is:

Sister Melissa Broekhuijsen
6 Harbor Parkway
Clinton, CT  06413

Thanks for your support!

Last Monday Email Home

What a treat!  We got email from Melissa quite a bit earlier than usual today.  Good thing she reminded me that next week we wouldn't hear from her until Wednesday.  Although I was VERY aware that she'll be coming home then, it had not occurred to me that it would be transfer week!  Silly me.  Anyway, here's her last Monday email!

It is super super weird to have included Andrew in the "to" field when I know that it's likely he won't read this until he's in UTAH! I'm so happy to hear that he's not feeling too sad about going home. I've said it before but the biggest feeling I have is just "this is so weird!!" haha. I think it hasn't really hit me what is happening. This is my last real pday, the next one I'll have to spend packing all day. Nutso. 

So I had a wonderful week, again. There were some lows, but OH did the highs make up for them. First I'll calm everyone's fears by saying that I was not sick last week. I was actually almost all the way better last Tuesday when we wrote. I still have a lot of congestion and I cough a bit, but it doesn't hurt at all and I'm still able to be up at 6:30 and go go go all day. So I'm not complaining even a teents. 

Let's talk about the reasons this was such a good week.  

1) I am a missionary and I love being a missionary!  

2) We had a great district meeting and afterward went to the oldest pizza place in the country with Snoop Dogg's cousin. (Still feels just as cool as day one.)  This time he also took us to a famous italian pastry shop next door! Cool.

3) We had GREAT lessons with members! Even though some teens and pre-teen boys are immature and dumb and ask questions in the middle of the lesson like, "When is this going to be over?" I still like teaching people about missionary work. 

4) I am healthy! And I bought red skinny jeans and I love them! And the ward loves us and we have every lunch and dinner booked until I go home! 

5) I am going to Yale's Peabody museum after this! With my companion (duh) and three Elders from the district. SOSO fun! I've wanted to go to this one ever since I first got here and saw the GIANT DINOSAUR OUTSIDE! Yes, you KNOW I'm all up on that. 

6) I am comforted by the fact that I have so many good things to look forward to when I get home. It makes it easier to face the prospect of leaving this work and lifestyle that I love so much. 

7) (<--- I saved this one for number seven because it's my favorite one, and seven is one of the top three greatest prime numbers!) I got to meet and talk to the mortal who has had the single greatest influence on my whole mission here: President Clayton M. Christensen himself!! I was totally starstruck. So here's the story.  

We found out last week that he and his wife were coming to the New Haven YSA branch and I was super jealous (because I love him, and he's not coming to Madison until June 23rd). The Zone Leaders liked to rub it in my face and text things like, "Not to make you jealous or anything, but our boy CC is coming to the branch. We're probably going to have to spend a lot of one-on-one time with him. No big deal." ARGH!   They knew exactly what they were doing!!  :)  But then Saturday night a big ol' wind of prosperity blew right in my face and they sent a text that asked something about reporting and then said, "Also, if you really, really want to hear the man himself tomorrow, the YSA ward starts at 1:00. I'm sure no one will mind.  (Bringing investigators would be a plus but is not required.)" WAHOOO!!! So we asked J* for a ride (she was already planning on going) and she graciously accepted. That meant that we didn't have to use the Lord's miles to go! Bonus! 

So, we went. He spoke in Sacrament Meeting (it was awesome) then we went to Sunday School, then he taught combined Priesthood/RS for 3rd hour. People. It was the BEST. I was crying like an Italian who lost his favorite meatball. Wow, that is very specific. Anyway, I was overwhelmed by the Spirit to the gushing out of many tears. 

I wasn't going to talk to him afterward because I was too scared. Not scared, but I just had so much I wanted to tell him so I was always planning on writing a big fat thank you letter when I got home. But Sister H* (another member from Madison who came to hear CC (she's the one we spent Christmas morning with)) encouraged me to go talk to him (since I knew it was the last time I'd see him on my mission, and possibly, (though hopefully not) ever) so I did! He was a Popular Peter (because he's a Charismatic Clay! hahaha pun) so there was a line but it was great. J* talked to him first and then introduced me as "your biggest fan" (EMBARRASSING! But entirely true!!). I told him that I wanted to tell him something, and that I know he didn't need to hear this, because he's so humble, but that I felt prompted to say it anyway. Then I told him, "I'm going home next week, and J* is my first investigator I've seen baptized in my ward. So I know I wasn't called here to baptize a bunch of people, but the Spirit has told me multiple times that one of the main reasons I was called here was to learn from you." I didn't mean it in a sucking-up way at ALL, so I didn't feel uncomfortable saying it. I was choking up and could barely get the words out, but I did it. Do you know what he said to me? I shall tell you.  Said he, "It's a great church, isn't it? I feel so lucky to be a part of it." AHHHH You're so humble! You're making me love you even mooooooooooore!! 

I told him about how I was in the Cambridge Stake for the early days of the "digital mission" pilot program and I bore my testimony of how I saw it change people. He got a little misty-eyed and said, "Oh Sister, you just made my MONTH!" ahhh! I'm unworthy, I'm unworthy. Then a few other people came up and were talking but before I left he cut someone off and pulled out his wallet and handed me a business card and said, "Thank you so much for your service. If I can ever be of help to you in the future, I hope you'll let me know." Then he took my hand in his and said, "God bless you, Sister." 

I don't tell this story to brag. Obviously he gives out hundreds of business cards a week. But it just meant so much to me. One of the main things that I've found comforting as I've been considering my mission is that I know I wasn't perfect, but at least I know that I've learned how to be a member missionary - and that is largely because of HIM! It was so easy to come up with an entry for my "How have you seen the Lord's hand in your life today?" journal because this was one of the most memorable experiences of my mission. I feel so lucky. 

Alright let's talk about upcoming events this week. Thursday night I get to spend the night at Sister Edwards' apartment in Waterford Connecticut because early in the morning they're driving us up to Boston for our giant SISTERS' CONFERENCE!!!! All day Friday. Wahoo! Then Saturday night is the musical fireside that Sister Jordan and I started planning back in like, August. It's finally happening, and President insisted that the first performance be before I go home so I could be a part of it. I'm singing "Oh Divine Redeemer" so that should be very exciting. I'm really looking forward to this week!  

I'm out of time (Peabody's calling!) but I love you all. I'm happy to be here for the time I have left. 

Love, 

Sister "Why do all of the Christensen's sons have to be married already??" Broekhuijsen

What? No Subject?

Oh dear!  Melissa always provides me with a post title in her subject line, but today she left it blank.  As  you can see, my creativity for the day had already been used up!  Anyway, here's the email, which is not short on creativity at all…

Buenas tardes,

I have had a wonderful week. Many many good things happened. Also, some not-so-fun things, like, such as, ANOTHER VIRUS FROM HADES happened to me, but I decided to be happy anyway. What power our minds have! Who knew it was so easy? Well, it is actually not easy, but it is possible. So that is good to know.

I am so blessed to be a missionary. Especially to be in this ward!! We have so many amazing members and investigators, I just love to be here. We have a dentist who does work on us missionaries for free, which is so kind. He gave me some fillings this past week! It was great! I love having fewer holes in my teeth!

We also got to have interviews with President Packard. That was probably the highlight of my week. He is so in tune with the Spirit that he always knows just what I need to hear. I'll give some examples. I brought up two things, specifically that I wanted him to help me with. The first is called, "My brother is coming home 4 days before me and I know I'm going to compare myself to him and that it will not be healthy and I'll feel down on myself because he is/was a legendary missionary." I wanted President to console me and give me an emotional pat-on-the-back and say, "Well, Sister Broekhuijsen. I can't imagine ANYONE being a better missionary than you! So you have no need to worry. If you ever feel like you weren't good enough, just remember that I think the world of you." But instead he thought for a moment and said, "You know, it's an interesting question. It's something I've thought about a lot: what do you do if you know you shouldn't compare yourself to others but you just can't help it? Well, I don't have a magical answer, but I CAN tell you that it's helpful to evaluate the source of the comparison. Remember that just as judging/comparison from the top down is based on pride, comparing yourself from the bottom up is ALSO based on pride." WHOA! He was, of course, right! ANd it was very helpful to hear!

The second issue I brought up is that I really want to know whether Heavenly Father is pleased with my missionary service. A lot of missionaries start considering that at the end of their missions, and I've been praying for a confirmation that He is pleased with me and the work I did. I told President that I'm going to take that question to the temple on transfer day and he said, "Sister Broekhuijsen, that's fine to want a confirmation, but don't ask for a sign." WHOA! He was, of course, right again! I realized that that was exactly what I was asking for! I wanted a sign, so I could have something to look back on when times get tough (as in, when I hear all about how amazing Andrew's mission was and I start feeling like a down-in-the-dumps-delilah!). Such a wise man.

But the REAL kicker is that he addressed a big concern that I hadn't even brought UP to him, but he used the Spirit to discern my need and talk to me about it!! This "secret" concern was that I'm not sure if I'M pleased with my efforts. I haven't been a perfect missionary, and especially with all the health challenges I've had lately and last winter, I feel like there are so many things I could have been better at. I mean, I've felt so sick that I've had to sleep during lunch hour (or longer) and there were many times when I was sitting on a bus and I DIDN'T talk to the person next to me. I could have, I just didn't! Because of fear, tiredness, trappings of the Devil, whatever. So I don't know how to feel about myself. I think that's another reason I was seeking a "sign" to know if God was pleased with me, so I could start working on ME feeling pleased with me. WELL he said to me, "At the end of your mission, you can look back and ask yourself, 'If I had known at the beginning of my mission, everything that I know NOW, would I have done things differently?' YES. Of COURSE. But, Sister Broekhuijsen, that just means that you have changed and learned. The real tragedy would be if you said no, I wouldn't do anything differently, because that means that you didn't grow." OH MAN, I was so thankful. It was an answer to an un-uttered (but most definitely asked) question. Aren't I fortunate to have heard such sage advice/counsel?

In the closing prayer he prayed for many specific things for me. Like about keeping the good habits that I've developed, and taking the skills I've learned and applying them into post-mission life, but then he also prayed that I will be able to rejoice in my brother's successes in a genuine way, rather than feeling resentment or jealousy. Isn't that incredible? It was a spiritual FEAST, I tell you!

So that was wonderful. I also got my ecclesiastical endorsement for BYU from President Packard, and went to Popeye's chicken for the first time (it's Sister Rivera's favorite!). Their biscuits are probably 60% butter, but they're 100% delicious. On an unrelated note, my healthy-eating resolutions are still going strong.......

I love you. I hope you all have a fulfilling week. I hereby grant unto every reader of this post the capacity to have a stellar day and week.

Love,

Sister "I can buy food that will expire when I'm in Utah. That's weird" Broekhuijsen

And Photos Too!

Melissa sent us a few photos, so here are a couple to share with you all.  The first one is with the very kind couple who had her and her companion over for Christmas morning.

This one was taken during a huge snowstorm that dumped 10 1/2 inches of snow in some parts of Melissa's area.  Not sure why she's not wearing her coat, though!  Silly girl!

I'll put some more up later.  Right now my hands are so cold they're numb and it's making it hard to type!

С Днем Рождения!

Hey!  Isn't it our OTHER missionary that's supposed to be using the cyrillic alphabet?  :-)  By the way, I have no idea if that post title actually says anything!  Anyway, Melissa had LOTS to say this week, so here you go!

Today is my Russian Brother's Birthday. Or, should I say, my Brother's Russian Birthday. Either way, his birthday is today and I am celebrating by these opening three sentences.

I've had a good week. To be honest, I'm finding it very difficult to stay focused. It's not that I'm not wanting to still be here, but I just know that I have a lot of good things to be looking forward to, and I'm excited to be with my family once again. NEVERTHELESS I am trucking through and trying to focus on individuals and their needs. I think that will work, and will help me keep my eye single all the way to the end.

Let's see, what shall I share...

Ooh! I finished the Clayton Christensen book. To be clear (since apparently I was not clear last week) this is a NEW book, and if you have read this sentence on this blog/e-mail, you are now morally obligated to go buy it and read it and apply the principles in your life and become a better human being. The title is The Power of Everyday Missionaries and even my exhuberant praise is not overselling it. It's that good. I had an important realization about it. One reason that I love it so much is that it perfectly embodies the first 9 months of my mission. For my first 6 transfers, I was teaching 10-15 member missionary work lessons a week - all from the principles Clayton Christensen shares! I've met many of the people who are characters in his miraculous stories! I've developed my own testimony of the power of member missionaries because of these principles. I feel like I am very shaped by what's taught in this book, so it's so cool to have a tangible reminder of these truths I've grown to love! How lucky I am.

Everyone in the world (or at least Connecticut, or at least in the Madison ward boundaries) is sick with the flu and/or a nasty cold. So that's made it rather difficult to meet with people (especially investigators) but it was still a good week. We've managed to not catch the flu (knock on a sequoia) so we're feeling very fortunate about that. We DID get to have a really nice dinner with R*. The B*s, a wonderful family in our ward, invited him over for dinner and invited us as well! It was a really nice time - he is just the sweetest and I love that the B*s are such good fellowshippers. This ward is awesome.

Sister Rivera cooked Honduran (Hondurian?) food for me this week. It was divine and 87% extremely unhealthy. It was kinda like pupusas with the El Salvadorean coleslaw, but with a Honduran/ian twist. Super delish. Also, lately she's been doctoring up some canned soup and turning it into heavenly soup. When you take a low-sodium, low-fat Progresso soup that's only 70 calories/cup and add plantains, cabbage, garlic salt, and lime, it is STILL pretty healthy and becomes mouthwateringly good. Just a tip for all you viewers at home.

On Saturday we got to have dinner with a new family in the ward, the K*s. They just moved here from Cedar Hills, UT! Woot woot! They have four girls (14,13, 9, and 7) and both parents served missions. They are AWESOME and are already doing a TON of member missionary work. It's like a family of golden investigators, only they're already baptized. So cool. That was definitely a highlight of my week.

Coming up this week we have interviews with President Packard, lots of dinner appointments with great families in our ward, and hopefully continued health. We have a lot of potential investigators that we are trying to transform into actual investigators, so that's going to be a big focus this week as well as forcing our other investigators to be healed so we can meet with them. Both of these seem like reasonable goals to me. (Speaking of goals, this week when we were writing out our action plan for one of our investigators, an actual step we wrote out was, "Have a lesson with him and make him feel the Spirit so strongly that he actually has no choice but to be baptized into Christ's restored church." haha.)

I set the goal a couple months ago to complete the Book of Mormon (for the third time on my mission), the Doctrine and Covenants, and Jesus the Christ before I go home. As the end draws nigh, it's now seeming highly unlikely that all three of these will happen, but I have been reading a lot from Jesus the Christ recently and I just love it! Talmage is the best (except for Nimoy, Mormon, and Moroni of course). I love his insights PLUS his impressive diction is a bonus because I constantly have to look up definitions so I'm actually getting smarter as I read.

RANDOM: I just remembered that at the store this morning I saw something called a "grapple". The tagline was: "Crunches like an apple, tastes like a grape." That's weird enough, but what's weirder is that a cartoon gorilla was the mascot on the packaging. What the what? There was no mention of banana (texture OR flavor), which, so far as I have been able to tell from my intentionally limited exposure to gorillas/monkeys in general, is a favorite of those vile creatures. So what is this crazy company thinking? I guess the weirdest part is that a pack of 4 grapples was priced at $5.99. Who would pay THAT? How about if you want something that crunches like an apple, you eat an apple? Or if you're craving grape flavor, eat a grape! Some people are spoiled.

I've been delighted to have some very "deep doctrine" discussions this week. I love learning deep doctrine! One thing I've been thinking about is why Satan tries so much to obscure the simple truths about the nature of God. Why is it so important to him that mainstream Christianity views Him as a spirit essence or three beings in one? Why is the principle "God is our loving Heavenly Father" the first point of the first lesson that we teach people? I love looking at the things that Satan is specifically attacking and trying to glean why it's important for him to skew them. Because I know that that means God thinks they're really important for us to know and understand! Ah. SO cool. I'll share more later but it would take too long to type out. Just something to think about.

I've also been blessed to be getting really cool revelations about myself recently. These half-hour prayers are just so cool. I used to think that Heavenly Father would not want us to be annoying and ask for lots of revelations, but Elder Ramos taught me that the parable of the unjust judge (found in Luke 18) teaches us that even a wicked man will eventually grant your request if you bug him about it long enough, so it is much MORE likely that a loving Heavenly Father would answer your petitions for guidance. Therefore I've been asking and knocking and oh baby oh baby have things been opened unto me. It's a practice I recommend for all. Some cool questions to consider asking, "What advice would my (n+10)-year-old self give me right now?" "What kind of person was I like in the pre-mortal existence?" "What kind of questions do You want me to be asking?" "What can I do to more fully give up control and align my will and actions with Thy will for me?"

Well, that just about does it. Thank you for being a champ and reading up to the end. I hope that you all have a wonderful week and that you Utahans aren't too jealous of my almost 60-degree temperatures over here in Connecticut (<-- try pronouncing it how it's spelled - it's fun).

Love,

Sister "I'm actually kind of regretting not buying those grapples..." Broekhuijsen

Welcome to 2013

Happy day!  Email from our favorite Melissionary!  Sounds like she had a great week!

I am in an unusually swell mood this afternoon. I mean, missionary work always makes me happy, but today I am even more thrilled than I normally am. Let's talk about this week.

First we'll start with some trivial things. I have found some great deals on new clothes at GoodWill and outlet stores.

Okay, phew! Now we can be eternally significant.

We had a lovely, lovely week. Even though we were extremely weak sick and had to stay inside and do nothing for 2 whole days, we STILL managed to have good numbers. We had 4 investigators at Sacrament Meeting yesterday (plus J*, who no longer counts as an investigator, since she is a BAPTIZED MEMBER OF THE CHURCH) AND nine less-actives. It was a great meeting!

Speaking of J* being a baptized member of the church... J* was baptized into this Church on Saturday January 5th! It was the first time that someone I was teaching was baptized into the ward where I am currently serving. Quite the statistic! It only took a year and a half!! :) I'm actually not bitter, or even semi sweet - I am full, creamy milk chocolate about the whole thing. (You might find a lot of food metaphors today because I've been doing AMAZINGLY at my new years resolutions and haven't had a BITE of sweets so far - an impressive seven days into this new year). It was the most organized baptism I've ever seen. She is quite the planner. She prepared a media presentation to be played after the ordinance while she redid her hair/makeup. But she is very particular in the way that she wanted the projector to be set up, and in the transitions between videos, and all that. So we had 2 separate audio-visual dry runs at the church prior to the baptism to ensure that there would be no kinks.

She had very specific ideas for what she wanted to be addressed in the talks, so the three sister missionaries who taught her were each asked to speak on baptism, and then two of her close friends in the church spoke on the Holy Ghost. She gave specific prompts to each of us, so that we spoke on the aspect of baptism from the point of view of what she has gained from each of us. Does that make sense? So she asked Sister Vicente to talk about how it's more than just an act, it's a feeling. Sister Garcia spoke about how the decision to be baptized blesses not only us, but also our families, past, present, and future. I was asked to give the nuts and bolts talk - how it IS actually a logical decision, as well as something you do because you feel you should. She designed her own baptismal program, and put together a little workbook/packet/binder thing to be handed out as people walked back into the chapel after the ordinance was performed. It had little explanations about the videos we were about to watch and why they're significant to her, and things like that. Wowzer - I tell you what. It was intense. But it turned out wonderfully and I think all were edified. She was confirmed in Sacrament Meeting yesterday and it was also a great experience.

In other investigator news, R*(our amazing 82-year-old widower) is probably the most tender man in the universe. I cry a lot in his lessons, especially when he prays. He is just so sincere, and he really does want to know more. He thinks that I am Sister Garcia and I don't have the heart to break it to him that I am another cute girl with long, dark hair. So he tells stories about how when he first saw me he just knew that he should listen, even though he usually ignored the missionaries. Man I love him. We had a really good lesson with him this week.

I issued a challenge to myself and accepted it this week. A few weeks ago, when Sister Vicente and I had the wonderful priviledge of having companionship study with President Packard, he told us that on his mission he started praying for half an hour every morning. He said that when he first tried, he said his normal things and he was done after 4 minutes. He realized that he didn't know how to pray, so he asked for help. Before long, he said, 30 minutes didn't seem like nearly enough time. That practice is something that he has kept up ever since his mission. He prays in the morning with a notebook and writes down the questions he asks and the impressions/answers he receives, and then reports back that night in his nightly prayers.

I would submit that that is one reason why my mission president is so phenomenal.

I thought it sounded like a cool idea, but I didn't think I could actually do it. I have a hard enough time finding time in the morning to exercise, shower, get ready, and eat breakfast before studies start at 8:00! But I shared it with my friend, Elder Ramos, and he said, "That's amazing! I'm going to try that!" so I said, "Okay, coolio. Report back on Friday at District Meeting." So he did, and he said it was incredible, and he encouraged me to just give it a try. He said he noticed a HUGE change in his day and how he felt overall.

So, I humbled my proud little head and gave it a whirl. Since I am sharing this experience in my weekly e-mail home, you have probably assumed that it was a good experience. You probably thought that it would help me get answers to my problems and to feel more calm. You probably thought that I felt that same way President did - that 30 minutes just whizzed by before I knew it and I still had more to talk about with my Heavenly Father.

Wow - you are a good guesser, because all of those things are correct. It has been remarkable.

In other great, spiritual news, I am VERY lucky to be in the MBM (Massachusetts Boston Mission). Of course, I already knew that. One of those reasons is that I got to meet and learn from Clayton M. Christensen. Of course, I already knew that, too. But THIS week I rwas a lucky girl because he PAID FOR A COPY OF HIS NEW BOOK ON MEMBER MISSIONARY WORK TO BE GIVEN TO EVERY MISSIONARY IN THIS MISSION. He is also giving it to all of our Stake Presidents and Ward Mission leaders. MY GOODNESS. It is amazing. I saw it in a Deseret Book catalogue last week (thanks, previous Sister missionary who never changed the address of her catalogue subscription!) and just about fainted with joy at the prospect of a new Clayton Christensen book being put out (on one of my favorite subjects of all TIME, nonetheless!). I never dreamed I'd get to read it before my mission was through! I highly recommend everyone getting a copy. Or just wait until February 9th, at which point I will hold a fireside in my parents' living room where I will just read it aloud to you for 3.5 hours. Both options work for me!

Well, it sounds like you had a great New Year's Eve. Mine was good too. In the day time, I slept a lot and e-mailed home, and then I came home and slept a lot. My New Year's DAY was also great because during the day I slept and played Book of Mormon trivia with Sister Rivera and during the night I slept and coughed. :) I am feeling MUCH better now. We even went running in subfreezing temperatures this morning. That was less than wise, but felt good afterward.

Congratulations on having so many deer hanging out in the backyard! Don't let any bowhunters on our property, please.

I will now leave you with a great list of "Sister Rivera-isms". She has lived in the US for like 12 years and has a very good grip on the English language, but there are certain words that are hard for her, and entertaining for me. I'm going to just spell them out phonetically for you and let you guess what she is trying to say. ¡Qué divertido!

"moogers"
"aish-creen"
"breftiss"
"charperner"

:) Isn't that cute?

Well, thank you raised to the infinity for being such a great family/extended family/friend family. I love you, and I am happy that, although I really do have a LOT of time (more than 4 full weeks!) left here in Connecticut, I will get to tell you stories in person soon. Does that sound trunky? I'm really not. But it's not evil to be excited to see you.

Love,

Sister "just keep swimming, just keep swimming" Broekhuijsen