Helping Others

Hello Family and anyone else who may be reading this email!

So good to hear from you guys as always! Time is just flying by for me, in fact, it is going so fast that I forgot to tell you guys that transfers were coming up. No worries though, I am staying in the same area with the same companion, in fact my whole district stayed the same except for there were two missionaries in the South/East areas, but those areas are now split and they are both going to be training!! So we now have 10 Elders in the ward with two senior couples!! Yikes!! Its going to be sweet though, and I am way excited for this coming transfer! And since no one in my appartment got transferred, today is just a regular P-Day for us.

Things are going well for us here though, we had a miracle happen this week, well it was in the making before, but it was a miracle none the less. So we went over to visit one of the Recent converts in our area, he was baptized almost a year ago now, and he is a very solid member! Unfortunately, his health has started to go down hill, and his time here on this earth is becoming very short, and his sister is his full-time care taker. The first time we went over to visit them, his sister was very reluctant to let us in, because she didn't like missionaries or our church very much, but when we got in we found out that she had a lot on her plate, and she needed help. So that night we let the bishop know, and the ward has been absolutely amazing in doing anything they can to help her, from going over there to just talk with her, or just being there to stay with him while she runs some errands. It has been amazing!!

Yesterday Elder Krugman and I were over there, and she basically said that everyone in the ward's kindness has changed her, and she said she wants to join our church!!! It just goes to show you that sometimes the best way to reach peoples hearts is not by teaching them about the gospel, but by living the gospel, and reaching out to help those in need! She loves having us over now, and she told us that she even wants to apologize to the missionaries that she was rude to when her brother was being taught! We are so excited for her, and we know that she is going to make an excellent member of the church!!

Other than that though, MLK day was not really any different than any other day haha there is no holidays as a missionary except for Mother's Day, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. The Holocaust Museum was really neat, there is a very somber feeling in there, just because of the events that it portrays, but it was a good experience, you guys will like it (someday)! Glad to hear that the whole wedding planning is continuing to go well! Did you by chance plan sometime that you were going to get a cardboard cut out?!?! haha You have to do it!! But that is it for me today, LOVE YOU GUYS A TON!!!!

- Elder Schaap