Sinterklas is hier!

Hallo familie and vrienden!!!

So it was a crazy blessed week. On Saturday Monik got baptized, alongwith another Dutch man who the senior missionaries have been teaching. Ididn't mention her last week because, well, I thought she hadn't been quitwith smoking long enough for her to make her date. Turns out I'm a slightlyovercautious missionary - after some awesome district prayers, she finallythrew all her cigarettes away and was ready. It was a beautiful, beautifulbaptism - she called us later that day just to tell us how great and lovelya day it had been. I love love love seeing members take in people. So good.Don't ever forget that the people the missionaries bring to church are nottheir investigators - they're the ward's investigators.

So Zr. Knoelk flies home on Thursday morning, and Zr. Matos (a friendof my roommate Amalia from my junior semester) is coming on down to R'Dam!It'll be tons of fun. We have pretty different personalities but verysimilar viewpoints on social issues and such (let's just say I don't thinkwe'll be afraid to contact Muslim men, because let's be honest, you neverknow who's open to learning more) - so I think it'll be super awesomeworking with each other. As for Zr. Knoelk, she's done a fabulous job ofnot getting trunky - possibly because the entire ward did so for her. Let'sjust say I'm glad I'm not prone to homesickness - and also that itdefinitely pays to be comps with a well-beloved missionary who's served in award for 10 months, because then every gift she gets you get one of too. ;)So it wasn't too bad to stay focused and such until I got some letters atinterviews on Thursday and found out the first of my freshman guy friends isgetting hitched [congrats Greg and Lindsay!] - I wasn't surprised, just alittle weirded out at how quickly that went down. It's always weirdrealizing time doesn't stand still on the other side of the world, but it'sawesome. It's cool hearing how much everyone's lives are changing and insuch positive ways. It's a little weird not being in Provo with everybody,but I love what I do here.

So before interviews with our mish president Thursday, we had areally cool training from the zone leaders. Elder Carey showed a short videohe made of a Nigerian convert in another area telling his life story and howhe got to the Netherlands. The man went to school in Nigeria - in order tosupport himself, he had to steal oil from the pipe lines. After graduationit was next to impossible to get a job in Lagos without connections, so hepayed 1,200 euros to get smuggled to Europe in a container (a big metalshipping box about the size of a classroom) with about 15 other people. Thetrip was about 12 days. There was no ventilation, and he brought onlydigestives (sweet crackers) with him. 6 or 7 people died in route. He gotlet out in Spain, lived off of thrown away McDonalds food with the othersurvivors for a while, and finally made his way to Nederland, where he nowhas financial help from another wealthier African man. It was an incrediblestory that reminds me a lot of Monik and her coming to Holland as a refugeefrom the Rwandan genocide. And hearing this man talk about the church -"They are my life. They are my family. They have never left me. I feel likeI have parents in Nederland." Something inside my broke and something insideme was healed. I didn't cry until Elder Carey did as he said, "I have neverfelt so great joy as I did when I heard DJ [his americanized name since wecan't pronounce his Nigerian name] tell this story." The ward fell in lovewith this man. He blessed the sacrament in Dutch for the first time a fewweeks ago. Sometimes you forget how every single person you meet has astory.

Things are going well with Ingemar, who should get baptized inDecember and is working on quitting smoking. He cried during the PrimaryPresentation on Sunday. He's a really good man. I absolutely love watchingnew converts take care of eachother. Irene is a crazy intelligent Dutchsingle mom who used to do drugs and who is now absolutely illuminated by thegospel. She's become such good friends with Helen, who's from Suriname andnever married or had children. They both want to invite Andre along with usover for Christmas dinner. It's just so positive watching people's heartsbecome knit together in love through the Spirit, a la Mosiah 18 (I think).

Along slightly more trivial lines, it snowed this week!!!! It wasabsolutely nuts. So we got to go tracting in snow, which was magical, andluckily some memebers gave us a ride home Sunday from church so we didn'thave to bike through it. We also got to see Sinterklas come ashore in hisboat with his Swarte Piets on Saturday. No, it's not Santa Claus, but aBishop from Turkey, according to legend. His Swarte Piets ("Black Petes")either give kids treats or throw them in a sack and take them to Spain aspunishment for being bad. Apparently they're black because they go down thechimney. All I know is that growing in the Bible Belt South where we went toplantations for fieldtrips makes me a little wary of boats with lots ofblack guys and a white guy in charge of them all - but whatev's. It's acultural holiday, so it's all good, right? ;)

We continue to be crazy blessed here in Rotterdam. I love thisward so much, and this transfer will bring me to 6 months here, so we'll seewhat happens next... I love you all!!! Have a great week!!!

Liefs,
zr. Baxter