Week 22 - Gent, Belgium

Beste Familie,

We had 6 investigators in church on Sunday (8 nonmembers total) which was really exciting, especially compared to 0-2 for the past few weeks.. persistence + love on our part = much higher chance of action on investigators' part. 

Another miracle was Yamin, a cute 22 yr old art student originally from Hong Kong but born and raised in Antwerpen who I befriended on the train.. what started out as me complimenting her purse led to some pleasant smalltalk and eventually ended up to me teaching her the Restoration. I'd gotten her number and she was interested in getting a Book of Mormon, and after texting her to see if our friends in Antwerpen could stop by and drop one off, she replied that she'd already ordered one from the website because she was really curious. 

Last night was really neat because in the middle of walking and talking to Z. Stevens I felt prompted to cross over and talk to the young lady who'd just gotten off of our tram.. her name is Ana, she's a plant biologist from Bulgaria, thinks that societies with Christian values are more successful, wishes she could know if there is a God, and wants to meet this week. That was really neat because I was able to recognize that the spirit was telling me to talk to her, and distinguishing between the spirit/ my sense of duty when I'm already in "contacting mode" has been something I've been giving a lot of thought. These positive potentials were also a breath of fresh air after contacting a fair number of middle-aged, middle-Eastern men who seem to have other motives for being so willing to meet with two "mooi amerikaanse meiskes."  

We also met with Bart, who is extremely open to every school of thought and studies Icelandic and languages from the Faro Islands. He has some interesting insights on the Book of Mormon, especially concerning the urim and thummim, but wouldn't commit to covenanting with God and joining His church even if he knew if was true.. we taught and invited him to pray, and it was more of him thanking and complimenting us for a long time (I opened my eyes for a sec and he was staring right at us).. I realized about halfway in that he was praying. He's a nice man and if he's willing to give his full effort he could really progress. 

We also had a Twi speaking (language they speak in Ghana) Family Home Evening which was super cool. Our activity was the game 'telephone' which I suggested we do in Twi.. haha it's a crazy language.

Also, 10 stitches yesterday (after scraping my leg playing football.. don't worry, I really am totally fine and don't feel any pain and that little mishap will not interfere with missionary work) taught me to be situationally aware and to never let my focus and guard down.  

How is Haiti!? And school? Love you all! 

Fijne week!
Zuster Riley