Groentje...ik kom zo aan!!!!

Goedemorgen iedereen!!!!!

the other day I complemented somebody
on the bus this cute muslim lady
on her scarf...and she would not
let me not take it. I felt so bad.
She practically forced me to take it!!

GUESS WHAT....this was the best week ever.

For reals though.

Karen was baptized, and although it was the most stressful weekend of my mission ever, it all worked out and the service was soooooo beautiful.

The devil for sure likes to get his last licks in, but it actually went smoothly in the end.

This weekend things I had to do:

Practice for two songs I would be playing and singing....

1 for the baptism, and the other for relief society.

Write a 15 min. talk on Charity...(easy topic, so I cant complain)

Figure everything out for the baptism.

Help prepare Karen, and make sure everything went smoothly.

Make lots of treats...for the baptism, and pancakes for Irma(the best less active member ever who feeds us Belgian food every week, and talks in Antwerps) for her birthday.

AND...

PACK!!

Because guess what...

I am being kicked out of Antwerpen.

Honestly I felt it coming from the beginning of the transfer, and I was blessed to have had a 7 week transfer here instead of 6. I honestly was just blessed to be able to come back to Belgium at all let alone here in Antwerpen with zr. Lindsey. We have had a lot of fun, and she is going to kill it TRAINING on her 3rd transfer what!! Also I was lucky to have been able to teach Karen...because honestly I cant take any credit there. She showed up to church on my first week, and was truly prepared. I have loved just even being able to know her and get to know her cute kids. I will miss her, but we are planning a trip to Malaga Spain, because she lived there and speaks spanish amazingly and very other language you can think of.

I bet you are wondering where I am going...well I will tell you.

I am headed to GOUDA!!

and wait there is more....

I will also be TRAINING A GROENTJE!!! (greenie) 

and wait there is even more...

I will be sister training leader.

and wait this isnt more...but what I just told you entails me white-washing a city!! AHHHH 

(white-washing means that both missionaries in the city are being kicked out, and brand new missionaries are being thrown in there without a clue of what they are doing, where to go, and who they are teaching...) yep that is what I have to do.

I am starting to freak out while writing this...because I havent really been thinking about it too much!! haha

I will be white-washing and training for the first time ever, and also I am going to be sister training leader...this poor greenie has no idea what she has gotten herself into. (pray for her to be okay after this transfer)

I am sad, because sis. Harris is coming to Belgium and I am just missing her, but I am pumped for her, because she has never been to Belgium and she is going to kill it!!

I am sad to also be leaving this beautiful country. Belgium is amazing...and I refuse not to speak Flemish in Gouda the whole time. I will miss it here, and this place...but I am very excited for the new challenge that awaits. 

Anyways everything went really well this week, the songs went really well. Elder Needham came and sang oceans by hillsong with me on the guitar..and dont hate me mom, it was soooo crazy that I didnt get to record it. I was sooooo mad. so dont worry I am already mad enough at myself. 

I seriously am starting to realize that my time is almost up. Missions go by way toooooooo fast. I really love this place, and I dont want to leave...sometimes I miss my family, but really I dont want to leave here. I have met the most amazing people and life long friends. EVERYONE SHOULD SERVE A MISSION!!!

I miss you all, but there is nowhere I would rather be. 

Wees Veilig, en Prettige week nog!

VEEL LIEFS,

Zuster Stewart-Chester

Keukenhof 

Zuster Lindsey and I

Our District:)

Ice cream

and Marriette an investigator:) who is the sweetest lady ever.  

Irma :)

Karen!!!

Eld. Needham

 Eld. Billy
and Eld. Billy..(VDDB)

Nadia

Ann

getting lost on the way to the temple.

Come what may and LOVE it!

Zuster Robbins came back for a visit!!  I saw her at Stake Conferene.  Jelle was there too:)  I've missed them both!  

HALLLO!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT A WEEK. WOOOOOOOWWWW!!!

It was an insane week of traveling. and a lot of mistakes and crazy travel situations....and hilarious Elders and losing everything. If you want to know the exact details please read Elder Van Den Dungen Billen's blog....because I am pretty sure he got a list of all of the things that went wrong. http://robertthedutchbloke.tumblr.com It was A TON of fun though!! 

We went to the Netherlands for sis. Lindsey's Legality stuff and then to the temple, and to Keukenhof. I got to see sister Harris...and it was worth it...even if I had to get up at 5 in the morning to catch the train the next morning...and had to run to the train for 10 min...because the door got jammed...lets just say the Devil did not want me to go to the temple this week. 

The temple was amazing!!! But we are always sooooo rushed and it is sad. I cant wait to go home, and just sit in the temple allllllll day long. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TEMPLES NEXT DOOR!!!

I lost my OV chip kart on the way home, and we were freaking out, because Elder Mackay and Eld. Groesbeck had also lost their phone....and it seemed like eerything was going wrong. Eld. VDDB basically screamed in front of all the people at the station that we needed to pray. Well we did haha and we found it. The Lord answers prayers. 

We also had Ring conferentie...Stake Conference here so I got to see most of my buddies from Gent and even Jelle so that was pretty cool. I also got a big shout out from President Boom, talking about serving with dad Alex on his mission and saying that if I came to Tilburg he would spoil me rotten and president Bunnell was there soooo I think he took notes and I hope I go to Tilburg;) haha

Karen is stilll AMAZ|ING!!! and is getting baptized if I can get all the papers worked out because I forgot to bring them to the interview (palm to the face) haha but everything willl work out and we are really excited for her.

I dont have any time....but I love you alll!!! I am telling you...read ELd. VDDB's blog for this week, and you will probably get more of what happened.

IK HOU VAN JULLIE!!!

Liefs,

Zuster Stewart-Chester

Zuster Lindsey and I

Selfie with some Random people in the background 

Our adventure crew...disaster after disaster.

Elder MacKay, Elder Needham , Elder Van Den Dungen Bille, moi, Zuster Lindsey, Elder Groesbeck

"BRU-HE-HE-HE-HE-HE!"

Karin and Sam and FUFU!!

Goedmiddag allemaal!!

Alles is geweldig hier in Antwerpen.

THE SUN IS SHINING!! and this week I wore my flats and no tights! WHAT?!?! Pretty cool.

Other than that this week was cool. I went to Lokerin on exchanges and I rode sis. Robbins my trainer's bike. Haha it was a good time. Sis. Hanny and I rode to the middle of no where and went off-roading with our bikes, and talked to these cool Geo-cachers. Then knocked doors, and prayed with this stubborn old man on his driveway. He got really emotional and had tears in his eyes at the end. 

They also live above a bakery so I bought a yummy pastry for breakfast.

Oh and also on the bus ride there I talked to this cute little old lady. She totally opened up to us, because sis. Lindsey asked her where she was going!:) She told us how she is alone, and lost her husband a few years ago. I asked her if she believed that she would see him again, and she told me no. I told her that I knew she would, and that she could also know if she prayed. She was a little taken aback, and asked me really? It was a super cool experience. I have never been able to bare testimony like I did with that lady on transportation and it was super cool. God put the words in my mouth, and pushed me to say them. 

ALSO....

I WENT TO GENT THIS WEEK!!

It was soooo wonderful, and it was so good to see everyone again. It just made me sooooo grateful for my mission and all of the wonderful people that I have been able to meet and the memories I have already met. I cant wait to meet and make more memories. 

I LOVE GENT! The branch is just soooo great and so welcoming and they are alll just family. 

We also had a cool experience where an investigator showed up and went to the dutch investigator class, and all of the other missionaries te gent went to the English investigator class. Broeder Goethals asked us to go in and we taught her a lesson about God, Prayer and how she could make contact with God. At the end she said a prayer and it was so sweet. She said she felt like her voice was sent somewhere else, not just in that room. Super cool...and who knows, maybe we were supposed to be in Gent to teach her. It was a cool experience. 

Also I talked to a super cool girl on the way back who is an artist. I got her talking by taking a picture of sis. Lindsey asleep on the train and we talked the rest of the time, laughing. She was really cool, and super curious...who knows:)

I love missions. They are the best. Everyone should serve a mission!!

I MISS YOU ALL, but time is going by way toooo fast. 

Ik hou van jullie!!

Wees veilig!

VEEL LIEFS,

Zuster Stewart-Chester

FUFU!!

We went to Brugge today:)

And we went on a boat...

sick...sick...sick...

Goedemiddag iedereen!!!!!

Well its a fast one again this week sorry....we have to use the library for a couple weeks because they are doing renovation on the church. But I wont complain, because that means we can go to church in Gent next week WOOT WOOT!! haha tell everyone!

Anyways. 

This week I got super sick. I hit a wall, because it was just a really bad flu from what I had before...but because we have been killing ourselves on bikes lately, it hasnt helped at all.

I felt so terrible. I really felt like I was wasting time, so I refused to not take too many rests and still bike everywhere, but then I payed for it and I finally just had to rest. I think it is because I grew up with parents who always taught me to push through it, and how when I have a job, I wont just be able to call in sick all the time.....and this is like a really important job. Doing missionary work, so I felt so stupid, like I was wasting my mission away. But I am slowly getting better, and we were still able to get our hours, and get work done this week. 

We got our investigator Karin on date this week. I have never met anybody so prepared and ready as she is for baptism. She will do so many good things for the church here in Antwerpen. She said she wants to meet you mom:) 

General Conference was lovely of course, I hope you all took the chance to listen and ponder. It is such a priveledge we have to listen to the words of God. I LOVE THIS GOSPEL. I love the apostles, and Thomas S. Monson and all of the authorities. They really are called of God.

HAVE AN AMAZING WEEK!!!

SORRY I HAVE NO TIME....

I will do better next week.

Ik hou van jullie!!

VEEL LIEFS,

Zuster Stewart-Chester

......WOW.....

HALLO!!

Hello everyone, I hope everyone is just doing fantastic. 

This week was a crazy one, as you all are aware I am sure. But it might have been one of the best weeks of my mission...and I dont really know why...I just had the most amazing spiritual experience, that was sooooo humbling, in a weird way.

With the attacks in brussels, we have been taking extreme precautions. The first day we couldnt leave our area....(where our apartment is in Deurne) and we still are not allowed to use any trams or trains...but busses were recently allowed. So remember how I told you that we never bike here? well that changed this week, because in one day, we biked more than I ever did in one day in Groningen. It was insane. 

We had an appointment with someone all the way out in Brasschaat, and we didnt have her number so we couldnt call to reschedule...and that night we had to bike all the way back from Brasschaat to Wilrijk which is the complete opposite direction...and then we had to bike home, and even before Brasschaat, we had to bike to the hospital...(but I will get to that) so I hope you look at a map of Antwerpen and look how far I biked in just one day. BUT it was sooooo worth it. 

That morning we biked to the Stuivenberg ziekenhuis, because we found out the Fanny (the girl missionary who was in the airport at the attacks) was there. She is far from family, and we figured that she would like a little bit of company and maybe a good song. This was the most amazing experience I have ever had. I cannot stop thinking about it. I didnt really know what to expect, and when I saw her I was taken aback. She was so small and fragile, and some of you have probably seen pictures, but she has a mask completely covering her face. As soon as I walked into the room, I felt the spirit just come over me. She was so sweet, positive, and kind. We didnt have much time, because actually a lot of people came to see her, and she could only see people for a half hour. So we went in and introduced ourselves and I sang I heard Him come, because that is the only English song I have. Afterwards she thanked me and said she had been dreaming of music. I just couldnt help but tell her that God loved her, and that he had protected her, and that there were angels all around her. She laughed and said she already knew. That night I just wept thinking about this experience. Thinking that God could have easily made it so it never happened....if she had only gotten her visa she would be safe on her mission and the other missionaries also wouldnt have been hurt. I thought about how for the rest of her life, she might never look the same, or grow back all her hair, and how she will be treated differently. I wished that it had not had to happen. But I was sooo impressed with how she handled it. She was just so ready still to go on her mission. She is such an amazing example to me. I couldnt help but think that it could have been me, and I asked myself: would I have been as good as she is, and still been so postive. It was humbling in the sense, that I realized I have been given sooooo much, and I realized that I need to do better and be better, and never complain ever again!! It was so great, and I hope I can go see her again, and feel of the spirit that she has with her.

Afterwards we left and I biked the rest of the day with my guitar on my back but it was soooo extremely worth it to have experienced that sweet moment.

We made it to Brasschaat and our lesson was sooooo amazing. I really was just led by the spirit. I am having to talk a lot, but even sister lindsey killed it on her first dutch Restoration lesson. She took it really well!! Then we biked all the way down to our appointment with a members wife named Karin.

SHE IS AMAZING!! My first sunday here she came to church and talked to us, and this week we finally were able to meet with her and she told us that she wants to be baptized as soon as possible. It just shows, that we do nothing!! There really are people who are just prepared, and it is a matter of finding them!! She is wonderful, and we are now working with her to get her ready. 

The rest of the week, me and sis Lindsey got super sick...I think we ate something bad, so it has been a rough weekend, but we were still able to get a lot of work done this week even with the Brussells attack and getting sick...and biking...my throat isnt getting much better still, probably because we have been biking to kindom come, but it was good to force myself to kind of rest this weekend. I love this work!! Being a missionary is amazing. I feel so lucky, I love these people. Even if they are tough nuts to crack!! I cant believe sister Harris goes home soon...time passes way too fast. I am not ready!! I LOVE YOU ALL AND MISS YOU!!

WEES VEILIG!!

IK HOU VAN JULLIE!
PRETTIGE WEEK NOG!!

VEEL LIEFS,

daffodils are everywhere here and this is a pic of me in front of the Antwerpen map.

This place is beautiful!! 

Feed my sheep

Sister LIndsey 

Home with Sister Lindsey

Antwerpen....

Elder Hill

We went to an old village somewhere today...first pic is of Ann (the member from Thailand) and her friend from England and sis. Lindsey

Elder Hill scared Ann with the frog

kissing a frog

"Sister.....you gaining something...its called W-E-I-G-H-T.....better watch out" Inbox x

HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Goedemorgen iedereen!!

Ik hoop dat alles goed gaat.

This week was a good one. 

I was a little sick, with a sore throat...which was extremely annoying, but we were still able to get some work done, so that is good...and I am already feeling better!

I saw a lot of people from Gent and I was soooo happy. There was a stake relief society thing, so I was able to see the Verdegem's!! I was sooo happy.

and then on Monday Broeder Goethals told me that gem from my title....haha

It is a good thing I love him;) and I have started working out more in the mornings hahaha, and eating less junk...it is hard with all these yummy things around me, and I am back in Belgium with chocolate and waffles. BUT hey...if I am going to get fat anywhere it might as well be in Belgium right? 

Food we eat regularly from members:  (I asked Tate a bunch of questions about the food she eats on her mission:) ha ha....

JUST SOME PICTURES OF ANTWERPEN

 first time since winter that I have ever worn no coat outside!! WEIRD! also that was on St. Pattricks day...so green:)

my messy desk and breakfast...I actually made eggs...which is big. and I am still working on settling in and organizing more.

POTATOES!! that is right...lots and lots of potatoes and meat, and greens.

A LOT OF MEAT!

Pasta...at the Evans...actually this week I had chicken Korma at their house and I was in HEAVEN!!! just like yours mom!!

AFRICAN FOOD....spicy beans, plantines (fried bananas), and egg creation, and chicken!!

Sometimes, we eat suriname's food...which is mainly curries.

and yesterday Ann a member from Thailand made us this cool chinese thai soup with rice, cabbage, chicken, garlic, and cilantro and that was good.

It is basically like home...but sometimes we get some cool things...but it is delicious!!! The food is never bad here!!! I am really blessed!!! maybe that is why I am getting fat..haha

Food I make for myself because I am extremely lazy:

Pizza, quesadilla's, apple and peanut butter, sandwich with tomatoes....and sometimes we will make veggie stuff or pasta...when we have time...which we dont, because we only have an hour.

My must have though is sweet chili sauce...(it makes anything taste good if it is too plain) and my Calve pindekaas...Peanut butter...which I brought from the Netherlands to here, and am already almost out!! luckily sis. Lindsey has to go to the Netherlands this week, and she said she would get me some. We are going to stock up haha.

I thought I told you last week...but Sis. Lindsey is from Texas...San Antonio. She is great...and sooo willing to work hard...we are very similar in the way  that we dont necessarily want to talk to people...but we both do it! she is great, and she is getting the language more and more each day!!

ELDERS TE ANTWERPEN...

Elder Reese, BOISE. zone leader. who's aunt used to live in our ward, and told me to look out for him and he played the piano for the singing elders...before I got here. He is super funny.

Elder Lott, BOUNTIFUL. zone leader. who has served in every district in Belgium...so he is extremely lucky, and supposed to serve his whole mission in Belgium I guess. He is a lot quieter than Elder Reese...which is not that hard...but he is funny too!!

Elder HILL!  ROY. Elder Hill is literally Fletcher! I swear I feel like I am hanging out with Fletch whenever I talk with him. It is the greatest...so if you know Fletcher than you know elder Hill..haha sort of.

Elder Geeraert...I hope I spelled that right. He is from CANADA. and he is really quiet, but like the nicest guy ever. He actually is one of the only members in his family...if not the only one, and he is solid, and works hard.

They are all really great Elders, and just work hard.

Lets see...

we have one investigator, John, who is great. He is from Nigeria, and working towards baptism, but things are complicated...like always. 

Other than that we are just working on finding new people! and contacting a lot...I think people are getting pretty annoyed or weirded out by my questions...but all well. haha

Everything is going well though. I hope you are all loving life!

I MISS AND LOVE YOU ALL!

Ik hou van jullie!!

Wees Veilig!! 

Prettige week nog!

SALUTJES!!

Zuster Stewart-Chester