What Does The Voss Say?: He is Risen!

This week has been so fun and exciting! First of all, Happy Easter everyone! Or Vrolijke Paasen, iedereen :) Technically it's still Easter here, because they celebrate first Easter day and second Easter day, which is like the first except meaningless because Christ actually rose on Sunday. Maybe that sounds harsh... I really just don't understand yet the need for a second Christmas day and second Easter, but hey, the more celebration the better! In any case, Christ is risen, He lives currently as a resurrected being, and because of that your destiny and mine has been changed forever! I really liked President Uchtdorf's talk on the subject yesterday morning.

Tram Selfie with Z Bradley, Riley, & Faasavalu

Speaking of which, another reason this past week was fantastic is General Conference! It has meant more and more to me with each passing year, to the point that I am significantly less prone to dozing off even when random members of the Seventy are speaking. ;) But seriously, it is such an incredible opportunity to hear from living apostles and prophets. I still need to think about it, but there were many messages that touched me deeply.

One General Conference miracle was that two 9 year old girls we are teaching invited their friends to come to the high tea activity followed by viewing Women's Conference together. So there were four 8-10 year girls, which was kind of a handful- but their two friends loved it, and asked their mom afterwards if they can all start learning about the church! Through the missionary efforts of two sweet girls who aren't even members, this new opportunity has come up. We are excited to start working with this new family in the upcoming week, hopefully.

We also had another great lesson with our lost-now-found (he last investigated the church 8 years ago but we only just barely regained contact with him) investigator. We invited two members of the ward to join us in the lesson, and it is so cool to see how they related to the investigator and shared their own experiences with the Gospel. Multilple testimonies is so powerful!

Looking sassy on my bike!

We also got to have lunch with another member, a fabulous jovo ("jovo" = jonge volwassenaar, aka young adult, YSA) at the Den Haag Tower, the tallest tower in the city! we ate at a fancy restaurant at the top and enjoyed the view, and it was actually really affordable for how delicious it all was!

Den Haag Tower lunch!

The awesome view from the tower!

Sister Riley and I were able to go on exchanges this weekend! We saw miracles, even in just the short 24 hours we spent as companions. She came with me to go give a Book of Mormon to a potential investigator we had found, and the lady was open, invited us in, and we were able to teach the Restoration and invite them to church! It was such a cool experience- they are new investigators! It was fun to be on exchanges over Easter! Sister Riley made me a special bunny breakfast, and we took pictures amongst the bright daffodils of spring. It was a glorious sunny day, and it seemed like the whole world was rejoicing with us that Christ is Risen! Speaking of which, there's a fabulous, short video going around that perfectly encapsulates the full consequences of Christ's atonement and resurrection. It's called "Because He Lives" but if you want to watch it in Dutch, you can search "Omdat Hij Leeft." I encourage you to check it out! It's powerful and uplifting.

Easter morning breakfast my lovely sister training leader prepared.

Attractive teeth brushing memories captured...

Sister Riley and I paused on exchanges for these daffodil pictures!

Enjoying the beauty!!

The work is going forward here in Den Haag and in Nederland! I am so grateful. Being a missionary is such a special privilege- I love the opportunity to witness miracles. But just being alive right now is a special privilege. There is so much joy available to us through Christ. Seek Him! And enjoy spring and the renewal of life we can see all around us. Have a wonderful week everybody, and again- Happy Easter!

The April Fool's Day prabnk Sister Riley and I pulled on the Assistants to the President and our Zone Leaders- vandalizing their cars with "Just Married" signs ;)