1/15/12

Dear Family,

Apeldoorn is a very nice city. There are a lot of great things going on here! We have responsibility over the cities of Apeldoorn, Deventer, and Amersfoort. Deventer is where Charles Dickens lived for 7 years so every year they have a big Charles Dickens festival.  Apeldoorn has a wonderful ward including a few members with the name Scholte. They are a very strong ward. 120-150 members with a real primary and young mens/ young womens program.  I'm excited to be here as there are a lot of good things happening. 3 people are on date to be baptized and many more to come! It's been a cool experience here in Deventer as there are many Chinese students who aren't familiar with the concept of God. I really enjoy teaching simple basic doctrine as everyone should be taught.  The car has gone well. I cannot say I'm the master of it yet but I did drive to Leiden (birth place of Armin van Buuren) Arnhem ( A Bridge Too Far) and just around here. Driving stick is a lot more fun as you are a lot more involved  :D.  The public transport here is not like it was in Gent or Amsterdam. Those are the two cities with the best public transportation in the mission.  Since being here, my language has greatly improved. I'm working harder to be diligent in speaking in the language with my companion as often as possible.  Last monday we visited a World War II museum in Nijmegen.  It was a city that did succeed during the operation that A bridge Too Far took place at. Certain bridges were successful and the one in Arnhem was not, hence the "bridge too far." Dad, I know you would be interested in seeing this place sometime. It's right on the German border as well. We actually crossed into Germany for a second to get there.  I'm now in the 4 countries club :P. It's definitely a different ball game here in Apeldoorn as apposed to Amsterdam or Gent.  I'm glad I'm having all these experiences. Just this whole experience of being on a mission is changing my outlook on life.  

    I decided a long time ago that if you don't let yourself get overwhelmed and just go and do, then Things happen. God makes things happen when you just do, and do it with all you have.

Ik hou van jullie en fijne week verder!

Elder Schulte