A fabulously busy week...

Ah! A fabulously busy week and EACH day was worthy of taking some sort of picture, so Mom, buckle up:) Your dreams are about to come true.

So, Monday we (Z. Voss, Aswin Loobach and the elders from Heereveen) went to Kamp Westerbork, a concentration camp, which is like 15 min from where we live and apparently where Anne Frank was kept for awhile.  

Anne Frank plaque

Where Anne Frank stayed

It was an amazing place to go to and just reminds you of how much history Europe has and how each and every persons lives change in different ways from the same experience. It also reminded me of the time Kerstin, Michael, and I went on the tour at Sachsenhausen.  I learned so much and it really gave me a new perspective on a lot of things.  Plus, I love Kerstin and Michael and the time I got to spend with them:)

Memorial, Kamp Westerbork...Each stone represents someone who died here

Lamentations 4:18

After the concentration camp, we drove to the Hunebedden, which is a Dutch version of Stonehenge.  But in all honesty it was just like Kristoff's family - the trolls,(FROZEN).  "I grew a mushroom; and I earned my fire crystal"  So we did some posing and took some pictures. All in all the busiest, but best p-day so far:)

Hunebedden, mystery of northern Netherlands,
How/why the 20 ton boulders are placed there

Zuster Dobler and Zuster Voss

On Tuesday, we had our last district meeting before transfers (only one of us left), but our district leader is so fantastic because we have the "Dundies" at the end of each transfer where everyone gets an award and I received the "Independent Woman Award".  Our district leader also wrote me an acceptance speech so I have enclosed that as well:)

District "Dundies" awards

"Independent Woman Award" Acceptance Speech
Written by the district leader

Wednesday, we were at the library teaching Telysha, the daughter of one of our investigators who's going to be baptized and she's getting baptized as well!  But this little beauty caught my eye, and Dad, when you get my letter, you can explain why it's funny:)  But we had fun posing:)  Oh, and also the glorious "Hint of Lime" chips arrived, thank you messenger Andrea and dearest mother:)  They were truly appreciated by myself and Zuster Voss:)

Hint of lime or BUST!

Zuster Voss lovin' a taste of home

Thursday, we had a lesson with Jaap, our newest investigator who is oh so sweet and loves taking us out for hot chocolate in the little cafe on the ground floor of his rest home *so cute*.  Later that night, we had the miracle of miracles lesson with an inactive 16 year old and his mom. The mom is nice to us, but is completely uninterested in the Gospel right now, but her son has so much potential and we are really working hard to help him regain a testimony and ultimately receive the priesthood and serve a mission. He is definitely special and unlike any other Dutch teenager that we've met.  

Zuster Dobler and Zuster Voss enjoying a nice visit a cup of cocoa with Jaap

So we talked to him about the Restoration with an emphasis on prayer and how Joseph Smith had to pray for himself and it was the first time he had ever prayed out loud.  Then we showed him "The Hope of God's light" (best video ever) and the spirit was so strong. Then we asked Joey if he would pray personally and he told us and I quote, "Ik zal zet hel proberen" (I will try it)  AH! Zuster Voss and I left and then "pulled over" and went to an off the path place and prayed our guts out that Heavenly Father would help this sincere young man remember the spirit he felt while we talked to him and retain that desire to pray and actually do it.

Then, after praying as much as we could for Joey, we decided that the next step was to exercise our faith in Heavenly Father and try to talk to as many people as we could before the night was over, so went to an apartment building and rang as many bells and talked to as many people as possible. So, we are very excited to meet with him again and see what happened:)

Friday, it snowed and we went out to find lovely snow cobwebs!  whhaaat...?  

Snow Cobwebs!!

Then we spent a good chunk of time making transfer goals and figuring out how we really want to improve Assen in the next 6 weeks.  Our plan is called "The Golden Ticket" because it's the ticket we need to fulfill Heavenly Father's plan for Assen in the coming weeks, and the goals that the branch set up at the last branch council, plus it's always fun to throw in a Willy Wonka reference whenever you can:) "Think positive and write in purple ink!" And that's exactly what we're doing!  We had an awesome dinner with some investigators, the cousin of Telysha, Nassira, and her Oma, Plagie.  Nassira, Telysha and Charelene (Telysha's mom and Palagie's daughter) are all planning on being baptized and the Oma, Palagie, has been taking the lessons to help Nassira prepare, but lately the lessons have become more focused on her and each time she meets with us she is so amazed that we are "normal", normal being a strong word for some of us:)  But she invited us over for dinner and it went amazingly!

Saturday, Zuster Voss and I bought a castle cake mold and first and foremost, made an ice castle ("Let it go...") so now we have an ice castle just sitting in our freezer. We also had a great correlation "sesh" with the amazing Brother Thies de Jonge, our branch mission leader.  Then we had a weekly planning and we made a brownie castle for the branch potluck on Sunday. We were basically heroes.  Everyone loved it and we even got a request to make one as a "service project" for some members:)  HA-HA!  Hearts have been won:)

Ice Castle!

Brownie Castle!

Brownie Castle Masterpiece that wins hearts!

Just a wow week with amazing experiences and people and with this new transfer starting with our fantabulous goals, we are on our way:)  Have a wonderful week and "Be still and know He is God".  His light is real and it illuminates the opaque and foggy worlds that keep us from realizing our potential.  His love is penetrating and each of us can feel it as we turn outward and seek diligently to follow Christ's example.  He lived His live to show us the way to live ours:) Ik hou van jullie!

Liefs, Zuster Dobler

P.S. I'm getting new nametags with umlauts:)