I may never be fully satisfied with what I do, but I can be fully satisfied with what the Lord does through me

Nikki's email from today, January 19th!

"Pictures--it is so foggy this morning! We took some pictures--so beautiful"

Hey everybody!

So, transfer calls were last night and Zuster Faasavalu and I are both staying in Zoetermeer (hooray!).

And, for a health update...this past week turned out a little different than expected. Tuesday we got the ok to go to district meeting in Den Haag, and afterwards we had a really good lesson with Angela about Christ, His example, and baptism. She told me that I didn't look very good at all (I'm kind of tired of people telling me that) and that I needed to go and rest. I really wasn't feeling very good at all, so we called Sister Robinson and she sent the zone leaders to take us to the emergency room. They wouldn't see us though, because here in the Netherlands they will only take you in the ER if you just got hit by a car or are on your deathbed. So we talked with Sister Robinson and our ward mission leader and got an appointment with a doctor the next day--he sent me to a neurologist and I got a CT scan--everything there looked normal. I'll get an MRI and have an appointment with the neurologist. I'm getting better slowly but surely. I still have head pain and eye pain--anyways, thank you for the prayers!

So, we were allowed to do one thing a day last week, so we didn't get to do a ton, but what we were able to do was really great! We had some great appointments and I had one of the coolest contacts of my whole mission this past week. We were walking home from the tram stop and we stopped this Muslim man named Medhi. At first he wasn't very interested, but after talking with him a little bit more, he talked about how hard his life has been--I was about to bare testimony to him of our Savior's love for him, and that Christ knows him and his pains and experiences. He began to cry, and we gave him a Book of Mormon and our card. He gave us his information and we will be meeting with him later this week. it was a really powerful experience.

The members, as usual, have been so kind and good. Yesterday at church people kept coming up to us to make sure we're ok, that we have enough food, etc. And Wouter gave his first talk in Sacrament meeting yesterday!! It was so great--he told his story of how the sister missionaries found him and how he gained his testimony. So beautiful.

Sorry the subject title is so long this week, but it's one of the many lessons I've learned recently. In the very beginning of my mission especially, I struggled with feeling inadequate--I still do. While I was on bedrest, I had a lot of time to pray and to ponder about what I believe, about my mission so far, etc...and that thought came to mind. I don't think I will ever be fully satisfied with myself or what I do while I'm here on earth--there is always something to improve and some mistake that can be found, because I'm not perfect. But Christ is. And as His missionary, He can work through me, and I can be fully satisfied with what He is able to do through me. Even though I didn't teach Wouter perfectly, the Lord was able to touch his heart and bring Wouter closer to Him. That's how it is with all the people we work with. And it's true for all of you as well--He can work through you--we are His hands here.

Another thought I wanted to share quick is from the end of Luke 23 and the beginning of Luke 24. I've been studying Obedience this past week, and I've also been reading a little bit from the New Testament each day ever since I got to the Netherlands. The past couple of days my obedience studies and new testament studies have overlapped. At the very end of Luke 23, it talks about how the women came to the tomb where Christ was and prepared spices and ointments for him. Then, they kept His commandments by resting and keeping the sabbath day holy. Then, the next day, very early in the morning, they went right back to Him and used the spices and ointments they had prepared. To me, this shows how tightly connected obedience is with love. these women showed their utmost respect and love for Christ by preparing spices and ointments, but also by keeping His commandments. We can show our utmost respect and love for Him by obeying all of His commandments--no, we won't be perfect--but our effort to obey Him is a really beautiful way to show our love for Him. I don't know if that makes sense to you all, but it struck me.

Anyways, I love you all so much. Thank you for your prayers, support and love.

Liefs,

Zuster Thomas