Sutley

Our Investigators the Sutley's are awesome!!! They took us out to dinner saturday night because they love us! They asked if they could adobt us! haha It's an 84 year old luthern couple and the wife is Japanese. When we brought her a BOM in Japanese she was floored. She talked about how in Japan all they learn is Loyalty, Honesty, and respect and she told us that missionaries have all those qualitys. She is so awesome. Natalie would love her because she is 5'2 and was a fashion model. She still looks like one and she's 84. She still wears custom clothing. But the husband's name is Vance and he served in the Korean war and he wants to be baptized!

Oh and on Sunday this random lady walks in to sacrament and says "I want to be baptied into this church." She's getting married in Feb and her husband-to-be is a member. I love when we don't have to do the finding and they just fall into your lap.

So yes this area is awesome and my companion is still awesome! He is going home on Feb 21st and his parents are coming to pick him up. Every time he talks about it I'm a little annoyed because it makes me feel like a mission is a life long thing and I'll never go back to school or anything. haha I'm not mad at him for talking about it. It's my own fault that I think about home.

Anyway zone confernce is tomorrow so if I get any mail I'll get it tomorrow! YAY! Feb 2nd is temple day too so I'm excited for that. I'm actually going to be doing baptisms for the dead because my companion has never done those in this temple and it's his last time so I'll be joining him. I'm excited though since I was able to be a part in the Seattle shut down remodels. I have 100% bragging rights! haha Sorry this blog is not organized. Hope to hear more about life!

I love you all and I promise I'll send pictures next week.

Love,

Elder Bottema

Jovita Creek

HEllO! My fellow blog readers! i am writing at a stupid keyboard in which the shift key doens't like to work and same with the delete key so bear with me. i have been transfered to jovita creek in federal way, WA which is the southern most point in the mission. It borders Tacoma city/mission. So I love my new area and companion. Holy freak. The members here are awesome but I am still trying to adjust from my last area. I HAVE A CAR!! AND I live in a members home so i like it because it was a much more home type feeling. I love coming home at night because sis. Long always seems to have some type of left overs for us.

So we had this investigator we were teaching and he dropped us hardcore. He called and I was the one that answered the phone and he says "Oh Um i don't need you guys to come over tonight or tomorrow... actually don't come over at all." OUCH! This area has a little less people to work with from my last area but there is still much to do. Did I mention how much I love having a car? Well I love it.

One last bit of information, my comapnion is from New Albany, Indiana and this is his last transfer. He goes home on Feb 22nd and he's not trunky at all. Hopefully he stays this way but he told me he feels like this is going to be the rest of his life or something. haha Oh man I can't even imagine. I wonder if i'll turn out like this? Well enough chit-chat. these next couple weeks will be exciting I think. I love the letters!

Elder Bottema

Transfers!

AHHHH!!! I'm leaving Des Monies! I'm so disappointed! We have a baptism next week and we just put another person on date and here I am leaving the best area in the mission! It's so hard to say bye to the members. One of them made me a poppyseed cake and dropped it off at the appartment last night. She heard me talking about how delicious poppyseed muffins are from cosco (that I haven't had since September) and made me a cake! It's the most delicious cake in the world. Another investigator that is on-date for the 20th of Febuary bought me a present and wrote me a card. haha She is getting married on the 31st of this month and then she's getting baptized on the 20th. But even my recent converts... two of them called this morning to say good-bye and it was heart wrenching. This is definatly my low point on my mission. All I feel like doing is curling up in a ball and rocking back and forth in a dark corner. I am very curious as to where I'm getting transfered. You don't find out until you arrive at the most central stake center (which is in Renton, Washington) and they hand you an evnelope telling you who your new companion is and where you will be going. I am anxious to write next week about my new experiences and new area...

I really hope I have another clean companion.

Love,

Elder Bottema

Baptism...Again!

So this weeks baptism on January 1st 2010 and 1:00 P.M was so much better than the last one. Everything actually went as planned! Horray for that! The girl we baptized is awesome. She made this Book of Mormon cake (As shown above) and had friends show up that were either not active or not members. It was a good oppertunity for us as missionaries to talk to these people and for them to see that we are actually humans and not robots. I would write a comment someone had about missionaies at the baptism but It's probably not completely appropriate. However I will let you know that it was hillarious!

I am happy to once again be on a regular schedule. The holidays was really stressful for missionaries because it's nearly impossible to find fellowship for lessons and our daily schedules had been changed so often it was hard to move everything around. We are very much in a routine out here. It makes the days go by really fast though because you plan something for every hour of the day from 7:00 A.M to 10:00 P.M. It's crazy how you start thinking. I'll find myself stressed when I have more than 1 1/2 hours of time or my body just knows when I've been at a members house for more than 45 min. Oh and I can't beleive another six weeks has flown by?! Next week is transfers to Preperation day wont be until Tuesday next week. I hope I stay in my area at least one more transfer and then I can be ready to go. I am too involved in teaching here right now and I just got on a members good side.

Oh how could I forget?! I went to Vashon Island this week for a companion exchange with my district leader! This island is the most beautiful island I have ever been on and the missionaries who serve there live in the members guest house on this huge lot this sits on the water. I couldn't study at all because I kept staring out the window. I wish I took more pictures but it's kinda hard when your constantly working. They have a car too so its harder to pull over to take pictures.

Oh and another cool fact! I tracted into this lady who knows Bottema's in Holland! This has happend twice to me now on my mission. This lady moved from Holland five years ago and knew a couple Bottema families. How cool is that? Anyway, I had to share that tidbit of information. Well, next blog could very well be an interesting one.

Thanks for all the support.

Elder Bottema