Skip to main content

John Wayne Wannabe and A Little Lamanite

I promise I will eventually put something on here about the rest of our family.  As usual, I have a lot of pictures to share and stories to tell, but I'm just not finding the time.

In the meantime, you can enjoy reading Emily's last two emails.  They didn't come with pictures, so I'll do some spy work and see what I can find on the Vermeeren's blog.  I'm sorry about the typos and different fonts.  I have decided it's easiest for me to just copy these emails straight over rather than edit.  Emily has very limited computer time in a "cyber," so sometimes Happy reading:

December 31 -  I'm not John Wayne, but you can see by the way I dress I like the ladies

This week's subject came from one of the crazy car wash men that always cat call us. It made me laugh so hard. This week was a great week! Not so productive in terms of missionary work because no one wants to meet with you on the holidays, but we still filled our time contacting when half our appointments fell through, and the Lord led us to some really cool people that are prepared for the gospel. The highlights of my week were....
-our new investigator, Noel. We had our first lesson with him on Thursday and it was AMAZING. The spirit was so strong as we testified about how our message could change his life. He really wants to come unto Christ, including overcoming his addiction to smoking. I absolutely know he can do it. Also, he makes bomb Roti (my favorite Surinamese food. So lekker). 
-getting proposed to be three men in the space of an hour. Next time our bikes break down, we will just call the elders....
-Christmas! Zuster Woolsey had never self dyed her hair, so guess what we did... I have black hair again and Zuster Woolsey is now a brunette. Also, we had 4 meals for Christmas dinner. It's a good thing we biked in between, because otherwise I would have popped out of my skirt.
-like 10 people came up to us this week and asked for an appointment for the new year. If that's not Heavenly Father's hand, I don't know what is. People here are so willing to talk about God. They always "bless" us even if they're not interested. It's the sweetest. Have I told you I love Suriname yet? 
-still haven't gotten abnormal diarrhea yet, which is a miracle bc my trainer tells me everyone does. Instead I had a pretty bad ear infection, but it's all good in the hood. 
-one of our investigators, Mike, has two goals for the new year: get married and get baptized! He wants us to pick out a dress and ring for his girlfriend because he wants the whole thing to be a surprise??? I'm kinda nervous about picking out another woman's wedding dress, but the Spirit guides us in all things...right? Anyways, his putting his faith into action touches my heart. I can really see the Lord working in him.  

This week, I've been thinking a lot about how we can baptize converts and become personally converted ourselves. I worry a lot about our recent baptized members whom I love so much falling away. It happens more than it should. Id love to hear yalls thoughts about how we can help others and ourselves commit to a lifetime of turning to the Savior. 

Much love and a very happy new year to yall!!!

Zuster Mergenthaler

January 7, 2019:  My Little Lamanite

Justin, one of our recent converts, calls me his little Lamanite. It's the best thing ever. Anyways, the countdown is 12 minutes today, so let's see what my fingers can do!
Some things that happened this week were.....
-a spider the size of my face. See video/pics. Will have nightmares for a month. 
-more contacting than normal. It was awesome. I have had some really cool spiritual experiences while contacting people where I just know the Lord has sent this person to us, and I can see them in white. It's been awesome. I have very high hopes for this week because we will be meeting with some of these people.
-saw a man peeing in the street. Began noticing that that's a thing in Suriname. Kind of scarred for life every time it rains now. Can't think about it too hard.
-Zuster Woolsey's birthday! Cheescake is the best, but Zuster Woolsey is better than cheescake.
-lots of mosquitos. I counted 48 bites on my legs this morning. I think I need to start wearing bug spray. 
-We had some great lessons this week. Zuster Woolsey has been teaching me all about inspired answers--when your investigator says something straight from the Spirit--and they happen ALL the time. Like we were teaching Mike about the temple and we asked him why it's important to be clean and he shares the exact analogy we were gonna share. It was so awesome! He goes, "I know I'm not clean to go to the temple yet. I still have to get married, get baptized, and do some other things." The other things are getting the priesthood, but he somehow knew the steps he needed to take to get to the temple. It was the Spirit! Moments like these make me feel so relieved because I know the Spirit is doing the teaching because I'm doing my best. 
-bought a Mumu. 

My testimony of how we can be cleansed from sin through Jesus Christ grew this week. For the new year, I have a lot of goals, but one is to become more selfless like the Savior. I really just want to think about others instead of myself and have that be my focus. One of the ways I'm doing this is to learn how to utilize the Atonement in my life. I learned more about how through Jesus Christ, we can really become completely clean. I know it with all my heart. He suffered for everything we struggle with. In 3 Nephi 9:13, He pleads, "will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?" I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I know through Him we can be healed. I have experienced it myself and continue to experience it on my mission.   

I really love getting all of your emails. I love hearing about your lives! Keep them coming and I'm so sorry if I don't reply right away. I will get back to you, I promise. 
I love you all so much! Lets have an awesome 2019.

Zuster Mergenthaler

From the Vermeerens:

 

A new Liahona for the companionship 
and Four Letters for Zuster Mergenthaler


Happy Happy






That's it for now!!  What a joy to see those smiling faces.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

That Sinking Feeling - Real Talk From Your Mother

Also found at Letters from the Nest:   https://open.substack.com/pub/lettersfromthenest/p/that-sinking-feeling?r=48qui&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Dear Nestlings, I hope you don’t mind a little stream-of-consciousness letter today. I don’t know if I have anything specific to share, so let’s see what floats to the surface. It’s a bright fall Friday morning. These last few weeks in central Pennsylvania have been lovely, sunny, and warm. I know winter is coming, so I try to be outside as much as possible to take advantage of the sun before it hibernates. I just completed the forty-minute round trip to drive one of you to the high school. You know who you are, but maybe in a few years, when you read this, you won’t know because every one of you has missed the bus sometimes and has endured lectures about planning better and showing your respect for my work by not requiring forty minutes of my life for your convenience. Anyway, everybody is at school and work except...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gavin in a Million Words or Less

 Way back when Emily was in 6th grade, her teacher, Ms. Grey, asked parents to write about thier children in a million words or less. I posted what I wrote about Emily on our blog. I wish I were more organized and tech-savvy to find the link to that post and put it here, but I'm not. It's a nice idea that maybe I'll do later. Anyway, you get to read what I wrote to Gavin's fifth grade teacher who made the same requests of parents: Gavin is the youngest of seven children. His three oldest siblings have flown the nest, so he talks to them on the phone and looks forward to holiday visits. This summer, his oldest sister had a baby, so he’s an Uncle! He has three older brothers, who sometimes make life tricky for him, but are also sources of wisdom, rides to the store to get candy, and annoying TikTok phrases. He sometimes wants to be more grown up than he actually is. This little guy is academically oriented. He loves to read BIG books. He rarely reads a standalone nove...
Post a Comment
Read more

Back To School Meanies

 Letter From the Nest August 15, 2025 https://open.substack.com/pub/lettersfromthenest/p/back-to-school?r=48qui&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web One August, more than twenty years ago, at an evening book club discussion, my “older” friends (now I look back and know those women were the age I am now), were discussing the woes and triumphs of back-to-school season. One woman was anticipating her youngest child’s senior year of high school. She said, “For more than two decades, our lives have revolved around the school district’s academic calendar. I don’t know how I will plan my life without knowing about school breaks or holidays.” I remember her bittersweet tone as she anticipated freedom from school schedule constraints but also mourned how those constraints guided her choices. What would she do? Other women joined the discussion, wondering if their kids would have good teachers, if they’d be able to balance volunteering in the classroom, how to streamline school supply pu...
Post a Comment
Read more