Bonaire

Zuster Mergenthaler was transferred to Bonaire a few weeks ago. This means video chats because the technology works there.  This also means a lot less pictures because there are no senior missionaries in her area.  In fact, 4 sister missionaries cover the island.  One companionship speaks Spanish and Papiamento and the other Dutch and English.

We have enjoyed the video calls.  It's so good to see her face, laugh and joke, and hear stories she wouldn't normally share in emails.





A couple of days after she arrived on the island, I got a Facebook message from somebody I did not know.  Turns out it was a tourist from Utah who saw the Sisters at the airport (preparing to go to zone conference in Curacao) and took their pictures to send to family.  It was pretty nice of him to think of these missionaries' families even if at first I thought I got a message from a weirdo. 


Bonaire is a lot different than Suriname and she is learning a ton.  I'll put her two most recent emails here, so you can read about it in her own words.

Email #1:

Hello everybody! Sorry I didn't write last week! It took longer than expected to send pictures. But, I am officially in Bonaire! It is absolutely BEAUTIFUL here. Wow. It was a bit of a culture shock coming from Suriname because there are a lot of rich people here and the standard of living is higher. The main language is actually one I cannot speak...Papiementu. But I'm learning it! 40% of the island speaks Dutch and 89% Papiementu. My first couple days I was like, "whaaaaat", but now I'm pretty adjusted. I still miss Suriname SO much. Wow. Not gonna lie, I've cried quite a bit thinking about all my awesome investigators there, but they are in good hands and now it's time to roll up my sleeves and get to work here. Some things that happened this week....

--There are just random donkeys all over the place.

--We had Zone Conference! Which was actually on a different island, Curacao. We flew there on an 8 seater plane! Zuster McGuire was right next to the pilot! It was way cool...and I get to do it like 6 more times! President Baird taught me so much. I asked him what I could best do to help Bonaire grow--right now it is a little branch of 36 members--and he said I need to pray and work with all my heart. I need to believe in miracles! I have spent a lot of time on my knees this week. I know the Lord is preparing people to hear our message. We talked to EVERYONE this week, which was hard because it was a lot of harsh rejection (people are VERY blunt here), but we also met some amazing people because of it. 

--At the end of a particularly hard day where all our appointments fell through and we got brushed off by a lot of people, we decided to talk to this little boy. He ended up to be an answer to both of our prayers. He was so sweet and funny. We are invited to his birthday party in July. And he gave us sodas! He let us know that God was aware of us and proud of us. Thanks Gelimar. 

--One miracle that happened this week was our lesson with Victor. We were a little late getting there because our lesson before had gone over. When we got to the house we thought he lived at, we called him and he said he was somewhere totally different, but we had no idea where that street was. We said a prayer and called the other sisters to see if they knew, but they were in a lesson. I knew that we had to teach Victor that night, so we got on our bikes and started out, asking people for directions along the way. After a half-hour of biking, we found him. We were able to have a very spiritual first lesson with him that I know he needed. He was very cool and asked a lot of questions. We were able to testify that despite being young and uneducated, we knew this message is from God. I know that God helped us find where he lived because he needed to hear the best news in the entire world.

Well, that is pretty much my week! I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. It will bring us so much joy and peace. Why else would young, inexperienced 19/20 year olds learn a different language and commit 18 months of their life completely to sharing the gospel? It must be true! And the way we know is by asking God. At the end of the day, He is the only one we can get an answer from.

Email #2:

Hello wonderful people! This week was a funny one. We stretched ourselves I think, which always makes you feel good. Talked to some Nederlanders. Tried not to pee my pants from fear. Haha....not really...but wow, they are brutally honest. It's cool though because you really know who's actually interested or not here. But anyways, some stuff that happened this week....

-I guess I should explain my title first...we went to teach Marylin this week and she had a friend over named Joyce. Turns out Joyce is a HOOT. I could not stop laughing. I actually thing she was really drunk. She kept taking swigs out of a whiskey bottle in her purse. She'd then look at me like I was going to preach at her. I thought about it, but I couldn't stop laughing at what she was saying. It was the funniest. They set us up with their "very beautiful, carmel grandsons". We invited them both to church, to which Joyce replied, "Can I bring my whiskey?"I then replied with a sentence I'd never thought I'd say, "No Joyce, you can't bring your whiskey to church." Hopefully I will see that lady again so she can tell me to "Let your worries get carried away with the wind, honey!

-Had a 14 year old confess his love for me. I was flattered!"Sorry Gelimar, but we can't go on dates on our missions, although a pool party does sound like a blast. 

-Had some AMAZING contacting miracles. We accidentally contacted another church (which you aren't really supposed to do) and this super nice woman came out and talked to us for like 30 minutes even though she's a missionary for her own church. She then proceeded to go inside and get us some homemade pistachio ice cream because "we looked tired"! Wow, that woman taught me a lot about Christlike love. I hope that I'm good enough to treat everyone that way. Next time I see the Jehovah's Witnesses outside, I am NOT going to hide behind the sofa! I think I'll just ask them if they like cookies.

-Also met a super cool man named Cliff who came out and said, "when can I have an appointment with you guys so we can talk about the Book of Mormon?" We were like whaaaat? Apparently he'd been talking to a friend who's a member in Suriname and wants to learn more. It was so cool. We walked away from that house with our mouths wide open haha. I'll update ya'll on what happens with that one.

My spiritual experience came when we were teaching Ryo this week (changed name). It was our first lesson with him. He's a friend of a son of a member in the ward (so many connections on this island!!). He is like 23 and has been through a lot in his life. As we talked to him about his religious views and life experiences, it became clear that he grew up in a very rough environment--lots of drugs and abuse. Because of this, he had made some bad choices in his life that had led to sorrow and pain. As he was talking, I felt the Savior's love just wash over me. I knew that he had been through all of this to lead up to meeting us. It was inspired that Zrs McGuire and Woolsey had met him when they did. He's now humble and ready to accept the gospel. I just kept seeing him in a suit with a nametag heading out into the mission field. It was SO cool. He has some addictions to overcome before we can send him on his way, but I just know this young man has so much to his future. I love getting a little glimpse of people's plans. God really does have a plan for everyone!!! And it's truly glorious (shout out to David Archuleta for that wonderful song).

I hope ya'll have a great week! I love you so much!

Zuster Mergenthaler

Pic 1: ZR CARTIII. Literally my favorite human being in Bonaire. I think I say that every week about everyone. But wow, this woman. So Christlike and loving and HILARIOUS. Next week, I'm gonna ask her to officially be my best friend.

Video 1: Me unwisely chasing some Donkeys. I just wanna give em some love! But they were scared I think.

Pic 2: Me with a Papiamento Book of Mormon. I'm slowing learning this language! As in I have a grand total of 5 phrases down....but we'll get there.