Skip to main content

Kwatta Kweens Share Polka Raincoats

2 weeks of emails from Emily. Sadly, no pictures, but a lot of great stories. 

February 10:
 ALLLLLLRIGHTY people I am officially here in Kwatta--aka me and Zr. Hatch are now the Kwatta Kweens!!!! It's been an absolute blast. I have seriously loved every minute of it. I feel so good about ending my mission here. This is the best job. Some stuff that happened this week:
Still in Rainville:
--On Monday, we had a super good lesson with Tricia. We talked to her about baptism and asked her if we could choose a date. She expressed that she didn't really see a need for getting baptized again, but then we had a SUPER spiritual conversation about it all and she promised she'd pray and ask God if thats something she needs to do. I have no doubts she'll be making that step before I leave Suriname. 
--When we were busy teaching a lesson, a man from Jamaica randomly passes by. We say hi to which he responds, "Ya'll pray for me. I don't think I can join when I have THIS in my hands" and pulls out a huge bottle of Heineken from his backpack. 
--We were teaching Keymanda about setting goals and trying to get her to seminary with Remi, but when Remi asked, "Do you believe in goals?" she goes "Absolutely not. Ghosts aren't real." haha
In Kwatta:
--We decided to start by visiting this less active Zr. Stefani told us about, so we dropped by, but he wasn't home. We crossed the street and saw a lady coming out of her house. She was talking on the phone, so at first we were hesitant to go up to her, but we tried anyways and she hung up just as we got to the gate. We ended up teaching all of the restoration right there and had a reallllllly spiritual experience. At the end, she was like "I think God sent you guys here because I really needed to hear this today." It was so cool. We have an appointment with her tonight, so we will see.
--helped an old Hindu lady take her groceries home and got a huge grandma hug in return. Didn't realize how much I love old Hindu lady hugs
--helped a son and mom clean their car and learned the best technique--the trick is to wash the windows before the body so the windows are squeaky clean before the water gets dirty. 
--translated for church and our cute little 12 year old investigator, Bertoni, was watching me super intently the whole time. Apparently he leaned over to Zr. Hatch and goes, "Does her mouth ever get tired from that?" hahaha.
--got my new favorite 50 year old fashionista jean jacket wearing Creole friend, Br Mateda, on DATE yeeeeet. February 22nd is the special day. When we asked him if he wanted to get baptized this month or next month, he goes, "It doesn't have to be far away!!!" He's so excited he asked for a pen to write it down on the first pamphlet the sisters gave him. MI LOBI MI BRUDU 
--spent 2 taal studies learning Sranan Tongo and Hatian Creole because there are a ton of binneland/ haitian peeps here.
THat's all folks, maar mi lobi jullie.
Zr Mergenthaler. 

February 17:

Greetings from Kwatta!!! 
This week was really a growing, testimony strengthening week. Our area is doing good. Br Mateda was scheduled for baptismal date this weekend, but we are going to ask him if he's ok to pushing it back to next weekend so we can work with our branch better to organize it and make sure he is prepared. He has his baptismal interview on Tuesday and we are going through the questions tonight, so hopefully all goes well :) I love love love that man. He's made such changes. On Friday we taught him about fasting and tithing. He showed up at the church to watch the baptism on Saturday and told us he had been fasting since we taught about that principle to make sure he could keep that commandment. We clarified that we usually don't fast more often than once a month so he doesn't always go hungry haha. And if that didn't show his faith, on Sunday he walked 45 minutes in the rain to get to church. And he wore my polka dot raincoat on the way home hahaha. It was a pretty hilarious sight to see a 50 year old creole man in a girls tight-fitting blue polka dot rain jacket. 
Funny experience for the week: I am the chorister now in Tammenga, which means singing really really loud so that everyone is semi-on tune (on tune is helemaal not possible here...) so on Sunday for the closing hymn I was singing my little heart out when I see Zr. Nasir in the very back mouthing something and gesturing. I'm super confused at if she's talking to me, so the whole rest of the song is me trying to figure out what she's saying. Turns out she was talking to her husband on the stand and I just disrupted their telecommunication. We had a good laugh about that one.
Another thing I learned this week was that ZR. HATCH IS AWESOME. We had a really good heart to heart on Wednesday night. Wednesday we went to the viewing/funeral of Br. Frank from the branch. For some reason, that set off some things from the accident, so I had a little panic attack there, but Zr. Hatch was the best and helped me come right out of it. That night we were just talking about everything we've been through in our lives and how the Savior has been there the whole time. It was such a tender spiritual experience. I feel like we really met each-others souls if that makes sense. My companion is one strong spirit daughter of God! I admire and look up to her so much, and I have so much love in my heart for that 1/8 philipino meisje. I'm grateful we got the chance to be companions and I know it was God's plan that we met each-other.
My testimony of Jesus Christ really grew this week. As I'm facing my last few months on the mission, I've been thinking about how I can be super strong when I get home. I love being a missionary here and I don't want it to change. The future right now seems scary and unknown. I've been studying about how to dispel those fears so I don't get paralyzed by them when I get home and God has truly been speaking to me through the Book of Mormon lately. When I was reading in Alma 7 those familiar verses about the atonement, I realized that Jesus Christ knows what paralyzing fear feels like. I always knew he felt our pains, but I came to understand that he felt our fears too. And because of that, he knows just how to set the storms at peace, so as I strengthen my relationship with Him and become more like Him, I will also be set at peace.  
Love you guys a buttload!!!!!
Doei
Zr Mergenthaler

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

My Legacy Stinks

 Letters from the Nest https://lettersfromthenest.substack.com/p/my-legacy-stinks Lately, I have been asking you, “What will you do to make Sunday special?” This is me encouraging you in your worship without giving you a prescribed list of things to do. One thing I do differently on Sundays is that I read a Sunday book that’s “different” than the fiction I read during the week. Usually, it’s a religious book, but sometimes it’s an inspiring biography or narrative nonfiction with an uplifting theme. My Sunday book for the past few months has been “Both Things Are True,” by Kate Holbrook. This collection of essays explores a range of topics, including faith, forgiveness, women’s roles, trials, history, and more. Each chapter contains a dichotomy that fuels the discussion. For example, the chapter on forgiveness explores both the concepts of forgetting and remembering. Last Sunday, I began reading the chapter entitled "The Weight of Legacy," in which she discusses the dichotomy ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lyme Disease??

Let me just preface this by saying that I am soooo grateful for good health insurance. I have been to the Dr. for the kids lately so often, that I am embarrassed that they recognize our family when we walk in the door. So, here's Ricky's story. A couple of weeks ago he was extremely sick. He had a fever for over a week, complained that he couldn't move his legs, and ended up with an awful looking rash all over his body. We went to the Dr. 2 times for this. The first time, she said, it was a virus and it should run its course. When Ricky was getting worse, instead of better, we took him back in to a quick clinic where the nurse diagnosed him with strep (even though the short test was negative). Well, after a priesthood blessing and antibiotics (which we discovered later that he didn't even need to take--and in fact they may have made him feel worse), he got better. Then, last week, I discovered a new, crazy rash on his legs which continued to grow, turn purple on the in...
5 comments
Read more