So, the first activity was something that Miranjo, the son of the Branch President, and the only active deacon said he wanted to organize. We said okay and let him do it because he said he could get 16 of his friends there. When it was done, he didn't have a single friend there. We were able to get Joan's boy to come and we had a good time with them and all the women that were asked to bring food.
This second activity was something Elder Job put together. We invited Joan to teach us all how to make our own kites, and then fly them, snacks and things would be thereafter provided. We invited lots and lots of people and turned out with 5 investigators there. Joan and two of her sons, and then these two brothers we met on the street the week previous. Also many more people from the branch showed up and we had a great time making kites, I can show you all how some day. The picture is of Brother Meygoe rescuing his kite from the roof of the church. And some people making kites, and the snacks. We made a vital mistake with this activity, and didn't have any spiritual benefits integrated into it. Hopefully we will do better about that in the future, it was good for me to experience it though, and realize if you don't take control and make the spiritual things happen, they simply don't happen.
Ricardo is doing really well. I think that Daboetje lied though - I don't think he's been trying to read for a while, so we've made some plans to crack down on him and get him into the Book of Mormon. It's incredible seeing his personality develop. He's 33 years old, and hasn't had any sort of work for the last 10 years. He spent some time in prison, and on the streets homeless. All because he was not following the commandments, (surely he was never taught to follow them or what they are, but still) and now, he's working, learning Dutch, learning to read and preparing to receive the Aaronic priesthood. It's so great being able to see the massive progression and improvement he's had in his life. I love being witness to it.
We started finding work in a new area this week too. It's close to the church, and home, and just feels like the right place to be. We have one street called Kroondijkstraat that we have 4 investigators on. Also, Ricardo lives nearby and we hope to take him to visit some of the people with us, to get him used to doing missionary work. I like this new place, it's very calm and quiet, and lots of kids playing around doing crazy stuff, chasing each other and all that good stuff. Also there isn't other churches nearby teaching anti to all the people, that makes them far more receptive to our visits.
I've been studying repentance like President Gamiette told me to. I've begun repenting as much as possible, and as quickly as possible. I've learned a lot about how the Holy Ghost can purify us of our sins, and how without the ordinances such as baptism and confirmation, you can't get cleaned from sin. I read 3 Nephi 19 this morning, and it's incredible looking at the manner in which Jesus prays, and the things he says about the people in the land of Bountiful. When I entered the MTC I think I had maybe 3 verses of scripture memorized. I've been working on that really really hard and I think I know about 200 verses now from the standard works. I read each Ensign completely the month it comes out. All you have to do is put it by the toilet - it's a perfect plan! I love being a missionary.
We made a discovery this week, after realizing how disappointed we have been due to the lack of berries here. There is only one berry, and that's the podosiri berry, AKA Acai. They are all over and way cheap. The discovery is this: the flavors of all fruits can be found in Suriname. I bought some green bananas, they never turn yellow. These bananas contain the flavor of the blackberry, but in banana form. We had some other ones too, called Zuiker Bacova, sugar banana, it hides within it's peel the flavor and tartness of an apple. I tried this morning a new zuiker bacova, and it is in the essence of strawberry. This is an incredible step for the science of mankind!
Ik hou heel veel van jullie.
-Elder Hulme
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