Week 4? ... It's the New Year!

[I’ll probably be apologizing every time I manage to make a post, but this was probably the worst timing on my part what with all the danger happening in Paris. So here’s my sincerest apologies people: I am sorry (and I’ll probably wind up doing it again. Seriously people, work is killer). And it looks like you get two posts in a row again, so there’s that.

But seriously, other than wishing I could do better at posting each week, I have no regrets. I love my job.

Okay, enough. Here’s Caytee’s post. Enjoy!]

Ooo la la, it's 2015! But you want to know what is awesome about 2015? I get to be a missionary from Janvier 1--Décembre 31! How exciting is that! It's so awesome...and crazy.

Belgium is cold and wet. It's a good life. The other day we decided to go do some less active pass-bys before lunch because we have a million of them we need to do. We got all bundled up, headed out, and were soaked in the first 20 minutes. Also the two people we went to find didn't exist, but that happens a lot in less-active searching. We also had to run to catch our bus back and splashed a puddle of water down my boot. Once we got back to the apartment and had everything drying on the radiators, all was well, and we had a good laugh about how much we looked like drowned cats.

I seriously love hearing about the missonary efforts from back home. Being on a misson has made me really excited to be a good member missonary after I get home. Our members here are pretty helpful. A lot of them love to open up their houses to having FHEs with our amis and moins-actifs. It's pretty great.

However member present lessons are another story. I've come to learn that the Belgian/French way of like is very “go, go, go,” and not much time for others. We did have a member present lesson this last week, which was awesome! It was at Enza's. We set a baptismal date with her not too long ago, but she had never been to church because she would have to take two different buses, and she has been fighting un maladie for years. We saw her Friday with Soeur Quarré. Our lesson was on the importance to keep the Sabbath day holy, and Soeur Quarré offered to take her to church. She said she would come, and not only just for la reunion de la sainte-seine [she got me, I have no clue what this means], but for all three hours. This was so exciting!

Another thing about Enza is that we have been trying to hard to help her understand that the Holy Ghost doesn't work through signs, but through quiet thoughts and gentle feelings. So she came to church yesterday! Everything was perfect. The Branch was so welcoming. Gospel principles was perfect because we talked about the Holy Ghost, and we read in 3 Nephi where it talks about it taking three tries for the Nephites to recognize the voice of the Savior. Then, in fast and testimony meeting, there weren't any moments of awkward silence, which is really exciting because the Branch is pretty small. Then, afterwards we were worried about having to take her around and introduce her to people, but we turned around and she was already having a conversation with a bunch of members! [I think that’s my favorite part of the story. We need to be reaching out to other in love and companionship every Sunday… And when I say we… I mean, *cough* me? Yes, me.]

Mom asked about how the work here is. It's pretty slow, and a little hard, but that's a mission for ya. Most people here aren't religious at all. They are all too busy for God. It's kind of difficult. There are also quite a few Catholics as expected. Meeting Christians is rare, but we tend to attack them (not really). When we go porting we meet a lot of really nice people, but they usually don't let us in. Since I have been here, we haven't found any new amis, but we are working with three in progress, a few that we have return appointments with, and we are working with a lot of less-actives. One of our less-actives has been to church the last two Sundays! She is 87-years-old, and everyone loves her. She just walks in with a huge smile on her face. Ah! I love her.

Oh! I keep forgetting, but I keep meaning to tell y'all. Here is a list of all the odd things I have eaten so far :) It's too terribly huge, but it's interesting:

-Blood sausage--HORRIBLE

-Duck liver--pas mal. It was actually really good as a spread on bread

-Pig intestines (not in blood)--not too bad either, again better on bread

-Plantine--I thought they were potatoes...and then I took a bite and found out it was banana

-The Romanian thing on Christmas--odd

-Sourkrout (spelling?) and sausage--mal. But better with mustard...

Nothing insanely crazy yet…

Also, people bring in the New Year here with a bang... literally. Our curfew New Years Eve was 10:30 if we were at a members house. So, we spent the evening at the senior couples with the other Elders in our Branch. We played some games, ate, I made my first card tower! 

And then we had to walk home. It was a little sketchy since we live in centre-ville (downtown), but we just walked fast and stayed with the Elders. And then midnight came around. HOLY POOP. There were fireworks everywhere. We stood on our balcony and watched like four different shows. There was also a random tuba player walking up and down our street for about an hour. It was pretty fun.

So, I hope you all have set some awesome goals for the Nouvelle Année :) I have set one big one because I have daily and weekly goals all the time. On 31 Décembre 2015, I want to be a missionary that I am proud of, and that my Heavenly Father is proud of. I want to feel like I have been molded and shaped into the person Heavenly Father wants me to be.

I love you all! I'm sending prayers and love from Liège all the time!

[If you would like to know more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, just call up the missionaries and ask as many questions as you’d like. You can also message any Chisholm family member with your questions as well.

Plus, we have a website: So, you know, use that if you’d like.]