Family and friends,

Alma 31:5 
"And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just - yea, it had a more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them - therefore Alma though it was expediënt that they should try the virtue of the word of God."

I've mastered riding my bike with no hands, if you couldn't tell by the title up there. It's really not as hard as it seems, and most of you have probably already accomplished it... but I'm proud of myself nonetheless. I was going to title this e-mail "An Arabian Thanksgiving" because Amer and Samer invited us over for Arabian food on Thanksgiving, but they had to go to Germany last minute so no. Lame.

Thanksgiving was still good though. Elder Knaupp and I settled for tacos. Typical missionary Thanksgiving meal. Before dinner we took a trip out to Wezep (a little town about a 12 minute train ride from Zwolle) to try and bring a Book of Mormon to a referral. Wezep was super cool. Lots of tall pines, a nice sunset, and we got lost. We didn't end up finding the referral but we knocked on some doors and talked to some super nice people.

On Friday we met this super cool student from Afghanistan. Davood (like David except in Persian). Super cool guy. We asked if we could come back on Saturday and bring him a Persian Book of Mormon and he said yes. We went back Saturday and he let us in. We told him a little bit about the Book of Mormon and the resoration of Christ's church. It was a little difficult with the language barrier, but he asked us about church, baptism, and asked if we could talk with his friends as well. Sooo that was super cool. We need to start learning Persian and Arabian. We're going back there on Wednesday though so I'll let you all know how that goes.

On Sunday we had dinner with Familie De Jonge. It was a lot of fun. Broeder De Jonge is a super cool guy and Zuster De Jonge is super nice, and their family is great. She had us dress up as Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet so that was funny. Sinterklaas is like the Dutch Santa Claus I guess except he come from Spain and he delivers toys on the 5th of December. Zwarte Piet is his little helper I guess. It's a really cool holiday.

It was a great week though. This next week is looking like it will be pretty awesome too. We've started a little Christmas project with the ward members and some of our investigators. It's centered on the Living Christ, a testimony of Jesus Christ written by the 12 apostles and the first presidency in 2000. We want to help members gain a greater testimony of Jesus Christ this Christmas season and help them to come closer to Him. I've been thinking a lot about how I can do the same and who Jesus Christ is for me personally. He is our Redeemer, brother, and Savior, but sometimes it's hard to think of what my personal relationship with Him is. As I've continued to think about it, I've realized that Jesus Christ is always by me. He leads me, guides me, and walks beside me every day as I do His work. This Christmas season I want to become a better representative of Him as I go throughout each day. I would like to extend an invitation to all of you who read this to read the Living Christ, and think about how you can come closer to Christ this Christmas season. I'd love to hear about any of your ideas or experiences as you do so.

I love you all. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that He is our Savior. Because of Him, we can all progress in this life and become closer to living with our Heavenly Father again and living with our families for eternity. Everybody have a great week!

- Elder Wright



 Wezep

 Sunset in Wezep

 New Gloves 

 Sintaklaas and Zwarte Piet

Sintaklaas and Zwarte Piet (Round 2)

Happy Thanksgiving (It's a Turkey)

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