Goede Morgen iedereen!
This week we went to Schiedam where we stayed overnight so that we could
go to the temple the next day in Zoetemeer! It was awesome to have
gone back to the temple! 6 months was too long but it was good
because these 6 months helped me to understand Dutch better so I could
understand what people were saying a little better. It was
weird. I sat beside a missionary who is on his 1st transfer
in Europe. I could tell by his movements that he was feeling a
little overwhelmed. I remember feeling that way too when I went to
the temple my first transfer in Europe. So I gave him the same
advice my member friend in Belgium gave me. ‘’Just relax and be like
a baby.’’ So weird seeing others start their missions and coming to
realize that my mission isn’t going to be forever.
After the temple we went to a couple’s house for dinner. This
couple served a mission in Suriname so when they heard that all of the
Surinamers were going to be around the Den Haag area, they asked President
Robinson if they would be able to have them all for dinner. Luckily this meant
that all of their companions were invited too! They made some bomb diggity rice
with a sweet and sour sort of sauce and a Suriname curry with vegetable sauce!
Zeer Lekker! With the rice and veggie sauces we were brought some sort of
hollowed out biscuit filled with meat and veggies…..ohmygosh. I wish
I remembered the name but a 90 year old Suriname lady made them and brought
them. Afterwards we ate some home-made vlaa but not really vlaa
dessert. We ate like kings. Fat kings.
After our dinner and dessert we took some photos. Haha it was
really cool to see how happy everyone was. Especially the couple who
served their mission in Suriname. They were so happy that they got
to see these young men that they helped prepare to serve missions and to be
active in the church. After photos and fun, the couple asked if we
could have a quick testimony meeting. Man. This was
almost as good as the temple. The feeling that came into the room as
everyone bore their testimony was unreal. It has gone down as one of
my favourite events on my mission. All these guys grew up
together. They went through a lot together and one by one, they were
all called to the same mission. How cool is that. The
Lord has a plan. A fantastic plan. And to see all these
friends together, to see the happiness, strength and love that they shared with
one another was really cool.
We didn’t get to serve in our area too long this week. We
were busy doing P-Day stuff Monday, left Monday night to Schiedam, which is
close by North Rotterdam, stayed in Schiedam the next day because we didn’t get
to the Schiedam Elders’ apartment until 11:30 pm from Den Haag, so we didn’t
get back to Friesland till about 1 pm on Wednesday. We however
had a really good week.
By the time we got back to Friesland to serve, we had lost a Monday,
Tuesday, and half of a Wednesday. I was scared that we wouldn’t be
able to achieve the goals we set for the week because of the time we had
lost. But, the Lord knows best and had a way for us to achieve these
promptings we received as we set our goals and in some areas helped us do
better than we thought we could. We had really good lessons. Taught
more than we have in a long time. We now have 7 friends who are making
progress in the gospel, 3 of which are working towards baptism and this week
have appointments with them all and are planning on getting in contact with
more people who are wanting to hear more of what we share.
One of our friend is a single parent. He has children and
works full-time. He has been investigating the church for a long
time. We taught him…9 or so weeks ago….and finally were able to see him
again. The lesson that we felt prompted to prepare turned out to be
exactly what he needed to help him progress in life by working towards a
baptismal date. When we shared with him that we felt that he could
be ready by a certain date…he looked at us and said…I guess that means I need
to stop smoking. Haha. I really admire his desire to help
show his children the right way to live a life; to want them to grow up in the
gospel. Super cool person and I am excited to be working with him on
achieving this goal that he desires.
We went to visit a couple who are less-active. Our plan was
to swing by and just get to know them. Didn’t plan on reading
scriptures or sharing a spiritual message but…the Spirit guided
otherwise. One of them said that they have been reading the Bible
often enough but not the Book of Mormon. We made a joke saying maybe
he could teach us. They laughed and said that that was our
job. He said that missionaries have some sort of gift with them as
they teach. Haha…this was awesome to hear but also a tad worrisome. Haha
this man had faith that we would help him because we were called of God by a
modern day prophet and we were his missionaries! The Spirit prompted
us to skim through Alma 17. The Story of Ammon serving the king,
tending the king’s flocks and the robbers come and scatter the flocks. We
would read a couple verses, talk about it, find how it related to life and
helped apply what they read in their life. It was really cool and a
powerful discussion. At the end…it was really quiet. I
hate it when it gets quiet but…my companion has been teaching me the power of
silence. We remained quiet and didn’t say a word. After a
minute, one of them said that this is what they needed. They opened
up about the feelings they have been feeling and how this story helped them to
see what was needed to be done to stay strong and keep things going the way God
desires of us. It was really cool to hear and see that we had served
our purpose. To begin with them bearing their testimony about the
missionaries and believing in them, to hearing them say that this was exactly
what they needed. Dang. Sweet. After our
lesson they told us about an experience that they had with the lady who helps
them with their house. This lady was talking to them about how she
misses the feelings of when she had God in her life. She really
wanted to get that feeling back. The members told her that they knew
people that could help her. They trusted us to help this lady. They
went and told the lady that we were the guys that they were talking
about. They invited her to meet us and to make an appointment with
us. She said yes and we met her. We spoke with her,
shared a super quick message with her and then exchanged numbers. Wow. It
was so cool to see that these members trusted us enough, after just meeting
them, with a task like this. The Lord is good. We go
through life with all it’s up and downs but the joy and peace that comes with
the testimony that He loves us and will make everything turn out right is
awesome.
The transfer is winding down and that means this coming Sunday are
transfer calls. It’s weird thinking that things might change,
especially because we have had the most progressing friends ever and I can’t
imagine teaching them without my companion. Next week we’ll find out
where I’m at.
When we were in
Schiedam waiting for our tram to go to the elders apartment at 11 at night…I
went to go and hang out with a really beautiful swan that was in the canal
beside the tram halte. I thought that we would get a long like
buddies. I now know the real reason why the 'ugly duckling' was
kind of the outcast. Swans are mean things and they hiss at
you. What the heck. He or she swam over to see me and
then wanted to fight me like I stole its girlfriend. T’jonge jonge. Don’t
be fooled by swans. They suck and are not pleasant birds. I
don’t really remember what other funny things happened….we ate on a pannekoekschip (pancake ship), super cool. Things are just going
good. I really need my journal to help me remember
everything. Sorry. This is really long so I’ll stop before you
get bored. Love you guys and until next time!
-Elder Holt
 |
| We got to help a member with their yard work. Things needed to get done before winter! |
 |
| ....what can I say....we look good. |
 |
| On our way to the train station...we saw this fat shadow run accross the road. We ran over to see what it was and boom.....it was Sonic without his super hero costume on. |
No comments:
Post a Comment