Haha, it's hard to decide what to write home with the limited time that
is given. I'll try and do better with answering life questions. I'll start off
by answering the list that you gave me. Our apartment is pretty dang
sweet. It's relatively new, it's clean, not too big and not too
small. Actually, we have a really nice view of a really pretty
Mosque. At night it’s lit up and you can't help but be grateful to see
it. We can see a bridge called, ''The Erasmus'' which is also lit up at night
and also the Feijenoord Stadium...I think we’ve got the best view in the
mission. You can see everything cool. Yesterday...our appointment
fell through. haha we met this man on....Thursday...set up an appointment for
Sunday...went to his house...he wasn't home...started walking to our apartment
to get lunch and just our luck....we run into the guy who we had the
appointment with haha. He was kinda shocked. He explained that he
couldn't meet this week but we set something up for next week and we got his
number. That seems to happen a lot here haha. We get appointments with
people but then they fall through and the people don't really know what they
are missing.
Favourite thing I ate this week....shoot....that's a hard one. I
feel like I ate a bunch of delicious things but I'm going to have to say the
Kapsalon. It’s kinda of like a more exotic poutine. You got fries topped
with cheese, a bunch of vegetables, some meat( I usually eat chicken) and some
sambal sauce on top. So good. But, we ate a ton of good food. I ate
calamari and a member made a delicious macaroni with beef mix and another
member made a delicious casserole....so many things to choose from.
Well...as for the shoes...I have been wearing the Costco shoes a
lot...and they're holding up wonderfully. I couldn't answer the Ecco vs Rockports
question...sorry haha. I haven't worn Ecco shoes. They probably
suck though because they’re not Rockports but that's my opinion. It seems like
a lot of missionaries have neither for their proselyting shoes and for things
like zone training, zone conference, mission conference and interviews, they
wear the ''fancy'' on sale European shoes. Heck...I would suggest Costco
shoes...however...if it pours...my feet get a little wet...I just can't stand
the thought of my Rockports getting destroyed in the rain so I wear my Costco
shoes. My feet are going to get soaked usually anyways.
Elder Krebs is a very funny dude. He has a talent of taking a
situation that can be awkward or something that one doesn't really want to do, say
something funny expressing what he would like done, and then people laugh and
it gets done. He has been a good example of how much humour can help one
be a leader. For example. If he sees that something needs to be
addressed concerning behaviour...he can say a funny joke or a one liner that
totally makes the situation funny while at the same time getting the point
across. He's a super good teacher and the missionaries in the zone love
him. It's going to be a bummer after he leaves this coming Wednesday and
heads to Brugge, Belgium. He can also take almost every sentence you say and
end it by quoting a song or a movie.
The Grossest thing I have eaten on my mission is...there's actually not
too many things that come to mind. I would have to say the Rum chocolate
that I bought ( I didn't know it was rum chocolate...on my first transfer I
really wanted to try some Belgium chocolate. I asked the lady, who owned the
chocolate store what her favourite kind was… she pointed to a rack of
chocolates that looked really appealing and said something....I'm guessing she
said the flavour but I had no idea what she said. Anyways...I ended up
buying some chocolate...It was like 10 euros for the chocolate! As I
pulled out the first chocolate, my mouth started to turn into a
waterfall. I couldn't wait to eat my first real Belgium chocolate from a
real, authentic, Belgium chocolate store. Placed the piece of chocolate in my
mouth and boom......tasted like rum. It was horrible. I haven't
gone to another one of those stores ever since. I also ate some anchovies
from a bottle....that was not good either. I think the anchovies were
expired too.
The hardest thing about being asked to be a zone leader would probably
be...well, I still see myself as a brand new missionary. I see myself as
the same old missionary that entered the MTC in November 2013. Sometimes
I forget that how others see me, is different to how I see myself. I
really don't like being the one to advise a missionary to do something
different. Whether it be with how missionary work is done or
behaviour. I would say that would be the hardest; to have to be the one
to bring up ''problems''. I guess it's a good skill to learn. I do
like how you get to work with a lot of amazing missionaries. It's been
cool to see the changes in missionaries. To see them progressing with the
language and with the way they work. Your motives kind of change
to. You receive your joy from seeing and hearing about the success,
miracles or awesome things that the missionaries in your zone experience.
The picture is less focused on you and more on them.
Coolest thing that happened this week was probably...shoot. That's
a hard one. Well...We met a lady yesterday who runs a daycare and has
adopted a bunch of kids. She is very faithful and has had many
experiences that have helped her come to know that God exists and that Christ
is her Saviour; that He is with her every step of the way. We talked to
her for a while trying to set up an appointment or exchange numbers but
something was stopping her. I remember my initial thought was, ''find
those that will accept you…''. I was waiting for that opportunity to say
thank you for her time and then move on. However...the more she
talked...and the more I listened...I knew that listening to her share her
testimony through her experiences is what was going to help her become closer
to her Heavenly Father. We listened and at the end...we thanked her...and
said that we hope to see them again. She then opened up and let us know where
she lived. We gave her a Book of Mormon and let her know that this book
would help her to find that strength and guidance that is needed in this
life. It was pretty cool. We also met a dude on the street who is a
member from Aruba. He hasn't gone to church since coming here but we're
going to be meeting with him this week hopefully!
Weirdest thing...haha. I don't know where to begin.
Well. We met a guy on the street. Started talking to him about the
Gospel. We talked about John the Baptist and asked why Jesus went to him
to get baptized. According to his answer, we told him that the same
authority was restored on the earth and what we did helped people to come to
know the truth for themselves and helped them become baptized by one holding
the same authority as John the Baptist. haha. After we asked him
what that meant to him...he said. ''Ik wil me laten dopen!'' haha he
wanted to get baptized. Unfortunately...someone yelled at him and told
him to hurry up so he took off in a panic.
The mission has been fun. This week, as I mentioned earlier, Elder
Krebs will be transferred to Belgium meaning that I will be serving with a new
companion. The Elder that will be coming to Rotterdam is a super good
missionary. I've been super lucky with my companions and it looks like
that streak’s going to continue. He has 4.5 months left on his mission and is
an amazing leader. I'm excited, nervous and looking forward to serving with
and learning from him. This probably doesn't mean anything....but I
thought it was a privilege to be the zone that is receiving all of the new
elders that are coming in into the mission this transfer. At least to my
mind...that meant that the Lord will be wanting us to give it all we got to
help this missionaries have an awesome start to their mission. Heck...we're
getting one of the only 2 new sisters too. We were told that we'll be holding a
zone training the first week of the new transfer again haha. It's always
fun doing that. It's going to be fun!
Love you all and I hope you have an awesome week!
Elder Holt
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