Another Successful Week!

Wow, what a successful week!

 

This past week has been great! So many great things have been happening out here and the hand of God has really been showing in the missionary work. Everything is getting better and seeming more natural. It has been so great and I'm so grateful for all of the blessings I have received out here. The knowledge that I have gained of myself and the gospel is a huge blessing. I felt like I have already grown a lot and made a huge step in the direction of where I hope to be at the end of my mission and when I am home. Well, this week started off with PDay and family night at the Wekkins on Monday. We had our Investigator Lilliana over there for family night because Zr. Wekking is the lady who helps us teach her in Spanish. This was so fun and a great experience. Tuesday, We had Zone Training. Gosh, I learned so much and I was opened up to so many things that I can do better. I will for sure change some things and make some goals! We went out to eat dinner with Dhana later that night and I had a great tasting salmon at a very fancy restaurant. Wednesday, we taught a lesson to a new investigator and man, does this guy smoke a lot. Holy cow! 3 cigerettes in 45 minutes. Disgusting. He said he has heard about "Brian Young" before so he wanted to learn more. He said he will have the Book of Mormon read in a week so we will meet with him tomorrow hopefully. We then went and did a look up far away with an old investigator. He invited us in and was so pumped to see us. He speaks great english and wanted to speak it so we did. He loves the church and knows a lot about it. He initially started to talk to the missionaries a year ago because he is a Free Mason and heard that Joseph Smith was the highest ranking you can possibly be in Free Masonry. So funny. Gosh I have learned a lot about that idealogy. Very interesting.... Lol. We had a dinner appointment with Bishop that night and his family. They all wish they were american because they see us and love us. I was talking all night about how much I love Justin Beiber and about area 51 and 9/11. It was fun and we had a blast. Thursday, we had a lesson with a very, very cool guy from Fiji. Big old polynesian guy. Soooo amazingly nice. He wants to be baptized and said in Fiji, he lives next to mormons and he remembers the temple. So cool. He has a beutiful family back home! Then we had a lesson with Lilliana, and did some finding. We found 3 new potential investigators which is really great! Friday, we went and taught the plan of salvation to Luis. He is our new favorite investigator from Angola. So cool. He loves praying in Portuguese and loves that my parents both speak it! So cool. We also had to do weekly planning and then went to a ward christmas kickoff fireside. This was great! Saturday, We did some look ups, and went to Esthers. During the day, we were supposed to have a lesson with Dofu. We got to his door, but he opened it and was on his way out. He explained to us that he got a call from his mom and his parents are getting a divorce so he was on his way to his parents home. I wanted to honestly cry. Before he walked away, his lips were quivering and eyes watering. Such a tender moment. I dont know him that well, but he is a big black 24 year old who looks like Ziggy. So cool. Sunday, we had church and it was great. Then we went to dinner at a members and I had to say goodbye. This was hard even though I dont know her that well!

Well, I found out that next transfer I will be serving in Zaandaam with Elder Yocom. He is my best friend from high school and we came here on the same day. I honestly cannot believe that it is happening, especially so early in the mission and over Christmas. I'm so grateful and I see this as a huge blessing. I will work harder this next transfer than ever before and become better than I expected to be after 3rd transfer. This is going to be so great. It is sad to be leaving my baby city, especially with having the best numbers in the mission. It has been so great, but man, am I excited to serve with Yoc Daddy. This past week, Elder Alston and I were able to teach 8 lessons which is incredible here, and get 4 new investigators. We have 6 baptismal challenges accepted. Elder Alston is staying here and going District Leader. He will also Train again and help another missionary love their mission. I'm grateful for Alston and really appreciate what he has taught me. We have become such close friends and he is someone I will always look up to!

Well, I hope you all have a great week. Please keep those emails coming! Love you all so much.

 

Love,

Elder Elkins

Another Great Week in the Books!

Another Great Week in the Books!

 

Man, time goes fast. I can't believe it is already another P-Day! Time is flying by. It is really weird because I look back and realize that I have already almost been out for 4 months, and that is 4 months that I will never have back! Only 20 more months to be a missionary. These next 20 months will go fast too. Everyone only tells me that it goes faster. This transfer has gone by unbelievably fast. I cannot beleive that next week is transfers! Chances are, I get a new companion. They never keep companions together for more than two transfers. I'm being told that I will either go with a missionary one transfer older than me, my group, or younger. Either way, I'm going to be in a whole new world. This week was a good one for my Dutch. It is still not where I necessarily want it to be, but I was able to suprise myself this week! The investigators are doing well. Dhana is still Dhana. He has been investigating since I was 16, and still doesnt beleive that there is a God. We challenged him to repent of his sins because maybe that is what he is lacking. I asked him how he felt after he prayed for forgiveness, and he said Peace. I told him that feeling was from God, and we can't give ourselves that feelings. We then shared the story of Oliver Cowdery and when he was praying in D&C 6. It says "21: Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the same that came unto mine own, and mine own received me not. I am the light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not. 22: Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things. 23: Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?" I absolutely love these scriptures. They were perfect for him because it explains that Oliver felt Peace, just as did Dhana. We dont know what more do do with him because now he has the ball, and he needs to decide what he is going to do with it. He goes back to Indonesia on Dec. 7th, so that will be sad, but I know he will be baptized one day. He needs to recognize God in his life. We think that he believes, but that he is just scared. Lillian is going well. She said that she knows that the Church is true, but that she is going to wait to be baptized in December. That is a bummer because I was really looking forward to seeing her baptism. Hopefully I will still be in Enschede next transfer! We taught a few first lessons this week and made 3 baptismal invitations. The work is going well here. We are definitely blessed.

On Tuesday, it was Alstons birthday. We went to Dinner at Esthers, cause it was also her husbands birthday! That was fun. When he dropped us off at the train station after, I looked on the ground and noticed some money rolled up. I opened it up and it was TWO 50 euro bills. About 140$ worth. So cool! We looked around and asked people if it belonged to them and asked a police officer and he told us to keep it. We split it. Such a fun night :) Wendesday, I was on exchanges with Elder Claflin. He came the same day as me so we were just two young missionaries in Enschede all day. We taught a couple lessons, had a great conversation with a man from America and his wife from Holland, and found a stray dog. This dog was so tight! He followed us everywhere and we named him Frisbee. We had to go teach a lesson to Lillian so we had to find a place for Frisbee to go. He was trying to pee and poop but he couldnt so we felt bad for him cause he hadnt eaten in forever. I asked some girls probly 12 years old to babysit my dog while I taught the lesson. They took it to the vet and found the original owner cause of a chip in the dog. So funny! That was a great day. That night, we had a dinner appointment on the border of Holland and Germany. I suprised myself this night at the appointment with my Dutch. I talked to the whole time and shared the spiritual messege. They were really impressed and thats always nice. They were amazed that my parents met in Brazil on their missions haha. I tell most people that when they ask where my parents went on missions :) Pretty funny. Friday we had a great dinner appointment with Familie Jacobs. They are great. Such an incredible home with nice things. We were talking around the dinner table and we remembered that Portugal was playing Sweden in a big soccer game that night, so the husband went to turn on the TV, but it didnt start until late, but we got permission to watch it and everything! Such a jammer. oh well, she had a parikeet and I asked about it and told her me and my best friend at home had birds too. She though that was so tight and we talked about how stupid birds are for 15 minutes haha. I knew I bought Robin for a reason ;) He husband, Br. Jacobs, is the old bishop but is not inactive and drinks. Really sad. We are working with him. Sunday was Ward Conference and I had to translate again. Really hard, once again, but its all getting better. Its just amazing that 3 months ago I knew no Dutch, but now I understand a bit and can speak it a bit! So cool. Just gotta be patient and it will all come. All is going well. We should have a great week this week and its me and Elder Alstons last week as a companionship. He has been great and we have had a lot of fun! Its pretty sad, but Its a good thing that I believe that Transfers are inspired of God. I will be where I need to be and who I need to be with next transfer! On Saturday, we went to a SinterKlaas festivel. So funny. The pictures explain it all. They have Sinterklaas on the 5th of Dec. This is when all the kids put out their shoes and they get gifts in it. This is just as big as Christmas to us. They also celebrate Christmas on the 25th and the 26th. Such a cool month here, but for the missionaries, Dec. is just a month of reflecting and seeing families together haha. There are a lot of problems here because of the Swarte Piet thing. These are the black painted elv things in my pics. They have been tradition for years and years, but not black people are saying its really racist, when in fact, its just traditions. Sad, because of the traditions, but creepy as crap. Well That is all for this week. I hope you all have a great week and I'm excited for this next week. Alles goed in Nederland! I love you all. :)

 

Elder Elkins

Very quick week! Time is flying by!

This week was a very fast one. Not a lot happened though, but it was still fun! On Monday, we just had our normal Pday and went shopping and I didnt buy anything. Tuesday, we had district meeting and this was a great one. We also met with some potential investigators and made some return appointments. Wednesday, We went on splits with the Zone Leaders. I was with Elder Muse, and he is a very cool guy. I learned a lot from him and admire his style. At doors, even if people slam the door in our face, he will ring it again and ask if he can touch their hair, or just tell them that they have great teeth or something. Very funny guy ahha. He makes it fun. Thursday, We had a lesson with Lillian and taught her the word of wisdom. She accepted it perfectly and will be baptized next week! So excited. We also had to spend the night in Deventer at the Zone Leaders house and spend the night with them again so we had to travel that night a little bit. The ZLs are so incredible! Muse is hilarious, and Eastmond is such an incredible and cool missionary. I admire them both! We spent 4 nights with them this week. Its been great. Friday, I went to Brussels to get my legalization. I traveled with Elder Peterson from the MTC to Leiden, and from Leiden, we took the van to Brussels. There were like 8 of us in the van, and we met a bunch of other missionaries in Belgium. I saw and talked to Sister Brophy for the first time on Friday! This was so fun and something that I was looking forward to. She is doing great and it was fun to see her! I also saw and hung out with Elder Hunt and also my MTC comp, Elder Sudweeks. They are all doing so well and I´m so glad that I was able to see them. The Belgian Waffles are incredible as well. Such a gorgeous city and somewhere that I will definitely be back to see after my mission. I also saw Mannican Pis, which is the famous peeing baby statue. So tight. Saturday, we traveled back from deventer because we slept at the ZLs house again. We had a lesson and ate Ollie Bollen for dinner with Esther. She is doing well and really strong. Sunday was church. This was the primary program and it was so cute and fun to see. So great. I had to translate for the first time and that went swell. Dutch is still hard but coming along! It was a great day! Last night, we had a lesson with Dhana and it was the most spiritual lesson I have ever seen. Me and Elder Alston taught in great unity and the spirit led it so much. Some of the things I said I had know idea I was capable of. It wasnt me though! Thats for sure. Sorry this was a boring email, just not much happened. This next week will be great. We have 5 first lessons coming up and hopefully some baptisal dates made. I love it here! I´m glad you are all doing well. Its starting to get freezing here and the Winter is going to be brutal. So will Christmas haha. It gets dark at 4 now too. So weird! Its dark here before you guys even wake up! I hope you all have a great week, and I will make a better email next week. Thanks for all you do! I look forward to your letters!

Elder Elkins

I must admit, this is a better haircut than I've ever done on him ;)

He cut his own hair!!

What a fast week! So many cool experiences this week. I really tried to focus on having better, more meaningful personal studies and laungage studies. I finished the New Testament this week, and will restart the Book of Mormon and read it side by side with my Dutch copy! This has helped me a lot! I challenged myself with the language too. Gotta step outside that comfort zone, because quite franky, I'm not here to sit in a comfort zone. I'm in Europe for heavens sake haha. Well, Monday night was great. We met with our investigator, Dhana, and he took us to eat at a very expensive restaurant and it was great. He just told us that he wants us to know that he has a sincere investigation, but he thinks we are being too hard on him. He goes back to indonesia in December, and he has been investigating for a year and a half, so me and Elder Alston have been pushing him. Hopefully he decides to be baptized, but we cant push him anymore. He is looking for his answer that Its true, and hes worried about what his family will think and all of his friends. On Tueday, I was on Exchanges here in Enschede with my District Leader. I was in charge for the day. So fun! We had a lesson with Lilian on Tithing and she accepted that like a champ. She will be baptized on Nov. 23rd! That will be great. I'm so excited! That night was a miracle night! We finally got contact with a man from Angola who has lost contact with the missionaries since he moved here, and we made an appointment! I had to talk to him all in Dutch cause my companion didnt know him haha. Neither did I though! It was a miracle that we finally got contact with him and he was really excited. After this, we went to the bus stop to see when the bus came. We had 15 minutes and I didnt want to just sit there and wait, so I said "Lets go knock those doors over there". I felt the spirit tell me to do so! So amazing. On the Second door we knocked, an Asian guy in his 20s answers and he is so tight. We start speaking Dutch and he recognizes our American accents and freaks out about how sick it is that we are from America. He is really intersted in our message and accepted a BoM. He said to come back in three weeks and tell him more because he has finals and no time for the next three weeks. Just when he was about to shut the door, a black guy in his 20s comes downstairs and says "i heard your message from upstairs, and I have time all week. What is this about?" He was so pumped and we made an appointment with him for Saturday. The appointment went great and he accepted a baptismal challenge. He is a huge soccer player and lives in a college dorm house. All three college students are reading the book of mormon. What a miracle! That is why we knocked those doors. Such an amazing experience. On Wednesday, we taught two ladys of the Orthodox religion. They are from Syria and I think they really just wanted to bash with us. They couldnt accept the fact about the Godhead and a Prophet. We will see if they turn into anything more. We found a lot that night, then went to Esthers and taught her and watched mormon messages. Thursday, we did a lot of look ups and went to dinner with a great dutch family here. They are so funny! I will send pictures next week. Friday, we taught lillian again. We taught her prophets and obedience. She loves the idea of a prophet and told us that she is excited to be baptized. Its fun being in there during spanish lessons. Especially since we rely so much on our Joint Teach. We went to dinner at a recently baptized members home that night and ate great surinam food. Her husband isnt a member, but is trying to quit smoking so hes taking small steps! Right outside their house, there was a cop chase and the guy being chased ran over someone and killed them! So interesting. Mom, dont freak out, I'm OK :) We were supposed to have a lesson with a new investigator that night, but he wasnt home so that sucked. Saturday is the day we taught the black guy, that went super well! Then we found all day, made burgers for dinner, and had weekly planning at night. Fun night. Sunday was great too, its always fun to hear them bear their testimonies in church. I love being here. The Dutch kids are so cute!

The weather here is getting unreal cold. I'm scared for the winter! All the older missionaries just have terrible stories about it. It will be fun though and definitely differnt. I can't wait to have fun experiences and be able to email them home! It is unreal how fast time goes. I'm already halfway through my second transfer. Time goes fast. I think that I will get transferred at the end of this one. Or I will stay. Either way, I wont be with my companion I dont think. I hope that I have a good companion for Christmas. Maybe Yocom :) That would be a treat.

I was reading in the New Testament this week and found a few really amazing scriptures. I found a scripture that provided great comfort to me, and I'm sure it can help you all too.

1 Peter 2:20 - For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God."

I just thought I would share this with you all. I found it and it has helped me a lot. We need to be patient in our struggles. Thats the key, thats something that I have been working on my whole mission. You all who know me well know that I'm not a very patient person. I'm really going to try to work on that and be better. I know God is here with me. I can't deny that. The miracles that I have seen are unbelievable.

Thanks for all of your emails. Continue to email me! I love you all and pray for you all the time. Have a great week!

Elder Elkins