What
a week! Transfers came by, but also flew by. Elder Clement is my new
companion, and it has been super fun to serve with him. He is
incredible, and we are going to see so many miracles here in Genk. It is
continuing to go, and it isn't letting up anytime soon. How fun it is
to be here during this time. He has been here now for 6 months, but has
got the hang of everything. It will be super nice to just kick into
missionary mode, and be able to rely on a companion as well.
I am going to keep this email relatively short, but just know it
was a great week. My mind is all over the place, and I forget what even
happened this week. The work in this mission is insane. Honestly, so
many different things happen, everyday. It is almost impossible to
recollect what goes on. I do remember that it was hard for Elder Holt to
say bye to the members, but that is understandable. He had a great
relationship with them, and that is something that he actually taught
me! On Wednesday, I had to go to Antwerpen Station for transfers. I had
to wait over 5 hours for Elder Clement to get to Belgium, so in the
meantime, The ZLs and I, along with other missionaries rode the highest
Ferris Wheel in Europe. It overlooks the city, and that was so cool!
Beautiful city. We then had a dinner appt later that night.
On Thursday, we were able to teach a couple of times. We had a
lesson with an investigator named Hubert. He is a boyfriend of a member
in our branch, and wants to learn the lessons. We taught the
Restoration, and issued a Baptismal Date, but he just isn't ready for
that. We will work with him further, and it will for sure be a date.
Most of Belgium is Catholic, and they just don't understand the true
doctrine of Christ, and the meaning of everything that he did. It is
like they believe that the Atonement is a get out of jail free card.
That gets annoying, but we continue to work with them, and teach them!
:) Later that night, we taught Freddy the Plan of Salvation. He is the
one who came into church randomly that I talked about last week. Gosh,
the Spirit was so strong. He is so prepared, and had incredible
questions. He told us that he read our assigned chapter from the Book of
Mormon 3 times, and also ready 70 pages from the beginning. He can't
put it down! How special is this. We challenged him to be baptized, and
he will be baptized on September 13th. The Lord is too good.
On Friday, we traveled far to look up some potential
investigators. We had a cool lesson with a new convert, who we taught
about the "My Family" pamphlets that the church is getting out. I was
able to show her how to do family history on the computer, because I did
it a bit when I was home. That was fun, and she loves it. She is from
Suriname, so it is a little rough finding her ancestors, maar het komt
goed. Elder Clement and I had a good day this day, and just had fun.
Talked to people on the streets, buses, and really just enjoyed people.
This is the perk of missionary work. Getting to know all kinds of
people.
On Saturday, we had to go back to Antwerpen for District Leader
Council. We just discus things, talk about goals, needs, and what we
need to do. It is a lot of fun. Elder Muse is a great ZL, and a good
friend, but Elder Bosco is a very close friend from out of the MTC, and
he is a new ZL as well. It will be super fun to work with him.
Especially drawing nearer to Football Season. He gave me a ton of BYU
stickers, so I owe him big time ;) We then taught Burt later that night,
and he is doing well. He is still struggling to overcome some things,
but we are working with him. What a great guy. Just has some problems.
Church was incredible! Such a strong spirit, and Elder Claflin
gave a great talk about Christ and his Ministry. I learned a lot, and
felt the spirit. After church, Claflin and I taught the investigators
class and had a great lesson on the Plan of Salvation. It was really
cool, and their investigator really enjoyed it. It is so fun to be a
part of the work here in Genk. I doubt I will experience anything like
it again. President says this is the first time he has seen something
like it as well. What a blessing. Later, we had a lesson with an
investigator at 7, about a 25 minute bus ride away. We got to the
complex, and it is the handicapped complex that I have told you all
about before, and we had a lot of fun. We were on the bus, and
literally, I have never seen it rain so hard in my life. Belgium just
downpours, all the time. If it rains, it goes hard. I cannot believe it!
I left my rain jacket at the apartment, so I had to run through the
rain, but it was one of the most exciting experiences of my life haha.
We got super wet. It was unreal. We missed our last bus, cause the
member and investigator told us that it came, but it didn't, so we had
to try and call members to give us four missionaries a ride home. Nobody
could, cause they were all busy, so we started looking for another bus.
Couldn't find one, so we started walking home. Got home 90 minutes
later, and 8 Kilometer later as well, to do call the district and
collect numbers, starting at 9:40. It was insane. I had to go so fast,
but what a fun time. We tried to hitchhike, and even ask an ice cream
man for a ride home. You should've seen the looks we got from people
seeing four young men running in missionary clothes, at 8 o'clock at
night. Gosh. So funny!
That was my week. It was a fun one! Our Mission is focussing
District Meetings and Trainings on Chapter 5 in PMG. How we can use the
Book of Mormon in the work. I have been studying this all week, to
prepare, and it has really strengthened my faith and testimony in the
Book of Mormon. This is exactly what the Restoration of the church is.
Heavenly Father loves us so much, that he gave us proof that he Restored
His church. That proof is the Book of Mormon. People get so caught up
in having to have visions, or seeing God, but just read the Book of
Mormon, and you WILL know it is true. I absolutely love it. It is a
central point of the Missionary Work that we are doing in Genk, and I
firmly believe that that is the reason it is successful. The District
will see the same success. I know it.
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