November 25, 2014

Hey everybody! Another week in Den Haag. Man it is cold.

We had a very busy week last week. Very busy. Lots of cool things have been happening though! The Lord continues to bless this Zone. On Sunday, we had two baptisms in the Zone. I was able to interview one of them. During interviews, the Spirit is very strong. The man that I interviewed is incredible and such a kingdom builder. He has so much talent and ability to offer the church, and will be incredible to see what his future holds. I remember sitting in the interview, asking the questions and just seeing him with a wife and kids, going to church every week. When that happens during an interview, you know that he is ready. Such a testimony of the church as well. This man is 25 years old, has money, a future, and a girlfriend. He has everything that the world things you need, but he realized there is more than that when he read the Book of Mormon. He is in medical school and is very busy with life and study, but he found time to read and pray, meet with the missionaries, and come to church, and now he is baptized. Such a good example to me, and he should be to all of us.

Zone Den Haag is doing well. We are all seeing personal successes and staying happy. This is a tough time of year out here with it beginning to get cold, Christmas right around the corner, and familys celbrating Sinterklaas, but we are all keeping our heads up and hitting the Streets. They are all great examples to me and my companion.

We have a very busy week this week, again. Today, exchanges, tomorrow: splits in almere, Thursday: Zone Conference with Elder Moreira of the 70, Friday: Mission Leader Council, Saturday: District Leader Council that we will be teaching. Mission life is at high tide, and I am enjoying the ride.

Yesterday for Pday, we played Turky Bowl with the Zone, and then the Romigs had the missionaries from Den Haag over to have thanksgiving. It really felt like a piece of home, and it was so nice to be able to feel the spirit of gratitude with my mission family. Gratitude has been on my mind a lot the past few weeks, and I want to just close this email by sharing what I am grateful for.

First off, I am grateful for the gospel. For the knowledge that I have of the Plan of Salvation, The Atonement, the Nature of Heavenly Father, and the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  

I am grateful to have been born in this church. That I have parents who taught me in the ways of the Lord, and helped me stay on the right path. I don't know how they did it, but making a good choice, serving someone, or putting others before me is second nature, and I credit that to my parents. Thank you. I am very grateful for my siblings too. Love you guys!

I am grateful for my mission. Everything that I have learned. The changes that I have seen in myself, and in others. I am grateful for my testimony, because testimonies are gifts of heaven. It is a blessing.

I just feel grateful right now.

I love you all so much. I am so grateful that you all support me, and love me. It really does help me and encourage me to continue everday, to be a little better, and to work a little harder. I hope and pray that you all have a great week. I challenge you all to be grateful little this week. Count your blessings at night, and be open the next day to receive more. You will see a big blessing in your life.

"19 And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more." - D&C 78:19

I love you! Have a great week!

Elder Elkins

November 17, 2014

Hey Family and Friends! This week flew by. I cannot believe it. Only 5 weeks until Christmas... again? I never thought that I would get to this stage of my mission, and now that I am here, I don't want to be this long out. It goes tooooo fast, but I will do what I can with the time given. I love it, and I have learned so much!

We had a splendid week. Things are going really well in Den Haag. We were really busy this week doing a lot of random things, but also on exchanges for two days, and it is just a good time. Miracles are happening in this mission. I am so grateful to be here, at this time. How amazing is it to take part in all of this. The gathering of isreal is taking place.

I want to share one miracle that we are experiencing right now. This young womans name is Valencia. She is form St. Martins, but has been here for 8 years. We got her phone number via referral a couple weeks ago. We called her, and made an appointment, not really knowing what to expect. We went by, and went into her house. She is 26 years old, and is just a really nice person. We sat down, and asked how she knows about the church. She told us that she knows it better than we think, and we were flabbergasted. She knows a lot haha. She is the only member of her family that isnt baptized. She told us that she has never doubted she would be baptized, and that it will happen in the right time. She reads daily in the Book of Mormon on her own, and went to young womens all growing up. How amazing is this story? She is so ready, and I cannot wait. She called her sister in St. Martins while we were there, and she was sooo happy! How amazing is this gospel. She has been in the preperation process her whole life. These experiences are why I am becoming converted on my mission. I cannot deny the works of our Heavenly Father. One of his greatest works, is what he is doing with me, and I am eternally grateful for that.

I don't have much time today, but I just wanted to share that with you all. I love you, and I am grateful for you. I hope that everything is going well. Den Haag is a blessed city, and it is every missionaries favorite, so I am so happy and lucky to be here. This ward is incredible. Amsterdam and Den Haag are the two best cities for Christmas, and I will have them both. So cool! Love you all, have a great week!

Love,
Elder Elkins

November 10, 2014

Well, this week I have a bit more time than last week... :) Last week was super funny. Member came in all three times that I tried to email, and they asked if they could borrow the computer. No problem, I am just glad that I was able to write something last week to you all! 
I am doing really well. I love Den Haag. I am a city missionary, and I have missed it. Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and now Den Haag. The three biggest in the mission. It has been a lot of fun! This is just like any big city where you meet tons of different people, from all around the world. The Netherlands is the melting pot of the world, so you can only imagine who I meet daily. I learn of new countries every day. I love it!

It is getting cold. Colder than I remember a year ago. Especially going on exchanges and biking hills through fog, with only a rain jacket on, and a scarf to keep me warm. We biked 60 km as well. Unreal. My legs killed and my face almost froze haha. I love my mission! Fall is in the air! I am thinking it will be a very, very cold winter, but we deserve it because last winter was easy.

Elder Moomey is my new companion! I love him. We are great buddies and have been our whole missions. He is one transfer before me, and I worked with him when we were both in Rotterdam. He is from Star, Idaho. It has been a blast to work with him the past couple of weeks. He is a great missionary, and a good leader. We are going to have a lot of fun serving together here in Den Haag. Den Haag is a really cool area. We have about 20 Elders, 6 Sisters, and 1 Senior Couple in this Zone. It has been a blast to work with them all and get to know them on a more personal level. The ward here is the biggest in the mission. With about 150 active members, it is great. I absolutely love it. Such a strong ward, and is a great example to the other wards and branches in the mission. They take care of the missionares (10 of us in this ward, including the senior couple), by feeding us and catering to our needs. I appreciate it! It is nice to be back in a normal apartment with just two of us. We are always busy throughout the week with random things to do, so it is nice to come into a warm apartment at night, sit down, drink warme chocolade, and listen to Motab, while writing in my journal. I love it. Nice and quiet haha.

The work is going well. We decided to start off fresh as I came in, and we gave a couple of our investigators to the Sisters, and we just decided to hit the ground fresh. It was inspired, and gave us both a feeling of "lets do this"... It worked out. Heavenly Father blessed us a ton last week, as we taught 5 new investigators, and found a bunch of people. We prayed for referrals and had many of two very positive ones, both coming from members. Every member referral is baptized too. It is incredible to see. I cannot wait!

Exchanges last week were a blast too! I love being with missionaries, getting to know them, learning from and training them. It is such a privalage that we have as leaders to be able to do that, and it really give me a perspective one everything that I havent yet had. Being District Leader really prepared me for this. Especially with where I was, the amount of traveling, and the missionaries I worked with. I really feel comfortable doing this, and I am grateful for the change that I have seen in myself as I have been out here for the past 16 months. It truly is a miracle.

I have such a strong testimony of prayer. I know that I bring that up quite a bit, but I honestly do. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed us with a way to be able to communicate with him, and literally strenghthen our relationship with Him. I feel so close to Him being out here, and He has been quick to answer my prayers. I hope that you all use this blessing to its potential and that you are all witnessing what I do. It is reality, and it works for everyone. It is necessary for us to use as we lead out our lives in the best way possible.

I am so excited to see what this next week brings. I am sure that it will fly right by, just like this past week. I love you all, and I hope that you all have a great week as well!

Veel Liefde,

Elder Elkins

November 3, 2014

Hey! I am so sorry that I didnt have any time today. I tried three times, but all three times somebody walked in and needed to borrow the computer. I am so sorry! I will give you a quick rundown of this week. We made Zone Goals, and a Zone Vision, then drove to every apartment in the Zone to personally tell them the plan and get their goals. It was really cool to meet with everyone personally. It was a busy weekend, and we literally drove all day Friday, then again on Saturday after Elder Moomey and I gave the District Leader Council. It is really fun, and I love it, but it is completely different work. The Lord is providing for our missionary work too. As ZL, it is hard to find time to do our own missionary work, but we still see miracles. On Sunday night, we got a call from a random number and it was actually a less active member who we have never met. She asked if we could swing by and bless her house, and we did. We ended up getting two new investigators our of it. We gave our other investigators to the Sisters, and decided to start from scratch this transfer. I really look forward to it! Driving is fun, but crazy here in Den Haag, as you probably remember. I enjoy it though!

I love you all. I hope that you have a great week. I am doing great, and loving life here in Nederland. I am happy, and I feel the Holy Ghost very strong in my life. You are all the best, and I appreciate all that you do for me. Love you!

Elder Elkins

October 27, 2014

Well, the story of the Genksters is officially over, as I will be leaving and headed off to another city. What an incredible experience that I have had being and serving in Genk, Belgium. I learned and grew so much, and I see it as a major blessing that the Lord has given me. It is amazing what he does to His disciples when they just trust in Him. How great is this work!

Like I said, I love Genk. Genk has been my most success in my mission, and I grew here so much as well, as I was able to serve as District Leader and help the District in this part of Belgium. My testimony has grown immensely, and my knowledge of the gospel with it. I honestly feel like I gave it my all here, and I feel at peace with leaving. I hope I can have that same feeling in my next cities.
I will be transfered to Den Haag, going to be with Elder Moomey. He is one of my best friends out here as well. It will be incredible to work with a missionary my missionary age again, and be able to help many missionaries be able to see a lot of success. Personally, and Missionary Work wise. I knew that there was a big chance I would be leaving, so last week, I put it all on the table and just gave myself to the Lord. We saw many miracles, and it was just a great week.

Den Haag is soo pretty! It is where the temple is located, and it is such a great ward. The Lord is just blessing me, and I feel it! I love it. How grateful I am!
I dont have a lot of time today, but I just wanted to share that with you all. I love you and I hope that you all have a great week. Do something this week to strengthen your own testimony. Pray, once again, about the Book of Mormon. Receive another confirmation of its divinity. You are all the best. So is TYSONS TEAM! CONGRATS GUYS! I AM SO PUMPED. I can honestly say, out of everything that I have missed while being out here, that is the number one thing that I truly missed. I love you buddy! Way to be classy.

Have a great week! Love you all!

Met Liefde,
Elder Elkins

October 20, 2014

Last week was possibly the fastest week that I have had while being here on a mission. We had so many random things to do, and so many places to travel to. It flew by! To be honesty, I only had probably 1 day of normal missionary work, and that wasn't even in my own city! I was on exchanges that day. I will give you a little run-down of how it went:

Monday - P-day. Went to Brussels, Belgium. Super awesome, but traveled 4 hours.

Tuesday- Worked until 3, then had to catch a train to go to Den Haag. 5 hours on train. Slept over inda Den Haag

Wednesday - Temple Conference! This was amazing. I will talk more about it in a sec. Traveled back to Genk in the Afternoon. Another 5 hours, got home at 10.

Thursday - Went on splits with the two sisters in the District in Turnhout. Traveled 2 hours via train there, and 3 hours via bus back. Unreal.

Friday - Traveled 2 hours to Geel and then had exchanges in Geel. It was nice to be able to work hard for the first time this week though!

Saturday - Re-exchanged in Diest. 2 hours home. Then got directly on a 2 hour train to Antwerpen, where I had District Leader Council, and then we had Stake Conference at night. Traveled home at night another 2 hours, and got home at 11:30. Holy cow!

Sunday - Traveled 2 hours to Brussels for Stake Conference, then two hours home. Got home at about 7:30.

But, do you know what is really cool? We found many potential investigators and had many opportunities to teach while on the public transportation. This mission is incredible, and throws so many things at you. It was a great week, and I particularly enjoyed the temple. It was such a gorgeous morning and a beautiful sunrise. Our session began at 9. The spirit was so strong, and it hit me during the session that I only have one more temple trip until I return home. Insane! I learned a lot, and recommitted myself to the why of missionary work.

I love exchanges because they give me the opportunity to learn from those that I teach. They teach me more than I am able to give to them, and I think that is why leaders are the leaders. We usually get a lot more out of the experience than the others.

Genk has done a lot better numbers wise in times past, but we are getting it back up there. We have just been so busy with so many other things, that it is hard to balance it all right now. This is possibly my last week in Genk, as transfers are on the 29th, so I am going to go so hard this week, and trust in the Lord. I want to leave this place better than it was when I got here. That is the hard part... lol.
I love you all so much! Thank you for your supports, love, and prayers throughout all of this. I really feel them, and I try to return the favor by bringing others unto Christ! Have a super good week, win the miny bowl, and take care of Zoey. Love you!

Veel Liefde,

Elder Elkins

October 13, 2014

Goede middag allemaal! It has already been another week, and I am back in this library writing you all. I just got done watching Tysons football highlights, and that always sparks my day, and gets me going on a high note. That kid is incredible! Holy cow.

The mission life is a blast. I am enjoying my time and learning so much. I was worried that I would be one of those missionaries who doesn't recognize a change in himself, but wow. I look back and I cannot even remember who or what I used to be. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has changed who I am and has given me a very strong testimony of the gospel. Think about it. We can't gain testimonies by ourselves. That's why prayer plays such a vital role in gaining a testimony. A testimony is a gift, and I have one. What a blessing that is.

My testimony does get a little tried when I hear about the plague that BYU is going through. So many good, amazing young athletes who are just going down with injuries and losing. ;) It is pretty typical though. Glad I am here! Go Cowboys! :)

Genk Belgium is still on fire. We received 8 referrals from the facebook project this last week, and that has been really nice. The referrals are our number one priority right now, so we are doing our best to look them up. I feel like a lot of time is wasted sitting 2 hours on a bus, driving through gorgeous Belgian fields, castles, and villages, to go look up a referral who isn't home, but then I remember that this is the Lords work, and I rely on Him. For example. On Saturday, I was on exchanges with an Elder who is on his second transfer. I wanted to be a good example, get to know him better, and teach him a little bit as well. Our day was planned out to go look up 3 referrals, one after another. We made a daily goal for the work and that was "open our mouths". When we travel to go look up all of these people, we need to stay diligent and "preach by the way". Heavenly Father WILL bless us, and I have seen that all throughout my mission. This is completely necessary, especially in the Belgium/Netherlands mission. We went out and knocked doors while waiting to catch the bus. We had about 20 minutes, so we parked our bikes and locked them. I come back after 20 minutes, and my tire is popped. That was a big bummer! Now I have to replace my tube. We had to catch our bus in 10 minutes, and had to run a mile to the station. In the rain, with big bags on our shoulder. It was game. We ran and ran, looking like big fools, but it was worth it. We barely made it on time, got on a bus, and relied on the public transportation schedule the whole rest of the day. Throughout the day, we taught a lesson on the door, looked up our referral, made two appointments for next week, and found 5 new potentials. This was Saturday. Thursday, and Friday also turned out similar to this. We plan for certain things, accidentally take a wrong bus, or miss a bus, but there is always a reason. Everyweek, the Lord shows me His power. This week, he wanted to show me to trust in him and that everything happens for a reason. We had a great week. This next week will be crazy. Lots of exchanges, temple conference on Wednesday, and we have to go to Nederland on Tuesday to sleep over. I am really excited, but sometimes I do think it would be nice to just chilll in good ol Genk Belgie. I love you guys, and I hope that you have a great week. I will continueu to pray for you! Fall is in the air, and it is really hard for me to believe that it is already here. Unreal.

I love you all! Tot volgende keer!

Veel liefde,

Elder van Elkins