hey everybody! sounds like there weren't too many surprises this week, thank goodness! haha It seems like every week I get on there are big surprises, but at least they are good surprises, so that helps. I just can't believe how much is changing while I'm gone. It's crazy! But since this is happening I want to share surprises with you as well. I don't know if I will have one for every week, but these last few weeks, I learned how to juggle, so that is the surprise of the week :) Anyways... This week was not the best week, but I learned quite a bit. I don't know, I've noticed that after you have a few killer weeks, a longer week is bound to come, but it was still great.
On tuesday we had zone training in Apeldoorn. We stayed the night in Hoorn and then woke up early that next morning and drove over the big dike from Enkhuizen to Lelystad. it was a really cool drive, and the zone training was awesome. Sister Robinson gave a great talk about the doctrine of small things. She talked about how in life, there are a lot of seemingly small things that we do, but they turn out to have a huge impact later on in life. it was a good zone conference and I got to see Elder T there! he is doing really well and has grown a lot already :)
Wednesday we spent the day working in Amsterdam with the Elders there. I was with Elder S and we went to a lesson with a guy named G. G was a cool guy. he is about 30 years old and has been a member for about 10 years but went inactive a few years after his baptism. We had a great talk with him about life and what he aspires in this life. he is pretty lost, and doesn't know where to go. He is a good guy, but he just can't figure it out. he has lost the true source of happiness. it was a great lesson, and a good reminder that there are SOOOO many people in this world with that same problem, and they look and look and try different things, but they just can't find the solution. It is also frustrating sometimes when you have the solution and you offer it to them, but they just don't take it! Just accept the gospel!!! haha. it really does break my heart. it was a good lesson though. We got home really late that night, but as we were on the train these people came up to us and the lady grabbed my name badge and started reading it. She was obviously a little drunk, but they started asking us questions. They had some DEEP questions about life, about who God is and how Jesus Christ was perfect and why we are here on Earth. We basically taught them the whole Plan of Salvation. They were a little drunk, but they could still understand everything we were talking about. They were trying to stump us, but there is a secret when it comes to that. the first impression is to just argue, but that does no good because they already feel so strongly about it that even if you do prove them wrong, most of the time they still stick with how they feel. The secret is to bear testimony, and that's exactly what we did. They ended up taking a Book of Mormon and our card. I don't know what will come from it, but I do remember the doctrine of small things, and even though that was a small thing, I know they will be thinking about that more than they used to.
thursday I was on exchanges with Elder P in Hoorn. He is our district leader and he is an awesome missionary. We had a lot of fun and biked in the pouring rain :) Friday was Valentines day so elder Cooper and I went on a date to a nice little burger joint. it's the closest thing you can get to an American Diner here. We got burgers fries and a milkshake. It wasn't the same, but it was still fun haha. Our appointments got cancelled but we held our heads up high and hit the Streets. Saturday we did a lot of look ups and a lot of finding. We were knocking doors, but that didn't last long, because every door we knocked the answer was the same, "Ik ben nu aan het schaatsen te kijken! ga maar weg!" or in english, "I'm watching Ice skating! go away!" haha that happened three doors straight so we decided that wasn't the best use of our time. The Dutch are crazy about their Olympic Ice Skating!
Saturday was also a very special day though, because J's husband got baptized!!!! That is a HUGE miracle!! When we taught J last May, he would sit in for a couple minutes then leave. He would drop J and the kids off at church, leave for 3 hours, then come back and pick them up. He was addicted to smoking and had been smoking since he was 9 years old. He supported his wife but didn't have a whole lot of interest. he is now a member and can be sealed to J and their kids next year :) The doctrine of small things!!! He started off very slow and we did a few "small things" at first like becoming friends and watching mormon messages with him, and now he is baptized! It is so cool to see and I am so happy for them. Those are the moments you just step back and realize how blessed you are to be able to take part in God's plan and be an instrument in His hands.
Sunday was another good one. We had a dinner appointment with the De B Family again, and they had a colleague from Dallas, Texas visiting. It was weird to hear american english again haha. She isn't a member, but we shared a nice message about how God is Love. She LOVED it, and we all had a good night together. Elder Cooper and I will be staying another 6 weeks together and we are both very excited about that! Things are going great and we are having a blast. I hope you all have a great week and I can't wait to hear from you next week! Love,
Elder Bishop
Pics
1. Alkmaar centrum
2. Thank goodness for companions!
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