Elder Hayden Bishop Belgium/Netherlands Mission: Goodbye Alkmaar, Hello Apeldoorn! New Area and New Goals

Hey everybody! This week was transferred week, and you know what that means? It means that this week was crazy!! haha Despite all the crazy moments, it was still really good! I like it here in Apeldoorn a lot. It sounds like everything is going great back home too. I am so glad Meleese is finally feeling better, and it sounds like the rugby game was a close one! Those ones are always the best. Thanks for sending those pictures this week. Out of all the things that have changed back home, the house still looks the same and that makes me happy :)

I guess I will start with the beginning of the week though. Last Monday was very very busy. The Library was closed so we had to take turns emailing at the church on the slow computer, so that took up a lot of time, and we didn't have a lot of time in the first place that day! I had to start packing and then the Assistants called me and Elder Cooper to make travel plans. We had to arrange travel plans for every missionary in the mission! We had to get them all to where they were going and make sure they had a temporary companion with them at all times. It took forever, but we finally got that done. I didn't have any time to pack before we went to FHE that evening in Amsterdam. L came again, and this time by herself! it was awesome. She has made a lot of progress since I first got to Alkmaar, and she really enjoyed it that night too. It was hard saying good bye to all the young single adults in the Amsterdam area. I had some good relationships with some of them, and I will miss them. It was a fun night, but that whole day was so busy, and it didn't even feel like a p day.

Tuesday was also very busy! We had district meeting that morning in Amsterdam and then got back around 2:00. We didn't have any appointments that afternoon, so we went and visited some people to say good bye. While we were visiting those people, I realized why I am going to miss Alkmaar so much. I realized that it really was a temporary home for me. The D B parents were my temporary parents, and their parents, grandma and grandpa D B, reminded me so much of grandma and grandpa Bishop. They were my temporary grandparents. The M family were my temporary brothers and sisters. The Young Single Adults were my temporary friends. Sister V R was my temporary piano teacher. Alkmaar really was my temporary home. It was hard saying goodbye to all of them, knowing that I probably wouldn't see some of them ever again. Thank goodness for facebook though haha. We had a dinner appointment with one of my favorite families that night, the D B's. It was a lot of fun, and I was glad to spend my last evening in Alkmaar with them. it was a really hard goodbye afterwards though. the 14 year old son, and I had a good friendship, and he did not want me to leave. He started crying after we prayed. I gave him a hug and told him I would see him soon. He is an emotional kid, and it has been cool to see him feel the Spirit so strongly and recognize what it is. The dad told me that there is nothing better someone can do for parents than helping their children, and that's exactly what we did for their children. I will never forget that family and the experiences we shared together. We got home late that night, and I was ready to go to bed when I realized that I hadn't even begun packing!! Luckily, it didn't take too long and I got all my stuff packed ready to leave the next morning.

Wednesday was transfer day... I don't even know where to begin!! haha I don't have time to tell you how it went in detail, but basically, we got to the Leiden station at 9 am and I waited there and helped missionaries depart and arrive until I needed to leave at 1:00. I left for Utrecht and got there to meet my new companion. He is great and we clicked right off the bat. We got stuck in bad traffic on our way back to Apeldoorn, but finally got there. The Zone leaders used to live in Deventer which is right outside of Apeldoorn, and the other Elders lived in Apeldoorn, but we switched apartments that day because the other two elders speak chinese, and there are a TON of Chinese students in Deventer, so we thought it would work better if they lived there and we lived in Apeldoorn. So me and Elder Alston had all of our stuff packed in the car and got moved in to Apeldoorn that day, and then comes the planning part haha.

Thursday was also very busy with planning and getting things situated for everybody. Between all the planning we managed to fit in a service project for an older couple and a dinner appointment that night. Not a whole lot happened on Thursday but it was fun because all six of the missionaries were at both of the appointments, and they are all really cool. Elder Lee and Elder Tjong Ayong are the other two elders here (They are the ones who live in Deventer now). Elder Lee is a newer missionary from Singapore. He speaks fluent English and Chinese, and he is really cool. He is an awesome cook too, and he makes us a lot of chinese food. Elder Tjong Ayong is from Suriname in South America. It is a Dutch colony and dutch is there first language, so he is already fluent, but he got called here speaking chinese. They are both really funny and they will do well together. Hopefully the Apeldoorn ward will get a few more chinese members in the near future haha. The sisters here are sister Brophy and Sister Jones. They are both really cool. I was sister Brophys district leader in Belgium and Sister Jones' zone leader in Alkmaar, so I already know both of them, and it will be cool to work with them here in Apeldoorn.

Friday was also busy! haha surprise. but we had to take the car into the shop because the last elder in Apeldoorn ran into a pole hahaha. We were busy with that, but we also had a great dinner appointment with this older couple, the V Family. They are great people and LOVE the missionaries. We shared a spiritual thought and when they commented on it, the Spirit was so strong. They were even nice enough to give us a ride to the shop so we could pick up our car. It was a good day.

Saturday we had a leadership meeting in Zwolle with the district leaders and sister training leader. Luckily the car was ready by then so we didn't have to bus there. That evening we watched General Conference in Apeldoorn at the church there. It was SO GOOD!! I came with a few questions and they all got answered. I really thought about what goals I have for this transfer, and I really want to focus on showing people I love them. I have gained a lot of love for people out here, members, missionaries, and investigators, but this transfer I really want to show them. That was a big topic in Conference as well! I LOVED Elder Holland's talk and also Elder Scott's. It was a great conference and I learned a lot and felt the Spirit a lot. We spent the whole day at the church on Sunday watching conference. It was a great weekend.

Today we are gonna get some lunch with all the missionaries in Apeldoorn and then play some frisbee afterwards. it is gonna be a great transfer here! Sorry I am running out of time and this week was super crazy to try to explain in detail, so I hope it makes sense! haha I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Bishop