Hey everybody! Once again, it sounds like a busy week serving others, in the mountains, and with friends back home. I'm glad everybody had a great week and that everybody is safe and happy. I got the package this week and I loved it so much! The family history stories are great and I am really starting to gain a lot of respect and appreciation for my ancestors and the road they paved for me at this time. I have been reading the biography of John William Dutson and am amazed at the experiences he went through. Reading from his biography I have noticed some similarities that we have with each other. For instince, he was musically talented and played his violin to lift people's spirits and entertain them in hard times. Monday evening we went to an older couple's home. She is an active member, but her husband lost his testimony years ago. He is still really nice though and they both love having us over. They had a nice piano sitting in their living room, and after dinner I asked if I could play them something. I played the Chopin piece and they absolutely LOVED it! They couldn't believe I had it memorized. They went on and on, and told me that I am welcome anytime to come by and play them something haha. That's not the first time something like that has happened either. I am grateful for that talent I have that John William Dutson had, to lift people's spirits through music.
Tuesday was a miraculous day. We were on exchanges with the Chinese elders in Deventer. I was with Elder Lee. He is from Singapore and he is a great missionary. We had a lot of fun. He cooked for us that night and so we had to stop by an asian store to get some ingredients. While we were there, he convinced me to buy some really spicey peppers. I did, and yes, they are spicey!!! haha I love spicey food though. That day we were driving around to little towns outside of Apeldoorn to look up some inactives. We have seen a lot of success getting appointments with part member families that way. While driving through a town between Deventer and Apeldoorn, we saw one of Deventer's recent converts walking on the street! We pulled over ASAP and chased him down. It was probably a funny sight for those driving by to see two guys in white shirts and ties running after a chinese guy. Haha. We caught up to him and they talked for a while. He doesn't speak any English or Dutch, so I was silent, and they went off in Chinese. We went with him to his home/restaurant (he lives above a chinese restaurant) and they continued to talk. I felt like I was in China for a little bit being in that restaurant with only chinese people speaking chinese. After about an hour of sitting there, we left. Elder Lee filled me in on everything. He told me that he couldn't get his legality to stay here and he needs to go back to China next month. he is really sad and struggling right now. Elder Lee told me it was a huge miracle to run into him because it has been hard to contact him with all this happening to him. They will be working on getting him information to the church back in China where he will be living. Elder Lee made some chinese food that night and a chinese breakfast the next morning. it was SOO good! it was a good exchange as well.
Wednesday was pretty uneventful. We had a lot of planning to do, and we did a few look-ups that evening with not a lot of success, but Thursday was a good day. We woke up early that morning and drove to the mission home right outside of the Hague. We had our monthly mission leader council. it was really good. They focused a lot on working with sisters in the church. They told us everything done in the church is through councils, and there will be women in all of the councils we attend throughout our lives, so we need to learn how to work with them. I learned some good things that will be helpful after my mission as well. We didn't get back until later that evening because we hit bad traffic... I hate traffic.
Friday was the most eventful day this week and possibly this month. It started off killer and then turned around into something terrible and then finished off incredible again! Let me explain... Friday morning we had a great lesson with J. He is the member we ran into a couple weeks ago. We talked to him more and got to know him a little better and where he is at exactly spiritually. He has had a crazy past. Growing up in Sierra Leon, Africa in the 90's would be crazy. That was in the middle of their big civil war. His town was invaded when he was 12 years old and he was shot in the leg twice. He has a wife and had a small baby, but his baby passed away in a car accident a few years ago. He is waitng right now for his wife to get her visa and come live with him in Holland. Despite all his trials, he has remained faithful. We watched the restoration DVD and asked him about his feelings towards Joseph Smith and the Restored Church. The Spirit was so strong when he was testifying and at the end he told us, "It feels so nice to be reconnected with the Spirit again." It was a great lesson and we were so excited afterwards. On our way back we were driving on the freeway when just about every light on the dashboard lit up. Elder Bourne kept telling me that it smelled like pretzels. I started getting nervous and told him that it wasn't pretzels, but our car! We were almost in Apeldoorn when the car started making crazy sounds. We were FREAKING OUT! Elder Bourne said a prayer for us. We got off the freeway at the first exit in Apeldoorn. We were stopped at an intersection and our car died. We were screaming and freaking out like little girls haha! Car's started piling up behind us because it was such a busy intersection, but we were stalled at the light. After 3 times of trying to start it back up, it finally started. The engine was shaking and we pulled in the the closest parking lot (McDonald's) and turned the car off. It was a miracle we made it to that parking lot. We called for assistance and they came an hour later just to look at our car and tell us that the engine was over heated and the car was totalled... We got it to the closest shop, informed the office, and the guy gave us a ride home. We had a zone conference the next morning in Rotterdam and planned to just drive there that morning, but since we didn't have a car, we had to take a train and leave that night. We got to The Hague that night at 9 and stayed with the Elders there. The World Cup game, Holland vs. Spain started that night at 9. We didn't need a tv, we could clearly tell every-time Holland scored, which was 5 times!!! We would go out on the balcony everytime they scored and cheer with everybody else. It was SO much fun. People would jump in the canals every-time Holland would score. it was CRAZY!!! Nobody was expecting a 5-1 victory against the defending world champions. It was a great way to end such an eventful day.
Saturday was our zone conference. We had a member of the 70 there, Elder Boom. He is Dutch and spoke a lot about life experiences and goal setting. It was great and I learned a lot. Half the mission was there and it was fun to see all the missionaries. There are a lot of new ones who I never met before. We grabbed some Burger king at the train station for dinenr afterwards and then headed back east to Apeldoorn.
Sunday was a great day to finish off the week. J came to church! He traveled witht he Senior Couple in Deventer, and we saw him there. He wore a nice white shirt and tie, and he fit right in. He made friends instantly. I sat next to him in priesthood and he whispered to me, "I feel so relieved to be back. I feel home." He LOVED it and the members loved having him there. we are meeting with him tonight and taking him to FHE to meet some more of the YSA. It was a nice Father's day service. The young women sang a beautiful rendition of I Know that My Redeemer Lives. The Spirit was very strong. After church we had a lot of paper work to do for the zone and we had a correlation meeting with the Sister Training Leader where we reviewed the transfer and made some adjustments and goals for next transfer.
My week was also a 5-1 victory. We had one crazy experience this week which made the score, Car-1, Elder Bishop-0. But then we came back with five unanswered...
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| Elder Bishop |
1. gained friendship with nice older couple
2. ran into a recent convert who needed us at that moment
3. great councils and conferences where I learned a lot and was built up
4. Spiritual lessons and 2 new investigators
5. Brought someone to church who hadn't been in over 4 years, and he loved it and will be coming next week
This transfer flew by! Next week I will know whether I stay in Apeldoorn or go somewhere else for next transfer, so I will let you guys know!! I would love to stay here in Apeldoorn though. We are seeing so many miracles and getting along great. I LOVE my mission and can't believe I have less than 6 months left. I better make them the best 6 months because I will never get another opportunity like this in this life. I love you all so much and I am so grateful for the testimony that we share that Jesus is the Chirst. He is central to God's plan and central to our family. I know God lives, and I know he is a God of miracles. I have seen so many. I know that Jesus Christ is His only begotten Son. He is our anchor of hope. Ik wens jullie nog een héél fijne week met overvloedig geluk en plezier.
Veel Lief,
Elder Bishop
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