Last Saturday was our P day and we took it pretty easy. We did visit one museum though, in downtown Amsterdam. It was a Bible Museum. It wasn't exactly what we were expecting, but it was still pretty cool. There were old Greek and Hebrew Bibles written in the 1400's. And they had displays of different German and Dutch bibles written shortly after. It was a lot of history and pretty cool to see.
Sunday was a miracle day! We went to church that morning and met a guy who just walked in. He had been to a lot of different churches in Amsterdam, but he decided to come to our church that Sunday because he saw "Jesus Christ" on the sign and it was close to his house. He had a great experience and wants to start coming regularly! We got his number and will hopefully start teaching him soon. Right after church got over, a woman came up to me who I had never seen before. She told me that she was a member of the church, but had been inactive for about 20 years. Her friend invited her to a baptism in Eindhoven, and told her she should start going back to church. She lives in Amsterdam and was in church for the first time in a long time. We talked for a little bit and she mentioned how she has a 12 year old son who isn't a member who might be interested. We got her information and set up an appointment for Tuesday to meet with her son! I have noticed that the Lord has continued to bless us with success even though we have not had much time to find new people on our own. We have been busy helping other missionaries, but the Lord still provides. It was a miracle. After church we had a nice lesson with a recent convert. She is a really cool girl from Suriname, and the young adults have done a great job welcoming her in the ward. That evening we had a dinner appointment with the P Family. They are from the Philippines and a great family. The mom is a member and the dad is not. They have two teenagers who are both members, but the son isn't very active. The mom is holding that family together, but she is struggling to do so. She invites us over every other Sunday to try to help. Elder Alston and I have done a great job getting a good relationship with them. We had a nice dinner and shared a spiritual thought at the end which was powerful. The mom really appreciates us coming over and we love it, so it's a win win situation.
Monday was our office day. We were really busy planning with President and Sister Robinson, getting last minute things ready for the Mission Conference with Elder Ballard. We also talked more about transfers and our Mission Leader Council coming up. Elder Alston and I were busy the rest of the evening planning for the conference and making sure that everything runs smoothly. We had to cancel our appointment that evening, but were able to reschedule for later that week.
Tuesday we were on exchanges, and I was with Elder Rudolph in Eindhoven. Elder Rudolph is the one who played football at SUU. We were companions back in Bruges, and it was really nice working with him again. We had a lesson with a man named G. He is a recent convert and a great man. The Spirit was very strong during the lesson. We had some time to talk to some people on the street and knock some doors. We found two people who were interested and got their information so they could go back. Elder Rudolph and I had a great talk that night about the mission. We also talked about Cedar City and football haha, but it was nice being with him again.
We met back up on Wednesday and drove back to Amsterdam. We had a lunch appointment with a different lady from the Philippines, and she fed us SO MUCH FOOD! I felt sick afterwards, but it was so good. She is a nice lady and we all had a good time. After that we needed to go down to the mission home and meet up with President. We picked him up, and drove down to Rotterdam to meet with the Stake Presidency in the Rotterdam Stake. We had a meeting about missionary work, and it was mainly just a correlation. We talked a lot about the Facebook campaign that will start on Monday and some problems that we have seen in that stake as far as missionary work goes. We found some solutions and will be fixing it. It was a very productive meeting, and a great opportunity to be able to sit in and watch how it works. That is one of the biggest things I have learned out here on my mission, is how communication works in the church, and how to progress and move forward in the church. We drove back to the mission home and stayed the night there for the Mission Conference the next day.
Thursday morning we drove to Zoetermeer (right outside of The Hague) for the mission conference. It was the best Conference I have been a part of during my mission. Elder Ballard was there with his wife, Elder Hallstrom was there with his wife, and Elder Dyches from the area presidency was there with his wife. All six of them spoke and they were so great. I learned a lot of personal lessons and received inspiration on how I can finish my mission strong and how I can prepare to continue to grow after my mission. Elder Ballard said something that stuck with me, that really assured me that my mission has so much worth to me personally. So I have been reflecting back a lot lately on my mission. People often ask me the question, "What is the biggest lesson you have learned on your mission?" That is such a hard question to answer! I have learned so much out here, but I summed it up into one simple reply. The biggest lesson I have learned on my mission is I have found out who I am as an individual, and I have found out who Christ is. That has really been a great foundation for me for the rest of my life. I know where I am at and where I need to go, and I know how to get there. Now I just need to get there! But I have found that path in my life, and I have found that thanks to my mission. Elder Ballard also mentioned the biggest lesson he learned on his first mission, and this is what stuck with me. He said, "I found out who I am, I found out who God is, I found out who Christ is, I found out who Joseph Smith was, and I found out what the Book of Mormon is." I am so lucky to have learned that lesson on my mission too. I learned a lot more throughout the conference and at the fireside that evening. It was a really busy day, but everything went smoothly. It was fun while it lasted, but honestly, I am glad it's over!
Yesterday Elder Alston and I were dead tired! It was a pretty slow day, but it ended great. We had our lesson with G that we were supposed to have on Monday. He is progressing very well though. He prayed about the Book of Mormon, and he believes that it is true and that it is the word of God. We taught him the Plan of Salvation, and he loved it. He was fascinated by the Spirit World, and he told us that it all made sense to him. We assigned him a few things to read in the Book of Mormon and he was excited to do so. His sister is also interested, and we are picking her up tomorrow morning to come to church with us! Hopefully G will be able to come too. That is the biggest thing holding him back. He is active in another church and has responsibilities there, so it is hard for him to come to our church even though he wants to really bad. he has a testimony of the Book of Mormon though, and we will tie it back to that. it was a good lesson though to finish off the night.
I am so glad it is P day today though! it will be nice to not have to worry about anything. I am loving it though, especially with Elder Alston. We have a lot of fun together which makes the stressful times better. But ya, that was my week this week. Like I said, it sounds like you all had a good week, but I shook hands with an apostle... beat that ;) haha I love you guys so much! Make sure baby Mia doesn't get too big before I get home!
Groetjes,
Elder Bishop
1. Bible Museum
2. This is what shopping malls in Europe look like
3. Dam Square
4. Biggest H&M I have ever seen (this picture is especially for Meleese haha)
5. Amsterdam
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