Elder Hayden Bishop Belgium/Netherlands Mission: I realized that joy on a mission comes from building lasting relationships. When you see people change and see that relationship grow between them and God, that's when you feel joy.

Amsterdam

Hey guys! Sounds like you had a nice trip in Las Vegas. Meleese explained to me very clearly that there is a diiference between a vacation and a trip, and as much as she loved having baby Mia there, it was not a vacation, but a trip. Haha Meleese is so funny. Sounds like dad is passing up on all the good size deer to try to shoot his dream deer, but still no deer... If I had that mentality dad, I would be 40 and still single hahaha. But overall it sounds like you had a great week. I also had a killer week this week! We had time to get out and do some work this week!

Last Saturday we got a new senior couple and we helped them get situated and took them out for pannekoeken. Afterwards, we went with the office elders to go go-karting! It was a lot of fun haha they didn't care if you bumped into people and stuff like that, so it was pretty intense and a lot of fun. It was a good P day spent with the office elders.

Sunday was a nice church service. Elder Toole gave a talk in sacrament meeting and he did a really good job. The other elders gave a nice lesson in Priesthood and I sat back and enjoyed :) After church we did some planning and look ups and then we went to the P family's house for dinner. We go there about every other Sunday for dinner, and we are getting pretty close. We shared with them some miracles from our missions trying to get the 16 year old boy thinking about serving a mission. It was a spiritual dinner appointment and we ate good too.

Monday was our day in the office. We got everything ready for the week and cleaned our car really good. (it needed it haha). Elder Alston and I couldn't figure out how to start the wash and I had to go in and ask two different times. The lady thought I was an idiot haha it was pretty funny. But things went pretty smooth in the office that day and we were out at a decent time.

Tuesday we began our week of exchanges! I was in Amsterdam with Elder Bitters. He is a really good friend of mine and we were excited to work in Amsterdam with each other. We met at a district meeting in Almere and attended the meeting. Afterwards we drove back to Amsterdam to do some look ups and finding. We took a tram to West Amsterdam and talked to some people over there. It started raining and wasn't very productive so we went back home for dinner and got the car for the evening so we could be more efficient. I cooked Elder Bitters some spaghetti (that is my specialty because I have made it over a hundred times out here haha). It has become my go-to meal and I have officially mastered it. We got in the car that evening, and I am SO glad we did. It got really dark that night and started hailing bad! we had to drive super slow while looking more investigators up. We got in contact with a few of them and set up a couple appointments for later that week. By the end of the night we were on our way home and stopped by the McDonalds to get a Mcflurry. The Mcdonalds was two stories and we went up to the second level where nobody was and had a nice talk. A Coldplay song came on that has come out since I have been out, but it must have been pretty popular because I have heard it several times out here. I think it's called Magic or something like that. I really like it, but we were just listening to that and this guy walks up the stairs with long, curly hair. He is middle aged and kinda scary looking. He is walking towards us and we were getting a little nervous. He had a mean look on his face as he kept walking toward us. When he got about 10 feet from us, he stopped and spun around. Then he totally started dancing for us! hahaha he was doing these really weird dance moves and we were trying so hard not to laugh cuz we were still a little scared. The Coldplay song ended and another crazy dance song came on and he started dancing even crazier! We watched him for about 5 minutes and then we left. He was still dancing after we left. Pretty sure he was on some hard drugs... haha it was pretty funny. It was a good day overall though.

Wednesday we woke up and met at the office for our second exchange of the week, this time with Rotterdam Zone Leaders. I went back to Amsterdam, this time with Elder Cooper! We had a great time together and a great day too. We first drove to our first appointment of the day. It was a lunch appointment with Sister L. She is a great cook and makes SO much food! All 6 Elders were there and there was still too much food. She is such a sweet lady though. At the end of our appointment she explained to us that she had some health issues and was struggling a little bit. She asked if I would give her a blessing, and I did. It was a cool appointment with her. Afterwards we did some more finding and lookups. We stopped by Central Station, and there was a beautiful grand piano sitting there that said, "Bespeel Mij" or "Play Me". So I did. Haha it was pretty cool. I played my chopin piece and people gathered around to listen. They applauded and I looked over at Elder Cooper and just pictured us performing A Thousand Miles like we did in the talent show in Alkmaar. Haha I was too scared though so we left. We went over to J and Z's house that evening for a dinner appointment and then a teaching appointment for Z. While eating, J told us how she has been struggling with some health issues and asked for a blessing. Elder Cooper and I were able to give another blessing that day! It was really nice and spiritual and it set it up to be a great teaching appointment right after the blessing. We taught the importance of reading the scriptures, praying, and going to church. We asked J to explain the difference she has felt since she started doing these again. She bore a powerful testimony which led perfectly into the next part. We then explained the difference between the influence of the Holy Ghost and the Gift of the Holy Ghost. We invited Z to be baptized so he could receive that gift and always have the Spirit with him as he does those three things we mentioned earlier. He was a little surprised at first but thought about it and accepted. He is working towards being baptized on November 23. His mom was SO happy she started crying. She was baptized when she was 12 years old and now her son is 12 and she wants nothing more than for him to be baptized. It was a really great appointment, and I have grown to love those two.

Thursday morning we woke up early and drove to the airport to meet a senior couple at 6:30. They were flying back home and we sent them off since President and Sister Robinson were gone. Luckily, I had done that enough times to know where to go and what to do. We got back home around 9 and slept for an extra hour before our next exchange for the week. I was really looking forward to this one because I was going back to Alkmaar to work with Elder Bonney! We had a great day too. We went to sister V R's first to do some service for her. She was surprised to see me and we had a good time catching up. She loves the piano and I love the piano so we get along really well. She gave me some Chopin and Debussy pieces to work on when I get home haha it was a great time. Afterwards we had some time to go finding. We found someone who agreed for us to come back, so we set up and appointment with him. It was a pretty good day of finding. That night we had a dinner appointment planned with the M's! They are one of my favorite families and it was really good to see them. We also had a good time catching up and then shared a nice spiritual thought at the end. It was a really good day overall and it helped me realize something. I realized that joy on a mission comes from building lasting relationships. Relationships with each other, but more importantly, relationships with God. When you see people change and see that relationship grow between them and God, that's when you feel that joy. It was nice to see some old friends in Alkmaar who I have seen change and become better people.

Friday Elder Alston and I were back in Amsterdam. We were super tired and it was a slower day, but we managed to help a member move a ton of pallets to her new house she was moving in to, get in contact with some people to set up appointments, and find dinner out of an empty fridge because it's the end of the week. You gotta love mission life :) I have been thinking about some things I am excited to do back home, but then I get a little nervous because the thought comes into my mind. In a few weeks I will be doing those things and yes, they will be fun, but I will be wishing I was back in Amsterdam preaching the Gospel. And I won't be able to come back and do this again... I am gonna miss it a ton. But I am SUPER excited for my next area and my last transfer. It will be a great ending for the best two years.

I love you all a ton and miss you like crazy! I can't wait to see you and show you around this beautiful part of the world where I have been living the past two years! I hope you have a great week!

Veel Lief,

Elder Bishop