September 16, 2013
This week was definitely an improvement on last week. A slow week, but I feel good about it.
Elder Toole and I have been pushing onward and upward. We got dropped by a few investigators this week, and we ended up doing a lot of finding -- which entailed a lot of knocking doors. We made some good appointments for this week, but we ended up not teaching too much last week.
So on Saturday, Elder Toole and I followed the counsel of our ward mission leader and biked out to this little town, Rekkem, to do some finding. It was a 45 minute bike ride, and we were biking in some of the strangest rain I'd ever seen. EVER. (Thank you, Belgium.) It wasn't even raining hard -- it was like a really thick mist. Like 100 percent humidity. I'm pretty sure I got wet in places I didn't even know I had. Anyway, we get to Rekkem, and we knock doors for about four hours -- no success. No appointments made, no good potential investigators found. But, one guy did answer the door, and because of my accent when speaking Flemish (I sound a lot more genuine when speaking Nederland Dutch, but Flams is hard), he thought that Elder Toole and I were from Poland. Nope, just Mormons. Also irrelevantly relevant -- some guy came up to Elder Toole and I on the street and asked if we were twins. That was funny, because we don't think we look anything alike (maybe all Americans just look alike).
In church yesterday, I realized that every Sunday in Kortrijk thus far, I've been sitting with these four older ladies. They talk and joke with me, and I adore them (I'm sure they adore me, too -- how could they not?). It's like having a bunch of grandmas. It was a funny realization -- it's like I'm part of some exclusive club. I love it. When I eventually get transferred, I'll miss my Kortrijk Branch family.
Lately, I've been really thinking about my calling as a missionary -- missionaries are called to be representatives of the Lord, Jesus Christ. 'Representative' is a big word that means a lot and carries a lot of responsibility. So, one of my goals has become to be as Christlike as I can, especially when dealing with those I teach. It's not easy, and I'm not perfect. I often wonder if I appear to stiff or fake, though I do my best to be loving and real. But, yesterday evening, Elder Toole and I were sitting in our apartment. An inactive member (the same one who ripped the porn off his walls six weeks ago or so) called to talk to me, and said that he was having a rough night, and he "just needed to talk to a friend," someone he knew cared about him. Few things touch your heart like that; a moment like that makes the whole week, however long, worth it. "Representative of Jesus Christ" is starting to mean a whole lot more to me than it used to.
This Gospel is true. It changes lives, and I'm blessed to have the opportunity to share the great message that He lives and loves us, more than we could ever know.
Stay true.
--Elder Bonney
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