Week 24: "Dance."

November 25, 2013

Hey everyone! So, before you all get excited...this week's email is not going to be too long. I apologize in advance. (Before you get un-excited, we got transfer calls. Stay tuned.) My companion and I went down to Zwolle this morning and got back not too long ago, and there are other things we need to do. Writing you all is important. Buying food may be -dare I say it- more important. If only we had more dinner appointments...

This past week, Elder Besendorfer was gone a lot. On Tuesday, we had a zone training, and after that we had exchanges with the district leader. On Wednesday, we had exchanges with the zone leaders. On Thursday, I was graced by my companion's presence for a few short hours...then, he had to go to Den Haag with another elder from the other Groningen companionship before they both went down to Brussels the next morning for legality. They got back Friday night, and since then, we've been working together.

In summary,  I got to work with a lot of different missionaries this week. I learned different things from all of them. On Tuesday, I worked with a young elder, from Elder Besendorfer's group. Working with him was definitely interesting. It taught me things about Elder Besendorfer, if about anyone -- I am truly blessed to be able to work with such a spiritually in-tune man. This elder wasn't bad to work with, by any means, but I truly am straight-up BLESSED to work with my current companion.

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to spend the day with Elder Eastmond -- the elder who trained me during my first transfer down in Kortrijk. He's also one of my zone leaders right now. Working with him really showed me how much I've grown since my first transfer. A lot has happened since then. I've had to have a lot of faith. I've had to work very hard. And, working with Elder Eastmond showed me just how much that helped me grow. We taught two lessons together that day -- one in Dutch, one in English. They were powerful. I've changed the way I teach. I've gotten more confident, and we just worked really well together. It was amazing to see.

On Friday, I was with Elder Nelson. Elder Nelson is the senior companion of the other Groningen elders -- the ones we live with. That was a fun day, and also it gave a little insight. A little insight, because... he and I are now companions. The other pair of Groningen elders has been struggling a lot, and they are now being closed -- they're getting closed, our trainees are leaving Groningen, and we're getting paired together. It's definitely interesting. I have mixed feelings. But, our exchange on Friday was prophecy. Go figure. I'll miss Elder Besendorfer a lot. This has been a blessed transfer. But, I'll take whatever the Lord gives me and run with it.

I gotta run. But, I'll grace you all with an email next week.

Wait.

So, Elder Besendorfer and I were with the sister missionaries, and we were visiting this super old guy. Tex. We visit him once a week. He's great. He's totally an American cowboy. Seriously -- he grew up in one of the Mormon colonies in Mexico. Super old, and I *think* he has short-term memory loss, but he's hilarious. This week, he was telling us all about how ladies love him, but he doesn't know why. He's 96. Anyways, when we were leaving, the sisters asked if there was anything we could do for him. He responded to them immediately: "Dance." Oh, he's quick with his words. I was impressed.

Keep dancing. Until next week.

--Elder Bonney

PS -- Taken at zone training this past Tuesday. Elder Muse (Elder Besendorfer's trainer and one of our zone leaders), the Groningen Zusters (Sisters Larson and Heilner), me, and Elder Besendorfer.