Week 49: "So... the three musketeers, or the three stooges?"

May 19, 2014

There is sunshine in Lelystad today, dames en heren. It's a good day. We made it out of the rain, and we should have sunshine until Friday! Or Thursday. Let's think positively.

 

So, Monday and Tuesday flew by last week -- my last two days with Elder Goates. We had interviews with the mission president on Monday, and we ended up having to split P-day in two, which was a mess. Anyways, on Wednesday morning, Elder Goates and I boarded a train for Leiden, where we met up with other missionaries from the zone. From there, Elder Goates began his trek to Hengelo, and I sat all day in the train station to wait for my companion.

 

Oh, wait. My companion still hasn't arrived. That's right. I had to wait for some other elders in my district to arrive, and I rode back with them. Basically... I spent all of Wednesday in Leiden Centraal. And it was cold. And, for some reason, I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt. I nearly froze to death. Nevertheless, I am still alive -- count your blessings, right?

 

So, yep, I'm in a trio now. I've moved in with the other Lelystad elders, Elder Bishesar and Elder Kettler. When Elder Bishesar found out that we were going to be temporary companions, he says to me, in his funny Suriname accent, "so... the three musketeers, or the three stooges?" I'm still trying to figure that out for myself. Needless to say, we've been having a lot of fun, but being in a trio is a lot different than just having one companion. We had a dinner appointment last night with an awesome family in the branch, and the mother told us that being in a trio is a good test of patience. She says, "it'll prepare you well for marriage." Her husband quickly says to us, "well, not exactly... I really hope that you aren't planning on being married in a trio." Fortunately, I am not. Despite what many people here think, modern-day Mormons are not polygamists.

 

Lately, we've been going on a lot of splits, seeing as there are three of us, and we only need one member to be able to go on splits. I mostly go with the member, and we go to teach the people Elder Goates and I were teaching. It's really tested my teaching skills, too, because many of the members are used to just testifying and sharing experiences in lessons, but not really teaching the principles. So, I end up sometimes doctrinally soloing it. It's an adventure. Anyways, we were going on splits the other day, and I and this young guy from the branch were knocking a street. We knock one door, and a kid comes to the door. He doesn't open it, but just peeks at us through the brievenbus (mail slot) in the front door. We hear him say, "papa! Dat zijn politie!" The member and I just look at each other and try to hold in laughter. No, we aren't police... We hear someone walk hurriedly to the door, and a nice Muslim man opens it. Needless to say, the look of relief on his face was visible. Not police, just some guys coming to talk about Jesus.

 

Yesterday, we were on splits, and Elder Bishesar and I were working together in the centrum. We walked up to one older guy, and I started talking to him. He interrupts me, looks me in the eyes, and says, in distinctly American English, "I don't understand a thing you're saying." Oh... Well, we speak English too. Turns out, he's from California, and was on a trip through Europe. The elders in California live on his street, so if he ever has interest, he told us that he knows where to go. I never quite figured out why he was in Lelystad, though... Not exactly the tourism capitol of the Netherlands. Oh well.

 

Until next week. I should get my new companion on Thursday morning, so that's exciting. I'll have more news next time!

Stay cool, and represent.

--Elder Bonney

Week 48: "Here's the catch."

May 12, 2014

Hello everyone! It's been a quick week, and I'm back already. I hope that you didn't miss me too much...

 

This past week has been crazy. Elder Goates and I bounced around all over the place, teaching lessons out the wazoo. Riding from literally one end of Lelystad to the complete other end to get to all our appointments... However, it has been raining for about four days straight now, and I have gotten more soaked these last few days than I think I have ever been on my entire mission. Fortunately, it's not too cold, it's just wet. Count your blessings, right?

 

I just want to take a minute to say how wonderful the members here in Lelystad are. Missionary work is so much easier with good members, and the members here have been so helpful and loving. We were able to teach a phenomenal amount of member present lessons and had so many eating appointments (tied with my mission record for meal appointments in one week!) because the members are so willing to help out. It's great. I've been taking pictures with lots of members here, because the transfer is coming to an end, and I've been here for four months already, so I'm probably leaving...

 

Oh, wait. That was what I said BEFORE transfer calls came in. But, yesterday evening, while Skyping with my family (which was great!), Elder Goates and I got a call from Elder Eastmond (yes, my trainer, who is now an assistant to the mission president). He asked me how I was doing. "Well, a little nervous, seeing as I'm talking with you on transfer call night..." He informed me that the Lord has decided that I need to stay in Lelystad for at least six more weeks and to train a new missionary, a greenie. It was cool getting that news from MY trainer. "Here's the catch," he says. Uh oh. You never know what will follow those three words. He told me that my greenie won't be coming in for another couple weeks, so I'll be serving in a threesome with the other two Lelystad elders --Elders Bishesar and Kettler-- until my new companion arrives.

 

By the end of this coming transfer, in Lelystad, I will have served for four transfers (almost six months) with five different companions. Wow. Better get comfy.

 

Moving on...

 

We have seen some serious miracles in this past week. A let in that led to two new investigators. Finding a new investigator at the house of an investigator who accepted a baptismal challenge. Finding super cool people in richer areas of the city (oh boy). Good things are on the horizon in Lelystad, my friends. I'm going to have to work to keep it exciting, though. To be completely honest, I love the branch here, but Lelystad itself is one of the most unexciting and...well, to put it bluntly, ugly cities I've ever been to. I'll just have to keep things interesting.

 

But hey -- that's what I do best.

 

Until next week.

Elder Bonney

 

This is a photo I took with a homeboy at church. His name isn't actually Elder Bonney, though. That would be the bigger, less cute guy who's squatting down.

Week 47: "Usually, looking at flowers is a pretty womanly thing..."

May 5, 2014

Hey, everyone! It's a beautiful, warm day in Lelystad, and I'm feeling great.

Well, last time, I promised to share a few things that I skipped over. First off...rice. In Lelystad, there are two sets of elders, and one of the elders in the other companionship comes from Suriname. We were at a dinner appointment together, the four of us elders. I made the mistake of asking the elder from Suriname, Elder Bishesar, to serve me up some rice then stopped paying attention. Mistake. In Suriname (a little country in South America), they eat a lot of rice. And I mean a LOT. My plate came back with more rice on it than I had ever seen... Lesson learned: do not allow the elder from Suriname to serve you rice.

The same day that Carla got baptized was Koningsdag. It was an adventure, to say the least. The night before (Koningsnacht -- King's Night) was pretty crazy -- everyone was drunk, and the city smelled a little bit like something no one should be smoking. The next day was basically a huge garage sale. People busted out blankets, brought out their old stuff, and it was... a huge garage sale. I expected a little bit more on King's Day, but hey -- tradition. Also, EVERYONE wears orange, the national color. It's pretty great. All of us missionaries went to Almere for the afternoon, and we ran a booth. We gave away church materials and copies of the Book of Mormon. It was pretty fun. I got a little into it (I may or may have not been wearing a orange crown) and was talking to everyone. It was pretty fun.

On Tuesday, we got to go to the temple as a mission! Well, half of a mission, actually. The temple is always a wonderful place to go. The Spirit is strong. Just being there makes you want to live the kind of life that will ensure that you make it to the Celestial Kingdom someday. You just feel a sense of unity with everyone and with God. You can feel it. It's hard to describe. God's plan is pretty great, to say the least.

After the temple, we all got to go to Keukenhof, where all tourists go! Tulips everywhere. Fun fact: Dutch people don't actually think Keukenhof is that cool. Most of them have never been there. But, I thought it was pretty sweet -- I've never seen so many flowers in my LIFE. It was nice to relax a little and just look at the flowers. Mm. Felt good. President Robinson, the mission president, said that looking at flowers was usually a pretty womanly thing, but you had to admit that it was just cool. I'm not ashamed to admit that I loved it.

Since Carla has been baptized, the work has slowed down a little, but it's speeding back up. The Lord is blessing us. We're teaching this one man, Mikko, now. He's told us that he wants to be baptized, and we're working towards it. We've only met with him once, but he came to church yesterday. He's on the good path. The Lord really is helping us out. Hallelujah. Pass the biscuits.

Until next week, peeps.

--Elder Bonney

Elder Goates and me at the temple in Zoetermeer!

Just chillin at Keukenhof, with a reunion photo with my trainer/father, Elder Eastmond. He's an assistant to the mission president now. Pretty studly.

Week 46: "I'm Carla."

April 28, 2014

It was a cold Sunday afternoon. My companion and I are riding our bikes. Seeing someone on the side of the road, we pull over to contact her. I start to speak to her in Dutch... "I'm sorry," she interrupts. "Do you speak English? My Dutch isn't super great." "Oh! Yeah, of course. We're actually from America, so English is better for us, too. Where are you from, if I may ask?" "Portugal," she responds. I ask what brought her to the Netherlands. "I needed a new start." After talking for a little bit, she says we can come over sometime and gives us her address. "What's your name, by the way?" "I'm Carla."

Typical contact. Just another day in the life. Nothing special.

That was about 15 weeks ago, my first Sunday in Lelystad, with Elder Robbins. After twists and turns, doubts and questions, setbacks and miracles, learning and understanding, and a heart sincerely looking for truth, on Saturday, April 26, 2014, a little after 10 AM, Carla was baptized.

I was sitting there at the beginning of the service, and we were singing the opening hymn -- Carla had chosen "Where Can I Turn for Peace." As I read the words, they pierced my soul. 

Where can I turn for peace? Where is my solace, when other sources cease to make me whole? When with a wounded heart, anger, or malice,

I draw myself apart, searching my soul?

Thoughts of previous times on my mission flooded my mind. Times when I clamped my jaw shut and kicked the ground just because nothing seemed to be going my way. The frustration and the disappointment. Looking at other missionaries in my mission and throughout the world, talking about the people they had baptized. Not wanting to mention investigators in my emails who were actually making progress, because I was afraid that they would just be another disappointment, and I didn't want to feel like a failure again.

Where, when my aching grows; where, when I languish; where, in my need to know, where can I run? Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish? Who, who can understand? He, only One.

The lack of numerical success. Feelings of inadequacy, feeling like I just could not succeed, no matter how hard I tried. Getting rejected time after time. The times when I did not know what to do or where to turn. As I sang along, tears began to fill my eyes (yes, for those who are wondering, they were manly tears). Not tears of frustration, but tears of gratitude.

He answers privately, reaches my reaching, in my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend. Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching. Constant he is and kind, love without end.

I had always known where I could turn for peace. And, I had turned to Him. I was never let down. In that moment, singing that song, I knew. I knew that every experience, every reject, every disappointment, when I felt like I was trying my hardest, giving my all -- it was all for my best. The lessons I've learned, the ways that I've grown, the testimony I've developed...these are things that I wouldn't have learned so well and wouldn't have been so long lasting if I hadn't experienced the things I had. He was there, right by my side, through all my struggles. He knew exactly how I felt.

I have learned in a more perfect way what the Lord's goal is with His missionaries. As missionaries, we are called to find, teach, and baptize. The Lord will help us with that purpose. But, He has us out here for a reason. He has us out here to change us. To help us grow. To help us become more personally converted. And, if He has to do that through trials (which, let's face it, are usually the best way for us to learn), He will.

We all go through, as the song says, our personal "Gethsemanes" in life. I don't mean that we suffer things comparable to what the Savior suffered. But, we have times where we feel like we have been abandoned. Nothing is going our way, no one seems to understand us. We want to throw in the towel and QUIT. We're tempted to ask God, "where art Thou?" as Joseph Smith did in Liberty Jail. Just know -- He is there. He's always been there. And, if you hang on -- if you make it through the trial of your faith -- the witness will come, in one form or another, and the Lord will have made you into someone who is one step closer to perfection, our eternal goal. That's a truth I hope to always hold close.

I'll leave with that. Next week, I'll tell you all about Koningsdag, and letting the elder from Suriname serve me rice at a dinner appointment. Until then. Keep the faith.

--Elder Bonney

Miracles.

L2R, Elder Goates, Brother Beijerling (our joint teach throughout the whole experience -- we could not have done it without him), Carla, and yours truly,

Elder Goates, Carla, and me, right before the service.

Week 45: "Sorry to interrupt you, but you have a big spider in your hair..."

April 21, 2014

Wow. What a week. It's a good time to be a missionary.

I'd like to start off by writing about what would, by some, be considered a sensitive topic. Poop. In particular, dog poop. I know what some of you are thinking -- "oh, Elder Bonney is so immature." "Does he REALLY have to share this?" "His letters are usually so uplifting...this really was unnecessary." Well, guys, this is a reality that we, the missionaries of Lelystad, deal with every day.

How to describe this... Here in Lelystad (I can't speak for the entire country of the Netherlands), there is dog poop. Everywhere. On all the grass. On the sidewalks. On the road. Why? I don't know. I've heard that it's legal, and so the dog-owners of Lelystad don't want to pick up their dogs' waste. This is no minor issue, people. Walking on grass used to be a nice thing. Now, I'm afraid to walk on anywhere but the sidewalk (and even there, you aren't safe...). It's frightening, to be honest. And, if I step in that stuff once more, so help me...

Glad that I got that off my chest. Moving on.

The weather is nice and things are enjoyable in the land of the tulips (which are beautiful, by the way). The sun has been shining, and I've been enjoying it. Wearing missionary attire (AKA a collared white shirt and tie) every day has some side effects, though. By that, I mean the upper half of my neck is getting tan (believe it or not, I can tan), while the lower half of my neck is pretty much the same color as my shirt. I can't say that I'm overjoyed with my new style, but hey -- there's sun, so I won't complain.

I've been living in Lelystad for over three months now. In that span of time, I have talked to and met a lot of different people. Take into account that I'm just a lovable guy (let's face it), and you end up with me seeing someone I know just about every five minutes outside, in this city of 80,000 or so people, and exchanging greetings. My companion is always amazed. I'll be real - I think it's pretty awesome.

We were talking to this lady the other day. She started going off about something random, and we stood there listening, and listening, and listening... Then, I noticed a spider in her hair. I played with the idea of saying something, or saying nothing. Then I thought-- maybe this is a blessing in disguise! Maybe this is God is giving us a way out! I wasted no time. "Sorry to interrupt you, but you have a big SPIDER in your hair." Que freak out. Elders exit, stage right.

Yesterday was Easter! I hope that you all had a fantastic Easter. The service was great, we saw miracles with an investigator, and we had a delicious meal by a member. We also thought we'd take some time to go knock doors. "Hello! My companion and I are sharing a special message about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ!" "Come on, guys. Not today. It's Easter, for Pete's sake." Draw your own conclusions.

Elder Goates and I enjoyed every minute of it, though. What a privilege, to be able to share this gospel with others, the reason behind Easter -- the sacrifice out of love. The eternal potential we appreciate because of that infinite and eternal sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It really is amazing. Actually...it's awesome.

Until next week. Remember the reason for this season! Stay true.

--Elder Bonney

The elders of District Almere, keeping it real. Yes, I had to support the most weight. Lean on me, brethren.

Week 44: "So, is Beyoncé your neighbor?"

April 14, 2014

We were looking up an investigator who we hadn't seen in a while. My companion and I knocked on her door, then waited. While we were waiting, two little Dutch girls came up to us. One had some important questions for us...

 

Little girl: "What are you guys doing here?"

 

Me: "We're coming to see a good friend of ours."

 

She heard my accent... "Oh. Are you guys from England?"

 

"No, we're actually both from America."

 

"Oh! Do you know Beyoncé?" (Girlfriend, please. Who doesn't know Beyoncé?)

 

"Haha. Of COURSE I know Beyoncé."

 

"Really?? So, is she your neighbor?"

 

I had to disappoint her. "No, I don't know her like THAT."

 

"Oh..." She disappointedly walked away. I hate to disappoint. Maybe I should have started singing "Single Ladies" while Elder Goates and I both busted out dancing to it... Wouldn't be the first time.

 

So, another week has gone by! Meanwhile, nothing too exciting has happened here in good old sleepy Lelystad. Missionary work is rolling right along. We've been struggling to find new people to teach recently, but we do have one fantastically progressing investigator. If only we could manage to teach some other people regularly, too...

 

On Thursday, I got to go to Den Haag (the Hague) again on exchanges! I was with one of the zone leaders, Elder Gomez. We had a good day. One of our appointments was a dinner appointment with a younger couple, one of which is a relatively recently returned missionary. It made me think about how my time on a mission really will come to an end someday. I mean, I've already been out for ten months. I really need to work hard to accomplish the things the Lord has me out here to accomplish. It's like that one talk from General Conference by Gary Stevenson. He talked about the Mormon athlete who raced in the skeleton (I always think that that's a goofy name for a race, but it looks pretty intense, so...respect). She had four minutes to win. Four minutes to do her best. In those four minutes, what happened before didn't matter. It was those four minutes that mattered. He compared it to our lives -- what will we do in our four minutes? I've compared it to my mission. What will I do in these two years, my four minutes? They're ticking down. What do I need to do to insure success? It's comparable for all of us, not only for our lives, but for the mini-missions in them. Even goed nadenken.

 

Elder Goates and I have been trying to make finding a little bit more fun than it usually is. We've been knocking a lot of doors lately, and you have to get creative. I've started asking people for help with Dutch -- asking about certain verbs, or asking them how to say something in Dutch (by pointing to something in their house or their front yard -- and by that I mean the excuse of a front yard that everyone here has). Even if these people don't become potential investigators, at least we usually end our door contacts being friends with the one we talked to. So that's cool. And, I've learned a lot of weird words. Hoorah.

 

That's all for this week, folks. Sorry that it's so short. Next week should be better, but I've gotta roll. I didn't even talk about the angry Moroccan man who hates Americans and yelled unrepeatable things at me.... Well, to make a long story short, there was an angry Moroccan man who hated Americans and yelled unrepeatable things at me.

 

Til next week, amigos!

--Elder Bonney