Week 61: "Do you have any Lamanite blood in you?"

August 11, 2014

Another week in the life. Things are going well over in Eindhoven. As cheesy as it sounds, we've got blessings to count.

I have a new companion now! On Wednesday, Elder Alston and I woke up early and drove all the way over to the mission office in Leiden, where he met his new companion. I'm going to miss that guy. I really enjoyed the six weeks we had together; they were some of the most fun and miracle-filled weeks of my mission. My new companion is Elder Rudolph, and he's....big. Just like I said last week. If any of you have seen the Blind Side, that's the position he played in college football. Left tackle, offensive line. He's got a big heart, too -- he's a great guy and a good missionary. I hope we get some good work done together.

So...we had another baptism on Saturday! Petra, the investigator who asked to be taught after five months of coming to church, was baptized. It was great. I'm getting better at this planning a baptismal service thing... Because I had a new companion and we, the missionaries, had to organized the service, I was pretty much responsible for the whole thing. I thought I'd covered all my bases when the service started -- white clothing, check. Font filled, check. Programs out, check. Speakers, check. Prayers, check. Refreshments arranged, check. Someone to conduct the music...yeah, I forgot that one. The pianist started playing the opening hymn, and I saw some weird looks from the bishopric and from Harry (he conducts music a lot, but he was going to baptize Petra). Once realization hit, I grabbed my hymnal, headed to the front, and started conducting just in time. Niks aan de hand. For the closing hymn, though... You see, How Great Thou Art is one of the harder hymns to conduct, and our pianist (he was really good) was a little liberal with the playing style. It sounded really good, but my conducting skills aren't so flexible, and... I ended up looking like an idiot. Another succesful baptismal service planned by Elder Bonney.

For real though, it was a really beautiful moment for Petra. You could see the happiness in her eyes. She was originally a referral from her friend, who is an awesome member in Amsterdam. She came down to give a talk at Petra's baptism, and that in and of itself was a great thing to see. Member missionary work is what works. I can only imagine how grateful Petra is for her friend and her willingness to share something so special. Elder Hills and I had the privelege of being the witnesses at the baptism -- Elder Hills is one of the other Eindhoven elders, and he had worked with Petra a good amount at church in the Gospel Principles class.

After the service, one of my favorite members here, Zuster van Empel, took us elders along with a friend of hers out to eat. Her friend had been inactive for a long time, but she had talked to us at the baptismal service, and she wants to come back to church. She lives in Amsterdam, so we told her we'd talk to the Amsterdam elders (one of them happens to be a really good friend of mine, Elder Alston, so that's not hard). Sitting there at dinner, talking to Zuster van Empel and her friend, I started thinking about the moments that missions are about. We'd just seen one of our investigators get baptized, but I've realized that baptisms aren't the only things that matter. I'd always thought that baptizing was the pinnacle of success as a missionary. But, having seen two baptisms in the past ten days, I've come to an even better realization that there's a lot more. 

The real sign of success is if we are doing our best to be true representatives of Jesus Christ. Whether that's helping someone get baptized or helping someone through a hard time, carrying a thousand little tiles for the elderly Zuster Deza or offering that lady on the bus for help getting her stroller off. As missionaries, our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ through faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. If you serve others with a pure intent, you'll be preaching the gospel, even when you aren't speaking. Your example is a testament of Christ. Just a thought.

During my and Elder Rudolph's first evening together, we had a dinner appointment with our ward mission leader. He's a great man from Ireland -- a little intense sometimes, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. One of the first things he asks Elder Rudolph... "do you have any Lamanite blood in you?" Apparently not. Mostly German. But, that is an interesting question.

At church yesterday, I was translating for this member from America. He was in Gospel Principles class. The lesson was on free agency, and there was a discussion on why opposition was important. Our ward mission leader says, in Dutch, "well, if there was no opposition, we couldn't walk." I translated that, and then... the American member and I exchanged confused looks. They started talking about it further, and then his point became more clear. He said that if we put our foot down, if there was no opposition from the ground, our foot would go through... confusing, but okay, whatever. About five minutes goes by, and then an investigator raises his hand and says, "Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden before they sinned for the first time and were cast out. It says in 2 Nephi that because of sin there is opposition. So...Adam and Eve could walk before there was opposition." Translating that whole discussion was a blast. The investigator was quite passionate. Hopefully that little story wasn't too boring...

That's all for today. God is good. Until next week.

-Elder Bonney

Yours truly, Petra, Harry van de Sande, and Elder Hills before her baptism.

the Eindhoven team at the end of the transfer! L2R: Elder Alston, me, Elder Nelson, Harry, Elder Hills

Us Eindhoven missionaries eating with Zuster van Empel and her friend.

Week 60: "Next week, you'll be able to find a softer shoulder."

August 4, 2014

Hey, everyone! I can't believe that it's been six weeks since I found out that I was coming here to Eindhoven. It's gone by too fast... And transfer calls came -- I'm going to be staying here for at least six more weeks! Which isn't too surprising, but I'm really happy that I get some more time here in Eindhoven. I'm loving it. Elder Alston is getting transferred, though. :( I'm going to miss that guy. We've had some fun and seen some miracles. My new companion is named Elder Rudolph, and...

He is HUGE. Like, the biggest elder in the mission. Like 6'7" and 300 pounds (I'm estimating here) huge. I'm not super skinny, but I'm not a big guy! It's going to be fun, though. More on that later.

This past week was so good. It's been a busy one -- on Tuesday, we went on exchanges with the elders in Amersfoort, and I worked in Eindhoven with Elder Besendorfer. Yep, the same one who was my beloved companion way back when in Groningen. It was fun to work with him again -- reminiscing on old times. Seeing miracles, working hard, teaching lots of gay guys... It was the life. I can't believe that it's been eight months since our time together ended. It was a nice reunion exchange, though -- besides the fact that I dropped our GPS on the ground and broke it, but I don't want to talk about it.

The next day, Wednesday, Elder Alston and I headed to Vlissingen together to go on splits with the elders in Vlissingen. Their area is huge, so we figured the car would help. I was with an Elder Bosco (who has a license, so we used the car). And then...miracles. Straight up. He told me that he was trying to decide if we should look up this less active who lived almost an hour away, saying that he really had a feeling we should look her up, but that he knew it was a long way away. We prayed about it and decided to go. We got there and knocked on her door...

To make a long story short, she was home, told us that she wanted to come back to church. She said she'd been praying and fasting that we'd come and that everything would work out. She asked for a blessing. And, she told us that she wants us to start teaching her grandson (who lives with her) and baptize him. She was serious as a heart attack. MIRACLES. And she gave us a little bit of some delicious Suriname food, which was the highlight for me...kidding. It seriously was a huge miracle. Later, Elder Bosco and I looked up an old referral, and she was home, loved us, wants to meet with the missionaries... I could go on with the miracles in Vlissingen, but I'll stop.

We did teach one lady in Vlissingen who was way cool. It was a young mom who was a former investigator. She was so cool, and the plan of salvation just made sense to her (of course, because it's true...) She had a big dog, and it was trying to crawl under the table when we were there. She apologized, and we told her we wouldn't mind it if the dog wanted to be under there. She responded, "oh, he always goes under the table, lies down, and lets out some serious gas. You'd mind that, trust me." It was pretty great.

On Thursday, I got to go on exchanges with Elder Eastmond for one last time. He goes home this week on Wednesday. Time has gone by fast (I've said that too much already, I know) since he was training me in Kortrijk. I'm going to miss that guy. You know how, if you have an angle, a really small change in degrees can make a huge difference in the long run? I don't know if I'm making sense, but it's like if you make a small change in direction, it can end up landing you in a completely different spot than you would have been in. Well, Elder Eastmond helped me make a good change -- it changed my mission. Which changes my life. On the car ride back after our exchange, I didn't quite know what to say, so I didn't say too much, but I don't know if he'll ever know just how grateful I was for such a good friend and missionary with whom I could start off my mission.

Before I forget... Genzeer got baptized on Saturday! After an exciting week preparing, the baptismal service went well...almost flawless. We asked him to be there half an hour early (to get changed and everything..and to make sure he was on time). The baptism was at 7 PM. At 6:35, he wasn't there, so we gave him a call...his bus was late. Elder Alston and I went on temporary splits, and Elder Alston and Afoke (the year-long convert who baptized Genzeer) went to go pick him up. Meanwhile, I'm at the church with Harry (I'll explain soon enough), explaining to members why the "dopeling" wasn't there yet. It was a little crazy. At 6:58 PM, Afoke and Elder Alston show up, with Genzeer, Peter (a friend of Genzeer who is a member), and the other two elders... I was confused, but relieved that they all made it.

It was great to see Genzeer get baptized. Elder Alston explained to Afoke and Genzeer how it worked right before -- how Genzeer should probably use his hand to plug his nose when he goes under. During the ordinance, though, when Afoke goes to baptize him, Genzeer literally facepalms himself -- smacking himself in the nose/forehead and going under with his hand grabbing his face. He thought that was how it was done. Everyone was happy, though, that he was getting baptized -- there's no rule that he can't facepalm himself. I love that man to death. And it was the best baptism ever to watch. Afterwards, he was so happy. He came up and thanked Elder Alston and me, and you could see the sincerity in his eyes. He loves the gospel. What a man. It's so great to see those you teach get baptized.

So, Harry...basically, Harry van de Sande is an 84-year old member here in Eindhoven who works with the missionaries pretty much every day. He bikes around with the other elders a lot, and we take him in the car whenever we work with him. He's hilarious, and he can be quite sassy sometimes... He keeps teasing Elder Nelson since he's going home soon (on Wednesday). Yesterday, we were in the car (all four Eindhoven elders and Harry), and Elder Nelson, being the funny guy he is, jokingly puts his head on Harry's shoulder, like he's going to sleep. Harry responds by saying, "next week, you'll be able to find a softer shoulder." Which reminded Elder Nelson that he'd have to deal with girls pretty soon... Mmm, Elder Nelson. I'll miss that guy.

Well, that's all for now. Let the new transfer begin. Stay cool (this August heat isn't the best, but hey -- still beats January in Lelystad). Watch those dogs that wanna lie under the table.

--Elder Bonney

Elder Alston, Genzeer, Afoke, Elder Bonney... I promise, Genzeer wanted to be baptized and smiles a lot, but for some reason, he doesn't like pictures, and this photo looks like a mug shot...

Saying goodbye to Elder Eastmond in Den Bosch.

Week 59: "Could I count speaking at the funeral as home teaching?"

July 28, 2014

Well, guys, this past week marked one year in Europe. Two days in the Netherlands to almost three months in Belgium to over nine months in the Netherlands later... It's strange that I have less than ten months left on my mission. But enough about that.

This past week has been a good one. It has been a TIRING week, for sure. Mentally tiring. Between exchanges and a funeral and giving a zone training and taking care of our investigators and eating delicious food with members (gotta love those Eindhoven saints!) and writing end-of-transfer reports about the zone, I don't know what to write about...

I'll start with the funeral. On Wednesday, all four of us Eindhoven elders had to attend and help run a funeral in the Eindhoven chapel. You need to understand -- this was a big moment for me. My first funeral! I should have taken selfies to put in a scrapbook with all my other firsts, but somehow, amongst all the sorrow in the building, I couldn't bring myself to do it... An older woman in the ward had passed away a few days before. I had actually never met her -- she'd been in the hospital pretty much all the time. She's in a better place now. As great as the hospital is... There were SO MANY VISITORS. I've never seen the church building so filled. She'd had like seven children, and she was old enough to have great-grandkids, so you can imagine. 

A few great talks were given by members at her funeral. For me, it was actually kind of an uplifting experience (is that bad to say?). I mean, it's not like I'm happy that someone died, but during the talks, I could feel the Spirit pretty strongly. That woman lived her faith. She was a strong member of the church. She did what was right. Not all her children followed, but she stayed strong. And with that Spirit in the building, you just knew -- her belief wasn't for nothing. It was real.

Elder Alston and I had the chance to give a four-hour long training to the other missionaries in the zone on Thursday. Furthermore, we made the mistake of not doing as much preparation in the prior weeks as we should have -- we were distracted doing other things. This week came, and it was crunch time. I'd never given a zone training before, and Elder Alston had given only one. We ended up pulling through in the clutch, though. Our zone training was about serving with the right motivations. We talked a bit about what motivates us in life -- do you want the job you want because you're passionate about it, or because you pull in a paycheck that looks like a phone number? Do you want the wife you want because she's got the body of a goddess, or because she's actually got other great qualities too? It was pretty great. I did some serious self-reflection on that last question...just kidding. I like to think I'm not that shallow.

We shared many parts of a Dallin H. Oaks talk, "Why We Serve" (it's a good one). Many missionaries struggle with competing motivations. We're only human. But, the greatest and most important motivation is a love of God. At the end of the day, that's what matters. We really felt like this was a message the missionaries in our zone needed. Apparently the Lord thought so too, because on the day of the zone training, it was almost flawless. We taught together really smoothly. The sister training leader in the zone did great. The Spirit was there, and the missionaries were doing some serious self-reflection. I hope it changed some hearts. You know, that's true in life, too -- there are always competing motivations for what we do. Why do we do what we do? Always a good question to ask.

Our investigators are doing so well. The two we have who are seriously preparing for baptism were both at church yesterday. Genzeer, the investigator from Sudan, is doing so well. He should be baptized this Saturday. So many members came up yesterday to meet him once they found out about his baptismal service -- he's going to make a fine member himself. Looking back on the transfer so far, it's seriously been a transfer full of miracles. We started off with no investigators seriously progressing towards baptism, and now we have two that should be baptized within the next two weeks. And I wish I could say that it was because Elder Alston and I are rock stars (which is still true), but anyone can see that it's because the Lord's hand really is in this work. We be living the blessed life, homies

Yesterday, they were announcing home teaching things in the priesthood hour of church, and one of the speakers from the funeral jokingly asked if he could count speaking at his home..teachee's? student's? whatever... He home taught the lady who passed away, and he jokingly asked if speaking at her funeral counted as home teaching. Turns out, now that she is no longer living, she doesn't require home teaching. Go figure.

Have a great week. Just remember -- mess with the bull, you get the horns.

--Elder Bonney

Week 58: "Just man up a little."

July 21, 2014

I am super grateful that we don't have to worry about the cold weather anymore, but I'm pretty sure that we're currently being hit by a heat wave. Real talk. It's been 30+ degrees Celsius pretty much all week...we're being roasted. Also, most European homes don't have air conditioning, so our house (in addition to the church building and all members/investigators homes) has become, thanks to the humidity, a sauna. It's great. I haven't sweat this much for quite some time... Just one of the side effects of summertime. Which really is my favorite.

One benefit to having a car is that we get air conditioning in the car. One downside to the air conditioning in our car is that it only works on the highest setting... So, our car is usually either burning with hot humidity, or we're freezing with cold air blasting our faces. It's a rough life, having a car and not biking around the city in the heat...

Things are going so well here in Eindhoven. We've done some good work this past week and have been really busy. We haven't really found any new investigators, which is too bad, but the people we do have are going places. We really do have some great investigators here. Sometimes, though, it's pretty obvious that the trials come as they try to improve their lives. A small example --

Our Sudanese investigator, Genzeer, has made great progress. We visit him for a little bit about every other day to teach and talk. He has a testimony and really wants to be baptized. After talking to him on Saturday, he told us that he'd be coming to church on Sunday. He was excited. He'd been to church before, so it wasn't way new for him. On Sunday morning, after getting to church, Elder Alston and I wait...no Genzeer. We go out into the hall and call him right before church starts. No answer. Halfway through church, we give him another call...no answer. Gospel principles class starts (our other way positive investigator, who decided she was finally ready for baptism, was there, by the way!), and we give him another call. No answer. I didn't know what to think. At 12:15, though, we're working out the details of the baptismal service for the other investigator and talking to her, and the phone starts ringing -- it's Genzeer. I go out into the hall to pick up. "I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry!" It turns out, Genzeer had locked himself outside of his apartment on Saturday night, and they came to unlock his apartment for him at 12:15. In his apartment was his phone and all his stuff -- he had to spend the night at a friend's place. That's why he wasn't at church. What a great guy. Elder Alston and I had a good laugh over that.

I got to work with my MTC companion, Elder Price, for the first time since coming to the land almost a year ago! He's serving in Tilburg, a city in the zone. I got to work with him in Tilburg. He's definitely his own person, but he's a great missionary. It was great to reflect together on how far we both had come. And he has got some faith and courage! We were working together, and he called a group of punk teenagers to REPENTANCE. Seriously. He walked up to six smoking, laughing teenagers, and started preaching. I think I wet my pants, I was so uncomfortable. We ended up giving a card to one of the kids and leaving. What a guy. It was good to work with him again. And we tore it up -- we found five potential investigators together, taught two new investigators, and it was pretty much a day of miracles.

One of our investigators invited us and a member to come eat dinner with her the other day. She is super cool -- a real home girl. For real though. She's from Ivory Coast in Africa, and she has lived in the Netherlands for about twelve years. She made us some super tasty African food. She offered us some homemade pepper sauce stuff, but she wasn't sure if us white boys could handle it. Please, girl. Actually, I kind of said something that implied that I wasn't sure if I could handle it... Then she told me to man up. A challenge to my manliness? Of course I had to try it. For any of you that know me well, though, you know that spicy food gives me the hiccups. I got some pretty serious hiccups. But, it was way lekker. Way delicious. I hadn't had rice like that since I lived in Africa.

Saturday was a crazy day -- we got hit by a car and did some graffiti. Really though. I don't want to talk about the car accident (totally their fault), but the graffiti was pretty great. Eindhoven has crazy professional graffiti all over the place -- legally done. Our ward mission leader had the idea of us doing a graffiti project. It was great -- people can be exposed to it. But, we aren't exactly professional graffiti artists, and the professional graffiti artist who is a member who we'd wanted to help us couldn't, so we went ahead and did it. I was glad we did, but compared to the other graffiti, our artwork looked like a four year old had painted on a wall in the Louvre. Did I just say that out loud? Oops.

Keep calm and take a cold shower, you'll make it through the night.

--Elder Bonney

Just hanging out with someone with muscles like me. Kidding...

Without a ladder, we got creative. I was on Elder Nelson's shoulders for the high parts. Pro graffiti artists right there.

Week 57: "Wanna take one last shot before our basketball is unusable?"

July 14, 2014

Well, ladies and gents, the World Cup is over. After the Netherlands made it through the quarterfinal, beating Costa Rica, the mission president gave us all permission to watch the semifinal match last Wednesday -- the Netherlands vs. Argentina. I was not pleased with the game. It was fun watching a soccer game, but I came to the realization that, after going to bed at around 10:30 PM every night (unless you get caught up with late night talking with other missionaries, then maybe a little later), watching a soccer game until 1 AM is not as easy as it would have been back home. I felt like an old man. And the nerve-wracking overtime, then PKs, and subsequent disappointment must have taken a year off my life... Oh well. Third place in the World Cup isn't that bad for a small little country built by the people who inhabit it. Also, now I can get back to not talking about soccer. That's a relief.

It's been raining a lot this past week. But, we have a car, so it's not a big deal, right? Well, we went on exchanges with the other Eindhoven elders this past Wednesday, and I was back on a bike while working with an Elder Hills (who we also live with, because we share a house with the other Eindhoven elders). Anyways, we were on bikes, and the heavens opened up and let loose on us that morning. I had to change everything when we got back for lunch. Everything.

On Saturday, Elder Alston and I had to drive down to Maastricht to make some plans with the sisters down there for an upcoming zone training. Let me tell you -- Maastricht is beautiful. Stuck in a weird spot in the Netherlands but between Belgium and Germany, it's somehow become a beautiful hybrid city. Way beautiful. A lot of tourists, too -- I haven't heard so much English since I was in Brugge last year on exchanges.

I've noticed -- some of the best miracles are accompanied by some of the roughest time stints. We had one investigator (the one who all of a sudden decided she wanted to be baptized last Sunday) commit to a date, and she's already totally ready. We reviewed the baptismal interview questions with her, and she passed with flying colors. She should be baptized in early August. That's a huge miracle. But, it was accompanied by one of our headlights going out, a week of rain, our basketball incident (just you wait for it), and the Netherlands losing the WK... It's like the quote from Kingdom Hearts that my trainer, Elder Eastmond, really loved: "the shadow is darkest where the light shines the brightest." It's true. Sometimes, some of the best miracles and blessings in our lives are accompanied by the hardest trials. The correct response is an attitude of gratitude, but often we forget to appreciate the blessings we have because we're so caught up in stressing about our trials. It's something I need to work on, but I am working on it.

Both I and Elder Alston really like playing basketball, so we decided to go buy a basketball last P-day so we could play for exercise. Not so easy as it sounds. We looked for a store for a couple hours that had a basketball. Eventually, we found one and bought it. It had been a stressful p-day all around, but ending it with some basketball was fun. We played for about an hour with Elder Nelson and Elder Hills. It was fun. The next day, Elder Alston and I got up early to go play some basketball at the church for personal exercise. We looked out the window, only to see it pouring rain. Wonderful. No basketball that day. The next day, though, we woke up early, and it was cloudy but not raining. We got in the car and drove to the church, excited to play some more basketball. We started to shoot some hoops. Unfortunately, when the church was built, someone had decided to put a short, spiky fence behind the basketball hoop. You already know... About two minutes into shooting hoops, Elder Alston takes a shot, and the ball lands right on the spiky fence. It was impaled immediately. Elder Alston offered me one last shot before the ball could never be used again.

We need to find a new place to play basketball. Hey --at least God is showering us with miracles where it matters.

Keep the fans on, and stay cool.

--Elder Bonney

I haven't taken many pictures lately, but here's a nice snapshot of Vlissingen I took. Just one of the cool cities I've gotten to work in. 

Week 56: "27 brothers and sisters? Well, you finally got me beat."

July 7, 2014

Well, this past week, we've traveled from the east border to the west coast and back again. Elder Alston and I go on exchanges with all the missionaries in the southern part of the Netherlands, from Zeeland to Limburg, and everywhere in between. It has been a busy week...and it's not gonna get any calmer. It's been a great week - one of the best in my mission. I guess this is the good life.

Last Tuesday, I got to go to Vlissingen on exchanges...out in Zeeland. It was beautiful. Being out there (find it on a map), I'm always afraid that a huge storm will come and just wipe us off the country. But hey -- I'm still alive!

On Wednesday, we had exchanges with the elders in Arnhem. I stayed in Eindhoven with an Elder Childs. He's a great kid. Since I'm not allowed to drive the car, we used public transportation and walking the whole day. Great. Actually, it's interesting how things work out. We had some finding time, so we decided to take a random bus and do finding in the area it brings us to. We get on the bus that left soonest from the station. It starts going, and we get off about six stops later. It's a little neighborhood area. And...we find a guy on the street and set an appointment with him. Who says miracles don't happen?

Actually, a LOT of miracles have been happening lately. We have this one investigator, Genzeer, from Sudan, and he is doing so well. We taught him three times last week, and he came to church for the first time yesterday...and he LOVED it. We had him go to our English Sunday School class (which should be called the African Sunday School class, since almost all the English speakers in there are from Africa...my homies), and he thought it was the best thing ever. It's great to see him learn and progress. He started reading the Book of Mormon a few weeks ago, and he's already almost done with Alma. With ALMA. That's better than me for the first 16 years of my life, and I was born in the church... He says he reads it whenever he misses his family in Sudan, because he feels good when he reads it. I guess he misses them a lot... The gospel is exactly what he needs. He should be baptized before the end of the transfer. By the way -- we were talking with him, and we found out that he has eighteen brothers and nine sisters. Holy cow. I was impressed that he beat my eight sisters and five brothers... His dad apparently had four wives, though.

Also, this Dutch lady who has been going to the church services for months now (but said she didn't want to be baptized) came up to our ward mission leader yesterday and told him that she's decided she wants the missionaries to come teach her and that she wants to be baptized. We have an appointment with her later this week. She should be baptized before the end of the month. MIRACLES.

So, the fourth of July...not really celebrated in the Netherlands. I mean, it is an American holiday. I, however, was on exchanges with the Heerlen elders on the 4th. The elders that serve in the Heerlen American military branch. Guess who got an American barbecue on the fourth of July? Yours truly. Not to mention the members lived in Germany, so I spent the fourth of July with Americans in Germany. While the Germany vs. France World Cup game was going on. Yeah buddy.

Since the Netherlands has made it through the quarterfinals, President Robinson has given the missionaries permission to watch any further games with the Netherlands in them. On Wednesday, we get to watch Nederland play Argentina. Let's go, Holland. Four countries left, and I'm living in one of them. That's what's up.

Well, that's all for this week. Happy fourth of July. Enjoy these summer months without me, because they won't last long.

Peace and blessings. Hou je goed.

-Elder Bonney

Week 55: "Yeah, there's no way all that stuff is gonna fit."

June 30, 2014

So yesterday, we were sitting in our house with the other two Eindhoven elders, and the Netherlands was playing against Mexico in the World Cup. We kept hearing yells and cheers whenever they scored, but we also heard a lot of loud sighs... I wasn't sure how to interpret it all. I guess that's something different about serving in a bigger city -- not only do you hear them score, you hear them miss. A little bit before 8 PM, though, we heard some wild cheering. Then, the text came (from a member kind enough to keep us op de hoogte) -- the Netherlands BEAT Mexico 2-1, and will be advancing in the WK. Ohhh yeah. Stay tuned. We play Costa Rica on Saturday.

I am in Eindhoven now! Tuesday night, I started packing. Oh boy. After being in a city for so long, not only had my stuff spread throughout the apartment, but I had accumulated a lot of stuff. Fitting it in was a challenge. I had it all spread out in the front room, and my companion came in the room... "yeah, there's no way all that stuff is gonna fit." Challenge accepted. ...It didn't all fit. I had to leave some stuff behind :( But, seams stretched, zipper barely holding tight, everything fit in my suitcases. On Wednesday morning, all four of us Lelystad elders got on a train to Leiden. In Leiden, I said goodbye to Elder Henderson and the others, then headed off to the mission office. There, I met up with my new companion, Elder Alston. We threw my stuff in the back of the car (you know that's right), then drove down to Eindhoven. After almost six months in Lelystad, my time there has come to a close. It's the beginning of a new era.

By the way, my new address:

Kluizenaarstraat 13
5641 HE Eindhoven
the Netherlands

We live in a house here. A HOUSE. It's pretty great.

Eindhoven is a great city. It's big, but not too big, and it's beautiful here, down south. I got to meet many of the ward members yesterday, and they seem like really good people. I'm excited to get to know them better. My companion is a really good guy -- we get along pretty well. He's from South Jordan and has been on his mission for a few months more than I have. We live with the two other Eindhoven elders -- Elder Hills and...Elder Nelson! That's right, my big, funny, lovable companion from my second transfer in Groningen. He's on the last transfer of his mission now. It's fun living with him again.

Yes, we've got a car. Unfortunately... I'm not allowed to drive it. Yeah. In order to drive in the mission, you have to have a Belgian driver's license, and the only way for an American to get a Belgian driver's license is to trade in their American license. For one reason or another, I do not have an American license, just a permit (I cannot believe how unmanly this is). I can't trade in a permit. So, my companion (who doesn't enjoy driving all that much) has to drive all the time, and I have to sit in the passenger seat. I feel a little weird. It's like I'm his wife. I do get to work the GPS, though. That's important, right? Important lesson: make sure you get a license before your mission, boys and girls.

On Monday (when I was still in Lelystad), we had a combined zone p-day -- Den Haag and Rotterdam zones got together to play sports in Den Haag. It was pretty fun. It was very sunny, warm, and a little windy, so it felt nice. None of us noticed as the sun slowly and evilly fried us. It was good to see some of my MTC buddies -- Elder Moomey, Elder Pouwer, Sister Brophy, Sister Thorley, and others. I still can't believe that it's been over a year since we all first gathered in that tiny MTC classroom (it was way too small for ten people, but we had way too much fun in that tiny room). On the way home, my skin started to feel weird. By the time we got back to Lelystad, I knew it -- I was burnt. At least, I thought I was burnt. Then I saw my companion. He was burnt. He was wearing a lower cut shirt, so he had a funny burn line. Haha.

The day before I headed out of Lelystad, we went to go visit some of our favorite members. All four of us elders were there. They said, since it was the last time for some of us, that they'd gotten us a Dutch delicacy. Oh. My mind flashed back to three days before, eating raw herring -- "never again," we all said. Then the member busted out raw herring. So much for that... We all ate it. Again. This time with a fork. It was worse the second time. The irony of the situation still kills me.

For now, there's not too much to tell. My comp and I have spent a lot of time planning for our zone. I'm excited for what will happen here in Eindhoven. I'll be sure to let you guys know. For now, I'm peacing out. Hup Holland!

Keep it real. Raw fish isn't meant to be eaten.

-Elder Bonney

Me and my Almere district boyz.

Saying goodbye to Elder Henderson in Leiden Centraal!

Week 54: "It doesn't taste so bad... it's the texture that gets you." **ADDRESS CHANGE**

June 23, 2014

Well, transfer calls came around. It's been a good run here in Lelystad.  A good four transfers, almost six months. Yet, on Sunday, while eating dinner at the branch president's home with him and his family, we got a call from President Robinson. It looks like I will be transferred to the great city of EINDHOVEN on Wednesday! Which is funny, because when I was in high school, I had the opportunity to go to Eindhoven twice to compete in swim championships. The last time I was there was February 2012. It rained almost the entire few days we were there, it was cold, I didn't do so hot in my events, and I left, thinking, "dang, this is awful. I never want to come back here again."

 

Funny how God works. Now, though, I'm way excited to get to serve in Eindhoven. I've heard great things about it, and I'm going to have a great companion, Elder Alston. Also, we have a car. I'll keep you posted.

 

This past week has been full of interesting things. It's been a good week, no doubt. I'll have to be quick, because we're catching a train shortly to go to Den Haag for a zone p-day activity, but I'll do my best.

 

More World Cup news -- the Netherlands played Australia on Wednesday, and won. 3-2. We're not allowed to proselyte during the game, because things start to get crazy. We have to stay in our apartment...exciting. But, the fireworks, explosions, screams, and horns we hear outside let us know whenever the Netherlands scored. We decided to go out afterwards to get back to work (at 8 PM). I'm not sure if we were supposed to or not, but it was NOT the best idea. I can only imagine what goes on during the game for most Dutch people. "We scored!! DRINK!" "Amazing block!! DRINK!" "They scored...might as well drink." "He fell over! Drink." "Halftime! Let's see how much we can drink before it's over!" Anyways, we faced the aftermath of that. It wasn't pretty. We ended up riding our bikes to a quieter (read: safer) place close to the dike. It was dangerous in the centrum, and I'll leave it at that.

 

This past winter has been a very mild winter (compared to other winters, even though if you made assumptions from my complaining, you'd think it was the worst ever), and there are some undesirable consequences -- like bugs. We were riding our bikes the other day, and Elder Henderson and I rode up to go over a bridge... "that's weird looking smoke." "Dude, that isn't smoke. Those are bugs." There was a visible cloud of bugs in the air. We had to ride through it...definitely made a memory there. And that wasn't the first time we'd encountered that sort of thing. If you don't notice it right away, too, you end up unexpectedly getting punched in the face with a cloud of tiny, evil, satanic gnats. They get in your eyes. They get in your nose. They get in your shirt pocket. They get stuck in your awesome looking, well done hair. Flevoland (so, Lelystad and Almere) has it worst, and Lelystad is in the depths. It's great.

 

On Saturday, Elder Henderson, Elder Kettler, Elder Bishesar, and I went and had a fun little lunch hour together. The market was going on, and we came to the realization that none of us had eaten raw herring before. We're serving in the Netherlands. We HAVE to have it at least once. So, we find the fish stand (in the Saturday market in the centrum, they have stands for almost everything). No one else wanted to ask, so I asked. I asked for herring, and I had to tell him that we were "foreigners and wanted to try the herring thing." Then he gave us exactly what we wanted. It was an experience. The funny thing is, it didn't taste so bad. Just like the way raw fish smells. Okay, maybe a little better. But the texture...it was indescribable.

 

Yesterday at church, I was looking around. I knew that I'd probably be leaving, so it would be my last Sunday. I didn't know if I felt ready to go. Yes, I was ready for something new, but I wanted to make sure my work in Lelystad was done. I looked around, and saw Carla to my right, with her young son. I saw the young investigator couple with their young son (yes, they were in church again -- they're making great progress). I saw less-actives that we had worked with who were back in church. I saw members that I had gotten to know and learned to love. It's been a great four transfers. I believe that the Lelystad branch is better than it was when I got here. Is that all me? Definitely not. But, I do feel like my work there is done. Great things have happened. I'm ready for my next adventure.

 

Stay fresh, my friends.

-Elder Bonney

 

PS. Pics, as promised.

Looking good at zone conference with my MTC homeboys, Elder Cook and Elder Pouwer! A year and a day after it all began.

Laying some tile at an investigator's house with Elder Bishesar. We did work. And yes, we were posing. I'll miss that kid when I leave.

Week 53: "What are you young men thinking?? Those people need the missionaries!!"

OOOHHH, we're halfway there, WOAAHH OH, livin' on a prayer... (you have to actually imagine me singing it)

 June 16, 2014

OOOHHH, we're halfway there, WOAAHH OH, livin' on a prayer... (you have to actually imagine me singing it)

I'm singing a terrible rendition of the Bon Jovi classic because, yes, I have hit my one-year mark. I hit it last...Thursday? It's hard to believe that it's been one year since I sent out that "ik ben een zundeling" email (with the badly spelled Dutch). Time goes by fast. I still feel like a young missionary. From the MTC to Kortrijk to Groningen to Lelystad... one year, eight transfers, ten companions, and three blessed cities later... With a little less than a year left, it's time to work harder than every before.

HUP HOLLAND! I didn't get to watch the World Cup game, but... beating Spain 5-1? No one saw that coming. From our apartment, we could tell whenever the Netherlands scored because of the cheering coming from every other home in the city. A member may or may not have let us see the highlights from the game -- how about the flying Dutchman? That's how we do it. Take that, 5PA1N. Unfortunately, we have to decline all the invitations by my gemeente Lelystad homies to come watch the WK -- but, we can probably interpret the outside noise into a play-by-play update.

One of my favorite parts of missionary work this time of year is all the service. No, not because it's a "break" from normal missionary work, but because you have the opportunity to unselfishly help other people, usually people who have you do something they couldn't do themselves. We do all sorts of things -- from laying tiles to assembling IKEA furniture to a lot of yard work in between -- and my favorite part is seeing the look on the member/investigator/random stranger afterwards. They (usually) get this big grin on their face, and you know that you've done something meaningful for them. It's great.

We did service for this one lady this past week -- a woman saw us doing service for a member, and asked us to help her mother out. We made an appointment, went over, and she showed us what she wanted. We pulled a bunch of weeds, moved some tiles, layed some turf...by the time we were done, that yard was looking good. Real good. The Lelystad Four -- we should be a professional team. Anyways, at some point, we were all inside, talking to this lady, and she told us that she can "read" people. Okay, a little weird. Then she looks at the elder next to me, and says some random attributes he supposedly has. Then, she looked at me, and told me that I have a lot of sadness and anger inside. Gee, thanks. Lesson learned: there are no such things as psychics. Or...something about my future wife has something to do with farms. Who knows?

So, remember how I told you all about the cool, young Dutch couple that Elder Hunt and I taught here in Lelystad on exchanges? Well, last Sunday, I'm sitting in the Almere church building for stake conference (Lelystad and Almere combine for broadcasts, and it was being broadcast to all of Europe from Switzerland), and the phone rings. I pick it up..."hey -- we're here for church in Lelystad, but there's no one here!" "Uh..it's in Almere today.." We'd clarified it a few days before, because we'd invited them, and they wanted to come to church, but there was a slight miscommunication. Very awkward. But, to my surprise, about 20 minutes later, they show up in Almere for church! Then, yesterday...they came to church again! They loved it. It's just so great knowing how much the Gospel can mean for them -- how much it can help them -- and seeing them take steps to developing a stronger testimony in and relationship with Christ.

After sacrament meeting, we started introducing some members to them, and then we walked into the hall and let the members take it away. A few minutes later, an older member comes up to me, looking excited but a little upset, and says, "there are some people in there, and they aren't members! These people are wonderful! They are searching! Why aren't you talking to them?? What are you young men thinking?? Those people need the missionaries!" I had to interrupt him -- "Brother, I know -- they're our investigators." "You guys need to be teaching them! They are --" "Yes, we understand... we are teaching them. We invited them to come to church." "..oh." Then he walked away, slightly confused, but no longer upset. It's cool to see the members so excited about investigators, though. They did exactly what they should have done, fellowshipping and showing love. It was great.

Well, I gotta roll. Thanks for sticking with me for the first half of this adventure. They say everyone forgets you after a year, but I'm out to prove them wrong. We've still got a year to go. Gotta make it the best one. Keep it real, wherever you are in the world.

Stay clean.

--Elder Bonney

PS -- photos next week. Promise. I've got some nice one-year reunion photos with some of my MTC boys.

Week 52: "Hey, that dog could totally open the door if he...uh oh. Run."

June 9, 2014

This week has been jam-packed. My comments about how fast the weeks go by are becoming too cliché, though, so just start assuming that the week has gone by so quickly, you're lucky that I can think of something to send...

I remembered why I don't like playing soccer. After emailing last week, the four of us Lelystad elders joined the four Almere elders, and we went to go play some sports. We started off with some basketball (something I have been missing), then moved on to soccer. We were playing with some young Surinamer boys, too. As an experienced bad soccer player, I know that the members of the team frequently decide to put the worst player as goalie. Bad idea. The Suriname kids scored most the goals, too... older American kids and young, thuggin' Surinamers? Fortunately, my team had the better Suriname kid, so that made up for my lack of soccer skill.

Speaking of soccer... everyone here is freaking out about the World Cup. Orange is the national Dutch color... and there is ORANGE EVERYWHERE. For real. Some people have covered their front lawns with orange felt. Don't ask, I don't get it either.

On Tuesday, we were on the exchanges with the zone leaders. I stayed in Lelystad and worked with Elder Muse (who has been my zone leader for about half of my mission in two different zones). We had an unforgettable day. We were knocking doors in one area, and these HUGE dogs started barking. Nothing unusual. No owners were home. Suddenly, one dog jumps up, and hits the door handle. Elder Muse starts to comment about how the dog apparently knows how to open the door, and it's a good thing it was locked. Suddenly, the door slowly starts to swing open, revealing the two huge, loud dogs (and their teeth). Elder Muse just turns around and starts booking it. I freeze, reach slowly forward, and... push the door closed. Problem solved.

We also went to an appointment with an investigator, whose house had caught on fire briefly the night before. We went in, sat down, started to talk to him, then his very upset girlfriend entered the room and started chewing him out for the accidental fire. For half an hour. She was yelling, crying, kicking furniture...and Elder Muse and I just sat there, awkwardly. Eventually she left, then we tried to quickly salvage our "lesson," then left.

Later that night, we were at the hospital, visiting a member. As we sat there, an older woman walked past the table we were sitting at. And no... she wasn't wearing pants. Well, Elder Muse, you're welcome for the great exchange.

I'm tired of people assuming they know what we're about when we knock on the door... "Have you ever heard of the Book of Mormon before?" "No, I haven't. But I'm not interested."  Not interested in what? What if the Book of Mormon is code for a free car? Sigh. We were knocking doors one rainy night... Before we could say anything, a grumpy man opens the door and says, "I know who you guys are and what you do. I'm not interested at all. "Oh, have guys like us been here before?" "Yes." "And they were asking for free food?" "...well, no, but..." Then he shut the door. Worth a shot.

We had to go to stake conference on Saturday night, and that was an adventure. I won't bore you with the details of getting there (that was an adventure, but I don't have enough time to talk about that part), but getting back... We took a bus at 9:30 from the Haarlem chapel to Haarlem Centraal (by the way, Haarlem is where the Best Two Years was filmed!), and got there right after 10 PM...well, work on the tracks started at 10 PM. So, the trains shut down, and busses were used in place of trains. Getting from Haarlem to Amsterdam was pretty crazy, let me tell you. Drunk college kids and many other people trying to push and shove and trample their way into the busses... I almost died. I got on, looking around frantically for another missionary. I see one elder who serves in Zaandam. Not going to the same place I am. The last person to push onto the bus...Elder Fowkes, serving in Almere. That's where I was heading. Good enough. It was a traumatizing experience. The people were animals. I do NOT want to be near Amsterdam in the zombie apocalypse.

Blijf netjes, my friends. Talk to you after I hit my year-mark.

--Elder Bonney

Me and my temporary comps, Elder Kettler and Elder Bishesar!

My greenie and me, looking netjes at zone conference in Zoetermeer.

Week 51: "But do you know how many guns there are in America??"

June 2, 2014

So... I'm still alive, boys and girls. I've made it through another week. I'll be honest -- I usually mark important events from the week that I want to tell you all about in my planner. Unfortunately, I left my planner at home today (I know, I'm a horrible missionary). So, I'll do my best.

 

This past week has been extremely busy, yet not very busy at the same time. I feel like the week zoomed by, but we totaled up our numbers at the end of the week, and we had only had three lessons all week. THREE. What? So, I looked back (because our week had been packed), and I realized how many appointments fell through. I won't share the total number (trying to focus on the positives), but on one stretch, we had seven appointments fall through in a row. Many were confirmed appointments with people we thought were pretty solid. Come on, people. This is eternal salvation we've got to share.

 

I'm counting my blessings, though. We found some cool people last week, and we worked hard. Whenever things seem to be going badly, it's because something good is on the horizon. I saw Carla at church on Sunday, and I remembered how the Lord really does bless us. If we work hard and stay humble, we will be blessed. Not to quote Kanye West or anything, but I just try to... "keep your nose out of the sky, keep your heart to God, and keep your face to the rising sun." Elder Henderson is doing well -- I'll let you all know as soon as he makes a funny mistake with the language. I'm ready to pounce.

 

On Wednesday, we had a zone conference in Zoetermeer. I got to see my MTC companion, Elder Price, and talk to him for the first time since last summer! It made me reminisce on those MTC days... Mass-produced food, strange mistakes in Dutch, feeling like a caged animal...and seeing little miracles in myself, with the language and the Gospel. I got to see my old Groningen companions -- Elder Besendorfer and Elder Nelson. It made me reminisce on those Groningen days... Teaching gay people, getting hit by a car, getting hit with hail and rain and sharp winds...and loving it the whole time. I have been so blessed with the opportunity to be on a mission. You know, I was once told that, in hard times on your mission, you just want them to end, but you should try to soak in the moments, because someday, you'll look back fondly on those memories. I'm already starting to, and I'm only about half-way done. Like Neal A. Maxwell says, moments are the molecules that make up eternity.

 

I was on exchanges on Thursday, serving with a Mr. Elder Hunt here in Lelystad. We had a blast. We got to spend the whole morning helping a member out by laying tiles in the rain and moving sand, so that was exciting. We ended up getting to teach a great, young Dutch couple a first lesson. It went so well, and we should be seeing them at church soon, too. We're blessed.

 

On Friday, we had exchanges again! I got to serve with an Elder Van de Merwe in Hilversum. That was interesting. We had a good time and did good work, but the lessons... Well, where do I begin. We walk into the first lesson, with this Dutch girl in her late 20's. She has no chairs, so we have to sit on the floor. As we started to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I realized...this woman cannot focus. On ANYTHING. It's not even like she tried to go off on random tangents, she just does it naturally. I wasn't even mad --I was impressed. She asked a lot of random questions about repentance, too. "But what if you fall in love with a man? What then?" I replied, "well, Elder Van de Merwe is a handsome young man...but, I don't think I'll ever fall in love with a man. Either way, the Atonement is sufficient for all people who repent, so..." "Okay. So are you planning on moving back to America when you're done in the Netherlands?" Wow. Amazing concentration.

 

Just when the lesson couldn't get any weirder... two Jehovah's Witnesses show up at the door. It sounds like a bad joke, I know. They came in (she thought it would be nice for us to talk to each other...) and looked at us. I pictured us all in old cowboy clothes, and it was just like a showdown. Kid you not. After nice conversation, they sneak in some snide comment. Combated. They unleash a new criticism (about something not even important, by the way) about trials -- I had said that God gives us trials to learn and grow. Which, by the way, He does. They combated my response pretty hardcore, and I didn't know what to say, and neither did the Jehovah's Witnesses, so we turn to the investigator. She responds, logically, "but do you know how many guns there are in America? How does the Bible explain that?" Saved by the bell. Eventually, after two hours of sitting on her floor, we managed to escape.

 

Elder Henderson and I ended up in Almere the other day for a half-hour waiting for a train. So, we went out to do some contacting. Some big African dude comes up to us. "Do you guys know Jesus?" "Well, yes, we do." "Okay, tell me about this 'Jesus.'" Oh no, I thought. This can't be! Not to be racist, but you are African! You love Jesus. We went on for a few minutes... He was quite aggressive. Then, I say, "well, through prayer, you can know these things too. We actually share a message about that. Could we come sometime to share it with you?" He responds..."Man, I love Jesus. I was just messing with you! It says in the Bible to test the Spirit! You passed! God bless you!'' And he walked away. Dang, I thought. I knew that he'd love Jesus.

 

Until next week. I gotta bounce. Loves!

--Elder Bonney