May 26, 2014
Hey, everyone! This past week has been the warmest week all year. It's been an exciting weeek, too -- went by so quickly.
So, on Tuesday, I was on exchanges with a missionary in Almere, and we were doing service for a half-American, half-Dutch family. We were doing yardwork. As I mowed the lawn with a manual lawn-mower, it slowly started to hit me... My eyes became swollen, my nose started running, the sneezes came... I knew it. Allergies. As the warm season has come, so has the allergy season. And, it appears that there is something in the air here in the Netherlands (and it isn't love) that my body doesn't like. In addition, I'm pretty sure the medicine I have was made by a ten-year-old, because it isn't helping me at all. That's it, I quit.
Okay, not really. But, I am showing up to every appointment looking like I was just sobbing (I can't stop rubbing my eyes, guys! I try to stop, but I can't...it's taken ahold of me). Speaking of rubbing eyes -- on Wednesday, we were making some spicy chicken and rice dish. Elder Bishesar loves spicy food, of course, and he'd gotten us a nice, thin, red pepper to throw in. Elder Kettler was cutting the pepper, and he made the mistake of touching his eyes. Uh oh. We hear Elder Kettler shriek, and Elder Bishesar and I turn around to see him frantically rubbing his eyes (with the same hands that got the hot pepper in his eyes) -- "I have hot pepper in my eyes! IT HURTS," to which Elder Bishesar calmly replies, in his Suriname accent, "well, if you want it to stop, you should probably stop touching your eyes." Just another day in the life.
Late on Wednesday night, the assistants to the mission president -- Elder Eastmond and Elder Sumter -- came to pick me up. We drove down to Amsterdam, where the APs live, and I spent the night in their apartment. The next day, bright and early, we got up and went to Schiphol airport with President and Sister Robinson to pick up my new companion. We waited...the plane had landed... we waited... the baggage was on the belt...no companion... We waited some more... the next flight's luggage was on the belt...no companion. President Robinson made a quick call to Salt Lake. After much confusion and re-reading the email, we all realized that my greenie was coming the NEXT day. Awkward.
Well, with nothing else to do, I spent the day working with the APs in Amsterdam. Let me tell you, Amsterdam is a freaking awesome city to work in. It is HUGE. I'd been there for P-day before, but dang, it's cool. It was also great to work with Elder Eastmond again (the same who trained me and left me behind in Kortrijk, then was my zone leader when I went to Groningen, and now is my AP). It made me think about how much influence my trainer had on me and the beginning of my mission. He gave me responsibility, and he helped me grow and realize who I am meant to be as a missionary. I was blessed with a great trainer and friend, and I don't know if he will know just how big of an impact he had on my mission. I can only hope that I can be just as helpful for my new companion. Speaking of which...
On Friday morning, deja vu. We went to the airport with the mission president and his wife. This time, my companion, Elder Henderson, arrived from the MTC. We drove with him to Leiden, where he needed to take care of some legality stuff. Elder Robbins (my old companion) is actually working in the mission office now, and we got to do some reunion contacting (we were a power-team and saw lots of success -- thanks to his help, Elder Goates and I were able to see even more success). It really makes me reflect on the wonderful companions that I've had and the opportunity that I've had to learn and grow with all of thim. Missions really are wonderful experiences.
My companion is a cool kid -- he's from Idaho, and he's ready to work. I'm excited to do good work with him here in Lelystad -- I'm probably out of here in four weeks, so I better make them worth it. Which reminds me...I go home one year from tomorrow. Better make that year worth it.
Yesterday, after church, we had a surprise lunch appointment with some new members. They had gotten a lot of extra food, so they filled us to the brim. That was at around 2 PM. At around 4, we visited a part-member family to wish Marcel (he's one of my favorite people here in Lelystad) a happy birthday, and he and his wife, Sherri, surprised us with cake. A lot of cake. At 5 PM, we show up to our dinner appointment, and trust me -- the member we ate with, he could cook. Afterwards (and I'm starting to feel a little sick from how much I'd eaten), he realizes that he has no ice cream. (Trust me, I did not want ice cream. I may have died.) He calls his mom, who is also a member and lives close by, to ask if she has ice cream. Afterwards, laughing, he recounts the conversation.
"Hey mom, do you have some ice cream? I'm eating with the elders, and I have no more ice cream."
"No, I don't...you could just go to the LIDL (a grocery store) and buy some."
"I can't do that, mom, it's Sunday."
"But you can -- the stores are open this Sunday! It's the one Sunday in the month that the stores are open."
".....Mom, it's Sunday.."
"Oh, that's right. It's the Sabbath."
Have a great week, guys. The Church is true. Keep the faith!
--Elder Bonney
PS. I have a really funny picture of Elder Henderson sleeping on the table at the office (he was so wiped out...), but you can't attach pictures at the library computers. Maybe next time!
No comments:
Post a Comment