Week 68: "In the name of Carlos, amen."

September 29th, 2014

Another day another dollar. Despite our serious lack of funds, Elder Pouwer and I made it through this past week without starving. We got creative, but with our last cent, we had just enough for some staple groceries. Blessings. (imagine me on my knees, looking and pointing to heaven)

...unfortunately, October doesn't begin for another two days, so we'll have to find some way to make it through this week. Without money. We'll be okay, though. I hope.

This past week was a good one -- a lot of things happened, and we were all over the place. Racked up a lot of mileage on our car, that's for sure. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we spent a lot of time preparing for the training we had to give on Thursday -- Elder Pouwer and I had to make a few trips to Haarlem (to meet with the sister training leader, Zuster Otteson) and Amsterdam (for the church computers). Basically, we spent a lot of time getting ready, but it was worth it.

The zone training was on Thursday -- there are about twenty-five missionaries in Amsterdam zone -- and it went pretty well. We had a lot of fun, that's for sure. We talked about "bringing the funk back to London (or your own city)" through having more effective studies. Okay, it sounds cheesy, I know...but it was hilarious. We also bought everyone cheap flashlights and gave them batteries for them throughout the training -- Elder Pouwer handed out the power. Ha. Ha. Basically, the training went really well -- we taught the missionaries good, applicable skills, but it was also fun. And the Spirit was really strong. Couldn't ask for more. Zuster Otteson, Elder Pouwer, and I were satisfied.

So, the zone we have includes all the missionaries in North Holland, and let me just say...the entire area is BEAUTIFUL. From here up north in Alkmaar to Haarlem to the big city itself, Amsterdam, and all the cities in between... It's a great area. If you've ever heard of Dutch tulips, that's North Holland (actually, mostly in Alkmaar's area is where you'd find the tulips). Unfortunately, most of them aren't in bloom right now, because it's fall...duh... But, some are. We ate dinner with this one family the other week, and they actually own a tulip field. There was a team of guys in the back yard working to make some project from the flowers that had just bloomed. It was pretty awesome. They were making scenes from the Lion King out of flowers, and we got to go watch a little of what they were doing. Pretty cool.

There was one day last week, though, that I thought I was going to die... For real. I'm usually pretty down-to-earth, but this experience was...different. Elder Pouwer and I drove to this city, Bergen aan Zee, which is in a beautiful area. You can see the beach from the hill we were on. The guy we were teaching, Carlos, worked at a hotel on the top of the hill, so we met him up there. He was a nice guy from Guatemala -- spoke English with us. He was a little quirky, but I didn't think much of it. I mean, a lot of the people I've met on my mission are quirky.

There's a little forest around this hotel, and Carlos told us that he usually meets with the elders on the very top of the hill, in a little clearing -- you have to hike through the forest to get there. Okay, a little weird, but my mission has been full of weird experiences. As we're walking through the forest, I started day-dreaming a little... "I've seen enough Criminal Minds episodes to know that, if Carlos wanted to murder us, this would be the place to do it. Haha. If he pulled out a gun right now, what would I do? Well, if he shot Elder Pouwer first, I'd probably..." Just entertaining myself, right? Meanwhile, we're talking to Carlos, and he's leading the way. Suddenly, he drops to the back, and Elder Pouwer is in front. I thought to myself, laughing inside, "uh oh, he's gonna make his move! We're goners!" Just messing with myself. He asks, "so, what happened to the elders before you guys? I really liked those two. Why did they have to leave?" I turn around to answer his question, and... I see him holding a huge knife that he definitely wasn't holding before. My heart dropped. I stumble closer to Elder Pouwer, while trying to answer his question in a diplomatic way without letting him on to the fact that I'd seen him with the knife. "We have..have..have a mission pres..president and he's in charge of..of..of when people leave or st..st..stay." You gotta understand, I could hardly speak or breathe. I was about to have a heart attack. I have never been so scared in my whole life. I looked back again, and saw Carlos...calmly cutting the branches that were growing over the path. Of course. He's the groundskeeper for the hotel. We went on to have a great lesson with Carlos (even though I couldn't say anything for the first ten minutes -- I was still recovering). He's actually a really great guy. We asked him to say the closing prayer, and he said a great prayer, and ended, "in the name of Carlos, amen." Well, there are some things we still need to teach, but okay. He's a great guy.

On Thursday night, after zone training, a member here took us out to eat at this nice Asian all-you-can-eat place. (And we ate enough to last us for a few days -- we didn't have much money for food, remember?) It was really nice. I haven't been to a place like that since before my mission. And we got to watch the Asian dudes cook our dinner. Worth mentioning.

I got to spend a day working in the big city, Amsterdam, on exchanges! We exchanged with the Amsterdam elders, and I was working with a cool kid from Suriname, Elder Tjong-Ayong. We had a good day -- we talked to everyone. It was crazy. In Amsterdam, there are just so many people! We ran into a good amount of Spanish speakers, a Russian speaker, an Italian, and two Americans... I hadn't heard a Tennessee accent in the longest time. I've never lived in Tennessee, though, so that's not unreasonable. We also had a crazy experience...which is for another time. I'd rather not speak of it. (Mysterious, right? Welcome to Amsterdam.) At the end of the day, though, Elder Tjong-Ayong and I were riding around on bikes, and we got lost... Not a good thing to do in Amsterdam after dark. We passed some guys from Suriname, and they said something in their Suriname language to each other. I didn't understand any of it, of course. After we'd passed them, Elder Tjong-Ayong told me, "we probably shouldn't be in this area." Turns out, those Suriname dudes had exchanged a few words (which they thought we wouldn't understand, but, surprise surprise, Elder Tjong-Ayong is from Suriname), where they talked briefly about mugging us, then decided against it.

Just another day in the life. I gotta roll... I've written too much already. But hey -- have a great week. Stay safe. And, if I may offer some words of advice... If you're in a forest with a stranger, be careful, but not paranoid. I speak from experience.

--Elder Bonney

I realized that a bunch of my past companions were in the zone, so I had to snap a pic. L2R: Elder Toole (from Kortrijk), Elder Besendorfer (from Groningen), yours truly, Elder Robbins (Lelystad), Elder Price (MTC), and Elder Pouwer. We've come so far. . .

The dream team after we completed the zone training, posing with our flashlights. We brought the funk back. Elder Pouwer doesn't always make that face. Just a lot.

Week 66: "I tell Dallin Oaks, 'when I get funny, tell me.'" **ADDRESS CHANGE**

September 15, 2014

Well, I should start off with the big news. I got a call from President Robinson yesterday, and I was informed that I'm being transferred to Alkmaar, in the Amsterdam Zone. I'll be whitewashing the city with Elder Pouwer and training him as a zone leader. I'm not super happy that I'm leaving Eindhoven (which was my dream city) after just two transfers, but my replacement, Elder Cook (who is one of my best friends in the mission) will do good work with Elder Rudolph. I'm really disappointed to be leaving already, but I love Elder Pouwer, and... I don't want to talk about the transfer anymore. But, my new address is: 

Kennemerstraatweg 91

1851 BB Heiloo

the Netherlands

This past week was a great one. It flew by, but do I even need to say that anymore? I probably won't have a long time to write today (there are some things I'd like to get done on my last P-day in Eindhoven), but I'll give it my best shot.

I got to have a mini-reunion with Elder Alston this past week! Elder Rudolph and I were on exchanges with him and his companion on Tuesday, and I got to work in Amsterdam with Elder Alston. We had a really fun time. So, get this -- on the first Saturday of this transfer, a member here took all us missionaries out to eat with her inactive friend from Amsterdam, Jenny, that wanted to get active again. (This was back in week 61.) We sent her information to the Amsterdam elders. Fast forward to my exchange with Elder Alston. That day, they happened to have their first appointment with...Jenny and her son. It was good to see her and talk to her again, and we had a great lesson. To make a long story short -- the Spirit was there, and tears flowed. Coincidence? Definitely not.

On Wednesday, we went on splits with the other Eindhoven elders, and I got to work with the one and only Elder Hills. We were knocking this neighborhood, and we started to notice a pattern... Everyone we were talking to had wrinkles and was really old. As we knocked the entire neighborhood, we didn't talk to one person under 65. In hindsight, we probably should have switched our contacting approach from focusing on the Book of Mormon to focusing on family history. Or the spirit world...

The highlight of the week was definitely the mission conference on Thursday, though. The entire mission gathered together to hear from Elder M. Russell Ballard. The entire mission rarely gets together, and that was pretty crazy in and of itself. It was good to see everyone, though -- it was the first time my MTC district had all been together since last August in Brussels. The conference was definitely inspired. We heard from Elder Timothy J. Dyches, Elder Donald L. Hallstrom (both from the Quorum of the 70), and the big man, Ballard. And...I got to sit in the second row with my boys, Elder Goates and Elder Blackhurst, while the general authorities spoke. Any closer, and I would have been able to...I don't know, smell them, or something. Did I mention that I got to shake all of their hands? It was a pretty cool experience.

Elder Dyches said something that I really liked -- he quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson, saying, "the years teach much what the days never know." There have been days on my mission where I don't think I've learned anything, but it's not the days, one by one, that make the experience. It's the years. They teach things the days never know.

Elder Ballard was pretty great. He talked to us about being ready to talk about anything gospel-related at anytime in any circumstance. He shared some pretty cool stories, and he talked about helping members do missionary work, referring to their "twitterpating" (which is apparently Ballard talk for using twitter). I was just surprised at how funny he was -- at one point, he says that he sometimes has a problem being too funny, especially when he's tired, and he confided in us -- "I always tell Dallin Oaks, 'when I get funny, tell me.'" He didn't beat around the bush when he talked about teaching investigators, though. Basically, he told us that when we're dealing with someone who has been taught everything and understands it but doesn't want to be baptized, we need to get them to ask God. If they aren't open to do that (or open for the answer that would come), we...give them our contact information and say goodbye. He's right, though -- we're here to talk to those that will receive us. It was overall a really good experience, hearing from him. He's undoubtedly a man of God.

Time is zeer kort, but on Saturday, we did another graffiti project. I would have thought that, after the last one, we'd be done, but our ward mission leader doesn't give up. We went back and spray-painted a tree of life. It didn't look to shabby. Things got a little carried away, though -- our ward mission leader spray-painted who knows what (some may call it modern art) next to our tree of life, and under it, my companion sprayed, in red, "SUU T-birds," his football mascot. Elder Hills and I just turned a blind eye to this real graffiti going on... ;)

Well, I gotta run. I'm going to miss Eindhoven a lot. I've loved it here -- seen miracles, made friends, had fun. But, I guess the Lord needs me in Alkmaar. I don't want to go. I am excited to be with Elder Pouwer, though. I'll let you know how it's all going next week! Until then -- stay warm.

--Elder Bonney

Elder Rudolph and I took one last trip to the Eindhoven graffiti tunnels for a dramatic photoshoot. 

Looking pretty classy with my boys Elder Thomas and Elder Cook at mission conference.

Week 64: "He might slap you. Apparently, it's a German thing."

                                                                                                                                   September 8, 2014

So, I just said week 63 twice in a row. Oops.

I had a dream last night, and in my dream, I was home. My mission was over, and I was with my old BYU roommates -- we were just talking about our experiences, the things we'd seen and done in the past two years. Even though I could talk about all the things I'd learned, the ways I'd grown, things just didn't feel right... I was uneasy and unhappy. It became very clear to me that I actually wasn't done, and that there are still things I need to do on my mission. Then I woke up, with over eight months left, got out of bed, changed, and smoked at some two-on-two basketball. It's the beginning of another week, and I've got more chances to accomplish the things I'm meant to.

Summer is making a comeback! At least, a temporary comeback. The sun has been shining, and it's been warmer. I've managed to make it through an entire week without getting soaking wet. After emailing last Monday, the four of us Eindhoven elders drove up to Den Bosch ('s-Hertogenbosch), the overlooked gem of the Netherlands. For real, though -- I think Den Bosch is one of the most beautiful cities in the country. We met up with the Den Bosch elders, Elder King and Elder Carter, and we went on a boat tour of the city, which turned out to be built over a lot of water...underground boating? Yeah, buddy. It was pretty cool. 

On Tuesday, we were on exchanges with the elders from Arnhem. I got to work with Elder Thomas, one I was in the MTC with, in Eindhoven. We had a good day, and we ended by visiting Genzeer (who got baptized about a month ago). We visit him a few times a week -- he's doing so well. You can just see a new light in him since he's been baptized, and he's still growing and learning -- because, of course, baptism isn't the end. Just the beginning.

We were on exchanges again the next day -- I got to serve in Nijmegen with Elder Pugh. You know, the Nijmegen elders had bought some Chinese candy, and I decided to try it out. Lesson learned: if there's cheap Chinese candy that claims to have a good "American Sweet Cron" (with the spelling error, yes) taste...it won't taste good, and you'll be tasting it for the rest of the day. Elder Pugh and I spent most of the day finding new people to teach, but we did have a cool dinner appointment with an older German couple that had been living in the Netherlands for a long time. After the forty-five minute bike trek, we made it. Elder Pugh warns me, "the husband treats the missionaries like his sons. If he does something funny, he might slap you. Apparently, it's a German thing." Sure enough, about ten minutes into the appointment, the husband does something a little funny, and while we're laughing, delivers a loud, loving slap to my face. I was in shock. That was the moment he and I became friends. He told us that his wife was making some German dish, and we told him we'd never heard of it. He says, "weet je wat tennisbals zijn? Zoiets." (Do you know what tennisballs are? Something like that.) We couldn't wait to dig in. It was actually really tasty, despite his "warning." They were great people.

And yes, we had to do three exchanges back-to-back. On Thursday, I traveled to Vlissingen to work with Elder Womeldorf. We had a good day -- Vlissingen really is a beautiful city. We got to teach some cool people, too. One particular lesson was a really good experience. We were visiting this one investigator, and she was a talker. She was super sweet and nice, but...she just wouldn't close her mouth and let us talk (or leave)! I said a silent prayer and begged God to make her be still, but I just got the feeling that I should listen to her, so I did. After a few minutes, she looks and me and says, "you have something you want to say, don't you. Something you want to share." I respond, "yes, actually. How did you know?" "The way you're listening to me and paying attention, I can tell that you have something I need." It really was that perfect. We moved on to teach a short, powerful lesson and set a baptismal date with her. It's funny, the way God works sometimes. He really does have things under control, you know?

It wasn't until Friday that I got to work a full day in Eindhoven with Elder Rudolph. It was good. We visited one recently re-activated single mom from Ghana and her kids. They are so funny. We've told them that we're "momma's police" -- if they aren't good and helpful, we'll have to come take care of business. Elder Rudolph and his size make it even more funny. When we got there, the two older kids (ages seven and nine?) had just had a fight. After our lesson, they still weren't friends again yet. Kids. Something had to be done. So, we promised them a prize if they could sit on the ground, back-to-back, linking arms, and stand up. They got it on their...seventh try. And when we left, they were laughing and practicing their new trick. I think that's the way all fights should be resolved in the world. But hey -- maybe that's just me.

That's all, folks.

--Elder Bonney

Chilling with the Den Bosch boys on our boat tour. I thought the photo was serious faces.

Elder Womeldorf and I found a trash globe in Vlissingen. I'm contemplating the deep message found in the artwork.

Week 63: "So, how do you feel about soymilk?"

                                                                                                                                   September 1, 2014 
It's Tuesday. It looks like a slow motion scene from the beginning of a movie. There I am, sprinting in the pouring rain, completely drenched and exhausted, carrying only a Dutch copy of the Book of Mormon and a one liter carton of soymilk. My classic missionary shirt is almost as purple and orange as it is white and smells like cigarette smoke. And my socks are soaked.

It's times like these that make you take a step back and ask yourself how you got to where you are. Maybe it would be best to start at the beginning.

That day, we'd gone on exchanges with the Heerlen elders. As far as the weather goes, I had high hopes, which I needed to have -- I was the one going to Heerlen, and Heerlen is known for the "Heerlen hills." It has the worst hills in the country as far as missionary cities go. They aren't too awful (it's still the Netherlands, so even the worst hills aren't too bad)...as long as the weather is nice. Unfortunately, as Elder Abankie (my Surinamer companion for the day) and I got off the train in Heerlen, I knew -- it was going to be a wet day. 

I have a confession to make -- I didn't bring a coat/jacket on my mission, and I've never bothered to buy one. But, I have inherited a few coats from missionaries who went home. I have a pretty nice and warm winter jacket, for example. The raincoat I happened to be wearing that fateful day was the one good old Elder Nelson left behind when he went home. It's the kind of jacket that keeps you dry until the rain gets bad enough, then it's like you aren't wearing a jacket at all. Yeah. At first, things were good. It was raining, but I was staying dry. Elder Abankie and I had just left an appointment with some cool recent converts from Africa, and we were about halfway through our fifteen minute bike ride (I was still pretty dry inside that jacket), when we stopped at a crosswalk. It was another slow motion scene, this time to Carl Orff's "O Fortuna..." I saw the semi-truck coming, but it was too late... It cruised through the puddle (read: small lake) right in front of me, and I watched (still in slow motion) as a tsunami of water descended upon me. Even my thermal socks were soaked. Needless to say, I was not as dry as before. 

The rest of the day was just as interesting. At one appointment, when I took off my jacket, I realized that Elder Nelson's jacket, when soaked, leaked purple and orange on the shirt underneath. (So that's why his shirts always looked like that whenever he got home from a rainy day...) It looked like I'd vomited on myself. Wonderful. We taught a few smokers, then dropped by a member's home to get a ride somewhere, leaving our bikes at the member's house. While we were there, the member asked us if we wanted something to drink (we'd been conquering some pretty crazy Heerlen hills). Of course, we'd love something. He asks me, "so, how do you feel about soymilk?" Now, that's kind of a strange thing to drink when you're thirsty, but I don't mind soymilk and was really thirsty. "Uh, sure, I guess I like it." He removes a big carton of soymilk from his fridge and hands it to me -- "take it, then. I don't like it." Then pours us some orange juice to drink. So, I ended up lugging a thing of soymilk around for the rest of the day.

After our last appointment, we had to sprint all the way from the church building to the bus station to catch our bus. I thought I was going to die. We made it in half the usual time, though, right before the bus rolled out.

Just another day in the life of a Mormon missionary. Making memories. (This story may or may not have been dramaticized).

The next day, we met up with Elder Rudolph and Elder Bean (Elder Abankie's real companion) in Venlo, went to an appointment together in that area, then started to drive them down to Heerlen. We were planning on working a little with the sisters in Maastricht, so it wasn't a big deal to drive them down. However, the maps on our GPS are a little out of date, and it doesn't always give us accurate information. We're driving down the highway, and it splits -- one way toward Maastricht and some other cities, the other way to three cities with names I don't recognize. Elder Rudolph puts the car on the side going to those three cities. "Hey, we need to get in the other lane." "No, the GPS is telling us to go this way." "Yeah, I know, but the maps on there are lying. We need to go that way." "Nah dude, trust me -- this is the way we need to go!" "That's the way we need...needed to go." Elder Rudolph made the mistake of putting his trust in the GPS (instead of me, because I obviously always know what to do <--sarcasm). We soon saw a sign that welcomed us to Duitsland (Germany), and we realized that, yes, this was the wrong way -- we were on the way to Dusseldorf. And our GPS didn't have any maps of Germany. That was an adventure.

On Saturday, we had an Antwerpen stake (which includes the north half of Belgium and the southernmost part of the Netherlands) barbecue in Herentals, a little city in Belgium. For the first time in almost a year, I saw some members from Kortrijk -- members I love. It was good (and interesting) to see them a year later. I could understand their Kortrijk dialect a lot better, that's for sure. A lot of good memories from time spent with those members came back. I really have been blessed with the experiences I've had in the places I've served.

I won't take up too much more of your time, but one last thing. At the stake barbecue, there was a small collection of fun things that people could try out. There, I saw it -- a unicycle. When I was ten years old, I didn't have very many friends, and I didn't have much to do. So, I decided to try and learn how to ride a unicycle. After a year or so, I gave up. When I saw this unicycle, I decided it was time to try again. My good friend Elder Blackhurst was at this barbecue, and I asked him to help me get on the unicycle. He did, and.. I failed. A few times. It's all for fun, though, and all us missionaries and the members were all getting a good laugh. Then, I saw a ways away Sister van de Riet, from here in Eindhoven. She is a sassy older woman, she feeds us lunch every Friday, and I adore her. She was sitting on her the front of her walker, and I could tell she'd been watching. I look at her with a grin on my face, determined. I point at her, saying, "ik doe dit voor jou!" Then, I got on that unicycle, and I rode it halfway to her...and then fell off. I've never seen her laugh so hard. Worth it? Totally.

Well, guys, I gotta run. Keep it real until next week. I never know how to end these emails. Happy September!

-Elder Bonney

Found this cutie while walking around Venlo with Elder Abankie. I know missionaries aren't supposed to show such romantic emotions, but I couldn't control myself. 

Candid photo from a role play at zone conference on Thursday. I stole it from the mission blog, yes.

Week 62: "So, like, would God maybe allow me to just go do my own thing and explore the universe?"

                                                                                                                                            August 18, 2014
So...it's about that time again, boys and girls.                                                                     

This past week was one of those weeks that just kicked my trash. It was kind of like getting an intense massage, you know? While it's happening, it can hurt a bit, and it sometimes feels like you're getting injured; but, afterwards, you feel good and just want to sit and do nothing. It's a good thing it's P-day. (Also, I wouldn't mind getting a massage right now and could probably use a good one, but that's beside the point.)

I'll just start off by saying that Petra was confirmed as a member yesterday in church! I was lucky to be able to stand in the circle while she was confirmed. A member from Amsterdam came to do the confirmation, and the Spirit was really strong when he gave the blessing afterwards. It's those moments that make it all worth it. I got to give a talk in sacrament meeting, too, about developing Christlike attributes. It went really well -- even surprised myself. Ik schud het uit de mouw.

I'd like to say that the situation we have in Eindhoven right now is complicated, but the more I think about it, the more simple it is -- we haven't been getting enough new investigators, and within the past few weeks, most of our investigators have either gotten baptized or gotten dropped. So, the big man Elder Rudolph and I have been hitting the...cobblestones. We're working hard to find some new people to teach. It's coming along well, and we've been seeing miracles, but it's slow and steady.

We did have an appointment with our Polish homegirl, though, way out in Venlo! For those of you who don't know where Venlo is, it's way out there -- almost in Germany. I get a lot of sleep done on that drive, and Elder Rudolph (fortunately for us and the cars around us) doesn't. Anyway, we met with our investigator in the Venlo library, in a talking café area near the back. We had a really good appointment and talked about a ton of different things. She is so great -- I'm pretty sure she'll get baptized (she just wants to read the whole Book of Mormon before she does...). 

After our lesson, which went really well, Elder Rudolph had to use the restroom in the library, so Polish homegirl and I waited for him. We were talking, when this black lady comes up to me, looking at my nametag. She asks me who we are and what it says, and I tell her. Then she asks me, in Dutch (with an obvious foreign accent), "Oh, so you know Jesus Christ? Even though He lived 2000 years ago?" Then, Polish homegirl jumps in (she speaks perfect Dutch), and she had my back all the way. The whole time we were being super nice, too. In the end, it turned out that that lady was from Syria, and she blamed Christianity and the United States for all the bad stuff in Syria. She started jabbing her finger at my chest and full on screaming at us, and we were just trying to leave. Eventually, some other people in the café got up and told her to keep it down. It was really sad, to see so much anger and hatred in a person. But, our investigator had a nice conversation with us afterwards, outside of the library. She talked about how there are so many people like that -- people that don't understand who WE are or what WE believe and aren't interested in hearing it -- they just want to point fingers and get angry. It's a little off-putting, but hey -- I survived.

I got to go on exchanges with an Elder Strikwerda in Amersfoort last week. It was pretty fun -- definitely an exchange to remember. At one point, we're waiting at a crosswalk with our bikes, and this possibly homeless, probably crazy African man comes up to us -- "hey -- how many names does Jesus have?" We talk to him a little bit, then say we need to leave. He points at me and says, "well hey -- I love you." As he was walking away, he kept his finger pointed at me and mouthed a couple times the phrase, "I love you." It was actually pretty funny. So much strange love. Better than hate! He and the Syrian woman should get together sometime.

Also, Elder Strikwerda and I knocked a door, and a man answered. After talking to him for a little bit, he told us he wasn't that interested, so we asked if we could give him a card. "Dat mag altijd." (That's always okay.) We gave him a mormon.org card, and he immediately put it in his mouth, shook our hands, and closed the door. People. We also taught a couple of nice stoners -- one told us that they weren't sure when the appointment was, so the logical solution was to smoke some marijuana while they waited. One of them was so high, he couldn't even function in the lesson. The other was interesting. We taught the Plan of Salvation (tip: if you are NOT going to teach a lesson to people who are high, it's the Plan of Salvation), and we were talking about the three kingdoms of glory. He asked, "well, do you think there could be a fourth option? What if I tell God I don't want to be in one of those places, but that I want to go out on my own and explore and discover in the universe?" I told him that I just imagine him reaching the gates of heaven, and God inviting him in, and him responding, "you know, I think I'll just find my own way." Well, my friend...go get 'em. Good luck.

Well, I've got to go. There's a lot to get done today, and it...just started raining. Great. I think summer is ending :( At least I enjoyed my last summer on a mission while it lasted.

By the way -- our graffiti was obscenely defaced. I say no more.

Keep spreading the love, like my crazy friend.

--Elder Bonney

After going on exchanges with Amersfoort, we all met up in Den Bosch, where we met up with the Den Bosch elders and got Bossche Bollen, which are basically giant, unhealthy creme puffs. And people wonder why missionaries get fat. 

Me and the big man himself, Elder Rudolph.