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.
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
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| Elder Rudolph and I took one last trip to the Eindhoven graffiti tunnels for a dramatic photoshoot. |
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| Looking pretty classy with my boys Elder Thomas and Elder Cook at mission conference. |
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