Week 78: "I think it would be better if you said 'amen and a woman.'"

December 8, 2014

Transfer twelve has come and gone, but -unlike all of the sister missionaries who came out when I did- I won't be going home just yet. You know what that means -- get ready for another six weeks of Elder Bonney's emails. You know you like it.

So, transfer calls were last night, and Elder Pouwer and I were at the home of a family in the branch -- the de Bruijns -- for most of the evening. Since we had come in together two transfers ago, we were already pretty sure that one of us was leaving -- which is pretty sad, because both of us really wanted to stay in Alkmaar. But, I told Elder Pouwer that I, in the most loving way possible, hoped he got transferred...only one can survive. Kind of like the Hunger Games. On Sunday night, though, I was pretty nervous. And then, the call came...

Oh, wait. There was no call. Because, for some reason unknown to us, they decided to keep us together for a third transfer, which rarely happens. All I can say is, by the end of these coming six weeks (which will be four months total together), we'll either be the best of friends...or one of us will be dead, killed by the other. Let's hope for the former.

All that aside, I'm super stoked to be staying in Alkmaar. And, to clear up any confusion, my address will still be:

Willem de Zwijgerlaan 78

1814 KE Alkmaar

the Netherlands

Remember how I said it was cold last Monday? Well... I spoke too soon. That was just the beginning of one of the top three coldest weeks of my mission. The temperature hovered above and below 0°C until Saturday, when it went up a few degrees. Dressing warm is a challenge, but I did okay. I'll probably attach some picture of myself in my winter get-up...

I got to return to Haarlem on exchanges this Tuesday, to work with Elder Bishop. It was a fun day -- we were busy the whole day, which was nice. One of the highlights of the day was helping this older Dutch member buy her groceries. It was something the sisters in Haarlem had started doing, and now the elders (who have been there for about six weeks now) continue doing it once a week. We showed up at the old folks' home, helped her board her wheelchair, and we were off. During the excursion, I realized -- no one can really get mad at you or give you a dirty look when you're pushing a very old woman around in a wheelchair. Take up all the room in the aisle? No one can get angry. Accidentally knock something off of the shelf? No one can get angry. Have to ask a worker a dumb question about where something is? He can't get angry. I'm pretty sure we could have gotten away with murder. In conclusion: if I ever want to commit a crime in broad daylight, I just need to bring a wheelchaired, elderly amiga along.

On Wednesday, I was working in Hoorn with Elder Hunter, the Scottish guy. It was pretty fun -- I got to see this woman from New Zealand that Elder Pouwer and I worked with before the elders opened Hoorn and took her over! It was cool. She actually goes to church in Lelystad, so I hadn't seen her for a whole transfer. She is so much happier than she was when the missionaries first started meeting with her. It was amazing to see. There's only one downside -- we always meet with her outside, because of her living situation, and, if you remember, it was freezing cold. (She says that her Maori blood is too strong to be affected by the cold...) So, we talked to her on a bench in a park for an hour. In what we later found out was, with wind chill, the equivalent of -10°C. I'll never forget that lesson.

Carlos is doing so well. If all goes well, he will get baptized this transfer. He's started bringing his son to the lessons, too -- his son is around 10 years old, and he's awesome. Carlos is a fantastic missionary -- I don't think he's ever come to church without bringing a friend. Yesterday, he came to church with a friend who was a refugee from the Middle East. I'm not sure how they met -- Carlos does talk to everyone he meets about whatever he wants, so I wasn't too surprised. We had a lesson with him on Friday, and a friend of his was there. It got kind of off topic, and I ended up talking to the friend of Carlos while Elder Pouwer talked to Carlos himself. Carlos' friend was cool, but had some interesting ideas... He claimed that saying "amen" at the end of a prayer was a little discriminatory, and that he'd rather end his prayer with "hallelujah." Or, "amen and a woman." I guess "amen" sounds a little too much like "a man" for his taste. Haha. He was a great guy with some interesting insights, though.

The branch fell in love with the four of us missionaries yesterday (if they hadn't already). Elder Hunter is a musical genius, and we were responsible for a musical number. Elder Hunter came up with this arrangement on the piano, and -since Alkmaar isn't too big of a branch- we came up with a version of the song "Silent Night," with lyrics in the languages of all native-tongues represented in the branch. Elder Hunter, Elder Pouwer, and Elder Cooper had all sung a lot in the past and performed, and I...well, I've sung a lot of Taylor Swift in the shower... Anyways, we sounded pretty dang good, singing silent night in a mix of Dutch, English, Portuguese, Spanish, Ukrainian, and Cantonese. I don't think our Ukrainian and Cantonese were very understandable. But, it's the thought that counts, right? The members loved it.

Also, on Saturday, I got to wrestle Elder Pouwer while we both wore fat-suits. But...de tijd is voorbij. Maybe next time. ;)

-Elder Bonney

Me and our previous, proud Maori investigator, now taught by the Hoorn elders!

Chilling with a half-Brazilian part-member family, the Munsters. Gotta love them.

Week 77: "You did something, it is not so good? Smiling."

                                                                                                                                                                    December 1, 2014

IT'S SO COLD OUTSIDE.

This week, the temperature took a dive. It went from being reasonably bearable to being freezing. I do not like it. It's definitely scarf weather now (and I'm trying to convince other missionaries that it's earmuff weather...it's a work in progress). The cold here isn't the normal cold, either -- it's a humid, biting cold. It goes right through your clothes sometimes. (Well, almost. I imagine that it's never quite as bad as walking around Alkmaar naked in this weather would be.) I went running this morning in what I'm pretty sure was... 0°C weather. My lungs will never be the same. Though, it is said that sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven...

I was hardly in my area this past week -- there was so much to do, so many things that were going on. Elder Moreira, from the Quorum of the 70, visited our mission for the week, and there were a few activities revolving around that. Let me tell you -- Elder Moreira is absolutely amazing. He's got a phenomenal testimony, and he's absolutely hilarious. He's from Portugal -- his Portuguese accent (and not super fluent English) is awesome.

On Wednesday, Elder Moreira spoke at a zone conference for about half of the mission (he did the other half at a zone conference the next day). Elder Pouwer and I drove down to Rotterdam that morning -- it was the first time I've actually been in the city of Rotterdam in my whole mission. Rotterdam is pretty...ghetto. And driving there is crazy (Elder Pouwer has accidentally almost killed me more than once, but we aren't going to talk about that). Anyways, the conference itself was fantastic. I kid you not, Elder Moreira laughed almost through the entire thing. I was surprised that he didn't pass out from laughing so much. He is honestly one of the happiest guys I've ever met. He talked about a few things, including obedience and being -- you guessed it -- happy while on a mission. It was really good for me; it inspired me to work harder for these last six months. In his English (which was definitely understandable, but still funny), he also dropped some great quotes. One of my favorites was when he was talking about being cheerful, even with making mistakes: "you did something, it is not so good? Smiling." There it is, boys and girls. Smile in the face of mistakes. "Never we need to fight." "Always keep with the smiling." The list goes on.

Thursday comes -- in the morning, Elder Pouwer and I had to go down to Bussum to help clean out the old apartment that the mission is getting rid of. We got to destroy things and through them in a dumpster. It was every boy's dream (including Elder Robison, the office senior couple elder. I've never seen him smile so big as I did when I saw him smashing old furniture). Later that day, after a quick dinner (some noodles, I think), Elder Pouwer and I set off for Den Haag for a fireside given by Elder Moreira. (It was at this point that we realized that our Thanksgiving dinner had just been noodles. A Thanksgiving meal to remember...) We'd invited an awesome family from our branch to come, and they showed up to the fireside, which was great. We sat next to them, and I waited for the hysterical Elder Moreira to crack me up again. But this time, it was different -- he spent most of the fireside testifying powerfully and inviting the Spirit. It was indescribable. He was still the funny Elder Moreira, but he knew what the people at the fireside (which was meant for primarily investigators and less actives) needed. We had someone there who we were really hoping would feel the Spirit, and she did -- the words that Elder Moreira spoke pierced her soul. The difference in Elder Moreira between that day and the day before was subtle, yet powerful.

The next day, Friday, Elder Pouwer and I drove down to Leidschendam for Mission Leader Council. Elder Moreira was the special guest at MLC, and he didn't disappoint. It was more of a mix between how he was Wednesday and Thursday. He got down to business and gave us some really good advice for leading the mission. Let some more funny quotes loose and shared some great stories -- some hilarious, some very spiritual. It was a great experience having him there.

Also, in the middle of the meeting, I may have yelled the word "uterus" at him. Before you judge, I can explain. He was talking about how important women are and was making some comparison between women and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He reached one word, and turned to the Portuguese speaking missionary who was there to translate for his wife, saying the word in Portuguese. This missionary, Elder Conatti (who speaks practically perfect English), just shrugs. Then, Elder Moreira tries to explain what it is, pointing and making gestures, asking us what the word is in English. I'm the first to answer: "uterus!!" I answered wrong. A sister who was there got it, though: amniotic fluid. How was I supposed to know that? Well, not everyone can say they've yelled the word "uterus" at a seventy.

So on Tuesday, I was on splits in Amsterdam, working with my old friend, Elder Besendorfer. It's been over a year since we were companions! We taught a lesson to a hip African man inside the hair salon he worked in, but that's a story for another time. Anyways, we contact this woman on the street, and we start talking to her about the Book of Mormon. She says, "Mormon..that sounds so familiar!" Yeah? So we talk a little more, and she starts talking about missionaries she met in the Antilles -- "they're from your church, right?" Well, they were both American and rotated frequently -- getting transferred. Yep, those are our boys. "Wait...you guys baptize while wearing all white, right?" Yes, that's correct. What was she getting at? "I did that in Curaçao!"

Uh, what? You are a baptized member of our church, and the name "Mormon" just sounds familiar? I didn't even know what to say...haha. They have an appointment with her, though, so we'll see what happens.

I would say more. But moderation in all things, right? Including this weekly email. I'm too cold to think straight.

And remember -- always keep the smiling.

--Elder Bonney

Week 76: "This canned bread was sealed before my parents were!" **ADDRESS CHANGE**

November 24, 2014

So...it's about that time of the week again. And my brain is a little fried, so don't expect too much. (Hopefully, by lowering your expectations, you'll be pleasantly surprised with however this ends up...)

Also, my body is fried right now. Let me tell you a little about physical exercise on a mission. As missionaries, we get thirty minutes every morning, somewhere between 6:30 and 7:30, to exercise. It's required. I used to exercise a lot more at home, so half an hour shouldn't be hard to productively fill, right? Wrong. Anyone who has done workouts at home knows that working out at home without equipment is way different than working out at a gym. I'm so tired of doing pushups. But, that's beside the point. This half hour can be used to keep one in decent shape. To be completely honest, despite the fact that it's a rule, I haven't used those thirty minutes every single day on my mission... And sometimes, I suffer blatant consequences for it. Which brings me to my next point. 

On Saturday, our zone (about twenty-six missionaries) went to Vondel Park, in Amsterdam, to have a Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl. We played about three hours of good old, traditional American football. My athleticism hasn't diminished too much on my mission -- I played some pretty good football. Actually, probably the best football I've played since...ever. It was great. We all had a good time. Sunday morning, though, I woke up, fell out of bed, and my legs were screaming. My legs haven't been so sore in a long time. The soreness carried over to today -- it's getting better now, but I've learned an important lesson about exercising as a missionary. Do it. Or, don't Turkey Bowl.

Do you remember how we told you all about Hank, the old, Dutch friend of Carlos? Well, we visited him this past week and taught him a first lesson. It was actually pretty funny -- we showed up at his door (we'd set an appointment with him, and he'd given us his address), and he comes out, and begins to say, in his Friesian Dutch, "No, I don't want to go to your church anymore! Carlos brings me, but I don't have a choice! I'm too old for church -- I'm 84. I'm too unhealthy and too shy!" It was a pretty funny scene. We calmed him down (he realized that we weren't there to force him to join or come to our church), and he let us in. Then, we were able to teach him. He's a funny old guy. Then, he came to our fireside on Friday. And loved it.

Oh yeah, the fireside on Friday! The Hoorn elders, Elder Cooper and Elder Hunter, put most of it together, and then on Friday evening, all four of us directed the fireside. It was a compilation of scriptures, quotes, and Mormon messages, all about serving others. It was...amazing. The Spirit was so strong. It was super powerful. Everyone was feeling it -- smiles and tears all around. There were over ten non-members there, including Carlos and his son. And Hank. AND another friend of Carlos (who used to be investigating the church). They all loved it. Side note: can I just say that Carlos is a powerhouse? He's an amazing guy. But back to the fireside -- one of the quotes that was shared was about how, when we die, God isn't going to ask us how many callings we had, but about how many people we helped. It made me ask myself how I could do better to be more focused on others. I loved the entire evening.

Earlier on Friday, before the fireside, I had one of my "how did I end up doing this?" moments. Elder Hunter, Elder Pouwer, and I were standing on the balcony, holding onto ropes which were attached to a big couch. The couch was rested on the edge of the balcony. As we pushed the couch over the edge, it swung back, slamming against the side of the building (fortunately, it was just that hearing-aid place we live above...I hope they didn't hear it), while we tried to maintain control with the ropes. Elder Pouwer and I were moving out of our apartment in Heiloo, and we had to get the couches out somehow. After discovering that they wouldn't fit down the staircase, there was only one solution -- go buy ropes and lower the couches over the balcony. It ended up working. Kind of. After a long day, we got most of our stuff to our new, healthy apartment. And so my new address is:

Willem de Zwijgerlaan 78

1814 KE Alkmaar

the Netherlands

Don't send any more mail to the Heiloo address! And if you do...tell me. I'll try to get it. We'll see.

While we were cleaning out the apartment in Heiloo, we found a can of German pumpernickel (I think) bread. While trying to figure out what it was, Elder Hunter and I realized that the can was sealed in the year 1990. I WASN'T EVEN BORN THEN. My PARENTS weren't even sealed then. You bet that I busted out a can-opener and opened that almost 25-year old can, expecting some crazy mold creature to emerge...but, it only smelled like alcohol -- something in the bread had fermented in the can. It was anticlimactic. But hey -- not everyone can say they opened a can sealed in Germany in 1990.

As far as our investigators go, Victor is doing really well. There was a super complicated and weird situation in which he almost went to Aruba to visit a dying relative, but it didn't work out last minute...sadly. But, it's better for his baptism, since he has his heart set on getting baptized on his birthday, the 6th of December, and if he went to Aruba, he would have gotten back only one or two days before then. I believe that it's inspired that he stays here -- there are a lot of personal things he needs to figure out, in addition to his baptism. It's interesting to see the way our Heavenly Father helps us out. Not always the way we expect. Anyway, Victor's testimony is rock-solid as ever. Talking to him sometimes makes me feel unconverted. That's a good thing, right? Haha. 

Yeah... I don't have anything else. Talk to you in December!

-Elder Bonney

Elder Alston and I were on exchanges in Alkmaar, and we had to stop in the Heiloo forest...it was just too irresistant for a photo-shoot.

Haarlem district. It's Turkey bowl time.

Week 75: "...am I smelling blueberry muffins?"

November 17, 2014

Friday. It was a nice day -- pretty cloudy, but not raining. I was on exchanges with Elder Andrew, a younger missionary, in the area of Zaandam. We were biking through a beautiful, very Dutch-looking suburb of Zaandam, with a nice river on one side and a highway and traintracks on the other. The nice breeze in my face, the sound of trains, with a thick smell in the air of...blueberry muffins?

"...am I smelling blueberry muffins?"

"Welcome to the many smells of Zaandam, Elder Bonney."

And the smells did come. Zaandam is a pretty industrial city, and by that, I mean that a lot of interesting foods are processed right outside of Zaandam. As we rode on, for a period of about twenty minutes, I was hit with waves of different smells...first, blueberry muffins (that was probably my favorite smell)...next, ground wheat...the next one was hard to pinpoint, but I came to the conclusion that it was a strong stench of dog food, though I was never quite sure. We stopped in a neighborhood that smelled very clearly like dark chocolate. That was a rough one -- after knocking doors for a while with that smell everywhere, it made me want the blueberry muffin smell back. I did, though, experience the many smells of Zaandam, no joke.

Today marks two months since I was transferred here to Alkmaar! I can't believe how quickly it's gone by. Time escapes me. This past week was no exception. Between exchanges, visiting other cities, and getting things done here in Alkmaar, it feels like it was just yesterday that I emailed...this was a fun and relatively eventful week, though.

On Tuesday, we met with Carlos again! He is pretty awesome. Such a homie... He was actually here in the library just a few minutes ago, becoming friends with the Moroccan man sitting next to him. Carlos is seriously one of the most friendly people I've ever met. On Sunday, he showed up at church, and he just got along with everyone. When I saw him walk up to the doors of the church, I busted out in a grin and greeted him. He responded, "good morning, Elder Bonney! I brought my good friend, Hank," and introduces us to this 70+ year old Dutch man. Seeing Carlos, a super-talkative Guatemalan in his mid-forties, with this old, quiet Dutch man was pretty funny. Carlos is friends with everyone. And hey -- he's bringing his friends to church. And Hank loved the service. I can't complain.

Victor is also doing extremely well. I don't know if I've ever seen someone endure hardship so well -- he was talking to us about his past and the things he's been through, and some of them were pretty crazy. He's had a hard life. When you teach him, though, you can just feel how much God loves that man. On Tuesday evening, we ate dinner at a member's house with Victor -- the members are loving him. It's been really amazing to see the members open up to the investigators we've been bringing to church. I can't say that they aren't helping us out. After church on Sunday, Victor told us about how being at church always feels like home -- like where he belongs, and that he just feels really good. He told us that he never wants to miss a Sunday. We're working on some things with him, but Victor is making huge progress.

Okay, stamppot. I need to talk about stamppot. When people ask me what Dutch food is like, I usually tell them that the Dutch just pick and grab things from other cultures -- which is largely true. Lots of "Dutch" food is more Indonesian than Dutch. However, there is one extremely Dutch meal -- stamppot and sausage. Stamppot isn't a super complicated concept; basically, it's mashed potatoes with vegetables (cabbage, spinach, carrots, etc.) and maybe some other stuff mixed in. It's a pretty good meal, and it's very Dutch -- however, it doesn't get fed to us very often. At least, until recently. On Sunday night, at some members' home a week ago, we had stamppot and sausage. Then, on Tuesday evening, with Victor and the member family, we had stamppot and sausage. On Wednesday, I was on exchanges in Haarlem, and the member who fed us dinner gave us...stamppot and sausage. And THEN (yep, there's more), on Thursday night, guess what Elder Pouwer and I had for dinner at a member's home? Stamppot and sausage. Four times within five days. Some call it Dutch eating. I call it death by stamppot.

For any of you who have seen the movie "the Best Two Years," you might know that most of the movie was filmed in the city of Haarlem, in North Holland. However, I have told a number of people that that movie is a lie, because there have been sister missionaries in Haarlem for forever, and no elders. At least, until a few weeks ago. There weren't enough sister missionaries in the mission, so the Haarlem sisters were replaced by Haarlem elders! (There are still sister missionaries that attend the Haarlem ward, but they serve in the beach city of IJmuiden. They've been there for about a year now.) And the third elder to get to serve in the city of Haarlem was...me. (It was just for a day, but it still counts.) So if you've ever seen the movie, just know -- I've worked there. I even saw specific places in the Haarlem Station from the movie. It was pretty awesome. I was working with Elder Silva, a greenie who just got out a few weeks ago. (Not to be confused with Elder da Silva in Den Helder.) Elder Silva is Brazilian, but he's from Portugal. We had a blast.

Before I forget -- on Friday night, Elder Andrew and I were coming back from a ward activity, a sports evening, in the Amsterdam church building. It ended a little late, and we ended up being on the tram to Amsterdam Centraal at 9:30 on a Friday night. That was...interesting. Interesting people board the tram at such a time. Including, but not limited to, a group of pretty buff Irish guys who are a little drunk and all acting like pirates. True story. I don't get intimidated (that's not the right word for a manly guy like me), but I was...on edge. Fortunately, they only punched each other.

To close off, I'll share a quick story from Saturday. On Saturday afternoon, Elder Pouwer and I were coming back from a meeting at the Amsterdam church building, and the Amsterdam sisters were on the same tram as us. We all sat down, and we noticed a man sitting on a tram seat, with his pet rabbit sitting on the seat next to him. (You see the weirdest things on Amsterdam's trams.) The sisters start talking to him, and he asks if they would like to hold his rabbit. He picks it up and hands it to Sister Frandsen. She excitedly takes it and holds it in her lap. And then, the rabbit proceeds to immediately poop on her skirt.

Be careful on the trams in Amsterdam.

--Elder Bonney

After district leader council on Saturday, we couldn't resist going back to the Burger Bar. This time, though, Ben wasn't there.

Week 74: "God slapped me. Softly."

November 10, 2014

Last week, I wrote about how we had been blessed with the nicest November weather ever. Well, I spoke too soon. The temperature dropped about 10 degrees (Celsius) the very next day -- just in time for three back-to-back exchanges. But, I made it through alive. It could have been worse. I should consider myself lucky -- for the whole time I was away on exchanges this week and outside of the house, it didn't rain...

Before I go on, I gotta explain something really quickly. Some people who don't know much about the Netherlands might think that we spend all of our time here working with and talking to Dutch people. That is not true. There are a TON of people from different places here, and there are also missionaries called to meet those needs. In my mission, most missionaries are called to speak Dutch, but some are also called to speak Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese. (These missionaries all have to speak Dutch too, though.) Surprised? Did my mission just get cooler in your eyes? I hope so.

So on Tuesday, after district meeting, we went on exchanges with the Amsterdam elders. I got to work with Elder Tjong-Ayong again, in Amsterdam. He's called to the mission speaking Chinese. And so, for a little over an hour, I got to sit in a lesson with a recent convert from China who speaks no Dutch and no English, only Chinese. The only English he knew was "nice to meet you" and "bye-bye," in his very Chinese accent. (To be fair, the only Chinese I know is "ni-hao" and a phrase I learned on TV -- supposedly meaning, "duty before self; I will not disappoint you, rainbow chicken" -- but it turns out, that isn't real Chinese anyway -- the guy didn't understand my attempts of unproductive communication.) So, for most of the appointment, I sat there, trying not to fall asleep. And when we watched the Restoration video in Chinese, it was really hard to stay awake. But, I made it through.

The next day, Wednesday, we were on exchanges with the Den Helder elders. I worked in Den Helder with Elder da Silva, a Brazilian who was called to the mission to speak... Portuguese. But, I didn't have to sit uselessly in any Portuguese appointments. We did, however, contact a few Portuguese-speakers. How (and why?) do any Portuguese-speakers make it to Den Helder? Beats me.

By Thursday, I was starting to think that I was a hobo-missionary, without my own city... I worked in the city of Leiden with Elder Argueta. And he was called to the mission to speak...Spanish. Yeah, it was a pretty international week. Elder Argueta and I had a pretty fun day together -- we gave a restoration lesson to this one guy, and he was really great. And crazy. I forgot his complicated Algerian name, so Í'll just call him Mel (because he reminds me of an Algerian, crazy, Dutch-speaking Mel Gibson). According to Mel, he knows very many things, but is not a prophet (actually, what he said is, "I won't say that I'm a prophet."). He gambles a lot, because, in his words, "gambling is investing, and that's better than just throwing my money away on beer or something." Well...yes and no. Somewhere in the middle of the lesson, Mel starts telling us about how he came to believe in God. Apparently, one day, he was walking down the street. Mel sees a coffee shop (uh oh). He says to himself, "hey, I'm feeling a little sad and bored. Maybe I should go smoke a joint." (Great thought process, I know.) He walks into the coffee shop...and smokes a marijuana joint. Mel tells us that he's contemplating smoking another one, when...God struck him. "I was standing there, and then...God slapped me. Softly. Not hard." He shows us on his own face. Needless to say, teaching Mel was something to be remembered.

Later that day, in the evening, we went to go contacting in the centrum, and stumbled upon some charity concert for child rights. We found the Dutch Justin Bieber. Also, in the middle of the fifteen minutes of singing, a flying man came out of the river that runs through the city. No, seriously -- he had like a water jet-pack...kind of. The water like came out of his feet. He looked like Iron Man. It was awesome.

Do you guys remember Carlos? Well...he's back! He got back from vacation, and we'll be meeting with him on Tuesday. I'm super stoked. I've missed that Guatemalan amigo.

Here's something cool -- on Saturday, Elder Pouwer and I went to go on splits with the elders in Hoorn. They're re-opening the city after it had been closed for a few transfers, and they'd been struggling to find people, so we thought that we'd go help them out. Hoorn is a beautiful city -- right on the IJsselmeer. I got to work with Elder Hunter (the singing Scot!). Before we left to go finding, we decided to say a prayer and set a goal with God for how many people we wanted to find who would let us visit them. Afterwards, we were both feeling the same number -- four. Four is a pretty ambitious goal for the three hours we had to find people, but it felt right. We went out and talked to a ton of people, worked really hard. Three hours later, when we came back for dinner, we had found four people. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Yesterday, we taught this cool Romanian homegirl, Miley. I got to practice my three and a half year old Romanian. Unfortunately, the only Romanian I really remembered from my few weeks there in the summer of 2011 were some of the phrases the Romanian kids had taught me, meaning, "I look like a monkey." "You look like a parrot." "Where is the bathroom?" So, I at the appointment, I told Miley that I spoke a little Romanian, then rehearsed those sentences by memory in that order. She got a kick out of that.

Well...I'm done.

-Elder Bonney

Here's me, Elder Argueta, and our new homie, the Algerian Mel Gibson. Why does he remind me of Mel Gibson? I haven't figured that one out yet.