Elder John Bonney: Week 91: "Are you two talent scouts??"

March 9, 2015

Transfers are always a blur. My last few days in Alkmaar were really good -- I was able to see and say goodbye to some great friends I'd made in Alkmaar, both members and investigators. After almost six months of serving there, it was weird to have to say goodbye. Alkmaar wasn't the easiest city I've served in -- there have been times I've wondered if some of the people we talked to on the street there were capable of feeling the emotion of love -- but, at the end of the day, it definitely earned a spot in my heart.

And packing was as fun as ever...so, not fun at all haha. But hey, that's the life of a missionary. It was strange to think that the next time I pack up all my stuff will probably be when I'm going home in twelve weeks. On Wednesday, Elder Neptune and I headed down to Leiden for transfers. We said goodbye (wow, I'm going to miss that kid), and I got on a train to Utrecht. In Utrecht, I met up with Elder Matos, my new companion. We got on a train to Tilburg.

...so, the adventure begins. We've definitely hit the ground running here in Tilburg, keeping busy and working hard. We don't have many people to teach right now, but we're hoping to fix that soon. I don't know if I've ever been so motivated to talk to the people we come in contact with about the gospel. It's the final quarter (read: eighth), and you know what they say -- finish hard or don't finish at all. Well, actually, I might be the only one who says that...catchy, right?

Elder Matos is a fun missionary to work with. He's been on his mission for about six months now. He was born in Peru, but he moved to Canada when he was really young, and he lived in Toronto and Montreal. So, he speaks English, French, Spanish, and now Dutch. And I used to be proud that I could call myself bilingual, now that I speak Dutch... Elder Matos is a hard worker, and I'm hoping that we have a good time together.

The branch here in Tilburg seems pretty great. Before I left for Tilburg, I was in the mission office, saying goodbye to Elders Alston and Rudolph, my Eindhoven companions -- they had finished their missions and were going home. I had the chance to speak briefly with Sister Robinson, and she started talking to me about Tilburg -- she said that I was heading to "Boom Incorporated." Well...she was right. The Boom family runs the show down here -- there are two Boom brothers in Tilburg, and one is an area seventy, the other is the stake president. And they have kids. And their kids have little kids. And I think they all live in Tilburg. The branch president is a Boom, the first counselor in the branch presidency is a Boom, the Relief Society president is married to a Boom so she is a Boom (duh), the ward mission leader is NOT a Boom...but his wife is a Boom. In short: yes, the Booms run the show here. They're amazing -- if it weren't for them, TIlburg wouldn't have become a branch. They're super missionary-oriented, too. The pressure is on for us to perform.

It actually just became a branch a little over a year ago, but you wouldn't know that from being in sacrament meeting on Sunday. There were a lot of people present, and it was a fun place to be. It was definitely different -- there are a good amount of younger families (okay, like four or something, but that's more than just about anywhere else I've served), so there are a lot of little kids in sacrament meeting! It's great.

I don't have much time, but I'll share a short story before I go. Elder Matos and I were walking around, looking up some people in a neighborhood. These little African and Muslim kids were playing soccer. They start talking to us. We ask one of them, "speel je goed voetbal?" (Are you good at soccer?) This kid looks at us, wide-eyed, and asks, "are you two talent scouts??" We laughed and told him that we weren't. Then his friends laughed at him and told him he'd never play pro-soccer.

Well, little kid, hang on to your dreams. Maybe someday.

Hang on to your dreams, too. Until next time.

-Elder Bonney