Week 95: "Second Easter? Another Easter??"

April 6, 2015

 

Ladies and gentlemen...this week's email will not be very long, because the library is closed today, so Elder Matos and I have to share the church's one computer to email. Sorry...

So yeah, the library is closed today for tweede paasdag, or "second Easter." I've probably talked about this before, but I don't understand second Easter. They also have a second Christmas. I've probably said that before, too... We showed up at the library today and saw that it was closed, and Elder Matos got a little frustrated and said, "second Easter? Another Easter?? But you don't even believe in God!!" It made me life. Needless to say, we've talked to a lot of people together who don't believe in God, but still like getting a day off from work. Those bums...

But it's okay, you know, because Jesus Christ DID live. And we aren't the only ones that know it (or want to know) -- this past week is a testament to that. Things are getting exciting here in Tilburg, that's for sure, and we've been seeing some miracles. The Easter video from the church website, Because He Lives, has been spinning around Facebook and generating a good amount of referrals for us, and we've found some people to teach because of it, which is great! That includes this one woman who was pretty positive and ended up coming to general conference yesterday with some member friends from other units. She seemed to enjoy it... We'll see what happens.

One of the coolest miracles from the past week happened on Saturday -- Elder Matos and I were walking to look up someone we'd met, and we decided to knock some doors on the way. The first few doors were decidedly not positive people. Then, this young adult guy opens a door and defers immediately to his grandmother, who was pretty sassy. They were from the Dutch Caribbean. The grandma first tells us to come back another time, then says, "wait...I don't have time right now, but my grandson needs to talk to you. He's got problems." And she gives him that grandmotherly "you know I'm right" look. So, we come inside and start talking to him. To make a long story short, he'd been going through some rough times and wanted to find happiness and strengthen his relationship with God. We taught a really good lesson, and he seems excited to meet with us again. Before we left, the grandma (who had been sitting in the same room doing something else during the lesson) tells us that just a half hour before we came, she'd been sitting on the very same couch we were sitting on, and she prayed that God would send someone else besides her to talk with her grandson about God. Then, we show up. She (who is a self-declared very converted Catholic) looks at us and says, "the Lord sent you two for my grandson, answering my prayer." Pretty cool, huh? Being a missionary can be pretty great.

There aren't a lot of Muslims in America, but maybe one of you has seen a Muslim man, decked out in his worship clothes (beats me what they're called). Robes and everything, with a nice, thick beard. I was on exchanges with Elder Hosea the other day, here in Tilburg, and we were biking somewhere. We often stop while biking to talk to people we see (it looks weird, but we're weird enough as it us -- we stop people all day to talk to them about Jesus. Doing it on bikes isn't much more weird), and we were riding past this Muslim guy. We pretty much avoid contacting people who are very obviously Muslim -- it's the religious equivalent of trying to sell electric scooters to Amish people. Furthermore, they often get offended ("I'm obviously Muslim! I respect your religion, you need to respect mine!" <-- we get that a lot). Anyway, I jokingly say to Elder Hosea that we're going to talk to this guy. I just hear his voice behind me... "whoa..okay." I laugh. I ride past the guy, and then I hear the sound of Elder Hosea's brakes -- he was actually talking to him! I figured this man would shut Elder Hosea down pretty quickly, but after a few minutes, I approached the conversation. Turns out, he was trying to explain Islam to Elder Hosea and...well, convert him. Yep. Just another day in the life.

All work and no play makes Jack...hate life. Elder Matos and I like to have a little fun every now and then -- last Monday, we went to Amsterdam for Elder Matos' birthday. (He has distant relatives in the Amsterdam area and got permission from Pres. Robinson to visit them.) His relatives loved seeing him, and because it was his birthday, they treated him well -- taking him out to eat for lunch and dinner, paying for a boat tour, and more... Since I came with Elder Matos (as missionaries, we're kind of a package deal), they payed for me too. I didn't get any birthday gifts, like Matos did, but still -- not too shabby. ;)

I gotta run. That's all for today. Stay fresh, amigos. (Obviously, with Elder Matos, I'm picking up some Spanish.) And..adios.

-Elder Bonney

 

Hanging out on the famous Rembrandt square in Amsterdam.