May 4, 2015
Here I am. It looks like I made it through the nine days since I
last emailed…haha. Judging by how crazy it was on Monday, you might not
have been sure that I’d make it to today!
Monday was Koningsdag (King’s Day), and all the missionaries in the district went to Breda, where we set up a table and handed out pamphlets, cards, and copies of the Book of Mormon. To try and describe Koningsdag… I don’t remember what I said last year, but it’s basically a mixture between a giant, national party (with more than enough alcohol) and a huge yardsale. Because yardsales aren’t usually legal here, everyone uses Koningsdag to go out, throw blankets on the ground, throw all their old stuff on those blankets, and sell all of it. I have to admit, there were some pretty good deals, and I would have bought a lot of stuff if I were actually living here as a normal person. (So, for the sake of keeping my living space organized, it’s probably a good thing I’m a missionary.) Since there were eight of us missionaries at the same location in Breda, we took turns going out and seeing the different ways people were trying to make money. Besides the usual yardsale stuff, there were a lot of interesting attractions -- kids were playing their musical instruments, there were breakdancers, there were challenges (“hang two minutes from this pull-up bar and win twenty euros!”), but my favorite (and the most ridiculous) were the people who were letting themselves get pelted with raw eggs for money. There were at least three locations with people doing that. I kid you not.
And guess who came to our table when we were handing out copies of the Book of Mormon? John the Baptist. The same from a few weeks ago. Go figure.
After the giant yardsale and all the attractions, the only thing remaining is all the partiers…and the alcohol. So, we dropped by a Turkish restaurant, ate some shoarma, then headed home while trying to avoid running into too many drunk people (I can’t speak for the rest of the Netherlands, but in Breda and Tilburg, there were a lot). And…that was Koningsdag.
On Tuesday, I got to go on exchanges with Elder Goff in Vlissingen. Vlissingen was beautiful, just like the last time I was there – last August. We had a dinner appointment, and it was with an older woman from Suriname and a middle-aged Dutch man, who she’d invited (they were both members). Partway through, she started talking about how some people in the country had recently been arrested for fighting and biting a police officer. “You aren’t allowed to bite police,” she says. Then the Dutch guy gets this look in his eye, and he says, “it has nothing to do with police… You can’t just bite people! It doesn’t matter who they are.” They went on for a good little while, and Elder Goff and I just laughed. The conversations I’ve been in…
Unfortunately, later on, I started getting sick, and for most of Wednesday, I was stuck at home with a fever. It wasn’t much fun. On Thursday, we were able to get a little more work done, but I still wasn’t 100% (I’m still not, but I’m almost there now). A number of appointments this past week were canceled, too, due to other people being sick – a lot of members were sick last week. So, I guess I fit right in? I belong here. It must be true.
Later, on Thursday, we were on the bus back from the branch president’s home. It’s about a 35-minute bus ride. At one point, in this little town, the bus driver stops the bus (not at a bus-stop), leaves the bus running, and just gets out, leaving the door open. There were about five or six of us in the bus. We were looking around – what is he doing? Where did he go? After a few minutes, he returns triumphantly, ice cream cone in hand. He looked pretty happy. Elder Byers and I thought it was pretty funny.
I don’t have much else to report from this week – the investigators are doing alright, and the members are taking good care of us. The weather is pretty nice, so I guess it’s time to get some good work done!
Monday was Koningsdag (King’s Day), and all the missionaries in the district went to Breda, where we set up a table and handed out pamphlets, cards, and copies of the Book of Mormon. To try and describe Koningsdag… I don’t remember what I said last year, but it’s basically a mixture between a giant, national party (with more than enough alcohol) and a huge yardsale. Because yardsales aren’t usually legal here, everyone uses Koningsdag to go out, throw blankets on the ground, throw all their old stuff on those blankets, and sell all of it. I have to admit, there were some pretty good deals, and I would have bought a lot of stuff if I were actually living here as a normal person. (So, for the sake of keeping my living space organized, it’s probably a good thing I’m a missionary.) Since there were eight of us missionaries at the same location in Breda, we took turns going out and seeing the different ways people were trying to make money. Besides the usual yardsale stuff, there were a lot of interesting attractions -- kids were playing their musical instruments, there were breakdancers, there were challenges (“hang two minutes from this pull-up bar and win twenty euros!”), but my favorite (and the most ridiculous) were the people who were letting themselves get pelted with raw eggs for money. There were at least three locations with people doing that. I kid you not.
And guess who came to our table when we were handing out copies of the Book of Mormon? John the Baptist. The same from a few weeks ago. Go figure.
After the giant yardsale and all the attractions, the only thing remaining is all the partiers…and the alcohol. So, we dropped by a Turkish restaurant, ate some shoarma, then headed home while trying to avoid running into too many drunk people (I can’t speak for the rest of the Netherlands, but in Breda and Tilburg, there were a lot). And…that was Koningsdag.
On Tuesday, I got to go on exchanges with Elder Goff in Vlissingen. Vlissingen was beautiful, just like the last time I was there – last August. We had a dinner appointment, and it was with an older woman from Suriname and a middle-aged Dutch man, who she’d invited (they were both members). Partway through, she started talking about how some people in the country had recently been arrested for fighting and biting a police officer. “You aren’t allowed to bite police,” she says. Then the Dutch guy gets this look in his eye, and he says, “it has nothing to do with police… You can’t just bite people! It doesn’t matter who they are.” They went on for a good little while, and Elder Goff and I just laughed. The conversations I’ve been in…
Unfortunately, later on, I started getting sick, and for most of Wednesday, I was stuck at home with a fever. It wasn’t much fun. On Thursday, we were able to get a little more work done, but I still wasn’t 100% (I’m still not, but I’m almost there now). A number of appointments this past week were canceled, too, due to other people being sick – a lot of members were sick last week. So, I guess I fit right in? I belong here. It must be true.
Later, on Thursday, we were on the bus back from the branch president’s home. It’s about a 35-minute bus ride. At one point, in this little town, the bus driver stops the bus (not at a bus-stop), leaves the bus running, and just gets out, leaving the door open. There were about five or six of us in the bus. We were looking around – what is he doing? Where did he go? After a few minutes, he returns triumphantly, ice cream cone in hand. He looked pretty happy. Elder Byers and I thought it was pretty funny.
I don’t have much else to report from this week – the investigators are doing alright, and the members are taking good care of us. The weather is pretty nice, so I guess it’s time to get some good work done!
Keep it real. Until next week.
-Elder Bonney
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| The district on Koningsdag. For those of you who have wondered who my companion is, he's the one on the far right of the picture. |
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| Saw this in the centrum this morning. Someone got pranked, the Dutch way. |
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