Week 36: "I think she understood about... 1% of what we just said."

February 17, 2014

Well, just like that, my fifth transfer (and first in Lelystad) is over. These past six weeks have blown away like dust in the wind. Seriously.

And... I will be staying here in the blessed city of Lelystad! Where it rains way too much. And, as usual, I will be getting a new companion. I have never had a companion for more than six weeks, and it'll stay that way at least for now. It may be the case that I'm such a hard companion that God is too kind to make anyone stay with me for more than six weeks. I'm joking (I hope). Elder Robbins will be going down to Belgium to become a district leader, and I will be getting Elder Goates. I'm looking forward to it. I had the opportunity of going on exchanges with Elder Goates when he was a greenie, and he's a good guy.

So, this past week! Good week. As usual, my companion and I worked hard, and the time flew by. On Wednesday, we had a zone conference, given by the APs and President and Sister Robinson. Some good advice was delivered. One of my favorite parts of zone conferences is hearing the "dying missionaries" (missionaries who are finishing their missions) bear their testimonies. It's always nice to hear what lessons people have learned on their missions, and to hear how they've changed. It makes me wonder what wisdom I'll have to share by the time I get to the end of this adventure.

This past Saturday, our branch had a Valentine's Day activity! It was a dinner, and tons of non-members were invited. The members really stepped up and invited a lot of friends. Elder Robbins and I had twelve investigators RSVP and say that they were coming. Awesome! The dinner started, and none of our investigators were there. We waited...and waited...nothing. Great. The activity was amazing, and it was really fun, but we were really disappointed that none of our investigators showed. We started talking to one visiting member about it (cool guy, around 30). He asked us to imagine how Heavenly Father feels about all of us who have made covenants with Him. He has laid out the terms, and we accepted them. And we fall short CONSTANTLY. Yet, He's always willing to give us a second chance. That is amazing. After that, Elder Robbins and I stopped our self-pity and started enjoying the dinner.

During the dinner, there was a "how well do you know your spouse" sort of activity, where an announcer would ask questions, and the seated couples would have to write the answers down with the goal of having the same answer. One time, Elder and Sister Evenhuis, the missionary senior couple, were up front, and the question was, "what is the wife's favorite attribute of the husband?" Sister Evenhuis held up her answer -- "his spirituality." Adorable. Elder Evenhuis revealed his answer -- "great lips." I could feel the spirituality, I really could.

On Monday last week, we walked into an appointment, and our investigator told us that she wasn't interested anymore, but she'd still have the appointment. We taught with the Spirit, and the appointment ended with her deciding to keep investigating and committing to come to church. We saw her at church yesterday. Miracles.

Last night, we taught a woman from Sierra Leone. She claimed to speak English, but I beg to differ... She nodded a lot and didn't say much, but swore she understood everything. We walked out of that appointment, and our joint-teach says, "well, I think she understood about...1% of what we just taught." Glorious. Fortunately, you don't have to understand English or Dutch to feel the Spirit.

This morning, we got to go to Amsterdam! We visited the Anne Frank House and got a free boat tour from a member. It was pretty awesome. AMSTERDAM!

It's about that time. But hey -- keep it real until next week. I hope you had a great Valentine's Day, everyone! Keep on keeping on.

--Elder Bonney

PS -- I finally attached pictures!

Me and Elder Robbins, looking netjes at the zone conference.

The Lelystad missionaries, elders and sisters, after a long evening of helping out at the Valentine's activity. Enjoy.

Week 35: "Sorry boys, no time -- speed skating is on! It's just too exciting!"

February 10, 2014

The 2014 Olympics have begun, and the Dutch people have been busy rooting on their speed-skaters. We went to go look up an investigator the other day, and he answered the door in his bathrobe, informed us that the 5000 meter speed-skating finals were on, and it was absolutely too exciting. He did want us to come back another time, though (when speed-skating isn't on). And just so everybody knows -- in the men's 5000 meter skating race, the Netherlands took the bronze, silver, and -yes- the gold. They love their speed-skating.

If you're wondering, yes, this past week flew by also. We wake up every morning and have no idea how we're going to get everything done. And, usually, we don't get everything done that we need to -- it's been pretty crazy. There's still stuff that needs to be done today, too, so this won't be too long.

We've still had time to do some finding this past week, and we've seen some miracles. It's amazing how you can first start talking to somebody, and they'll be completely confrontational and stand-offish, but slowly you start to see the Spirit soften their heart, and they end up talking to you for five, ten, twenty minutes, and you make an appointment or they agree to come to church. It really is amazing.

With some people, though, it isn't so. On Thursday, I was on exchanges in Hilversum, another city in my district, working with an Elder Lindstrom. We stopped so that we could regain our bearings and figure out where we were. Suddenly, a guy screeched to a halt right next to us, and informed us that, if we wanted to live, we would get off his street and never show up again. Because if we stayed, he would kill us. So, there's that. We decided it was best to leave that happy man and his street.

There's this one kind of candy here, called drop. It's like salty black licorice. And it is...disgusting. But, Dutch people love it. They always try to offer it to me. "Don't you want genuine Dutch candy?" Not if it tastes like death and the wrath of Poseidon mixed together, no
.

Saturday was my birthday! And, birthdays are actually a big deal in the Netherlands. We were meeting with some Lelystad homies/investigators (because my birthday actually was still a work day, go figure), and when one of them found out that it was my birthday, he got up, left, and came back with doners, which are super delicious Turkish sandwiches. It was awesome.

Well, I got to bounce. There's still a lot to be done today. But keep it real, and enjoy the Olympics. I'll be back next week. Tot zo!

--Elder Bonney

Week 34: "Ha. That's a funny name."

February 3, 2014

Hey everyone!

This past week has zooomed by. Like, I feel like I say that every week, but seriously -- I feel like every week goes by even faster than the last. Elder Robbins and I have been so busy. We've end up rushing from appointment to appointment, and we're too busy to realize how fast time passes.

We've seriously been busier this past week than I have ever been during my whole mission. Elder Robbins and I have just fallen into a work groove, and we do serious work. The Lord has blessed us for our efforts -- last week, we taught more lessons than I've ever taught in one week before. We actually increased the most I'd ever done (which was the week before last with Elder Robbins...) by over 50%. It was crazy.

There was one day last week, Thursday I think, and it was going to be a really cold day. I knew it. Cold days are the worst for me. I prayed that I'd be able to make it through the cold that day. We had two appointments planned, but one called to reschedule soon after the day began. Wonderful. I just knew I was going to die in the cold. We got to work and started looking up people we needed to make appointments with, and, one by one, everyone started letting us in to teach them on the spot. We ended up teaching five lessons that day. Lesson learned -- the Lord answers our prayers. We just need to have a little faith that He will.

On Tuesday, I got to go to Den Haag (the Hague) on exchanges with the zone leaders. That was pretty fun. I really big cities. Groningen wasn't huge, but it was big, and I hope to have the opportunity to serve in another big city someday. Elder King, the elder I was on exchanges with, and I had a really good conversation. Somehow we ended up talking about the eternities... A general authority, Elder M. Russell Ballard, said that if you take a rope and stretch it infinitely in both directions, then tie a thread around the rope, the width of that thread in comparison to the rope's length is this life in compared to our eternal life. Hard to wrap your head around. Anyways, I said something along the lines of, "I just imagine eons in the future, looking back and hardly remembering this life." Elder King said that he doesn't see it that way -- our life on earth will always be something we remember, an experience we cherish. It isn't always an easy experience. But, we are so fortunate to live on this earth and have this experience. Through the hard times and the good, I'm grateful for it.

So, remember how I mentioned the bike paths last week? I forgot to mention a common sight...the fietspad auto. A car that is about as long as a bicycle, and just wide enough to seat two people snugly. These little cars are allowed on the bike paths. There's that for a little more biking excitement.

The weather has actually been really nice lately. It's great. It had been really cold (as I'm sure you all could tell by my complaining...), and I'd been getting better and better at bundling up and layering. Sometimes, I was actually one happy little guy, with two pairs of socks, thermals, a nice sweater, a fantastic scarf... Each day, I'd find some new little trick to keep warmer. Then, one day, it wasn't so cold. And I almost DIED. It was still cold outside, just not as cold as usual, but my layers were too much for the relatively high temperatures. That wasn't too much fun. But hey -- I got warm weather.

One day last week, Elder Robbins and I were looking up a potential investigator. He lived in an apartment complex, and we had to bell up. No answer. I looked at the list of names, and saw one name with literally fifteen letters in it. It looked pretty exotic. I pointed at it and said to Elder Robbins, "ha. That's a funny name." Elder Robbins: "Yep. Looks like a Somalian name. I bet he's Somalian." Then he rang the mystery name's bell. They buzzed us in. We ended up teaching the man and his wife two lessons last week. This is how the Lelystad elders find their investigators.

And he was Egyptian, not Somalian.

Stay cool. And I promise -- I'll take some pictures soon. I haven't taken a single one yet this transfer.

Peace and blessings.

--Elder Bonney

Week 33: "So...the rain just soaked through all four layers. I think I'm wet."

January 27, 2014

Last week marks six months of being in Europe. Wow.

This past week has flown by. This Wednesday marks the halfway mark of the transfer. I don't know where time is going... It just slips through my fingers. Elder Robbins and I are so busy that the days seem like they're over before they've even begun.

Last Wednesday, everyone in Den Haag Zone met up in Leiden for a zone conference. Besides the undeniable fact that it was sweet to be able to see a bunch of my buddies, the zone conference itself was inspired. We have some great zone leaders, and they delivered some good stuff. The Den Haag stake president also spoke to us. The Den Haag stake is implementing some serious online methods of getting referrals, and --if implemented correctly-- the cities in Ring Den Haag are going to be lit up soon. It'll be awesome.

Let me tell you all about fietspads (bike paths) here in the Netherlands. They are nuts. These little paved red paths all over the place, and they're like little bike highways. On fietspads, people are allowed to ride 1) bicycles, 2) bromers (they're like mini-motorcycles), 3) mopeds, and 4) scooters. And by scooters, I mean the scooters old people use to get around. They're no joke here. They have some serious speed. Old people are getting all around the city in style and with speed. You need to ride cautiously on a fietspad, or else you could get in a collision. I have to say, if my bike got in a fight with one of those scooters, the scooter would win.

On Thursday evening, Elder Robbins and I had too many appointments (in the Netherlands -- who'd have thought?) to do alone, so we went on splits with members. I went with a 70-ish year-old stud of a member, who happens to ride a... wait for it... scooter. The scooter he has is called an Elite XS or something like that. Like I said, no joke! We ended up getting lost on the way to the apartment (Lelystad is an easy city to get lost in -- the whole thing is like a maze, especially the fietspads). I'd stop to look at a map, then I'd turn around, and I'd see my temporary-companion zooming off. It took some serious thigh-power to catch up with him. He was great, though. We had a nice conversation. And we eventually found the house of the appointment on time -- despite the fact that we didn't know the address (that's a story for another time, though -- it was a miracle). It was an adventure, to say the least.

One of our investigators here in Lelystad is awesome. She's on the path to baptism. We're trying to help her quit smoking -- it's pretty much the only thing keeping her from getting baptized. It's amazing, seeing her progress though. I have no doubt that she'll conquer her smoking addiction.

We had one investigator in church yesterday! We'd had a lesson with him two weeks ago and invited him to come to church. Hadn't had a lesson since -- he'd been too busy. But, he showed up to church today! Elder Robbins and I were surprised. To top it off, this guy is schizophrenic, so that's...interesting.

If you're wondering how the weather has been...cold and wet. Cold and wet. Yesterday, from 4 PM to 9 PM, Elder Robbins and I had four appointments scheduled. One by one, they all fell through... Just another day in the life. We ended up biking around and knocking doors in the awful weather -- the skies decided to pour down on us. And, I was wearing four layers of clothing, which also got soaked. Wonderful. I think I'm still a little soggy from last night. But hey -- it'll be a night not to be soon forgotten.

Time to go. Until February! Tot ziens, and keep it real.

--Elder Bonney

Week 32: "Elder, I don't think we have any more food."

January 20, 2014

Hey, guys. So... I don't have very much email time today -- we spent the whole morning doing the bi-annual missionary apartment "deep clean," and p-day time is slowly ticking down. And, I'll be honest -- I want to have time to go out and take advantage of these European blow-out winter sales. You know me.

Yes, we ran out of food this week! Sort of. Somehow, we didn't shop smartly enough, and our food supply hit almost rock bottom. We got creative and survived, but that moment of realization that we had almost nothing left was pretty sad. It was a learning experience, to be sure.

This past week has gone by pretty quickly. Elder Robbins and I are always on the move -- always out going somewhere, talking to someone, doing something. I've never been so busy in my entire mission. We've decided that this transfer is the transfer to go all out, to just work ourselves as hard as we can. We've talked to so many people and taught so many lessons in the past week. I'm pretty exhausted, I'll be honest. And, I don't think Lelystad knows what just hit it, either.

Last Friday, my companion and I had the opportunity of working with a member of the Lelystad branch who is preparing to go on a mission. He worked most the day Friday with us. It made me look back on when I was getting ready to go -- last week, a year ago, I received my mission call: "You are assigned to labor in the Belgium/Netherlands mission." Now, missionary work feels second nature. It's who I am right now. And that piece of paper foreshadowed the two years that will - and are - changing my life forever. What an opportunity. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I'd love to share a funny story or two, a cool experience, or a spiritual insight, but it's time for me to wrap this up. However, my whole mission -- from my three months down south in Kortrijk to three I spent up north in Groningen to the time I've been spending here in Lelystad -- has been an enriching, fulfilling, incomparable adventure. And, next week, I'll be back with more. Because my two-year long journey is far from over.

--Elder Bonney

Week 31: "Are you allowed to wear jeans?"

January 13, 2014

So... I'm in Lelystad.

It was sad to say goodbyes to the Groningen members. They really were a great source of love and support. They make missionary work so easy! I'm going to miss them. But, the work goes on -- and the ward already loves my replacement in Groningen, Elder Toole (my second companion in the field!). The work will keep moving forward!

Last Tuesday was my last full day in Groningen. And, I think the city wanted to let me know how much it would miss me, because the skies were weeping. Bad joke. But seriously -- it POURED that day. It was pretty cold outside, and the rain came down and soaked me from head to toe. We were required to bike in such weather. It was...memorable. Around 6 PM, we showed up to some members' house for dinner, the Gouts. Zuster Gout just looks at me and tells me that there's no way I'm eating dinner in those pants. She made me change into Br. Gout's jeans and give her my pants to put in the drier. Br. Gout, seeing me in his jeans, asks if that's allowed. I certainly hope it was, because I did it.

On Wednesday, I said goodbye to Groningen, headed down to Utrecht, said goodbye to Elder Nelson, took a few more trains, and finally ended up with Elder Robbins in Lelystad. We dropped my stuff off and wasted no time getting to work. He's a hard worker, to say the least. It's going to be a good transfer.

So, Lelystad! Lelystad is an interesting city. Once upon a time, the North Sea covered a certain area. The Dutch people, being innovative and stubborn to the extent that they thought it would be wise to overpower nature, built dikes and drained an area of the Netherlands. Smack dab in the middle of that area, you have -- you guessed it -- Lelystad! The city built where the water should have been. Yep, I'm knocking doors and teaching people below sea level. Hopefully the North Sea doesn't decide it wants to come back anytime soon. Lelystad also happens to be one of the poorest cities in the country, and a lot of people who live here are living on government aid. It's an interesting situation, to be sure. Let's go.

It has been FREEZING recently. I don't know if I've ever been so cold on my mission. I layer up, but even then, the cold, wet air just pierces your five layers of clothing. I don't understand it. The air isn't playing fair. It's been a pretty mild winter so fair, but there are whispers in the wind that it's about to get a lot worse. Wish me luck.

Well, that's it for now. Keep it real, and keep your heads above water.

Much love.

--Elder Bonney

PS -- on LDS.org, there's an article called "That They Might Be One." There's a nice video to go along with it. It's about the Dutch saints in the mid 1900s. Watch it.https://history.lds.org/article/dutch-potatoes-video?lang=eng In it, there's a Dutch guy, Jan Weening. He is one of my favorite members in Groningen. Here we are.

Week 30: "The devil may be with me, but I'm bringing him to church!" **ADDRESS CHANGE**

January 6, 2014

"Hello?"

"Hey Angela, it's Elder Bonney! We were just calling to see if it was still okay for us to meet tonight."

"Oh! Hey elders! Yes, it's still okay... Did you get me the information for the church in Curaçao?"

"We'll get that to you. We've got time. Any news?"

"I'm going back, elders! My sister bought me the ticket! I'm going home to my island."

"Really?? When?"

"Tomorrow."

We'd poured much blood, sweat, and tears into Angela. We'd been teaching her since November. We had many ups and downs with her...MANY ups and downs. She was pulling ahead for the home stretch, though. She was reading, praying, and coming to church. She had a testimony. She was going to be baptized on Saturday, and she couldn't wait.

Then, on Wednesday, on New Year's Day, she told us that she was leaving. She'd been trying to go back to Curaçao for months -- we assumed it was just a dream. But, she finally succeeded. At first, I was very disappointed -- all that time, all that energy, wasted! I was going to get to see the baptism of someone I taught for the first time. Then I realized...it wasn't all a waste. She'll get baptized in Curaçao. It doesn't change anything. She'll be a huge strength to the branch there. Because of the situation she got herself into in the Netherlands, she was humbled and open to listen to our message. Now, she's home, where she probably wouldn't have listened. Instead, she has a testimony, and can't wait to share this wonderful gospel with her kids and friends. The work is so much bigger than the here and now, and it goes on -- no matter what. I was blessed to be a part in Angela's experience.

New Year's Eve here was pretty crazy. Fireworks started going off at 10 AM. Not constant fireworks, but about once every couple of minutes, you would here a giant explosion. It got more and more intense as nighttime approached. As missionaries, we had to be inside at 4 PM, because, after that, it gets unsafe for us outside. While sitting inside, it felt like we were in a war zone. I'm pretty sure people were using home-made bombs out there. Like, our apartment building would shake when they went off. It was awesome. When midnight hit (well, the Dutch people were a little slow, because my watch said it was 12:05 AM), the sky lit up. Take BYU's Stadium of Fire, shrink it a little bit, and put twenty of those in a circle around our house with a half mile radius. Fireworks here are crazy. For those who are wondering why I, a missionary, was up at midnight -- 1) it was impossible to sleep with those explosions going on (though I did get a half hour in) or my comp running around screaming with enthusiasm and 2) the fireworks were...pretty freaking awesome.

We had an investigator come to church on Sunday who we weren't expecting at all. He'd dropped us about a month ago, and the last time we'd seen him, he'd been doing pretty badly. He came to church smelling like alcohol, and said, "I was at a party last night for three hours, then realized that I shouldn't be there. I didn't sleep. I felt like the devil was with me. I said to myself, 'The devil may be with me, but I'm bringing him to church!'" And he did just that. And bore his testimony in fast and testimony meeting, to top it off.

The zone leaders called last night to tell me that I'm being transferred. I'm sad to leave this place. I really do love this city of Groningen and the people in it. Investigators and members -- I've met some great people here. I'll miss it. But, I'm excited, as always, for the future. I'm going to Lelystad. My new address is: 

Elder John Bonney

De Promesse 147

8232 Lelystad

the Netherlands

If you've already sent a letter to the Groningen apartment...EMAIL ME and let me know, so I don't just suddenly leave you hanging.

There's a Mormon Message out, and it talks about Lot's wife, and how she looked back. It mentions the scripture, Genesis 19:17 -- "look not behind thee," the Lord commands. That's how I feel, going into Lelystad. I've loved Groningen. I've loved my experience. But, I'm out here to serve the Lord and the people. I need to go to Lelystad ready to try and light things up, learning from the past but not living in it. I'm excited for the future. These two years only happen once.

I wish you all the very best in this new year, and remember -- "look not behind thee" and that, in the words of a poet, "the best is yet to be."

Much love.

--Elder Bonney

PS. We said a quick goodbye to Angela after our last lesson, when we gave her all the information for the church and missionaries in Curaçao. Goodbyes and lessons learned on both sides.