Week 56: "27 brothers and sisters? Well, you finally got me beat."

July 7, 2014

Well, this past week, we've traveled from the east border to the west coast and back again. Elder Alston and I go on exchanges with all the missionaries in the southern part of the Netherlands, from Zeeland to Limburg, and everywhere in between. It has been a busy week...and it's not gonna get any calmer. It's been a great week - one of the best in my mission. I guess this is the good life.

Last Tuesday, I got to go to Vlissingen on exchanges...out in Zeeland. It was beautiful. Being out there (find it on a map), I'm always afraid that a huge storm will come and just wipe us off the country. But hey -- I'm still alive!

On Wednesday, we had exchanges with the elders in Arnhem. I stayed in Eindhoven with an Elder Childs. He's a great kid. Since I'm not allowed to drive the car, we used public transportation and walking the whole day. Great. Actually, it's interesting how things work out. We had some finding time, so we decided to take a random bus and do finding in the area it brings us to. We get on the bus that left soonest from the station. It starts going, and we get off about six stops later. It's a little neighborhood area. And...we find a guy on the street and set an appointment with him. Who says miracles don't happen?

Actually, a LOT of miracles have been happening lately. We have this one investigator, Genzeer, from Sudan, and he is doing so well. We taught him three times last week, and he came to church for the first time yesterday...and he LOVED it. We had him go to our English Sunday School class (which should be called the African Sunday School class, since almost all the English speakers in there are from Africa...my homies), and he thought it was the best thing ever. It's great to see him learn and progress. He started reading the Book of Mormon a few weeks ago, and he's already almost done with Alma. With ALMA. That's better than me for the first 16 years of my life, and I was born in the church... He says he reads it whenever he misses his family in Sudan, because he feels good when he reads it. I guess he misses them a lot... The gospel is exactly what he needs. He should be baptized before the end of the transfer. By the way -- we were talking with him, and we found out that he has eighteen brothers and nine sisters. Holy cow. I was impressed that he beat my eight sisters and five brothers... His dad apparently had four wives, though.

Also, this Dutch lady who has been going to the church services for months now (but said she didn't want to be baptized) came up to our ward mission leader yesterday and told him that she's decided she wants the missionaries to come teach her and that she wants to be baptized. We have an appointment with her later this week. She should be baptized before the end of the month. MIRACLES.

So, the fourth of July...not really celebrated in the Netherlands. I mean, it is an American holiday. I, however, was on exchanges with the Heerlen elders on the 4th. The elders that serve in the Heerlen American military branch. Guess who got an American barbecue on the fourth of July? Yours truly. Not to mention the members lived in Germany, so I spent the fourth of July with Americans in Germany. While the Germany vs. France World Cup game was going on. Yeah buddy.

Since the Netherlands has made it through the quarterfinals, President Robinson has given the missionaries permission to watch any further games with the Netherlands in them. On Wednesday, we get to watch Nederland play Argentina. Let's go, Holland. Four countries left, and I'm living in one of them. That's what's up.

Well, that's all for this week. Happy fourth of July. Enjoy these summer months without me, because they won't last long.

Peace and blessings. Hou je goed.

-Elder Bonney

Week 55: "Yeah, there's no way all that stuff is gonna fit."

June 30, 2014

So yesterday, we were sitting in our house with the other two Eindhoven elders, and the Netherlands was playing against Mexico in the World Cup. We kept hearing yells and cheers whenever they scored, but we also heard a lot of loud sighs... I wasn't sure how to interpret it all. I guess that's something different about serving in a bigger city -- not only do you hear them score, you hear them miss. A little bit before 8 PM, though, we heard some wild cheering. Then, the text came (from a member kind enough to keep us op de hoogte) -- the Netherlands BEAT Mexico 2-1, and will be advancing in the WK. Ohhh yeah. Stay tuned. We play Costa Rica on Saturday.

I am in Eindhoven now! Tuesday night, I started packing. Oh boy. After being in a city for so long, not only had my stuff spread throughout the apartment, but I had accumulated a lot of stuff. Fitting it in was a challenge. I had it all spread out in the front room, and my companion came in the room... "yeah, there's no way all that stuff is gonna fit." Challenge accepted. ...It didn't all fit. I had to leave some stuff behind :( But, seams stretched, zipper barely holding tight, everything fit in my suitcases. On Wednesday morning, all four of us Lelystad elders got on a train to Leiden. In Leiden, I said goodbye to Elder Henderson and the others, then headed off to the mission office. There, I met up with my new companion, Elder Alston. We threw my stuff in the back of the car (you know that's right), then drove down to Eindhoven. After almost six months in Lelystad, my time there has come to a close. It's the beginning of a new era.

By the way, my new address:

Kluizenaarstraat 13
5641 HE Eindhoven
the Netherlands

We live in a house here. A HOUSE. It's pretty great.

Eindhoven is a great city. It's big, but not too big, and it's beautiful here, down south. I got to meet many of the ward members yesterday, and they seem like really good people. I'm excited to get to know them better. My companion is a really good guy -- we get along pretty well. He's from South Jordan and has been on his mission for a few months more than I have. We live with the two other Eindhoven elders -- Elder Hills and...Elder Nelson! That's right, my big, funny, lovable companion from my second transfer in Groningen. He's on the last transfer of his mission now. It's fun living with him again.

Yes, we've got a car. Unfortunately... I'm not allowed to drive it. Yeah. In order to drive in the mission, you have to have a Belgian driver's license, and the only way for an American to get a Belgian driver's license is to trade in their American license. For one reason or another, I do not have an American license, just a permit (I cannot believe how unmanly this is). I can't trade in a permit. So, my companion (who doesn't enjoy driving all that much) has to drive all the time, and I have to sit in the passenger seat. I feel a little weird. It's like I'm his wife. I do get to work the GPS, though. That's important, right? Important lesson: make sure you get a license before your mission, boys and girls.

On Monday (when I was still in Lelystad), we had a combined zone p-day -- Den Haag and Rotterdam zones got together to play sports in Den Haag. It was pretty fun. It was very sunny, warm, and a little windy, so it felt nice. None of us noticed as the sun slowly and evilly fried us. It was good to see some of my MTC buddies -- Elder Moomey, Elder Pouwer, Sister Brophy, Sister Thorley, and others. I still can't believe that it's been over a year since we all first gathered in that tiny MTC classroom (it was way too small for ten people, but we had way too much fun in that tiny room). On the way home, my skin started to feel weird. By the time we got back to Lelystad, I knew it -- I was burnt. At least, I thought I was burnt. Then I saw my companion. He was burnt. He was wearing a lower cut shirt, so he had a funny burn line. Haha.

The day before I headed out of Lelystad, we went to go visit some of our favorite members. All four of us elders were there. They said, since it was the last time for some of us, that they'd gotten us a Dutch delicacy. Oh. My mind flashed back to three days before, eating raw herring -- "never again," we all said. Then the member busted out raw herring. So much for that... We all ate it. Again. This time with a fork. It was worse the second time. The irony of the situation still kills me.

For now, there's not too much to tell. My comp and I have spent a lot of time planning for our zone. I'm excited for what will happen here in Eindhoven. I'll be sure to let you guys know. For now, I'm peacing out. Hup Holland!

Keep it real. Raw fish isn't meant to be eaten.

-Elder Bonney

Me and my Almere district boyz.

Saying goodbye to Elder Henderson in Leiden Centraal!

Week 54: "It doesn't taste so bad... it's the texture that gets you." **ADDRESS CHANGE**

June 23, 2014

Well, transfer calls came around. It's been a good run here in Lelystad.  A good four transfers, almost six months. Yet, on Sunday, while eating dinner at the branch president's home with him and his family, we got a call from President Robinson. It looks like I will be transferred to the great city of EINDHOVEN on Wednesday! Which is funny, because when I was in high school, I had the opportunity to go to Eindhoven twice to compete in swim championships. The last time I was there was February 2012. It rained almost the entire few days we were there, it was cold, I didn't do so hot in my events, and I left, thinking, "dang, this is awful. I never want to come back here again."

 

Funny how God works. Now, though, I'm way excited to get to serve in Eindhoven. I've heard great things about it, and I'm going to have a great companion, Elder Alston. Also, we have a car. I'll keep you posted.

 

This past week has been full of interesting things. It's been a good week, no doubt. I'll have to be quick, because we're catching a train shortly to go to Den Haag for a zone p-day activity, but I'll do my best.

 

More World Cup news -- the Netherlands played Australia on Wednesday, and won. 3-2. We're not allowed to proselyte during the game, because things start to get crazy. We have to stay in our apartment...exciting. But, the fireworks, explosions, screams, and horns we hear outside let us know whenever the Netherlands scored. We decided to go out afterwards to get back to work (at 8 PM). I'm not sure if we were supposed to or not, but it was NOT the best idea. I can only imagine what goes on during the game for most Dutch people. "We scored!! DRINK!" "Amazing block!! DRINK!" "They scored...might as well drink." "He fell over! Drink." "Halftime! Let's see how much we can drink before it's over!" Anyways, we faced the aftermath of that. It wasn't pretty. We ended up riding our bikes to a quieter (read: safer) place close to the dike. It was dangerous in the centrum, and I'll leave it at that.

 

This past winter has been a very mild winter (compared to other winters, even though if you made assumptions from my complaining, you'd think it was the worst ever), and there are some undesirable consequences -- like bugs. We were riding our bikes the other day, and Elder Henderson and I rode up to go over a bridge... "that's weird looking smoke." "Dude, that isn't smoke. Those are bugs." There was a visible cloud of bugs in the air. We had to ride through it...definitely made a memory there. And that wasn't the first time we'd encountered that sort of thing. If you don't notice it right away, too, you end up unexpectedly getting punched in the face with a cloud of tiny, evil, satanic gnats. They get in your eyes. They get in your nose. They get in your shirt pocket. They get stuck in your awesome looking, well done hair. Flevoland (so, Lelystad and Almere) has it worst, and Lelystad is in the depths. It's great.

 

On Saturday, Elder Henderson, Elder Kettler, Elder Bishesar, and I went and had a fun little lunch hour together. The market was going on, and we came to the realization that none of us had eaten raw herring before. We're serving in the Netherlands. We HAVE to have it at least once. So, we find the fish stand (in the Saturday market in the centrum, they have stands for almost everything). No one else wanted to ask, so I asked. I asked for herring, and I had to tell him that we were "foreigners and wanted to try the herring thing." Then he gave us exactly what we wanted. It was an experience. The funny thing is, it didn't taste so bad. Just like the way raw fish smells. Okay, maybe a little better. But the texture...it was indescribable.

 

Yesterday at church, I was looking around. I knew that I'd probably be leaving, so it would be my last Sunday. I didn't know if I felt ready to go. Yes, I was ready for something new, but I wanted to make sure my work in Lelystad was done. I looked around, and saw Carla to my right, with her young son. I saw the young investigator couple with their young son (yes, they were in church again -- they're making great progress). I saw less-actives that we had worked with who were back in church. I saw members that I had gotten to know and learned to love. It's been a great four transfers. I believe that the Lelystad branch is better than it was when I got here. Is that all me? Definitely not. But, I do feel like my work there is done. Great things have happened. I'm ready for my next adventure.

 

Stay fresh, my friends.

-Elder Bonney

 

PS. Pics, as promised.

Looking good at zone conference with my MTC homeboys, Elder Cook and Elder Pouwer! A year and a day after it all began.

Laying some tile at an investigator's house with Elder Bishesar. We did work. And yes, we were posing. I'll miss that kid when I leave.

Week 53: "What are you young men thinking?? Those people need the missionaries!!"

OOOHHH, we're halfway there, WOAAHH OH, livin' on a prayer... (you have to actually imagine me singing it)

 June 16, 2014

OOOHHH, we're halfway there, WOAAHH OH, livin' on a prayer... (you have to actually imagine me singing it)

I'm singing a terrible rendition of the Bon Jovi classic because, yes, I have hit my one-year mark. I hit it last...Thursday? It's hard to believe that it's been one year since I sent out that "ik ben een zundeling" email (with the badly spelled Dutch). Time goes by fast. I still feel like a young missionary. From the MTC to Kortrijk to Groningen to Lelystad... one year, eight transfers, ten companions, and three blessed cities later... With a little less than a year left, it's time to work harder than every before.

HUP HOLLAND! I didn't get to watch the World Cup game, but... beating Spain 5-1? No one saw that coming. From our apartment, we could tell whenever the Netherlands scored because of the cheering coming from every other home in the city. A member may or may not have let us see the highlights from the game -- how about the flying Dutchman? That's how we do it. Take that, 5PA1N. Unfortunately, we have to decline all the invitations by my gemeente Lelystad homies to come watch the WK -- but, we can probably interpret the outside noise into a play-by-play update.

One of my favorite parts of missionary work this time of year is all the service. No, not because it's a "break" from normal missionary work, but because you have the opportunity to unselfishly help other people, usually people who have you do something they couldn't do themselves. We do all sorts of things -- from laying tiles to assembling IKEA furniture to a lot of yard work in between -- and my favorite part is seeing the look on the member/investigator/random stranger afterwards. They (usually) get this big grin on their face, and you know that you've done something meaningful for them. It's great.

We did service for this one lady this past week -- a woman saw us doing service for a member, and asked us to help her mother out. We made an appointment, went over, and she showed us what she wanted. We pulled a bunch of weeds, moved some tiles, layed some turf...by the time we were done, that yard was looking good. Real good. The Lelystad Four -- we should be a professional team. Anyways, at some point, we were all inside, talking to this lady, and she told us that she can "read" people. Okay, a little weird. Then she looks at the elder next to me, and says some random attributes he supposedly has. Then, she looked at me, and told me that I have a lot of sadness and anger inside. Gee, thanks. Lesson learned: there are no such things as psychics. Or...something about my future wife has something to do with farms. Who knows?

So, remember how I told you all about the cool, young Dutch couple that Elder Hunt and I taught here in Lelystad on exchanges? Well, last Sunday, I'm sitting in the Almere church building for stake conference (Lelystad and Almere combine for broadcasts, and it was being broadcast to all of Europe from Switzerland), and the phone rings. I pick it up..."hey -- we're here for church in Lelystad, but there's no one here!" "Uh..it's in Almere today.." We'd clarified it a few days before, because we'd invited them, and they wanted to come to church, but there was a slight miscommunication. Very awkward. But, to my surprise, about 20 minutes later, they show up in Almere for church! Then, yesterday...they came to church again! They loved it. It's just so great knowing how much the Gospel can mean for them -- how much it can help them -- and seeing them take steps to developing a stronger testimony in and relationship with Christ.

After sacrament meeting, we started introducing some members to them, and then we walked into the hall and let the members take it away. A few minutes later, an older member comes up to me, looking excited but a little upset, and says, "there are some people in there, and they aren't members! These people are wonderful! They are searching! Why aren't you talking to them?? What are you young men thinking?? Those people need the missionaries!" I had to interrupt him -- "Brother, I know -- they're our investigators." "You guys need to be teaching them! They are --" "Yes, we understand... we are teaching them. We invited them to come to church." "..oh." Then he walked away, slightly confused, but no longer upset. It's cool to see the members so excited about investigators, though. They did exactly what they should have done, fellowshipping and showing love. It was great.

Well, I gotta roll. Thanks for sticking with me for the first half of this adventure. They say everyone forgets you after a year, but I'm out to prove them wrong. We've still got a year to go. Gotta make it the best one. Keep it real, wherever you are in the world.

Stay clean.

--Elder Bonney

PS -- photos next week. Promise. I've got some nice one-year reunion photos with some of my MTC boys.

Week 52: "Hey, that dog could totally open the door if he...uh oh. Run."

June 9, 2014

This week has been jam-packed. My comments about how fast the weeks go by are becoming too cliché, though, so just start assuming that the week has gone by so quickly, you're lucky that I can think of something to send...

I remembered why I don't like playing soccer. After emailing last week, the four of us Lelystad elders joined the four Almere elders, and we went to go play some sports. We started off with some basketball (something I have been missing), then moved on to soccer. We were playing with some young Surinamer boys, too. As an experienced bad soccer player, I know that the members of the team frequently decide to put the worst player as goalie. Bad idea. The Suriname kids scored most the goals, too... older American kids and young, thuggin' Surinamers? Fortunately, my team had the better Suriname kid, so that made up for my lack of soccer skill.

Speaking of soccer... everyone here is freaking out about the World Cup. Orange is the national Dutch color... and there is ORANGE EVERYWHERE. For real. Some people have covered their front lawns with orange felt. Don't ask, I don't get it either.

On Tuesday, we were on the exchanges with the zone leaders. I stayed in Lelystad and worked with Elder Muse (who has been my zone leader for about half of my mission in two different zones). We had an unforgettable day. We were knocking doors in one area, and these HUGE dogs started barking. Nothing unusual. No owners were home. Suddenly, one dog jumps up, and hits the door handle. Elder Muse starts to comment about how the dog apparently knows how to open the door, and it's a good thing it was locked. Suddenly, the door slowly starts to swing open, revealing the two huge, loud dogs (and their teeth). Elder Muse just turns around and starts booking it. I freeze, reach slowly forward, and... push the door closed. Problem solved.

We also went to an appointment with an investigator, whose house had caught on fire briefly the night before. We went in, sat down, started to talk to him, then his very upset girlfriend entered the room and started chewing him out for the accidental fire. For half an hour. She was yelling, crying, kicking furniture...and Elder Muse and I just sat there, awkwardly. Eventually she left, then we tried to quickly salvage our "lesson," then left.

Later that night, we were at the hospital, visiting a member. As we sat there, an older woman walked past the table we were sitting at. And no... she wasn't wearing pants. Well, Elder Muse, you're welcome for the great exchange.

I'm tired of people assuming they know what we're about when we knock on the door... "Have you ever heard of the Book of Mormon before?" "No, I haven't. But I'm not interested."  Not interested in what? What if the Book of Mormon is code for a free car? Sigh. We were knocking doors one rainy night... Before we could say anything, a grumpy man opens the door and says, "I know who you guys are and what you do. I'm not interested at all. "Oh, have guys like us been here before?" "Yes." "And they were asking for free food?" "...well, no, but..." Then he shut the door. Worth a shot.

We had to go to stake conference on Saturday night, and that was an adventure. I won't bore you with the details of getting there (that was an adventure, but I don't have enough time to talk about that part), but getting back... We took a bus at 9:30 from the Haarlem chapel to Haarlem Centraal (by the way, Haarlem is where the Best Two Years was filmed!), and got there right after 10 PM...well, work on the tracks started at 10 PM. So, the trains shut down, and busses were used in place of trains. Getting from Haarlem to Amsterdam was pretty crazy, let me tell you. Drunk college kids and many other people trying to push and shove and trample their way into the busses... I almost died. I got on, looking around frantically for another missionary. I see one elder who serves in Zaandam. Not going to the same place I am. The last person to push onto the bus...Elder Fowkes, serving in Almere. That's where I was heading. Good enough. It was a traumatizing experience. The people were animals. I do NOT want to be near Amsterdam in the zombie apocalypse.

Blijf netjes, my friends. Talk to you after I hit my year-mark.

--Elder Bonney

Me and my temporary comps, Elder Kettler and Elder Bishesar!

My greenie and me, looking netjes at zone conference in Zoetermeer.

Week 51: "But do you know how many guns there are in America??"

June 2, 2014

So... I'm still alive, boys and girls. I've made it through another week. I'll be honest -- I usually mark important events from the week that I want to tell you all about in my planner. Unfortunately, I left my planner at home today (I know, I'm a horrible missionary). So, I'll do my best.

 

This past week has been extremely busy, yet not very busy at the same time. I feel like the week zoomed by, but we totaled up our numbers at the end of the week, and we had only had three lessons all week. THREE. What? So, I looked back (because our week had been packed), and I realized how many appointments fell through. I won't share the total number (trying to focus on the positives), but on one stretch, we had seven appointments fall through in a row. Many were confirmed appointments with people we thought were pretty solid. Come on, people. This is eternal salvation we've got to share.

 

I'm counting my blessings, though. We found some cool people last week, and we worked hard. Whenever things seem to be going badly, it's because something good is on the horizon. I saw Carla at church on Sunday, and I remembered how the Lord really does bless us. If we work hard and stay humble, we will be blessed. Not to quote Kanye West or anything, but I just try to... "keep your nose out of the sky, keep your heart to God, and keep your face to the rising sun." Elder Henderson is doing well -- I'll let you all know as soon as he makes a funny mistake with the language. I'm ready to pounce.

 

On Wednesday, we had a zone conference in Zoetermeer. I got to see my MTC companion, Elder Price, and talk to him for the first time since last summer! It made me reminisce on those MTC days... Mass-produced food, strange mistakes in Dutch, feeling like a caged animal...and seeing little miracles in myself, with the language and the Gospel. I got to see my old Groningen companions -- Elder Besendorfer and Elder Nelson. It made me reminisce on those Groningen days... Teaching gay people, getting hit by a car, getting hit with hail and rain and sharp winds...and loving it the whole time. I have been so blessed with the opportunity to be on a mission. You know, I was once told that, in hard times on your mission, you just want them to end, but you should try to soak in the moments, because someday, you'll look back fondly on those memories. I'm already starting to, and I'm only about half-way done. Like Neal A. Maxwell says, moments are the molecules that make up eternity.

 

I was on exchanges on Thursday, serving with a Mr. Elder Hunt here in Lelystad. We had a blast. We got to spend the whole morning helping a member out by laying tiles in the rain and moving sand, so that was exciting. We ended up getting to teach a great, young Dutch couple a first lesson. It went so well, and we should be seeing them at church soon, too. We're blessed.

 

On Friday, we had exchanges again! I got to serve with an Elder Van de Merwe in Hilversum. That was interesting. We had a good time and did good work, but the lessons... Well, where do I begin. We walk into the first lesson, with this Dutch girl in her late 20's. She has no chairs, so we have to sit on the floor. As we started to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I realized...this woman cannot focus. On ANYTHING. It's not even like she tried to go off on random tangents, she just does it naturally. I wasn't even mad --I was impressed. She asked a lot of random questions about repentance, too. "But what if you fall in love with a man? What then?" I replied, "well, Elder Van de Merwe is a handsome young man...but, I don't think I'll ever fall in love with a man. Either way, the Atonement is sufficient for all people who repent, so..." "Okay. So are you planning on moving back to America when you're done in the Netherlands?" Wow. Amazing concentration.

 

Just when the lesson couldn't get any weirder... two Jehovah's Witnesses show up at the door. It sounds like a bad joke, I know. They came in (she thought it would be nice for us to talk to each other...) and looked at us. I pictured us all in old cowboy clothes, and it was just like a showdown. Kid you not. After nice conversation, they sneak in some snide comment. Combated. They unleash a new criticism (about something not even important, by the way) about trials -- I had said that God gives us trials to learn and grow. Which, by the way, He does. They combated my response pretty hardcore, and I didn't know what to say, and neither did the Jehovah's Witnesses, so we turn to the investigator. She responds, logically, "but do you know how many guns there are in America? How does the Bible explain that?" Saved by the bell. Eventually, after two hours of sitting on her floor, we managed to escape.

 

Elder Henderson and I ended up in Almere the other day for a half-hour waiting for a train. So, we went out to do some contacting. Some big African dude comes up to us. "Do you guys know Jesus?" "Well, yes, we do." "Okay, tell me about this 'Jesus.'" Oh no, I thought. This can't be! Not to be racist, but you are African! You love Jesus. We went on for a few minutes... He was quite aggressive. Then, I say, "well, through prayer, you can know these things too. We actually share a message about that. Could we come sometime to share it with you?" He responds..."Man, I love Jesus. I was just messing with you! It says in the Bible to test the Spirit! You passed! God bless you!'' And he walked away. Dang, I thought. I knew that he'd love Jesus.

 

Until next week. I gotta bounce. Loves!

--Elder Bonney

Week 50: "The stores are open this Sunday!"

May 26, 2014

Hey, everyone! This past week has been the warmest week all year. It's been an exciting weeek, too -- went by so quickly.

 

So, on Tuesday, I was on exchanges with a missionary in Almere, and we were doing service for a half-American, half-Dutch family. We were doing yardwork. As I mowed the lawn with a manual lawn-mower, it slowly started to hit me... My eyes became swollen, my nose started running, the sneezes came... I knew it. Allergies. As the warm season has come, so has the allergy season. And, it appears that there is something in the air here in the Netherlands (and it isn't love) that my body doesn't like. In addition, I'm pretty sure the medicine I have was made by a ten-year-old, because it isn't helping me at all. That's it, I quit.

 

Okay, not really. But, I am showing up to every appointment looking like I was just sobbing (I can't stop rubbing my eyes, guys! I try to stop, but I can't...it's taken ahold of me). Speaking of rubbing eyes -- on Wednesday, we were making some spicy chicken and rice dish. Elder Bishesar loves spicy food, of course, and he'd gotten us a nice, thin, red pepper to throw in. Elder Kettler was cutting the pepper, and he made the mistake of touching his eyes. Uh oh. We hear Elder Kettler shriek, and Elder Bishesar and I turn around to see him frantically rubbing his eyes (with the same hands that got the hot pepper in his eyes) -- "I have hot pepper in my eyes! IT HURTS," to which Elder Bishesar calmly replies, in his Suriname accent, "well, if you want it to stop, you should probably stop touching your eyes." Just another day in the life.

 

Late on Wednesday night, the assistants to the mission president -- Elder Eastmond and Elder Sumter -- came to pick me up. We drove down to Amsterdam, where the APs live, and I spent the night in their apartment. The next day, bright and early, we got up and went to Schiphol airport with President and Sister Robinson to pick up my new companion. We waited...the plane had landed... we waited... the baggage was on the belt...no companion... We waited some more... the next flight's luggage was on the belt...no companion. President Robinson made a quick call to Salt Lake. After much confusion and re-reading the email, we all realized that my greenie was coming the NEXT day. Awkward.

 

Well, with nothing else to do, I spent the day working with the APs in Amsterdam. Let me tell you, Amsterdam is a freaking awesome city to work in. It is HUGE. I'd been there for P-day before, but dang, it's cool. It was also great to work with Elder Eastmond again (the same who trained me and left me behind in Kortrijk, then was my zone leader when I went to Groningen, and now is my AP). It made me think about how much influence my trainer had on me and the beginning of my mission. He gave me responsibility, and he helped me grow and realize who I am meant to be as a missionary. I was blessed with a great trainer and friend, and I don't know if he will know just how big of an impact he had on my mission. I can only hope that I can be just as helpful for my new companion. Speaking of which...

 

On Friday morning, deja vu. We went to the airport with the mission president and his wife. This time, my companion, Elder Henderson, arrived from the MTC. We drove with him to Leiden, where he needed to take care of some legality stuff. Elder Robbins (my old companion) is actually working in the mission office now, and we got to do some reunion contacting (we were a power-team and saw lots of success -- thanks to his help, Elder Goates and I were able to see even more success). It really makes me reflect on the wonderful companions that I've had and the opportunity that I've had to learn and grow with all of thim. Missions really are wonderful experiences.

 

My companion is a cool kid -- he's from Idaho, and he's ready to work. I'm excited to do good work with him here in Lelystad -- I'm probably out of here in four weeks, so I better make them worth it. Which reminds me...I go home one year from tomorrow. Better make that year worth it.

 

Yesterday, after church, we had a surprise lunch appointment with some new members. They had gotten a lot of extra food, so they filled us to the brim. That was at around 2 PM. At around 4, we visited a part-member family to wish Marcel (he's one of my favorite people here in Lelystad) a happy birthday, and he and his wife, Sherri, surprised us with cake. A lot of cake. At 5 PM, we show up to our dinner appointment, and trust me -- the member we ate with, he could cook. Afterwards (and I'm starting to feel a little sick from how much I'd eaten), he realizes that he has no ice cream. (Trust me, I did not want ice cream. I may have died.) He calls his mom, who is also a member and lives close by, to ask if she has ice cream. Afterwards, laughing, he recounts the conversation.

 

"Hey mom, do you have some ice cream? I'm eating with the elders, and I have no more ice cream."

 

"No, I don't...you could just go to the LIDL (a grocery store) and buy some."

 

"I can't do that, mom, it's Sunday."

 

"But you can -- the stores are open this Sunday! It's the one Sunday in the month that the stores are open."

 

".....Mom, it's Sunday.."

 

"Oh, that's right. It's the Sabbath."

 

Have a great week, guys. The Church is true. Keep the faith!

--Elder Bonney

 

PS. I have a really funny picture of Elder Henderson sleeping on the table at the office (he was so wiped out...), but you can't attach pictures at the library computers. Maybe next time!