So, this week I would say nothing too crazy happened, besides getting a new companion and transfers all over again. Things are getting very interesting in the mission, because we have two huge groups of missionaries leaving within the next two transfers (like over 45 Elders – huge!), and also the mission president change happening at the same time. So, the whole mission is on the tilt of an enormous change, and I get to sit back and watch the whole thing happen. It's exciting and nerve-racking.
I'll start this week’s letter off with our "fiets fiasco." So, this past Thursday Elder Da Silva and I went out and traveled over to Zwolle to pick up his bike that he left there. Upon visiting a few places and a wild search around the station, we discovered that his bike had been stolen. It was quite sad, especially since Elder Da Silva has only a mere six weeks left on his mission! We contacted around the whole afternoon, in search of bike shops with a hopefully very cheap but reasonable bike. That evening we had a dinner appointment with the Bisschop and his family, and our prayers were answered when they loaned us a bike! It was a very lucky break, and it has allowed us to continue doing missionary work as normal.
Elder Da Silva also received three single items in a package recently, and it made me chuckle when I saw the contents. The three items included: Hersey's chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows. Someone had told him about s'mores, and now he finally received his own. The Netherlands doesn't sell graham crackers – how crazy is that? So, we spent a few evenings roasting our s'mores in the toaster oven and enjoying the gooey mess. It was pretty fantastic.
The work has been pretty normal lately. No people really progressing right now – just a nice handful of good potentials and stale investigators. The miracles are happening, though. We just need to hurry and act on them. That's what I've noticed happens a lot with our miracles: they either kind of just disappear or are forgotten about after time, so we need to be diligent and look them up. The sun has been shining on us, literally and figuratively, and people seem to be just generally happier with the sun shining more and more.
I'm loving my mission and also I'm trying to really accept and see a change of heart in myself that is explained in Alma 5. I realized this transfer that if I haven't changed by the end of my mission, then what was the point? I've realized it really is just the little daily decisions and little things we want to change that can make a big difference, and the first requirement is only desire! I will finish with a quote from Christ that repeats in my head every time I have to do something I don't want to do or is uncomfortable, "I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it." Let those words penetrate and repeat in your heart every time you are burdened with stress or are disappointed or discouraged.
Have a great week, faithful readers.
Elder Andrew
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