Eli Mail 3/21/16 (Tilburg, Netherlands) Letter 71

Hello, everyone! Since finishing my "office Elder" duties, time has gone back to its usual distorted measure: fast days with occasional, unproportionately long moments. Elder Wilson and I have done a lot this week, from preparing zone training presentations to conversing with people about a two-minute video (#Halleleju) on the internet. It makes me quite happy giving a full thrust into my efforts, as my “office Elder” duties have almost completely vanished. I only have the occassional phone call from Elder Gross (which I thoroughly enjoy) about tasks he needs to double check. Overall, this week I felt like I was extending my arm out constantly to others, like that famous picture of Jesus with both arms open. (And that is not a self-comparison to Jesus, just His inviting manner). I am sure Jesus' arms get pretty tired sometimes – the exertion of His muscles in such a extended manner, all the time. On the other hand, if they weren't open, no one would ever be able to receive Him. So, perhaps that sums up this week for me, the precious, loving extention and exersion of "muscle" (Spirit) needed to "receive" the needs of those around you.

To describe my interaction with Elder Wilson thus far would be summed up in two words: enjoyable and entertaining. Enjoyable because he is Calgary kid, loves fly fishing and business, and this results in enjoyable stories. Entertaining because we spend most days discussing all sorts of topics, ranging from  debates about the naming/arrangement of the Midwest to gaucamole. Speaking of gaucamole, we got a basic recipe idea from the Caldwells, and Elder Wilson and I have successfully made our own. If my readers would like more details on food adventures with the Tilburg Elders, let me know; I may have a few anecdotes for you in the coming weeks. Overall, Elder Wilson is a great example to me of someone who understands how God works and who can make important decisions – skills I really appreciate.

This week we experienced a number of really cool blessings. A few days ago we met a kind, well rounded Dutch lady at a door who really enjoyed giving and taking advise from us. To end the conversation, she sadly didn't want to know anything more but burst out in English, "Can I have a hug?!" I was taken by a moment of quick surprise but quickly recovered for an "incoming" hug. It was quite wonderful; Elder Wilson and I couldn't help but smile after the contact. Neither of us had ever had someone request a hug at the door before! Overall, we have had a lot of fun, unique, spiritual and sometimes just weird conversations with others.

A lot of my ideas for the zone lately have been about baptism. Although we cannot necessarily be reaching the physical ordinance of baptism every week, we can still have "baptizing moments." That isn't an excuse not to work hard or to not expect success, but over the course of my mission I have discovered an important difference in myself and in others when talking on the streets about our intentions. Are we simply looking to get someone's information? Are we just trying to pass time? I have asked myself these questions, and it leads me to the same conclusion: I am here to help people have a Spiritual experience, something that will help them discover God in their own lives. When I realize the core reason why I talk to people, it helps me to have that desire my conversations. So, instead of simply sharing a card with people, I am trying to help them understand what the meaning is behind sharing the card. Not to mention what it can mean for them. It is a really meaningful initiative for me and helps me better understand and help those around me, and in return helps me, too.

More updates to come! I hope everyone is preparing for general conference in one way or another! Free up at least some amount of time in your busy schedules to get some personal revelation yourself! Sorry to those that I have not been able to reply to yet. I hope to start catching up on that sometime!

Ik wens iedereen een fijne week toe! Een fijne pasen tijd ook! [Ed. For those without the desire to get a translation, Google says: I wish everyone a great week! A fine Easter time too!]

Elder Eli Andrew

Eli Mail 3/5/16 (Leiden-to-Tilburg, Netherlands) Letter 70

This week has been good. I am still pretty tired per usual. Give Uncle Brent a big hug for me. He has been helping out a lot with the Facebook referral program. Weird to think that I only have two transfers left. Six-and-one-half months with one companion! Bless Elder Cook's heart. He has seriously been a trooper – we both have, making it through together. We have learned and grown a lot together here in the office. We cover each other's weaknesses well. He's pretty good at waking up, I am not. I am a clean freak, and he's not. It's been great. We both got to attend MLC (mission leader council) yesterday. That was fun. I was scribe, taking notes of the speakers and take-away points while Cook helped with, you guessed it, cooking. It went from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It was a long but beautiful conference. I love seeing how much President Bunnell and the leaders really care about the mission. I am at the point now where I have been companions/good friends with a good chunk of the leaders. It's a fun environment to be around. President Bunnell continues to stun me. He is truly called of God. Not perfect by any means, but he carries out mission affairs and reflects a lot of powerful Christlike attributes. I only have good things to say about him, and that makes me happy. These three training weeks in the office have not been anything as expected. With this referral campaign, I feel like I have been working with Uncle Brent cracking the Divinci's Code or something like that. It makes me a little sad that our time to proselyte has been less than usual because of the program. But all in the name of referrals, right? 

I continue to really search for moments to obtain His word. Sometimes that has been only 15 minutes in the morning, but it makes a difference in my day. It gives me something to really "maul" over during the day, and maybe this is weird, but I really do feel stronger when I have read the word of God. That's not going to be easy translating that to my regular schedule, but I hope to make it work for myself. I also really strive for teaching opportunities, too. A long conversation on the street feels so good; it makes me happy.

On another note, I am excited for my new assignment: Tilburg. I will be serving with Elder Wilson. He's an awesome kid. He was a QB in high school in Calgary. And yes, he's a Canadian! My second Canadian companion next to Elder Heinricks! Last thing on my Leiden agenda: make closure with investigators and members (we can squeeze in a few more lessons!), finish up the coding for the Facebook campaign, and last-minute training items with Elder Gross. Super excited.

Here's my little spiritual thought that will most likely replace my weekly letter: Broeder van Beek visited MLC (mission leader conference). I quickly discovered he has been part of the brain trust behind the referral campaign. We chatted about things before he spoke, and when he spoke about it, it was super interesting. He mentioned the last campaign "Finding Happiness" back in November and how much it failed. About 109 referrals received, and they had to end it early because of anti-religious movements on the internet. He spoke about how they pondered, prayed, fasted, and studied research about how to hit their target audience for the next campaign. They looked at catchy titles, where people click, all sorts of measurable data. They finally came to the conclusion to make the campaign simply Christ centered. To his amazing surprise, as the new Easter time campaign began referrals flooded in. "Now, at this moment, we are at 812” referrals, he stated. And this all because of the intrigue at the title and free DVD offer, "The Son of God." As missionaries, we kind of get scared away sometimes from talking directly about Christ. We switch to something more simple like "being happy" or "families," but real power lies simply in learning and getting to know the Savior of the world. I hope I and everyone else can continue to "keep him close to your lips." It really is about getting to know and following Him. That was a powerful lesson for me, and I hope I can continue to boldly testify of His life and to learn His ways. 

Met liefde,

Elder Eli Andrew

Eli Mail 2/27/16 (Leiden, Netherlands) Letter 69

Hello, everyone! It is Saturday morning, and the sun is shining – two things that make me very happy to start writing this email. Per usual, a lot has happened these past three weeks or so. More than a little weekly email could even start to fathom, but I hope to enlighten you with the small, minor details and some of the more striking moments that have taken place.

If not previously mentioned, our office replacements are here! Elder Gross took a long train ride from Groningen, and Elder Solomon arrived from my former area of Deventer, and we are now a combined force of four office Elders for three weeks. It has been a blast; it reminds me strongly of when I first came in and suddenly I was in a five-man. It is a real struggle (for me, at least) deciding who will take the first shower, but going to dinner appointments as a companionship of four is full of laughs. Elder Gross has been learning well. He has a great memory. It is natural to be overwhelmed, especially since coming from good ol´ missionary life, your main concern being those around you and, quite simply, teaching. But I love how Elder Gross put it: “In normal missionary life you have to find to work, but in the office the work finds you.” That is a very good description of my time in the office. The daily tasks and problem solving have been a privilege to do, and yes it is a privilege. But as Elder Gross finely stated, the work really does find you.

We have also been super busy with our “Lamb of God” DVD campaign. Elder Evans left us and forgot to train us to take over the referral campaigns, so us four office Elders have been scrambling to perform our normal tasks and somehow manage the rush of referrals flooding into the Church´s mailbox. We have tallied 447 logged referrals. I am proud of all of us – we stayed in the office way after normal hours to finally catch up with the load. Another funny note, when the packages were ready for mailing we stuffed every mailbox in the vicinity of Leiden Centraal FULL of the DVD packages. It was hilarious – no one could really put mail in the “overige post” after us.

Elder Cook and I had a cool experience this past Tuesday. Upon finishing our normal office work and after rushing to a dinner appointment of a steaming pot of lasagna, I felt the impression to go look up one of our investigators that we hadn´t seen for a about a week. I had received that feeling the night prior, and the thought kept coming back to me during the day, so I told him I couldn´t ignore it. We left our scheduled plan and headed to Katwijk. We had a few good conversations and finally approached the door of our investigator, J. Turns out he wasn´t there, just his sister who seemed to be having a party of some sort. Confused, we talked to her and she was also willing to talk with us another time and accepted a card invitation, and she also wants to have us over for dinner. After that, Elder Cook reminded me of another investigator that had dropped us over the phone months ago. We got in the car and parked outside where we though the apartment was. As we got out of the car I saw someone approaching us from the sidewalk. I peered into the dark to get a good look, and to my amazement it was our former investigator! The old, kind Dutch gentleman warmly greeted us and invited us back into his house, still apprehensive that we were going to try to convince him or something (silly, I know). He was warm and friendly, but sadly he had dropped his faith in Christianity and was now into Buddism. His neighbor is Jesus crazy though (seriously, her car is decked out with Jesus stickers and her apartment window is flooded with crosses – I´d like to meet her some time) and continues to help him, console, and invite him to Christ. It was a nice lesson, and we shared personal stories through the scriptures with him and left. He didn´t want anything more, but it was a cool turn of events from the evening we had planned. I pray each of us can be sensitive and humble and not to mention willing enough to ask for promptings of the Spirit. Some of the most significant and life changing events in our lives can be missed if we aren´t tuned in enough or willing to act upon those gentle thoughts, impressions, and feelings that the Holy Ghost can bring. I like to think of it this way: the Spirit of God is willing, but are we?

I look forward to the coming period of my mission. Serving in the office has been blessing my life. I am still very imperfect, but I am learning how God learns and works with imperfection. I hope you can all continue to make continual daily progression, and don´t forget to write it down because you will need to remember God in times of need.

Thank you for your prayers, emails, even thoughts on my behalf. I have truly felt those things nudge, invite, and encourage me to keep going forward.

Met liefde en vriendelijk groet,

Elder Eli Andrew

Elder Cook and I helped the Robison´s clear out the Hoorn apartment and then dropped off stuff in the Lelystad apartment. Check Google maps for the fastest way from Hoorn to Lelystad. We went over the Ijsselmeer land bridge, it was awesome.

Zuster van der Vet! She has been in the Leiden Ward for years, and her parents sheltered Jews in World War II

I payed 3.5 for this pitiful sight.

Elder Gross and I with.. a rid-able bike?

Here I am with a kid walking his... pig?

Here's a guy teaching us how they make "klompen". Special machines bore holes inside, outside, and all around a block of wood in order to make the finished creation. He did it within 5 minutes.

Here I am. Same place. One year later. What's changed? I look a little more tired and still need a hair cut. Oh, and I have a stronger testimony too :)