Eli Mail 3/28/16 (Tilburg, Netherlands) Letter 72

Hello, everyone! Yes, I am alive, contrary to popular belief. Despite the uproar from the attacks in Brussels, things have been a little hesitant but normal here in Tilburg. Elder Wilson and I got a lot of work done this week and had some great teaching opportunities amidst time spent conversing on the streets.

My highlight this week has been listening to what makes members of our Church, disciples of Christ. The other day we were knocking doors and we rounded the corner of Celebestraat in Tilburg and a lady walked to us on crutches. As she approached, she had a huge grin on her face, and I wasn't sure if I recognized her or not. Once she had finally reached us I made the assumption that I knew her since her face appeared vaguely familiar, I am so bad with names and faces. She warmly greeted us and started speaking a thousand miles a minute to Elder Wilson and I in English. I asked something in Dutch, and luckily she just switched over. I love it when people do that – when my companion or I can get people to switch over to their native language. This lady on crutches turned out to be a church member, and we decided to walk her home to her tiny apartment, complete with group showers and a group kitchen. (We are so blessed with space in America.) She spent the next hour telling us her conversion story. We didn't even ask; it was nice to sit and listen. Long story short, initial contact was made when the doorbell rang, and missionaries appeared at her door. But a second before she answered the door, she had a sort of split-second epiphany involving two guys in white shirts and ties with strong impression to listen instead of immediately closing the door. And that is how her conversion started. It was wonderful to hear, but it lead me think a lot about myself and each of us, about our own conversions. I have talked with many people on the mission about it, and I have concluded that each individual's conversion to the gospel has less to do with the past and more to do with what we will continue to do in the future. Because we have experienced the joys of the gospel, we need to continue to act upon it. It is a part of enduring; it is the real meaning of conversion – that we continue to act according to what God has revealed to us.

This week we had a couple of great teaching experiences, one of which was on Friday night. There were all sorts of parties going on, but Elder Wilson and I knocked some doors in spite of it. One of the first doors opened and, you guessed it, a teenager opened the door to a party that was raging inside. I quickly introduced ourselves, and explained to him simply that we wanted to share a two-minute video with him. He shrugged his shoulders and pulled out his phone. In quiet silence we watched the new "Hallelujah" film with him. After the film ended there was a moment of silence. My companion and I didn't say anything, we just looked at this guy and his complexion. At that moment he put his hand to his mouth, looked at us, and broke the cracked silence by saying in a cracked tone, "It is really cool to see what faith means to these people." The mood of the moment totally changed, and it didn't even seem we were at a hallway of party anymore for a split second. He denied our invitation to return, but it was a powerful moment brought by a simple two-minute video. I hope all of you took or will take the chance to watch the video the Church put out for Easter. It evokes emotion in others and can invite or reinvite each even closer unto Christ!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2wdMwpYByI

Thanks for the love and prayers through these crazy times!

I continue to work on responding to individual emails.

Met liefde,

Elder Eli Andrew

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 ljsselmeer 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 :).

Eli Mail 2/6/16 (Leiden, Netherlands) Letter 68

Yet another chapter concludes in Elder Andrew's mission. Good thing there are still more pages left to write! Well, this week kicked off pretty strong and has been for the most part just a little exhausting, in the best way possible. Elder Cook and I have been busy doing our best solving problems, supporting President, working hard, preparing to train new office Elders and, of course, also make time to talk to lots of people and have fun doing it.

The events of Monday morning were a little tragic for a financial Elder, however. I made the effort the previous week to finish off my expenses and reports, leading to a casual Monday morning when I only had to hit the "create payments" button and have President sign off on the mission bills. Sadly, sometimes things don’t work out quite that simple. For the first time ever I "created my payments" and awaited a green button, indicating that they were sent to my mission President, but instead I got a red warning reading "payments failed, please contact administrative service." I wasn't even angry about it; I could only laugh at the luck. I spent 45 minutes on the line with a guy in Utah (3 a.m. his time), and we listened and followed his instructions as I sadly discovered the payments I created had gotten stuck in a sort of "limbo," meaning that the connection to the server was lost at the moment I created the payments. But all is well! My IT brethren in Utah were able to manually fix the problem. Just a funny anecdote, where things don't always go according to plan! Perhaps that was a little too much office Elder information, but some IT person out there will understand my Monday morning "face-palm".

This week was spent doing what I treasure most: teaching! Teaching in people's houses, on the streets, everywhere! It is a horrible trend that missionaries have. We are now going to go "finding" or, even worse, "tracting." Those phrases make me cringe inside. Elder Cook taught me this from the start of our time together, and that is: if you have an opportunity to teach, take it! So often us missionaries fall into patterns of just asking for people's information, and it is easy to forget that we are called to teach the gospel! And that goes for non-missionaries, too. When we have an opportunity to teach someone or share something, we should not shy away from the situation. "Breaking the ice" and talking to others about our faith is not in our daily, planned comfort zone. But remember the good feeling after standing up or saying something for your beliefs? That is a feeling we cannot shy away from.

Speaking of breaking the ice, Wednesday Elder Cook and I showed up half an hour late to an appointment to a less active. It was rainy, and we didn't have a GPS with us, so it was the Spirit and our best memory. We did indeed find the house, and the less- … well, I suppose I could say inactive member … came to the door. Upon our initial approach the other week, we introduced ourselves and asked if she was "Hester." Now, Dutch people are very formal, and when we asked her by her first name, she about lost it in surprise that two strangers knew her first name. But we just did our best to connect with her. She said she didn't want us to convert her, a typical denial, but we told her boldly that wasn't our purpose. We instead asked her if she was open for a conversation and a Spiritual thought. She agreed happily to our pleasant surprise, and for the first time in 35 years missionaries were conversing with this inactive member. It was sad to see the choices she had made, with a hard influence of her widowed mother of six who couldn't "do" the Church anymore, leading to decisions that only distanced her further and further away. But I could sense the light that was still remaining in her. She told us about the few rare times she did want to go to church (never did, but felt it) and the positive influence of the Church. We could only bare testimony and listen to her, and it made for a productive, refreshing evening. I am grateful to have met her. She gladly agreed to a return dinner appointment, as Elder Cook enticed her with the idea of preparing traditional Dutch meals for us.

We continue to work hard to teach, find, and baptize here. I like putting "teaching" first, because that is what we have as missionaries have been called to do. J enjoyed our intro to the 2nd lesson pamphlet, J and T (part member couple) continue to astonish me with their faith (T our investigator met with the bishop and explained the deep feeling in her heart to really change, to drop smoking, to get married, and to be baptized), and A read 1 Nephi 2 by himself!

I heard the lucky news Wisconsin got a blizzard. I hope everyone enjoys the dashing snowflakes that always seem to appear late from January into February. Any hope I have for snow has almost completely dwindled here, so I will start reluctantly looking forward to my least favorite season, spring. Please shoot me an email if you want to know why. Today the Assistants, the Leiden Elders, the Amsterdam "crew" will be going to my old place of refuge, Zaanse Schans! Remember those pictures? I have not been to my second city in over a year, so that is something to look forward too!

Thanks for the love and prayers. I also continue to pray for your welfare.

Elder Eli Andrew

Spot Eli in this potluck scene.

Remember over a year and a half ago when Eli was one of these jet-lagged, newly arrived missionaries, eating pannenkoeken with the mission office staff? Now, as one of the office staff, Eli (at far right) does this nearly every month with the eager new missionaries in this same restaurant at this same table. 

Eli Mail 1/30/16 (Leiden, Netherlands) Letter 67

Had a great, busy week though. Taught some sweet lessons and had great conversations. Ushered in a few new missionaries and had a fun session of missionary work on their first day. It was awesome. We sung "I am a child of God" for a Muslim lady and her kid and have a return appointment. Thursday morning we had to be at the office at 6:45 a.m. with the departing missionaries, so I pulled the couch into the conference room and napped on the cozy office couch until the sun peeked out over the overlooking buildings. We taught a lesson that afternoon with a really open, Christian guy, J. We do a lot with pamphlets and pictures with him, and we all learn something new together and feel the Spirit when we meet. We also gave him a little tour of the Church building, since that is the place where we meet. We talked about the preparation of the Sacrament and showed the other empty classrooms. Nice experience. Dad, your chapel tour had three more people than mine, how 'bout that? These days when I have a minute I have started listening to a lot of Boyd K. Packer talks. He had so much confidence and experience with the gospel and life. I miss him. It is now Elder Cook and I in the office. Elder Evans has left us (RIP, buddy!). We continue to share the gospel message, and I am learning a lot lately about being personable and relatable with those I come in contact with. I am also learning these days about how overcoming fear on a daily basis is an opportunity, not a burden. That being said, we don't have to be necessarily enthusiastic about challenges, but we should be willing to take them head on.

Those are just a few notes from the week, not even a letter really.

I hope everyone can keep steadily growing, little by little, and when we take a step backward I pray we can all take one big step forward. With that balance, we can only keep going forward.

Love,

Elder Eli Andrew

When the van (code name: Papa Smurf) was broken into (see past letter).

Elder Evans is gone! Here is a departing photo with the boy.

Eli Mail 1/23/16 (Leiden, Netherlands) Letter 66

Hey, everyone! Another week decided to go by again. It’s getting harder to put the brakes on that kind of stuff. I don't have much time this bright Saturday morning, but I do have some thoughts and experiences I would love to share with you all. A correct title for this week's letter would be "Bitter or Better." These past two weeks have entailed a number of good teaching opportunities and a number of learning opportunities, one of which is from a museum we visited this past Saturday.

One pattern that I have recognized in myself and I am sure others too, is having the courage to let go. Letting go – meaning frankly forgiving others and ourselves. Everyone, meaning every person who has or ever will ever walk this planet (except for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ), will have hard or negative feelings about someone else. Like two little children who have a warm dispute with one another, we still do that as God's little children wandering about the Earth. This past week we had the opportunity to visit the "Corrie Ten Boom" house in Haarlem. It was kind of like the Anne Frank house, but much cooler and has a way better story, in my opinion. There was a lot of hiding going on when the Nazis were terrorizing the Netherlands, and in one Christian home they put six people in a very small stow-away room closed off by a home-made wall to avoid slave labor camps. I won't tell the whole story, but one the survivors lived on (they all lived, by the way, despite being crammed and starved in a little hole for 42 hours) and thanked God continually for the miracle in preserving her life. This girl continued her life, forever scarred, but instead of turning inwards and being selfish shared her survival story, leaving the simple invitation to people to believe in God and His miracles among His children. At one point, the tour guide said that she had the choice to either "be bitter or be better" from the situation. This girl could have had been so bitter and full of hate from terrible Nazi war experiences, but instead she gave the glory to God and "let go" of her tendencies to even hold so much as a grudge. How about true character right there? When people willingly choose to release the hard, natural tendencies in their hearts and replace them with love and good works, something incredible takes place in the heart of the individual – namely, solace, peace of conscience, and true satisfaction. It is our choice. Will we be"bitter"? Or do we become "better"? I invite all of you, if you have any hard feelings towards others, even your worst of enemies (as we are always instructed to love our enemies) to pray about them and to reconcile yourself with God about these feelings. I know that Christ can heal every aching wound inside of us. He knows exactly how it feels after all. I have seen that in my own life – choosing to overcome such feelings allows us to remove ourselves from the gloomy past and see the bright new dawn on the horizon, all thanks to God.

This week has entailed a lot of busy office work and good ol' missionary work, of course. My companion and I were sitting the church building at 8 p.m. last week, waiting nervously to see if our lesson with a newer investigator was going to go through or not. Low and behold, it did. J, a 23-year-old Christian guy showed up. He had read and deeply thought about the pamphlet! We reviewed it and taught a powerful first lesson, with a lot of interaction between the three of us, explaining the pictures of the first lesson. He even had the courage to pray for us, the real step of faith from the lesson. In that prayer he said, "Please bless me as I discover this new path the Elders are showing me." That left such a strong feeling when that line came out of his mouth it was hard to open my eyes when we said amen.

Continue to be great everyone, let me know how you are all doing too! I love hearing from you.

Elder Eli Andrew

At the Corrie Ten Boom house in Haarlem.