Our week was good. We had four investigators at church. Sylvana paid tithing for the first time.
Thanksgiving at the Briscoes' was awesome. We ate dinner at the Kabels' in Apeldoorn on Saturday. I got to see lots of Apeldoorn members, that was cool.
We are going to Delft and Den Haag on Tuesday to see Folly, Sunny, Levent and Huub, then we are going to Apeldoorn on Thursday.
It rains alot here!!!!
See you in TEN days!!!!!!!!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
November 24, 2009
This week was pretty crazy. Yesterday we had our zone Thanksgiving dinner and turkey bowl football game. It was awesome, it was raining and we all got covered in mud and were soaking wet!
Afterward we had our Thanksgiving feast, it was really fun.
We made blankets to give to the little kids who have cancer and are staying in the hospital....that was really cool.
Thursday we are having Thanksgiving dinner with the two American families in our ward. It will be alot of fun.
Sylvana and Suni are doing well. They were sick this week, but they are still making lots of progress.
Afterward we had our Thanksgiving feast, it was really fun.
We made blankets to give to the little kids who have cancer and are staying in the hospital....that was really cool.
Thursday we are having Thanksgiving dinner with the two American families in our ward. It will be alot of fun.
Sylvana and Suni are doing well. They were sick this week, but they are still making lots of progress.
November 16, 2009
My week was good! We had three investigators in church on Sunday, Slyvana, Suni and Hennie. We also had a lady call up and ask us to come teach her more about the Book of Mormon...that was neat.
On Thursday we went to Zwolle for a district meeting. Elder de Mass played the bag pipes while we contacted people in the Centrum square. It was really cool to contact people while hymns were being played in the background. It was an awesome experience.
We went to Apeldoorn and I got to see Alim, he was so excited to see me...it was really cool. The Kloosterboers from Apeldoorn came to church in Arnhem this week to see me.
We had interviews and that was also really good!
On Thursday we went to Zwolle for a district meeting. Elder de Mass played the bag pipes while we contacted people in the Centrum square. It was really cool to contact people while hymns were being played in the background. It was an awesome experience.
We went to Apeldoorn and I got to see Alim, he was so excited to see me...it was really cool. The Kloosterboers from Apeldoorn came to church in Arnhem this week to see me.
We had interviews and that was also really good!
November 9, 2009
This week was a good week. It went by really, really fast and it was fun. Sylvana was at church for the third time and she loved it, she's awesome.
Yesterday we went and ate Fufu with the Ghanian family in our ward and we wore our Ghana suits and they loved it, that was awesome.
It's been raining alot here and it's been fairly cold.
We are going to the temple on December 2 for zone conference.
Yesterday we went and ate Fufu with the Ghanian family in our ward and we wore our Ghana suits and they loved it, that was awesome.
It's been raining alot here and it's been fairly cold.
We are going to the temple on December 2 for zone conference.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
November 2, 2009
Well, life is just moving right along. Sylvana was in church again this week and she was giving incredible answers and is really positive and just loves the Church and the Book of Mormon.
My new companion, Elder Morrow, is a fun guy, he is from Washington and has been out for a year and a half.
I'm doing great, the weather is nice, we ate with Ghanians last night. I don't think ya'll are gonna recognize me when I get home.
My new companion, Elder Morrow, is a fun guy, he is from Washington and has been out for a year and a half.
I'm doing great, the weather is nice, we ate with Ghanians last night. I don't think ya'll are gonna recognize me when I get home.
October 26, 2009
I got sick this week and that kind-of put a damper on the first part of the week. But then we went to zone conference in Amsterdam and that was pretty cool. The day before the conference we stayed in Almere and I went on an exchange in Lelystad and got to see a whole bunch of members and investigators, so that was cool. Sister Prins who had cancer is completely healed!
We have two investigators that are really positive. One is a 16 year-old girl that is half Dutch and half Argentinian named Sylvana and the other is a man from Sierra Leone named Steven and both were in church on Sunday and both loved it, it was really good!
My companions going home on Wednesday and my new companion is Elder Morrow. That will be really fun.
We have two investigators that are really positive. One is a 16 year-old girl that is half Dutch and half Argentinian named Sylvana and the other is a man from Sierra Leone named Steven and both were in church on Sunday and both loved it, it was really good!
My companions going home on Wednesday and my new companion is Elder Morrow. That will be really fun.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
October 19, 2009
Today we had a zone activity and played American football...I had four interceptions and five touchdowns!
Elder Ertelt is going back to the French side of the mission for his last week, so it will be just me and Elder Ottonelli...it will be fun.
This week we found seven new investigators and had a really good week!
Jason Kabel was back from the USA and came to our church in Arnhem...it was cool...I saw some of the pictures he took in SLC. He is a good guy!
I'm still doing really good...I'm happy and having fun.
Elder Ertelt is going back to the French side of the mission for his last week, so it will be just me and Elder Ottonelli...it will be fun.
This week we found seven new investigators and had a really good week!
Jason Kabel was back from the USA and came to our church in Arnhem...it was cool...I saw some of the pictures he took in SLC. He is a good guy!
I'm still doing really good...I'm happy and having fun.
Monday, October 12, 2009
October 12, 2009
This week was pretty interesting. I did splits in Amersfoort. Then on Friday we went to a member's house and chopped down a huge tree and cut it into pieces and then split and chopped it into firewood. We spent ten hours doing that. For some reason I keep getting opportunities to use my wood chopping and chain sawing skills...it was alot of fun.
Then we went and played laser tag with the Young Men and Young Women Saturday night. That was really fun.
Sunday night we ate dinner with some sweet American members...it was really good. They are from Cache Valley and they come home the day after I do.
Then we went and played laser tag with the Young Men and Young Women Saturday night. That was really fun.
Sunday night we ate dinner with some sweet American members...it was really good. They are from Cache Valley and they come home the day after I do.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
October 5, 2009
I was offered a 30-day mission extension, but I knew that you want me home for Christmas, so I did not take it.
I have been all over the place the past week doing exchanges. I was in Apeldoorn and Hengelo and Zwolle and now I'm finally back in Arnhem, only to be leaving this afternoon to go to Amersfoort.
Arnhem is a cool city, there are parts that look like the Avenues in SLC.
We went to Apeldoorn to watch General Conference. It was really, really good! We watched the Saturday morning session at 6:00 pm Saturday night; then the Saturday afternoon session, Priesthood and Sunday morning sessions all on Sunday. We will watch the Sunday afternoon session next Sunday and then we can only see it in Dutch...things get lost in the translation though.
I have been all over the place the past week doing exchanges. I was in Apeldoorn and Hengelo and Zwolle and now I'm finally back in Arnhem, only to be leaving this afternoon to go to Amersfoort.
Arnhem is a cool city, there are parts that look like the Avenues in SLC.
We went to Apeldoorn to watch General Conference. It was really, really good! We watched the Saturday morning session at 6:00 pm Saturday night; then the Saturday afternoon session, Priesthood and Sunday morning sessions all on Sunday. We will watch the Sunday afternoon session next Sunday and then we can only see it in Dutch...things get lost in the translation though.
Monday, September 28, 2009
September 28, 2009
This past week went by really fast and not a whole lot happened that was out of the ordinary.
We dug a trench for some people, wearing our white shirts, although we did take our ties off. You should have seen their faces when we picked up a shovel and started to help. It was really cool.
My new companions, Elder Miqueas Ottonelli (from Argentina) and Elder Micheal Ertelt (from German) are cool, they both go home in four weeks. The members of the Church here are pretty cool. There is a Ghanaian family here, we are going to make FuFu with them this week.
Yesterday we ate at an American family's house (they are from Cache Valley). They are here for the husband's job and will be going back the day after me. They are really great.
We have been playing basketball at a court next to our house with a bunch of college students. They are all our friends now and they invite us to go to salsa parties and stuff like that. They know that we are missionaries and they respect that and have a lot of questions, even the ones from Iran and Afghanistan.
I am learning French from Elder Ertelt (he transferred from the French-speaking part of our mission) and it is coming along alright. I'm trying to finish the Book of Mormon in French before I come home.
We dug a trench for some people, wearing our white shirts, although we did take our ties off. You should have seen their faces when we picked up a shovel and started to help. It was really cool.
My new companions, Elder Miqueas Ottonelli (from Argentina) and Elder Micheal Ertelt (from German) are cool, they both go home in four weeks. The members of the Church here are pretty cool. There is a Ghanaian family here, we are going to make FuFu with them this week.
Yesterday we ate at an American family's house (they are from Cache Valley). They are here for the husband's job and will be going back the day after me. They are really great.
We have been playing basketball at a court next to our house with a bunch of college students. They are all our friends now and they invite us to go to salsa parties and stuff like that. They know that we are missionaries and they respect that and have a lot of questions, even the ones from Iran and Afghanistan.
I am learning French from Elder Ertelt (he transferred from the French-speaking part of our mission) and it is coming along alright. I'm trying to finish the Book of Mormon in French before I come home.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
September 21, 2009
Well, this week was pretty good. I'm in a companionship with a German and an Argentinian. It's fun, but I don't like this whole biking thing (gone are the good old days of having a car as a zone leader). We have a few good investigators and it will be fun.
I miss Apeldoorn and being a zone leader, but everything has to come to an end eventually. The members in Apeldoorn were really awesome helping me celebrate my 21st birthday.
I miss Apeldoorn and being a zone leader, but everything has to come to an end eventually. The members in Apeldoorn were really awesome helping me celebrate my 21st birthday.
September 14, 2009
This past week was a crazy one. I went on an exchange in Assen and got to see Frans Philipps again and that was awesome. Then the next morning I got a call that one of my missionaries had ran away. This is the third time that this has happened to me. So we spent two days looking for him, found him and drove him to Rotterdam to have an interview with the Area President, Elder Kopischke, who was doing a zone conference there. We drove back to Apeldoorn, then drove to Den Haag the next day for our zone conference with Elder Kopischke, which was incredible and we drove to Brussels for our zone leader conference with him which was also incredible.At the zone conference he answered questions from all of us about everything and it was awesome. The the zone leader council was really cool because it was just a handful of zone leaders and Elder Kopischke and we got to ask him more questions and he taught us alot...it was really cool. Then we drove back to Apeldoorn to have a meeting with the stake president to talk about missionary work and that was cool too. In three days we drove over 2000 kilometers...that's well over 1250 miles!
Well my Apeldoorn days are over...and my zone leading days. I am being transferred to Arnhem (just south of Apeldoorn) as a mentor and I am in a threesome with German elder who is from the French-speaking side of the mission and an elder who is having some problems.
My new address is:
Elder Sean Burton
Wichard van Ponllaan
6824-GD Arnhem
Nederland
I love Apeldoorn and its members. I've made so many friends there...it felt really good to be cherished and wanted and appreciated.
Well my Apeldoorn days are over...and my zone leading days. I am being transferred to Arnhem (just south of Apeldoorn) as a mentor and I am in a threesome with German elder who is from the French-speaking side of the mission and an elder who is having some problems.
My new address is:
Elder Sean Burton
Wichard van Ponllaan
6824-GD Arnhem
Nederland
I love Apeldoorn and its members. I've made so many friends there...it felt really good to be cherished and wanted and appreciated.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
September 7, 2009
Hey, so this week was awesome! We started out with an awesome exchange in Brussels. We went to their district meeting and I made apple pies for everyone in the district and they all loved it and wanted the recipe, so I wrote my version down and give it to a few of them and now it has spread all over the mission and people keep asking me for the recipe or to make them a pie...it's funny!!!
Then we just had a great day. I got to work with Elder De Mass, who I lived with in Den Haag and it was just an incredible day.
On Monday night we drove down to Brussels to drop something off at the mission home for Sister Brubaker, and she and Pres. Brubaker were in their regular clothes, moving things around, so so we helped them and then got to eat dinner with them. That was cool, too.
Tuesday night one of the French-speaking elders got his bag stolen so we had to go to the police department with him and we didn't get home until way late. In the morning we went and played soccer by the Saint Contin Aire. Brussels is a really cool city. Then the rest of the week we had a blast. We set a new baptismal date with Rodrique.
We also had stake conference last weekend and a missionary had just come home from the Greece, Athens mission...he knew Mike Middleton and it was cool to hear how he was doing from one of his fellow missionaries.
And that was my week, it was awesome.
Then we just had a great day. I got to work with Elder De Mass, who I lived with in Den Haag and it was just an incredible day.
On Monday night we drove down to Brussels to drop something off at the mission home for Sister Brubaker, and she and Pres. Brubaker were in their regular clothes, moving things around, so so we helped them and then got to eat dinner with them. That was cool, too.
Tuesday night one of the French-speaking elders got his bag stolen so we had to go to the police department with him and we didn't get home until way late. In the morning we went and played soccer by the Saint Contin Aire. Brussels is a really cool city. Then the rest of the week we had a blast. We set a new baptismal date with Rodrique.
We also had stake conference last weekend and a missionary had just come home from the Greece, Athens mission...he knew Mike Middleton and it was cool to hear how he was doing from one of his fellow missionaries.
And that was my week, it was awesome.
Monday, August 31, 2009
August 31, 2009
Today we are headed to the mission home in Brussels, staying there for a few days, that will be fun.
This week we set a new baptismal date with Bernard from Mali, Africa. He is really cool. We asked him what he thought about 3 Nephi 11 and he said 'It is true,' then we asked if he'd be baptized and he said, 'yes.' It was really cool.
Other than that all our other appointments fell through, 25 of them to be exact.
But we had a great interviews training and we were able to build the missionaries up and help them out. I also got to give blessings to the three sister missionaries who are struggling and that was really cool. The Spirit was incredibly strong and it was really good.
We also got to do service for the bishop who lives in a pine forest. I got to chop wood and cut a large amount up. It was great!
This week we set a new baptismal date with Bernard from Mali, Africa. He is really cool. We asked him what he thought about 3 Nephi 11 and he said 'It is true,' then we asked if he'd be baptized and he said, 'yes.' It was really cool.
Other than that all our other appointments fell through, 25 of them to be exact.
But we had a great interviews training and we were able to build the missionaries up and help them out. I also got to give blessings to the three sister missionaries who are struggling and that was really cool. The Spirit was incredibly strong and it was really good.
We also got to do service for the bishop who lives in a pine forest. I got to chop wood and cut a large amount up. It was great!
Monday, August 24, 2009
August 24, 2009
This morning I went with a member out into the forest (if you can call it that) and stalked deer and black boars. It was really cool. It felt so good to be out in the woods again. It was not the same because it was really flat and you could hear the trains and the highway noise so it was not really out in the wild, but at the same time it was in the wild part of the Netherlands, so that was cool. We got really close to the boars and saw a fair amount of deer.
This past week went by really, really fast and I do not even remember what we did! We set two new baptismal dates withe Rodrique from the Congo and Sjon who is Dutch. The work is going well here. I'm still going strong and sprinting to the end, trying to gain speed the whole time. I'm still growing and maturing.
This past week went by really, really fast and I do not even remember what we did! We set two new baptismal dates withe Rodrique from the Congo and Sjon who is Dutch. The work is going well here. I'm still going strong and sprinting to the end, trying to gain speed the whole time. I'm still growing and maturing.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
August 17, 2009
This week we were in Rotterdam to listen to Elder and Sister Russell Nelson and Elder and Sister Kieijweg and Elder Kopichske. It was incredible!! Their talks were really, really good and they are really nice people. Sister Nelson is really cool, I liked her talk! The whole mission attended the conference, the French and Dutch-speaking missionaries.
We have found tons of new investigators this week and only one of them is Dutch, the rest are African and from South America and China. I love these people, they are awesome.
We have found tons of new investigators this week and only one of them is Dutch, the rest are African and from South America and China. I love these people, they are awesome.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
August 10, 2009
I've been to Rotterdam, Brussels, Utecht, Zwolle and Arnhem. It's been pretty crazy, but also really good.
My new companion and I get along really well and we are getting the work going here. This past week we found six new investigators and hopefully we can really get the teaching pool built up before I leave on September 16. I have no idea where I'm going. I am hoping to go to Sint Niklass, but you never know where you will end up.
All my past baptisms here in Apeldoorn are doing really well and it's great to be here, but I can feel that my time here will soon be up and I'll have to move on to another city.
Yesterday I gave a talk in church, it was fun because I just did it from notes/outline and then I had to try to convert my thought train from English to Dutch, but it turned out well, so I was glad.
This upcoming week we get to go to Rotterdam again to have a meeting with Elder Russell M. Nelson, I'm really excited for that, it should be a really neat experience.
My new companion and I get along really well and we are getting the work going here. This past week we found six new investigators and hopefully we can really get the teaching pool built up before I leave on September 16. I have no idea where I'm going. I am hoping to go to Sint Niklass, but you never know where you will end up.
All my past baptisms here in Apeldoorn are doing really well and it's great to be here, but I can feel that my time here will soon be up and I'll have to move on to another city.
Yesterday I gave a talk in church, it was fun because I just did it from notes/outline and then I had to try to convert my thought train from English to Dutch, but it turned out well, so I was glad.
This upcoming week we get to go to Rotterdam again to have a meeting with Elder Russell M. Nelson, I'm really excited for that, it should be a really neat experience.
Monday, August 3, 2009
August 3, 2009
Alim got baptized and it was awesome...he's such a stud. I hope that someone in the ward will sponser him so that he can go on a mission.
Right now I'm sitting in the mission office emailing. Brussels is a really cool city. We are going to see some of the sights and then eat with one of the members.
Elder Shumway is headed home to Oklahoma on Wednesday and my new companion is Elder Howell. He is from California and a new zone leader. It will be a fun transfer with him.
Right now I'm sitting in the mission office emailing. Brussels is a really cool city. We are going to see some of the sights and then eat with one of the members.
Elder Shumway is headed home to Oklahoma on Wednesday and my new companion is Elder Howell. He is from California and a new zone leader. It will be a fun transfer with him.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
July 27, 2009
This week went by really, really fast. I don't have alot to report, but this week we gave our interview training. It was a lot of work and it was really tiring trying to keep everybody happy and having fun and at the same time get them to learn things. It was about seven hours long, but we pulled it off and it turned out really well. 22 missionaries is alot of missionaries!
Monday we picked up Alim to take him to the Vels to eat dinner and he got into the car and said that he's done smoking weed and he'd thrown all his weed smoking stuff away and that he wants to get baptized on August 1, so pray for him that he can fight the temptation of smoking weed so that his life won't be controlled by this addiction. The Vels were awesome, they invited him to come for dinner with them on Sunday and they gave him their telephone number so if he needs someone to help him or he just needs something to do, he can call them and they'll come pick him up. Alim said afterwards that they felt like parents to him because he doesn't have any.
Alim is from Sierra Leon and he came here when he was seven and how he is nineteen. He almost died in Sierra Leon...he was a child soldier and a ton of bad things happened to him there, then he came here with nothing and was in a foster family that treated him terribly...when he was sixteen he started to live on his own. He's been through alot and he has no one, he has no family and is all alone in this crazy society. My heart breaks everytime I hear more of his story. That really goes for almost every African I meet. They all have very sad stories of the wars and the struggles in Africa. It is heart wrenching. It sure makes me grateful for the life that I have been given when I realize just how good my life has been. I've got no complaints.
We are headed for Utrecht tomorrow for Zone Conference and then the next transfer Elder Russel M. Nelson is coming and Elder Kopiska from the Area Presidency. I get to go to really personal meetings with both of them!!! Cool, eh?
Monday we picked up Alim to take him to the Vels to eat dinner and he got into the car and said that he's done smoking weed and he'd thrown all his weed smoking stuff away and that he wants to get baptized on August 1, so pray for him that he can fight the temptation of smoking weed so that his life won't be controlled by this addiction. The Vels were awesome, they invited him to come for dinner with them on Sunday and they gave him their telephone number so if he needs someone to help him or he just needs something to do, he can call them and they'll come pick him up. Alim said afterwards that they felt like parents to him because he doesn't have any.
Alim is from Sierra Leon and he came here when he was seven and how he is nineteen. He almost died in Sierra Leon...he was a child soldier and a ton of bad things happened to him there, then he came here with nothing and was in a foster family that treated him terribly...when he was sixteen he started to live on his own. He's been through alot and he has no one, he has no family and is all alone in this crazy society. My heart breaks everytime I hear more of his story. That really goes for almost every African I meet. They all have very sad stories of the wars and the struggles in Africa. It is heart wrenching. It sure makes me grateful for the life that I have been given when I realize just how good my life has been. I've got no complaints.
We are headed for Utrecht tomorrow for Zone Conference and then the next transfer Elder Russel M. Nelson is coming and Elder Kopiska from the Area Presidency. I get to go to really personal meetings with both of them!!! Cool, eh?
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