This blog is for family and friends who wish to following Trevan as he sacrifices his time and talents to go forth and teach the Gospel in the Belgium/Netherlands Mission for the next two years. Follow him as he grows through experience, challenges and triumphs throughout his mission. May our prayers provide him comfort and protection as he serves the people in his mission and may we all be inspired to be missionaries in our own lives.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

180 Backspin - July 20, 2015


If the kickoff was last week then by now we gotta get in some second stringers because this one has become scoreboard shoot up. Such an unbelievably MIRACULOUS week.


Things that are just strange and inevitable in missionary work
Golden coastline sunset
1. Teaching a lady who loves deep conversations about Adam and Eve and the fall whilst having a lazy eye so you can never quite know who or what she is adhering her attention to.
2. Late bus causes a joint teach to arrive first to a first lesson, finding her sitting inside a marijuana filled home at the age of about 81, ready to teach in her Sunday best.
3. Attempt to drop off an Arabic Book of Mormon to a kind Muslim family in a socialist centrum where a plethora of Africans are in hospital suits in line for some sort of screening.
4. Somewhat illegally renting a public transportation bike because the metal doors wouldn’t open to let us out before our dinner appt a 30 minute bike ride away on the eastern peninsula.
5. Teaching a sweet kasmiran man who comes to church and likes it, only to discover that he is also most wanted in India and Pakistan for advocating for the liberation of Kashmir.

Whaddya gonna do about it?

Now, MIRACLES of doing our best diligent missionary work:
1. The lesson with our kind older joint teach goes fantastic and our investigator asks her how she got an answer about the truth and she testifies for days about the truth. He accepts to baptism when he receives the same sort of confirmation.
2. Teach the super great Kasmiran guy who simply loves Jesus and agrees to join the church if his prayers are answered. Came to and liked the church service, see him twice this week as well.
3. Get let in at the door by a flippin tall Somalian man who is reading up in the Koran but prayed the night before that God would show him the way, testifying the heck out of it about how we were led straight to him, see him beginning of next week.
Mother Nature's sense of humor
4. Knock a somewhat random part of town, only to meet another chill Dutch guy with a 3 year old boy who rejects us at first.  we testify and invite, he lets us in, we teach the restoration, hook line and sink the Book of Mormon, he gets pumped to read, coming for a church tour Thursday, little boy is the cutest thing ever and loves to play hot wheels.
5. Teach some of the best second lessons of my mission with a former and new investigator (see #1) wherein I am presented with more deep questions about the Fall and Judgment after this life. No idea why or where they come from but thanks to the gift of tongues they understand that we don't always know answers to a precise point with such questions.

Also, somewhat of a given already but definitely worth mention, the members here are once again the best people in the world and their food is amazing, their testimonies solid, and joyful in life. Such a fun atmosphere with them. And many of them are over 60 hahaha #Dutchlife

The Atlantic Ocean also thought to throw a joke on this week and we had a brutal day of constant sea spray (the one day we planned for many outdoor activities) and so we went swimming Wednesday. Sorry President, the pool came to us. 

Zone Conference was this week in Antwerpen (!!!!) which was fantastic and I saw 7 others from the MTC. Breaking news however: we must now wear helmets. Quite a blow for this mission because there is a lot of ridicule toward those who wear helmets so we will see. President and Zuster Bunnell gave an awesome conference.

dutch drawbridge and railway systems :)
A total of 3 times this week we met and taught people who had been searching for the truth for quite some time with a prior dream of seeing two angels in a field, realizing that us contacting him across the street was unnatural in the flow of life (?) and sees our message as important from God, and praying the evening before to have God show him the way he needs to go. Being able to testify the heck out of these led-to situations is such a blessing and brings such a Spirit. The Lord leads us to do His work. Therefore I boast in the strength of my Lord. (see Alma 26:12)

In a nutshell, that was this week. We have good plans for this next week and staying diligent in our labors will only bring more miracles. I know it. I love it. 

Your prayers are working here. I cannot thank you enough. 

Love
Elder Trevan Scott Reese




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