While driving back
from a late appointment this week, I looked over the freeway to see the
Antwerpen skyline and dark, cloudy sky, and had a moment of sheer love and
appreciation for this ghetto, dated, miraculous city. My mission will always be
classified under my experiences in Antwerpen. I am a Belgian missionary. This
week proved that yet again.
As a greenie, I saw
immense amounts of success here and it truly set the tone for the course of my
mission. The Netherlands didn't harvest the same result that I was hoping for,
at least not in the same ways, but now being back in my stomping grounds, I
have been able to refall in love again and again with this fantastic country.
This week we taught the most lessons of my mission, since I was here the first
time. And not just fly by, one hit wonder lessons, but quality, retaining,
BELGIAN lessons. We doubled our teaching pool and had some of the smoothest
Restoration lessons of my year and a half here.
Anita is our
progressing investigator who should be baptized next, and she is killer. We had
3 appointment planned this last week, the second one didn't go through (the
only one EVER) because she was working with her lawyer for something. We go by
for our Saturday appointment and taught her the law of chastity. She isn't
married to her boyfriend she lives with BUT turns out that 2 days before she
was with her lawyer getting her Italian and Belgian documents arranged for work
and marriage. (....) I'm telling you, people are prepared. She walked late into
church with her little daughter and a member grabbed her right away and told
her to come sit by her to see her daughter. Then 4 other members came up to her
and were so happy to see her and play with little Laeana. Dream come true as a
missionary. I wanted to run outside with an American flag and climb a mountain
it made me so happy.
One of the many cool
stories this week: Saturday we had a killer day and were teaching the entire
day, but had about 45 minutes left at the end of the day. We went and looked up
a guy who actually gave his Book of Mormon to his neighbor. He wasn't home so
we knock the neighbor. She tells us we better come in or else (hahaha what) so
we go in, the kids are playing card games, then she goes and pounds on our investigator's
door, he answers (what) and he comes over for a sick lesson about the
Restoration and about the church. Their names are Tina and Hadi and they are
total homies with each other which is hilarious because people never talk to
their neighbors here.
I am still writing
Maria every week and she sent another email this week explaining how she is
going to stay with the bible and her church but that the missionaries and the
ward mission leader visit her a lot. So nothing new for now.
Monday. Monday I got
stuck in an elevator for the first time. HAHA on our way out of family home
evening with Zr Van Wauwe, we foolishly crammed 5 people into the 3 man
elevator to prevent the 9 flights of stairs. It was going decently smooth until
we were between the ground and second floor... The elevator stopped, the
buttons wouldn't work and every time you got too close to the door it would
beep at you. HAHA so here I am with a member, a recent convert, and the 2
sister missionaries’ in a stuck elevator. The call button doesn't work right,
and I am talking to Zr Van Wauwe through the phone as she tells me what to do.
Nothing else works so the concierge comes and pries the door open, we have to
jump half a story down to the ground and make it back home. This was all around 9:15 at
night haha. Needless to say we are making the concierge cookies and she has had
questions about the church so.... missionary opportunity!
I also ate fufu again
last night which is the African soup and potato dough stuff that you eat with
your hands. Look on dropbox for that video haha.
It's been a good one,
the transfer is half over almost, people are going home, getting married, and
we are going to go tour a 15th century castle in Mechelen today. All is well.
All is well.
Elder Trevan Scott Reese
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