I'm convinced that not much compares to spring
mornings in Europe. Lately the sun has been out and shining every day, with
temperatures around73 degrees Celsius and flowers and greenery pushing through
all around us. I will never forget the mornings when sun rays hit the
cathedrals and churches that have stood around for centuries and the streets of
cobblestone. We spent the morning and afternoon in Brugge today. We decided on
a whim yesterday to take a train out there and enjoy the city. We took a really
nice and cheap boat tour of the city and had a real chill pday with the other
Antwerpenaars. This place is spectacular. Belgium will always be a piece of
home.
We have been able to do a lot of raw, diligent
work this week. Countless doors knocked, passerby’s stopped, and people met. I
hit a few moments of inspiration this week when other missionaries asked how to
keep confidence and their cool when all you do is knock all day. We are beat
over the head with the fact that knocking doors is the least effective finding
method especially in Europe. Yet it is what you do when you have NOTHING to do.
So I came to a conclusion. You knock a door, you say who you are and why you
are there and what you have to share, you get a negative response back usually,
if the door isn't closed by the time you get through speaking your own name. Is
that their chance to hear the gospel? I'm convinced it isn't. 
Say you receive a friend request on Facebook.
What does it take for you to hit accept? Most likely, you recognize the name,
if not the profile picture maybe, then you remember how you associated with
that person, what they said to you, maybe taught you, or did with you. Then
based on how many of those things were positive experiences, you judge your
decision to accept and follow through with it. I've been out for a while, but I
feel like that is still the general process with how that works. So what does
it take for someone to accept something more important, like, I don't know, say
the restored gospel of Jesus Christ? I drew this parallel this week in
West-Vlaanderen: I seek adventure and stories. I invest in every person I speak
with on the door as someone who I will learn from and someone who has a story,
a favorite vacation spot, a favorite ice cream flavor, and an embarrassing
encounter with strangers. I KNOW that by investing in them and learning about
them, they will in turn take interest in us and love us for who we are and what
we do. Missionaries are not robots. People quote me on that here in the mission.
My goal is to make every person I speak with worthy of being an accepted friend
on Facebook. Someone who passed enough of the criteria above to stay in touch
with. And it has worked so much already. And you know what? As you stay in
touch with the cool things you have done together, they will see you post
Gospel messages and videos on social media, time after time becoming acquainted
with the restored gospel. That will make me never actually leave my mission.
IT's so cool and I already have a handful of people that I have met and been
able to love in this wonderful place in the world.
Ok that was my revelation for the week. I also
had interviews with President this week and planned quite a bit of the
remainder of my mission. But I will keep you hanging until it’s confirmed with
transfer calls haha
We worked all over the beautiful Belgium
countryside this week and even made it to the French border. So I drove for a
bit in France. I've now driven in 5 different countries. No big.
We also almost got T-boned HARD yesterday
morning getting onto the freeway. Somehow the other car stopped just before
hitting us and we were fine. But it was my side of the car and it was really
intense. Then 10 minutes later we were driving through Zaventem and saw the Brussels
airport on the way to Leuven for church. Sorry mom.
I think that's long enough for this week.
Love
Elder Trevan Scott Reese
Attachments area
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