Elder Müller in the Belgium/Netherlands Mission: So I guess I'm coming home sooner than expected.

Enjoying Rotterdam

Elder Muller & Mama G

Elder Muller & Mama G!

Hey everyone!

So to be totally honest, this has been a really tough week. One of the toughest on my mission. Thankfully, Elder Hills and I pulled through, and it ended really well.

We often hear about how the week before someone's baptism is very tough. Satan will try very hard to stop people from making that covenant. Well, we learned that he works just as hard on the missionaries as he does on the person who is getting baptized. But just like my mission scripture, D&C 63:47 says, if you stay faithful, you can overcome anything. (This is the scripture Elder Muller chose for his mission plaque, and for us to remember while he is serving.)

Anyway, I am only going to talk about the highlights of the week, which were the past two days.

So Saturday was really crazy. We had to get everything ready for the baptism, and it was just crazy. The baptism was so awesome though. A little bit about E-- first.

E-- from China!

E-- is from China. She came to the Netherlands for school, and now works in Amsterdam for an accounting firm. (She has a Masters in Accounting...I would die with all that math....says the kid studying computer programming!!) She has a friend in Utah who introduced her to the Church. She started meeting with the missionaries right about the time that I came into the land.

But back to the baptism. It was so cool. She was so excited. She brought two friends who are not members, and her parents Skyped in from China for the service. There were also a ton of missionaries! She has been taught for awhile now, so a lot of missionaries came for the baptism. I was a witness, so I was able to see everything up close during the ordinance. (A baptism has two witnesses who stand on either side of the font to make sure the baptism is done correctly, specifically that the ordinance is said properly, and that the person being baptized is completely immersed in the water before standing back up.)

When she stepped into the water she was really nervous, but when she came up, she had the biggest smile and look of joy on her face. In that moment, my heart about burst. All those silly cliche things people say about baptism and missionary work are true. I experienced it in that very moment. It made the whole thing worth it. All two years I will serve, every struggle I have had, every trial I have had to overcome, was worth it when she came up out of the water. I know, cliche and lame, but it is so true!

Yesterday was also amazing. She was confirmed in Sacrament meeting, and she started crying during the blessing. The Spirit was just there, everyone could feel it, including E--. After church, we had a lesson with her, and we asked her why she had cried. She was like "I don't know! I never cry unless I have a good reason. But when he said "Receive the Holy Ghost", I just felt excited, and I started crying!" We were able to bear testimony that she felt the Spirit. AHHH SO COOL!!!!

Here is a link that will explain the ordinance of Baptism and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost:

https://www.lds.org/bc/content/ldsorg/content/english/manual/missionary/pdf/36951_the-gospel-of-jesus-christ-eng.pdf?lang=eng

Elder Muller and E-- before she enters the waters of baptism!

E-- and Elders who have taught her

So I´m out of time, we have to leave in five minutes for an appointment.

I love you guys, and I hope you have a good week. We get a new Mission President on Wednesday, so we are all sorts of nervous/excited.

Love you guys!

Elder Müller

Oh, the title is because the Missionary Training Center changed their transfer schedule, so everyone one who goes home after this November 2015 will have their mission shortened by one week. :(

Yes, Elder Muller shocked me with the subject of his email and waited until the very end to explain what it meant! Not a nice thing to do to his mother!! I read the email THREE times looking for what happened that he was coming home, and on the third time I finally scrolled past his name and saw this little comment along with his link to pictures! I decided rather than clearing this up at the beginning of this post, I would make you all suffer just like I did, and wait to the end to find out!! He is such a stinker! Actually, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt....I think he probably forget to mention it in the email and remembered just as he was about to hit send!