Monday, April 11, 2016

Wij dopen mensen, wil je gedoopt worden?



Hey everyone!

This week has been NUTS!

So to start off, I have a little explaining to do. I was transferred back to Den Haag this week. I'm alright, but sadly one of my best friends had to go home because of some medical challenges. Elder Clukey! I love you man!! I'll see you when you get back :)

So because he left, I had to fill the gap in Den Haag, so I'm back. They just can't keep me away. I for sure must have the record for the longest consecutive stay in one city. 6 transfers! That's 9 months, I could have had a baby here! (Den Haag is where Elder Muller spent a lot of time when he was living in Delft, and he attended church services in the Den Haag Ward.)

For those of you wondering, my old companion, Elder Leishman is also fine. He is in Leiden rocking it in a three man. My new companion is Elder Isaksen. He is a Viking (from Norway). We've been going hard the past couple of days, and we have seen a lot of success. We were able to get two people on baptismal date, as well as set two temple dates with some less actives they have been working with. The work here is moving forward!

One pretty crazy thing about this transfer is that I am now both a District Leader and a Zone Leader at the same time. Yup. As far as I know, that's the first time that something like that has happened in this mission. Really all that means is that I have twice the responsibility. Oh well.

Cool, I don't have much time, so I figured I would share a couple funny stories from this week. All of them took place while we were talking with people on the street. Feel free to translate if you would like :) 

Situation: Two teenage girls are walking down the street, Elder Isaksen is talking on the phone, but I want to talk to them.

Place: Right across the street from the Haagse Markt (big outdoor market)

Muller: "Hey pardon, spreken jullie Nederlands? ("Hey, excuse me, do you speak Dutch?") (They were Muslim, so you always have to check if they are refugees)

Girls: "ja hoor!" ("Yes!")

Muller: "Zijn jullie bekend met deze buurt?" ("Are you familiar with this neighborhood?")

Girls: "Ja" ("Yes")

Muller: "Weten jullie toevallig waar de Haagse Markt is?" ( I know where it is ;) ) ("Do you know by chance where the Haagse Market is?")

Girls: *insert "are you really that dumb?" look* "Ja hoor, 't is direct tegenover van je. De ingang is aan het eind van de straat." ("Yes, it is directly across the street from you!" "The entrance is at the end of the street!")

Then I started talking to them. Act dumb, people will talk to you :)

This one is where the subject line comes from:

Isaksen: "Hey pardon, spreek je Nederlands?" (Also Muslim ;) ) (Excuse me, do you speak Dutch?")

Man: "ja" ("Yes")

Isaksen: "Hey ok, prima, ja, mijn collega en ik zijn buitenlanders, en wij komen hier voor twee jaar om... " ("Hey, okay, great! My colleague and I are foreigners, and we come here for two years....") 

Man: "Ja sorry man, wat is het punt? Ik heb een beetje haast weet je?" (Sorry, man. What is the point?" I am in a bit of a hurry!")

Isaksen: "Oh ja, ik snap het. Eigenlijk, wij dopen mensen. Wil je gedoopt worden?" (Oh, I understand. Well, actually, we baptize people. Will you get baptized?!)

Man: *laugh* "Nee man, hey, fijne dag hé!" (No, man. Have a good day!)

Cool! love you guys!

Elder Muller

1 comment:

  1. Hey Elder M, yes that's how it goes, not everyone is into you. But a little rejection is better than doing community service projects, right? Some little bird told me that you sucked at painting last week. Were you bored and longing to go proselytizing? Well, spring has arrived and the sunshine brings more people out of their houses. May I suggest that you find something else to do with Koningsdag op april 27th (a national holiday in celebration of king Willem-Alexander's birthday). It is going to be so much busier down the city centre and there's a lot of fun things to do and see. Ask if you're allowed to exchange your prep.day for this holiday, so you can be free to do your own thing! Or is giving more Book of Mormons . Anyways, trust you'll do fine however you'll decide.

    Here's something else. Did you know that your slogan on top of this web is terribly lame! Get it changed a.s.a.p. Some ideas here.
    1] Laat mij je in dit zuivere bad onderduwen, en ga weer kraakschoon door het leven! (Let me dunk you under in this cleansing water, and go squeaky clean through live!).
    2] Waag de sprong van je leven en spring met mij in het diepe en ik zal je onder duwen!
    (Take a chance and jump in the deep with me, for this dipper dips best!)
    3] Niet alle molenaars zijn dieven, deze kan je schoonwassen! (Not all millers are the same, this one makes you clean again!)
    4] Waar vind je een molenaar die nooit een graantje stal? Deze zal je weer witmaken! (Nobody's perfect! This one makes you white again!)

    Well Elder Müller, its good to have you back in Den Haag again. See you both at dinner time, my place, on the 28th!

    Cheers, Cyndy VANDENBERG

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