3 - How far is that Plane?

Elders Richards & Muller

Never a serious face

Elder Muller

Windmills!

Elders Richards and Muller

Just about three weeks away. Yep, someone tried to pull the age old missionary joke. Elder Richards and I were in Amsterdam working with the Assistants this week, and, sure enough, when we were in the area of Schiphol (Amsterdam's airport), someone pointed out a plane, and asked me how far it was. Three weeks! O.o I was looking through my emails from when I was at the MTC, and I found a gem from week three (ironic), so here is a little trip down memory lane.....

"So our zone is made up of all Dutch speakers, Swedes, Nords, and Danes. We've been having a grand old time together, but yesterday, a war started.

Early in the morning, we were still sleeping. We hear a knock at the door. My comp, Elder da Silva, still 75% asleep goes and answers it. It's the Swedes in full battle array with squirt and dart guns. They totally blast him in the face as he opens the door. They lit the flame that began the war.

All day we plotted our revenge, if you mess with one Dutchie, you mess with all of us. We enlisted the help of the Surinames (Dutch speaking South American country) who the Swedes thought were their allies. As soon as we got home from devo, and changed out of our suits, we prepared for war. Elder Silva and Elder da Silva painted their faces with shaving cream, and Elder Silva donned a hood from a winter jacket (it looked freaking hilarious) Elder Hunter filled several water bottles in preparation for a good dunking on a Swedish head. I prepared our diversion to draw them out of the room.

As I began the diversion, the Swedish lookout spotted my companions as they left our room, and alerted his Swedish brothers. They all piled into the Zone Leader's (a Swede) room, and barricaded themselves in. This is where the Surinames came in. After sweet talking the Swedes, the Swedes opened the door just a crack to let them in, thinking them to be their allies. That was all we needed. We pushed the door open the rest of the way and began unleashing our fury upon those who dared squirt a fellow Dutchie in the face at 6:15 in the morning. Elder da Silva smacked a Swede upside the face with a handful of shaving cream, while Elder Hunter dumped bottle after bottle of water on the enemy before being taken out by a cookie launched by one of the Zone Leaders hiding behind a bed. The leader of the Swedes, Elder Dixon (he was the one da Silva smacked with shaving cream) grabbed my companion in a headlock, so I did the only thing I could. I threw a donut at his face. It smacked him right in the cheek icing side first. This shocked him enough for my companion to slip away. As we ran back to our room, the Swedes, filled with fury at their defeat began to storm after us down the hallway. When we got back to our room, we realized to our horror that we were locked out, with an army of angry Swedes 10 paces behind us. Luckily Elder Matos had a spare key, and we tumbled into our room. One of the Swedes (Dixon) wedged himself in the door and started spraying us with a squirt gun. We batted his hand down with a shoe and closed the door. As he turned to run away down the hallway, Elder Hunter burst from our room and rat tailed him with his towel. The Swedes will never attack us again. 

It was an epic night. 

Everyone had a great time, and right afterwards, the zone leaders invited us over for chips and salsa. The whole thing took like 2 minutes. We have several war trophies, including the donut that smacked someone in the face, and we are planning on handing out Medals of Honor tonight. Our zone is the best."

Oh how I've changed since then. I still love a shaving cream fight though, don't get me wrong. It's just odd to think that we were there almost two years ago. 

Anyway, on to my week. 

Some stories.

We went to Delft last Monday, so Elder Richards and I decided to look up an old friend, C---. We were walking to his house when this guy starts heckling us asking us to bless him and stuff. My companion got a little freaked out, but I just walked up to him, asked his name, said a prayer, invoked the blessings of heaven on him and his family, and walked away. It was pretty great. #bossmissionarymoments. 

We knocked on C---'s door, but he wasn't home. We were just about to walk away when who roles up? Him and his neighbor. It was funny, he didn't have his glasses on, so he didn't recognize us at first, and when he did he almost fell over he was so surprised. It was a great evening catching up with him. 

This week I also got to work with my good friend Elder da Silva in Amsterdam. Our last exchange together. Pretty surreal. It was enjoyable being able to take a look back at our missions, what we've accomplished, and what we still have to do. 

In other news, Elder Richards and I managed to find some windmills. You'd think they'd be easy to find in the Netherlands, but serving in the city of Den Haag, you don't see them that much. There are a couple scattered around, but they aren't in picturesque places. We were on our way to Zoetermeer, and we managed to find a very nice row of windmills along the side of the rode. So we stopped and had a small photo shoot. Enjoy :) 

Beautiful Windmills

Well I don't really know what else to share. How about a scripture?

Hebrew 10:

35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Love all you!

E.M. 

Wonder what they are thinking

Another shot of the windmills