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