Love you all!
McKenzie
Hey everyone!
So this week was pretty interesting with Elder Adams leaving and
Elder Harris coming in. Last monday was the start of many goodbyes but
it was good because we saw a lot of people. Last Tuesday we had our last
district meeting. The last district meeting of each transfer we mostly
just talk about the lessons that we have learned that transfer and then
the missionaries who are leaving the district bare their testimonies. It
was weird to have Elder Adams and Elder Barney (district leader) give
their testimonies. Luckily they still have a while left in the mission
so I will see them again soon.
After district meeting we all had lunch together:. We had foo-foo which is like this African dough stuff that you dip in a sauce with onions, hamburger, and peppers--lots of peppers. I didn't really like it because of the dough stuff but it was fun to experience what all the African missionaries in the Congo must experience. It was also super nice to have lunch all together to celebrate the end of the transfer. Elder Reed, one of my favorite missionaries in our district, is our new district leader. I am super excited to have exchanges with him and his blue Elder Glover who I knew in the MTC and get along with really well.
After district meeting we all had lunch together:. We had foo-foo which is like this African dough stuff that you dip in a sauce with onions, hamburger, and peppers--lots of peppers. I didn't really like it because of the dough stuff but it was fun to experience what all the African missionaries in the Congo must experience. It was also super nice to have lunch all together to celebrate the end of the transfer. Elder Reed, one of my favorite missionaries in our district, is our new district leader. I am super excited to have exchanges with him and his blue Elder Glover who I knew in the MTC and get along with really well.
After district meeting we caught a train back to Namur and started
going to everyone's houses to say goodbye. It was a crazy day! We saw
five different families and I swear each one has a dessert or something
prepared. We went to the Istace family's house for dinner and had Tacos
which is one of my favorite things to eat here. We have only had them
three times and it's always with people who served missions in the US so
it makes me feel more like I am at home. After we hit up all the
families in the ward we went to see Beebee, man that was a rough
goodbye. She pretty much has nobody else here in Belgium except the ward
and the missionaries so each Elder she gets really attached to. She did
pretty good and only cried a little saying goodbye to Elder Adams. It
was so funny though cause we got saying that we needed to go and she was
bargaining with us ha! She is always asking for us to stay another 10
minutes. After Beebees we went back to our house and started getting
everything ready for the next day. It was a weird night.
Wednesday we were up bright and early to finish getting ready to
leave. We then left and went to catch our train. We had to go to
Bruxelles to meet up with another elder and then all three of us were
taking a TGV train which is one of the world's fastest trains to Paris
from Bruxelles. We all got to Bruxelles early so we decided to take an
earlier train to Paris we went and talked to the ticket person and there
were no more available seats but the cool thing is first class was only
2 euros more so we jumped on the opportunity and got to ride first
class. We enjoyed complimentary drinks and snacks for the hour to
Bruxelles. It was fun to be living the first class lifestyle for a
little bit. We then got to Paris and had to take a few metros to get to
the church. Turns out metros with a bunch of suitcases is not the
funnest thing! I don't get how people go on vacation and use metros here
to get to the airport. We eventually got to the church and there was a
pleasant surprise waiting for me, a package from Aunt Charisty and the
rest of the family! I was super stoked to have some more peanut butter
and some drink mixes. I then checked the mail bin and finally got my
pants (for some reason they were super long but Beebee hemmed them for
me so they are perfect now thanks mom for sending them). Then i found
Elder Harris and we took of back to Bruxelles and then to Namur.
Elder Harris is from South Carolina he has been out on his mission
for 17 months and is a pretty quiet guy. It's been interesting to work
with him so far because he is a lot different from Elder Adams but its
good. I am learning a lot still and we are getting some good work done.
Thursday we went to dinner at Beebee's house so she could meet
Elder Harris. She did really good the first time I was there. At first,
every time she saw me she cried thinking of the last elder that I
replaced haha! So this time was better and she didn't cry at all. It was
also a good time for us to see each others teaching styles a little
more. Friday we went to the Red Cross Center and saw our boy Kabba and
Grace his buddy. Kabba is working on getting train tickets figured out
so he can keep coming to church. Grace is one of my favorite amis we
meet him through Kabba and I was the first missionary to really teach
him because when we are at the center we kinda split up and one of us
teaches Grace and anyone else who wants to listen and the other one
teaches Kabba the new member lessons and stuff. Grace is super christian
and quotes the bible all up and down on me but in a good way and so I
always show him that the Book of Mormon is the same and even expands on
the bible! This last week we read 3 Nephi 11 together and talked about
the importance of the priesthood and having the authority to baptize and
lead Christ's church. He committed to read and he already prays so I am
super stoked to see where things go. At the end of the lesson he gave
an awesome prayer and I just got fired up about doing missionary work!!
Later that night we had ward counsel and that went well. Saturday we had a BBQ with a bunch of the members at the Badoux house and they even invited some neighbors that were not members so that was awesome. Saturday we went and had a lesson with Badia and Raphael J. Raphael is a member and his wife has gotten some of the lessons but has not really been progressing the last transfer. We watched the restoration and just answered questions and shared our testimonies. I was stoked when the next day Brother J. was at church for all three meetings: Badia didn't come but getting Brother J. there was a huge step, he hasn't been in a long time!
Later that night we had ward counsel and that went well. Saturday we had a BBQ with a bunch of the members at the Badoux house and they even invited some neighbors that were not members so that was awesome. Saturday we went and had a lesson with Badia and Raphael J. Raphael is a member and his wife has gotten some of the lessons but has not really been progressing the last transfer. We watched the restoration and just answered questions and shared our testimonies. I was stoked when the next day Brother J. was at church for all three meetings: Badia didn't come but getting Brother J. there was a huge step, he hasn't been in a long time!
Sunday was a pretty good day! There were two missionaries who
served in Namur who came back to visit. So church was super happening.
Elder Harris is a little shy so he didn't talk to a ton of members at
church and stuff but luckily the members are super friendly so he is
making good progress with getting to know the members. After church we
went and saw one of our less actives who wasn't at church. She was
offended by some of the ward members so now she refuses to go. It was a
crazy rendezvous. I was surprised by how bold I ended up being. I told
her that she has a testimony and she has made a covenant with Heavenly
Father so she needs to continue to renew that covenant and that
that trumps her problems with the members. Luckily I get to hand that
one over to the bishop which I am glad about. I don't want to deal with
Namurs own little version of Jersey Shore. Just kidding.
All in all it was a pretty good week. I was forced to talk a lot
more and I am so grateful for the gift of tongues. I feel like I was
able to really talk clearly enough for people to understand and then the
week went well and that we had some awesome lessons. Today we are
mostly just chilling and getting all the little stuff down like laundry
and grocery shopping. It will be nice to relax since the last couple
pdays where filled with all kinds of different stuff. I have been
getting mail now so I get to write some letters today too. It should be a
chill day and tomorrow its right back to work:
-Elder Lerdahl
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