6th letter from Nijmegen, Netherlands - Week 35

Merry Christmas Everyone! 

I hope you are all enjoying this wonderful time of the year, its truly a blessing to be on a mission during this time.  Yes I'm far away from my family and all of you amazing people that I love dearly, but my heart is warm and at peace and not far away from home.  

There is so much love from the people over here and being a missionary around this time of year has allowed me to focus truly on what Christmas is all about, and why it is such a joyous warm time of the year.   The answer is simple, it's our Savior Jesus Christ.  It's a time of the year where everyone opens there hearts up a little bit more, they give a little bit more, spend more time with those who they love and cherish, and this is because we let the light of Christ into our hearts, so yeah I will keep this short but I just want to challenge you all to find out what the actual meaning of Christmas for you is. 

Whether that be remembering Jesus Christ, serving others, remembering what is good in the world, spending time with family, whatever it is just find it and hold onto it this Christmas season and I promise that by doing so you will have the warmest Christmas yet. 

I know that Jesus Christ lives and that he is our Savior.  That he can and is willing to heal every scar, broken heart, and beaten down spirit.  That he brings peace, forgiveness, joy, light, love hope and so many other things into this world and he can bring them into our lives, all we have to do is let him. 

Merry Christmas!  With love from the Netherlands.

- Elder Walker

Elder Walker and Elder Hill's Christmas photo shoot.  haha  :-D  

 

 

 

 

5th letter from Nijmegen, Netherlands - Week 34

There was no official blog email today and Jerrick didn't mention anything about transfers, so it's safe to say that he is more than likely staying in Nijmegen for another transfer!  He will be getting a new companion though, as Elder Hill will be leaving, which always seems sad because these Elders and Sisters get to know their companions and build friendships with them and then they have to leave.  But I am grateful that they get to meet so many great people throughout their mission, as companions and out in the field!  :-)  

Also he did mention that he will make it a priority to send a Christmas email next week for us all.  Please keep him and the other missionaries in your prayers!  He did have this to say though:

oh P.S. you've gotta go to the new Christmas website! it's
www.Christmas.mormon.org it's amazing just check it out and watch the video's!

 

- Elder Walker

 

Antwerpen and Eindhoven Zones, in Antwerpen for Zone Conference (can you spot Elder Walker in the back?)

Christmas packages for the two zones at the mission office ready to be delivered

I think I spot Elder Walker's package!  (which he did get...yay!!) :-) 

All the packages getting delivered to the Zone Conferences

The Senior missionaries and President & Zuster Bunnell take great care of the missionaries.  They are very blessed.

 

4th letter from Nijmegen, Netherlands - Week 33

A short and sweet update this week :-) 

Hey Madre, bad news I am not going to have enough time for the blog sorry. uhm transfers are next Wednesday, I have noooo idea where I will be, I'm thinking I will stay, but you never know for sure.

This week was really awesome though we have seen a ton of miracles with finding and the work in the district is just picking up every week its amazing to see. 

Have a great week madre and tell everyone hi for me!!! loves!

 

- Elder Walker

 

(Thanks to Elder Hill's mom for the pictures!)  

Beautiful Sunrise in Nijmegen

St. Stephens church tower

Chalk street art

Sinterklaas Gifts. They got a Chocolate Letter "E"
(The Dutch celebrate Sinterklaas (the name is a contraction of Sint Nikolaas) on Dec. 5 and 6. The holiday, consisting of St. Nicholas Eve and St. Nicholas's Day, honors the life of St. Nicholas)

Dutch Vending machines w/stuff like potatoes, eggs, onions,etc.

A little backwards...4 Santa's and 1 reindeer

Elder Walker and Elder Hill helped a member set up their tree

Christmas night life

3rd letter from Nijmegen, Netherlands - Week 32

Elder Hill & Elder Walker after an evening of contacting in the pouring rain. Dedication brings miracles :-)

Hey everyone! 

Sorry I have been slacking on the whole blog email, haha but this last week was a pretty awesome week. Me and Elder Hill just focused on finding more people to teach this week which was great. It actually snowed a bit! haha, and we met some really cool people we were able to give out some book of Mormons to, which is always awesome. 

Thursday we had a Thanksgiving dinner with some members here in Nedeland which was awesome and super nice of them to make us a traditional thanksgiving dinner. We also have one investigator who is progressing right now and he is awesome! Just a super solid guy who just truly wants to learn how he can follow Jesus Christ which is always cool to see. 

uhm but lets see the biggest miracle for the week happened yesterday evening actually and it was super cool. So after church me and Elder Hill had planned on going and knocking some doors in a neighboring city, which we did and man was it a rough day! haha Lots of doors slammed in our face and it was cold and windy, so in other words a perfect day for missionary work.  So yeah, we just kept working in this city up until dinner, after dinner we decided to go to the City Centrum in Nijmegen to do some contacting the rest of the night, and this is where things just get awesome.  So as soon as we got out of the train and on our way to the Centrum a torrential down pour happened, like seriously it was a wall of water coming out of the sky.  

So we just continued trudging through the swimming pool of rain with smiles on our faces while people were running left and right dodging into buildings and under any sort of protection they could find and we kept trying to talk to people but they weren't feeling the whole dancing in the rain thing I guess. 

But finally a man stopped to talk with us.  It was super awesome as he talked to us in the rain he revealed that he was an atheist and had tried to find God before, but couldn't and that honestly ever since he was little he has just wanted to have something to believe in.  Because as of now he believes there is nothing after death just nothing and he said it honestly scared him, so we proceeded to tell him that there was something after this life and that we share a way people could find that relationship with their Heavenly Father.  He wasn't really interested in meeting with us at that moment in his life but we challenged him to say a prayer, he said that he would and thanked us for inspiring him to start searching for an answer again.  He walked off in the rain with a pass along card and honestly I have no idea if we will ever see him again or not, but honestly I hope we do.

Now some of you might say okay... that's not really a miracle, but for us it definitely was. It was a testament to me that God has a plan for everyone and that he puts people in our paths so that we can help them on there way back to him.

I'm grateful that I could be a part of that process. The Lord knows how much we can handle and when we can handle it.  I love the peace that it brings knowing that he does have a plan and as long as we are doing our small part then that is enough, he will take care of the rest.

But anyways, I hope you all have an amazing week. haha, maybe enjoy the snow and a bit of Christmas music and most importantly remember that you have a Heavenly Father who loves you deeply and has a plan for you. 

Love,

- Elder Walker

2nd letter from Nijmegen, Netherlands - Week 31

Here is what Elder Walker had to say about this past week.  Short and sweet.  :-)  

This week has been awesome!  I have like zero time to email, but to answer your questions this city is awesome.  There is a Branch here that is super great. 

There is a Dutch member who is going to cook us a Thanksgiving dinner and also we had our Turkey bowl today with the other Zones, that was super fun.  Life is great, we are all safe here and the work is going awesome.  I just want to say I love you and tell everyone hi for me and to have a Happy Thanksgiving! haha sorry this is so short but it is filled with love haha have a great week!! 

- Elder Walker 

Elder Walker, Elder Hill & Jesus  :-) 

Jerrick teaching Elder Hill how to make pizza.  Courtesy of his training from Big Daddy's pizza

Looks like it turned out pretty tasty!

More of Elder Walker and Elder Hill

I'm not sure what's going on here.  haha!  Who says missionaries don't deserve facials?!  :-D

1st letter from Nijmegen, Netherlands - Week 30

No official blog update to everyone today, but I did want to share w/you all some things Elder Walker shared with me.  I am always amazed at his strong spirit and outlook on things, especially as a Missionary.  His words have really brought comfort to me in the wake of this past week. I am one proud mom and my heart is full.  :-)

So I am now in the oldest city in Nederland, like it's super old but a lot was destroyed in World War II.  It's definitely different than any of the other area's I have served in, but I love it and Elder Hill is awesome! haha he was Elder Leigh's companion in the MTC and he is from Roy.   He's pretty much a boss so yeah the area is good! 

As a missionary I've learned that honestly the opposition of those against the church is a testament to the truthfulness of this church.  If the church wasn't true Satan wouldn't be working so hard to tear it down. And yeah of course there are people every day that do everything they can to discourage us and to tell us that we are wrong or dumb but there are those people out there that we are meant to find and that's what is important.  

 

Besides any small discomfort us missionaries face is nothing compared to what the person we represent went through.  And yet I can promise you that our Savior is right here with us missionaries out here every single day and because of that I know that all things are possible. 

 

Mom I love this Gospel so much and I am so grateful for the testimony that I have gained out here on my mission.  I have come to truly realize what it means to lean on the atonement and to trust in the Savior, because I am no where near perfect or honestly capable of doing this work I have been called to do, but the Savior truly does make weak things become strong and it is through him we can do all things.  

 

So I want to make you a promise and a challenge if you truly want to understand fully why the church makes policies that they do, ask our Heavenly Father.  James 1:5 "If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not".   

 

I promise that if you ask him sincerely in Faith and read in the scriptures and search for the answer that he will bring peace unto your soul as well as understanding.

I want you to know that I am safe and there is no need for you to be worried about me out here.  The Lord is on our side and he will protect us, this work is far too important to be stopped so we will just keep working our hardest and trust in the Lord to protect us.

I love you mom, I hope you have an amazing week, and please tell everyone hi for me!

 

-Elder Walker

6th & final letter from Maastricht, Netherlands - Week 29

District Meeting

Hey everyone,

I'm getting transferred to Nijmegen Netherlands to be a district leader this week sooo, it's pretty much hectic right now.  But I love it, I'm safe, happy and just grateful for my Savior.  I do want to share a talk with you this week on selfless sacrifice that touched my heart. 

- Elder Walker

 Selfless Sacrifice
Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children. Eighteen! In order merely to keep food on the table for this mob, the father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood. 

Despite their seemingly hopeless condition, two of Albrecht Durer the Elder's children had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they knew full well that their father would never be financially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to study at the Academy. After many long discussions at night in their crowded bed, the two boys finally worked out a pact. They would toss a coin. The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother while he attended the academy. Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy, either with sales of his artwork or, if necessary, also by laboring in the mines. 

They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning after church. Albrecht Durer won the toss and went off to Nuremberg. Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, financed his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation. Albrecht's etchings, his woodcuts, and his oils were far better than those of most of his professors, and by the time he graduated, he was beginning to earn considerable fees for his commissioned works. When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner on their lawn to celebrate Albrecht's triumphant homecoming. After a long and memorable meal, punctuated with music and laughter, Albrecht rose from his honored position at the head of the table to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled Albrecht to fulfill his ambition. His closing words were, "And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn. Now you can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream, and I will take care of you." 

All heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table where Albert sat, tears streaming down his pale face, shaking his lowered head from side to side while he sobbed and repeated, over and over, "No ...no ...no ...no." Finally, Albert rose and wiped the tears from his cheeks. 

He glanced down the long table at the faces he loved, and then, holding his hands close to his right cheek, he said softly, "No, brother. I cannot go to Nuremberg. It is too late for me. Look ... look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones in every finger have been smashed at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less make delicate lines on parchment or canvas with a pen or a brush. No, brother ... for me it is too late." 

More than 450 years have passed. By now, Albrecht Durer's hundreds of masterful portraits, pen and silver-point sketches, watercolors, charcoals, woodcuts, and copper engravings hang in every great museum in the world, but the odds are great that you, like most people, are familiar with only one of Albrecht Durer's works. More than merely being familiar with it, you very well may have a reproduction hanging in your home or office. One day, to pay homage to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother's abused hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward. 

He called his powerful drawing simply "Hands," but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed his tribute of love "The Praying Hands." The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, take a second look. Let it be your reminder, if you still need one, that no one - no one - - ever makes it alone!

5th letter from Maastricht, Netherlands - Week 28

Hey everyone! 

 

Sorry I have been slacking on the blog email's, life has just been a little busy! haha, but these last few weeks have been awesome! 

 

So, at the beginning of this transfer we have been doing a lot of finding here in Maastricht and it's now finally starting to pay off.  We have a couple of really solid investigators that are excited and willing to learn more about this amazing Gospel, which is super super awesome to see!  And yeah, we have been able to meet and teach some really cool people.  

 

I'm truly grateful to know that this is the Lords work and I have seen so many times where the Lord has brought me and my companion right where we need to be to talk to a specific person, it's just way cool. 

 

I hope everyone had a really awesome weekend and a fantastic Halloween!  Unfortunately it isn't a holiday here in the Nederlands sooo didn't get to carve a pumpkin or anything, but that's okay, the Lord blessed us with a week full of sunshine! haha which is almost as good as Halloween! 

 

Anyways, this week I have been extremely grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how if we will let it, it will carry us through our trials!  I mean, we have an investigator now who is in soooo much pain that even the most potent prescription pain killers offer only a bit of relief and it's sooo hard to see, but I admire his faith so much he just keeps on constantly believing and taking those steps necessary to be baptized.  

 

He starts every day with a prayer and a smile on his face and honestly he has been a great example for me.  But I can see how the Gospel of Jesus Christ has helped him and how sometimes, like in his life it gets so hard that the only thing we have to lean on is our Savior and his atonement, ha and as a missionary I have definitely had to lean on it time and time again, in order to change, to become a better person, and sometimes just to keep going through the day.  

 

I'm so grateful for him and his sacrifice and also for the Book of Mormon and its pure, and powerful testimony of our Savior and his atonement.  I know that as we pray and allow ourselves to lean on him that he will heal us, strengthen us, and give us peace in the times that we need it most.  May you all have an amazing week, I love you all!

 

-Elder Walker

4th letter from Maastricht, Netherlands - Week 27

Elder Walker didn't have time to write today, but he did say that he went on a tour of a cave today, so we can hopefully expect pictures and an update next week!  He is of course loving every day of his mission, is happy and doing great!  

I did manage to find a few more pictures from his time in Leuven when he went on a trip to St. Rumbold Tower w/the Senior Missionaries and the Zusters.  Enjoy!  :-)  

 

3rd letter from Maastricht, Netherlands - Week 26

Elder Walker in Maastricht.  Doing his famous "hang loose" hand signal.  :-D

Hey everyone! 

So this week was just awesome!  We had the chance to go to the Temple and hear from the Mission President as well as go to Stake Conference, so it consisted of a lot of traveling this week.  

We also had the singing Elders in our apartment this week performing for members of the ward and investigators which was amazing.  It just blows my mind to see how music is able to move people and influence lives for the better. 

uhm yeah, so I guess let's see..what have I learned this week.  uhm I guess one of the biggest things I took away from this week of conferences is how much of a blessing it is that we have the opportunity to go to church and partake of the Sacrament every week.  The saying: "The man wasn't made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath is made for man" is absolutely true.  

On my mission I have truly came to experience the peace, rest, and strength that comes from dedicating Sunday to our spiritual growth and doing the work of the Lord. 

He truly has given us the Sabbath in order to improve our lives and I can promise all of you that as you strive to make the Sabbath a pleasure, that it will bring about an amazing change in your life and you'll feel more at peace and have greater strength throughout the week. 

Anyways, I love you all and hope you all are loving life, smiling and that you know that I love you!  Have a great week!

- Elder Walker

2nd letter from Maastricht, Netherlands - Week 25

Hey everyone! 

It's Elder Walker, sooo sorry I don't have a ton of time to write today but I just wanted to talk about the miracle of prayer real quick.

Firstly, Maastricht is absolutely beautiful and soooo much fun.  There is a huge, huge population of students and the school is very international, so I have met lots of people from Germany, the United States, England, Scotland, France, Spain, Turkey, just everywhere, it's sooo cool! 

But yeah, about the miracle of prayer, so me and my companion Elder Leigh decided to pray to give out two book of Mormons a day on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (which is a lot) and we were able to do it! 

Every single day without fail we gave away a Book of Mormon in Dutch and English, which was super cool, and found a couple of really awesome potential investigators.  

So it was just a huge testimony that this is truly the Lords work and we just get to be tools in his hands.  

I just want to let you all know that I love you so very much and I hope you all have an amazing week!

- Elder Walker

1st letter from Maastricht, Netherlands - Week 24

Hey everyone! 

Elder Walker here in the beautiful city of Maastricht!   So I guess a quick recap on the week, I got transferred to Maastricht, which involved lots of traveling, like a ton!  But life is good.  

I have the privilege of serving with Elder Leigh who is from South Jordan, Utah and he came here right out of high school and this is his second transfer in the land.  But yeah, he is super awesome and we are going to get some work done this transfer! 

Let's see, I guess a little bit about the city.  It's beautiful and has a ton of church's everywhere and also is a student city which is just a lot of fun, plus the ward is just fantastic.  I've been into Germany twice this last week sooo that's kinda cool.  

But yeah, it's a blessing to know that as missionaries wherever we serve it's where the Lord wants us to be.  

It was definitely a privilege this week to hear from our amazing Prophet and the 12 Apostles this Sunday.  It truly brought peace to my heart and I'm grateful for not only the things that I have learned, but the things I realize that I must change. 

So if you haven't watched all of the sessions I would invite you to do so.  I promise you that there is a message in there for you.  

Anyways, got to run!  Thank you all for everything!  I love you and have an amazing week!

- Elder Walker 

**** PLEASE NOTE IN THE WEB VERSION OF THIS BLOG ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE THE NEW MISSION OFFICE ADDRESS TO SEND PACKAGES TO ****

 

12th & final letter from Leuven, Belgium - Week 23

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't blogged for the last couple of weeks life has been crazy!!  So update, last week I climbed a super cool church tower where you can see Antwerpen as well as Brussels which was awesome! 

The rest of this week was super cool we had the opportunity to go serve in a soup kitchen which was super cool as well as some service for some other people in the area.  It's getting colder here in Belgium, which means rain and fog, haha totally different than my favorite climate but its still super beautiful and I enjoy it.

uhm let's see, the work in Leuven is going great, we have one investigator with a baptismal as well as 4 truly progressing investigators which is super cool! 

Okay, soooo a bit of news before the miracle/thought for the week, and that news is that I'm leaving Leuven this Wednesday and heading to the city of Maastricht, which is super cool its one of the southern most cities in Belgium as well as the oldest, and to top it off its right on the border of Germany!!  Sooo potentially some time will be spent in Germany, as well as on the American military base right next to it, so yeah I'm pretty excited to got to the next place the Lord has called me! 

Fun fact from mom about Maastricht: 

Maastricht is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Dutch province of Limburg, of which is the capital.  The city is situated on both sides of the Meuse river (Dutch: Maas) in the South-eastern part of the Netherlands.  Maastricht is on the Belgian border (with both the Dutch-speaking Flemish and French-speaking Walloon region) and near the German border.  Maastricht is widely known as a centre of tradition, history and culture and popular with tourist for shopping and recreation. 

Haha okay so miracle time.   This Sunday we had a visitor from American Fork, UT who is here for a month, and he brought a friend who lives in Belgium, who is not a member which was awesome.  But the real cool part for me was why she decided to investigate and that was because she went to Utah for business several times and loved how friendly everyone was and wanted to know why. 

And it just hit me a little bit how much influence, member and non-member alike, that we have on people and it got me thinking about how truly important it is that we stand as a light house to the world, standing up for what we believe in, doing good unto others, and truly loving our neighbors.  

I would just like to conclude with my testimony that I know that our Savior Jesus Christ lives.  I know that he performed that infinite atonement that allows us to become better and to live with our families, with our Heavenly Father forever out of love, but out of love for his Father and Heaven, but also for the love that he has for each and every one of us.  

He knows all of us personally and loves us deeply, and I just want to let you all know how grateful I am for all of you and I truly love you all.  May god be with you till we meet again. 

- Elder Walker 


Pictures courtesy of Brother and Zuster Caldwell (Senior Missionaries)

The Caldwell's took the Elders and Zusters on one last activity in Mechelen to climb St. Rumbold tower.  When they got to the top this is the view Jerrick talked about, being able to see Brussels and Antwerpen. The tower has 538 steps, in each direction.

The crane chamber, 160 steps

Next to the old carillon

In the clockwork room

By the bass carillon room.  The new carillon is built on top of this room

Exotic fruit and coat shopping for Jerrick. The Caldwell's take such great care of the missionaries!!

Zone P-day Soccer fun!

 

11th letter from Leuven, Belgium - Week 22

Elder Walker was only able to give a quick update again this week.  

" This week has been good we have had a huge emphasis on service which was super fun. Hahaha so don't worry too much about me I'm not freezing haha. But yeah I will try to send some pictures this pday. Okay love you!"  

Well, he didn't manage to get me any new pics, but thank goodness for the Senior missionary couple in his ward, (who take great care of the missionaries), the Caldwell's. They are great at posting updates and pictures of Elder Walker and the other missionaries on their blog.  Here are some from their service week.  :-)  ....We love you Elder Walker and are so proud of you!!

Sister C and Elder Walker planting bulbs (Typical rainy day in Belgium)

Elders Thornock, Drinkwater and Groenveld

Jerrick's companion, Elder Silva

Bishop Dixon

Bishop Dixon bought everyone pizza after all their hard work

(post from Elder & Sister Caldwell (Left)) On Friday, we drove to the crematorium in Turnhout for the funeral service for Sister Geets, a long-time member of the Church.  Because of her life of kindness and service, the expected crowd was much too big to meet in the small Turnhout chapel.  The missionaries had been requested to sing a hymn at the service and we had prepared the day before.  We had the Elders from Genk, Geel and Leuven there.  The sisters based in Turnhout were travelling that day.  It was a lovely service and we did fairly well on the hymn.

(One more picture from the Elders trip to Brussels a few weeks ago) Brother & Sister Green from Orem were visiting friends in Brussels. They took the missionaries to the best waffle shop in Brussels.