8th letter from Leuven, Belgium - Week 19

(The first letter is from 2 weeks ago, that he forgot to send  :-) ) 

Hey everyone it's Elder Walker here and it's 10:23 am here in beautiful Leuven, soooooo that means it's right about 2:30 am back home in Utah!  So ya, you know that's a little crazy to think about!  

uhm let's see news for this week. I'm getting a new companion on Wednesday and he is from Brazil soo that will be cool. Uhm Leuven is doing good we spent most of this week finding people but a few of our investigators are doing super well and truly searching for an answer to whether or not they should be baptized which is awesome.

Okay, soooo I guess the biggest miracle for me this week was being able to attend a baptism this week it was just a super cool experience and was really an awesome reminder of why I'm out here doing this work, getting to see the joy on his face and just the peace and spirit in the room. 

The scripture for the week will have to be Matthew 6:28-30

28: And why take ye throught for raiment?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29: And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30: Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is ,and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 

 I just love the message behind this scripture.  To just trust in our Heavenly Father and know that his plan is the right one and as long as we are doing what he has asked of us, he will provide a way because he loves us and wants us to be the best we can be.  I'm so grateful for that. I love all of you amazing people and hope you have a great week!

 (Week 19 letter)
 
This week has been pretty crazy with lots of travel. We had to go up to Nederland one time as well as to the top of our area and once to Brussels, but all was for very good reasons. So we got to go up to Nederland for a super cool zone conference with a member of the 70. He gave an absolutely amazing talk, as well as the stake president from that area. It truly was a spiritual feast for everyone involved and really helped me to see how I can become a better missionary, which was awesome. As a missionary those super spiritual moments are truly what we survive off of.

So the second travel experience was for the stake family day, which was super fun. As missionaries in the stake we had the chance to go spend the day with members, investigators and especially with the youth and it was just soooo much fun. We played lots of sports and such so it was a good time and I think as a whole it helped us to leave a good impression on the stake members and such! 

We also went to Brussels this week to finish up some legality things and there we met some super awesome members who were on vacation from Utah and they were super nice in buying us all the best Belgian waffle in all of Brussels!

So we have had some pretty cool experiences this week! And our investigator Chris showed up at church this Sunday! Which was just absolutely incredible! Like soooooo cool!

And he said he liked it and would come back next week! So yeah this week has been great! Me and Elder Silva get along pretty well, sooooo that's always good, but honestly everyday I'm just out here trying to be my best and be the Missionary the Lord wants me to be.

Anyways I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!!


- tot de volgende kier!

7th letter from Leuven, Belgium - Week 18

hey madre!!! I'm soooooo sorry haha I thought I sent you an email last week, but I must not have sent it but I really did write you it just didn't get there! Sooo sorry madre!

I think I will get your package on Thursday hopefully but thank you for all that you do and know that I love you dearly and again I am sooooo sorry for not sending that email last week.  Know that you were in my prayers and thoughts.

okay so yes this is going to count as the blog as well for everyone!! :-)

okay so transfers went well!  I'm staying here in the amazing city of Leuven and my new companion is Elder Silva.  He is from Brazil but has lived in Portugal for most of his life. 

So it's awesome I'm very excited for this transfer.  I think we will see a lot of success. 
 

I guess the biggest thing I want to talk about today is how amazing the Atonement truly is.  I will not pretend to have any grasp of knowledge over how it works or what Jesus Christ truly went through for us in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, but I am eternally grateful for what he did and I have seen the effects of it in my life as well as sooo many people that I have met.  

The reason why I bring this up is we had the opportunity to see an amazing lady get baptized and confirmed this week up in Gouda and it was truly as all baptisms are a special experience where the spirit truly testifies of the truthfulness of the Gospel.

But I just want to bare my testimony that I know that this Gospel is truly for our happiness.  That Jesus Christ lives and that he died for us so that every single day we can improve and become better.  That we can repent and receive forgiveness from those mistakes that we have made in this life.  

I know that the infinite atonement that he performed for us is all encompassing.  It doesn't matter where we are or what we have gone through or what we have done, the atonement has the power to change our hearts, to heal those scars, and to give us relief of burden.  To strengthen, comfort and testify.  

For me what makes this all so amazing, is that it is available to every single one of us.  All we have to do is ask, have a desire to change and do our best. 

haha thinking about it, I honestly cannot even comprehend the love that our Heavenly Father and our Savior have for us and I'm grateful for the example of the kind of person I should be and as a missionary I do my best every day to become more Christlike, because I know that that is how I will be able to be the best I can be, do the most good, and be the happiest.

I just want to let you all know that you are loved.  You are loved more than you can ever know.  Firstly by your Heavenly Father, secondly by me and all of those other people in your life that you have influenced or have been influenced by. 

I wish you all of the happiness that this life has to offer and encourage all of you to ponder on all of the blessings that you have been given and then find out how you can serve others around you.  I promise that by doing so you will feel the weight of life become lighter on your shoulders and what is most important will truly become centered in your life again. 

I think about all of you amazing people and I just smile.  I love you and all I want to say is may God be with you till we meet again.

Love, 

Elder Walker

I want to share a poem sent by Elder Strikwerda... 

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.-Kenneth M Keith 

There weren't any captions w/these pictures so I'll do my best to give you all some info about them!  :-)

This is a famous statue in Brusses, Belgium called Manneken Pis, Flemish for "little pee man".  History dates it back about 600 yrs. and there are a lot of different legends as to who the little boy was.   Apparently the locals dress the statue for different holidays and events.  Kind of funny! :-)

Not sure where this was at.  Somewhere in Belgium.  LOL

Mussels...yum!  They eat a lot of these over there.  I know Jerrick is in heaven!

Definitely eating well.  Delicious!

I'm thinking this says "Fruit and Mint" perhaps? 

6th letter from Leuven, Belgium - Week 17

No email today!  :-(  But he is doing great!!  His awesome companion Elder Clukey is getting transferred and Elder Walker is staying in Leuven!!  More to come next week! 

Here are some pictures I captured from Elder Clukey's blog (thank you!)

Haha...Elder Clukey and Elder Walker being goofy.  :-)

 Last district meeting before transfers.  (the missionaries are now required to wear helmets)

Elder and Zuster Caldwell (Senior Missionaries) feeding the missionaries before transfers

 

5th letter from Leuven, Belgium - Week 16

Honestly this was one of the best birthdays I've ever had!!

Yes it was a bummer not being surrounded by family but at the same time it was a birthday.  I was completely devoted into serving others which was just awesome. 

Uhm let's see, this week has been super cool.  So in this mission we count proselyting hours and basically for an hour to count you must be talking at least to one person every 5 minutes or so and you are required to get at least 20 hours in a week (because of traveling and other meetings where you can't really proselyte).  

But me and Elder Cluckey always get over 30 hours of proselyting time and this last week I'm pretty sure we have the most in the mission with 42 active proselyting hours, which is super awesome and has brought so many blessings!!

We were able to teach a lot of lessons as well as find some super cool new investigator's and also some of our investigator's are really considering being baptized now which is super super awesome! 

Oh yeah and this last Saturday we had a bbq with the ward which was super awesome and we ended up having 3 investigators there which was a blessing in and of itself.  

We were able to take them on a church tour so yeah all is good in Leuven.  We are working hard and having lot's and lot's of fun, so yeah I'm grateful for being a missionary and for what it has taught me. 

I have come to a deep realization on how lucky I am to know that I have a Father in Heaven who love's me as well as a Savior who completed that Atoning sacrifice so that I can become better every single day.

I'm so grateful for the Book of Mormon and the plain and simple truth's about what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is and what our purpose on the earth reveals. 

Also I'm grateful for a Prophet that leads and guide's this church, that gives clarity and also just the peace it brings to know that our Heavenly Father still want's to lead us and to guide us. 

I'm so grateful for the family and how much it allows us to grow and to become better.  I'm eternally grateful for mine (yes that includes friends) and all that I have learned from them.  

Have a great week.  I love you all!

- Elder Walker  

Elder Walker playing some ping pong (Picture courtesy of  Elder & Zuster Caldwell, Senior Missionaries)

Elder Walker & Elder Clukey w/two of their 3 investigators (Picture courtesy of  Elder & Zuster Caldwell, Senior Missionaries)

Happy 19th Birthday Elder Walker!!

4th letter from Leuven, Belgium - Week 15

Hey everyone! 

The mission over here in Belgium is amazing!  Like I absolutely love it.  The people are fantastic and sooo loving.  We are teaching lots of people.

Sooo okay dutch sayings;

hello= halo or hoi

goodbye= tot ziens 

I don't really know how to explain this crazy language, but I love it and find it beautiful. 

Anyways let's see, so miracle of the week.  Okay, I hope you're ready for this because it is super super intense, like blow your mind in-tenseness!

Alright, so in Leuven there is this huge party going on like every other weekend, sooo basically talking to people in the Centrum (the center of the town) was like out of the question.  Lot's of loud music and such so we as missionaries, we prayed for some guidance and we had a feeling we needed to go see this old potential. 

So that's what we did.  Well there is only one way to get to his house and that is through this giant park dingus (dutch filler word that like encompasses everything).  So as we are strolling through the park this student runs up to us, drink in hand and starts to talk to us about the Gospel. Loe and behold his friend also runs up, who happens to be a man who we had just started to teach and who's house we had stopped by earlier that day!  

Sooo that was super awesome, we had an amazing conversation with them, said a prayer and continued on our way to the man's house who we intended to see this week.  Anyways, he wasn't there so we walked back through this same park.

A different guy starts talking with us, which was crazy.  That led to us talking to a investigator who they (the other missionaries) haven't seen since before I got to Leuven.  We also had a conversation with these three girls, I don't know how old they were, 18'ish I would guess, about the Gospel and yeah, one of the girls took a Book of Mormon which is super cool.  

By this point there were like 5 or 6 people listening which never happens so we had to pull out our portable soapbox..J/K. :-)  We had a very interesting conversation with them, so yeah, after all of this went down we were stopped by a family who had overheard our conversation and wanted to learn more, so we explained who we were and what our purpose was and gave them our number!  So it was absolutely insane!!  

I guess what I learned was that first of all our Heavenly Father has a perfect plan and that this is truly his work.   Also that hard work definitely brings blessings.  

Anyways I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!

- Elder Walker 

The District