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.

10th letter from Leuven, Belgium - Week 21

Hey Everyone!  There was no update from Jerrick this week.  He has had a very busy P-day and promised to update us all next week!  He did say he is doing great though, so that is all that matters!  :-)  I did manage to snag some pictures though!  - Janell 

Antwerpen Stake outing: (left) Elder Paur, Elder Silva & Elder Walker

Grabbing a quick lunch....what do ya know..Mc'D's!  :-)

Ready to Perform for the Rest Home (The senior missionaries said Jerrick has a great Tenor Voice!) Left to Right: Elder Silva, Zuster Caldwell, Brother Caldwell, Elder Walker

The audience

Zone Conference with Elder Timothy J. Dyches of the Seventy.
This session included the Amsterdam, Den Haag and Antwerpen Zones (do you see Jerrick in the back?)

P-Day emails

 

The Tilburg station to meet his new companion Elder Silva (Right) 

Last weeks P-day in Brugge w/the Zuster missionaries

9th letter from Leuven, Belgium - Week 20

Hey everyone! Elder Walker here!! 

Just another beautiful week in Belgium! uhm lets see I guess the first thing I must report on is the weather it has been chilly and super rainy like rain here is crazy!  Just a straight up wall of cold water you get soaked in seconds but it's super awesome.  So yeah I'm thinking winter is here soooo gray skies forever hahaha but it's fun.  

Lets see miracle for the week, well we had 3 investigator's at church which was super awesome! And we also set up a Baptismal date with one of our investigators which was super super cool!...like bam life is good! It's really awesome when you see your investigator's taking those steps to come closer to Christ and is a huge motivator for me to be the best that I can be. 

haha it's always great being around families here.  Honestly it reminds me of my family back home and the ultimate goal we have as missionaries and that is to get families to the Temple to be sealed for time and all eternity, which to me is one of the most amazing gifts we have on the earth, which actually goes along great with my "food for thought this week".

Which is, we all really know what we need to do in order to accomplish those things we want in life, whatever they may be, but what it really comes down to is how much work we are willing to put in to do it and what we are willing to sacrifice to get it.  Which really is summed up nicely by the mission standard in this mission of 100% accountability for everything, which is awesome! 

haha it has made me realize that if I want to accomplish something it's up to me to do it and at the same time other people helping you out is definitely a blessing because I still believe that we all need help sometimes, whether that is from a friend, spouse, a loving parent, or most definitely from our Savior, because none of us are close to being perfect, but through him we can become perfect. :) 

So I know this is a jumbled mess but I want to relate this to one more story and that is of the Anti-Nephi Lehi's and how they buried there weapons of war, they sacrificed that thing to become better and show that they were willing to follow our Savior, which I think is something that we all must do to become better.  

So I would like to challenge you all to find something you would like to improve on this week, no matter what it is, it can be anything and then find something that you are willing to sacrifice in order to improve in that area.  I can promise that as you do, you will be blessed for it and will be able to accomplish what you would like to. 

Anyways I love you all and I am sooo grateful for your love and example.  I will always keep you in my prayers.

- Blisters bring blessings

- Enjoy the little things

With lots of love,

Elder Walker

(I found these on the Belgium/Netherlands Facebook page of the missionaries trip a couple weeks ago to Belgium.  Had to share!)

Jerrick is hiding somewhere back there!

 

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