Belgium Brussels/Netherlands Mission

Eternal Friends Find the Gospel in Rotterdam

2012-02-11T00:44:00.000-08:00

Tim Gu 7 January, 2012

Rotterdam

Elder Brownell, Li Cong, Tim Gu and Elder Van de Graaff

Tim Gu is a true example of following God. Tim was introduced to the gospel through his Roomate and friend, Li Cong. Tim’s first reaction to the gospel was one of curiosity, but lack of wanting to do anything to know more. Li, however told him about prayer, and one day, Tim’s iPhone broke down. Tim decided to pray to see if it would help. Lo and Behold, It turned on and started working, good as new. Tim was speechless and wanted to know more about the gospel after that. He loved learning about the gospel, and did all that was asked, and he quickly gained a testimony of its truth. He wasn´t ever sure if he wanted to be baptized, however, since that would mean the loss of a Great job in the Chinese government, as a Government officer. His faith was stronger than his desires, because he prayed about it one day, and received a definite answer to be baptized. He was baptized soon after, by Li Cong and has changed his life for the better. Tim is now a faithful honest and brilliant member of the Church of Jesus Christ. We love Tim!

A BIG Birthday Surprise for President Brubaker!!!

2012-02-03T11:39:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago I decided that it was only the right thing to do, even though President Brubaker wanted this birthday to go unnoticed, to celebrate this birthday in a BIG way! So the wheels started turning, and I had all intentions of inviting all the senior couples to a surprise party at the mission home. Elder and Sister Bush offered to have the surprise party in Deventer at the Young Adult Center. Elder and Sister Everton offered to help with the food. All the other senior couples offered to help. Before I knew it , I wasn't even involved in the preparations! All I was assigned to do is get President Brubaker there! I knew I had to come up with a really good plan. I called the Stake President in Apeldoorn, and asked if he could help me. He was a good sport and did just what I asked him to do. He called President Brubaker and asked if he would be able to come to a meeting before Stake conference the next day concerning the Deventer Young Adult Center. I knew President Brubaker's calendar was free, so he said he would be there! On the day of the party, there were a few mild snow flakes in Leidschendam. We left in plenty of time. A trip that normally takes 1- 1/2 hours took us 5 hours! I'm so glad everyone made it safely! President Brubaker was all prepared for a meeting, briefcase and computer in hand. He was SO surprised there was no President Hulleman there! Just banners........

And our dear senior couples

To make this a very memorable birthday!

We all enjoyed a delicious authentic Thai dinner......President Brubaker's favorite!

We have been so incredibly blessed to have devoted, faithful, happy, amazing senior couples as our examples of tirelessly serving and going the extra mile to bless the lives of our missionaries, investigators, and the young adults and members! We love them so much!

President Brubaker felt it was okay to have a 60th birthday after all! To top the evening, Elder Everton had gathered pictures of all the senior couples and made a very memorable slide show. Enjoy!

President Brubaker 60th Birthday

2012-02-02T12:41:00.000-08:00

Second Week of Interviews

2012-01-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

We started our second week of interviews in Antwerp, Belgium. We have great missionaries in Antwerp. Many languages are spoken here, so we have Elder DaCruz from Brazil and Sister Kremer from Hungary serving here. They both speak muliple languages. The ward utilizes there language skills to help with interpreting for French and Spanish investigators.

l-r Elder DaCruz, Elder Mohrmon, Elder Van Rij, Elder Pope, President Brubaker, Elder Nielsen, Elder Pitchforth, Zuster Kremer, and Zuster Welch
There are no senior missionaries in the Antwerp Zone! Elder Mohrmon and Elder Da Cruz made a wonderful meal for us!Wednesday was spent with the Utrecht District. Elder and Sister Everton take very good care of their district! They made homemade vegetarian and chicken enchiladas. The missionaries could eat to their hearts content! A little spoiling don't you think?

l-r Zuster Brubaker, Zuster Larson, Zuster Rich, Elder Moscon, Elder Davies, Elder Wayman, Elder Benson, Zuster Everton, and Elder Everton
On Thursday we met with the Rotterdam zone in Rotterdam South Chapel. Elder Schwartz let the Anderson's have a day off from all the cooking they do in the Young Adult Center. He made us the best sweet and sour chicken! Yummmmmm......my favorite!

l-r Elder Anderson, Zuster Anderson, Zuster Moses, Zuster Gardner, Elder Schwartz, Elder Klippel, Elder VanRij, Elder Mower, Elder Ombach, Elder Brownell
We had sunshine in Apeldoorn on Friday! We were all so excited and happy!

l-r Zuster Brubaker, Elder Bickman, Zuster and Elder Bush, Eldeer Hendrickson, Elder Leach, Elder Schulte, Elder Wright, and Elder Bjork
Apeldoorn district has their own private cook! Brother deYong is from Indonesia, and is the best cook! He loves to cook for the missionaries almost each week! Elder Sanchez is a very fine and devoted District leader!President Brubaker was interviewing Elder Burton when we were outside enjoying the welcomed sunshine!

On Saturday, our last day of interview, we met the Groningen District in Groningen. It was a great ending of our two weeks of interviews! The elders were in charge of lunch after District Meeting. They tried out the new oven with 12 pizzas!

l-r Elder Salden, Elder Pelaquim, Elder Mathis, Elder McDaniel, Elder Wang, Elder Leash, Elder Wait, and Elder Kunz

Interviews Begin in Amsterdam

2012-01-21T00:22:00.000-08:00

Oh, how we love the opportunity to go throughout the mission every three months and have some one on one time with all of our missionaries! We started in Amsterdam with the Amsterdam district. President Brubaker asked every missionary to come prepared to teach him the 1st lesson in 3-5 minutes. He wants them to become dramatically better teachers! This way he can see how they are coming along, and where they need to make improvement. I also got to talk to them about not such weightier matters......healthy eating, exercise, budgeting, and just got to know each one of them a little better!

The Deleeuw's were up the next day so excited to meet their district! We were amazed that the were there! Jet lag did not slow them down at all!

Amsterdam District

l-r Elder and Zuster DeLeeuw, Elder Larsen, Elder Guanuna, Elder Mickelsen, Elder Crittendon, Zuster Jeffs, Zuster Stout

In the afternoon we met with the Almere District.

l-r Elder and Zuster Salden, Elder Merrill, Elder Schouw, Elder Fullmer, Elder Seaman, Elder Taylor, Elder Ellis, Elder Davis, and Elder Li

On Thursday we met with the Den Haag District. We met at the mission office in Leiden. During our interviews Elder Benson was in charge of district meeting.

l-r Zuster Ence, Zuster Perry, Elder Burgess, Elder Calkins, Elder Jones, Elder Benson, Elder Frahm, Zuster Tanner, Zuster Herring, and Elder Mortensen

On Friday we got a really early start to miss the worst of the traffic, and spent the day with the Eindhoven District.

l-r Elder van Overbeek, Elder Andrews, Zuster Palenikova, Broeder Harry, Zuster Hill, Elder Cundick, and Elder Hyer

Saturday morning, our GPS just couldn't figure out where we were!

It thought it knew the "Best" way to go! Unfortunately for the elders in Gent, Belgium, they were not in Best! Eventually President Brubaker put his mapping skills to the test, and beat the GPS! We finally showed up a little late to the Gent Church!

We had very patient missionaries waiting for us!

Gent District

l-r Elder Hawkley, Elder Wilcken, Elder Maughan, Elder Shoemaker, Elder Stoddard, and Elder Brown

President Brubaker took a few minutes before interviews and District meeting to talk to the missionaries about learning how to become master teachers by studying the Joseph Smith history. We learn from the visitation of Moroni to Joseph Smith that:

1. He called him by name

2. He taught from the scriptures

3. Ponder what he had learned

4. Repetition-Moroni visited Joseph Smith three times and repeated the same instructions four times.

We had a very productive and great week with half of our mission. More interviews next week!

We Are SO Blessed......Another Senior Couple Arrives!

2012-01-17T12:41:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed a breathtaking sunrise on the way to the airport to meet our new senior couple, Elder and Sister DeLeeuw!!!

We felt like old friends, when we first met Elder and Sister DeLeeuw! A dream come true for them and prayers answered for the Young Adult Center in Amsterdam! They are in for a real treat!
We gave them a tour of Leiden, and so exciting for them to see their first windmill!
Elder and Sister Pankratz are well seasoned senior couple trainers. After lunch, the Pankratz stopped by the train station and got their passport pictures taken for legality requests. Quick on the draw.....I was able to get a picture of them walking back to the office!

Senior missionaries are the best!

Zone Conference in Rotterdam

2012-01-16T12:28:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful and inspiring day with the Rotterdam and Antwerp Zones. We were anxious to talk with our new missionaries and find out how their first week in the mission had gone. Zuster Palenikova exudes goodness and is anxious to learn all she can to be the best she can be for the Lord. Zuster Hill seeks to be a great trainer for her.

Elder Shoemaker is already on his 2nd transfer, and Elder Hawkley can't believe how fast the time has gone! He shared his departing testimony with us all. He is so focused and is ready to stay that way for the next 5 weeks!
I spoke to the missionaries about Christlike attributes from PMG Chapter 6.

President Brubaker talked to them about spiritually preparing themselves, and tailoring the lessons to the needs of the investigator.

ASKING APPROPRIATE QUESTIONS AT THE RIGHT TIME REQUIRES THAT YOU ARE IN TUNE WITH THE SPIRIT, THAT YOU LISTEN TO THOSE YOU ARE TEACHING, AND THAT YOU FOCUS THROUGHOUT THE TEACHING EXPERIENCE

WHERE TO LEARN HOW TO ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?

WHERE DO WE LEARN TO FOLLOW THE SPIRIT AS WE TEACH? Elder Jeffrey R. Holland answered these most important questions. Missionaries were taught that the hours from 6:30-9:30 will make or break their mission. This is the Lord's time when he can mould and teach a missionary through personal and companionship study.

The missionaries could not have agreed with Sister Everton more when she said missionaries do not like to be sick! She taught them how to avoid getting sick!
Elder Benson, Elder Brownell, Zuster Pàlenikova, Zuster Larsen, and Zuster Kremer all have birthdays in January!
Elder van Overbeek enthusiastically lead us in the jovial and fun Dutch birthday song!

In the afternoon, President Brubaker taught the missionaries from the scriptures. He talked to them about the importance of walls and gates in Nehemiah.

We all learned important principles from the story of Nehemiah. Missionaries have many distractions and these were discussed. But as Nehemiah was tempted to come down from the wall, he didn't let the distraction take over. He did not come down from the wall, and he stayed focused an unified. He worked on building the wall, and was able to complete it in 52 days, because he had a great work to do, and wouldn't let anything get in his way.

The missionaries talked about distractions that they have that can make it so they

"come down from the wall."

My dear brethren, like Nehemiah, we have

a great work to do. We stand overlooking

the horizon of our age. It is my fervent

Prayer that in spite of temptations, we will

never lower our standards; that in spite

of distractions, wherever they may come

from, we will not lose focus on what matters

most; that we will stand resolute and

together, shoulder to shoulder, as we valiantly bear the banner of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I pray that we may be worthy of the holy priesthood of Almighty God and, to a man, lift our heads and with unwavering voice proclaim to the world, "We are doing a great work, and we will not come down." In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

President Dieter Uchtdorf

Elder Stoddard and Elder Andrews had to leave a few minutes early for legality appts. Elder and Sister Pankratz volunteered to drive them and get them back in time for their appts.
The Rotterdam and the Antwerp Zones are happy to be missionaries......
in the best mission in the world!Sister Salden shares her wisdom with Elder Benson and Elder Wayman.
Oh, how the missionaries admire and love the senior couples in our mission.
The zusters in the Antwerp and Rotterdam zones. They are the best of the best!

Zuster Pàlenikova and Zuster Hill couldn't be left out!

We loved our time with all of the missionaries! Tears flow freely when we feel and see their dedication to the Lord. These are the best two years FOR their lives!

A Message From Antwerp

2012-01-16T09:22:00.000-08:00

"love is the key"

This email from the Antwerp elders really brightened my day! They know how much I love hearts!

Sister Brubaker, we were riding the other day and saw this red light. It reminded us of you so we took a picture of it. Hope you like it. Have a great week.

The Elders from Antwerpen

Zone Conferences Begin With Great Gusto!

2012-01-12T12:07:00.000-08:00

Our first Zone Conference was held in Leiden, the Netherlands with the Hague and the Apeldoorn zones. President Brubaker commended the missionaries on their hard work and success they had in 2011! Baptisms were up and each missionary should feel pleased with the progress that we made as a mission. Now for 2012.......missionaries listened intently on how we can double our baptisms. We are the highest in the area for baptismal commitments. Our missionaries are the best when it comes to committing people to baptism in the 1st or 2nd lesson. President Brubaker pin-pointed it to two things:

1. Become more spiritually prepared

2. Dramatically improve our teaching skills.

After a great morning of learning and instruction from their president, the missionaries were ready for a break! We had some serious birthday celebrating to do! We had three birthdays to celebrate!Elder McCarlie!

Elder Frahm!

and last but not least.....Elder Hendrickson!
Their fellow missionaries had so many nice things to say about them!

Elder Bjork led us all in the Dutch birthday song!

Elder Salden inspired us all to keep our apartments more neat and tidy!
Sister Salden taught the missionaries some tricks on how to keep their food from going stale in this humid climate! We are incredibly blessed to have the Saldens in our mission. They work endlessly day in and day out to provide a nicer environment for our missionaries! There isn't anything these two can't do. They both are the fountain of youth!

Sister Everton is our mission nurse. She loves our missionaries so much, and we couldn't be more blessed than to have our own loving and kind health expert!

She talked to the missionaries about 4 most important things they can do to stay healthy on their missions!

1. Wash hands.

2. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.

3. Aerobic exercise every day.

4 Eat healthy and don't forget about fruits and vegetables!
She inspired us all to wash those hands frequently and keep water with us at all times. The Apeldoorn Zone couldn't wait to put into practice all they have learned today!
The Hague Zone is ready to reach for the stars, and make this the best year yet in the

Belgium Netherlands Mission!

Perseverance Really Pays Off!

2012-01-07T09:06:00.000-08:00

Elvis Donker

Saturday, 7 January, 2012

Gent

Elder Shoemaker and Elvis Donker

Elivs’s name was in the Area Book. He had been contacted before; but because of his crazy schedule, the Elders were unable to teach him. We contacted him and his schedule was still crazy; so we taught him by dropping everything and going to him. He was excited to join the church and was glad that the elders persevered.

District Leadership Meeting in Leiden

2012-01-06T10:34:00.000-08:00

We had a great day in the Leiden office as the district leaders came together and were taught by President Brubaker.

President Brubaker shared with them the importance of their calling. They are the ones that meet with the missionaries in their district every Tuesday. They are the "heart beat" of the mission.

Elder van Overbeek, Elder Guanuna, and Elder Davies were truly motivated to find ways they could help their district.
The missionaries shared their thoughts and feelings how they can be better teachers

Role-playing is an essential part of their teaching. President Brubaker involved the whole group in a role play.
Elder Jones is an efficient, dedicated, focused secretary for the mission. The missionaries were so excited to receive their personal investigators teaching calendars! We are grateful for excited, energetic, youthful, creative, dedicated, obedient, diligent missionaries!

"And now my son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform, whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God." Moroni 9:6

Leadership Council Meeting

2012-01-05T08:54:00.000-08:00

To start the new year, the zone leaders from Belgium and Holland met at the mission home for their monthly meeting. Elder Brownell and Elder Andrews began the meeting with a song from the hymn book.

Music brought a warm spirit to our meetings as we began.
We have a couple of new zone leaders. Elder Schulte was asked to share a spiritual thought with us.

Elder Da Cruz listened intently to President Brubaker as he taught them from the scriptures.
The missionaries learned how they can help the their zones become more dedicated as President Brubaker shared the story of Nehemiah and his focus and determination to not come down from the wall once he had rebuilt the wall in Jerusalem, even though there was much opposition

"....the God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build."

Nehemiah 2:20

The First Day in a Missionaries' Life

2012-01-04T06:20:00.000-08:00

What a difference a good night's sleep can make! They were all so grateful for a place to lay their heads for the night! Sister Stout and Sister Páleniková were so happy to be here!

We fed the missionaries in shifts. Some were still waiting their turn for the shower.

Some of the missionaries left for the office before I had taken their picture.

l-r Sister Brubaker, Sisters Stout, Páleniková, Elders Mathis, Stoddard, Burgess, Andrews

Here are the other four right in downtown Leiden. Our mission office is directly right of them.

l-r Elder Wayman, Elder Mower, Elder McKee, and Elder Burton

After they finished getting briefed by Elder Jones on legality and Elder Benson on financial information, we walked to the center of Leiden to one of the oldest pannekoeken restaurants.

We invited the trainers to come with us. We all discovered what Holland does best! Pannekoeken!

President Brubaker and the trainers went back to the mission office for a meeting to teach and discuss with them their most important calling. We are so blessed in our mission with obedient, faithful, diligent trainers!

There is a beautiful "molen" not far from the mission office, right in the heart of Leiden.

The missionaries loved seeing this very familiar structure of the Netherlands. Our heart skips a beat every time we see a "molen".

The trainers were just finishing their meeting with President Brubaker when we returned. It was the long awaited time for the new missionaries to find out who would be their first companion & trainer and where they would be serving. Drum Roll.................

Elder McKee will be serving with Elder Leach in the city of Hengelo!
Elder Mower will be serving with Elder Klippel in the city of Spijkenisse!
Elder Burton will be serving in Groningen with Elder Wang!
Elder Mathis will be serving with Elder Pelaquim in the city of Heerenveen!
Elder Andrews will be serving with Elder van Overbeek in the city of Eindhoven!
Elder Wayman will be serving with Elder Benson in the city of Utrecht!
Sister Stout was excited to be serving in Amsterdam with Sister Jeffs!
Elder Frahm was so excited to be coming back to his 1st city, Leiden, and will be training Elder Burgess!
Elder Stoddard will be trained by Elder Brown in Kortrijk, Belgium!
Sister Páleniková was happy to go to Breda with Sister Hill!

The adventure begins........hold on....are you ready for the best two years yet?

Where ARE Those Missionaries?

2012-01-03T04:47:00.000-08:00

Elder Favero extended his mission for an extra week, but now it was time for him to be reunited with his family. He had an early plane to catch.

We came bright and early to take him to the airport. Elder Favero will be greatly missed. Everyday was spent concentrated to the Lord. He was always engaged, and knew from the beginning why he was here. President Brubaker and I felt sad to see him go, but excited for him as he opens a new and exciting chaper of his life!

We were back at the airport a few hours later. We were so excited to receive 10 new missionaries today. A 11:30 am arrival from London didn't happen. To make a very long story short, we waited and waited for them to arrive. Elder Jones and Elder Benson were able to capitalize on this time and had Gospel conversations with people waiting also.

They didn't let the time go to waste. ..... as we waited for the next flight to arrive.

After changed and cancelled flights.....

Elder Mickelson and Elder Crittendon were a little tired of waiting

Elder Salden tried to enlist the help of the police. Where were our missionaries?

We had very tired and exhausted missionaries arrive at 11:30 pm! We were so happy to see the whites of their eyes! We took them to the mission home, fed them and tucked them all into a warm comfortable bed!

We were so happy to have them all arrive safe and sound!

The Assistants Cook For Us!

2012-01-01T10:23:00.000-08:00

The Sunday before transfers, President Brubaker, the assistants and I come together to break our fast at the mission home, as I prepare dinner for all of us. This particular Sunday, Elder Crittendon and Elder Mickelsen offered to cook for us!We were treated to a delicious meal of Indonesian bami!President Brubaker relies on these two missionaries for their inspiration and counsel as he makes the final decisions of transfers. He relies in the end on the inspiration from the Lord.
It is the 1st of January 2012! We have had a very eventful and precious year in Brussels and now in the Netherlands. This will be a year in our lives that will always be remembered!

Charlotte Wiersma Has A BIG Family in The Hague!

2011-12-30T11:30:00.000-08:00

Charlotte Wiersma - Dec. 30, 2011

Den Haag

Sister Ence, Sister Perry, Charlotte (Bep) and Sister Tanner

Wow, wow, wow. Where do we begin? Charlotte is AMAZING. She met the Zusters while taking a walk in the park about 8 months ago. She has always had a stong belief in our Heavenly Father but had never quite found a church in which she felt at home. After many months of careful study and prayer, she received her answer that she had finally found the right church. Charlotte has such a strong love for the Bible and the Book of Mormon. She has studied diligently and has sought earnestly to learn what Heavenly Father's will for her is. She is an example to us all of faith and endurance. She is willing to share her testimony with those she comes in contact with and her enthusiasm for the gospel is contagious! Charlotte is a great addition to the ward here in Den Haag and is a ray of light! We love her!! -- Zuster Perry and Zuster Tanner

Stepping Back in Time....in Hindeloopen

2011-12-29T09:02:00.000-08:00

President Brubaker and I took our P-Day and met my niece, Sarah and Hilbert in Hindeloopen. We enjoyed every minute with them. It felt sooo good to be with their sweet family! Hindeloopen is a small town located in the northern part of Holland.

The weather did not deter us from making a wonderful, never to be forgotten memory!
My nephews, Gabriel and Lorenzo enjoyed discovering this hidden gem in the Netherlands with us. Hindeloopen painting was started in the 17th century. Hindeloopers started to color the woodcarvings on small wooden pieces, wooden shoes, furniture and such.
We visited the Schaatsen Museum. Over the centuries ice skating has been very popular in the Netherlands. It was not only for pleasure, but was a useful way to travel along the canals in the Netherlands.

A pair of Hindeloopen skates.

We were fascinated with the beautiful hindeloopen painting.
An old "klompen" workshop.

it gets dark really early in the northern part of the Netherlands. Sarah and I loved discovering this small village. We felt like we had stepped back in time!

We found a few treasures in the 2nd hand winkel.
This was a perfect day to spend with our family away from home in the sweet little town of

Hindeloopen.

'Tis the Reason For the Season

2011-12-28T23:37:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas Eve.....

The office elders; Elder Jones, and Elder Benson along with Elder McCarlie, Elder Andrews, and Elder Mortensen and Elder and Sister Pankratz enjoyed a memorable evening together at the mission home on Christmas Eve.

After dinner, Elder Jones and Elder Benson were in charge of our nativity program. They assigned us all parts. We all dressed appropriately.

Elder Jones and Elder Benson even found their flock of sheep.

Elder McCarlie, Elder Benson, and Elder Mortensen made great wisemen.

Elder and Sister Pankratz were Joseph and Mary

President Brubaker was asked to be the narrator.

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the

field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory

of the Lord shone round about them,

and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them,

"Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of

great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour,

which is Christ the Lord.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into

heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto

Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the

Lord hath made known unto us.

....and they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe

lying in a manger

and they fell down and worshipped him.

....the wisemen came from the east, bringing gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

President Brubaker and I sang

"Bring a Torch Jeanette Isabella".

We enjoyed singing Christmas hymns during the acting out of the Nativity. Elder Benson played a beautiful Christmas medley. There was a feeling of gratitude and unity among us as we felt the true Christmas spirit.

Christmas in Holland Nannabecca and Grandpere

2011-12-27T12:34:00.000-08:00

This is a little video we sent our children and grand children.

We thought you might enjoy watching it.

love,

President and Sister Brubaker

Belgium Netherlands Mission

Former Missionaries Return!

2011-12-27T04:01:00.000-08:00

We had some wonderful visits to the mission home and office during December! Elder Waldie returned with his entire family! They are really brave to travel together for two weeks! I am sure they will make memories they will never forget!

We loved meeting his parents and enjoyed meeting all his brothers and sisters that we have

heard so much about!

Chantelle Fowler (Carter) and her new husband Seth came and visited us at the mission home.

We thought it was a great idea to spend part of their honeymoon here for Christmas!

Elder (Eric) Robinson and his family came and had lunch with us at the office! We had a great hearing about some of their adventures as they come to the Netherlands for Christmas!

In time of test, family is best. ~Burmese Proverb

So Hard to Say Good-Bye...

2011-12-19T13:38:00.000-08:00

President Brubaker and I have decided that saying good-bye to our missionaries is the hardest thing we have to do! Seven missionaries came to the mission office to have their last interview with President Brubaker. Sister Pankratz had made a delicious lunch for all of us!

Elder Brockbank, Elder Mueller, and Elder Osmond showed me their beautiful plates that they will take home as a special reminder of their service as full-time missionaries.

After interviews, the missionaries arrived at the mission home. Everything was ready for a memorable evening together.

A request was made that we have the same meal the missionaries received when they first came to the mission.

Mexican Avocado Condiment Soup!

Chocolate fondue for dessert!

We were able to share with each other those things that are closest to our hearts.

A time to ponder and reflect...

Elder Brockbank and Elder Mueller took a restful moment to enjoy a 50 year old collection of books in the mission home.

The mission home was filled with beautiful Christmas hymns.

Looking through books of past missionaries.

Morning came quickly, and we all took the train to the airport!

Do we really have to go?

Elder Favero was relieved that he was able to stay for a few weeks longer.

He and Elder Cundick caught the train back to Heerleen.

l-r Elder vanDoesburg, Elder Brockbank, Elder Osmond,

Elder Bair, Elder Mueller, and Elder Alexander

Elder Jones and Elder Benson are going to miss Elder Alexander in the office!

Elder Jones was trained by the best!

President Brubaker wonders how our mission will survive without

these amazing missionaries!

Elder van Doesburg has had the privilege of serving in his own beloved country of Holland, and learned to love the adjoining country of Belgium, as he served most of his mission in Belgium! President Brubaker was pleased that Elder van Doesburg won't be too far to be a joint teach for his fellow missionaries!

Don't forget us...remember Love is the Key!

The Gospel Brings Families Together

2011-12-18T09:56:00.000-08:00

Rachael Touwnaar and Deniz Lont

18 December 2011

Amsterdam

Sister Jeffs, Rachael, Deniz and Sister Larsen

Rachael and Deniz are two great sisters. We had a miracle experience meeting them. We had had an appointment in their area that fell through, so we decided to go look up their mother, who was baptized about a year ago. Happily, she was home and she let us in. We shared a message with her, and at the end, she said, "Can you come back next week? My daughters want to follow the baptism lessons." We came back the next week and met the two girls.

We set up a calendar with them in which they would learn all the missionary lessons in four weeks. They were super excited, and every time we came and taught something, they would run and get the calendar so we could cross it off. They loved reading the Book of Mormon and began praying together as a family. From the very beginning, they looked forward to the day of their baptism. This last week leading up to their baptism was one of the happiest and most exciting for them. They are excited to be baptized and coming to church!

Ernesto Has the Best Vacation Learning About the Gospel

2011-12-17T11:23:00.000-08:00

Ernesto Francisco - Dec. 17, 2011, Den Haag

Brother Francisco was met in the park and given the invitation to come to church and to learn more. Because of a very demanding work schedule it was difficult to meet very often right at the beginning, but he would come to church every chance he could and continued to study the scriptures on his own. He spent his month of vacation... taking the missionary lessons!! (We think that's the best use of vacation time EVER!) Francisco radiates love and he serves others in his everyday life through his work. He chose to be baptized on his birthday to commemorate the beginning of his new life. What a great day to celebrate a spiritual re-birth! -- Zuster Perry and Zuster Tanner

The Leuven Elders Prepare Per for Baptism

2011-12-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

Per Evans

17 December 2011

Leuven

Elder Wang, Elder Pitchforth, Per and his mother.

Per was found on a train in Liége reading a bible. The missionaries told him that they had a book that could answer all of the questions he was asking, and asked if Elders in Leuven could meet with him. He consented, and has read faithfully in the Book of Mormon to know if it was true. He got his answer, and has sacrificed a lot to join. We love him so much

Zone President's Training with the Rotterdam and Antwerp Zones

2011-12-15T13:05:00.000-08:00

Our second day with our missionaries was spent with the Rotterdam and Antwerp Zones!

Sister Everton, Sister Anderson, and Sister Pankratz were so helpful in the kitchen before the lunch started.

Elder Anderson, Elder Everton and Elder Pankratz helped get the tables and fondue pots all set up while the missionaries were being taught and practicing with President Brubaker

President Brubaker slipped in to see if we were ready to begin.

He is our expert fondue tester.

Let the festivities begin!

The sisters from the two zones enjoyed being together!

The missionaries enjoyed a time to share stories and eating and just having time to enjoy this beautiful season together!

The tie exchange!

Missionaries loved receiving a new tie!

The sisters all were delighted with their choice!

What a joy to be with the other half of our mission!

We all were touched by

the message of " The Miracle of the Wooden Shoes"

I read to the missionaries.

A Christmas ornament was given as our gift to all the missionaries.

A treasure to always remember serving in the

Belgium Brussels Netherlands Mission.

Zone President's Training with the Hague Zone and the Apeldorn Zone

2011-12-14T12:35:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas Time.......It's Christmas time!

While the missionaries were role-playing in the classrooms, Elder Salden and Elder VanKomen helped me transform the room for our traditional fondue lunch.

President Brubaker slipped in to check on how things were going.

Sister Salden made sure there was a place for each missionary.

The missionaries were so enthused and excited to share a family tradition!!

The senior missionaries got to be waited on for a change!

Some missionaries had never had fondue before!

Elder Sanchez had his very own Santa with a sombrero!

President Brubaker and I checked to see if the cheese was just right!

One of our most favorite traditions in our mission is celebrating birthdays!

Sister Perry was so excited to find chocomel in the basket of birthday goodies.

Elder Bush decided to go really healthy with his choice.

We shared another family tradition.......Tie Exchange!

Missionaries love ties, and they brought a tie, and went home with a new one!

Nice ties elders!

The sisters brought scarves to exchange.

We felt like one big happy family!

The afternoon was a very special time when we talked with the missionaries about what brings us true joy as we celebrate his birth and the reason we are here!

Increasing Spirituality in My Life-Part 7

2011-12-12T10:09:00.000-08:00

Continued from last week’s letter

So far we have covered the first 9 of 10 points, which will help us to gain spirituality. These points are from a talk delivered by Elder Joe J Christensen. We now continue with number 9 …

10. Open your mouth and bear your Testimony

This is the ‘Bread and Butter’ of being a missionary. We testify!

Elder Holland said, “All Satan has to do is to get us to not open our mouths … and he smiles all the way to the bank”

I think that this means that the plan of Father in Heaven is thwarted when we don’t communicate the gospel to others, but what does this have to do with increasing spirituality?

First what are we promised if we open our mouths? D&C 33:

7 Yea, verily, verily, I say unto you, that the field is ^awhite already to harvest; wherefore, thrust in your sickles, and reap with all your might, mind, and strength.

8 ^aOpen your mouths and they shall be filled, and you shall become even as ^bNephi of old, who journeyed from Jerusalem in the wilderness.

9 Yea, open your mouths and spare not, and you shall be laden with ^asheaves upon your backs, for lo, I am with you.

10 Yea, open your mouths and they shall be filled, saying: Repent, ^arepent, and prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for the ^bkingdom of heaven is at hand;

When we share the gospel or bear our testimony we are “filled”. This process is of course the Spirit bearing testimony through us. We are given the words to say. This is through the power of the Holy Ghost.

So, you want to get more spirituality? … open your mouth and bear your testimony!!!

From time to time I have the opportunity to teach with the missionaries. One of the greatest blessings of doing this is how my testimony is strengthened and I feel closer to God (a possible definition of increased spirituality) as I share my testimony with the investigators.

Well this concludes our look at ways of increasing Spirituality. Here for review are the 10 ways to increase spirituality.

. 1. Read scriptures daily.

. 2. Really pray and not just say prayers.

. 3. Fast meaningfully.

. 4. Go to bed early and get up early.

. 5. Be of good cheer.

. 6. Work hard.

. 7. Be more concerned about how than where we serve.

. 8. Love everyone, but keep romantic feelings in their proper place.

. 9. Become more nearly one between our ideal and actual selves

. 10. Open our mouths and bear testimony of truth.

It is my fervent prayer that you will all strive to grow closer to God and Christ and to feel more constantly the influence of the Holy Spirit.

As a side note: It seems apparent that you have all been increasing your spirituality. We are experiencing a wave of excitement and miracles in the mission that is unprecedented! Your Zone Leaders have all averaged the Standards of Excellence over the past 4 consecutive weeks. We currently have 69 baptism dates, the highest since October of 2010. We have 139 progressing investigators the highest since Sister Brubaker and I have been serving here.

We praise your efforts and the Lord for His great blessings,

Have a great week,

President Brubaker

P-Day With the Sisters

2011-12-12T08:59:00.000-08:00

Baking cookies........nummmmmmmy!

The sisters in the Hague zone came to the mission home to help me prepare for

our Christmas lunch!

Bags needed to be filled! Sister Jeffs, Sister Ence and Sister Perry had a system down to

fill 90 bags in no time!

Sister Pankratz helped Sister Tanner, Sister Gardner, and Sister Larson make

Swedish Heart Lintzer Cookies.

We were all filled with a little more love as we had such a fun time together!

"Love is the Key."

Rotterdam Stake Christmas Concert

2011-12-11T08:48:00.000-08:00

The missionaries from the Hague and the Rotterdam wards were invited to participate in a very special event.

Igor and Vesna Gruppman are accompished musicians and Igor is the head conductor of the

Philharmonic Orchestra in Rotterdam. They are members of the Gouda ward, and wanted to give a gift......a Christmas Concert.

Elder and Sister Anderson were just the right ones to be in charge of the refreshments.

They baked over 400 festive cookies!

We were all excited to be a part of the choir....especially Elder Osmond!

The missionaries got to know members of the choir from Gouda.

Elder Ombach (top), Elder Maughan, Elder McCarlie, Elder Andrews, and Elder Klippel were a big help in the tenor section!

Elder Davies and Elder Moscon brought their ticket to be able to come.....

a new investigator!

The church looked so festive!

Hello Elder Brownell!

Sister Tanner, Sister Gardner, and Sister Moses all have beautiful voices!

Sister Rich and Sister Ence enjoyed sitting together in the Soprano section!

Sister Perry was our flawless piano player.

Elder Da Cruz, Elder Hendrickson, Elder Larson...

Elder Pankratz, Elder Mortensen, Elder Van de Graaf, and Elder Brownell contributed to the Bass Section

Both Sister Moses and Sister Rich have served in Gouda where Sister Gruppman lives.

It was a beautiful concert! Igor and Vesna played their violins as duet and solos and all who came were grateful for the beautiful gift they gave to the Rotterdam Stake.

"Music Makes the Spirit Triumph."

Maryna's Prayers Are Answered

2011-12-10T07:34:00.000-08:00

Maryna Ventsova,

December 10, 2011

Haarlem

Elder Seaman Maryna and Elder Van Rij

Maryna is from Russia and moved to the Netherlands for work. Since arriving here, she has gotten married and became the mother of 2 wonderful daughters. Around a year and a half ago, Maryna began to pray to God asking to meet some people with whom she could talk about God with. Soon after that, Maryna met two Sister missionaries and began to follow the missionary lessons. Since meeting with the missionaries, she has read the Book of Mormon twice, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the New Testament. Maryna absolutely loves the gospel of Jesus Christ and sees how it has changed her life. She is spiritually hungry to learn more and more. Several weeks ago she came to church with a question written on a card, with the promise that God would answer her question at some point during the church service... it happened! Maryna then made the decision to be baptized and after many prayers of faith, she entered into the waters of baptism. Written by Elder Seaman Maryna and Elder Van Rij

Our Last Farewell With the Beckstrands

2011-12-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

We haven't wanted this day to come. We have been so incredibly blessed in our mission to have Elder and Sister Beckstand. Their mission was cut short, when they received a new assignment to serve and be in charge of the Mesa Visitor's Center.

The table was all set...

The klompen all painted......

We had a lovely time together with the Beckstrands and the Pankratz.

We all rose early.....

Off we go to the train station....

and then to the airport....

The Amsterdam Young Adult Center and all of the missionaries will never forget you!

Sinterklaas Makes a Stop at the Mission Home!

2011-12-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

It is the 6th of December!

Sinterklaas even came to the mission home!

We were so relieved that Zwarte Piet didn't take us to work in the coal mines in Spain!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

2011-12-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

President Brubaker asked all the office to wear red ties on Monday!

l-r Elder Alexander, Elder Benson, Elder Jones, Elder Crittendon, and Elder Mickelson

Dont' they look dapper in their festive ties?

I think we did well getting us all in the picture before the count of 10!

Elder Jones and Sister Pankratz got the tree all put together!

Elder and Sister Pankratz are our wonderful senior couple in the office. We feel so blessed to have them help us keep so many things straight!

The Best Kind of Referral-An Eternal Family Is On Their Way

2011-12-04T09:22:00.000-08:00

The Nick Turkenburg-December 4, 2011-Leiden Ward

Nick Turkenburg is one of those investigators that truly make being on a mission completely worth it. Nick was exposed to the church through Mylei, a girl that he met playing an online video game. Overtime they began to communicate over Skype and during these conversations, Mylei would mention the church and in so doing triggered conversations about what she believed. Eventually the time came that they wanted to meet each other in person, so Nick decided that he would fly over and meet Mylei in Texas. While he was there he began to meet with the missionaries in order to understand a bit more about what she believed. Eventually Nick returned back to the Netherlands, but after a short time he decided that we wanted to return to the United States to meet Mylei again. After this visit it was time for Nick to return back, but this time he wouldn’t be coming alone. While Nick was there Mylei and he were married and returned to The Netherlands to start their lives together. In June of 2011, Nick began to meet with the missionaries again. At the first of October he decided that he wanted to meet more regularly and from there it was just magic. Nick was so willing to do the things that were needed to gain a testimony and because of the Lord granted him with the help he needed, and on the 4^th of December he was baptized, and a week later was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
The opportunity of being able to meet with Nick and be a part of this whole process has truly been a blessing for me and everyone involved. Nick was one of those choice souls that our Heavenly Father had prepared to receive his gospel. Because of his willingness to follow the gospel his life is being blessed in almost every way imaginable. Nick is one of those people that you never forget. He is truly a choice son of our Heavenly Father and has a bright future ahead for him on this earth and on into eternity. Written by Elder Benson

Finding Families

2011-12-01T23:44:00.000-08:00

"Mushroom Finding"

Elder Caussé said when we find one person interested in the gospel, it is like finding one mushroom in the forest. We can either harvest it, and walk away through the forest, looking for another one, or we can gently lift the leaves around the mushroom we just found, and almost always there will be more close by. Likewise, each investigator is a fantastic resource for referrals of those friends and family members closest to him.

We have been looking for groups of mushrooms recently in our mission, which has resulted in a large number of investigators being taught in family groups, and sharing referrals of family members throughout the world. The missionaries are catching the vision of bringing families into the gospel.

The Mission Is Breaking All Kinds Of Records!

2011-12-01T08:23:00.000-08:00

The 1st of December!

A great day to have a birthday, Elder Van de Graaff! A little celebrating was in order!

These missionaries are working so hard! We are so proud of their example to the entire mission! They ALL reached standards of excellence for the month of November! We had a very special meeting today at the mission home. The zone leaders are passing their own expectations!

Elder Bjork.......A Perfect Match!

Invitation

2011-11-29T23:02:00.000-08:00

This is a letter from our area presidency inviting all to bring someone to church in December. We will see great blessings come ........

You might want to see this little video made in our mission encouraging our 'invite a family to church' initiative for December. The two Sisters are actually in our mission and the family is the Ward Mission Leader in Breda, Netherlands.

Go to the country website http://www.kerkvanjezuschristus.nl

and start the video in the center of the page.

Striving With Oneness With Others As Well As Within Ourselves

2011-11-28T09:02:00.000-08:00

How Can I Increase Spirituality in my Life?

Part 6

Continued from last week’s letter

So far we have covered the first 8 of 10 points, which will help us to gain spirituality. These points are from a talk delivered by Elder Joe J Christensen. We now continue with number 9 …

9. Strive for oneness with others as well as within yourself, between the ideal and actual self.

Often, I will suggest to missionaries that they engage in an exercise as they are completing their missions. This exercise is called listing your “unifying principles”.

As a young businessman, the opportunity arose to attend what was billed as a Time Management Seminar. A trainer by the name of Charles Hobbs had developed a behavioral model. His approach was also to life as a whole and not just to the aspect of business. One thing that I really picked up on was his “Unifying Principles” concept. This involves an exercise to determine what is really important to us as individuals, and then to prepare related task statements. Performing these tasks, which relate directly to one’s personal priorities, helps to ensure that one is unified between actions and self-proclaimed principles.

Let’s look at this process in detail and try to see how it could increase spirituality…

A. Brainstorm – Write down anything and everything that comes to your mind when you ask yourself “what is important to me”. This could run the gambit between the 10 commandments and what flavor of ice cream makes you happy.

It will probably contain philosophy as well as favorite activities. It is important to list everything that comes to your mind and be very open. This is not the time to judge “is this really important to me” just write it down.

B. Divide the list into three categories by priority - The “A”s are those things that are most important. These are things that would be hard to do without; things that, if eliminated, would leave you lost or incomplete. Most of these will probably revolve around God, family relationships, and virtues. The “B”s are things that are of intense interest to you. Although not critical to your happiness they are a big part of you and your personality. These are things that make life enjoyable, and are laudable. They can be activities or philosophies. Often they can center on learning and self-improvement. The “C”s are the things that are nice, but not really that important to you.

C. Rank the “A” and “B” items in order of priority – This is a little more difficult but is crucial to the exercise. Soon you have a list in order of highest to lowest priority …. A.1, A.2, A.3 etc. …A.1 being the Item of top importance to you. Repeat with the B’s. The “C”s are put on the shelf and kept as a list of things that you like, yet they no longer play into this “Unifying Principles” exercise.

D. Prepare action statements to go with each of your principles – This is the time consuming part of the exercise. When doing this myself, it was a process of over several weeks. This is the part where prayer and inspiration are important.

Here are a few examples…

Eg. A1- Love God. Always be involved in my ward, socially as well as spiritually. Attend Church somewhere every Sunday, even on vacations and never be ‘on the water’ on a Sunday. Have meaningful prayer and scripture study daily. Always be worthy of, and have, a current Temple recommend.

A2 – Love Wife. Think of her needs before my own. Make sure that we share hobbies and interests so that we share time together: be careful not to overindulge in Sports at the expense of quality time with family. Make Birthday, Mother’s day and Anniversary a happy celebration for her. Take time to listen and not just “try to ‘solve it’ and move on”.

B7 – Learn about History – Always be reading a book about history. Take time to learn about the history of the places that I visit. Study about the lives of my ancestors and historical figures and try to emulate their good qualities and characteristics.

This sounds like a lot of effort, doesn’t it? I would suggest that you not do this until the last few weeks of your mission. You may even want to do step D. after you return home and can see life both from the perspective of being a full time servant of the Lord and as a saint with both earthly and spiritual concerns. After completing this process you will have a standard against which to measure yourself. Along with the Scriptures and Prayer, your “Unifying Principles” can tell you a great deal about how you are doing. When a major decision looms, a quick review of these principles can be one source of perspective, along with prayer for inspiration.

The act of determining if we measure up to our ‘ideal self’ is part of repentance.

Each Sunday as we partake of the Sacrament we renew covenants and ponder ways in which we can improve. We try to become more unified with God as well as to become closer to being ‘our best self’.

As missionaries we should be constantly comparing ourselves to our ‘best self’. As we set specific goals, perform well, evaluate and make needed adjustments, We can feel more unified with ourselves and with the Lord. This eliminates feelings of guilt and a separation from the Spirit’s guidance. Perhaps this drawing explains the point in a visual way. (It is interesting to note that the person who becomes totally disconnected with his unifying principles suffers tremendous feelings of guilt. He will either repent or be constantly justifying and trying to assuage the guilt feelings. Lashing out against his value system seems to grow out of this extreme ‘disconnect’. Thus we see one of the reasons that there is so much ‘anti’ material out there.)

Elder Christensen explains, “We often do not actually measure up to what we know we ideally ought to be. Sometimes we are not “one” as we are commanded to become. In order to become one, we need to engage in the process of the “at-one-ment,” or making the Atonement of Jesus Christ operative in our lives. We can grow toward that perfect oneness by applying those basic principles of faith in Christ unto repentance. Thus we can change, and our actual lives will come closer each day to becoming one with our ideal selves. If we are moving in that positive direction, the Spirit will be with us, but if we are going in the other direction, it will not. As the Lord said, “Be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine” (D&C 38:27).

Let us strive to more closely align our actions, to our ideals.

As we repent and improve we will feel more unity with Christ and we will find that the atonement plays a bigger and bigger role in our lives. This will lead to greater spirituality.

Have a wonderful week,

We love you all,

President Brubakwe

Counting Our Many Blessings.....

2011-11-26T11:53:00.000-08:00

Over the rivers (canals) and through the woods to the mission home they go.....

We awaited anxiously for this day! Thanksgiving was a very busy day for the senior missionaries! They were busy cooking for all of the Netherlands......that is all of the young adults!

The table was all set......

All were busy getting the last minute touches on our meal!

Sister Pankratz helped make the gravy.

President Brubaker was in charge of slicing the turkey.....33 lbs!

Potatoes were almost ready!

Sister Bush, where did you find jello in this country?

Sister Beckstrand treated us to her homemade rolls!

The feast is on!

One of the things that we are so grateful for this year is

our beautiful senior missionaries!

Elder and Sister Bush

Elder and Sister Everton

Elder and Sister Salden

Elder and Sister Beckstrand

Elder and Sister Van Komen

Elder and Sister Anderson

Our missionaries are so blessed with angels in our mission!

Oh, we enjoyed our belated Thanksgiving all together!

We all feel incredibly blessed to be serving together in the

best mission in the world!

Heerlen Welcomes Joyce van Hulst

2011-11-26T09:37:00.000-08:00

Joyce van Hulst- November 26, 2011-Heerlen

Elder Cundick, Joyce van Hulst and son, and Elder Favero

Joyce van Hulst was referred a few months ago to the missionaries by a neighbor of hers that is a member of the church. One of my first days in Heerlen I received a text “out of nowhere” from Joyce. I had seen her name in the phone as I tried to familiarize myself with different investigators from the past months. I also heard that she had a baptismal date at one point but she was no longer interested when it came down to making up her mind between the different churches.

The text asked if we would be willing to come by to answer some questions that she had, which of course we were more than happy to do. Joyce had been pondering and praying about the Book of Mormon and the church ever since she had asked to have a little distance from the Elders. During our first appointment back with her, it was clear that she had received an answer that it is true and was ready to do the rest that was necessary to be baptized! That answer proved to carry her through all other negative influences and now, with the Gift of the Holy Ghost, she can continue powerfully on! It is a miracle and a blessing to see how the love and prayers of members and Elders formerly in the area helped Joyce to find her way!

Return With Honor

2011-11-24T11:41:00.000-08:00

Missionary work must go forward.....even without Elder Bastian......

and Elder Bastiaens!

There will be a huge void in our mission as it has come time for these two to return home......with HONOR!

We shared those things that were closest to our hearts with each other the eve before they both went home. Testimonies were strengthened as we had a very precious evening together at the mission home.

They will always cherish their time spent in the Belgium Netherlands Mission.

We feel so privileged to have been the "parents" of these two fine young men for two years!

Early in the morning, we made our way to the airport via Leiden Central Station.

President Brubaker loves these two missionaries!

Au revoir Elder Bastian. We will remember his mission motto":

"Just give One day at a time to the Lord. Give him your best for today."

We were excited to deliver Elder Bastiaens to his home, Brussels Belgium!

Soeur Bastiaens gave me a gift from her heart-a beautiful cross-stitched treasure!

Elder Bastiaens was placed back in the loving arms of his parents!

We Love New Missionaries!

2011-11-23T00:12:00.000-08:00

Three of our four new missionaries, straight from the MTC, arrived today in Amsterdam!

Elder Wright was one day late!

We treated them to Pannekoeken!

Elder Moscon was the first to open his new assignment letter!

He is serving with Elder Davies in Den Bosch!

Elder Ombach is serving with Elder Da Cruz in Spijkenisse!

Elder Wright and Elder Shoemaker opened their assignment letters together!

Elder Shoemaker is serving with Elder Schulte in Gent, Belgium!

Elder Wright is serving in Arnhem with Elder Sanchez!

President Brubaker makes sure they have the best trainers the mission has to offer!

2011-11-21T10:04:00.000-08:00

How Can I Increase Spirituality in my Life?

Part 5

Continued from last week’s letter

So far we have covered the first 7 of 10 points, which will help us to gain spirituality. These points are from a talk delivered by Elder Joe J Christensen. We now continue with number 8 …

8. Love everyone, but keep romantic feelings in their proper place.A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:34

There is no doubt about it; Love Is the Key. The Savior commands that we love one another. As with all the commandments, this one is for our own good.

How well we learn to love others will define in large part how happy we will be.

When you care for others and their welfare, you can derive great satisfaction as you help them.

In English to “love” can mean many things. To love our missionaries is akin to parental love. Between Sister Brubaker and I, it is romantic love and much more.

When you love someone enough to sacrifice your desires in order to fulfill their desires, you are in a position to better understand the Savior’s love for us. Then you can know what is meant by “as I have loved you, … also love one another.”

This is perhaps the link between love and spirituality. As we love, we understand the nature of Christ better, and as we better understand Christ, we will naturally draw closer to the Spirit. Love in this sense always involves caring enough to see that others are happy, safe, and provided for. When we see someone in need we feel a healthy sorrow for, and a desire to help him or her.

The Savior in the parable of the Good Samaritan shared one of the best-known stories of this type of love. In this story, love triumphs over class distinction and inconvenience.

Love will define the followers of Christ. If we chose to judge others harshly, gossip, and be unforgiving … we will not be known as his Disciples.

A common trap for members of the Church is to allow self-correction and strongly held personal views about reaching for a more perfect way of living, spill over into the act of “correcting” other people. We monitor ourselves each Sunday to see where we need to repent as we partake of the Sacrament. It can be easy to become Pharisaical and nit-picky about how others ‘live the commandments’. Love is the antidote for this illness. We must give each other the benefit of the doubt.

A church leader once commented that we don’t smell enough tobacco in church meetings. By this I think he meant that people who are struggling to overcome bad habits and better live the commandments might not feel welcome in church, when church is exactly the place where they should go to find strength. Church is like a hospital; it is where we go to get healed. Do we ever get our thoughts twisted into thinking that Church is just for those that live all the commandments. Someone said that if all sins smelled bad to the degree of their importance, we would be surprised at how bad we all smell. Loving others is to be accepting of others, despite their faults. Love cannot be conditioned on the other person being as righteous as we think we are. Nor can love be limited to those who are our cultural equivalents. This takes practice and it requires increasing our tolerance to differences.

So if love is the key, what about falling in love? Falling in love involves passionate feelings. Ironically, this gets mixed up with what we want for ourselves as much as what we want for others. There is an attraction that we often mistake for love. Romantic feelings are an important and powerful part of the love that we should have for our spouse. Yet, passionate attraction alone is not love. One of the aspects of healthy romantic love is the desire to protect and serve our mate.

It is easy to confuse passionate feelings with true romantic love. It is also easy to mistake feeling sorry for and wanting to help someone with their problems, with true romantic love.

As full time missionaries, this is not the time for romantic love. Like much in our missions this can be a type for ‘real life’. To control romantic feelings we must control circumstances…

First, never allow the combustive elements to come together.

1. For missionaries this involves such things as never leaving sight of your companion, focusing on the will of God rather than selfish desires, staying at arms length and never engaging in a private conversation with someone of the opposite sex.

2. Second, never confuse feelings of sympathy for romantic feelings.

Beware that this is a set of wires that is easy to get crossed.

As we listen to the concerns and trials of others we can become emotionally moved. We might feel the instinct to ‘gather in and nurture’ or to protect. This is a strong emotion for a righteous person. Sometimes it can get confusing as you desire, inappropriately, to just “take them in your arms, and let them know it will be alright. Don’t do it.

1. As missionaries we are to love and bring people unto Christ. Don’t allow the concern that you feel for these wonderful people to mutate into romantic feelings. Should you start to have romantic feelings call me and we will make arrangements to eliminate the potentially combustive circumstances.

Dear Elders and Sisters, I pray that you will love everyone with whom you have contact … it is the key to success as a missionary. As we think of the needs of others and serve them before we worry too much about ourselves we will grow in spirituality. The eternal joy that awaits God’s children is indivisible with love.

We love you so very much. We pray for you every day. May your lives be filled with love and kindness.

Love,

President Brubaker

Apeldoorn Zone President's Training

2011-11-21T02:49:00.000-08:00

We met the Apeldoorn Zone in the new Zwolle Chapel for the Zone President's Training. This region of the Netherlands is known for it's beautiful forests and a more relaxed "out in the country" feel. We feel we have escaped the craziness of the city, and are more at home here with the tall wooded trees and hiking trails everywhere. We were greeted by some energetic, excited missionaries, and we were anxious to spread the positive news about how the mission is doing right now.

The missionaries shared miracles that are happening in each companionship! This is a direct result of their diligence and obedience. We were anxious to talk to the missionaries about how to increase their finding skills.

Our senior missionaries are included right along with the young missionaries when we celebrate birthdays. The missionaries love the opportunity to express a word of appreciation for all they do to help them.

l-r Zuster Van Komen, Elder Pankratz, Elder Pope, elder van Doesburg, and Elder Hyer

Elder Van Komen and President Brubaker share a moment together.

There is a time and season for everything under heaven.....a time to smile and be crazy! If you aren't having fun you aren't doing it right........right?

Elder Bjork and Elder van over Beek had to leave early to make a teaching appointment with the Bushes! We couldn't let them leave without a photo!

Karin is The Newest Member in Breda

2011-11-20T07:16:00.000-08:00

Karin De Lange, 20 November 2011, Breda

A few weeks ago, we were told by Familie De Lange that their daughter, Karin, wanted to be baptized. And since she is 9 years old, we had the opportunity to teach her the missionary lessons! We were so
excited for the opportunity to teach her. We started with the Restoration, and just went on from there. We were able to do a lot of fun things with her because she was younger. One of those things was to
play games that we made up, like matching games with gospel principles as the matches. We had about a 3-week period to teach her, so we were able to spend a lot of time with her and her family
talking about how the gospel blesses our lives, and feeling the Spirit together. One of the biggest blessings for us as missionaries was seeing Karin´s great faith. She reads her scriptures and prays every
day. She really has a desire to follow her Savior, and strive to be like Him. Karin is a great example to the rest of her family. They come to church as a family, and really are engaged and feel the Spirit. Karin has a great strength, and a beautiful testimony of Jesus Christ. written by Sister Herring and Sister Hill

"Golden" Godfred Is Baptized in Amsterdam

2011-11-20T02:05:00.000-08:00

Godfred Mensah, Amsterdam, 20 November 2011

Godfred Mensah was one of the pensive people we'd ever contacted. We had a short conversation with him that first day by the metro station, gave him a Book of Mormon and set up another appointment, and he was gone. But from that first appointment with him, we came to know that he was a very dependable investigator. He was always on time to meetings and appointments. From this fact, we came to name him Golden Godfred.

We had many conversations with him about forgiveness; the forgiveness God gives to us and how that allows us to forgive others. That was one of the points of the gospel that attracted him. His first time at church was actually during General Conference. He loved listening to the prophet and other speakers.

Godfred is the best 28 Ghanaian man we have ever taught. He would always speak Twi with Zuster De Groot, and after she left, he tried to teach us, and would always laugh at our mistakes.

He said this to us during one of our appointments: "To me, our church is 100% perfect."

Godfred is excited to be in the church and to be a member. He has found a family here in Holland, with the other Ghanaian members of the ward. They take care of each other. We are excited for Godfred to grow in the gospel!

Written by Zuster Jeffs and Zuster Larsen

Bernadette Embraces the Gospel of Jesus Christ

2011-11-19T08:37:00.000-08:00

Bernadette van den Bosch, 19 November 2011, Assen

Elder McDaniel, Bernadette, Aswin Loorbach and Elder Ellis

Bernadette is a super nice and sweet lady who makes the missionaries feel good. She has been found through helping the missionaries translate for one of her neighbours. She received the lessons and almost got baptized. When Elder Merrill and I (Elder Ellis) worked in Assen together one of the members gave us Bernadette's number because she just recently ran into Bernadette who had requested that we come over again to teach her. We started coming and she listened to what we said and started progressing in the Gospel. She said that she started being more happy in her life. She was still facing trials trying to hold her back. She kept moving forward in the steadfastness of Christ and made the decision to be baptized. The rest is now history and it was a very beautiful baptismal service. She has felt so much Joy in her life ever since and is very happy. Bernadette is an awesome example of someone following Christ.

Gospel Is Shared With Jantje

2011-11-19T07:36:00.000-08:00

Jantje Smid, 19 November, 2011,Groningen

Jantje Smid came into contact with the missionaries through George (Deks) Baptist. They both live in a care home near the church. Through the missionary work of both Brother Baptist and Elder and Sister van Komen, Jantje came to know more about the gospel. She made the decision to be baptized and was able to recieve that ordinance as well as the gift of the Holy Ghost. She is very happy with her decision.

written by Elder Kunz, Elder van Doesburg

Happy Day!!!! Baujke Schaafsma Is Baptized in Groningen

2011-11-19T07:23:00.000-08:00

Baukje Schaafsma, 19 Nov 2011, Groningen

Baukje Schaafsmaa, came in contact with the church through her friend Harm Wierda. She read from the Book of Mormon and then came in contact with the missionaries. She recognized the truthfulness of the restored gospel and became actively involved with the church. Through faith and prayer she felt the support from her parents and also her Heavenly Father. She was able to be baptized in her mother tongue, Friesian, which made the event all the more special to her. Elder Kunz and Elder van Doesburg

David and Isabel Geens Are Prepared to Become An Eternal Family

2011-11-19T01:46:00.000-08:00

David and Isabel Geens, Gent

19 November 2011

David and Isabel Geens were baptized on 19 November 2011. They have 2 children, Laurens (8), Lucas (6), and are such a wonderful family! Sister Isabel Geens has been in contact with the church since her teenage years. Brother Geens searched for the truth for 20 years and came into contact through his wife. They decided to investigate together in 2010. After a year of diligent study and prayer on their own, they both developed testimonies that this was the truth. During the branch Halloween party in Gent on 28 October 2011, Brother Geens turned to Elder Larson and said, " What are the steps I need to make to be baptized?" That night we set a goal for 19 November for them to be baptized. Over the course of the next few weeks, we met several times and reviewed what they already knew very well. On the day of their baptism, it was so exciting to see this family together. They are excited to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and are looking forward to going to the temple together on 24 November 2012. Story written by Elder Schulte and Elder Larson

Antwerp Zone President's Training

2011-11-18T09:50:00.000-08:00

Friday was a wonderful day with the Antwerp Zone!

Everyone loves Harry! He loves missionary work so much! He is the mission hero!

We are incredibly blessed with the best sister missionaries! Zuster Welch and Zuster Tanner are loving serving in the beautiful city of Antwerp. Zuster Hill and Zuster Herring are so happy in Breda!

Excited to be victorious!

Rotterdam Zone President's Training

2011-11-17T06:48:00.000-08:00

Our third day of training was in Rotterdam with the Rotterdam Zone. Wow! Every missionary was on time, which can be a challenge with train and bus schedules and Rotterdam morning traffic.

The Zone Leaders shared the great news of how well the Rotterdam Zone is doing! These missionaries have so much unity, and love to share with each other the miracles that are happening in this zone.

Elder Osmond was so excited to lead the missionaries in our enthusiastic Dutch

Birthday song!

Elder Da Cruz and Elder Everton received the best birthday gift-

Heartfelt compliments from their fellow missionaries!

It was a great day to be with the Rotterdam Zone!

Zone President's Training With The Hague Zone

2011-11-15T02:40:00.000-08:00

The thing we love most is to be with the missionaries. This was a week where we were able to see and teach and train all of them! We started with the Hague Zone in Leiden. This is our largest zone. President Brubaker shared with the missionaries his vision for the mission.

What is Our Purpose?

To Invite Others to Come Unto Christ

As we have been concentrating on increasing our spirituality since our last Zone Conference, we can see a remarkable change in our missionaries. They have each taken the invitation to work on 10 specific things that will help increase their spirituality. (See President's Letters)

Elder Bastian has made the most of everyday of his mission. His motto has been

"I will give the Lord my best one day at a time."

He is surrounded by the Lord's Army. We thank him for his positive, upbeat attitude and his devotion to his Father in Heaven. We will miss you Elder Bastian.

Where would be without our senior couples? Sister Beckstrand and Sister Pankratz provided a healthy a much appreciated lunch.

We had lots of birthdays to celebrate!

l-r Elder Mueller, Elder Brockbank, Elder Pankratz, Elder Bastian,

Zuster Jeffs, and Elder Benson

Spirituality Part 4

2011-11-14T10:17:00.000-08:00

How Can I Increase Spirituality in my Life?

Part 4

Continued from last week’s letter

So far we have covered the first 6 of 10 points, which will help us gain spirituality as a mission. These points are from a talk delivered by Elder Joe J Christensen. We now continue with number 7 …

7. Be more concerned about how than where you serve.

At times we might be tempted to get caught up with attaining a certain position or calling as we serve in the Church. At other times we might get the urge to travel “under the radar” so that we aren’t subject to receiving a challenging church assignment.

In the 2008 October Conference priesthood meeting, we heard the masterful discourse on this subject from President Uchtdorf; ‘Lift Where you Stand”

"Although it may seem simple, lifting where we stand is a principle of power," he said, adding that most priesthood holders he knows understand and live the principle in faithfully serving others.

"There are those, however, who sometimes struggle with this concept. And when they do, they seem to fall into one of two camps: either they seek to lead, or they seek to hide. They covet a crown or a cave."

Those wanting to lead believe they are capable of doing more than currently asked and their abilities surpass their calling. Meanwhile, those wanting to hide claim to be too busy to serve.

"Oddly enough, often the root cause of both of these tendencies — seeking to lead or seeking to hide — may be the same: selfishness," President Uchtdorf said, adding there is a better way and a greater example.

"When we seek to serve others, we are motivated not by selfishness but by charity — we lift where we stand. This is the way Jesus Christ lived His life and the way a holder of the priesthood must live his."

In spite of the Savior's example, "we too easily and too often get caught up in seeking the honors of men rather than serving the Lord with all our might, mind and strength."Then he made that great statement, "The Lord judges so very differently from the way we do. He is pleased with the noble servant, not with the self-serving 'noble."

Elder Joe J Christensen tells of an experience when he was the President of the MTC in Provo.

“Don’t be like the young, handsome, enthusiastic elder who asked me on the first day he arrived at the MTC in Provo, “President, do you know what my major goal is in my mission?” Of course I didn’t know. He said, “My main goal is to become assistant to the president of my mission!”

How much better it would have been for him to have said something like this: “President, the main goal I have on my mission is to be a worthy representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to serve Him with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. I would be happy to serve in whatever part of the mission and in whatever assignment I am given. I just want to serve.”

Remember that even the Savior performed the humblest acts of service. If there ever comes a time when we get concerned about where we are serving or why someone else is called to do this or that, rather than us, think of the Savior in that Upper Room when He, as the greatest of all, the Creator of worlds without number, our Savior and Redeemer, took the basin, water, and towel and knelt before His disciples, performing that humble act of service by washing His disciples’ feet. After overcoming Peter’s reluctance and finishing the process, He asked them:

“Know ye what I have done to you? “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.

“If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.

“For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.

“If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (John 13:12-17).

About three-fourths through my own mission, as a young missionary in France, I needed to learn this lesson. The Lord provided me with that opportunity.

We lived in a 4 man apartment. The other Senior had been ill for several weeks, so I organized a system where as a threesome we could maximize every hour of the day. One of the ‘well’ missionaries would stay at the apartment, with the sick Elder, preparing food for lunch. When we returned to the apartment, we moved quickly to rotate so that after only the 20 minutes or so it took to eat lunch, the changed-up companionship would be back on the streets. We repeated the process at dinner and ended up getting in almost as many proselyting hours as two teams of missionaries. This was about the time when a new Zone Leader would be called. I looked at the other Elders in the zone and concluded that I was the best qualified and the hardest working so it was a good chance that it would be me. I was overly proud of our performance as a ‘threesome’ … I felt sure that I would be the new Zone leader. On transfer day the ‘sick’ Elder was made the Zone Leader and I was given a new missionary to train and was transferred to the outer reaches of the mission. I was shocked; I began to doubt my own abilities. A few days later I came across a talk by Elder Hugh B. Brown given four years earlier to BYU graduates. It is a little bit long but this story changed my life.

“Could I tell you just a quick story out of my own experience in life? Sixty odd years ago I was on a farm in Canada. I had purchased this from another who had been somewhat careless in keeping it up. And I went out one morning and found a currant bush at least six feet high. I knew that it was going all to wood. There was no sign of blossom or fruit. I had had some experience in pruning trees before we left Salt Lake to go to Canada, as my father had a fruit farm. I got my pruning sheers and went to work on that currant bush. And I clipped it, and cut it, and cut it down, until there was nothing left but a little clump of stumps.

As I looked at them, I yielded to an impulse which I often have, to talk with inanimate things, and have them talk to me. It’s a ridiculous habit, but one I can’t overcome. As I looked at this little clump of stumps, there seemed to be a tear on each one. And I said, “What’s the matter, currant bush? What are you crying about?” And I thought I heard that currant bush speak. It seemed to say, “How could you do this to me? I was making such wonderful growth. I was almost as large as the fruit tree and the shade tree. And now you’ve cut me down. And all in the garden will look upon me with contempt and pity. How could you do it? I thought you were the gardener here?”

I thought I heard that from the currant bush. I thought it so much that I answered it. I said, “Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here. And I know what I want you to be. If I let you go the way you want to go, you’ll never amount to anything. But someday, when you’re laden with fruit, you’re going to think back and say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for cutting me down; for loving me enough to hurt me.’”

Ten years passed and I found myself in Europe. I had made some progress in the First World War in the Canadian Army, in fact I was a field officer. There was only one man between me and the rank of General, which I cherished in my heart for years. And then he became a casualty. And the day after I received a telegraph from London from General Turner in charge of all Canadian officers. He said, “Be in my office tomorrow morning at ten o’clock.” I puffed up. I called my special servant, they call them batmen over there. I said, “Polish my boots and my buttons. Make me look like a General, because I’m going up tomorrow to be appointed. He did the best he could with what he had to work on, and I went to London.

I walked into the office of the General, I saluted him smartly, and he replied to my salute as higher officers usually do to juniors, sort of a ‘get out of the way, worm.’ Then he said, “Sit down, Brown.” I was deflated. I sat down. And he said, “Brown, you’re entitled to this promotion, but I cannot make it. You have qualified, passed the regulations, you have had the experience. You’re entitled to it in every way but I can’t make this appointment.” Just then he went in to the other room to answer a phone call and I did what most every officer or man in the army would do under those circumstances: I looked over on his desk to see what my personal history sheet showed. And I saw on the bottom of that history sheet in large capital letters, “THIS MAN IS A MORMON.” Now at that time we were hated heartily in Britain. And I knew why he couldn’t make the appointment. Finally he came back and said, “That’s all, Brown.” I saluted him less heartily than before and went out.

On my way back to Shorncliff 120 miles away, I thought every turn of the wheel or crack across the rails was saying, “You’re a failure. You must go home and be called a coward by those who do not understand.” And bitterness rose in my heart until when I arrived finally in my tent, I threw rather vigorously my cap on the cot together with my Sam Brown belt. I clenched my fist and I shook it at heaven. And I said, “How could you do this to me, God? I have done everything that I knew how to do to hold the standards of the Church. I was making such wonderful growth, and now you’ve cut me down. How could you do it?”

Then I heard a voice. It sounded like my own voice. And the voice said, “I’m the Gardener here. I know what I want you to be. If I let you go the way you want to go you’ll never amount to anything. And someday, when you are ripened in life, you’re going to shout back across time and say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for cutting me down; for loving me enough to hurt me.’”

Elder Brown’s talk came to me just when I needed it most. I learned a valuable lesson that day. I felt the words burn into my heart. Where there had been anger and self-doubt was now the knowledge that God loved me. My embarrassment quickly changed from worrying about how the other missionaries and the folks at home would view me, to an embarrassment that my arrogance and pride had gotten out of hand. I prayed that God would excuse me. In looking back these many years later, I often feel like saying “Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for cutting me down; for loving me enough to hurt me”

Be careful to keep pride out of service to God. Don’t aspire to anything more or less than to serve God and His children. Your spiritual strength will grow as you gain a desire only to serve Him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. Our mission will grow in spirituality as we each become able to say sincerely ”I would be happy to serve in whatever part of the mission and in whatever assignment I am given. I just want to serve”

Open your mouth and have a wonderful week,

President Brubaker

A Once In a Lifetime Birthday!

2011-11-11T11:23:00.000-08:00

Today is the 11th day of the 11th month of 2011!

And is just so happens to be Elder Favero's birthday!

We did some serious celebrating during our District Leaders Meeting!

Elder Favero said he has been waiting for this day all his life!

We were the lucky ones to help him celebrate!

Leadership Council Gets Missionaries Anxious to Share the News

2011-11-10T11:18:00.000-08:00

After a day of training at the mission home, these missionaries couldn't wait to share all they had learned with their zones! Can't you just feel their love and zeal for missionary work?

A True Dutch Experience in Groningen!

2011-11-08T09:07:00.000-08:00

This story put a big smile on my face! Sister and Elder Van Komen sent me these pictures and story of a memorable P-Day in Groningen!

written by Sister Van Komen

This week the Elders combined their District Meeting and their P-day activity because they wanted to go to a museum that was not open on Monday. We switched our District Meeting to Leeuwarden, ate sandwiches on the go, and walked to the Friese Museum, the largest provincie museum in the Netherlands. They wanted to see the cultural history of the area and the World War II exhibit. We spent two hours in the museum. Then, of course, Elder van Komen had to initiate the new Elders with the herring eating experience. Elder Kunz like them so much he finished the herring the others did not care for, so nothing was wasted. Elder McDaniel was a great sport even though we could see it would not be his favorite Dutch food. To take away the fishy taste before sending the Elders on the road, Sister van Komen treated them to Appeltaart at the V&D.

We had everybody on buses, trains, or in cars in plenty of time to make their 5 o'clock appointments in their own cities. It is true that Elder van Komen can fit more things into a day than most people can fit into a week. He kept up the pace all day long so the Elders could maximize their time. The Elders and Elder van Komen even took the opportunity to share who they were and why they were here with anybody who paused to look at this interesting group of young men walking around town with an older couple. Thumbs up for Missionary work in the Groningen District!

2011-11-07T10:23:00.000-08:00

Can I Increase Spirituality in my Life?

Part 3

Continued from last week’s letter

So far we have covered the first 3 of 10 points which will help us gain spirituality as a mission. We now continue…

#4 Go to bed early and get up early.

So what do sleep habits have to do with spirituality? Elder Joe Christensen has added this to his list of ten things to increase spirituality.

Think about this scripture … “Cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated” (D&C 88:124).

President Harold B. Lee was speaking to a newly called general authority and giving him some advice. Elder Lee spoke about the necessity of receiving personal revelation in order to be effective and said: “If you are to be successful as a General Authority, you will need to be inspired. You will need to receive revelation. I will give you one piece of advice: Go to bed early and get up early. If you do, your body and mind will become rested, and then in the quiet of those early-morning hours, you will receive more flashes of insight and inspiration than at any other time of the day.”

As missionaries we wake up at 6:30 AM and go to bed at 10:30 PM. We get up early and we go to bed early. The general authorities feel it is so important to study in the morning that a large block of time is set-aside in the morning for us to learn and study. As for me, I know that morning studies yield more results than do late evening studies.

A BYU professor friend of mine, Larry Hall, would always go to bed early and get up early. When I say early I mean really early. It was virtually impossible to reach him awake after 9:00PM and he was up daily at 4:00AM. When asked about this schedule he said that it was the only time of the day that he could count on to not be disturbed.

There is something about the early morning that brings tranquility and a fresh look at things. Enjoy it on your mission as a time to get close to the Lord, then after your mission, don’t let that wonderful habit slip away.

#5 Be an essentially happy person

It is certain that spirituality is directly related to how well you follow the Lord’s commandments to “Be of good cheer”.

“Lift up your heart and rejoice” (D&C 31:3)

Every once in a while a missionary will tell me that he or she is very discouraged. The missionary will then recite an experience where an investigator that they care very much about decides not to be baptized after hearing all the lessons. Sometimes a missionary might not ever be able to get in contact with an investigator after having a “Golden First”.

Many times in the scriptures the Lord commands us to be of good cheer. He didn’t say, “Be of good cheer if everything is going well, if you have enough money to pay all your bills, if your investigators all get baptized,” or whatever. No. For us to be of good cheer is a commandment and not merely a suggestion.

One truth that took me a while to learn is that we don’t have to feel and act, based on our environment. We can choose to change our perception of the environment. The story is told of the Lagoon roller coaster. This roller coaster is very old and the wooden structure very rickety. Half the fear seems to be from the ride itself and the other half from the fact that it seems as though it could all collapse at any minute! One day on one ride of the roller coaster an interesting dilemma arose. A rollercoaster car got stuck at the top of the track. Try as they might the riders, by shifting their weight, could not get it off “dead center”. The park managers met to determine what to do. They thought of getting a helicopter to come and airlift the roller-coaster riders down. The wind was too strong to bring in a helicopter. Consulting again they determined to call in the search and rescue specialists. When these mountaineering experts arrived they climbed the old framework and lowered the riders to the ground. The whole process took several hours. The first group down consisted of a father and his small children. The father was so full of anxiety that he had severely frightened his children who were crying and upon complaining of chest pains he was whisked away in an ambulance. The next group down was a group of teenagers. As they finished repelling down to the parking lot they were ecstatic! “That was so radical! We could sit up there and see all the way to Nevada! And the repel down was awesome.”

Can you see how two people can have exactly the same experience and one will find in the experience joy and adventure, while the other sees only fear and unhappiness? We can “make our own weather” meaning we can decide for ourselves how we will react to a certain set of circumstances. Except for those who are clinically depressed, we can decide whether to feel the bright sunshine of optimism and happiness or travel through the gloomy clouds of despair. Let’s choose HAPPINESS!

#5 Work Hard

Each week we recite these words … “Thrust in your sickle with all your heart, might, mind, and strength“(D&C 4:2; D&C 31:5)… this means ‘work hard’.

As a mission president I can honestly say that I have never seen a missionary who is both spiritual and lazy. Laziness and Spiritually just don’t go together. Hard work and Spirituality are the perfect match for each other.

“… if you want to increase your level of spirituality, work hard. Magnify your callings within the Church. Really work!” …Elder Joe Christensen.

Above we said that a happy person is more prone to be spiritual. Not working and being lazy seems to just suck the happiness away from any who indulge in it.

There are many skills that we acquire as missionaries, but unless we go out and use them by working hard we will see very limited success. We will not feel spiritually motivated without working hard. The restful sleep of someone who has worked hard all day is almost reward enough. The peaceful spirit of someone who has worked hard all day is the great reward.

Elder Holland has said “Every mission needs at least one Idaho Farm Boy to show the rest of the mission how to work”. We are blessed to have so many hard working missionaries that perhaps you could say that our missionaries are ‘grafted in’ to the tree of Idaho farm boys.

As we improve sleeping habits, commit to be happy and work hard; we will see increased Spirituality in our mission.

love,

President Brubaker

Friends and Family Come to Amsterdam To Share In Piets Baptism!

2011-11-06T02:28:00.000-08:00

Shyam (Piet) Hira Sing, Amsterdam, November 6, 2011

Shyam (Piet) Hira Sing had his first lesson with the elders (Elders Bastian and Mickelsen) on October 17. He is the husband of Kitty who is a life-long member of the church. Piet has had lots of contact with the church through the years which caused him to have a wonderful understanding of gospel topics. For many years, he did not feel ready to make the step to meet with the missionaries. But in October the desire came and he personally requested a visit from the missionaries. At that first appointment, the elders taught a very humble and receptive Piet who wanted to be baptized that very same week! Never before had they met someone with such a great desire to be baptized! For 3 weeks, Piet received the missionary lessons several times a week. He was 100% with keeping his commitments, or in simpler language… he is golden! The light in his eyes shone brighter with every appointment. Piet grew to love family scripture study and getting to church early in his new suit. His baptism on November 6 was attended by 100+ people with at least 30 non-members included. Piet is living evidence of the Atoning power of Jesus Christ. He is now looking forward to being sealed with his wife and kids next year in the temple. Congratulations Piet!

written by Elder Bastian and Elder Mickelson