Ik Ga Verder

Even snell deze morgen! So we had a bit of a crazy week, we have found several potentials and have two new investigators. We were out doing look ups of former investigators. Now none of the people we had set out to see where home, but we 2-2-5 the house (which is you knock the two both to the left and right and then five across the street). It was cool because it was always the neighbors whom we had contact with and they are people who are planted seeds. Now not all of them, but always the neighbor. They knew who we were and had a Book of Mormon. Some of which were not ready, some it was the mom of the former and she had never heard of us and we gave her a Book of Mormon. Then we come to Teresa.... she has been here in Belgium for a week (when we knocked her door it wasn't even a week). She is here from Ghana visiting her father for the Holidays. Deciding if she wants to stay or not "It depends on how nice you treat me!" She welcomed us right up and in her home.She know who we were, she has LDS friends in Ghana and has seen the missionaries there. We sat on her couch and then her father came out: The dad: "Are you Jehovah Witnesses?" Us: "No sir, we are the Mormons." Dad: "Oh then you are WELCOME, please stay and sit. I will come join you soon." Unfortunately he didn't join us, he was on the phone. But good to know we were welcome! haha Teresa was raised Methodist and loves God. We taught a first lesson. She was a bit distracted on her phone but what was special was when we got to the First Vision. Zr. Robbins did that part and I just saw Teresa put her phone away. She was so excited and felt honored that we gave her a Book of Mormon. She then ran and grabbed her bible, asked if we would be coming over more often. We prayed, she said she would come to church this week and we set another appointment. Wednesday we went and visited Familie Van Steenbergen. They are an older couple in their 80's, due to Br. Van Steenbergen's health he can not make it to church. We walked in to the living room and there he was sitting in his chair. He had the biggest, brightest smile I have ever seen. You can't help but to smile and feel loved. They told us all about their family, how they met the missionaries and their life together. After a while Zr. Van Steenbergen's sister and husband showed up. They joined us and we just talked. Br. Van Steenbergen told stories about when he was in the military. His trips to the Congo. He was the one who played the trumpet. They pulled out photo albums. Br. Van Steenbergen is a hilarious man, the definition of young at heart. While he went to the bathroom, the brother-in-law went out to his car and brought in his Horn. When Br. Van Steenbergen returned and saw the surprise, his face lit up. The brother was playing it and it was very cool. Then Br. Van Steenbergen asked to try to play again. Now the brother had to hold it for him, and with his other hand he could push the key things. He hasn't played in over 10 years and he began to play TAPS. It was a little rough at first, but he was determined to get it again. And he did. Oh it brought me to tears. We pulled out our hymn book and sang "Abide with Me", the brother played it on the Horn (oh they are not members), the sister tried to hum along. Afterwards Br. Van Steenbergen sang "Abide With me Tis Eventide" all by himself in his sweet old Flemish, the most beautiful rendition I have ever heard. The spirit was undeniably there, the whole house felt warm. I was asked to say a prayer. I let the spirit guide as I prayed for this family and especially the sister and husband. When I was done, I looked at the husband and he had tears in his eyes, silently clapped and thanked me. As we left Br. Van Steenbergen grabbed my hand and held it very tight. He just smiled and looked at me, for what felt like a long time. The spirit hit me and all I saw was this young man in uniform. A moment I will never forget. Alright now onto Sunday, lets just say Sunday was a hard day for me. I will be honest with you all, I was laying on the floor downstairs and I was just in tears. I was having a hard moment. Just dent Bunnell called and I talked to him for a bit. I love that man. Afterwards it was like a switch had been flipped. We made several phone calls, were able to get ahold of referrals and people we have been trying to get in touch with. We filled up our schedule for the week! We ate dinner and then went to look up another referral. While biking I was doubting it would be positive. We rang the bell and he let us right up. While standing and waiting for the elevator a thought popped into my head "Why did you doubt me?" And then I knew we were walking into something special. And so here we have Rong Guang Li, Li for short. He is from Xian, China. He in Belgium since June and will be here for about a year. He has a wife and a son, who are still so the son can stay in school. Anywho, Li was in London touring around when he was stopped by the missionaries there. They took him to the visitor's center and showed him videos about the family. Which touched him. They took his information and here we are. We sit down and get to know each other and then jump right into it. He has no Christian background knowledge so we had to explain things very simply. It was very special to be a part of. The spirit took over because I explained prophets and the Joseph Smith story in ways I have never explained or thought about ever before. Clearly the spirit knew what to say for him to understand. You could see the gears turning, the spirit working on him. He agreed to baptism and was very sweet about asking how long this will take. We asked him to pray at the end, and because he has never prayed before Zr. Robbins said one and then he said one right after. I could see the spirit, the house was getting brighter. Li is golden. A prepared son of God, humble and meek like a child, finding the truth. A man from China, were religious things are lacking and harder for him to find the missionaries to have come to Europe, at the point in his life were he is ready. Now this is a huge testimony builder for me that Heavenly Father knows E A C H of his children. Where they are and what they are doing. As we walked out the door, that pure joy they talk about in the scriptures, I was feeling exactly that. A complete transformation from 2 hours before laying on the floor. While biking home, biking so fast because I was just so excited! I was thinking, and it is those moments, those people that make all of this worth it. All the tears, stress and frustration totally worth it. This is why I am a missionary. The Lord has not given up on me, or any of these other people from all over the world in a small town in a tiny country. So I will not give up on him. Never forget who you are and where you come from. This week was hard, I felt like I was slipping into the darkness again. Falling and I couldn't find my way. Not wanting to step out the door. How could I? What do I have to offer? But if you make yourself available, he will make you capable. Each time I stepped out the door, The Lord sustained me as his servant and we were saw miracles. His work is moving forward. I know that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I am a daughter of my Father in Heaven. I have weaknesses and challenges, but that is because Heavenly Father knows I am strong enough to handle them. Zo, Ik ga verder. -- Zuster Young