Week 46: Koningsdag and Country Line Dancing!

April 28, 2014

Geliefde Familie:

Cool old phone at a member's
(Theo, coolest Bulgarian ever) house

Well, this week was great. We are really seeing success, and I hope it continues. I've come to the conclusion that if you make up your mind to see success, you will. It's amazing that God has prepared people for us in every city. It doesn't matter where I serve, I am here because Heavenly Father saw something in me that would be able to touch somebody's life. I hope I find them. 

SPENCERRRRRR..........I dunno about you but I'm feeling 22. Everything will be all right if you keep me next to you. Love you so much and happy birthday. Make it fun. I can't wait to hang out with you.

Mom, thanks for the quotes from Boyd K Packer's talk. That's one of the few that I haven't gotten to see yet. I really just need to print it off at some point. Everybody says it's amazing.

This week was Koningsdag (King's Day), basically the Dutch Fourth of July, but without fireworks. There's just orange everywhere and it's really busy in the city center. We actually didn't see much of that though...so on this day they set up booths in the centrum and people sell their stuff for really cheap. So it was a mission-wide experiment that we'd do the same and give out copies of the Book of Mormon and other pamphlets. It was a great idea except that ours was set up like...really far away from the center of den Haag. So it wasn't really busy at all. Lucky for us, we were right next to a booth advertising country line dancing...I hope you hear the sarcasm in "lucky for us" haha. But it was cool because some of the members came and we got to go on splits with them. Thereá a lady here that's basically equivalent to grandma in number of missions served, and I went door to door with her. She also gives us Dutch lessons every week (which some of us REALLY need..........UGH)

Lol,  Zr A line dancing

We have a few solid progressing investigators. I'll tell you about Glen first. He was heavily addicted to a lot of hard drugs, and he says that the same day the missionaries contacted him about 3 months ago, he had made plans to kill himself. He's SO positive that the book of Mormon is true. He invited his friend to a lesson and was an EXCELLENT joint teach. He testified that it was true. Every time we come over, he's like, "today was really bad, I just don't feel well right now “and then by the time we leave, he's stopped shaking or feeling bad. He even say, "I know it's because you bring something special to my house." He cooks for us too sometimes. He's from Surinam. He's just awesome. He really needs to stop smoking though. His Baptismal Date is for 24 May. Pray for him to stop smoking!

Ethlyn is next. She's so cool. She's been investigating for a long time, but she's really making progress. Have you seen the "Because of Him" Mormon message? We watched that on Easter, and she said she got her answer during the video. It's really good. YOU GUYS, share Mormon messages with your friends. They're so well done and they are a sure way to feel the Spirit. Especially the little short ones. They're great. Twitter, Facebook, just share them!

I got to go on an exchange with Zr K this week! She's a rock star missionary. She's having a little bit of trouble in her current area. I don't think she loves it. She's been there for three transfers, so I guess she's just a little tired of it. She and I had a lot of fun though. We laughed a lot about the MTC. Good times. She made me think about how I could handle Maastricht with so many challenges--it's because I loved it with my whole heart. I loved the people I didn't even know and I loved my investigators and the ward members. I had to really ask for that love though, which was something I'd forgotten. I was wondering why I wasn't completely in love with Den Haag yet, and I think it's because I need to ask for more love for the people here. 

I've been studying a lot about Gifts of the Spirit. I read my Patriarchal Blessing specifically looking for the Spiritual Gifts. It was cool. So I’ve been asking to somehow be able to develop my gifts. (I've also learned that we can ask what to pray for in our prayers...cool huh? I kind of like this whole share-what-you've-learned-with-your-parents thing).

Basically, companionships are inspired and I hope I serve with Zr A for a long time. And I've told that to President in a little "hint hint" so I hope it works!

Best companionship ever on Koningsdag

There's a new sister coming in this transfer, so our tripanionship should be split up...I hope it is. It's really fun, but so hard with so many people. It's like the mafia coming to someone's door. 

So the Zone Leaders have a car and we got stuck all the way in Rijswijk one night and were going to be SOOO late home, so we called them for a ride, and to say thank you, we made them sugar cookies...almost. We don't actually have an oven, so in our little toaster oven, they didn't exactly turn out. So we panicked. Then got a brilliant idea. Mash them up and mix them with Nutella. Then roll them into balls. Then put sprinkles on top and put them in a cupcake thing. We told them it was a Brazilian delicacy and they said they were delicious. WOO. Best language study 45 minutes ever. 

I really love you people. SKYPE. Can we do it at 2 pm my time? I think that's 6 am for you guys. I can't wait. ALSO I'M GOING TO THE TEMPLE TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!! And then Keukenhof, with all the pretty flowers. So excited. 

Thanks for the love, support, and feedback. It helps a lot. Plus, I'm working on humility, so this is excellent. 

IK HOU VAN JULLIE. Heel erg veel. 

Liefs,

Zr Heilner

Week 45: HAPPY EASTER!

April 21, 2014

Geliefde Familie: HAPPY EASTER!

Nederland<3

HAPPY EASTER! I should just start out and say that I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and that we will all be resurrected because He overcame death. I want everyone to have the surety and peace this knowledge brings. 

I'm still not sure what's going to be happening for Mother's Day...what time is your church?

Estrella's baptism!

Estrella was baptized this weekend! It was so cool. She was really ready. I just walked in to Den Haag and she was ready to be baptized, but it was cool to get to be there. Her boyfriend is an investigator in Nijmegen, so he came and the Elders to Nijmegen came too. I've served with both of them, so that was fun. Our investigators, Glen and Noel, were there and they both loved it. Glen came in the nick of time. He is really receptive to the spirit. He has a baptismal date!! Pray for him and his son, Rocky.

I asked President if I could go to Diana's baptism in Maastricht and he said no.... :( Makes sense, but I thought I'd ask).

Saw a kid from high school this week. SUPER weird. He also told me that Bryson Ott lives like 30 minutes away. I hope I run into him sometime. That'd be sweet.

So weird seeing someone from HIGH SCHOOL (AAS in Moscow) 

I love my companions. We have so much fun. Thank goodness Zr GW is so flexible, she showers at night. Or we'd really have some problems.

Enjoy the pictures! Thanks for all the love.

IK HOU VAN JULLIE!

Zr Heilner

Week 44: We shall call this week... "Abu"

April 14, 2014

Geliefde Familie: 

Den Haag

Abu is the title because there was this little man that came up to us as we were knocking some doors. He didn't really speak much Dutch or English (which we've been running into a lot here…), so we just gave him a card. We were expecting him to walk away or something...but he didn't. He stayed like 15 feet behind us as we were going to each door. We would turn around and give him a look like, "do you need something?" and he kept being sort of trying to ask if we were going to go to his house around the corner, but he couldn't even understand us and I don't know what he thought we were there for. So after a while, we named this little old man Abu. He crossed the street so he could watch us from afar, and he would pretend to not look at us. Every time we would look back, he would look away really fast haha. It was weird

MOM Oh my gosh, do you know Vernon Aston?? That's my companion's dad. They grew up on Grandview Hill! Her aunts and uncles are Lee, Kevin, and Sharon. Hilarious, right? Her grandma is Lela Aston.

So my testimony of Joseph Smith has sky rocketed these past few weeks. I know he was a prophet and I am so thankful for all he did and gave up so that we can enjoy the blessings of the restored gospel. I will probably never be asked to die for my beliefs, but how can I be LIVING to show Heavenly Father that I am committed to him? I've been pondering that question. I need to be doing my best to do what Christ would do if He were here.

I MET ANDY'S MISSION PRESIDENT! He's serving with his lovely wife in Frankfurt and they took a weekend to visit Den Haag (don't call it The Hague, you sound so American) and they were talking about how they've been home for a year from their mission in Norway. I asked if they knew an Elder Phillips and she said "ANDY?! He was our assistant! For 6 months! He's wonderful!" They only had nice things to say about him (and Megan haha). I got a picture with her on Zr GW's camera.

LUCY, hey, email me, I have a huge favor to ask you.

IK HOU VAN JULLIE! Have a great week!

Love,

Zr Heilner

So Nederland. Just taking pictures from the train!

Week 43: Den Haag is just a beach party with my best friends!

April 7, 2014

Geliefde Familie: 

The Hague Beach

Just kidding, we work really hard, but when we walk out of the apartment, I can smell the ocean. This ward is HUGE. President told me it was like an Orem ward. I didn't get to see the whole ward yet because it was general conference, and there weren't that many members that actually came to the church to watch, but we have 11 missionaries, so that's saying something. Not just 11 missionaries. 11 AWESOME PEOPLE. I love it. The area is HUGE and I don't really know it yet (I would probably be able to get to the station...I can get to the church and the centrum and one of our investigators all from our apartment), but I will get there. Zr GW always has the map...she's only been here 6 weeks and she had two companions that knew where everything was, and now it’s just her, me, and Zr A and we don't know ANYTHING. Haha...adventure.

Zr A is so cool. It took me about 30 seconds to love her. She's hilarious and so much fun. She's from PG and is studying graphic design at SUU. She is a transfer older than me and seven days younger than me in real life. She's a huge blessing. Zr GW is so funny. I'm excited to see what I'll learn from her this transfer. A lot, I am sure. 

Oh, I forgot to tell you about zone training last week. I think it went well. A lot of people told me they liked it. We worked really hard on it, so I hope it was what they needed. Zr WB came up to me crying afterward and told me that she knew I was inspired. That was pretty cool, especially from her. The lunch was kinda interesting, but I was grateful nonetheless.

So did I tell you how my WML gave me a bike? It has hand breaks and it's a mountain bike, but I'm getting used to it. Of course, you have to fall a few times before you can learn. So...let's just say I know that angels watch out for us haha. It wasn't anything serious, but I was going really fast and all of a sudden, Zr GW stopped, so I slammed the breaks too, but I only had one hand on the handlebars for a sec, so I flew right into them and ZR A said I totally twisted my ankle, but it's completely fine. It didn't even hurt. She thought I broke it. 

My hair is really curly here because it's so humid. We actually went really close to the beach with some members the other day. They came to visit us from Maastricht and took us to lunch there. That was fun.

Well, general conference was awesome. They talked a lot about courage, or at least, I heard a lot about courage. And covenants. These things are important people. 

IK HOU VAN JULLIE!

Zr Heilner

Week 42: Going to Den Haag!!

March 31, 2014

Geliefde Familie: 

Ugh, transfers are the worst. I want to stay here forever. But...I know I have to move on to what Heavenly Father has in store for me in Den Haag (The Hague). So yes, it's a huge city (WOO), and I'm going to be in a tri-panionship with Zr GW and Zr A. I don't know Zr A very well, but...I know ZR GW. I’m staying ZTL, which means I get to go on exchanges with Zr K, so I'm pumped. PUMPED I TELL YOU. 

This week has been a lot of helping our investigator, Pepsi, and his family move. Man, oh man. Obviously two girls with two bikes isn't going to cut it, so we got the ward involved which was so stressful (especially for Zr WB for one day while I was on an exchange in Den Bosch...). Basically I'm really thankful for members who are willing to serve and help in whatever way they can. And the Elders in Heerlen helped SO much. And the ZLs...Yes, it was a big ordeal and it still is. One night the Elders didn't get home until 11. I felt so bad. 

More on Pepsi: His wife is named Kate. They are awesome. They're from Cameroun, the place in Africa that idk if I'm spelling right. He is great, and gives us lots of referrals. I love it. Also, Kate, wraps her baby in a cloth thing around her back. It's so cool and I'm going to try it with my kids, but first I should probably become African or else I won't be able to pull it off. 

Federica! We were actually at her house when President called and said I was getting transferred. I was pretty bummed. I just love Maastricht. Mostly because of her, probably. She's just so cute. But she said that since Zr GW and I are together, she's going to come visit us in Den Haag! That will be AWESOME. She tried to come to church this week but got kicked off the train...invalid ticket. We really need a ward in Maastricht. But that is coming along! We started institute here and it's going SO WELL. The bishop is really impressed with it too. SO HAPPY. 

DAD, oh my gosh. You have to read a book called Visions of Glory. Idk if you've already read it, but if not, you must. My companion's sister edited it and she tells me about it all the time. You'd love it. Plus, you buy it and then I'll read it when I get home, it's perfect;)

Well, IK HOU VAN JULLIE. I hope you are all doing well and making mormon.org profiles. MMMMKAY?! Alright, I gotta go take pictures of the most glorious city in the world. Maybe I'll send some next week. LOVE YOU.

Zr Heilner

Week 41: Another CRAZY Week!

March 24, 2014

Geliefde Familie:

Well, another week has CRAZILY come and gone. I cannot believe how fast time goes. This is the last full week of this transfer. I'm on my sixth transfer, and sisters have 12 in the land. YIKES. 

Ha, I just opened a new tab on this public computer in the library and half of the "most used" links are from mormonchannel.org or lds.org since I've used so many sites today haha. Missionary work. Speaking of, if you guys ever need to write a talk, use scriptures.byu.edu. It's great.

We thought it was turning to springtime. We were wrong. We walked out of someone's house the other day, into the SUNSHINE, and it began to HAIL. WHAT?! And it got cold again! Oh well. It's getting better at least. It won't be like it was in February again. 

It started hailing in the sunshine...

So I went to Den Haag this week! We slept there so that we would be closer to Leiden for Mission Leader Council. We got really lost. Zr WB served there for two weeks, so she got us pretty close to the apartment, but actually getting there was a little difficult. But its okay, Zr GW came and saved us. It was fun getting to see her again. She's there in a tri-panionship. Those three have the worst luck with bikes, ever. And you guys thought I had it bad.

Well...my bike situation update. So last Monday, I got a flat tire. But we had an appointment with the ward mission leader that night, so I asked if he'd be able to come help me fix it that night. He did, but then he realized that it wasn't a problem with the tire, but with the actual wheel. It's the back wheel, which is usually more expensive to buy new than a good bike...so he told me he would look this week for an extra wheel. So nice of him.

I went on an exchange with Zr Juchau (the end-all-be-all of a sister missionary. And it's her last week before she goes. It was really sad. She gave me a lot of really good advice though.) in Breda. I had a great time with her. She's a phenomenal teacher and so selfless. Anyway, when I got back to Maastricht, I was really confused why Zr WB was walking towards the bike stalls. I knew they had to have taken the bus because the ward mission leader told me to just wait for a week until he could find a replacement wheel. So I asked what she was doing and she told me she and Zr S had achter opted from the apartment. I felt so bad that she would have to carry me on the back of her bike back up to the apartment. But she insisted. So we got to the bikes and she unlocked a green bike that I had never seen before and claimed that she just had a random key. But then I found out that while I was gone, Broeder van der Pluijm came to Maastricht and dropped this bike off for me! And he wouldn't let me pay for it. It's a lot different than my old bike, not quite as nice, but it was SO nice of him to give me! I couldn't believe it. It would have been SUCH a pain to have to use the bus the whole week, that was such a miracle. 

So church was great. We had Diana and Federica there. Since this ward is like little America, we have potlucks every fourth Sunday. During the potluck, Diana went up and asked a member if he would baptize her. When she came up and told Zr WB this, we were so surprised. He of course said that it would be his honor. Anyway, Zr WB asked Diana when she would like to do that, and she supposedly told Zr WB to stop asking when haha. But that's AWESOME!

Federica is doing well. We couldn't get in contact with her for a while, but we stopped by one night and she let us in. She basically told us how she'd messed up and she didn't want to come to church or institute to be around all the people at church. We talked a lot about how church is not for perfect people and how when we try to make changes in our lives, we usually fall. I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father is longsuffering. What that means is that no matter how many times we mess up, no matter how many times we say we're never going to sin again, sometimes we fall, but Christ will never tire of helping us back up. We wouldn't learn without the falls. 

Well, exciting things are happening here. I love getting to see the Lord's hand so often. I want everyone to serve a mission. I learn so much every day about how Heavenly Father looks out for us. 

IK HOU VAN JULLIE. I hope you have a great week. 

Love,

Zr Heilner

At the mission home--Zr Wood and Elder Lewis

At the mission home--Elder Muse

Week 40: WHOA WE'RE HALF WAY THERE

March 17, 2014

Geliefde Familie:

My companion made confetti and threw it at me on my birthday

OH MY GOSH I can't believe I am half way officially. Sometimes I'm like, "what? I just got here." but sometimes I remember how long it's been haha. 

So...the bath and body works soap...why would they make it NOT anti-bacterial? I don't get it. 

What's my blood type? The other three Limburg missionaries are O negative, and I just have no idea. I'm probably an outsider. 

Limburg missionaries

DEANNA AND LUCY-- oh my heavens. You guys. Deanna, that book. I love it so much. Thank you for all the work that went into that. I will cherish it seriously forever. And thanks, Michael for the candy. And the wristlet, you guys spoil me. Luc--miss you gurl. Thanks so much for the notecards! They're perfect. LOVE YOU.

SO, some great news: we have started having institute here in Maastricht! It was a GREAT success. I hope it's the basis for a branch that could get started here in Maastricht. It's so far for the members and investigators to travel to Heerlen...currently it's being held in an elementary school. The benches are really tiny, which is humorous, but it works!! I felt the Spirit just the same. Federica and Ivan came. They both had great questions and I am so excited to see what happens this week. I'll actually be on an exchange in Breda, but Zr WB is going to be great. 

Poor Sister WB this weekend: she had a slight case of food poisoning AND got attacked by Diana's dog...it was ridiculous. But she is a trooper and everything worked out okay. 

The most insane dog in the world that attacked Sister WB

JAMES--you're entering the final days....good luck! I'm so excited for you!

Well, this computer keeps shutting down, so I have to be careful, so I should probably get this sent. I love you guys. You're constantly in my prayers. I sent a letter a few days ago. I also sent one to Nancy. Hope she's doing well. 

IK HOU VAN JULLIE. Thanks for looking out for me. Thanks for the prayers. I miss you and can't believe that I will see you in the same amount of time I have been gone. That's insane. 

Love,

Zr Heilner

This man posed for me at Carnaval

Carnaval

Carnaval