(no subject)

Hello my dear friends,

First off, I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and words of encouragement. That means a lot to me, knowing I am loved by so many, I pray for you all as well. God bless you.

This week was pretty tough on Elder Peel and I, but we had the chance to meet some amazing people! Honestly, we were finding all week and didn't add anyone to our teaching pool, but that’s alright, I’m grateful for the experiences we had.

So, on Saturday we went and taught a lady named Lily, who lived right by our old apartment, but she had never been asked if she was interested in taking the lessons, so we asked and she accepted. We stopped by on Saturday and gave her the first discussion. The spirit was there and we knew that she was feeling it, but when we offered her the Book of Mormon she denied it. She said she believed everything we taught her, but she was fine being Catholic. I was a little dumbfounded myself, but I respect her decision. It was the exact situation that Preach my Gospel mentions when you will teach people the truth and they will know it is true, but still deny it. She said we could come back any time though, so, we’ll stop by from time to time and maybe her heart will soften towards learning more.

After the lesson we decided to go knock some doors - which, logically, didn't make sense because it was a beautiful sunny day, for once, and Saturday afternoon, so we knew there would be people out. But, we felt inspired to go back to a neighborhood that we had previously visited. We arrived there and walked down a street that I had felt prompted to go down the last time we were there, and we started knocking. The second house we hit, a woman answered and knew who we were! She also began speaking english to us, and invited us in because it was cold outside! Her name is Marie Pierre. We chatted for about an hour and a half and found out her mother had just died three weeks previously and her father had died many years ago from cancer. She told us how she was questioning what was after this life, recently, because of this change in her life. She asked us if we knew what would happen after this life and Elder Peel and I both responded "Yes!" We taught her the Plan of Salvation and gave her the Book of Mormon. We did that all in English and it was way hard. Like, I have zero idea how to teach in english, I was stumbling over my words and had to switch to French a few times just to get out what I was trying to say. She didn't want to make an immediate return appointment and told us that she would read what we had given her and then call us back to meet again. Even though we don't have her number, I feel strongly that we will receive a call from her. I could tell she was touched by the message we brought. It was truly a moment of being guided by the spirit to someone who was prepared.

After her, we went and stopped by the house of Jean Marc, a man who had been very nice to us the first time we knocked the area, but was adamant on not meeting with us because he was content with not believing in God. We knocked his door and he was a little surprised to see us. He told us he hadn't read the pamphlet we gave him, and again said he was content not believing in God. But, I reminded him that the last time we spoke he told us that if there was a God and there was truth out there, he would believe it. We told him the truth he is looking for is in our message. He still wasn't very interested, but we kept talking and found out more about him and how he lived in Boston for a while, and he is married, and has children, and I told him how I would love to just talk more with him because his life is so interesting and I am sure he has great counsel for someone as young as Elder Peel and I. He looked at me and said "You know what, you come by again, not next week, but in a few weeks. I will read your pamphlet and you can come back and we can sit on the patio and have something to drink and talk for an hour or two." It was a testament to me, that being yourself, and showing love for others can really soften their hearts. Jean Marc didn't become an investigator at that moment, but he did become our friend.

Last night we visited an American family. There is a military base here in Belgium and an English speaking ward, so this family invited us over. The Thompson’s were very nice, and we went and visited a friend of Brother Thompson, but he was working (he is a farmer) and so he couldn’t chat for very long. We went back to their house and ate Beef stew, and I had American Whole Milk for the first time in about a year. Wow. You guys don’t know how good you have it, that was literally like drinking the sweetest cream I have ever had - Incredible. Brother Thompson was super nice and gave me a box of Life cereal as well! We shared a spiritual message about Christ and how he helps all of us and went home. Funny side note, I said a prayer in English and totally said the Family Thomas instead of Thompson and then had no idea what to say in the prayer because I am so used to praying in French - the struggle. It was a fun night.

I recently found a scripture that I liked. It is Hebrews 6:10-12, 15. It is a very touching scripture about how God will not forget our labours of love that we render here on earth. He asks us to be diligent and not slothful and to have faith and patience that we will inherit the promises, the promise being eternal life. Then verse fifteen tells us that after we have patiently endured, we obtain the promise. I thought that was a really nice set of verses and applicable to all aspects of life.

Love you all,