Maak je geen zorgen.

I would like to start with a big I´M FINE. The attack wasn´t in this country and even if it had been, Den Bosch is such a low profile place that you wouldn´t have to worry. I´m safe and happy.

This week was busy. Very busy. And a bit stressful, to be honest. Everything went really well, but it was just a lot on my plate. Elder Drinkwater barely made it through. And this week promises to be even busier. Heck, we already taught a lesson today! Craziness coming through!

Well, honestly... as busy as we were this week I don´t have a ton to talk about. In part, I´m just kinda out of words. I have to fix my bike and all kinds of crap today. I´ll try and find something to talk about.

Oh, Easter things. Well, a common concern I´ve heard expressed by this ward is that we don´t do enough for Easter in our church. I must say I agree. Easter really should be the biggest focus of all reverence and celebration for all that call themselves Christians. Because the ward thinks this, we had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate some other days of this past week, paralleling the last week of the mortal life of Jesus Christ. We celebrated The Last Supper on Thursday with a family in the Ward. Then we did a genealogy fireside for Good Friday. Elder Drinkwater and I were able to do a little presentation for that as well. Hahaha, Just one more thing we had to plan.

Well, pictures!

A member was showing us something called Occulus. Elder Drinkwater has no clue I´m taking a picture of him here.

Welcome to exchanges with The Shaw. Elder Drenth was a good sport.

And finally, a hilarious picture of Elder Drinkwater, selfie master.

Love you all!

Elder Shaw

Hey there, Hi there, Ho there

I can honestly say this week was an improvement over the last few. Elder Drinkwater and I got a lot of work done. We´re pretty beat at this point. However, we don´t have much time to take it easy either. We still have a lot to do. 

I just realized how many hours I spent talking to people on the street and doing doors. Dang. We have been all over this city just chatting away. I spent a long time on my feet. These shoes are showing some wear. Let´s see how bad I can kill them before I come back.

Well, some interesting things. That referral campaign we´re doing is getting HUGE. We have so many referrals at this point that I don´t know how we´re going to contact them. I think Elder Drinkwater and I will have to arrange splits with the members in order to get to them all. Especially since many of them are far away. It feels good to be busy, but sometimes you do find yourself wishing for a little break. Maybe I´m just lazy.

Another cool thing from the week is that we had my favorite Stake conference I´ve ever attended. Elder Charles from England was speaking (I don´t believe they ever mentioned his full name) and he did a wonderful job. We went with Timo and were all very uplifted. I also got to translate for a little meeting he did with recent converts and investigators in the stake.... Far from easy. That boy can talkkkkk. It was awesome, I also had the opportunity to see some friends from other wards and things in the stake.

One last thing before you get pictures-- I knew when I came on my mission that I would meet wonderful members and investigators. I expected to meet people I wanted to emulate and have great companions. However, I did not realize that these people would become my dear friends. I have been so blessed to have met the people I have. They have taught me so many wonderful things. 

Okay, pictures!

Derp!

Also derp!

Sing it with me! MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.........

I quite literally pulled this cat off of a roof.

This... right here... is my.... swag.

That´s it! I love you all!

The Shaw

"I´m a Shart Smopper"

Yeah, I think you can guess which words I mixed up there.

Well, the transfer happened. Elder Drinkwater and I are trying to settle into our work here in Den Bosch. We had a really bizarre few days.

I´ll try and sum it all up. Wednesday was a transfer day. Elder Drinkwater and I were just trying to get into the swing of things. It´s always a little odd right after a transfer. We didn´t have a ton of appointments, but we were more than busy.

Thursday we went to have an appointment with Theo, and older member of the ward we visit regularly, only to find EMTs there picking him up and taking him to the hospital. He´s doing okay, but it caused a little scare and we had to make a bunch of phone calls. Then, I ended up getting a flat tire. Friday we had to go to a meeting in Eindhoven and then to the Temple in the evening, so we ended up in our area for about.... two hours. But it was awesome. Then, there was a baptism for a boy in the ward on Saturday and a big zone service project, so once again we weren´t in our area for very long.

It was busy. And we still have a lot to do to take care of all of this stuff. Elder Drinkwater and I are quite busy. It´s a good thing, but exhausting. One thing I´ve learned from my mission is that you don´t actually need a "me" day. Maybe a few "me" hours from time to time, but far less often than we think. We´re capable of difficult things!

Pictures; I know you´re excited.

The St. Jans Cathedral in Den Bosch: Night Edition.

The Den Haag Temple: Nightish Edition

Holiness to the Lord

Uh huh. You know how I does.

In the train. This window might as well be a mirror.

Did I mention that our church is an office building? Yep

Peace out!

The Shaw

"O wat een ramp! Haar mascara!"

Well, this has been another one of those weeks where appointments fell through. People need to keep appointments if they make them. I hate arriving and finding no one home. It´s exhausting to say the least.

However there were plenty of cool things this week! I learned how to make Dutch meatballs from Timo´s father. They were..... absolutely amazing. They beat the living crap out Swedish meatballs (sorry IKEA). So that´s something for you to look forward to when I come home.

In other news, we do these little Facebook campaigns over here where people can order a DVD and then we show up to talk to them after they receive it. I´ve been doing these things since the beginning of my mission, and I´ve never had one go according to plan. We have this little "ideal situation" practice for it, but I have never used it. The circumstance has never allowed for it. Which is sad because it´s brilliantly thought through and would work if we could use it. Sounds like sooooo many things in life. If there is any advice I could give to everyone in life it would be "learn to improvise". Nothing will be more useful.

Well, I have news about transfers as well. My wonderful companion will be leaving me to go to Belgium, and I will be receiving Elder Drinkwater. Yep! Poor guy gets made fun of SO MUCH for his name. He´s perfectly aware of how goofy it is. I also already know him, so I´m not worried at all!

I have no pictures this week. I´m sorry everyone! I love you, though!

Love,

Elder Shaw