I´m a Cute Little Jetpack.

I´d like to begin this entry with a little Dutch geography lesson. Everyone, pull out your maps. Find Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Got it? Good. Now, the bits of the city North of that big river are considered Rotterdam North. From the coast all the way out East to Capelle A/d Ijssel. Now, Capelle is where I happen to be right now. The ward here is all that area considered Rotterdam North. Now, look West. See that area called Schiedam? That area is Portuguese speaking. Many immigrants from Cape Verde, Portugal, and Angola live there. They are still part of this same ward, thus there is a Portuguese group in the church. The Elders in Schiedam work with that group, and there is almost always at least one person there that speaks either Spanish or Portuguese.

Now, what does any of this geography lesson have to do with anything? Well, we got transfer calls last night. I will be moving (AGAIN!?) to Schiedam. Same ward... just Portuguese area. All the way across the city. I will be with Elder Conatti, while Elder Muller will go (oh yeah, we´re both moving) to Delft with Elder Hunter. As an added oddity, Elder Conatti, just before joining the Singing Elders, served in Schiedam for six months. We´ll both be doing our fifth transfers in Rotterdam. Confused? So are we. If I said I was happy, I´d be lying. The only consolation is that I will be with Elder Conatti. I love him! But yeah, we´re having kinda a rough time with this change. I´d like to stay in a city for more than a transfer! Is that too much to ask?

ANYWAY! Cool stuff about this week. We spent a long time practicing for the performance on Friday. When I say a long time.... I mean most of Wednesday and all day Thursday, then until we had to leave on Friday. We are all quite worn out. Oh, and Thursday night at 8 p.m. someone decided they wanted to change the format of the production. So, less than 24 hours before we had to perform. Yeah, that was more than a little bit difficult. Despite all this practicing and change, the performance went well. Not perfect, of course, but we were quite happy with how it worked out. Then we had to drive two hours home in the dark. Did I mention that I received my license that day? Thus, my first drive in Europe was two hours... at night. I about pooped myself, I was so nervous.

Saturday there was a baptism of one of the Schiedam Elders investigators. It was a wonderful service, and I think he´s on his way to becoming a strong member of the ward. After that was over, Elder Muller and I went to a dinner appointment with some other Elders in our district. Our sleep deprivation got the better of us.... and we were nuts. Like, crazy go nuts. Luckily the lady was very fun and a great friend of the missionaries, so she loved it! Yeah, I need some rest. Especially since this coming Sunday we start touring the mission again.

A little bit about being a full missionary. Elder Muller and I actually put a list together of what we believe it means to be a full missionary. I´d send it, but I don´t have much time. I´ll try and get it to you next week. We feel like it is the way to be a perfect missionary, and a big part of that is actually acknowledging that you are far from perfect, but working constantly to improve. It´s a good list.

 

Well, I have pictures.

 

Look out, Oprah.

Sunday dinner and serenade.

One last cool little thing. It´s a little tradition in the mission for one artistic member of a district to every now and then draw a picture of his district as characters. It isn´t completely done yet, but I decided to draw everyone as a 1st generation Pokemon. So, here you are, pokegeeks.

 

 

Well, that´s it for this one.

The road goes on forever, and the party never ends.

Elder Shaw

Shake your sprinkles like you just don´t care!

I don´t know how to start with an email this week, so I went with the twelve year old boy strategy of saying that I don´t know how to start in order to start. Confused? Good, let´s move forward.

I can say that I´m really sick of this church building. Why? Because, I´m sick of this church building. We´ve been in here practicing so much in order to get ready for the performance on Friday. We´re all very stressed out, practices are.... sometimes a bit tense. However we´re trying our best to stay positive despite how difficult it is. This schedule wreaks utter havoc on the numbers we give at the end of the week. And you know, numbers are everything. (HAH! I kill me)

Despite the intense amount of practice, will still managed to get out and do some cool stuff this week. We taught an awesome lesson to a less active member named Ivan. We are planning on going back to teach his non-member wife. We really hope that works out. During our lesson we learned a really cool lesson about being full missionaries and what that is versus so-called "exact obedience". Elder Muller described it really well, so check his blog for it. It gets more traffic than mine, anyway! (Once again! Numbers, baby!)

We taught a few investigators, no crazy big breakthroughs or anything. Just good spiritual lessons. We did have an interesting experience on Sunday, though. A man showed up to church and began talking with our Bishop´s wife. She called me over and had me talk to him. He was apparently writing a book and he wanted to see our views as a church on some subjects. He came for Gospel Principles and Sacrament Meeting. We turned Gospel Principles into a big Q&A session for him. It turns out he´s from a religion called Baha´i, which is quite interesting. It was cool to learn about something I´d never heard of before, and also to be able to testify of the truth in all faiths and that of my own. He enjoyed Sacrament Meeting and was just a genuinely pleasant fellow. He wasn´t interested in making an appointment with us to learn anything. He said he had enough for his book apparently he just wanted a little half page blurb or so. But hey, any publicity is good publicity, right? Except anti-material. That´s a pain in the booty and has led to the loss of many an investigator! That was really an old English form. You know you´re a missionary when.....

 

Oh, we went to the beach last P-day for Elder Muller´s birthday! It was super fun, and I have some pictures from it.

 

We dug up a treasure trove of beach toys. No joke. They were all just buried here.

Look at that beautiful birthday boy!

Elder Muller wanted selfies. I wanted..... to be a pain? (With Elders Andrew and Drinkwater)​

Typical.

 

 

Anyway. Good week and all that junk!

Loves,

Elder Shaw

Gefeliciteerd, Elder Muller!

Oh yeah, it´s Elder Muller´s birthday today! We´re going to try and make it good day. We baked a cake last night and we´re going to the beach with a few other missionaries today. We can´t get in the water, but we´ll find something to do I´m sure!

We had some good days this week. Lots of contacting, even more practicing, a few good teaching appointments. I also went on an exchange with a greenie named Elder Drinkwater, and yes, he´s heard every pun about his name ever. If he hadn´t heard it before, he did on Tuesday with me. Hahaha, poor guy. But we had a good day of contacting really angry people. REALLY angry people. The city we were working in is really small, so at least half of the people there knew the missionaries already. It was a little difficult. I´ve noticed something odd-- If someone recognizes us on the street, it is almost always negative. People get their panties in bunch when they see us walk by and make some snide remark about who knows what. Dumb. They don´t even know what they´re talking about. A guy in the city saw us the other day, then quickly proceeded to pull his hat down over his eyes and make a bunch of odd hand signs at us, including crossing himself at least three hundred times. I don´t understand people.

We also has a wonderful lesson with that member referral! She had a lot of questions, and has already read half of The Book of Mormon. Without any help from us, she feels like she has received a witness through the Spirit that it´s true. So, we just need to get in there and help her stop smoking. Other than that, she´s pretty dang ready!

I would say that one thing I´ve learned thus far in my mission is about picking your battles. There are a lot of things that we can fix and work on, but there are so many things that are completely out of our control, or they are in our control and they just don´t matter. We have to learn when we´ve done all we can and just need to hope and trust God. So work hard, trust the Lord, and say thanks after things have happened. Whether they worked out how you wanted them to or not.

 

Look! A kitty! After this picture, this cat followed us down this entire street! It tried to get in a few doors as well. I call him Elder Whiskers.

I made us delicious burgers (Homemade) and nectarine milkshakes. Sounds like an odd flavor for a milkshake, but it was delicious!

 

 

Well, that´s about of it for this week. 

Keep it swill everybody.

Elder Shaw

Ik ga even op het dak plassen

By the way, I´m giving no context for that. It´s way funnier without it.

Well, this week has been interesting. I should explain something about Dutch culture. Once summer rolls around, everything changes for vacation. Public transportation schedules are different, and half of the country is gone.... for the entire summer. During this time.... missionary work slows down to octogenarian speeds. It´s awful. Investigators leave on vacation and come back no longer interested. People you contact almost never live in your city, So they just wave you off. You know, how could a church possibly be in more than one city? (I actually know why they think like this; it doesn´t make it any less annoying.) Because of this, Elder Muller and I have made it a goal to rewrite contacting. There are a lot of methods used by missionaries here, but we feel like there are more effective ways we can do it. Especially since we have less time to contact now, we need to find ways to make it as effective as possible.

Anyway! My week has been interesting. A lot of appointments were cancelled.... or people just flaked out. It makes it difficult to feel positive about your day when you can´t teach. Annoying. However, WE GOT A MEMBER REFERRAL! It´s a special privilege to be trusted with something like that, and it doesn´t happen much here in The Netherlands. But we´re excited to have the opportunity.

Oh, we taught a lesson at the beginning of the week with a guy that thought he knew a lot more about our religion than us. I can sum it up--he thinks that our church was ACTUALLY started by The Knights Templar. Oh, and he kept trying to relate to us by referring to us collectively as "Judo-Mormonistic peoples". Yeah, he really did not understand what we said and actually had no desire to. He still wants to meet with us though.... So I am SUPER confused.

We also taught some Jamaicans. They were super cool. They didn´t show up to church on Sunday, but I´m sure they have a reason. At least I hope they do. I would hate to find out that they were just being lazy. Because that´s what I´ve run into daily on my mission.... I wish there was an effective way to type a sigh.... Maybe.... HEEEeeehhhhhh. It´ll do.

OH! Also helmets! I´ve been made fun of a lot. People will point and laugh at us. I´ve been told that I should be on a scooter if I´m going to wear a helmet. We get honked at regularly. The members are worried about us. When we told them that we have to wear helmets they were amazed. That´s how odd it is in this country. I was speaking with Sister Bunnell a few days ago about it. We talked about how you don´t look as weird if you´re on a racing bike and wearing spandex. That´s right. This is probably the only circumstance where wearing spandex would make us look less weird. So I´m looking into spandex suits. I don´t think they exist.

Anyway, that about wraps it up. I have pictures, but they aren´t interesting enough to merit putting up. It´s been too cold and rainy for nice pictures.

 

Have a good week! I love you all!

Elder Shaw

Dawn Of The Dweebs

There is a ripple running through the mission: women crying, much pain, death counts are in the hundreds. That´s right.... Helmets are now required! It has caused a lot of murmuring in this mission and no one is excited. We´re hanging in there, though. I need to go buy one today.... Yay.

It was just a really odd week in general. We didn´t have a ton of time to teach and find, because we had to do a ton of crap. We were practicing and had to clean out the old Rotterdam apartment. That took so much longer than it should have. It´s amazing how gross some missionary apartments can get. I was frustrated, but this week should go better. Most of our investigators are on vacation. Really frustrating. But we´re hanging in there.

 

​

Oh, by the way-- I´m teaching Julia (we´re still not sure how she spells her name) again! She disappeared while I was here, but she started coming to church again and wanted to meet with us! I´m so excited to be able to teach her again! It´s been a cool experience to come back. A lot of people were happy to see me, other people were like "Who is this queer?" Ha!

It´s so odd being in this city again, really. It´s feels so familiar yet foreign at the same time. I think I need more time here before I´m used to it. Luckily I have my nerd to help me through it!

Well, I do have a few pictures!

 

First off, CATS! FINALLY!

Oh, the Rotterdam metro. How I haven´t missed it at all. These things are such a pain. You spend so much time on them!

Artsy picture of companion. So necessary!

 

 

 

 

 

I love all of you! 

Elder Shaw

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pak zijn been, man.

This has been one of those odd weeks of my mission. We had to do so much!

Let´s see, where it really began was Wednesday with transfers. I had to move all of my stuff to an apartment that is in one of the least convenient locations of all time. We arrived in Rotterdam carrying my bags and then realized that we didn´t have the apartment keys.  So, we carried the bags all the way to the other apartment where we could get the keys, then hopped on the metro and went to our apartment. Luckily they were the right keys (we weren´t sure). Oh, then we had to go back to get more bags and stuff so that the apartment was inhabitable.

Oh, so my new companion is Elder Muller, he´s very tall, a big nerd, and lots of fun! Oh, to make it more interesting, he´s from Melbourne, Fl. And yes, he is in Grandma and Grandpa´s stake! He was super surprised when I told him I knew the area, and that I had been there on MANY occasions. We´ve had great fun talking about places to eat and fun stuff to do. 

Well, the rest of the week was spent up North. We traveled, had some appointments with members, then got ready for the performance. Saturday, I was still learning music.... for the performance that evening. In fact, the actual performance was my first time running the entire thing at once. I was scared initially, but while doing it.... I was okay! It went pretty well. Then we had to drive home afterwards. Yeah..... We didn´t get home until REALLY late. REALLY late. 

Anyway... things should be simmering down a little for the next few weeks. I´m looking forward to a little break.

Sorry I don´t have any pictures. I think my battery messed up on my camera. I'll fix it and then send you some pictures next week!

Da´s how it lookz? Da´s how it iz!

Elder Shaw

Amigos, ik heb zo veel gegeten. (Elder Conatti says this all the time)

Well, we just got some interesting news. The plan had been that I would be staying in Leiden, receiving the new Elder for the singing group, and then life would just go on from there while we took a transfer off for him to learn the music. But, while rehearsing last night at a member's home... we got transfer calls. Leiden is being closed. I'll still be with the new member of the singing group, Elder Mueller. However, I will be going to an area called Capella a/d IJssel. Since you probably don't know.... that area is literally right next to Rotterdam North. In the same ward actually. Oh, and Rotterdam North is closed... which means that's our area, too. So yes... I'm going back to my first city. Just as a singing elder.

This would be a much easier transition if we weren't performing this week. I'll be doing the production for the first time on Saturday! AGH! Also, we'll be working in another city Thursday and Friday. So... we have today and tomorrow to get our apartment all ready for being closed and for practicing. Wednesday I have to move all of my stuff down to Rotterdam. And then, yeah.

Basically, if I make it through this week then I'm a superhero. Seriously, someone that isn't a superhero couldn't do it. I'm fully expecting to just pass out at some point.

Anyways, working in Assen went well. We had less appointments there than we have had in almost all the other cities, but it was fun. We actually ended up having a little 4th of July grill with a family the Sisters in Assen are working with. It was a fun night. The meat destroyed us all and we had some tummy trouble, but it tasted really good, so it was worth it. Other than that, just singing and working with people.

Well, I have some pictures!

One of the windows in our car busted, so we got creative!

WAFFLES, HO!

The Band's all here.... and melting.

Whipped cream, gotta love it.

America Day!

Conatti and the Monkey.

Well, that's it. I'll update you from Rotterdam next week!

Loves,

Elder Shaw