Gosh! What are you doing in Inkom....

Oh freak!  Sounds like you had a great 4th of July....
that is insane! I'm impressed...(also Elder Nielsen seconds
my title) So I'm not sure if you got my email last week..
I kinda think you didn't... maybe you did... so I just checked
it seems as if you did get it... That's good.. I thought it
cut off before I sent it...
So my 4th of July... Well we got to meet President Brubaker
and his wife on the 4th.. It was kinda like a mini Zone
Conference.. but he just introduced himself talked a little
about the vision that the Lord has given him and then ya
they told us how they met etc.. Sister Brubaker talked as
well and she is an awesome lady.. She wears the pants.. haha
Elder Nielsen and I were joking around saying that she was
the Iron Fist .. haha, but it is going to be awesome they are
great.. there is definately a different feel there with them but
they have a lot of love and you can feel it..  so the first
of the day was spent getting to know the new Pres. and him
getting to know us; then we ate some lunch.. and some
watermelon.. YAY for the 4th! and then after that.. we had a
couple of rendez vous and then we ate at a member's
house and went and taught a crazy African Jehovah's Witness.
It was intense... but we owned her by only bearing testimony
and using her logic and her answers to tell her how she could
know that the Book of Mormon was the word of God also... haha
so that was that...
Yesterday was a really good day at church.. we had a guy
named David from Nigeria there at church.. he is a Pastor
missionary for his church.. and it is a great church.. he is
such a humble man.. he loves Jesus Christ and is ready and
willing to do whatever to get closer to Him... so.. he got
someone to cover for him on Sunday and he came to church..
and he loved it.. he loved that we were all volunteers and
that not one person was payed.. he found that amazing, that
we were all doing for God... also he told us last week that
the first time that we shared with him the Book of Mormon he
was a little hesitant and so after we left he decided to ask
God if it went against the Bible and he got an answer that it
worked with it, alongside it... it was really cool that he just
asked God like that and got an answer.. we just hope he is ready
to leave his church and his job... but we will see.. I think he
will because he feels the Spirit and wants to do what God wants...
Well, sorry that you didn't have a very fun 4th of July!
Memorable for sure... maybe just in the wrong way...
Things are going well with me.. the Lord is humbling me and
teaching me a lot.. luckily I have a companion that is patient
with me... I have definately been going through a learning
proccess here in Brussels...
Claire had the operation and everything went well.. she entered
in the hospital on Thursday and got home yesterday.. we stopped
by to see her and she was really good.. she had taken her Book of
Mormon to the hospital and was reading it and a lady came up and
started talking to her about it and the lady was actually a daughter
of a lady that used to be Mormon.. and then she left the church and
joined another church etc...the girl was telling Claire that the Mormons
were a cult because they had helped her mom and her with money
and clothes and support, but as soon as she left the church they
stopped helping her and stopped talking to her... gosh.. but Claire
is blunt so she told the girl what she knew and thought and that it isn't
a cult and the girl tried to get her to come to her church, so Claire
took the invitation and then threw it in the garbage after she left...
hahaha .. am I sick because I think that is funny...
So a quick funny story that will make you smile.. So we are all aware
of the death of Micheal Jackson... sigh... sad... Right???? Well there
is this pretty cool member that works with us a lot.. his name is Denis
and he was a convert at 20 or something and he went on a Mission
to France and now he is like 30 and is working and ya he is cool and
a stud.. but lately his work and stress has been getting to him and he
has litterally gone a little weird and crazy... ( that isn't the funny part I
swear I'm not that heartless..) Well when Michael Jackson died... we
were at Claire's baptism, and he showed up and was just sad looking
and deprressed and wouldn't really talk to anyone..; and I went and
started talking to him and asked him about his day and he just started
in on how sad it was that Mikey had died... I was thinking,  "Oh freak,
you are kidding right?"  he said his day was terrible because of that...
well.. this Sunday he gets up.. and bears his testimony and starts
talking about how he lost a close friend and how it has really been
hard for him and that he was really troubled and had gone and
talked to President Woodland about it.. and that Pres. had helped
him and assurred him.. it would be fine... well Elder Nielsen and I had
an arguement whether he was talking about Michael Jackson or not..
well it was confirmed.. last night.. IT WAS ABOUT MIKEY (our black
man wanna be white woman)... so.... ya.. awkward.. haha
love you..
Elder Simonson

Baptism!

Yahoo... so everything went well with the baptism this week... Claire Adjalla is now a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!! She is soo good.. I have pictures.. you will see them sometime soon.... 
The week went all right.  We had transfers and stuff on Wed..I saw Elder Kam off and Elder Wallace moved out of the apartment and so Elder Nielsen and I are FREE, FREE, FREE and all calm and quiet in the apartment... It is really nice to be alone in an apartment... It is the first time on my mission that I have been alone with just my companion... With transfers and making sure everything was in order for Claire's baptism... the week was a little wierd, kinda hectic, but not too stressful...We have been going up to Strombeek Chapel because our building is having some remodeling done... so we still had the baptism in our building with all the construction rubble.. which was interesting.... but Claire didn't mind.. but we had church up there... 
Well I'm kinda not knowing what else to say.... Oh.. Elder Nielsen baptised Claire becuase she said either one of us could baptize her.. and of course niether of us wanted to take the chance away from the other.. so she decided to write down our names and then pull a name from a hat.... and short story short..it was his name.. 
Claire bore her testimony after the baptism.. it was so funny... she got up all nervous and then just told how when she was meeting with us we kept asking her to be baptized and all that and she just kept telling us, "Oh no, I was already baptized." etc... and then after having asked her a bunch of times and continuing to come over and teach her.. she said everyone around her started telling her to be careful and to not get too involved with us because we were a cult... and everyone kept telling her and finally she decided to see truly for herself by coming to church, by reading in the Book of Mormon... and she found out... that we weren't.. hmmmmm that's wierd..? stupid people...but she loved church and saw that we were normal.. and she had told us before that she knew what we were teaching her was true... but... ya... she is an awesome lady.  She has really been overcoming a lot and sacrificing a lot for the Lord and to become a member..... We helped her do her shopping the day of her baptism.. because with her pre-cancer stuff she is really weak and has a lot of chest pains and abdomen pains so she can't really carry too much.. Well, while we were helping her with groceries she told us that she needed to tell us something that happened.. she starts by saying, "So the other morning I was at the gare and really wanted a cup of coffee.." and I was like, "Oh CLAIRE!" and she said, "Wait, wait listen... let me finish.." so she wanted coffee really bad so she went to the vending machine... thought for a second and then decided not to .. then she went back again, thought and decided not to.. then she went back a third time and decided to get some and right as her cup was all full and she took it, she turned around about ready to drink it and saw a big group of missionaries... she hurried and turned around and ran the other way avoiding us and threw her coffee away... She said she was laughing her whole train ride.. she couldn't believe that... it was funny. I told her that God likes to play jokes on us too.. because Claire is so funny!  We went and ate at her house this Saturday... it was good... 
Well I'm thankful for all the news... that's crazy that Terryn is engaged... didn't see that one coming... NOT... haha...BYU-I DO!.. haha, but seriously... I love you all .. even if you don't write me.... haha, I will talk to you all later!!! 
Love, 
Elder Simonson

Still in Brussels!

YO... well I don't have a super lot of time today because we are doing emails late today and so I gotta go soon but.. I just wanted to write you a quick note and let you know that I am doing well.. This last week was a really great week.. It has been bitter-sweet. It started with the interview with President which I told you about.. then we had our last Zone Conference with President.. It was sooooo good because all the French missionaries were there.. I got to see everyone.. Zone Conference was really powerful and it was very sad as well because Pres. Woodland is such a great man.. seriously, you don't understand... You need to find out when his homecoming is and go and listen and then you will get a little taste of what I had as a Mission President...
Also we had some trainings that we did and I had a crazy experience with Elder Carpenter.. we taught each other for a little practice in listening to the Spirit and adapting teaching to the needs of the person.. well he shared a scripture with me and we had a really long talk and I will say that it probably changed my mission and my life for the better. I was able to understand the work of God a little better.. I bet I sound pretty stupid, but it was seriously something huge for me... haha, laugh it up.
Anyway? Things are good.. Transfer news came in today... and I have never been so excited for a transfer in my mission... I'm staying here in Brussels but the two Elders that were in our apartment are both leaving.  One is going home..Elder Kam from Rexburg.. who's homecoming you should also go to... and the other was Elder Wallace.. so we get the apartment to ourselves... which will be such a stress reliever for me.. we will be way more focused and the work will go a lot better.. and it will be the first time I have ever been only 2 in the apartment.. and Elder Nielsen is probably one of my favorite companions... SO..
Also Claire is doing so good... She is all ready for her baptism and she has passed her interview so she will be baptized this Friday...!!!!! So continue to pray for her and for us.. because opposition is a witch... haha .. but seriously.. We had a baptism in our Ward this last week.. and it was kind of a mess; it was put together last minute by the Sisters... and sooo, long story short.. our chapel has renovating going on and the water for the baptismal font was freezing and we had a hot tiny Relief Society room with no mic, so no one could hear and no one could sit.. etc... but it was still a great baptism and she was baptized!!!  Well I have to go .. I hope you got my letter and Card; also I wanted to make sure that you had the pictures with Dinant and Christmas and the pictures of Esther and Dylan's and Daniel's baptism.  I think you do but not sure.. thanks, love you bye..
Elder Simonson

Check it...

Well fam and friends... what's going down?  Well Elder Nielsen and I had a great week..... I remember in the beginning of my mission I was always soooo amazed by the hand the Lord has in the work or really just how much He is in control and well ... needless to say I have gotten a little used to it but... I am still amazed... 
The other day we had two rdvS that we needed guys to come with us.. to see Claire and to see Jackie... well, because Elder Nielsen and I weren't on top of things like we should have been.. we didn't get a member in advance... so the day before we were calling everyone and everyone was going to the temple trip the next day.. soooo... Well that night, a member named Denis Mabika called us and was stressing big time because of work and moving and just everything that had fallen on top of him at once.. so we went over and helped him move and and clean up.  We gave him a blessing and it was great.. and he was all excited to go to the temple the next day to recieve some guidance; soooooo the next day rolls around.. we had still not found anyone.. and we were just hoping and praying for a miracle and solution.. we had figured that we would just have to cancel and go another day.. Well early in the morning, Denis calls us to ask where the bus was meeting for the temple trip and at what time etc... he had missed the bus and didn't get to go the temple... But.... later in the day we called him to see if he would go with us.. and he was all over it.. he's like, "Yes I NEED to work with you guys"... so he came out with us.. he was late to the first one and Jackie had to leave, so we weren't able to see her, but we stopped by Clotilde to see how she was doing .. and we ended up teaching her.  Then Denis just went finding and contacting with us and we talked to a really cool guy and then the next person we talked to used to be Denis' old neighbor... so we taught him and then we went and taught Claire .. and everything just worked out perfectly.. it was crazy.. Denis is so full of faith and he really understands that if you put the Lord and His work first everything else kinda just falls in place... It was cool. 
Claire is doing great! She has been taught everything and she has been living the law of chastity and the Word of Wisdom.. etc... so she is good to go for the 26th.. Also this week I got to do a baptismal interview for one of the assistants' investigators.. it was such a good spiritual experience.. it was like giving a blessing.. it was crazy.. and she is a really cool girl.. she is Ghanian and she is only 17 and her whole family is against her, but she got baptized and got over all the oppostion to be baptized.. ALSO... a really sweet side note... Do you remember when I was with Elder Musters and I taught Iness and Javier?  Maybe not, well they are a mother/son family that I taught with Elder Musters.. she is from Columbia and she was so good. She came to church all the time when I was there in Strombeek.. well she also got baptized this weekend... It was soooooo good to see them finally accept baptism.. she is sooo good! I will have to send you pictures.. 
Another awesome, but sad thing is that I just had my last interview with President Woodland today.. It was pretty intense.. he pretty much prophesied and recited my Patriarchal blessing ... not joking either... he told me all the things I need to do etc.. and said a few sentances directly from my blessing and I just had this astounded face on and laughed.  He smiled and said, "Have you heard these things before?" and I said, "ya..." and he said, "From your Patriarchal blessing?" and I said ya.. and he said, "Well, now you have two witnesses that this is what Heavenly Father wants you to do..and needs you to do." It was crazy.. 
Well, sorry to bore you with all of this.. I can't believe you guys are just boafing it up in Florida and in Palmyra with Grandma and Grandpa.. it sounds like fun... as for Belgium we have had rain, rain, rain and one day was really sunny and nice and hot.. but not the rest... We have this week with Zone Conference and then the week after that is transfers and then the new President comes in.. it should be great... By the way... there is this kid in my District who looks, acts, and is pretty much Jake!  He is from Hillsboro, Oregon and is El Salvadorian of origine .. but I swear it is like hangin out with Jake Larsen!  I will have to send pictures as well.. maybe I will send my card with the Brugge photos.. etc... Well I love you lots.. also .. Fatiha has just kinda been on the back burner.. there was some stuff with her family going on.. but I believe she should begin meeting with Elder Schmutz soon.. like tomorrow or something like that.. Well, I love you all and will talk to you later... 
Elder Von Simonson 

P-Day in Brugge

Hey Famille...comment allez vous? 
Well I'm doing great... today a few of us that are in Brussels went to a sweet tourist town named Brugge.. it's in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium... it was really cool... We had a lot of stuff to look at and to do... it is a town with canals and houses just built in the canal .. you know like in Italy... so that was pretty cool, but it took up a lot of time so I don't have much time to do anything else....

Brugge, Belgium
The weather has been really nice for the last 2 months or soo.. it is usually pretty perfect .. not too cold, not too hot... it rains every now and then and it hasn't been too hot either... maybe once... but nothing big...
The missionary work is going really. really well.. the time with Elder Nielsen is great... everything is just a little more calm and under control and I don't feel so stressed all the time... we have been seeing a lot of blessings here in the Bruxelles Zone and everyone is starting to catch fire... The Zone was way down in attitude and faith and just kinda everything.... a few weeks ago we only had 2 people in the whole Zone who were preparing for baptism... this week we have bumped up to 18.. and a lot more are still really close... and all the people with a baptismal date are really solid and will be strong converts ... most of them have been to church over 4 times... Things are going well.. and the blessings are greatfully accepted....
As for things with our companionship... we had a great week.  We found an awesome new lady named Jacquelin.  She is from Uganda and speaks English and has a little daughter that is three and is named Bianca... Jackie is really cool, she has been searching for an English church because she doesn't speak French and she hates all the churches she has gone to... She was Catholic.. but some weird things happened and she didn't like the church... the whole 'Do what I say, not what I do' thing... and so she changed to some little break off the Catholic church and then she left that and went to a Pentacostal church and then moved here.  She said all the churches back in Uganda that she went to... all of it's Pastors have been getting charged with molestation and all sorts of junk like that.. sooo she says that she is just looking for the truth... and wanting to know who she can trust... SO she is great and she has already said she will be coming to church this next Sunday....Also we taught Enrique, our Mexican bro. and he had read up to 1 Nephi 10 and he was loving it.. but he left on vacation this weekend so we won't get to see him for a couple of weeks... but.. things are great... 
This week was Stake Conference and so I got to see a bunch of people from Charleroi which was sooo good!  A lot of them remembered me and were really nice to me.. that made me feel good.... also I talked to Bishop Hoffmann from Charleroi and he told me that Daniel is doing really good... Unfortunatly Esther and Dylan haven't been coming to church.. soo.. that's sad.  Claire, on the other hand, is doing well... she came to Stake Conference and she loved it... we have pretty much taught her everything... now she just needs to live it and keep coming to church until her baptism and all will be well.... also.. I don't know if you remember, but when I was with Elder Musters we taught a mom and her son all the time.. her name is Iness and her son's is Javier... well they are getting baptized this next weekend.. and I will be there... That is really exciting... they are great.. she has been going to church like ever since I was there...she is way solid and so excited for her baptism... 
Well, can't think of too much else... thanks Trish for the letter... It made me trunky to come back to your house... haha ... but It sounds like you are going to have a lot of fun in Florida and back east... 
Love you lots.. peace... bisous!!!!!
Elder Von Simonson

Sweet Jesabelle

Well... the weeks continue to fly.. I'm pretty much used to life here in Belgium.. and I love it.. It keeps things interesting.. and I am never surprised at the blessings and the miracles that the Lord puts in our path... 
This week we had a lot of work to do.. sorting out the investigators who are ready to act and dropping those that are doing nothing, wasting our time and the Lord's.. and it was great! The Lord put some great new people in our teaching pool. Also we dropped those that weren't doing much.... 
The first great little news is that we set a baptismal date with Claire this week.. I think I told you about how she got mad at us because she wanted to be baptized... Well we went and she understood that baptism is a promise between her and the Lord and that we are just here to help her understand the promise she is making and as soon as she knew that.. it was between her and the Lord.. (and she knows that), she was like, "That's between me and God no one can stop me from being baptized...that would be judging me"... so anyway we are working toward the 26th and I think she can make it... We also taught her about the Word of Wisdom and at first she was just kinda against it.. but then Elder Nielsen and I threw it down on her and bore our testimonies and also a member named Serge bore his... and she was just like... "Well ..ok alcohol, easy, I don't even drink it very often.. and coffee... well.. that's just what's easiest in the morning... but I do like hot chocolate better".. and she was committed.. she's so freaking funny... she feels the spirit and tells us all what we teach is true.. sometimes she likes to be a little stubborn at first and then if we are bold and blunt with her like she is with us.. she will do it... I love Claire Adjalla, my sista from Senegal... 
WORK DAY WITH ASSISTANT REYNOLDS... .. so this week I got to work with Elder Reynolds.. just like the good old days... minus the whole Charleroi thing... but.. it was so good.  I love Elder Reynolds, he is a good man.. he has grown alot since the last time we worked together.. that gave me a big boost... 
MEXICANS..... so this last week we went and taught some Mexican brothers... they are both really sweet... we contacted the one brother while waiting for a Metro a couple of weeks ago.. and he went home and told his brother all about us.. then Elder Reynolds and I went and taught him and he is sooo cool.. he loved the message of the Restoration and at the end of the rendez vous he says... "So you guys will come back and explain to us more about all of this.. because this is really good."  Well we had set up a rdv. but he called and cancelled. He had something come up, but he had read the intro to the Book of Mormon all the testimonies and started the Book of Mormon.. and he rescheduled with us when his wife, daughter, and brother would be there.. sooo we are excited about that... 
NIGERIANS... "I got te telya iwanta batize ya!"... freaking Nigerians and there broken english.. we learned some phrases in BROKEN... it's a language...I promise... anyway last night we taught some stinkin awesome brothas from Nigeria.. they are both some sort of Pastor/Missionary here for 2 years to help some churches out.. Well they are elect brothers... their names are Victor and David and they both said if they recieved an answer from God, they would join the church... they are way humble, completely understand the Restoration and the Book of Mormon, and they accept it.. usually with black pastors.. they don't understand anything... They are so closed minded and prideful that you can't even show them the Book of Mormon... 
Well, it sounds like everyone is good.  Thanks Heather for the letter and the little blog excerpt. It was sooo good to hear from you... hope everyone is doing well... 
Gotta run... 
ELder Von

Busy week...

Well another week has gone by too fast... this week we had a big Zone Leader Council on Tuesday night and a Leadership Council on Wednesday.. sooo since Elder Nielsen and I are the Zone Leaders here in Brussels and this is where they were, we were in charge of them.. so Tuesday we had to buy all the food for Leadership Council and get everything ready for that.. that took most of our day up until Zone Leader Council...ZLC 
ZLC was really, really great... President talked about how we are going to be getting ready for the new President and how the Mission will be resting on us for the next 12 weeks.. That was encouraging!  But the meeting was way good.. I am sad to be having Pres. Woodland leaving. He taught us also how to be a leader and what we are going to need to do when we become a High Priest.. it was pretty interesting.. haha.. but it was powerful.. 
The Leadership Council was really good.. we were able to get all of the District Leaders on the same page and get them excited for this transfer and the next... 
The only thing is that our area kind of lacked the attention it needed because we were focused on the meetings and other stuff.. but the week went well. Elder Nielsen is a stud and I'm learning a lot... As for some of the people we are teaching.. Clotilde is hard to see because she is going to school so much and she just can't find the time to see us or to come to church... sooooooooo funny thing is that this week we just had enough of her making excuses and stuff so we just dropped by her house and she was there.. She was excited to see us, but the first thing that she said was.. "Ya know, I'm kinda mad that my baptism keeps getting moved back and back"... shes like "Why do I have to go to church 3 times in this Ward?  I have already been to church a lot of times... I know it's true.. I just need to be baptized!"  Then she told us about when she was in Ireland she introduced her friend to the church and her friend got baptized in like two weeks and only went to church once.. she's like.. "I just want to be baptized!"  And we were like "Well, you just gotta come to church"... Etc. so that was a little hard... we want her to be baptized but we can't just baptize her like that.. but this week we are going over and are going to lay down the law... 

Claire is doing really good... she also told us that she was mad at us because we told her that she couldn't be baptized because she has a boyfriend... and we told her, "Claire, you just have to live the law of chastity".. and she's like... "DO YOU THINK ALL THE MEMBERS in your church live that commandmant?"  And we said, "Well, probably not.. but that's between them and God"... Then she said, "Well it is the same for me.. I'm going to try and live it... but that is between me and God"... I wish you knew Claire.. she is sooo funny and blunt and just sassy.. that's kind of a gay word but I can't think of any better word.. she is doing great.. she said she wants to be baptized in June.. but.. we will see.. She really humbled us.. because obviously it is her decision and just as long as she understands what she is promising God and isn't living with her boyfriend.. she can be baptized.. sooo... ya she is coming to Family Home Evening tonight.. she is my favorite.. 

Anyway.. we did a little service on Saturday.. we pulled out a stump for a member family.. Elder Nielsen and I had that stump out in an hour and they had been working on it for like over a year.. YA.. THAT'S RIGHT... WE PRETTY MUCH ROCK... it was good to do some Physical work.. I miss it. And plus I got a little sun.. it has been really nice here the last week or soo.. pretty hot.. like 32 degrees C or something like that.. 
Well that was pretty much my week.. found a lot of great people.. taught 2 huge Romanian families yesterday.. they are really good.. we have been working hard but just haven't quite seen much come out of it... so it makes me question a lot of things.. like what am I doing wrong.. stuff like that.. It has just been a different experience here in Brussels.. It seems like the Devil has just been working a lot harder on the Mission lately.. President was talking about how the last two months were some of the greatest times in the Mission history.. and now the devil has been using criticism and negativity and stuff like that to fight against the work.. but things are going better.. we are getting out of that.. but it was very apperant... 
Well I gotta go.. I love you all.. I didn't get any letters from anyone yet but we will have to wait and see.. I got your two emails mom.. 
Thanks!  Love,
Elder Von Simonson