Ha Ha Gotcha...ya!

Well.. today is Wednesday... and we have P-day... We had to change our p-day this week because we had interviews and training for the other district on Monday and a bunch of other stuff... so that is why I wasn't able to write... but... here it is now...
Well from the sounds of your letter, sounds like you are just chillin' having fun.... just vacationing it up and playin' around.... man it is really too bad that you didn't get to go down to Logan... I guess Elder Nielsens parents went and said it was awesome and all the missionaries that I served around were there... tant pis... sorry...too bad.. haha 
Well this week was pretty awesome...I really don't remember anything that I told you last week.. and I don't know ... because we didn't have p-day on Monday, it threw me off.. I don't remember what was this last week and what was the week before that... 
This week we had a baptism in the Ward... His name is Ayi Satchivi.. he is 28 and is from Togo ...he is the most humble guy and has a huge testimony already of the gospel... Elder Cabrera and Elder Wallace are the missionaries that taught him... His baptism was really spiritual.. and plus...Elder Cabrera asked Claire to give the talk on the Holy Ghost.. We went over to her house before the baptism just to see if she needed any help with it and she had it all prepared and gave us the talk right there... It was a pretty special experience just to hear here bear testimony and to see how much she really understood the Holy Ghost and the gospel... After her talk the Bishop got up and said .. I am very astonished by our Sister Claire who was baptized a couple of weeks ago and to see how fast she is progressing.. It was good... Her talk made her sound like she had been a member for a long time.... also she asked us about a calling in the Ward and what she needs to do .. she asked if she needed to see the Bishop about it or if she needed to wait for him to come to her.. we told her go to him, it's better.. so she did and now the Bishop is working on getting her a calling.. 
I do believe that I told you about Antonio... and well.. he is doing really awesome.... We saw him this week just right before the baptism.. and it was our fisrt time teaching him... and so we were just hoping to get to know him and see what he was feeling about when he is going to be ready for baptism... so we said the opening prayer and asked him if he had any questions... and he just opened up and told us about his interview with Pres. Brubaker and how he had felt scared by the law of tithing.. and the ''obligation'' of it.. but he helped him understand.. and he was reassurred... so .. then on Monday we taught him with the High Priest Group Leader and it was soo good.  We talked about a testimony and what he needs to have before his baptism.. because we think he feels like he needs this big vision or answer so he is still waiting for that... and it isn't coming because he has already felt the spirit at church and in reading the Book of Mormon and everything.  He says he feels really good about it and about everything but he is just waiting for his answer... but we are really wroking with him and PRAYING hard so that he will get his confirmation and be baptized because he is really ready.. he should already be baptized he is so good... 
Ummm what else... oh.. we got some news this last week that Elder Russel M. Nelson will be coming next month and we will be having a Mission Conference in the Netherlands and afterwards all the French missionaries get to go to the temple...SOOOO THAT ROCKS... Thank you Heavenly Father... so now I will get to go to the temple 3 times on my Mission instead of only twice... and plus right after hearing from an Apostle...
President and Sister Brubaker are great.. we have had some more time to be around them a little these last few weeks.. and they have so much love.. Sister Brubaker was at the interviews on Monday making crepes for all the missionaries.. haha .. 
Things are going very well .. I am enjoying serving with Elder Nielsen .. he is a stud and so Christlike.. and we have a lot of joy together....
Speaking of joy we have started teaching this new man named Jaques.. he is from CAMEROON.. yes that is right.. the blessed country of God where the elect people are born.. haha I'm a little partial to cameroon.. 
Well he is great.. he is a Urologist.. I don't know how to spell that.. and he reads the Bible everyday and takes notes and loves God... AND PLUS he is super humble and excited to learn.. he brought me so much happiness yesterday... so hopefully things go well with him... other than that .. I don't have much else... I haven't gotten your package yet, but I think that is because you haven't sent it.. maybe... as for transfers, we still have a couple of weeks.. and it is possible that I will leave... 
Love you All! 
Elder Von Simonson

BLESSING WEEK

SOOO.... hopefully you aren't sick of hearing about wonderful things that are going on.. but this week was such a wonderful turning point in my mission.. I think I might have written you about how the last little bit I have just felt like I could do so much better and that I had just felt a lack of faith and enthusiasm.. Well this week was finally a little break through.. WE HAD TONS of miracles... 
First of all we went back and talked to David before he left for vacation to Italy.. and he had read in the Book of Mormon and had liked it.. and he had a few questions about church... but he said he loved the church... We had a really bold lesson with him and talked to him about the importance of finding out whether the Book of Mormon is true..
He asked a few questions about 3 Nephi 11 and we got talking about authority and why that was important.. and then we were straight up and told him that this is the only true church with the true authority of Christ... and it clicked in his head... He just said..."WOW... WOW so you say that the Church of Jesus Christ is the only True church with the true authority of God... .. WOW.. now you really give me a reason to know if that is true because that is important..." and we challenged him to read the Book of Mormon on his trip (he will be in Italy for like 2 months ) ..so he said, "I have homework now.."  He understood that if he knew the Book of Mormon is true, then he knew that Joseph Smith was a Prophet and that the authority was given to him and restored in the church of Christ.. today... SOOO that was really good... He is great.. toO bad he is leaving... 
Also this week we worked a little with the Assistants.. and they found this really cool girl named Bayana... Bayana is probably on of the happiest people I have ever met and she loved talking to us.. she is from Kirkistan or something like that.. she is Siberian.. so she looks like a little Chinese girl but she really speaks Russian... She is pretty young and is studying tourism here in Brussels; Well we taught her with the Assistants and they passed her to us because she lives in our area... so she came to church this Sunday and LOVED it.. and the members loved her.. we have a bunch of Russian members and they all like attacked her; it was soo good... she stayed for like an hour after talking to members.. and all the Phillipino members loved her too... so.. she is really awesome as well... but she is leaving for vacation today and won't be back until next month.. THAT IS VACATION here in Europe.. everything closes up for TWO months and everyone leaves for months on end.. 
We had an insane week of finding a ton of new people to teach. We found a Brazilian guy last week and we went one night and taught him and his wife .. and they loved it.. they are coming to Family Home Evening and are friends with some of the members already.. their names are Inacio and Aurea .. you will be hearing about them more... 
Also we went to teach this new guy named Pierre.. and he had his friend there named Gaston and Gaston loved us.. he invited us over to his house and said he will be coming to our church next week... 
Then we went to visit Claire and see how she was doing.. and she had her cousin there and she just started telling her about the Church and invited her to church and we might be teaching her sometime soon...
Another miracle or two and then I am done... 
We were walking to talk to David after an all day meeting with Pres. and all the Zone leaders.. and we see these brothers unloading their truck, so I asked them if they wanted help and usually they say no.. but they said yes.. so we unloaded their truck and then they told us to sit down and share our message with them... .. their names are Uriel and Roland and they are from Benin.. They showed up to CHURCH too and they loved it and CLaire talked to them because she is from Benin (by origin) and she told them why she liked this church and taught them about some stuff.. we called Uriel last night to see what he thought of church and he told us that he loved it perfectly and that he would be there each Sunday.. Haha .. his exact words... I freakin' love it... things are just exploding in Brussels... 
Then last night a little tender mercy of the Lord.. the Assistants have been teaching this guy named Antonio.. and he is SOLID.. he is a Kingdom builder for sure.. well he lives in our area but they were teaching him and he was supposed to be baptized in our Ward this last week.... but he didn't feel quite ready and wanted to come to the Ward that he would be baptized in... soo he put it on delay.. well the Assistants finally decided to pass him to us... which was nice.. so now he will be baptized soon... 
One last thing.. we have been getting better at doing consecrated hours... where we give an hour to the lord and just do finding where he wants.. and well last night we went to the place we felt like he wanted us to be.. and we started with a prayer and started talking to this Polish guy and he had been to Salt Lake and had missionaries come to his house in Poland... well... he wasn't interested, but right after he rejected us.... This Brazilain girl starts running towards us yelling "ELDER, ELDER..." she had just moved to Brussels, she has been here for the last 2 months.. and she had the address of the church but couldn't find it.. she didn't really speak French so we had a member call her and she is coming to Family Home Evening tonight .. it was a little blessing.. it's funny how the Lord takes care of his children.. 
Well I gotta go, love you all... 
Elder Simonson

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