Brussels!!

So this week went well. 

On Tuesday I left with 3 other missionaries to
Paris. The flight only lasted 2 hours but it was so uncomfortable.
Anyways, we arrived in Paris airport at about noon and met up with 10
other missionaries coming from the Provo MTC. One of the kids coming
from Provo is 7'2". He is absolutely huge. Anyways, from the airport,
we all headed to the mission office in Versailles. We met President
Babin and his wife. They took us out for dinner at an Asian buffet. It
was absolutely delicious in comparison to the MTC food. 

That evening we slept at their home. The next morning they took us into Paris but
we only had time to go see Notre Dame. While we were standing outside,
at least 20, 40-year old Asian tourist women started to giggle at us
missionaries and take pictures. It was so strange. They just came up
to us, grabbed our arms, and then their husbands took photos. We had
no idea what they were saying. Haha. We just smiled for the pictures.
After that crazy experience, we went to the main church building in
Paris. That is where I got my area and mission companion assigned to
me. I am starting my mission in Brussels! I'm so excited! My
companion's name is Elder Madsen. He is super cool. He has been on his
mission for 21 months, so I will be his last companion. He is from
Orem, Utah and he is so funny. He is quite the artist as well. 

My companion and I eating a famous Belgian Meat Triad

We then took the TGV (an extremely fast train with no stops) to Brussels, where we were greeted by 2 elders who we share an apartment with.  Their names are Elder Wheeler (from San Fransisco) and Elder Smith (from Morgan, UT). Elder Wheeler plays hockey for BYU, therefore we have had some fun hockey conversations these past few days. 

Thursday we went to a member's (Sister Noel) house for dinner. She is awesome and likes to talk a lot. Haha. Friday night, we went to a Halloween party put on by the church. It was really fun because we got to meet a lot of the members. I have a bad feeling that my French won't improve
here because the majority of the members speak English. The same is
true for the entire city. Everybody speaks English! I think it's
because Brussels is the capital for the EU and NATO, so there are a
lot of government workers who learn to speak English in order to
communicate. Anyways, Saturday we pretty much just proselyted all day.
It's tough but the city is absolutely amazing so I can't complain too
much. Haha. Sunday we went to church and afterwards went to the Hatch
family's house for dinner. They literally live in a castle. It's is
amazing. The dad is an American diplomat for NATO so they have all
this American food and candy. I enjoyed it, but not as much as my
companion.  He hasn't had some of that stuff for 2 years. 

The park our apartment looks out on to.

Beautiful Brussels

Currently it is P-Day. We will go to the Grand Place and eat some Belgium waffles soon. It is so cold here. Everyday I have to wear a winter coat. I have seen the sun for 30 minutes. I can't imagine what it will be like in December and January. Haha. This first week has been tiring but quite amazing. On a daily basis I feel the blessings from our Heavenly
Father. I know he loves me, and loves each and everyone of us. I hope
everyone has a terrific week.

Elder Hein