Spiderman Party Plates

Sorry I don't have a lot of time this week so it will be short but this past week was great! 

It didn't start off well on Tuesday.  Francois got fired from his job on Sunday so he decided that he is going to stop talking to us until he can figure out who he is. He said he will call us when he is ready again. So that kind of put a damper on things, but as the great Ron Washington once said "that just how missionary life go" or something like that. Haha. 

On Wednesday we went into Brussels for our district meeting with the President of the mission. We had interviews and everything went really well. That evening I got to have dinner with some old friends from when I served in Brussels. It was really fun. The next day we had exchanges with the zone leaders in Brussels. It was a lot of fun and we got a lot of work done.  The only problem for Elder Kendrick and I is that we haven't been in our sector a lot. In fact, two days of every week we have been gone so it has been fairly difficult to get our feet on the ground. 

On Friday we did our weekly planning and celebrated Elder Kendricks birthday in the evening. His mom sent him some Spider-Man party plates, napkins and masks. We made cake too. It was really fun. 

Saturday we did 6 hours of nothing but straight contacting and less active pass backs. It was a super tiring day but we got to know the city really well. In the morning we taught one of our investigators, Aime. He is super legit. He has a baptismal date for February 13 so hopefully that holds. Currently he has no issues with the gospel so it is all smooth sailing. 

Sunday was just a chill Sunday. We went to church and then a members home afterwards. Hope everyone had a great week. 

I found this funny, someone used a band-aid for their name.

God bless.
Elder Hein

A Solid Missionary Week

Bonjour! I had another solid week as a missionary. 

It Snowed!

On Tuesday we went out to a city called Huy (about an hour away) for an appointment with an investigator, Bernard. When we got to his apartment we were so shocked. This guy is the most American Belgium man I have ever met. His entire apartment was nothing but model American military aircrafts, American flags, and other American things. Haha. It was a little weird but the good news is he said he believes that our church contains the truth. Unfortunately he doesn't like having commitments so he won't get baptized. Maybe one day we can change his mind. 

Later on that day we got to meet one of the investigators with a baptismal date. His name is Francois. He is approximately 55 years old and loves the missionaries. He is just your typical Belgian man. He is progressing really well but on Tuesday he expressed some of his concerns to us. He is having a hard time with tithing and the word of wisdom. So unfortunately we had to put his baptismal date back up in the air. The rest of the week Elder Kendrick and I focused really hard on tithing and how we could help him with that. We studied and prayed a lot on how we could get him to accept the law of tithing. When we showed up for our next appointment on Saturday, before we began teaching, he said "I no longer have a problem with tithing. I understand it". We were really surprised. God really did answer prayers.

On Wednesday it was just an average day. We had an investigator flake out on us and then had a meeting with the Branch Mission Leader. He is super cool and he set some goals for the Liege Branch this upcoming year.

Thursday we went to Paris for a conference given by a member of the Seventy, Elder Kearon. It was really good. He stressed the importance of obedience and hard work. It was also fun to catch up with mission friends. I got to see Elder Nagloo (my MTC companion) for the first time since the start of my mission.

Friday another person flaked out on us so we planned for the week ahead and called people all night long. I can't even imagine going on a mission 20 years ago when missionaries didn't have cell phones. Haha. That must have been tough.

On Saturday, we visited with Francois and then went contacting less active members all night long. Unfortunately we didn't have a lot of success.

On Sunday we went to church and then went to find less actives all evening long. We met some interesting people. One older gentleman had a ton of old radios. He has been a member for more than 50 years but doesn't go anymore because he thinks the children get too loud.

As stated earlier, this week my testimony about prayer grew immensely.
We asked God to help us out with Francois and He did. He loves us more than we can imagine.

I hope everyone has a great week. God Bless

Elder Hein

The Stairs of Liege

The Stairs of Liege

Bonjour from Liege! 

On Monday and Tuesday, Elder Madsen and I said goodbye to all the cool members we met in Brussels. This includes the week prior where we had 8 dinner appointments in a row. We didn't have to buy groceries. Haha! 

On Wednesday the trains decided to have a strike, so that was really inconvenient for transfer day. Madsen left at 7 am on
a bus to Paris. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to say goodbye. He was super dope, and I am going to miss him. The rest of Wednesday was spent in the apartment telling the new elders about the
area of Brussels. At 7 pm I picked up my new companion, Elder Kendrick, and the next day we went to Liege. 

Thursday we contacted a little bit and just got to know the sector a little better. Our sector is absolutely huge. It touches Luxembourg, Germany, and Holland. Elder Kendrick and I will be traveling a lot. On Friday, Elder Kendrick went to Paris for a meeting and I stayed in Brussels. We went to some of the monuments and then met with a less active. 

At the top of the Stairs with my new companion, Elder Kendrick

On Saturday we spent time weekly and transfer planning and did a little contacting. 

On Sunday we went to church which unfortunately starts at nine. The branch is super solid. There are 2 branches in Liege.    After church we went to a members home for lunch. They live right near the point that connects Germany, Holland, and Belgium. It was super fun. That evening we went and gave someone a blessing. On the way back this man contacted us and he was great. He is approx. 25 years old and was preaching some things that directly correlate to what we Mormons
believe. We were like hey... we believe the exact same thing. So hopefully that goes somewhere. Monday we went to the only interesting site in Liege, stairs. There are 374 stairs that lead up to this super
cool view. I've attached some photos. 

Overall Liege has been much cooler than I thought it would be. It is a college town so it is fairly hip.

We have two baptismal dates set up so that is also very encouraging. I love the mission and I have gained a much better relationship with God. 

Love y'all and God Bless.

Elder Hein

The Norby Couple

Paul, the mathematician

Young Single Adults from Brussels

Atomism in Brussels

Happy New Year - I'm moving to Liege, Belgium!!

Hello all,

Well I am getting transferred to Liege with my new companion Elder Kendrick! I thought for sure I would stay in Brussels for at least another transfer but the mission decided to throw me a curve ball. 

The Zone Leaders are going to be moving into Brussels from Liege, therefore my companionship is just being switched into Liege.  Honestly, I am sad I got to only stay for two transfers. Brussels was such a cool city. 

Liege is a city an hour east of Brussels. It is the 3rd largest city in Belgium and there are 4 companionships working there.

We were super busy this past week. Everyone wants to say goodbye to Elder Madsen before he goes home so we have had so many appointments lined up. In fact, we had 8 dinner appointments in a row. 

On Thursday we went to a New Years Eve party that the young adults were throwing
in a hotel. (We got to be there until around 10:30) We had a lot of fun. The city cancelled the firework show
because of an imminent terrorist threat but that didn't stop the locals from having fun. While we were popping our bottle of cider at midnight we watched people in the park light off fireworks. It was really fun.

Elder Aburto and I

New Year's Day was spent at the Norby's house all day. We watched "Emperor's New Groove" (I had never seen it before) and had a nice lunch. 

On Saturday we went to the baptism of Paulino. The other elders have been teaching him for a while. It went super well. 

On Sunday this little Ghanian kid showed up to the English ward with his family and his name is Barack Obama. No joke. He has a Ghanian last name which I have forgotten but his parents call him Obama. Hahaha.
That evening I cut my hair. It was quite the experience. It took two hours but I think the end result was decent. I decided if I teach myself how to do it now I will save time and money for years to come.


Next week I will be emailing from Liege. It going to be tough to say
good bye to Elder Madsen. He has been such a wonderful companion and
friend. 

The District

Walking through the forest with the missionaries.

Candid Picture of Elder Norby and I

God Bless

Elder Hein

Christmas Week

Hello everybody!

This week was fairly slow for missionary work because of Christmas but
we had a wonderful time nonetheless. 

On Wednesday we went back to  Waterloo with a lot more missionaries to see the legality doctor
again. We went to McDonald's afterwards and it is amazing how much more class the McDonald's here in Europe have compared to America.  They even bring the food out to you at the table. It is amazing. 

On Christmas Eve we went to an old folks home to sing some Christmas carols. It went really well. Old people are just so funny. One woman was dipping her crackers in her Coke. Haha. That night we went to a members home for a nice dinner and a movie. We watched Big Hero 6 and I was really surprised about the quality of that film. 

Christmas Day we opened presents and spent all day at the Norby's home. I took a glorious nap. In the evening we went to the Albacite's house and they fed us a nice meal. 

On Saturday we planned for the week and had pizza.

Sunday night I got sick so we didn't do much then. I hope everyone got what they wanted from Santa. 

Stay safe this New Year's Eve. God Bless

Elder Hein
Sent from my iPad

Christmas Week!

Another wonderful week in the mission field has passed! 

As far as the terrorist stuff goes, Brussels is becoming more normal. This past week
I saw a lot less military men out and about. I don't know if I should be worried or pleased...ha. 

Wednesday I went to Waterloo to see a
doctor with Elder Palfreyman and the Norby's. The Belgian government might need us to provide health papers from a Belgian Doctor, and since we are the "Guinea Pigs" of this whole legality issue, we went
just to be safe. We are gathering all the papers possible that the government might need so when we turn them in they can decide which
ones are necessary.

Elder Madsen taught Gaspare this week while I was in Waterloo. He said it went very well. Elder Madsen and I are trying to be patient with
him and his readiness to get baptized. He is at the finish line. He just can't make that last step of commitment. On Friday night we had our monthly PPP activity with the young adults. It was really fun.

Saturday we set up all day for the Ward Christmas Party and it turned
out to be a wonderful success. Gaspare showed up and really enjoyed
it. I was able to participate in a little play as the Angel who talked
to the shepherds. I will be expecting an Oscar for my performance.
God bless and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Elder Hein

Yep, Got Spit At!

Hello!

This week was nothing but less active work. I don't know if I have
explained this yet but there use to be a church building in downtown
Brussels in addition to the one we go to now(Strombeek). Earlier this
year, the building downtown was closed so a lot of the members just
decided to stop going instead of coming to the church in Strombeek. So
Elder Madsen and I have been trying to get these people to start
coming to church again. 

We have the ward Christmas party this weekend, so we have also been extending invitations to that as well.  As far as our investigator Gaspard goes, he has been doing well. We were able to meet with him on Wednesday. He read the chapter in the
Book of Mormon we told him to read and he really liked it. We discussed the importance of the sacrament in an attempt to get him to
church. He says he will come to the Christmas Party. He doesn't want to get baptized because he thinks he doesn't have enough faith. Something I have learned through life is that faith comes through
action. The more we act on our belief in God, the more our faith grows. We have been trying to help him understand that.


On Friday we went to Paris for a special 3 zone Christmas conference. It was really fun to meet up with missionaries we haven't seen for a while. I met the new AP, Elder McBride. He is from Canada but his family moved to Frisco a month before he left. He is super awesome,
and he loves hockey so it was fun to talk about how good the Stars are
doing.


We got greeted in Brussels by the flem of a drunk Muslim man. We
walked out of the Metro train and got on an escalator heading down.
Another man walked out of the metro and started to yell at us for no
apparent reason. We kept heading down the escalator and then I see him
leaning over the ledge of the escalator ready to spit. Well I
skillfully dodged the flem as it zoomed past my face but Madsen was
not so lucky. It hit him in the back of the arm. The man repeated this
act but this time we were ready and it didn't hit any of us. There is
nothing quite like missionary work. It's truly a once in a lifetime
experience. His friend then followed us and apologized. We had a good
conversation about how people should respect other religions.


Today we went to the Christmas Market in the center of town. It is so
amazing! I'll attach some pictures.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week. Please try to keep in mind why
we celebrate Christmas.
God Bless

Elder Hein