Relighting of the Greeny Fire

Hey everybody!

This week has been crazy and full of miracles, so I guess just business as usual.  Wednesday were transfers, and as I put in my last email I was transferred up to Almere Buiten.  That was a long day of train rides, going from Leuven to Antwerpen, Antwerpen to Rotterdam, Rotterdam to Leiden, then Leiden to Almere.  Super cool to see a ton of the mission through the window of the train, but still.  Long day.

Since being here in Almere, I have not stopped seeing the hand of the Lord in my life.  I was a little scared of my Dutch ability, coming from a transfer I had used mostly English and moving back up to the Netherlands with Dutch instead of Flemish, but the Lord is good.  My very first hours in Almere I was right into a groove, completely bypassing any barrier between Dutch and Flemish, and the fact that I hadn't used it very much in the last couple weeks.  I would even say that I felt more comfortable in the language in those first couple hours then I ever have before. I give complete credit to the Lord.  It was as if he was saying, "I've got your back, now get going!"  and we've definitely gone hard so far.  

Elder Solomon is a great guy. He is from West Valley, Utah.  Still pretty new, he's just on his second transfer, so I get to finish his training up this transfer.  He has still got that greeny fire!  It has been awesome to see, because it wasn't too long ago that I was in that position.  He is ready to go every day, humble enough to still learn and take advice, and is willing to work hard. He knows how to play to his strengths and isn't afraid to make mistakes or to open his mouth and talk to people, which is a lesson I think we can all learn. He is just a very diligent missionary.  The work here is going pretty ok, but we'll see if we can't light it on fire with the help of the Lord!

Almere is a cool city.  Very new though; it has very little history or classic culture.  This is because just 40 years ago this whole city and the island it is on was underwater.  The whole city is built on land reclaimed from the sea, which is pretty cool.  Everything is very new and modern, and in my opinion kind of plain, but maybe that's just because I've coming from Leuven, one the prettiest cities in Europe.  It's ok though because the ward totally makes up for it.  They are awesome.  So many funny and cool people, all with strong testimonies and a love of God.  This is probably the most missionary focused ward I have served in so far, which is great!  There are 4 missionaries in total here in the Almere ward: the ones serving in the main city, and us serving in Buiten.

"Station Almere Centraal" picture from wikimedia.org

A side note would be that our area is the smallest in the mission.  This is crazy because I have now served in the two smallest areas in the mission, here and in Oomoord. Also I served in the largest, Leuven so that is pretty funny. I am liking the small area though because you get so much more work done, with less traveling time and all.  I am really loving it here so far.

I love you all so much!

-Elder Hayden L. Lott

Question of the Week:  What is your favorite thing about the new apartment?

Answer:  Favorite thing about the apartment would have to be that it is so much bigger!  It is one of the nicest in the mission, probably because every building we could get is new, so there ya go.  It is like a glass box, with windows lining most of the walls, making it very modern looking.  The shower is it's own room, and is pretty big, hurray!  Also I forgot how good the cheese was up here in the Netherlands - so good!  Sorry no pictures by the way, I'll figure that out next week.

Pictures found on the Senior Missionary office couple blog: robisonsbelgiumnetherlandsmission.blogspot.com

Elder Robison, Elder Besendorfer and Elder Lott
in the apartment in Leuven.
 The apartment inspection noted that it was clean, but
that the floor sloped.  Elder Lott loves the area so much, he didn't care
about the floor or short ceilings in all but the living room and hallway.

Elders at the Temple Conference in the beginning of April.
Elder Lott is on the far left, facing to the right in the grey suit and dark hair.

Posing for the camera
Elder Lott is second from the left.