Belgian Christmas

Hey Everybody!

So it was another great week here in Belgium.  Exchanges packed the first part of the week.  I got to go to Leuven with Elder van den Dungen Bille (crazy dutch name right, although he isn't from here, but from Arizona).  I saw lots of people from the ward there which was a treat and we had a pretty successful day.  Then exchanges with Genk where I stayed here with Elder Ocampo (from Texas).  That was also good.  Then we spent the 3 days of Christmas (Christmas eve, Christmas day, and second Christmas) going around with the Antwerpen Elders to various people to hand out cookies and carol a little bit.  Then Sunday and here.  Good week.  I am really enjoying life right now, even how hectic it is. 

In the last couple weeks it has been such a wonderful experience for me taking the sacrament.  Not because I've done anything blatantly bad, but because I have focused on preparing to do so on Sunday morning.  Really sitting down and thinking about the covenant I am going to renew to follow God and take the name of Christ upon me.  Thinking about what I've done well, and what I can do better, as well as things I didn't do well at all or screwed up.  The difference has been extreme, you can truly feel of the cleansing and enabling power of the atonement and the refining power of the spirit.  Peace can be found in this life no matter how hard it is as we draw closer to Christ, and realize that if we do our best, our future is already secure and bright no matter how bad it is right now.

Sacrament Meeting and the Sacrament
Dallin H. Oaks
October 2008 General Conference

I love you all!

-Elder Hayden Lott

Question of the Week:  Cynthia asked if the Europeans really do use the metric system or not.  I told her I thought that celsius was used instead of fahrenheit, but we were wondering if recipes, shoe sizes and driving distances are really metric or not.

Answer: Yes, everything really is in the metric system.  They use milliliters and liters, kilometers, and everything else metric.  They even count time here using a 24 hour clock, I don't know if that's metric or military but that's also something different.

Back in Belgium

Hey Everybody!

So I don't have to much time today, so I'll be keeping things pretty short.  Belgium is of course, as experience has proved, awesome!  Antwerpen is super cool as well; it's the first big city I've served in since being in Rotterdam, and I love the feel of a big city.  As crazy and chaotic as it is, I love it.  Life as a zone leader is very different.  We've spent most of the week planning for this transfer, just trainings and points of focus.  But it's been good.  Also traveling all over the mission to get the things and experience we need to give those trainings.  Super cool.  

Antwerp Christmas Market
picture from Google

Grote Market (Market Square), Antwerp
picture from Google

New Companion is Elder Harrop
picture from President and Sister Robinson Mission blog

I love Belgium.  So much.

Love,

Elder Hayden Lott

Question of the Week:  I read this about Belgium:  'Many people remain in the town in which they were raised, which creates close extended families.'  Have you found that to be true?

Answer:  From the people that I've met there are quite a few people that stay in the same city they grew up in.  Or at least go back to live there when they can.  People are also very loyal to the city that they grow up in.  Like here in Antwerpen, they have a saying here that says: Antwerpen is The City, the rest is parking.  Haha eveyone here says it's a joke but there is some pride that goes into it :)

Watch '#ASaviorisBorn' by clicking here

Jumping Borders

Hey Everybody!

Hey so crazyness again this week.  I'll start with the most recent news.  Transfer calls were last night and I'm on my way out. The trend continues and I'll be hopping across the border again, back to Belgium, serving in the city of Antwerpen.  I have been called to serve as a zone leader of the zone Antwerpen (which is all of Flanders, the Northern Half of Belgium, plus Brussels) and will be serving with Elder Harrop.  He's the first companion of my mission who I actually kind of know before I am companions with him.  He's a pretty cool kid and actually served here in Breda (well technically Roosendaal) right before I got here.  Really crazy but really exciting.  I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to serve, grow, and love.  I am really going to miss this Breda area/ward though.  The people I've met here, relationships made, lessons I've learned will hopefully last a lifetime, well hopefully an eternity!  Elder Stanworth is staying and I know that he and his new companion Elder Stanger will move the work forward here.  They will certainly have a lot to do, seeing as there will be no more sisters in Roosendaal and that whole area will now be theirs as well.

Merry Christmas
Elder Lott, Elder Stanworth

Merry Christmas, Avenger Style

Christmas Decorations

I'm kind of sad because this last week I was serving in Breda, I wasn't really even in Breda.  Monday was P-day. Tuesday I was on exchanges in Vlissingen. Wednesday we exchanged back, came back and packed to go sleep over in Belgium so that we could get to the Zone conference on time on the next day which was Thursday.  (We got to sleep over in Leuven and a family there heard I was sleeping over and fed us dinner and had cake and candles for my birthday which they remembered from last year.)  

Birthday Party

Conference on Thursday was really fun, we learned some new teaching methods going along with visual teaching that I think are really going to help our mission's ability to teach spiritually powerful lessons.  Right after conference we had to run and switch some stuff then head up to Zoetemeer to sleep over with those Elders because Elder Stanworth and one of those Elders were going down to Belgium to get legal there.  So I spent a day in Zoetemeer doing service on a cow farm. (Yes! a real Dutch cow farm! Sadly I didn't get any pictures though) Also working in their area.  Then Saturday we were in Eindhoven for the first part of the day for District Leader Council.  So Saturday afternoon was the first time I'd really worked in my area all week.  Then Sunday was church; we had success getting a few people to come, then transfer calls that night.  Chaotic week but all good stuff.  Got to talk to some cool people on train rides.  

I've learned this week from study and pondering that the best way to get to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is to first read of him and his teachings, but then a key factor is that we then try and follow in his example, develop Christlike attributes, and try and act and be as he would act and be.

Linda K. Burton
First Observe, Then Serve
General Conference, October 2012

I love you all!

-Elder Hayden Lott

Question of the Week:  I read that the Dutch are quick to use first names with new acquaintances, unlike American culture where titles and formal names are considered more polite.  Do you find this to be true?

Answer:  Yes, people here in the Netherlands are quick to swith to your first name.  Ward members never really refer to each other as Brother or Sister, just by their first names.  People find it quite hard to use Elder once they know our first names so a lot of the time I won't tell people my first name until they've gotten used to using Elder.  Funny stuff 

Elder Hill and Elder Lott
This is Elder Hill.  He was in the same ward/grade as Jake.
(So same ward as Jeff, Tami and crew.)  Small world right?
[Mom note: Elder Jake Yeoman is one of Elder Lott's cousins,  and Jeff and Tami are his aunt and uncle.  Elder Yeoman is currently serving in the Salem, Oregon Mission.  One of Elder Lott's close friends is also serving in the Salem, Oregon Mission.  As far as we know, they haven't met each other yet.  But so crazy that Elder Hill and Elder Lott have met so quickly after Elder Hill's arrival in the mission.  At a family party this past weekend, we had discussed whether they would ever meet each other, and here's our answer!]

Sinterklaas Week

Hey Everybody!

So this week was a wild one, filled with exchanges, support days, and Sinterklaas festivities.  With Sinterklaas it was actually not as big of a deal as last year.  We worked the whole day through, the Sisters had a baptism here in Breda, the Bishops family fed us dinner, and we even had investigators schedule appointments with us for Sinterklaas evening so we didn't celebrate it too much.  We did have plenty of ward members and investigators and other people give us treats and stuff though, so it still felt a little like Sinterklaas.  Other than that, we spent Wednesday and Thursday on exchanges with the Elders from Vlissingen, getting them some extra help and then Friday afternoon on a Sister support day in Tilburg.  (For those who think we're apostate, we're not. Although that's not commonly done in other missions, it's done in this one between mission leaders and the sisters in their district or zone so that we can get a better feel for how they are doing and help train them.)

We had some people come to church this week that we were really happy to see.  So that was a blessing.  Other than that, I have been studying on Faith in Jesus Christ this week.  I had a nice reminder that part of Faith in Jesus Christ is having faith that He unconditionally loves and seeks to help us; it isn't just when we do perfect, in fact it's quite opposite.  We actually stand in need of His love most when we are weak or when we fall, and if we put our faith in Him into practice He will strengthen and support us.

Finding Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
Robert D. Hales
October 2004 General Conference

Love you all!

-Elder Hayden Lott

Question of the Week:  Have you been able to enjoy any of the Sinterklaas/Zwarte Piet festivities this year?

Answered above :)

Windmill in Raamsdonksveer

Thanksgiving Week

Hey everybody!

So this week has been fun.  It started out with our Zone turkey bowl in Eindhoven, and ended with us getting another new investigator to church!  That was great.  But there are more stories in between so I guess I'll tell those.  We had a lot of lessons fall through this week but one that did go through was all the way up in a town called Raamsdonksveer, a little bit north of Breda.  That lesson went well but the crazy part was that we normally take the bus, which takes about an hour.  But the bus takes a weird route so we thought we would try and bike it.  So we did, and that was a crazy, windy ride!  Very pretty though, we went through a little forest on our way there, I'll have to take some pictures next time.  Had some other good lessons. We're seeing some success with getting referals with some less active members we are working with so I'm happy. I'm going to send some pictures this week so I'll end here.

Love,

Elder Hayden Lott

Enjoying a Bossche Bol in Den Bosh
Ha ha funny thing, I misspelled Bossche Bol last week, and also the pronunciation.
If you were to say Bo-see-bowl that would mean 'angry ball'.
So actually it is pronounced bo-she-bowl.  Ha ha, funny mix up.

I Made Your Green Beans
[Mom note:  This is a yummy recipe from my sister  - fresh green beans with a garlic and basil glaze.]

Bike Thing in Ooserhout

Missing Chocolate Square?

Den Bosh

Miracles and Heartbreak

Hey Everybody!

So this week we saw many miracles, but unfortunately it ended with us getting dropped by one of our most positive investigators in a heartbreaking way. We'll start with the miracles.  First of all, it totally paid off getting tight with one of the less actives we are working with. We got a member referral this week to teach one of his friends and she is pretty positive.  So that was one miracle.  Another would be that one of the people we were about to drop because we were feeling like her interest was just kindness rather than true interest came to church, and thanks to our amazing ward loving her up, she actually has legitimate interest now, lots of questions, and that is a great platform to teach from.  The sad new though would be that on Sunday evening we went by to a super positive investigator's house and she ended up not even letting us in the door.  She and her husband had looked into the church more and from our feeling had gotton into some anti-mormon material.  After all that though she still said she thinks that our church in true and good, but that if she went further she knows that she would want to join and get baptized and that would tear her family apart with her husband being strongly against missionary work.  So she said, thank you for all the love and comfort and things that I've felt.  I'll get in contact with the church if anything looks like it will work out, it will just take time.  We may come to a church service one time so my husband can have one last chance, but.... ahhhhhhhhhh!  I almost cried.  Agency.... is so good. 

What the Church Teaches About Agency

I also got to go on exchanges this week with Elder Prickett.  He has a pretty rough life story but a wonderful, wonderful testimony.  I'm glad I got to work with him.

I love you all so much!

-Elder Hayden Lott

Question of the Week: I was surprised to see how many international companies have company offices in Breda.  Are you aware of any of these, or are other industries more visible to the public in Breda?

Answer: I wasn't aware of international companies here in Breda, although it makes sense.  There are whole sections of the city here that are just giant work buildings that we never really go through.  So yes they are public, but I haven't seen them.

So these are what are called 'Bossy Bolen' (bow-see-bowl-ah) 

Originally from a city called ´s-Hertogenbosch, or Den Bosch.  

But we found these coming back from exchanges on Saturday.  

Basically it is a giant oliebol (oh-lie-bowl) [deep fried pastry] filled with

a heck of a lot of whipped cream and covered in chocolate.  

Needless to say it is a heart attack and a half and really good.

Also, coconut bread is delicious!

Calm in the Storm

Hey Everybody!

Well this week has been another good one as far as the work goes.  Although my heart does go out to those effected by the Paris attacks and by similar things that happen in less well known places around the world.  Even with this going on though, I am continually redirected and drawn to the peace that I find by knowing of and trying to follow my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Maybe it sounds silly or delusional to believe in a man who lived more than two thousand years ago, and to think that I could find peace in this world through his teachings.  But those who would say these things have not experienced what I have. But as we learn in the scriptures: "Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.  For every one that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened"  Those who are nay sayers have not sincerly asked, do not seek, and have not knocked to find peace or answers in their lives from Him that died and suffered for us, and they will continue to stay in darkness until they start to seek God and healing through his son Jesus Christ.  They are either unaware, or too prideful to seek him.  They may say that the answers we receive are fake in some way, made up in our minds, purely psychological or in some other way not true. Yet I know that what I have felt is true.  There is a difference, the same as between night and day, between something original and something that is not. Seek God our Heavenly Father, and His Son Jesus Christ and you will find something that does not just patch up or cover up or keep you busy.  But something that truly heals and directs you to good and joy in your life.

A Sure Foundation
 Bishop Dean M. Davies
April 2013 General Conference

We had a good week especially with less actives.  Many of them opening up to us, and lots of them coming to church!  That was great to see.  No new investigators this week but we are seeing progress with the ones we have been working with.

I love you all so much!

-Elder Hayden Lott

Question of the Week:  Do you know if Sinterklaas will come to the smaller areas like Breda, or are the parades only for the bigger cities?

Answer: We spent most of this last Saturday traveling so we didn't see or know of any parades in Breda. I know there have been tons of parties though this weekend for kids and everyone

Sinterklaas with Zwarte Piet (picture from Google)

Adventures in Breda

Hey Everybody!

So, just to get it out of the way, transfers have left me and Elder Stanworth here in Breda although every other city in the district is changing one person so we will get some new faces.  Fun stuff.  This week has been an adventure, doing all kinds of different things.  A big miracle from this week would be that one of our new investagators (Wxxx) from a couple weeks ago has really found a place for the gospel in her heart and it has really touched mine.  When we were first on the door a couple weeks ago the first thing she said was "oh boy, you've come to completly the wrong door". But after a short conversation, we had taught her the first lesson and given her a Book of Mormon and she had opened up about herself quite a bit.  When we went back this week all she could say by the end was that when she was on mormon.org or reading the Book of Mormon or talking to us she had a super good warm feeling that she's only had one other time in her life. And that she was embarrassed that she was crying, but it's ok, the spirit does that :)  That was so cool.  Another miracle would be that coming back from exchanges, me and Elder Crowson looked up Axxx, a lady who we had found on exchanges earlier, but then she fell off the face of the earth.  She was home and we were able to share a little bit about the plan of salvation with her, and finally able to get an appointment with her.  They are two of the most positive native Dutch people I've taught on my mission so that's cool. 

Plan of Salvation

Other than that, we also went and served at the Breda food bank this week.  That was really cool; we'll probably be making that a weekly activity now.  There are some cool people there and it feels good to do some physical service.  We also went on an adventure looking up a referral in the middle of nowhere, biking through the Dutch countryside for about an hour to get there, just to have them not be home.  It was pretty though and I'm always up for an adventure.

It's still pretty warm here, it's surprising.  At the most I've only had to put on a sweater and it's only rained a couple times in the last couple weeks.  Sinterclaus is coming up and I'll be here in Breda for that so that's fun. Jxxx- one of our investigators- gave us a packet full of sinterclaus songs to learn along with her little daughter too; that is super fun.  I'm so proud of Jxxx, she has made it now 6 weeks without smoking and it's looking like she'll make her baptismal date in February!  Also, I don't know if I've mentioned it before but a guy me and Elder Groesbeck found down in Brugge is on date for baptism, so that is super cool!

Love,

Elder Lott

Question of the Week: Do you mostly use buses in Breda/Roosendaal?  In some of your old areas it sounded like the metro was more common, but you mention buses more often in this area.

Answer:  Mostly in Breda we ride bikes, except for Elder Stanworth's bike got stolen. So for now we take buses.  In Roosendaal and that area it was a lot of buses and trains because of how far apart everything is.  

Mom note:  I was able to spot Elder Lott in this picture from Elder DeBloois' blog.
This is from the temple conference in October.  Elder Lott is on the sidewalk, in the tan suit, turned toward the camera. I'll take what I can get!

Success

Family Photo - From October Temple Conference
[Elder Lott is using missionary lingo, in which a trainer is the 'Dad', and greenies are 'Sons'.]
Elder Stanworth, Elder Lott and Elder Higham

Hey Everybody!

To start off, our focus on diligence and enthusiasm definitely paid off this week.  We had a ton of success, ended up finding 4 new investigators!  The story of finding all of them was really cool, but I'll share the story of the last one.  We were actually in Roosendaal, we had a couple of lessons there with some time to fill in the middle so we asked the sisters if they had anyone for us to look up.  We finished that and were headed back to the train station when I felt a distinct impression to stop.  So we did, then I felt like we should go into the building on our left and do some bell ups, so we did.  Then I felt like I should do a certain row of bell ups, and on the second one a guy answered, listened for about 10 seconds then let us in.  We ended up teaching him the whole first lesson (the restoration) and he seemed very intrigued.  He even tried to buy our book even though he hardly speaks Dutch (speaks pretty good English though), but we told him we'd get one in his language (Lithuanian) and bring it back for free with another message.  He accepted right away and told us his schedule for the whole next week when we said we weren't sure how fast we could get a copy.  Such a cool experience.

That really was a cool experience but it isn't really all that uncommon at the times when I am truly seeking the spirit and revelation needed for this work.  I am fairly confident that it can be so for all those seek God's will and have the gift of the Holy Ghost, missionary or non-missionary.  It just depends on your desire to serve God and his children.  With the specific case of walking down the street, yes that may just be a prompting missionaries get because of our calling.  But as members of His church, we have all covenanted to stand as witnesses of god at all times and in all places.  People are around us every day, and to the extent we seek for God's help we can be guided to know who we can share the gospel with, who is ready that is in our lives, and in what way.  He will provide us the means to do so if we seek to follow Him.  Just like Elder Bednar says in his Mormon message series, patterns of light, the spirit can guide us constantly. Maybe it won't be clear.  But it will be like a foggy day, where with light ahead we have just enough to take a few steps forward, and after that a few steps more, then a few more.  We might never see the big picture of where we are going, or rarely that is, but as we follow the light we will be led on true and good paths. 

[Mom note: I know that this link has been shared several times over the course of this blog,
but it is clearly one of Elder Lott's favorites, and has also given me much food for thought
as I consider the teachings in the Patterns of Light series.]
Patterns of Light - Spirit of Revelation
Elder David A. Bednar

I love you all! 

-Elder Hayden Lott

Question of the week: Do the Dutch or Belgium people follow the European custom of kissing cheeks when greeting each other, or are handshakes more common?

Answer:  With the kissing of the cheeks I've rarely seen the Dutch do that, but Belgians do it quite often.

We Bake

Chocomel

Outskirts of Breda, in the Fall

Project Enthusiasm

Hey everybody!

So this week has been a fun one.   We started a project this week: project enthusiasm.   It has really paid some benefits.   We saw a ton more success this week, got some new investigators.  Going about the Lord's work with a spring in your step really pays off.  That enthusiasm spread through the district as well this week and hopefully it will just go further.  Also new this week, a missionary game: contacting baseball.  Person walks by you or doesn't take a card,  Strike.   Person takes a card,  Single.  Get the persons contact information.  Double.  Place a Book of Mormon, Triple.  Get and appointment with them or teach a lesson, Home Run!  Get a dinner appointment with them, Out of the park Home Run!  (That happens sometimes with people from Africa or Suriname, they are really nice if you talk up their country and food).  Three strikes is an out.  3 outs and that's an inning and you have to wait to contact again until other person ends an inning.  Keep track of where your runners are and what your score is. So we played that this week going between appointments and it really helped Elder Stanworth start trying to talk to people, plus it was super fun.

With as many things as we tried to do this week to amp up enthusiasm and have fun, I just want to point out I still know how sacred this calling is that we hold.  We are representing Jesus Christ, this is his work, he is at the head.  The underlying joy I find from living the gospel does not stem from a worldly source, but from a pure one, that being the love of God as I try to follow the path he has set for me.  For each of us actually.  His plan is broad, and yet oh so personal.  Although his son Jesus Christ suffered for a countless number of God's children, he knows us personally, what we are going through, and if we let him he can make more of our lives then we ever could on our own.  He is the ultimate older brother, and our advocate with the father.

Because of Him

I love you all!

Elder Lott

Question of the Week: Are sports seasonal there, with championship playoffs like many sports in the US?

Answer:  Yes, sports are seasonal here.  I don't pay to much attention, but I do know that PSV (Eindhoven) won the soccer title last year.  As far as everything else goes I know it happens but as far as details, I've got nothing.

PSV (Eindhoven) are the Eredivisie 2014-15 Champions
Wikipedia page about PSV

October Ward Newsletter

[Mom note:  Elder Lott's home ward in Bountiful has a number of  missionaries serving at this time.  We have a wonderful ward missionary coordinator (Momma Tara), who organizes holiday treats and coordinates the missionary page in our ward newsletter. October was another turn for Elder Lott to write a letter. This is the letter he sent in response to the questions 'What have you learned during your first year as a missionary, and what can the youth of our ward do to better prepare for serving their own missions?'  Also he sent the new Mission Home address, which should be used for all future letters or packages.  Just for fun, this is a throwback picture of Seminary Graduation, 2014.  All of these dear youth from our ward have now traded those diplomas for missionary tags.]

Elder Fisher, Elder Lott, Sister Beal, Elder Kunz, Elder Dyer and Elder Humphries

On the first year of my mission I have learned so much!  But to sum it up I would say I have learned how important it is to be a true servant of the Lord, and how important it is to serve out of love.  There are 5 reasons you can have for doing something, all with varying degrees of motivation behind each one, which is strongly associated with success.  The lowest on that scale would be that you are forced to do something, you have no motivation and you will therefore see almost no success.  2nd would be that you are motivated out of fear.  In the case of a mission that would be fear of reputation, alternatives, whatever, but whatever motivation fear gives you won't sustain itself and will therefore not equal much success.  3rd would be receiving a reward.  In the case of a mission that could be parents paying for college, a better chance of marriage in the future, praise of others, or the chance to travel.  This gives some motivation, but not the best.  4th on the list which is starting to get somewhere would be doing something out of Duty.  Duty to God, country, the blessings he has given you, your parents/family. This is a pretty good reason to serve or to do something, but there is something more powerful, and that is the 5th reason, which is Love.  Doing something out of Love is the purest and best reason for doing something.  Someone doing something for a love of God, country, family or whatever else, but especially God, will not falter.  It is not a lustful love, but a pure love.  A love which brings the best out of people, causes one to forget self, and calls down heavenly help for success.  On my mission I would say I started out  serving out of Duty.  I have learned though that when I can forget myself and serve out of love, humbly desiring to simply serve God and my brothers and sisters, that there is no better feeling in the world.

My advice to the Young men and women of the ward preparing for missions, heck even if they aren't preparing yet, to study out of the scriptures (especially the Book of Mormon) and Preach My Gospel.  It doesn't need to be long.  10-15 minutes a day can go a long way. Then think about what you have learned, and try applying it in your own life.  Learn how the spirit speaks to you.  Your Father in heaven loves you, if you ask him for help in doing just these few simple things, he will pour out blessings you can't even imagine.  

I love you all!

-Elder Hayden Lott

Belgie/Nederland Zending

Elder Hayden L. Lott

Schuttersveld 2 C

2316 ZA Leiden

NEDERLAND

Life in Breda?

Hey Everybody!

So from the title of the email I'm betting at least some of you can guess that we didn't spend much time in Breda this week.  That's because we had conference upon conference lined up, from temple conference to stake conference.  It was all super fun but we hardly worked at all in our own city this week.  Monday night we headed out after getting everything we needed to and a dinner appointment  to go and sleep over in Den Haag.  That was super fun because we got to sleep over with some Elders I know and are good friends so we got to catch up.  Then temple conference the next day was fantastic!   I love the spirit that can be felt in the temple.  When we are prepared to enter God's house we can receive direction and revelation to guide our lives, and the peace and confidence necessary to do so.  I took a lot of things away but one thing is definitely that I need to check myself and put more on the 'altar' at this point in my mission so I can stay focused and do all I need to while I'm here.  

The Hague Netherlands LDS (Mormon) Temple

Temple Worship: The Source of Strength and Power in Times of Need
Richard G. Scott, General Conference April 2009

Then we had two 'normal' days to work here in Breda, then we were traveling again to be in Belgium for stake conference.  The conference itself was cool, but what was even better was the fact that for sleep overs I had pulled a few strings and we were able to sleep over in Leuven Saturday night after the adult session of conference in Antwerpen.  So I was able to pop in and say hi to a few members and old investigators.  That was really cool to be able to do.  I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to, but a few I needed to, so that was good.

I'm just loving missionary work right now, expanding my vocabulary in Dutch at a ridiculous rate that only the gift of tongues can explain.  I did mess up this last week in being organized in all the craziness so we have hardly anything planned for this week, so we'll pay for it, but the atonement covers everything so I'll repent this week and move on.

I love you all so much!

-Elder Hayden Lott

Question of the Week:  I found a website with a list of Dutch Birthday traditions. One of them was:

 "If it is your partner or child’s birthday, you must congratulate everyone else in the family. This might sound odd. It goes like this. It is your husband’s birthday. You invite his mother for coffee and cake. She says to you “Congratulations on Fred’s birthday”, you say to her: “Congratulations on your son’s birthday”. You congratulate Fred’s sister on her brother’s birthday and so on. Seriously. You do."   

Have you observed this tradition, or is there something else you've seen instead? 

[Mom note:  The site I found was:  Five Rules for Dealing with Dutch Birthdays.  Click here to see the full list of rules.]

Answer:  I've never heard of congratulating the person's family.  I've heard people congratulate the person directly, so I don't know.  Maybe it's regional? Or I'm just being rude, which I found out I probably have been in that past with other words I've been using that are joking if you are friends with the person but if you have only just met are more direct.  Haha so that's funny.

On the Move

Goede Dag Iedereen!
[Good Day Everyone!]

This week was another solid week.  A pay off week I would say.  I went out to work hard this week, making sure I was using full use of the time I have been given to study, and preach this gospel and it sure has been paying off.  I've seen and felt the Lord giving me and even adding to the effort and talents I have given and what I used this week.  Cap that off with a fast Sunday yesterday and that conference was last week, and I'm feeling pretty darn great.

We saw some real success this week looking up old investigators and getting appointments.  Although some of them we have had so far were a little bit frustrating.  We do our part to prepare, the spirit guides the the lessons, I'm able to speak Dutch way better than I should (shout out: gift of tongues!), we start to open it up, then right at the end they talk themselves out of it.  Arrrrrgghhh! Oh well, people have their agency.   Through Preach my Gospel and experience though, I've come to an even greater appreciation for how central the Book of Mormon is to our faith.  

Article of Faith #8

Because of the Book of Mormon we can truly know that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten son of God.  People can pick the Bible apart, or doubt that the translation or accounts are right and true of the Bible.  But if the Book of Mormon is true, it provides that separate second witness necessary to firmly sustain the truth.  When a person comes to know of the truth of the Book of Mormon by a witness of the spirit, something so clear it is not just some psychological effect, it all comes into place.  It's the blinders of the world and peoples own laziness that keep people from peace and from the truth.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and because of that and personal experiences and witnesses from the spirit, I know that Jesus is the Christ, the son of god, our redeemer and savior, the only perfect one to ever live.  Through him is the only true way to peace and to happiness both in this life and in the world to come.  Trust in him, lean on him, take some steps into the dark if you must, and I promise he will catch and embrace you.

Patterns of Light, Elder David A. Bednar, (All 3 parts on youtube)

Each part can be viewed separately on lds.org, as well.

We also had a super powerful lesson with a less active this week, he is striving now to make it back on the path after some setbacks, but you can see the hand of God in his life.  He knows it now too.

Love you all!

-Elder Hayden L. Lott

Question of the week: Since you enjoy so many of the Belgian and Dutch foods, we have been wondering if you've been able to try the pickled herring, or if it is only a seasonal thing?

Answer:  No I haven't tried pickled haring... none of my companions have made me yet.  I will before the end of my mission, just not now.