Week 82 (Nivelles)

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas!

Ours was amazing. We had three different families who invited us over for the 25th, and a fourth who invited us for the night before. So we ended up eating a Christmas meal four times in a row! When we were talking about that with someone in the ward, they told us we would have bellies like Santa Claus! They weren't wrong! We shared a Christmas message and had a great time together.

We've also met some cool people this week. We went to visit a family Sunday evening, and they were so happy to have us. When we met the father on the street, he invited us to stop by because as he said, My door is always open for Jesus! The kids were a bit hectic, but as we shared the Book of Mormon with them, the Spirit was present. I'm so grateful to be able to share this message with everyone!

Bonne année!
Elder Wood

Elders McGrew, Wood, Layton, and Dunn

Elders Wood and Dunn with their ami, Christian

Elder Wood and Elder Dunn ice skating on New Year's Eve

Elders Wood, Layton, Karratti, Belka, Melanson, Darrington, Dunn, and McGrew

After a game of spikeball; Elders Belka, Darrington, Dunn, Karratti, Layton, Melanson, McGrew, and Wood

Not clear what this is, but it's Christmasy!

Week 81 (Nivelles)

What a week! A great setup for Christmas!

We actually met with one of our friends to do some genealogy with her. She's met with the missionaries for years, but never set up a FamilySearch account. So we met her at the chapel with our Family History consultant and got her family tree started. It was so cool, especially since recently we've been discussing in our zone and district about using genealogy in our missionary work. The family is something that's important to all of us, and it brings us together.

We also did some caroling in Brussels! We had zone conference the next day, so we all met up near the train station in Brussels to sing Christmas hymns and let people write cards for kids in a nearby hospital. We also handed out some Book of Mormons wrapped up as presents! It was lots of fun to be with the whole zone and sing together, all while helping people #LightTheWorld!

And on Sunday we had our Christmas party after Sacrament Meeting. Our ward was over double the normal size! Afterwards we all shared a meal together and watched the new nativity video the Church made this year. When we finished the meal, a group of us went caroling to a few members' houses!

Then when we finished, a member was driving us home and we noticed we were right next to one of our friends' houses, so we asked to be dropped off there. One of the other members in the car (a returned missionary) decided to come with us. We went to their house, but they weren't home, so we decided to do some door to door caroling. We met mixed success, not everyone wanted a Christmas song. But without knowing, we knocked on the door of a guy we'd met on the road a week or two ago, and he was super happy to see us! Then a bit later, someone else let us in to chat, and we're coming back to share more soon! It was a miraculous evening, in part because of the opportunity to work with members!

Joyeux Noël!
Elder Wood

Christmas caroling in Brussels

Christmas caroling/signing cards for sick children

Elders Darrington and McGrew, with wrapped Book of Mormons to give away

Making Christmas goodies with a family from his ward

"Light the World"

Food photo: They baked a quiche but the crust was a little overdone.

Some of the elders from his zone looking suave: Elders Poulson, Layton, Carrillo, Dunn, McGrew, Belanger, Poll, Canez, and Wood

All of the elders from his zone looking happy. Standing: Elders Luth, Wood, Layton, Belka, McGrew, Dunn, Poll, and Denton. Seated: Elders Belanger, Poulson, Carrillo, Melanson, Karratti, Darrington, and Canez

Week 80 (Nivelles)

One week to Christmas! Not that I'm counting.

We met with our friend Christian this week, and he's amazing. He wants to be baptized, but we're just waiting on his family so they can be here for it. At one point during our rendez-vous, he was telling us about some advice his mom had given him when he was young. She told him how if he wanted to improve, then when everyone else went out to play, he should go in and study. He then related it to the gospel; how if we put in the effort now, later on we'll be much better off than those who didn't. And they'll all be playing catch-up.

We've also been visiting with members to help them invite people to the Christmas celebration on the 22nd. One lady invited us over for dinner, then when we got there, showed us the list she'd made of all the people she invited! There were people like "The neighbor across the street" that were expected, but others like "The man working at the grocery store" that came out of nowhere! She invited literally everyone! She was an unexpected example of how to be a true member missionary. So what about you? Have you invited anyone yet?

Prenez courage!
Elder Wood

It's cold outside!

Elder Wood and Elder Dunn with a family from their ward

Group photo from the multizone conference a few weeks ago. Elder Wood is third row from the front, second from the left.

I'm not sure what this is, but possibly some bookshelf repair work?

Week 79 (Nivelles)

Tuesday? Why not Monday? Surprise! My P-Day is now on Tuesdays.

Other than P-Day being switched to Tuesdays now, the big news is that we're sharing the car with Charleroi. So last week we were on bus. It was interesting, and it took a bit longer to get places. But we met people we wouldn't have met otherwise and Charleroi was able to go places they'd never been before.

One person we talked to was telling us about his coworker who's a member of the church. He talked about how he's such a great guy and how everyone loves and respects him. And it made me think about how people notice our example. When we live the gospel, our light shines forth and people see it. It makes me think of what Elder Uchtdorf said, "I am asking that you 'stand as witnesses' of the power of the gospel at all times?—and when necessary, use words."

In Elders Quorum this Sunday we were talking about ministering, and the story from Elder Holland's talk, Emissaries to the Church, came up. What touched me is how forceful the ministering brother was. He said, I'll be here every morning at 5:15 to play basketball, and you're coming with me! Had it not been for the love he had for his friend, that would never have worked. Trust me, we as missionaries can barely get people on the street to read a book! But if people love us, and more importantly know that we love them, there's a power behind our invitations that works miracles.

Je vous aime tous!
Elder Wood

He enjoyed pecan pie at one family's home for Thanksgiving - his mom's favorite pie!

It's a little blurry, but they found a house with fun Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs decorations

Elder Dunn with their Christmas advent calendar

Food photo: They made pizza!

O'Tacos restaurant. Roughly translated: "The best way to resist temptation is to give in to it"

Week 78 (Nivelles)

Transfers roll around again! What surprises are in store this time?

First surprise, there are no big surprises! Just that our district is staying as it is. And speaking of our district, we all spent a great Thanksgiving together! A family in Charleroi invited all of us over, so we baked some pies and had an amazing dinner!

We've also met lots of cool people throughout the week. One lady that we met was thanks to a random stranger who's door we knocked on. He wasn't really interested, but he told us to try two doors down. A really religious couple lives there and they host Sunday meetings at their house sometimes. So we took his advice and knocked on the door. The wife answered and we had a really nice conversation with her. She was somewhat curious about the Book of Mormon, so we left her with a copy and she was open to us stopping by again to talk some more. Moral of the story, always ask for directions from strangers!

And for those of you who haven't heard, Christmas is just around the corner! That means it's time to #LightTheWorld! Go check out LightTheWorld.org for some neat videos and service ideas to make this a great Christmas season!

Joyeux Noël!
Elder Wood

A landscape selfie somewhere in Belgium

Posing with the friendly cow

Elder Wood and Elder Dunn visiting with a family in their ward

Food photo: Smore's, Belgian style! (Marshmallows and Belgian chocolate surrounded by gauffres/Belgian waffles)

Their "Come and See" invitation for this year's Light the World/Christmas season