1st letter from Eindhoven, Netherlands -- Week 49

Hengelo District

Bishop and Sister De Ceunnick Van Capelle  -- Hengelo

This is the Awesome Alderink family in Hengelo  --  We ate with them every week

Hey Homies,

Well, I am in Eindhoven! Transfer day was absolutely terrible as usual.  Trains, train stations and lugging big bags around all day, but I made it in one piece! I don’t have my bike though.  Stuff got all messed up, so it is in another city with the Elders there.  Overall, it was pretty smooth transfer.

On my first day here, we met with a less active girl here.  She looks just like Shakira! We call her Sister Shakira.  She is from Peru, so she made some awesome Peruvian food for us.  I have actually missed Peruvian rice! Then 3 other Spanish ladies came over and we just had a Spanish partay.

I also had the chance to give a baptismal interview this week as well! We drove out to Heerlen to meet with one of their investigators.  It was about a 1 ½ hour drive.  I love giving baptismal interviews! They are amazing.  The guy I interviewed is an older Dutch man who had done all sorts of drugs and everything else his entire life, but saw the missionaries on the street one day and went up to them and talked to them.  He shared his experience with me about how he has been changed by the Atonement.  That is one of the best things about a mission, is you get to see firsthand how the Atonement can literally change people. 

We spent a ton of time planning these first couple of days.  You should see our schedule! We literally have 2 days in the next 6 weeks where we don’t have a meeting or an exchange.  We are going to be nice and busy.  I am super excited!

Eindhoven is a 4 man.  It’s Elder Holt and me along with Elder Goates and his greenie, Elder Van Vleet.  Our washing machine is broken, so we have to use member’s washing machines until our new one gets here.  Eindhoven is great and the ward is all really cool.  There is like a 2 week waiting list for dinner appointments, so we basically have one every single day.  Our house is 3 stories and pretty nice.  I’ll take pics another time.  We have a car as well! Thank the Lord! I still can’t drive though.... Hopefully my license will come soon, but as for now, Elder Holt is my chauffeur.  Elder Holt is Canadian, but he is still great! He is 5 feet 6 inches, so I am like a foot taller than him.  He is a super cool guy and has a very subtle Canadian accent.  He is basically a typical Canadian.  Loves hockey, maple syrup, he is super polite, kind and loving.  We get along super well.

There is a member here named Harry.  He is 84 years old and works with the missionaries EVERY SINGLE DAY! He loves to just go out and knock doors, teach, or whatever with the missionaries.  He even has his own nametag.  He is a hilarious old Dutchman.  We were at his house the other day and he asked me if I wanted a drink, so I said sure.  He went to his fridge and came back with 2 Monster energy drinks! I shared a Monster with an 84 year old man.  That’s not something you do every day!

We have like 3 other Peruvian women in the ward.  They all love it that I have been to Peru.  They all want to make us Peruvian food now.   :D

This week is a busy week and that’s great.  I have loved my first 4 days in Eindhoven.  This transfer is going to be awesome!

Love you all!

Elder Steenblik