This has been a good week.
It is great that we are able to work out in the mornings because I feel a lot fitter and more healthier now. Because I have lived in Colorado and Utah for about 4 years my lungs have adjusted to get as much oxygen out of the air as possible. What a great asset! As a missionary it feels like you are exercising all the time! (apart from when you are in a car area) and it has been great! After we cycle up a hill, it just takes me a few minutes to be able to breathe normal again, while it should normally take longer. It feels like I am drinking Oxygen! I really hope this will be the case throughout the next 2 years!
Monday we were able to have lunch with members, the Forsyth family, and another family was there and their names are the Sylvesters. We were able to share a message for the Family Home Evening night and it was a lot of fun! We have been trying to talk to EVERYONE we see, and because of that we have been able to talk to 118 people this week! We call this an Open Your Mouth. We have also been teaching the members how to OYM. We also plan on role playing with them.
We had an exchange this week. We thought that I was going to go to the Zone leaders area but when they got here we figured out that I was leading my own area! Lol! So I unpacked and Elder Brown packed in a few minutes. (The zone leaders are the leaders over the district leaders and they have other responsibilities) This was my second time leading the area and it was a lot of fun. I am able to learn and remember more about the area when I lead so it is good practice. The zone leader who I was on exchanges with is called Elder Hill. He is from Utah and he is super tall! (As you can see in the picture.)
The members here are super nice and feed us well! We eat so much food! I learn so much from exchanges and it is really a neat experience to be with another Elder for a day to learn how to be a better missionary.
We have also been teaching a young man whose name is Holland! We were able to have a member come with us to teach him one of the discussions this week. It was a really good lesson. I enjoy teaching lessons because there is just such power that comes when you teach them what they need to hear.
Because my companion, Elder Brown, is a district leader I get to attend all the meetings he needs to go to. So on Saturday we had a zone leadership council where I was able to learn a lot of things. They taught us about OYMs and that when we speak, angels will bear us up. To show us, they got two elders to do a trust fall. The first time the elder standing on a chair wasn't supposed to fall back, but when we got 6 elders to catch him, he was able to more fully trust in falling back. And that is what it is like when we Open our Mouth, that angels will bear us up, so we can trust God and open our mouths, even when we are scared.
A few weeks ago or so I stopped writing in how many days I had been out in my journal. I leave a one inch space at the beginning of each day so that I can write in the days later. I stopped at day 70. It was pretty hard for me to stop writing in the days because I like to keep track. However, since then all the days are blending in together and time is going by faster now. I also think it is going faster because I am more adjusted to missionary life. Some days do feel like weeks though! Everything is going well. I am changing a lot and it feels great! I am starting to feel a love for the people here... well ever since I got here, but even more so now and that is amazing. Being a representative of Jesus Christ is a massive blessing.
I know that this Church has the fullness of the Gospel and that it has been restored again to the earth. I know the things that I teach to people are the truth and I know it by the power of the Holy Ghost.
I love you all,
Elder Kloosterboer!
