Bonjour tout le monde! Vous avez tous un bonjour d'un mec a Belgique! Haha cette semaine c'était bizarre haha. Je n'aime pas recevoir les appels de chez moi pendant que je suis en mission. Ça me semble que chaque fois, ça m'amène les mauvais nouvelles. Mais c'est vrai que nous ne pouvons pas grandir sans les épreuves. Mais bon. C'est la vie eh? Fin bref. Mais autrement, je vais bien. Voici ma semaine! (Hello everyone! It's a Hello from a guy in Belgium! Haha this week it was weird haha. I do not always receive calls from home while I'm on my mission. It seems to me every time I do, it brings me bad news. But it is true that we cannot grow without tests. So good is life eh? End gloom; otherwise, I'm fine. Here's my week!)
Well tonight family home evening was really good!! Again, Emmanuel had school tonight and so he couldn't come, but the Mazy's went and got Claudette and she came with Yannick! So we were there and we were all playing ping pong and then we had a lesson given on Coming to Christ. It went really well! We talked about the importance of having Christ as the LIGHT the LIFE and the WAY:) it was a really good lesson. Then we ate all the snacks and then we got a ride home with Emmanuel and Claudette. When we got home we went to make our dessert for lunch tomorrow and came to find that we didn't have a 9x13 pan to put the crumble into....so we had to call around to other missionaries and try to find one....haha that was fun.
MARDI
Today was a good day. We had district meeting and the new way we do district meeting is really fun! Haha today we had district meeting in Charleroi and honestly it's just kind of a gloomy ville. I'm super happy to be here in Namur! Haha so this morning and got all ready and got all the stuff that we needed for our crumble and then headed out. The last time we were with the district leader, we forgot to have him buy our train passes with his mission card and so we didn't have any train tickets and so we had to go early today and buy tickets with our own money haha which isn't a problem, we just need to send in some reimbursements now. So we got into Charleroi and we waited for the district leader and may or may not have snagged some Gaufres while waiting;) we then hopped on the tram and headed to the elders apartment. We had to take a super long tram ride....haha but we got there and then we got assignments for the day and were told to be at the church to eat at 12:30. Then me and elder McDonald were put together again and we were assigned to go and take all the food to the chapel, which was also a SUPER long tram ride haha. By the time we had gotten to the chapel, we had gotten a call from some of the other elders who were a little late getting there who had food to drop off but they didn't know how to get there and so they called and asked us to go meet up with them. We went and found them and when we got to the church, we had 30 minutes left and we still needed to make the crumble...so we just stayed there and I started to peel apples and get the crumble ready! We then started district meeting and had a formation given to us on unity and elder McDonald had blind folded me and another elder and given us each a task to do while blind folded and sorting food but we didn't know each other's tasks. So we really messed up a lot haha then we are food and laughed and talked and had a fun time and then we were going to go out to work, but we found out that it takes a lot longer to get to the gare from their chapel and so we had to leave after that to be able to get to the gare to catch a train home and get home on time. Literally we were on the tram to the gare for 45 minutes. Ah! But as soon as we got to the gare, we had 3 minutes before our train left and so we ran and hopped on and got home. When we got home we came in and dropped off our stuff, and took dinner cause we had a rdv with Emmanuel and Claudette that was going to take up the rest of the night. While we were taking dinner, elder Nelson took some pics of me trying on my new jeans haha I'm excited to wear them! We then went to go and get to our rdv with Emmanuel and Claudette. It was a great rdv!! We talked about prayer and scripture study and it went really well. They are getting super excited about getting baptized!!:) after that we made our way home for the night.
MERCREDI
Today was fun!! Haha it was really bizarre but it was good. We had a good day. So on Sunday we had talked to the Paulus family and asked them if we could go over for dinner sometime this week and they were like ya how about Thursday and so we were like ok, but then today we were getting ready this morning and got a text from Pierrot and he was asking us if we could come over tonight, but we were supposed to have a rdv tonight and so he was like ok we'll have to do it next week then... So I was bummed but whatever. We then went and studied and then we went and contacted this morning. We had to run to the church to download a Mormon message that we wanted to share with the Badoux's because we were having lunch with them today and so we needed to get a little thought ready. So after headed over to their house and we ate. It was a fun time and I'm really grateful for good members who really like to take care of the missionaries. It is always a fun time to go and spend some time with some members. So anyway, we were eating and they were telling us all about how they wanted to take us out to some new places to visit on Pdays and so we are going to be having fun with them cause they really want to take us out to some really fun places!! I guess their is this little town out in the middle of nowhere with this cathedral type thing with like a statue of Satan and it's like legitimately scary and so they are super excited to take us to it? Haha it'll be fun! So anyway we shared the message of expressions of love with them and it was good, and then we bounced out of there. We decided to go and contact our way over to Virginie and Esaïe's place cause we hadn't fixed a date last week cause she was starting an internship this week and didn't know her schedule. So we went over and tried to see if they were home and they were and so we went up and talked and prayed and tried to start teaching them a little bit of the plan of salvation when their buzzer rang, and it was a friend that came up and started to get on their computer and being loud and after that Esaïe wasn't really paying attention and then the buzzer rang again and it was another friend haha.....so there was a ton of people in this little apartment and they were all talking to each other, me and Nelson were just sitting there and so we then left and fixed a rdv for Friday. We slowly made our way home for dinner and Nelson then told me that it was his 6 month mark! So we celebrated by getting frites and heading back to the apartment. We were eating when we got a text from the potential investigators that we were going to see tonight telling us it was canceled. So we called up Pierrot! He told us to come on over and we'd get pizza! Haha so we hopped on a train and headed out. It was a fun night! They had a pet chinchilla and so I got to hold it, and he showed us his new speaker system in his house and he's super excited to meet my family when we come and stay at his place when we come back;) it's going to be fun! When we got home, I got a call from Elder Pratt telling me that he had a dream of me last night and so he wanted to call and say hi haha. So that was fun to talk to him!
JEUDI
Today was a LONG day full of CONTACTING. Haha literally we spent 5 hours contacting today. It was a longggggg time. Normally we were supposed to have a rdv but it fell through at last minute and so that was a bummer.....but it was a super long day haha. But it had its good parts too. We started off with studies and then we went to lunch with Patrick!! This week he brought a friend from work with him and it was fun to get to know him. His friend is a 20 year old college student and is doing an internship at the place where Patrick works and so he invited him just to be nice! I think for the moment that his friend thinks we are kind of interesting for leaving everything behind and coming to talk to people about God haha but maybe it will turn in to something?? We never know! After we left and like I said, the rest of the afternoon was literally just full of non stop contacting. Haha like I honestly was so dead tired by the end of it and my feet hurt and I just wanted to climb into bed haha but Emmanuel and Claudette saved the day:) there isn't a ton to tell about contacting today. Honestly it was just kind of a bummer and there was really no one that stopped and talked to us, and when we were supposed to start making our way to our rdv, he texted us and told us that he needed to cancel so that just meant we needed to fill the time with more contacting until we could go in and take dinner. But it was good. We went on a couple roads that I had never been to before and so I'm just getting into the phase of exploring Namur eh;) so we went in for dinner and then the Mazy's came and picked us up and we headed over to Emmanuel and Claudette's. We taught the importance of being obedient tonight and then went over baptism and confirmation and then went over all the questions for their baptismal interview. We decided we'd cheat a little;) haha JK ITS NOT CHEATING. We are supposed to go over the questions so they know what to expect. As we were leaving, everyone had walked out and I went up to say goodbye to Claudette and said, You have to promise me one thing. PROMISE that you'll invite me to the temple when you guys go and get sealed. She looked at me and got a smile and a little teary eyed and said, would you really come?! It was so cute. These guys are gonna go to the temple!!
VENDREDI
Well tonight was the night that I got the news about dad. I don't think it's quite set in. I've been thinking a lot and praying a lot and reading the scriptures. Just trying to make it a reality. I don't know if it will be until I actually see him in person though. I am doing fine! I would ask you all to continue to pray for my dad. He needs the prayers more than me. Anyway. Today wasn't too special and I'm gonna be honest, it didn't end on that great of a note either haha. We woke up and had studies and then went out to go contacting. It was really windy and rainy and so there weren't a ton of people outside, so after about an hour of contacting we decided that it might be a better use of our time if we went inside and started to make calls from our potential investigator list. So for the last little bit we did that. We crossed lots of names out, but didn't get any rdvs set for this week....so that was a bummer. We then took lunch and then started weekly planning haha. So we were planning and getting all ready for the week and getting everything all planned for with Emmanuel and Claudette, (we are going to have finished all the lessons by the end of next week!!) and then we had to get going because we had fixed a rdv with Virginie and Esaïe. We got to their house and, just like every other time;), they had forgotten that we were coming and so they had to hurry and clean up their apartment and then we went in to talk. We were planning on sharing a lesson with them but we got too caught up in our conversation that by the time we wanted to start something, Esaïe had to leave and because of rules, we can't be alone with women haha so we left as well. We got home and finished up planning which didn't take too long, and so when we had finished we decided to go out and try to see that Belge couple that we found last week that were super cool, that canceled on us the other day. So we went out to their neighborhood and he answered and told us to text him later and we'd fix something and that they would come to church sometime soon. So we spent the rest of the night porting in that neighborhood and trying to find some new investigators, but nothing too amazing happened. When dinner came around we decided to go and get some frites and then head home for the night. I also decided to cut my hair and so as I was cutting my hair, I got the call from mom and dad and spent a good hour on the phone with them. I'm not upset, and I'm not confused, I just don't know if the fact that he actually has cancer has set in. But as I laid in bed tonight, (I like didn't sleep at all haha), I was thinking about how much that has been like that on my mission. As I thought about it, I realized that going home is gonna SUCK. haha! I'm not sure the fact that my sister is married has set in, or even the fact my grandpa passed away, so this is just adding to the 'dream' I call my mission. We'll see if I ever catch up to reality. So anyway, after I talked to my parents I called president Babin and I had an interview with him next week. So we'll see how that goes!
SAMEDI
Like I just said, I literally didn't sleep like at all last night. Too much was going on in my head, and I was just tossing and turning all night. I had gone through the whole grieving process steps 1-7 haha I've finally arrived at acceptance I believe haha I think my heart is at peace and I know things are in the Lords hands and I just need to get ready for that to set in some day. As I got up this morning I made a phone call to Jorgy. Haha he answered and I just started to cry and as I told him what was up he just listened and then everything got quiet and he goes, 'dude your mission sucks!' Haha we had a laugh and then he told me I could call whenever I needed to. So we went and studied and I'm actually in the Book of Mormon at the part in Alma talking all about faith, and how if we have great faith, it will help us through. During comp study the phone rang and I answered only to hear the voice of Pauline Royer! Haha we talked and she told me that if I ever needed anything that she was only 400km away;) haha then I spoke to Gilles and it was good to talk to them. They told me that they would be praying and fasting for my family. So anyway after we finished talking, we went out contacting and it was exactly like yesterday and there was a ton of rain and wind and so after about an hour we went inside and decided to make some phone calls for the rest of the time. We then ate some lunch and it was probably the most healthy thing I've eaten my whole mission!! Haha we made some chicken breasts with steamed vegetables and it was amazingly delicious haha! Then we went and had a rdv with the man and his wife from last week that answered the door in his Whitey tighties haha do you remember him?? When we showed up this time, he was in clothing so that was all the better. He smoked 3 cigarettes and drank 2 beers but it was a good rdv none the less. Just as we were about to get into Joseph smith, someone knocked on the door and it was some family friends and they asked if we could come back next week....BUMMER. So we are going to do that. We then had about 4 hours of straight contacting and so we set out to go and do that. We eventually had made our way to the chapel after a few hours and took a 20 minute break where I looked up a bunch of info on Lymphoma and tried to understand what is really going on at home haha. Then we contacted our way home so that we could fill out a few papers to have for church tomorrow. Then we made our way to E&Cs for the night. We had about 30 minutes before the Mazy's would be showing up and so Emmanuel wanted to play Mancala with us and he kicked my butt haha! Then we taught them about prophets and what they do and why we follow them and shared Thomas S Monson's last talk, Be an Example and a Light and it went really well. At the end of the lesson, I decided to tell all 4 of them what was going on cause I trust them and love them all. I asked them to keep it private and told them I told them cause I love them and that I wanted them to know what was going on in my life. They all told me some pretty great things but most importantly they told me that I needed to be strong and Emmanuel kept saying, 'everything will be ok. It will all work out.' When we got home I got a call from Soeur Redd and she told me she'd found out that she wanted to talk and that she and her husband loved me and they were here for me. She told me that she wants to try and see me once more before they leave, and so we'll see what we can do about that before the end of March;)
DIMANCHE
Sunday's are so great. And Heavenly Father knew that I needed a good sabbath day and a good experience at church this week. I got to church and saw a bunch of fun members and went into sacrament meeting and I was sitting there thinking about how this week was kind of like the world crumbling and I was just so overwhelmed but I was really trying to feel my Heavenly Father's love. As I was listening to the sacrament prayers, I noticed something that I really liked. The French translation of the sacramental prayers saying, 'That they WANT to take upon them the name of Thy son.' Whereas in English it says, 'that they are willing...' So as I was thinking about it, it hit me that partaking of the sacrament is something we really need to want to do and really need to try to be as worthy as we can when we take it, cause by taking it, we are really WANTING to take Christ's name upon us. And me being a missionary, I LITERALLY do that every day! So that was a cool little manifestation from my Heavenly Father. Nothing too crazy, but still, something that touched me:) the rest of our meetings were really good and then after we'd finished them up, Emmanuel and Claudette offered us a ride home. So we left and got home and ate. After we'd finished up our lunch, we got all dressed and ready and then headed out the door. We were supposed to have a rdv with Virginie and Esaïe. So we got to their house and rang the doorbell and called them a couple of times, but nothing happened....so that was really a bummer. So we got a little sad and then left and I looked at the phone and we had 5 hours of contacting and porting left......haha ya. I was a little depressed because that was a long time. But we went and did it. We talked to lots of interesting people including one man saying how he really didn't like how the USA sends people that try to change all these different cultures of different countries and that we should go back to the USA and worry about ourselves cause the Mormons needed to go back where we came from.....in GERMANY!!
where did he hear we came from Germany?! And why does he want us to go back to the USA if he thinks we came from Germany?! Haha it was really interesting. Then we went out to this one area and went porting and it was FREEZING COLD. Honestly, I could not feel my hands after....it was so cold and all I had on was a light jacket, a scarf and my umbrella and it was pouring rain for most of the time as well....sadly nobody let us in so it was just a bunch of knocking on doors and talking tonight. We then came home and got all warmed up cause you have no idea how cold it was. I LITERALLY COULDN'T MOVE MY THUMBS....haha
where did he hear we came from Germany?! And why does he want us to go back to the USA if he thinks we came from Germany?! Haha it was really interesting. Then we went out to this one area and went porting and it was FREEZING COLD. Honestly, I could not feel my hands after....it was so cold and all I had on was a light jacket, a scarf and my umbrella and it was pouring rain for most of the time as well....sadly nobody let us in so it was just a bunch of knocking on doors and talking tonight. We then came home and got all warmed up cause you have no idea how cold it was. I LITERALLY COULDN'T MOVE MY THUMBS....haha
Et voilà! Je vais vous dire tous, merci pour vos prières pour moi et ma famille. Je sais que lorsque je suis ici en mission il n'y a pas beaucoup que je peux faire. Je sais que cette épreuve c'est une preuve de ma foi. Nous allons survivre et tout va finir par s'arranger. Je vous demande de continuer à prier pour ma famille, notamment mon papa, car ils sont dans le besoin. C'est un peu rigolos parce que cette semaine, pendant notre planification hebdomadaire, j'ai fixé le but de me rapprocher au Seigneur. Haha je ne savais pas combien qu'il veut que nous atteindrons nos buts! Mais comme j'ai dit, nous allons survivre et tout ira bien. On se parlera bientôt:) je vous aime!! (And voila! I'll tell you all, thanks for your prayers for me and my family. I know that when I'm here on a mission there is not much I can do. I know that this test is evidence of my faith. We are going to survive and everything will eventually work out. I ask you to continue to pray for my family, especially my dad, because they are in need. It is a little funny because this week, during our weekly schedule, I set the goal for me to get closer to the Lord. Haha I didn't know how much he desires that we will achieve our goals! But as I said, LIBBYS are going to survive and everything will be fine. We will talk soon :) I love you!)
Elder Libby
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