Summertime!

Hallo!

It is summer in Belgium and that is a fun mixture of rain one day and very humid heat the next. Or sometimes both the same day. It makes for good conversation starters in the bus.

 

Also the Gentse Feesten [a music and theater festival that includes stage events and random small street acts] have been occurring for the last 10 days. We visited them for about an hour. Crazy stuff. Fun, but it's a mess with public transportation.

 

On Wednesday we had a really cool lesson with a Belgian mans. He is very smart and pretty well-informed about religion but at the moment really believes that God does not exist. He met the Elders awhile ago on a bus or tram and they gave him a Book of Mormon. A few weeks ago we met him and had a good conversation, but he didn't seem super interested. He had really good questions though, all leading up to the Plan of Salvation. So we gave him a pamphlet and said we'd come back in a few weeks. Tuesday we swung by and he was home, and he'd actually read the pamphlet and had perfect questions leading to the Restoration. We had to go to an appointment though, so we weren't able to teach him until Wednesday.

I learned a lot about faith and obedience yesterday. My companion and I were discussing a question one of the members posed to us about why bad things happen to good people and she said that we demonstrate true faith when we continue to work hard and be obedient, even when nothing seems to be getting better. It reminded me of one of my favorite talks, "But If Not," by Elder Dennis E. Simmons:

"What does the Lord expect of us with respect to our challenges? He expects us to do all we can do. He does the rest. Nephi said, “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”

We must have the same faith as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

Our God will deliver us from ridicule and persecution, but if not. … Our God will deliver us from sickness and disease, but if not … . He will deliver us from loneliness, depression, or fear, but if not. … Our God will deliver us from threats, accusations, and insecurity, but if not. … He will deliver us from death or impairment of loved ones, but if not, … we will trust in the Lord.

Our God will see that we receive justice and fairness, but if not. … He will make sure that we are loved and recognized, but if not. … We will receive a perfect companion and righteous and obedient children, but if not, … we will have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that if we do all we can do, we will, in His time and in His way, be delivered and receive all that He has."

I love you all! Hope you have a great week!

Salutjes!

Zuster Stevens