7-1-13
Hello Family and Friends,
Greetings from Brussels Belgium! I am currently writing you from a very sketchy internet cafe with a very poorly working computer so this could be interesting. I have so much to tell you guys this week! First of all I picked up my new companion on Wednesday. His name is Chase Player (yeah I know... his name is too legit)! Elder Player is a 19 year old stud from Salt Lake City Utah. On Wednesday night we arrived in Strombeek which is basically a subdivision in the city of Brussels (we live in the northern half of the city). Turns out we are living with a couple other elders (Elder Wood and Elder Wilson). Living in a 4 man apartment is pretty awesome.
This week has been full of finding, finding and more finding. Since we are basically opening up a new area, we have to start everything from scratch. We couldn't just walk into the city and start teaching the people the last missionaries had been teaching, we had to find our own. I kind of like that though. Its been super challenging, but I have seen the Lord lead us to find people already. Despite only having half of a week and no investigators as of Wednesday night. We still managed to teach 11 lessons... 9 of them being on the street. By teaching a lesson on the street I mean that we contacted someone, taught them and prayed with them all on the street. I may have already explained that before but I can't remember. Of those 11 Lessons, We got a bunch of contact information and follow up appointments so that was super sweet. What's crazy is how many of those lessons came at the last minute. Once again, never too late for a last minute miracle! We are very blessed.
Belgium is VERY different from France. I can't even begin to explain all the differences. The biggest difference though is the people. Belgium really is the melting pot of the world. People come from all over the world to live here... especially Muslims and Africans. I swear, you could be walking down one street and it will feel like you are walking in Iraq (which is not a very comfortable situation when you have Jesus Christ written on a plaque on your chest and are getting stared down by a bunch of Muslims). I accidentally contacted a couple Muslim men this week and after I did it was super awkward. But anyways... don't worry mom, we'll be fine! On a lighter note, there are other streets here in Belgium that make you feel like you are walking in Africa. Let me just say.... I LOVE AFRICANS!!!! Of the 11 lessons we taught, every single one of them was to an African. Africans are just so cool and laid back and immediately interested in Jesus Christ and the message of the Restoration of His gospel.
However... I did meet a couple Africans this week who were like pastors/missionaries for a different Christian church. They were pretty nice, but all they wanted to do was bible bash. I'll admit, I didn't back down like I should have and got pretty fired up during our bible bashes haha. I learned my lesson though, bible bashing is not effective because the spirit can't be there and in the end nothing good comes from it. Elder Player is going to help me walk away from Bible bashing situations from now on.
Elder Player is such an awesome comp. I'm very impressed with his level of French and confidence. Even though he's only been here a couple days, he still has the courage to go up to people on the street and talk to them. We are going to have an awesome couple of transfers together. We've already learned a lot together.
Lets see... What else do I need to tell you. The Church here in Brussels is huge. There are a couple really big wards. Half the ward is made up of Americans though. There are a bunch of American families living here that work for NATO so that's pretty cool.
Overall its been a very hectic week with moving and what not. Its been a whole lot of change all at once, but I know the Lord has been there with me every step of the way. This is His work, and I couldn't do it without His help. I love you all, thank you for all of your letters and emails and packages and prayers and support. I appreciate them much more than I can express. I am praying for you guys!
Until next week,
Elder Davis
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