Elder Jason Cook Belgium/Netherlands Mission: WIJ BLIVEN!!! Week 30!

Lieve Familie,

Well Familie transfers happened......

DE MAGIC 3 ZIJN SAMEN GEBLEVEN!!!!

Last night we got the phone call and were told that Elder Thomas, Elder Alade, and I were all going to stay together for the next transfer here in Den Haag! Honestly it was the best news ever. So great in fact that after we received the news we broke out going crazy inside our apartment and eventually had the neighbors on our door telling us to be quite.. hahah But yes we are all so happy to be staying together and all staying in Den Haag because we have seen so many miracles together and all have big plans for this up coming transfer!

So about the week!!!!! -Well family let me just tell you all the New Years here is literally WORLD WAR 8!! It’s CRAZZZYYYY! I have so many videos and wish that I could send them, but I haven’t really figured that part out yet... haha seriously though it is crazy here. We actually were told to be inside our apartment by 4 pm on new years eve because it is so dangerous to be outside and well it was seriously dangerous, crazy, and AWESOME! There was big bomb fires in the middle of the streets, fireworks going off like crazy, cars got blown up, couldn’t even sleep because of all the crazy noise... lets just say- IT WAS AWESOME!!

K now about missionary work- this week we saw so many miracles and blessings from the Lord. First we set a baptismal date with a new investigator we found last week for the 2nd of February! Her name is Margaret and she is from Uganda and has been here for about 7 months She is actually our neighbor and one day we decided to just put a pass a long card in her mailbox with our phone number on it and well the next Sunday she called us asking if we could take her to church. I think she took the advice from Lil' Jon of "If you're scared... GO TO CHURCH" because she is definitely a little shy and scared of Nederland, but feels safe and loved inside the church here.

Another Miracle for the week is one day we were doing "bell ups" (going along the door) and we got let into this apartment. Turns out we ended up giving a first lesson to this family with 5 little kids! It truly was a very special and miracle moment because it rarely happens to be let in here in Nederland. The wife definitely was more positive towards us and the message of the restoration, but they all accepted the Book of Mormon and Moroni's challenge. It was exciting and we are looking forward to returning!

Another Miracle- The other day we decided to spend a good amount of time looking up less actives and we came across a whole less active family. It was actually truly amazing because it was the last family we decided to look up and a last minute decision. Turns out the Mom just passed away last year and ever since then the Sister from her has been praying for help. This lady told us we were answers to her prayers when she saw us at the door. She began to tear up and told us that her sister (the one who passed away) sent us to her- truly amazing to see how the Lord works in His "mysterious ways".

My last and most "bijzonder" miracle for this week.. well family remember Jasmine?? Yesterday at Church we had fast and testimony meeting and guess what.. Jasmine bore her testimony! It truly was so amazing for us as missionaries to see the influence the spirit and the Lord has on her now. She asked all 3 of us to go up to the stand with her and all bear our testimonies. It was so special for me to be standing on the stand with Jasmine and my two companions and have all 4 of us bare our testimonies one after another. Jasmine is awesome and its crazy for me to think that it all began with simply meeting her on the train 3 weeks ago.

Well Family those are just a few of the many miracles from this week. It really has been an amazing week and so many blessings have come from it. I am so grateful to be staying here in Den Haag with Elder Thomas and Elder Alade as my companions- we have even received a nickname from some of the members here in Den Haag and also our investigators, "DE MAGIC 3" ! hahah Familie I love you all so much and miss you guys like crazy!!! You guys are my motivation and drive to just keep going and never giving up. I love my mission and I love you guys all so much. Remember..

ENJOY TO THE END in all things, never endure, and look at the blessings of each day. I AM SO THANKFUL.

LOVE YOU ALL!!!

-Elder Cooooook(ie)