Had a Great Week

Hi everybody!

 

   Just another week has gone by like always. Missionary work has been so great.

Last Monday we had a great p-day in Amsterdam which is also not the best place for two

innocent missionaries.

   Tuesday was such a special day. We went to the temple in Zoetermeer with half of the mission.

It was great seeing all the familiar missionaries that I know. It was such a spiritual feeling and it just felt

great to leave all worldly things behind and focus on the spiritual things. I really felt the spirit especially giving me spiritual guidance. Afterwards we had a Temple conference and had a great training by President Robinson and his wife. They are such an amazing teaching team. They work in unity. After all that when we were back in our own area we had a dinner appointment with an investigator who is the girlfriend of this awesome member. It was such a good lesson focused on Christ and the spirit was so strong to testify.

   On Wednesday we had a great experience, we looked up a person who was not home so we knocked some doors and talked to people on the street. Well nothing much happened so we walked away when the thought came to my mind '' You just barely got here and you are gonna give up that quick'' my first response was ''no... of course not we were just walking'' well the thought to pray for guidance came next. We prayed and stayed in the area, the first lady that walked past us seemed that we needed to talk to her. We had a nice chat and was not interested because she has been through to much in her life to believe that there is a god. After we walked away I had another prompting that was like ''you are gonna give up that easy?'' so we walked back which is the one thing that you don't want to do after you have been rejected and talked to her again. This time around she understood who we were and felt that god sent us to her she opened up and we exchanged information. She is such a nice lady. The spirit is there to guide us and when he prompts us to do something we better do it cause he is not wrong.

That same day we met with Junior before the young adult family home evening. He is so amazing and just understands the gospel. He feels the spirit and is preparing for baptism. We stayed for institute and it was a great lesson.

   Oh Elder on Thursday we looked up my favorite Iraj the Iranian guy and he was home after not being able to get in contact with him for a few weeks. He gave us fruit to eat like always and we took some pics. I love that man. I love the people in in my mission. I love this work.

   On Friday we had a great training by the stake President to all the missionaries in the Zone/stake. He gave such a good training. He introduced to us the stake mission plan of the year 2013. What an inspired Stake President and he will really motivate the members in the stake. Later that night we met with Junior again and had another great lesson.

   On Sunday we had a great church service. I gave a talk. Junior got on a bus that did not stop in Amsterdam and on the same bus happened to be the JOVO that we had on joint teach with him. They both took a bus back and walked to the church together. It was such a miracle because he probably would not have found his way to the church.

   Today was a great P-day, we were able to get some cleaning done and dis some fun stuff. I love the day to day experiences on my mission and in life.

I miss you all and love you. I know that God lives, he gave his only begotten son because of his eternal love for us. I know that Jesus Christ suffered and died for us and our sins, however he lives because he overcame death. I know that he restored his church and that it has the proper priesthood authority and is lead by living prophets and apostles. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that the words in it are the words of Jesus Christ. I know these things because of the Holy Ghost which teaches us of all truth. I leave my testimony with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Much Love

                Elder Ellis

                Een Zendeling van

                DE KERK VAN

                JEZUS CHRISTUS

                VAN DE HEILIGEN 

                DER LAATSTE DAGEN

The Lord Blesses

Hi Everyone

 

This past week was amazing. We have been working so hard all transfer and it seems as if it is now paying off.

We looked up a couple of ladies who we met on the street a couple of weeks ago. They just let us in which has been

unusual and we taught them the restoration and they understood it and felt the spirit. They both have been looking for the true church.

They both want to be baptized. We also ran into a guy from Brazil who used to take the missionary lessons 4 years ago. He also wants

to be baptized. He is so cool and he came to church and stayed to see a baptism. I love the people here so much.

   For the rest we just had good things happen this week. We had a great fast and testimony meeting. I bore my testimony again. I also had to give the

lesson in Priesthood Elders quorum. We had some really cool dinner appointments this last week.

I love my companion Elder Hanson he is a really good Elder. I love this work.

Thanks for all your support.

Much Love Elder Ellis

Hey

Hey everybody.

 

I am doing great especially since we had such an awesome general conference, I learned so much from it and now I just have to apply all that I learned. I am so excited for all the young women who can now go on a mission at the age of 19. Sister missionaries are so cool and bring such great faith and work ethics into missionary work. I love all the sisters in my mission. I am so glad that I am on a mission.

I love this work and this gospel.

Thank you all for your support and the prayers for missionaries, I have felt strength throughout my mission.

This last week was a good week, my companion bought a good bike for 25 euros.

We also had a few appointments with some really cool people. One of our investigators who is an Iranian singer gave us one of his Cd's and it is really good. There is a language barrier but it is so cool to teach him and I love that guy so much.

We had a nice Ward dinner activity and the food was really good.

On P-day we went to Den Helder with the assistants and the Mission President and his wife and we had such a good time. We went to a rescue ship museum.

I love the Netherlands. This last week we also had a really good lesson with one of our investigators and we all felt the spirit so strong and I feel like a lot of confusion was cleared up. She also came to general conference.

I know that the church has been restored and that it is being lead by living prophets through revelations from Jesus Christ.

I love you all

Love Elder Ellis

Another Day Another Dollar

Hello

Good afternoon. I had a great week. Things are going all over the place and so are we cause Amsterdam is huge well bigger than Rotterdam especially since it was divided into two areas. Luckily Amsterdam has excellent public transportation. I am walking a ton, I really got used to having a car for 7 and a half months so now its a huge change. I love it though cause if you think of missionaries you get this image in your mind of two missionaries walking down a street. So I am really fulfilling my role as a missionary.

   Last Monday we were invited to a lady's birthday party and we had some BBQ. She lives next to the church and used to take the lessons from the sister. She is really nice. A couple other non member friends came by and we were able to tell a little about the church.

   We have been doing a lot of finding since most of our appointments fell through. I like finding put teaching an actual sit down lesson is the best. I love it.

On Wednesday we had a District Leader council and a Zone Leader Council combined and the first half was separate and President asked me to train the District Leaders. Even though I am a District Leader myself President trusted me with that task. It went really good. We then had a great training by President his wife and the Assistants. The spirit was so strong.

   On Friday all four zones had a training at the same time which were held by the zone leaders. President went to one one assistant to another and his comp to another so there was one more zone that needed someone to be there representing President and so President asked me if I would go to Apeldoorn with my companion for him. It was really cool to be in my old zone and I felt cool, yet also very humbled. All the trainings were powerful. President now calls me his Deputy.

   We live with the Assistants and Elder van de Graaff happens to be one of them and also happens to be one of my former companions and a super good friend of mine so we have a blast in our apartment. Most dinner appointments with members both companion ships are invited so it feels like we are companions again. I love that kid.

   The members here are awesome. I don't have much time to get to know  them but I do love them.

I love this work and I love you all. 

   Love Elder Ellis

Amsterdam

Hey

Sorry I have to keep it short but I don't have much time.

I really like Amsterdam so far and there are seriously people everywhere from all over the world. We try to talk to everyone and of course especially the native Dutch people.

Elder Hansen and I are having fun and get along great. The Ward is great too and things are picking up too. We had one of our investigators come to church. We traveled with him which meant that we had to go through the centrum of Amsterdam. Not the best thing to do on a Sunday morning right before church but oh well. I am working hard and doing my best to rely on the Lord.

I love you all

Much Love Elder Ellis

Farewell Rotterdam

Hello

So transfers is this week and I was sure that I would stay here in Rotterdam and stay as a Zone Leader but the Lord has other plans for me. He has called me to Amsterdam. I am very excited to go there and to work with my new companion Elder Hansen from Idaho.

The cool thing is that I will be in the same apartment with one of my former companions Elder van de Graaff. Also I will be District Leader again over the Assistants and the sisters in Amsterdam. 

   This last week we had a zone conference with a seventy, a counselor from the area presidency Elder Patrick Kearon. He is from England and he so cool and spiritual. The spirit was so strong and there was so much that we learned. We also had a zone leader council with him and that was very special too. I learned so much and felt the spirit so strong.

   I was on x-changes with Elder van de Graaff and we had a blast, I just love that missionary.

I also really enjoyed my time with Elder Schulte, I love all of my companions. I will really miss Rotterdam I mean that is my city now, I love the people and just everything. I will especially miss the people that I have worked with. They all mean so much to me. 

   This last week while on our way home I saw someone from the car that I knew and have taught in the past and that I really care about. I have not been able to get in contact with him so when I saw him I jumped out of the car, ran over and we hugged. It was so good to see him again. I love meeting people and just loving them. I love my mission so much. 

I love you all, love Elder Ellis

Here is my new address

Elder Ellis

Vogelkersoord 4

1112 ED Biemen

Nederland

What a Week

Hello 

Its been a good week.

We went on x-changes this week with the Elders te Utrecht. It was fun I was with Elder Wang, we had a really fun time ,we laughed a lot. We talked to a lot of people and since all the universities are starting up again there are students everywhere, on bikes and businessmen/women so it was crazy to bike through the centrum. This guy almost crashed and so he looked over at me and we just started talking to each other. There are people crossing everywhere and everyone is flying and rushing from one place to the other. Elder Wang was already ahead. The guy and I rushed through the city dodging other bikers and cars and I told him about what we do, I started teaching him and he showed interest and right as I was about to ask him for his information to make an appointment we looked at the road splitting ahead of us and he said where do you have to go and I quickly looked and just barely saw Elder Wang fly over into the street on the right so I said right and he said nice talking to you I have to go straight, and there he went he was gone.

It was a nice conversation and he actually had interest. It was crazy, by the way no one in the Netherlands wear helmets when they bike. We had a great x-change.

   On Wednesday we were in this area looking up a guy when his neighbor looked out the window to tell us that he was not home but that we were welcome to come into his home and talk to him. So we did. He is Muslim and very nice we talked for a while and he told us how he likes Mormons and that he tells people that they should not judge us but that we are really nice, that was very kind of him, then he said that he knows a Mormon that used to come to Amsterdam for work. This Mormon is from Utah and has four wives and we were like oh no. We had a nice conversation, he invited us to come back to eat with him some time.

   This past week we have been able to do more service than usual. We did yard work, helped someone clean and move out of his college dorm room, and move some furniture around. Three different people. It felt great to just help people.

   The whole month of August we have been packed with member appointments and we have been able to work better with our ward. There is some good stuff happening.

   On Sunday one of our investigators came to church who initially told us that she would be unable to attend because she worked till 3 in the morning. Well she came anyways because she did not want to miss one Sunday. She is amazing and is really putting up some collateral. Things are going great. I miss you all and love you.

Much Love Elder Ellis

Nothing Changes Until You Make a Change

Hey

I don't have much time, realized I.

I had a good week, things are a little slow but I am sure and I know that things will pick up again. We have been working super hard.

Also we have really been working with the members and they have been feeding us. yeah

We have a calendar for dinner appointments and the whole month of august was filled in for everyday.

September is also looking good. I love the members and especially this ward. They work hard and are good examples to the world.

Also the recent converts are keeping strong and are really being integrated to the ward.

We have seen some miracles this last week and it has been amazing.

I miss you all and love you

Love Elder Ellis

A Day of Forgiveness

I want to start off on something that I have learned over the past couple of weeks. Atonement is an action performed by our savior Jesus Christ, it includes the suffering in the garden of Gethsemane, the death on the cross and the Resurrection after 3 days. This act made it possible for us to conquer sin and overcome death. We learn from the scriptures that all people who have lived on earth, live or will live will resurrect. However forgiveness of our sins is something that we have to accept. Forgiveness plays a huge part in the atonement. Why? Jesus Christ stated in his example prayer, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." When we ask for forgiveness and repent the Atonement is applied, but when we choose not to forgive someone else we work against the Atonement. How can we be forgiven when we can't forgive someone else. It is hard for me to put in words but my experience is that forgiving someone is really hard but once it is done it is more gratifying and relieving than if I receive forgiveness for something I did wrong. Most of the time people don't mean to hurt us and even if they do we are hurt even more by not forgiving and carrying it around like a heavy chain everywhere that we go. I have not mastered this and I don't mean to sound wise, its just something that I have learned and that I have a testimony of. I love you all.
   On Tuesday I went on x-changes with a former companion of mine, Elder Da Cruz the Brazilian. He is super cool and I miss him as a companion even though we work in the same city and I see him at least 2 or 3 times a week. We had a great x-change.
But you know this entire week has been a little slow and even though I worked hard it was hard and really hot and I felt lazy. I still worked hard but I am not sure about the extra mile.
   On Wednesday we had a Zone Leader council and it was a really good one, Our new Mission President Robinson is great. We had a council where w discussed certain challenges in the Mission and we came up with some really good solutions. I love it.
There was this little white bird that ran around the back yard of the mission home and after one of the Elders tried catching it I used my bird catching skills that I acquired in Arizona from catching pigeons, ducks, geese, and Peacocks and caught the little thing it was then passed around to pet. It tasted really good for lunch... just kidding, we ate it for dinner....hahah that is also a joke.
   I just want to give some credit to the office Elders cause they are really cool.
This whole week we have had some really good dinner appointments with Members. I love the members. It is also going good with the recent converts.
   Friday was a good day, a day where I matured an entire year within one night. I am now 21 what? One of the sister cities in our zone had a long awaited baptism which was great. yeah baptisms!!! One of my birthday gifts was the 5 new solid investigators that we received. All in one day, we had a drought for a couple of weeks but the Lord is merciful. These 5 new people are incredible.
   Sunday was great as well Church was really hot, it got 38 degrees Celsius. We went to Gouda where the famous cheese comes from and we did some finding in the centrum since we went there for a meeting with the young single adults but we did not want to stay for the singles ward. It was extremely hot. Later we went to a family for dinner who lives close to Gouda.
   Well there goes another great week. I miss you all and love you.
I know that Jesus Christ lives and that the Atonement is real. I know that his church is restored and that it is lead by a prophet of God. I love the gospel.
Much Love, Elder Ellis

This Week Was Great

Hello Everybody

We have been preparing this Colombian mom with her daughter for baptism and they are so ready and we almost had it this weekend but they are struggling coming to church so we need to put it off for a while but I sure hope that they will get baptized this month. 

Also Merwin and Tony two of the guys that were recently baptized just received their first callings as Ward Missionaries. They are both very excited and so are we cause I know that they will grow so much more in the gospel and especially in knowledge and testimony. They are so cool. They are really going to strengthen the ward.

Borkan one of the young men just left for the MTC this morning to go learn German and than to serve in the Alpine mission so for those of you in Austria if he serves in your ward give him a big welcome from me. His name is Elder Abd el Moeti he has a Palestinian father.

   This last week one of the members challenged us to be the first ones at church and to stand out front greeting everyone that comes in. So we did and when we got the Eating Calendar back it was almost completely filled in which means that we left a good impression. It was cool. Its cool to ask members for advice and challenges since they are dutch and they know what would be effective and how we could improve.

   Its super sad the Andersons left and the last time I heard from them was when Elder Anderson gave us a call and gave us a referral of a lady that they had just given a Book of Mormon to. They endured to the end. They are seriously one of the most dedicated couples I have ever seen. They both spoke Dutch as much as they could and even Sister Anderson who spoke no Dutch prior to her coming to the Netherlands learn it in the last two years and she can speak it very well. They have been such an example to me.

   Transfers went well and it was pretty smooth. We just had to stand around the train station form 9 in the morning till about 3 in the afternoon. I may have seen some of the missionaries for the last time on my mission since a few of them went all the way down to Belgium.

   Currently we are teaching a few Africans, from Nigeria,Ghana, and Rwanda. I love teaching all kinds of cultures and ethnic groups.

   On Saturday we had the opportunity to have a Zone Leadership Correlation which is where the Zone Leaders (us) meet with the District Leaders from our Zone. We just went over responsibilities of leaders and how we can work better with each other. It was cool. It also got us all pumped about fulfilling our leadership roles.

   On Sunday I got to translate into German again. this time it was Fast and Testimony meeting. I at least got a lot of breaks but I tell you it sure is hard to translate all those stories being told especially when they use words that I am not so familiar with. It worked out though. The fam from Germany was very nice and I liked practicing my German. we also had an inactive member come and bring his girlfriend and her son. It was cool. I love going to church so much.

   I love the Gospel so much and am so thankful for my savior Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for a church that allows us to learn and to grow. 

Thanks for all your support and prayers.

Much Love

               Elder Ellis

Guten Tag

Hello Everyone

It has been another great week, we have had the greatest weather the last week which means that people seem to be more friendly and open in hearing the message. 

We have seen a couple miracles this past week especially in finding new investigators. We found a few people who are searching for the truth. They are so amazing and I already love them. One of the ladies we found is the niece of a member which is cool cause she told her aunt that if the missionaries would ever come by that she would talk to them. So we are now teaching her. Another couple people we found are also super cool and they are both really honest in finding the truth. The woman makes her own music about God and she uses Garage band which is what I used to use so there was a click right away.

Well you all probably would like to know what is happening for Transfers. Well at church I said bye to some people cause I thought that I would leave but I am staying with Elder Schulte. We are so happy. It has been 5 transfers since I've had a companion for more than one transfer.

Oh here is something funny, at church on Sunday a family form Germany came to visit and the bishop asked if I could translate for them. ha ha yeah funny bishop, I have not spoken real German for the last 5 or 6 years. Well I did it anyways and it was pretty messy. I really need to practice my German again. The speakers spoke super fast too so I had a hard time. It sure was an experience. 

They will be here again next week so I will have to translate again. Pray for me. ha ha

Well the missionary work is going great. I love my mission so much and am enjoying every minute of it. I hope that all is well at homes, and with all who read this. I love you all.

Love Elder Ellis

The Weather Sure Changes

Hello Y'all

So I had a good week. We have had the most dutch weather you could imagine, rain! sometimes the sun pokes through. Yesterday and today the sun is shining really bright, cloud free today to be exact. 

Last Monday we had a zone p-day where we went on a boat tour underneath a city called Den Bosch. It was cool and it rained the whole time.

We had a first lesson with a lady Monday night and she was so awesome and just super open to the Holy Ghost. We set a baptismal goal with her. The spirit was so strong.

Tuesday was fun we had District meeting where we supplied the food and the Andersons worked their magic and made a delicious meal.

Right now there are a lot of people on vacation which makes it hard to get appointments so we basically just find all day long talking to everyone. That is so much fun since I love talking to people but its still nothing like teaching a lesson to one of your investigators.

We had a couple of lessons with one lady who was preparing for baptism and I was sure that she was going to make it but for some reason all these concerns started coming up and she now disagrees with everything and is trying to teach us. It is so sad since we really care about her and love her. We had to drop her in the last appointment and tell her what our purpose is and that we don't come to argue with people but that we look for people who are open to learn more and find out for themselves if what we are teaching is true. 

I went on x-changes with Elder Hendrickson and it was so much fun, we talked to so many people. We had a great time and found a lot of potential people. 

It was a good week. Sunday was awesome, a lot of people were on vacation and we had no investigators in church but the 4 last baptized people were in church so it was good to see that they are strong and active. I also taught the lesson in Priesthood and both I and Elder Schulte gave talks. It went well. The Elders Quorum president also gave a fantastic talk. I love church.If you are scared go to church .If you are angry go to church. If you are sad go to church and if you are happy go to church.

I love you all and am so thankful for all of your support. Keep strong, be strong and .......uh

Much Love 

               Elder Ellis

I Love My Mission

Hey Everybody

I am doing good and it has been a good week.
I want to share a personal experience about the atonement. I know that Jesus Christ suffered for us in the garden of Gethsemane. I know that he took our sins upon himself. I knows us. He lives, and loves us. Our Heavenly Father loves us, For God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten son... I love the scriptures and what they teach concerning Christ and the Atonement. I am so thankful for the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ and the Priesthood Authority. I know that it is real but I can only share my experience. I have made mistakes in my life and I have repented and I repent daily and through the Atonement of Jesus Christ I have felt peace from it and a burden lifted off my shoulders. The guilt is swept away. The power of the Atonement is real and it can take place in any ones life. I love it.
I feel so much love from our Heavenly Father. I don´t have much to share this week except for my testimony that I know that all these things are true and I know that the Book of Mormon is true, I have read it and am reading it again and it has brought me closer to God and Christ. I love you all. In the Name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Love Elder Ellis

So Far All is Well

Hello

It has been a great week. Merwin the man that was baptized last week received the Aaronic Priesthood and passed the sacrament already. He is doing so good. It was amazing to see him walk into church randomly one day and six weeks later be baptized. It was such a miracle. We have another few really positive people who will hopefully be baptized soon. One lady is from Ghana and loves making food for us and it is delicious. Let me tell you. 

   So we are teaching some really cool people. We also try to talk to as many people as possible. We get a lot of their info but it is hard to make appointments since they usually respond "Ah just come by whenever and if we are home you are welcome if not try another time" So we have become a lot more straight forward like we ask specifically if they are even interested and we tell them how we can't waste our time and energy just looking them up to see if they are home. I have gotten really bold. 

    Here is a random fact, I have let my hair grow out longer than ever before on my mission, now don't worry I comb it to the side and part my hair so it is still appropriate. I actually liked it. What is funny is that a guy from our ward said that when he was on a mission he just had his hair short and did not have to do anything with it but the last 4 months of his zending he grew it out and gave it a part just like I am doing. So it must be some kind of thing that you do at the end of your mission. Idk.

    This last week we had a Zone Conference where we got to meet the new Mission President and his wife. They are so awesome and I am so excited to work with them. I also went on x-changes with Elder Pope. It was super cool. We had a great x-change. I learned a lot from him. You know being a Zone Leader is is super fun and I just like helping people. Yesterday we approached someone and offered help she was relieved to hear that we wanted to help. Her husband went off on us how we are just advertising for our church and he told us how we are liars and that he does not need help from us. We really just wanted to help. She looked pretty mad at him for not letting us help. When we left it sounded like as if they got into a fight. Oops. Well people my time is up.

I love you all. Best Wishes from

                                             Elder Ellis

A New Mission President

Hello everybody!

Its been a great first week of the transfer. Elder Schulte and I are getting along very well.... we actually have to do our best not to laugh. The first day before we left our apartment we knelt down to pray and could not leave for like 10 minutes because we laughed so much that we could not start praying. Don't worry we are doing our best and we don't laugh in appointments. I would just like to add that I probably have never laughed so much in my life in such a short period of time. haha

   So this past week has been great. We are teaching some really cool people and especially a few who are so ready to be baptized and are progressing so much, I love them. We were at one of our investigators home who is from Columbia and it was pretty hot that day so she gave us little fans that you have to wave around with your hand it was funny. We all had a great time, it seems that I still entertain people. Some of you may be sad since I can´t entertain you but no worries I still do my thang, yeah word I keep it real.

We had a baptismal interview for one of our investigators and so we got to see President Brubaker one more time for the last time. It is sad that he is leaving. Matter of fact he is gone. This last week we were yelled at twice within a couple hours. As I was talking to a man on the street another man pulls up on his bike and starts yelling at us that Jesus Christ is the only way back to God, the man I was talking to walked away and honestly I first thought that the man on the bike was helping me and yelling at the guy I was talking to but as the man walked away I found myself standing alone with my comp being yelled at. He was saying that we were wrong and that Jesus is the only way. I was confused because that is what we think as well but obviously he was not fully aware of that. My comp walked away and was like "come on lets go". I remained standing pointing at the name Jesus Christ on my name tag. He than cursed me in the name of Jesus and the congregation that I belong to so lets just put it this way, I about walked up to him and physically stopped him but I than just walked away. Almost the same thing happened one hour later. Crazy day. Oh well that happens sometimes.

    We had a baptism on Saturday and Tony received the Priesthood on Sunday. It was a good week.

I love you all so much and miss you tons.

Love Elder Ellis

Our last Conference with President and Sister Brubaker

Hello

 

We had an awesome week. We were really busy on Monday and had no time to e-mail as you have probably noticed.

Right now we are teaching a couple of people who are really positive and will probably be baptized soon. David is one of them and he is so cool. He is 27 and loves the Book of Mormon and the Institute program. You know all the young adults in this area are really great.

I was on x-changes with Elder Hyer on Tuesday in Rotterdam North which is my old area except that we biked and did not sit in a car all day. While we were on a subway on our way back to the station where we parked our bikes an announcement was made that there was a bomb at the station where we needed to go. We ended up getting there by foot but the entire city block was blocked off and Police was everywhere. They just found a grenade that was actually fake or something like that.

We then ate dinner with a family whose son went on a mission 2 days after I did and just returned home for a foot surgery since he broke his foot playing Football. So we had dinner and hung out, he served in Germany so we could speak German with each other.

The whole week has been really good.

We had a sweet Mission Conference on Thursday and that was President and Sister Brubakers last one. It was sad but we got some really good advice from them. I love them so much and will miss them so much.

Saturday was a really good day and so was Sunday we worked really hard.

I love my mission so much.

Well I am staying here in Rotterdam South with a new companion Elder Schulte and Elder Benson will be going to St. niklaas in Belgium.

I am still the Zone Leader. It will be fun.

I love you all.

Love Elder Ellis

Hi

Hello everybody

It was a great week especially with all the sunshine. It seems that people are happier when the sun shines. It does get really hot sometimes but since the car has airco we can't complain.

The week started good with a sweet Family Home Evening at the young single adult center. A lot of people came and even though it was hard to get everybody focused it turned out really well. Clarissa, a recent convert, gave the lesson and it was really good. She is doing so good and is fellowshipping other investigators already. 

On Tuesday we went on X-changes and that went really good. We just saw cool miracles of the right people that were put on our path. 

We set a few more baptismal dates this week with really cool people and saw a lot of success.

On Saturday we had a baptism. Tony is baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. He is so cool and is doing so good.

Sorry but I am out of time we had a fun P-day.

 I love you all. I also went on X-changes in Amsterdam.

Love Elder Ellis

The Lord is Merciful

Hello

It has been such a good week. It is so nice to see people change their lives for the better because of the impact the gospel has on them. I have seen so many wonderful people change their lives. I love it. There is the coolest guy ever who will be baptized this weekend in Rotterdam south at 19.00 on Saturday. He has been doing everything to put his live in order. I love his so much. His name is Tony. He is the man. 

   I want to share a miracle with you. I have really been working on talking to everyone and working hard. Well as the week went on we were not finding any new investigators and I felt as if we are doing something wrong when the calm feeling came to me that we need to just continue working hard and that the Lord will provide Investigators for us. On Saturday we fasted to be able to be more consecrated to the work and have more power. We had a fantastic day but then Elder Benson brought up the same concern that we are not finding anyone. I was able to comfort him and promise that we would see a miracle on Sunday and that if we have faith that the Lord will provide. I really had faith and I exercised it. On Sunday as we come into the church almost late for waiting at the metro for someone who did not come we were welcomed by a brother who told us that there is a guy in the room with all the Priesthood holders and he is not a member. This man has been to our church before in Germany and in Eindhoven a while back and now really wants to learn more and we set up an appointment and shared a lesson and he became a new investigator. Then during sacrament meeting I was pulled out of the chapel to go talk to a single mother and her daughter who were waiting outside in the hallway. The lady's mother is a member in Colombia and she wants to come to church from now on and fill the emptiness that she feels inside of her. So both the lady and her daughter also became new Investigators. The Lord really did provide for us. I am just glad that we gave our best this past week to be worthy of such a blessing and that the Lord trusts us with his precious children. I know that God loves all his children and he will lead them to us as we gain his trust. I love the Lord.

  It is the most rewarding feeling when you feel the spirit working through you and when you can say something and know that the spirit is backing you up. I love this work. I know that my redeemer lives and that we can repent and feel joy through the gospel. I know that his church has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith and that he leads the church today through the Prophet, Thomas S. Monson. I can feel the love that the Savior has for all of us and all he wants us to do is come unto him, love him and keep his commandments. He gave his life for us so that we can live. He is the Redeemer of the world. Jesus Christ lives. God is merciful and loves showing mercy to his children. That is a characteristic of God, the very thrill of extending his mercy to us even when we sometimes feel not worthy of it. Let us do our best to become more like him by following our perfect example Jesus Christ. I love him and God. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

I love you all. I miss you and I am thankful for all the prayers and support. 

Love Elder Ellis 

This Last Week

It has been such a good week. 

Oh hi ya'll

On Monday we had an appointment with a lady who is the aunt of a famous soccer player named Seedorf or Zeedorf. It was cool.

On Tuesday I had a couple really cool appointments with people that I will definitely miss from north.

For transfers me and Elder Da Cruz got to make the transfer plans that means we had to figure out where all the missionaries will be going and we arranged it so that the missionaries never have to travel alone which was fun to do but also a lot of work. We then also had to get everyone to there cities after they got to the station in Rotterdam. There are 4 main meeting points for transfers where the Zone Leaders wait and get everyone going. It all went pretty smooth.

I then went to Rotterdam South to my new area. We already had a dinner appointment with some members there and I met my new ward mission leader. I also met this cool family of a single dad with 4 kids 3 of them are girls and they range between the ages 6 to 11 so that is a hand full. 

We had a pretty cool week. We had one appointment with an older man who was very set on the bijbel but was open to learn more about the Book of Mormon. The entire time I tried to answer his concerns and questions till I was humbled by my companion who just stuck to our plan that we had made before going in. From then on we taught the Restoration and testified and the spirit was so strong that I know that he felt it too. The message of the restoration and an invitation to be baptized is what really brings the spirit. I learned my lesson.

We also got a tour of a Mosque or however you say that in English. It was very nice. We also were invited to another church which was nice but I know that the gospel has been restored through the prophet Joseph Smith.

It was a good experience.

Well the rest of the week was good. Thanks for all the support. I love you all.

It is Queens Day

Hey

Today is queens day so everyone is wearing orange because in the past the royal families name was oranje which means orange in Dutch.

However we started our day off today going to Belgium to go to Brussels cause my comp had to take care of something there. It was so cool especially cause most people there speak french so I understood nothing. We went and checked out some cool tourist sights, and having a car definitely made that easier. We ate a Belgian waffle and a Swedish member ran into us. That was cool especially cause we don´t know her yet we spoke to her as if she was just family.

It was super busy and the city was packed with tourists, a ton of Germans too and a few Austrians.

  So this past week was amazing. The entire zone smashed it, we had just a really good week and we had the most baptisms in a month since President Brubaker has been here in the whole mission of course.

Sunday was such a good day. We had 4 investigators come to church and they really liked it and all the lessons and talks were aimed at investigators and why the gospel is important, which also motivated the members to do Missionary work.

   So there is the coolest girl ever here in Rotterdam who will be baptized on Sunday. The Elders before me started teaching her and I just took over so I only got handed over the awesomeness. She is the man.. I mean the girl. She has made so much progress and its cool to see her make this awesome choice to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized. She is only 19.

I am not sure why but the Lord is blessing us tremendously. We need the Lord cause without him it is impossible. I talk all day which I have always done the only difference is that it is with 25ish different people instead of only a few. It is humbling to see how even when you stumble over your words that people feel the spirit when they hear the message of the restored Gospel. I am not that great of a public speaker especially since I hate attention...... :) I love this work so let no one shirk  and put your shoulder to the wheel. I love you all and I gotta go.

Thanks for all the support.

 

Love Elder Ellis

My Mission So Far

Imma write about my mission so far because of popular demand.

 

My Mission has been great!

 

OK so now that you all know, haha jk, butseriously!

When I first got to Zwolle, my first city, I was having a hard time probably cause it was a huge change from my laid back MTC life to the lone and dreary world where people rejected me and my companion. It probably also did not help that I left the MTC feeling like I knew the language perfectly and then realizing on my first Sunday at church that I could not understand the members at all. I remember one guy asked if I needed translation, he asked in dutch, I could not understand him so he repeated slowly and I still could not understand him so he asked me in English and I replied oh its OK, I can almost understand everything, which was a lie.

After a while I got used to it and started having fun. There were always ups and downs but I ended up loving my time in Zwolle. While there we taught some really cool people one later got baptized.

I went to Assen and had a rough start finding people to teach. After a while that picked up too and Bernadette was baptized, I really love my time in Assen so much and I got to spend 7 months in that city. I was still a part of the same district with Zwolle so I ended up being in the same District for over a year, half of my mission. In the District are the Van Komens a senior couple who cared for me very well. I really love them and am so thankful to them. They helped me so much and we have a strong bond.

I also had the opportunity to train my son Elder McDaniel who is the man, I learned so much from him as I did from my other companions as well. I then had to leave all my friends and loved ones in Assen to move to Almere. This city is only about 40 years old and is build on the bottom of the sea, thanks to Dikes. It was really weird going there but it did not take long to love it there as well. I met awesome people and had a blast. It might have been the fact that half of the ward was obsessed with Austria being either of Austrian decent or having served a mission there. So I felt welcomed. Unfortunately I had to leave Almere after only 6 weeks but got to go to Rotterdam to be Zone Leader. That was an awesome change. I have wanted to serve in a big city so bad and now I am with a car which sometimes is a little crazy. I have had so much fun. I have learned so much. One of the biggest things I have learned is that the Lord really is involved in this work. You can work as hard as you want but if you don't draw near to the Lord and seek his council and guidance you will not be able to do the work. I would be lost if the spirit was not my constant companion. I have also learned that if you are obedient that the Lord will bless you. Even if the Mission President asked you to do something that you think is not gonna be that effective, if you do it and obey the Lord will bless you. I love my mission and sad of the thought of going home, luckily I still have like a year or something like that. I know that God loves us and that he sent his son Jesus Christ to redeem us from sin and death. I know that the Gospel was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith and that the Book of Mormon is the Word of God as is the Bible. I love the Lord and the Scriptures and I love the people whom I serve. I know these things not because of the proof or worldly evidence but because of the power of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit has testified to me, if any of you do not have this witness ask God for the truth with an open heart and real intent and I promise that he will let you know the truth of all things through the power of the Holy Ghost. I love you all. Thank you for all the support and the love that flows my way. It also flows back.

Much Everlasting Love

                                    Elder Ellis

Spring

Hello

 

It has been so nice except that one day the weather is super nice and the other day its super cold, so the change is sometimes not fun.

We had a nice Easter lunch on P-day with a member girl, the senior missionary couple came and also the Portuguese Elders. It was super fun and delicious.

She invited us for next p-day too to have some burgers. She is super nice.

We have two Chinese members who are here in the Netherlands studying and they are so cool and we meet with them once a week. One of them is going to Salzburg Austria on vacation next week. Cool.

So there is a family who we have dinner with every week and they are so much fun, Family Van Den Herik. They make really good food. Well all the members make really good food so that is good. I can´t complain.

We had a cool Zone Leader Council on Wednesday and my man Elder Davies and Elder Van De Graaff were there so it was a blast.

We had a funeral service of a brother from the ward. It was a very nice service and the talks that were given were very good and comforting. The Brother was such a cool guy and so funny, he always greeted everyone on Sunday so we will miss him. His name is Brother Lutgins.

Saturday was a crazy day, we had four appointments one after the other on the same street so in the time in between we just did some more contacting. It was a cool day.

On Sunday there was a marathon so the whole city was blocked off which made it very difficult to get to places. So that was fun especially in a car. Well That is about the week. I love you all.

Much Love Elder Ellis.

Happy Easter

Hey Happy Easter to everybody.

 

I am so grateful for the atonement and Jesus Christ being willing to make that sacrifice. We had a fantastic Sunday. Church was really good and we got to listen to some really good talks. The spirit was strong all day yesterday. Today we had lunch with a girl from our ward, the Portuguese Elders came and the senior couple Andersons. It was super fun and the food was good.

Oh before I forget, Esmeray was baptized on Saturday, she has been an investigator for a while but honestly now that she is baptized the time does not matter anymore. At her baptism a lot of people came that I knew from Zwolle and Assen. It was cool. At the Easter Concert yesterday I saw some members from Almere.

Elder Pelaquim is super cool he is one of the Portuguese Elders and working in the same city can be super fun at times.

So this past week was not the best in one certain aspect. More than half of our Investigators were impossible to get a hold of because there were phone problems in the whole country. It really stunk cause we lost contact with some people. I hope that we can get in contact with them this week. Well its been a great week. I love you all and I miss you very much.

I have to go, I´ll try saving more time on P-days to write better e-mails.

Much Love Elder Ellis

GC was awesome!

Hey Everybody

 

I am doing good! So no worries there and I for sure hope that everybody else is doing good too.

General Conference was awesome like always and so inspiring. I learned so much. One of our amazing investigators came and he really liked it and I just exploded of joy inside every time I saw him nod his head at something one of the speakers said.

My new comp Elder Da Cruz is awesome its hilarious cause he speaks like 5 languages and every time he talks to someone in French, Spanish, or Portuguese I just stand there and look around day dreaming about Golf, no jk I think of stuff like what I will say in a certain lesson or how I should just leave the conversation and talk to all the other souls around me. Yeah I really am a missionary now. Well most the people we run into (not with the car, I am talking about when we are walking and not literally running into them its just an expression OK) so one day we contact a guy and he just replied "Deutsch" I could not believe it I rejoiced inside that I would finally be able to use a language that my companion did not speak. I started talking to the guy in German when I realized that  have failed in keeping up my German, I am sure he got the gist of the message. Elder Da Cruz now for the first time knows what its like to not know whats going on. Well it has been a good week. The spirit is real and does guide us if we listen. General Conference is so cool and so important. We claim to have a prophet and apostles receiving divine revelation and they do, we must listen and follow their council. Think of the people who would do anything to listen to God's voice. We have so why not share it and feast upon the words of living day prophets.

I love you all and wish you the best Easter while our thoughts are centered around Christ and his atoning sacrifice.

Love Elder Ellis

Man Things Are Good!

Hi Everyone,

So let me just say that I am so happy about Deeann and I congratulate her. I am so happy for everyone. Also that's awesome that Ali is learning Slovak. I am super excited for her.

I am doing so good. Transfers is on Wednesday and I am staying in Rotterdam and my comp Elder van de Graaff is going to Amsterdam as assistant to the President and I am getting Elder Da Cruz who is from Brazil. It is gonna be a party cause the stake here in Rotterdam is starting a Portuguese speaking group so that means that they will have a sacrament meeting in Portuguese and we got a new set of missionaries and one of them speaks Portuguese and so does my comp so that means that I will have to sit in a lot of Portuguese lessons. The past week was great we had so much success and set 2 new baptismal dates. We had a lot of our investigators come to church and I am just thrilled with excitement because of all the good things that are happening. I love my mission so much. Its not always easy but so worth it. I love people. General conf is coming up which is so exciting. I don´t have much time cause we had a district P-day. I love you all and appreciate all the support. Happy Easter and love the Lord.

 

Elder Ellis

 

my address is still

Elder Ellis

Baroniestraat 18A

3051 ED Rotterdam

Nederland

 

P.S. enjoy the summer

Amazing Week

Hi Everybody

 

Man I am doing so good and am so happy, the sun is shining and spring is on its way. We had a fantastic week.

First I want to share something cool and funny, so I decided last week that I needed to work on loving people more and so I prayed that I would have the opportunity to love more. Well the next day my companion and I were getting along but I was very easily frustrated and a lot of things just seemed to bother me. Well I just want to say that it was not my companions fault. I later realized what I prayed for and learned that loving someone is not just something we do when everything is fine and dandy but we need to love people even if they bother us or things are not going our way. Just like being happy, if everything is great and perfect its easy to be happy when in all reality things don´t always go our way. It is an art to learn to be happy in any circumstance. That is one of the things that I learned this week.

Now I want to apply this more specifically to the gospel. For example like keeping certain commandments, I have taught the law of Fasting to some investigators who reply : "oh I can do that I mean there are days when I hardly eat anything anyways" that is no sacrifice. If we keep commandments just because they are easy to keep then we miss the point and the DOCTRINE behind it. In a time when its hard to keep commandments and we keep them anyways we are so much more blessed.

       Enough of my preaching. Here is a miracle. We were driving in our car one day when we felt the need to turn right on a certain street actually furthering us from our desired destination. When we got there we stood confused not knowing why we were there. We made the best of it, listened to the spirit and talked to people who crossed our path. One guy was from eastern Europe and was on his way to school or something but referred us to his apartment building where other students lived, the intention was to talk to one of his friends and hope that he would be interested. We knocked the door and a German guy opens the door and we contact him, he was in a hurry so we did not have much time to talk( a quick side note, when I found out that he was from Germany I was like hey I am from Austria which is really weird to say because we are from different countries and if I were in Germany and I heard someone speak German I would´nt be like hey I am from Austria, I am not sure if you all get what I mean,....anyways.) So we wrote down his info and left. A couple days later we decided to look this guy up the inspired area. On the way to his building a lady passed us with a 20ish old guy and a 5ish year old kid. We talked to them and asked if we could share a message with their family, we walked to their home and there were 7 people in total, 3 generations, friends and a neighbor girl. We set 5 baptism dates and the mom of the family used to go to church and was looking for the church where she lives now. Its a huge miracle. I love you all and miss you.

 

Love Elder Ellis

Hey Ya'll

Hey

 

It has been such a good week. Just so you know we had a Zone P-day today so I don´t have much time.

Well we are seeing so much success as we are obedient to the new way of doing missionary work.

I was on 2 x-changes this past week so we drove a lot. Especially me because I stayed in Rotterdam both times.

It was really cool and so much fun.

So I just want to share a miracle. On Thursday we had a journalist from a well known news paper follow us around to see what we do and write an article about the Mormons. Well the entire day went so good. We had to travel with the Metro which is an underground train system. We talked to people everywhere. He asked if we talk to people on trains or busses if we travel and we told him that we do but we are not allowed to contact people unless we start some casual conversation or if they contact us. Well after we said that I just looked around and a guy a few seats over asked me what it said on my name tag so I started a conversation and was able to tell about the church. The Lord just put the guy there for us. It was so amazing. The guy also asked if we ever come across people who used to meet with us but stopped and I ended up talking to some guy at a tram station who used to talk to the missionaries like 7 years ago. The lord put people like that on our path all day. I sure hope that the guy will write a good story.

Well I love you all and I gotta go.

Love

       Elder Ellis

Thank You

Hi Everybody

 

First I just want to say thanks for all the motivating e-mails from my family and all letters that have been sent to me. I am so thankful for all the prayers that are directed at me and other missionaries.

 

I have had a great week. A couple questions were asked: Yes I am a Zone Leader and my address is: 

Baroniestraat 18A

                                                                                                                                                               3051 ED Rotterdam

                                                                                                                                                                Nederland

 

So Heavenly Father has blessed us with so many miracles, I just want to share a couple. 

We try to talk to everyone. One day this guy passed us and I thought to myself that he is a 40ish year old Dutch guy who is probably not interested in our message. I was looking through the dirty window like President Monson said in a General Conference talk (there is a good video about that on Lds.org). However as I passed I decided to talk to him anyway because who am I to judge. We did and he seemed sad and was interested to learn more about the Book of Mormon, we made an appointment. Towards the end of the conversation that we had with him he started smiling and walked a way with a smile and looked more happy. I know that as we talk to people that the spirit will touch them and they may not know why they feel peaceful or happy but it is because of the spirit coming into their lives.

Another miracle, this one is so tight, we contacted a Mongolian family on the street who spoke a little Dutch but it was hard to understand. We made an appointment. When they walked away and left our sight we typed the address in our phone map and it did not exist, we were so sad because its an awesome family so we ran the direction that they went and chased them down. Down the road we barely saw them walk into a Metro station. We spoke with them again and this time they wrote down their address for us and we had misspelled it by 1 or 2 letters. At the end of our re-contact a Dutch man approached us and asked us a question about the Bible, so we talked to him and while talking to him another girl came and contacted us and asked for some magazines, I talked to the guy and Elder Van De Graaff talked to her. We got both their information and God placed us on their path. It was so amazing. The girl thought we were JWs so she wanted the watch tower, but still. We are being blessed for doing our best.

 

I am also starting to get to know the members a lot better which really helps. I really love the members of the church.

All of our Investigators are doing really good and it is so cool to see them make progress toward eternal life. I love this work. I also love hearing miracles from home about missionary work. I love the Gospel.

 

Today we cleaned the apartment really well which is so nice especially when you get home at night and your tired, you just want to sit down and plan for the next day and be happy. A great missionary from Tonga who used to serve in Bullhead City said in his departing testimony "Be Happy" It is so true. It is up to us to be happy. We need to be happy even when things are not going good. That is especially when we need to be strong and happy. My testimony has grown so much since I came on my mission for the lord.

 

Oh man I found out the name of my new Mission President. Brother Robinson and Sister Robinson.

It will be so sad when President and Zuster Brubaker leave! I love them so much and they are spiritual giants.

 

We also had a Zone Leader Council this past week which was so cool and uplifting. The Ward here in Rotterdam is opening a Portuguese Group in April which will be so awesome because there are a ton of Portuguese speaking people in Rotterdam. That means that Rotterdam will be getting an extra set of missionaries who speak Portuguese. It is an exciting time for all Portuguese speaking people and actually all of us.

I am excited to see what will happen.

 

I am loving my mission and I know how much longer I have so please don´t keep mentioning how much longer I have because it keeps reminding me. I just love it here so much. (I am not upset or mad , I am just saying.) Thanks!

 

I love you all so much and miss you all. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon is the Word of God and it testifies of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ lives. This missionary work is Gods work. We are all a part of it and are building the kingdom of God preparatory to the second coming of Christ.

Much Love

 

Elder Ellis

 

Another Week

Welll Hello everybody

 

So first of all I am doing very good and am having a lot of fun. My companion is super funny and we laugh all the time.

Well Rotterdam is so big and busy and there are always people outside. There is always so much going on. Traffic can be pretty bad especially with all the small European roads and when there is construction its even worse. I still however really enjoy driving. All the parking we do is parallel parking which I am not too bad at. I have only hit two cars and scraped along side a car. No I am joking! (tap, tap, tap... Knock on wood)

I may have mentioned that we have changed the way that we do Missionary work. We work more with computers now or at least we are supposed to. Its just to map out where people live to make looking up people more effective. We also now focus on looking up people and that talking to all the people that we find in that area. We have seen so many miracles and have had a lot of success but no new investigators. We find  lot of potentials.

Oh one miracle, so we just contacted a guy on the street and he did not have a lot of time so we just exchanged numbers and we called him later to try to get an appointment and he was on a lunch break at work and said "Hold on I am eating right now but you can talk to one of my work colleagues." So we did and we got his information from him and made an appointment. We later shared a great lesson with him. It is just amazing how and where you find people.

Here is another miracle, we were just talking to a lot of people on the street one day when some 26 year old girl saw us from far away and recognized that we were churchy because our clothing gives it away (good thing I was wearing my stinky robe and not my expensive recreation clothes) well once we were done talking to some guy she approached us and asked if we were Jehovah´s witnesses, we were like "NO" jk "no" so she asked but are you from a church and we were like weeelllll.....you could say that, so she asked if she could have some pamphlets or something to learn more because she is looking for a religion. Our response to that was: "Wo don´t just come up to us like we give out free folders or something!" No jk we were like "Uhh.. yeah of course, ( and since that never really happens that someone just asks us for info we did not really know what to give her so we gave her everything we had) here is a Book of Mormon in English and in Dutch and here are these 5 pamphlets with information and here is a Doctrine and Covenants and Mormon Doctrine and Jesus the Christ......" and like 10 other books, she than looked at us all freaked out dropped everything and ran away screaming... Okay no that was all a lie. So we gave her a card and invited her to church and got her number. It was cool.

Sorry if my sense of humor is not that funny, I just felt like writing all that.

We had a really good Zone Training this last week and I as a Zone Leader got to conduct which was fun. Everything went good.

So on a mission you experience a lot of really good things and a lot of things which are really sad like a super awesome investigator dropping you right before they are baptized. It is just so sad to experience those kinds of things. Keep you chin up. I mean it.

I love you all and miss you all and I hope that all is well in Zion where ever you all are. Save me a piece of that corn for later.

Say Hi to all who know me and greet them with a special kiss. (Joseph Smith Translation: Salutation)

I love you all.

 

Love Elder Ellis

Hello

Well.....

 

I am having fun and we had a baptism this weekend which was really nice to see. The guy is so cool and he was just prepared. A few weeks ago he just walked into the church randomly, now he is baptized.

I am also driving in a car which is really nice. I am enjoying it a lot. Man Rotterdam is pretty big and it has a huge harbor. I really like it here so far. It is a lot different than any other city that I have served in.

Well my companion is awesome too. He is the funniest guy ever. We have so much fun and work super hard. There is a lot that we have to do as zone leaders but its nothing that we can't do.

So, we have some new missionaries in the Rotterdam Zone, one of which is Zuster Schwab. She is from Idaho and Steve Schwab from my ward in Bullhead City is her uncle. I have not met her yet but I have talked to her on the phone.

Things are going good. The entire mission is changing its finding tactics which will be fun to do something new. I will also be conducting the Zone Training on Thursday. President will be there and all and I have to conduct. I am very excited.

I am so tired. Since transfers it has been non stop work and very exhausting. I like working my butt off but even today on P-day I could not take a nap, cause this Barber place we went to, to get my Comps hair cut took the learning student over an hour to do a simple hair cut. She did good though.

I have been learning so much and am trying to apply it all to my life.

I am not sure what else to say so I love you all and wish you all the best and I miss you.

 

Love Elder Ellis

Thanks for Your Support

Hello

 

I have had a really good week. I have been learning so much the last 6 weeks. My companion Elder Li is so awesome and such a good example. I am so thankful for having been his companion.

Also, having worked in Almere the last 6 weeks has been so much fun and filled with Miracles and Spiritual experiences. I really loved my time here.

The members here are so great and supportive, the Investigators are amazing and miracles. We have 3 baptismal dates right now and I am confident that they will be baptized in the coming weeks. Unfortunately I will not be able to witness them.... Yes I am being transferred. It came by surprise cause I really did not see it coming at all. I really thought that I would stay in almere for at least 2 transfers. Well I am not and I am very sad to leave but very excited to go work in Rotterdam. I actually had a dream that I left to go be a Zone leader and now it is coming true. That's really weird. I will really miss Almere and I wish that I could have gotten to know the people a little better.

Now, my new companions name is Elder van de Graff. I am so excited that I get to be in a car for the rest of the winter. But that does not matter because I actually love biking and just stopping randomly to talk to people.

Man it was so cool, last week a guy just randomly walked into church and really liked it. There are so many miracles happening everywhere.

I also went on ex-changes in Haarlem which is west of Amsterdam. That was really cool too. I will miss going to Amsterdam for P-days. Oh well I will just have to see what we can do in Rotterdam, which is also a very big city.

So i want to share with you how much our Heavenly Father loves all of us. He loves us. If we love him, we keep his commandments. I am working on loving him more and all of his children. I have been asking myself lately why I am on a Mission and why I work hard or do certain things which help me become a better Missionary. I love God and his Son Jesus Christ. I am learning hoe to love them more and to serve out of Love. "Love is the Key" like our mission motto says.

I love you all and I feel your love for me and for God when I receive your letters and other ways of support. I feel the love and the prayers spoken for me. I am so grateful to be on a mission and to help others come unto Christ.

Thank you all so much.

 

Love Elder Ellis

If you want to write me here is my address:

 

Elder Ellis

Baroniestraat 18a

3051 ED Rotterdam

Nederland

 

Thanks. Love you all

 

Elder Ellis

Hello

Hello everyone.

 

I am so sorry that I was not able to write an e-mail this last Monday. We had a zone p-day and got home to late for us to get to the library on time.

Well I also don't have much time right now to write much so I just wanted to let you all know that I am doing good and am loving my mission. I am also enjoying the freezing cold. It got to -25 Celsius which was freezing cold. I love this work, the work of the Lord. I love you all and miss you all. I'm lovin it.

Well till the next time.

Much Love,

                Elder Ellis

Hello Everyone!

Good Morning or whatever it is wherever you all are.

 

It has been a good week. I love this work and am learning to love it more and more.

I did get sick this week which was a tad bit challenging but I still worked the entire time which in the end was really rewarding since I could see the blessings that came from it because I was doing my best and working my hardest.

I went on exchanges with Elder McCarlie one of the Zone Leaders. I realized that I am not that familiar with the city yet. We did find everything eventually. We had a really good time and just worked, worked and worked.

On Wednesday we had a really good day, we looked up a lot of people and found a couple new investigators. We also looked someone up in the Hospital. The lady is so amazing and has such strong faith. She kept saying that Jesus did the surgery and not the Doctors, meaning that Jesus watched over her.

We also had an appointment with a cool lady and her 16 year old son, but when we found out that she was not home we just went in and had a good lesson with her son. Our joint teach was a 17 year Priest from the Ward. It turned out that they used to go to school together and that they are friends. It went really well.

After that we biked quickly to another Investigators house and walked with her to a member family's house. We taught the Plan of Salvation and that went really well.

On Thursday we had a really good lesson with a new guy that we found. He had a lot of good questions and is looking for truth. He has investigated a lot of different religions so he is really confused. When we walked outside only my bike was standing next to his house so Elder Li reaches into his pocket and finds it empty without his keys. He looked at me and I looked at him and said "Je heb toch niet de sleutels in je fiets vergeten?" In English meaning "You did not leave the keys in your bike, did you?" Well he did which also had the apartment key and for the church. So we walked home and had to wait all day for the other companionship to get home at night. We laughed so much and thought that it was really funny so it was not to bad. Elder Li now has another bike that he is using.

The last couple of days I have really been working on being a better Missionary and being more effective and efficient. It has changed my behavior and the work. I feel so much more motivation and help from above. I feel a lot more inspired and lead. Its amazing how just changing your thinking and mindset can make such a big difference. I love it.

We have been teaching a lot of lessons to people on the street. Its so sweet especially when you or your companion testify of what he or I have just said. It is so powerful.

Church was so good yesterday. The things we expected did not happen but instead the unexpected happened. It was amazing. A lady who was super positive that we found a few weeks ago through a member referral completely dropped us the next day after the first visit. We were really shocked and disappointed.

Well a few weeks later and she came to church with the members that referred her to us. She loved it and was so happy. She told us how sorry she was and that she was told by others that our church does not believe in Jesus Christ and that we are crazy and all that anti stuff. The sister (one of the members that referred her to us) had talked to her in between and the lady kept thinking to herself "How can they not believe in Jesus and be such an amazing woman who is so Christ-like?" The member ended up clearing up anti false information. The lady is so happy and asked if she could have the book of Mormon back. The lesson learned is that Missionaries can do all they want to help people but it is because of the example of everyday members who live Christ like lives that people see what the Gospel really is and offers. I am so thankful for members who live the gospel and are examples. It opens the door to Missionary work and Miracles. Thank You to all those who are Christ Like. Now remember that doing things not so Christ like is also an example to others and can give bad reputation to the church and the rest of the members.

I have to go

 

I love you all and miss you. May we all become more Christ Like by BEING like Christ and not just DOING.

 

Love Elder Ellis

Another Baptism

Hey Everybody

I am doing so good and am having a lot of fun.

Last Monday I already told you all that I went to Amsterdam and that we went to the Anne Frank huis. It was way fun. We also went to this really good burger place called Burger Bar and all i can say is that it was probably the best Burger I have ever had. It was huge and just delicious. There are no words to describe it.

When we got back home we biked to our appointment with the family that was baptized on Saturday the 21st. Yeah I forgot to mention that we had some people ready for Baptism. Well at the appointment they had their Baptism Interviews and they were all ready to go.

On Tuesday we had a dinner appointment with Fam Herrebrugh who actually went to Austria before my mission and they talked to Hans Malzl (my uncle) and Samantha (my sister). Samantha told them that her brother (me) was going on his mission to the Netherlands. Well here I am eating with them (well not right now but last Tuesday.

On Wednesday we had District Meeting with Interviews combined. Of course we had a delicious lunch again, without the Van Komens, so that was my first District Meeting without them since I left the Groningen District. The District meeting that I held went really well and I think we all learned from it. We had good role plays. Fun. And don't worry my interview went really well too.

I am not sure if I mentioned how much we bike here. For example we will bike one direction 15 or 20 minutes and then to get to the next appointment we bike that same distance plus another 30 minutes the other direction. We do plan our appointments as effective and efficient as possible but no matter what you have to bike a ton. Also it si very windy all the time which is good when going one direction but when you have to bike back it really blows. haha get it?

We found a new lady who is actually a referral from Germany. She is amazing and just gets the message. she understands it completely. She now has a baptismal date. We are very excited for her.

When we eat with Fam Pantophlat we really get spoiled because they can cook. Man and so can Elder Li, it must be cause he is chinese. Elder Li is so awesome and I am learning so much from him. I love that Elder.

On Saturday we had Debbie, Andy and Tristan get baptized and it was so cool to see. Debbie is the mother and the two boys are her sons 16 and 12. I love that Fam. Her good friend came too and we hope that she will want to get baptized too.

Yesterday at church Andy asked if I could confirm him, so I did. It was a very powerful spiritual experience.

We also ate with the Bishop who loves Austria so he wore his Lederhosen and his wife made Wiener Schnitzel. It was so much fun. I love Austria especially when they showed me pics from all their vacations there.

Well that's it for the week I love you all.

Love Elder Ellis

The Week....?

Well Hello Everybody.

 

I am doing great and had a very good week. We seriously taught so many lessons and are just finding people left and right. This is the Lords work because he is guiding us to the right people. I am so glad that I am here on a mission and helping people receive the gospel. I never realized how strong of an impact I can have on someone just for opening my mouth to strangers all day inviting people to listen to the message we share. Even a small little act of service can make someone smile and laugh or really help someone in need. I learned to always stand ready to help people.

I don't have much time but this last week we had some really good appointments where we could feel the spirit.

Elder Li and I are getting along very well and are having a lot of fun together. We are a powerhouse like another missionary has said.

Today for P/day we went to Amsterdam and that was so cool. We had the best Burger I have ever had. It was so Delicious. We then went to the Anne Frank house and saw her hiding place. It so sad to see what happened in world war 2. I am so glad that I speak Dutch cause now I can read the her Diary in the original language. I am excited to read the book after my mission. Well in Amsterdam you have to be very careful where you look. It can be pretty bad on certain streets. There are coffee shops everywhere and you smell marijuana no matter where you are. It was fun though.

I love you all and miss you. Sorry for not writing, but no joke we are so busy with missionary work.

Love Elder Ellis

 

P.S. Beterschap an the Crooks (I don´t remember how to say that word in English)

Almere is the Bomb

Hey everyone!!!

 

I am now in Almere and I am so happy and am excited to get to know everyone here (meaning members and the investigators)

Elder Li and I are having so much fun like we are always laughing and smiling. He is Awesome.

We have  lot of Investigators and some really cool people lined up for baptism. We are doing our best to help these people achieve their goal.

Almere is a lot bigger than Assen and District meeting will be in Amsterdam every week. I get to go to Amsterdam.

There are always people to talk to no matter where you are. It is so much fun. You know I love talking so here I get to do that a lot.

I am also in a 4 man apartment and that is a blast. we cook food together and just have fun and share miracles with each other.

One thing that is a little hard sometimes is that Almere is a lot bigger than Assen and we use bikes so we will bike as fast as we can in a direction for 30 or 40 minutes to get to an appointment on time. The best is when we bike home at night and we just book it as fast as we can. It is a good workout. I am really hoping to loose some weight while I am here. The Ward is also really cool and the bishop has Austrian Parents or something like that and went to Arizona on his mission. Also there is a family here who both the father and mother served their missions in Austria. Brother Reiche served in Salzburg around 25 years ago. They promised me to make me some Schnitzel and Spaetzle and other Austrian food. I am so happy to be on a mission. I love the gospel and have a very strong testimony of the truthfulness of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love God and that is why I serve him. I also love and miss all the people from Assen and Zwolle and of course my Groningen District, and The Van Komens who I will get to see them on Thursday.

I love you all and miss you.

Love Elder Ellis