Thank you for the package. I loved the candy, the notebooks are amazing, and the watch is really nice; I just haven't found anywhere where I can get it adjusted yet, so I've been carrying it in my pocket.
I'm glad you got the pictures from President Brubaker. For some reason, the computers in the library in Spijkenisse won't detect my camera, so It'll probably be a while before I can send any pictures home.
On Monday, the 25th of April, we woke up early in the morning and finished getting ready to go, and then we hopped on a bus after getting some breakfast. It was raining on the drive up to the airport, which is kind of ironic, because it's the last rain I've seen. The flights were long and uncomfortable; with both of them, I got in a position that was comfortable for sleeping, and then the person in front of me leaned back. I think that leaning back on an airplane is inconsiderate, because when you do that, you're stealing somebody else's space, and that's a precious commodity. I got a lot of cool pictures out of the window of the plane we took to JFK, but with the other plane, it was dark most of the way. I did get some good pictures of the Belgian countryside, however. When we landed in New York City, there was way too much fog for me to be able to see anything, so I can now say that I have been to NYC, but not seen it.
I just have to say that sitting in the library writing this email is probably the most at home I've felt in over two months. I love libraries. I can feel at home even if I'm 8 time-zones away and 10 degrees further north (I checked; I was curious why we have light from 5:30 all the way to 9:30).
On Tuesday, President and Sister Brubaker, the assistants, and a senior couple picked us up from the airport and took us to the mission office (or at least where it was at the time; it's changed). That building has a really nice view, and it's awesome being able to see all that architecture. Brussels has more trees than I think are in the whole state of Utah.
After we'd finished with the interviews with President Brubaker and our legality stuff, we went to the mission home and had a delicious lunch and got naps. :) I woke up about an hour before we needed to, so I took a shower in a real bathroom for the first time since February. It was wonderful.
After we finished with our naps, we went to the place where Belgium and Luxembourg were dedicated for missionary work, which is in an absolutely gorgeous, massive park in Brussels. I'll send the pictures I took when I can.
When we were finished at the dedication site, we went to the Grand Plaza in Brussels, which is surrounded by huge, amazing buildings, and we did some contacting with the office elders and the assistants. Then we went to a Greek restaurant. I liked it, but I'd gotten somebody else's order, and so it had WAY too much coleslaw.\
For just a little bit of time-traveling (Kind of like Mormon), Easter was good. We had our regular church meetings, plus our interviews with the members of the branch presidency. All the hymns were Easter themed (because I was music coordinator) and some of the lessons were tied into Easter. For the fireside, we sang the exact same hymns as in sacrament meeting (I think somebody stole my paper and sold it; the branch in the chapel next door had the same music, too.). Stephen B. Allen spoke, again. I think he speaks the last Sunday of each month; he spoke while I was there three times. His talkwas mostly made up of the commercials for the Church that he'd produced, and it was really good and inspiring.
Back to the (somewhat) present. When we finished eating dinner, we went to do the best part of the whole time in Brussels---an authentic, delicious, warm, gooey, amazing Belgian Waffle. :) :) :) When I can send pictures, I have one of me eating a waffle that you need to make my profile picture on Facebook.
When we were done getting our edible amazingness, we went back to the mission home and opened our letters with our assignments. I'm in Rotterdam South with Elder Sanchez. When we were done with that, we went to bed.
On Wednesday morning, we went to the train station and hopped on trains to where we would meet our trainers. Being on a real train was kind of disappointing.
Elder Sanchez is about 4'11", and he has a personality that is pretty much the exact opposite of mine; it's a test of my patience. My area is cool, when it's not a really run-down part. We have the shabbiest apartment complexes you can imagine, and we have Rhoon, which is super-nice. It has a castle restaurant, and I'd totally eat there if I weren't a missionary, and poor when I'm not.
In church yesterday, the Elders' Quorum President put me on the spot and made me answer every single question, in Dutch. Sunday School wasn't that bad, except that I was called on to pray, again (In priesthood, the person conducting announced the opening, and then said something along the lines of "And our new missionary, Elder Schow (he pronounced it show) will give the opening prayer"). And in Sacrament meeting, the person conducting made me go up and introduce myself and bear my testimony in Dutch, without any prior notice (I think it's an un-Dutch thing to do to give somebody prior notice).
After church, the Elders' Quorum President and his wife made us go over to their house for soup, so I broke my fast short. After that, we went over to the house of I guess the son of a member of the stake presidency, because his son (the grandson of the counselor) got baptized last night, and they had a party. It was interesting being at a Dutch baptism.
Saturday was Queen's Day, and the Dutch like to party. The whole country was orange, and everybody was out on the street. And for some reason, people kept asking us why we were contacting on Queen's Day. I wonder if I'll ever understand Dutch people.
Everybody's telling me I just missed the flowers, but I can't tell for sure, because there aren't any flowers in Rotterdam that I can see, outside of the ones in flower shops, and I haven't seen any of those, either.
I guess that French Fries are really Belgian, and Holland (I'm actually in Holland) has some delicious fries as well. I haven't had an opportunity to go to a bakery or cheese shop yet, or get a Stroopwaffle.
I guess when the other elders in our apartment (both of whom have the same first name as I do) got home last night, the power was out, and so they flipped the breaker. Later in the night, the breaker flipped again, and it wouldn't stay on when we flipped it. We found out it was the washer, and we can't really use it, which sucks, because I haven't had the opportunity to do laundry since the day before Easter, and seeing as how I've showered about nine times since then, I'm in trouble. One of the senior couples came over, and they said that we can use it, as long as we keep an eye on it, and they're going to try getting us a new one. Hopefully it happens soon, because I like clean clothes.
I'm going to end this email right here. The Church is true. I love you all.
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