Belgium Netherlands Mission: 2012

Monday, December 31, 2012

WOW

WOW We have NEVER experience anything like what is going on right. It is 12:20am and this place is out of control!!!!!!!!!!! There are Aeriel fireworks going off everywhere. It looks like Stadium of Fire in every direction you look. The people across the street are lighting off fireworks as well, so we are 'up close and personal'. There's probably more fireworks going off right now than Stadium of fire has in 5 years!!!!!!!! Wish we could send pictures and sound. AMAZING for sure.

HAPPY NEW YEAR =)

OPA AND OMA

New Years Eve

Dear family....

Just a quick note......it is 3:00 pm here and already it sounds like a war zone. We see nothing going into the air, just LOTS OF LOUD BOOMS. There are kids and adults everywhere lighting off firecrackers. The loud booms also make the car alarms go off........we will NOT sleep tonight. SO.....IF your neighbors go outside at Midnight and yell Happy New Year.....enjoy the peace and quiet of that. We are now in our apartment, and will stay here for the rest of the night. We are praying for strong winds and heavy rain =) We still don't think that would keep things quiet. Another 'Mission Memory."

Hugs.......love Opa and Oma

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Happy New Year

Dear Family and friends,

We hope you all had a VERY MERRY Christmas, and hope the New Year will bring much happiness. Christmas is winding down here, and Holland is preparing for a VERY LOUD New Year's Eve. All week long we have been hearing the LOUD booms of fireworks, and we have been told that New Year's Eve is out of control.The noise of these 'legal' fireworks jarr us, so when the 'illegal' ones go off, our apartment will really shake. All Missionaries are to be in their apartments by 4:00.....even Senior Couples. The Missionaries here in Amsterdam wanted to come and 'hang out' with Elder and Zuster deLeeuw, but President Robinson said NO ONE leaves their apartment. You will be very interested to receive next weeks email=)

Last Sunday we attended a Christmas Concert that Tessa, one of our JoVo's was playing in. This was held in a Community Center in a small (Dorp)....village. Many people were in attendance, and a couple of people that saw our Missionary Badges came and asked about them. One man really caught dad's eye, we have a picture of him, was wearing a big cowboy hat. He told dad that not all cowboys live in the United States. There was a large band that played, then a group, Pop Musicalkoor, that sang. All the songs played and sung were songs we hear in America....and all the Christmas songs were sung in English. It was a delightful evening, and Tessa was so happy we were there.

Monday, Christmas Eve, we walked over to the Diemen Shopping Center. They had Christmas Music playing and we said we felt like we were at the University Mall. Groups of teenagers hanging around, people shopping, ALL Christmas songs were popular songs we know.....all we needed were people speaking in English. Here in the Netherlands, Christmas Eve is not spent with families like at home. They have Christmas Day, then a second day of Christmas. One day is spent with the woman's family, the second day spent with the man's side of the family. Most Churches hold a special service that day, even some of the Mormon Wards and branches have a special program on Christmas. Since we had no plans for Christmas Eve, dad gave me a WONDERFUL gift.........dinner I didn't have to prepare, serve, and clean up after. We had a delicious dinner at the Chinese restaurant he took me to for Valentines. As we were eating, we made the comment that next year we will reminisce about how we spent this years Christmas Eve. I even kept the receipt, wrote the date on it, to put with our 'Mission Memories.' Christmas day we were up and out the door early to take Mary Kate, another one of our JoVo's, to the airport. Her family lives in New York and she was flying home for the Holidays. She is an Opera Singer, and when she returns to Holland we will say goodbye to her, as she is moving to Brussels. I had cooked a turkey and ham, Made red jello salad, potato salad, farmer salad, fresh cranberry sauce, rolls, and cookies. The Sisters were the first to arrive. All the Missionaries had been invited to a members house for brunch. Typical Dutch meal.......bread and Chocolate milk. The Sisters were starving when they arrived. President Robinson told the Missionaries they could watch G rated movies, so we played a Hallmark movie we had for them. They had an appointment at 4:00, so after eating, relaxing and enjoying the movie, they left.....then Elder and Sister Lyons and the AP's arrived. Round # 2. We enjoyed visiting....the AP's did not want to watch any movies, so we read from the Scriptures and Quotes of Christmas from the Prophets. Truly a Christmas we will remember. We SO missed the family, but it can't get much better than having other Missionaries, away from their families, all of us here serving the Lord.

Wednesday we had a Zone Conference in Den Haag. The Zone Leaders wanted to do a service project, so after a short District meeting, lunch of Chili, vegetables and rolls....these Missionaries as SO spoiled!!!!!!! we all went to an Assisted Living Center to sing Christmas Carols. It was very impressive to see 30 young people, dressed in suits, white shirts, ties, modest skirts and blouses, with BIG smiles walk in the door. One of the Sisters that just arrived, has a beautiful voice, started the program singing 'O Holy Night.' Wow, that got everyone's attention. The Elders and Sister's then would sing a Carol out of the Hymn book, in Dutch....that really impressed the people, then a popular 'fun' Christmas song. Several of the patrons were tapping their feet and singing along.....especially when they sang 'Jingle Bells.' We all about died laughing when the song '12 Days of Christmas' was sung. Different groups of the Elders and Sisters sang different parts of the song, using hand or voice gestures. The Elders and Sisters got the giggles, which made the audience start to laugh...it was hilarious. For the last number, the Elders and Sisters went throughout the room, with the Hymn books and sang Silent Night. They had the audience sing along with them.....it was VERY touching. When the singing was over, we all went around the room shaking hands and wish all Holiday Greetings. More Mission Memories. Dad told the Elders to make sure he left with them.....that the Care Center did not admit him =) That made the Elders really laugh!

Junior, the young man from Brazil, that was baptized a month ago, then had to leave because his step dad 'kicked' him out because of his Baptism,

is in Amsterdam for the Holidays...so we invited him to our apartment for dinner Thursday evening. First it was him and the AP's....then since the Elders were doing 'Splits' that day, two more asked if they could come.....then the word got out and the other two Elders called to see if they could come as well. We had 9 at the table. Spaghetti, salad, garlic bread, Hot Chocolate Pudding cake and ice cream. Junior was in Heaven being with his 'Missionary family.' He SO wants to come to BYU and be part of the deLeeuw family.We told him he could be the brother that our daughters do not have. While we were eating our phone rang. Remember the Sisters that got lost a couple of weeks ago? Well, one of them.....the blond, we joke about her all the time....got lost again. She was following her companion on her bike.....of course it was dark, and she was NOT paying attention......she followed, who she thought was her companion on the bike path. When Sister Townsend, the companion, turned on the bridge to head home, she turned around to see if Sister Davies was close behind. NO SISTER DAVIES. She stayed on the bridge and called us.....we had the AP's who have a car, and the Zone Leaders, who have a car, here eating dinner with us. So the hunt began. We all said a prayer that all would be OK. I headed for the bridge to be with Sister Townsend, while the others went looking in the cars. Sister Davies has NO sense of direction, which is not good serving in Amsterdam...she had followed a Japanese girl she thought was Sister Townsend, and when the girl turned around Sister Davies knew she was in trouble. We all laughed because she was biking along the Canal which runs in front of our apartments, and all she would have had to do is turn around and bike back......she had the sense to stop at a 'bar' which is only a block away, use their phone, and call the other two Sisters that had a phone. It was only a matter of a few minutes that the AP's spotted her, the Zone Leaders escorted her back to Sister Townsend and I, and we brought her home. I told her I was going to put a chip in her ear, like people do with their dogs, so we could keep track of her. It made for a very exciting evening, and we gave thanks that all went well. Gotta love these Missionaries!

We say goodbye to Elder and Zuster Everton. They stopped by the other night when all the Elders were here, and it was so sad to see them give the Elders handshakes and hugs. We asked Elder Everton how it was to say goodbye.....they have been here for 23 months. Elder Everton said, "this is like you heart is being ripped out while it is still beating." They left in tears. We can only imagine how it will be for us when we have to say our goodbyes. Sister Everton is the Mission Nurse, so we will really feel a void. Since there are no new Senior Couples coming, we will close their apartment this next week. President Robinson keeps telling us changes are coming in assignments the first of the year....so we are anxious to see WHAT changes will be made.

It rains, and rains, and rains.....if the rain were snow we would be home bound. It IS cold, and when the wind blows it almost takes your breath away. We see on KSL that Utah has been receiving lots of MUCH needed snow......water to drink when we get home =) When we arrived last January is when it was really cold here, and the canals froze.....so, we are expecting that to happen again this year. We are keeping those long wool socks, gloves, and hats close. We are still waiting for the daylight hours to increase...that will come as well, then we complain cause it's light until 11:00 pm. Are we ever satisfied????

A health tip we received that is priceless......cut an onion in half, put it in a room, and this cut onion will absorb any Bacteria that is in the air. After several days, dispose of the onion and start over. We were told it really works.......many Elders and Sisters have onions in their apartments. No, it does not stink up the house. Try it and see for yourselves =) Worth a try when you have sickness in the house.

Well, we came home from church, which the Amsterdam Ward today was more like a Branch. Not many in attendance. I was fixing lunch...making soup from the left over turkey. The doorbell rang and there stood the Elders. They are helping us locate some JoVo's to bring our attendance roster up to date. SO many members move in and out, and no one knows where they go. "Sure smells good in here'.......how could we not invite them to eat with us. Elder Sumter is from the Netherlands, and will be a future Bishop or Stake President here in his Homeland. We are spoiled to have the Elders and Sisters living so close. We LOVE to have them 'drop in.' That is why we always have something on hand for eats, as they are always hungry =) More firecrackers going off......tomorrow will be an interesting one. We are going to Utrecht and finish closing that apartment. The Elders were living in a Muslim part of town, and some strange things had been happening......not good things. For their safety President Robinson wanted them moved. As we say each week....Pray for the Missionaries. Nothing has happened to the Elders in Lelystad this week, so we are thankful for that.

We send our love and hugs. We are glad the Holidays are over so we can get back to doing Missionary work. We are here to keep busy, and that is what we enjoy doing.....even if it means making more cookies

. We have been blessed this past year as we have served. We know prayers have been offered in our behalf, and we thank you......they have been heard. WE give thanks each day for the opportunity to serve this Mission. What a joy it has been. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Opa and Oma

Elder and Zuster deLeeuw

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Mission Blog

Just a short note.......we are floating away.....SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much rain! We are starting to gather animals two by two =) It is 11:30 and we are off to bed. Long but great day. Go to the Belgium Netherlands Mission Blog. Some great pictures of some of the things we have been doing.

It was so good to talk to you.......sorry about the internet going down in the middle of the phone calls. Tomorrow we will start the process of getting a new carrier. Our internet the past week has been down more than in service. VERY frustrating..........

We love you all SOOOO much.

Opa and Oma

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Merry Christmas

Prettige Kerstdagen en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!

Can you believe that Christmas is here. What a joyous time of year.....no matter where it is celebrated, we all give thanks for the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Last Sunday evening we attended a Christmas Concert in Haarlem. The Sister who narrated the program mentioned 'gifts' that could be given this time of year......and ALL throughout the year as well. The gift of LOVE, SERVICE,CHARITY,TIME, FRIENDSHIP,TRUST. We all have so much, that giving of ourselves may be the best gift of all. Give as the Savior gave. Asking nothing in return.

This week started out with FHE being held here in our apartment. No, the police were not called.....we warned the JoVo's of our one neighbor, so they were very obedient and kept the noise level down. We had soup, warm rolls, hot chocolate, goodies, and more goodies. Holland is NOT the place to live during the holidays if you are on a diet. Everything is made with butter, and just melts in your mouth. The best part of this, is not many pastries are chocolate, so I am in Heaven =) Good thing we have all the stairs. Anyway, after we played a fun game of gift exchange....one gift being fireworks, guess what happened next. Everyone outside to light sparklers. This was a 'kiddy firework' package, so no damage done. Everyone had a great time, and it was fun having the 'kids' here for an evening.

Tuesday was the Christmas Zone Conference, held at the Liden Church. Sister Robinson wanted this Zone Conference to be a special one for the Missionaries. The lunch we as Senior Couples prepared was: ham, baked potatoes, peas and carrots, jello salad (red and green), rolls and Texas Sheet Cake for dessert. The Mission Office had kept track of all the packages that had arrived for the Elders and Sisters, and if any of them did not have a package to take home, one was provided. Sister Pankratz and I went to an Action store and purchased, socks, journals, fancy soap, shaving supplies, markers, candy....to put in bags for those without. 10 Missionaries had not received anything yet, but went home happy anyway with a gift of their own. The Sister Missionaries, and Senior Sister Missionaries had made cookies for small gift bags that were at each place setting. Red table coverings....it was festive. It IS hard to be away from home during the Holidays, so it was nice being with the Elders, Sisters, and other Senior Couples for the day.

I made 3 kinds of cookies to take to several of the neighbors here where we live. They were really surprised when they opened the door to see us standing there wishing them a Prettig Kerstdagen. 'American cookies' are a big hit here. The ovens in these apartments are microwave size, so home made anything baked is a treat. The Mission put a big stove with an oven in our apartment, because the Sister that served here before us said she just COULD NOT do all the baking we do, in that small of an oven. Blessings on her! Remember the Kassa Juan, who works at the jumbo Winkel....the one who loves music, who we gave the Tabernacle Choir CD and Book of Mormon to. Well, we had a CD here of the 3 Tenors Christmas songs that dad did not enjoy....so we put that in a gift bag along with some homemade cookies, and took it to the store. Juan was just leaving to go home when he saw me. I told him I was trying to say 'Merry Christmas' in Dutch, which I CAN do now....he laughed and said: "where I come from we say 'Feliz Navidad'.....that is SO much easier. He was really taken back with the gift. He was smiling and almost shaking he was so happy. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and said:"You are my sister." It was cold walking over to the store, but the warm feeling of seeing him so happy brought tears. Missionary work does not just mean knocking on doors.

Update on the Elders from Lelystad. After being pulled off bikes, punched, bike being burned. 2 days ago when the two Elders went to get on their bikes they leave at the train station in Almere, they found that the tires had been slashed on the two bikes. On top of that......these Elders had two Baptism dates with FAMILIES.....and both families have asked the Elders not to come back. The sadness in their eyes. The Elders are trying to be so positive, but it is hard with these setbacks. Elder Shoemaker made the comment to us: "Joseph Smith said the work would be done, but it would be slow." This is why I am so glad we don't have to find and teach.....I could NOT take the disappointment. It is hard enough for us to see the Elders and Sisters disappointment. Keep praying for the Missionaries ALLLLLLLL over the world, that they will be led to those who are seeking.

We were asked to deliver a new washing machine to the Elders in Grogenin Thursday. That is a 2 hour drive from Amsterdam, so it was nice to get out as see something different. The apartments here in the Netherlands DO NOT have elevators, the stairs are narrow and wind up several stories. Well, this washing machine needed to be carried up two flights of stairs. The Elders carried the old one down the stairs with much grunting and groaning....then, the new one had to be carried UP those two flights of narrow, winding stairs =( Good thing the washing machines are small. We were the cheer leaders, as the machine went up one step at a time. Smashed fingers and toes, but it was finally put in place, and two Elders who have been doing their wash in the sink for two weeks were VERY happy. We took a picture of their Christmas tree. A little, maybe one foot tree, with one ornament on it, sitting on some boxes from home. Gotta love these Missionaries.

Friday evening we attended another Christmas Program presented by the Almere Ward. These small Wards and Branches put our LARGE wards to shame when it come to Christmas programs. This was A production....the place was packed. Remember, these church buildings have no Cultural Hall, just a small chapel, several class rooms, a Baptismal font, and small kitchen. We sang Carols, then the 'Orchestra' played. We laughed, because what they called the 'orchestra', consisted of, a flute, clarinet, harp and organ. They played several numbers, then a "Christmas Pageant" was performed. Because of the language barrier, we think the play was about a grocery store giving away free things at Christmas. The store manager was mean, especially to kids.....then the 'big boss' came and explained the 'true meaning of Christmas.' We laughed when everyone else did, and clapped at the end. During the production, several of the Ward members were walking around serving fancy drinks, crackers, cakes, cookies.....amazing. Several of the JoVo's that attend the Almere Ward were in the production, so they were excited to see us there. As we have attended these Christmas Programs, a Traditional Dutch Christmas Carol is sung as the closing song. Everyone stands, and the song is beautiful. It is giving praise to God. The Dutch people really sing with ALL their heart and soul, which makes the song even that much better. Love the 'new' things we are experiencing!

We already have one RM JoVo, wanting to come to BYU and live close by Elder and Sister deLeeuw. Yes, we may have some 'Holland kids' spending some holidays with us. You would LOVE them. Visa's are the problem...so we will see. They like to talk as IF they are coming.=)

Well, you are getting this email again on Saturday, as we will attend church tomorrow, then hurry to attend yet another concert that another JoVo is playing in. Tessa plays the Clarinet in her school band, and they are putting on their Christmas concert in Koedijk, wherever that is. Our internet service has been very unreliable the past week, and we are only getting service for 3 to 4 hours per day....so while we had 4 lights on the router, you got the 'weekly' letter=) We will probably spend Christmas Eve just the two of us.....and maybe have the Sisters here on Christmas day, they will most likely be invited to members homes tomorrow at church. It will be different for sure. We would love to Skype the family sometime Christmas day....we would just pray the Internet is working. After the Holidays we will ask the Mission office if we can change carriers.

We Wish you all a Very Merry Chritmas....Prettige Kerstdagen....and a Happy New Year....en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!

Opa and Oma

Vader and moeder

Elder and Zuster deLeeuw

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Photo slideshow of Jovo Conference weekend

The Lyons are the Couple that work with us. Elder Lyons is an amateur photographer, and has taken many pictures of the JoVo activities and places we have taken them to visit. Hope you enjoy more pictures.

Moeder

http://llyons.phanfare.com

Monday, December 10, 2012

More Pictures

Apartment Cameron lived in while serving in Brussels
Mission office in Brussels where Cameron Served
Elder and Sister Pankratz, Brother and Sister Jansen here for dinner
Our apartment decorated for Christmas
The group we had for Sinta Klass night 3 JoVo's on the left, then the Elders, and 3 Sisters
President and Sister Robinson at our Thanksgiving dinner
Games at the JoVo weekend

Pictures

Snow in our back yard
Everything has changed from Sinta Klass and Zwarte Piet to Santa Claus
Now that Sinta Klass is over...Christmas trees, lights, and everything Christmas is in the stores.....strange
A street in Dordrecht all decorated for Christmas
The Apartment where dad lived while serving in Dordecht 50 years ago. He said he can't remember much of this city.
Dordecht is a BEAUTIFUL city
Opa, Oma and Zwarte Piet.....Nikki, at Institute
Opa, Oma and junior......the young man from Brazil that was baptized while living in Amsterdam. He wants to come to Utah next year and spend Christmas with us.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Another busy week

Dear family and friends......

Each week when we start this letter, I make the comment that it just seems like I sent an email. How times flies when you are having fun

. To start off, we will give the weather forecast. It snowed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday we really got blasted. It is COLD, and a thin layer of ice is starting to form on the canals. It is interesting to watch the ducks and birds walk on the ice trying to find 'open water'. The sun stays so low on the horizon that the front of our apartment never sees a ray of sunlight. Dad had to go out this morning and scrape ice off all the windows before we could drive. One of the locals made a comment, that with it snowing this early in the season, we are probably in for a LONG, COLD winter. And we thought last winter was cold when we arrived. Welcome to the Netherlands.

This week was transfers. Tuesday at District Meeting we said our goodbyes to those going to other Districts. We really had a lot that transferred to other cities. Being transfer week, and a 'tradition' we started several transfers ago, we had the Elders and Sisters in our District here for pancakes early Wednesday Morning. There were 3 sister cities that were 'whitewashed', Amsterdam being one of them. That means new Sister come in, leaving no one that knows the city. There are only 6 Sister Cities, so this really shook up the Mission. We as Missionary couples are NOT suppose to move the Sisters and Elders to their new locations on transfer day....but, when breakfast was over, and the 2 Sisters that were leaving Amsterdam, and one Elder....they had SO much luggage, we don't know how and why they have SO much 'stuff'....anyway, the train they were catching is just here in Diemen Zuid, which is a five minute drive, so Elder deLeeuw took the luggage to the train station as bikes were being pushed to the station. It is really something to have a whole Mission move on one day. We got 2 new Elders and 3, almost new, Sisters here in the Amsterdam District. Sister Palenikova, the Sister from Ukraine, was transferred back to Amsterdam. This is such a HUGH area to cover, having 3 Sisters is really great. Funny story of the 'incoming' Sisters.......we received a call that the 3 new Sisters were arriving at Diemen Zuid, the same train station that Elder deLeeuw had taken the luggage to that morning. The Sisters had SO much luggage, they wondered if we could come and help get it to their apartment. When we arrived at the train station we received another phone call. The 2 new Sisters had exited the train with all the luggage, and while Sister Palenikova was trying to exit with her bike, the conductor thought they had stopped long enough at this stop, closed the doors, and off the train went. Sister Palenikova had to go to the next stop and wait for the returning train to Diemen Zuid. Good thing it was her, as she knows her way around. When I got to the platform you should have seen the look of relief on the faces of the 2 new Sisters. New city, having NO idea where their apartment was, Not knowing how long it would be before their companion would return, standing in the cold. Something we could laugh about, but they found NO humor in the situation. We finally got everyone together, luggage to the apartment, and off they went on their bikes to their first appointment. We are SO amazed at what these young Elders and Sisters do.

Wednesday being Sinta Klass, we had no Institute, so we invited any of the JoVo's that were not with family, to come to our apartment. Pancake breakfast that morning, Sinta Klass party that night. You would think that is all we do is party =) We had 3 of our JoVo's, the 3 new Sisters and 2 Elders here. Sinta Klass night is like Christmas Eve in America. It is Sinta klass birthday, so he brings all the children presents. Zwarte Piet goes with him, and slides down the chimneys, that is why he is black, and leaves the presents. The children leave carrots , water and hay in their wooden shoes, for the while horse Sinta Klass rides. Sinta Klass then goes back to Spain, where he came from several weeks ago on the boat. Anyway....hope you followed that. We had chocolate letters, which is a Dutch Christmas tradition, for all those who were here, and since we had the Missionaries, we watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. All those from Utah got a bit homesick as we watched the broadcast. It was a fun day We understand that now all the gift giving is done, Christmas becomes a Religious time. We have found it interesting that after Sinta klass, people are decorating their windows and putting up Christmas trees. On Christmas day here everyone goes to church....how great is that! We love being here with new traditions.

Speaking of Holidays. New Years Eve is one of the BIGGEST celebrations of the year. Aldo, you would go crazy with all the fireworks that are advertised. They look like small bombs. And they are legal. One of the JoVo's said the 'big' ones are illegal and come from Germany, like we have coming from Wyoming. Already we are hearing the booms of fireworks going off.....which is NOT suppose to happen until New Years Eve. People are the same no matter where you are in the world. Always' pushing the limit.' The Elders have to be in their apartments by 4:00 on New Years Eve, because the whole Nation goes wild. We will keep you posted.

Thursday evening we went to Lelystad. Elder and Sister Lyons are suppose to go there now, but were unavailable that night. We had a sweet experience. After we ate, we showed the DVD 'Joy to the World.' One of the young men, Jessie, that is attending is not a member of the church. After the DVD ended, the Elders wanted to end the evening with a prayer as they had to leave for another appointment. Before the prayer was offered, dad asked if he could bear his Testimony. Jessie was raised a JW, and read the Bible ALL the time as a youth. He said he had to pray ALL the time as well, and he got so tired of praying that he started to do as the Buddiest (sp) do and meditate. Jessie loves History, and does love reading. Dad told him to read the Book of Mormon, just a little each day, as it is filled with history. He told Jessie to read, and then meditate, and ask if this book is true. It was a very touching time. We told Jessie as we were leaving, that we LOVED having him at these FHE's and that we looked forward to seeing him every other week. He gave us a handshake and told us we were doing more for him, and he looked forward to being there. He may never join the church, but he knows he is loved. Experiences like this are what Missionary work is all about.

When we got home...it was about 9:30, the phone rang, and Elder Shoemaker, the Elder who was with us at Lelystad, said; "I have a funny story to tell you." We were told that Lelystad is the third most dangerous city in the Netherlands. When the Elders left the church, the appointment they had was in one of THE dangerous parts of town. They were riding their bikes when a man came running up behind them yelling 'help me'.....The Elders slowed down when the man ran up to them, pulled Elder Shoemaker off his bike and punched him hard in the chest. This sent him to the ground as the man pulled Elder Muse off his bike as well. Elder Muse has been here only 3 days, He is one of the NEW Elders that arrived this week. Before the Elders knew what had happened the man went running off still yelling. They think he was on drugs because no one was following him. I made sure the Elders were ok, and told them NOT to write this to their mothers =) Elder Muse thought this was a 'cool' way to start his mission. Keep praying for the protection of the Missionaries! Elder Muse is from American Fork.

Sorry this is long, but it IS our Missionary Journal, so you can quit reading anytime you want. Friday night we had Elder and Sister Pankratz, and Brother and Sister Jansen here for dinner. The Jansen's have been so kind to dad and I. I made a new casserole that was LEKKER!!!! I even had to make my own cream of chicken soup for the casserole....Martha Stewart for sure =) We had a sweet evening. Brother and Sister Jansen are both converts to the church, and they shared their conversion stories with us. They came in bringing all sorts of gifts of chocolate for us. YUM....more treats for the Elders.

Today we attended church in Alkmaar. One of our Jovo's was suppose to have his Missionary Farewell next Sunday, and leave for the MTC Monday. The MTC called him this past week and told him they had to push his Mission back a month for two reasons. One, he is going to a Dutch speaking Mission and he speaks Dutch, and two, there is no room at the MTC right now. He is really discouraged, as he is all ready to go, and 10 days before he leaves he is told he has to wait another month. Mom and dad are a bit frustrated as well. We told them there is a reason why things had to change,,,,,but they are not happy. We will attend another farewell next week for Nikki, in Almere...we had two farewells the same day, so this makes it much easier for us. We have another JoVo, Christina, who is filling out her mission papers as well. So much good going on!

Today has been a dark and dreary rainy day......all the snow is gone. Holland weather! We have another VERY busy week in front of us, so on go the running shoes again. Guess we should not take them off.=) We love you. We pray for YOU, and thank you for all you do for us. Have a great week.

Love,

Vader and Moeder

Opa and Oma

Elder and Sister deLeeuw

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Its beginning to look like Christmas

Dear Family,

It is cold outside, and the weather forecast says we MIGHT get some snow in the next couple of days. You have to remember we are below sea level in many parts of the Netherlands, so snow is unusual. Last January when we arrived we did get a big storm....but we were told that was unusual. We will keep you posted. It rains most every day, and with the wind, it IS cold!!!!! Enjoy those tostie temps Utah is enjoying.Each day we get less daylight....makes for VERY long dark nights....still dark at 8:15 am =(

Dad and I were able to go joint teaching with the Elders this week. Something we really enjoy doing, but as of lately have not done much of. With the Stake President asking the Ward members to become more involved in Missionary work, they are asked to go more often. We visited a lady who is from Colombia. She has visited many churches, but says she always feels welcome when she visits the Mormon church. She was in attendance when I taught RS, and after the class she asked if I had been on TV in America. I laughed and asked her why she would ask such a question. She said I looked like 'one of those women who was on TV promoting different church programs.' A new one for me =) The Elders have been teaching her for several weeks now, and this visit was the lesson on the Word of Wisdom. When she was asked if she drank tea or coffee, her answer was yes, but she had cut down from 5 cups of coffee in the morning to just 2. She said she drank coffee because she had headaches and that helped. She also mentioned that her father owned a big coffee plantation in Colombia. After the lesson I told her that Caffeine sometimes causes headaches, and asked if she would increase her intake of water instead, and see if it would work. We told her we would pray for her, take one day at a time, and the Lord would bless her. The Elders were to go back Thursday night for another visit, and we haven't heard how she is doing. The Elders have a baptism date set for December 9th for her, so we hope she can give up her coffee. Pray for these sweet people who are trying so hard to give up habits they have had for so many years.

Tuesday dad and I were shopping, as usual, and as I was going through the check out line, there was an older lady, probably in her late 70's, checking out in front of me. She had all he groceries checked and was paying for them with her 'pinnen card.' After she had punched in the numbers she just stood there. The Kassa asked if she was OK, but no response.....blank stare, no response, sweating.....all of a sudden she started to fall to the floor. I pushed my cart aside and grabbed her under her arms and slowly lowered her to the floor. The Kassa called for the manager who came running. I asked the Kassa to ask the lady when the last time she had eaten...she had all the signs of low blood sugar. The lady said she had not eaten since early morning, and this was late in the afternoon. The manager hurried and brought some sort of dextrose candy and gave her one to chew. Man, I don't know what that was, but the lady was sitting up in just a matter of a few minutes. We kept her sitting on the floor for a while more, then she stood up and said she was OK to go. I asked if we could take her home, or at least walk with her to make sure she was alright. She was up and on her way like nothing had happened. After all the excitement, and a goodbye, the store manager brought me a bouquet of roses and told me thanks for helping. Right place at the right time. I was SO mad....there were a couple of young men in the line behind me, that were yelling at the kassa, because she was helping me, and they were asked to go to another check out line. They had 3 cans of beer. The store manager really got after them.....yay!!!!!! Gotta love some people.

We have one of our JoVo's that dresses up as Zwarte Piet and goes around to different homes and businesses during the Christmas season. He asked a few weeks ago if he could come to Institute dressed as Zwarte Piet, and surprise the JoVo's. We didn't tell anyone he was coming, so while the JoVo's were eating dinner, all of a sudden Kruidnoten cookies started hitting them. That is what Zwarte Piet does...throws cookies and candy. Everyone was so startled when Nikki jumped into the room all dressed up. No one even knew who he was for awhile. It was fun and we all had a good laugh. The makeup they use to make their faces black is a thick black paste....water resistant as well. Before Nikki left he came up and gave me a big kiss on the cheeks.....black all over my face now. We have pictures to send....Gotta love these kids too! The Institute teacher who usually teaches wasn't able to attend last Wednesday, so Elder Lyons taught the class. It was WONDERFUL having the lesson taught in English. All of the JoVo's speak English, so it was not a bother to them. Gotta love these moments!

Thursday was needed to have our car serviced. The dealership that serviced the car is in Leiden where the Mission Office is. Since it is an ALL day process to have the car serviced, we needed to have someone 'babysit' us from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Elder and Sister Pankratz needed to go into Belgium to check on an apartment they are trying to get for the sisters there, so they asked us to ride along. Belgium is a whole other Country and you can feel the difference. It was cool because we drove into Brussels and saw where the Mission Office was before they split the Mission, and moved the office to Leiden. We even drove past the apartment where Cameron stayed while serving in Brussels. Whenever Cameron's name is mentioned, it is with much love and admiration for what a great Elder he was. He DID set the 'bar high' for his Opa and Oma! It was a fun day. When we got back to pick up the car we found the car needed new tires on the front, new brakes, and window wipers. We are ready for winter, and the Dealership made a lot of money that day. 1150 euro, or about $1300.

Friday night we took David, Tessa, and Kim, 3 of our JoVo's, to a 'weekend JoVo camp.' A large building in the middle of nowhere, where we had to drive on a dike just wide enough for one car. Most of the YSA's had to take a bus to Ter Aar, where the camp was being held, then walk, in the dark, in the rain, on this narrow road, for about 1/2 mile, carrying their belongings. We did stop and take the bags for two girls who we saw walking. These kids really know how to survive without cars we take so much for granted. The 3 JoVo's we had in the car kept telling us thank you, as they got a ride right to the front door. All of these YSA's are JoVo's that attended the camp this summer, and this is kid of a reunion. We didn't stay long but went back Saturday afternoon and stayed for a couple of hours watching them play games. The couple in charge of the activity said there were 80 in attendance. These YSA's love to be together, and it is amazing to see them together.....all members of the church. We spoke with several of the young men, and they are in the process of filling out their Mission papers. We have 2 Missionary farewells on the 16th of this month. Both are from the Amsterdam Center. One is from Almere, and the other from Alkmaar. They both fly to Utah to enter the MTC on the 17th. Gotta love Missionary work!

Sunday Morning and we were up and out the door by 9:00 am. The YSA's had a fireside at 10:00, followed by Sacrament and Testimony Meeting. It is still frustrating to sit in these meetings and NOT know what is being said. Dad is so good and tells me the just of some things....but when these people start to talk fast, it is hard for even the Dutch to Translate. For Sacrament meeting they did have the translation ear pieces, but they did not work. It was amazing how many words I DID know, so when the Young People were bearing their Testimonies, I could understand the message they were sharing. Talking with the other Senior Sisters, who none of us speak the Dutch Language, we are ALL having the same frustration....glad to know we are among friends. The Meetings were great and we did feel of their sweet spirits. After the meetings, before the JoVo's were sent home, lunch was served. Two guesses what WAS served. Bread, ham, cheese, and yogurt......gotta love these Dutch meals. Hugs, loves, and goodbyes, and another weekend with the YSA's in the book.

This week we will inspect the Apartments here in Diemen, and cook for District Meeting, because it is Transfer week. We will lose 2 Elders and 1 Sister.....get 2 new Elders and 1 new Sister =)I think I wrote home last week that there are 4 Sisters and 4 Elders that leave to go home this week. They all say how quickly their service to the Lord has flown by.....we know, as we are coming up on our year mark next month.

We love you all. We are so thankful to be Missionaries. We are thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are thankful for a loving living Prophet on the earth today. We are thankful for you, our family. Have a great week.

Love,

Opa and Oma

Vader and Moeder

Elder and Zuster deLeeuw

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Week of Thanksgiviing

Dear Family and Friends,

Yes, this has been quite a week for us. Now we feel we can take a breath, getting ready for the next adventure. Last Sunday I told you I was asked to teach Relief Society. Just stared the lesson when the translation microphone did not work. The Dutch Sisters were having to use the 'head sets' this week. When everything was in working order the lesson began. I had several quotes to be read out of the RS manual, so when something was read I had to try to follow along with my English book, as they were reading from their Dutch book. Of course I wanted LOTS of participation from the Sisters as well, so, I would ask a question, the sisters would give their response, then someone would have to translate to me what the Sister said......get the picture. A 30 minute lesson just kept getting cut down because of the translation time......then on top of it all, Sister Robinson, the Mission Presidents wife, walked in just as I started. She is an educator and really knows how to teach. A silent prayer was said, a BIG deep breath taken, and the lesson was given. When the time was up I just hoped that someone got something from the lesson, which seemed a total disaster to me. Several Sisters told me 'good job,' and Sister Robinson told me I did well. Maybe because of all the confusion, I won't be asked again....but I will teach if asked =) Dad gave a lesson in Sunday School, but it was in the English speaking class. The JOYS of Missionary work!

Sacrament Meeting was amazing. The program was the Primary presentation. No matter where in the world you are, Primary Children are adorable. The Primary songs are all the same, just sung in a different language. Because we have so many Spanish speaking families in the Amsterdam Ward, the song "I am a Child of God" was sung in English, Dutch and Spanish.....and every child sang the song in all three languages. The talks were also given in English, Dutch and Spanish. When the program ended we all wanted to stand up and cheer! The Bishop said these children had 'the gift of tongues.' That they truly did.

Tuesday, all the Senior Couples met at the Mission Home for a 'Thanksgiving' dinner. Sister Robinson had cooked one of the 'golden' Turkeys, and the rest of us furnished the rest of the meal. We love getting together. There are 9 couples now. The Evertons will leave next month, and as of now there are no other couples coming for awhile. President and Sister Robinson had invited a neighbor couple who they are 'fellowshipping.' This couple had been to Fillmore attending an antique gun show.....the Bar J's were performing, and they absolutely fell in love with County Western Music. The man, can't remember his name right now, playes the base guitar, so really loved the guitar music. A friend of the Robinson's told them about this couple knowing they were from Holland, and asked if someone could 'look them up'.....not a coincidence that this couple live just a block away from the Mission Home. Everyone at the dinner loved and laughed with them. We sat at the same table, and before the evening was over, we were asked to come to their home some evening. What a Missionary experience. After the dinner was eaten, President Robinson had all the men stand up and sing a song to us women. A chicken song sung to 'Ghost Riders in the Sky'.....the chicken ends up as KFC. It was hilarious.

Sister Robinson said it was hard for her to be away from family at this Holiday Season....tears from the rest of us were shed as well, as WE ALL miss our families. We all agreed we were each others family this year. It was a pleasant few hours spent together....and we hope some Missionary work was done as well =)

We had our car repaired this week. The place we took it to was so accommodating. We left the car on Wednesday and were told it would be ready on Friday.....not in Orem! When dad left the car he was given the keys to a Mercedes.....when the Elders saw the 'loaner car' we told them the Mission was getting a new fleet of cars, and we were asked to drive one for a few days to see if these new cars were something the Senior couples would enjoy. We almost had them believing the story, until we started to laugh. Friday afternoon the car WAS ready...washed and vacuumed. We told the Mission Office that if any of the other cars needed repaired, this was the place to go. Speaking of cars. The one we are driving needs an oil change. An appointment was made two weeks ago, the car is in the garage ALL day, and it costs 300 euro. The Senior couple driving the car pays for the maintenance of the vehicle. Merry Christmas to us. We don't complain. We are NOT having to ride bicycles!

The daylight hours continue to drop. It is almost eerie as about 4:00 pm the sky starts to darken, and by 4:30 it is almost dark. In the morning it is not light until after 8:00 am. We will be glad for the 21st of December to come so we can gain a few minutes of daylight back again. Today it has been very windy. Something Holland does not get much of. We were told a big storm system was over the Netherlands, and the wind was the big factor. Not often do we see the water in the Canals move, but today it is really moving. The ducks are enjoying the waves for 'duck surfing.'

The BIG event of the week was the Thanksgiving Dinner for the Young Adults. We started setting up the tables and chairs Monday evening for FHE. Wednesday we started cooking and decorating. The ovens here, if you are lucky enough to even have an oven, are very small, so I had to cook the turkeys one at a time. The Turkeys were from England, and they were as tough as stewing hens.......we had Turkeys, tough or not! We had the tables set with some pretty table paper we had found at Makro. For the center pieces we had gathered leaves. let them dry, and put them down the center of the tables. The Young Adults Monday night for FHE, folded brown napkins into fans that looked like Turkeys. We brought the sofa's from the JoVo room into the Cultural hall, had a 'guest table' set up, with a book for everyone to sign. The hall looked marvelous. We had Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, corn, rolls and Pumpkin pie. Dad all along said he thought we would feed about 80. I disagreed and said I thought 60 would be pushing.......we just prayed we would have enough food for all those who DID attend. We had chairs set for 67. The dinner bell rang and we were off. The Young adults kept coming, and coming, and coming. We had just invited the Den Haag Stake, and when we saw Young Adults from 3 other Stakes we prayed again.....'the loaves and fishes'. When all were counted, we fed 82! Everyone had their fill. We had 2 rolls left over and some Cranberry sauce. After the meal, we all went into the Chapel where President Robinson and a member of the Stake Presidency spoke. Two beautiful musical numbers, and Testimonies from two recent JoVo converts. The evening was one we will cherish forever =) A member of the Stake Presidency told us there were JoVo's from every Ward and Branch in the Stake. We serve 7 of these and Den Haag serve 4. We were also told that there were JoVo's from all 4 Stakes in the Mission.....one of these Stakes is in Belgium. As the evening was closing, the Stake Presidency gave each of the Senior Sisters a beautiful bouquet of roses, and the Senior Elders a box of Chocolates. As the JoVo's were leaving we got hugs, loves, and thanks. When we get discouraged about all the shopping, cooking, cleaning, late nights........we give thanks for these Young people and the Blessing to be serving with them. They are AMAZING!!!! We told the Senior Couples that will be here next year, we will send them a post card from Disneyland =) We think we started another deLeeuw tradition.

This weekend was Ring (Stake) Conference. We made the 360 sandwiches yesterday afternoon for the Brethren after Priesthood meeting. The Saturday night session talks were all about joy. Joy doing Genealogy work, Temple attendance, Priesthood Blessings, joy in the Gospel. Todays meeting was held in a large convention room at a Hotel about a 30 minute drive from our apartment. President Oddens, our Stake President, talked about the vision he has for the Den Haag Stake in 2013. 'Finding the One', and reactivating those who have become inactive in the church. He had all the Missionaries stand up and told the members that THEY were ALL Missionaries. With the Mission asking for at least 80 more full time Missionaries, and the Stake members visiting the less active and inviting their non member friends to listen to the Gospel message.......another Stake just may be made here in the Netherlands =) The church IS moving forward!!!!!

We hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving day. We are eager to hear what you all did. Next year we will be remembering THIS year.....hey, I even made HOME MADE cranberry sauce. Ocean Spray NO MORE!!!!!!!!! We love you SOOOOO much.

We thank you for your prayers in our behalf, and in behalf of all the Missionaries. Two weeks and transfers again. We lose 9 more of the Sisters and Elders we have learned to love..their Mission experience is over...but we get 8 new ones to love. We went to the store the other day and bought a small 10 euro Christmas tree and a string of lights.....got to have some Christmas cheer. Just wish you could all be here to experience some of the joys we are having. Some days we are exhausted and wonder if we can get out of bed the next morning....but we asked for strength, and we are blessed to 'carry on'. We are being blessed for sure!