What a day
we have had.....Spiritual exhaustion! Levi was baptized!!!!!! But
before 'the rest of the story'. A couple of funny week happenings. Tuesday,
dad had to run home during District Meeting to get the cookies we had
forgotten to take. When he came back to the church, the gate to the
parking lot was locked. There is a school right next to the chapel and
the kids use the church parking lot as a play ground. We have mentioned
that you have to pay to park EVERYWHERE....but there are lots of parking
spots in front of the chapel...so dad parked there. When we were ready
to go home, there was a small piece of paper on the front window....a
parking ticket, for how much you ask! 56 euro, which is about $82.00.
I started to cry, of course, but what could we do. The church owns
only the land that the church is built on, and the parking in front
belongs to the Government. We learned a very expensive lesson.....the
Mission Office laughed and said this will probably be only one of many
parking tickets that we get.
We told you about our next door neighbors and the
Easter Cake. This week we got some flowers and wrote a 'dank u wel'
note. When I took them over I was welcomed into their apartment, met
the 3 cats and we had a great chat. They will celebrate their 21st
wedding anniversary this week....I told them how long we had been
married and they about fainted. The lady, Yvonna, asked if we were
still in love. Just being friendly, we hope will be a Missionary tool:)
On the almost same note. I WALKED to the little grocery store that is
not far from us last week, on a day with sunshine. There is a sandwich
shop next to the store, so I stopped to get a couple of sandwiches to
bring home. I have mentioned people notice our Missionary
badges.....the lady in the shop looked at mine and said "Zuster
deLeeuw....Zuster Lion." She laughed and kept calling me 'Zuster Lion."
She will remember me if I go into the shop again. It was fun.
Yesterday we went with two of the Senior Couples to visit the Kasteel De
Haar in Utrecht. One of the largest and most luxurious castles in the
Netherlands. It was built by a wealthy German family and is still used
ONLY in the month of September...what a waste of money with all the
gold, copper, statues, furnishings. They told us how many 'movie stars'
from America had stayed in the castle. We kept saying;" The most
important things in life aren't things:)".....it was enjoyable, but we
all made comment that we are so thankful for the small homes we live in,
and all the love shared there. After we left the castle we found a
tiny restaurant in this tiny town...cute huh. There were several women
in another room eating and laughing, and when they got up to leave we
were astonished...each of them, 4, had great big dogs, that they lead
out of the restaurant. We couldn't believe those big dogs were so quiet
and well behaved while the ladies were eating. Only in the Netherlands
where they almost worship their animals.
Now for the week of Missionary work. We went twice
this week to visit Levi. The Elders were keeping a close eye on her.
The Spirit in her apartment this week was amazing and she was so
excited for her Baptism. Today 3 of her sisters were at church with Levi
to witness her Baptism. Her oldest sister was the one that told Levi
that she would be disowned if she joined the church. Before the
Baptism, as we were taking pictures, Levi made the comment that she was
so excited she was trembling. During the program before the baptism,
where a talk on baptism (Doop the word for baptism in Dutch) was given,
Levi's sisters were all very attentive. We have a young lady in the
Amsterdam Ward who is an Opera singer. She sang a medley of church
hymns that had us all in tears. What a Spirit. Levi was baptized by
Roland, another man who has just been a member of the church a couple of
years. Here again, the sisters were 'front and center'. After the
Baptism we went back into the chapel and dad gave a beautiful talk on
the holy Ghost. Tears were streaming down Levi's face....to our future
Missionaries....THIS IS WHAT MISSIONARY WORK IS ALL ABOUT!!!!!
Witnessing someone who has been seeking to find answers to questions,
and seeing the joy as they have found the answers. Wow. The girl, Roos,
that was baptized last week. Dad confirmed her today as well. We have
been asked by the high Priest group leader, to teach Roos the few
lessons that are given to new converts after Baptism. What a joy to be
able to do this...We just want you all to meet these amazing people we
are having the opportunity to watch grow in the Gospel. Dad also taught
the Gospel Doctrine class in Sunday
school..I played the piano for RS and lead the music for the Baptism.
We WERE, and are on a Spiritual high! That is what we are here
for....to serve. The other night while we were visiting Levi, she told
us she was spending 50 euro EACH DAY for cigarettes before she stopped
smoking. We told her now to save that money she was spending each day on
cigarettes and come to Utah. She said she would and wants to cook for
our family:)
Another 'treasure couple' we are visiting with the
Elders, are the ones from Hungary, Jannet, Zsanett, the spelling in that
language, and Daniel. They are so humble. Last night the Elders gave
the lesson about Tithing. This is something we have all grown up with
and have no problem in doing. As the lesson was being taught I told them
about the time dad was out of work, and we we struggling finanically,
but we always paid our Tithing, and how we never went without. This
couple is living in an apartment with one big room that is the kitchen
and front room, a small bedroom and bathroom and that is all they have.
Zsanett is not working because of her pregnancy and Daniel is not
working. Can you even imagine what they thought when the Elders said we
pay 10% of what we earn. Zsanett said she only had 8 euros and Daniel
had 23 to last them for a week...how could they pay 10%. The Elders
explained the that would pay Tithing AFTER they were baptized
.but...Zsanett was willing to give her 80 cents thought. Again, when we
left we were in tears. The song came to mind, "Because We Have Been
Given Much". I just wanted to turn around and go give them ALL we had.
They were at church again today. The prayers we want this week for
Missionary work is for Daniel and Zsanett. Pray for the health of the
baby, health for Zsanett, Daniel that he can live the Word of Wisdom..
smoking and drinking coffee. Again, this couple have been seeking, and
the the Elders are providing answers.
This week will be a busy one for us. Tomorrow
evening at FHE we are being visited by the couple from Germany that are
the coordinators over all the JoVo Centrums in Europe..We have put the
word out, so hope we have a good turn out. Kim, our FHE leader said;
"We want to show them that the Amsterdam Centrum Rocks." Tuesday and Wednesday
we go to the Temple with the Elders and Sisters for Zone Temple
Conference. They so look forward to attending the temple twice a year. Thursday,
we have been asked to attend the temple with the Amsterdam Ward to help
as Baptisms are done. Dad may do some Baptisms and I don't know what
they will have me do. It takes about 45 minutes to get to the temple,
so that's not bad...if there is no traffic. Can you tell why we go to
bed each night tired...but VERY happy:)
We love you all so much and feel of your prayers. We
love this work...I am in tears most of the time as we are teaching and
loving the people of the Netherlands.
Have a
Great week. Tons of love! It is still cold and windy..the trees and
plants are having a hard time blossoming. Pictures to follow if I can
get them to download:)
Opa and Oma deLeeuw
Elder and Zuster deLeeuw
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