First of all....HAPPY
MOTHERS DAY TO ALL YOU WONDERFUL MOTHERS!!!!!!! ESPECIALLY TO OUR FOUR
AMAZING DAUGHTERS:) Thank you for being the beautiful mothers you are to
our fabulous grandchildren! We hope your day is sunny and full of loves
and kisses.
Where to start. If I wrote all that has happened in
the last two weeks you would be reading this for days......so I will try
and make a short version of Missionary life of the deLeeuws in the
Netherlands:) First of all. We were so excited to have the Harpers
come, but the bad part of the visit was that they had to leave:( We hope
that in the 3 short days they were here, they in some small way were
able to capture the spirit of Missionary work we are doing...and, feel
sorry for us having to climb ALLLLLL the stairs every day. The day they
left it was raining, as usual, and the sky was doing exactly what we
were doing, shedding tears as they left.
OK, let's start with Queens Day. That is the day, April 30th,
that the Country celebrates the Queens Birthday. Since Orange is the
queens favorite color, everyone wears orange. Dad wore an orange hat,
and I wore an orange blouse. We stayed away from Amsterdam as we have
heard it is just one big drunken brawl. A couple of the JoVo's went to
the square and said the music was so loud that their heads were just
throbbing. The canals were 'stern to stern' with boats and people were
jumping from boat to boat....most of them so drunk that if they fell in
the water they would drown cause they would not know they had fallen
into the water:) We took the Sisters and went to a quaint little Dutch
Village and walked around in such peace and quiet. We just enjoyed the
"good" Dutch Culture. We had invited the 4 Elders and 2 Sisters that
live here over to dinner that evening. I had planned an "ORANGE" dinner
for the celebration day. Orange chicken, orange jello with mandarin
oranges, carrotts, and Tomponuses, a tradional Dutch dessert, with
orange frosting. As we were walking around Zaanse Schaans, the phone
rang...it was the 3 Elders that work in the Mission Office. They were
with the Assistants that day and heard we were having dinner...could
they come? Of course. We met Elder and Sister Moore at the Village and
invited them too. The more the merrier. When we got home and started
setting out the dishes the phone rang again. The Van Komans, the Senior
Couple that live in Groningen were on their way home and needed a place
to 'go potty'. They had 3 family members....are you counting? When we
started eating we had 17 people in our apartment. Talk about a party! I
was worried that everyone would get something to eat because we had
only planned on 8. You have heard the story of the 'Loaves and Fishes',
well, everyone had ALL they could eat AND we had leftovers!
Last Monday, when the Harpers were here, FHE was
held in Den Haag, where the 'Stake Building' is. The BYU Wind Symphony
held a Fireside for the JoVo's of our Stake. It was a riot! The BYU
kids had all the JoVo's up clapping, whistling, dancing, cheering. What
an inspiration for the YSA to see. After the music and fun the evening
ended with a few Testimonies being born. WOW, these kids are amazing.
This was very much needed as just a few days before, a funeral was held
for a young man from Almere who had jumped in front of a train. He was a
member of the church, not active, but so many of the JoVo's knew him
and had attend the funeral. We also were in attendance at the funeral.
During the service many pictures were shown of Niels. He was a handsome
young man, 22 years of age, and looked so happy. Everyone was asking
why. So, this fireside was just what was needed to lighten the spirits.
Dad and I have now attended a Funeral here in Holland to add to our many
experiences. That will be another email.
The daylight each day gets a little longer. Last night at 10:00 pm we made a comment at how light it was. In June it stays light until after 11:00 pm. In the last 2 weeks we have only had TWO days without rain. Today and the Monday the Harpers were here. It is still very cool and we are still wearing long sleeves, jackets and scarves. Tomorrow
is suppose to be bright and sunny, so Happy Mothers Day to the Dutch
Mothers:) Most of the Tulips have been cut, so the brilliant colors in
the fields are gone, but everything else sure is green.
The weeks are going by so quickly. We have been
here 4 months already. You will laugh at this. This week is Zone
training so the Senior Sisters cook for this meeting. Thursday I will make Sloppy Joe's for 40. Sunday
is the JoVo Dienst in Gouda and I will make Sloppy Joe's for 80. Sloppy
Joe's are easy to make and will feed lots for little Euro. I told dad
that 3 months ago this would have put me over the edge but now it is
just, 'One more meal to cook'. Along with this we feed the JoVo's Monday for FHE and Institute Wednesday.
Dad said I have 'come a long way':) When we come home I will eat out
every night and just sit and watch others cook and clean:) And, the
Elders are always stopping by making sure I have not made cookies
without them knowing. Life is good!
This past week we have been to Eindhoven twice to
help finish the Elders apartment there. Eindhoven is a 2 hour drive
both ways so we have had some 12 hour days. Some of these apartments are
so disgusting it is a wonder the Elders have not died from dust and
mold poisoning. This apartment has been lived in by Elders for 18
years. President Brubaker will be leaving in July, and he wants all the
apartments in tip top shape when the new President arrives. Yesterday, Friday,
Brother and Sister Moore came to help with the cleaning. They are the
newest couple here in the Mission. Sister Moore has some health
problems so we were surprised to see them, but glad that they had come.
The Moore's had not been in the apartment more than 1/2 hour, when
Sister Moore got on a chair to wipe off the top of a kitchen cupboard.
I was in the front of the apartment when I heard Sister Anderson
scream, "are you OK"? I came running.....Sister Moore had fallen off
the chair, hit her head and was lying on her left arm. She was very
faint and said: " I think I broke my wrist". First look, and sure
enough, her wrist was all twisted. We yelled for the Elders to bring
some pillows to put under her legs, since there is NO ice in the
Netherlands we got a bag of frozen potatoes out of the freezer for her
wrist... got her stabilized then sent the Elders to the neighbors to see
where the nearest Hospital was. Oh my! This was my third trip to a
Holland Hospital....the word for Hospital here is Ziekenhuis, which
means 'sick house'. We took sister Moore's jacket and made a sling,
potatoes on the wrist, and off we went to find the Ziekenhuis. We have
been to the Hospital here in Amsterdam and I would not bring Polly to
the one here. What a pleasant surprise when we arrived at the one in
Eindhoven. Everyone was SO nice, dressed professionally, treated Sister
Moore with such tenderness. The General Practitioner's here are called
Huisarts. You see them first then they refer to a specialist. Within
just 15 minutes Sister Moore was checked in, seen by the Huisart and was
in a room. You don't get that care at home. Without an X ray they could
see her wrist was broken. The Dr put a sleeve on her arm, put some
hooks onto some bands on her fingers, then hung her arm from a 'hook
holder' above the bed. I took a picture as I had never seen anything
like this. They let her arm hang there for about 30 minutes to see if
the bones would just mend back together. They had taken an X ray before
to see how dislocated the bones were. After 30 minutes 4 Medical people
came into the room, unhooked her, then I almost screamed...one knelt on
the floor and started to pull on her arm, while another one was moving
her wrist into place, another was pulling her arm backwards, and who
knows what the 4th one was doing. Sister Moore was screaming with pain.
Poor Brother Moore was in tears and I was trying to be brave.
Wow.....after this they did another X ray and told the Moore's she would
need surgery. Long story short. Dad, Elder Moore, Elder Salden and
Elder Anderson gave her a Priesthood Blessing asking for a Miracle.
Because of Sister Moore's health it is a MIRACLE she is here. She was
born in Rotterdam, left when she was 10 and has never been back. This is
a dream of hers to serve in her 'Homeland'. When she was taken into
surgery...surprise???? surgery WAS NOT needed. We were all in tears
knowing that prayers had been answered! She is home with a cast on her
arm, will need followup care, will be pain for a few days, but it is her
left arm, she is right handed, and she is already talking about helping
with the meal next Sunday. Prayers ARE heard and answered!!!!
I will close this book with another story. Dad and I
have said so many times that we are on this Mission to strengthen OUR
Testimonies! Every Conversion story we hear brings us to tears. We
wonder if we could be strong members of the church with the opposition
some of the member here have. Next week I will tell you about Dorthy.
Ask Alexis about her. This is about Sister Palenikova who came last
weeks Missionary transfer. She is beautiful, not only outside but has a
spirit that just radiates sweetness and humility. She is from one of
the Russian Countries, we have heard but I can't remember. She joined
the church just 2 years ago and is now serving a Mission. Her family
was VERY much against her joining the church and told her they would NOT
support her in any way, Here she is in the Netherlands, her family
does not have a computer, so she cannot email them, they have not
answered one of her letters, so for over 6 months she has had no contact
with anyone from home. Tomorrow
being Mothers Day I will make sure she knows she is loved by a 'Mission
Mother'. Can you even imagine not having ANY support from you family!
This is my 'Don't take things for granted". Kids, you tell you your
parents, especially your mothers, how much you love and appreciate them.
When you say your prayers, give thanks to our Heavenly Father for
where you live, the friends you have, the Blessing of being born members
of the church.....we, you are SOOOOOOO blessed. Never take these
blessings for granted!!!!!! Opa and I are so great full to be serving
this Mission. To in some small way 'give back' to a loving Heavenly
Father thanks for all he has done for us. We are so thankful for the
family and friends we have, for the Restoration of the Gospel, for a
living Prophet who leads and guides us today. NEVER take these things
for granted!
Opa is in Leiden at a Stake Priesthood Meeting
tonight. Since very few men in the Amsterdam Ward have cars, anyone
that does, is asked to provide transportation. Leiden is a 45 minute
drive away...and you brethren can walk to stake Priesthood Meeting.
This is the first time I have been alone and it seems strange. We will
miss our annual Mothers Day picnic. Yes, I have shed a few 'homesick'
tears today....that is just being a mom and Oma:) We LOVE being
Missionaries, so 'buck up'.
We love you all. Thank you for you prayers, love
and support so we can serve. We wish you could all come and see us.
Keep those emails coming as we so look forward to news from home and all
your happenings. We pray for YOU>
Love, Opa and Oma, Vader and Moeder
Elder and Zuster deLeeuw
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