It is with heavy hearts and
swollen eyes from crying, that we send this email. Yesterday, we were
suppose to have a delightful day with all the Senior Couples, to say our
goodbyes to President and Sister Brubaker. Our phone rang a little
after 7:00 am
telling us that our dear sweet Sister Moore had passed away during the
night. Elder and Sister Moore arrived here just 3 months ago. She is
the Sister that fell and broke her wrist that we told you about. Talk
about a shock! Sister Moore was born in Rotterdam, and left with her
family when she was12 years old. Since the age of 26, she just turned
65, she has experienced MAJOR health issues. Her life long dream was to
someday return to the Netherlands and serve a Mission. With her health
problems,Elder and Sister Moore thought that when they filled out their
Mission Papers, there would be no way they would be able to leave the
United States. Elder Moore told us that when they received their
Mission call, and it was to the Netherlands, it took him 3 days to get
Sister Moore 'off the ceiling'. He also told us that he had a
premonition that he would not bring Sister Moore home from this Mission.
A VERY LOVING Heavenly Father preparing Elder Moore for something that
would happen. Sister Moore came speaking the Dutch language, and the
JoVo's loved her. The Moore's served in Den Haag in the JoVo Centrum.
We worked together as both Den Haag and Amsterdam are in the same Stake.
In just the short time they were here, Sister Moore was able to visit
the home where she was born, visit with some friends she had kept in
contact with, speak and sing in the Language she loves...so many things.
Last week she got a cold, but thought she was getting better as this
week went on. I called her each day to check on her, and she sounded so
weak and tired. Wednesday
she went to the Dr.s and he removed the cast from her arm. The Dr.
gave her some cough medicine at that time because a cough was the thing
that was really bothering her. Friday afternoon she laid down about 5:00 pm and slept until 10:00....got
up, said she felt better, ate a snack, then sat down on the sofa, and
Elder Moore said she went into a kind of "stare at the wall' without
speaking for a minute. Sister Moore then asked Elder Moore if he could
help her get up. She then fell back and just stopped breathing. Elder
Moore called 112, our 911, started CPR, but before the Ambulance
arrived, Sister Moore had died. Yesterday, we as Senior Couples, did
meet together at the Mission Office to cry and comfort each other. We
all said how ironic it was that Sister Moore was born in the Netherlands
and died here as well. As was mentioned before, Elder Moore was at
peace because of the premonition that he had before coming. This Thursday
evening there will be a Memorial Service for Sister Moore at the Den
Haag Chapel.....the night of Institute. Elder Moore wanted it that
night in keeping with having that JoVo meeting. Each day for the next
few weeks, we as Senior Couples will visit with Elder Moore and keep him
company. He does not speak Dutch and feels so lost. The Den Haag Ward,
the Stake Presidency, the Missionaries, have all rallied around
him......the church is ONE BIG FAMILY:)
It may take 4 to 6 weeks to have her body flown back to Utah
because of all the "red tape". She is now legal in the Netherlands, so
permission from the US embassy has to be approved. Because she died at
home, an autopsy may need to be preformed.......all sorts of things.
Elder Moore does not want to leave until Sister Moore's body can be
flown home. Yesterday morning as we were trying to come to grips with
this news, the phone rang again and it was the Assistance's to the
President that live here next to us. They asked if all 6 Missionaries
could come over and offer a prayer of comfort for Elder Moore. Boy,
then the tears really began to flow. It was so touching as 8 of us
knelt and Elder Van de Graff offered a beautiful prayer,asking for
peace and comfort to be with not only Elder Moore, but his family, and
us as Missionaries. This is something we thought and hoped we would
never experience on this Mission, but it is amazing how the Spirit truly
does comfort us in times like this. Please keep Elder Moore and his
family in your prayers.
Last week when I was writing the email, I mentioned
that Holland was playing a Soccer game, how everything here was orange,
people yelling......well, Holland lost 1-2 to Portugal. 3 games lost
in a row so they are out of the 'running'. ALL the orange came down,
people are not speaking kindly of the team....you would think the world
was coming to an end. We compared this to BYU losing to Utah. Life
DOES go on:)
As you have sent emails telling us about the dry
conditions in Utah and all the fires......we are enjoying???? 13 degree
Celsius weather with rain and wind. That is 55 degrees Fahrenheit. We
went onto KSL TV news and watched the stories of the fires over in
Saratoga Springs. Wow, what a difference from Holland to Utah. Wish we
could share some of each others conditions. The weather forecast for
this coming week is rain most days. Keeping those sweaters and
umbrellas close by the door.
Last Tuesday, dad and I were asked to make an
'emergency' trip to Zaandam, a City about 25 minutes drive from here, to
help a member of the ward. I had just had to cook 3 large meals, had to
go to the grocery store every day, which you know how we both love to
do...baked lots of cookies, my hand mixer had broken, so yes, I was
doing some grumbling. When we met with this Sister I was so ashamed of
my grumbling. This woman, 64 years old, is in a 'scoot mobile',
electric wheelchair. Has a large tumor growing in her stomach that
cannot be operated on, her son has Diabetes and has a hole in his lung
that cannot be repaired.....she is divorced. As she sat and told dad
and I all these problems, tears running down her cheeks, telling us her
son was dying and there was nothing that could be done......oh my. On
the way home I started to cry and told dad that whenever I start to
grumble about 'my frustrations', the Lord puts someone in my path to
give me a 'wake up call' of ALL the problems I DO NOT HAVE! I, we, are
SO thankful for a loving Heavenly Father, that in his own quiet way,
reminds us to count our blessings.
Thursday
was a whirlwind day. At 12;30 we were with Elder Maughn and Elder
Hansen......2:00 we went to Haarlem to joint teach with the Sisters
there. They are teaching a man, Raiz, who used to be Street Preacher.
His hair was long, beard, used drugs, and was in a 'Mental Hospital'
for awhile because of the drug use. His father is Muslim and his mother
is Catholic. A couple of years ago he came in contact with the
Missionaries, had a few lessons, but then lost interest. The Sister
Missionaries contacted him a few months ago and he was so happy. His
hair is short, no beard, he had stopped using drugs, and is trying to
stop smoking. He came to the Baptism of Jenny,and he and dad really hit
it off. He asked dad that day if dad could Baptize him when the time
came. When we went to Haarlem with the Sisters, he again asked dad if
he would baptize him. He put his arm around dad and called him "Father
deLeeuw". Doop is the word for Baptism in Dutch, so we are calling dad
'Elder Dooper". Dad may baptize more people on this Mission than he ever
thought of Baptizing on his first Mission here. Maybe that is why we
came back! Anyway, after the 2:00 teach, we hurried back to Amsterdam to meet with the Sisters here for a 4:00 appointment. This was a 'no show', so we were able to come home, grab a quick bite to eat then go again at 7:00 pm
to visit Levi. The spirit in her Apt. is so sweet. She has two of her
four daughters that are interested in the church now. We watched the
DVD on the Restoration. Levi loves that DVD and said if the
Missionaries would have shown her that the first visit, she would have
been baptized the next day. We keep busy, and LOVE being Missionaries.
We are starting to visit the Wards and Branches that
our JoVo's come from again. Today we visited Almere. That is the
closest Ward to Amsterdam, and takes 30 minutes by car. When the JoVo's
come to the Centrum it takes them over an hour by bus and tram. Anyway,
dad was asked to bear his Testimony. He gave most of the Testimony in
Dutch and I was so proud of him! I am really encouraging him to speak
more Dutch...even just to me. One of the Elders sat in back of me and
translated what the speakers were saying. I AM beginning to know more
of the 'church' Dutch words......anything helps!
Wednesday was Transfers. Tuesday
night the three Sisters that live here asked dad if he would give them a
Priesthood Blessing. Sister Stout was being transferred and made a
Senior Companion. How sweet it was to have the Sisters tell dad what
concerns they had, and the help they needed from the Lord. These
Missionaries are amazing and really carry a heavy load. Again, tears
were shed. Today as we were reading, a scripture really jumped out at
me. Alma 7: 23, 24. Read this...."always returning thanks unto God."
Well, I could go on for another hour, but we are going with the Elders at 8:00
tonight, that is in one hour....for a joint teach. July and August is
when most of Holland goes on Holiday, so we are told we may only have
one or two JoVo's, if that, at FHE and Institute. We are here to serve,
so will be there for that one:) I think we told you that the people of
the Netherlands get paid to go on vacation ......and they GO!
We love you. Thank you for your prayers. We will be going to the Temple this Tuesday
with our Stake leaders, so are looking forward to that. Keep us in your
prayers, as we comfort Elder Moore these next few weeks, until he can
return home with his 'Eternal companion'.
One of the JoVo's gave me this quote: "When life
gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life a 1000 reasons to smile." Keep
Smiling:)
Love,
Opa and Oma, Elder and Zuster deLeeuw
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