Our weather here is as extreme as your weather is in Utah. It has rained every day this week, and at times it has poured! Thursday Morning we were awakened at about 4:30 am
with a thunder and lighting storm which we have not experienced before.
The thunder was so loud that it set off a car alarm on one of the cars
parked in front of our apartment. Our plants are dying not from the
heat, but of toooo much water. We are back wearing sweaters and jackets.
The Temperature the other night was 16 degrees Celsius, or 60 degrees
Fahrenheit. That is VERY cool for the middle of July. Sure wish we
could send some of this rain your way. We are not complaining, well
maybe just a little, but we will take this over hot and humid any day:)
Last Monday for FHE.....it had rained all day and
cleared just as we got to the church.....we set up the ward BBQ grill
and fixed 'American Hamburgers' for the JoVo's. The kitchen in the
Amsterdam church building is being renovated so I cannot cook or warm
anything there for a few weeks. So, we cooked outside, and the JoVo's
LOVED what we had. Bacon cheese burgers with, onions, tomatoes, lettuce,
potato chips, and of course cucumbers and carrots. For dessert we had
purchased chocolate donuts. Wow, we were a hit. We had invited the
joVo's from Den Haag, that is where the Moore's left, and we had 3 from
that Centrum. In total we had 23 JoVo's. They ate, and ate and ate.
Some of the Young men would have eaten 3 and 4 of the hamburgers if we
would have had the makings. Wednesday
night for Institute, we took salads and sandwich makings. I had made a
jello salad, and again, that is something the joVo's don't have here in
the Netherlands. I had to ration the servings, and they made us
promise we would make more this coming week. If we only took jello and
cookies the JoVo's would be happy. We will only have FHE now until the
middle of August, because so many of the joVo's will be gone on Holiday,
at EFY in Sweden, and of course JoVo camp held here in the Netherlands
the last week of July. Dad and I will be at that camp all week. Gives
me a break from so much cooking....but now the District leaders want us
to furnish the meal on Tuesday
for District Meeting. CES DOES mean "cooking every second. So much for
the rest:) You should see me shop now....and I even know where the sale
items are. Dad is a riot, he just follows me around the store pushing
the cart, puts the items on the counter to be scanned, then hurries to
the end of the counter to start bagging the groceries. People here have
NO patience, so we have to move quick before the next person starts
their groceries coming down the line. If we have not bagged all our
groceries, the man or woman behind us just push our things out of the
way, and start with their own grocery bagging. We have learned to just
smile,and MOVE OUT OF THEIR WAY
.
I had an experience on Thursday
that I am still trying to deal with. I have not had a haircut since we
arrived here in Amsterdam. Dad and Sister Pankratz has kept the back
trimmed for me, and I have been doing my best to keep the front trimmed.
Well, it was time for a "real' haircut. I have been a bit afraid to go
and make an appointment, not knowing if I would get the cut that I
wanted. Dad told me to 'slay the dragon' and go get the haircut.....so I
did make the appointment. When I sat down in the chair the girl ask me
how I wanted the cut. I showed her that I wanted about 1/4 inch cut
off, trimmed over my ears, and short in the back. How simple is that.
She took her scissors, and the first cut I just about had a heart
attack! Instead of cutting 1/4 inch off, she was leaving me 1/4 inch on
my head. I tried not to cry while in the Salon, but my heart was beating
so fast I really did think I would die. When the lady was through
'scalping' me, she asked if it was short enough......I paid, drove home,
and walked in the Apartment, and fell apart. My hair is shorter than
dads. It took me awhile to gain my composure, and then I decided there
is nothing I can do but wait for my hair to grow back....and looking on
the bright side, I won't need another hair cut until we get home
. I am cutting dads hair now, and he looks great! He won't need a barber again.
Tuesday
we had an Interview with President Robinson. He is such a wonderful
man, and Sister Robinson is darling. They are still in "Mission Shock",
having Zone Conferences and Interviews with all the Missionaries, in the
first 2 weeks of their arrival. Sister Robinson, being a school
teacher, talks with us like one of her students. She knows my
frustration about learning the Dutch language, so on Tuesday
took me aside, and told me if she can teach first graders how to read,
she can help me learn to speak Dutch. Since then, dad and I have been
taking an hour each day to study Dutch. Dad can speak VERY well, and I
am encouraging him to speak more. He is now praying in Dutch at each
meal and night time prayers. You would be proud of me...I can say the
words to a simple prayer, and when I get the courage I will surprise dad
and say a prayer in Dutch. I can also bear a simple testimony. Today we
received a Liahona, and dad is reading the Conference Articles in
Dutch. We may not be fluent in this language, but we are trying. Dad
suggested that we read the Dutch Book Of Mormon, so I can learn the
''Gospel" words. He is a GREAT teacher!
Speaking of the language. Last Wednesday at
Institute I said some of the Dutch phrases I do know, to some of the
JoVo's. They really appreciate that we are trying. I asked them to keep
me in their prayers, that I may have the 'gift of tongues". Thursday
we went to the Temple, and in the session was one of our JoVo's. While
I was waiting for dad to come into the Celestial Room, Ezra, our JoVo,
came up to me and said: "Sister deLeeuw, I took seriously what you said
the other night, and I am praying for you that you can speak Dutch."
Wow, how was that! Now we really have to study.....
You are getting this email today, because tomorrow
is our Gouda LONG day. The Den Haag Stake is in charge of this again in
September, and since the Moore's are gone, it will be interesting to
see who will be helping us with the Meeting and meal. We just take one
day at a time, and know that everything will work out as we do the Lords
work.
We have been studying the Doctrine and Covenants. So
many of the chapters talk about Missionary work, and Section 4 is what
is recited at each District Meeting weekly. As we have been reading, we
feel so blessed, as the early Missionaries were sent out 'into the
world' without knowing how long they would be asked to serve, not having
funds to pay for their Mission, being asked not even to take extra
clothes. Here we are complaining about impatience people at the grocery
store. How blessed we are to be serving with the people of the
Netherlands, having the love and support of family and friends, and
feeling the love of our Savior when we have a frustrating day. WE KNOW
WE ARE TO BE HERE SERVING AT THIS TIME. We do so love these Young Adults
we have been asked to be stewards over for a short time.
Next week we will have Levi and her daughter, who is taking the Missionary lesson, over for dinner Wednesday
evening. Levi is so excited to have someone else in her family being
taught the Gospel. We will also be having a 'farewell' outing as two of
the Senior Couples will be leaving to go home. I will sign off with a
couple of Dutch phrases you can practice on how to say: Ik Ben blij...ij
is an'I' sound: that says: I am happy. Ik ben Moe....I am tired. Ik
Ben Verdrietig...I am sad. Ik hou van jou...I love you. A 'v' makes an f
sound, e makes an 'a' sound, double o makes an 'uw' sound.....this is a
hard language to learn. Try it:)
We send our love. Thank you for your emails, that we
so look forward to receiving each week, and the pictures. We love being
Missionaries and serving the Lord.
Opa and Oma
Vader and Moeder
Elder and Sister deLeeuw
No comments:
Post a Comment