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!

Have a great week.......we pray for Shelby, and know prayers will be heard in her behalf. Keep smiling girl!!!!!!!

Love to all

Vader and Moeder

Opa and Oma

Elder and Zuster deLeeuw

Group photo

                                             Tessa, Zuster deLeeuw, Sister Lyons

                                                    Dorthy and Elder deLeeuw

                                             The group we fed......not all were in the picture.

Pictures of Sinta Klass and zwarte Piet

                                                    The boat Sinta Klass arrived on

                                                            Horse drawn carriage

                                  The band leading Sinta Klass across the draw brug

                                                      Children dressed as Zwarte Piet

                                                   Children dressed as Zwarte Piet

                                                                   More Sinta Klass

                                                           Oma with Zwarte Piet

                                                              Opa with Zwarte Piet

                                           This is a sack for Sinta Klass to put gifts in

Pictures of Sinta Klass and zwarte Piet

                                                    The boat Sinta Klass arrived on

                                                            Horse drawn carriage

                                  The band leading Sinta Klass across the draw brug

                                                      Children dressed as Zwarte Piet

                                                   Children dressed as Zwarte Piet

                                                                   More Sinta Klass

                                                           Oma with Zwarte Piet

                                                              Opa with Zwarte Piet

                                           This is a sack for Sinta Klass to put gifts in

Laugh or Cry

Dear Family and Friends,

Sister Hinkley once said: "You can laugh, or you can cry....but crying gives you a headache." We have done a lot of laughing this week, trying not to cry. We did finally find some turkeys, but, are you sitting down.......we had to pay 50 euro for a 20 lb turkey. That would be about $65.00 in American dollars =( We went to several stores and were told that turkeys are sold here in December, NOT November. One store manager said he might need to start ordering a few turkeys in November for all the Americans asking for them. At least we have them for the dinner. The number we have so far is about 65, give or take 5 or 10. We need an exact count by Monday so we can start the cooking. Another thing that had Oma almost in tears....we started the Dutch class on Tuesday. The man teaching is NOT a teacher, he said so himself, and he was teaching us how to speak Dutch in Dutch. I looked at Opa with the 'help' look on my face.......don't know if this man is the best to help with this difficult language. We cannot attend this Tuesday, as we will be at the Mission home, so we will have a week to see if we want to return to the class. We learn more from the computer programs. But we will keep learning!

President Robinson called Opa and I into the Mission Office last Monday for an interview. No, we are not being sent home for bad behavior.....with Elder and Sister Everton leaving next month, Sister Everton being the Mission nurse, President Robinson wanted to know IF Sister Robinson needed me to help her with some Medical issues would I be willing to do so. Elder Everton has also been the 'handy man' of the Mission, so Opa was asked if he could step in and help that way as well. With Elder and Sister Lyons here to help us with the YSA's, IF we are needed elsewhere, they can step in and help. We are here to serve in any way we are asked. Lots of apartments to be found and fixed for 80 new Missionaries.

We need a new parking permit. Here in the Netherlands you have to pay for parking everywhere in some form or another. Here in our apartment complex we pay for a years parking permit to park in front of our own apartment. The cost is 62 euros a year. When we arrived in the Netherlands we were signed into Leiden, where the Mission Office is. Well, now we need the parking permit we need to sign out of Leiden and into Diemen. Dad and I got all the forms from the Mission Office, all of OUR legal forms, and took off to the Diemen City Building. Dad sailed through just fine......had all the papers that were needed, pink card showing he was a residence of the Netherlands. Then my turn. I have the pink card, papers....but I am NOT on the computer as signed into the Netherlands. I have even been offered Social Security from the Dutch Government! After several tries, the lady behind the desk said I had to bring in 'other numbers and papers' to show I WAS legal here. No, I did not cry, but I had to poke dad so he would not say a 'not nice word.' Bless dad for his good record keeping. He found the papers with my 'Dutch SS Numbers', so off the next day we go again to the City Building. On our passports my name has a space between the DE Leeuw, and that is why my name could not be brought up on the system. FINALLY, after another hour, I am signed into Diemen, we got our parking permit and hopefully we will be OK until we have to sign out of Diemen before we leave to come home. We made the comment that we wonder what people from other Countries have to do when they come to the United States. While we were waiting in the lobby, a man sitting next to us asked why we were here. I was able to say IN DUTCH. We are Missionaries for De Kerk van Jezus Christus Van de Heiligen der Laatste Dagen. He looked puzzled, so I asked if he had heard of the 'Mormon' Kerk. We laughed because he asked if we were a Protestant Church. His number was called as I told him NO, we are a Christian Kerk. Hey, at least he was told the name of who we are serving this Mission for.

We told you last week about the young man from Brazil being baptized. This we DID cry about. He has been living with his step father here in Amsterdam. His step father does not believe there is a God, and is really upset that Junior was Baptized. Junior has been asked to leave. He, Junior will be confirmed tomorrow and receive the Aaronic Priesthood, then on Monday will fly to Portugal where he will live for at least a year. His dream is to come to the United States, and attend BYU. He is already talking about serving a mission. We so hate to say good bye to this young man. HE was in tears on Wednesday as he was telling us he had to leave. We hope to keep in close touch with him, and IF he can come to Utah, we told him we would be his family there =) You will be getting lots of new cousins if everyone that wants to come for a stay comes. He hopes to be in Utah next year for Christmas, if all goes as he hopes it does.

Did we tell you about our car? A couple of months ago there were no parking spaces in front of our apartment, so we had to park out on the street. Next morning we noticed that someone had run into the drivers side car door leaving a big dent. SO, something else that needed to be done....find a dealership here in Amsterdam who can fix the dent. Thank Heavens people here speak English. Dad found a place where the car can be repaired, and they were nice enough to even offer a 'loaner car' for the few days ours will be worked on. We just hope it is not a two seater bicycle =) Always something to keep us busy.

I was asked yesterday if I would teach the lesson in RS tomorrow. Oh my. I am more that happy to do so....but now someone has to translate what I say into Dutch, then if I ask a question, someone has to translate for me what was said. This will be a VERY interesting hour. Missionary work is amazing as we do so many different things. And on that note........the sandwiches that need to be made for next Saturday for Ring Conference. 240!!!!!!!! plus 120 raisin buns. 120 cheese and 120 meat....just with butter. Milk, apple juice and bottled water. The budget is 120 euro. Did we mention how interesting Missionary work is.......but we are loving what we are doing. Dad just keeps reminding me to 'take one day at a time.'

We experienced something amazing this morning! Sinta Klass has officially arrived in Holland. Sinta Klass comes on a boat from Spain. With him he brings Zwarte Piet, a black elf, that kidnaps all the naughty children. This morning Sinta Klass arrived on his boat, right on the Canal in front of our apartment. It made Opa and I laugh as we saw so many children dressed as Zwarte Piet, faces painted black and everything. We took pictures of some of the children. When we asked if we could take their pictures, their parents were thrilled as we told them we were sending the pictures to our Klein Kinderen in America. Anyway.....Sinta Klass arrived, accompanied by a marching band, he got onto a horse drawn carriage, and taken into the the Diemen Centrum. This was so fun so see how another Culture celebrates Christmas. Zwarte Piet did not kidnap any children, but gave out bags full of Kruid Noten spice cookies and candy. December 5th is Sinta Klass day, and that is the day families get together and gifts are exchanged. The Dutch children put carrots and hay in their wooden shoes for Sinta Klass Horse, while Sinta Klass is leaving gifts. He rides around that night on his white horse....much like Santa's sleigh and the Reign deer. December 25th is a day for church, and the 26th of December is a holiday celebrated as the 2nd day of Christmas. This morning was another time we wished you were all here!

This week has been very foggy and cold. With us living so close to the North Sea, we get the cold air from the water and the fog goes right through to our bones. Dad finally had to buy me a coat, something we did not want to do, but it is just tooooo cold going out with my K-Mart plastic short coat. Last night as we were going for our walk, I was warm for the first time, and could have kept on walking for a few more streets. We put the hoods up on the coats, wear scarves around our necks, gloves.........I wear my wool leggings. Don't know how these Dutch women wear skirts and ride bikes in the winter here. Guess they are just used to these temperatures.

You are receiving this on Saturday as tomorrow is Gouda again. We do get some 'down time' but not much......we can have that when we come home =) We Wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. We will miss being with our family, but will be having Thanksgiving with our 'Nethersland Family.' We have been so blessed  to have good health, meet the wonderful people we have. Been able to share our Testimonies with those who the Missionaries are teaching. We are SO thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who restored his church here again upon this earth, through the Prophet Joseph Smith. We are thankful for a LIVING prophet, Thomas S. Monson, who guides and directs us today. WE ARE ALL SO BLESSED. Thursday, please let your Thanksgiving prayer be one of THANKS for ALL WE DO HAVE!!!!!

We love you all.

Opa and Oma

Vader and Moeder

Elder and Zuster deLeeuw

More Pictures

Traditional Dutch meal Stomput with worst

Beautiful Holland

Chocolate cell phones

And computer

Look at those stripes

What Oma does best

 

 

 

Pictures

Oma making pasta at the Ward dinner
Junior, the young man from Brazil, that was Baptized last Sunday
ollie bolen stands, that are all over now for the Christmas Holidays
Some of the Lekker ollie bolens
Bloemmarkt where we bought the Christmas ornaments. Downtown Amsterdam =(
Young Adults playing games at the Halloween party
'Traditional Halloween' eten
Christmas decorations in the shopping center

Running shoes needed

Dear Family and Friends,

What a week.......Next week should be a bit slower, but we will see. This week we said 'goodbye' to Elder and Zuster Van Komen, and today we meet Elder and Zuster Spek, who will be serving in Groningen. The Spek's are the last of the new Senior Couples that we know of, that will be coming here to the Belgium/Netherlands Mission. While we were at the Mission Home, President Robinson told us that he had requested 80 additional Missionaries for this Mission, hopefully to come in the next 9 months. We have heard that the number of young men and women sending in Mission papers has more than doubled........so 80 should not be much of a problem. There are SO many little Dutch Villages that have never had Missionaries......there is still so much Missionary work here in Holland to be done. Elder and Sister Anjewierdan, dare you to pronounce that name correctly, just heard that their grand daughter has been called to serve in this mission. They are so excited. There are no Zuster Missionaries in the Apeldoorn Zone, where they serve, But they will see her at Zone Conference and at the Temple. Neat!

Dad and I are taking a "Dutch class", taught by a member of the Amsterdam Ward. I was not able to go last week, which was the first class, but we hope to attend each Tuesday for the 1 1/2 hour instruction. Dad was asked to give the prayer at the dinner for the Van Komens. He gave a beautiful prayer IN DUTCH!!!! He is getting more comfortable with this language, and I am so proud of him. I hope to say a few more words before coming home, but to pronounce the words is VERY difficult. When I was at the store the other day, where the pretty Hindu lady works. I told her I was trying to learn some Dutch words so I could talk to her.....her reply: "Why? I love to talk in English to you." 

The Mormon Church has really been in the spotlight here in this Country, because of Mitt Romney running for President. One of the JoVo's had posted a TV show segment, where two LDS couples were being interviewed. They told about their conversion to the church and how that had changed their lives. The TV 'show' took a tour of an LDS Church, showing the class rooms, chapel, and Baptismal Font. Best publicity the church could ever get. I think we told you last week, that one of the Elders was asked if he worked for Mitt Romney. The person asking, noticing the name of the church on his Missionary Badge. That is ONE good thing that came from this election.......

Stake Conference is being held the 24th and 25th of this month. Saturday the meetings will be held at the Amsterdam Chapel. Because the Brethren have to travel so far, and can't go home between meetings, the Stake furnishes sandwiches for them. Guess who has been asked to make 100 sandwiches =) Because we live so close to the Chapel, we are asked to open the building, unlock the parking lot gate, check on things at the church, quite often. Another 'take for granted.' The Sunday Session of Stake Conference is being held in a large rented building in Noordwijkerhout...where ever that is. Because so few members have cars, the Amsterdam Ward has rented a bus that will seat 55, to take members to the Sunday meeting. It costs 5 euro per person, or 10 euro per family. And we drive our cars 1 block to attend Conference. It will be interesting to see how Conference is translated into several different languages. We are getting more and more Spanish speaking families here in the Amsterdam Ward. I will take notes.

We are still trying to find Turkeys for our JoVo thanksgiving dinner. The markets here have them for Christmas NOT November. The word is out about the dinner, and we have been told that JoVo's from other Stakes are asking if they can attend the dinner. We have had to be quite firm in saying NO, as we could easily feed "the 5 thousand' that night. We hope our church has enough chairs, tables, and dishes to feed the JoVo's from our Stake. I sent out invitations to the Stake Presidency and their wives, the Institute Teachers, and the High Councilmen over the Centers. Everyone seems really excited about this event.......we told the JoVo's last week at Institute that if we could not purchase Turkeys, we would give each one of them a slingshot, and they could start shooting Pigeons and Seagulls for the dinner. Wish someone could overnight 'Fed Ex' several Turkeys =) 7 to 10 euro per Kilo......that is $3.50 to $5.00 per lb =(

Dad went on splits with the Elders this week. With the Stake wanting the members to be more involved in teaching, we are not asked to go as often as we used to. We love going with the Elders and Sisters, and miss the Missionary teaching=( We have been given a list of 'inactivies' in the Amsterdam ward, and will go and see if we can look up several of them. This will not be an easy task...but that is what Missionaries do. The Bishop made a comment,"let me know if and how many doors were slammed in your face"........encouragement???????

Friday evening the Amsterdam Ward held an Italian Night dinner. Fresh dough for 'make your own pizza', spaghetti, salads, ingredients so we could MAKE our own pasta, what an event. The cultural hall was so crowded we could hardy move about. Mary Kate, our JoVo Opera singer, even sang a few Italian songs. The Dutch Saints love a good party. Last night, Saturday, we went to Den Haag, where the Stake Building is, to a High Priest Social. The dinner was Indonesian, and was so spicy it made our eyes water. We laughed at the meal begin served to "old" High Priests, saying we would all go home with indigestion =) After the dinner, the film 17 Miracles was shown. Many of the people were in tears watching the movie, and made comment they knew that the Pioneers had struggles and hardships, but this film made them really realize how much they did struggle. The film was in English, and for a change, the Dutch people had to have translation!!!!=)

Today in Sacrament meeting it was a 'celebration' of 150 years since the first Baptism in the Netherlands. The Bishop gave some History of the church in Holland which was so interesting. The Amsterdam church Building was built in 1960, and took 3 years to complete. There are 16 different Nationalities that attend church in Amsterdam! A Sister bore her Testimony in Spanish, being translated into Dutch, then English. Then another Sister bore her Testimony in some African Language, that no one could translate. It was so funny cause this sister was almost dancing as she bore her Testimony.......the choir sang "Love One another" in 3 languages, one verse, a couple of the choir members did 'Dutch Sign Language'. Next week the Primary will present the program.

The Elders have been teaching a young man, 21 years old, from Brazil. Jose Wilson Santos Marinho Almeida Junior. He has been attending FHE and Institute for a couple of months. Today he was baptized. He speaks Dutch, English, Spanish, and Portuguese. His mother came from Brazil to see Junior, that is so much easier than that long name, be baptized. She speaks only Portuguese, so everything had to be translated for her. After the Baptism we had an 'eten', and when we gave Junior a hug, he was just beaming and said, "I and SO happy." He is already talking about serving a Mission. THIS is the joy of Missionary work.

Well, you are probably getting really tired of reading about all of our happenings. This is part of our journal, so you just have to endure. We have heard, and thanks to Cameron and Darren, have seen pictures of all your snow.......we hope Utah gets LOTS of snow this winter to make up for the lack of it last year. Feast or Famine. Cameron told us about the tree next door, in the Morgans back yard, being split by the snow. Good for us....less leaves to rake next fall.

We love you all. Please keep the Missionaries in your prayers, as we know you already do. It was one year ago on the 15th of November that we received our Mission call.....look what has happened in that year. 8 months from now we will be home. We can't believe how quickly the time is going. We give thanks each day for the opportunity of being able to serve this Mission. So little for all the Savior has done for us!

HUGS FROM HOLLAND

Opa and Oma

Vader and Moeder

Elder and Zuster deLeeuw

Hugs from Holland

Dear family and Friends,

We were looking at our Mission Call this morning and realized how quickly time DOES fly by 'when you are having a good time':) We received the call on November 15th 2011, and here we are, more than half way through the call we received. Wow!

We have had a fun week. It started with our Halloween party at FHE. I made HOME MADE Chili:) No Nalley's on the shelves here...the JoVo's LOVED it. I had also made some red jello, and put gummy worms in that. Jello is a real treat here, and Sister Westra, the Sister from Alkmaar, that helps us with the JoVo's there, was just drooling over the 'jelli'. I won't say that we take jello for granted, but I guess we do. Of course we had applesap, and Donuts. The Jovo's called it a 'traditional American Halloween meal'. After we ate, Kim, our FHE coordinator, had some fun Halloween games planned, that all enjoyed. Even if Holland kids do not Trick and Treat, they have fun with the American holiday.

On Wednesday, we fixed Bami noodles and fruit salad. We had two LARGE pans fixed and could have had yet another one. We fed 26!!!! That is the largest group we have had yet:) When we went into the Jovo room there was 'standing room only'. We have a Casio that we use to sing our Hymns, and we had to remove that to move in more chairs. We are SOOOO thrilled to see our numbers increase. This is why we are here!

We have mentioned the new Senior Couple, Elder and Sister Lyons, that live in Bussum, which is in our Zone. When they received their Mission Call, it was to serve in a Young Adult Center in the Belgium/Netherlands Mission. When they arrived here in the Mission Field there were NO YSA Centers that needed a Senior Couple. The Mission President was not sure what their assignment should be, and our Stake President has been working with them to find the 'right place' for them to serve. After a few very frustrating weeks for Elder and Sister Lyons, they have  been asked to help us in the Amsterdam Center......we are thrilled to have them working with us. We have been traveling to the different Wards and Branches that have JoVo's coming to attend the Center, and now we can share that load with them. We also go to Lelystad twice a month, which is an hours drive for us, so with them living closer to Lelystad, we will ask them to go there. We have been asked by the Amsterdam Ward leadership, to help visit some inactive members, and see if they still even live in the Ward. The Amsterdam Ward takes in such a large area, with so many people, it is hard to keep tract of those who become inactive, not knowing if they have moved, or have just become inactive. We were visiting with the RS President this morning, and she mentioned how frustrating it is to keep track of all 'her sisters'. You should see the list of 'inactive's'. We have noticed already, that a couple of the African men that were recently baptized. are not attending Church any longer. The Ward has several teachers that are from America, that teach the English speaking classes.........they finish with their jobs and they are gone. Pray for the Leadership here. We have really gained a greater appreciation for them, and the trials they have to deal with. In one of the branches we visit, the Branch President has gone for over 3 months without any Counselors. It will be sweet having another Couple to help love these YSA's. Dad and I said that it will be nice to have the Lyons here, so when we come home, the Center is not left alone until another Missionary Couple comes. The Center will have some stability.

We have taken on another American Tradition....this one is going to be HUGH! The JoVo's asked if we would cook a Thanksgiving Dinner for them.....OK....then we were asked if the Den Haag Center could be invited......OK.....then the Stake Presidency and their wives.......then the Mission President and Sister Robinson........then the Institute Instructors........It will be held Thursday November 22nd, THANKSGIVING DAY:) We will have a dinner with ALL the trimmings, with a program to follow. We as Senior Couples, will do the cooking, and have asked the JoVo's to provide the program. We might feed 60 or more. Turkeys here in the Netherlands, cost 7 euro per Kilo.......that is $3.50 per lb:( We are trying to get some Turkeys from Germany, as they, we are told, cheaper. This will be interesting to say the least. Fixing for 24 in the deLeeuw family, piece of cake:) Next year, Chuck-A-Rama, sounds GREAT!!!!!

Dad and I tried something on our own Friday. We took a big deep breath, and took a 'leap of Faith' into Amsterdam. The Tram that goes into Amsterdam is right across the canal from us. We wanted to find the 'Blomenmarkt' in downtown. We asked Kim to help us with the correct Tram stop once we got into downtown. Yea, we did it!!!! We really hate the feeling of downtown Amsterdam......not a place we like to stay in for long. We found what we went looking for, even had lunch at a 'sidewalk cafe', got back on the Tram, and made it home. Not bad for a couple of 'Utah'ites'. We are so blessed to be living where we live .Outside of the big City. We know now, how to act somewhat intelligent, if and when we get any visitors, that want to go into Amsterdam;) Now, if I could only speak the language. Dad is speaking more Dutch, and feeling a bit more comfortable. I answered the phone this morning, saying "good morning" in Dutch, and the Elder calling, ask if I was Zuster deLeeuw. Go me!!!!!!

Something to make you smile. While we were coming home from Amsterdam on the tram, our cell phone rang. It was the Assistance's to the President. "Hey, what are you doing?" they asked...."WHY, what do you need?" No call is ever a social call......."Well, we were wondering if we could come over to your apartment in a few minutes and help you make cookies. We are visiting a family, and we think they would like to have some American Cookies." "When do you need these cookies." "In a couple of hours would be great." Got to love these Elders. "We are on the Tram coming home, so it will be awhile." "That's Ok, just let us know when you get home and we will come over." Cookies WERE made, Elders and the family happy........Missionary work........the thrill of it all.

This week is 'out of control' busy. That is why our Missionary time is going so quickly. Saying 'goodbye dinner' for the Van Komens, FHE, Institute, Lelystad, Zone training, Amsterdam Ward Celebration, Stake High Priest Social, and to end the week a Baptism, for a Young man who is JoVo age, and is SO excited to be Baptized. Already talking about a Mission. We heard today that on Tuesdays, a Dutch language class is being taught at the Church, so, if we can fit that in as well, maybe Oma can learn a few more words, and how to pronounce them.

It is COLD. Rains most everyday, gets dark by 5:00 pm, but we are happy and love doing what we are doing. This morning we made a list of all that needs to be done, and wonder if we will have the time and especially the energy to do it all. Each day in our prayers we DO ask for health and strength to do 'his work'. So far so good.

We thank you for all the Halloween pictures, and when Opa saw all the leaves Cameron and Alexis were raking, he is glad it is them, NOT him, this year;) Some things are not missed. We KNOW prayers were heard in behalf of Shelby. We give thanks each day for the blessing of her life. This makes us want to work harder and be better Missionaries.

We love you all more than you will ever know. Thank you for your support so we can serve. Have a great week.....keep smiling,and say your prayers.

Love, Moeder and Vader

Opa and Oma

Elder and Zuster deLeeuw