Ok,
when we said it HAD been a mild winter so far, we think Mother Nature
heard us and decided to show who is boss. It snowed for two days, only
have about 3 inches on the ground, but it is COLD. Each day the layer of
ice on the canal gets a little thicker, so we hope to see some ice
skating before long. Poor ducks. They just sit on the ice looking so
miserable and cold. Monday
night after FHE it was snowing, slick roads, cold, and several of our
Young adults had to ride their bikes home. One girl had a 40 minute bike
ride. We find it interesting that the bike paths are cleared of snow,
but NOT the walking paths. Dad and I decided to be brave and walk to
the 'winkle centrum' the day it was snowing. We first stopped and fed
the ducks. So far so good...then we turned the corner, a gust of North
wind hit us and we turned around and headed for the car. We laugh as we
call ourselves 'spoiled Americans' who DO have a car, and are glad we DO
NOT have to walk or ride bikes. We see mothers, and fathers, riding
their bikes with little children in front, all bundled up, like this is
all they know. We complain if it is too hot, and complain if it is too
cold. Holland IS beautiful in the winter, we do hope to see some ice
skaters, and we DO NOT have inversion.....so we know you don't feel
sorry for us =)
The
subject of this email you noticed is: Phone calls. When Dayna Lee was
here she asked what we did each day. We laughed at that, and told her
that when we get up in the morning we never know how our day will go.
Whenever our phone rings, we wait for the surprise. Monday
we were getting ready to shop for FHE when the phone rang. It was
Zuster Townsend one of the Amsterdam Zusters. "Sister deLeeuw, Zuster
Palenikova just walked in the door and Zuster Van Geenen is lost."
Another lost Sister in Amsterdam! Long story short.....Sister Van Geenen
is the Sister from the Netherlands who has been called to serve in
Palmyra, and has been waiting for her Visa. She finally got word that
the Visa had been approved, and she needed to go to the American
Consulate. When she and Sister Palenikova arrived at the Consulate, they
would only let Sister Van Geenen in. It is cold, and after 2 hours of
no Sister Van Geenen appearing, walking outside, feet numb, hands
freezing, Sister Palenikova got on the tram and came home. The American
Consulate building is clear downtown Amsterdam.....where we do not like
to drive. We called the Mission Office and spoke with the AP's as to
what to do. We were afraid if we headed down in the car, Sister Van
Geenen could be on the Tram coming back to Diemen. She had no phone, so
we could not leave any sort of a message. OK.....smart Sister Van
Geenen.....it had taken 21/2 hours for her to answer all the questions,
finger printed...etc....when she left the building, no companion. She
walked up to a nice, safe looking older man, and asked if she could use
his cell phone. She called her dad, who in turn called the Mission
office, who in turn called us, to let us know where she was. Yes, we did
had to take the dreaded drive into Amsterdam, but we got Sister Van
Geenen home safe and sound. She leaves Monday
for Provo to enter the MTC to start her REAL mission. It has been a
pleasure having her here and we hate to see her go. She has been riding
her beautiful Dutch bike while serving here, and last night she told us
she was giving the bike to me....wow, a treasure. We are going to try
and figure someway to ship the bike home so you can all have a bike ride
the 'true Dutch' way.=)We will have Sister Van Geenen at the airport 6:00 am Monday. Good thing we only live 15 minutes drive away.
Phone
call #2.....the Amsterdam Ward tries to have a Ward dinner twice a
month. Different people sign up to prepare the meal. The meals are on
Wednesdays...Tuesday night 10:30
the phone rings, and the lady who was suppose to prepare the meal for
the next day, explains to me that it is cold, she might have to work
late,etc. so would I prepare the meal. Bring it on!!!!!!!!! Dad and I
had discussed just that evening, the idea of having a Potato Bar for the
YSA's. So, Wednesday
morning we get up and get to the store....almost a daily adventure,to
get all the makings for the Potato Bar for the Ward dinner. Potatoes,
chili, cheese, broccoli, sour cream, Ranch Dressing that the Evertons
had left when they went home, and green onions. I had also fixed a jello
salad and a Texas Sheet cake for dessert. We were a hit. Because the
Dutch people eat so many potatoes we were surprised they enjoyed this so
much. It was all the 'toppings' and how it was put together we guess.
Several people ate two helpings...and we were asked to make the jello
again. We fed 35. Got to love the phone calls. We just take them one at a
time, and hope we can do what the call might ask.
Transfers
were this week, and we had no one from the Amsterdam group leave. Next
transfer will being lots of changes, as we lose yet another large group
going home. One of the AP's came over Thursday
evening to visit, of course with his Companion, and was in tears,
because he leaves in 8 weeks. When these Missionaries serve with 'all
their Might, mind and Strength.' they hate to leave where they have
loved the Country and people they have been serving. The AP's came to
share their 'Miracle' with us. They have so much responsibility being
Assistants to the President, and Transfer week is HUGH! They come back
to Amsterdam so tired. The family we visited with them last week, the
ones with the 3 children that were going to be Baptized....well, the
mother called and said not now. So, what a heartbreak for them. Tired
AND heartbroken. Elder Schulte, who will be going home in 8 weeks, was
really down at that news. He said he went to his room, and said a very
sincere prayer asking the Lord what more he could do, as he wanted to
end this Mission knowing he had done his best. He and Elder Van Rij
decided that they needed to do some 'door knocking' in this area. Elder
Van Rij decided on a name of a street they should go to. 8:30
at night, cold, dark, and these two Elders are knocking doors. They
knocked on a door and a lady answered, they introduced themselves,and
they were invited in. The lady is from Poland and said she left because
of religious domination.....Catholic Church. The Elders said she about
gave the lesson of the Apostasy. They offered her a Book of Mormon, and
she was very interested in that. She then asked if she could make them a
cup of tea.....ok, what kind of tea. To the delight of the Elders, the
tea that was offered was non caffeine and they COULD accept. When they
left, the lady told them to take the mugs with the warm tea, to keep
them warm as they traveled home. They have a return visit with her Sunday
night. When they came to the door, they were still sipping on the
tea.....very Dutch.....and we took pictures of the 'Miracle Mugs.'
Elders that were discouraged, tired, and an instant answer to a prayer.
We were all in tears. LOVE MISSIONARY WORK!!!
Have We mentioned how cold it is!!!!!!!!! Today the wind is blowing and it literally takes your breath away.
You are getting this email on Saturday because tomorrow we will have our running shoes on from the minute we step out of bed. One of our JoVo's is leaving for the MTC Monday to begin his Mission in the west Indies....so tomorrow is his Farewell in Alkmaar. That is about a 45 minute drive North of where we live.
That meeting will end about 1:00,
then we have to be in Gouda for that meeting, which is an hour and a
half drive the other direction. Dad will have to put the 'metal to the
petal' for sure. We are taking Arif, the young man from Turkey that we
told you about. We think he will enjoy being at a Missionary farewell,
then being with all the JoVo's at Gouda. We also hope that Glenn will
join us. He is the young man from Venezuela we are 'loving' back into
activity. It will be a busy, but happy day.
Tonight
we were able to go with the AP's to visit Margaret. She is the lady
from Columbia whose father owns a coffee plantation.....who is having
the problem of NOT drinking coffee, so she can be Baptized. She IS doing
well though. Tonight the Elders were teaching her the Principle of
Tithing. They were really worried because Margaret has seen how other
Churches pay their Ministers and Priests, and she has been very vocal
about her dislike of that. Dad offered a beautiful prayer, asking that
the Spirit would attend with the discussion, and that the Elders would
be able to say what was in their hearts. What a Spirit! Elder Van Rij
told about how he was saving for his Mission Fund. The last paycheck he
was to receive would cover the cost IF he did NOT pay his
Tithing.....well, he decided he would pay his Tithing when he got the
check.....the paycheck he received was double the amount he thought he
would get, and his Mission fund was complete. Faith.....I told her about
the time dad was out of work and how hard it was for us to pay our
bills, or we thought it was hard...we DID pay our tithing and we were
blessed. Margaret thought the concept was wonderful. The Elders
explained how our Tithing goes to build churches, Temples, and to help
those in need. They explained how none of the church leaders are paid,
and that we come on Missions, paying our own way, because we WANT to be
serving the Lord. She just nodded and smiled. Her Baptism date is set
for February 10th,
and we think all will be so she can be Baptized that day=) It is
wonderful to bear Testimony of the things we know are true. We are all
so blessed to have the Gospel in our lives. "Let your light shine, so
others can see YOUR good works."
We love you.....and did we tell you how cold it is =)
Vader and Moeder
Opa and Oma
Elder and Zuster deLeeuw
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