Well,
Mother Nature still has a few 'tricks up her sleeve.' We read about the
powerful storm hitting the East Coast, and news from home that Utah is
still receiving snow....and so is Holland. We had a mild last week when
we had rain, but this week we have snow and cold .We woke up this
morning to about 4 new inches. Hope the Canals freeze once again so the
ice skating can continue, but, that brings COLD and wind, so what do we
really want?????? We know spring is coming, because in the flower shops
now they are selling tulips and daffodils. They have been grown in the
Hugh greenhouses that are all over Holland, but it IS a sign on spring
:)
Well, we received another phone call....Tuesday we got a call from Sister Robinson asking if we could have Sister Palenikova at the airport at 6:00 am Wednesday.....there
was an emergency transfer. Remember the Sister that fainted at Zone
Training last month. Sister Nogueria from Portugal. Her health has been
deteriorating, so President Robinson had to send her home for medical
care. It was so sad to see her go because she SO wanted to stay on her
Mission. President Robinson told her to get the care she needed, and he
would try and see if she could come back here to serve. It is amazing to
see all the people at the airport that time of morning. Sister
Palenikova was sent from Amsterdam to Zoetermeer, which is still in our
Zone, so we will still get to interact with her for a couple of months
before she is released as a Missionary. Only 12 Sister Missionaries now,
but 9 new coming in April. Watch out!
Oma
got brave. After complaining that I needed a haircut for several weeks
now, Opa told me to 'slay a dragon' and get the cut. I have been so
afraid, since the last cut was so traumatic on me. There is a new Salon
that opened in the Winkel Centrum here in Diemen....so with a big deep
breath we walked into the shop. The lady that owns the shop is from
Iran, and has such a strong accent we could hardly understand the
English she was speaking. I told her what I wanted, and she said she
understood. When you get a haircut here you REALLY get your monies
worth! It is short, but I did not go out of the shop in tears. The lady
who cut my hair was really interested in the Missionary Badges we were
wearing. She said she knew where the church was, and that she had
attended a wedding there. We are asked what we do, and we are happy to
share a bit about the church, JoVo's, anything we can. When we left, the
lady, Roxanne, told us we were VERY NICE people, and she liked us
coming into her shop. I asked if I could give her a hug....she was
surprised at that, but gave me a big hug and told me to come
back..........with a Book of Mormon????
Tuesday
dad and I went visiting. We stopped by Levi's house for a minute to
take her some cookies and church pictures. She loves the Pictures of
Christ we have given her, so we took her a few more of different church
scenes. We next went to see Margaret, the lady from Colombia, who we
have been praying that she could overcome her desire to drink coffee and
be Baptized. We are so sad, because someone has approached her with
negative things about the church, which happens often here when the
Missionaries start to teach. She was to be baptized today, but is NOT
answering the Elders phone calls. We have tried to call her, but no
answer.....we went to her apartment but she did not answer. We hope she
will feel the Spirit that we KNOW she has felt when we have been
teaching with the Elders. We won't give up on her! Elder Schulte will be
transferred next week, and then will be released to go home the 22nd of March.
He SO wanted Margaret to be baptized before he left. The heart aches of
Missionary work. BUT......that night we went with the Sisters to visit
Celine. She is an investigator from Germany that has been attending
JoVo's. Talk about someone who is ready to be Baptized. Her mother has
been investigating the church in Germany, and told Celine to find the
Mormon church and talk to the Missionaries here in Holland. The first
time she came to church we all thought she was a member. The lesson
given Tuesday
night was on the Word of Wisdom. She is doing so many healthy things it
put us all to shame! She had the Sisters look at the tea she was
drinking to make sure it was 'the right kind.' She had stopped drinking
coffee several weeks ago. She is eating ALL the right foods......she
told us how GREAT she felt. Amazing. Dad had her read the promise from
the Doctrine and Covenants, section 89. Her Baptism date is the 24th of
this month, and she has already purchased her Baptism clothes. Today at
church we told her she had "The Gospel Glow.
Glenn,
the young man from Venezuela, who we are reactivating, is doing very
well. He started school this week, and dad has asked him to call each
day and 'report in.' The other night when dad took him home from
Institute, Glenn told dad that he "wanted to live." A few weeks ago he
was SO discouraged, he told us he did not care if he lived. He had tried
once to take his life. We hope that in some small way, we have been an
influence for good in his life. Glenn showed up at church today clean
shaven, white shirt and tie....looking like a Missionary himself. Bram,
another young man who has come 'off and on' to church since we have been
here, asked dad to come and visit him. Dad went with the Elders the
other night to see him. Bram has had some struggles in his life, has
searched information about other churches, but always comes back to the
Mormon Church. Dad asked when he was going to be Baptized because he has
such a knowledge of the Gospel. Dad told him we were going home in
July, and asked what needed to be done to have him Baptized before we
leave. It took Bram by surprise, but he said 'it could be done.' Dad
asked him to read the Book of Mormon, get on his knees and pray, and
come to church each Sunday. GO Elder deLeeuw!! We will keep you posted on that :)
Saturday,
5 of the Senior Couples met here at our apartment to discuss the
Centers we are serving with. Each Center is similar, but yet so
different. Each has it's own struggles, but we all share in these
struggles. We discussed what and how we can get the inactive JoVo's to
attend. How we can get the YSA's to invite their non member friends and
be Missionaries themselves. What we can do to get them married. The
'pool' of LDS marriage partners is very limited here in the Netherlands.
All the LDS JoVo's have grown up together, and know toooooo much about
each other. We have heard many times the YSA's say, "we don't want to
marry so and so, because we know to much about them." We just keep
praying for inspiration as how to carry on. After we had had our
discussion, we had lunch.....I made a' traditional Dutch soup'....broth,
vegetables and tiny meat balls....getting more Dutch all the time ;) We
then took the Tram and went downtown Amsterdam. It was snowing so hard
we were all soaked. You know how we love to go downtown, but several of
the Couples had not been there, so...off we went. We laugh when they
follow us as they think we know where we are going. So far we have them
fooled.....but we are getting better. Give us 4 more months and we can
start our own 'Tours'. No matter when you go into Amsterdam, rain or
shine or snow....there are SO many people. That City never slows down!!!
Another busy week ahead. Tomorrow
night we are having FHE here at our apartment. We want to do something
with a Valentine theme, so I have been looking for ideas. Think we will
have the JoVo's write a funny Valentine poem, then read it to the group.
The YSA's love to come here, so we try every once in awhile to have FHE
in a home environment.. We live so close to the Tram stop, that it is
only a 5 minute walk for them. Closer than the church. Wednesday is another two meal day for us :( Zone Training in Leiden until 1:30, where we prepare lunch for the Elders and Sisters....then a speed home to prepare for Institute at 6:30. I am fixing Lasagna for Zone Training, and a Potato dish for Institute. Friday
we have been invited to attend a JoVo activity with the group from
Almere. They are having a 'munch and mingle' first, then will go
Bowling. When I asked what we could bring, several of the JoVo's asked
if I knew how to make cinnamon rolls. Oh my! I won't asked again. So, Friday I guess cinnamon rolls will be made. Anything American, and homemade is a real treat. And we love the pastries they have here!
We wish you a loving Valentines Day
We love you. We love the Lord. We love serving him on this Mission. We love the People we are serving. Have a great week.
Hugs again from Holland,
Opa and Oma
Vader and Moeder
Elder and Sister deLeeuw
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