Final YSA Meeting

Dear daughters,

It is almost 11:00 pm, but we had to share our last Institute evening with you. 48 YSA's were in attendance! They had all brought something for dinner, so it was lekker eten! They were all waiting on the stage in the Cultural Hall, and as we walked in, the curtain opened, and they all yelled 'surprise'. Of course the tears started to flow. After dinner, they had a talent show where several of the YSA's participated. One of the young men is a WORLD winner in Irish dancing. One young man sang us a song, and Jan, Dayna Lee has heard him play.....played us a beautiful piano number. AND, he DID make us a CD of his piano playing =)  We were given many gifts, one of which was a tie for dad with names of many JoVo's written on it,and I was given an apron with many names and notes written on it. They gave us a book where the JoVo's had written their memories of us as well. Oh my......tears all around. No one wanted to leave, as hugs, hugs, and more hugs were given. AN evening we will cherish FOREVER!!!! One of the YSA's filmed the whole evening, so YOU will be able to experience the evening with us when we come home.

It is still raining and cool......we are enjoying the last of jacket wearing. We love you, and are starting to 'pack our bags' to come home.

Love and hugs.......Vader and Moeder

Must be time

Dear family and Friends,

We had two more days of summer at the beginning of the week. It was hot and humid, and of course everyone was complaining. Thursday it started to rain again, and it almost feels like fall. We went from 'flip flops and short sleeve shirts,' to waterproof shoes and sweaters. (we really didn't wear flip flops) but saw everyone else wearing them.Today it is windy with a downpour of rain, and it is almost cold. Tuesday was Elder and Sister Evenhuis Wedding Anniversary and they asked if we would take them into Amsterdam for the day. Dad and I had mentioned that we did want to go into the city one last time, so this was our chance to say goodbye. We had not been to the Anne Frank House, so found that....so glad we DID. We walked around 'Dam Square' and saw all the weird people. Went on the boat tour. Ate lunch outside. We had a delightful day. As much as we dislike going into Amsterdam, it was hard to know that would be the last time. A friend from the Lelystad Branch, Gregory, spent the day with us as well. Warm day, good friends. Good memories.

Last Sunday night we looked out our window at 10:00, and marveled at how high the sun was still in the horizon. It was still shining on the highrise apartments to the North of us. Such a beautiful evening, and still SO light, we decided to go for a walk around the canal. 10:10 our phone rings. "Elder and Sister deLeeuw, where are you? It is so light, we can't get ready for bed yet and want to come and 'hang out with you.' It was the Elders.  Twice this week they, all four of them, have come knocking on our door at 9:00, and have just come into visit. They love to tell us their experiences, and of course eat cookies they know we have. It IS hard to think of bedtime when it feels like early evening. We will miss having these visits, and some of their experiences are hilarious. We think Cameron might have had an experience with an African lady and breast feeding. To hear the Elders tell the story of their experience, we were roaring with laughter.

Wednesday night we fed 36 at the Ward Dinner. We had fixed another potato bar, and everyone loved it. Bronno, the Ward Mission Leader said: "Sister deLeeuw, you can't go home. You fix food that is so different and Lekker." What we take for granted as being just a potato bar.......chili, cheese, broccoli, sour cream, the Dutch folks find very unique. I had also made Texas Sheet cakes, and they were gone in an instant. This coming Monday for FHE, I have asked Sister Kleijweg to prepare the meal, and Wednesday night for Institute, the YSA's have something planned for us, and said they would provide the dinner. Yesterday  was Zone Conference, so the Senior Sisters fixed lunch for that. We served Taco Salad and cookies to 80. I will have one more day of baking cookies, and then the mix master, cookie sheets, recipe books, leftover flour, etc will be given to another Senior Sister. The deep freeze, bikes, and plants were taken today, as we had the Mission Van, to two of the Couples. Not knowing when, and who will be living in this apartment, we are taking things so they will be cared for and used. Dad had a hard time giving the bikes away. We will have to make sure we go on lots of bike rides when we get home =) Our apartment sure is empty.

Speaking of Zone Conference. It was so nice to see so many of the Elders and Sisters one more time before we leave. But of course we know we will see them lots when they come home. So many new faces and name badges. All those who will leave before the next Zone Conference, are asked to share their Testimonies. There are so many leaving, that we were asked to keep our Testimonies to one minute. Hard to say what is in your heart in that short amount of time. Tomorrow is Gouda Sunday, so two more 'lasts' this week. Each day, when we see or do something now, we treasure the moment.

Dad has been reading the family History he brought with him, and as was mentioned last week, he found the dorps,(villages) where his great grandparents were born, and where they left to sail to America. Thursday, we took the day and drove to these Dorps. Oh my......the beauty of these places. We took lots of pictures, and I told dad I felt like we were on sacred ground. Oosterzee is where his great grandparents were living when they were converted to the church, and Lemmer is the Dorp where they left to sail to Amsterdam, then to America. We visited a small cemetery to see if we could find any deLeeuw's. We found some van Dijks, but no deLeeuw's. Dad loves to tell people that his ancestors came from Friesland, and how proud he is to have his Dutch heritage.

We hope we can make it through this week without becoming dehydrated from tears flowing. I got choked up giving the plants away. Guess we will have to ride our bikes and purchase plants =) We love you all.  We know this next week will go by faster than any week of our lives. We are going to cherish every last minute! 

More hugs from Holland,

Opa and Oma

Vader and Moeder

Elder and Zuster deLeeuw

Summer??????

Happy Fathers Day!!!!!

Thank you for the Fathers Day greetings for dad.....next year it's Fathers Day Bar B Que for sure. It's been 18 months since dad has had a good steak, and he can smell Texas Road House clear from here =) 

We were so saddened to hear of the death of DeVerl. We hoped to see him again when we returned home, but are thankful he is out of pain, and in the arms of a loving Heavenly Father. Such a GREAT man. Ours prayers are for Geneal now, that she will be blessed with good health and strength to go on. 

Transfers came.....Missionaries came......some went home. 15 arrived, and spent their first night at the Sheraton Hotel at the airport. The Tulip Inn, which is right across the street from the Mission Office, was booked with Tourist, so plan B had to go into effect. These new Elders and Sisters that are arriving are amazing. Such a short time in the MTC, language training, etc, but they are hitting the ground running. There are several of the Sister Missionaries that have only been here for two transfers themselves, that are now 'trainers'. One new Sister that arrived on Tuesday, came to Institute Wednesday Night and was asked to give the prayer. Wow, everyone was amazed at her language skill. With so many Missionaries arriving, a new District was formed here in the Den Haag Zone, and this will only be the beginning. Next week is Zone Conference, and we will be preparing lunch for 80. Den Haag and Antwerpen will be meeting together, so the Elders and Sisters that have been transferred to other locations, that were once in our area, we will be able to see and say goodbye to. EVERYONE wants to come to Elder and Zuster deLeeuw's to 'hang out' when they come home. Sister Winmill, the Sister in the Mission Office, is having a hard time filling all the requests for Missionary Supplies as everything is on 'back order'. SO many Missionaries....SO many requests for needed items that Missionaries need. And this is just ONE Mission. The Elders and Sisters have been asked to just request what is needed, and not to have surplus items just sitting in their apartments. 30 more Missionaries will arrive July 23rd......12 more apartments needed. More supplies.  Another 30 arrive the first of September. This will be a Mission we  have not experienced in our 18 months.

Speaking of apartments. Dad and I made OUR last IKEA run this past week, and furnished the last apartment we will be in charge of. Saturday I was so tired I was really dragging. I think it was my body knowing the 'sprint' was over. Elder and Sister Winmill, the Office Couple, went with us to IKEA, and first hand witnessed what dad and I have been doing alone for 2 1/2 months. Elder Winmill went back to the office, called President Robinson, put out a memo, that NO Senior Couple is to go to IKEA without some young Elders to help.....just too much lifting for the Senior Couples. Dad and I really laughed, and said that finally someone knew what was having to be done. We have not complained one bit, but have just been doing what has needed to done. With so many more apartments that need to be furnished, it will be nice for the 'young Elders' to do their service hours in IKEA.

We think the Netherlands had their summer last week. Again it is raining, windy, cool enough that we are still wearing jackets and sweaters. We wake up to blue skies and sun, but in just a few hours it is pouring rain. It is really going to be a shock for us to come home to the HOT temps, fires, and smoke in the air. We went for a bike ride Friday night while the sun was shining. We will miss the beauty of the Netherlands. Wherever you go there are canals, green grass, more green grass.....beautiful swans, geese, ducks, cranes, Storks. There are many things we won't miss, but SO many things we will miss. As we were riding home there were so many families riding on the bike trails. We made the comment "The family that bikes together, stays together'. That's just what the families here do. It is so cute to see mothers and fathers riding next to their children, holding onto them as they are biking. We have been taking lots of scenery pictures, as to not forget the beauty of where we have lived for 18 months.

We met with Brother and Sister Kleijweg Tuesday. They are the couple that have been called to serve in the Amsterdam Institute Center when we leave. They attended Institute on Wednesday evening, where they were introduced to the JoVo's. Brother Kleijweg speaks and understands English very well, but Sister Kleijweg not so well. They are a sweet couple who are very excited to be serving, but we are a bit concerned, as several of the YSA's that attend in Amsterdam do NOT speak or understand the Dutch Language. We hope they will not get 'lost' in the Dutch crowd. We have a very unique Center, as everyone is not from the Netherlands. Sister Kleijweg is a vegetarian ....so there goes Sloppy Joe's and enchilidas.  Each couple brings their own talents and experiences, so we know all will be OK. The 26th will be our last time at the Center, so the YSA's are taking care of the food that evening. Monday evening, the 1'st of July, we will spend at the Mission Home. President and Sister Robinson will have FHE with us, and give us our 'walking papers'. Bishop Holderness contacted us, and our 'un welcome home' will be July 14th. Guess our Mission IS coming to an end =( 

Well, the Saturday night Ring Conference talk was given. I didn't throw up or faint, and did notice there were two Dr's in the audience, IF medical attention  was needed. It is really difficult to give a talk and have to stop mid sentence for translation. All in all it went well. I gave a tribute and expressed my love for 'My Missionary/Eternal Companion' at the end, along with my Testimony.I also had mentioned that dad had served his Mission here 50 years ago, and at that time had a full head of beautiful red hair, and was thin. President Boom, of the Area Seventy, was the speaker after me.......he called dad out of the audience and had him bear his Testimony. Everyone laughed when dad rubbed his hand over his head and stomach. He bore a beautiful Testimony in Dutch. What a sweet way to end our Service here in the Den Haag Stake. Many came up to us and thanked us for our service. We are still being asked if we can stay, but in the same breath are saying how they know our family is waiting to greet us. Our family was mentioned in the talk several times.

Well, does anyone know where 'anti cry pills' can be purchased? Today after Ring (Stake) Conference, Brother and Sister Kleijweg were set apart as Stake Missionaries over the Amsterdam Center. Dad was asked to stand in for this. I was alright for just a minute, then when the words came for "JoVo Center Amsterdam" I fell apart. Sister Robinson was standing next to me and put her arm around me, as I was sobbing. President Oddens, the Ring President, even came up after to console me. I knew this would be hard, but had NO idea how hard. So many people came up to dad and I today to say goodbye. You would be really proud of me, as I was able to take off the translation ear phones several times, and could actually understand what was being said. Just two more Sundays of translation.....it sure will seem strange to understand everything, and sing the Hymns again in English.

Since we have arrived in the Netherlands, dad has been wanting to know exactly where his ancestors came from. Now that we have some time to ourselves, dad found on the map, the small dorp where his great grandfather and grandmother were born. We hope in the next few days, to drive to these dorps (Villages) and take some pictures. That along with finding Iona, dad feels like this Mission has been a complete success. There is a reason we were sent here besides loving all the YSA's!

One of the JoVo's gave us a quote that sums up our stay here. " If you miss someone, that means you're lucky. It means you had someone special in your life, someone worth missing." We have so many 'special someone's that will be missed.

We love you all. We have been SO blessed to have served the Lord on this Mission. A decision we will cherish a lifetime and throughout Eternity! Now if we just didn't have to sit on an airplane for 13 hours =)

Opa and Oma

Vader and Moeder

Elder and Zuster deLeeuw

FINISHED

YAYYYYYYYY,

We just finished with the last apartment we will furnish =) Had 4 Elders, three Senior Couples, and two Ward Members to help. The Elders are so fun to work with, we will miss that.

We heard back from Bishop Holderness, and he said we COULD have a musical number from our family on the 14th........so, will someone please get that together for us. We will do the speaking and food.......you come up with some sort of amazing number that will really impress all our neighbors and friends. Won't be hard, with all the talent our klein kinderin have =)

It is still very cool here, and we are still wearing jackets and sweatshirts. NOT looking forward to the Utah heat.

Love you tons.....starting to put a few things in the suitcases. Leaving LOTS behind.

Moeder

Senior couples furnishing apartments

Today, for the first time since we have been furnishing apartments, the Mission Office couple went to the warehouse where all the large apartment items are kept......stoves, refrigerators, washing machines, beds, mattresses, microwaves, vacuums...... and IKEA with us. Dad and I have been doing all the shopping, lifting, filling bags.....for 2 1/2 months by ourselves. One week we furnished 4 apartments. Well, Elder Winmill, after going with us today put out this memo. We really laughed.......as someone finally saw what we have been doing. Maybe we will ask the church to pay for dad's hernia operation =)


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Richard Winmill <richardwinmill@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, Jun 13, 2013 at 7:40 PM
Subject: Senior couples furnishing apartments.
To: Elder Mark Seiter <mark@seiterweb.net>, "gmuurling@hotmail.com" <gmuurling@hotmail.com>, "miltonadeleeuw@gmail.com" <miltonadeleeuw@gmail.com>
Cc: "arobinson2549@gmail.com" <arobinson2549@gmail.com>, Eelco Scheltinga <eelco.scheltinga@gmail.com>

Following our trip with Elder and Sister DeLeeuw to the warehouse and IKEA today,I visited with President Robinson briefly about how we need to go forward with furnishing apartments.  Here is what needs to happen:

• Senior couples manage the furnishing of the apartments under Elder Seiter's direction and should not lift heavy furnishings alone at any point. This is a matter of safety and health.
• Call in advance to make sure Edwin or Fred will be there and are able to help load major appliances at the warehouse.
• Ask young strong and healthy Elders to help in picking up the furnishings and loading the van at IKEA. They need some service each week and this is service.
• Be careful to not load bookcase or other long heavy boxes above the level of the front seat as this is dangerous in a sudden stop.
• Ward/branch members and District Leaders need to take the lead in lifting and installing and hauling at each new apartment furnishing.  Local leaders should be encouraged to bring their tools to help install. 
  
• Other Senior couple can be involved in the furnish process, but we need the District and the local unit involved.

We will need to furnish two apartments per week beginning in July and it will require the entire mission and all four stakes involvement in this process.  The more we give opportiunites to serve, the more they will be blessed.

All is well, All is well...

Elder Richard Winmill
Belgium / Netherlands Mission
Schipholweg 66
2316 XE Leiden
Netherlands

Welcome home date

Dear Family,

We just got word from Bishop Holderness, that our 'un welcome home' will be July 14th. The other date was August 11th, but we want to have it while we still have the 'Missionary spirit' and to get it over with =) We asked if the family could provide a musical number.......we will let you know when we get the reply on that.

Today is our LAST IKEA run, YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!

Sleep tight.     Vader and Moeder

Setting a record

Dear family and friends,

Yes, we have set the record for the most apartments found and furnished in two months. We furnished six in April, and after this coming week, would have furnished five more before transfers on the 12th of June. Eleven in all in 2 1/2 months! We went to Gent on Friday, which is in Belgium, and we are glad that apartment is done. We hate to drive in Belgium, and with so much road construction, our GPS could not find the apartment with all the detours. After being 45 minutes late, the Elders finally called us to see where we were. Our phone does not work outside of the Netherlands, so we could not call them. We were in some Hospital parking lot, not knowing if we would ever find our destination, and were thinking about getting sick just to have somewhere to spend the night. Thank heavens the Zone Leaders were with the Elders, and had a car. They came to our rescue, and the goods were delivered. It was almost 8:00 before we got home. A VERY LONG DAY!!!!! We are amazed at how the Wards and Branches that are excited to get Elders and Sisters in their area, step up to help. This Branch in Gent is so excited, they are even purchasing a sofa for the apartment. There were several men from the Branch that met us, ready to put all the IKEA items together. Lelystad is another Branch that is VERY excited to get Missionaries. That Branch has found furniture,and had members there to meet us as well. They want to have an 'open house' for the Branch members, so they can see where the Missionaries will be living. Lelystad has never had Missionaries, so they are calling this an 'Historic' event. We will furnish Almere Buiten this coming Friday, then we are done! It has been exhausting, but what a way to be tired.....doing work for the Lord's hastening :) 15 new Missionaries arrive this Wednesday, and we are ready for them.

The weather this week has been incredible. Beautiful blue skies, warm temps, slight breeze. Just perfect. It starts getting light about 4:00 am, and it is still light at 11:00 pm. Dad and I look at the clock each night, thinking we are going to bed early, and it is after 11:00. If we wake up any time after 4:00 am, it is hard to go back to sleep, as we think the day has begun. Gotta love living so far North in the Universe.

Monday we held FHE here at our apartment, as most of our JoVo's were in Den Haag. We had four that came, one being a young man, age 21, who the Sisters are teaching. We had the JoVo's make their own waffles, and then they played some 'mind games'. It was 10:15 before they left. How fun is that. They kept telling us thank you for staying here, as they would not have had any where to go that night. We are reminded of 'going, or staying' for the one. Wednesday we had 11 at Institute. Kristine asked me if I am still cooking as much........YES!!!!!! The Amsterdam Ward has asked if I would cook one more time before we leave, so on the 19th another Potato Bar will be prepared. Everyone loved that. This week Sloppy Joes are on the menu. The other night I made three batches of cookies, and Banana Bread. We meet this Tuesday with the couple that will be serving in Amsterdam when we leave. The main concern Sister Kleijweg has, is the cooking. The JoVo's will miss the homemade cookies, as the Dutch women just don't bake things like that. It will be an interesting change.

Saturday we had Fabiena, the young lady dad Baptized that is from the Ukraine, here, along with the Sisters from Haarlem and Amsterdam. I had made Taco Salad, and thought I would have left overs......NOT! The Sisters seemed to enjoy something different than bread and cheese. We spent a very enjoyable afternoon together. Fabiena gave dad and I some gifts from the Ukraine, which she was so happy to give us. Tears were shed, as love was expressed. She recounted her Baptism day, and how 'warm' she felt coming out of the water. She said her skin was 'prickly', and she felt so clean. She will be at Ring Conference this coming weekend, and we will see her one last time when we attend church in Haarlem. Did we say how hard it is to say goodbye!!!!!  Fabiena said 'when' she comes to Utah, she will make dinner for all our family and friends. With all these goodbyes, I need waterproof mascara. We are telling people we have allergies.....with the watery eyes:)

Speaking of the Sister Missionaries. By the middle of July, all the 'senior' Sisters will be gone. President Robinson told us, that the new Sisters that have only been here two transfers themselves, will have to be trainers....some of them with TWO new sisters. 

Something funny about our legality. Our Dutch Legality cards expired the 30th of April. The Elder in the Mission Office sent in a request for a renewal several months ago, knowing we would be illegal and needed new cards. Well, this week, someone from the Dutch Government called the Mission Office and said they had on their records, a Renae deLeeuw, who was not legal anymore. Hello, the papers WERE sent! Dad is still 'under the radar', but I'm caught. Elder Christensen told them we were leaving the Netherlands on July 2nd......he was told that if we (I) were to stay one week longer, the Mission would have to pay 350 euro for me to stay. Good thing we are leaving on the 2nd. Most of the Missionaries are Legal in Belgium, but NOT in the Netherlands. Papers are sent, but the Government is SO slow with everything, all they want is money.....the Missionaries are home before their papers come. The Mission is now being told that EVERYONE that drives, has to have a Netherlands drivers license. This is VERY expensive! We are glad we are leaving when we are. Hope we don't get pulled over for anything, as we don't have a Dutch drivers license OR legal cards. Jail for sure:)

Well, it's a good thing I started this email early, as it is after 10:00, and we just returned home. We have had an amazing day that will be 'Mission Memories'. Dad was so happy that he finally found Iona Pimentel. She has not been to church now for over 25 years. We visited the Den Helder Branch today to say our goodbyes, and we have to drive past Alkmaar, where Iona lives. Dad contacted her and asked if she would go to Sacrament Meeting with us. She was very agreeable to this, so we picked her up at 10:30 am. Everyone greeted her so warmly, and dad said the talks were just for her......of course I just pick up a few words here and there that I know. We had a delightful visit coming and going. Iona is married to a man who is 85 years old and in very poor health. She has mentioned several times that she is afraid of being alone when he dies. Dad, as we were saying goodbye, asked if he could contact the Branch President in Alkmaar and let him know her phone number and address. Dad told her, he would feel so much better leaving her, knowing she would have contact with the church, so she would never be alone. She seemed pleased that dad was concerned, and agreed to that as well. We had written a note to her expressing our love, and how grateful dad was to have found her. We gave her a heart with the word 'love' on it, and told her how much we loved her. This was a dream of dads, to find Iona.......and hopefully with this contact, she will have the desire to return to the church. It was hard to say goodbye, as she stood in front of her home and just kept throwing kisses and waving.

We spent the rest of the afternoon with President and Sister van der Put. President van der Put is the member of the Stake Presidency that we have worked so closely with. He and his wife served a Mission in 2002, in the London England Mission, as service Missionaries. We had such a delightful visit, as they recalled experiences of their Mission with us. President van der Put was a Police Officer at one time. He has a collection of over 1500 models of Police cars from all over the world, which if he sold this collection, would be worth over 40,000 euros. Amazing! He was like a little boy in a candy store showing this to us. After our visit and a lekker meal, they took us to see the new Stake Center that is being built in Zoetermeer. A dream some true for the Den Haag Stake. It should be completed next February. A sweet day with sweet friends.

We start this week again with running shoes on. But, we are so thankful for the health and strength we have been blessed with to do this running. Missionary work is worth putting all your energy into!

We love you. We are grateful for all your prayers in our behalf. We have been blessed because of those prayers.

Hugs and Loves,

Opa and Oma

Vader and Moeder

Elder and Zuster deLeeuw

Winter is back

Dear Family and friends,

Yes, we went from summer back to winter in a weeks time.  Last letter I wrote how hot and humid it was....well, yesterday it was 8 degrees Celsius, with rain.  That is 48 degrees Fahrenheit.  We are back to sweaters and wool long socks. Dad put the small air conditioning unit we have in this apartment away, and the fans are back in the loft. But alas, we are sure in the next few days this will all change again.  We feel like we are in Utah....wait a few minutes and the weather will change!

Yesterday was a busy day for us...another busy day. We went to our church meetings from 10 to 1, came home and put the finishing touches on the meal for the fire side, then left for Den Haag at 3:30. We had Hot Chicken Salad, I will send the recipe, it was lekker. Cucumbers, of course, carrotts, and for dessert I had made cupcakes.  We fed 42.  It was 10:30 pm when we finally got home.  Needless to say we were tired.  This week we have FHE tonight, District Meeting tomorrow, Institute Wednesday, a dinner at the Mission Home Thursday to say goodbye to Elder and Sister Bush, going to Alkmaar on Friday with a couple of the JoVo's there to the cheese Festival, then we have "Ring Conference", Stake Conference Saturday and Sunday.  We are having a broadcast from SLC so we will go to Leiden on Sunday because that is the Chapel the broadcast will be in English. Just wanted to let you know what we do, so you won't think we are just shopping and cooking:) We will do that also.

Last Wednesday for Institute I made a Jello salad.  The kids here in the Netherlands don't know what jello is, so this was something unique for them. I made orange jello because that IS the Netherlands color.  Anyway, that night we had two young men that were  at Institute with the Elders as investigators.  One is from Nigera, the other from Guana.  When they came to get their food they were sceptical to take the jello because it was new to them.  I gave them just a tiny bit so they could taste it. One of the young men came back in just a minutes time wanting more.  He said: " Sister,I love your 'jellie', where can I buy some so 'my people' can taste this." Something we eat all the time at home, and think nothing of having yet another 'green' jello salad.  We got a laugh out of this anyway.  I just have two boxes of jello left so may have to have someone send me some more.

Remember Daniel and Zsanett from Hungary.  Zsanett had her baby two weeks ago, a beautiful baby girl, and now Daniel and Zsanett are waiting for legal papers to come from Hungary so they can get married...then they want to be baptized.  They are such a cute couple and have really embraced the Gospel.  Zsanett really wants to become an 'Eternal Family', and have LOTS of children, so she can have LOTS of grand children like we have.  It is so exciting to see these sweet people grow in the Gospel. Jenny, our YSA from England will be baptized on the 16th of this month, so we are thrilled about that.  The Sisters have been teaching her and want the JoVo's from the ward to do the program for the Baptism. The young man Yassar, that was baptized last week with his mother, was ordained to the office of a Teacher yesterday.  Yassar has never worn a white shirt and tie.  His mother is so excited for him to have the Priesthood that she bought him several white shirts and several ties so he could dress properly for church.  The Elders went to their home the other day and taught him how to tie his tie. He made a comment that he wants to serve a Mission when he turns 18...the age the young men serve here in the Netherlands.  Missionary work is amazing! When we went with the Elders to visit Levi the other day, the Elders taught her about Family history and doing her Genealogy work.  Dad gave her a challenge to find the birth dates and places of birth, for her ancestors that had passed away, and before we leave to come home, go to the Temple with us and do some Baptisms for her family.  She is really excited about this, and we think this will happen.  Levi is a jewel and we have grown to love her.  We keep telling her she HAS to come to Utah.....and she keeps telling us she will.

We are finally legal in the Netherlands.  It cost 900 euros each for us to have a card, much like a Social Security Card in the US.  They are good for one year, then we have to reapply. Since we will only be here 3 months before coming home when our card expires, we will be 'illegal' again for 3 months.  We figure we have been 'illegal' for 5, so for 3 we should not be put in jail.  The church pays a lot of money for the Missionaries in these foreign Countries. We were sent a letter telling us where to pick our cards up. We went to the address in Amsterdam per the notice.  My card was there, but they had dads address in Dordrecht.....how that ever happened we don't know. So, we had to make an hours drive to Rijnswijk to pick his card up. We gave the Mission Office a hard time not keeping our records together:) Oh well, we saw another city we would not have seen. Each day is an adventure for sure!

Dorthy, our YSA from Poland, has been back in Poland visiting for the past two weeks.  When she returns to Amsterdam she wants to have her Patriarchal Blessing and wants dad and I to be with her.  We are trying to find a Patriarch that can give her this blessing in English.  She is dating a young man, returned Missionary from Eindhoven, and things are going nicely. We keep telling her that the reason she came to Amsterdam was to meet her husband.  Dorthy told Daniel, her friend, that he was to talk to dad if he had any question about her.....asking for her hand in marriage?  IF they were to marry, that would be the 'jewel in the crown' for us to be able to witness a Temple marriage of one of our JoVo's:)  We will keep you posted. We love these young people and wish they could all meet someone worthy and have a Temple Marriage.  This is the big challenge here...that is why the Young Adult Centurms were established. To meet and mingle with other members of the church.

Well, It is raining and cold once again this morning.  The Sister Missionaries want to go shopping with me because they can ride in the car.  They usually just ride their bikes, but take an 'auto' ride any time they can. We as Missionary Couples laugh when we get together as to how many times a week we go to the grocery store, and that our Neighbors must all think we are running a Catering Service. We have come up with names we will call our 'catering business' when we return home.  deLeeuw's Deli, Moore's Munchies, Bush's Bread store, Anderson's Apple pie shop. 

We LOVE to hear from home.  We know you are all busy, but we so look forward to emails.  Give all our love and hello, and keep the Missionaries in your prayers.

Love, Opa and Oma

         Elder and Zuster deLeeuw

Winding Down

Dear Family and Friends,

One month from today we will be on a plane coming home. We are starting our goodbyes, and wow......this is harder than ever imagined. Yesterday we spent a few hours in Enter, a small Dorp (village), and as we were driving through the Beautiful Country side, we were almost in tears knowing this would be the last time in that part of the Netherlands. Many things we won't miss here, but SO many  more things that WILL be missed. Green has to be the favorite color, and if you had allergies to grass, you would die here. As we have been traveling this past couple of weeks, I have tried to take some pictures from the car, getting memories of 18 months on film.

The weather is getting better. Last Monday was absolutely beautiful. Folks riding their bikes without coats and scarves. Blue sky, and very warm temps. We thought summer (spring) had finally arrived. Tuesday, the wind was blowing, a few clouds, and cooler.....then Wednesday......downpour all day. Several of the JoVo's came into Institute just soaking wet. How DO YOU ride a bike, holding an umbrella, trying to stay dry? Emese, our JoVo from Hungry, was so wet she looked like she had just walked out of a shower fully dressed. During Institute, it was raining so hard, the lesson was stopped just for us to listen to the rain beating on the windows. Poor kids......just as they were getting dry, out into the weather once again. Yesterday as we were walking through Enter, it was very cloudy, cool, windy, a few sprinkles. This morning we woke up to sun and beautiful blue skies. It has stayed beautiful all day, BUT, tomorrow rain again in the forcast ;(

We went to Lelystad this week to deliver the things needed to open that apartment. This week we will go to Belgium and take the furnishings for Gent, then Almere Buiten.....then we are finished!!! Elder and Sister Seiter will then take over this assignment of apartment finding and furnishing. We want to spend the last couple of weeks we have here, visiting and 'hanging out' with our JoVo's. Tuesday the 11th, we will meet with Brother and Sister Kleijweg, the couple who will be serving in Amsterdam, and give them some orientation. We need to clean this apartment well, take the deep freeze to Den Haag. Zone Conference is the 20th where we will give our 'dying' Testimonies. This month will fly by, so we are taking advantage of every waking minute :)

We attended church in the Alkmaar Branch today. We bore our Testimonies and expressed our love for their YSA's and the opportunity and blessing it has been, serving here in the Belgium/Netherlands Mission. We ARE saying goodbye for the last time to many of these good saints. After Sacrament meeting, we were invited to the home of one of the JoVo's from Alkmaar, for lunch. We were expecting bread, ham, and cheese....so what a treat to be served Indonesian food. LEKKER!!! After that, we finally met with Iona......we have been spelling it Yona, Pimentel. She is the daughter of the family dad Baptized on Christmas day, while he was serving his Mission here 50 years ago. When we came, one of the things dad Really wanted to do was to find Iona, and see what had happened to that family. Wow, 3 hours later we hugged and said goodbye. What a life she has had, and not a good one. Her dad became the Branch President in Brussels, and was loved by all those whom he served. Iona married a returned Missionary while attending BYU, but that was not a good marriage. She has two children, both living here in the Netherlands. She has left the church, her children have not been baptized, what sadness!. Next week we will be visiting Den Helder, the Branch which is the most North in the Netherlands you can go. We have to drive past Alkmaar to get there.....so dad invited Iona to go with us. (Still a Missionary in her life.) She said she would like that, so we will keep in touch with her this week and hopefully she WILL go with us. When we left she turned around several times to wave to us. She just needs a good friend, and we hope we will be that friend(s). We exchanged email addresses, and she wants to keep in touch through Skype. Dad is so happy to have finally found her. A day he will remember for sure.

We love the Elders and Sisters just dropping by to 'share miracles.' The Sisters came by the other night and told us what they had done that afternoon. They were biking by a Bookstore, where there was a bookshelf out front of the store that had a sign: "Free books, take one, or put one on the shelf." They looked to see if there were any Books of Mormon....they had just given their last one away so did not have one for the shelf. So, they took the pass-a-long cards they had with them, and put one in each of the books. Not leaving just ONE Book of Mormon, but a pass a long in ALL the books:) Last night all 4 of the Elders that live across the street, came in for a visit. They too shared their miracles. Another joy of Missionary work.  The list goes on and on.

Another 'take for granted' message from the Mission Field. Daniel, the young man that was baptized two weeks ago, told us Wednesday, that his mother had told him how stupid he was for being Baptized. NO support at all. Daniel, we were told, has had no friends, has never known his dad, raised by his mother.....he told us he was SO happy with his decision to be Baptized, and he KNEW it was the right thing. You should see him with the other YSA's. He comes in with a smile, and leaves with a bigger smile. He does have friends now, and they love him. Junior, the YSA from Brazil, that was kicked out of his house by his stepfather, just days after his Baptism, has been in Portugal attending school, thinking that things were getting better between he, his mother and stepfather. Junior is planning on serving a Mission, leaving in January. His stepfather told him that other day,that if he served a Mission he would not be allowed to 'live under his roof again.' Are we blessed or what! Please keep these YSA's in your prayers. They for sure are the 'strong generation' spoken of in Job.

Corey, we will be thinking about you on Wednesday. Go and serve with honor, as we know you will. Soon as we get home, we will continue to write 'OUR' Missionary each week. We know how Elders and Sisters look forward to receiving letters from home......and 'goodie boxes.'

We love you all. Thank you for you prayers in OUR behalf. We have felt them. 

Opa and Oma

Vader and Moeder

Elder and Zuster deLeeuw