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
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