Doug and Marcia Glauser, Senior Mission 2021-2023

SUNDAY We really enjoy the Utrecht Ward. They are very welcoming! Even though I understand very little, the Spirit is there and I'm glad to be there. I have joked that President Nelson introduced the 'home centered-church supported' curriculum a few years ago knowing I would be in a Dutch ward soon and would need to know how to study the gospel at home.😀In Relief Society, my new friend, Annaliese, sat beside me and translated to English the discussion. She is a lovely woman and very helpful. Alja, the RS President is also very friendly. The ward had a potluck after church today to celebrate being able to gather together again. I sat with Alja and learned a little more about her. She and her husband have strong testimonies of the restored gospel. She was born and raised Catholic and joined the Church as a young adult. Her brother was the first to join the Church, followed by Alja and her parents. We had Elders Blodgett and Ludlow for dinner tonight. It's good to have th...

  SUNDAY Elder Glauser was asked to give the opening prayer in Sacrament Meeting today. He is finding more and more opportunities to use his Dutch. MONDAY We continue to learn more of our duties as the Finance and Vehicle Coordinators. One thing I learned today is that there are forms and reports that must be made but that the supporting documents, such as Excel spreadsheets are just to be helpful to the person in the position at the time. So I don't really need to know what every spreadsheet is or represents. If it will be useful to me, I'll use it, if not, I can ignore it.  That was a liberating idea. 😀 TUESDAY Our anniversary!! I'm so grateful Doug and I met and married. He is so good to me and I love sharing my life with him. He loves the Stewart kids as he does his own. He brought home flowers on Saturday so we 'could enjoy them a little longer' and when we got to the office this morning, another bouquet was waiting for me on my desk. WEDNESDAY Some thoughts: ...

 SUNDAY We went to in-person church today for the first time n The Netherlands.  The meeting was in Dutch, so I needed Doug to interpret most of it. I'm grateful for the time I spent last year learning a little of the language. I can understand way more than I can speak, but even then I need to listen very carefully and hope the people speak slowly!  Our friends the VandeWal's, the other Senior Couple in the mission, picked us up. We don't have a need for a car much, so we will just use an office car on those occasions. The VandeWal's are delightful people. The are managing the Housing for the mission and have been so busy in the few weeks they have been here getting apartments ready to be opened as we get more and more missionaries and the mission rebuilds. We went to their house for lunch after church and had a great time visiting with them, getting to know them and feeling of their love of the Savior and the Gospel.  Elder Andersen, Elder and Sister Glauser, Elder...

SUNDAY Zoom church once again for us. President Watson is giving some thought and prayer to decide where to have us actually attend church. The ward we have been attending over Zoom the past three weeks has the other Senior couple, the VandeWal's assigned to that ward. So we may be going somewhere else. Wherever it is, we will be excited to become a part of the ward and get to know the members.  We went for a walk around our neighborhood and discovered another windmill! I shouldn't be surprised, after all we are in Holland! The narrow, cobblestone and brick streets are quaint but you have to be aware--the cars, bikes, motorcycles and pedestrians all share the same small space. The 'sidewalk' is about 12-36" wide but you can park your bike here while doing your shopping. so quite often we walk in the street always watching for traffic in both directions 😀🚗🚚🚴🚶 President and Sister Nelson and Elder and Sister Bednar spoke at a devotional tonight for everyone in t...