March 27-April 2, 2022
SUNDAY
It was Ring Rotterdam Conferentie today so we drove to Rotterdam for church. President Watson taught us that we Love, Share, Invite, Encourage, Listen and Pray for others One by One. He invited us to follow the example of Jesus Christ and serve each other one by one. Sister Watson taught us that she loves missionary work but wonders if she is good at it and that we need to find joy in missionary work. She is making connections with her extended family as none of them are members of the Church--most don't even believe in God. She is inviting them to join her in activities and is a great example to all of us.
Elder Michael Cziesla Area Authority Seventy from Germany, reminded us that new callings are sometimes challenging and help us to grow. He and his wife received about 2 days notice to be the interim Mission Leaders during Covid when the out-going President needed to go home and the incoming Leaders could not get into the country. They served for about 2 months. Everything we do in the Church has a strong, deep-rooted spiritual foundation. Find an individual approach. Focus on strengthening Zion, DC 115:5-6
5 Verily I say unto you all: aArise and shine forth, that thy blight may be a cstandard for the dnations;
6 And that the agathering together upon the land of bZion, and upon her cstakes, may be for a defense, and for a drefuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be epoured out without mixture upon the whole earth.
The Stakes in Europe are welcoming refugees from Ukraine and offering all kinds of help including shelter, food, clothes and hope.
Zion
1. One heart, one mind -> unified -> welcome everyone
2. Live in righteousness
--keep the commandments
--repentance should be joyful --a process of becoming a little better every day
3. No poor among us
--physically poor -> A good exercise to discuss this question whether or not it would ever be required. What would we do, what would we give up if we needed to take a family into our home?
--spiritually or emotionally poor -> we should be aware and come [to church] looking for the poor and then support and nourish them
Typically at Stake Conference, the building is filled to capacity, but here there were few in number--maybe 100-120?-- yet the Spirit is the same. Many people participated through Zoom. Thankfully we have that technology because the distances make it difficult for everyone to gather in one place.
MONDAY
We were trying to get caught up at the office today after being away last week to Zone Conferences and also dealing with problems. Some of the fuel cards are not working, travel expenses have been more than expected for others who now need reimbursements, the stolen/missing credit cards from last week is still an issue--now Pres Watson's cards are blocked--, etc. Doug offered a prayer on our food at lunch and also explained our situation to the Lord and asked for help. Literally, while we were eating, we got a phone call that, though did not immediately solve the problem, gave us peace of mind that things were being worked on and would be resolved. We saw the "immediate goodness of God".
During the Mission Zoom meting in the morning, Elder Glauser was asked to share a little about his experience at the Book of Mormon Musical. As part of it, he shared his experience with the German Book of Mormon (see last Saturday's entry). Later in the day, Elder Austin, one of the APs, came into our office and shared another piece of that story. As he was leaving Saturday morning, he was prompted to bring a German Book of Mormon. He didn't know why, but followed the prompting and brought it. He and Elder Kempenaers had already left when Doug was talking to the Austrian couple and didn't know about their accepting the BoM. It is amazing to see how the Lord is in the details of our lives. The German Book of Mormon was at the precise place it was needed because one of the Lord's missionaries followed that personal revelation and took it that morning. Another one had a good conversation and was prompted to ask the couple if they would accept a BoM. We give thanks for not only having miracles and tender mercies in our lives, but to be able to recognize them and see God's work all around us.
TUESDAY
Norma and I went to Sligro to get our assigned part of the District Council lunch on Thursday. WE were both assigned the chicken but since we'll be gone all day Wednesday, we bought some seasoned and precooked chicken for the Poke Bowls.
The rest of the day Doug and I worked on finances and vehicles.
WEDNESDAY
The entire Mission met at the Zoetemeer Chapel to begin our Mission Conference/Activity. The Service Missionaries joined us for the day along with the Service Mission Leaders, Elder and Sister Buysse. We were divided into groups for different service projects that had been previously arranged by Elder Smith. He did a great job finding things for 100+ people to do. Our group ws assigned to walk between the Zoetemeer Chapel and the Den Haag Temple picking up trash. It didn't look that 'trashy' but we loaded several bags. After a quick picture at the Temple we headed back to the church for a sack lunch before boarding the buses for Keukenhof.
Keukenhof is a beautiful garden, the biggest in Europe (maybe the world). There are hundreds of varieties of tulips and other flowers. The orchids were varied, delicate and really beautiful. Pictures can not do justice to the beauty of Keukenhof.
Doug, Norma and Gerrit Sister Katie Aldridge
THURSDAY
District Council today was great! The Senior couples were asked to take for a few minutes about unity--in families, marriages, companionships, the Church. We love being part of the mission and love that our District doesn't just put up with us--they seem to enjoy having us around.😁
Doug and I went to our appointment at the Gemeente this afternoon. Since all of our paperwork has been processed with the IND, we are able to move forward with getting a BSN number even though we don't pick up our cards at the IND for another 3 weeks. All this to be able to be in The Netherlands for an extended period of time. Doug has been working with President Kleijweg trying to figure out a way to register our missionaries in a more efficient manner. Whenever they are transferred to a new city, they must register in that city. It seems cumbersome, but we are trying to obey the laws of the land and be good citizens.
Elders Blodgett and Ludlow came for their regular Thursday dinner and Elders Snow and Weber joined us as well with a new member of the ward, Monet. They are teaching her but need more people so this was the perfect opportunity. Near the end of the evening, Doug asked her if she had any questions. She speaks English but prefers Dutch. Elder Blodgett answered her several questions all in Dutch. That is pretty impressive since he spends every day in the office with very limited chance to speak Dutch. It was so good to watch him teach her.
FRIDAY
We drove to Amsterdam and met Doug's nephew and his wife, Morgan and Lucy Hardy. They are currently living in Cambridge, England and came for a weekend trip. We met at an Indonesian restaurant and ordered Rijsttafel (Rice Table). Sooo good!
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