Doug and Marcia Glauser, Senior Mission 2021-2023

  SUNDAY Doug was set apart as a counselor in the EQP today. He will be a great asset to the ward in this capacity. We are coming to love the good people of the Utrecht Ward. MONDAY The Monday Mission Zoom Call is a great way to bring the entire mission together each week for an hour. There are updates and instruction from the Office staff, Social Media Team and the APs. Missionaries are invited to share miracles from their week. Sometimes we have a 'guest' and then President Watson finishes the last few minutes.This week Sister Brandenburg , the Matron of the Den Haag Temple taught us for a few minutes about the temple. 3 Ne 17:2-3 "...ye cannot  b understand  all my words which I am commanded of the Father to speak unto you at this time.Therefore,  go ye unto your homes , and  a ponde r  upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand , and  b prepare  your minds for the  c morrow , and I come u...

  SUNDAY At church today I was set apart as the assistant pianist for the ward. Henk Schuur, a counselor in the bishopric set me apart with Doug assisting. It was all in Dutch, but Doug told me later that I was blessed to be able to do my part well. I know I make mistakes when I play the piano but I can usually go on without too much trouble. My prayer has always been that I won't distract from the spirit of the meeting. And this is what I hope for now. I am  happy to be able to help in this way in our ward. Johanna is a returning member of the ward. As Norma and I spoke with her today after Sacrament meeting, she explained she has been inactive for 15 years and is starting her activity slowly...just staying for the first meeting right now. Norma invited her several times to stay and sit with us, but she hesitated. I then told her to 'come and be new with us' and explained we are new to the ward as well. She got emotional and said she was happy to have friends at church. ...

SUNDAY A good day at the Utrecht Ward today. Maria (Ukrainian refugee) came to the English Sunday School class. She shared how on 21 Feb 2022 she was having dinner at a restaurant with friends with no care at all. She had heard Putin threaten war with Ukraine but she felt like it would never happen in her lifetime. Three days later, 24 February, the first bombs were dropped. Suddenly she was fleeing the country with her two daughters. Her life changed so quickly. She likened it to how we hear about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ all the time but somehow get complacent and wonder if it will even happen in our lifetime. But we should always be ready and never become casual or complacent in our preparations for that great day. MONDAY I know I say it too often but...today was soooo busy! We love our work as missionaries and are grateful to be busy. But sometimes it seems there are simply not enough minutes in the hour or hours in the day.  As we were ge...

  SUNDAY There were a lot of visitors at church today...we used all the headsets for translation! After church, we had a snack and then took a walk around Gouda. I especially wanted Jill and Edie to see the memorials that are all around the city indicating where the people once lived who were captured and taken to concentration camps and killed during WWII. It is very sobering to realized all those little plaques represent someone. Gouda is a charming little city with so many little streets and alleys and churches big and small. Saint John Church is the longest church in The Netherlands. MONDAY We dropped Jill and Edie at the airport. What a busy place! They needed to get Covid tests, get checked in and through security. The first two things worked well, but getting through Security took them two hours! Their departure time came and went, but after getting through security they ran to the gate to find the flight had been held because so many were still trying to...