SUNDAY
At church today we met the father of our Ukrainian friend and refugee, Mariia. Her mom arrived a couple weeks ago from Germany and her dad arrived yesterday. They are so happy to be back together as a family. They have been separated since Russia attacked Ukraine in February. Mariia's daughters have been here with her. They came with only two suitcases between the three of them. We feel blessed to have been invited to go to the temple with them on Friday.
After church we drove Elder Olive to the Mission Home for his departing interview with President Watson. It has been an interesting five days as we've had Elder Olive with us. Doug has been really good with him as he has needed prompting for everything. My appreciation for his companions and especially for his last companion have increased. Missions have hard days but to have a companion that won't work or comply with the mission standards would really wear you down.
MONDAY
Today started early! We got up at 3:45am in order to get Elder Olive to the airport in Amsterdam by 6:00. We had heard of a nearly three hour wait to get through security there and we didn't want to chance missing his flight home. As it turns out, everything worked really well and he got through with time to spare. While waiting in line we saw President and Sister Kerr (former Redland's Temple president). It was a fun reunion so far from home!
We were back to Gouda by 7:20. Busy day trying to catch up from the days we were not in the office last week. The Social Media district and the Office Elders and APs had planned a 4th of July dinner with burgers and hot dogs. It was fun to be with them.
TUESDAY
Arrivals and transfer day!
Our four new missionaries trickled in. Elder Maxwell came in last night (the VandeWal's picked him up at the airport and he spent the night at their place), Elder Flitton arrived this morning and after a five hour delay, Sisters Wyss and Cannegeiter arrived about 4:00pm at the office. The APs and ZLs make all the logistical decisions as to how every one will meet up with their new companions and get to their new areas. It takes a lot of planning and anticipating to make this day work.
Doug was all over. He took Elder Stoner for lunch, helped get the Sister's to the train station with all their luggage, walked back to the Kruidvat to get toothbrushes and toothpaste for the APs who ended up driving missionaries to Antwerpen tonight and would be spending the night there. Through all that we had great conversations with many of the Elders and Sisters and even got a little regular work done.
WEDNESDAY
Departure interviews are always a good time! Our part takes only a few minutes as we just need to ask about their MSF (Missionary Support Fund) cards, make sure they have enough money for something to eat at the airport and turn in their chip that allows them to drive in the mission.
We are allotted 30 minutes with each missionary but only need about 5 minutes. That gives us plenty of time to talk to them about their mission and future plans. We are continually impressed with the quality of young people we are blessed to associate with. Some have only been here a few months because of their reassignments while waiting for their visas. They are impressive with the language and their testimonies of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We will miss them but are excited for their next adventures as they move forward.
(From top) Kyle Austin, Shayleigh Davis, Charles Kewish, Melanie Coates, Teun Blanken, Carter Hunsaker, Rebekah Ricks and Ashlynn Lybbert.
In the afternoon I was paying the invoices as I do every Monday and Wednesday. I realized when I got to the one to which we pay traffic tickets, that I had unwittingly paid a previous invoice to the wrong Vendor. Yikes! Thankfully President Watson had been in interviews all morning and I was able to catch him before he approved everything. He was able to Reject the two that I had done wrong before they were actually sent for payment. Whew! I will likely make more mistakes but I doubt I will make this same mistake again. It was stressful and I had those feelings of inadequacy again. But just as President Watson was able to fix the mistake I made, the Lord forgives when I make mistakes and offers me another chance to improve.
THURSDAY
Doug and I went to the Gemeente today in hopes we would be able to start the process of exchanging our driver licenses for Dutch ones. Everything we have read online said that US citizens could not exchange, but we thought we would try anyway. No luck. So since our driving privileges here will expire soon, Doug will probably need to enroll in a driving course. It is time consuming and quite expensive so we have decided only one of us will do it. He does the majority of the driving for us. I would love to still be able to drive when necessary, but it is not worth the costs involved.
We were able to meet Elder Austin's parents and grandparents. They have come to pick him up from his mission and came to Gouda to use some of the mission bikes for a little ride. They are wonderful people, it's easy to see why he is so outstanding.
Elders Henrie and Boyer came for our regular Thursday night dinner. Again it was good to have them in our home. Even though we see them every day at the office, we can get a little more personal at home. We had a good gospel conversation after dinner. Elder Boyer talked about the importance of the scriptures and how we need to be grateful to have the Bible and the Book of Mormon. The topic turned to how we can share our knowledge with people who do not seem interested in religion at all. Doug shared with them The Ammon Principle. Ammon found a way to serve and help King Lamoni and it was through that means that King Lamoni realized he had a need. Ammon could then fill that need with the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Helping and serving others can open the way for them to respond to the message of the gospel.
FRIDAY
What a wonderful day in the temple today! We had the opportunity to go to the temple in Den Haag with a family from the Ukraine. Our good friend Alja, our ward relief Society president, arranged it. And our good friend President Chris Kleiweg of the Mission presidency was the sealer. Mariia and her two daughters are here as refugees from Ukraine because of the war. They have been attending our ward in Utrecht for several months. Her dad has been in Kyiv and her mom in Germany so the separation has been very hard. But dad, Alexander Georgievich Gerasymchuk, and mom, Lyubov Gerasymchuk, were finally able to come to Holland and be here for a little while with their daughter. So today we were able to go to the temple and our friend Mariia‘s maternal grandparents were sealed by proxy and her parents were sealed to their parents. It was so unique because the parents both speak Ukrainian. There were three languages being spoken, English, Dutch and Ukrainian. President Kleiweg had to speak English to Mariia who would interpret for her parents and then we put a Ukrainian translation card on the altar so they could understand what was going on. Doug was proxy for one of the children being sealed. He felt an overwhelming love for Heavenly Father and the knowledge that everyone of us, regardless of where we live or what our culture is, are all children of God. And even though war and separation are happening in many parts of the world, the ordinances of God continue to bind us together and to Christ. Mariia said several times today that 'it is a miracle we are all together today'. I felt very blessed to be part of this joyous day!
Lyubov Gerasymchuk, Mariia Georgievich, Alja Schuur, Lies Bottema, Doug Marcia, Chris Kleijweg, Alexander Georgievich Gerasymchuk
Alexander, Lyubov, Mariia
SATURDAY
I got a long-overdue haircut today!
We drove to Alkmaar this afternoon to deliver a bike helmet and a FOB for Elder Fowler. They had also requested a small folding table and some posters to use at the Market. Elder Taylor is new to the area and is still getting to know it. Elder Fowler has been there for two transfers. They plan to set up a spot at the Market for a couple hours on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays to give out free Books of Mormon. Every city has an open-air Market at least once a week and it is always a very busy place. Hopefully they will find success. At least they are excited about this approach!
The VandeWal's rode with us and did an apartment inspection. They try to just 'drop in' so they see the apartments how they really are.
Matt and Taylor are officially engaged!! We are so happy for them and thrilled to have Taylor join our family!
Another week has come and gone....how is it happening so quickly?!?
Comments
Post a Comment