December 18-24, 2022
SUNDAY
On the way home from church we stopped to drop off a little gift and card from the Bishopric to a man that has not been to church for a while. Doug and Gerrit went to the door where the man happily met them. He was wearing a mask, explained that he has a 'blood disease' and cannot be around people much right now. He seemed very happy for the visit.
As we drove into Gouda, we noticed several people skating on the canal near the office. The water under the bridges are not frozen, but apparently the ice is thick enough!?!
We spent some time today getting Christmas cards ready to send to our Ward members. We realize we have many friends and acquaintances here in the Utrecht Ward and feel blessed to know these good people.
MONDAY
We had the pleasure of visiting and having dinner with the Oostveen family. Jan and Franca and their grown children Julia and Sander along with Julia's fiancé Fabian welcomed us warmly. It was so good to be in their home and get to know them. Franca is a very talented artist, Jan drives an ambulance and the kids are all studying at university.
After a delicious dinner, Julia suggested we all get on our FamilyTree App and see if we are related. We're not related to them, but we had fun seeing what famous people are in our family trees. Before we left, Jan asked Doug if he would give him a Priesthood blessing. He has been sick off and on and just doesn't feel like he has recovered fully. It was a beautiful opportunity for us to be able to minister to this family. This is something I hope to continue after our mission. To just make visits and try to help or cheer others. We have been counseled by President Nelson to minister in a higher and holier way. I think I am learning to do that a little better.
TUESDAY
First thing this morning I got a message from Pres Watson that Sister Cullumber's Christmas package had been returned to her mom in the US. Her mom was hoping someone could do a little shopping and make sure Sister Cullumber had something to open on Christmas. And Pres and Sis Watson are sick in bed unable to do anything. Sister Watson had asked last week if there were any missionaries not receiving gifts from home. We found that there were 9. So she asked if I could get something and get it to the missionaries for Christmas. And then we heard of 4 more. They live from Gronigen in the north to Brussels in the south. Suddenly we have a BIG job to do in the next few days!
So I got some chocolates and fruit while shopping for the food for Orientation tomorrow and Doug got scarfs, Christmas socks and a cheese gift bag for each one. After preparing the food for Orientation, we put together 15 gift bags for the missionaries that are not expecting anything from home.
In order to get them delivered all over the mission, we put each one in a shopping bag with the missionary's name on it and will give them to those at Orientation that will see them in the next couple days.
We are involved in the Rotterdam Stake's Warm Hub Initiative. We have purchased soup, hot chocolate, herbal teas, crackers, snacks and bread. Tonight we met with a few others to help get it started. The idea is that because of the sharp rise in energy costs, there may be those who don't heat their houses. They are invited to come to the church building in Rotterdam for a warm place to gather for a few hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from now until March. We will have a light meal prepared as well. There will be games to play, comfortable seating for reading or visiting and the Family History library will be open for anyone interested. It is not a proselytizing activity but rather a service to the community.
There were a few people there for an English class the Elders are providing and we were able to feed them, but we hope for more as the word spreads. There are flyers at the local grocery stores and they have used social media to let people know. Doug and I have a better idea of what kind of food they would like and are happy to help.
WEDNESDAY
Orientation for the new missionaries is a great time to meet together with them and their companions. Elder Mason Zarges and Elder Nate Christensen (APs) organized and conducted the meeting. President Chris Kleijweg presided as President and Sister Watson are ill and unable to come today. As always, the VandeWal's and Doug and I prepared and served the lunch. We are getting pretty good at feeding a crowd!
On the walk home tonight, we noticed there is a temporary ice skating rink set up around the Stadhuis!
THURSDAY
Doug left very early this morning to drive to Gronigen. The paperwork for the totaled car is finally ready and he didn't want to wait until after the holidays to get it to the dealership. On the way he encountered a freeway closure and was rerouted through villages and towns. It is normally a 2 1/2 hour drive, but the delay added an extra hour. That wouldn't be too serious except that he was trying to get back to Gouda for a 13:00 appointment with the driving school. He was only a few minutes late and the instructor was kind enough to wait. It is required here to take driving lessons before taking the behind-the-wheel driving test for a license. It seems that everything takes a long time, so he didn't want to miss this scheduled lesson.
Our regular Thursday dinner was expanded tonight. Typically, we have 3-5 missionaries but tonight we had 9! Certainly a little miracle to be able to feed that many...and there were even leftovers. Loaves and Fishes!
FRIDAY
It was a chilly, rainy day but we enjoyed so much being with Alja, Henk, Norma and Gerrit as we toured the Paleis Soestdijk in Soest. This is where the Queen's grandmother lived when she was young. It was very interesting.
This interior of the place is beautiful but is in need of repair and restoration.
The grounds are really beautiful, even on a cold, wet day.
We drove the short distance back to Alja and Henk’s, had some hot chocolate and then ordered Chinese Takeout. Henk offered to just bike over to pick up the food. It was cold, rainy and dark but that does not stop the Dutch from riding their bikes. 😳😁. We had a delicious dinner and simply enjoyed our visit with these good friends.
SATURDAY
We started about 9:00 to make several stops to deliver Christmas gifts that had just arrived as well as some gifts to friends. We did some last minute shopping for Sister Cullumber. Her package from home was returned and her mom was a little panicked that she wouldn’t receive any gifts for Christmas. By the time we left Gouda it was about 12:00.
First stop was in Zeist to take a little gift to our friends Rick and Geurte Harskamp. We didn’t plan to stay, but we chatted for about 20 minutes. It was so good to find out more about them. They are a wonderful couple who serve faithfully in the Utrecht ward. Rick was baptized in 1970 and lived in Zeist in the early 70’s. Doug served in Zeist when he was here as a young missionary and remembers playing soccer with the teenagers so perhaps they met back then!
From there we went to Lelystad to take MSF money to Elder Fisher. He has been here about 10 days and his card is not working yet. So we took him some cash to get him through until it can get sorted out. They were not home but we just left the things on the table.
Next stop was in Diemen to deliver Sister Cullumber’s Christmas. Her mom had told me to get some little boxes of breakfast cereals and muffins. Her old companion, Sister Green said her favorite cereal was Special K with chocolate pieces which we were able to find at Jumbo. We also gave her a scarf, Christmas socks and a cheese gift bag. It was so fun to be in on getting this to sister Cullumber!
On to Leiden 43. But when we arrived, the key would not go in the lock. 🤨😣. A quick call to the VandeWal’s let us know that there are actually two keys to that apartment, one for the outside door and one for the inside door and they had the one to the outside. We thought we would not be able to go in, but Norma called right back and said the Watson’s have the extra key. We were going there anyway, so we delivered the gifts to President and Sister Watson, met two of their kids who have arrived for Christmas, got the key and headed back to Leiden.
Finally, we stopped at Tom and Cindy Black’s in Den Haag to deliver a little treat to them. By now it was close to 18:00. We had so much fun delivering some good cheer to several missionaries and friends! The VandeWal’s called and said they were going to have the office Elders over for finger foods for Christmas Eve dinner and invited us to join them. It was good to be with all of them!
Our neighbor Benjamin had invited us to the church service that began at 21:30 at Sint Jan’s Kerk a short walk from our apartment. It was a good experience to be there with probably 1200 people, celebrating the birth of the Savior. The organ filled that huge building with joyous songs of Christmas. We appreciate being invited to go with Benjamin.
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