Feb 12-18, 2023

 SUNDAY

This morning, seemingly by chance, we read DC 100:1. Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my friends Doug and Marcia, your families are well; they are in ^amine hands, and I will do with them as seemeth me good; for in me there is all power.

This is one of our favorite scriptures since we have been on our mission especially when we put our names in the verse. We know our families are being blessed for our missionary service. We are so grateful for the Lord's constant care.

After church we went for a walk around Gouda. It really is a charming little city.

Thanks again to technology, we were able to watch Dustin speak in the Oak Valley ward today. It is so nice to be able to participate from afar. 

MONDAY

Harrison Wright, released last week from the BNZ, came back to the office with his family. His parents and four younger siblings came from England to pick him up and see some of the places and people he has served.

The APs getting ready for the Office Staff meeting

Nate Christensen, Mason Zarges, Christian Adams

The view from the walkway to our apartment is beautiful at sunset. On the left at the back is the roof and spires of Sint Jan's Kerk. It is the longest church in The Netherlands. On the right at the back is the tower to the Stadhuis.

We enjoyed a lovely dinner at a little restaurant in Gouda with Sisters Elise Conlee, Kamryn Doyle and Tess Flake. These girls are serving in the office now and today was an especially stressful day for them. The good food, lively conversation and genuine love around the table seemed to lift their spirits. We cherish these times when we can get to know our missionaries a little better and deeper.

Tess Flake, Doug, Marcia, Elise Conlee, Kamryn Doyle

TUESDAY

As we listened to a talk by Sister Craig this morning, this part really resonated with me. I also choose to stand with Jesus Christ and follow the prophet. "My fellow disciples of Jesus Christ, with all my heart, I choose to stand with the Lord. I choose to stand with His chosen servants—President Russell M. Nelson and his fellow Apostles—for they speak for Him and are the stewards of the ordinances and covenants that tie me to the Savior."   Michelle Craig GC, Oct 2022

We went to the Rotterdam Stake Center this evening to help with the WarmKamer initiative. There have not been many people come to this activity to have a warm supper and warm room, but there have been a few. Two people came tonight, one has been there before and one was new. There is also an English class taught by the Elders on Tuesday nights. Doug and I were asked to go in with Elder Jalo (he has been on the mission for only 2 weeks). Elder Nixon had another student who only speaks Spanish so they went in another room. It was a great experience to meet Elizabeth. She is from Greece and actually has very good English, but wants to learn "the bigger words". The Elders have her read a story and stop after each paragraph to clarify any words. It is a good system for her. For us, it was good to meet and talk with her and learn a little about her family. 

WEDNESDAY

District Council is held every almost every week. We have been invited again to meet with our District. In the recent past, it was held in Leiden and we wondered if we could take several hours to travel there, have the meeting and travel back so we have not participated for a while. But for now it will again be held at the office. However, this week most of the District was in Brussels so we had a Zoom meeting. Elder van der Put is our District Leader. All of those in our District have a Special Assignment at this time. The Assistants, Content Team, Facebook Lead, Rising Generation Lead, and Office staff. One of the questions we were asked was 'How are you blessing others in your current assignment?' For me, handling the financial duties, the scripture 'take no thought what you will eat and what you will drink...' came to mind. I can bless the other missionaries by providing their apartment, utilities, food, fuel, etc. so they are not concerned with any of those temporal things and can spend all their time finding, teaching and serving others.

We also talked about working with direction. Start with the end in mind. The example was shared of using Google Maps. The directions given are simple and concise. The first step is to know our destination. In a spiritual sense, our Destination is to come unto Christ and help others do the same.

Elder Dieter F Uchtdorf, GC Oct 2021, talked about a study in which the participants were put in a forest and told only to walk in a straight line. They all thought they had done just that. But mapping their paths showed otherwise. But why was the path of SM so much straiter than the others? Because that test was done on a sunny day! When we have some point of reference, in this case the sun, we are much more likely to complete the task and reach our destination. Spiritually speaking, the Son of God should be our guide if we are to reach our eternal destination.

Another evening at the Stake Center with the WarmKamer. Two more people showed up for soup and conversation. We also helped Sister Boyer and Sister Packard set up for the Dutch class. There were 24 people there from all over the world who have moved to The Netherlands and are using this class to help them learn Dutch. Two of them only speak Spanish so Elder Ornelas sat with them and translated as the class is taught in English. What a diverse group! President Bijkerk was there and is so happy to see the building filled with community members.

THURSDAY

This morning we drove to Leiden to pick up a broken bike. The Sisters had just left it locked at the church so it was a quick stop for us. Then on to Haarlem for two more bikes that need to be repaired. We chatted with Elders Hanks and Whitney for just a few minutes before heading to Montfort to pick up a car that had been repaired. (reading back over the last few sentences sounds like we fix bikes and cars...yes we do!)

Doug, Tyler Hanks, Henry Whitney

The Assistants were available again tonight and called to ask if they could come to dinner. We love so much that the missionaries want to join us. 

Marcia, Tess Flake, Nate Christensen, Elise Conlee, Nathan De Jong, Kamryn Doyle, Doug, Mason Zarges, Christian Adams

FRIDAY

Today we had the pleasure of going with Nicole Fransen from the Utrecht Ward to the Singer Laren Museum. We have been trying to get together for a couple months and it finally happened. The museum was lovely, but better was getting to know Nicole and hearing of her struggles and challenges. She is a very positive person and has a great attitude in spite of the challenges. 

Doug, Nicole Fransen, Marcia

Piet Mondriaan 1872-1944

Oostzijdse Mill with Panoramic Sunset circa 1907

This was one of my favorite paintings. I love the sky and of course, the windmill.

After leaving the museum and driving through Laren, we saw roofers installing a thatch roof. It is fascinating! The reeds are layered and tapped into place, then trimmed evenly. Not in the picture is another man using a chain saw to trim

SATURDAY

The wind was blowing this morning on our walk and bike ride. I walk through the city so the buildings provide a break for the wind, but Doug rides his bike out to the farmland. The wind certainly made it a workout for him!

We went to the Temple today with the VandeWal's and Black's. What a wonderful experience. Even more than before, we see the Savior in all we do in the temple. So grateful to be able to go often!