April 30-May6, 2023
SUNDAY
Marieke Muurling gave a great talk today in church. The topic was Keeping the Commandments. She likened the commandments of God to parenting. We give our kids instructions to teach them and bring them home safely to us. Watch for cars, brush your teeth before going to bed, and any number of things. In the same way, Heavenly Father gives us commandments that will teach us to be like Him and keep us safe so that we can return home to Him.
A new Senior Couple, Jeff and Cathy Wagner, arrived yesterday to the mission. We invited them and the VandeWal's over for dinner. It was good to get to know them a little. They are from Gilbert, AZ but lived many years in Eldorado Hills, CA. They will be working in the Office taking over for Sisters Flake and Conlee.
MONDAY
First thing this morning we drove the VandeWal's to the airport. They are returning home for a week to attend the funeral of Norma's dad. He was 97 when he passed away last week.
On the way back to the office we stopped at Ikea for ziplock sandwich bags. What a crazy thing to buy at Ikea! Except that ziplock bags are not found in very many places and we are making 300 sandwiches for the Keukenhof trip tomorrow and need easy bags to use for them.
Next stop was Gamma (think Home Depot) to buy work gloves for the service project prior to Keukenhof. Then next door to Sligro to get the ham, rolls and fruit for the lunches. And finally Albert Heijn for the rest of the fruit and the gluten free rolls and desserts for those who need it.
We got back to the office about 1:30, got everything organized and began to make those sandwiches. The Wagner's were a great help and we feel ready for tomorrow. By then it was about 4:30 and we had not even started on our regular tasks. But somehow it all works out and we were home about 7:00pm
TUESDAY
The entire Mission has been looking forward to this day for months! We started the day at the Zoetermeer church building to prepare for service projects that had been arranged previously by Dagmar and Mylissa Buysse. The Elders and Sisters were gathered into groups and sent on their way to sing to the elderly, paint, garden, wallpaper and bring some joy. Doug had spent hours working with Sister Conlee to arrange how to get everyone to the various locations with the limited amount of cars we have in the mission. It was very well organized and went very smoothly.
When the missionaries got back to the church we had a sack lunch prepared for them. After a quick lunch, we boarded the busses and headed to Keukenhof. Doug went back to Gouda for his behind-the-wheel driving test for his Dutch license.
This was the first sunny day at Keukenhof for us! Cathy Ehlert invited me to hang out with them and we had a lovely afternoon seeing the beautiful flowers.
WEDNESDAY
This morning we welcomed the three new Arrivals plus the new Senior Couple to the office for Orientation. They get an overview of the culture of the Belgium Netherlands Mission. President Chris Kleijweg was presiding today as President Watson is home with COVID. We tell them a little about vehicles, finances and medical. We served lunch and then went to the Temple in the afternoon. Always a good day!
THURSDAY
The new Senior Couple is Jeff and Cathy Wagner. They will be in the office with us, taking care of keeping the missionaries legal in the country and all the ordering of supplies. Since today is Jeff's birthday, we decided to invite them out to lunch at a little restaurant in Gouda. It was so good to get to know them a little more.
Our regular Thursday dinner with the missionaries was another wonderful evening. We are continually impressed with the depth of these young people. Today Doug asked them 'what specific part of your testimony has grown while you have been serving a mission' and 'why do you think it has grown'. A couple mentioned their testimony of the Book of Mormon, Elder Kujanpaa said he has learned to live the gospel. Before his mission, the culture of his community revolved around the Church and he just lived in the culture. But since coming on his mission, he has internalized the gospel teachings and it has become a part of him. I loved that! I remember feeling the same way when I first moved to Ohio and suddenly the culture of the neighborhood was not necessarily Church culture.
FRIDAY
Today was a beautiful morning for my walk!
Today we had lunch with our friend Petra from the Utrecht Ward. She has beautiful skills on the piano and we have missed her for the past few months. She shared her story and concerns with us and we had a lovely visit.
SATURDAY
Last night we received an email with the Temple workers schedule for today. Last week I had told Sister Brandenburg we would be available for this Saturday, but we had not heard anything...until last night. There was probably some miscommunication but in the end we spent the entire day serving in the Den Haag Temple! What a great day! We love the temple and enjoy serving there so much. Thankfully for me, there are many English speaking patrons. But even the ones who only speak Dutch or prefer Dutch can read along as I speak English and it works just fine.
The weeks seem to fly by! We are loving the experience of serving a mission. Life is good!
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