On the Road Again.........

We were pleasantly surprised by a visit from Xavier Istace at the office Monday morning! President Brubaker was blessed to have Xavier as one of his counselors in the mission presidency before the boundaries were changed. It was a delight to have a visit with him!

We left in good time and beat the traffic and arrived in Amsterdam in record time! The Pancratz invited us to dinner and afterwards we dedicated their apartment. Zuster Driggs and Zuster Holbein greeted us with excitement and we were pleasantly surprised to see all the work finished in both apartments! President Brubaker dedicated their apartment. (Sorry I forgot to take pictures of their apartment) We all went to the YoVo Center and participated in FHE.

We spent the day on Tuesday in Amsterdam doing interviews. DL meeting was excellent, taught by Elder Wood. It was on prayer. He really inspired the missionaries and they practiced role playing the concerns of the investigators when it came to prayer.

Their joint teach wasn’t able to come, so they asked me if I would take her place. I was glad to do it. I am so happy that I had this expereince. Kashminda has lived in Holland since she was 12 years old. The missionaries have been teaching her for a few months. She soaked everything up like a sponge! I loved being a part of the lesson! She is very sincere and wants to learn more.

Then I went with the sisters to Yvonne’s house. On the way we found the auto of our dreams! Yvonne was excited to see the sisters. She is Dutch and needs the Gospel in her life so much! I felt a lot of love for this woman.

President Brubaker had a meeting with the Stake President in the Hague that evening and I went with Zuster Sharp and Zuster Pierson to teach Rose. She speaks French and is such a sweet lady from Africa. It was great tp speak French with her. She has two grand children that she is practically raising, because their parents are in Camaroon. Sister Sharp and Sister Pierson just received her from the elders and so it was a visit trying to see where she is in her learning about the Gospel. She had read the pamphlets and the Book of Mormon. She said that in her church in Camaroon the sisters meet separate from the men and she really missed that. I think if she can come to church she will love it. As we were walking to our car there was a man just getting out of his car and he asked us where the train station was. The sisters got out their map and showed him which direction to walk. He asked where we were from and I said the United States. I told him we were here for two years doing volunteer work for our church. Out of the blue he said, “Are you from Utah?” Where did that come from? Then he told us that he was in Utah and visited temple square! How random is that! We got his contact information!

How could you not love these great missionaries! We spent the day with the Hague district in Leiden! They even prepared lunch for us!

On Thursday we had our Leadership Council Meeting in Leiden. All the district leaders were in attendance. Sister Tibbitts brought the sweet and sour chicken for lunch that Evelyn had made. The missionaries were very happy! Elder Wood wanted a picture with some of the missionaries he won't see for a long time. I think we will just keep him forever!

Afterwards, I went with Zuster Garvin, Reber and Perry. We split up and I was Zuster Garvin's companion for a consecrated hour.

Sister Garvin and I loved being together ! We had a few door approaches that didn’t amount to anything. We saw two young boys fishing on the canal, so we went up and talked to them and they spoke English so I could communicate with them. They were so open and easy to talk to and very interested in what we had to say! Sister Garvin asked if it would be okay if we had a prayer with them. I wanted to open my eyes and see what they were doing but I didn’t! We gave them each a pass a long card.

We continued walking down the street and saw an elderly man helping and even more elderly woman gather large branches from a cork screw willow tree. Sister Garvin went right over and asked if we could help. The man acted totally shocked and asked if we wanted to be paid. It was an impossible task for the two of them. We both pitched in and helped and within 20 minutes we were finished and had the branches all tied with twine and voila, finished! His name was George and he was helping his widow neighbor. We both felt wonderful after! I am so grateful for this experience I had!

I love these sisters so much! It was a joy for me to be in Haarlem with them and see their dedication and willingness to talk to everyone they meet!

Rotterdam was our next stop on our agenda. Friday was a great day. Elder Garrett is the District Leader in Rotterdam. He taught a great lesson on praying with investigators. Did you ever see more handsome, well dressed missionaries? They were waiting patiently for lunch to be served by our new couple the Andersons. I just had to get a picture!

Last but not least, we spent Saturday in Utrecht with the Gouda District. Again we were taught masterfully by Elder Christensen.

On our way back to Brussels, we stopped in Antwerp. After many months of preparation, the Young Adult Center had something big to celebrate. It was the official opening of the Center. They had miraculously turned the stage in to a beautiful place for the young people to come and be taught and have fun activities together.

Elder Chris Clievig had the honors of cutting the ribbon! It was a marvelous occasion. About 40 young adults were in attendance! (more pictures to follow)

Home never looked so good!

We felt happy and warm inside, reflecting on our week in Holland with our prized missionaries!