The Brubaker Family

The Brubaker Family

President Brubaker and I are excited to be here as the Mission President and companion of the Belgium Brussels Netherlands Mission! We love your sons and daughters, and feel to thank you for the wonderful missionaries you have raised! This is a very unique mission. Our mission includes two countries, and five languages, not including many dialects spoken in the Netherlands. The missionaries are teaching many people from all around the globe. With the help of the Spirit, the missionaries are finding those who have been prepared to receive the Gospel. This is truly the best mission in the world, and we are honored to be a part of it. We will try and take good care of your sons and daughters. We love them so much already!

We have 5 children and 11 wonderful grand children. We have so much fun together! We are grateful for the support they have given us as we prepared to leave for three years. Our home is in Salt Lake City, Utah. We have raised our family in the Millcreek Holladay area. We enjoy many activities together. We are happiest when we are hiking in Southern Utah, cross-country skiing into our rustic cabin in the Uintahs, enjoying a good game of Train or Settlers of Catan, or just being together and sharing a meal with each other. We love our family so much!!!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Sinterklaas Arrives in Holland

President Brubaker and I were just walking down the streets of the Hague Saturday afternoon, when we wondered what all the commotion was about! We saw this sight and weren't sure why their were so many policemen?
We soon discovered we were in for a real treat!
This was the cutest miniature donkey I have ever seen! In his bags were treats for the children.
Sinterklaas had arrived in The Hague!

Sinterklaas has a long red cape, wears a traditional white bishop's robe and red mitre, and holds a crosier, a long gold-coloured staff with a fancy curled top. He carries a big book that tells whether each individual child has been good or naughty in the past year. He traditionally rides a white or gray horse.
Sinterklaas traditionally arrives in the Netherlands each year in mid-November (usually on a Saturday) by steamboat from Spain. Some suggest that gifts associated with the holy man, such as mandarin oranges, led to the misconception that he must have been from Spain. He parades through the streets on his gray horse Amerigo, welcomed by cheering and singing children.[

Sinterklaas is assisted by many mischievous helpers with black faces and colourful Moorish dresses, dating back two centuries. These helpers are called 'Zwarte Pieten' (Black Petes). Sinterklaas and his Black Pete usually carry a bag which contains candy for nice children and aroe, a chimney sweep's broom made of willow branches, used to spank naughty children.Some of the older Sinterklaas songs make mention of naughty children being put in the bag and being taken back to Spain. They also climb down chimneys to fill the children's shoes with presents, this causes their skin to be black.
One of the oldest department stores in the Netherlands, Bijenkorf added a vintage horse drawn carriage to the parade!
Dating back to 1870, De Bijenkorf has a rich 140 year history. It originally sold buttons and sewing supplies, and is one of the most popular department stores in the Netherlands.
We love the traditions of this country!
Sinterklaas found Elder DeMeester in Amsterdam!

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