Dutch Missionary Slide Show

This was a slideshow made for our June Zone Conference, the last of President and Sister Woodland. The was made for the Dutch side of the mission. Photos in the cities of Den Haag, Zoetermeer, Leiden, Amsterdam, Almere-Stad, Hilversum, Bussum, Alkmaar, Haarlem, Den Helder, Apeldoorn, Amersfoort, Zwolle, Emmen, Hengelo, Arnhem, Assen, Groningen, Heerenveen, Rotterdam, Hoogvliet, Spijkenisse, Den Bosch, Utrecht, Dordrecht, St. Niklaas, Kortrijk, Gent, Leuven, Eindhoven, Antwerpen, Breda, Heerlen and Turnhout.

Last But Not Least!

Our last Zone Conference -Rotterdam and Antwerpen Zones

Sister Owen, Gulliver, Stapleton, and Wieland are experts at riding bikes. They blend in well with the Dutch people.

Good-bye Elder Relitz and Elder Laursen!

Zone Conference in Holland

The Apeldorn and Den Haag Zones

I am so blessed to be surrounded by great sister missionaries!

We have great missionaries who are conscientious and devoted.

Time for a break!

Afternoon session-President Brubaker teaching our missionaries about the Atonement.

Zone Conference in Bruxelles

The Brussels and Ardennes Zone

Soeur Santos and Soeur Carson looking over their Area Book.

Our precious senior missionaries

A reunion with their MTC Zone!

Almost all twinners!

French Zone Conference in Lille France

Bon Appetit!

The missionaries took time to apply what they had just learned.

Training by the Assistants-how to better utilized the Area Book

Merci beaucoup les missionaires!

The beautiful countryside between Belgium and France.

Rotterdam Interviews

Zuster Servoss, Stapleton, Owen, Wieland, Gulliver, and me

We have some marvelous sister missionaries in Rotterdam!

The Rotterdam District

Elder De Bruijn, Harry, and Elder Nay

Our Eternal Missionary

We were honored to meet our most seasoned missionary in Rotterdam, Harry Van de Sande. Harry has been a member of the church for 32 years. He is always with the missionaries. Since he retired, he meets the missionaries every day to help them with the work. He gets up at the same time as the missionaries, studies at the same time, and takes a P-Day on the same day as the missionaries. The missionaries love him! We are grateful for his amazing attitude, and the great support he is to the missionaries!

District Meeting held during Interviews

Bon Anniversaire Zuster Pancratz!

We celebrated Sister Pancratz's birthday today! She received a joyous birthday song in French and in Dutch! The Pancratz couple arrived a week before us. They have eleven children, and come from Tooele, Utah. We are so happy to have them in the office to help us stay organized! They are wonderful!

A Day in the Life of a Missionary

I had an amazing experience today. Scott had to be at the office to start interviews at 11:00 am. Sister Orton and Sister Rideout had asked if I could go with them to a rendez-vous. I went with the sisters to Nini’s home. She is a Belgian women that is ready for baptism. She is so excited about the Gospel. She has 4 children, and quite a few grandchildren. Her living room was covered with picures of them. Nini has an eternal smile on her face. She speaks with a very strong Belgian accent, and it was hard for me to follow. The sisters helped me out by telling me what was being said from time to time. Nini’s husband was there, and has consented to be at her baptism. It was difficult to find a date when he wasn’t working. It was finally decided to be on the 16^th of August. I instantly fell in love with her! After we said good-bye to her, the sisters walked me to my car. They are so dear, and have made me feel so welcome! I told them that I feel I have two new daughters. I love the sister missionaries. Each one of them is so dynamic and I am so excited to get to know them better. I punched in HOME into the GPS, and 20 minutes later I was home!

Office Elders-The Amazing Trio

Elder Berlin, Elder Harper, Elder Carpenter

We were greeted by our super trio-the office elders! The are johnny on the spot. They can do it all! They have this mission so organized, and can do anything we ask! With their help and encouragment, we can slowly figure things out.

A Lot of Help From Our Friends

Where would we be without Elder Reynolds and Elder DeMaas??? They are our lifesavers! They have all the answers! Over the past few weeks they have literally carried us through some rough times! We appreciate their patience with us.

French Missionary Slideshow

This was a slideshow made for our June Zone Conference, the last of President and Sister Woodland. The was made for the french side of the mission. Photos in the cities of Brussels, Nivelles, Liège, Charleroi, Namur, Mons, Lille, Villeneuve D'Ascq, Dunkerque, Calais, Arras, Valenciennes, Béthune, St. Omer, St. Quentin and Amiens

Photos by: Elder Honeycutt & Elder Allen

Zone Leader Council Meeting at the Mission Home

left to right Elder Shumway, Sister Baxter, Elder Stringham, Sister Robbins, Elder Bybee, Elder Von Ahlmen

Today was our first Zone Leadership Conference. We had 18 Zone leader missionaries here from the whole mission. We enjoyed having the elders in our home. Sister Orton and Sister Baxter were here representing the sisters for the first time. I think Pres. Brubaker was inspired! They were a great contribution! Sister Orton and Sister Baxter are wonderful, and make me feel so at home, and comfortable! I learned a lot about the ovens! I made six quiches, and there are some things I would do differently next time. Partly due to the oven and partly due to my own mistakes. I overcooked the pastry, so they were a little dry, but I don’t think the missionaries noticed. I am finally starting to get the names with the faces. Cute Elder Burton made us an apple pie!

We have the best missionaries. I love to hear them bear testimony, and to talk about about investigators that have changed their lives! They are so sincere, and have the best spirit about them! I truly am so blessed to be here.

Meeting Our Missionaries for the First Time

Elder Spicer, Elder Leavitt and Elder Dewey

Soeurs Bagwell, Shannon, Gaggon, Fritsch

Today we started our mini Zone Conferences with our missionaries in Lille, France. Thank heavens for cell phones! Our GPS didn’t quite get us to our destination. So we called our ever faithful assistants, and they put Elder Bailey on the line. He had served in Lille for 7 transfers, and was able to get us to the church on time! What a sight as we walked into the chapel! There were 30 missionaries to greet us! I wanted to take each one and give them a big hug! I had an overwhelming feeling of love for them! I only got through the second row, when it was time to start.

It was the first time in my life I didn’t feel nervous right before a talk. After the opening song and prayer, Scott started out. He told stories of his great great grandfather John McTaffee McDonald, and the sacrifices he made for the Gospel. He talked about his mission and about the Fourney’s who he baptized in Herstal, Belgium, when he was here as a young missionary. The missionaries were very interested. After Scott finished, we stood together, and told how we met. Since we met the 1st night of Scott's mission, the missionaries were very responsive! We opened our family photo, and talked about our family. And then I spoke about the Holy Ghost, and shared our experience in Philadelphia. with our daughter Rachel. Elder Valenza had lived in Philadelphia, and I could tell he really could relate to my story. Then each elder stood before us, introduced himself, and then shared a missionary miracle with us. I am still amazed by what we heard. Each missionary had a miracle to tell! Each day the missionary has a consecration hour, where he or she devotes an hour to spiritual finding. They spend this hour trying to know what the spirit wants them to do, and where to go. It has made a big difference in the mission! I wish I could have recorded the meeting. It was so inspirational! One missionary after another told of being impressed to go to a certain area, and finding someone to teach! These missionaries are the best! I feel we are going to learn so much from them! It is a great responsibility to try to teach, inspire and lead them!

The Zone Leaders prepared the lunch. President Brubaker and I enjoyed going around and visiting with some of the missionaries.

We spent the next three days meeting our other missionaries in Brussels, Den Haag, Apeldoorn, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Antwerpen. This is truly a mission of many miracles. I am so impressed with our missionaries. They are very kind and are trying to do what is right. We are so grateful for their dedication to serve a mission, and we are looking forward to getting to know each one of them.

Let the JOY Begin

On our second day, we met with the sister missionaries in Schaerbeek; Sister Orton from Cedar City, Utah, and Sister Santos from Brazil. They were so cute, and welcomed us with open arms! We had a wonderful visit with them! Soeur Santos is a convert of 5 years, and did not know English or French when she came. She spoke beautiful French! We visited with them for a few minutes, and then we observed them as they did their planning for tomorrow. They have so much happening, and were so excited for the miracles waiting to happen! What a privilege it was to be in their apartment! It was a very special experience! They told us that the missionaries had been praying for us as soon as they found out who we were! They were so sweet with us! Oh, I am so excited to be here!

Brussels in All it's Magnificence

This is Brussels from the Mission Office, which is on the 8th floor of a very nice office building in the downtown area of the city. On a nice day, you can go out on a large patio, and enjoy the view of this beautiful city. President Brubaker spent his first day of the mission in the office, and I unloaded our boxes from France.

Stop Wait Come Back!

Au revoir President et Soeur Woodland

The Changing of the Guard

We went to dinner with the Woodlands and discussed the mission. President Woodland and his wife have done a marvelous job! The mission is in top shape, with lots of good things happening! We are grateful for their service and their love for the Lord and missionary work. We spent about 3 hours with them. We hated to see them go! We had so many questions, but we just didn't know what they were yet?!?

Our Arrivlal in Brussels

We are in Brussels! Flowers in hand, we were ready to meet President and Soeur Woodland, and our missionaries! We were so excited! What a welcomed sight! I was overcome with emotion! There were 5 missionaries there to greet us! They looked so great! You could just feel their goodness! I gave Soeur Woodland the bouquet of flowers. We were so excited, we forgot to take a picture! I feel like I am living a dream! The missionaries were so welcoming, and it does feel good to finally be here!

No Hungarian Lessons in the MTC

As we waited for our flight to Brussels, I tried my luck at giving a pass along card to two women seated across from us. I needed the gift of tongues at this very moment! They were from Hungary, and didn't speak a word of French, English, Spanish or Dutch! They recognized the picture of Christ, and through lots of hand movements and gestures I did my best! They seemed pleased to have a card with the picture of Jesus Christ.