Mission Accomplished!

With the boundary changes, our assistants, Elder Christensen and Elder Wells live in Antwerp now. They are good sports to make the commute back and forth to the office! Last but not least, we were happy to finish our tour of the apartments with these two fine elders.

Office Elders-The French and the Dutch Make a Great Team

Our French office elders have been training our new Dutch elders this last transfer. they have had tremendous transfer together! We will be sad to lose Elder Ferguson and Elder Schmutz! They have been so helpful in the office! We had a great visit with them as we were able to dedicate their apartment.
This apartment is just around the corner form the mission office-so convienient! It is one of our nicest apartments in the mission!

The apartment has been well maintained over the years, and it was inspiring to read motivating thoughts and scriptures that have blessed this apartment for many years. Thanks to the missionaries that have made this a home where the spirit can dwell

Our Tour of the Mission is Almost Complete

Elder Pratt and Elder Bastiaens are becoming focused and unified in their companionship. Amersfoort apartment was as neat and tidy as a pin! They were so excited for us to see the transformation of their apartment.

Elder Bastiaens and Elder Pratt have the gift of tongues.

Between the two of them they speak 10 languages!

Elder Pratt's language Study Plan.

Elder Morrow and Elder Waldie had a feast waiting for us when we arrived.

We had a delicious pork roast, true mashed potatoes and gravy, green salad and fresh fruit!

What a treat!

A fresh coat of paint!

Elder Morrow and Elder Waldie are grateful for the blessing of serving a mission.

It was our privilege and honor to feel their love of the Gospel and their strong testimonies.

Arnhem is in the Apeldorn Zone of our mission,

which is in the eastern part of the Netherlands.

This is a beautiful city and region of the Netherlands.

"Do not tell your God

how great your storms,

tell your storms how great your God."

Henry B. Eyring

A Day in the Apeldoorn Region

Elder Kramer and Elder Sanford are in Hengelo, in the eastern part of Holland, not far from the German border. I was able to see pictures of their families that they love so much. Elder Sanford showed me pictures of the huge snowstorms in Pennsylvania this past winter. He was greatly saddened that he wasn't there to help shovel 2 feet of snow! We have been so impressed with the order and cleanliness of our missionary apartments. Elder Kramer and Elder Sanford had their apartment in tip-top shape for us.

As we have traveled this week to many cities, we feel Spring is in the air. The elders are blessed with a patio with a beautiful hydrangea bush just getting ready to bloom!

Elder Kramer and Elder Sanford live in a great neighborhood! We were impressed how friendly the people were, as our GPS kept wanting to take us down one-way roads and bicycle paths. We were blessed with people stopping their bicycles and offering their help! We were very happy to see their new location, as they have just moved recently.

Apeldoorn is a wonderful place to visit in the center of Eastern Holland. it a more rural area in general, yet Apeldoorn itself is a thriving town. A few kilomemters away is a brnd new Young Adults Center in Deventer. These two, Elder Lystrup and Elder Adams have many responsibilities, teaching in the Young Adult Center, pr0selyting in Apeldoorn and caring for the needs of all their Zone members. Abusy job, but these are up to the task.

I gift from a member- I think these two like Holland!

Our full-time missionary couple in Deventer, Elder and Sister Homan, serve as the Out-Reach missionary couple in our new Out-Reach Center ofr Young Adults. Many missionary lessons have been already taught here in the two weeks that it has been open.

President Brubaker wants this bicycle!

Young adults and friends at the dedication of the Outreach Center for Young

Adults.

Mission President and missionary couple are amazed at the generosity of friends

and members who donated furnishings for the center like this beautiful

antique hutch. It seems to have been made jsut for this spot!

Another Great Day with Our Missionaries

We started out our day right! Elder LeFevre and Elder Mueller are serving in the furthest northern part of our mission, in Groningen. The members found a great apartment for the elders! They are so happy with what is happening here. Last week they had a wonderful baptism of Johanna and the church was full to capacity fro her baptism. She invited many of her friends and filled the front row.

The traditional klompen of the region

The missionaries get so excited when we have their orders from the mission office!

The Groningen Ward is very blessed. Not only do they have two of our finest elders, but they also have Zuster Sharp and Zuster Stapleton! We found out more details about the baptism, while eating a delicious lunch prepared by two amazing cooks!

Elder Staker and Elder Douglass are serving in awesome Assen! We had a great visit with them, and we were inspired by the saying on the white board in their apartment that said, "we are born to be kings" that reminded us that we are all born of heavenly heritage!

"Life is not measured by the amounts of breath we take,

but by the moments that take our breath away."

Unknown

Elder Hymas and Elder Bair were the last appointment of the day. They live in Zwolle, and just replaced

the sisters in this city. Zwolle is a beautiful little dorp. They love life here, and although they have had challenges with broken bikes, they just keep going strong! Elder Bair was grateful for photos of the members of the ward to become acquainted with them in his first area.

Welcomed Sunshine

Not only was the sun shining in Herenveen, but also Elder Pinnock and Elder Marshall have helped spread sunshine in their ward and to the people they are teaching.

A ward member made this windmill especially for Elder Marshall. Yes, this is truly a missionary apartment! Elder Pinnock and Elder Marshall are keeping it spic and span! We love to see the joy that radiates from missionaries when they are engaged in the work!

Out next stop was to Leeuwarden, where Elder and Sister Spek have a beautiful view of the city!

Oh, how we love the Speks! They are so good to our missionaries!

Elder Spek is serving in the Leeuwarden Branch as a counselor to the Branch President.

Elder Spek is thrilled to be back to the place he was born and also

where he served a mission when he was nineteen.

A Scenic Drive to Den Helder

Whoa! I had to be careful to keep my eyes on the road, as the drive from Alkmaar was so beautiful!

We are told that the crocus fields will be covered in hyacinths in a few weeks,

and then the fields will be covered with tulips! by the end of April!

Zuster Dabel had lunch waiting for us when we arrived in Den Helder. The Dabels take the best care

of our missionaries. Today we were the recipients of Zuster Dabel's fine cooking!

Elder Dabel had a bad bruise from a fall a few weeks ago.

Tulips seem to make everything better!

Spring Has Sprung in Alkmaar

There are signs of Spring in Alkmaar! After a very long winter, we were so excited

to see crocus and daffodils everywhere! It was a beautiful sunny day!

Alkmaar is a beautiful city, and Elder Knutson, Elder Dalpias, and Elder Bastian love serving here.

There was a very calm and loving feeling in their apartment.

These are three positive missionaries and all of them are showing brotherly kindness to each other.

Elder Dalpias is a great example to his two younger impressionable companions.

They were excited to show us Christine's teaching calendar.

On the 31st of March she will be dooped (baptized).

"Rain or shine....we are lucky to have each other."

Windmills Everywhere!

As we have seen more of the Netherlands these past few weeks, we are amazed how beautiful this country is that we are so privileged to be serving. These pictures were taken as we traveled from one city to another along the autoroute. There are windmills everywhere!