Churches in Netherlands

I have been asked what some of the meeting houses look like in Netherlands and Belgium.  So, I will be posting a picture of the church we attended each Sunday.

Sunday, July 22, 2012  Leiden Ward

This is a 'free standing' building.

Sunday, July 29, 2012    Nijmegen Branch

This is a 'home' on an entire street of 'row homes'.  Some are homes, some are businesses, this is the church.  The brick yard is the front yard of the church. The church is a little wider than you can see. About another 8 feet to the right and that is it.

Sister Robinson, President Robinson, Bro. Job Hartijers, Nijmegen Branch Mission Leader.

PDay--Another Day to do Missionary Work

Saturday, July 28, 2012, was this week's PDay.  It was spent driving to Nijmegen. Note of interest:  Nijmegen is the oldest city in Netherlands.  It is over next to the German border.  It was a beautiful drive through the country.  When we arrived we spend the afternoon with Elder Davis and Elder Pitchforth doing call backs from the Area Books.  I went with Elder Pitchforth.  We did 2-2-5 and Elder Pitchforth and I have two places to call back on later in the week.  President and Elder Davis actually placed a Boek Van Mormon during their 2-2-5.  Way to go President and Elder Davis!!

Here we are leaving church today, July 29, 2012.  Elder Davis, Sister Robinson, President Robinson, Bro. Job Hartijers, the branch Mission Leader, and Elder Pitchforth.  We left the door to there church open. The blinds behind us in the window is the back of the chapel area. 

It was a great little branch.  We felt the Spirit and there was a warm and friendly atmosphere about the members.  After church, it took 30 minutes to clear out 25 people.  They love each other and rarely see each other through the week, so they enjoy staying and visiting after church.

Today I gave my first 'real' talk in church.  It wasn't just a testimony.  I did more than a 2 1/2 minute talk, but it wasn't quite 10 minutes.  It is a little more difficult to just 'speak from the heart' when I have a very limited vocabulary and my sense of grammar is coming, but still shaky. President spoke for 15 + minutes.  He is way--way better at it than I am.  My Dutch is much better than it was a month ago.  Note:  We landed at Schipol Airport to begin our mission one month ago today--June 29, 2012.  Hey, there is progress in the language!  Thank you Sister DeGroot, you were right and I had faith in that knowledge. 

Where Else?!?

We travel up the A4 Freeway for a number of reasons.  On Friday evening, 

July 27, 2012, we were going up to Haarlem for a baptismal interview.  On our way we got these pictures.  A part of the taxi way for Schipol Airport goes over the freeway.  Not always, but frequently as we approach the tunnel we see a plane cross our path.  Strange!

 Coming---

Going---

Almost gone!

Mission Home---Part 4

Now that I have all the boxes unpack and put away, I'll take you on a tour of the second floor of the Mission Home.

The stairs up from the main floor.

A beautiful old wardrobe in the hallway that is used as a linen cabinet.

The hallway leading to the Master Bedroom.  

Notice the stairwell to the left.  Also, the door straight ahead goes outside to a sun porch on the second level.

 Door to the master bedroom.

A kingsized bed--never had one before.

 Looking toward the walk in closet and master bath.

 The sun shines right in these windows every morning at 5:00 am (except for rainy days, of course)

 The Walk-in Closet

 Master Bath

 Master shower

 Shower

  The closet from the master bath

 The guest bedroom on the level.  

We refer to this as the General Authority Room.  

 Lots of windows in Dutch homes.  Everything is bright and breezy.

 Same bedroom.

Looking out of the Guest Room to the hallway 

and stairs coming up from the main floor. 

 There is a sun porch on the second level.  There is a door to it at the end of the hallway.

 The guest bathroom

Everything is clean, bright and elegant.

The Den Haag District

Please meet a terrific group of Elders and Sisters.  I am proud to be their Mission Mom.

From left to right:  Sister Townsend, Elder Van Koman, Elder Thueson, Elder Guanuna (back seat), Elder Bickham (front seat), Elder Wait, Elder Pope (in the back), Elder Klippel, Elder Mohrman, Elder Calkins (out front), Sister Davies, Sister Welch, Sister Larsen, and Sister Gardner. 

I love you one and all!!

(Really, should you have this much fun on a mission?!?!)

Cookies--without Grandkids

Sunday's have always been a great day to bake cookies at my house.  It's the day most, if not all, grandkids are there.  90% of the fun in making cookies is all the helping hands and heads that get involved!

Well, Sunday, July 21, 2012, I made cookies without grandkids.  It just wasn't the same.  I had to do it all by myself, and there was no one to eat the cookie dough but me.  90% of the fun this time was the fact that these cookies were going out to assorted missionaries.  That made it great!

 Good, I found the KitchenAid!!

 Better yet, I found all the ingredients for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

The chips are from Brugge Belgium.  I found them in the drawer of baking goods!

Belgium Chocolate!!!

 Well, they look like they are suppose to look to start with, now baking them in an oven at 176 degrees C.  (Weird)

Hey, for the first time ever making cookies in Netherlands, not bad.  They taste great and they will not last long!

I really missed you helping me make them Isaac, Devin, Layton and Parker. :(

First Temple Session while Missionaries

Saturday, July 21, 2012, we attended the Den Haag Temple.  It will feel good to get back into monthly temple attendance.  The Spirit of the temple is the same, regardless of the temple.  We visited with President and Sister Klijwig again on Saturday.  They are good people.

The session was in Dutch.  I didn't use headphones.  Just kept practicing my Dutch language.  However, I did use English at the veil.  Alden practiced his Dutch all the way through the session.  I love the temple.  Family and friends, I encourage you to 1) Do your own temple work--get yourself ready and receive your endowments if you have not done it.  2) Do whatever it takes to get a current recommend to attend the temple if you are endowed. 3) If you have a current recommend, attend the temple no less than once a month.  The blessings of the temple on your family comes about through the principle that families are forever and the promise of 'hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of children to their fathers' is very real in our own families.  If you are desiring help with your family---go to the temple.  I know that to be true.

 Looking north.

 South side of the temple.

 View from the southeast. 

The Front of the Temple

Another PDay

July 20, 2012.  Yes, another PDay.  We really enjoyed this PDay--we spent it with all our Senior Couples with the exception of Elder and Sister Anjewierden who were unable to make the trip.

We all met at Den Helder on the northern tip of the west coast.  We took a ferry over to the first island in the chain of islands that reach up into the North Sea, named Texel. 

 In a small dorpje named Oudeschild.  This is just a small courtyard between two homes.  Actually, a home and an Artist's Studio.

The Artist's Studio is a building with a thatched roof.  This is a view from the interior.  

 We walked down the street and across a highway to the dike.  President is standing on a real Dutch dike.  The water on the right of the picture is higher than the highway and car on the left of the picture.

This is the seaside of the dike.  Cobble stone near the water's edge, a sealed and chipped slop.  The chip and seal looks like how they chip and seal roads back in Utah.  It goes for miles in both directions.  

Every little vijk has a church.
  

Just past the church are the homes.  This is how the Dutch live in a country town.

We drove over to Oosterend.  Here is the harbor.  

Alden took the camera and turned it around and took my picture with the Windmill.  Elder Pankratz was with us.

Down at the harbor looking toward the fishing boats that just came in at 
4:00 am that morning (Friday).

As we got closer, it became obvious how huge those nets on the fishing boats really were.  Notice all and white shirts and suit coats underneath the big beam holding the nets.  Never in America!!  OSHA would never allow anyone under a beam like that without hardhats and a lot of other things.  But the Elders and President really were interested.  Sister Van Koman was down there talking with the former owner while Sister Everton and Sister Salden watch at a safe distance.  However, we were all down near it at some time.  :)

The front end of the fishing boat.

Inside the nets and the front end of the ship.
It was bigger than I thought fishing boats were.

The restaurants in town bought the fresh catch.  Here is a fish food place were they are smoking the fish for today's lunch.

He uses oak wood to smoke the fish.  NOTE:  President spent about a half hour visiting with this man.  We gave him a pass along card, and he told us we would never get him to our church, but he uses our church's website all the time to do genealogy.  Well, all I can say is "The Lord works in very different ways."

The fun thing about the smoked fish, they were shooting some brochure pictures for a new promotion. They needed some people in the background.  Because there were so many of us, they asked us to be the background people who were eating the fish.  They gave us free smoked fish to eat while they did their promo pictures.  

It was hot out of the cooker and it was 
lekker en geweldig!

Street market in the city center at
Den Burg.

Here is city (town) center at Den Koog.

At Den Koog, we walked out to the sand dunes and beaches.  Alden was looking toward home thinking of Lance and the guys taking cows on the mountain Friday.  I am not sure if he is longing for home or longing for the mountain!

In Netherlands, EVERYONE take their summer vacation at the same time.  The month of July.  So, here in Den Koog, there were hundreds of people.  Germans, Danish, Netherlanders.  And this is how they camp at the beach.  

It went on as far as the eye could see.  Families out camping.

We traveled to the northern point of the island, De Cocksdrop to see the lighthouse.  We were late getting there and had only 30 minutes to walk to it, climb up it and get back down and out.  So only the Evertons and Sister Salden were brave enough for a 'fast dash' and went up the lighthouse.

Here are the Sister missionaries:  Left to Right:  Sister De Leeuw, Sister Pankratz, Sister Anderson, Sister Van Komen, Sister Robinson
Sister Salden and Sister Everton are in the lighthouse--see them?

On our way down to the car, we walked past this great 'family' bike.  I told Alden I want one to take back to Flowell.  Not sure if I would put grandkids in it, or let Alden peddle me to church in three years--or both!

Look at the size of that child's seat--they look like they are for dolls.


It was a fun day.  Thanks Missionaries for planning the outing.  The Anderson's and the Salden's are leaving for home in the next 30 days or so.  We love you and you will be sorely missed.