Late August

This is Elder Calkins and Brownell who live in Utrecht. Their apartment run-down and is in the middle of a minority neighborhood. We just got done replacing the wall plug that used to be hanging on the wall by the electrical wires. The cord goes into the shower room where the washer is also located.

We made a trip to St. Niklaas, Belgium with Elder Sanford so he could get some dental work done. After we went to a local Turkish Doner (Shawarma) shop for dinner. The bread and pita are made fresh every day. Tasty with or without meat. For 4 Euro ($7.5) you have a great meal.

This is the view of the old church in Dordrecht as we ride our bikes to church or to the bridge.



On our second trip over the bridge we again heard the buzzer just as we crossed the draw bridge. We got to the other side of the draw bridge so we could take these pictures.



We were standing right next to the bridge as it lowered. The motors and mechanical parts that caused the bridge to raise and lower were very quiet for such a large and heavy structure.



Peter has told us to visit the beach at Hoek van Holland (Corner of Holland). We were in Rotterdam at the end of the day so we headed to the Hoek. It was sunset. People were swimming in the water - think of the water temperature in San Francisco bay.
We drove East of the beach to a walkway on the river leading into the Rotterdam harbor. Huge boats were coming and going as the sun set. Some were ferry boats where you drive your car onto the boat, then check into a room on the boat to sleep until the morning where you find your self at your destination and drive away.

Our next door neighbors are from Iraq. They are probably refugees. They have been here about 10 years and learned to speak Nederlands. Sister Everton gave them some sweet rolls. These kids returned in a few days with some pastries with meat and cheese. Sister Everton returned their plate with oreo cookies. That was a few weeks ago. When we got home, thier kitchen drapes were parted enough that they could see us arrive. A few minutes after we closed our door the bell rang. The kids were at the door with a Turkish pizza. The crust is a soft, fresh home-made pita with spicy tomato and meat sauce. I need to learn how to make it.

Peter's walk on the river

We have Peter and the Sisters over for dinner every week, normally on Saturday. This time he brought flowers for Sister Everton. She loves the blue flowers. They reminder her of the flowers on Lombard street in San Fransico.

Peter wanted to take us to his favorite spot on the river. We parked by the harbor just as the moon was coming up.



We started down a path that had the river on one side and lakes on the other. Sometimes there was a small beach on the river side.




It got darker and darker. Peter loved it. When he was younger he would walk several hours to come to this spot and then sleep over night. It really lifted his spirit to be here.



Elder Everton's Birthday

My Birthday happened to fall on the same day as district meeting. I was surprised at how thoughtful they were. The sisters made cupcakes and candles. Sister Everton made cheese cake. Each companionship had a gift for me. The sisters gave me matching hot pads and apron with blue Dutch scenes on them. The zone leaders gave me a tie. They added a birthday greeting on the back of the tie. Utrech Elders gave me a nice card. The Den Bosch Elders gave Sister Everton and me a boat ride on the Den Bosch canals. Everyone went with us on the canal ride as a district outing. Here they are singing "Lang zal je leven" which is the Nederlands equivalent to Happy Birthday. After singing they each said something nice about me. I was surprised how nice it all was. I might have to reconsider having birthdays in the future.



The boat ride was on an electric boat. Here you can see the reflection of the water on the undeside of a bridge.



The canals wind under the old city of Den Bosch



It was warm sunny day. After the boat ride, Elder Calkins wanted an Italian ice. No one else was too interested. Some had no money left.  He and I walked down the narrow road checking out the options. We found what looked to be a good shop. It was busy so once we got service, I told the person helping us 'te samen' which means one order. The group realized Elder Everton was buying and all popped up to get thier favorite flavor. It was the best part of my birthday. 



Sister Everton got mango and I got lemon in honor of Desi who introduced me to lemon ice at Trevi fountain in Rome. Actually, I think lemon is my favorite now. I have my birthday tie on.

As we left the old town we passed the gold dragon that stands in the main round-about in front of the train station. I am not sure what the dragon means.

Early August

We helped the Elders Schulte, Bastian, Mueller and Favero move from an apartment on the North side of Amsterdam to a location on the South by the church. One thing they took with them was this surf board with signatures of the Elders who had stayed in the apartment. You might recognize this pose from a Beach Boy's album.

Peter made illustrations of the story of Lehonti for the sister missionaries.

Peter brought raw herring for our dinner. Sister Wassenaar on the right loved it but she is Nederlands. Sister Jeffs took one bite and turned green as did Sister Everton. I ate a bunch so we would not have it in the fridge. It was great with raw onions. Pictures of our grand children are on the blue door so we can see them often.



We went to the flower parade in Rijnsburg were we used to live. Most of the flower export goes through Rijnsburg so businesses sponser this parade every year. It was an hour long with every float and car covered with beautiful flowers.

Here I am working on Elder Schwartz's bike in Eindhoven (1 hour drive). He had a flat rear tire and rotting front tire. I replace both but it took three tries over a few days. The back was a different size than the front and then turned out to be a strange size so it was hard to find a replacement. Then we needed to adjust the brakes. I heard a few week later the bike was stolen. It was an old bike. Elder Schwartz had a big lock on it but the thief cut the lock. Big problem for the missionaries here.