We were in a small village in Northern Holland where some women still where traditional costumes.

We had a senior couples outing to an old fisherman village, (Volendam) and look what happens when you get a bunch of kids together!☺😉

The time seems to be flying  by for Sister Hill and I here in the Netherlands.  It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating the end  of winter (February was over) and now it's mid-May.  Holland is beautiful in the spring.  We started seeing daffodils and crocuses growing in lawns and in parkways between the city streets in early March.  They were everywhere and seem to flourish here like our weeds do back home. You can buy flowers in the open-air markets all year round. They were selling bouquets of tulips in January and they are still available today, although roses seem to be the more popular cut flower now. However, at the markets you can get about any kind of cut flower you can imagine.

April in Holland is tulip month. They actually have flower farms in Holland where tulips are raised and cross-bred and grown for their bulbs.  Then the bulbs are exported all over the world. The sale of tulip bulbs is a big business in Holland and they export millions of tulip bulbs each year.  In mid to late April you can drive through tulip growing areas where the fields are full of beautiful flowers . . . strips of yellow and pink and red and purple covering acres and acres. They have a beautiful garden on the west coast near Amsterdam called Keukenhof ("kitchen garden" in English).  It's open to visitors for about six weeks in the spring.  The tulip growers contract for spots in the garden to plant and show off their flowers. Buyers come to the garden to see new varieties of flowers. Hundreds of thousands of visitors come to the garden every year to see the gardens and enjoy the flowers. 

We spent much of April visiting Keukenhof with family and showing them this beautiful country we are serving in. As senior couples we are given a lot of leeway to travel in the mission and see the country and as family or friends come to visit we can spend time with them.  Our daughter Angela came to visit with her family (husband and 4 children) on March 25th and stayed for two weeks although they spent a few days in Amsterdam and Belgium on their own.  Then on April 9th, our daughter Amanda and her husband arrived and spent 8 days touring the country and visiting with us.  On April 16th our daughter Lindsay and her husband arrived and spent some time with us also.  While it sounds like we just partied for a month, we did take care of our missionary responsibilities while our children were here and they attended some of the missionary events and activities with us but once our responsibilities were taken care of we did go and do a lot with our children.  It was great fun.

 

In addition to having leeway to spend time with family or friends as they come to visit, senior couples can also talk to their children as often as they want.  We are not limited to calls only on Mother's Day or Christmas like the young missionaries are.  With modern technology we can Skype or Facetime and actually see and talk to our children and grandchildren as often as we want and as often as we can get hold of them. With an 8 hour time difference their nights are our days and vice versa, so it isn't always easy to reach one another. We also have fun communications with our children through a program called "Whats App."  

Because our apartment here in Deventer is actually a "Young Adult Center," it is quite large and nice.  It is two stories with a nice living room area, a large eating area, a kitchen, a "smart" TV, a piano and a small bathroom.  Upstairs we have a master bedroom and bath plus three additional bedrooms, another bath and a small area with desks for study and business. We also have a washer and dryer upstairs.  As you can tell, we are not really "roughing it."  

As a YA Center we hold meetings and classes here. Each Monday night we have a family home evening for the Young Single Adults and if possible with friends or investigators who will attend. We hold an institute class every Thursday evening.  On Tuesdays, the missionaries in our district hold their district meeting here and have lunch following their meeting. Once each month Susan prepares a meal for them and on the other weeks the missionary companionships rotate bringing food and preparing lunch for the district here. We recently have been encouraging the Elders here in Deventer to start teaching English to foreign college students that live here in Deventer and go to school here. The classes at the college in Deventer are taught in English as they are at several other colleges and universities in the Netherlands.  The tuition costs are also very reasonable and so many foreign students come here for college.  There are quite a few Asian students living here and going to school.  We have been told that in the past Elders have had good success meeting people and finding contacts by offering free English lessons to those interested students.  We designed and ordered business-type calling cards advertising free English classes for the Elders to hand out.  The Elders are excited to try it and last night they held their first English class here in the Young Adult Center. While they only had one attendee on their first night, we understand it takes a few weeks for the word to spread.  In the past Elders have had as many as 20 students attending each week.  We are hoping it will be a wonderful way to make new friends and have more opportunities to share the gospel.

In addition to the missionary responsibilities mentioned above, we try to visit with members in the Ward, both active and inactive, including the young adults.  We also have visiting teaching and home teaching assignments.  We have also been encouraged by our stake leaders to visit other near-by wards (there are 3 other wards within about 35 miles of Deventer) to meet their young adults and try to build relationships and encourage them to attend our institute whenever possible.

The members here in the Netherlands are wonderful. We love them and love the young missionaries who are serving here.  Sister Hill is popular with the missionaries.  I'm not sure if that's because of her great personality or because she cooks wonderful "American type" meals for them.  I do know that her chocolate chip cookies are becoming "legend" not only with the missionaries but also with the young adults who come to our meetings just to get her "treats."  We love the gospel and are grateful for the privilege we have of serving a full-time mission.  Know that we love and miss all our friends and neighbors from back home and think of you often. May the Lord bless each one of you. Tot Ziens.

Elder and Zuster Hill

Update 3/26/16

Sister Vander Put, wife of counselor of mission president and Beryl Gout Jovo Advisors

Corrie Van Dam David Sister Romig from Groenegan

Elder Romig, Corrie, and David

 Amy Bone, Myriam from our group, and Emma from Tillburg

February Update

Well, winter is almost over (Feb.29) and it has been a mild one here in the Netherlands.  We have had a few snow days but in each case not more than an inch and it melted quickly.  We have probably not had more than four or five days where the high temps were below 32 degrees. Some nights we get frost but the coldest it's been is 23 or 24 degrees at night.  Most of the days, our highs have been in the 40's.  I think we're going to survive our first winter here just fine. 

In late January we received a call from the mission president asking if we could help them with a different problem.  There was a sister missionary struggling with depression and anxiety attacks and we were asked if she could come and stay with us while she tried to recuperate and unwind.  That would allow her companion to be paired with someone else and continue to work rather than sit in their apartment with the sister who was struggling. We consented and so had this sister with us for about three weeks.  About one week after she joined us we got another call from the mission president.  It seems a new sister missionary arrived in the mission from the MTC and within three or four days was in the hospital with pneumonia.  They suggested she also come to our apartment and recuperate before going back out to do missionary work.  Now Elder Hill was starting to confirm other people's thinking that Mormons were polygamists (he and his three women).  Fortunately, both cases have been resolved.  The sister with depression was only three weeks away from completing a successful mission and so she was released to go home three weeks early.  The sister with pneumonia has fully recovered and is now back doing missionary work.

We hold family home evening for the Young Adults in the area each Monday evening and Institute for them on Thursday evening. Susan prepares treats every week for FHE and a dinner for the Young Adults on institute night. She also prepares or assists in preparing meals for the missionaries at zone conferences.  In February we had a zone conference in Rotterdam and she fed 60 hungry elders and sisters sloppy joes with potato salad, chips, a tossed salad and brownies.

During January a young lady from Viet Nam began attending our meetings.  The sister missionaries in our district had found her and began teaching lessons to her.  She was invited to FHE and Institute and began attending both every week.  She also began attending church on Sunday.  She was wonderful, always with a smile and happy to be around.  She was not a Christian or religious in any way but described herself as a "free thinker." She said she just wanted to gain knowledge and learn about our church.  She began reading the Book of Mormon and brought questions to institute about what she was reading, but was reluctant to pray about it.  She told us she liked to be around members because there was this wonderful feeling she had when she was with us. She was a student at the local University studying hotel management.  She received an opportunity to interview for an internship with a well-known hotel chain in Amsterdam.   Before her interview we asked her if she was nervous and she responded that she was. We suggested that if she would pray and asked Heavenly Father to bless her to be calm and confident when she interviewed He would help her.  She had the interview, got the internship, and then told us that she had prayed before her interview (I believe the first time she had ever prayed). She is now in Amsterdam and, hopefully, still attending institute and receiving missionary discussions. 

We are loving our mission.  The country is beautiful and the people are wonderful (unless you want to talk religion with them).  It is a sifting process for the missionaries, trying to find those who are humble and open to receive the message of the restored gospel.  We have seen Elder Thornock a few times now and he has become a great missionary. We think of our wonderful friends back home often.  

With love,  

Elder and Sister Hill 

A Letter To Our Grandchildren

 One of our daughters, Lindsey, sent us some stationary for Christmas for four pre-printed questions on each sheet. She asked us to write a brief note to her three children each week and answer the four questions for them.  Last week it was my turn to write to them and I got a little carried away with a bigger response than intended.  Susan thought it would be appropriate to put out on blog and asked me to forward a copy of it to you.  In putting this on the blog

Lieve Amelia, Thomas, and Miriam,

This week we have       - Cleaned our apartment.  We clean it every Monday morning.  We vacuum and mop the floors, dust the shelves, and scrub the toilets, sinks and showers.

-Attended the baptism of a lady who the missionaries had been teaching for a long time.  Have you been to a baptism to see someone baptized?

-Walked every day.  We live in the centrum (center) of a big city and we walk to the stores to shop and get groceries.  We walk a lot.

-Exercised every morning.  We have an exercise DVD that we put on TV and exercise for one-half hour every morning.

-Read the scriptures every day.  Each morning we read the scriptures.  We are reading the Book of Mormon and only have a few chapters to go until we have read the whole book.

Gone to a dutch windmill where they grind wheat and corn into flour and corn meal and we purchased some flour and corn meal.

Our Favorite Thing about this week was

Every week on Monday evening we hold Family Home Evening with the Young Adults in our area.  The missionaries who work in the area also attend when they are able.  Last Monday we had 12 people at our home for family home evening.  We always have an opening song and a prayer and a spiritual thought. Then we play games together.  Last Monday they all played UNO and had a lot of fun.  Oma makes treats for everyone and we also have candy and pretzels for everyone to snack on.

This week we met/tried/saw

We had a zone conference in a town called Zwolle.  There were about 30 missionaries there and the mission president.  Another couple missionary and us made dinner for everyone.  We served Sweet and Sour chicken on rice, lettuce salad with tomatoes and cucumbers in it (the dutch don’t think it’s salad unless it has tomatoes and cucumbers in it), rolls and chocolate chip cookies. 

Scripture/Thought of the Week

                                                      My thought for the week is actually a song.  Maybe you know it.

                                    I’m trying to be like Jesus

                                    I’m following in His ways

                                    I’m trying to do as He did

                                    In all that I do and say,

                                    At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice,

                                    But I try to listen as the still small voice whispers

                                    Love one another as Jesus loves you,

                                    Try to show kindness in all that you do

                                    Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought

                                    For these are the things Jesus taught.

                           I’m trying to be like Jesus.  Are You?

Who was the oldest person you remember as a child?

The oldest person I remember was my grandfather Wursten.  He was a wonderful man.  He was not very tall (5’6”) but he was a hard worker. He had a farm and he also milked cows and sold the milk.  He was born in Switzerland and came to America when he was a teenager.  He went back to Switzerland and served a mission.  He spoke with a German accent.  He married a young lady who was also from Switzerland and they had seven children. One of their children was your great grandma hill, opa’s mother.  I loved to help grandpa milk the cows.  He had about seven or eight cows.  Every morning and evening he would walk down the bank of a canal to the pasture where he kept the cows.  The cows would be standing at the gate ready to go to the barn.  We would open the gate and the cows would walk down the path by the canal and right into the barn. Grandpa and I would sit on the bank of the canal by an apple tree and he would tell me stories about his youth and Switzerland.  He would sit on a one legged stool to milk the cows and put his head against their side while he milked. The milk would swish into the milk bucket.  Sometimes he would squirt milk at a cat who always came to watch him milk.  He could squirt the milk right into the cat’s mouth.  He was a kind, gentle, man and I loved him.

Oma and Opa are having a wonderful time on our mission but we sure do miss all of you.  We love you very much and hope you are minding your mommy and daddy and trying to be like Jesus. 

With much love,

Christmas Traditions In The Netherlands

The Christmas traditions in the Netherlands are wonderful because they separate the celebration of Santa Claus (Sinterklaas or St. Nicolaas) from the celebration of the Savior's birth. Here, SinterKlaas comes on December 5th, bringing gifts and goodies. All the gift shopping is pretty much concluded by then.  Then there is three weeks to contemplate the birth of the Savior and celebrate Christmas which is done with Christmas trees, Christmas carols, etc. culminating in Christmas concerts in the Church's and wonderful family dinners on December 25th.  In Deventer they also have a Dicken's Festival for two days in December (this year on the 19th and 20th) where many residents dress in Dickens Era costumes (old English) and there are concerts, and parades and shows.  The Dickens festival has become so well known that hundreds of thousands of people come to Deventer to participate, from all over Europe.  They have to control the crowds limiting the number of people that can enter the area  and we are told the wait can sometimes be 1 1/2 to 2 hours, just to be allowed to enter the area of the city where the festival takes place.

Anyway, back to Sinterklaas. Tradition has it that SinterKlaas or St. Nikolaas, a Catholic Saint from Spain, arrives in Holland on a boat from Spain.  He then rides through the streets on a white horse, accompanied by a bunch of helpers called Zwarte Pete's (Black Pete's), all colorfully dressed, singing, dancing, and handing out treats to the children.  The evening of the 5th, the children set their shoes outside their door with treats for Sinterklaas' horse (apples, carrots, etc.).  Then, during the night, Sinterklaas comes and leaves gifts and treats for the family.

In Deventer, where we are serving, the arrival of Sinterklaas on December 5th was a major event. We live next to the Ijssle river (pronounced ice 'l) which is a major inland waterway for shipping and a perfect river for Sinterklaas to arrive on.  On December 5th we went down to the river to watch the arrival of the good Saint.  The festivities started about 9:00 a.m. Sinterklaas music played over loud speakers and two hosts with microphones communicated with the gathering crowd.  By 9:30 a.m. the river was lined with 1,000's of excited children and their parents.  Many of the young children were dressed in Zwarte Pete costumes. By 9:30 a.m. boats started arriving with dozens of Zwarte Pete's on each boat, some with bands playing.  There were even speed boats with Zwarte Pete's zipping around the area. The boats circled the area with the Zwarte Pete's dancing and waving to the crowd. It was fun to see the excitement of the children as they danced around and sang Sinterklaas songs with the music being broadcast and awaited the arrival of Sinterklaas.  Finally, about 10:00 a.m. the boat from Spain arrived with the good Saint on board. After leaving the boat he walked up and down the river, greeting children, while the host of Zwarte Pete's moved through the crowd handing out handfulls of candy and goodies to the children.  Then it was off to the city where there were carnivals and bounce houses and toys for the children and a Sinterklaas parade presided over by the good Saint on a white horse.

I have attached some photos of Sinterklaas, the Zwarte Pete's and the parade.

Getting Acquainted With Deventer

I wrote a message this morn and Poof it erased out of nowhere! I was disheartened but am taking great courage and trying again.
We have been getting acquainted with Deventer and learning the ropes on getting around. The Kleyn's the couple we replaced, breezed in and out of these streets without a flaw. Elder Hill and I have been lost a few times; in the dark and midday even. It gets dark at 4:30 on the dot,so let me clarify myself by saying we are not out in the middle of the night. They have great street lamps and little maps you can get for free . We are enjoying being here, the single adults and the missionaries.
Our drive to church through the country is Beautiful. Our ward is great. I don't understand much and David finds himself in the same boat lots of the time. At times he can interpret for me, and there is a literal Dutch translator who has children in Utah that helps me thru Relief Society. They showed a great Nativity video in RS last week, and tho it is not the new one, I had not seen it. I loved it for many reasons. We have a Christmas dinner and a Christmas program and one on Christmas morning for an hour. They said it is traditional in Holland and where it is their second Christmas it is fitting.There first Christmas is this Friday Dec 5 Sinterklaas Day. We are going down and watching Sinterklaas arrive by boat on the Issyl river.  The day has a parade and activities all day long.
We are loving the privilege of working with the missionaries who come in and out of our home throughout the week. They could be your own sons and daughters in the field who are giving it their all and loving the work. We have transfers in two weeks and I will be sad to let this group go, but I am sure others will come in and fill their places with their own flair.
Our YSA group has not come out as much since the Kleyns' left . We keep the home fires burning and a welcome sign out and make the contacts, hopefully they will warm up to us!
We are fine.  We are blessed to be here in Deventer. Have a wonderful month!