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!

On The Road Again

Yes, we were on the road again last Friday as we closed down our apartment in Eindhoven and moved to our permanent (we think) home in Deventer (pronounced Day' ven ter). Deventer is a city located in the Dutch province of Overijssel and is situated on the east bank of the Ijssel river (pronounced ice'l).  It's population in 2014 was 98,500.  It is an old city dating  back to 768 when an English missionary named Lebuinus built a wooden church on the east bank of the river Ijssel.  In January 772, the sack and burning of this church by a Saxon expedition was the cause for the first punitive war waged by Charlemagne against the Saxons.  The village of Deventer became important because a trading route crossed the Ijssel river at Deventer. While there are now bridges that cross the river they still have a ferry that takes people over and back.  The city was looted and burned by the vikings in 882. It was immediately rebuilt and fortified with an earthen wall, remnants of which remain and have been excavated and restored.  There are many buildings in the city dating back to the 1500 and 1600s. The Saint Nicholas Church (still in use) dates back to 1200 a.d.  The streets are all either brick or cobblestone and many of the streets are very narrow.  Enough about Deventer.

We have attended our ward in Apeldoorn (about 10 miles from Deventer), met with our district full-time missionaries, and had a family home evening and our first institute class with our young adults. Everyone we have met have been friendly and welcoming and we are excited to get into our calling full-time.  Our apartment is large and nice. On the main floor we have a large kitchen, a nice living room, and a large dining area for the YSAs and Elders.  Our apartment is the YSA center and we hold FHE here for the YSAs on Monday night and institute on Friday night.  On Monday's we provide FHE treats and on Fridays we provide a dinner. We also have the elder's district meeting here on Tuesday mornings and take turns with the Elders in providing a lunch following their meeting.

The Kleins, the couple we replaced, were with us through Wednesday, Nov. 11, when they left to return to the states.  We held our first institute class last evening (Friday the 13th) :-(    It actually went well.  There are several people called to teach institute so we don't have to do it, except on rare occasions. Last night a brother named Hans Noot taught.  He is a full-time Church employee over seminaries and institutes in this area.  He parked his car in Arnhem (about 26 miles from Deventer) and biked to our class in Deventer (just for the exercise and he says it's a beautiful ride).  The dutch people love to ride bikes.  I think there are more bikes per capita in the Netherlands than in any other country in the world.  We had 13 in attendance at institute (3 YSAs, 4 full-time elders, 2 full-time sister missionaries, the teacher, a guest and ourselves.  Before the lesson we provided a dinner.  Susan made sesame chicken, fried rice, served with brussels sprouts, fresh pineapple and a carrot cake for dessert. 

Looking ahead to the coming week:  Sunday we have church in Apeldoorn at 9:30 a.m. and also a meeting with all YSAs from the mission in Breda at 3:00 p.m. They hold this meeting one Sunday each month. Then we have our FHE with the YSAs on Monday evening.  On Wednesday we have zone conference with the full-time missionaries in Zwolle.  Us and another couple are responsible for feeding everyone at the zone conference (30 to 35 people).  We're planning on beef stroganoff.  Then on Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday morning there is a semi-annual YSA camp for all YSA's in the mission. We are to attend but do not have specific assignments at this event.  It's a pretty full week. 

Susan said if you have any hints for easy meals she would love you to pass them along.  We are having a wonderful time and loving our mission.  The people are soooo nice and the country is beautiful.  We are grateful to be members of the Church and know that it is truly the Church of Jesus Christ. We love the Lord and our Father in Heaven who is watching over and caring for us.  We also love and miss all of you.

Elder and Sister Hill

  A picture of Deventer from across the river 

A Deventer street at night

A canal in Deventer

Getting Settled in Deventer

We have just moved to Deventer and are being "trained" by the Kleyns before they return home to South Ogden this Wednesday.  They are a wonderful couple.  Deventer is an older city with tons of character in architecture and quaint small streets.  We went for a short walk yesterday morning to get our bearings alittle.  When the Kleyns came on their mission, they were dropped off and had to go it alone.  I will be anxious to show you more next week. 

I am attaching some photos of some of the sights we have enjoyed.

We attended a performance of the Singing Elders of our mission.  This is Elder Hunter, a 'son' of the Wadleys from the UK.. He does love that family.  It was superb performance.

An entrance to a quaint flower shop. There are many here in Holland.

  The fountain is in the Hague here in Holland.

We made a trip to Brussels, Belgium to register and the one pic is of the center square there.  The buildings are faced in gold; hence the square is called Gold Square.  Elder Cook is the center missionary; he is from Viewmont and is one of those sharp Office Elders.

We visited a Sr couple for training up north in Gronegan and this was the view out their living room window.  This is a barge or Freighter boat loaded with grain or some commodity going up to Germany.  It sits low in the water so you know it is loaded.  The family lives on one end where the windows show.  At a closer look you can see their car on top.  A crane hoists the car to land when the family needs to go places when they dock.  Such a Life!!

In front of a country home where we found work shoes.

We had the Primary Program today in our new ward. The music made me cry as I thought of our own class and the program in our own ward and the music with its words.  Music speaks to you even when you don't understand the language.  The Primary songs were once again great this year.

David is picking up more and more of the language and we will find ourselves busier and engaged in our mission here in Deventer after this months training.  We still have traveling to Belgium to do for licenses, but it will be a few weeks yet.

We send our love and gratitude for your help.

Well, Here We Are

Well, here we are, actually into missionary life in the Netherlands.  We arrived in Amsterdam on October 10th and spent our first 2 1/2 days at the mission office and mission home receiving instructions, getting Registered with local authorities, and taking a driving test (we needed to learn European road signs, etc.).  We then were sent to Eindhoven, where we will take up temporary residence for one month.  Eindhoven is a city in the southeastern part of the Netherlands, only about 15 miles from the Belgium border.

It's seems like we have been on the road almost every day since we arrived.  We've put approximately 1,000 miles on our car since we got here, traveling to Belgium twice, to the west coast of Holland (near Rotterdam and The Hague) three times, traveling to do cleanliness inspections at four missionary apartments, and traveling to a neighboring city to teach YSA institute, etc.  The mission president has asked us to spend a day or two with each of three other couples serving in the mission to get some training. We've spent a couple of days with a wonderful couple in Belgium last week and will leave tomorrow for a couple of days with a couple in Groningen, the furthermost north city in the mission.  We've also been to stake conference in Brussels and attended a mission temple day in The Hague.

Shopping has been a whole new experience.  The first day at the grocery store we spent over two hours trying to decipher food labels and names of spices.  Susan has prepared some great treats for the YSA students at institute (strawberry shortcake and apple crisp).  We typically have seven or eight in attendance.  Several of them are returned missionaries.  They are all great; we have enjoyed being with them

On November 6th we will be transferring from Eindhoven to Deventer which is more in central Holland.  Unless otherwise directed, that is where we will probably spend the rest of our mission.  We love and miss you all, but are grateful for our mission experience (so far 😊).

Another view of Noah's Ark with animals in the windows

Another Windmill

Church in Dordrecht, Holland

Eating at an open air market in Belgium

Noah's Ark.An actual to-scale replica... Real Thing 

Row of typical old Dutch homes

View from our kitchen window of our apartment 

Windmills at kinderdijk near Rotterdam