Dear Family,
This past week, we drove to Antwerp where we did training and an audit with our AAA.
We stopped in Cologne to eat lunch on our way to Antwerp. It was such good food made right there in this little restaurant.
We, also, got to see the HUGE Cologne Cathedral there! It was begun in 1248 and is Gothic in design. Inside, one of the items that everyone wants to see is the huge gold box which is said to have the bones of the Three Wise Men inside. Very interesting!
Inside, one of the items that everyone wants to see is the huge gold box which is said to have the bones and some of their clothing of the Three Wise Men inside. Very interesting!
Pictures showing the destruction of the Cologne Cathedral after the war and the rebuilding.
When we arrived at our AAA's home, he and his wife fixed us a wonderful Belgian meal.
The next day, while the men were doing training in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Ingrid, the AAAs' wife and I were able to spend the entire day in The Hague Temple.
Ingrid is a worker there, and wow! She ran the entire day--they were so short-handed!
She and her husband are a very interesting couple! He is from Wales with a very British accent--sometimes it's hard to even tell what he is saying! She is from Belgium, has a PhD in Hebrew, has lived in Israel for six years, did her dissertation on the Lost Tribes, and has a Book of Mormon in Hebrew, which she has read many times. They have two unmarried children who are both working and going to school. Anyway, they just couldn't have been kinder to us! They cooked traditional Belgian food for us and took us to all the churches, temple, and places of interest if we had time. So, it was great to have someone who knew where they were going. I'm glad that after the training, the guys got to come back to the temple so that they at least were able to do one session. It is always a wonderful experience to meet members in all of these places and hear their conversion stories and see how strong they are in their faith and willingness to work hard.
That evening, we ate a wonderful meal and then stayed in a hotel in Amsterdam.
The next morning, we attended church at a ward in Amsterdam, after which the men did the audit there.
After church and when the audit was finished, we made our way to the Kinderdijk--a UNESCO World Heritage site of 19 windmills that have helped keep Holland from flooding since 1740.
The modern way of helping to controll the water so that the country isn't flooded.
It was really a cold, wet weekend, but we were thrilled to be able to go to Kinderdijk in the Netherlands--a UNESCO World Heritage site of 19 windmills that have helped keep Holland from flooding since 1740. We braved the elements long enough to tell that it definitely is a place we would like to return to because we didn't get a chance to go inside the windmills and see how the caretakers live as they manage their very important job.
We were treated to a wonderful dinner again and got to meet our AAA's family pets. What very kind people they all were to us! We appreciated them so much!
The huge, new Nike factory is in Belgium. It just went on forever!
This past week, we had our Senior Missionary Zone Conference on Wednesday where the president of our Area, President Johnson, spoke to us. Afterwards, we had a Zone picture, which I have included. You can see how many Senior Missionaries there are here! That's the reason we don't get to interact with the young missionaries like we did in Russia--which we really miss. There are just so many Seniors, all of our meetings are together. There are so many wonderful people who have come from all over in so many different capacities of service. We have made some wonderful friends in both areas that we have served that we will never forget!
To my left, is the new couple, the Rigbys from Heber City, who are relatives through William F. Rigby, of course. They have just arrived and are such wonderful people doing church history here in Frankfurt.
Hopefully, this week we can calm things down a little and just have normal work time. I think we are both exhausted, but it is a good exhaustion that comes from feeling that you really were able to accomplish a lot.
Tomorrow, January 29th is our grandson, Riley's birthday! I LOVE how he LOVES to learn! I just am amazed how he Googles things to find out how to do things. One Sunday, he, Kennedy, and Dawsy were outside making bricks from straw and mud--in their Sunday clothes, no less, because Riley had learned how to make bricks. I just about died laughing! I told him his Great-great-great-great grandfather helped make bricks for Brigham Young's Beehive House, so he came by this talent naturally! Hah! He is learning to play the piano, violin, and loves basketball and soccer. Happy Birthday, Riley! We surely LOVE you!
And on Saturday, is our granddaughter, Sydney's birthday! I can't believe she is turning 18! I keep remembering the time when I had to watch her while her parents and Gpa George went to General Conference. I say "had" to because she had so many monitors and contraptions on that I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to take care of her like I should. It made me so scared! But here she is, soon graduating and starting college. She is such an incredibly talented, smart young lady! I can't wait to see where all of this talent and drive take her! Happy Birthday, to our beautiful Sydney!
That's it for this week! We send our LOVE to all of you! Keep working hard and keeping the faith!
Love, Gma Laura
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