Op Zending

Yesterday we had John Mbu and the Elders over for dinner again. They are becoming part of the family now. As I was serving dinner I noticed that our plates do not match the soup bowls and that I really don't have enough glasses for everyone to have the same style glass. Oh No!.........O.K. so how petty has life become when we start worrying about whether or not the dishes match and heaven forbid if we don't have a center piece on the table? Reality really hit me last night when we found out that John had been evicted from his room at the place he has called home. He came back to his place with the Elders and his clothes and everything he owned were piled on the sidewalk. He and the man he shared a room with at this deplorable cockroach infested place were evicted for not paying rent. John and the rest of the residents in the place are all here without legal papers and really have no way of earning money because anyone hiring them could be fined and required to pay for a ticket to send the illegal worker back to his home country. (Some work "Black" hoping not to be found out). Most of them are afraid to go outside for fear of being "picked up". The whole place holds dozens of people and they all share one kitchen. Now John is planning on crashing on the floor of that kitchen until he can find another place to live. We have been told by the Mission Pres. that in no way are we to give them money, but it is difficult to watch people you care about struggling. I try to fill his stomach and send food home with him but that seems like such a small thing to do. Each Elder as he leaves for another city will leave clothes and shoes for him and several other men in the same situation.

After dinner we met with a young woman who's life is falling apart. She has an Autistic 20 year old son, an 18 year old daughter who lives with a 42 year old man, a six year old little girl and a three year old little boy who is probably also autistic. She has health problems caused by a tick bite years ago and receives assistance from the state. She has no help from the two ex-husbands/fathers of the children...... So why am I telling you all of this? I could actually tell you about a dozen more stories along the same line but am sparing you those details. I am hoping that all of us will remember the important things in our lives and not those trivial things that consume our time and energy. I am so grateful for the life I and my children have had. We have never been without food or a roof over our heads, we have had more than we have really needed to make our life very comfortable. I have been blessed with a husband who has been more than willing to work hard to give us all the necessary things in our lives as well as the comforts and luxuries we think are so important. I have always felt the love of my family and friends around me and have never felt alone, not just because of the loved ones in my life but because I know beyond a doubt that I have a Heavenly Father who cares for me, watches over me and loves me enough to bless me and to also place in my path those trials and challenges I have needed in life to help me grow.

There will always be people around us who will need our help and we must help them when we can and pray for them continually. Hopefully we can learn from them and learn to appreciate all those things that truly are important in this journey here on earth.

There are "Frituurs" (fry shops) in every small town and tons of them here in Antwerp. Fries as well as anything else that can be tossed into a fryer are very popular here and can even be delivered as you can see. There is even one across the street from this old castle

The visit with Habiba and the Relief Society Pres. Friday night went really well. She could open up to us a bit more than when the Elders are there. She went with us to Brussels yesterday for our stake conference and she said she enjoyed it. Our Mission Pres. Woodland and Sister Woodland spoke briefly. Sister Woodland asked all the missionaries to stand and it always puts a lump in my throat when I see all those Elders standing there with their huge smiles. We have really become attached to some of these "boys"

I thought I would include a picture of the planter Habiba brought us when she came to dinner last week. I have actually been able to keep plants alive here as you can see.

We try to make it to Holland every chance we get and that means about once a week. I always feel better once we cross the border into our "Home Land" O.K. so I'm a bit prejudiced but that place is really pretty. More flowers and just a cleaner place all together. The windows are shiny, the sidewalks are clean and the small yards they do have are manicured and full of color.

We made it out to see the dunes and the ocean today. We walked along the dunes and enjoyed some sunshine for a change. A bit cold and windy but still great. Ben remembers walking along the dunes when he was young and watching the boats sail off into nowhere. I remember when the dunes were only a hill of sand and not paved for a bike path. If you look really close out to sea, you might be able to see England. (not really)

We also found this windmill that had the date of 1817 on the front. Every once in a while we can see a windmill that is actually turning.

Let me introduce you to Habiba. Her family came to Belgie from Morocco two generations ago. She was raised Muslim and left home when she was 18 years old. She really has no contact with her family. Years ago she was introduced to the Jehovah Witness and joined them. We have decided that she is not very strong in her faith because she would not have listened to the Missionaries or would she have agreed to take the lessons AND read the Book of Mormon if she were strong in her beliefs. Accepting any literature from us is totally forbidden. It has been fun to watch her learn a new concept every now and then. She will not be one who will jump at the chance to be baptized but that is O.K. We would really like to see her be converted first. We had her and the Elders come to dinner last Friday and it was a great evening and full of questions. She asked me to find a "Good Mormon Man" for her. It may be hard to do that here because there are not that many "Good" ones available in Belgie. She is 31 years old and she was not happy to hear that the Elders were all SO young. The Relief Society President and I will be visiting her this evening so they can get to know each other better. She has been coming to church for the last couple of months and has even been to a baptism. She seems to be very open to the spirit. I watched a couple of Conference sessions with her (Translated into Nederlands of course) and she was very impressed with all she saw and heard. I'm really happy that Ben is so well read because she can really come up with some terrific questions. I'm afraid that the young Elders and I would not have been able to answer them to her satisfaction. She has even come to a couple of parties which really gave her a chance to get to meet the members of the ward.

Elder L. Tom Perry told the story in conference last week of the sheep who was stuck on a ledge. He mentioned that perhaps it would have been a good idea to have the shepherd there to calm the animal while the rescuers were attempting to get him down the mountain. It reminded me of how most sheep will come when they hear the shepherd's call because they know his voice.

I read a story of how Arabian Horses are trained to listen to the commands of their trainers. The horses are worked for three days without stopping for food or water. At the end of the three days they are led to an area with food and water and are released. They immediately race to the long awaited reward. Just short of reaching their destination, they are commanded to STOP. The ones who ignore the command and continue on are not considered worthy of their keep. The horses who obey the command and stop in their tracks are the ones who are worthy of being called true Arabian Horses.

So.....are we willing to listen to that voice or have we just ignored it so many times that we no longer recognize it?

We get the chance to talk about the "Light of Christ" and the "Holy Ghost" daily. It has been very rewarding to help people recognize the spirit when they feel it. I remember helping my children to recognize that feeling as they were growing up. It has been so good for me to be more in tune everyday. The lesson I will be teaching in Relief Society tomorrow will be "God Shall Be with you Forever and Ever" I will try not to forget that. I will also try to remember to listen for the voice of the spirit to not only guide me but also to comfort me.

When the Elders call and say: "Wouldn't it be nice if we took a treat to all the investigators and new members? We can come over and help you bake something. By the way we only have about 10 minutes to help." O.K. so I fell for it, again. These guys remind me of my kids when they would wake up and tell me they have to bring cookies to school today. It's a good thing I keep supplies on hand or we would all be in trouble. Of course I know I had better make extras for the Elders so they will not feel left out. It is actually really funny to see how the locals react when they find out that the plate of cookies is "home made" It seem that no one bakes here and you really get a big "thank you" for anything you make.

On Monday (second Easter day) there will be an Easter Brunch at the ward. This is a tradition the Relief Society started years ago so it will be interesting to see just what they will serve for brunch. It has to be pretty simple because they only asked me to come two hours early to help prepare it. I will fill you in on the menu after the big event. (Probably Belgian Waffles)