24-30 September 2011

On 24 September, we drove to Leeuwarden for the commemoration of the first baptisms in the Netherlands 150 years ago. These are the elders serving in the Apeldoorn Zone. Leeuwarden is in the Apeldoorn Zone.

This monument was erected about 50 years ago. The little canal in front of the monument is where the first three people were baptized. This town is about 2.5 hours north of us.

These are all the elders in the Apeldoorn Zone singing during the service.

This a re-creation of a picture taken at the dedication of the monument. President Brubaker and Elder Boom, our Area Authority Seventy, are in the center.

We drove to Leeuwarden with Elder and Sister Beckstrand. Sister Bekstrand surprised Paula with this little quilt she made. It's hard to see, but the quilt has a windmill, a tulip, a wooden shoe, a swan and a little Dutch boy and girl, all done by hand. I (Paula) was so touched by this labor of love. It is something I will always cherish.

Saturday evening we were invited to dinner at the Stigter's and this was dessert . Lill is Autralian and this is an Australian dessert. It's kind of like a fruit pizza, but the base is not pastry, it's meringue, with cream and fruit on top. It's also very delicious.

Zora Brobbey was baptized Sunday afternoon. Behind her are all the goodies brought by the branch, including a beautiful cake made by Lill Stigter. The Brobbeys are a wonderful family in our branch. The church was filled with people; non-members and members.

Monday was the culmination of months of planning. We have been able to purchase eleven new cars in the past year and we shipped some of the old ones off on Monday. We loaded four of the cars in Leiden and then I met the truck in Brussels and we loaded the last one. This is just down the street from the old Brussels office. I was really concerned how we would find a place big enough for this truck to load the last car.

The Brubakers had all the senior couples to a kind of open house at the mission home as many of them had never seen it. We had a wonderful dinner and a delightful time together. It was kind of sad as we said good-bye to some of our dear friends as we won't see them before we leave.

Here is the second table with the rest of the senior couples and the Brubakers.

We went early one morning to Aalsmeer, a town about 30 mins north of us to the Flora Holland flower auction - the biggest one in the world. This building was huge - the size of 120 football fields. They export flowers all over the world. The most popular flowers are first roses, then chrysanthemums, then tulips, and then lilies. These are boxes and boxes of anthyriums, boxed up ready to be shipped.

These little trains would drive these layered carts of flowers all over the huge warehouse.

We were on a raised walkway (catwalk) and could look down and see everything that was going on. This is the line of carts filled with flowers that was going into the auction area for people to bid on.

There were big rooms with tons of computers where people would make their bids. On the big screens in front you can see the flowers they were currently bidding on with the carts of the same flowers underneath. these carts move at about a slow walk's pace, so there isn't long to bid on the flowers.

You really cannot imagine how colorful and beautiful the scene is as you look down from the catwalk unto all the flowers.

I wished I could capture the smell and put it on the blog - it was heavenly.

It seemed that there was every type of flower. The flowers come primarily from the Netherlands, Kenya, Ethiopia, Israel and South America.

The flowers are exported all over the world. This auction is only a few minutes from the Amsterdam airport. This is one of six auctions in the Netherlands, but the only one open to the public. We have one here in Rijnsburg that just celebrated their 100th anniversary.

I wanted a close-up of some flowers so took this picture of a bouquet at the entrance of the tour. It was truly gorgeous to view this auction.

On Friday the Brubakers had an open house for all their neighbors. They wanted us there, along with our branch president, our stake president, and several couples in our branch to mingle with the neighbors. I went over early to help prepare the food for it. This is Roliyne, Sister Brubaker's helper in the kitchen, who was working with us.

Sis Brubaker makes an amazing vegetable basket that she learned how to do in France. Here are more of the items we had for them to eat.

I made two kinds of cookies and she had others there, too.

These are the cute cupcakes a neighbor made along with beautiful sunflowers.
The weather couldn't have been more perfect - beautiful, sunny day and so the open house in the evening was partially inside and partially outside. Lots of neighbors came and we were able to share a little about what we do with them. We all felt like it was a great success. The visitors stayed until after 10 pm! We had about ten times more food than we needed, but the elders will eat lots of it on Monday.