27 August-2 September 2011

This is Pieterskerk, a Protestant church in Leiden that we first went to for the Thanksgiving ceremony last year. This is the church that the Pilgrims worshiped in, when they lived in Leiden. I've been wanting to go back since we live here now and we finally did last Saturday. We wandered around Leiden, through cute little streets and by the big market. It was raining quite a bit but we had our umbrellas. I love this church.

We decided to go into a windmill museum on our way back to the office where we had parked. This was the downstairs kitchen area - the family lived in the base of the windmill.
At one time there were over 10,000 windmills in the Netherlands. Now there are about 900.

Just a cute little picture thing they had on the wall of the family living quarters in the windmill.

At the top of the windmill, you could walk out on a balcony thing and this is the view of Leiden that you see. The steps going up floor after floor were extremely narrow and steep - almost felt like you were climbing a ladder.

This is Rhodos, our favorite Greek restaurant not far from the office.

It's been transfer week this week so here are our three new elders who arrived on Tuesday morning. The Assistants are the ones closest; the three new elders are further down the table, dutifully filling out all their forms.
They eat lunch in the office, do a little finding, then go home for a nap at the mission home. Then they come back and we go out to dinner at a pannekoeken house in Leiden, which is always yummy, eating the Dutch pancakes.
The next day the new elders left for their areas and two old missionaries came in for their last day. We joined them and the Brubakers at the mission home for their final dinner and testimony meeting. It's kind of strange to realize that the next time we do this, we will be the ones leaving.

A picture from our balcony of the big trees and how they're turning colors and already dropping their leaves - seems kind of early for fall, but it's really starting to feel like it.

Sis Brubaker and I went to this store and restaurant to pick up sandwiches for the Zone Leader's council. I couldn't resist taking a picture of the beautiful chocolates.

Everything in this restaurant was displayed so beautifully.

More chocolates - you'd think we were in Belgium!

The Zone Leaders having their meeting in the Mission Home. It was a very inspiring meeting with the missionaries receiving counsel from Pres Brubaker on praying more sincerely, utilizing the returned missionaries in their wards, and many other words of wisdom.

Here is the yummy lunch we provided.

This is a little Chinese restaurant we have been to a few times - it is right around the corner from where we live.

Just a cool little street in our town with a view of our church tower in the distance.

A cute Dutch row house along this street.