Young Single Adult Camp, Getting ready for more missionaries, two new missionary couples

We started out the month of August with six days at a young single adult camp.  We attended the camp last year as well and this year, we were the only couple who had been there before.  The camp is held at a group camping facility located on a working dairy farm.  There is a large building with meeting rooms, dormitory-style bedrooms and a commercial kitchen.  Some of the couples and kitchen workers stayed in a villa next door.

This year, there were only about 60 young single adults attending (about half of the number who attended last year).  This was due to a number of marriages (great success story) and the fact that there was an Especially for Youth (EFY) activity held the week before where many of the Young Singles (Jovos) were counselors.

The conference was well organized by the committee chaired by Bart Torfs from the Antwerp Ward.  Of course, Buddy and Beryl Gout work miracles behind the scenes.  The opening activities really got everyone working together and established a friendly, positive environment.  The week was filled with spiritual highlights and creative activities.

Introducing the camp council

The shoulder angel and devil skit. 

Outdoor activities

Buddy Gout explaining the t-shirts 

The first water race. 

The tiny cup relay 

Buddy checking the progress.

The clean-up crew. 

The Tokyo subway car activity.

The domino activity.

Polo with pool noodles.

Softball with a kickball and soaped baselines.  Too much fun.

Cold-wet weather doesn't stop fun in the Netherland and Belgium

The perpetual fussball tournament

Martial arts

Workshop on public relations. 

Elder and Sister Boom (He is our area authority seventy) 

Setting up for a sing-a-long at a rest home.

Sock knitting.

Unscheduled activities.

Fireside at a historic church in Hengelo (Gelderland)

Some were a bit tired by this time of the week.

Elder and Sister Swenson from the area office 

Our token Australian and one of our two Americans in attendance

Collecting aprons

Elder and Sister Hill 

The Kitchen crew.  They did an amazing job! 

The internationally themed dance

What do we do with extra safety vests? 

The closing testimony meeting 

The mandatory stop at the ice cream store we found last year.

The best we have found in the Netherlands.

The mission is getting a number of new elders and sisters and this has necessitated finding a number of new apartments (also for the new couples who are coming).  We were asked to help the elders and sisters in Groningen to swap apartments so that the old elders' apartment could be used to accommodate two sets of sisters.  I had to make a couple of trips between the apartments to get the luggage and other items moved.  I also located a clothing recycling drop to help clear out the clutter from previous missionaries.  The sisters did a great job of cleaning out their old apartment and then did more work when they got to the new one to clean out more clutter and make it a charming place to stay.

The Elders doing a little remedial cleaning and receiving the "crotch itch" cream from the Sisters since it had been left behind.

We also hosted two new couples arriving in the mission - the Christensens and the Reeves.  President Bunnell got the idea of sending the couples to work with more experienced couple for a few days at the beginning of their missions.  We were fortunate to be fluent in the language when we arrived, but neither of the two couples had any language experience with Dutch.  We have found that it is helpful for them to learn a little local culture, learn where to shop and how to buy things they need, and to work with the Young Single Adults.

We decided to take the Christensens into the center of Groningen by bicycle and they rented bicycles in our neighborhood to go with us.  They enjoyed kibbeling (bits of cod that are deep fried), poffertjes (small round Dutch pancakes) and mustard soup (a Groningen specialty).  The next day, we took them to a local wooden shoe factory and then on to the monument commemorating the first baptisms in the Netherlands in October 1861.

They were working hard on the language and we were very impressed with their cultural flexibility.  They lived in the Philippine and Hong Kong where Elder Christensen worked as an architect for the Church.

On Sunday, August 21, we were blessed to hear Sister Leonie Stein report on her mission to Scotland and Ireland.  She gave a wonderful report and there were lots of visitors there.  We will be blessed to have her here in Groningen where she will attend the University.

The following Monday, Elder and Sister Reeve arrived to spend a few days with us.  We enjoyed having their support and help as we worked with the young single adults.  They will help in the office and also work with the Young Single Adults in Amsterdam.

On Tuesday, we held the last district class of the transfer.  This district has been especially close and everyone in the district enjoys singing.  That made Sister Caldwell especially happy.  Here is the last picture of the district together.  You can also hear us singing in the one below.

Since the weather improved this week, we decided to take them to Giethoorn for a little cultural immersion.  We prepared them by showing them the film, "Fanfare" which put Giethoorn on map.

At the Fanfare restaurant where they have props from the film. 

The banner from the film. 

On Thursday, August 25, we had the missionaries from Groningen over for breakfast and a planning meeting to figure out the proselyting areas for the three companionships.  It looks like the missionaries are off to a fast start with all of the changes in the mission this transfer.

It is hard to believe that we have been out fifteen months and only have eight months left on our mission.  It certainly makes us happy that we signed up for 23 months instead of 18.  We have enjoyed working both in Belgium and in Groningen.