Happy 4th of July!

 Happy 4th of July! 

 Even for Americans living overseas, the day MUST be observed!

We decided to host a barbeque for the Hague Zone.  That included almost 30 elders and sisters.

Our super chef of the day was Elder Beckstrand.  He had everything under control, even for such a large group.  The apron adds just the right touch - don't you think?

Elder Hanks climbed the tree to hang the American flag.  Sister Hill was his back-up.

Before, during, and after our meal the young people enjoyed all kinds of sports - basketball, volleyball, and soccer to name a few.  The 4th fell on Monday, which is P-Day in our mission.  Hence, everyone is attired in casual clothing and loving the chance to play outside in the warm (but not too warm) summer sunshine.

These elders dug right in.  Elder Jones demonstrates the wacky side of these young men.  From left to right are Elders Schulte, Jones, Waldie, Staker, Hendrickson, and Benson.

And there are definitely roses among the thorns.  From the front:  Sisters Welch, Hill, Tanner and Harrington.  Elder Hanks and Elder Ellsworth chose the right table for the best scenery.

The die-hard players came late to the table, but they quickly made up for lost time.  Elders Brockbank, Leach and Favero are on the left side.  Elders  Crittenden and Bastien are facing the camera on the right, with Sister de Groot in front.  I couldn't make out the elder way on the end - he is more interested in his hamburger at the moment.  Who can blame him??

Elder Salden enjoys a BIG glass of red punch in a blue cup.  All of the paper goods were red, white, and blue.  You can't get more patriotic than that!

The elders went back to the court for after-dinner soccer.  They needed to run off some of those calories.

We just got cleaned up from the afternoon barbeque when it was time to put everything back out for the JoVo's.  Their Family Home Evening activity was also a 4th of July celebration.  After all - even Europeans should celebrate our Independence Day if they are members of the church.  Religious freedom was essential to the restoration of the gospel by Joseph Smith.  The young lady in the fore-front is Selina, who is visiting here from Argentina with her Aunt Estella.

I couldn't believe that Elder Schulte could possibly be hungry again, but we have learned that these missionaries can pack it away.  David (center) isn't very big, but you wouldn't know it from the way he eats.  It's probably a survival instinct.  This meal has to hold him until Wednesday, when he gets fed again before institute.

We enjoy these young people tremendously.  Kim Stigter (front, right) brought an American tourist with her to FHE.  Across the table from Kim is our JoVo President - Ramon Kaspers. 

Jacquelina Alsina-Santos is from Almere but will be moving to Groningen in August.  We'll miss her.

The Amsterdam Elders with David.  Elder Alexander is our district leader, but will shortly be leaving us.  He is being transferred to the office in Leiden next week.  Enjoy your freedom while you can, Elder.  Those office elders hardly see the light of day from their desks.

This young lady on the left is from Hinckley, Utah!  She's practically our neighbor in Millard County.  What a small world!  She could remember Helen from Delta High School.  We might even share relatives back a generation or two.  Many of Linford's ancestors came from the west side of Millard County.  Amy Howes is her name.  She's on a  4 week tour of Europe and just happened to meet Kim at church in Wassanar.  They hit it off and she decided to stay with Kim for the week and take advantage of the chance to have a personal tour guide of Holland. 

Roland helps himself to some baked beans.  He's not technically a young adult, but he comes every Monday night for Home Evening.  I think Elder Beckstrand has collapsed (with good reason.)  I wonder how many hamburgers and hot dogs he cooked today?

The rest didn't last long.  Here we see him carrying trays of cupcakes and brownies to the tables.  He doesn't want to take all of these goodies home.  We're gaining too much weight having all these treats around.

We were so lucky that a former senior missionary left red, white, and blue plates, napkins, and cupcake cups with Sister Salden.  (I wouldn't have known where to buy them).  They added just the right touch to our festivities.

One of the best things about Roland is his willingness to help.  He's always first in the kitchen after an activity to help wash up.  What a change the church has made in his life.  He was a convicted drug dealer who had done time in prison before he met the missionaries and was converted to the church.   Now he has a whole new direction for his life.  The gospel truly saves souls.

An Amazing Ship and Royal Delft

We traveled to Dordrecht to look up the replica of Noah's Ark that was built there.  We couldn't believe our eyes when we saw the massiveness of this re-creation of the original Biblical ark. 

The information we read indicated that the builder used the exact Biblical measurements to ensure authenticity.  He spent upwards of 10,000 euro to duplicate each of the animals true to scale.  An elephant was standing at the back of the ark.

Up front was a large giraffe.  I guess they were the lookouts.  We weren't allowed to go inside, but the article we read indicated there were individual stalls for each pair of animals.

The ship is sitting in an inlet of the Maas River while it is being completed.  I couldn't believe how HUGE it was!  It was difficult to get the entire ark in the picture.

There are some things that just don't compute in my brain.  Such as why a person would spend so much time and money on a project like this.  Does he have inside information that it is going to be needed in the near future????

  Maybe we should get to know him on a close-friend basis (just in case).

Our next stop was the Royal Delft factory in the city of Delft, Holland.  It is the only remaining place where genuine Delft porcelein is produced in the city of the same name. 

Traders who went to the Orient learned to love the beautiful porcelein made by the Chinese.  When they returned to The Netherlands they started the Royal Delft Porcelein factory in 1653 and it has continued in business to the present day.

This vase has a strong Oriental influence.  The blue color is actually black when painted on the pre-baked clay.  After firing the black color turns to various shades of blue, depending on how much water is added to the paint.

Beautiful murals lined the walls.  Each individual tile was painted and fired, then assembled together to complete the scene.

In Holland it is illegal to kill the wild swans.  This mural was a depiction of that occurrence.

It was incredible to learn that this recreation of the Night Watch took three men two years to paint.  Each individual tile was painted and fired, then assembled together.  I couldn't figure out how they knew exactly what each piece needed to have painted on it in order to fit exactly into the tile next to it. 

Some of the antique china hutches were as valuable as the dinnerware inside.

Not all Delft is blue and white.  Some lines (such as Maakum) are painted in additional colors as well.

These pieces with red colors reflect their Chinese heritage.

The queens of Holland have all had their portrait done in Delft china.

This plate was created for the crown prince - William Alexander.

If you want to insure that you are purchasing genuine Delft porcelein you look for this inscription on the back of each piece.  It means that it is hand-painted and made to the finest specifications.

We walked through the factory and saw each step of the process from the forming of the clay to the first firing of individual pieces.

Molds are used to form the individual pieces.  The clay is poured into the mold and allowed to harden.

After it hardens workers smooth off the rough places and gently sand away any imperfections.

There were hundreds of pieces waiting to be painted and fired.

This picture gives us an idea of how each piece goes through the various stages of completion.  The vase second from the right shows the black paint that is used.  It takes seven years for an apprentice artist to be certified.  They paint each small pedal and leaf by hand.  It would require immense patience as well as exquisite artistic talent. 

Many of the plates depict scenes of life In Holland during past centuries.

Elder Beckstrand is looking at some of the history of this Dutch art form.

Here is a vase in various stages of completion.

Hey!  Haven't you always wanted a porcelein, hand-painted cow with blue and white flowers on it?  I wonder how they fitted her in the kiln?

We looked at the prices of some of these pieces in the showroom and decided they were not for paupers like us.  The large platter in the center was over 2,000 euros.  Just a normal sized plate ran around 400 euro.  I can't imagine spending that kind of money for a piece of genuine Royal Delft and then worrying about how to get it back across the ocean in one piece.

It would not be worth the strain on my nerves (even supposing I had that kind of money!)

Bottom line: Very pretty, but alas, not for me.

Zaanse Schans

On a sunny but windy Friday in June we visited Zaanse Schans, an outdoor museum about 15 minutes north of Amsterdam.  This entire area was created to preserve the way of life in Holland in centuries past. 

All of the windmills are working mills.  They produce linseed oil, mustard, flour, lumber, and many other products.

The houses were dismantled elsewhere and brought to this location and painstakingly rebuilt just as they were in their original form.  The river provides a beautiful setting for the east side of the village.

Modern visitors use the ferry to go from one side of the river to the other.

What a different world from the one we came from in Utah.

Some of the molens were open to the public but at 3 euro per person, it wasn't hard to decide if we wanted to go in.

The Dutch word for windmill is molen. 

The Andersons and Elder Beckstrand stop in front of  four of the molens on this side of the river.

This one contained a sawmill inside.

You can't be a George and not be interested in the sheep - they're quite different than the ones our family raised

 back in Utah.  I wonder what breed this is.

 

We went inside a gift and souvenir shop in the area.

The clerks in the store wore traditional Dutch costumes and caps.  It was quite interesting to see all of the Dutch products that were on sale.

The traditional Dutch cap from a side view.  It has a high, peaked top with wings on the side.

I can't say I would be really excited to wear one.

 

What a colorful antique mail box.

The roofs of these old homes have the traditional 'connecting with heaven' design. 

The green and white color scheme on many of the homes was reminiscent of Marken Island.

Everything is clean, tidy, and very picturesque.

It was fun to see this original Albert Heijn store.  This very building was the original flagship for the company, which has grown into a multi-national business.  We shop at Albert Heijn in Diemen at least once or twice a week.

This sign indicates that the company was founded back to 1887 - 124 years ago.

As always, the flowers are beautiful.

We walked across this little bridge to return to the parking area. 

An a lovely time was had by all.....