YSA Camp

Our day on Tuesday started with district meeting in Den Bosch which is close to where the YSA camp was. It was transfers Wednesday so we made toasted ham, egg and cheese sandwiches served with hashbrowns, OJ, fresh fruit salad and vla. This has become kind of a tradition for district meeting before transfers, thanks to Desi. Sister Gellego is in the yellow sweater. She is from Aruba which speaks Nederlands but is originally from the Dominican republic so she also speaks Spanish. She has been a member for two years. She has a lot of energy and a wonderful testimony which she does not hesitate to share. Elder Kunz (second from the right) recently learned his grandfather taught Elder Burton's (third from right) grandfather the gospel in Canada. This was discovered when his father went to a sealing at the Bountiful Temple that was done by Elder Kunz's grandfather. There are 56 valient Burton family members now, due to grandfather Burton's conversion and who would have thought their two grandsons would be companions someday! 

I was off playing basketball and when I came back I found Sister Everton on a water slide the YSA had set up. This is why you should never leave your companion.





This is what happens when your body does something before you brain is fully engaged. My body was saying do a running surface dive like you do at the swimming pool. The only problem was that the ground is much harder than water and I was punished on landing.

Sister Everton is laughing at me on purpose. She tricked me with her Jedi mind trick into going on the slide. I would have never done this while wearing my white shirt and suit pants.

Tuesday evening they had a dance. The theme of the dance was "what I want to be when I grow up". I guess these girls want to be princesses. Far left is Marieke who is engaged to Joachim who was the chairman of the camp planning committee. Second from the right is Madeline Waasenaar who served in California and finished in the Netherlands in Dordrecht due to visa problems.

Sister Everton wanted to dance but I had a hard time getting into it. The music is unfamiliar and my dancing skills don't exist. This young man took pity on Sister Everton and danced with her.

This is Bishop ten Have and his wife. On Wednesday morning there were workshops. The ten Haves presented a workshop on Love. They first showed this video about how Hollywood says "I love you".       I love you Then they talked about expectations. Sister ten Have said she wanted a man that was handsome, rich and as tall as her. Then they showed the following video about Dayton's Legs. It was a powerful workshop.

After the workshops the YSA did service. There was a large group of children and mothers who were being protected from abusive situations. The YSA had games and activities for the children. Others left the camp to do service in the area. I took a car load to Sint-Michielsgestel close by where they took a group of physically challenged people for a walk in the country. The weather was warm and beautiful. We passed this house on the way to the pickup point.




 

We were way out in the country but there were bikers of all ages everywhere. Nederlanders love to bike.

I had some time before I needed to pick up the YSA doing service so Sister Everton and I drove to Vught which is close by. This is the town hall building. We also found the location of the only German concentration camp in the Netherlands from WWII. There is a visitor’s center and memorial. Two buildings have been reconstructed. The rest of the massive camp is now a high security prison. Elder Anjewierden says he visited the camp 50 years ago and it was used for housing for political immigrants.

We had a fireside with Elder Alder who is a member of the 3rd quorum of the Seventy. After the fireside, Akash, standing next to Sister Everton got a surprise. His mother and little brother drove to the camp to wish him a happy birthday.

Some of the youth after the fireside.  Nice shorts!

Elder Alder was just called as a Seventy.  He and his wife are from Germany and were the fireside speakers.  Quote, "I never failed when I followed Him, I only failed when I didn't.  When called to be a stake president, I felt AWFUL!  We had planned our whole married life to serve a mission in 2013. I knew the Lord wanted something different than what we had planned.  I tell you this is HORRIBLE!  I served for two years and was beginning to enjoy it when I received a letter from the First Presidency.  I asked Heavenly Father, What is going on!?"

Thursday we cooked BBQ for the youth. All the other meals were prepared by two members who have done it for years and know how to cook for 100 plus kids. This is the kitchen with Sisters de Leeuw, Anjewierden and Boergerts.

Sister Everton was busy on the other side of the kitchen with Elder Anjewierden and van Komen.



While we waited for the circus show to start, Sister Everton and I shot baskets.

Thursday evening was the big show and dance. Every young man was instructed to ask a young woman to go to the event. The dress was roaring twenties. The show was a circus show in a tent. Everyone received a flute of Champaign (apple cider with gas) and walked down the red carpet to the circus tent. Geerte, second from left is serving along with Emma, second from right. Geerte is in our Utrecht YSA group and is in medical school. Emma is in Den Haag and is interested in music.



This is Milje Slingerland of our Dordrecht Ward and his date.



A group of YSA.

This is Chris Weening from Groningen with his fiancée. They have not set a date yet.

Out of control - not really.  Clarissa was baptized 3 months ago.




 

Our Catherine van Biemen from Dordrecht ward.  She is a mountain of faith.  Sister Everton loves her!



This is Yentil. In her testimony she said she would make judgements about people, but now she realizes everyone is dealing with something.  Her date is from Belgium.



This is Stacey from our Dordrecht Ward. She is not baptized but talked in the testimony meeting and kept saying, "Never in my whole life have I learned so much and had so much fun!!!  I feel the love and you are so wonderful!  I have never seen people like you before!  You are shining with love!"  She is from Ghana and they have a very soft, gracious way of speaking. The young man is the son of the couple that help the YSA in Antwerpen. He annouced a few weeks ago during the return trip from a YSA fireside that he wanted to go on a mission... now! - meaning asap. They got his application prepared in two weeks and are waiting for the call.

This young man is on a rowing team hoping to make it to the next Olympics. He is from the Amsterdam ward and is starting to come back to the church thanks to YSA. During the dance he complimented us on our dancing saying it was awesome. What we were really doing was more like aerobic exercise. It felt good to move the body and enjoy the music. It reminded us how much we miss exercise at the gym.

Quincy from Utrecht. He will be a member for a year in December and hopes to go on a mission early in 2013.  Sister Everton says he is the love and worry of our lives!  The girl has a boyfriend who is not a member and not interested.  She had some heart wrenching questions during the workshops.  Quincy has taken her under his wing.  Quincy thinks everyone will accept the gospel as soon as He comes and people know the plan.  In his testimony he expressed his desire to be a "great missionary and husband and make a good family and give my children the love I never received from my father.  I want to be strong in the gospel and strong in Christ."  Neither his father or mother love or care for him.

Ronan from Utrecht. He just returned from the German Speaking Alpine mission. He had a real hard time speaking Nederlands during his talk in church.  His mother instructed the Stake Presidency member to make it very clear when counceling him that he is not to date anyone or get serious until he has completed his school work.  Oops, did not work.  They are definitely in love.

This is Alma Chardon on the left. He was wearing fake glasses during camp. The girl gave me some pointers on how to do the water slide after my first dive nearly killed me.

This is Marijn and Mika. Marijn is a member of less than a year and is married to Mika who has been a member for a few years. Mika is from Brazil.  They are starting their lives together in Belgium.



Lindy is on the right. She got news just before camp that she has salivary gland cancer.  In her testimony she said, "I know Heavenly Father lives and loves me.  I don't have to be afraid.  My Redeemer knows what I'm going through.  He won't give me anything we can't handle together.  No one knew about the cancer.  They did not announce it until the last day.  Her brother is on the far left.  Sister Everton was traipsing around camp in the middle of the night because he was in severe pain with a kidney stone.

Guido is the Utrecht Bishop's son. He is not very active. His brother comes home from his mission this week. The guy on the right is Paris. He skinned his knee bad, along with various other areas, riding a long skate board. Sister Everton made him scrub it in the sink and put some ointment on it and he felt better.

This is a girl friend of Geerte. The guy, friend of the girl friend, did the lights and sound for the tent. He did a very professional job. He smoked a lot (always out side the tent) but was kind to help out.

Many of the YSAarrived in one of two old  Mercedes owned by resident Senior Missionaries. These YSA arrived riding on/in a 35 year old Opel Kadet.







Far left is Duco van Doesberg who was serving in our mssion when we arrived. The middle young man was at bat in a softball game. He was trying to bat left handed but his hands were in a right hand position. I told him to switch his hands. He hit a home run on the next pitch.

 

This young man is doing a ballet for his circus act. He is from Belgium.  He was sitting alone one night in a swing so Sister Everton talked to him for a long time.  He loves to write stories and his feelings.  Sister Everton shared with him experiences and feelings from her ancester Warren's journal.

This is Buddy Goud, the circus master or MC. He and his wife Beryl are over the YSA program in the four stakes that comprise our mission. He did a fabulous job as MC.





The young man in the suit who's name is Niki  is doing a lip sync of a popular missionary song (I think). Alma (playing the guitar) and some other young man (on the piano) joined him midway.  The YSA adore Niki.  He has mild autism and his mission has been delayed.  He has approval now but his papers are taking a long time to get back with his call.  His family is a disaster.  A quote from his testimony:  "I have waited for 2 years to go on a mission.  The feeling I received was painful...be patient.  I wasn't patient.  But now I am just waiting for my call.  My goal used to be to change people's lives, but now I just want to let them know Heavenly Father lives.  There is a time for everyone to serve a mission." 

This is Emma from Den Haag. I don't know the young man's name but he looks like either Brad Pit or Val Kilmer (Iceman in Top Gun). He played the Ukelele. They sang a medely of songs starting with "Over the Rainbow".

The theme of theYSA camp was "Now and Forever - The choices we make, determine our destiny". Joachim wrote the theme song for the conference.  In this act Joachim and Emma sing the song. The audiance stood up and and sang along too. During each dance the song was played (another YSA created band effects and added them to Joachim's and Emma's voices so it sounds like something you would hear on the radio) and the YSA loved it. Here is a link to a recording of the song Now and Forever.

The MC did a hypnotism trick with one of the YSA.

Geerte did a great act talking about face book pages of YSA only the pictures were distorted. She is eating alone until a another young man joins. She falls for him but he leaves her with the check.  A young man in back of her are her arms.

This pair sang "A Way Back into Love" from the movie Music and Lyics. They did a great job. I asked the young man about it. He said it was the first time he had done something like this. Could have fooled me. He is the one that hit the home run.

The guy in the chair is the Ukelele player.

Quincy had a hard time waking up in the morning and staying awake.

Ronan's mother told us that as a child he was always getting hurt. Nothing has changed after his mission.



This is the choir lead by Emma singing the Hosana portion from the Lamb of God.



The young woman on the left is from Poland.  She was homeless and one of the church leaders brought her to the Netherlands.  Kim, the third from the left is AWESOME!  She was in charge of the service project for the abused.  She was abandoned at age 8.  A neighbor took her in.  She said in her testimony, "I've had a lot of drama, two years of intense pain, love and happiness.  I've learned we are never alone.  We are all brothers and sisters forever.  With so much battle inside me, I am still blessed and uplifted."  The gospel has saved her, as it has all of the YSA here. .

The young man in the middle is Cheim. He grew up in a bad part of Amsterdam called Bijlmermeer. It was developed in the late 60's as the model city with apartment flats with ten levels laid out in a honeycomb design and was located well out side of Amsterdam. Unfotunately no one wanted to live that far from Amsterdam. The neighborhood became  known for criminal activity. Cheim was a boy living an area prodominantly populated with African (he was a minority in a minority neighborhood). His mother was divorced and cared for him the best she could. She joined the church when Cheim was a young boy but fell away after a few years. Cheim starting coming to YSA and church a few years ago. He lives in Lelystad now and has a much better life.





Diederik is from our Utrecht YSA group. He served his mission in Belgium and the Netherlands.  He is a temple worker and in the Elders quorum presidency.





The young women is Shannon. She has Lyme disease that has gone undetected for 5 years.  She is now getting treatment.  She is investigating the church. The Den Bosch Elders came Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to teach the four investigators, one atheist and one inactive that were attending camp. We were invited to joint teach with them on Thursday.  It was a very special experience.  The Spirit was so strong, there was some confusion as to who was an investigtor and who was a member.

This is Adrian. He also attended the investigator class.  He was having ear problems so we took him to a doctor that lived close by the camp.  Sister Everton asked how old he was.  He said 22 so she asked if he was planning on a mission. He answered that he thought he would need to join the church first. He is a special young man.







This is the future of the church in our Belgium/Netherlands mission.