In Memory

Cornelia Barendregt Moore died on June 22, 2012 while serving this mission in the Netherlands.  She was loved and respected by all who knew her, especially the young adults that we were serving in Den Haag (The Hague).  We loved being there.  We loved the people in The Hague Ward.  They made us feel right at home.  We felt their genuine love.  She hit the ground running.  When she first spoke to them in their native tongue they were immediately endeared to her.  The Relief Society sisters were impressed by her enthusiasm and willingness to help.

We loved the JoVo’s.  I read every word in the scrapbook they gave me.   I was overcome with tears by their expressions of love and gratitude for Sister Moore and  I.   We loved them all so much.  We loved being with them.  We loved fixing meals for them.  We loved playing games with them.  We loved studying the scriptures with them.  We loved their hugs.  We loved laughing and crying with them.  We were impressed with their enthusiasm and desire to achieve good in their lives.     And most importantly, we were overcome by their faith and love for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  We were touched by their testimonies of the gospel, of their love for each other. 

 I am grateful for a living, loving God who knew what Corrie needed to make her last days on this earth truly happy and fulfilling.  She was a great lady.  I will miss her but know that through God’s plan of happiness for all His children that we will be together again.  Families are forever.  We are God’s children.

You can shed tears that she is gone

or you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back

or you can open your eyes and see all she's left.

Your heart can be empty because you can't see her

or you can be full of the love you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday

or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember her and only that she's gone

or you can cherish her memory and let it live on

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back

or you can do what she'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

 Beautiful floral tributes from the wonderful saints in The Hague.  Received at a memorial service given for Sister Moore on Thursday, June 28, 2012

This picture was taken on the evening that Sister Moore (Corrie) was laid to rest July 7, 2012 at Lakeview Memorial Cemetery, overlooking the Great Salt Lake.  The warmth and beauty of the sunset is a fitting tribute to the warmth and beauty of her life.  I think our loving Heavenly Father is putting His stamp of approval on a life well lived.

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Alkmaar Cheese Market

Alkmaar's cheese market at the Waagplein is one of the country's most popular tourist attractions.

The cheese market traditionally takes place on the first Friday in April and the last market of the season is the first Friday in September.

Every Friday morning (10.00–12.30 a.m.) the Waagplein is the backdrop for this traditional cheesemarket.

After the old-fashioned way of the hand clap, traders and carriers will weigh the cheeses.

The market itself is really only a demonstration of how

this merchants' market operated in times gone by

The traditional fare of this cheese market are those cheeses made in the local area.

The cheese market demonstration takes place in front of the medieval weighing house.   The building was originally a chapel, built around 1390, and converted to a municipal weigh-house in 1582.

The city is one of the oldest in the Netherlands and is very quaint with narrow streets.  The center of town has only pedestrian traffic.

At Kanisstraat 1, on the corner with Geest, is one of the oldest surviving houses in Alkmaar, restored in the 19th century. (The original settlement of Alkmaar had only wooden houses: brick and stone houses were gradually made compulsory in medieval towns, because of the repeated fires).

Another windmill.

This one is particularly picturesque.

 There are canals everywhere.  The more popular tourist cities have tours on their canals. 

Everybody wave. 

Oh, Oh! everybody duck down, we are going under a bridge.

Alkmaar has many medieval buildings that are still intact, most notably the tall tower of the Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk, where many people from Alkmaar hold their wedding ceremony
Not quite as elegant as others we have seen in Europe, but beautiful nonetheless.  The organ was being played while we were there.

The artwork on the organ was particularly impressive.

We got a little hungry so we stopped at a little sandwich shoppe.  Sister Moore ordered the "fish tower sandwich".  - four layers with crab salad, tuna salad, salmon salad, and smoked salmon, all garnished with tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers. Now that's a sandwich!

Our new instant friends, Elder and Sister DeLeeuw. It is surprising how fast you learn to love and appreciate other couple missionaries.  The two girls are members of the church who live in Alkmaar and gave us the grand tour.

Elder and Sister Everton and another young couple who accompanied us.

Festival of the Geese - Part One

 Welcome to Enter, The Netherlands, a town that has a tradition of the "herding of the geese" which they celebrate with a festival every spring.  The Netherlands has one of the largest concentrations of geese in the world.  The town of Enter is right in the middle of these over-wintering locations.

 The streets are lined with booths, county fair style, where the local folks display their skills and crafts.

 Background music is provided by this street organ.

 Of course Sister Moore found her way to the quilt booth, just like home.

The townspeople are dressed in traditional costume.

 The herding of the geese begins by selecting a leader goose which is stuffed into this basket.

 This old gentleman then straps the basket to his back and leads the parade through the streets.

OK everyone, follow me.

 The young girls, dressed in traditional costume, help keep the geese in parade formation.

 We couldn't get the real scoop on the origin of this tradition but someone said that originally this began when hundreds of geese were herded all the way to Rotterdam where they were shipped to England for Christmas dinner.

 The girls form a nice little corral to keep the geese together.

This wooden shoe is said to be the biggest in the world made from a single piece of wood.

The Festival of the Geese - Part Two

 Visit to the klompen museum.  Making wooden shoes the old fashioned way.,

 It looks easy.  Here, let me try.

 After the shoe is shaped, the inside is carved out.  Glade, remember how we struggled to make your shoe.  It's not so bad when you have the right tools and the right wood.

 Inside the museum.  The plaques show the steps in making a wooden shoe.

 There are wooden shoes for every occasion.

 Every style imaginable.

 You can even add strings and make a musical instrument.

 This is a shoe for the groom showing his bride before marriage.

 Turn the same shoe upside down and this is what happens.

Be sure to click on the Play button to enjoy some folk singing.

 As we left the town we were entertained by a mens choir singing sea shanties.  They were good but it was interesting to hear the Beach Boys "I Want to Go Home" with a Dutch accent.

 Part of the entertainment was this little band.

Click the Play button and listen.

And we could not pass up this opportunity to do a little polka on the streets of Enter, The Netherlands.