Flanders Fields Museum and Tyne Cot Cemetery

On Sunday, December 29, 2019 we went to church in Ghent, Belgium.  We all expected this branch to be a small congregation, but we were delightfully surprised to have so many people in attendance.  We were greeted at the door, given headsets to hear the talks in English and were also able to attend an English Sunday School class.  There were over 50 people at church besides our group of eight senior missionaries.  It was an enjoyable and spiritual sabbath-day service!

After church we went to the town of Ypres-leper, Belgium.  In Ypres-leper we visited the  Flanders Fields Museum. We spent over an hour wandering around looking at the different WWI museum displays.  

We left the Flanders Field Museum and drove to Tyne Cot Cemetery.  Here we met a Latter-day Saint family who recognized us by our missionary name tags.  The mother of the group taught school and gave us a very informative tour.  Tyne Cot is a British cemetery with thousands of graves and many unknown soldiers' graves - unknown to men, but "known unto God".    

Some of the bloodiest battles of World War I took place in the areas of northern France and southwest Belgium known as Flanders.  As we visited this peaceful place, we thought of our Canadian grandchildren who celebrate a week in November focusing on Remembrance Day.

  
Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of hostilities formally ending World War I "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month".

The poem In Flanders Fields was written by John McCrae, a Canadian doctor as he worked in the field dressing wounds and looking out at the fields of graves. Poppies grow well in soil that has been disturbed, therefore they grow in large numbers on battle fields. The red color of their petals brings to remembrance lives lost in conflict.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

    That mark our place; and in the sky

    The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

    Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

        In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

    The torch; be yours to hold it high.

    If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

        In Flanders fields.

As we left Tyne Cot Cemetery we were determined to see some of the locations of "trench" warfare in Belgium.  As night fell, we didn't find the trenches, but we were able to find another peaceful and beautiful cemetery as the sun was setting.

   "They shall not grow old, as we are that left shall grow old:  age shall not weary them, nor years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them."  Laurence Binyon "Ode to Remembrance"

Brugge and Ghent

We had the opportunity to visit the city of Bruges, Belgium.  We purchased tickets and went on a very informative canal cruise and learned some of the history of this interesting city.

After the canal cruise we to the center of town.  The Christmas Markets were still going with plenty of holiday foods - bratwursts, Beligan waffles, and hot chocolate.  This town like many towns in Belgium had a variety of stores selling chocolate.  We strolled along the streets, window shopping and sampling chocolate.  We stopped and visited an art museum along the way.

When we finished our tour of Brugge, we drove a relatively short distance to the town of Ghent which was on the list of top 10 places to visit in Belgium. After arrival we went to St. Michael's Church where they had Baroque paintings including one by Van Dyck. We wandered the town and found a place for dinner.  We all agreed that Ghent and St. Michael's was a must see.

"Life is like a piano, the white keys represent happiness and the black show sadness.  But as you go through life's journey, remember that the black keys also create music."

The Hague Temple and Kinderkijk

On Friday morning we began our day at the Hague Netherland Temple.  We asked if we could do family sealing and were told yes.  We dressed in our temple clothes and met with the 2nd counselor in the temple presidency, President Van Wermeskerken.  He told us a little about himself before we began.  He and his wife had served in the Philippines as the Area Medical Advisor.  After we finished our sealing session Gary and I asked President Van Wermeskerken if he knew some people we knew who had served in the Philippines Area Office about the same time.  He responded that he and his wife did know them and we visited for a short time. It is interesting how small the world seems when serving the Lord.  As we visited we learned that it was President Van Wermeskerken's 75th birthday.

After the temple we went to a local restaurant for a delicious lunch.   Following lunch we visited Kinderdijk, which is about 15 kms east of Rotterdam to see the windmills.  The pictures below tell the story.  Kinderdijk is Dutch for Children’s dike.  Most of Holland is below sea level.  In the 18th century the mills were used to pump the water out.  These days the windmills have been replaced by automatic water pumping stations.  The windmills still operated and if the wind allows it, they turn in the wind.

“Let us be a temple-attending and a temple-loving people. Let us hasten to the temple as frequently as time and means and personal circumstances allow. Let us go not only for our kindred dead, but let us also go for the personal blessing of temple worship.” Howard W. Hunter, A Temple-Motivated People, February, 1995 Ensign

Rotterdam, Netherlands

On December 26th we left Frankfurt with 3 other couples and drove northeast to the Netherlands.  Our first stop was the Hague Temple.  Unfortunately the website was inaccurate and the temple was closed.  We had an interesting lunch at one of the only places open on "boxing day".  After lunch we went to Rotterdam and checked into our hotel.

After checking into our hotel, we went out to explore the town.  The stores in Rotterdam were all open for boxing day.  Our first stop was the Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk.  This was a Protestant (Reformed Dutch) church.  It is the only remnant of the medieval city of Rotterdam.  Shortly after we walked in they announced that church visiting was closing.  They were preparing to have a church service.

 

 After leaving the church we saw a flock of sparrows that were flying in a interesting pattern.  After we watched the birds for a few minutes we entered the Market Hall.  This was a huge mall with many different booths with all kinds of food.

We finished checking out the Market Hall and went in search of something to eat.  On our way to a bridge we could see we saw some cube houses.  Google says they are innovative houses designed by Piet Blom.  They are based on the concept of "living as an urban roof".  They are suppose to represent an abstract forest.  There are 38 houses which are all connected.  They go over a very busy street which takes you to the waterfront.  We admired the buildings, found a restaurant, had dinner and returned to our hotel.

"Never blame anyone in your life.  Good people give you happiness.  Bad people give you experience.  Worst people give you a lesson.  And best people give you memories."  Zig Ziglar

Frohe Weihnachten

We wish you a Merry Christmas.  Which in German is Frohe Weihnachten.    

The Friday before Christmas we left Frankfurt around noon and drove north to the town of Salzgitter.  Our friends, Petra and Matthias Leben from our New Zealand/Vanuatu mission days invited us to their home for a traditional German Christmas.  We had a wonderful time.

The Lebens took us on an adventure Saturday to Marienburg Castle, Hanover City and the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen.  After the Royal Gardens, we drove back to Hanover to visit the Christmas Market, but it was quite crowded, so we decided to go home for dinner and to play some games.

On Sunday we went to church and then returned home for a delightful Sunday dinner.  After dinner, we sang Christmas songs and played some fun games. Because we were going home on the morning of Christmas Eve, they lit the lights of their Christmas tree early for us.  Be sure to notice that the candles on the tree are actually real "flame" candles. 

On Monday morning the Leben family took us on another fun adventure.  This time it was to the Mines of Rammelsberg.  This is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  It was a fascinating tour.   

We returned home to Frankfurt on Tuesday December 24th, Christmas Eve.  We were able to visit with most of our children via FaceTime.  Today, Christmas day we gathered together as an area office missionary zone to celebrate Christmas together.  We had an authentic Cafe Rio Salad.  The meal was followed by singing Christmas Carols, cowboy poetry readings and a group photo.  

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a hope for a Happy New Year!  Being away from home can make Christmas a challenging time as our family members are half way around the world. However with technology like "Marco Polo", we have been sharing our favourite Christmas songs, Christmas traditions, Christmas Eve memories, and of course our Christmas Day activities with our family members. It's great to see and visit with everyone, even if it only on a "screen".  

What memories does this time of year evoke for you?  

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.  I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.  The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.  I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!"  Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol