Another Temple Trip

Our young adults planned for a temple trip after Jack gave them the idea.  Our temple district is in London, and they would be able to stay overnight there, but they were all booked up, so the Holland temple would work just fine for a day trip.  We met at the church at 8 A.M. and were aboard our large, modern bus and on our way 20 minutes later, for the reasonable charge of $25 per person for the whole day.  The temple president at 'the Hague' (Den Hagge) Holland called Jack last week and virtually gave our group the whole afternoon to do as much temple work: baptisms, confirmations, and even endowment sessions as we wanted to do; the whole afternoon was ours.  We had 25 people and picked up another 14 persons from Brussels, Belgium who had wanted to come with us.  As we traveled along, I was amazed at the wonderfully flat land of these two countries. We got to see a little bit of the city of Rotterdam, and it's interesting to realize that this area of Holland has been reclaimed by the ingenuity of its people from the sea.  Much of the land is below sea level, and there are canals, pools and just standing water along the roadsides showing the part water plays in the scheme of things here.  New dikes now protect the country after a huge storm caused massive flooding several years ago.  We passed 2 nuclear reactor towers looming over the countryside, but only 3 old style windmills that Holland used to be famous for.  One was right by the temple, which is set on a corner lot unmarked by sidewalks or fences.

   The bus pulled into the parking lot and we got out with our lunches and found places on the lawn to sit, have a prayer and eat.  Our 3 cute sisters from Saint Quentin divided everyone into 2 groups, because this small temple doesn't provide workers: baptizers, witnesses, recorders, and helpers in general have to be a part of your group.  Jack was in charge of the Priesthood stuff, and the first bunch got into their white jumpsuits while I dressed in white also, to be able to hand out towels to those coming out of the font.  Each person did at least 12 names, and I loved watching them here, in this wonderful setting.  Sister Hall, from Brussels, was to replace me for the second group, and she told me how to get to some neat shops nearby; but I felt compelled to stay in the temple because that is why we drove 4 hours in a bus, not to buy more cheese!  

  Jack was the recorder, running names onto the screen so the baptizer could see them quickly and properly.  Cedric Bokiala was in this second group, just enjoying every new thing he learns about the gospel all the time.  He was baptized April 21st and is truly converted, having just received the Melchizedek priesthood and become an Elder. In the Congo he knew a boy at school who was well versed in the Scriptures, and found out that he was a Mormon.  He told his mother and she said, 'Stay away from the Mormons', so he did.  Then, earlier this year when visiting his sister in Valencennes, he told her that he was looking for a community of believers to associate with, and she said, 'Look anywhere, but don't mess with the Mormons'.  Just after leaving her apt. he saw 2 Elders contacting people on the street, and stopped to talk to them.  They got his address and forwarded it on to the Lille area Elders who took the ball from there and began teaching him.  He was going to school and living with a cousin, and tried telling him of the great things he was learning.  His cousin wasn't at all interested and tried to get Cedric to go drinking and partying with him, then got mad when he refused.  Cedric took the major step of getting himself out of that bad situation, and moved in with someone else 40 miles out from Lille.  He applied for new housing and got it, but for several weeks he had to travel those long distances to both attend school and now church as well.  We drove him home several times after Institute or Family Home Evening, where he was coming and getting to know a whole bunch of different new people and way of life.   He is really not a Young Adult, at age 31, but it's hard not to accept these new members who need fellowshipping, and just leave them stranded.  His father was in the Congo's diplomatic service to France at one time, so he is well educated.  He is also quiet, but now everyone is noticing his droll sense of humor and love to be around him. 

 

  We were finally done by 6 P.M. and our leader, Sophie, had the bus driver take us to the seashore so we could picnic there with the sandwich makings, cookies and drinks they'd brought along.  It was now overcast outside, and threatening to rain, but there were plenty of people on the boardwalks enjoying the cool breeze.  We ate by some strange metal artwork in a plaza, some of our group ran down to put their toes into the cold North Sea, and then we began to get sprinkled on, so we headed back to the bus and for home, where we arrived past midnight.  The name of the game here is activity in the church, and association with members their own age helps these faithful young people to stay focused and on track to return to our 'real' homes someday.