These amazing Young Single Adults!

You might have noticed the lack of news about our service with the YSA’s in our recent blog posts. 

 Well, not for having no news to post! 

We began Dec. with the winter YSA “camp”.  It is for all YSA’s in the mission.  It was held at a camp in a National Preserve near us.  Notice the bike parking sign “Fietsen”!  There were about 40 kids.  It started on Friday night with a crazy animal dance and ended on Sunday with Sacrament meeting.  The kitchen and gathering room is in the front of this building and the sleeping quarters in the back half of the building. 

These YSA’s can really work!  They plan and run the whole weekend.  The senior couples mostly come for support. 

They began the day Saturday with a “quest” in the forest.  There were 8 stations, manned by senior couple “angel guides” who gave the teams an assignment when they arrived, then “guided” them on the way to the next station.

We were instructed to bring a white sheet to complete our costumes!  It was a  very cold that day in the woods!  At our station they had to make a doll out of materials they could scavenge.  We then gave them some clues to a scripture and sent them on their way.

 

Good job!!

They had an indoor picnic complete with all the decorations.  After lunch they cleared everything and had a workshop.

Dinner that night was traditional Dutch “stomppot” and “hutspot”.  That meant peeling 40 pounds of potatoes and chopping 8 pounds of onions!  The alternative was to just stand around so I made myself useful!  Femke was the cook, a darling YSA from Den Bosch that I just love.

Two big pots….hutspot (mashed potatoes with carrots and onions) on the left and endive stomppot (mashed potatoes with endive) on the right.  They served mounds of it the size of their plates piled 3 inches high!  (and they ate the whole thing! Rookworst rounded out the dinner. 

They finished the day by completely re-decorating the hall and having a Sinterklaas party, complete with Sinterklass and Swarte Piet. (swarte as you can guess is the Dutch

word for “black” : ).   It was an all-new cultural experience for us!

It is bigger than Christmas here.  There were presents for everyone, games and the YSA’s loved it! 

The camp was concluded on Sunday with breakfast, a devotional (guest speaker), lunch, then Sacrament meeting.  These YSA’s are so capable.  They did literally everything and it was done to the nth degree! 

We express our appreciation to President Bunnell who graciously had the mission house the senior couples in a hotel nearby so we didn't have to sleep with the kids in the camp bunks!

                                                                                                              

We continued to have institute in Dec.  to finish out the semester.  The big dance of the year for the YSA’s in this mission is the Christmas dance which is always held in Den Haag.  Like all their activities it was beautifully decorated and well organized. 

The fellow we don’t know (lol!) but the girls are from left to right in the back; Esmee, Julia, Stephanie and Amber.

Inda is in front with us.  Joe got the bow tie as his Sinterklaas gift at the Oostveens Sinterklaas party and we thought this was the perfect occasion to wear it!  It turned out that most of the fellows were wearing bow ties!  Who knew?!  The girls were all dressed up in their fancy Christmas best! 

There was more food than kids by about 10 times and I’m sure the music was heard the next block over so it was a total success! 

Some of our favorite YSA’s invited us to go ice skating with them on the very tiny ice rectangle they made on the plaza in Zeist.  It was so fun to be with our young friends!

We have had a two week break from teaching/cooking for institute twice a week.  It has been a welome respite but we are getting anxious to get going again!  Happy New Year to you all!