December 12,2015
Dear Ones,
It has been quite a week; even without all the BYU versus U hype going on on What's App! 🙂
We started Monday with cleaning our apartment and than the missionaries came after lunch to some baking to take to families in the ward and their investigators.  Elder Solomon was the instigator and his parents sent cookie mixes from the states made by Krusteaz that were pretty good. I made brownies for them to use and Solomon wanted to make pumpkin bread with peanut butter chips in it. I said you sure of the peanut butter and not chocolate chips? But it is how his mom does it so we did it that way. I made cinnamon rolls for FHE that nite,but my baking is not turning out so grand here. That is why we went to a flour grinding wind mill last Saturday to buy flour. One couple had made a note that it helps things rise better here, but it did not make a remarkable difference.
The wind mill experience was fascinating however. It is an ingenious work of engineering, timbers pulleys, and ropes.  I was enthralled with the tour.  The thatched roof on the windmill is one foot thick and lasts 70-80 years! The sails are fastened to a cap on the top that turns so the Miller can turn the sails towards the wind; they have a means to turn the cap and anchor it to stay.  The mill stones are super thick; they pull them apart and chisel them to sharpen them for grinding. They have a means for doing every part efficiently. It is worth the Saturday visit and is only a short drive. It is in a town we pass through on our way to church.  Deventer has a wood cutting windmill we can walk too. We have yet to make that visit.
Tuesday we cooked for Zone Conference on Wednesday where we fed 60- ish elders and adults. The Roemigs another sr Couple split the work with us. The Elders did like the fajitas , chips, and cheesecake.  It was mostly a lot of cutting up- we shopped that day too. Wesnesday was zone conference all day or most of it. Thursday we inspected missionary apartments ( and I talked Dad into going across the Germany border so I could say we went there) It was only 7 more km. . Friday was institute and a 5 hour service project with our zone I believe. There were a lot of extra missionaries, but it was fun. We boxed donated food for a food bank a member works with. We all felt like we had made a difference, I think. Dad and I left to prepare food for institute and the missionaries who came that night said the food bank people finally told them they had worked hard enough and they neede to leave some work for another group coming in to help.
My new food for the week was at a family's home who invited all umpteen of us from our ward. It was an Indonesian soup and was good but to be truthful I do not get all psyched about Indonesian food like dad does. Maybe I have not had it done really well, yet.  WeI had a dinner sandwich at the market on sAturday and it was good.
I want to remind you that the church is true and each stake receives its own direction or revelation to handle the  situations they deal with. We had a good lesson  from Pres Benson today! I can see how direction or programs change a little bit to help the members in the particular wards.
Have a great week. Tots Zincs. Mom