Christmas Letter 2012

It is Christmas letter time again. If my memory serves me correct, we didn't really write a Christmas letter last year. I was sick from December 19th until some time in April. I recovered enough to attend the walking school at the hospital in April & May. With having been sick and sitting a lot, there wasn't a lot of walking going on (and of course the pounds creep on.) I finished the walking school the beginning of June and continued walking at our local sport complex.

From January to April, Maarten did his first module entitled, “Theological Foundations One,” he finished with a B+ and was very happy. Presently he has just completed “Theological Foundations Two” and the results are not yet known, although his first 2 assignments were returned with ten out of ten! Maarten enjoyed this module but found it challenging because the subjects were about topics he really had to think about and form an opinion!

Maarten managed to plan and execute a surprise party for my 50th birthday!

I had many lovely flowers given to me for my birthday, 50 red roses from Maarten (and one white one for the coming year!)

I have been taking singing lessons, which I have loved and I am singing in a Christmas Choir. I may sing with this choir in the spring when Paul Wilbur comes to Holland. We will sing with him! How exciting is that?

This year we had a horrible experience flying to Canada with KLM, or should I say Delta! I tried to book seats for people with disabilities, and that caused a lot of problems! KLM Cares looks after only KLM flights (meanwhile we paid KLM our money for our tickets!) They told me to phone Delta Cares, the answering machine said "press '1' if you are a funeral director, press '2' if you are shipping human remains!" No mention of if you have a disability! It turns out Delta Cares only cares for those corpses who have already departed! Needless to say, that caused problems in Minneapolis, we were detained by the border security, because we weren't on the flight manifesto! After 30 minutes they allowed us to go to the next gate, and they were already boarding and the lady at the gate couldn't get us boarding passes! We did make our flight (they held it for us!)I was in tears and finally we arrived in Canada!!!

Our annual visit to Canada didn't really feel like a vacation, it felt more like work. Although we had the chance to go boating somewhere in the Whiteshell! That was beautiful to be on the lake! We had great weather!

Three amigos, Maarten, Richard and George!



We attended the wedding of Hope & Steve (that was why we came in August and not in September like we normally do).

Our first week in Winnipeg we went house shopping thanks to 2 friends, Esther and her daughter Bev. It was a real learning experience. It was a disappointing week, I didn't think finding a place would be that difficult.

We went to Thompson for a week and stayed with my mom! We visited a lot of friends, it is always a joy to be home, although it seems we are always eating!

We visited 3 banks and got valuable information. Then we headed West with Via Rail to Saskatoon, and visited with Jenny & Claude and Geoff & Judy, what a blessed time that was! After a couple of days we went to Moose Jaw, spent a couple of nights at Dr. Penner’s and then returned back to Saskatoon, from there we flew to Winnipeg. We stayed with George & Bessie and finished getting our paperwork ready for Canadian Immigration and posted them and on August 22nd, they received them.

On our way back to Holland we had a 2 night stopover in Toronto where we were guests on 100 Huntley Street. The following link will help you find the program. http://www.100huntley.com/video?id=uvctxbsLsEA

You can also just Google 100 Huntley Street and when you have found the “interview” page, enter our last name in the search bar.

We were also blessed during this time as friends, Kate & Richard drove three hours to visit us! We had a lovely time together!



A friend from Canada flew with us from Toronto back to Holland. She spent 17 days with us and it was wonderful to be able to show her around.

Now that the paperwork had been sent in, the waiting had begun. Surprisingly, miracles started to happen... Maarten wrote the following to explain on his Facebook: "It giet oan........." Remember the post from the 6th of October?

Today is a happy day. It is the day we received an e-mail, telling us that Linda is allowed to be my sponsor for the Immigration process. What it means? Well the Immigration service in Mississauga has sent my information forward to Vienna. So phase 1 has been approved, one more to go. I guess that it is going to happen.... ;-) As the people from Friesland would say "It giet oan" or someone from my home town would probably say "het goat gebeure......" ;-)

Well, on the 22nd of October we received a letter from the Canadian Embassy in Vienna, that they received my application package. They also mentioned that it would probably take them 11 months to process it and that contacting them within the first 3 months was useless... Needless to say, Linda and I felt quite sad about it and we were re-arranging plans in our head.... Can you understand that my heart leaped for joy, when last Saturday on the Client Status Page of the Immigration service my status had changed from 'Application Received' to 'Decision Made'!!! Kind of scary at first too.... BUT...... At the moment I am looking at VERY official looking papers! The top line reads "Confirmation of Permanent Residence"!!!!! No 11 months, no 6-9 months, but three weeks it took them to process my papers and come to the conclusion that All is well...

IT GIET OAN!!!! It is really going to happen!!! The Lord willing, June next year I will be officially a Landed Immigrant. I need to start practising that Anthem.. ;-))

Well, as you can see, we will be moving.

Seeing that the paper work went so quickly and we are now able to move to Canada a few prayer requests come to mind.

-Where are we going to live? We need a home or a wheelchair accessible apartment.

-A job for Linda as Maarten hopes to study at Providence College & Seminary.

-Which church will we attend?

-We will need a car, one that a wheelchair can be loaded into.

-All of our electric appliances and small appliances cannot come to Canada so we will have need of these also.

Thank you for standing with us in prayer as we make this move. Now comes the huge job of sorting through things, selling things and packing things...

Blessings to you & your family this Christmas and for 2013!

One final note: I had won a helicopter flight, so on December 1st, I had the opportunity to fly over our village! It was overcast and a rather small helicopter, I'm glad I had the opportunity but I shall never have to do it again!

Christmas Letter 2011

Christmas Letter 2010

I thought I would try re-writing our Christmas letter. I wrote one the end of November, and reading it just makes me more depressed. I suppose I ask myself every year, where has the time gone? What have I done with my year? Not a lot I’m ashamed to say.
The year didn’t go well. It started off with a hospital visit, and operation, which should have lasted 1-5 days, and 22 days later I was finally home. It took me until September to start feeling better and I am still not physically back to where I was before going in. I like hospitals, I don’t like pain. Maarten says that I think I’m in a hotel when I’m there! Most nurses were great, and what little food I could keep in was ok too. I lost 9 kilos and that was the up-side of it all!

April 11th we celebrated Maarten’s 44th birthday and 2 days later his mother passed away at the age of 83. It was rather sudden and unexpected. At the same time, we had visitors from North America, Esther Unruh and her daughter Bev. We did our best to entertain them in spite of all that was happening.
Esther & Bev at Madurodam Because of their visit I got to see a little more of Holland. We went to Corrie Ten Boom’s house in Haarlem, and St. John’s church in Gouda, it is the longest church in Holland. St. John's Church

In May I attended a conference called, “The Journey to Wholeness in Christ.” It really was an amazing conference. If I shared all that I learned during these 14 sessions, it would take more than this Christmas letter to tell all. One meaningful impression I was left with is how important it is to have the example of a man in your life that will humble himself and sit at the feet of Jesus. My dad wouldn’t do this, thankfully my husband does. Signa and I (She was one of the speakers!)

In June I celebrated my birthday, and don’t enjoy getting older with the aches and pains attached. This summer they diagnosed me with osteo-arthritis, and during the warm summer months I am fine, pain free… but when the cold months arrive, my joints are in pain, and I live in pain. I wonder why Paul wrote, “In everything give thanks…” I’m not thankful for pain! Also in January the Ophthalmologist diagnosed me with pathological myopathy it is some kind of degenerative thing with the retina… JOY JOY JOY and Paul wrote, “Count it all Joy…” (James 1:2) I’m wondering how much does one have to go through to make one’s character more like Him?
We babysat Snuffy & Cavie for friends during their vacation!
This summer, Maarten asked me where I would like to go for our vacation. I told him, I want to see some of Europe, and not go to Canada. Well, we went to Canada and boy am I glad we did.
The Old Quebec Funicular is a funicular railway in the Old part of Quebec City. It links the Upper Town to the Lower Town and it was built in 1879.

We had a lovely time in Quebec surprisingly, I learned a little history. We were in Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa. We got to visit the Parliament buildings and that was a nice thing to do with Maarten. We went up in the Peace Tower and except for the man operating the elevator and the security guard we were the only two up in the tower because I was using a wheelchair. Fun eh? We visited the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, QC, that is where I read my new favourite joke! What do you call a vegetarian Indian? Give up? A lousy hunter!!!

We traveled by Via Rail, and found out there is quite a difference in service from Quebec to Saskatchewan. (In Quebec they have first class cars with Wi-Fi!) Via Rail did an excellent job taking care of us.

We were thankful for the many friends and family we could visit, one lady in particular. Auntie Marnie, Dr. Penner’s wife, was a woman who we loved and loved us! We visited her and had no idea that it would be the last time here on earth that we would get to hug her. Auntie Marnie went to glory on October 22, we miss her but are thankful for the time we had with her. This is one of my favourite pictures of Dr.& Mrs. Penner taken on our visit in 2008.

October 12th I had a visit from an old friend, we’ve known each other for years. Before my wedding, she had moved to the USA and so we hadn’t seen each other in a very long time. She was visiting Europe and decided to come and see us for a week. The weather wasn’t the nicest, but we had a great time. It was her first time on a bike in years – she did a great job! I hope we can visit her in Texas someday…
Elle & I at Kinderdijk.
About three weeks ago, I had a unique experience. On a Monday evening, just before going out with Maarten my pin broke on my left leg. The following morning I went to Livit Orthopedic and they gave me a new pin. Two days later I was getting out of my wheelchair to go to the little girls room and there went another pin! Thursday I was at Livit Orthopedic 2 times... I went in the morning and they gave me a new pin, so my leg was attached again, and I came home, and within 30 seconds that pin broke... and I had to go back to Livit, and they not only changed the pin this time, but the way it attaches... so hopefully no more broken legs.... but I don’t like the way it attaches now, it takes much longer to get it on in the morning and requires almost perfect placement, and I am not so good with that.

The day my first pin broke, Maarten and I were going through something difficult with his work, and God did amazing things for Maarten. I learned something though, the grace my husband showed towards a certain man at his work and praying for that man, put me to shame. I wanted to box that guy’s ears in… Maarten held no ill-will towards him, but prayed for him. Amazing…

In July Maarten visited the love of his life, the ship, the Essayons. He usually goes to Oregon to work on board for a week or so. He was there again the first week in November, and I was in Holland holding down the fort! He loves travelling there, working on site with the men, and he always comes home encouraged! They call him the Ship Doctor! (He’s so good at it!) He has changed positions at work and is now the Lead Technical Engineer for PLC/SCADA he will be doing a lot less travelling, although they have been trying to send him to Hamburg for the last couple of weeks, but so far he hasn’t gone.

I’m not so busy anymore, although I am still teaching English 3 times a week, I have tried to exercise three times a week, and sometimes I am successful and other times not. I visit our old neighbours once a week – she is 88 and he is 85. I help give him his lunch so his wife can have her meal warm, and not cold. I’ve been working on a book about my plane crash and life, kind of a complicated undertaking; I hope that God will be honoured by it when it is finished.

Well, I need to leave some room for Maarten to spout off…

Christmas letter 2009

It’s Christmas letter time once again! I used to really like writing these things… now I am not so sure! I think “Who wants to read it anyway?”

January & February flew by and were uneventful…

In March I began work with DaVinci College teaching English to Doctor’s Assistants and Pharmacist’s Assistants. This continued until the end of May. I had a blast doing it! I never imagined how much fun it could be being in a classroom. I started work on March 3, 27 years since my plane crash – it was kind of emotional for me.

Maarten went to America for his work…

April 11th Maarten turned 43…


This was the first picture Bessie took! So many bikes!
In May I began exercising at a gym… May 12th we got a visitor from Canada! I took Bessie to Oldenbroek for “Singer’s Day” the last performance for my choir as our director decided to stop after 19 years and nobody could be found to replace him. I was quite upset and still am! We went to the Keukenhof, Dordrecht, and Kinderkijk, Madurodam, Euromast, The Cubic houses, Haarlem and Corrie Ten Boom’s house… I left Bessie in Haarlem and she flew back to Canada the 28th!


Maarten and I had a weekend retreat at Emmaus with the church, it was great! June 5-7

June 12-14 to Groningen

July 25th to Middleburg

Our vacation was going to be a bit different this year. I came to Canada alone on August 5th. Maarten had to fly to Oregon on August 16th to work for a week.

After a few days at George & Bessie’s adjusting to the time change, I took the bus to Thompson. My mom continued to work, and so I was alone a lot. I began making my mom breakfast before she left the house for work. Her normal routine was to grab a banana and begin her work day.

Thankfully, Joan B. made time for me, and took me to her house to walk on the treadmill three times a week. She also made lunch for me and we went out for coffee, and other things like errands to the post office or Wal-Mart. George M. also took me out for lunch. I spent some time with my cousin Debbie, and cousin Brenda.

Laura Carter was also a trooper, she had mom and me over for a meal, and then after Maarten arrived she had us for an anniversary meal, as well as bringing me here and there throughout the days when I was alone…

Mom bought me a watch. Well, Maarten and mom bought me a watch. They shared the cost. It was mom’s Christmas present to me and Maarten’s birthday present to me.

I joined in on Bible studies with June & Anne, and Friday night suppers. June got me a guest pass to Curves which I had never visited before and enjoyed very much.

Maarten arrived on August 25th. It was a rather chilly day.

On August 30th we drove to Winnipeg with my mom. (750 kms) On August 31st, we attended Maarten’s long awaited sports event, a baseball game with the Goldeyes. We went with Gerry & Vyonne, and had a great time. The Goldeyes won by the way!

We were staying at Gerry & Vyonne’s. September 1st we were to fly to Vancouver. I had a bath that morning. When I was in the bathroom, I had placed my new watch on the edge of the sink. I had to use the toilet and somehow managed to knock the soap dish off and horrors saw my watch disappear down the drain! I moved with lightening speed to undo the trap below the sink, and horrors, no watch! As I didn’t have my legs on yet, I had to peek up over the sink, and to my surprise the clasp from my watch was still visible in the drain… I ran to the kitchen, (on my knees) and grabbed a spaghetti utensil and came back and used it to grasp my clasp and bring my watch to safety! I breathed a sigh of relief and didn’t tell mom or Maarten what I had done. (until 24 hours later…)

We drove to a shop in Garden City Shopping Center and waited in the car while mom ran in to buy a pair of pants she had put aside. We then drove to Uncle Grant’s and he brought us to the airport with mom’s car. We unloaded everything, except the new pair of pants mom had just bought for her vacation; they were forgotten somehow, in the car.

We’d left the majority of our luggage at Gerry & Vyonne’s, to travel as light as we possibly could through Western Canada. That turned out to be a smart thing to do.

We flew with Air Canada and arrived in Vancouver. (1870 km) We were met at the airport by a dear friend, Di. She brought us to the Executive Inn where we stayed one night. She had us over for supper and we met her children. The following day we went with Di to an IHOP for breakfast! That was the first time I had ever visited an IHOP. Teryn, her youngest daughter was also with us. We left mom at the hotel, Mom’s cousin Gail was going to pick her up.
Di, Maarten, Teryn and I went to Stanley Park, and then we went to the Vancouver Aquarium. It was a very interesting place. Well worth the visit, thankfully Maarten got in free. We saw some kind of 4-D movie… you really got splashed when the whales took a dive!

Di dropped Maarten and me off for supper at Gail’s and we had a lovely meal. It was somewhat rushed as we had to get to the bus depot to catch the 8:30 bus to Nanaimo. I had a call from Di that her van died. She had our luggage and it had to get to the bus depot too… She called her husband to come and see what the problem was, and she called her sister to come and pick up the luggage and deliver it to the bus depot.

Thankfully we both arrived there at the same time, Gail with Maarten, me and mom, and Di’s sister, and Teryn, with the luggage! Thank you Lord (and Di’s quick thinking!)

We got on the bus, and we were the only three people on the bus! When I had bought the bus tickets the day before I wanted to buy seat selection and the man laughed at me. He said then that we would probably be the only three on the bus, and he was right.

We took the bus from Coquitlam to Nanaimo. (103 km)

Of course, the Greyhound bus had to go to Horseshoe Bay and get on the ferry and cross the Strait of Georgia to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. We arrived at the bus depot around 11:30 pm, and my mom’s cousin Tom’s son Tom came and picked us up. We had a 22.3 km drive to Ladysmith where we stayed with Mom’s cousin Chuck’s wife, Audrey’s house.

We visited two graveyards where Tom is buried, and where Chuck and his mom are buried. We also saw many plaques around town dedicated to Tom and his wife, as he was a doctor and had given much to the town of Ladysmith.
We had a lunch together with Tom, his wife and son, his mom Wilma, and Audrey, plus Wayne and Vicki were visiting from Winnipeg. It was kind of neat to be together.
On Saturday, September 5th Maarten and I went by bus, back to Vancouver. Wayne O. picked us up from the bus depot. We stayed at another Executive Inn. We had a lovely meal in their tiny home. Sunday morning around 8 am, Brian Glum came by to visit. We went to Tim Horton’s for breakfast. Wayne came around 9 and we headed to church. Pastor Ken Shigematsu preached a sermon entitled, “The Fire Spreads” looking at the Holy Spirit and the early church, and what signs show the presence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life. It was an impacting message.

After church we went to a Korean restaurant for lunch. That was special and also very yummy! Brian had to return to Campbell River, so we went back to where Sandy (Brian’s wife) and the children were and waved goodbye to them as they packed up and left for the Island.

We hung out with Wayne & Grace and went house shopping with them. We had some time at our hotel and Cindy; my cousin, came for a visit. So glad she did, that was the only chance I had to see her.

On Monday, Wayne & Grace took us to Whistler. It was quite the long and winding drive, although Wayne insisted that they have improved the roads for the upcoming Olympics in February 2010. In Whistler we visited the official shop for the Olympics, Maarten, Wayne and Grace climbed into a bobsled and I took their picture. Memorable moments!

Tuesday, Maarten and I went to Metro town, a large shopping mall in Burnaby with 470 shops. We spent much of our time trying to figure out how to get to the Sky train. We had to take the Sky train all the way to the end in Surrey. There we waited for Bianca, the sister of friends in Holland. She picked us up and brought us to her home for supper. We met Ben, Bianca’s husband. They are Dutch but have chosen to live in Canada.

After supper we got back on the Sky train, and rode back to the Metro town mall, where the shuttle from the hotel picked us up.

Wednesday, Di came back into the picture and took us again to IHOP and then to the bus depot. There we took the bus 60 km to Abbotsford. We stayed two nights at Vicki (Caine) Abril’s. I enjoyed seeing her, her family and her 94 year old dad that she cares for. She has a very busy life on very little sleep. Quite chaotic if you asked Maarten.

Her husband, Aaron took us to the Airport on September 11th and we flew to Edmonton. (774 km as the crow flies.)

Donna (Cook) Hovsepian picked us up from the airport and brought us to our Hotel, Holiday Inn West. The first night was very interesting. I was asleep, happily in dreamland and at 4:10, I all of a sudden couldn’t breathe. I gently pushed Maarten, “Maarten can you please check to see if I have unplugged my breathing machine?” He attempted to turn the light on, and there wasn’t any light. There was no power! I sat up in bed, and got worried. “Can you please go downstairs and find out what is going on?” Maarten didn’t want to leave me. We were only on the third floor, but still, he didn’t want to leave me alone. I insisted. He went downstairs, but the only exit took him outside, he placed a rock between the door so it wouldn’t close, and he could still get back in and upstairs to me. He walked around the building and came in the main door, and the man behind the desk said, “Were you wanting to check out now?” No, Maarten asked what was going on and when it would be fixed. As far as they knew, emergency services were called, and there was nothing more they could do.

He came back to bed, and finally at 6:10 am the power came back on, I popped my breathing machine on, and I slept until the phone rang at 10:20. Tony was calling to see if we were ready for Donna to pick us up. By the time Donna arrived, we were ready.

We drove 45 km to The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village. After a nice picnic lunch prepared by Donna, we wandered into the visitor’s center. There we found a scoot mobile for old people, with fat wheels as the terrain was very rough. It was well thought of by the organizers of the village, these were free to use for those who needed them. I got to use it and could go everywhere in comfort, and Maarten didn’t have to push me in my wheelchair.

After visiting the village we met Tony by the river and went on a cruise on a riverboat. We had fantastic weather.

After this, Donna and Tony took us to their house and prepared Bison steaks on the barbeque. What a feast!

Sunday we visited the Beulah Alliance Church, the message was entitled, “The Difference One Life Can Make.” Matthew 20: 25-28. My husband was wiping tears from his eyes. The Monday before, he had an e-mail from leadership from our church asking him if he would consider being an elder in our church. Maarten hasn’t said yes yet, but was voted in by the people on September 30th. After church we went to the River Cree First Nation Casino for brunch! Yummy yummy yummy…

Monday and Tuesday we spent in West Edmonton Mall. Tuesday evening we had supper at Gretchen & Raymundo’s house, and we got to meet Ray’s mom who was visiting from the Dominican Republic.

Wednesday, we flew from Edmonton to Saskatoon. (481 km) Jenny, Gretchen’s sister, picked us up at the airport. We went and stayed with them a night in their lovely new home.

The next morning they gave us an excellent breakfast and then Jenny & Claude took us to the bus depot. We had a 2.5 hour bus ride on a Saskatchewan Transit bus to Moose Jaw. (225 km) Just after Tuxford we saw a real moose standing in a field of wheat… oh where is the camera when you need one!!!

Dr. Penner & Auntie Marnie picked us up at the bus depot and brought us to Caronport. I am saddened by the way things are going there. Caronport was a school that was built on prayer and sacrifice, and the powers that be are trying to turn it into a secular university instead of a mission-minded, bible teaching school!

From Caronport we took the bus to Winnipeg, Sunday September 20th. (664 km)

George & Bessie picked us up at the Bus depot. Bessie was in pain from her back. How she ever drove to get us was amazing. She was in such agony. We stayed with them for 4 nights. During this time we were able to meet with Albert & Lorena Wahl for brunch in Selkirk, Uncle Grant & Bonnie, Aunt Colleen, Mom and Maarten and I had supper in Selkirk, Supper at Tony Roma’s with George & Bessie for our anniversary present, shopping at Wal-mart.
When Bessie had visited us in May she bought some material with a Delft blue pattern, from that she made me a tea cozy and a bib! I am not the neatest eater Maarten says… She gave these presents to me before we left. How special is that?

The morning we packed up and headed to the Holiday Inn Airport West we stopped at the Pancake House and met Jim & Jan Uttley for breakfast. We had a lovely time together with George & Bessie. Why do we have to live so far away?

We got to the Hotel and had our final few days together, meeting Hilda Remple and my mom at Boston Pizza for a meal, Esther Unruh at the Olive Garden, Wendy & Kennedy at the Olive Garden and a birthday celebration with Susan Krahn, and Lawrence & Katharine Arendt. Susan has just been diagnosed with cancer of the kidney. Our last breakfast Vyonne and her family joined us, although we didn’t all get to sit together…

Then it was the all too familiar good-bye at the airport. I flew back to Holland on September 27th arriving here the 28th and Maarten flew via Vancouver to Portland Oregon, to work on the Essayons for a week before flying back to Holland. He arrived October 4th, tired but happy to be home.

My English lessons have begun again at home! I was asked by the school to come and give an English oral exam, but the head school provides the English teachers for the Health School now, too bad! I have begun to exercise more…

November 1st Maarten was installed as an elder in our church…

















December 12th I sang in a Christmas concert with the Choir Company… had a fantastic concert… wish you could have been there…














December 13th Maarten was in charge of the morning service, giving announcements and praying in front of people… He did a great job; surely the Holy Spirit was busy!










December 18th we are getting a visitor for Christmas, April Daoust – looking forward to a special time together!

Before this gets any longer, let me say goodnight, God bless you this Christmas and all the best in 2010!

The Snow that fell, December 18th... and we are still getting snow! First white Christmas since 1981!

Our 2008 Christmas letter

Where has the time flown? It hardly feels like a year since Maarten and I survived Christmas in Canada and 1 week in Portland Oregon where he attended some meetings regarding an American dredging ship. We had 6 days at the Marriot Waterfront – what an amazing hotel with amazing views of Mount Hood. We felt very spoiled by our visit. After having a year like 2007 with Maarten having an aneurysm it was a nice way to begin 2008, in comfort!

Maarten returned to work full-time in February. I’ve missed having him home, life kind of gets boring and uneventful. Over the year I’ve been teaching English 3-4 times a week, singing in a choir, going to physio, baking Linda’s famous chocolate cakes, endless Dutch lessons… visiting people (I’m very good at that!)


My Wednesday Morning English Group!

June 10th we flew to Canada and went to Caronport for my half sister’s high school graduation. She sang in the high school musical called, “Forgiven.” It was very appropriate under the circumstances, as her mother was also there!
Here I am at Caronport with my brother Mark and my birthday present from him!
From Caronport we rode with my youngest brother Mark and his family back to Edmonton where we visited with Tony & Donna. We went to Fort Edmonton for a day, what a wonderful experience that was! From Edmonton, we flew back to Winnipeg and spent the day with the Uttley’s and then went North by bus.

We were planning on heading South in time to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary in Winnipeg, only to cancel our plans and wait and ride South with my mom who had an appointment to see a neurologist. She is still waiting to hear the results of her last tests in November.

My sweet husband made a huge sacrifice – he wants you all to know! I had promised him that we would attend some sort of game, the Goldeyes, or the Blue Bombers, but because we stayed in Thompson longer than anticipated, he gave up what would have been his 7th wedding anniversary present! We ended up staying at a Bed & Breakfast with my mom, and then we went to stay with Dr. Kati and his family. We attended a Schutzenfest with them. (It’s a German celebration in a town called Little Britain. Someone had a sense of humour!)
Maarten and I had invited my 11 year old niece Lenea to come to Holland for the summer. It was hectic to arrange her ticket not even knowing if my brother was going to allow her to travel or not. We didn’t do it until the last minute, what a nightmare that was! God really made a way for it to happen! I was amazed once again at how He continues to meet our needs when we are at our wits end! My brother Keith came to Winnipeg with his family, and we all stayed at the Holiday Inn Airport West. They have a massive play structure there that the kids had a great time on!
Maarten flew off to Oregon for work on July 9th and Lenea and I left for Holland on the 11th. We had a good trip and arrived safely in Holland. Maarten returned to Holland the following week. Lenea had a great summer and we had a great summer having her.It was frustrating for me though, about the third week in July I got an infection in my leg. One that my GP treated with a low dosage drug, after three more weeks and a tummy full of antibiotics later, I saw my specialist who gave me two courses of high dosage antibiotics. That got me up on my legs again, but all this to tell you, I sat on my butt all summer – and was very angry about it! It was nearing the time we had to return Lenea to Canada (although she made it known loud and clear she would love to live here!)
Lenea with a friend, brought home a baby duck!
The last three weeks of August Maarten was again in Oregon and I was alone with Lenea. Thankfully she was here to help when I was so helpless! Thankfully, the families in our church stepped up to the plate and took Lenea out to the sea side, boating, swimming, and just doing fun things with her and for her. Lenea also had the opportunity to have riding lessons at a stable in the next town. She had an English speaking instructor.
One of the most difficult things for me was to find out how poor her eyesight is. I struggled with this too in my growing up years. Not nice! We were going to get Lenea glasses, but the eye specialist said that she needed contacts and glasses would not do. His price, 375 euros. I talked this over with Maarten who suggested we leave this to her parents (as he had already paid so much for her to be here!) I agreed (and that was hard for me to do!) and I prayed that God would take care of things as my hands were tied! While Maarten was still away in Oregon, we were invited to friends for supper. This family, after hearing my story of Lenea needing contacts, offered to pay the difference between what we would have paid for her glasses and the price of the contacts! How amazing that God answered prayer, and so quickly! I was so incredibly thankful that I wrote an e-mail to all my friends about this event – one person wrote back that I shouldn’t be begging overseas when Canada has a good eye care health system. I suppose what this person doesn’t know, is that Lenea is under Medical Services and they DO NOT pay for contact lenses, especially for children!

I am extremely thankful to the Lord and the kind friends who gave! It was also interesting, that when I went to pay for Lenea’s contacts, the doctor gave us an additional amount off the cost! We were amazed at God’s blessing for Lenea! Don’t get me wrong – but how come God couldn’t have been a little quicker on the uptake with my infected leg and healing so I could have done more interesting things with Lenea? I felt robbed!
I started walking with elbow crutches her last 2 weeks here. Over the summer she read a book called, “The Watchmaker’s Daughter,” the life story of Corrie ten Boom. I took her to Haarlem to see the museum in the house of Corrie, and to see Corrie’s bedroom with an opening in the wall showing the hiding place. It is so impressive. Rosa, Lenea, me and Anne at Corrie's door.Maarten and I also took her to The Hague, where the government of Holland sits, and we wandered through the tweede kamer. (The Dutch houses of Parliament.) One thing Lenea did, and I was very proud of her, was she wrote in a journal every day! Mrs. Kati had given her a book and pen, and told her that it would be a good thing to do. I had to encourage her on occasion but she did a fine job! When she is old and grey I hope she can look back at it and remember her time with us.

September 3, Lenea and I returned to Canada and stayed with George & Bessie for a couple of days before heading North, Auntie Colleen took us out for supper then took us to the bus (and Uncle Grant took us out for lunch at Smitty’s and bought Lenea a pair of jeans at Wearhouse One!

While I was in Canada for four weeks I had the opportunity to attend a women’s retreat in the Whiteshell, the food wasn’t great but it was a lovely weekend, and I got to go canoeing!

I returned to the Netherlands on October 1st.

Maarten was supposed to write the letter this year, however, as a result of work commitments he is in Oregon and I’m writing…

My legs are doing ok, I got new liners today and I hope that in a month or so the skin will be better, it is very fragile and breaks down easily. As a result, I am hardly walking and not even exercising which is something my body needs badly – the kilos keep creeping on, and I hate it.

Maarten is healthy as a horse and except for being tired sometimes in the evenings when he comes from work; he helps out a lot with cooking, he cooks on weekends, does all the laundry, takes out the garbage, does some grocery shopping during the week, and we go grocery shopping together on Saturdays – regular life things in a country where there is no Sunday shopping and no Wal-mart! I’m kind of getting used to the way they do things over here – I suppose I am a bit of a slow learner.

Today I shared a Charlie Brown Christmas with my students. I hoped that it would give them something to think about as the real meaning of Christmas might be missed in this day and age. When Charlie Brown complains about the overwhelming materialism that he sees amongst everyone during the Christmas season, Lucy suggests that he become director of the school Christmas pageant. Charlie Brown accepts, but it proves to be a frustrating struggle. When an attempt to restore the proper spirit with a forlorn little fir Christmas tree fails, he needs Linus' help to learn what the real meaning of Christmas is. It was a good reminder for me too!
One thing I know for sure, God has given me a great husband and I am thankful – he is a great guy! Maarten has bought a book (in Dutch) about immigrating to Canada! We’re not sure what is ahead – but we are seeking God’s will, and if you could take time to pray for us, knowing what to do about our future, we would appreciate it.

I’ll close with a quote from Wilda English, “God grant you the light in Christmas, which is faith; the warmth of Christmas, which is love; the radiance of Christmas, which is purity; the righteousness of Christmas, which is justice; the belief in Christmas, which is truth; the all of Christmas, which is Christ.”

Wherever you find yourself this Christmas have a happy & blessed one.

P.S. Linda allowed me to write the closing paragraph of this year’s letter. I think she did a great job! This year once again flew by at 100km/h. At least that is how fast it seemed. I am feeling much better, though different. Being that close to the call home has changed my focus on life and what is important in life. I strongly feel and believe that Linda and I are at some turning point or crossroads in our lives. We pray a lot for wisdom and guidance in this matter, feel free to join us. We need it…. The difference between the choice of the heart and the choice of the mind I guess. Hmmm I see I have two lines left ;-)) Must close, so to speak. My prayer is that all of you may find a very peaceful, warm and wonderful Christmas. We will think of you and if you think of us then through distance we will be together in mind. Love you all, Maarten. Gezegend kerstfeest!! (That’s Dutch) ;-))
Just a picture of our enormous tree!