Dear family and friends,
The days seems to be flying by, and here we are in the heart of the Fall season, with all of its beauty and crispness in the air. From what we have been told of Bruxelles, we are grateful that most of our days this Fall have had some sun, and very little rain. We marvel as we look down on Square Ambiorix, which the workers keep immaculate, blowing the leaves at least weekly from the beautiful green grass, and trimming the hedges. The leaves on the tall trees have turned to brilliant hues of orange, yellow and red, and have shed half of their growth. It is interesting to view them from above. The smaller trees surrounding the square are almost bare, but because their branches have been tied one to another, they appear to be holding hands with the tree next to them, which now mostly bare, almost looks like a giant fence in the air surrounding the park.
When I leave from the apartment each weekday morning at 7:45 a.m. to walk three blocks to the gym (which opens at 8:30, but they let me in at 8:00 for a half hour of being the only one there), I jog down the eight flights of stairs before stepping out into the cool morning air wearing my hat and gloves and with my nose tucked down into the top of my jacket. I am always amazed at that time of the morning that the sidewalks are filled with dads and moms pushing strollers destined for the local day care, and the people waiting for their particular bus number to take them to their jobs. It appears that little children are put on the regular buses to take them to school. A much different scene than you would find in America, unless you live in the heart of a big city.
The photos below were taken as we were on one of the outings sponsored by our Relief Society. I appreciate their efforts as it gets us out, and it is fun to meet together and to get out and take advantage of the many cultural activities that Bruxelles offers. On this particular day we toured the Museum of Music, which displayed every instrument that was ever conceived, and along the way a twenty minute concert, which gave us a chance to sit down and rest our weary feet.
The Music Museum
Next, we crossed the street and went into a modern art museum, which featured one artist exclusively, whose work was a little bizarre to us, so we breezed through as quickly as possible. Next door to that one, was the beautiful Bruxelles Museum of Art, which housed all of the Masters, and was really quite magnificent!
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| Bruxelles Museum of Art |
This Reubens painting was magnificent!!!
My dear friend Karen Robinson in Virginia gave me a book to read just before leaving, on the life of William Tyndale, who dedicated his short life to translating the Latin Bible into English, so that the common man could read it for themselves. The sacrificies that he made in order to do this were incredible, and he was finally apprehended and burned at the stake just outside of Bruxelles. This monument to him was in a rather insignificant place off the beaten path, which made us kind of sad, because of his incredible sacrifice to bring forth this important record that has blessed all of our lives.
The name of the book about his life is "Fire in the Bones" by S. Michael Wilcox, and well worth reading. Our friend Lee Groberg, whose Legacy Films Foundation board we sit on, has put this story into film, calling it "The Fires of Faith". We are working on including a short clip of this film to be shown at the Church's visitor center in London during the Olympics next year, and flying Lee over to introduce it.
We later learned that the monument's original home was in the town square, but was removed for road work, and then never returned to that small place of prominence.
The name of the book about his life is "Fire in the Bones" by S. Michael Wilcox, and well worth reading. Our friend Lee Groberg, whose Legacy Films Foundation board we sit on, has put this story into film, calling it "The Fires of Faith". We are working on including a short clip of this film to be shown at the Church's visitor center in London during the Olympics next year, and flying Lee over to introduce it.
We later learned that the monument's original home was in the town square, but was removed for road work, and then never returned to that small place of prominence.
On this particular Saturday we were exploring an area out in the countryside where Napoleon fought and lost the Battle of Waterloo. Just down the street we found a very quaint barn like inn, that our friends Debbie (Marriott) and husband Ron Harrison had recommended, and loved to frequent while he was serving as Mission President in Bruxelles, when we were serving in Hungary. It was a lovely setting and we will have to take you there when we visit Waterloo.
THE BEST VISITING TEACHER EVER!
This is my wonderful and adorable friend Rebecca Bertz, who is from Switerland, and is my visiting teacher. She lives quite far from me out in the countryside, but takes her harp lessons just a few blocks down the road from us. She is probably one of the sweetest and most generous women I know. She doesn't visit me just once a month, at the end of the month, but will stop by at least twice, or whenever she is in the area. She is truly one of the most positive people that I have ever met!!! And each time she comes, she is bearing gifts of fruits and vegetables! She reminds me of the children's book "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" because she is always so cheerful!
Just an example of her generosity!!!
Several weeks ago, a very talented member of our ward whose name is Claude, and serves on the public affairs committee here,
made special arrangements to rent a movie theater and show "17 Miracles". This is the incredible story of the Willie Handcart Company, and the unbelieveable sufferings they had in trying to walk to Zion, having imigrated from England after they had joined the Church. Some of you saw it with us when we were last in Salt Lake. It is a real tear jerker! If you have not seen this film, please take the opportunity to do so when possible.
We had a good turnout with about 150, almost filling the small theater on a Saturday morning. My cute friend Rebecca had ridden her bicycle for an hour from her home in the country, to downtown Bruxelles to attend, because her car was not driveable because of a broken mirror. And in a skirt and high heeled boots no less!!!!! I love her!!
On a totally different note, several weeks ago David received a beautiful engraved invitation from an important colleague that he had recently met with, to attend a special service in his Catholic church, where a Cardinal from America was visiting. Since one of our assignments at the European Union is to work on religious freedom and tolerance, we were pleased with the opportunity to attend. I must say that it was a most interesting experience. First of all, it was just a miracle that we finally found the cathedral, which was hidden in a very nice neighborhood, and we must have stopped and asked at least six people if they knew the whereabouts of this church!!! Most of them did not speak English or German, so we would drive on until we saw someone else out walking their dog that morning, and asked them. Eventually we found it!
Upon arriving, the parking was nonexistant, and so being the gentleman that he is (pay attention boys) he dropped me off so I could race into the church, considering we had about ten minutes before the service began. I was surprised as I entered the cathedral that the seating was very limited, and many were standing at the back hoping to see the Cardinal. Luckily I was clutching my engraved invitation at my chest when I entered the cathedral. A priest saw me (whom I later learned was the VIP in charge that day and was wearing long black robes and a blue cape) and glanced at my invitation, and then ushered me right up front, where there had appeared to be no seats at all!!
It was quite a different experience to find oneself in a cathedral Sunday morning, with all of the pomp and circumstance and pagentry that you can imagine! But that was all overshadowed by the GRAND entrance of the Cardinal wearing a red tafetta cape that had at least a 20 foot train trailing behind him, that was carried at the end by a young alter boy.
While the Cathedral was old, ornate and beautiful, I was most struck at the obvious devotion and reverance of the people who attended the service. And my thoughts were, that these were people of faith were worshipping in the only way they knew.
When we left the church we came across this restaurant just around the corner with a beautiful mossaic sign, named "La Roseraie", which was most appropriate.
Interesting days, interestring experiences, with many more adventures in the future
Love and blessings to all.
Darelyn and David
aka mom and dad
Interesting days, interestring experiences, with many more adventures in the future
Love and blessings to all.
Darelyn and David
aka mom and dad
