"God Loved Us So He Sent His Son"

Easter on the Island of Bonaire - 

A few days before Easter some of the members of the Branch decided to "resurrect" a tradition from 3 or 4 years ago. An early morning hike up the mountain Seru Largu (which is the 2nd tallest peak on the island), breakfast and an Easter egg hunt on the top for the Primary children. Elder VV and I got on board with the fun and we decorated eggs Thursday with the missionaries and some of the Primary children. 

Sister Petersen and Sister Ramirez letting their creative juces flow -
M&M and the Divers decorated eggs

We decorated eggs back by the pool. snorkeling anyone?

On Friday morning at 6:30 am Elder VV and took about 100 hard boiled and plastics eggs to the top of Seru Largu and hid them. The rest of the group came a little later.

Seru Largu right this way

To see the sunrise

View from the top

There has been a drought on the island for a number of years so some of the members were surprised that the top of the mount was not as it was then. 

Stairs to the monument and the view!

Getting ready for the Easter message

Water!

Richard and Hermano Solarin

Monument at the top of Seru Largu

Our darling Primary children

Enter the Lone and Dreary World (the red flag marks the spot)

Where can I hide I'm pink!

"Into the Woods"

The golden egg!

Can  you find the hidden egg?

I couldn't help but think of the Lone and Dreary world as we hid the eggs under rocks, in the crooks of trees and some times in plain view. We are living here in the lone and dreary world - our desert island.
The Elders are searching for the Dutch people who are ready to hear their message. It is a challenge for the missionaries. 

It is kind of like looking for the Easter eggs on the top of Seru Largu.  It is an exciting discovery when you see a brightly colored egg... or the golden egg! The investigator!, who is ready to listen to the message of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ - and sometimes they are hidden in plain view.

Let the hunt begin!

Do you need a clue?

Where's Waldo?/Elder VV

President and Sister dePalm

As we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ at Easter time we are eternally gratefully for our older brother's suffering and Atonement for us - He is Risen!

Contacting at Carnival

Greetings from Bonaire!

Carnival is one of the biggest cultural events here on the Island. It happens 40 days before Easter. It is in connection with the Catholic period of Lent when everyone celebrates before they start the time of fasting.

There are parades, brightly colored costumes, loud music, dancing in the streets, eating and drinking, and it goes on for a few weekends. This year in February it is a 4-5 day celebration stretched over 2 weeks.

      
Usually the parades in Kralendijk are on Sunday, but there is a children's parade on Saturday in Rincon (a small village about 20 minutes away from the main city). The missionaries decided it would be a good idea to go where lots of people were gathered so they could find contacts, so we went to Rincon on a Saturday morning. They placed a table on the sidewalk with Books of Mormon, pamphlets on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, The Restoration, and the Plan of Salvation in the Dutch and Spanish and Papiamentu languages, and waited. They were prepared to find contacts. 

We set up on the main street where the floats and singing children and loud noise passed by. Lots of families and children came by and though the music was deafening I was surprised at the number of people who stopped to listen to the missionaries and take a pamphlet or Book of Mormon.



The Sisters are now teaching one of the contacts they made in Rincon that day. He happened to be a man that Elder VV knows from playing Basketball on Wednesday nights. Elder VV and the youth of the Branch play basketball at the Kompleho Deportivo (a big indoor community gym) on Kaya Amsterdam.   

One night, Brian, the investigator, came up to Elder VV and asked him what the name of his church was. He said that he had met the Sisters in Rincon and he gave them his name and phone number, but they had not called him! He was reading the Papiamentu Book of Mormon the Sisters had given him, and was in 2nd Nephi. He hadn't heard from them and he had some questions about what he had been reading!

Elder VV quickly let the sisters know and they made an afsprack (appointment). 

At first I wondered about the idea of going to Carnival to find the pure in heart, people who are ready to hear the gospel. It seemed an unlikely place.

We must never under estimate the power of the Atonement and the Holy Spirit. The gospel can ring true wherever there is an open and willing heart. When someone is searching for the truth they will recognize it. Even at Carnival in Rincon.

Lionel

Greetings from Bonaire!

More of the rest of the story...

We talked to the missionaries on Aruba recently, who are teaching Lionel. They said that they taught him the Word of Wisdom yesterday. After the lesson they asked if he thought it was a true commandment. He said, "Of course! God wants me to live longer. I am only 80 years old."

They asked, "What are you going to do now?" He hobbled over to the cupboard and gathered up all his tea and coffee and put it in a sack and gave it to the missionaries.

They said, "What do you want us to do with this?"

He said, "I don't care. I don't need it any more."

He is getting baptized on Easter Sunday March 27th.

The Blue Book

Greetings from Bonaire!

While we were in Aruba a few weeks ago for Zone Conference we stayed a few extra days. Elder VV needed to do the financial audits for the Orangestad and the San Nicolaas Branch and the new ABC District. 

We were there on Sunday so we went to the English speaking San Nicholaas Branch. When we arrived the Elders, Shepherd and Hunt asked if Elder VV could take them to pick up a new investigator for church.

Lionel saw the missionaries one day in December 2015 as they rode their bikes through town. He called them over because he had been looking for them. He asked them if they had a "purple book" called the "Gospel of Jesus Christ" .

Many years ago (possibly 3-7 years according to the missionaries names written in the tract) some other missionaries had met him on the street and offered him a "Blue Book" but he said no and wouldn't take it. He said that he was a 7th Day Adventist and that he didn't need any other religion. They offered him the purple pamphlet. At first he refused but then took it. He just put it on the shelf and there it sat for years. One day he had had a very hard night and was looking for God. He remembered the purple book and picked it up and read it. It made him feel good. He read the purple book every day from then on for years.

Now back to the present...Years later in December 2015, more missionaries were riding through town. He called out to them! "Wait!" He asked them if they had a purple "book." He didn't want the blue book they offered even though they said that the same stuff was in the purple book but more...finally he took it. He told them he lived "in the little white house over there" and then the Elders hurried off to the appointment they were late for... and forgot about Lionel. 

February 2016 came and another appointment fell through. They had forgotten about Lionel but as they were thinking of who they should visit, the spirit reminded them both at the same time about Lionel. Elder Shepherd thought, "I wonder where Lionel lives?" and then Elder Hunt said, "Do you remember where Lionel lives?" They both had the same impression to find Lionel. They found him in the little white house.

He asked for another purple book for his son because, "He needs this too," he said. He asked them, "What church are you from?" They showed him the name on the pamphlet: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He asked, "Can I come on Sunday? Am I allowed to come?" That was the Sunday we were in San Nicholaas when Elder VV went with the Elders to pick him up. 

The next Sunday when the Elders went to get him for church he was standing outside of his house waiting for them with a towel in his hand. They asked, "How long have you been waiting?" "Oh just for about a half an hour." "Why are you holding that towel?" they asked. "I wanted to be sure that I had a towel for when I get baptized." The missionaries explained that it was not going to happen that day. He said he was so excited about getting baptized he couldn't sleep all night.

Lionel is so excited about finding the Gospel of Jesus Christ he wants to tell everyone about it. He wants his family and friends and children to all come to his baptism so they can know about the wonderful news! The great plan of happiness and the peace he received when he read about the "Gospel of Jesus Christ" in the purple book.

Courtney and Ben Visit Bonaire!

This is Elder and Sister Vander Veur's daughter, Courtney, guest posting about our recent visit to Bonaire! My husband, Ben, and I were on the island for over two weeks (we returned last week) and really enjoyed experiencing a taste of Elder and Sister Vander Veur's mission life.

Elder and Sister Vander Veur on the beach

Elder and Sister VV are great at meeting people and making friends. Everywhere we went on the island, one of them would start up a conversation with someone at the store, on the street, or in the restaurant, and within a couple minutes they'd all be laughing. People were often curious about why they're living in Bonaire and the Vander Veurs will explain that they're missionaries and would sometimes extend an invitation to attend church or learn more.

Sister VV's knee has been hurting since November so they hadn't been walking daily like they used to but her knee was feeling better so we did part of their normal route and got to see the beauty of Kralendijk in the morning.

This is an American couple that has a house on the main road in Kralendijk so they come to Bonaire multiple times a year and have gotten to know Elder and Sister VV. When they found out the VV's are missionaries they started calling them Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker.  Haha! Sister VV doesn't wear nearly enough make up to warrant that nickname! ;)

This cute Dutch couple also visits Bonaire often and they sit on the same bench each morning eating breakfast. We found them in their usual spot for a nice visit.

On another visit downtown we ran into their friend who leads tours around the island

The Vander Veurs invited the Albus family (members of the branch) to dinner at their apartment with Barbel Albus's Dutch parents, Hank and Lida, who were visiting. The VV's have become good friends with Hank and Lida.

The Vander Veurs live in a mother-in-law apartment which is part of the home of one of the Dutch branch members

Look at that crystal blue water!

The branch of the LDS Church on Bonaire splits into two different groups for their Sunday meetings depending on the language they speak. Members of the branch speak Spanish, Papiamento, English or Dutch (most speak more than one). The Spanish/Papiamento speaking members meet in the morning and the Dutch/English members meet in the afternoon. We were there for three Sundays and attended the Spanish/Papiamento group once and the Dutch/English group all three weeks. The Dutch/English group is much smaller than the other. There were only 4-5 adult members other than us and the other missionaries so Ben and I were both asked to speak in sacrament meeting our second and third Sundays on the island! It was a great experience to share our testimonies with the members there and to get to know some of them.

All the missionaries went to a zone conference in Aruba one weekend while we were there so we got to use the car while they were gone. The young missionaries came back a couple days earlier than Elder and Sister VV (who were doing an audit) so we gave the elders and sisters rides to the grocery store on their preparation day. We also had the elders over for dinner (they get fewer invitations since there aren't as many Dutch/English members) and were able to visit an investigator with them.

At church after the Spanish/Papiamento sacrament meeting. The church is a house that the members have been renting for many years. They have a great deal on rent but there is no air conditioning. 

The outside of the church building

Sister VV and Courtney with the sister missionaries and an investigator. Bonaire has six missionaries on the island. Elder and Sister VV, these two sisters and two elders. The sisters work with the Spanish/Papiamento group.

Me and Ben with the elders, who work with the Dutch/English group of the branch. 

One day we decided to drive around the island and document the places Elder and Sister VV see on a regular basis. We called it the Day of Documentation, or D-Day. We also drove to all the sites where Ben and I went snorkeling or scuba diving and took pictures of the yellow rocks that mark each site with the name.

On "D-Day" we also drove to all the sites where Ben and I went snorkeling or scuba diving and took pictures of the yellow rocks that mark each site with the name.

We had Family Home Evening with the Albus family

We took lots of pictures like this...I couldn't help it. Look at that view!

Downtown Kralendijk

The Vander Veur's favorite grocery store, called the Warehouse. Avocados are much larger in Bonaire.

The main attraction of Bonaire is scuba diving because you're able to walk right into the ocean anywhere on the east side of the island and scuba! Ben and I got certified before our trip and were able to do six dives, as well as many snorkeling adventures. The water is a gorgeous blue (as you see below) and the reef is teeming with parrot fish, angel fish, honeycomb cowfish, barracuda, trumpet fish, and many others. We were lucky enough to spot a lion fish, two spotted eagle rays, a seahorse and a turtle! What an amazing experience. I love the water there.

We did our first two dives (in one day) with a guide but realized we had all the knowledge we needed to do it on our own so the next four dives were just me and Ben! I was a little nervous at first but it was an amazing experience and I'm so glad we did it!

We saw lots of the stoplight parrot fish (in the middle). This one is in the initial phase. During the terminal phase it turns green, red and yellow.

Ben loves the feeling of flying that you have while floating through the water

We rented an underwater camera for one of the days while diving. We got some great video and photos.

Can you see the seahorse? It's hanging upside down. We never would have found this on our own but some divers told us about the seahorse and even described exactly where it was so we could find it. I was so happy to see a seahorse and it was much easier to catch a picture of it because it didn't move, besides swaying with the flow of the water.