Pre & Post Wedding

Peter's dad met us at the airport in Amsterdam and was a great tour guide, treating us to lunch and lots of coffee and helping us enjoy a bird's eye view of the city of Delft, where Delftware is manufactured.

Lots of cheese everywhere too!!

I have seen lots of Deftl, not only all over Europe, but also in Canada, so it was great to see the huge variety and where it originated.  

Later he took us to Monster where Arry and Derek hosted us for our 3 night stay.  They own and manage a huge greenhouse where a variety of flowers are grown.  

They were the perfect hosts for us and Valdemar - another former NTM student.  It was great to catch up with him the morning of the wedding when we took a walk through the town and on to the beach.

Off we went to a hen and stag party that first evening.  There was lots of fun and laughter while the men were enjoying a Chinese Smorgasbord.  Us ladies were in Sarina's parent's home, enjoying a variety of food and playing silly games with Sarina on her last eve of singlehood.  

Our hosts were extremely gracious in lending us a car to go visit 2 day old Maria, the morning after the wedding.  What a little sweetie pie.  So good to see her parents again too - more former students!!

Traditional treat when visiting a new baby!

2 day old Maria and her proud parents.

In the afternoon our hosts gave us a tour of the area, including a Harbour cruise of the Port of Rotterdam - the largest port in Europe,  and the Hague (the Netherlands's Government city) which we have heard so much about.  

 

 

Would you find it hard to believe we ran into Filipinos and surprised them with our Tagalog?
It seems like we find them no matter where we go!!

We so enjoyed all of the sights and sounds and being treated to a wonderful meal on the beach. 

Unfortunately the following morning was not as exiting though - we were back at the airport in Amsterdam and headed to different departure lounges - Ragnar on his way to the Faroe Islands, and me home to England.  

Dutch Wedding

When Peter and Sarina shared their exciting news with us we were so happy for them.  We thought they were a perfect match!!

We have so enjoyed getting to know them both over the last few years, and now to hear they were soon going to become Mr. & Mrs. was fantastic!!  Then to top it off, we received an invitation to join them on their special day.  How wonderful - we knew we would have to go - we couldn't miss that!!

 

 The Wedding Day was so beautiful.  The bride and groom were smashing and this old couple were enjoying observing the various Dutch traditions.    

The group that came from NTM.  

At 2:00 p.m. around 50 of us gathered in a small church where we witnessed with pleasure the bride and groom taking their vows. 

 Each of the guests were given a white rose.  The men wore theirs facing up and the women's facing down.  I asked several people if they knew how that tradition started, but am still left wondering.  

Following the ceremony and lots of photo shooting we enjoyed a scrumptious, well planed, 4 course meal in a friend's spacious, modern greenhouse.

 

That time went by quickly and soon we were rushing off to a large church where approximately 300 people were gathered for a beautiful service.  Lots of singing, a message and exchanging of rings - even an interpreter for us non-Dutch speaking guests.

Endless snacks were then served, while we sat around chatting away with live music in the background.  

Meanwhile the bride and groom were standing in the receiving line which went on for at least a couple of hours.  

Norwegian guests - former Bible School students.  

Then games, quizzes and power points kept us entertained close to midnight.

 The bride and groom were gorgeous and were never seen without a smile on their faces, but they must have been exhausted when they finally walked out to their car under tons of sparkles.

It was a fantastic day - one we are so thankful that we could be part of.  

Congratulations Peter and Sarina!!

We wish you mush happiness!!

Cousins Visit

Believe it or not, we had many, many more visitors from the Faroes when we were living in the Philippines, than we do here in England.  I often wish I had kept a list of them - relatives, friends, tourists, mates of other Faroese missionaries, mission teams, some who were working on the OM ships and were docked in Manila, and many others coming for short term work.

Even though there are 4 of us Faroese families now living in our tiny village of North Cotes (who ever would have guessed that?), Faroese are not flocking in!

Well, I just stopped to count and realized 20 families have been here - some for a few days, most for meals, but a few just for coffee.  

But that is a drop in the bucket compared to the RP.  Just thought that was interesting since we are so much closer here.  Guess it doesn't bring the adventure with it that the tropics do!!

Ragnar's cousin and her husband on left - cousin and wife on right.

All that to say that we recently had a drop in visit from Ragnar's cousin and her family.  Her brother and family live just around the corner and they were spending a week with them.  

Cousin's family visiting from the Faroes.

Baby Shower

Each year several babies have joined the scene here on campus.  

Guessing what baby food it is.

 We try to have a celebration in various styles, shapes and forms.  Although Baby Showers are not a traditional European practice, I guess there has been enough North American influence here to start the tradition and keep it going.

Seeing who can change a diaper the quickest while blind folded.

  There will be 5 additions this year, and we recently had their combined shower.  This time we gathered together in our coffee house for a fun afternoon - games & competitions, snacks & drinks, chats and laughter to celebrate the birth of these little ones.  

 

 When I am asked to do a game, they can count on me arriving with some diapers with melted chocolate inside.  I love to have the guests guess what  chocolate bar it is.  Reactions are priceless - from utter disgust to lots of giggles.

 

Also had fun making some chocolate baby bottles, teddies and buggies.

My Final PFO

My job here at North Cotes has been winding down - most responsibilities have been given over. 

Yet, there was one more PFO to be organized and taught.  When we were in the middle of the one in May, we thought that was our last one, but in the end this has really worked out well.  It was so much easier to walk through the process with Jonathan step by step rather than just try and explain to him what to do for the next one. 

We had originally thought there would be several candidates, but one by one for various reasons, most had to cancel out, and it ended up being the smallest one ever.

Ingrid with some of the students chatting around the table after supper in our home.

Even though there are lots of details to be worked out to make sure the weekend runs smoothly, whether there is one candidate or 30 plus, each PFO has been very encouraging and well worth the effort.  

It has been wonderful to see so many getting involved in various ministries around the world, and lots of candidates coming back through the college and going out full time to be part of the team reaching the unreached.  

Open House

One of the things we will miss the most about our time here in North Cotes, is our time with the students.

It has been wonderful forming friendships with our future missionaries from all over Europe.  To get to know them in a more personal way, each year we have tried to have all of them over for dinner in groups of 2-3 or one family at a time.

 However we also enjoyed having the whole group over each Saturday night that we were home and nothing else was organized (like a Christmas Party or PFO week-end.)

While Ragnar was in the Faroes, I was able to have Open House on 3 occasions.  I really enjoyed those Saturday nights with lots of students in our home.  They are so young and full of life, excited about their studies and reaching out to those in need.

Crokinole is always the center spot, but other games are played, spreading out on the living room floor or upstairs - chatting while munching away on snacks or involved in a serious conversation.  

We will truly miss those lively Saturday night Open Houses.