A Bishop, a ward - many shepherds

Yesterday was our first Sunday in our new ward (congregation) in the Netherlands, the Almere Ward.  We LOVE our new ward! Once we had found a place to live I contacted the ward we would be attending to let them know we were coming and to ask a few questions about translation (this is a Dutch speaking ward) and about the youth and primary programs for our children.  Not only did they answer all of our questions but they sent us a lovely package with letters, photos and messages for each person in our family from the different organizations.  We have felt so welcomed and so loved!

After church we had another experience that reminded me of this quote from a recent General Conference talk "Becoming a Shepherd" by Bonnie H. Cordon:

"As we strive to follow the Savior’s example, we must first know and number His sheep. We have been assigned specific individuals and families to tend so we are certain that all of the Lord’s flock are accounted for and no one is forgotten. Numbering, however, is not really about numbers; it is about making certain each person feels the love of the Savior through someone who serves for Him. In that way, all can recognize that they are known by a loving Father in Heaven."

First, let me give a little background.  For those who have read our earlier blog posts, coming to the Netherlands was a little bit of a leap of faith.  We felt like it was the right decision but how to make it all work financially was not completely clear.  It became an even bigger leap of faith when we learned that the cost of housing was significantly more than we expected.  In order to afford housing we realized that we would not be able to pay for a vehicle while we are here.  It is just too expensive to rent a large van that could fit 7 people for six months ($8000-9000USD !!!).  We knew that riding bikes was very common in the Netherlands as well as taking public transit.  We've used public transit as our main mode of transportation in other cities like Xi'an, China and London, England so we figured it would be fun to combine transit and biking while in the Netherlands.

Fast forward to our first night in the Netherlands.  We had just arrived at our airbnb and got the kids mostly settled and then Rick and I set off on bikes to the grocery store as the sun was going down.  It was quite cold and there was snow on the ground as well as ice in a few places.  The cold wasn't nice, we could live with it, however having broken my ankle two years before after slipping on ice I was quite concerned about riding on snow and ice.  Also, the amount of energy and time we had to spend to get a small amount of food was rather daunting.  After this experience Rick and I were both pretty concerned about how we would do all that we need to here in the Netherlands, especially with needing to bike 5-6 km to the train station so we could make it to church on time each Sunday (the buses don't start early enough for us to make it to church on time going by bus).  That night we decided to lease a small 5 passenger car for one month just until the weather warmed up a bit and we didn't have to worry about biking in snow and ice. 

After our first bike ride in the Netherlands

For the most part, the five passenger car has worked great since most trips only a few people are usually traveling.  For those times when all seven of us need to be somewhere (like church on Sunday), we drive two people to the train station and then go back to get the other five people and drive to our destination.  It's costing us a little more on gas but the rental for a 5 passenger vehicle was about 1/3 the price of a 7 passenger vehicle. As we've gotten accustomed to the buses and trains we're also realizing how very expensive transit is in the Netherlands so it's often worth the backtracking and extra gas to avoid the additional transit fees.  We've also started to realize that there are going to be frequent, regular trips that will cost quite a bit (~15 euros round trip per person) for trips that will happen each week (church, youth activities, scouts, etc). In addition, these will require a lot of transit time (1 1/2 hrs each direction) and often be late in the evening (arriving home about 10:30pm).

We had already made a reservation to rent a van for our travels in May down to Slovenia and back to the Netherlands.  As we thought about all of our transit options we knew there was no way we could financially afford to rent a van for the entire time we are here in Europe but, maybe we could purchase a used van and then sell it when we leave ...  After adding in the cost of transit and the money we've already set aside for our minivan rental in May ($2550 USD) and comparing it to the cost of purchasing (including taxes, registration fees, insurance and fuel) and then selling a vehicle, we figured it was worth looking into the possibility.

So, today, heading to church, Rick and I planned on asking some of our new friends about the process of buying a car in the Netherlands and how hard it would be for us to do that.  After church, as we were saying goodbye to the Bishop and before we had even asked about purchasing a car, he told us that he had been concerned about our situation living here with a large family and no vehicle.  He said he had been praying about the situation when the name of another church member had come to mind.  This person buys and sells cars.  He had called him earlier and asked whether he had a minivan he was selling.  Unfortunately, he had just sold his only minivan.  However, even though he didn't have a minivan for us, he would be an ideal person to help us sell a vehicle after our time in the Netherlands if we decided to do that.

I was so touched that our new bishop was not only in tune with the Spirit enough to know of a challenge we would be facing even before we were aware of it but that he was praying for us personally to know how he could help.  I'm so grateful for the wards and good people we have been blessed to know (both here in Almere and our previous wards) that love the Savior and desire to follow His example by being His hands here on earth.  I know that we have a loving God in heaven, our Heavenly Father, who knows us individually.  It's quite amazing to me to see the many ways God is aware of our circumstances.