LINGER LONGER

They have a tradition in Belgium wards called a "Linger Longer." It basically is a pot luck held right after church on Sunday. It is a chance for the ward to get to socialize and hopefully to build better unity in the ward. Our Branch is so small and with half of the members being Belgian and the other half being Americans (from the military base), it is sometimes hard to build that unity.
Sister Egbert supervising the food. There was a great variety of food, with something for everyone.

JoAnn brought a blue cheese quiche topped with toasted walnuts and tuna salad on top of canned peaches (top right two dishes). These are both unusual and something that JoAnn has learned to make and enjoy while on our mission. The quiche is from a great French cookbook she found in Bordeaux and the tuna/peaches is a recipe she learned from Sister Masella in Paris. We are told it is a Belgian dish, but no one at the Branch had ever heard of it before.

More traditional American fare, spaghetti and sandwiches.
With all those dishes to pick from, this darling little girl went through the line and came back with two crackers and a glass of water and sat on the floor to enjoy them.

Although the Linger Longer was instituted to help the ward get better acquainted, mostly the French-speaking and the English-speaking members kept to themselves.

The French-speakers are seated at the table on the right.
This is a group of those who could speak English and French. We found that there were many more of the Belgians who could speak English than the Americans who could speak French.

Brother and Sister Lopez are from Argentina and speak Spanish as well.

The table in the middle were the English-speaking group. This is what Arnold is looking at down to the right.
Everyone has a Relief Society/Priesthood manual - even the babies. This week's lesson was an especially deep one and seems to have put this cutie to sleep.
Sasha Morgun ate lunch with us. He is a really fun little boy. His father is currently serving in the Russian Army, but is due back this week.

The Elders gave the desserts a "thumbs up." (Elder Peterson, Elder Neilsen, Brother Marshall and Elder Scott) There was every kind of pie and cake from rhubarb to apple to cream to traditional Belgian butter cake. All were evidently very good as they disappeared in the blink of an eye.