THE HAGUE TEMPLE

After nearly 2 years we finally were able to go to the temple!

When we were serving in Bordeaux the nearest temple was in Madrid, Spain, and since that was not within the boundaries of the Toulouse France Mission, we were never allowed to go there. Even when we spent six weeks in Paris the same was true. The nearest temple was in Frankfurt, Germany, and again that was not in the Paris France Mission boundaries. We had just resigned ourselves that we would have to wait until we got home to get to go to the temple again. Then when we were transferred to Mons, Belgium, we discovered that the nearest temple was in The Hague in the Netherlands, within the Belgium/Netherlands Mission boundaries.
We were so happy to finally be able to visit the House of the Lord. Our good friend Toon Renard went with us and helped us find our way. The trip takes about 2 1/2 hours. It was so fun to get to go with him, and we may not have been able to have made the trip without his help and company.

The Hague Temple is one of the smaller temples, but just as beautiful, peaceful and joyous as the larger temples. Everything that the larger temples have, this temple had, only smaller in scale. It was so cute when we came in the main entrance there was an umbrella stand with white umbrellas. Evidently, they give one of these to the new brides when they are married. It must rain a lot in Holland.
The main room had lovely murals painted on the walls depicting the beautiful scenery of Holland. In the back corner of the room, there was a small windmill painted. It was such a nice touch.

Molen de Hoop

When we walked around the quaint town of Zoetermeer (right next to the temple) we came across this real life working windmill. It had a gift shop on the bottom floor and in the upper part they actually ground flour, etc. They sold different mixes in the gift shop, but not understanding Dutch, we were afraid we wouldn't be able to figure out how to fix any of it.

This unusual row of trees was right in front of the windmill. We are not sure how they trained the tree to grow like this, but we can imagine it is even more interesting with foliage on it.

This canal runs throughout the little ville. It is quite picturesque. We had a nice walk through part of the town and saw some interesting houses.

This one had a large brass shield-like insignia over the door. For some reason the canal was green in front of this house. The house was quite charming and well landscaped. Near the top of the picture, the water suddenly became clear. There was a straight line where the green and the clear water met. Very interesting.

Toon told us that once he was taking his dogs for a walk and had let them off the leash. The one dog saw water like this and thought it was grass and jumped right on it! Voila - a wet, green dog.
The yards of the houses here are all very well landscaped and well kept. We took this picture when Toon pointed out to us how these houses are only one room wide and they have windows in the rear to match the front windows.

This is the same house. You can actually see right through the living room to the backyard. We thought this house looked like it could be a wig shop for Martians.

It is hard to see, but those white spots in the field are swans. There were huge flocks of them in the fields. It was hard to capture from the moving car, but at least it will help us remember the grand sight.

Toon drove on the way home, as he knew the way and it was a little tricky, and because he is a super nice guy and knew JoAnn could use a rest from driving. He treated us to a great Dutch dinner at McDonald's - yes they are everywhere! Toon's wife, Elly, is Dutch and she insisted that he stop and get her some Dutch candy that she is not able to get in Belgium. The candy is a favorite from her childhood, and she told him he better not come home if he didn't get her some. We bought some too. It is so fun to try all the new and different things there are here to taste.