Thursday and Friday - Netherlands

Thursday morning from breakfast until after lunch, Do and I (and later Guy and Do and I, after he returned from a lenghty errand) talked and talked and talked about life and church and more about life... so good and so easy and comfortable like we had seen each other last week. It really amazes me when that happens over and over. It really makes it clear that we truly believe in the same God and that we are trying to listen to His voice and following His direction.

After lunch, we went to a region close to Ede; it's called "De Betuwe" and consists of beautiful landscapes with green meadows, cows, tall trees with fresh green leaves, lovely small villages, fruit trees and lonely farm houses along the narrow roads flanked by canals. So nice and really, really lovely! We visited the small village of Hemmen where we walked the small paths and sat down on a bench by a pond where some geese with ducklings had made their home. And there we talked some more :-)!

We drove back through a beautiful river landscape with dikes and water flowing and ferries constantly crossing the rivers. We had a cup of coffee with some real Dutch apple pie and drove home where we had some old-fashioned "boerenkool met worst" for dinner. Yes, that is kale with mashed potatoes and smoked sausage; did I say old-fashioned already? Because it is. And delicious! Of course after dinner, we had a cup of tea with "boterkoek", which is very buttery and solid and a heart attack waiting to happen. So good! And then we talked some more until it was time to go to bed.

The next day we just continued talking, had breakfast and talked some more, and we prayed for each other, which is always so encouraging and uplifting! Around 11, Guy and Do dropped me off at the train station in Ede, where I took the train to Utrecht and then from there back to Rotterdam. I walked from the train station in Rotterdam to my sister and brother-in-law's apartment (no, I did not get lost although I had my doubts at one point).

Tomorrow morning very early (yes, between 4 and 4:30), Hannie, Hijmen and I will get in their car and drive 12 hours to their vacation home in the south-eastern part of France where we will be more than 35 kilometers away from the nearest village (35 kilometers equals almost 22 miles). There will be no internet access in their little home; I will only be able to check my email and update my blog when we go to the village and set up shop in the local cafe with internet service... All this to say that this will be the last addition to Danielle's Adventures until we are in need of bread, cheese and some other French necessities...

Au revoir, mes amis!

Tot ziens, vrienden!

Until next time, my friends!

P.S. Thursday evening, I called my friend Martin Sloots to see how he was doing, so here is the latest news: the procedure was done on Tuesday in the hospital in Groningen after I had left. It was discovered that one of the major arteries was blocked and the doctor put in a stent to create proper bloodflow. When I talked to Martin on Thursday evening, he was at home and feeling much, much better: no chest pain and no pressure. Thank God!