NOVEMBER 3, 2008 MONDAY (P-DAY )

Today began as usual, but the AP’s called and said they’d be by around 10:00 to pick us up and go to the chocolate factory. While we were waiting for them, I found the addresses of three of the Lindt factories, one of which we had already been to. They were delayed a little bit because they had to take someone to get their registration completed so we made a quick run to Denners at Schwamendingerplatz to buy some peanuts for the trip. It’s weird because the peanuts we bought cost 1.70 sfr. and right next to them were peanuts, same brand exactly but a bag about a quarter the size for 2.35 sfr. So, of course, Diana had to buy 6 or 7 bags. They finally picked us up at 11:15. As we were driving to the factory we read the fine print on the page we printed from the computer and saw that the factory we wanted to go to opened at 2:00 so we changed plans. The Elders took us to Uertliberg which is an overlook of Zurich and Zurich Lake. We parked at a train stop and took the train up the mountain to the end of the line. Then it’s a 45 minute walk up a trail to the top and, if you wanted to get the real view, you had to climb a 150 foot tower. There you had a 360 degree view. It was all Diana could do to make it to the top, but make it she did. What a view! There were snow-capped mountains in the background and wooded areas interspersed with towns, and of course, Zurich, and the whole Lake one end to the other. It was quite cold and a pretty good breeze was blowing while we were on the tower. I took some photos, but don’t know how to get them into this blog. I need help. I took the card out of the camera and inserted it into the laptop. From the menu that popped up I clicked on import. Everything looked like it worked ok because when I got into microsoft, there is a file with all of the pictures listed as #I, #2 etc. I tried to open them, but I got a message that says they can’t be opened because the photos are wider than 27 inches. What did I do wrong, or what do I do to make the size smaller? Help. Of course, on the train up the mountain we talked to the people around us about who we are and what we are doing in Switzerland. The man we were sitting by was friendly, but when we wanted to give him a BM, he said he liked to read, but not religious books. We bantered back and forth a little, but the excuses kept coming why he didn’t want to take it. I’m too old; my parents were religious, but I’m not, etc. The Ap’s also talked to a family and the dad took a Joseph Smith brochure. On the trail the Elders also talked to two women all the way up the trail. It’s fun to see the reactions of people when you talk with them, but it would be better if they would accept the message.

After we got through with this little excursion we drove to the mission home. Diana and I needed to pick up a photo of each of us to take to the local agency to pay for our “Ausweiss” or permit to stay in Switzerland. So far we have only had a temporary permit. It’ll cost another 190 sfr. on top of the 40 we already paid. And in another year we’ll have to do it all over again. The Elders then took us back to our apartment where we kept busy until we met them again at 4:00 to do what we were going to do this morning, go to the chocolate outlet. It was a beautiful drive along Zurich Lake because the outlet was at Altendorf which is at the opposite end from Zurich. This outlet was a lot smaller, not as well stocked and the prices were somewhat higher. But, the trip was great and the company was the best.

The traffic was jammed as we drove back and we were wondering if we would get back in time for FHE. Diana had the lesson that she’s been working on and she needed a little time to brush up before going. We did get home in time for her to cram for about 15 minutes. She gave her lesson using a lot of German and I was proud of her and so were the others who were there. She turned the tables on us though because when she asked a question, we had to respond in both English and German. Those who were Swiss had trouble with the English just like we American had some trouble with the German. This was a great way for Diana to get empathy for having to use German to give the lesson which was on the Tree of Life. The game we played went like this. Each person wrote the name of a famous person on a slip of paper and taped it to the forehead of someone else in the room without them knowing what name was on the paper. Each person could ask a yes or no question to help himself/herself to identify the name on his/her forehead. When a questioned was asked and the answer was yes, then he/she could continue asking questions. As soon as the answer was no, the turn was over and the next person could ask questions. This went on until everyone had identified the person he represented. Fun game. This time there were two non-members present and one trying to get back into the church after having been excommunicated. Desert was an apple torte with vanilla ice cream. Yum, yum. Well, that it for today. Tomorrow is District Meeting and I have the opening song and prayer, Diana has the success story. Fun stuff.