Diana feeding the sparrows in Bern; fountain, clock tower and goodie shop in Bern. The figures next to the red dial go around when the clock strikes on the hour.



MARCH 31, 2009
TUESDAY

Naeide asked Diana to be her model for a facial this morning during a private lesson she had with her instructor to get prepared for her practical test. Diana wasn’t too thrilled, but if it’s to further the work, she accepts the challenge and does it. It was supposed to be from 10:00 to 1:00, but ended up being until 3:00. We walked to Naeide’s apartment to get her and then walked together to the school. Men aren’t allowed in so I left them there and jogged home. Diana had to stay in the chair for all that time which was uncomfortable for her laying on her back the whole time. While she was there, I was home doing laundry. I did take a break and jog over to COOP to buy some anti-static sheets for the dryer, and while I was there, I bought a cake mix and some pork stew meat. As I was beginning to do my studying/reading, I heard a big crash in the bathroom and broken glass came flying out the bathroom door. I went to see what had happened and discovered the base part of the light fixture globe that screws into the base had separated from the rest of the globe and fallen down onto the glass shelf above the sink breaking it as well. It took me about an hour to pick up the glass and vacuum the little shards and pieces out of the carpet and rugs. I had to fish some out of the drain too. Now the problem is where to find a replacement globe and glass shelf. If we can’t find replacements, we’ll have to buy new and hope I have enough tools to get the job done. When all that was done, I went back to my reading/studying.

Diana and Naeide finally made it back at about 3:00. Diana quickly made some ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch. When we visit with Naeide, it’s always an opportunity to talk a little more about the gospel. She had a concern about an activity she had been invited to by Norma, a member of our ward. She thought it was just a party with other single members to get her married off to someone. She is content right now to be alone unless she happens to meet someone she likes and didn’t want to be part of a match-making effort. We explained to her that Norma was the Single Adult Representative of the ward and she has the responsibility to organize social activities for this group. Once she understood, she was OK with the invitation. It’s always interesting to see new members integrate into the Church and get used to all the different things we do.

By the time Naeide left we didn’t have much time to get ready and leave for the appointment we had with Sister Margarita Maurer to give her a blessing. We were supposed to meet Elders Pine and Harris in the Oerlikon Bahnhof at 5:20 which would be give us a safety of eight minutes before our train left at 5:28. We told them to meet us there early because they always push the envelope arriving just in the nick of time. Today was no different. We tried to call them a minute before the train was supposed to arrive, but got no answer. Just as the train pulled in at 5:28 we got a call from them. They asked if the train was there, and then asked us to hold it for them because they were coming as fast as they could. Holding a train is iffy at best, but I kept my finger on the button holding the door open and, just about when I was going to have to let go, we saw them down the line and getting into the train. I let go and away we went. They said they had street contacted a Jehovah Witness on the street and didn’t realize the time had slipped away.
We arrived at Kloten and walked to Sister Maurer’s apartment. She invited us in and we talked while waiting for Denise and Ashley, her daughter and granddaughter, to arrive. They got caught in traffic and were delayed at least an hour. It was interesting and we had fun talking to Margarita until they arrived. Diana has a way of connecting with people and has a wonderful influence on them. When the time came to give Margarita a blessing, Denise wanted one too because her work was paying for additional schooling and she had to pass a test in two weeks or she would have to pay for part of the tuition fee herself. Elder Pine did the anointing and I was asked to seal it and give her a blessing. We all felt the Spirit, especially Margarita. She is a sweet sister who has had a lot of problems in her life, but still has faith in God and has kept her sense of humor. We hope she will start coming to Church when she is able to walk again. Elder Harris gave Denise a blessing. After, we had a discussion processing the experience and then Denise drove us back across Zurich to our home. Elders Pine and Harris came with us so we could feed them some left over casserole and Diana made them cake-in-a-mug with ice cream. They’ve tried several times at home to make it, but can’t seem to figure it out.

We discovered Roxsan had tried to SKYPE us about some tax questions and we were just getting ready to call her when she called us. We answered her questions and talked to her for awhile. She had to leave for a minute so Mayleah talked to us for awhile. She is so cute and smart. Roxsan came back and we were able to visit with Nathan a little while too. As all good things do, they must come to and end. After we hung up came writing this journal entry and making sure we had the right train connections for tomorrow’s trip to the temple. We may see Elder and Sister Doyle there because they are going through the 3:00 session as are we. We also wrote Suwang a text message apologizing for not being able to visit her today. We just had too many things to do. Now it’s bedtime.