Swiss Temple, I've probably put this one on before, but I like it.
Video clip of Elders Evans & Ehlen doing their talent for the zone conference time before last. Listen to the music and it'll make sense. Video clips of Diana's missionary decorated brownies.

APRIL 29, 2009 WEDNESDAY

This morning we got up and the first thing we had to take care of was the wash. We put the white batch in at 7:00 and then proceeded to get ready for the day. A little after 8:00 we took the white batch out of the washer and put the dark clothes in. We brought the whites back to our apartment and got the dryer going. Just when we were beginning to plan our day we got another distress email from Naeide telling us her son was at her door and could we please come. We hurried on over and, sure enough, Marcello was standing at her door. She wouldn’t let him in while she was alone. She unlocked the door for us and Diana went in while I stood in the doorway. Naeide had a discussion with Marcello from behind me; as the conversation went on it heated up. Finally the ultimatum was given that he could come in and get his things if he would leave immediately after. As soon as he was in he decided he didn’t want to leave. He said he had no where to go. We can’t repeat some of the things he called her or said to her and us and can’t rehearse all of what happened, but at one point he was fairly aggressive to us. This situation went back and forth for many hours and finally she gave him a deadline to be out of the house at noon. Finally he left at 12:30, but didn’t take anything with him because he had an appointment to talk to someone at a place where he hoped he could serve his three year apprenticeship. Naeide told him to call her when he wanted the stuff he’d packed and she would put it out on the porch for him to get, but he was absolutely not allowed back into the house. It is so difficult and heart-wrenching for a mother to have to put her son out on the street, but it was impossible for him to stay because of his mishandling of his mother. We hope Naeide stays strong and doesn’t let him back in until he has proven he has changed, which won’t happen overnight. His girlfriend had also thrown him out because of the same problem he has with her. Before he left, Naeide gave him the phone number of the apartment she had found for him, the number for the Social Department and the number from the Priest of his Reformed Church and fixed him a big lunch because he said he was hungry. We returned home at about 1:00 pm when we were sure he had really left the area.

We continued with our interrupted washing/drying. I had forgotten to take our cell phone with us this morning so we checked to see if we’d had any calls. Both Elder Pine had called and Elder Jensen. Elder Pine just wanted some information and Elder Jensen wanted to pick up his disks and hard drive he’d left at the Church after district meeting. We brought them up to speed on Naeide’s situation. We noticed his disks and hard drive at the Church after district meeting and brought them home for him. Elder Evans wanted a copy of a video clip of him and Elder Ehlen that I couldn’t find for him yesterday, but found it since. We’ll put it on the blog tonight. They came shortly after and picked them up, watched the video clip and then had an interesting story to tell us. Sometime after Marcello left Naeide’s home they saw him at the Burger King at Oerlikon and went in to talk to him. They said he acted as if nothing had happened, that he’d broken up with his girlfriend and thought he would now have a better chance to have a better relationship with his mother. Duh, huh? What is it with this guy? Soon after they left we got another call, this time from Charlotte. She asked if she could come over quick. When she got here, she had a planter with two vegetables planted in it with three chocolate ladybugs sitting on top of the dirt. She is so busy doing everything for the missionaries that we wonder how she affords the cost of the food and everything else. She also bought Elder Evans some socks because his has holes in them, kind of a going away present. Diana turned the tables on her and gave her a sunstone she had made from the mold we brought with us. Diana showed her a picture of the Nauvoo Temple and pointed out the sunstones. She really liked it and insisted we write our names on the back.

We stayed home today just to be near in case Naeide needs any more help or support from us. We texted her a message about 15 minutes ago asking if she was ok, but we haven’t got a response back. Even though we stayed home we were still busy. Elder Ehlen called to ask us to help him find an address on google maps and Elder Harris called to ask if Elder Pine could have one of our black pens and then again to get some more information on Ali Maddouri, a less-active member. We also brought them up to speed on Naeide’s situation in case we needed back up. Just as we were about ready to go see if Naeide was alright, she texted back and said when we texted, Marcello was there to pick up his packed belongings. He wanted a drink so she gave him one through a window and told him to leave. He picked up his stuff and left. It tears her heart out to have to turn her only son away, but she’s doing it out of love as well as self protection. Maybe he’ll realize he’s the one who’s responsible for what’s happening to him and make changes in his life for the better.

It was getting late and we had two birthday people to visit, fortunately both in the same house, Sister Rita Wichtermann and her son David. David returned from his mission to Russia a month or two ago. Since the Wichtermanns are the Outreach (formerly Institute) missionary couple for the stake, we let them know what was decided last night in the meeting between the Stake President and our Mission President. Pres. Bolt said he didn’t want the missionaries to conduct any more English classes within the boundaries of the Zurich Stake. The reason he gave was that he had been confronted with the question as to why were the missionaries teaching English classes, that it wasn’t in their job description. He said he couldn’t think of an adequate answer. Whoever Pres. Bolt had the conversation with accused the Church of lying, that the missionaries were using English class as a ruse to proselyte. There may also have been complaints from businesses who charge for language instruction, that we were taking business away from them. It’s a lame complaint because we have only had members and one investigator, Charlotte (who is now a member) come to our classes.

We had a nice visit with both of them and then we returned home. It was raining when we came home and we had forgotten our umbrella again so we got a little wet. Sis. Matern asked Diana to make some dessert to serve the missionaries at their going home dinner tomorrow. Diana said she only knew how to make brownies and Sister Matern said that would be alright. She decided to make them tonight so when we got home, she did just that. We also heated up the casserole Naeide brought us yesterday and ate it for dinner. It was pretty good, but needed a little more sauce on it because it was pretty dry. However, it was good and we appreciated her thoughtfulness.

Sisters Walker & Hewitt, Elders Carrier, Harris, Evans, Larson & Jensen. sister Larson is taking the photo. Elders Harris, Pine, Larson & sister Larson at the Kummers.

APRIL 28, 2009 TUESDAY

The weather today was again rainy, overcast and cool, but not cold. Elder Evans & Jensen asked us yesterday if they could come by an hour before district meeting and transfer photos between them and Elder Evans wanted to download all of his photos from our computer that he put there some time ago for safekeeping. Thursday is transfer day and all the missionaries who are changing companion are trying to get all the loose ends tied up. Elder Evans is transferring to Austria, Elder Pine will take his place as Assistant to the President and have Elder Jensen as a companion, Elder Nilsson is transferring in as a Zone Leader and companion to Elder Harris, and Sister Walker is going home. We don’t know who Sister Hewitt will have as a companion in Luzern. It will be sad to lose Elder Evans who has been a shining light and a stalwart as an AP, a support to our district and ward and as a friend. We think he is excited to get back out into the field working with the people here in Swiss Mission. While the elders were doing their thing with their photos, we transplanted the tomato, cucumber and squash plants and put them out on the balcony.

At 10:00 we left for the Church and district meeting. The district meeting just before transfers is call the “Omega Meeting” which means it is just a little different and a little more fun oriented. Some of the differences included sharing talents, a lot of extra treats & drinks, sharing photos and spending a little more time talking with one another saying goodbye to those leaving. Diana’s talent is putting other people to work. She brought iced brownies and a bag of different kinds of candies etc. for each of them to use to decorate them with. My talent was to have four of the missionaries stand up and show off their haircuts that I did for them yesterday. Sister Hewitt and Elder Norris each played the guitar and sang, Elder Norris a song he wrote himself. Elder Harris taught everyone, including the sisters, how to tie a double Windsor knott in a necktie. Elder Pine showed everyone how he could walk on his hands. Sister Walker demonstrated juggling with three plastic bags. Elder Carrier was a whiz with the Rubic Cube Elders Evans and Jensen tossed nuts to each other, catching them in their mouths with the finale’ being Elder Evans catching a nut in his mouth and spitting it back into the air and Elder Jensen catching it in his mouth and eating it. Kind of gross, but everyone got a laugh out of it. When the meeting was over, Elder Pine and Harris came home with us to use our laptop to make their report on our zone for a meeting they had with Pres. Matern and Pres. Bolt tonight. This report is a report of all the missionary activity in our zone for the last six weeks. Just before each transfer this report is made by every zone and everything is discussed with the mission president, assistants to the president, stake president and zone leaders in the respective stake to coordinate all the missionary work. Elders Norris & Carrier came also to get their hair cut. I did that while the others were creating their report. Now all of the elders have fresh haircuts until Elder Nilsson comes in.

Elder Pine had arranged a service project for Bro. Kummer for 3:00 and asked us if we would like to come and help. They didn’t know exactly what we would be doing, but we needed to be dressed in work clothes. Before we left Naeide brought us a casserole over that she had made for us. She is a special person and is very thoughtful. All we have to do is put it in the oven and heat it up when we want to eat it. The Elders hadn’t finished their report by the time we had to leave to go to the Kummers, but we went anyway. Brother Kummer wanted a whole bunch of boxes of books taken from his upstairs and stacked out in back of his apartment. The boxes were heavy and we could see why he needed help. The two elders and I formed a box brigade handing them from one to the other down the staircase and out the back while Diana supervised. When all was done, Brother Kummer gave the elders a bag of food that they could make supper with. The elders came back home with us to finish their report and then they left.

The next thing on our agenda was dinner with Charlotte at 5:30. She had invited Elders Ehlen and Roberts and wanted us there too. She is always fun to be with, but she has a special place in her heart for Elder Ehlen. She cooked a yummy lasagne and for dessert she gave us an almond pastry with strawberries and whipped cream. Elder Ehlen’s birthday is May 1st and we talked over plans for that before he got there because it’s supposed to be a surprise. We finally had to leave for Institute. Usually Institute consists of an opening exercise, classes on the standard works and then refreshments after. Once in awhile they have a game night which was the activity for tonight. They people divided into two groups, one English speaking and one German speaking. They both played the same game which was a Church version of Wolf. We described this game in one of our past blogs so we won’t do it here. It was pretty fun, but Diana (Porter Rockwell) sacrificed herself so that Dustin could stay alive in the first game and I was killed off. The rules were changed for the second game and when Diana (snake) killed off one of the girls, because of the rules all of the girls were killed off. I was killed off again at the beginning of the game again.

We got home about 10:00 pm and started to wind down for the day. Just as we started to write our journal entry, we got a distress call from Naeide asking us if we could come quick. Quickly we got ready and walked the seven minutes to her apartment. When she let us in, she was crying and talking on the phone with Elder Ehlen. She had another confrontation with her son. He had already left and so we spent a couple of hours working through everything with her and trying to comfort her. Eventually she felt secure and good enough for us to leave and go home. We got home about 12:30 am and decided we were too tired to write a journal entry so we put it off until today, Wednesday. But that is not the end of the story, but you’ll have to wait until tonight’s entry to get the next chapter.

The bridge to Minau is behind me; Diana walking down the lane;










APRIL 27, 2009 MONDAY

We awoke to a very rainy overcast morning which put a damper on our plans for today, at least for the afternoon. While we were thinking of what we could do today, Naeide called and asked if she could come over. She arrived shortly thereafter and wanted to bring us up to date on her relationship with her son. He had a fight with his girlfriend and she threw him out so he had no place to stay. He has to go talk to the police on Tuesday so she told him he could stay that long. In the meantime she located an apartment for him to move into by himself in order to get him out of her house. She just wanted to explain to us why she had let him back into her home and hoped we’d understand. While she was there, Elders Pine and Harris came. It’s become almost routine for the missionaries to come over on Monday mornings to take care of their emails on our computer. Usually it’s just Elders Pine and Harris, but today we got a call from Elders Ehlen & Roberts who also wanted to come over. Not long after they arrived, we got a call from Elders Evans & Jensen wanting to do the same thing. They ended up not coming because they decided there may be too many for them to get the necessary time on the computer, so they went to a computer café to do their emails.

When the missionaries come, Diana automatically brings out some food. This time it was the makin’s for ham and cheese sandwiches. Bread, ham, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, mayonaise, miracle whip etc. were placed on the table and they had to make their own. None of them were shy including us and Naeide. We always have a good time.

Elder Harris asked for a hair cut while he was here and waiting for his turn on the computer so I cut it. Then I cut Elder Pine’s hair. As I was cutting his, Elder Evans texted us and said they wouldn’t be coming. We texted back that the barber shop was open (I knew they both needed haircuts, especially Elder Evans since he’s transferring Thursday) and if they wanted one, they better hurry. They got here just as I was finishing Elder Pine. Four haircuts on our P-day!!!! No play today.

We had arranged with Charlotte to go on a boat ride on Zurich Lake with her and Elders Evans and Jensen when all was done, but the weather put that out of the question. Instead they decided to go shopping and invited us along. While I was cutting hair, Diana left with Naeide to do some grocery shopping. She felt bad when Naeide had to pay for the tram ride because Naeide doesn’t have that much money. She said she had a good time, but walked more than she would have liked. She found another store for vegetables, but said she wouldn’t go out of her way to go there because it is so far away. She got back just in time for us to go with Elders Evans & Jensen and Charlotte, but we decided to do our own shopping for some more plants and soil for our balcony garden. We bought another tomato plant as well as one cucumber and one zucchini plus a bag of potting soil. We also stopped at COOP for some supplies to replenish what the missionaries ate today. We’ve spent our budget for the month so we need to be careful the last few days of April.

Elder Pine bought his replacement external hard drive so he wanted to transfer all his files off this computer onto his own hard drive. He came a few minutes before we were supposed to leave for family home evening at the Moeller-Russos. We gave them our extra set of keys and told them to lock up and give us the keys at FHE and then we left. Pres. Bolt had the lesson tonight and talked about the miracle of turning water to wine and what we can learn from it. Next we played a game called “Chinese Whispers.” The game goes like this. Three people are chosen to go out of the room. The remaining people designate three things, a person, a place and a thing. After this has been decided, the 1st of the three is invited back into the room and told what person, place and thing was decided. The 2nd of the three is then invited back into the room. The 1st person then must try to communicate who the person is, what the place is and what the thing is without talking. The 3rd person is then invited back into the room. The 2nd person then tries to communicate the identity of the three things to the 3rd person without using any words. To end the round the 3rd person tells the group who he believes the person is, what the place is and what the thing is. It’s hilarious to see how they try to describe in body language the identity of these three things. For example: the person could be Michal Jackson, the place could be a volcano, and the thing could be a golf ball. Try to communicate these things to a person without using words.

Before we leave FHE Pres. Bolt always makes sure we plan the next one or two. Diana had a good suggestion for an activity next time and everyone thought it was a great idea. Fabian Streit is on a six month army duty assignment stationed in Kosovo. Diana suggested we put together a care package for him. Postage is free through the army system. Everyone will bring something next week to put in it.

Elder Pine had not finished transferring his files before they left to come to FHE so they hurried back to our place to finish before we got home. Unfortunately they hadn’t so we had to wait. Finally he finished and they left. Shortly after Elder Ehlen called asking us if we had found his day planner. Unfortunately we hadn’t and a quick search proved futile. Poor Elder Ehlen.

Big Sequoia tree; Diana sitting on an interesting fountain and a video clip of flowers on Minau Island.

APRIL 26, 2009 SUNDAY

We began our Sunday with missionary correlation meeting at 8:00 this morning. The hour goes rather quickly, especially today when we have to give the lesson in Relief Society right after. We discussed some of the needs Cornelia has with her shop and teaching her the lessons, of Charlotte who needs help with genealogy, and of Thomas Fischer who needs the missionaries to go by again and not give up on him so quickly. The other missionaries discussed their investigators/converts and then the meeting was over. All too soon came time to teach our lesson. Brother Rothmund did a good job in introducing the subject and then we took over. Diana read a scripture and then we began discussing the first two steps in preparing oneself to be more active in missionary work. During the second step, we asked for volunteers to come up and be part of a family home evening and we worked through how to fill out the missionary plan on selecting people from among their friends, co-workers, family non-members/less-actives, people who they felt were prepared to hear and accept the gospel in their lives. When Lehi partook of the fruit of the Tree of Life, the first thing he wanted to do after that was to share it with his family because it was so good and sweet. This “fruit” isn’t just for the members of the Church, but for everyone in the whole world. Our desire is to make it available to them so they can taste the “fruit” for themselves and decide if it is sweet for them too. We just want to have the opportunity to teach them and then let them decide to accept or reject the gospel. Diana asked the role-play family who they thought would be most receptive to listen to the message from among the circle of their friends, family, co-workers and acquaintances. While they and the class were thinking about that, we went through the steps in preparing oneself and filling out the plan booklet with the “family.” The time goes so quickly and soon it was time to sit down and let Brother Rothmund go over the last two steps which were putting the plan into action. Hopefully this will get some members thinking more in terms of fulfilling their responsibility to be member missionaries.

As we were leaving RS Sister Martin caught up to us and asked if we had seen her brother’s coat from when we helped her get rid of all her mother’s junk the other day. She said she thought it might have got thrown into a garbage sack and thrown into the dumpster. Since I was in the dumpster I checked every bag to see if something useful could be salvaged. I saw the jacket, saved it, then brought it home with us. It was a nice jacket and I couldn’t see throwing it away even though it was too small for us to wear. We washed it and then put it in the closet to maybe wear it next winter if I could lose a few pounds, or give it to some needy person. Anyway, she was very glad and relieved we had it and we were glad we could give it back to her. Her brother is a non-member and has been somewhat antagonistic, but was very impressed and grateful for the hard work we did. He told her the jacket had cost him 500sfr. and he’ll be glad to get it back. During Sunday School I went home and got it and gave it to Sister Martin before we left Church. Sister Martin is going to invite all the missionaries that helped, along with her brother to give us opportunity to help change his mind about the Church. He seemed pretty friendly to us when we were working with him.

Today was fast meeting because next Sunday is stake conference. We have two sessions, one Saturday afternoon at 4:30 and one again on Sunday at 10:00. Solange Baptiste was confirmed a member of the Church and given the Gift of the Holy Ghost through the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood by Elder Harris. Many tears of joy were shed during this spiritual priesthood ordinance. After the ordinance Bishop Schwendener presented her to the congregation for a sustaining vote to accept her as the newest member of the Schwamendingen Ward. There were no dissenting votes. As we’ve said before, you have to be quick on your feet to be able to bear your testimony here. There never is a second wasted. Many heartfelt and sincere testimonies were borne. After the meeting we were able to talk with Cornelia for few minutes and Diana asked her to schedule an appointment for her to get her nails done. She said she’d call when she had her appointment book with her. She also said that Brother Moeller had made arrangements with her to do something with her shop to get it ready to open. We also met a woman Diana had talked to at the Oerlikon display yesterday who came to our meeting today. The Neidharts had also talked to her at Oerlikon. Evidently she lives not too far from us. We talked mostly about genealogy and what she had done and needed to get done with hers. During the conversation we asked her if she was a member to which she replied she wasn’t. We quickly responded with, “would you like to be?” Again she replied no, but she had talked with the missionaries before and had a Book of Mormon. She said she needed to read it and maybe she’d feel differently later on.

We talked to a lot of other members and fit right in with those who’d rather visit than go home. We were there almost an hour after the meeting was over before we found ourselves outside and walking home. There was nothing on our schedule for the rest of the day so we took the opportunity to rest and catch up on reading the scriptures and other things. It was really nice to enjoy a peaceful and quiet afternoon and evening after the hectic week we’ve spent. The evening was interrupted a couple of time by Elder Pine calling to see if we could find out if his England driver’s license was good in Switzerland and if we had any more pens like the one Diana gave him some time ago. Evidently he liked that type of pen. Elder Norris called right when Roxsan and her kids skyped us so Diana got to talk with them while I gave our weekly report. I was able to talk to them for a few minutes before Elder Norris called and a few minutes after he hung up. It’s fun to see and talk to the grandkids and everyone else too and helps us keep connected to our family. We tried to skype Rebecca and no one answered; the message we got in red was that she hadn’t been on line with us for a long time and/or she had blocked us from calling. We know she hasn’t block us, but we don’t know how to re-establish the connection. Maybe someone can help us with it. Monica wasn’t on line so we couldn’t talk to them either. Somehow it’s already 10:25 pm and time for bed.

Diana's rock is the middle row on the end next to the necklaces. Sis. Graessli in Red, the older couple unknown.


APRIL 25, 2009 SATURDAY

This morning we were preparing to go to the Oerlikon Bahnhof for the missionary display/finding activity when Elder Pine called and asked if he could use the computer quick before we all had to go to the display. He and Elder Harris arrived shortly after to print off some more photos for Solange’s baptism remembrance book they want to give her tonight as a present. They finally have it all done. We all left for our activity and got there a bit after 10:00. The display was already set up by Elders Norris, Carrier, Evans and Jensen; all the BM’s and brochures were neatly displayed and it was a gorgeous day for contacting passers-by. Today was certainly different from the others in the middle of winter where we were always nearly frozen to death. The first thing we did was to go over to Herr Fischer’s stand and get reacquainted with him. We brought him some homemade carmel to try and, if he wants to, we are willing to teach him how to make it so he can sell that too at his stand. We asked him if he was still meeting with the missionaries. He told us they hadn’t been by for the last few weeks and didn’t know why. He said he would have to call them again and see if they would come visit him again. We asked him if he had visited the Church yet to see what a service was like. He said no, but that he’d like to. We talked to Elder Roy and his companion at the temple the other day and they told us they’d quit teaching Herr Fischer because he wouldn’t commit to come to Church. We’ll call Elder Roy again and ask him to give him another chance and go see him again. He seems to enjoy it when we stop by and each time we get to know him a little better. He’s 48 years old and never been married. He said he’d like to get married someday, but it hasn’t happened yet. As we left we mentioned we’d have to come up and visit him one of these days to which he replied we’d be welcome.

We parted company and spent the rest of the four hours trying to talk to people walking by the display, give them a copy of the BM or at least a pass-a-long card or brochure. People seem to shy away from taking a free copy of the BM, but are more prone to take something smaller like a brochure or card. Sometimes we were able to get a person to stop long enough to talk to them and, when we did, were able to talk to them about the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ, prophets, priesthood and the Book of Mormon etc. It was a fairly successful activity in that many items were given out and some appointments were made for follow up visits. Diana didn’t let an opportunity go to waste, talking to everyone who walked past her, offering them a BM. Sometimes we worked together and sometimes we worked apart. If she got someone to stop, I or another missionary would be close enough to help her out, if she needed it. By the time four hours were past we were ready to leave. We both got sunburned a little, but all in all, it was a good experience. This time there were quite a few ward members that came and participated including Bro. & Sis. Neidhart and Jona, Norma Bachmann and her son Alisandro, Elder & Sis. Walder, Charlotte Stoecklin, Sis. Ryser, and a few from other wards. It was nice to have them involved. Before we left Sister Neidhard told Diana that when she first came today she sat on the fountain wall and felt weak and not able to have courage to talk to people. But when she saw Diana talking to everyone passing by, it gave her the strength and courage to do the same thing.

On the way home we stopped at our little Asianway store to buy a few funky things and then went home. As we were waiting for the bus a woman and her daughter approached us and begged us for a job as a cleaning woman. We told her we only had a little room and we could do it ourselves. We could tell she was a professional beggar, but we gave her a little money anyway. However, when the bus came, they got on with us and continued to ply her trade. When we got off at Schwamendingen, she was still after us. So we relented again and gave her a little more. We finally had to get a little harsh with her as we got on the tram. Fortunately she didn’t get on with us. It’s a sad thing to beg, but sadder still to teach her daughter to do it too. We also gave her a BM and hopes she reads it.

We made it home and rested for a few minutes and then we were off again to go visit Amanda Ryser, our birthday girl for today. She just turn 12, but she looks like she’s nine or ten. She’s excited to get into the Young Womens Program. We sang happy birthday to her, visited for awhile and then returned home. On the way we tried calling Pres. Bolt, but he probably isn’t home from his few day trip yet. When we got home, we finished planning our Relief Society presentation tomorrow and then Diana called Brother Rothmund to coordinate our plans with his. Hopefully it will all work out.

These photos are from the Mainau, Konstanz trip.


From left to right: Bro. & Sis. Hutchinson, Diana,Sis. Duke, E. Horlacher (hat), E. Schwimmer, Sis. Schimmer, E. Duke, Bro. & Sis. Graessli, and Sis. Horlacher.

APRIL 24, 2009 FRIDAY

We were up an on our way to the Zurich bahnhof before 8:00 so we could catch our train to Konstanz at 8:37. We gave ourselves plenty of time so, if there was any delay on the tram, we wouldn’t have to be running etc. Once on we enjoyed a leisurely ride through the country, sometimes reading the BM and sometimes the daily free newspapers to catch up on the news as well as improve our German. We’re always working on our German. The train stopped at a few towns to exchange passengers and after one such stop, we looked up and saw a man with a missionary name tag on walking down the aisle. Brother Hutchinson and his wife had got on at the last stop, one of the couples we were to rendezvous with in Konstanz. He was surprised to see us as we were him. He got his wife who was sitting further away and both came and sat by us. We visited and got acquainted as we traveled on. They are a couple from Bountiful, have been on their mission for about five months and are stationed in Ebnat Kappel, a small branch with about 15 active members. They are doing about the same kind of work we are doing.

We made it to Konstanz and arrived about an hour early so we checked a few thing and then went across the street to a shopping mall to window shop for awhile. We saw some wonderful looking bakery goodies, but refrained from buying any. As it turned out we couldn’t have bought anything anyway because in Germany, they only take Euros, the European Union money. Switzerland is not a part of the Union so still uses Francs. When it was time we went back across the road to the train station and met the rest of the couples for the excursion. The couples names are as follows: Brother & Sister Duke, Schwimmer, Horlacher, Hutchinson, Graessli and us, twelve people in all. We exchanged some money in the bahnhof and then we were set. The hardest part of any planning is to get all the people wanting to do the same thing. The more there are, the harder it is and the longer it takes. We all agreed we wanted to go the Minau Flower Garden which encompassed a whole island not far from where we were. Should we go by ship, bus or car? After a lot of discussion by the ones most vocal, since we had three cars already, it was decided we could get there quicker and easier by car, two couples in each car. So finally, away we went.

After parking we walked across the long bridge to the Island. We had just enough to get a discount as a group and then our tour began. There were graveled walkways and paths on which we wandered around to our hearts content. Sometimes we walked along the shore of Lake Konstanz which is a big enormous lake and sometimes we wandered further inland. There were many many flowers in bloom and some were growing on large forms in the shape such as a Peacock, ducks and a flower with a face on it. It’s hard to describe the many types of flowers flower gardens that were there. It was very peaceful walking among the trees and flowers, looking at their delicate petals and smelling the perfume and scent in the air. We saw a long cascading waterfall bordered by two rows of flowers that was very picturesque. We finally arrived at our halfway point, the Schloss Restaurant. Everyone wanted to eat, so we did. This is the first time we’ve eaten out since we’ve been in Switzerland. Diana chose breaded pork cutlets with french fries while I had Grandmother’s Beef Rouladin, red cabbage salad and pasta. I wasn’t too impressed with mine except for the red cabbage, but Diana enjoyed hers, especially the french fries. Cost of our meals was 24.50 Euros which is somewhere in the neighborhood $35.00 (not exact).

We had been in a souvenir shop just previous and Diana spied some amethyst crystals she just had to have. She hasn’t bought any souvenirs as yet because we won’t be able to take much home with us and she really liked these so she bought one. It is relatively small, but beautiful. We had to be back in Zurich for a meeting with the bishopric at 8:00 so we turned around and leisurely made our way back to the starting point. Even though we were getting pressed for time, when we got to the butterfly house, we had to go in. It was a bubble building so the light could filter in and the inside was like a sub-tropical jungle. There were all kinds of butterflies flying around as well as sitting on feeding stations placed around the walkways. There were also some birds flying around as well. For me it was like being in a fairyland of some sort and it would have been nice to have been able to spend a few hours there. But time was pressing so we left. We, the Horlachers and us, were the last group to arrive at our rendezvous point. We all got together, then walked back over the bridge to the cars. We said our goodbyes and we parted company. The Horlachers drove us back to the train station where we met up with the Hutchinsons again. We had a couple of anxious moments trying to decide if we should be at the Swiss part of the train station or the German side. Our SBB plan from the internet said we should be on track #3, but the sign on the train that was sitting on track #1 appeared to be the one we should take. A train employee came walking by and we verified with him that the one on #1 track was the one we should take back to Zurich. It was also the one the Hutchinsons needed to take to Kreuzlingen where they needed to get off to go back to Ebnat Kappel. The ride back was uneventful, the Hutchisons leaving us at Kreuzlingen.

We arrived home, rested for about an hour, got ready for our meeting with the bishopric, and left. On the way there we stopped at Pres. Bolt’s home to give him his belated birthday present. He wasn’t home so we left the gift in his mailbox. Sound familiar? Then we went on to the Church for our meeting. We got in on the tail end of the Emergency Prepardness program the ward had planned for this evening. We got to attend three workshops and then sample the things that some sisters had made from the storage items. Yes, even here, they are concerned about following the Prophet’s counsel to store a year’s supply of food and water. Finally, at about 9:15, the bishop called us, his counselors and the other missionaries into his office to explain what he would like done on Sunday. We’ll explain that in another journal entry because right now we have to get ready for the display in the square by Oerlikon train station that starts at 10:00 today. We’re sorry we didn’t get this entry written last night, but we just ran out of gas.

Robert & Diana; temple photos









Sister Duke & Diana
Dennis & Mary, Robert & Diana, couldn't resist putting this one in; Elders Evans, Larson, Jensen, Charlotte, Pres. Matern, Sister (can't remember her name right now.) Pres. Matern and Charlotte as he teaches her about the temple. The video clip is from the Martin's service project.

Sorry, no pics today. We have to be up early and it's already 11:15 pm. Where did the day go?

APRIL 23, 2009 THURSDAY

Since we’ve been on the run every day all day this week, we had to pause and do the wash this morning. Even then we had to rush to get over to Suwang’s home by 11:00. Before we left we called Elder Ehlen to give him an update on what was happening hoping he would offer to come over and help. Being the good missionary he is, he and his companion offered to come and help. Before we arrived we agreed Diana would work with Suwang in sorting good clothes from bad that had been stuffed in about fifteen garbage bags and in the closets and drawers. I on the other hand would start in the bedroom organizing books, etc and etc and then work out from there. We kind of expected Suwang to give a bit of a fight getting rid of her things, but she was as good as gold. Diana works well with others and she had prepared Suwang over the weeks of visits in the hospital. She just asked Suwang to sort the good from the bad and she did.

Shortly after we got started, Elders Ehlen and Roberts came and kind of pitched in, doing what we asked them to. It was a learning experience for them on how to dig into a mess and get it cleaned up. The worst part of the whole thing was the cat hair that was all over everything. The vacuum took care of a lot of it, but we both forgot to vacuum ourselves before we left. We both had hair all over our pants etc. Halina, her daughter, came about a half hour before we were through and helped with some of the final decisions. She was sure glad we were there to help; there was no way she would have been able to get everything done by the time the people were supposed to come look at the apartment. Before we left we invited Halina to come to Church and assured her she was always welcome. We finished about twenty minutes before we planned to leave anyway because I had a temple recommend interview scheduled with Pres. Matern at 4:00.

We traveled home, cleaned up and showered, then went on our way to the mission home and the interview. It takes about forty-five minutes by tram and dolderbahn to get there. No one but Pres. and Sister Matern were there when we arrived so it was very peaceful and quiet. Diana went upstairs with Sister Matern while I had my interview. I was able to answer all the questions satisfactorily so I’m good to go for another two years. Elder Ehlen had called a couple of times to get the “Bird Cage” story we used as a spiritual thought awhile ago and he called again now that we were in the mission home. Diana read him the story over the phone while Elder Ehlen wrote it down. She was just finishing as Pres. Matern and I came up the stairs. After she was through we had a nice chat with them for about a half hour. Sister Matern asked Diana to help her with some of the food preparation for when the new missionaries come in next Thursday. She is excited to take part in welcoming them to Switzerland. Finally it came time to go home so we bid them adieu and left. Instead of going straight home we continued on to Schwamendingen and made a few purchases at Migros and COOP. And then we went home.

We would have liked a rest, but commitments come first. We had to deliver birthday present to Pres. Bolt and Erika Weibel. We decided to go to Erika’s first because it was farther away and we wanted to get back before it got too dark. We got there and had a nice visit, one that lasted a bit too long. We finally made our departure and tried to hurray back for Pres. Bolt. We didn’t make it in time. One of the side effects of his stroke from a couple of years ago is that he gets tired easily. As a result he goes to bed early. When we got back, it was still one minute to 9:00 so we tried to call him, but he didn’t answer. We feel bad we didn’t get to him on his birthday, but we’ll go see him tomorrow. This time we went home for good, at least for this day. However, we had one more thing on the agenda; Elders Pine and Harris wanted to use our computer for a few minutes to download some photos of Solange’s baptism because they were making some sort of remembrance book for her and it needed to be done tonight. They arrived at 9:00 and stayed for about fifteen minutes, their job already completed. Now we can relax, write the journal entry and get ready for tomorrow. While we were doing that, Roxsan skype’d us so she could ask us a couple of rental questions, but also to talk to us. She missed calling us the last three Sundays so we had a good chat. Little Nathan waved at us this time in response to our waves to him. He has the cutest laugh and giggles all the time. Mayleah told us she has already learned to ride a two-wheeled bike and not even in Kindergarten yet. See you on the flip side.

One bear from the year of the bears in Zurich (instead of cows); cows in Zermatt; Charlotte goofing off.


APRIL 22, 2009 WEDNESDAY

We were supposed to meet the missionaries with the car at Stettbach at 7:45 so we were just puttering along taking our time getting ready because we didn’t have to leave the house until 7:30. Suddenly at 7:15 our doorbell rang; Charlotte was already here to go with us. We hurried and finished dressing and left. We arrived at Stettbach and had to wait there for a good 10 minutes before the van arrived. So much for the hurry up and wait. Those in the van were Pres. & Sister Matern, Elders Evans (driving), Lee, Jensen, Walker, Charlotte and us. It took about an hour and a half to get to the temple, but the trip was uneventful. We sat in the back seat with Elder Walker who’s been out for a little over a year. He’s from Brigham City. We told him my brother, Sherman, was postmaster there and probably knew his parents. It’s fun getting to meet and get to know other missionaries.

Once there Charlotte took off to do her own thing while the rest of us went in and got ready to do some ordinance work. There were probably ten members from our ward there too. Most of the 30 or so missionaries did endowments while the senior couples and a few missionaries did sealings. In the change room Diana had to go to the bathroom so she left the cubicle. When she got back, Sister Matern was in it so she had to wait until she was dressed before she could finish. After the first session we broke for lunch which consisted of ham/cheese and tuna fish, sandwiches along with a macaroni salad. Not fancy, but filling. We sat with the Neidharts, the parents of Jona. Jona calls Diana her second grandmother because his first grandmother is still alive. Sister Neidhart says she would not allow Jona to call anyone else that except Diana because she loves Diana so much.

Following lunch we attended an endowment session. On the name card they always want to write what language you want to use and both of us have them put English. Diana knows the words so well in English that she listens to the German words while mentally following along in English to help her learn the language. She doesn’t use the headphones nor do I. But the English designation on our cards helps us later on.

After the session was over no one seemed in a hurry to go home. Everyone visited in front of the temple, many taking photos of each other with the temple or the pretty flower gardens for a background. We were anxious to get back to Zurich so that we could go over and help Suwang, but since we were only passengers in the van, we just enjoyed everything until Pres. Matern decided it was time to go. In the mean time Pres. Matern took Charlotte under his wing and escorted her around the temple and into the foyer for her to see a little of the inside. She told him that while we were in the temple, she walked around the outside and sat in the front on the stairs. It was quiet and peaceful and she said it was a very spiritual experience for her. While we were talking, the subject of baptism for the dead came up and that she could do research on her family line and actually do the baptisms for the female members of her family. She said she thought she had to wait a year before she could enter the temple. That was a good opportunity for us to teach her about that principle. Now we need to get her together with the ward family history consultant and get her started doing research. On the way back we discovered Charlotte had been to Interlaken while we were in the temple. We knew that because she pulled out a sack and gave each one of us a figurine candle. She had been to the candle shop again. She gave us two candles, one that looked like a hamburger and the other like a tomato/cheese sandwich. These because Diana loves McDonalds hamburgers and the mixup with the hamburger look-a-likes (really a confection that look like hamburgers) that she gave Diana on her birthday.

In spite of the late hour in getting back to Zurich we called Suwang and she asked us to come over anyway. We came home and changed, met up with Charlotte again and made our way over to Suwang’s apartment. Once we got there it appeared she just wanted someone to talk to about how the thieves keep trying to break in at night. However, someone had been there and helped her stuff a whole bunch of garbage sacks with her stuff and put them in one room. Nothing was really clean, but it wasn’t really dirty either. We talked to her for about an hour and then made arrangements to come back in the morning to actually do some work. She has two people coming over tomorrow afternoon to look at the apartment to see if they want to rent it. If they do, then she’s off the hook for the lease. If not, she won’t be able to move as quickly as she would like. We hope we can make it look good enough tomorrow for them to want it. By the time we got home we were pooped out. We said good-bye to Charlotte and came home. We were hoping tomorrow we would be able to go buy some more potting soil and plants and do some other things that we have let slide, but it looks like tomorrow is booked up again. The last thing to report is that Elder Norris made his obligatory mid-week call to check up on us. He also asked if we had time to cut his companion’s hair sometime. We agreed on next Tuesday after district meeting. Now it’s time for bed.

Robert in the dumpster; Diana & Elder Evans; another cow.










APRIL 21, 2009 TUESDAY

It seems like we’ve been getting up pretty early often lately because I guess we have. Tomorrow is no different because we have to be at Stettbach at 7:45 to be picked up by Elders Jensen and Evans to go to the temple. Before every transfer a third of the mission is invited to the temple and tomorrow is our turn again. It ‘s always a treat to be able to go to the temple of the Lord. There were many talks in conference about the temple, how special it is, that it is the garner that the wheat will be gathered into in the last days. My recommend expires at the end of this month and I’ve asked Pres. Matern for an interview twice. Both times he has forgotten to bring his recommend book with him to the Church so the third time I asked him, we made an appointment to come to his office on Thursday. While working today on our service project, Charlotte asked if she could come to the temple with us tomorrow. She knows she can’t go in, but just wants to be near the temple and also try to go to the Mormon Store if it’s open. We asked Elder Jensen if he had room in his van tomorrow; he had one spot left so we told him of Charlotte’s request. He said he would call Charlotte tonight and make arrangements.

The first thing we did was make 17 ham & cheese sandwiches and enough egg salad and bread for 16 egg salad sandwiches to be made over there. We were afraid the egg salad would soak up the bread, if we pre-made them. We met Charlotte at 7:30 this morning and rode to Oerlikon where we had to wait a while for the train to come. Elders Norris and Carrier joined us there and we rode together to Kloten and then by bus to the apartment we were helping to clean out. Daniela and Peter Martin and their son were already there and so we got to work. We wished we would have taken some photos of the place before we started because the place was a mess. Everything had to come out including all the furniture, wardrobes (they use these for closets), shelves, tables, sofas, overstuffed chairs, kitchen chairs, washer, fridges, carpets, light fixtures, beds and everything else you can imagine. Diana was working inside with the rest of them while I was helping carry stuff downstairs and out of the building. It seems members always live at the top floor of the building for some reason. Peter was taking apart all of the furniture so we could get it out piece by piece. Diana helped carry out all of the furniture pieces, handing them over the rail to Elder Carrier below who handed them further down to Elder Norris. After all of the stuff had been carried out except the last several wardrobes/shelves Peter was working on, Diana couldn’t find anything else to do so she cleaned the kitchen. She also picked up the stuff on the carpets and swept. She worked on these for a long time and also cleaned the kitchen cupboards etc. when she found out the owners wanted everything removed that the mother had put in during her forty-five years of living there. Diana had already cleaned most everything in the kitchen when she found out, so she stopped. She was also worried about them ripping down the curtains, tearing out the light fixtures and having her and Norma tear up the carpets until she found out they were required to tear it all out. After they tore out the carper and rolled them up, they threw them out the window.

I, on the other hand, was glad to be inside the dumpster packing everything in so tight that absolutely nothing more could be put in by the time we finished. As they brought stuff to me, if it wasn’t flat, I broke things apart or flattened things with a double jack so everything laid flat without any pockets of air. I was also in a good position to go through all of the junk to see if there was anything of value. There wasn’t much. I was able to salvage a jacket (it’s just a little small), a plastic table cloth, a couple of files, a pair of slip joint pliers, a globe for the one that broke a couple of weeks ago in our bathroom, a cute little black vase with 24 carat gold Egyptian figures with “made in Hellas” stamped on the bottom, a silver plaque of a castle in Davos, and not much else. We were sorry to see a kitchen table, new looking beds and other things go into the dumpster. We would of loved to have them at home, but we have no use for them over here. The dumpster was completely full and brimming over when we finally left at 2:00. All our help left at noon or shortly after. At 11:30 the sisters said they had to go, so we offered them a sandwich for lunch. That was the signal for everyone to stop working and have lunch. Lunch broke the will of the missionaries who worked for another little while and then they too went away. That left Diana, Charlotte, Norma Bachmann and her son Allesandro as well as the Martins to continue on. Soon there was not much left we could do, but I saw one wardrobe left to take apart and some parts of others laying around, so I went to work and took it apart while Peter was eating a sandwich. To me, hauling all of this stuff down the stairs was hard work, so I found a better way. I opened the windows and chucked it all out, letting it sail piece by piece the four floors to the ground. I went down, gathered it all up and hauled it to the dumpster making many trips to do it. Diana kept working on the carpets, pulling them up and then rolling them up and throwing them out the window. We finally had to go and the Martins thanked us and the missionaries profusely for helping them. All three of us were dragging a little on the way home, but we made it saying good-bye to Charlotte at our tram stop.

We had an hour and a half to rest a bit and get ready for Elders Ehlen and Roberts who were coming for haircuts at 4:00. Naeide texted us last night and asked us if we would cut Marcello’s hair as well. We didn’t get much of a rest, but we were ready for them when they showed up. Elder Evans and Jensen also called earlier and said they wanted to stop in and teach Marcello a lesson while he was here, but they said they’d be just a little later. I cut all of their hair and then Diana suggested root beer floats; the Elders jumped at that, but Marcello said he’d never tasted root beer and wondered if it was an alcoholic beer. We had to explain to him that it was a non-alcoholic common drink in Utah. After he tasted it and the float, he said he could get addicted to it. Soon after Diana suggested egg salad sandwiches to use up what we had left over from lunch today. Again they were excited to polish off a couple of sandwiches apiece. Marcello remembered the carmel apples from Halloween and how good they were so we got the carmel topping from the fridge for the ice cream. However, Diana had a better idea and brought out some small pretzel sticks and showed them how to dip those in the carmel. They all liked those too, especially Marcello. I asked Diana if she had anything else for them to which she replied she they could eat the leaves off the tulips and that’s all she had left.

We were thankful there was no English class or Institute tonight; they are on vacation this week. Now that haircuts are done and the service project for today is over, we’ll take a shower, finish this report and go to bed so we’ll be ready for tomorrow. We should be home around 4:00 in the afternoon, just in time to go over to Suwang Stefaniak’s apartment to help some of her ward members clean her apartment and get it ready for it to be inspected by Zurich City. They want to make sure she takes care of things before they’ll rent an apartment to her. We hear her apartment was in terrible shape because her three cats were living there while she was in the hospital for the last three months. Her two kids took turns feeding them, but didn’t seem to want to do much else. Hopefully what we’ve heard isn’t true and it won’t be such a hard job.

Sechseluetti, the burning of the snowman in Zurich. It really only took 12 minutes and 56 seconds.

building on cement posts; street in Zermatt; Sechseluetti.










APRIL 20, 2009 MONDAY

Today we were up before bright and early and met Charlotte in front of her home at 6:25. We continued on to the Oerlikon Bahnhof and took a train to the Zurich Bahnhof and met Elders Ehlen and Roberts. Once we were all together we boarded a train to travel to Zermatt where we hoped the weather would be good enough to see the Matterhorn, the most famous icon of Switzerland. The train ride took us through Thun, Spiez and Bern to Visp where we had to change trains. We boarded the Zermatt-Gotthard Express to climb up the picturesque valley to Zermatt. There are many wonderful little towns beginning in the bottom of the valley and spreading up the green steep mountainsides into the trees and beyond. It makes one wonder how people get to the homes without killing themselves. Zermatt is a beautiful Swiss resort town where a lot of skiers come and today was no exception. We were hoping for good weather, but it was raining and foggy when we arrived. We were still hopeful it would stop raining and the sun would come out before we had to leave. We enjoyed walking through the town, looking in various souvenir shops and gasping at the outrageous prices. We found another one of those cow statues and took a photo of it just as the shop was closing for the two hour lunch break. It seems unreasonable in a resort town of this kind that all of the shops and stores close for a two hour noon break, but they certainly do. There were many old original wooden buildings built on stone pillars so they stand three or four feet above the ground. Between the top of the pillars and the bottom of the house they put a flat round stone, a circumference about twice that of the top of the pillar so the edges of the stone extend beyond the pillars. We can’t figure out the necessity of this type of construction. We were disappointed in that it did stop raining, but the fog never lifted. The cost of the gondola ride to the bottom of the Matterhorn was 42.50sfr. each so we decided not to go up unless we could see. That wasn’t possible so we turned around and slowly made our way back to Zurich. If things worked out right, we’d be back in Zurich to see the Sechseluetti celebration. While on the train, we got a call from Elder Jensen telling us the Bolts and the Moeller-Russos weren’t going to be there tonight and we could cancel unless Charlotte wanted it at her place tonight. Charlotte wouldn’t hear of canceling so she immediately and emphatically said we’d have it at her home. We all agreed. We had the intention of going into Zurich to actually see the last of the parade and the burning of the snowman, but Charlotte said we wouldn’t even get close because of the number of people that would be there. If we wanted a good seat, we should have been there in the morning. She talked us into coming over to her home and watching it on TV. She said we’d be able to see it much better than actually being there. So that is what we decided to do. On the train home we got to talking about the things we have done on our Monday P-days and Charlotte, Diana or I couldn’t remember what we did last Monday. After thinking about it for about 15 minutes, Diana was the one who remembered; we went to the zoo.

Today is the Sechseluetti which is a holiday for the Swiss which means the stores were supposed to be closed at least from noon on. We needed some bread to make lunches for the service project tomorrow so we visited the Migros at the bahnhof. The bahnhof stores are open 24 hours a day 365 days a year no matter what. We bought the bread and continued towards home on the bus. When we got to Schwamendingen we saw that the Migros there was open. We decided we needed some eggs too, so we went there while Charlotte continued on home to get ready for the FHE. We bought our items and then went home.

We had about an hour before we needed to go to Charlotte’s so we checked emails, boiled eggs and got some things ready for tomorrow. We arrived at Charlotte’s and watch the last of the parade and then came the lighting of the wooden pier with the snowman on top. At twelve minutes the snowman was burned up, all the legs, arms and body was gone, but the head was stubborn and wouldn’t blow up. At thirteen minutes and 26 seconds it finally blew up and everyone cheered. The time it took this year was short so they predict a warm and long summer. We’ll be here to see if their predictions come true.

Soon after, Elders Evans, Jensen, Pine and Harris showed up as well as Rachel. In spite of the fewer numbers we had a great family home evening. Elders Pine and Harris gave the spiritual thought using the pepper on the water visual aid we described in our Sunday journal entry. Charlotte didn’t believe the pepper would stick to her finger so she tried it; the pepper stuck. I decided I would show them a different method of how to repel the pepper without using the soap on the finger. While no one was looking, I stuck my little finger into my ear and twisted it around good so the ear wax that is in everyone’s ears, including mine, got onto my finger. I learned in survival training that you can repel the scum on top of water by sticking your finger in your ear and then putting it in the water. It worked like a charm and surprised everyone. I just told them I had the Spirit with me too. I finally relented and told them the secret although many would rather have not known. Diana wanted to try saliva on the finger, but didn’t get a chance so we’ll try it tomorrow at home. Look for an update. We didn’t play a game this time, but Charlotte had some dessert for us, apple torte and a hazel nut cake roll. Both were very good. We made final arrangements for tomorrow’s service project and then left and went home.

Mom's brownies & Naeide's cake; Diana, Solange & Robert; Elders Jensen & Larson, Kyvia, Sister Sigrist, Nikolas, Elders Pine, Harris, and Zenger. Elder Zenger said he is good friends with Brian Stoll and would like to know which mission Brian is going to.










APRIL 19, 2009 SUNDAY

Sunday morning means up early to get to the missionary correlation meeting at 8:00. We had a lot to talk about today and it was a very good meeting. Of utmost importance was to get the remodel started for Cornelia’s shop. Another was to see if we could get the bishop to allow a ward list to be given to members. I think the best we can do is get a copy of the emergency calling list they have in case of a disaster of some kind. It’s a calling tree list with names and phone numbers, but mostly of active members. We’ll keep working on this because, as at home, it’s nice to know who the members are, where they live, and how to contact them if one desires. It was also Sister Matern’s birthday today so we wished her a happy birthday and gave her the normal gift/card.

Following correlation we had a short sacrament meeting where only the announcements were made and the sacrament was passed. Of course there was opening and closing prayers and hymns, but no talks. In Europe the last session of conference ends after midnight because of the 8 hour time difference, so it is shown a couple of weeks later which happened today. They set up German, English, Portuguese and Spanish languages in rooms throughout the building. Many Swiss attend the English broadcast because, as we said before, they think English is more expressive and they also want to improve their English. It was also Jasmine Viegas-Hawes (2 year old) birthday today and we wanted to give her a little gift we brought for her, but there didn’t seem to be a convenient time to do it. I thought it would be best to give it to her after the meeting, but they left sometime in the middle and so the opportunity was lost. We’ll see them next Sunday and give it to her then.

We had invited the two sets of missionaries to come over after for lunch, leftover casserole from yesterday etc. We went home, got things in the oven, corn warming up and made a fruit salad. Elder Pine called and asked if it were OK to bring Sister Sigrist, her daughter, Kyvia, and her son, Nikolas. Nikolas is the one we gave a BM to some time ago and the “future missionary” badge. They live way out in Forch and wanted to stay for the baptism tonight at 5:00 and were just going to wait in the Church until then. Of course we’re pretty flexible and told him to bring them. We had plenty to feed everyone and we had a good time. Elders Pine and Harris gave a spiritual thought using pepper sprinkled on top of water in a bowl. When you put your finger in it and pull it back out, the pepper sticks to it. The pepper represents the bad things in the world (sin) that we get involved in. There are many scriptures you can use to illustrate the concept that sin makes us dirty. Then you talk about things we can do to avoid sin and have the Spirit with us. To illustrate this you can put some (unbeknownst to the rest of the group) dish soap on the end of your finger and, when you stick your finger in, all the pepper floats away and to the side of the bowl leaving your finger clean when you pull it out. This object lesson is also very impressive and helps us, especially children, visualize the power of righteous living in keeping ourselves unspotted from the sins of the world. I tried to get a video clip of it, but my camera battery went dead. Soon after, all of them left giving us time to clean up again, study some German, look at emails and take a short nap.

At 4:00 we got the brownies ready along with the chocolate frosting and went to the Church to help get things ready for the baptism. Naeide made a giant cake decorated with a Church using chocolate bars for the roof. Soon everyone was there and the meeting started. It’s amazing how many people come to support the baptisms. Charlotte has taken over the fellowshipping of Cornelia and invited her to come to Church today as well as to the baptism tonight. She came to both and at the baptism sat between Diana and me. I noticed she had tears in her eyes at points during the service; she definitely was feeling the Spirit. During the time when Solange was changing after being baptized, we sang hymns as well as wrote messages to Solange for her baptism journal. When someone called out the hymn #61, Naeher mein Gott zu dir (Nearer My God to Thee), Cornelia jumped as if someone had shocked her with electricity, then said that hymn was her favorite. It’s been a long time since she’s heard or sung it. We were only singing one verse of each song, but when I noticed she loved this song, I raised my hand and asked for the second verse. We sang that too and she thanked me for doing that. On the other hand Diana and Cynthia Frioud were having a terrible time trying to understand the hymn number and turn to it. By the time they found it, the one verse was over and another hymn was being sung. Sister Frioud is also native South American and doesn’t understand German very well, but also speaks French and some English.

Elder Pine, who was the one baptizing, made an error in the baptism prayer and one of the witnesses caught it. So Solange had to be baptized over. This gave Brother Daehler the opportunity to teach those present that the baptism needed to be done exact and that is why witnesses were necessary. There were many investigators present and the service was very spiritual. Charlotte gave the talk on baptism which was her first talk ever. She was nervous, but did a good job. Norma Bachmann gave the talk on the Gift of the Holy Ghost which was her first talk ever in German. She is native to one of the South American countries, probably Brazil. The social after the baptism lasted for over an hour, with a lot of goodies available. We have lots of fun talking to a lot of people we have come to know and love. We can see already how hard it’ll be to leave them when we have to go home in a year and a half. While we were talking to people, I took the occasion to talk to Juerg who has the responsibility to organize the service project to finish the remodel of Cornelia’s shop. I told him we’d talked to Heinz Locher and he was ready to help. He thanked us for laying the ground work with Heinz.

Finally we came home to get our journal and reports written so we can get to bed early. Tomorrow is P-day and Charlotte is guiding us and Elders Ehlen and Roberts to Zermatt and the Matterhorn. We hope it’s good weather so we can take a lot of gorgeous photos. We are going to miss the “Sechseleuti” celebration where they get rid of winter by burning the snowman on top of a pier of wood until the head explodes. Well, we can’t be in two places at once and we seldom get to see Elder Ehlen anymore, so we chose to go there. Charlotte was also excited to go to the Matterhorn too. We’ll be able to see celebration in Zurich next year. We’ll meet Charlotte at 6:20 in the morning and be on our way. Diana made some rice crispie treats to take with us tomorrow.

While typing this journal we got a call from Elder Ehlen asking us to look on Google Maps to help them find an address. We get these kinds of calls many times during the week and, when we’re home, we gladly help out where we can. We can’t go to bed until Elder Norris calls for our weekly statistical report, but we can be ready to flip off the light and go to sleep. He called early tonight so off to bed we go. See ya all tomorrow.

veggie and sausage ball pies, Anita & Gerd Weiss, Lily and (next to wall) Heinz Locher, Helena Roffler in the video clip.

APRIL 18, 2009 SATURDAY

Today we had only two things scheduled, but it took us the whole day to get them done. First we had to prepare the dinner for the Lochers and Sister Roffler by 12:30 so we began fairly early to start preparing. We were too late last night to buy all we needed because the stores closed almost as soon as we got into them. I ran over to COOP to get a few things while Diana started things rolling here. It was nice to have a little time to prepare instead of our usual rush after Church to get things done before the others arrived. We prepared a nice green salad, brussel sprouts & cauliflower for the veggie, chicken casserole and a fancy strawberry shortcake for dessert. We had some extra things they could add to their salad such as peas, mozzarella cheese balls and grated cheese. Everything was ready when Sister Roffler arrived. We saw her come up the ramp from our underground tram stop as we stood on our balcony and she looked around trying to decide where our apaartment was. While I ran down the stairs to get her, Diana hollered at her to get her attention. Between both of us we were able to get her and escort her to our apartment. The Lochers were about a half hour late which meant the veggies were overcooked a little and the top of the casserole was a little dried out where the tin foil didn’t cover. Everything tasted good and we had a good time talking about this and that.

Brother Locher is the High Priest Group leader and while we had him trapped, so to speak, we brought up a couple of subjects that were important to us. One was the help Cornelia Schaer needs to get her foot massage shop finished so she can use it. She needs it desperately. Juerg Moeller is really in charge of the project, but we asked Heinz if Juerg had spoken to him about it. Heinz said he hadn’t so we asked him to see if he could move the project along. Heinz is a retired electrician and electricity is the main thing holding up opening the shop. The second thing was that we haven’t been able to find the building their son lives in so we were able to get a little background on Felix as well as verify his address. They said Felix is seldom home and only comes to Church maybe once a month or so. They said we were welcome to visit him if we could find him home. The Swiss are never in a hurry to leave which is nice because you have time to visit and really get acquainted. Before they left we gave them the spiritual thought on faith and enduring to the end with the tea bag as a visual aid. Heinz had seen this before when we did it in High Priest Group, but both women hadn’t. It is still an impressive object lesson. We took a video clip of it so you can see how it works. We’ll post it on our blog. They stayed about three hours and then slowly made their exit.

We had a couple hours respite between when they left and our next appointment so we cleaned up the dishes and then relaxed a little, read, napped and listened to Elder Oakes conference talk that we’ll hear again tomorrow in Church. Soon, however, it was time to prepare another salad to take to our dinner appointment with Charlotte. She invited Elders Pine, Harris, Jensen, Zenger (he traded with Elder Evans for a couple of days), Solange, Anita & Gerd Weiss and us. Charlotte had prepared three different types of pies, similar in shape to pizzas, but one was a cheese pie, one a sausage ball pie (Diana’s favorite) and the last one was a veggie pie of some sort (my favorite). We started out with the salad and received compliments on how good it was, and then we moved on to the different pies. Gerd and Anita were a little late, but there was plenty for them anyway. For dessert she brought out ice cream cones similar to drum sticks, but with less nuts and chocolate.

Once the dinner was over the discussion turned to a more serious matter regarding how newly baptized members feel when the missionaries are transferred or go home. They feel abandoned and it’s a critical time for them to stay active. If members don’t actively fellowship, it’s hard for the new member to feel a part of the ward and could be lost. Anita is a convert and told of her experience which was a good heads up for Solange whose getting baptized next Sunday. Gerd was wonderful in that her explained it was the home ward member’s responsibility to fellowship, not the missionary’s. He said the members need to be prepared to take over completely for a time may be coming, when there won’t be any foreign missionaries, they’ll all be local. We discussed the Swiss mentality that they are not naturally social, but would rather stay to themselves. Charlotte is as good as they come and said she’d like to be the activity coordinator for all of the singles so they can get to know one another better. In that way they can support and encourage one another. Obviously she is not the typical Swiss. We kid her that she’s the party person of the ward already, and she says, right now, she needs the fellowship of everyone and loves people around her. Finally at 9:00 we said our goodbye’s and left with Elders Pine and Harris following us to our computer again. Solange had written a talk out in long hand that she wants to give at her baptism, and Elders Pine and Harris corrected the German and typed it out for her. She speaks German, but not fluently; her native tongue is Portuguese. They finally left and now the computers is OURS again. We still have to type our weekly report and it’s 10:15 already.