L: Baar River, Diana & Robert at Einsiedeln; Charlotte's baptism with Elder Larson as witness & elder Jensen baptizing.










APRIL 9, 2009 THURSDAY

We got up this morning, went through our usual routine and then spent some time reviewing what we discussed with Bishop Schwendener last night. We wanted to make sure we didn’t let anything slip that we have been asked to do or the we volunteered to do. We also updated some maps with the new information and we still need to update the ward member list with all our notations on it to reflect the new information. As we have said before, Bishop Schwendener is fairly new to the ward and appreciates all the information we can give him on the less-active members he hasn’t met yet. He asked if we would print off a copy of our member list and notations so he has it to refer to. We identified nine members who haven’t had home/visiting teachers assigned to them. He will discuss these in his next ward council and try to get them assigned.

About 1:30 in the afternoon we left to try and find Brother Buehlmann home; we’ve tried to visit him many many times and have never found him home yet. He may just not to want to open his door. Today was no exception, but the weather was sunny and warm and we didn’t mind the bus trip there and the walk back to the bus stop. At the bus stop we sat by a lady who was also waiting for the bus. We struck up a conversation and, of course, we talked about the Church. She had heard of the Church before and actually remembered the name of Joseph Smith. As we talked she made the point that every Church teaches something different and how does one know the truth. I pulled out a copy of the BM and read Moroni 10:4-9 and gave her a mini lesson on desire, faith, study, prayer and being willing to act on the answer given through the Holy Ghost. We also talked a bit about the BM. I knew the bus would be coming soon so I tried to make an appointment to come an teach her, but she declined and said she would have to think about it. We told her she could keep the book and she was pleased with that. We always put a couple of brochures and the Joseph Smith story in the BM’s we give away, and I pointed out our phone number so she could call us when she is ready to talk to us. We hope and pray she does.

Here in Switzerland the stores close on the Friday before Easter, are open on Saturday as normal, close Sunday and Monday, then resume normal hours on Tuesday. Most stores are closed on Sundays as a normal routine. Since the stores would be closed for four days, we had to get a few more things for the Easter egg hunt because more are coming than we thought at first. We stopped on our way home in Schwamendingen to do a little shopping. We went to Diana’s favorite store and bought all she thought we could carry, including more mosquito candles, bowls, glasses and etc. After that we walked to Migros and bought some potatoes, raclette cheese, pickles and a few other things because Elder’s Pine and Harris were coming for dinner. They called earlier in the day and asked if they could print off a few things on the computer and we invited them to stay for dinner too. We can’t believe how much they can pack away and still stay fit and trim. They left about 7:00 for an appointment and after they left I went for a forty-five minute jog while Diana cleaned up from dinner, worked on the computer and organized the things we bought today. Elder Norris just made his mid-week call to check up on us to make sure we were still alive and kicking. This is the first time in a long time that we’ve got this journal entry written and posted at a reasonable time.