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.