We try to give everyone a BoM; Diana in the museum; some kind of old airplane.

MAY 14, 2009 THURSDAY

On a day when we thought we would just be able to go over and mostly sit with Suwang while the movers moved her belongings, it ended up being a long day. Not just because of her move, but because of other things that just come with the life of missionaries. We were on the road by 7:15 traveling to Suwang’s apartment. We got there by 8:00 and we able to get some things done before the movers arrived shortly after. Here in Switzerland, when someone moves, all the light fixtures that weren’t there when you moved in, light globes and curtains go with them. It seems kind of weird that the light fixtures must be removed too, but that’s the way it is. When we got to the new apartment, there were no ceiling fixtures there either, nor curtains etc. You are expected to bring them with you. So we removed light globes from the fixture that stayed, took down the one that went, and kind of got things a little organized. Elder Pine called and asked if he could make an appointment with us because he had a problem and needed to talk it over with his “mission parents.” We kind of knew what it would be about, but we made an appointment for 4:00 this afternoon.

Soon the movers were there and, if you know Diana she can’t just sit and watch, we started pushing boxes to the top of the stairs where they could get them without having to come clear into the apartment. We were just glad we didn’t have to carry all the stuff down four flights of stairs and pack them into the van. It took a couple of hours for them to move it all downstairs. When it came to the heavy wooden wardrobes, Roland, the mover, just took them apart and carried them down piece by piece. We helped him as he took these apart so his partner could still be carrying and organizing the stuff into the truck. While we were doing that, we finally got an opportunity to talk to him about his work and find out a little about him. We asked him if he ever found any surprises while he was moving stuff. He said he finds money and other valuable a lot under carpets, under beds, etc.in apartments where people have died and the relatives just want everything moved out. He said once he found 50,00sfr. When he finds something valuable, he takes a photo of it and then turns it over to the Social Department for whom he works. Often, he said, the people just want the stuff moved out and tell him he can keep anything he wants. He has furnished his whole house with expensive furniture, paintings, equipments etc. People over here don’t seem to care about garage sales or trying to sell stuff. They just want to get rid of it when they no longer need it. We were able to talk to him about the Church a little and what we as missionaries do. We gave him a copy of the BoM alongs with some brochures and asked him for his address so we could come talk to him . He declined and said he’d read what we gave him and, if he wanted to know more, he had our phone number stamped in the front of the book. We always look for opportunities to talk to people.

Before the movers were finished Diana and Suwang left for the new apartment so they could be there when the movers got there. Diana is so good with Suwang and Suwang just enjoys being with her. It took about an hour to travel there by tram, train and bus. After the movers had everything in the truck except the three cats and the stuff in her basement storage, they took off for the new apartment, but they didn’t have to get there until the appointed time of 2:00. I noticed some screws and an allen wrench on the window sill that Roland put there as he took one wardrobe apart. I thought I would do him a favor and take them with me so when he got there he could put it together again. I had the address of the new apartment, but didn’t exactly know how to get there, so I went home and looked it up on Google Maps. Once I had the directions I too traveled to where Diana and Suwang were. After they got there they sat on a big rock in a nice shady spot in front of a store overlooking the bus stop to look for me to arrive. I got there about 1:00 and we all went up to her new apartment. It is in a nice location on the third floor of a high rise apartment building where only older people subsidized by the Social Department are allowed to live. The apartment is really nice and quiet with a balcony with a view of the mountain and forest behind the apartment building. She will really feel safe, secure and comfortable there, we think. While we were there, Brother Wichtermann called and told us there would be 64 people at the activity tomorrow and we needed to increase the number of brownies we have to make. Instead of one triple batch, Diana will have to make three triple batches. The movers arrived and began moving her stuff upstairs.

Once it looked like things were under control, we left and went home for the appointment with Elder Pine and to start doing the brownies for tomorrow. Before they got there we made a pizza for our breakfast/lunch/dinner and also in case the missionaries were hungry. After the pizza was cooked, Diana baked brownies. Elders Pine and Jensen arrived and Elder Pine poured out his concerns about whether he should extend his mission for one transfer and, the bigger concern, whether he should stay in England after his mission or go to BYU or UofU for his schooling. He’d been praying about the decision, thought he got an answer, then doubt crept in and he needed someone to talk to. We counseled with him for a couple of hours and advised him he should talk to his parents. He gave us his phone number and asked us to call his parents to arrange a time while he and Elder Jensen went to an appointment. While he was gone I called his mother to let her know what was going on and arranged the time for 8:30. She said they would be glad to talk to him, but he needed to get permission from Pres. Matern first. I called Elder Pine and told him this.

While this was going on, Elder Harris called to see if we had a cigarette lighter they needed for an object lesson they were thinking about doing. We told them we didn’t, but had matches and a candle. They also needed a couple of plastic cups. They came on over to try it out and got here before the other elders left. We tried out their experiment and it worked so they were happy and left. Next came a call from Elder Ehlen who wanted to know how Suwang’s move went. He also invited us to a street contacting activity at the main Zurich Bahnhof Saturday. He also asked, if by chance, the AP’s were at our place. We told them yes and he said he’d been trying to contact them all day and hadn’t been able to. We gave the phone to Elder Pine and they got their business done. Finally everyone left and we had a little peace and quiet. But no sooner did they leave than Charlotte came over to show us some of the pretty tablecloths she found in St. Gallen. We talked about this and that for about for over an hour, about various members and callings and arranged for her to come with us on Monday to Germany to buy some pastries for family home evening on Monday night.

After she left we thought we'd have some quiet time and I tried to work on my talk for Sunday, but I didn’t have much time. Just as I was getting my thoughts organized, Elder Pine called to get train times from Schwerzenbach, where they had gone for their appointment, back to our place. I finally gave up on trying to work on my talk and just hope I can find time between now and Sunday. Elders Pine and Jensen were soon back at our apartment and Elder Pine assured us he had gotten permission from Pres. Matern to call his parents. He used our computer to skype them and didn’t get finished until 10:45. But, bless his heart, he was able to get some things resolved so he can put all his energy back into his work as a missionary. While he was doing that, Diana and I kept company with Elder Jensen. He has about everything lined out when he returns. He has a scholastic scholarship at the UofU. His biggest concern was if he should grow a beard when he gets home or follow counsel and live the mission standards for the rest of his life. His father has always had a beard and even his children have never seen him without one. Elder Jensen also had a beard from the time he was 16 until he came on his mission. We told him the example of our daughter, Roxsan, who, when she returned from her mission decided it would be a good idea to have several pierced earrings in each ear. The Brethren counseled that women should not have more than one piercing in each ear. When Roxsan heard this counsel, she immediately took all the earrings out except one which followed the counsel of the Brethren. It was so late by the time they left, we just went to bed and put off writing our journal entry until this morning. It kind of gets us off schedule, but what can you do?

I forgot to tell the final story about the screws I put in by bag. And that tells the story; I forgot to take them out at Suwang's so I don't know what they did with the one wardrobe the screws go with. We're going over tomorrow so we may have to put it together for her then. Roland probably is wondering what happened to them.