Train going up to Arosa; Marco going on the gondola; Diana & Robert on Weisshorn Peak.

OCTOBER 5, 2009 MONDAY

For P-day today we were invited by Elder Harris to go with him, Elder Nilsson and Charlotte to visit a relative of his in Arosa near Klosters and Chur. He had never met this relative or her family and wasn’t quite sure about how he was related, just that he was. We met the three of them at our meeting place in Zurich and hopped the train at 8:09. It took us a couple of hours to get there and, when we arrived at Arosa, we searched for this person and couldn’t find her and so we waited. After about twenty minutes, she, with her 10 year old son Marco, showed up and it seemed to be a happy meeting between them and Elder Harris. We all got on another train and continued on to the end station. We all bought a $10 day pass which allowed us to ride the gondolas, trains, buses, and if we would of had the time, use many other facilities in and around Arosa. There was even a golf course where we could of hit 30 balls for $5.00, but we just didn’t have time. The first thing we did was get on the gondola that took us to the top of the Weisshorn, the highest peak around, 2653 meters high. Again we could see mountain peaks for as far as the eyes could see in every direction. Off one edge we could see the town of Chur way below. There were quite a few other small dorfs (towns) along the mountain sides and houses as high up as the tree line. Up above tree line it is pretty barren and not so pretty as riding the train up to Arosa. But in the winter when everything is covered in snow, it must be really spectacular. This is one of the famous ski resorts among 1500 other ones in Switzerland.

We stayed on top for at least an hour and a half, taking pictures and eating our lunch. Marco was pretty fun to play with at times, but mostly he stayed with his mother. Finally, we rode the gondola back down where Elders Harris and Nilsson went with his cousin to see their old home and meet the rest of her family and his relatives. We walked around town and took a bus for a short ride. We saw a smaller ski lift we could have ridden, but we didn’t have the time.

We were on the train to go back home at 2:50 and the train was really crowded. We found two seats together and one across the aisle for Charlotte. A man was sitting opposite her taking up both seats on his side with his feet resting on the seat opposite him. He had his shoes off and his baggage on the floor taking up most of the space where passengers feet would normally be. Charlotte had to sit in the one empty seat by the man’s feet which, she said, stunk. I could see she was really uncomfortable sitting there and, since we were the end seats before the compartment where the exit doors were, I stood up and went out into this area. Charlotte immediately got up and sat by Diana which was a relief for her. I was also in a place where I could walk back and forth to look out of either side of the train and take photos through open windows. That is, until the next stop where Elders Harris & Nilsson and his relative and son got on. They sat on the fold down seats by the windows which essentially blocked me out. Opposite Diana was sitting a woman from the Philippines who, Diana found out, spoke English. The train stopped at little towns on the way down and finally Charlotte was able to find a seat close and I was able to come back in and sit by Diana. During the trip to Lauterbrunnen where we had to change trains, Diana found out that she knew about the Church, had a Book of Mormon and she didn’t want to find out more. She was very nice and pleasant and talked about herself, her family and other things. At Lauterbrunnen we got on the train for Zurich and his relatives went back home.


We got home with an hour to spare before we had to leave for home evening at the Bolts. Elders Harris and Nilsson came with us to do their emails on our computer. We put frozen lasagne in the oven for them and we got ready and left. Home evening is always a good time and we learn a lot. The lesson this time was one the 2nd chapter in Ephesians, but cross referenced to the Book of Mormon. Irene had the game and what she had us do was answer questions relating to talks given in General Conference. We know that we attended, listened and took some notes during the various sessions. Recalling information to answer the questions was more difficult than it should have been. The point of the game was to remind us the importance of reading and studying the talks during the next six months. We can’t possible remember all that was said and, if we can’t remember, how can we put into practice what we were taught?

On the way home we saw the Elders coming from our apartment and, when we met, they asked us if we had seen the Blick evening newspaper. Of course we hadn’t, so they told us about the picture of the conference going on in the Conference Center in Salt Lake. The newspaper stand was right by us so we got a paper and looked. It had a large photo and a short description of the Church and that it was the fourth largest church in the USA. There was nothing negative in the description for which we were thankful. Diana took about a third of the newspapers, which are free, intending to cut out the photo to show people as we contact them. And the rest of this day is history.

And that is the tender mercy of the Lord today, that the Blick newspaper, which is similar to a gossip paper at home, had a photo of the General Conference and accurately reported what was going on along with a little background information.