Pasturing cows high up; feeding the crows on Pilatus; our cog wheel train hanging over the cliff.

JULY 6, 2010 TUESDAY

This morning we had to cut our normal morning routine a little short because we had a meeting scheduled with Charlotte Kunz at 10:00. The last time we met with her she emphatically said we should only think of God as energy or light and not try to imagine him as a person with a body. So we researched some scriptures along with preparing the discussion on the Plan of Salvation and reviewing the first discussion on prophets, Jesus Christ, apostasy and the restoration. We prepare and then let the Spirit guide what we should say and teach. It took us a half hour by bus to get to her home even though she only lives about a fifteen minute walk almost directly up the hill above us.

Charlotte invited us in and gave us a good welcome. She loves her backyard garden, mostly flowers and grass and she wanted us to see it. That gave us a good chance to get to know her a little better and, while we were outside, she pulled the plastic rain cover off the table and we stayed outside for the teaching. Her husband had a stroke about five years ago and is a total invalid living in a care center, but his mind works well and he can talk albeit with effort and very slowly. She is very devoted to him and her three daughters who are 21, 23 and 25. She believes a lot of what our Church teaches including that families can be together forever. However, as yet she doesn’t understand why or how that’s possible.

We actually taught her parts of the first discussion and the Plan of Salvation, focusing on the need for prophets ancient and present, priesthood authority and keys and revelation in conjunction with the Plan of Salvation. The discussion lasted for two hours beginning with a prayer, but it only seemed like a half hour. She was focused and asked many good questions and agreed with almost everything we taught her. When we taught about the pre-mortal life and that God had an immortal resurrected perfected body of flesh and bone, she agreed this time, or at least, didn’t make an issue of it. As we were saying the closing prayer it had started to sprinkle a little bit. After the prayer was over she asked us if we noticed that it was sprinkling all around us, but not on us. We responded that during the prayer we had similar thoughts and that the Lord was so happy she was meeting with us that he was crying. That struck a chord with her and she started the cry with emotion herself. We bore testimony again and made a follow up appointment for next Tuesday afternoon. We gave her a pamphlet to read even though she has bad eyes and reading for her is difficult and gives her a headache.

We didn’t have any more appointments for today so we finished our reading/studying that we cut short this morning and then tried to decide on what we should do for primary next Sunday. The theme is to follow Christ, but we weren’t given any material or manual to work from. We also tried to find a spiritual thought/short lesson to give Dorothea at lunch tomorrow. Finally, I got caught up on yesterday’s journal and wrote today’s. I think we’re all caught up. This computer was really slow today and just wouldn’t load more than the one photo on yesterday’s report, but I hope it’s working better when I post this one tonight.

During the afternoon we called Katia DiPaolo to try and set an appointment with them before Emely goes into the hospital on Sunday for her back operation. She said she didn’t have time, but would try to be at Church Sunday morning which would give Emely an opportunity to receive a priesthood blessing.

We tried to call Jasmin, but got no answer. We sent her a text message asking her to call us, but we’ve received no answer. We tried calling Irma Egli, but again, we got no answer.

The tender mercy today is that we’re encouraged at the progress Charlotte has made and her willingness to hear the gospel plan.