JANUARY 3, 2009 SATURDAY
Today was one of those in between days where there is not much happening because of the Swiss extended holidays. We worked and studied and went shopping for gifts for the birthdays coming up, two of them tomorrow. I also worked on the song I’m supposed to sing at zone conference on Monday. The music I was given yesterday was written so small I had to have a magnifying glass to see it. The first verse was in Swedish and, even though I know the song well, one of my favorites, I still can’t sing all of it from memory especially in front of a crowd. It took me several hours to copy everything big enough to see and then practice a bit. We also completed the progress report for tomorrow’s missionary correlation meeting. We got an email from Pres. Matern inviting us to a planning conference with six other senior couples scheduled for the end of the month. The weather is getting colder and will stay that way all week. Right now it’s -5 C or 23 F. but with the high humidity, it feels a lot colder. It’s supposed to get down to -10 C (15 F) during the day so it’ll be plenty cold at night.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
JANUARY 3, 2009 SATURDAY
Today was one of those in between days where there is not much happening because of the Swiss extended holidays. We worked and studied and went shopping for gifts for the birthdays coming up, two of them tomorrow. I also worked on the song I’m supposed to sing at zone conference on Monday. The music I was given yesterday was written so small I had to have a magnifying glass to see it. The first verse was in Swedish and, even though I know the song well, one of my favorites, I still can’t sing all of it from memory especially in front of a crowd. It took me several hours to copy everything big enough to see and then practice a bit. We also completed the progress report for tomorrow’s missionary correlation meeting. We got an email from Pres. Matern inviting us to a planning conference with six other senior couples scheduled for the end of the month. The weather is getting colder and will stay that way all week. Right now it’s -5 C or 23 F. but with the high humidity, it feels a lot colder. It’s supposed to get down to -10 C (15 F) during the day so it’ll be plenty cold at night.
Today was one of those in between days where there is not much happening because of the Swiss extended holidays. We worked and studied and went shopping for gifts for the birthdays coming up, two of them tomorrow. I also worked on the song I’m supposed to sing at zone conference on Monday. The music I was given yesterday was written so small I had to have a magnifying glass to see it. The first verse was in Swedish and, even though I know the song well, one of my favorites, I still can’t sing all of it from memory especially in front of a crowd. It took me several hours to copy everything big enough to see and then practice a bit. We also completed the progress report for tomorrow’s missionary correlation meeting. We got an email from Pres. Matern inviting us to a planning conference with six other senior couples scheduled for the end of the month. The weather is getting colder and will stay that way all week. Right now it’s -5 C or 23 F. but with the high humidity, it feels a lot colder. It’s supposed to get down to -10 C (15 F) during the day so it’ll be plenty cold at night.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Night photo of Zurich; a franc coin next to the train tracks. I wanted to get it, but I didn't think I could jump down there and get back out without getting dirty.
JANUARY 2, 2008 FRIDAY
Yesterday when we went out visiting, we forgot to take our cell phone with us. When we got back in for the evening, I checked it for any missed phone calls. There was one listed, but I decided to wait until this morning to return the call since it was from other missionaries. I didn’t realize they had left a text message. They had been assigned to do a musical number in the next zone conference and asked me if I would also help them sing. I thought about not calling them, but then, as good missionaries are supposed to do, I called them and said I would. We were to meet at the church at 2:00 to practice.
Right after that Elder Middleton called and asked if they could come over and do our goal setting and combined study that we didn’t get to yesterday. They arrived at 11:00 and we discussed goals and they had some good ideas for us. In addition to the ones we had already decided on, they asked us to consider opening our home to the missionaries to teach investigators if they didn’t have any other suitable place to go. We thought they already knew that was an option for them, but we were happy to make that one of our goals also. While we were having this discussion, the AP’s called and asked if they could borrow some butter and eggs so they could make cookies for an investigator they were teaching tonight. This is the first time we realized today was a Swiss holiday (still part of New Years) and all of the stores were still closed. It was a good thing we had bought some the other day just to have on hand (inspiration?). After our goal setting we watched a DVD Elder Middleton had received from home and in return, we made them watch our DVD of our daughters and their families holding FHE. It’s great to see and feel that families really are the center of our lives. In the middle of this the AP’s came to get the butter and eggs, but stayed to watch some of the DVD’s. After they left we listened to a tape of an address from Cleon Skousen on the Atonement and why it was necessary. It was a great talk, one that we wished we could understand a little better. Just as this got done I had to go to the church to practice.
I can’t read music and have to learn by repetition. Hymns in the hymn book are good and I can sing them from memory. It seems that nobody wants to sing the hymns the way they are written because they think they are too boring. Well, they’re not boring to me; I love the hymns the way they are written. The song Elders Larsson and Eschweiler had chosen was, “How Great Thou Art.” The only problem was Elder Larsson had jazzed it up a little and wanted me to sing two parts by myself without accompaniment. I guess we’ll see how that goes. We will only have one more practice on Sunday evening. We had the Wachter’s coming for dinner tonight and I stayed practicing longer than I should have. It kind of left Diana wondering how she was going to get everything ready in time. When I got home she had everything well underway and together we were able to finish just in time. Elders P & M were also invited and came first, followed by Markus and Dora Wachter and their two boys. We had a nice enjoyable evening and I think we’ve made some new friends. We found out more of the background of both and got better acquainted with Markus. They brought Diana a red rose and also a chocolate cake that looked like a house which we ate for dessert. And I guess that brings to a close another day in the life of these missionaries.
We were reminded of a talk by Elder Henry B. Eyring that we should write in our journals the tender mercies of the Lord in our lives for the benefit of our posterity. Diana feels that a tender mercy for her is that she was better able to understand Dora as she spoke German because of her diligent study and that we were able to provide the Elders with a meaningful missionary experience on this holiday when it would have been difficult otherwise. I feel that we were prompted to buy the extra butter and eggs so Elders E & E were able to make their cookies, that the Lord is aware of the needs of everyone, even down to the little things such as eggs and butter.
Another tender mercy Diana thought of came from Elder Middleton's DVD. A returned missionary from Switzerland gave him some advice that the Swiss had a hard shell, but you just needed to keep working and pounding because underneath they are soft and squishy.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
JANUARY 1, 2009 THURSDAY NEW YEAR’S DAY
Today was New’s Years Day and we were allowed to sleep in. That did me no good since I woke up at my usual time. We did our usual stuff and I worked on the member list some more. About noon we got ready to go out and visit the two members who had birthdays today, one active and one not active who we hadn’t met yet. We’ve decided to give each member this year a birthday card on their birthday. Just as we were getting ready to leave we got a call from Elder Pine asking if they could come over and do some goal-setting for the new year and also to do today’s combined study together. I told him that after we completed our visits that we’d love to get together with them. After being invited they decided to come with us. We had to wait an hour for them to get ready and then we met them in Schwamendingen. We took the bus to Stettbach and then the train to Schwerzenbach. It was about a ten minute walk through the snow, ice and slush to Andreas Odermatt’s home. He recognized we were missionaries and was surprised and happy that someone remembered his birthday. It didn’t change the fact that when we left, he didn’t want to see us again. He said he hadn’t had contact with the Church for over ten years, had gotten married and was satisfied with how things were. We asked him if we could visit and teach him to see if he could get his testimony back. When he answered no, we asked him if he had a BM and would he read it. He said he had a copy in the basement so I told him to go get it and read it. He thought that was pretty funny. He was pretty nice and polite and when we left, my parting shot was for him to pray and ponder about his decision. Who knows, maybe sometime later he’ll find the desire.
We still had Stephan Schmid to visit so we had to take the train back to Zurich Hauptbahnhof and catch another train to Basserdorf. When we changed trains in Zurich, we had a sixteen minute wait. Elders Pine and Middleton said they wanted a snack and went up the stairs. When they came back, they said they had made an appointment with a less-active for 6:00 and so wouldn’t be able to study with us after we got through. We made it to Basserdorf and then came the problem of getting to the Schmid’s. It’s always difficult to get around in the small towns on holidays because the buses run only once an hour or not at all. Elders Pine and Middleton could tell we were going to be a long time in getting this last member visited and they had an appointment to go to. When the bus came, they bid us adieu and we went our separate ways. Fortunately we got on a bus that took us part way to the Schmid’s. After that we had to get off and walk for about twenty-five minutes. The temperature was about twenty degrees and as night was coming on, the slush froze making it very slippery. We finally made it there, wished him a happy birthday, gave him a small gift (cookies) and made it back to the bus stop in time. In fact we had about a fifteen minute wait for the bus and Diana recognized a not-active member lived a few steps away. We had been there a couple of weeks ago and nobody was home. So while waiting for the bus, we made a visit. She was home this time, but had a cold and could only whisper. She didn’t want to visit right then so we asked if we could come back later. She said we could which is a welcome change to what we usually receive. By the time we got home it was way dark and freezing cold. It was really good to get out again and do some contacting work. While I work on the reports, Diana is always studying either German or the scriptures or both. Tonight it was reading the BM in German.
Today was New’s Years Day and we were allowed to sleep in. That did me no good since I woke up at my usual time. We did our usual stuff and I worked on the member list some more. About noon we got ready to go out and visit the two members who had birthdays today, one active and one not active who we hadn’t met yet. We’ve decided to give each member this year a birthday card on their birthday. Just as we were getting ready to leave we got a call from Elder Pine asking if they could come over and do some goal-setting for the new year and also to do today’s combined study together. I told him that after we completed our visits that we’d love to get together with them. After being invited they decided to come with us. We had to wait an hour for them to get ready and then we met them in Schwamendingen. We took the bus to Stettbach and then the train to Schwerzenbach. It was about a ten minute walk through the snow, ice and slush to Andreas Odermatt’s home. He recognized we were missionaries and was surprised and happy that someone remembered his birthday. It didn’t change the fact that when we left, he didn’t want to see us again. He said he hadn’t had contact with the Church for over ten years, had gotten married and was satisfied with how things were. We asked him if we could visit and teach him to see if he could get his testimony back. When he answered no, we asked him if he had a BM and would he read it. He said he had a copy in the basement so I told him to go get it and read it. He thought that was pretty funny. He was pretty nice and polite and when we left, my parting shot was for him to pray and ponder about his decision. Who knows, maybe sometime later he’ll find the desire.
We still had Stephan Schmid to visit so we had to take the train back to Zurich Hauptbahnhof and catch another train to Basserdorf. When we changed trains in Zurich, we had a sixteen minute wait. Elders Pine and Middleton said they wanted a snack and went up the stairs. When they came back, they said they had made an appointment with a less-active for 6:00 and so wouldn’t be able to study with us after we got through. We made it to Basserdorf and then came the problem of getting to the Schmid’s. It’s always difficult to get around in the small towns on holidays because the buses run only once an hour or not at all. Elders Pine and Middleton could tell we were going to be a long time in getting this last member visited and they had an appointment to go to. When the bus came, they bid us adieu and we went our separate ways. Fortunately we got on a bus that took us part way to the Schmid’s. After that we had to get off and walk for about twenty-five minutes. The temperature was about twenty degrees and as night was coming on, the slush froze making it very slippery. We finally made it there, wished him a happy birthday, gave him a small gift (cookies) and made it back to the bus stop in time. In fact we had about a fifteen minute wait for the bus and Diana recognized a not-active member lived a few steps away. We had been there a couple of weeks ago and nobody was home. So while waiting for the bus, we made a visit. She was home this time, but had a cold and could only whisper. She didn’t want to visit right then so we asked if we could come back later. She said we could which is a welcome change to what we usually receive. By the time we got home it was way dark and freezing cold. It was really good to get out again and do some contacting work. While I work on the reports, Diana is always studying either German or the scriptures or both. Tonight it was reading the BM in German.
DECEMBER 31, 2008 WEDNESDAY NEW YEAR’S EVE
District meeting this morning so we were up bright and early and on time or, I should say, way early. We thought the meeting began at 10:00 and the six missionaries in the Schwamendingen ward usually meet a half hour early to coordinate our activities. Well, the meeting started at 10:30 and the other four missionaries didn’t come early either, so we were an hour early. Everyone finally arrived and the meeting began. They are always so well organized and the missionaries who have assignments always do a good job. The theme of this meeting was humility. Elder Ehlen spoke on and asked us to think of all the characteristics that demonstrated humility. All of the usual attributes were given, but at the end, Elder Ehlen reminded us that we don’t have to be weak to be humble. He used the example of the Savior, who was the humblest of all, and talked of his courage, confidence and strength as well as the other humility characteristics. Elder Evans spoke on charity and related it to humility. The quote that stuck with me is, “You can’t help everyone everywhere even though you want to, but you can help somebody somewhere.”
At the district meeting we found out that one of the less-active members whose door we knocked on, wasn’t home and we left a Christmas gift/card, lives in Slovakia. Evidently he rents his apartment to someone, but has left his name on the mailbox. The renter must have sent the member a letter complaining the missionaries were bugging him and he wanted it stopped. The member wrote a letter to the mission home and the AP’s gave us the news today. One more checked off our list. We get emails from one of our MTC couple missionary friends who seem only to meet people who WANT to hear about the gospel. They tell of all the teaching experiences they are having. Here, it seems no one wants to let us in or talk to us. Most of the less-active members have had no contact with the Church for years and when we come around, they have either moved or don’t want to talk to us. It makes us sad to know they once had testimonies, but through neglect or other influences, have let the world take over their lives again. We won’t give up and we’ll keep plugging along, doing the best we can.
After district meeting we went to town, bought a few things, then came home and cooked and prepared some things for whoever shows up tonight. We invited all the missionaries who didn’t have an invitation somewhere else, to come over this evening and celebrate with us. We have pizza (jazzed up, of course), croquettes de pommes, ham sandwiches, banana pudding w/vanilla cookies, munchies and plenty of games to play. We’ll see what happens and who comes. Maybe we’ll celebrate alone, who knows. It’s snowing outside right now. It finally stopped snowing about 10:00 and that is when the missionaries finally arrived. We had just finished getting everything ready and the pizza cooked when they came. We ate and played “shanghai” and other games until about 12:30. At midnight there was a lot of fireworks going off and the church bells sounded all over the place. Another year has ended and a new one is here. WE WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY AND SUCCESSFUL NEW YEAR. WE LOVE YOU ALL.
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