Week of 23 August 2009

Sunday in our French priesthood lesson, we discussed President Monson’s April general conference address, “Be of Good Cheer,” which included Fred Babbel and Elder Benson’s story of the German sister who fled west after WW-II and one after another had had to bury each of her 4 children along the way in the frozen ground. I felt it was OK to tell the instructor afterwards that I really appreciated that story, since Fred Babbel had married my cousin, had worked with my dad in Portland when I was a boy, and then was called back to Washington, DC to work with Elder Benson who had been asked to serve as Secretary of Agriculture under US President Eisenhower, and that Fred’s daughter became the best friend of my future wife’s only sister (some 13 years before Dede and I met each other); indeed, we were already familiar with the story. We would encourage anyone who reads this week’s blog to re-read that talk (p.91 in the May “Ensign”).

The 5 non-member Bustamante/ Montoya sisters had gone home after Sunday School to prepare 3 kilos (6.6 pounds) of rice and chicken for their part of the refreshments for a surprise farewell party for Bishop Volpicelli’s son-in-law, who had taught the Spanish SS class.

Edwin’s farewell (he’s in red); Bp Volpicelli sits in front; 5 Montoya sisters: 2 flank Dede (rt rear), 1 wears turquoise, 2 in front of Edwin’s rt elbow (Nelly holds Sergio; Rosa wears stripes)

At some point during the evening, Bp V came over to say that the Montoya sisters were going back to Barcelona on Tuesday. They had told him they had felt a wonderful spirit in our church, with our people, and on the temple trip, more than they had ever felt anywhere else. They wondered if he could tell them if there were a branch of the church in Barcelona they could visit. He told me he would try to find out. I replied that if the 3 sisters would tell him their address in Spain, he could simply look on the internet at the church’s website, which would not only give the location of churches, but also the times they meet. I suggested he get Dede and the sisters and go immediately into his living room to do that. We did, and within a few minutes, they found the information for three different buildings in Barcelona plus a rented facility. The sisters were happy – and we were thrilled that they wanted to continue participating. After taking pictures, Br Bustamante said that his family wanted to sing a song for Edwin. They had chosen a familiar Spanish song, but had changed some of the words to express the spirit they had felt and the love they had for this young man who had helped explain the gospel to them.

Back view of the Menthon Castle

Monday after French class, Elder and Sister Doyle, Sister Hanson, and Dede and I picked up the 5 sister missionaries in Geneva to take them to the French town of Annecy to visit the chateau at Menthon.

Because of centuries of wars, including two World Wars, it’s probably the only castle in the world that has been (and still is) lived in by the same family for more than 1000 years.
In the year 1008, a fellow named Bernard was born here.

A 15th century legend has it that having been told in a dream the night before his wedding to devote his life to God, he broke the bars on his window and fled the castle, greatly irritating his fiancée and his own parents. Later he established places of refuge (hostels) for skiers in the Alps and for pilgrims on their way to Rome (and back). He lived to be 73, and at some point after his death was sainted. The famous alpine rescue doges (St. Bernard’s) were named after him (though we suspect they are not all named “Bernard”). We also learned a reason for the short beds in European castles: people often slept in a half-sitting/reclining position, since when people were stretched out horizontally it was because they had died.
Sister missionaries peer from the balcony of the Menthon Castle

Summer flowers (other than the sister missionaries) at the castle

Wednesday morning, as I was saying my personal prayers,I was impressed to pray for Larry Anderson (husband of Liz Dougherty, from Toledo, a policeman who (according to Rob in Sunday night’s phone call) had injured his back while chasing a crook in Washington, DC), and who will have surgery tomorrow for a herniated disk, which could end his career. I had forgotten all about his situation, and we hadn’t even remembered to pray for him on Sunday. What indicated that this impression to pray for him had been inspiration/revelation came after I got up from my knees and read my email. There was a message from Liz’ mom Kitty asking that we pray for his surgery to be successful. That was a sweet confirmation that the Lord knows about and cares about each of his children individually.

At Thursday’s zone conference, Elder Kopischke told the story of a lady who had been taught by the missionaries. When she told her daughters (16, 18, and 20 yrs old) of her desire to be baptized, they angrily ridiculed her – and even threw dishes around the house, breaking several. They told her that since she had been betrayed by her husband (whom she had recently divorced), she was now about to be led into some cult/sect that would also betray her. They spent the next 3+ hours on the internet digging up all the anti-Mormon dirt they could find (both in French and in English). The missionaries suggested she write down the questions she had from that onslaught and that they would have the mission president answer all of them, and they encouraged her to continue reading the Book of Mormon and praying each morning and evening. When then Stake Pres Kopischke invited her in for an interview, he felt some trepidation, not knowing what all those questions might be and whether he had sufficient information to answer appropriately. After asking her to offer an opening prayer, he said “I understand you have some questions you’d like to discuss.” She replied, “Not really, the Book of Mormon has answered them all for me.” So he said, “Well, then I some a few questions for you,” and he proceeded to ask her the baptismal interview questions, which she was happy to answer, and she then accepted his invitation to be baptized two days later. As he was about to offer a closing prayer for their interview, he sensed that she still had something that concerned her. She tearfully responded by asking him to pray that her three daughters would all come to her baptism (which would require a substantial miracle). He did, and they did, and 3 months later, the most rebellious of them all (the 20-yr old) was baptized. He later called her to serve a 6-week mini-mission, and during that brief time she taught one young lady who was baptized. Since then, both women have served full-time missions and have married in the temple; a total of 70 other people have joined the church as a result of their two missions.

Elder and Sister Jones came over around 8 pm Thursday to see about their failed internet connectivity. We called our son-in-law Dave Perez (in Provo), and although he was busy at work, he kindly took the time to get access to their laptop and fix the problems. When they left – nearly 10 pm, we cooked up a couple of hot dogs for dinner.

Saturday, after a luncheon with mission leaders, the senior couples had an opportunity to meet with President & Sister Murdock to brief them regarding our stewardships with the young single adults. We took about 20 minutes each to tell them about the program, our activities, the current needs, and our recommendations. We were very happy when Pres Murdock suggested we ask Stake Pres Bonny about starting a Spanish B of M Institute class for YSA to coincide with the Spanish family home evening on Monday and go ahead with the move of the French FHE to Tuesday. It has been a busy but very happy week.

Menthon’s water supply system: a stone gargoyle collects rainwater and “spits” it into a copper serpent for release some 20 feet above the collecting basin.