In Geneva, tree-trimming is an art form (zoom in to see better)
Our second granddaughter brings the family together: Ward members stayed after church for a “linger longer” small feast prior to the rebroadcast of the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. We got home in time to speak with Heidi and Dave before their stake conference. When we called Jeff et al., it turned out to be the day that Abby was blessed. Rob and Crystal had come down from Washington, DC, and Paul and Connie had come from West Virginia. Rob and Crystal had already headed home when we called, but we were able to see (via computer-Skype) Paul and Connie, and Emma had worn the Swiss outfit we’d sent. Abby wore the little outfit G’ma Sparks had knitted, and Jeff and Allie looked fine also. What a joy it is to have such a wonderful family!
Paper flowers don’t need to be watered: Monday’s Spanish family home evening featured an activity led by Elder Guerrero, who taught us to make paper flowers. Afterwards, Dede spent an hour or so helping Elizabeth Miranda with her family history, and they were able to clear two names for her relatives’ temple work.
Sister Allred expands her paper flower
The Spanish home evening group celebrates its flowers
Sister Hinman may lose her anonymity:
Tuesday, we thoroughly cleaned our apartment in anticipation of Rob and Crystal’s arrival next Monday, and then we set up a wee Christmas tree and generally organized other decorations. We also finished decorating the 48 remaining envelopes for the missionary tie-buddy gifts and the 20 sisters’ stockings. Wednesday’s French class featured a story about Père Noel’s losing his magic sack when he’d overslept on Christmas Eve. A minor miracle occurred after class when the Doyles mentioned that a lady at the local grocery store (Carrefour) had told them she’d found a name tag (plaque); Dede had lost her tag about 10 days earlier, and was just about ready to order a new one from the states. The lady presumably had turned it in at the little Evangelical church, which “happens” to be next door to us on the first floor in the same building. Then when we drove up to the apartment, we “happened” to see two men exiting the door of that “storefront” church. They were happy to look around for the name tag, and when they didn’t find it, they told us they’d put it in our mailbox when it turned up.
Yverdon young adults enjoy their fondue
Yverdon Young Adults put on a pre-Noel fondue party: Instead of Institute classes on Friday, the young adults had organized a fondue party under the leadership of Michael Mayer and Roxanne Canonica; 28 young people (plus 3 of us “slightly more mature” citizens) participated. After the feast, out came cookies, cupcakes, and assorted chocolates. (In the picture, Sister Hinman is wearing a red jacket.)
Yverdon’s international singers
Sometime after 9:30 pm, the program began. There were stories, some humorous, readings, and singing, accompanied by accordion or guitar. We were thrilled at the unity of the group and the way they worked together- both to put on the feast and the program, and at the end, to get the building cleaned up for Sunday. Everyone seemed to have a great time. We took Shirley and Nancy (the theoretical chemist from Mexico who is working on her PhD and will return to Lausanne for a post-doc) back to their apartments in Lausanne before returning home about 1:15 am.
Singing in the cold beats “Singing in the Rain:” Saturday morning, Dede needed more recovery from her cold, so I headed over to the mission home to go with Elder and Sister Doyle to meet the missionaries to sing Christmas carols in downtown Geneva. Roads were clear of snow and ice until getting to the horseshoe street where the mission home is located. I thought I was going rather slowly, but as I started the turn into the driveway, the car started to slide towards the stone retaining wall. The mailman on his bicycle had just gotten out of the way (thankfully), and the car stopped its skid about a foot away from the wall (a tender mercy). As I pulled up, I noticed that one of the mission cars had not been so fortunate – its left front corner was crumpled. After picking up the Doyles and Sister Hanson, we drove to the parking lot located (literally) beneath the end of Lake Geneva, from where we carried a table up the escalator and over the cobblestones a couple of blocks to the spot where the missionaries had assembled.
The singing may not have been perfect, but it was sincere
We sang French carols, English carols, and even a Spanish version of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” along with some contemporary American favorites, while some of the missionaries talked with passers-by on the busy shopping street and offered them free Christmas DVD’s or copies of the Book of Mormon. When we finished around 1 pm, the Volpicellis invited the missionaries to their home for hot chocolate and cookies.
Elder Doyle shows that baptism by sprinkling is still done
After returning home for a much needed nap, I spent the rest of the evening working on the next day’s Sunday School lesson while Dede worked on a Christmas email for our friends back home.
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