Diesel motors have a low-temperature threshold: Sunday as we prepared for church, we noticed that according to the computer, the temperature was -12 degrees C (10 oF). Car windows had to be scraped free of frost (ice). The car started OK, but as we tried to drive, it bucked terribly in either first or second gear; there was no way we could even try third or 4th gear. Every couple of hundred yards, it stalled out. We coaxed it onto the road, kept near or on the right shoulder, but continued to have severe problems. It probably took 10minutes to travel the first kilometer or two, which caused us to turn around at the Ferney round point and return home. I’d forgotten that diesel motors have to be thoroughly warmed up before starting to drive. By just sitting in the apartment parking lot for another 10 minutes, it finally seemed worth trying once more to head to church, and then the car worked just fine, as though there’d never been a problem. We got to the chapel about 20 minutes late, but still in time for the Christmas program. Bp Volpicelli had different people read from the Book of Luke, chapters 1 and 2, and because the Rive Gauche Ward is so linguistically diverse, each read in his or her native language, and we followed along from the printed program that indicated which verses each was reading. In between, we sang Christmas carols, either in French or in Spanish (we didn’t have any music in Portuguese). But there was a wonderful spirit of love and unity felt by all. In the Geneva Ward Sunday School lesson for new and not-yet members, I tried to emphasize that HOPE was one of the main reasons for the celebration of the Savior’s birth: hope for his success in atoning for our failings and sins, hope for his bringing about a universal resurrection from death, and hope for his ability to show us the best way to live in love for one another. That evening, Rob and Crystal told us that from Friday to Saturday, Washington DC had been hit with 20 inches of snow – the most since 1932. After standing in line at the crowded airport for a couple of hours, they learned that their three-legged flight to Europe had been cancelled, but a minor miracle occurred when the ticket agent arranged for them to take a direct flight a couple hours later that would arrive in Geneva three hours before they’d originally been scheduled.
Rob and Crystal arrive! Monday morning, we arose at 6 am so as to get to the airport to pick up Rob and Crystal at 7:30. They were tired, but happy to be here. We took them to the Christmas zone conference for the missionaries. A tender mercy was Sister Murdock’s suggestion to distribute the tie buddies decorated by the Lausanne Stake young single adults to the elders at lunch rather than at the end of the conference (and the nylon stockings to the sister missionaries). The result was that the missionaries happily appreciated the efforts of the young adults, and they signed a card to express their thanks. The concluding distribution of Christmas packages and gifts to the missionaries didn’t detract from the young adults’ tie-buddy effort. We took Rob and Crystal out to St Genis to the famous French Patisserie, Brocard, to sample some special delicacies, which we began to eat right after our microwave dinner of pre-prepared meals. We were in a bit of a hurry, since we’d promised to help the Bustamante family with set-up for the Spanish family home evening.
Crystal promised to add the photographer (Sister Hinman)
to our picture at the Swiss Temple
A wedding anniversary in Switzerland: Tuesday, after a breakfast of scrambled eggs with Emmental cheese, toast, and the Swiss brand of Nestlé’s hot chocolate, we drove to the Bern temple to celebrate Rob and Crystal’s 5th wedding anniversary. We marveled at the warm reception by President Castellani and his French counselor. They recognized us and made us feel as though we were their best friends. The endowment session was special in that Dede listed in French, I listened in German, and Rob and Crystal listened in English. We wish everyone could share in the spirit of love and happiness we feel in the temple. We didn’t get home until 7 pm, so we headed straight to church for the Rive Gauche Ward’s Christmas party. In spite of the fact that only 70-80 people attend church, Bp Volpicelli had asked that tables be set up for 200 – and about 220 showed up. The dinner, for which Rob was asked to offer the prayer – perhaps because he’s so tall that he stands out in a group - was followed by an incredible program: for example, the sets were movable, one of which was a giant cloud (propelled by stage hands) upon which the angel stood (about 7 feet above the stage) to announce the Savior’s birth to the shepherds. Rolando did a great job portraying Joseph; Lita was Mary, and Maya Tschumi was the baby Jesus. One primary child was a donkey, and several children were dressed up as worshipful sheep.
A cloud brings Angel Gabriel, who reassures Joseph
Rob & Crystal bring the gift of JOY to Geneva
Père Noel’s workshop is really in France: The main event Wednesday was a trip to the “village of Father Christmas (le hameau du Père Noël)” in France, not far from the base of the Saleve Mountain. The parking lots were completely packed on this day before Christmas Eve. It was fun to see the French children’s eyes widen as they stepped into Santa’s kitchen, study, or workshop, and to see the elves’ dining room and the infirmary where Rudolph was recovering after having been hit by a car when he failed to look both left and right before stepping onto the street. It was rainy and chilly, and as we left, a cloud had descended to obscure our vision of the roadway. That evening, we enjoyed a great dinner at Restaurant Beaucaire in our village of Ferney-Voltaire.
How many cathedrals can be stacked on top of earlier ones during two millennia? Thursday, we drove into Geneva where we parked beneath the lake in their giant parking structure – 4 underground stories worth. We strolled thru the Christmas market (Marché de Noël), walked past Place Molard, where the missionaries sing each Saturday in December prior to Christmas, and then hiked up the hill to the old town (Vieille Ville). After lunch, we walked over to the cathedral of St Pierre and took numerous pictures, especially in the chapel of the Maccabees. The main object of our visit was a tour of the archeological digs beneath the cathedral, which date back to 100 years before Christ.
A wee dragon holding the Geneva coat of arms
guards choir stalls carved in the 1400’s
The evolution of the baptismal fonts over the centuries was impressive: the earliest were the largest, since they accommodated baptism by immersion. Between 300 and 800 AD, the fonts became smaller: people began kneeling in a small font, and then towards 880 AD they simply stood to have water poured over their head.
Zoom in to see a description
of the evolution of baptism
An excavated baptismal font from before 400 AD compared with a baptismal font from after 800 AD
President Murdock reads the Christmas story by the light of REAL candles
Christmas Eve: That evening, we went with the other senior missionary couples and President and Sister Murdock to the home of Stake President Bonny for a Christmas Eve celebration. The appetizers were incredible: puff-pastry shells with tuna topped with either a pickle slice or a black olive; smoked salmon over cream cheese on rye bread; pate-de-fois (goose liver paste) on bread; shrimp on cheese crackers; plastic skewers stabbing a cabbage, loaded with a tomato, a mini-cheese ball and an olive; and sparkling apple or grape juice. President Bonny then asked someone to choose a carol to sing, after which he asked that person to share a scripture or a Christmas experience with the group. The subsequent dinner for the 17 of us was a bullion fondue: chopped, dried vegetables had been added to a broth, and sis B provided us with little bowls of chopped chicken, fish, or thin rolls of beef, to be complemented with one of 4 sauces. Once we were all really stuffed, we returned to the living room, where Pres M lighted real 4” candles on the Christmas tree (which had been very judiciously placed by Pres B). We sang more carols, told more stories (among them, some scriptures from Elder Jones, which pointed out that Jesus rejoices when we make right choices and do correct things). Then came dessert: home-made ice cream balls (vanilla topped with cherry) or vanilla mousse topped with a chocolate mousse. Toward 11 pm, President Murdock offered a prayer, and we thanked the Bonny family as profusely as we could. It was raining, but we led the Doyle 5 through miles and miles of narrow winding roads to Fort l’Écluse.
Fort l’Écluse on Christmas Eve
By then the rain had stopped, and we were able to get some fun pictures. The kids (Doyles and ours) were quite impressed to see the lights coming through the side of the 400-foot cliff between the two parts of the castle. We got home shortly after midnight.
There are consequences to too much rich food: Sadly, Rob’s stomach finally rebelled at all the candy and strange foods to which it had been subjected over the past 4 days. Somewhere in the am, he began vomiting. He felt rather rotten for most of the day, and consequently spent most of the time curled up on the couch under a blanket. At the mission home, from around 11-2 pm, most of the senior couples stopped in, along with the young elders and sisters who were serving in the Geneva area. That evening, after a nap, Rob and Crystal again stayed home while Dede and I visited the Volpicelli’s who had invited 25 people to their home for a potluck Christmas evening. After a priesthood blessing, Rob felt amazingly better by Saturday morning, but during the night, Crystal had begun to feel stomach distress.
Lord Byron’s Castle of Chillon
Miraculously, both felt better as the day went on, and around 2 pm, they suggested they felt well enough to try to visit the famous castle of Chillon. We spent an hour and a half hurrying through the 46 or so points of interest and taking pictures. The whole day, we’d thought it would be necessary to cancel our dinner reservation at the Edelweiss Restaurant with the Doyle 5, but R&C continued to improve, and by 7:30 they assured us they’d give it a try if they could find something mild to eat.
Dinner was fun, and so was the entertainment: accordion and guitar plus singing and yodeling, playing the Alpenhorn (Crystal got a couple of notes out, as did Stephanie Doyle; her friend Amanda even produced a snatch of melody), having one of the musicians play “spoons” on the hands of several of the women in our group, and listening to various songs played on a string of cow bells. It has been quite a week.
Could YOU play the long Alpenhorn?
With beef or cheese fondue, lamb chops, or roast duck, it was a happy group at the Edelweiss Restaurant
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