Week of 9 May 2010:

We live in apartment building 76
(Sorry about the grafitti)





















MUSIC







ART







WATCH MUSEUMS


If you're seeking a sign, Geneva's the place for you






Too bad we can’t start every week with a ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ Sunday was Mother’s Day. We attended the Geneva Ward, where the Primary children sang beautifully under the direction of Sister Bryan. (We heard later from Jeff that in his ward, one of the boys – who sang more loudly than anyone else – started singing the wrong song, and threw everyone else in Primary off track) In the Gospel Principles class in Sunday School, there were 10 people from Africa, another 10 from the Philippines, 1 from the country of Georgia in the former Soviet Union, and about 5 from North America or Europe. Truly, Geneva is a city of diversity. That evening, we went back to listen to the broadcast to young adults by Presiding Bishop Burton, from the BYU-Hawaii campus. Their choir’s music was beautiful, and from his talk I learned that it was St Augustine who had said one ought to pray as though everything depended on God, and then get up and go to work as though everything depended upon us. After giving Shannon a ride home, we were able to speak with each of our kids, who wished Dede a happy Mother’s Day and who each told her they were thankful she’d been born, since she’s the best mom in the whole world – which I already knew.
Monday at our missionary district meeting, we learned that at the end of the month, our Rive Gauche Ward will become a Spanish-speaking ward. That’s great news, since probably 75 % of the people who attend are from South or Central America and are native speakers of Spanish. That evening was “International Night” for Spanish family home evening; there was food from different South American countries (served on the pool table that had been covered and decorated with cut roses); and there were 15 non-members among the 47 people who attended (a record on both counts).






A shiny unidentified building, even on a rainy day in May


We don’t always immediately know why things happen as they do: Tuesday was “mardi fou” which in French means “crazy Tuesday” – it’s a day when the Domino’s pizza place in the nearby town of Annemasse sells their pizzas for half price. We and the Doyles had thought of taking advantage of such a bargain, and today was the day: when I called them at the mission home, Elder Doyle suggested we get orders from each of the office elders as well and then have a feast at the mission home. The 10 pizzas (8 different kinds) cost 85 Euros (rather than the usual 17-20 Euros each). We should have taken pictures. When I went to get gas for the car, my card was charged for fuel for the van at the pump next to mine (an approximately $60 difference = 46.5 Euros). It took almost an hour for the ladies to resolve the problem (eventually they gave me the difference in cash), which made us quite late for our trip to Yverdon. Consequently, we arrived just in time to give a young man a ride home from seminary class – and were able to visit with his family, who had been struggling with their activity in church.



The mystery chateau at Champsvents


On the way back to the chapel, we decided to locate a four-spired chateau we’d often seen from the freeway. We located it in a small village on a hill called “Champsvents” (windy fields), but it turned out to be privately owned, so we couldn’t get past the locked gates. On the way home, in thinking about the strange events of the day, Dede had some inspiration for Thursday’s family home evening lesson: she suggested we discuss how God sees the whole picture, but we just see little bits now and then, as with a jigsaw puzzle, where it’s hard to put it together without seeing the picture it is eventually supposed to become. Thursday, it turned out that Anthony, who had a bad cold, was our only family home evening participant – after I picked him up in St Croix. But we had a great dinner, and we took turns reading my two page lesson (in French) with scriptures that showed how God is in charge, and how he knows the end from the beginning, even when he allows us to go forward not knowing in advance what the outcome will be. We felt that the lesson was worthwhile, and that by his participation, Anthony is becoming prepared for holding FHE with his own family when he marries.







Who is the real Sister Hinman?
Watch out: there may be secret angels around you. Friday, we spent much of the day obtaining information on some young adults for whom we were to serve as “secret angels.” After Institute classes, several of the secret angels were revealed. That brought much laughter to the group of 18 young adults, after which Lorenzo, who’d served his mission in Italy, gave a lesson on introductory Italian, which brought even more laughter to the kids. Things wound down sometime towards 11 pm, and the kids polished off all the chips and cookies we’d furnished for their refreshments. We had to hurry to take Sabrina and Eric and Adelaide back to Lausanne so Sabrina could catch the 11:45 pm train back to her village. We made it with 7 minutes to “spare.” After recovering from the late night, Saturday was spent scrubbing walls and floors in the kitchen – including moving the stove, washing machine and refrigerator. It was fantastic to speak with Rob and Crystal that evening to learn that they are going to have a baby boy!! No names yet, but they have until the end of September. Then Jeff and Allie phoned. Their offer on a house in Charlotte was accepted! Things are happening everywhere.