Week of 20 June 2010:

Without our camera, a thousand words will need to substitute for pictures

A change of hats for ward "fathers" For Fathers’ Day, we went to the Geneva 1st Ward (English speaking). To our surprise, the entire Stake Presidency was there, and they released Bishop Mark Mongillo (after 6 ½ years of service) and sustained Br Spencer Kimball (grandson of President Spencer W Kimball) as the new bishop. In spite of his challenges as CEO for the company that owns the oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, Br Steve Newman did a great job teaching the combined priesthood class about the life of Christ. The relief society sisters had prepared a fabulous buffet “linger longer” after the block of meetings, and we enjoyed a great potluck luncheon. Later that day, there were numerous callings for the new Spanish-speaking Geneva 2nd ward, and we were happy to see so many of our friends in attendance (about 72 people were present). For our Fathers’ Day dinner, Dede prepared Stroganoff with mashed potatoes, and a strawberry and spinach salad with raspberry vinaigrette.

A little miracle occurred Tuesday morning. I thought I ought to put new hubcaps on the car (given us by Elder Jones) before showering for the day. About 9:15, I went to do so. As the elevator door opened, our upstairs neighbor, a Chinese girl Dawn, and her mother (who speaks neither English nor French) “happened” to already be in the elevator. I learned that the mom will leave Saturday to return to China. Since Dede and I had obtained copies of the Book of Mormon (and a Liahona) in Chinese for them, I asked when they would return home that evening. Dawn said between 6-6:30 pm, and then they hurried off to catch a bus. This would allow us to share these gifts before the mom’s departure. During the day, we worked on a variety of things, including making signs to post on the three apartment building doors in our complex asking if anyone had happened to find our lost camera. After dinner, about 6:30, we went upstairs and knocked on Dawn’s door. The mom answered, shook her head with a smile, said something in Chinese, and then we heard “not home.” We were disappointed, but we had an appointment at the Geneva Center, so we figured we’d try on Wednesday.

The "rest of the story:" Lunch after Wednesday’s French class was wonderful: we shared a can of crab meat and legs on a bed of spinach, and topped with avocado chunks and slices of fresh orange, and then with some lemon juice and Heinz chili sauce. For dinner Sister H made tartiflette (a Swiss dinner that consists of potatoes, onions, lardons, a special cheese, topped with sour cream splotches and baked as a casserole). But the tender mercy came about 7 pm, when there was a knock on the door. It was Dawn. We invited her in and she told us that when her meeting last night had run late, she knew we would be stopping by their apartment to give them the book I’d mentioned that morning. So she had phoned her mom and told her how to say in English: “not home” and “working.” The mom had indeed said “not home” but she’d forgotten how to say “working.” Anyway, we were able to give her a copy of the Book of Mormon. Dede gave a clear introduction to the timeline of its history, and showed her pictures from the French “Book of Mormon Stories” to illustrate who Mormon and Moroni are, how Joseph Smith received the plates a few years after having been visited by God and Jesus Christ. She seemed very appreciative, and told us she was curious about western religions. We feel this was no accidental encounter – either yesterday morning or this evening. She seems very genuine and sincere.

What happens when you follow a gentle impression? Thursday was our mission zone conference with visiting General Authority Elder Teixeira (and his wife, son & daughter). One of the stories he told was of missionaries who were tracting one evening in a tall apartment building and getting rejected at every door. One of them happened to look out thru a glass elevator shaft and noticed a three-story building across the way in which there was a light on in one of the apartments. As they continued to be rejected, he felt impressed to suggest to his companion that they quit the building they were in and go knock on the door belonging to the light he’d noticed. They did so; the family allowed them in and they began to teach. At some point within the following 2 weeks, the wife invited her sister to come; the sister brought her son. The lesson included the Word of Wisdom, and the sister was so impressed that our church forbad smoking that she wanted her husband to hear the lessons (since she hated his smoking habit). Soon other family members were invited to participate in the lessons. Within 3 ½ months, 30 family members were baptized. By the way, the son of the first sister “happens” to be Elder Teixeira himself. He pointed out that the Lord knew far in advance that this boy would become a general authority, and so he had prepared the family to be receptive to the message of the restoration of the gospel.

"Whirlwind tours" - Geneva and Mt Blanc: Friday afternoon, Jenny Pike arrived from Neuchatel by train to visit us. We drove over to Lake Geneva, parked, and strolled to the Edelweiss Restaurant to show her the Swiss décor and the menu. From there, we went to the Center for Young Adults, where we stashed the car so we could walk to the Reformers’ Wall, the 3’ tall chess pieces in the park, then up the hill to the Vieille Ville and St Pierre. By the time we arrived, the archeological site under the cathedral had closed, and the cathedral itself was locked, as was the Reformers’ Museum around the corner. But we’d had a good hike. We showed her the art-deco buildings and then drove past Balexert, the stake center, and the Einstein house. By the time we’d finished all this, it was nearly 9 pm, but was still quite light. We took the advice of Elder and Sister Jones and drove out to France, to a restaurant they’d recommend called “Chez Vous” (“Your Place”). They didn’t close until 10, and the chef/owner reminded us of a fellow in the animated film “Ratatouille.” We finished after 11 pm and decided to drive out to show Jenny the lights coming through the cliffs at Fort L’Ecluse, about 30 km towards the town of Bellegarde. We didn’t get home until 12:30, but we’d learned one could see lots of sights around Geneva in 8 hours. Saturday, we went back to the train station to meet Jenny’s Au Père friend Danielle, who is also from Dallas, Texas. They’d met via internet and had travelled to Italy some weeks earlier. We went out to fetch Shannon Walch and then headed to Chamonix and Mt Blanc. We took the cable car ride up to the needle (the Aiguille du Midi). Before going up the elevator the last 1000 feet or so, we explored some of the passageways and terraces and outlook points. At one departure point for climbers, there’s an ice tunnel. I thought I’d investigate the view for pictures at the final gate. In doing do, I slipped and fell on a slushy incline, and pulled muscles in both thighs and hips (fearing I might break my other leg this time). Fortunately, climbers helped me up and assisted me to get back to the “safer” level (still in snow and slush) – walking was now quite slow and painful, but we made it. Somewhere, Dede realized she’d lost one of her gloves. After spending ¾ of an hour at the top (12,602 feet elevation), we checked for her glove (unsuccessfully) everywhere we’d been, then returned to the valley floor. When the girls went back to the restroom, there was the glove, still on the counter where it had been placed – a definite tender mercy.