Swiss Mission: Week of 25 July 2010:

This will likely be the final blog of our mission, as we will pack and clean the apartment before the arrival of Heidi, Dave, Jason and company on Thursday; SO, you get to see lots more pictures of this final week.

Sunday we picked up the Crisinels to take them to Neuchâtel for church with our young adult friends. Just before announcing the intermediate hymn, Bishop Psota said that he was glad that Elder and Sister Hinman were visiting, and that he’d like to invite us to bear our testimonies after the song. We went up together, and Dede suggested I go first – again in French. After the meeting, Sister Walzer told us how much we had helped their 4 young adults (Sarah, Jonathan, Samuel, and Noemi), just by always being there and by being enthusiastic. We tried to explain how much we loved them, and that it was easy to be enthusiastic when the young people were such great examples for

us.

The wee village of Coppet on Sunday's way home

A missionary version of the "armor of God"

Monday at the Spanish Family home evening, the sister missionaries taught an effective lesson about being protected by the armor of God, as in Ephesians 6:13-17. To illustrate their points, they had a young man, Grevy – from Peru, stand on a chair; each time an item of protection was mentioned, they put a label on him: for example, the shield of faith was a ping-pong paddle with the word “faith” (Fe) written on it; the breastplate of righteousness was a labeled apron; the helmet of salvation was a giant sombrero. Much of the rest of the week involved our preparing a memory book for the Yverdon young adults with 150 pictures that we’d taken over the past year: activities, dinners, dances, family home evening events, temple trips, wedding receptions, etc. Thursday was our final family home evening with Anthony and the Crisinels. Anthony had prepared a lesson regarding our need to repent, learn the counsel of the brethren and follow it, and prepare ourselves for the return of the Savior, which is near (in Spanish, our opening hymn “the Time is Far Spent” is titled “the end approaches”). We worked with the Crisinels to finish our last report for Frankfurt – until 10:30; goodbye hugs were shared, tears were nearly shed, and we bid farewell to these dear friends before heading home. We hope to see them in the temple – perhaps in October when we return for the Bustamante sealing.

A colorful lane near cousin Shannon Walch's apt

Friday we received an email from Salt Lake giving us the booking/reservation numbers for our flight home from Madrid with Heidi, Dave and Jason – on the same plane, just 10 rows apart. That was good news, since we leave the apartment in 5 days, and without these numbers, it would be hard to convince the airline folks to let us go home. We also took my very heavy suitcase (72 lbs) to the Swiss post office to try to mail it home, but were told the maximum weight is 66 lbs – so we had to load it back into the car and take it home to transfer some things to Dede’s suitcase.

We wish we'd had time to spend in this park in the town of Nyon

Saturday, we successfully shipped our two giant suitcases back home (and both were under the 30 kg = 66 lb limit). After wandering through the Saturday outdoor market (Marché) in Ferney-Voltaire, we took a leisurely drive along Lake Geneva toward the village of Morges, in order to take pictures of some of the unique or colorful round points. One of the best spots was a park next to the lake in Nyon.

At this round point, it looks like the frog has escaped the heron's search for its dinner.

That evening, we were treated to a barbeque at the mission home. The Badgers came from Lyon, and all 5 couples plus President and Sister Murdock were there, along with Denise Mumford and the Philippine housekeeper Betty and her friend. Sister Hanson made her famous 3 –or 4 bean salad; Sister Asay made a potato salad with black olives; President Murdock barbequed large pieces of chicken for everyone,

and cool watermelon and egg rolls (made by Betty) rounded out the main meal. Dessert was Sister Doyle’s famous lemon meringue pie. We felt incredibly privileged to associate with such noble people, many of whom had served several years as temple workers prior to their coming here for their missions. They all signed a card for us, and shared a gift – a beautifully embroidered Yvoire fabric bread basket/server/carrier that unties to lie flat. After the pleasant evening, we returned home and packed more clothing/books – until midnight (our almost usual quitting time).

Elders Doyle and Hinman inspect President Murdock's work at the grill

Sunday was our last trip to church in Yverdon.

... but not by bicycle.

During the meeting, Dede shared her testimony; after just a word or so, she choked with emotion and stood silently for a minute. The young son in the Gomez family came up and offered her a Kleenex, as did a member of the bishopric. She expressed deep appreciation for the members of the ward, particularly Bastien Bonny; he enters military service on Monday, and then leaves for his mission in January); she also praised Anthony Lopez for his faithfulness. We were touched by the testimony of Br Peluzzo, age 87, who is the Ward’s family history consultant. He had recently had to have his right eye removed; after that, a serious infection developed, and he was wearing a gauze patch. He bore a strong and fervent testimony of God’s love and the need to persevere; I could almost visualize the Savior’s giving him a big hug when he gets to the other side and thanking him for his life of faithfulness. Toward the end of the meeting, I felt impressed to bear my testimony also, even though it needed to be in French. I read D&C 90:24, and affirmed that the promises are true: that EVERYTHING does work together for our good if we meet the requirements of that verse. After the meeting, I was able to take pictures of almost everyone in the ward as they exited the building. On the way home, we took the opportunity to drive up into the Jura Mountains to see if we could locate a village perched high above the Yverdon valley. We found a beautiful pull-out for a panoramic vista of the valley with the Alps in the background, and noticed that this was also the site for launching the para-gliders we’d seen in the sky.