We are continuing to learn more about our office responsibilities and how to be of help and service in the Mission Office. Some things are getting easier while we are still working on getting better at others. There is so much to learn! I have also been compiling an information book for all of the new Sr. Missionary couples. It started out as a list of telephone numbers and a few emergency numbers and continues to grow and grow.
The weather is starting to get colder now and we had our first skiff of snow. Because of the cold it is not as inviting to go for a walk at lunch time but I have a few more pictures from last week’s walks I thought you might enjoy.
The trains are about two blocks from the Mission Home so it is very quick and easy for the missions to come to the Mission Home.
On Friday we arrived at the office and were told our replacement car would be delivered today. The Church likes to sell their cars before they get too many miles on them and they still have good value. Here is our old Renault Dacia –
And here is our new Chevrolet Cruise – wow what a change! It is so pretty and so nice inside and it goes really fast – not that we will go fast but we could! It has a radio and CD player in it and a button on the key to open the trunk – all of which were missing on our old car.
This weekend was our Stake Conference. It is a special conference because it marks the 150th anniversary of the Church being in Switzerland. They had a special fireside on Friday night on the history of the Church in Switzerland. There was a power point presentation and also a display in the cultural hall showing past pictures and records going back many, many years. It was fascinating to learn that John Taylor came to Switzerland from Italy in the fall of 1849. He had so much trouble trying to speak to the people and to understand what they were saying that he stayed in his apartment all winter and studied the language until he could speak it. Maybe that is what I need to do.
On Saturday morning there was a special meeting on top of Mount Seleve, which is the tallest mountain that overlooks the Geneva valley. It was a beautiful drive up the mountain.
It is so beautiful to look down on all sides into the valleys.
This was where the land of Switzerland was dedicated for the preaching of the gospel originally. All stake members were invited to come but only a small group of members and the missionaries were there.
The purpose of the meeting was to have prayers to recommit the members and missionaries to spreading the gospel in the beautiful land of Switzerland and to ask the Lord’s help in finding those who are ready for the gospel. Each of the members of the Stake Presidency and also President Murdock gave beautiful prayers. There was a great spirit present.
The clouds hung low around the tops of the mountains and gave the feeling of being alone to pray to our Heavenly Father. At the end of the meeting pictures were taken and of course the missionaries had to have a few fun poses and throw a few snowballs made from the first snow of the season. That night was the adult session with wonderful talks.
President and Sister Murdock
Doug and Pauline
Sister Murdock and Pauline
On Sunday morning the conference session was held in the ballroom of a hotel just across the street from the church. There were about a 1,000 people in attendance. There was a stake choir directed by Bro. Cadet from our Annecy Branch. He is well trained and very professional. The choir sounded wonderful. There were headphones and translators for the English and Spanish speaking members. It was wonderful to be able to understand what they were saying. President and Sister Murdock also spoke – both of them in French. The members of the Stake Presidency spoke and gave excellent talks. I particularly loved the talk by President Allenbach. He spoke of his little daughter, Daphne, who is about four. He was watching her play in the yard beside him and he was filled with such love for her that he wanted to tell her so he called for her to come that he had a secret to tell her. He whispered in her ear “I love you”. Then he said he had another secret and he whispered “Heavenly Father loves you”. Then Daphne said Daddy I have a secret for you and she whispered in his ear “I love you” then she whispered “Heavenly Father loves you!” He was so touched by the experience and the realization that Heavenly Father wants to “whisper” in our hearts how much he loves us and to know that we also love him. I wanted to whisper in each of our children’s and grandchildren’s “I love you and Heavenly Father loves you!”
At the end of the meeting we saw several from our branch in Annecy and they seemed as happy to see us as we were to see them. There were hugs and warm greetings all around. The Geneva stake is made up of strong and faithful members and leaders.
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