March 28, 2009-A day at the Bern Temple

We arose very early on Saturday morning so we could meet at the stake center in Geneva to leave for the temple in Bern by 6:00 A.M.

We borrowed the mission van and ended up taking ten people. We had Mary Magdeline Jones and three young adults as well the Joneses, the Hinmans and the Badgers.

It was a wonderful day. It was also Geneva Stake Temple day so we saw many friends there as we were leaving.

We went to McDonalds in Zollikofen for lunch.


This is part of the group including some of the young single adults.

Sunday dinner at the Causse family home in Annemasse, France

On Sunday, March 22, we rode with President Allenbach to Annemasse, France to attend the meetings there and to see our dear friends, the Causse family.

I was able to play the piano for Relief Society, Sunday School, Sacrament Meeting and the baptism that followed the meeting block. The woman who usually plays the piano was not there.

After the meetings, Sister Causse invited the three of us to Sunday dinner. It was a true French meal. We started out with paté on little slices of bread. This was followed by a delicious green salad. The main course was next. Souer Causse had made a delicious chicken dish with a mushroom sauce. She served this with mashed potatoes. After the main course, we had cheese that we spread on crackers. I thought the meal was over and then she brought out the dessert. It was beautiful. She served baked apples with ice cream and cookies and fresh strawberries. What a full meal deal!!

Seated around the table from left to right we have David, Alain, Soeur Causse, Frère Causse, Elder Badger, Soeur Badger and President Allenbach.
This is a picture of the dessert.

Dinner at the Buffalo Grill in Ferney

After a long day of sightseeing in the cold and wind, we went with the Joneses to the Buffalo Grill for dinner. Sister Jones and I each ordered a Montana Salad and Elder Badger ordered the barbecued ribs. Our meals were delicious. Elder Jones, on the other hand, ordered a dish with beef cru. We think it was raw marinated thinly sliced beef. He saw the word "double" and thought that it would be a hefty portion of beef. He finished his plate and was commenting that he would never order that again when the waitress brought him the second part of his "double." It was another dish of this raw meat. We laughed until we almost cried. You should have see his face when the second dish showed up.

View from the tower of the Cathedral of Saint Pierre

The first three pictures were taken from atop the south bell tower of the Cathedral Saint Pierre. These are three different views of Geneva.
This view shows Lake Geneva or Lake Léman as it is called here.
This is a view of Saleve Mountain.
Here is the front of the cathedral.

International Museum of the Reformation

These first two pictures were taken in the music room of the Museum of the Reformation. We were able to sit in a small chapel and listen to music from the time of Martin Luther and John Calvin.

This is John Calvin's chair.

These are the bones of an Allobrogian chief who was buried on a hillside 200 years before Christ. The churches and the cathedral were built on top of this same hill in Geneva.
This is part of a beautiful mosaic floor in a room that was used by the Bishop for entertaining and receiving guests.

March 21, 2009 Today we visited the archaeological site underneath the Cathedral Saint-Pierre. We saw amazing things such as baptismal fonts used in the early church before they started sprinkling. We even saw the wells that fed the fonts.
Here I am sitting by one of the arches that they have unearthed.
This is Sister Hinman looking at the baptismal font.

The first day of spring in Geneva-March 21, 2009

We met the lady at the Hotel de Ville whose job it is to announce the official entry of spring to Geneva. She is to watch one particular chestnut tree. When the first green leaf appears, then it is spring. There was a grand celebration in the square to celebrate the first day of spring. The children had rides, cotton candy, face painting, music and all kinds of fun.



It may have been the first day of spring, but it was still cold. The wind was blowing off and on and it really lowered the temperature even though it was a bright sunny day.

March 21,2009 at the Hotel de Ville in the old city of Geneva. This is the city hall. Notice the date on the pillar between Frank and me. It reads 1578!!

These are the senior sisters: Sister Badger, Sister Jones, Sister Hinman, Sister Jarvis and Sister Doyle at the Hotel de Ville.

These are the fun senior couples in the Swiss Geneva Mission. Behind me and from the left to right are Elder and Sister Jones, Sister Jarvis, Sister and Elder Hinman and Elder and Sister Doyle. This was the first day of spring in the old city of Geneva by one of the many fountains.

March 21, 2009
We visited the old city of Geneva. Our first stop was to see the Longines clock. When the clock struck twelve, the army of crusaders marched across the front of the clock.

March 20, 2009
This was the Rive Droit Ward's Relief Society Birthday celebration. It was an evening to remember. There was a program that included information about the formation of the Relief Society. Sister Meuller told about Mary Fielding Smith and her trials crossing the plains to the Salt Lake valley.

We had a wonderful dinner that was prepared by Manuela, a member of the R.S. Presidency. It was a thai dish made with curry. There was salad and birthday cake for dessert.

At each table there were balloons and a bomb. When
the bomb was lit, it exploded with small trinkets, noise makers, etc. We were each given a form to fill out which asked for funny responses about wishes, dreams, etc. I was able to read it in French but had trouble responding to the questions in French. Mine turned into Franglais. I was invited to sit at the English speaking table, which I appreciated. We played the game, two truths and a lie. It was so fun to get to know the sisters better through this game.

Frank helped serve with the other brothers. He also washed all the pots and pans and worked like a trojan to put up all the chairs and heavy tables. He was my hero. We got home late, but it was an enjoyable evening. I feel very much at home in this ward.

Lunch at the Coop

Saturday, March 14, 2009 the senior couples here in Geneva went to lunch at the Coop and then to the Bodmer Museum. We saw many wonderful manuscripts such as some of man's first writings, the Gutenberg Bible, Martin Luther's 95 Theses, scores written by Beethoven, Bach,
Grieg and Mozart. It was a fun day to be with such outstanding people.

March 12, 2009. We went with Elder and Soeur Jones to the Geneva Insitute this evening. These are some of the people we met there. The two elders, Elder Asay and Elder Schmidt told a wonderful story of how they met and taught a French Catholic monk. The two sisters are in the Rive Droit Ward with us, so we will have an opportunity to get to know them. The third picture is Brother Simonet. He is over the Institute program and we will be working with him in Lyon with Out Reach.

Pictures from our balcony

These are pictures taken from our balcony in our apartment in Ferney-Voltaire, France. We have been called on our second mission. This time we are in the Switzerland, Geneva Mission for 18 months. It is a French speaking mission. We have been assigned to two different wards in the Geneva Stake: The Rive Droit Ward and the Saleve Ward. We will also be working with the Out Reach program two days a week in Lyon.