LETTRE DOUZE POUR LE 20 JUIN

We just completed our first time of saying Au Revoir to ten departing missionaries and Bonjour to sixteen new missionaries in Lyon instead of Geneva.  Our office was the focal point for the related activities.  The ten departing missionaries traveled to Lyon on Monday afternoon.  They came to the office for departing interviews with President Murdock and a final testimony meeting.  In between, they traveled by metro to a pizza restaurant and ice cream shop for dinner.  They stayed at a nearby hotel about ½ mile away.  The next morning five of them took the Rhone express from the nearby train station to the Lyon airport to fly home.  The other five greeted their parents at their hotel that morning.  We served closely with one of the missionaries, Elder Smith from Kaysville who served as an assistant to the president.  His father, Dean Smith, has been a close friend of our brother-in-law, Dean Carver.  I had the opportunity to meet the Smiths and their daughter at the hotel.

Sixteen new missionaries arrived late Tuesday morning after flying into the Lyon airport.  They deposited their luggage at the same hotel near the railroad station, took the metro to a French government office and took care of their procedures to be legal to live in France.  They arrived at the mission office around 4:00 p.m. and tried to stay alert during training and orientation meetings until they left to eat dinner at the same restaurant where people ate the night before.  I am sure that they were glad to go to their hotel that night and get some sleep.  The next morning they came back to the office to eat breakfast, meet their trainers who had traveled by train to Lyon on Tuesday afternoon and receive more training.  The exciting time is when they meet their companion/trainer and find out where they are going.  One of the trainers is a friend of our niece, Kate.  The trainers/new missionaries departed by train to their cities early Wednesday afternoon.  The fourteen elders and two sisters came from Utah, Idaho, California, Texas, Oregon, Nevada, Canada, Scotland and Tahiti.

These events were the last major ones for our current mission president and his wife.  They will finish their mission next week when a new mission president, President Roney, arrives with his wife and three sons.  You can see that there will soon be new changes to communicate about.  

Last Saturday evening we attended the baptism of Noëla from Madagascar.  She is in her early 20’s and has a cute little 9 month old son named Noé (Noah-pronounced no-a in French).  We met her several weeks ago when she attended church for the first time after the missionaries started to teach her about the gospel.  We had the opportunity to talk with her and get better acquainted while we walked with her from church and rode the metro together.  We enjoyed talking with her every Sunday.  She was baptized at the stake center in Ecully which is a different direction by metro than traveling to our ward building.  We also take a bus from the metro station to get to the Ecully chapel.  We were spiritually uplifted by the baptismal service which included talks by a humble sister who rose out of her wheel chair to speak and a young man recently baptized from Africa.  A recent convert from China gave the closing prayer.  Noëlla bore her sweet testimony and commented how special it was that it began to rain outside just when she was baptized.  She said that rain was always a special sign for her family while growing up in Madagascar.

The week before, we enjoyed attending stake conference on Saturday evening and Sunday morning at that same Ecully stake center.  It was exciting for me to see the chapel filled with members of the church who came to hear their leaders and general authorities speak.  The members of the stake presidency are probably in their 40’s.  The Sunday morning session was broadcast from a central location in Salt Lake City to members of the church in France, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium.  President Eyring, a member of the first presidency and a member of the quorum of twelve apostles and Elder Nelson were among the speakers.  I listened to the meeting in French while it was one of the few opportunities for Sister Jeppson to understand what was being said in church meetings by listening to the broadcast in English.

NOS PETITS-ENFANTS

Noëla from Madagascar who was baptized on Saturday and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost on Sunday, gets her baby ready every Sunday to travel with him in a stroller which includes walking, taking the metro (an underground train) and sometimes the bus to get to church.  She has found that she can learn about the gospel at church, take the sacrament, feel the spirit and enjoy associating with the members.  Most of you travel a short distance to church.  I hope that you take advantage of the special opportunity that you have to attend meetings of the true Church of Jesus Christ every Sunday just like this recently baptized convert from Madagascar.   We have learned to appreciate our beautiful meeting houses that we have all over our neighborhoods in Utah.  Here in France we travel far to attend church in a building that is not really a chapel and there is very little parking for people’s cars.         

LETTRE ONZE POUR LE 5 JUIN

It has been four weeks since we last wrote a formal letter.  Elder and Sister Jeppson are beginning to achieve a slight level of recovery from our memorable adventure of moving to Lyon.  Almost every day we have encountered new experiences and sometimes unexpected challenges that have tested us and helped us to establish a new office and maintain our heavy work load; while staying in hotels  for two weeks until our apartment was ready for occupancy.

When I wrote our last letter, a week before we moved, we were still uncertain of finding an apartment in time.  The next day, our last two apartment possibilities floundered and we were starting over.  That Thursday, President and Sister Murdock recommended that we join them and the office elders in fasting and praying to find an apartment.  The next day, an apartment showed up in the advertised computer listings.  Elder Headrick, one of the office elders scheduled to finish his mission on the 21^st of June visited the apartment and made an offer.  The offer was accepted the following Tuesday, the day before we moved.  Amazingly, the apartment building was just across the street from our office building, about three minutes away.  Even though our faith and confidence in that blessing was still to be tested, we have felt the Lord’s hand in answering our prayers and providing this apartment.

We stayed in hotels near Lyon’s large and bustling railroad station for almost two weeks until our apartment was ready for occupancy.  We stayed for two nights in a building called the tower.  The Radisson hotel occupies the top floors.  This is the large building that you can see in the background of the blog.  It is the highest hotel in Europe.  The hotels were a little over one half of a mile from the office.  We either walked or took the metro (subway) to get to the office each day.  During this time we began to encounter one challenge after another with getting our apartment ready. 

The apartment was completely unfurnished.  It needed a kitchen full of appliances including a fridge, stove, microwave, washer and dryer that were eventually delivered.  It is customary with new apartments to furnish them with Ikea products and assemble them.  Over time, our apartment became an Ikea showroom as Elder Headrick, President and Sister Murdock, Sister Jeppson and I  and the other two office elders worked together to assemble a couch, living room cabinet, kitchen cart with shelves, a bed, chest of drawers, two night stands, and two desks.  Elder Headrick literally spent most of the day on Thursday, Friday and Saturday picking out and assembling the furniture.  He then returned home to Ohio the following Monday.  We will never forget his service in helping us survive.

Although the apartment looked quite presentable on the surface, we soon learned that there were some unexpected problems.  The toilet leaked and needed to be replaced.  The hot water heater didn’t work, and major repairs eventually brought hot water needed for daily activities and for radiator heating in the winter.  An electrician will hopefully come soon to upgrade the number of working electrical outlets.  There are three that work outside of those in the kitchen.  A few days ago, we discovered water leaking into a bucket that we had fortunately put under the drain pipe under the sink.

As mentioned earlier in the letter, in spite of the various problems we strongly feel the Lord’s hand in placing us here.  The location has already proven and will continue to prove to be an important blessing.  Parking and driving during rush hour in Lyon is a challenge.  We can walk to work in three minutes no matter what the weather conditions are.  We are 5 minutes away from a nice grocery store with almost everything we need and 20 minutes from one of the largest shopping malls in France near the railroad station.  The mission office has two parking spots.  We were able to park our car in a narrow spot in a garage under the office building.  We are only a quarter of a mile from the Garibaldi metro stop which will connect us to the metro trains, above ground train lines, buses and other public transportation.  We have purchased a monthly pass for seniors that will give us reasonably priced access to the public transportation system.  We have been on the metro several times.  It is well run and maintained.  We have traveled to our Villerbaune ward building three times which is about a 40 to 50 minute metro ride and walk.  I will discuss the ward members and friends of the church that are being taught by the missionaries in another letter.           

NOS PETITS-ENFANTS

Heavenly Father has answered our prayers while he has guided us through small and large challenges including finding a place to live.  Always remember to say your prayers every morning and evening. Pray for your parents and for your Grandma and Grandpa.  We need those blessings. I know that he will bless and guide you in your challenges also.

LETTRE DIX POUR 9 MAI, 2012

I will return to our trip to the temple in Bern, Switzerland on the 27^th of April to mention a side tour to Murten (Morat)on our way back.  The town is in the middle of the dividing line between the German and the French areas of Switzerland.  The town has a French and a German name and most of the signs are in French and German.  The cobblestone streets of the town are lined with many houses built with stone after a fire in 1416.  We walked through  
the courtyard of a 13^th century castle and then climbed to the top of the city walls or ramparts that were used in the middle ages to defend the city.  Sister Jeppson bravely climbed up some steep stairs to take some photos of the city and Lake Morat nearby.

Recently, I have enjoyed the opportunity to teach the gospel to les amis de l’église with the missionaries.  The missionaries who are assistants to the President asked me to help teach a man in his fifties.  They asked me to talk about my experience with reading the Book of Mormon.  The Lord blessed me to have the spirit with me in testifying of the power of the Book of Mormon in my life while speaking better French than usual.





Last Monday evening, I was invited to teach a discussion about tithing and fast offerings with Elder Escamilla who is from Long Island near New York City.  We taught a delightful twelve year old young woman who lives in Geneva with her father who is Swiss and her mother who is a less than active member of the church and is from the Philippines.  I was asked to bear my testimony about tithing.  I spoke about how we were blessed because of paying tithing shortly before our twins were born with unexpected medical insurance coverage of their birth expenses which helped a young couple still trying to finish college. Elder Escamilla also taught Isabelle about baptism in preparation for her baptism this Saturday.  We enjoyed eating a delicious peach tarte that the father had baked just before we arrived.

Last Sunday during Fast and Testimony Meeting at the Annecy Branch, Sister Jeppson and I bore our testimonies and thanked the members of the Annecy Branch for their friendship and the spirit that we have felt while participating with them in the church meetings each Sunday.  This will be our last Fast and Testimony Meeting while attending that branch.  We will attend church there one more time this Sunday before we move to Lyon.

 Nos petits-enfants

I love teaching the gospel and feeling the spirit during those teaching experiences.  It is a challenge to teach someone or speak in church while trying to use the correct words and grammar while speaking in French.  Heavenly Father and Jesus will bless you in being able to do hard things especially when you are serving him.

 

LETTRE NEUF POUR LE 29 AVRIL 2012

The Geneva Stake Relief Society sponsored an excursion to the Bern, Switzerland Temple on Saturday, 28 Avril 2012 for all of relief society sisters in the stake to celebrate the 170^th anniversary of the organization of the Societé de Secours.  Some brethren were invited to come along to help assist with the temple ordinances.  Our mission president called us earlier in the week and invited us to go at the request of President Bonny, the stake president.  The temple was dedicated by President David O. McKay on September 11, 1955.  I attended the temple while serving as a missionary in November of 1964 and 1965 during a mission wide conference arranged by our mission president.

Almost 300 members of the stake (approximately 250 women and 50 brethren) boarded five buses to travel for two hours to the temple on a sunny Saturday morning at 7:45 a.m.  We boarded a bus at the Gex, France ward building about twenty minutes away from our apartment.  We traveled a direct route to the temple in the morning and then returned by taking a slightly different route to visit the famous medieval town of Morat (French) or Murten (German) before returning around 8:30 p.m. that evening.  We enjoyed spectacular views of the Swiss Alps and countryside as we traveled along three lakes (Léman, Neuchatel and Morat) and near or through other Swiss cities where missionaries serve from our mission and where wards or branches are organized including Lausanne, Yverdon, Fribourg, and Neuchatel.   

While the scenery was wonderful to experience, our most memorable moments were involved with being among the members of our stake and being uplifted by the spirit during the temple session and a meeting afterwards that we participated in.  Six sisters from our Annecy branch rode on our bus with us.  Another sister from the branch is confined to a wheel chair and traveled in a van that was wheel chair accessible.  You can see her in the group picture in front of the temple.  Some of the sisters that work at the church administrative offices and Frere Aubin who is the director of accounting traveled on our bus also.  During the events of the day, we also talked with members of the Geneva ward where we attended church when we first arrived.  We were greatly blessed to have the opportunity to experience this wonderful event with many of the people that we have become acquainted with during our service in this area.  We will be leaving them in a few weeks when we move to Lyon and will miss the opportunity to associate with them.

We participated in a full temple session conducted in French soon after we arrived.  After eating lunch sponsored by the stake at the ward building on the temple grounds, we attended a meeting in the chapel that was conducted by the stake relief society presidency.  Each member of the presidency spoke along with the stake president and the newly called temple president and his wife.  The stake relief society president spoke of the miracle associated with being able to arrange for the special transportation required for the sister from the Annecy Branch that is confined to a wheel chair.  The temple president and his wife (Brother and Sister Sperling) are from Germany.  She spoke in German with a French translator and he spoke in English with a French translator.  Sister Jeppson had an English headset to help her understand.  

After the meeting, everyone was asked to gather in front of the temple for a picture and then to quickly board the buses to return home.  As mentioned earlier, some of the buses took a special excursion to the medieval town of Morat that is near the city of Neuchatel.  That was a historically memorable experience that included many photo opportunities that I will write about in the next letter, so tune in next week. 

A Nos Petits-Enfants

When I thought about the beautiful mountains called the Swiss Alps that can be seen from the Swiss Temple, I remembered that the Book of Mormon talks about the prophet Nephi being  “carried away into an exceedingly high mountain” (1 Nephi 11:1) to receive revelation from the Lord.  Our prophets have taught us that mountains can be symbols of the temple which are sometimes spoken of as Mountains of the Lord.  One of the blessings of the temple is to be able to go there to receive personal revelation.  We were very uplifted and inspired with our opportunity to visit the Swiss Temple with the members of our stake.  I hope that you will each live worthy to receive the ordinances of the temple in the future including the endowment and eternal marriage.  Megan has had the opportunity to perform baptisms at the temple for those who were not able to receive the ordinance of baptism when they lived on this earth.  When Zachary becomes a deacon in a few months, he will eventually have the same opportunity.  

  

LETTRE SEPT POUR LE VINGT-DEUX AVRIL

When we lived in Portland, Oregon in the 1970’s, we tried to be thankful for the rain because it helped produce surroundings that were green and beautiful.  We are using the same thought process here in France when we go out in weather that has been cloudy and rainy for every day in April but maybe one.  On Samedi during our preparation day, we decided to stop waiting for a sunny day and drove over to our office location in Thoiry to take a few pictures in between rain drops.  First, we took a stunning picture of our office building with our car in front.  Then we traveled to a Holiday Inn a block down the street where Sister Jeppson bravely climbed four flights of stairs on the outside of the building to take some amazing photos of the city of Thoiry nestled in the foot hills of the Jura Mountains.  We will try to take some pictures again near the same location if the sun shines long enough and at the right time before we leave for Lyon.        

The rain helped us decide to go to a large indoor shopping mall that is five minutes away from our office location.  It is anchored by a department store named MIGROS which is a chain of stores that are mostly located in Switzerland.  We managed to walk through part of the mall long enough to find a jacket that I can wear on preparation days when it is cool and rainy.  We also looked at umbrellas before we bought a few groceries.

We attended an inspirational district meeting on Jeudi with the missionaries in our district.  We were treated with a bonus of a nice lunch and surprise birthday party for Elder Pittson, one of the office elders, hosted by Sister Murdock after the meeting.  As part of the celebration, the other elders made a piñata filled with candy that Elder Pittson had a fun time trying to find and break open while blindfolded. 

We attended church meetings in Annecy with a lot more people in attendance because it was ward conference.  This occasion brought stake leaders and their spouses to the meetings to participate including the stake president and his counselor, and presidents and counselors from the relief society, primary and young women’s organizations.  Two amies (women friends) of the church that the sister missionaries are teaching and their little babies attended the meetings.  In addition, a family with three children attended the meetings for the first time.  They just moved to Annecy where the husband has secured a job.  He speaks French well and is originally from Salt Lake city, and his wife is from Marseille, France.  He said that his parents served a mission in France two years ago.  They will be a nice addition to the branch.  The Stake President’s wife told me how well Sister jeppson had read a paragraph of a conference talk in French during Relief Society.

NOS PETITS-ENFANTS
I love to sing the hymns in French for two reasons.  First, the French language is beautiful especially when the words are put with music.  Second, because I am trying to remember and learn the language, I pay special attention to the meaning of the words.  This helps me to have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the inspirational messages of our beautiful hymns.  When you sing the hymns in sacrament meeting or the songs in primary, I hope that you will pay special attention to the words and their inspirational meaning as you sing.

LETTER SEPT POUR LE 15 AVRIL 2012

Lundi was a holiday for the French and the Swiss but not for the Americans.  We worked alone all day in a cold office.  We found out later that we could have turned up the heat, but we didn’t know how at the time.  We have needed to turn up the heat all week because it has been rainy with temperatures in the 40’s.    Sister Jeppson has been trying to get warm at the office and at home all week.  Because their children were out of school this week, most of the office workers took the week off while Sister Jeppson worked on her many responsibilities including preparing a lot of correspondence, working on travel arrangements for outgoing and incoming missionaries, and helping me organize and label files while I continued to try to catch up with the many financial projects. 

I had been asked by the human resources manager before he took the week off to lead the office devotional on Tuesday and give a five minute spiritual thought.  I diligently prepared to deliver the thought in French the night before.  However, when only four other people were there at 8:30 a.m. in the morning with one of them anxious to leave on a business trip, I decided to defer my thought until another time.  One person did come into the office for one day.  As I introduced myself and got acquainted, I learned that he was Frère Rimli from Genève.  He had been working with human resources as a service missionary and was cleaning out his office at the conclusion of his service term.  I found out  that he had been ordained an elder by my mission president so you can guess that he was probably close to my age but he looks a lot older (Ha, Ha).  He said that his next assignment is to be a counselor in the Swiss Temple Presidency.  He will be serving with a temple president from Germany. 

Our most exciting adventure this week was a visit to the post office on Samedi which is near the outside market that we visit every week.  The Ferney-Voltaire post office is very modern with a machine that allows patrons to weigh their letters, obtain necessary postage and pay with a credit card.  However, a postal worker still helped us through the process.  We braved the rain to purchase our customary assortment of fruits and vegetables.  This week we purchased a new kind of cheese called Emmental from the Savoie region in France.  The vendor cut off a large slice from a large round chunk of cheese.  We ate some of this kind of cheese with holes later for lunch.  It was magnifique.

Because we had worked so hard this week, while everyone else was enjoying their vacation time, we decided to reward ourselves with two activities.  We ate dinner on vendredi soir at the Buffalo Grill which is just a few blocks away.  We had noticed for some weeks that a lot of people were eating at this restaurant.  The restaurant has a cowboy and rodeo theme with waitresses dressed up as cowgirls, a menu that includes different platters with cowboy names and several kinds of hamburgers, chicken dishes and steaks.  Rodeo films are shown at various locations around the restaurant.  The food was not quite as good as the Texas Roadhouse, but it was a change of pace for us and interesting to see how the French have tried to emulate western themed restaurants in the United States.  Finally, we splurged and purchased our first éclair from our favorite patisserie.  We split it in half for lunch dessert,  It was délicieux.  We thought of you, Emily and Liz, as we ate it and the last time that we enjoyed an éclair in France during our visit to Paris.

NOS PETITS-ENFANTS

There is a large rock wall that is probably hundreds of years old that divides our apartment complex from a playground.  We often see children at the playground.  There is a ladder that someone has placed against the large wall.  However, the top of the ladder only reaches half way up the wall.   Steven R. Covey, a well known author, has taught that to be successful when we set goals we need to have the ladder in the right place.  If we work for something that has no chance for success or is headed a direction with no lasting value, it is like this ladder that is against a wall that no one can ever climb over and only arrives at a bunch of worthless rocks instead of reaching the playground on the other side.

LETTRE SIX POUR LE 8 AVRIL 2012

Le Léman, Lac de Genève; Jet d'Eau far away in the background

What is the Jet d'Eau?  It is a Jet of Water that is located in Le Léman, Lac de Genève in downtown Genève.  It shoots 7 tons of water  469 feet into the air with a force of 124 miles an hour.  It operates from early March until early October.  It is the world's largest fountain!  On Jeudi, we enjoyed an unexpected opportunity to have lunch by the lake which is only about three minutes away from the mission home.  We could see the Jet d'Eau in the distance since the mission home is located in the suburbs of Genève.  We had traveled from our office location in Thoiry to the Mission Home in Genève to attend our District Meeting and expected to have lunch as part of the meeting.  However, lunch was not provided so we picked up a sandwich and found a nice location for an unexpected picnic in cool overcast weather. 

Five new missionaries are now in our Geneva South District:  Elder Escamilla from New York City is being trained to be the Legal Secretary in the Mission Office.  Elder Soares from Belgium and Elder Moore from Houston, Texas are new zone leaders of the Geneva Zone.  Elder Clafin from Utah is the new assistant, and Sister Bichierri is a new missionary from Italy that just arrived.  We continue to be uplifted by the spirit and the testimonies of the missionaries that participate in this meeting.   Sister Jeppson also contributed some insightful  comments.

We enjoyed a wonderful Paques de Dimanche (Easter Sunday).  We again traveled to our branch meeting in Annecy, about 29 miles away through picturesque country side that will only become more beautiful as the leaves come to the trees and the flowers bloom.  It was heartwarming and inspiring to spend Easter Sunday with the members of this small branch.  Frère Colignon delivers thoughtful priesthood lessons from the President George Albert Smith manual and Soeur Demeure, the branch president's wife is always well prepared and presents uplifting lessons about the Book of Mormon.  Because of the small number of priesthood holders, I have the opportunity every Sunday to either bless or pass the sacrament.  It was especially an inspiring opportunity to pass the sacrament on Easter when we think of the symbols of the sacrament and the importance of remembering the Savior.

Sister Fairchild, a newly arrived sister missionary from Idaho that was assigned to Annecy, bore her testimony for the first time in a French sacrament meeting and did a nice job.  A woman from Nigeria   who is being taught by the sister missionaries and her six month old son attended the meeting along with a young man from the Netherlands who served a mission in Bulgaria.  He speaks English and Dutch and Bulgarian but not French.  He told me that he came to Annecy to spend a week with Emily who was also a missionary in Bulgaria, but now teaches English at a school in Annecy.  Three young women from two of the families in the branch showed their courage and talent by playing the piano and leading the singing in Sacrament Meeting.  Four members of the branch talked about the significance of Easter and bore their testimonies.

Betty, the housekeeper of the mission home

Sister Murdock invited us to Easter Dinner on Dimanche afternoon at the Mission Home.  We enjoyed a delicious meal with President and Sister Murdock, the four office missionaries, Betty, the mission home housekeeper from the Philippines, another senior couple serving in the Geneva Young Adults Center, the Chatterlys and two guests.  The office missionaries were excited for us to participate in an Easter Egg Hunt after dinner.  They had colored 28 boiled eggs and had hidden them outside around the mission home.  We all had fun looking for them and finally located all of the 28 eggs.  Thanks again, Matt and Jessie for hosting our family for Easter.

 Nos Petits-Enfants

We drive through six tunnels on our way to attending church meetings in Annecy, France and while driving to the office in Thoiry.  French and Swiss road builders like to build tunnels.  If you ever come to France or Switzerland, It would be a challenge for you to hold your breaths through these tunnels.  The longest one, the Mont Sion Tunnel  is about two miles long.  We also traveled across four viaducts that stretch across large deep valleys.  During the drive to Annecy, we leave our apartment and cross over the border from France into Switzerland, travel for a few miles and then cross over the border again from Switzerland into France driving the rest of the way to Annecy.  We also pass through toll booths to pay money for the privilege of driving faster on part of the freeway.

Zachary, when I passed the sacrament today, I thought about you.  You will be a deacon in four months and will have that same opportunity.  Prepare diligently for this wonderful opportunity to have the Aaronic Priesthood conferred upon you and be ordained to the office of a deacon.  We love and miss all of you and know that you had a wonderful Easter. 

LETTRE CINQ POUR LE 2 AVRIL 2012

Has anyone heard of C.E.R.N.?  According to the travel book, The Lonely Planet, It is The European Organization for Nuclear Research, a laboratory for research into particle physics founded in 1954 and funded by 20 nations.  It accelerates electrons and positrons down a 27km circular tube(the world's biggest machine) and the resulting collisions create new forms of matter - in 1996 it created antimatter for the first time.  Why this science lesson?  After moving our mission office to Thoiry, France, last Thursday, we now pass by and over this facility every day on our way to work.  It is about five miles away from our office; however, most of the processes take place underground.

Missionaries that went home Tuesday morning.

Missionaries that went home Tuesday morning (being silly).

We will enjoy this comfortable office space in the church administrative offices for six weeks until we move to Lyon.  We have met some very friendly people who work here and administer such activities for the church as accounting; facilities management; supporting the missions, stakes, wards and branches; family history, employment services and family services.  When we travel to work, we can see the snow covered Jura Mountains since our office is close to the foothills.  When we return home, we can see the snow covered Alps including on some clear days Mont Blanc. 

New missionaries with their trainers.

Last week was full of activities that revolved around 11 missionaries coming to the mission home on Monday afternoon, eating a nice meal at the mission home that evening, staying there overnight and departing for the airport in Geneva to fly home early the next morning.  Then 15 new missionaries arrived later in the morning.  They were greeted, fed, photographed, taken to downtown Geneva for contacting activities, interviewed, fed again and trained.  They valiantly tried to stay interested and alert through a busy day and not much sleep so that they could go to bed at the mission home in the evening and start to get used to the time change.  Their missionary companions/trainers traveled to Geneva the night before, stayed in a hotel, and arrived Wednesday morning at the mission home.  Then, we witnessed the excitement when each new missionary was given an envelope with information about where they would be going in Switzerland or France and who would be their first companion.

New missionaries walking to the train station, with the Mission Home
in the background. 

You may be able to imagine a little the work required by Sister Murdock, the mission president's wife, to buy groceries and cook meals to feed these groups of missionaries.  Sister Jeppson made a large green salad to help with the lunch on Tuesday.  She also prepared letters from the mission president to the new missionaries and their trainers.  Then after they departed for their new assignments, she has been e-mailing each of the missionary's parents a short note with five pictures attached. 

It was very exciting to associate with these missionaries and be uplifted by their spirit and enthusiasm.  Jeri, because of your service as a missionary in Italy, you will be interested to know that Sister Bichierri from Italy is one of the new missionaries.   She said that someone with her same last name served as a missionary in Italy around thirty years ago.  I will be seeing her every two weeks at our district meetings because she is assigned to serve in Geneva.  One of the sister missionary/trainers that I met is from Lugano in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland.  Two of the other sister missionaries/trainers  are from French Polynesia.         

We enjoyed associating with the members and the missionaries (21) from the Geneva area when we attended the satellite broadcasts of general conference at the Geneva stake center building on Saturday and Sunday.  The various sessions of conference were broadcast in the chapel in French, in the recreation hall in English and in another large room in Spanish.  The Saturday morning session was a live broadcast, from 6-8 p.m. at night.  The Priesthood and Saturday afternoon sessions were delay broadcasts on Sunday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.  Later in the day at 6 p.m., the Sunday morning session was broadcast live.  Sister Jeppson waited in the car and in a classroom during the priesthood session, and then we ate lunch in the car before attending the 2 p.m. session.  After that meeting, we went for a walk, ate the supper food that we brought with us and then attended the 6 p.m. session.  We watched the final session of conference at home through internet at 10 p.m. to 12 midnight.  It was a long day, but we were inspired and uplifted by the messages and by our association with the members and the missionaries that attended.

Nos Petits-Enfants

When we visited with the Andy Jeppson family on Sunday through Skype, Noah tricked us with an April Fools comment that a spider was on us.  We had not thought about it being April Fool's Day until he caught us.  Every morning and evening when your grandma and I get in the car to travel somewhere, we follow the example of our mission president and the office missionaries and say a prayer to ask Heavenly Father to bless us to be safe and protected while we travel.   We have had a few close calls, so we are grateful for that protection.  We recommend to our grandchildren that they encourage their families to do the same thing.

 

  

LETTRE QUATRE POUR LE 25 MARS 2012

I am expanding the account of our experiences to a Tale of Cinq Villes:  Bourg-en-Bresse, Geneve, Thoiry, Ferney-Voltaire, and Annecy.

We traveled 115 kilometres or about 71 miles to Bourg-en-Bresse almost directly East of here on Mardi morning to obtain our titre de sejour (residence permit).  We received a medical exam by a French doctor and a review of our official papers including our passport before they placed the official document on the page of our passport that permits us to stay in France for one year.  In one year we will need to renew this document at the mayor's office in Lyon.  I had an extended opportunity to practice driving our standard transmission voiture including driving on one of the major auto routes including tolls in France as well as driving through and parking in a new city.

Sister Elena Flores (Doug's auditor), from Sardenia.

When we returned from Bourg-en-Bresse to Geneve, Elder Pittson and I met with Elena Flores in the afternoon and continued our meeting into mercredi.  She is an auditor from the church offices in England and had come to review our financial records which is standard procedure before a mission president is released.  She is very knowledgeable about the church financial systems and will be a great resource for me as I take over the financial secretary responsibilities such as paying the bills, handling cash receipts and making deposits, recording necessary journal entries, reviewing financial statements, sending missionary medical bills to Salt Lake for reimbursement by insurance companies, banking transactions, and managing the office.  Elena is originally from Sardenia, an island governed by Italy, so her first language is Italian and her second language is English.

Mercredi's work day continued into the evening when we met with President and Sister Murdock, the office elders and the assistants to plan for the departure of thirteen missionaries and the arrival of fourteen new missionaries next week.  This activity happens every six weeks and also includes transfers from one location to another.  The activities at the mission home and at the mission office will begin next Lundi evening and conclude on mercredi afternoon.  President Murdock prayerfully plans these transfers under the inspiration of the spirit each time they occur.

Sister Munkhjarga (from Mongolia)- she returns home Monday.

We enjoyed another inspirational district meeting with the missionaries in our district on jeudi morning.  The theme of the meeting was using the Book of Mormon in missionary work.  Sister Hyrkas, a sister missionary from Finland, who conducted the major part of the lesson asked each missionary to share a favorite scripture from the Book of Mormon.  Sister Munkhjargal, the sister missionary from Mongolia, bore her testimony.  She is one of the departing missionaries and will be returning home to Mongolia.

Mayor of Ferney's Office (in background)

On jeudi afternoon, President Murdock asked the office missionaries and the assistants to attend an unexpected meeting.  He informed us that church headquarters has instructed us to move our office to Thoiry, France which is the location of the church administration offices for France, Belgium, French speaking Switzerland and some French speaking countries in Africa.  We were informed that we must move right after the new missionaries have departed to their various locations which will be next jeudi.  We will work at the Thoiry offices for about seven weeks until we move to Lyon, France. This is mainly because the church has not been able to obtain a Swiss Visa for Sister Jeppson and I because of  stringent Swiss rules, so we need to be not only living in France but working in France.  Thoiry is a small town that is about seven miles or a fifteen minute drive from our apartment.  We visited the offices on vendredi.  The facility will work fine for us, and the move will prepare us for the move to Lyon.

Le Marché

Le Marché

On samedi, our preparation day, we walked from our apartment about a block to the Marché en Plein Aire (Outdoor Market) on the streets of downtown Ferney-Voltaire.  This is an outdoor market that was recommended by other missionaries.  We found out why.  Cars were parked in every parking spot available and along both sides of already narrow streets.  We intended to just walk around each street where the market was located just to scope it out and not buy anything.  We actually emerged from the market with both of us holding several bags after spending about two hours walking through it.  This market occurs every Saturday when the same vendors set up their vending places and market numerous food products and non-food products.  The food products include a large variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, pasta, spices, olives, cheese, meats, bread, pasties, poultry, fish, etc.  The non food market includes such items as jewelry, clothing, purses, books, etc.  I think that most of you know that when I mention purses, Sister Jeppson would have a hard time just passing them by.  She just had to pick up a red purse that is just the right size for what she needs in France.  Her larger purse served the purpose of posing as an extra bag to carry on the plane with everything that we needed packed inside.  We also picked up, a baguette (French bread) some yummy cheese that had been aged for six months (We tasted a piece of the same kind of cheese that had been aged for two and 1/2 years) and a variety of fruits and vegetables.  We also discovered a boulangerie and patisserie only a block from our apartment where we can pick up bread every morning and occasionally an "éclair".

Today, dimanche, we once again traveled to Annecy on a picturesque forty minute drive to attend church.  We felt a warm spirit  and ambiance there during the lessons that were given by the members in Priesthood Meeting, Relief Society Meeting, Sunday School, and testimonies born during Fast and Testimony Meeting.  I had the opportunity to bless the sacrament during Fast and Testimony Meeting, and Sister Jeppson said the opening prayer in Sunday School class in French.

Le Marché

Nos Petits-Enfants

We found some wonderful children's books at the outside market in the town where we live.  We couldn't resist buying two of them.  We may start buying a few more on some other Saturdays so that we have a little collection to send home or bring home with us.  Of course, we may need to help you a little to understand what they say.  We have fond memories of reading books with our grandchildren or watching them read books from our shelves or reading books that you brought with you.  Reading good books is a wonderful activity which will always help you in school and bring much pleasure.  The best book that you can read with your parents and individually is the Book of Mormon.  This will help you to prepare to serve as full-time missionaries later in your lives.  Sister Jeppson and I both related our testimonies of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and how the scriptures have helped us in our lives during the District Meeting that we attended with the missionaries on Thursday. 

    

LETTRE 3 FOR 18 MARS 2012

We have a Tale of Three Cities to relate this week:  Ferney-Voltaire, Geneve and Annecy.  After the Todds turned over their apartment keys and car to us on Tuesday, we were able to move into our new apartment located in Ferney-Voltaire.  Why is Voltaire part of the name?  The famous French author, Voltaire, lived here during a period of his life when he had fallen out of favor with the King of France so that he was close to the Swiss border and could escape to Switzerland if necessary.  Our apartment is comfortable with good security and a place to park with cement walls on each side underneath the building.  Each evening when we arrive home, Sister Jeppson guides me as I back the car into this narrow parking stall.  It is nice to have our computer hooked up and functioning.  Also, our Vonage telephone is working, so it is now possible to call our regular home number of 801-292-6084 (check the time in France) and reach us at our apartment.  All of this technology is functioning thanks to Sister Jeppson's superb technical skills.

We continue to diligently work at our real job at the mission office in Chambesy, a suburb of Geneva.   Sister Jeppson has assumed full responsibility for her job and is doing well with the many things that she has to do.  She prepared some new magnet labels of each of the zones and districts and missionary equipes in the mission.  These labels will be placed on a large magnetic board that President uses to plan for transfers every six weeks.  I am assuming more and more responsibility as financial secretary as we transfer those responsibilities to me from Elder Pittson.  While the office Elders traveled to Lyon on Friday, we took on the entire responsibility to answer the phones.  We soon realized that we needed to learn more about how to transfer calls.

President Murdock related to us this week two  experiences that were very inspirational.  When transfers are to occur every six weeks, he ponders and prays for inspiration from the Lord concerning what positions and places missionaries should be transferred to.  Several weeks ago, he was inspired to transfer an Elder to Nimes, which is in southern France.  He found out later that this missionary's parents that lived in Virginia had befriended a couple from France while the French couple was in the states.  They were interested in learning more about the teachings of the church.  They later returned to their home town of Nimes.  Their son then had the opportunity to teach them.  The wife continued to be taught until she desired to be baptized.  Her husband wasn't ready but just recently gave permission for her to be baptized.  Another sister who lives in Dijon is from French Guiana in South America.  She was taught by the missionaries and wanted to be baptized.  However, her husband would not give permission.  She loved attending church and received callings to serve in the ward.  Just recently, after the ward members fasted on her behalf, her husband gave permission for her to be baptized.  She was so happy.

It was a very inspirational experience for me to attend the Geneva stake's annual general priesthood meeting on Saturday evening.  Even though I missed seeing many of you on Skype, I was glad that I had the opportunity to attend the meeting.  It was the first church meeting that I have attended where French is spoken and the chapel was almost full.  President Bonny who treated us with dinner two weeks ago, conducted a well organized meeting during which some media presentations were used and brethren holding priesthood keys from the wards and branches (Bishops, Branch Presidents, Elders Quorum Presidents, Teachers Quorum Presidents (14-15 years) and Deacons Quorum Presidents (12-13 years) were asked to come and stand in front of the group.  It was wonderful to see the strength of the priesthood holders in this stake in Switzerland.

Today, we drove for about forty minutes with Elder Pittson to Annecy, a very picturesque city in France.  He came along to show us the way for the first time.  From now on and until we move to Lyon, at President Murdock's request, we will be attending the Annecy branch.  Annecy is located by a lake, with the Swiss Alps in the background and not far from Albertville where the Winter Olympics were held a number of years ago.  In future letters, we will discuss some of the history of the city which dates back to the 11th century, and we will also provide some pictures when we have a chance to go there on a Saturday, which is a preparation day when we are not working at the office.

A sister missionary team was assigned to the branch three months ago.  Sister Marker is from Wisconsin and Sister Harline is from Orem.  She is Johnny Harline's sister.  I think many of you will remember that he was the famous BYU football team tight end that caught the winning touchdown catch from John Beck to defeat Utah several years ago.  We attended all of the meetings at the branch.  I helped pass the sacrament and then we were unexpectedly asked to bear our testimonies.  Sister Jeppson bore most of her testimony in French.  We learned after the meetings that the French members were very impressed with how well she spoke French and that she would speak in French when someone could have translated for her. We also participated in their every third Sunday pot luck dinner after the block meetings.  Sister Jeppson made some cake while using our apartment oven for the first time.  It was delicious.   

Nos Petits-Enfants

We are really going to enjoy attending this small branch in Annecy with about thirty-five members including some wonderful families, some with three or four children.  They attend church in a location on the first floor of an office building that contains several rooms including a small chapel.  Most of the children are primary age or younger with a few young women that are over twelve years of age. President Demeure, the Branch President, is a convert of sixteen years.  He and his wife have four children and moved to Annecy fifteen years ago from St. Etienne, the last city where I served during my first mission to France.  The children range in age from one to fifteen years old.  I enjoyed watching some of the boys hit a ping pong ball with a paddle in the hall/recreation room while they were waiting for the dinner to start.  One of the rooms has a ping pong table.  It is wonderful to be around members of the church and feel of their love, friendship and testimonies while they teach the same gospel principles and use the same manuals that we do, only in the French language.