"Break the Fast" Dinner and our first Zone Conference

They've had a tradition going here of having a dinner on Fast Day to "break the fast".  The Tonolis have been hosting or organizing this meal since the last Senior couple left, either at their apartment or at the church for the missionaries, some of the single brothers, or less active members of the branch.  Sometimes the Elders have brought people investigating the church.  Since we are the Senior couple here now, we offered to have the dinner at our apartment in June, the Sunday after Stake Conference.  It was a nice opportunity to get to know some of the people in our Branch.  We wish we could have a bigger group, but we are limited by the size of our apartment.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal, stayed to visit for awhile afterwards, and it helped us form some new friendships.

Alex Huber, Wladimir Lange, Ralf Lorenz, Elder Williams, Elder Johnson, Sister Lake, Corinna and Giampi Tonoli 

We had our first Zone Conference for the St. Gallen Zone on June 13 in Zurich, Switzerland.  It was at the same church where we went for the evening adult meeting of Stake Conference.  The Ravensburg Elders rode there with us and we made it in about 2.5 hours.  We enjoy our long drives with the Elders for a couple of reasons.  It's been a great opportunity to get to know all about them and we feel a stronger connection to them.  Also, we can talk about the missionary work in our mission.  We sometimes listen to fabulous talks that the missionaries have on their tablets. And, it is the most beautiful drive imaginable!  We always go past the beautiful Lake Constance (Bodensee), everything is incredibly green and lush, the mountains are high and rugged and snow capped still, and I love all the small villages nestled between the expansive farmlands and up the hillsides.  You can't travel by freeway (the autobahn) everywhere here.  Much of the time you have to drive through every small village.  It makes the trip longer but I love seeing the quaint old towns, the interesting homes and shops and the beautiful and very colorful flowers in gardens, window boxes and pots.  They love flowers here!

This Zone Conference was our first but the last for President and Sister Kohler.  They have been outstanding at leading and loving the missionaries, we could tell.  We have been blessed by them in the short time we have been here.  President Kohler sends out emails every week teaching and inspiring the missionaries.  He is a master at using stories and analogies to teach a lesson. Sister Kohler is warm and fun and we have been very impressed with how well she speaks German.  She doesn't even use notes when she speaks.  It's amazing! The Kohlers spent part of the time interviewing all the missionaries.  This conference was actually several zones combined.  We divided into zones for training from our Zone Leaders.  They were terrific!

Zone Leaders - Elder Mateer and Elder Whitaker, both from Great Britain

 All the new missionaries were introduced to the group, including us.  Some members of the ward there provided lunch for everyone, which was very nice.  This was also a great opportunity for the Elders and Sisters to visit with each other and catch up with former companions.  We took advantage of the time to meet and get acquainted with some of the missionaries.  That was fun!

Sister and President Kohler

 Packages were brought from the office and that is a real treat for those fortunate enough to receive one.  President and Sister Kohler each took some time to speak to everyone.  They taught, testified and gave counsel and advice.  It was their opportunity to say "Goodbye" and encourage everyone to carry on, work hard, do their best, and support with all their hearts the new mission president and his wife.  President Kohler set aside a day that every companionship is to clean their apartment from top to bottom, very thoroughly.  He also set aside a day for everyone to fast and pray that the transition would be as smooth as possible for President and Sister Brown.  He explained how challenging it will be for them and how much they will need the love and support of everyone.  There was a video presentation that President Kohler had made with pictures of every missionary they have had in the last 3 years.  Everyone enjoyed that!  At the end, the Kohlers let everyone come up one at a time and have their picture taken with them.  That way they could also say goodbye personally to each one.  It was a special day and one we will always remember.