Stake Conference in Switzerland

Before I get to the "meat" of this post, I just want to mention that I made my first batch of chocolate chip cookies here.  That wouldn't ordinarily be a major accomplishment but it is here.  We had to go to three different stores to track down all the ingredients.  I also had to adjust to an oven in centigrade instead of fahrenheit. But they turned out great!  We shared them with some of the families who live in our apartment building as well as the Elders and the Young Adults.  They were a hit!

Our third weekend on the mission was our Stake Conference.  We are the only German unit in the St. Gallen, Switzerland Stake.  So our conference was held in Frauenfeld and Zurich.  The Saturday Adult meeting was held in the Stake Center in Zurich. But the Sunday meeting for everyone was held in a large community auditorium in Frauenfeld.  President Uchtdorf told us they don't have a church building big enough for the whole stake for the Sunday meeting.  They would prefer to meet in a church but don't want people to be turned away for lack of space.  We took the Elders with us on Saturday and drove to Zurich.  We had a little difficulty finding the best route and it took us almost 3 hours to get there.  But it was an incredibly beautiful drive.  It doesn't work to take pictures out the window of the car so you'll have to use your imagination.  This mission covers three of the most gorgeous countries in the world.  Everything is very green with forests and farmland.  Red roofed white homes are nestled in small villages in the valleys and up the hillsides.  All villages have their beautiful churches with interesting and picturesque steeples.  The mountains are rugged and breathtaking.  It is always a delight to travel here.  Our meeting Saturday was terrific!  The Stake President, Christian Bolt, spoke and he is amazing.  We also heard from an adult sister in the stake. A young man, Benjamin Roffler, who has received his mission call shared his faith and testimony.  A young woman, Alexandra Calame, shared her incredible conversion story.  Our mission president, Brian Kohler and his wife, Cheri spoke as well.  The final speaker was Elder Alessandro Dini Ciacci, the area authority seventy from Italy.  We thought he did a great job and involved members of the stake.  He doesn't speak German so he spoke in English and a young man stood by him and translated. They also had a beautiful violin and piano musical number.  I noticed halfway through the meeting that there was a rack of headsets for translation.  Unfortunately, they were not accessible at that point.  I just felt the strong spirit and enjoyed the association with so many faithful saints from all over the area encompassed by our stake. The members here are very dedicated and willing to sacrifice a lot to be faithful members of the church.  We visited afterward with missionaries and members of our branch and ward in Dornbirn.  Then we drove back home.

Sunday morning we drove to Frauenfeld.  We made it in about 2 1/2 hours and arrived early.  I was able to find the headsets this time.  Yay! Bob was excited to find and visit with Peter Sieck, who was a brand new member in Bremen, Germany when Bob arrived on his mission in 1973.  He was only about 19 years old then.  Bob hadn't seen him in over 40 years. They both enjoyed connecting again.

Bob and Peter Sieck

 We sat with members of our branch and enjoyed another wonderful meeting.  They had organized an outstanding choir which sang several truly beautiful pieces and truly added to the spirit of the meeting.  We heard from President Thomas Ottiker, second counselor in the Stake Presidency.  The Stake President spoke again.  The temple is very special to me, so I was thrilled to hear from the Temple President, Erik Psota, and his wife, Berit.  They gave beautiful messages.  The Stake Patriarch, Peter Gysler, shared a message.   A young sister, told how she had slipped away from church and how she had returned to the gospel.  Tom Erhart, a young man, also shared his story and testimony.  The final speaker again was Brother Ciacci.  I thought his talk was very inspiring.  The whole conference was inspirational and motivating.  We were thankful we were able to attend and be edified.  We mingled with the saints afterward and felt of their strength and unity.

Jurgen and Susanne Klaumunzner and their grandchildren

Elders Williams and Johnson

We were invited to dinner afterward at the home of Max and Suoma Lieber in Felben-Wellhausen, Switzerland.  We met brother Lieber when he visited our branch in Ravensburg the Sunday before when his sister, Susanne Klaumunzner's, husband was released as our Branch President.  We were delighted with the invitation and took the missionaries with us as well.  Sister Lieber fixed us a lovely and delicious dinner and we enjoyed getting to know them both.  We found out that my friend, Susan Lieber Morrow, is a relative of theirs.  We hope to associate with this dear couple again.

Suoma and Max Lieber