The Lake's Alpine Mission: Belated Birthday

My birthday was two months ago but I want to post about it because it was one of my most special birthdays and shows how terrific the people are here, where we are blessed to serve. I wasn't expecting any kind of celebration because we are away from our family and long time friends. But the day played out very unexpectedly!

In the morning we had District Meeting in St. Gallen. Somehow the missionaries found out it was my birthday. They really went all out to make it special for me. They decorated the room and had it darkened with little candles and when I walked in they started to sing "Happy Birthday". They gave me a few small gifts as well. We brought lunch but made it very simple. We had picked up special cheese cakes at the Saturday Market in Ravensburg and they loved the special birthday treat. It was one of the most delightful District Meetings.

The St. Gallen District

Visconti, Bushman, Hilton, Sister Lake, Elder Lake, Chisholm, Weisler, Pedersen, Passey, Titmus

Bob convinced me that we needed to stop in Dornbirn, after taking the missionaries home, to study for awhile at the church before going home. I agreed, never imagining he might have an ulterior motive. I thought we were going out to dinner for my birthday. He told me we needed to stop at our apartment to get umbrellas since it was raining. I decided that I would change into pants and comfortable walking shoes to walk into the city. When I opened the door, I was shocked to find our apartment filled with many of the wonderful and dear friends we have made here in Ravensburg and in Dornbirn. I actually got quite emotional realizing how much these dear people mean to me. They had planned and prepared a really fun surprise birthday party for me. And boy, was I surprised! It never entered my head. Some of them came all the way from Austria, almost an hour away. Our cute young friend, Corinna Tonoli, had organized the whole thing and had people bring food. She came early and decorated with streamers and balloons and had party hats, too. Everyone came into the hall when I walked in and sang "Happy Birthday" to me. They had a wonderful chocolate cake with candles. Some of them even brought gifts. Corinna remembered that we had said we missed having Mexican food here, so they prepared a taco buffet. Very thoughtful! And everything was delicious. It was really a fun party! Everyone enjoyed visiting and eating. It was a birthday I will always remember because of the love I felt from so many. The people are definitely the best part of a mission.