Catching you up on too many details...

February 9th

Yesterday afternoon Hani and took a walk in a postcard. I really wish there were a way for me to show you a glimpse of the area we walk in. The mountains are always framing the picture, and yesterday the sheep bells were ringing across the valley for a long way. It was so picturesque, and we walked briskly for almost an hour; up and down hills, winding through woods and open trails. It was lovely, and did me good!

Thomas told a joke in the greenhouse and Nati translated it for me. Hitler wanted all his German tanks in a row, and was short a few at the end. He called the general in Switzerland and asked if he would send some tanks over. “Oh sure, not a problem!” the general replied, “Would you like just one, or both of them?” Nati (they call him “Noddie”) took it upon himself to cheer me up the other day, and while we were all in a train carrying geraniums from one greenhouse to the other, he started a rousing song in German all about hiking. Everyone smiled as soon as he started it, and before long I was laughing at him, when I did NOT want to! Then he was teasing and pretending to drop the flowers when he handed them to me, and making me repeat Swiss German words after him, assuring me I will speak it fluently in years to come. He is so much fun, one of those people you feel like you have known your whole life. Damian is another one of those people, but I find myself wondering if it is just because he is like Harold Weaver! And Nati is like Roman Troyer. Maybe that is why I am so comfortable with them.

My week has been full of so many various projects in the greenhouse. I watered the 2,000 primulas (as they call our primroses) and carried plants from one greenhouse to another. I planted seeds, transplanted little plants, watered, sorted pots, brushed flats out, filled flats with dirt, and wrote out tags. We always start the day with a little meeting and prayer, and I make everything ready for Snoonie. This evening I went to Steinhausen with dear Daniela to get some small gifts for people. There are so many kind folk here, who do things unexpectedly for you, I know there is no way I can ever repay them!

February 11th

Just a few moments to type before heading out to the garden. I have not felt much like writing lately. I am very sad because my baby sister called me the other day and told me she got engaged, and for those of you who know my sisters and I, we are very close, so this is huge. I do not want everything changing while I am gone! So the days have been an odd mix of living life fully and having fun, and yet deep in my heart having one of the most heavy pains I ever had, and sneaking tears when I am alone. I feel so far away, yet I am really glad I am over here alone with God.

Yesterday was lovely. It was warm and sunny, yet with a haze over the hills. After lunch Hannah and I had yet another excursion with Eva and Rita. They wanted to show us a good view of the land, and off we wound up and down hills, as they made us laugh again. They are both so opinionated about where and how to go, and they rattle off in Swiss to each other in emphatic tones. I love doing stuff with them.

Then Hani and I spent the rest of the day in the kitchen, making “American food” for some of our friends. We wanted to somehow repay them for all the many kindnesses shown to us, and that was the closest we could get to having them in our home. I found a room in the Blumenhaus that has a large table, with a small couch area by a fireplace. So we set up that room for our party, and in an effort to create a replica of a real “Gawin” meal, I bought candles for the table, we got flowers from the shop, and I brought my laptop over and played music in the background.

You cannot do anything in Guetli in secret, we found. People were sooo curious what we were doing, where we were going, and suddenly we had so many invites to do something on Sunday! The final announcement to the community of our evening was the loud cart we had to roll over to the elevator. It seemed everyone came into the kitchen and asked what we were making, tasting it, writing down the recipe…

They arrived promptly at 6, (except for Nati, who had somehow missed what day we were doing this…) and I felt too bad that the food was getting cold from bringing it from afar! The Guetli folk are very big on hot food. It was so fun, and felt so much like home to just sit around the table for a long time afterwards just chatting away. We moved over to the little couch area after dessert and I showed them pictures of my family and friends at home, with lots of stories and descriptions.

February 14th

Today was such a special day!! I got a package in the mail from my mom with Valentine socks and a lovely card. It was just after I was thinking with regret, “Oh, I forgot my heart socks at home!” While the holiday is known here, and the flower shop made preparations for it, they really do not celebrate it as we do in the States. I told them how for weeks ahead of time you will see window clings and various decorations in the stores, and that you need a reservation if you want to dine out, because everybody and his brother (sweetheart?) will be eating out. They were fascinated, so Hannah and I decided to do a small Valentine party for them. I made simple cards for everyone I am close to with what construction paper and ribbons I could find. Then I wrote some verses in German, and had Nati translate a note for me for those who do not know English. It was so fun!

Rahel invited me to go horseback riding with her this afternoon, and was it ever a fun time! The horse I was on is called Navado, and only understands German, is a classic Swiss horse, but very lazy! I think I kicked him the whole time!. They ride English style here, so I had the helmet and all! I decided I better make it a tradition to ride horse in each country I stay in. This was a very different experience from the wild horses in the Judean wilderness! We had a nice chat and a lazy ride. I was feeling very sick from my meds, so I was fine with that.

In the late afternoon while watching a lovely sunset we made two cakes and some cookies, and after the evening service everyone was invited to join us in the Nebenstube. (I tinted the cake red with beet juice!) Many of the youth were in Zurich for a Bible Study, but about 25 people showed up to our amazement. Men and women of all ages came and were curious and excited like children when they saw the tables set with china, tons of candles, and flowers. (The only thing missing was music!) We had a lot of tea lights lit, and kept the lights low.

Grandpa Lippuner showed up and announced he was going to be my interpreter because they wanted me to share about WHO Valentine was. In fact, there was a funny moment; I picked up the paper with some of the facts of Valentine that I had printed from the internet, and studied it, while he stood next to me waiting with his hands folded. Rahel said I was studying this paper all seriously while he was waiting somewhat humorously to translate - teasing me how he needs to stand on my left hand side because he is left handed, etc. Then, I turned around, having found out all that I wanted to share, and set my paper down on the piano. The whole room started laughing. It seems they thought I was going to read it aloud, and when I set it down, Grandpa got all puzzled. You would not believe how much longer it takes to say things in German than English! It does make it feel like you are saying more, though. After that Hani and I sang “O the deep deep love of Jesus” without any practice, and then we commenced eating! It was so fun, and Hani and I sensed that it was really really special for all of them. I think it being an “American” holiday, and the two of us doing for them really touched them. It is such a small way to repay them for all their love and kindnesses.

Daniela and Rahel came up to me and said they had a gift for me, and here they had gone to the flower shop and bought me a big red stuffed heart, with some little note cards! It was so SWEET. And Eveline, Rebecca Siegfried, Anne-Lise and Elisabeth gave each of us a lovely arrangement they made. It was the first time I received flowers on Valentines! That night we took a moonlit walk with Pia, which was a lot of fun because it was so late!


February 15th

Oh dear. I am beginning to feel like I will never write again! It has been almost a week since I have been inspired, the days of memories are ticking by and I have not been writing! There is so much to tell you. This week I have had a lot of diverse work again, including working with the flower shop. Last Sunday there was a holiday here called Faschnacht, with parades and such, and a lot of confetti throwing. So I have been going in the mornings to sweep the parking lot with Elisabeth, making it nice for Valentines, and getting the endless confetti. They also had me wipe the condensation off of the inside of the windows to help avoid mildew. It was a job I can’t say I have ever done before, and totally Swiss! They have a love of details. You should have seen me in my greenhouse clothing tottering around the perfect floral shop, praying I would not tip anything over! I have had some good chats with Elisabeth while up there - she is the one who has had Lyme Disease and is still quite weak and ill. She is a very gentle person. I would love to see her improve in her health. She always looks a little worn and tired, and is very pale. We trade “improvement” stories of what has helped us with our pain.

February 17th

I have just returned from a wonderful getaway! Once a month they have a youth weekend, and for February we went to a church in the Simmental that we were invited to sing at. It was a 3 hour drive from here, so we got to see a LOT of lovely Switzerland. It feels so good to get out of the community every once in a while and see more of the life here. There were about 25 of us who went, and we left around 2:30 on Saturday. We had so much fun, riding through winding mountain passes, cruising through towns and villages, and chatting and singing away. Rebecca Kaufman even packed us a Tsfirie for the road! We drove right through Interlaken, I would say it is halfway from here. What a beautiful (but touristy) town! I am pretty sure my brother was there on his honeymoon. We arrived in St. Stephan around 5, and played some games that Marcel had prepared for before supper.

The translation thing was getting to me this weekend, so I afraid I was a tad irritable. I just feel sometimes like they chatter away for a good 10 minutes, and then when I need to someone to tell me what is going on, they “sum up” and I feel like I miss out. (It is hard to always have to depend on someone to translate, you feel like a bother.) It’s especially difficult with games, because when everyone is set to go, they have to wait on you to find out what is going on. Also, because Hannah can usually get the general gist of things, they seem to think I do too, and then she has a hard time translating to me. It really makes you feel so unintelligent, really, to never just understand, or be able to read a paper you pick up, or anything! So, there, now I have that out of my system.

After supper we cleaned up and then sat in a circle to have a devotional time and to practice singing. They even brought primroses and a candle along for décor! One of the songs we sang this weekend was so very appropriate. It was this one, perhaps you know it:

“I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord among the peoples. I will sing praises to Thee among the nations. For Thy steadfast Love is great, is great to the heavens, and Thy faithfulness to the clouds. Be EXALTED, O God, above the heavens, let Thy glory be over all the earth!”

And singing that in another nation to people surrounded by such beauty and thinking of how God’s faithfulness reaches higher than the clouds we were so close to just warmed my heart. Hannah and I stayed at the same home as Cornelia, and was it an amazing experience!Everywhere you turned, there were snow capped mountains! We went up a switchback pass to the chalet we were to stay in, and even in the dark the drive was incredible because the moon was so bright, and lit up the majestic landscape. Then of course there were the village lights twinkling below us.

When we came up to house, I just nudged Hani and said, “No way!” It was one of those classic Swiss homes that we pass all the time, and that make you want to stop in and explore! It was the weathered wood, green shutters, red checked curtains deal. And the cute old couple that lived there… I had to think of what Van Johnson said in the movie Brigadoon, “This must be the day that they dress up for pictures for postcards!” The little lady was short and very buxom and had pink rosy cheeks and a wool apron on. Her husband was weathered and old with laugh lines by his eyes, and you could hear the fire crackling in the kitchen stove!! Their barn was attached to house by a hall, and smelled faintly of cows. They had never had anyone from America in their home before, and she said it was novel, “like Hollywood!“ The kitchen had the usual corner sitting area, (I can’t remember what they are called!) and the little lady made us tea. She could talk the hind leg off a mule, I tell you! Cornelia was so gracious to her, and faithfully translated for us. Hani and I slept upstairs in a cute (cold) room with fluffy down comforters and lace curtains. It was SO quiet, and the moon was shining off the mountains out the window, and I felt so peaceful. It was wonderful!

For breakfast we came down to the cheery warm kitchen (crackly stove again…I just had to add that) and the little lady with the difficult name that I cannot remember was shaving cheese into long curly strips. The table was set with brown pottery and hot water, cocoa, butter, honey, jam and cheese. The bread they have for Sunday breakfast is called Zupfe and tastes and looks just like Challah. This one was especially incredible! I tell you, that breakfast will live in my memory for all eternity. Speaking of eternity, I just had a thought - do you think that God has various areas of heaven set apart to resemble the countries He has made? Because I think I would like to visit Switzerland again. Anyway, I really liked the shaved cheese idea. Not only was it novel and looked nice and was easy to eat, it was efficient and cost effective too. They had made both of them, and were a few years old. It was just as classic as it could get! (Even Cornelia admitted to us that we got the best place to stay! Shh!)

Cornelia, Hannah and I had a ¾ mile walk down the mountain with our things to the home where all the boys stayed. We were a little late, and trying to hurry down the road, but I of course had my camera out and was constantly stopping to take pics, and asking Hannah to get some of me as well. It was such a beautiful, brisk morning hike, carrying all of our luggage and gazing at the morning sunlit mountains on all sides. I mean, guys, this is one of those places that people travel from around the world to see and pay to stay at a hotel, and we got the real experience! I kept thanking God, and thinking to myself that honestly, there was no place on earth I would rather be at that moment. Along the road there was a pure mountain stream rushing to beat us to the bottom. When we got in view of the house, the two Simons (Stucki and a new one I didn’t tell you about yet…he is the son of Ruedi and Zita, has just returned from Slovakia, is always in the center of a disagreement, and is leaving for the army soon. He is an exact replica of his dad, and since he makes the 4th Simon here, I decided to call him “Little Ruedi”. We actually get along well, but almost every time we have a conversation, we disagree about something!) came running up the road to help up carry our bags. Then we packed in the huge old green bus/van and rode gaily down the mountain.

Now to tell you about the church we sang in! It was in St Stephan, and absolutely perfect. White stucco outside, stained glass inside with a simple wooden floor and stone arches. The acoustics were wonderful, and the pews heated! There was a nice pipe organ in the balcony that we heard during the service. I think the church was first written about in 1492! We had some practice time then, and a short prayer service before people arrived. The bells started ringing in the steeple above us as a few people filed in. It had a small congregation, I think our group was larger than the church! The singing went well, hopefully I pronounced my German OK. I had only heard the song the evening before, and there I was with their choir performing it! We went back to the school we had used the evening before (for games and supper) and ate the lunch the church provided for us. It was Raculette, the REAL Rauclette! You set slices of cheese on a teeny tiny frying pan looking thingy and then set that on a burner. Then when it is hot and bubbly, you pour it on your steamed potato, pickle, or anything else in sight. We also had leftover ravioli from the night before. Then more cleaning and more games, and repacking the messy vans.

Cornelia asked me if I would like “to walk as well“, and so we set out hiking back up the mountain to another school we were to have an afternoon program at; all 3 of us Rebeccas, 2 Rahels I have not told you of, Hannah, and Cornelia. We probably walked a good half hour before the vans arrived. It was a perfect day, sunny and clear and only sweatshirt temperatures. It truly was one of the most lovely places I have been in my life! There was a tiny chalet school on top of the mountain, and for the afternoon we had stories and songs (Hannah and I sang one while Cornelia played the guitar) and then games in the snow. They come up with the most creative games!! I will post pictures of it all. As we rode home in the evening dusk, we sang hymns that we all knew by heart, and then sang our national anthems. I suddenly yelled, “You guys! Look at all the beautiful scenery you are not appreciating!!” because they were not even looking out of the windows, slouching down to sleep, etc. Little Ruedi says with a wave of his hand, “Oh, we have seen it all before!” We ate a hasty supper, and then came to our rooms to shower and unpack, and I began writing here, since I am so out of date!

February 18th

Wow, it hit me that I am flying home a month from yesterday…time has been flying. I mean, I feel like I have been away for 6 months, literally! But when I sit with my calendar and look at what time I have left, it’s like, gulp! Next Friday we are heading up to St. Gallen to meet and stay with the Toblers, friends of Misners and Sykoras. It seems so funny that there are people in this country who know my good friends from home!

I need to tell you about last Thursday, the 14th. Hannah and I went in to Zurich with Eva. It is their market day, they have a booth (like from a home show) that they set up every week in the Zurich train station. There they sell fruits and vegetables, juice, breads, bakery and flowers. It was so Europe! Europe just has a class that we do not have in the United States. And the best part is, they are so unaware of it. They just are classy! Eva of course took the scenic way in for us, thank the Lord she is one of those dear people that wants to be sure we see enough of Switzerland, and get to experience the country. She gave us a map of the city that had some points we might be interested in checking out, and then she set us off with 4 hours to roam. At first I was like, “ahh!” I want the security of people I know! But by the time the 4 hours were up, that feeling was gone. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Everything was an experience. The traffic lights, fountains, store fronts, sounds, trams, buses, smells, languages, birds. Lots of noise and busyness, pigeons, and people everywhere. We wandered in and out of stores off the main street, and I got a few more small gifts. We were trying to find a park called Lindenhof that had a view of the city on the hill, and after trying to find it down winding cobblestone streets, we gave up and decided to wander and see what we may find, and then stumbled on it quite by accident. The weather really was perfect. We just grinned huge smiles at one another when the church bells all started ringing. We went into a Yves Rocher French perfume shop, and I got a nice spray that was on sale. We also went into tons of chocolate shops, which were bursting at the seams because it was the day before Valentines. We did not get anything because of the prices, but by this time, it was way past our usual snack time, and so we decided to maybe splurge and get a coffee and dessert if we saw a café that beckoned to us. Unfortunately, those too were too much. It would have been a good $20 to split one drink and one dessert, and I got the grand idea we could go back to the train station early and buy stuff at the market.

And so we did. Eva clued us in who had good stuff, and we went around and bought at least 5 different things to eat from various places. We tasted a delicious honey wine from a booth that was just amazing. Then we sat on a bench in the cold station and made memories. It was too fun! We ate and ate and ate, and drank a yummy rum drink that Manfred made for us, and all too soon it was time to leave. That evening Hannah and I went to the meeting room with Nati to practice a song we are teaching them, and we ended up singing for a good half hour. It was so fun. He is such a marvelous piano player, we could just sit and listen to him for hours. He knows so much music by the Hamiltons, and even can copy Rudy Atwood!

Today I met two new people. One is a girl named Daniela from Germany who is here for 6 months to home school Tabitha. Rahel has been telling me for some time how much I will like her. She is soft and warm and friendly and a real character, I think. I went over to meet her at breakfast, and then sat at her table and chatted for a while. I also officially met Markus, a co-worker from Guetli (for 8 years) that has been in Slovakia. He came last week, but I have had no opportunity to speak with him. Both Rahel and Pia challenged me to see if I could get him talking because he is very shy. He is very tall and big, has blunt features and a ruddy complexion that reminds me of Darrell. He also has reddish hair. I call him “Marvelous Markus” because a few days before he arrived, all the ladies began telling me how wonderful he is at everything, and how he can fix anything, etc. Apparently he is really good with computers, carpentry, and cooking! He is also an architect. He can speak English very well, and was friendly enough with me this morning. I don’t think we will have any problems.

This afternoon I was making flower arrangements for the shop with Heidi. It is so funny, because she only knows maybe 10 words in English, but she speaks German to me, and I always understand her! Then I speak English back, and we both mix in words we know in each other’s language, and it works out. We have so much fun making things and teaching each other words. It’s like kindergarten all over again! It’s fun to work with the different ladies, because they all have a different style, and you never know what you will end up with! I love making all these spring arrangements, it makes me anxious for Easter.

Well, I think I am actually going to post tonight, so I will close for now, and hopefully keep up better for my remaining weeks. I love and miss you all, and pray for you every day.