Change
Tuesday, 7th (pt. 2):
So we went to this appointment, and we got Grießschmarren, which I don't really know how to describe... It tasted good, and we got a homemade cherry compote (with fresh cherries from Schwester Strihavka's cherry tree) that was phenomenal. We drove over to Grieskirchen for the thingy. Turns out it wasn't a cultural festival, but it was something just as cool! Unfortunately, Bianca couldn't come because she was sick... Schwester Strihavka explained to us on the way that there was a woman who had started working with refugees back in 2015 (when the big influx in Austria happened) and she taught the women art classes. So it was going to be an art gallery with all of these drawings/paintings, and a buffet afterwards. Boy, we were so excited! So we got there and we were guided to an auditorium. We sat down, expecting a short introduction of the program and each of the women, and then to be excused to go look at the art. Ha. Well, we sat in this auditorium for the next 2 hours as this guy from a charity gave us the history of Afghanistan, specifically the politics and how the women are treated. It was interesting, and I learned things, but it wasn't what we were expecting. We had to leave early to make it home in time for curfew, but even though it wasn't what we were expecting, we still had fun. 
So we went to this appointment, and we got Grießschmarren, which I don't really know how to describe... It tasted good, and we got a homemade cherry compote (with fresh cherries from Schwester Strihavka's cherry tree) that was phenomenal. We drove over to Grieskirchen for the thingy. Turns out it wasn't a cultural festival, but it was something just as cool! Unfortunately, Bianca couldn't come because she was sick... Schwester Strihavka explained to us on the way that there was a woman who had started working with refugees back in 2015 (when the big influx in Austria happened) and she taught the women art classes. So it was going to be an art gallery with all of these drawings/paintings, and a buffet afterwards. Boy, we were so excited! So we got there and we were guided to an auditorium. We sat down, expecting a short introduction of the program and each of the women, and then to be excused to go look at the art. Ha. Well, we sat in this auditorium for the next 2 hours as this guy from a charity gave us the history of Afghanistan, specifically the politics and how the women are treated. It was interesting, and I learned things, but it wasn't what we were expecting. We had to leave early to make it home in time for curfew, but even though it wasn't what we were expecting, we still had fun.
Wednesday, 8th:
The day every missionary dreads! We woke up and I did some last-minute gathering of things and tucking my toothbrush and toothpaste into the tiniest of empty spaces (man, I picked up a lot of stuff during my time in Wels). We booked it out the door with my suitcases and a couple packages for the family. We ran to the Bürgeramt and unregistered me in Austria (
) and then ran to the post office and sent the packages. Then we circled the Bahnhof for almost an HOUR trying to find a parking space. Meine Gute, that was so stressful. Because I knew that if we missed this train, the next one didn't come for an hour, which meant I would miss my train to Switzerland, which meant I'd probably have to wait until the next day and travel alone. So needless to say, prayers were being said as Waagner (Wels/Haag = Waag = Waagner, the name of the car) desperately circled our potential parking. They had closed part of it to clean the street, so the spots were even more filled than usual. But, luckily, we saw a guy pulling out of a parallel parking spot and we were able to loop back around and park. We ran to our Gleis (platform) and hopped onto the train - and not a minute too soon!
So we made it to Salzburg in time to socialize a little with other missionaries and for me to buy my last Almdudler (grapefruit flavored, of course). We took some pictures, said some goodbyes, and we were on our way to Switzerland! We hopped onto the train that the Wien missionaries were on, who were also heading to Switzerland. Which meant that I got to see my dear and darling Sister Rimmer, who I've barely gotten to see since the MTC! I also got to talk to some other quality people, and we basically had a blast on that long ride. Oh, and something cool happened there, too! So one of the Elders, Elder Mogensen, had this weird instrument that I forgot the name of - but it was basically a cross between a recorder, a soprano sax, and flute, and it was made out of plastic. So he had pulled it out to show to us and played that one song (lol, sorry that's not very specific - I think it's Ode to Joy, but it's not the stereotypical part of like the duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-
Then we drove through Lichtenstein! Probably the only time I'll ever see it on the mission, even though it's technically part of my new zone (but because of laws, we're not allowed to proselyte there, so RIP they get no missionaries).
We arrived in Zürich Hauptbahnhof and saw lots of other missionaries! And I got to meet Sister Meisenfelder! What a sweetheart! She's from Berlin in Germany, and is the most extroverted companion I've had so far. Honestly, we get along great. And even though I'm "training" her, I honestly feel like she's training me sometimes. We're basically equals, and I clarify some rules and English and she explains Switzerland and German. We make a good team.
But yeah, then we headed out to our apartment and I unpacked! It's by far the nicest apartment I've seen on the mission so far - it legit looks like a hotel, and she had spent the whole day before cleaning, so it was SPOTLESS. She's an angel.
Thursday, 9th:
We went finding on Bahnhofstraße. Meaning, I walked past the window displays of Chanel, Prada, Dior, Gucci, Graff, Louis Vuitton, and all the other super fancy name brands that I never bothered to learn because they're too expensive and not always that worth it. If any country is affected by affluenza, it's Switzerland. My goodness. We've been playing "name that price" and it's truly insane.
We met with our friend, Mohammed Ali. He's super sweet, and really wants to be baptised - he's had each lesson several times and agrees with everything we teach. Sadly, there are a couple of things outside of his control that are preventing him from baptism, but we're doing our best to help him work through that. :)
We had Gemeinderat. Apparently, the Bishop here isn't the biggest fan of missionaries, but this was the first time he actually told us we were doing a good job! Well, I mean, I haven't done anything, so it was mostly Sister Meisenfelder and my predecessor, Sister Kjeldson, but still. Big step for him. :)
Friday, 10th:
We helped with a "Days for girls" service project that the FHV (Relief Society) puts on every 2 months or so. It was a lot of fun, and I got to do some sewing and socializing. This is when I started to realize that this ward speaks fluent German and English, and I'm never sure which to speak with them.
We did more finding!
Saturday, 11th:
Our Zone wasn't doing an Ausstellung (street display), but because the city is split into 2 zones, Zürich zone had an Ausstellung and a few companionship in our zone (including us) joined in. We only stayed for an hour, and left right as it started to rain, so we had pretty good timing. ;)
We went to a lesson with a girl named Serena, who was an exchange student in America, and her good friend who is also on a mission right now referred her. They had had a couple Skype calls, but figured since there were missionaries here who spoke her native language, they should contact us. So we had a lesson with her and her friend and his comp (who're both serving in America). She is sooo sweet and sooo sassy. We had a blast teaching her, and she understood everything and really appreciates prayer. We're excited to keep meeting with her. And her birthday is coming up soon, so we bought her a card.
We went to the church to work on the Fortschrittsbericht and to write our weekly letter to Präsident.
Sunday, 12th:
Our ward put on a Mother's Day Brunch for all the women in the ward, and they invited us. So we had a wonderful breakfast complete with eggs, pancakes, bacon, Müsli, joghurt, milk, fresh fruit, cheese, and anything else that makes up a perfect brunch. Also, it was sweet because one of our friends of the church helped make the food, since he came to church a little early!
We had Church, and I introduced myself/gave a short testimony.
Afterwards, we had a Single Adult Come Follow Me study group, and when it finished we ate lunch together.
We tried to go by on the Brown Family, but we accidentally ended up 1.5 hours away from them (by train and waiting times, not as the crow flies) because we had 1 number wrong in their area code... But it's okay, we'll make a new appointment!
Because of the travel slip-up, I had time to call my mom for mother's day before she went off to church. It was a lot of fun to be able to talk. :)
We went to a family-gome-evening-ish-thing (im not actually sure what it was) at a member's home, and our friend Mohammad (I forgot his last name, but he's different from Mohammed Ali) came along. He also wants to be baptised, but also has some things holding him back that are a bit out of his control, but he hopes to be changing that soon. We ate traditional Syrian food, and had a great time together.
I called my mom for a second time, since we didn't talk for very long earlier. It was fun, because my brother and his family were also there! But we cut it short because our phone was dying.
Monday, 13th:
Sister Meisenfelder needed to go to the Dentist, so we went to a member's practice, and it went super well!I had fun playing with the toys in the waiting room.
We made and ate tacos with our Distrikt, since the meeting was pushed back due to the dentist. So we ate first, then had Distrikt rat.
Sister Meisenfelder had to finish some online Trainings, since the deadline is the 15th, so we spent some time doing that.
Then we went to actual Family Home Evening with a few members and the Zürich International Elders. We played Rummikub and ate bread with jam and butter and cheese, and studied from Come Follow Me. It was an absolute blast!
Tuesday, 14th:
We went to Konstanz, Germany to do all of our shopping for the transfer. Because everything in Switzerland is so expensive, we're given 1 P-day per transfer to go up to Germany and do all of our shopping. So of course like 1/2 of the Switzerland missionaries were there. It was a party. We took a quick break from shopping to look at the Bodensee, which was cold and windy and made me miss Massachusetts, but that's fine because I live in Switzerland! I liked catching up with Elder Fairbanks, who I also haven't really seen since the beginning of our missions.
Favorite new word: Krass - gnarly/cool/sick
Favorite funny story: Our GML, Cosimo. He, himself, is the funny story. He's such a deadpan-dry-humor kind of guy, but he also laughs a lot. He and Sister Meisenfelder have good banter. His Swiss accent just adds to his uniqueness. I wish you could meet him, because words don't do him justice.
Favorite spiritual thought: im not sure if I've shared this already, but I'll share it anyway. So once upon a time back in my second transfer, I read somewhere on gospel library or something that we should ask God for trials, since that's what helps us to grow. And I thought my life was pretty swell, so I prayed for one, and it didn't come, and I was like "ah, I don't really need one of those." So I forgot about it. Well, looking back on my mission, I can guarantee that God answered that prayer! It just came a little bit later that I thought it would. I didn't realise he was answering my prayer during it, but he did! And during that trial I said so many more prayers. And now that I've overcome that trial, I can look back and see that he answered each of those! And I'm a better person because of it! So even though I had forgotten that I'd prayed for that, I can see now that God loved me enough to give me a trial, and that He loved me enough to help me through it. God really does answer prayers!
TLDR: Switzerland is great, as is my comp. 
Happy Mother's Day!
Ich habe euch lieb!
Liebe Grüße aus der Schweiz,
Sister Hamilton
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