Leissigen

Our first stop was at Leissigen, a small village up in the mountains about two hours from Geneva. It was a gorgeous welcome to Switzerland. We spent a relaxed evening by the lake, eating dinner, skipping rocks, listening to the slowly rippling water, as we tried to keep ourselves awake until a normal bedtime. My roommate actually fell asleep while he was setting his alarm clock, but I think that everyone was able to stay up until at least 10. We are off to a good start in getting over time change.

As we take in all of this beautiful creation I am reminded of the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins. The world is charged with the grandeur of God. God made all of this for us to enjoy, but also to make a point about Himself.






But what about the people that actually live here? The locals that we have talked to have said that “you get used to it.” That is part of human nature. We can be callused to even the most striking beauty, the best gifts can be received with ingratitude, and the sublime can become the mundane.

I was told last year that Switzerland has the highest suicide rate in the world. They have organizations for assisted suicide that have thousands of members. This is an unexpected contrast: one of the most beautiful places in the world has the highest rate of self-destruction. The best that this world has to offer does not satisfy.

Only the light of the gospel can shed light in this dark place. The harvest is great.