ANNEMASSE, France — Members of the thriving Annemasse Ward not only hail from different nations but also live in two countries.
The ward — one of the highest-baptizing wards in the stake and mission — is in France, and is adjacent to the great city of Geneva, Switzerland, with the international customs border control only a short distance from the meetinghouse. The city of Annemasse sits at the foot of the Alps in the valley between the Saleve and the Chablais mountains across the Arve River.
The bishop and his family are English; like many members here, he lives in France but works across the border in Switzerland. Part of the Geneva Switzerland Stake that was created from a division of the Geneva Ward, the Annemasse Branch held meetings in a small hotel in Annemasse for three years until their meetinghouse was constructed.
Longtime Annemasse members Joseph and Therese Quarino met each other at Church. Joseph joined the Church in Nice, on the French Riviera, some 17 years ago and met Therese at a single adult conference in Nice. She had joined the Church in a small branch of just 30 members in Clermont-Ferrand, in the heart of France, but moved to Geneva for work.
Although both were converted through missionary tracting labors, member contact was a significant influence for Brother Quarino. A work colleague joined the Church and invited him to hear the missionaries at his home.
Raised in another Christian faith, Joseph Quarino wasn't interested at the time, but this brief introduction to the gospel remained with him, along with remembering that every question he asked was answered. When missionaries knocked on his door six years later, he was about to turn them away when he heard the last part of the name of the Church, Latter-day Saints, and recognized that this was the same Church his work colleague had joined. Recollecting the good impression he had of the teachings of the Church, he invited them in.
Brother Quarino serves as the ward mission leader. "The members are well integrated into missionary work," he said. Door-to-door tracting is difficult here because most apartment complexes and even private houses are security locked, "but the members provide the missionaries with many referrals. When members give referrals, the missionary work grows," said Brother Quarino.
Ward members are not slow to welcome investigators. "The first impression investigators receive here is one of being a part of our family," said Brother Quarino. "It is important that they feel warmth and happiness here, completely at ease."
Missionary work is regarded as an important activity in the Annemasse Ward. A monthly missionary fireside, to which members invite friends and acquaintances, is one of several missionary initiatives. With each baptism, the elders quorum president has already assigned home teachers for the family being baptized and introduces them to the new member at the baptism service.
"Members invite missionaries into their homes to help them with missionary work," added Sister Quarino, a teacher in Primary. "There is a good welcoming spirit of friendship in the ward. I feel that the Church will grow here; already, there are many young families in the Church in this area."
Noel Moullet, of dual Swiss and French nationality, with his wife, Josette, are longtime members of the Church in the Annemasse Ward. They joined the Church together 30 years ago in Geneva, when they had one young child. All their five children, now grown, were raised in the Church. Brother Moullet is director of his own chain of beauty and hair salons and serves as stake patriarch. He previously served as branch president and bishop in the Geneva Branch and Salve Ward. Explaining the Annemasse Ward's success in missionary work, Brother Moullet observed, "This is a very friendly ward. I've never known a quarrel here. The members follow the direction of the stake president and their bishop."
According to Brother Moullet, members "make every effort to welcome investigators, speak to their friends and neighbors about the gospel, and baptism services are very well attended."
"There is a family atmosphere here that is very welcoming to investigators," added Brother Moullet.
"Our neighbors are very respectful of our faith," Sister Moullet said, recounting an experience in which neighbors were invited to dine with them. "We asked them if they minded if we blessed the food. They did not. When, a month or so later, we went to dine at their home, they asked us if we would bless the meal."
Typical of the international membership of the ward is the Galopin family. A member only four years, Bruno Galopin met Luisa, his wife-to-be, at a local single adult activity. She joined the Church in Chile 23 years ago and came to Geneva for work. Their civil marriage took place in Chile, where her family lives; they were sealed in the Bern Switzerland Temple.
Also members of the Annemasse Ward is the Mundele family from the Congo. Mbokomi Mundele came to Geneva, where he was baptized 15 years ago. Some eight years ago, he returned to visit his home country, where his family and his future wife's family were acquainted. He introduced the missionaries to Nicole before returning to Geneva. She later joined the Church. Two years later, Mbokomi returned again to the Congo, married Nicole and brought her back to Geneva, where they now have five young children.
Bishop Adrian Folley came to Geneva 21 years ago with his wife, Heather, and their 8-month old child, John, to take up a position with CERN, the international nuclear research establishment based in Geneva. Neither spoke any French, but they were determined to adapt to their new home and worked hard to integrate in their new ward, then the Geneva Ward. Eventually, they moved over the border into France, where they have raised native-speaking children. Their son John has just returned from serving a mission in Finland and is continuing university studies in England, along with his sister Kimberly.
Bishop Folley said, "President Hinckley said bishops should take charge in leading missionary work. When that change happened, I was excited. It reinforced what we were already doing. We were able to call a ward mission leader and get directly involved in the missionary work."
