Hello Folks
Once again, a newsletter from Wyssachen. So far, 2025 has been anything but boring—and that's a good thing 😉
-> If you find yourselves on a picture and would not like to, please tell us quickly and we remove the photo(s)!
Pass away of David's mother
First, some sad news: David's mother passed away on August 4. David wrote about her and her illness, MS, a few times here in the newsletter.
She was very well cared for at the Sennhof nursing home, and she often mentioned how much she liked it there - it was always a comfort that, despite her difficult situation, she at least liked where she was and felt at home! Since the death of her husband Eduard, she continued to receive regular visits from her daughter and a dear friend - sometimes also from David, certain times with Ursula (and food from McDonald's) or occasionally with the children - but she was more often alone. According to her own statement, this did not bother her so much, but she missed Eduard very much!
For David, it was always a balancing act: on the one hand, he would have liked to visit her more often, but this would have been at the expense of his family or other also important matters. So he constantly faced the challenge and tried to find a way to do right to both sides, knowing that he would never be able to achieve this and always feeling a little guilty.
But now she has made it and was allowed to return home. For her, it is a relief: she can now be with her Lord and Savior in heaven and see her Eduard again. In all the sadness, this is a great comfort and a relief!
Sabbatical David
That was a great thing! David started with a few days alone at the Black Lake: as a break between working at the Salvation Army and his sabbatical: it did him good and David was able to really enjoy the time!
In addition to plenty of time for himself and meeting up with friends, there were three major projects during this time: redoing the IT at home, painting the rooms of the two older children, and spending time as a family in Hong Kong (see next section). David isn't really into sports and stuff like that. But at least the idea was born – and implemented – to walk for half an hour every day: it worked and did David good. He still does this today on days when he works from home!
Hong Kong again
Due to special circumstances, we had the opportunity to go to Crossroads in Hong Kong again as a family. David went alone for a first week, and the family followed. Ursula's trip alone with the children was a blessing: everything worked out and they arrived safely.*
It was wonderful to see all those lovely people again, and it was especially great for the children because they already had friends with whom they could explore the grounds or go to the beach on their own. There were times when we parents had to ask where they were.
Compared to last time, we all worked a little harder: we volunteered every morning on workdays, which allowed us to really contribute! Nevertheless, we also had enough time to explore Hong Kong again. We also enjoyed spending time with our friends, the Oetiker family, with whom we went on some great trips!
* If any of you are traveling alone with children and are not aware of this: you need written consent from the other parent to travel abroad alone with the children! Otherwise, you could run into trouble at customs – issues such as child abduction or similar (unfortunately a real issue these days; we were not aware of this and it was only thanks to an understanding customs officer that it did not become a problem for Ursula!).
There IS nature in Hong Kong - Let us take you with us to a rather unexpected environment:
Another impressions of Crossroads and the live there:
New job of David
Since May 1, David works at his new job at Caritas Switzerland in Lucerne as a network manager. The position is challenging, with everything new in terms of technology, processes, organization, and everything else. But he enjoys the work and, despite the challenges—the entire infrastructure needs to be renewed—he likes going to work.
A special highlight is his commute: a little less driving, a little more train travel (with mobile working) and walking from the station to his workplace: a wonderful start into the working day! The walk along the lake is particularly beautiful every day!
Here are a few impressions from his morning commute:
Summer
Unfortunately, camping for the parents didn't work out this time, but we had lots of other experiences instead! The annual Adonia camp with Ursula as head chef and the children as participants – all three helped out in the theater, all three with really big roles!
The following week, we did a few things as a family: a day trip to Neuhausen to see the Rhine Falls – with a boat tour – followed by a visit to the Smilestones miniature world. Highly recommended! These worlds are very well done, with great stories to tell and new things to see all the time!
On another day, we went to Bern to the “Ropetech” rope climbing park: Unfortunately, it didn't work out for Ursula, as her fear of heights was too overwhelming, but the others thoroughly enjoyed it. The two older children did the most difficult routes, and Matthja thought it was extremely unfair that he wasn't allowed to do them yet “because he was too young/too small”!
Another thing worth mentioning is that Nayara had long wanted to start the new school year in Huttwil with an e-bike: since this year, she is also going the slightly longer way to 7th grade. From her point of view, nothing happened for far too long, we had no e-bike in sight, and there were still detours with the test. Nevertheless, she was able to buy an e-bike in time—a mega machine—and take the test. Nayara was able to ride her e-bike to her first day of school at her new location! 🙂
Music of the newsletter
Matthja has been playing for a year, and Ursula started learning this summer: we're talking about the trombone! We've already had the opportunity to listen to several (short) concerts to hear what the brass class with Matthja on the trombone has learned so far: it's impressive how far you can get in a year!
For Ursula, it is a lifelong dream that she has now decided to fulfill: she now has lessons one evening a week—also in a brass band class in Langenthal—and practices regularly! A friend from the Salvation Army has also seized the opportunity and is learning the euphonium in the same class.
It's a wonderful thing and the reason for this issue's musical newsletter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf_I0tRLfh4
A few final pictures
Some final scenes to enjoy 🙂
Love regards
All Widis: Ursula and David with Benaja Isaak, Nayara Joy and Matthja David
Thank you deepl.com (free version) for helping with translation!