No more US missionaries in Switzerland

[BlueHair]

This has been discussed in many a thread. Does the church allow 19 yr olds to serve a "service" mission like older couples do? I would think that this might be a good option for many kids. They could still study and do some proselytizing but limit it to 10 hours a week and the rest would be humanitarian service (opposite of what many missions are now).

Just some thoughts...

This is a great idea. I wouldn't mind sending my kid on a mission like this.

[TripletDaddy]

I dont get the sense that the Swiss are basing anything on the appearance of service v employee.

Per the article, the Swiss are banning all religious missionaries based on geographic origination, not whether you will be primarily service oriented.

SALT LAKE CITY — While Switzerland and the European Union bickered Tuesday on immigration and foreign-worker agreements, the Swiss' current interpretation and implementation of those policies will result in banning most foreign missionaries from entering the central European nation beginning in 2012.

The ban will prohibit all religious missionaries coming from the United States and other countries not part of the European Union or European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

I also get the sense that this change is not necessarily an intended result, but an actual one after the Swiss revised its immigration policies. The Church is still free to send as many Euro Mos as it wishes.

[pellegrino]

I was surprised, and disappointed, in how many people asked me if I was to learn Swedish when I got my mission call to Geneva.

Just about every West African I met on my mission would call Switzerland "Swaziland." I can't for the life of me figure out why, but I liked it so much I appropriated it.

[Moliere]

I dont get the sense that the Swiss are basing anything on the appearance of service v employee.

Per the article, the Swiss are banning all religious missionaries based on geographic origination, not whether you will be primarily service oriented.



I also get the sense that this change is not necessarily an intended result, but an actual one after the Swiss revised its immigration policies. The Church is still free to send as many Euro Mos as it wishes.

Good point. So missionaries are seen as immigrants or foreign workers, at least in the eyes of the Swiss government. Maybe we can just call people to serve 2 year "vacations" to Switzerland, although I guess you'd have to have a visa to spend that much time in the country. Another alternative would be to move the mission home to Lyons, and transfer missionaries into Switzerland on 3 month "vacations" (or however long you can stay on a regular passport).

[Commando]

Just about every West African I met on my mission would call Switzerland "Swaziland." I can't for the life of me figure out why, but I liked it so much I appropriated it.

Maybe they were actually talking about Swaziland itself?

[RC Vikings]

Maybe we can just call people to serve 2 year "vacations" to Switzerland, although I guess you'd have to have a visa to spend that much time in the country.

I wasn't going on a senior mission but if the church would let me ride my bike in the summer and talk with fellow cyclist along the way and let me ski at Zermatt all winter and talk to people riding up the lift I would reconsider going.

[Tim]

http://www.deseretnews.com/mobile/ar...itzerland.html

This could change, but as it stands, no more US missionaries in Switzerland in 2012.

The gall and nerve of Harry Reid to protest this when he's clearly not someone who's worthy to speak on the Church's behalf!

Paging Eddie Jones' friends.

[SteelBlue]

Good point. So missionaries are seen as immigrants or foreign workers, at least in the eyes of the Swiss government. Maybe we can just call people to serve 2 year "vacations" to Switzerland, although I guess you'd have to have a visa to spend that much time in the country. Another alternative would be to move the mission home to Lyons, and transfer missionaries into Switzerland on 3 month "vacations" (or however long you can stay on a regular passport).

When I was in Belgium, we actually did this. Belgium was not granting visas to LDS missionaries at the time and so we brought them in through Holland on tourist visas. The hope was that before the tourist visas expired the two year visas would already have been granted. As it turned out we had a good number of missionaries there illegally at one point even though it was for a short time.

[marsupial]

Screw them. See how much hot chocolate I buy now.

or watches or pocket knives.

[il Padrino Ute]

I blame the French.

[Moliere]

The gall and nerve of Harry Reid to protest this when he's clearly not someone who's worthy to speak on the Church's behalf!

Paging Eddie Jones' friends neighbor's psycho idealogical acquaintances.

FIFY

[TripletDaddy]

Good point. So missionaries are seen as immigrants or foreign workers, at least in the eyes of the Swiss government. Maybe we can just call people to serve 2 year "vacations" to Switzerland, although I guess you'd have to have a visa to spend that much time in the country. Another alternative would be to move the mission home to Lyons, and transfer missionaries into Switzerland on 3 month "vacations" (or however long you can stay on a regular passport).

one simple and practical solution is to call a US missionary to Switzerland and then require him or her to renounce US citizenship at the Swiss embassy. They can apply for Swiss citizenship through marriage (local Swiss YSAs can help out with this), live in the country for 2 years, and upon return, take a simple oral exam to become naturalized US citizens again.

Don't hate the playa, hate the game.

[Paperback Writer]

one simple and practical solution is to call a US missionary to Switzerland and then require him or her to renounce US citizenship at the Swiss embassy. They can apply for Swiss citizenship through marriage (local Swiss YSAs can help out with this), live in the country for 2 years, and upon return, take a simple oral exam to become naturalized US citizens again.

Don't hate the playa, hate the game.

And get an assault rifle in the process...
"the famously neutral [Swiss] government not only permits gun ownership, but also issues an automatic rifle to every male when he becomes eligible for military service at age 20. Female volunteers are also armed."
http://www.slate.com/id/2277922/

[Eddie]

I thought Hatch's quote was pretty funny. Not sure that's the argument that's going to get anything accomplished:

Integral? I'm sure the Swiss will rue the day they stopped letting Americans knock on their doors 10 hours a day. Not sure what the history of non-proselyting related service is in that mission but if it's anything like mine was in Holland/Belgium there's not much of an argument to be made when it comes to defending the value of your program anyway.

Hatch might be off a little in his quote - but I do have to wonder.

Switzerland has been pretty LDS friendly. Which, in part, led to the LDS church's 9th Temple in operation being built there (dedicated in 1955).

I know all the stories we hear are of poor families saving everything and living on raw potatos to travel hundreds of miles and go to the temple, but I have to wonder how much having that temple in Switerland brought into their local economy over the years.

I get that we are talking about a pretty small segment of the populaiton - but I would also assume that it brought in some "tourists" who would've never visited otherwise.

[Sizzle]

http://www.deseretnews.com/mobile/ar...itzerland.html

This could change, but as it stands, no more US missionaries in Switzerland in 2012.

Let's flood them with Latinos then!