We Are Coming Home Today!!

Well, we are coming home today...well at least it is today for us, but right now it is tomorrow for you. We will be home in just over 12 hours!

Our plane lands at the Salt Lake Airport at 10:15am. Feel free to come visit us at the airport, but if you can't make it, we will definitely have a gathering and invite you all over.

We love you and miss you and are so excited to see all of you again.

Our Last Weekend in Cabo Verde

Hello--we got our internet restored Monday night--a technician ACTUALLY CAME to help us!  So now you can all write your last email to us!

We are very excited to see you in less than a week!  We are able to finish things up here and still have time for memory-making friendships and activities.

 

The Young Adults have been on Santo Antao island the past four days (Mon-Thurs) painting a school, so we have not had Outreach activities, but tomorrow we will have the quarterly birthday party for those born Jan-Mar.  They want me to make brownies, their favorite treat, and to play the keyboard while one of the young men plays his guitar and wooden flute--we have been practicing and are pretty good sounding together.  He plays guitar very well and sings the traditional CaboVerdian music called "Morna"--it is beautiful, nostalgic, real soul music--he made me a CD of it with professional artists.

 

Our visitor from Germany (really from England but works for the Church in Germany where he and his family have moved)--it was pure delight to meet with him!  And not just because he speaks British English-- we received from him lots of good ideas to leave with the people here.  He was only here for two days, but it was fun.  Our other visitors are from Salt Lake, and have Church business interests in these islands.  They are good friends who have come before, and are here for a week in our city.  Tonight we will all go out to dinner and have a good talk.  You wonder if we really have time to be social with all the work left to do, but actually things are going so smoothly that we do have chunks of time to spend enjoying our friends.

 

The water project for our city has been put on hold until the new couple arrives (who or when is still the question--we are only assured that there will be one).  The government did their part just fine, but the other company we are working with for the project is not ready for contracts yet, so we just have to leave it for a while.  'Tis sad.  

The cement playing field at the school has been poured and looks very nice, great work--we are happy about it.  The prison leaders are giving us an official send-off party on Saturday after our gospel class.  We will surely miss the men and women there that we have become friends with--guards and prisoners alike.  It is a minimum security prison, not like a penitentiary.  We have always felt safe there, and it has been true joy to serve them and see the light of hope come to their eyes when they feel our caring and love and the light of the gospel.  The head doctor at Red Cross is a young man, very sharp, and a good friend to us--we are invited to lunch with him today for his birthday.  The missionaries in both districts here gave us a party on Monday, their P-Day, at our house.  It was supposed to be a potluck lunch, but nobody had time to cook that morning since they had to do all the other P-Day activities first, so everyone brought a treat--cookies, cake, brownies, pop--we watched the movie "Mountain of the Lord".  We attended the weekly district missionary meeting on Wed., it was called our "funeral" which means the last meeting with the group.  We bore our testimonies and we each gave a little talk, then had lunch--all treats again!!  It's just funny, and they are all dear to us, so we have fun with them no matter what.

 

Tomorrow we pack, and give away to the missionaries any food that will not keep for months.  We also want to visit the beach once more and listen to the soothing sound of the waves--we will miss that. 

 

We will see you Wednesday!

 

Love, Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Elder and Sister

18 Days and Counting

I would like to thank Bubbles for standing in here and being our Countdown Model to welcome the Pat and Larry home.

So Much To Do, So Little Time

Dear families and friends,

 

Our time is now down to the last 2-1/2 weeks before coming home. We have much to accomplish and finish up, but things are going smoothly for the most part. We have lots of help from the Lord and His tender mercies. We are trying to finish everything by the first weekend of March, because we have visitors coming from Germany and Utah during our final week (not staying at our house, though).  Since there is still no replacement couple for us, we are having to prepare copious notes and instructions on everything, from who to see for what project, where and how to pay the monthly bills, and even how to turn on the washing machine which has a broken button.

 

Even with all the work, we are still having some fun activities:  Outreach is having a party on our last Friday, and one of the young men and I have been practicing some songs on his flute and me on piano for us to entertain the group.  He also plays the guitar and sings the beautiful traditional Cabo Verdian music called "Morna".  He is burning me a CD of some of the music--it is very soulful and relaxing to listen to (good dishwashing music at home).  One of our friends is a school principal here and we are doing a project with him to provide a cement playing field (for soccer) for his school children--they just played in the gravel and dirt before and it was hard, especially during the rainy season when everything flooded.  He wants to drive us around this island tomorrow for a couple of hours and show us some of the beautiful, but out-of-the-way sights.  Our friend who is the doctor at Red Cross has invited us to a special luncheon for his birthday.  And the district president wants to have a fireside for our farewell on our last night (Mar. 13), with the choir singing and us speaking and other speakers, and then a big cry session afterwards.  We will take our box of Kleenex!  How do you say goodbye for a lifetime?

 

I have been writing thank you notes (on the cards you sent in the box, Matt) to our special friends here (in Portuguese).  We also have made invitations to the fireside to share with non-member friends, of which we have many here.

 

A couple of weeks ago, we bought and delivered some school supplies for a very poor elementary school in this city.  When we got there, we noticed a badly broken window in the library, and the curtains on the window were in sad shape.  So we hurriedly went to town, bought glass for the window and fabric to make new curtains, which I did the next day. 

 

You know I have been teaching piano lessons during the whole mission, and now I am leaving the students in the capable hands of one of the students who now plays for sacrament meeting, and the other one is already a great pianist and he plays for the other branch in our building.  One of the plusses about them doing the teaching is that they speak Portuguese (and I don't do so well with that, although I did manage to do enough).

 

Last weekend we traveled to Santo Antao island to train a couple as the new Outreach leaders, and to speak in church.  The man in the couple was the branch president there for 17 years, and he knows and loves all of the branch.  They will be so great!  We stayed overnight in our usual hotel there and enjoyed a relaxing break from all the work here.  On Sunday we each bore our testimonies.  We then caught the 5 p.m. boat back to our island, and the ride was very windy, and other people got sick, but we don't, thank goodness.  We were actually cold, an unusual feeling here.

 

Speaking of cold, we are going to be very cold when we arrive in Boston and Salt Lake, so please, whoever comes to the airport to get us, bring us each a winter coat and hat or scarf.  Our blood has thinned in 1-1/2 years, so it will take a while to get used to the weather again.

 

We hope to get a chance to write another update before leaving.

 

We will fly to Praia on early Monday morning, the 14th, and spend the day in the mission home in a devotional meeting with other departing missionaries and the president, have a special dinner with the president and his family, then go to our hotel for the night.  On Tuesday we are free to do whatever until 2 p.m. when we go to the airport for the flight to Boston.  When we get to Boston, we have a hotel for the night, and get up super early on Wed. morning to return to the airport for our flight to SLC, arriving there at 10:15 a.m. (hopefully).  We attach most recent photo (Feb. 2011) so you will recognize us! (ha ha)

Please call the airport to see if the flight is on time--it is Delta 1224 from Boston.

 

We plan to get a phone that afternoon and visit Mother Sanchez, then have the appointment with the Stake President that night for our release.  I wonder what that will feel like....

 

Davy just called us on Skype from his school, and that was so nice to see him! 

 

Please write to us again before we return home.

 

Love and prayers always, Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Elder and Sister

We Are So Excited!!

It seems real now, we are coming home!

We will arrive in SLC on Wed. morn, March 16, at 1015 a.m. MST.  Delta flight 1224, from Boston.

We look forward to seeing you all.

Tidying Up and Getting Ready To Come Home

Dear family and friends,

 

We are experiencing a "true" Cabo Verdean winter:  lots of cool winds with haze, which comes from Sahara desert winds blowing the sand our way;  today we even had rain and so cannot hang out the already-washed laundry, and I wear a sweater whenever we go out, especially evenings.  Last year there was no winter; the "cooler" temperatures of December just kept getting hotter all through January and February.

 

Yesterday afternoon we went teaching with the Zone Leaders to the sister of our favorite elder(who is now on a mission in another part of Cape Verde), she was baptized a few months after he left.  It always feels good to be in a teaching situation with the missionaries, as the Spirit is so strong!  We also bore our testimonies about the Sabbath day, the topic of their lesson.

 

This morning we went shopping for school supplies for one of our projects to help a very poor school in the city--we went even though it was raining, but we were blessed to find all that we needed in just one store.  We had previously gone to many stores to buy supplies, but today we only had to go to one.  Every time we buy these supplies, there is so much that we have to get a taxi home.  We should now have enough to prepare them for delivery.

 

For the past two weeks, there has been a lot of election campaigning going on.  The rallies are in the afternoons and nights (sometimes till midnight)--the elections for governor were yesterday.  Therefore, last night was very quiet, and early this morning it was so quiet that we think everyone was home "sleeping it off".  Election committees construct large platform stages downtown in the streets and have programs of music, etc. to entertain the people and promote their candidates.  The stages also make havoc with bus routes, which have to change to other streets, so who knows where to catch the bus??  Anyway, it is all over now.

 

We have also been very busy cleaning the apartment, cupboards, shelves, etc., and spraying for bugs.  We are doing this now so that when our last week arrives, we will not have to do it.  We will be having guests from Germany (the head man of Europe Area) and also the earlier mission president and his wife who now live in Utah.  Hope that we can manage all of the work and guests--we know this is the Lord's work and we are on His errand, so are entitled to His help, which we ask for daily.  We are doing just fine, remembering to eat our veggies and fruits, and sleep enough!

 

For Christmas gifts to the missionaries in the northern islands, I made a simple 16-page cookbook of easy recipes with things available here.  I also gave one to the mission nurse and the president's wife.  They wrote me the other day that they liked the booklet so much that they wanted permission to copy it and place a copy in each missionary apartment (to remain there) in the entire mission.  They told me that the elders had even bragged to them about pizza they made using my recipe.  I had no idea it would go so far, but am really glad to help them out.  Most of the recipes are ones I had at home, with just a few I got from here.

 

We should be informed of our travel itinerary for home pretty soon, and will let you know.  Presumably Wednesday, March 16, in the morning, but wait for further notice.  Yes, we are getting excited, but with all the work to do, there is not much time to think about it, which is as it should be.

 

We think of each of you so often, we enjoy the family photos on our wall, and we pray for each of you every day. Can't wait to see you again and share hugs!

 

With much love always,

 

Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Elder and Sister

Enjoying Beautiful Cabo Verde

Dear family and friends,

We feel like we are on a fast track, trying to get projects ready to give over to a new couple (no one called yet), and to see and do all the things we want to experience again, for the last time, like our trip last Monday to Santo Antao. 

The boat that we travel on between islands.

The windy mountain heights

Our group of missionaries in the pine forest.

A sister missionary.

The HUGE waves on the ocean on our group trip. (Thankful the waves were not big when we were on the boat.)

Tomorrow is Roger's birthday, also our cat Sam.  Nicole's 1st grade devotional program at school in on Wednesday.  Any more news from anyone?

We have been having troubles with our email server, so are going to switch to gmail soon. 

The weather here is no longer hot--some days I even carry or wear a sweater because of the chilly wind, especially close to the sea.  When we went to Santo Antao, up in the pine forest, it was so cold we could see our breath!--a "first-time" here.

Last Sunday I taught the Relief Society lesson on Fasting, all in Portuguese.  I have learned previously that preparation ahead of time is the key to not being scared or nervous.  Since I had to translate all I wanted to say that was not in the book, I needed plenty of time to prepare.  The lesson went fine and every sister helped me with comments or reading, etc.  I just hope it doesn't happen again!

We have been going to the local hospital twice a week to deliver newborn baby kits (from Salt Lake) to the new mothers.  Last Thursday there were 33 new babies, including 2 sets of twins!

Yesterday there was a baptism of a lovely young adult woman, the only member in her family.  Her mother and sister came to the baptism even though they were not in favor of it, but hopefully they were welcomed and felt the love shared in this church, and will be OK with their daughter and sister joining.

One of my piano students is helping me with piano teaching by translating and explaining some of the concepts.  He also has begun playing one hymn in sacrament meeting each week, working with the branch president as to which hymn to play.  Today we went to the other chapel, and he wanted to play all 4 hymns in our home branch.  When I saw him later, he said it went very well, and the branch president said so also.  He will become my replacement for our branch music!  He jumps right in to any chance to play and is not afraid to play in front of others--in fact, he blossoms with it.  He is one of the three to whom we gave a personal keyboard to take home a few weeks ago.

Tomorrow is P-day, and the missionaries want to come to our house in the afternoon to watch a church movie and eat pizza and cheesecake (they furnish the pizza, I made the cheesecake).  They are all so fun to be with, and it is great to hear of their teaching experiences. 

The Lord's tender mercies keep coming to us and helping us meet the right person at the right time.  Prayer over many seemingly small things really helps to solve problems, such as not knowing how to fix something, or whom to call for assistance, etc.

Enjoy the photos.  , the windy mountain heights, our group of missionaries in the pine forest, a sister missionary, and the HUGE waves on the ocean on our group trip.(Thankful the waves were not big when we were on the boat.)

See you soon!  Big hugs and loves for all, and prayers for you every day.

Love always, 

Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Elder and Sister

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Dear families and friends,

How did you each spend New Years Eve and Day?  We slept late (till 7:30!!), then went to visit a good friend in another part of the city--bus ride required.  We really enjoyed the midnight fireworks display.  Today we are going to Skype with our friend, the former mission nurse, from British Columbia, Canada.  Two sister missionaries who knew her very well and lived with her for many months here, are coming over to join in the Skype call.

 

This Christmas season I was not as homesick as last year--guess it's because we know that we will soon be home in America.  We have truly enjoyed viewing the lights and decorations in the town, sitting beside the ocean at sunset and hearing the waves, trading small gifts with friends, and having a magnificent choir program the Sunday before Christmas (this made up for the program given in November at District Conference where the choir was a total of 5 women!)  The district president made special invites to all the men who could sing to come to choir practice for the Christmas program, and they did--we had 40 singers in all. 

 

On Christmas Day we had all the missionaries here for dinner and for a skit from each of the two districts.  It was just plain FUN.  We also had a gift exchange among them all, including us, a gift fit for either elder or sister for about $5.00.  Then they went to their separate homes to speak with parents.  In the evening 6 of them returned to our house and brought a movie, "The Grinch", which we all enjoyed and laughed over.  It was so GOOD to see you on Skype--thank you so much for making that possible!

 

The week between Christmas and New Years is the slowest time here for mission work, so we have relaxed each day, but are now looking forward to going strong again on Monday.  Larry is going to teach the Gospel Doctrine class tomorrow, and then in three weeks, I have to teach the Relief Society lesson on "Fasting" from "Gospel Principles".  I am going on faith mostly because my speaking and understanding of the language is still not good, so I will have a translator to help me understand the comments of the class members. 

 

We are in need of the prayers of each of you about having a replacement couple for us, hopefully to be here before we leave in March.  Please help us with this.

 

Next Christmas I am going to make a gingerbread house and then on New Years Day, the grandchildren and adults also (if they wish) can come to our house and take it apart and eat it.  Just like when you were kids.

 

We have many answers to prayer daily, as we see things fall into place and make way for greater works.  We pray for each of you daily, and love you all very much.  We are looking forward to seeing you in a little while.

 

Love always,

Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, Elder and Sister