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