Sunday when we went to the Tabernacle Choir broadcast we sat
in our old place on the front row. They have closed the front off the last few
months. It was so much more enjoyable. It was much better sitting close and I’m
glad we got to do it one more time. We’ve enjoyed attending the broadcasts
while we’ve been here.
After church we had a couple over for dinner. They were our
home teachers before the branches were realigned and home teaching was
discontinued. We really enjoyed having their visits. There was a fireside in
the evening so we didn’t chat after dinner. The fireside was presented by a missionary
who helped document the women of the first 50 years of Relief Society. She told
us about the project and some of the experiences of the sisters. It was great.
Monday we had the mission devotional where they introduce
the departing missionaries and sing “God Be With You”. There were several of us
that sat as a block so it was obvious that several were going home. It was sad
to think we are leaving. Time has gone so fast and we have had such wonderful
experiences. I didn’t let myself cry while we were singing, but after the song
I did. It helped to take off my glasses so I couldn’t see any faces clearly.
Several missionaries came up afterward to give us hugs. We have made some good
friends.
After the devotional I went to the library to print Ted’s
fan chart. I wanted to see the difference in his that we have made doing the
research we’ve done. We added 21 new ancestors to the chart. I can’t count the
number of children and spouses we have added as well. I then worked on a couple
of fixes for my class on Swedish Research. After our inservice meeting we were
invited to share our testimonies. There are six missionaries leaving this week
or next. After that we had a farewell luncheon and it was fun to visit.
Our group taught an
enrichment class in the afternoon. We did not attend. I did a little personal
research, but it was totally unproductive, so maybe the Lord was telling me I
should have been in the class. We had our farewell interview at 2 pm with Pres.
and Sister Tate. They are really good people. It was really just a visit, but
Pres. Tate said it brought a thump to his heart when he saw us to know we are
his cousins. After the interview we came home and did some cleaning and packing.
I think almost everything is done. I can’t believe it’s here already.
Tuesday we met the zone at the Utah State Capitol Building
for a tour. It was really interesting. We were able to see the House and Senate
chambers and where the Supreme Court works. It was raining all morning so it
was a little damp getting in and out of buildings, but the tour was fun. My
feet were cold and wet which cannot be good for my health.
After the tour we drove to the Huntsman Cancer Institute to
deliver some chemo hats I’d made. The lady that gave me directions gave me
directions to the John Huntsman Center which is a basketball stadium. Fortunately,
Garmin was able to get us to the right place. It took several minutes of
walking in the rain to find the correct location to leave the hats. We then
went to my cousin’s home to say goodbye so she could sign our book. We had a brief
but good visit.
From there we drove to my uncle’s home to have lunch. We got
there about half an hour early. My cousin was not home—her sister was in the
process of getting her house ready for moving and they were helping. When my
cousin came home to fix us lunch, we went back with her to help. It seemed this
was far more important than lunch. We hauled a couple of loads of things to a
friend’s garage for storage until they find a place to live. We were able to
get everything cleaned out and the house quickly cleaned before we returned to
their home for a quick lunch.
Ted dropped me at the temple then took the car home to park
it and run back. I was the first person in the chapel so we were right on the
front row. It was a nice last visit. After we returned home, I reviewed my
lesson for tomorrow, organized a few things, and went to bed. It is supposed to
rain tomorrow so I’m hoping we can get most of the stuff in the car before the
rain starts. It was no fun helping my cousin with the rain coming off and on
the entire time.
Wednesday I taught my class on Researching Sweden. It went
well and several people asked for additional help if needed. Even a missionary
who always asks challenging questions wanted to stay in touch “in case I have
questions or need help”. We hurried home after class to pack as much of the car
as we could before the rain started. We were able to get the trunk almost
completely packed and empty out most of the apartment—at least the big things
like boxes and bags. I am always surprised at how much our trunk holds. I was
very concerned that we wouldn’t get it all in so it was nice to see this much
already packed. We hurried back to the Joseph Smith Building for the
Appreciation Luncheon with the departing missionaries and the mission
presidency. It was nice and we enjoyed it. It is always hard for me to say
goodbye, even when there is a possibility of seeing people again.
Thursday we were up early to get ready and get the car
packed. When all was said and done, we forgot a few things. It was difficult
removing the parking sticker from the back window after the car was all packed,
but that was the final step. We put all of our discards in the Swap Meet sheds
and hung the key inside so we were done. Everything fit into the car in a fashion,
piled as high as the back window without blocking it. My sweet sister met us in
Orem at a gas station just off the freeway to give us a hug and some snacks for
the road. It has been fun being a little closer to her and getting together
occasionally.
We stopped in Beaver to say hi to a former missionary. She
had just moved into her new home and it was very nice. It made me a little
envious to see her settled and in a nice home. We got into Las Vegas about 5 pm
and went to our daughter’s. We enjoyed a good dinner then went to the Stake
Center to meet with Pres. Gutierrez and get released. He never made it—he got tied
up in a meeting. His counselor had a meeting later but came an hour early to
visit with a friend. The counselor received authorization from Pres. Gutierrez
to release us. As we were visiting the other counselor who was our bishop at
one time came in and gave us hugs. He actually offered the prayer at the end of
our meeting. It is sad to think our mission is over.
