O Fim

A brief report on our last day of missionary service. It was a wonderful day, leaving us exhausted at its end as we enjoyed an 11pm magnificent restaurant meal with President Kretly in Maputo (magnificent being defined as anything beyond the twin dishes of pizza or half chicken that dominate Quelimane menus.  I write this in the wee morning hours here while Debbie sleeps and I find myself unable to do so. I am weepy as I review the day and the previous 18 months and contemplate change.  Herewith is our day in (mostly) pictures:

This is Sonia Gusse in her very simple wedding dress--that we purchased on our recent trip to South Africa.  We thought her radiantly beautiful today--she thought so too and asked if she could please wear the dress home  to show her neighbors.  We broke our own rule and agreed, fully knowing that the dress  might never recover from an afternoon in a mud hut.

Walking down the aisle of our little chapel as Debbie plays Pachabel Canon on our little keyboard.   Our new branch president, Abel Mabunda, has replaced me very well (well, I did write his remarks and counsel today) but I admit that I was just a bit sad to not be performing this wedding.  I have had a pivotal role here but I think that my absence will not be noticed particularly acutely.  Debbie however, on the keyboard (among other contributions), is where the pain will be felt.  The music I fear is going to fall into serious decline.  We have no one here who can carry a tune.  She alone has kept our services from bedlam.

We put on what has become our traditional little wedding, with a nice cake and punch--which is generally far beyond the resources of any of our newlyweds and generally costs us about US$50 and a little bit of time for decorating.   Not much, but it has been a nice touch here we think.

Our young friends Aissa and Edma -- and Debbie serving cake in the background.  As we left town today, We left provisions in place to fund the college education of Aissa (thanks be to those who have contributed to the Osborn Literacy Foundation).

The baptism of Jojo and Sonia followed immediately the wedding.  This was a family who only required about 5 weeks to prepare for baptism (which is extraordinarily unusual here).  They had been prepared so well by their association with recent converts (Paula and Julio).  When we got to them, they had already made the decision that they really wanted that which they had seen their friends receive -they wanted to see the very same changes and happiness in their life.  It made it quite easy for even  mediocre teachers like us to lead them the rest of the way.

After the wedding and baptism we took home as many who could be packed into the truck.  You can see that Jojo sought and received important fashion and color coordination advice from me in dressing for his wedding.  The tie was mine--the bright lime green shirt was not.

We have been hugged and kissed and praised and feted far beyond our expectations and merits. (I am only now getting the hang of the European two-cheek kiss thing that has its own cultural norms here). We had people stopping by throughout the day as we packed and many just wanting a little bit more contact.  We have become one of them and it has been a rich experience beyond my ability to express.

This was a good day and way to finish our our mission.

We received a very nice note from Elder Andersen of the Twelve today--notable in the apostolic correspondence is not particularly common for the likes of me.

As we prepared to board our flight out of Quelimane last night, we met Elders de Oliveira and Bender arriving.  It actually was a bit bittersweet to be seeing them and missing the association with a new set of missionaries.

 We will travel just a bit on the way home (using the term home loosely since we have none). We will "report" on our mission in the Sacrament Meeting of the Fairbanks third ward in about 11 days.  Interestingly, their services are broadcast on the Internet and any who wish to listen in may do so.  I will post the time and website.
I cannot express sufficiently what a wonderful and life-altering experience this has been.