... AND ENDING!

So, "Wrapping Up" may have looked like the last entry of a mission blog, but, mostly for our own records, (but thanks for looking, which you are if you're reading this!) we want to document this last week.

On Sunday, we both spoke in Church.  While I feel like I normally do a decent job preparing a talk, giving a talk in English is NOTHING compared to giving one in Portuguese.  At least, for me! I wrote it.  Google translated.  Craig checked the translation.  A darling Brazilian missionary did the final tweaks, then I spent AT LEAST 20 hours trying to get the correct pronunciation, and be comfortable enough reading it that I could make eye contact at least 1/4 of the time.  Oh my.  Everyone commented on how good my Portuguese was.  Then GUSHED about the awesome message Craig had given, and how it was just what the Branch needed, and how they could feel the Spirit.  Oh well.  I tried..... 

After the meeting, we were whisked into the President's office for a debrief, while unbeknownst to us, the adorable Branch members were preparing a surprise luncheon for us, in the same room where we meet for Sacrament Meeting!  They even turned out the lights and yelled "Surprise" when we came in!  (I really hope the Sacrament Meeting that was going on in the Chapel on the other side of the curtain wasn't too disrupted by that...)  Such a gift of love and sacrifice for them!  We will miss them.

They went to so much work!!!

Such sweet friends!

After a few days of packing, we emptied the apartment (which is being closed down) with the help of "our" Elders and a few other Elders, and scrubbed till our hands ached, then scrubbed some more.

Such wonderful Elders!

Sneaked a SECOND walk in before leaving!

Just when Boston is getting so pretty!!!

Said good-bye to our East-Coast babies - oh how we will miss seeing them every few weeks!

We loved spending one last day with them!

And started the 2500 mile drive home, going through Philadelphia so we could visit that Temple.  (Craig has a goal to go to 75 Temples by the time he's 75.  This leaves us 12 more to go, but we'll get more on the way home!)  So far, only one wrong turn.  Unfortunately, it put us in a scary area of the Bronx!

Tonight (Saturday) we are staying in Middleton, a suburb on Harrisburg, PA.  They have the sweetest flags along their streets.  So touching.  We asked about it, and they rotate them from time to time, so they stay looking nice!  

What a lovely display of patriotism!