Sunday, March 08, 2015

     The encounters with our friends at Church today were tender and sad.  It was hard to say good-bye to the members of both wards who have been such good friends to us.  We exchanged email addresses, lots of hugs, and thanks for experiences here that we will always remember.  I played the music in Relief Society for the last time, and they will probably go back to singing without any accompaniment just like they did before.  Rebecca played for Sacrament Meeting and she is doing such a great job.  The promise of great music to come is in the making. 

    I returned Gina’s metronome and sonata music today along with the last of the music I brought with me—with the exception of my books.  It has been one of the greatest blessings of this mission for me to participate with music in so many ways and with so many different people.  Katia and Karin said their good-byes and we learned that Karin is going back to the U.S. to attend LDS Business College in Salt Lake and maybe we can touch base with her there.

    Brother and Sister Pavón took us to their lovely home after the meetings and served us a delicious meal.  It was so fun to be with them, even though I was only a “listener” in the conversations.  I could understand so much of what was being said—which was a far cry from when we first came—but still could not (or maybe would not)

contribute much.  There are a few photos below. 

    Holding back tears was hard today as we returned to the temple grounds and our “home away from home” knowing we will soon leave this all behind us.  Two years is definitely long enough to get attached.

    Our thoughts and prayers are with each of you and we send our love.  See you soon!

    Good Night!

Brother and Sister Pavón preparing dinner in their kitchen.

She prepared a delicious chicken dish, rice with a little corn,
steamed veggies, whole wheat rolls from our bakery, fried bananas,
and some kind of sweet potato baked with cinnamon and honey.

 One of the drinks was a pomegranate and tropical fruit mixture and the
other was one that Brother Pavón created from carrots, oranges, and celery.
They were both very delicious; and --lucky for Glade--they served ice cream, too!

They have a small courtyard where this patio set lets them enjoy eating
outdoors, and where they grow several beautiful plants including
yellow roses, blooming poinsettias, geraniums and several others.
She also had several house plants--coleus, African Violet, and Dianthus.