Sunday, July 13 2014: This is post number 550 to this blog and the last Sunday of our mission. Most of the talks in sacrament meeting today will be in English so that will be good. I went to the branch house at 8:30 so I could have a little time alone before everyone else arrived. I set up one extra row of chairs hoping that we would need them. R, his mother, and his younger brother and sister came at 9:30. President and Sister Smith came shortly after that so President Smith could interview R for his patriarchal blessing. The Sisters and Elders followed and then the people started to come. The attendance exceeded our expectations and there were still several active members who were out of town. There were 38 total with 12 non members. It was amazing. Elder O said he didn’t know if he was in the right building or not. There were 7 people who had never been to one of our sacrament meetings before, including E’s mother and J and C and their daughter. Plus, at the last minute E & N, the little mother and daughter, walked in. We have not seen them at church for maybe six months. Win lost it at that point and we pretty much cried the rest of the meeting. After the opening song and prayer, President Smith released me and sustained Elder S as the new Branch President. Then, President Smith confirmed E a member of the Church and gave here the gift of The Holy Ghost. Elder O and brother L administered the sacrament and Elder S and R passed it to the congregation. Following the sacrament, Sister and Elder S introduced themselves and bore their testimonies. Then, the Elders and Sisters surprised us by singing “A Child’s Prayer” accompanied by Sister S. I felt sorry for Win to have to follow the number because we were both in tears again at that point. Win got up and gave a warm and touching message about our hearts and what we feel. I talked for a few minutes about making good choices. President Smith gave some concluding remarks and then we sang “God Be with You Till We Meet Again”. My handkerchief was as wet as it could be when we finished. And then, B, our institute teacher, broke-down in tears saying the closing prayer which was very touching. There were lots of hugs and more tears, pictures taken and some gifts given to us before we could get classes started. We were surprised again at the number of people who stayed for the second hour. After church Elder S and I had just two contribution envelopes to record and then a group of the branch members gave us a Hungarian Cookbook (in English) that was very thoughtful. The ten of us missionaries then went over to the Sisters apartment and had a nice lunch. We couldn’t stop talking about the people who had come and what a banner day this was for Bekescsaba. It really was a special meeting and we were touched by the outpouring of love and kindness. I wish we could get on a plane right now and fly home but we still have a busy week ahead with family home evening tomorrow and Senior Conference in Budapest on Wednesday and Thursday. Below is a picture of part of the people at church today.
Yesterday our Mission President brought us a letter from our daughter in law Lacey with some drawings and artwork from Mason and Jaylee. Also included were the two photos below from our wedding day at the Logan Temple and our reception in Win’s parents backyard. Since we just celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary a few days ago, and have had another very memorable day today, I thought I might as well include these as part of our overall memories on this blog. Who would have thought back then that 40 years latter we would travel to a far away land together. That we would leave our children and grandchildren in the hands of the Lord and come on this amazing adventure. That our hearts would be torn by the thoughts of leaving our new friends and fellow missionaries. But as with all callings in the Church, the day comes when your are released. How thankful I am today for my sweetheart and eternal companion and for all she has done to share her love with me and the people of Szeged and Bekescsaba.
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