April 19th could not be put off any longer and it was very emotional to say goodbye as we left the Temple in Stockholm at the end of our mission.
We made the last few changes in our luggage to keep it under 50 lbs. and Pres and Sister Oscarson drove us to the Airport.
The flight to New York was long and boring and it was cloudy and we did not sit by a window. We did get lunch on our way to New York but it was only food for sale from New York to Salt Lake. I was worried about customs but it went so quickly and so smoothly that we had plenty of time to get to our connecting flight to Salt Lake.
It was a sight to behold when we came down the stairs to where the family was waiting with signs and yelling and the little grandkids running to hug us.
It was so good to see them and meet one of our new grand children, little Mia. After we gathered up our bags everyone came to our house to see our reaction to the changes at the house. We are so pleased with what they have done and we love the carpet and it is so soft to walk on. They kids worked so hard and we love them and appreciate them for everything. We handed out our gifts from Sweden and everyone seemed pleased. The grandkids have school tomorrow so they headed home to get them into bed.
About 10:15pm the doorbell rang and it was our Stake President, Charlie McQuinn. He came in and talked to us for a while and then released us from our mission. It was a feeling of emptiness but also one of thankfulness for the opportunity to serve the Lord for 18 months in the Temple in Stockholm and for all our many blessings.
The family had an open house for us on Friday, 22 April, and we enjoyed it so much. We really had a lot of friends and family come and the “goodie” table was wonderful. There were so many people that we could not talk to anyone very long and that was a little hard. Thanks again kids for working so hard on a wonderful evening of fun for us.
On Easter Sunday, 24 April, we gave our talks in church and bore our testimonies of going on a mission as a senior couple, the wonderful opportunity of serving in Stockholm, the blessings of the temple, how everything in the temple points to Christ and is our way back to live
in our Heavenly Father’s presence and what a beautiful day to contemplate all the blessings of the atonement; what Easter is all about. We had many family and friends come and the church was full, what a blessing to us.
We ate Easter dinner with most of the family and then had an Easter egg hunt for the grandkids which was fun to watch. Again thanks for the help with the food for dinner and for doing the hunt. All the decision making has made me a little up tight after not having to make any decisions for 18 months. Our days were planned and we followed the plan!
One last thanks for your love and support on our mission. Your prayers really did make a difference in our health and strength and being able to have such an awesome mission. Love you all so very much.
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