the return + wedding + crazy

Awesome crazy week!  We finally left on Thursday back to Nampula.  We slept as soon as we got back to the Zone Leader's house and woke up the next morning stressing over how we would get home and how would we make this wedding that we've planning for, for two months, finally happen. We got up Friday morning, found a dress that would work perfect for Jessica, rented out a whole Chappa for us four and our bags.  So we finally got back here in good ol Nacala and the second we got here just straight craziness.  We unpacked, and started making phone calls to get this marriage organized. We had to plan a whole wedding, execute it and that proved extremely difficult.  Just a quick shout out to all those people that have a part in putting together a wedding because I put together a little, simple one here in Africa and probably the most stressful thing i've done in my life! Elvira (our first baptism we had here in Nacala and the mother of a very cool family) and Albertina (a super cool non member who loves the church and is waiting on her marriage to get baptized) was able to do the shopping for all the food that would be cooked Saturday morning. Euclides brought the DJ system and we ended our day early to make sure we got up in time for the stressful Saturday to come.

Now, Saturday-wedding day. We woke up, showed all the women that helped with the cooking where the cooking would happen, and we started decorating the chapel and the front of our house to get prepped for the wedding. With the help of the "youth" here, the decorations came out nice and everything came out clean before people started coming. At 1, we had to go with the couple and their families to the registry to officially marry the couple. We ended around 2:30, and got back to the chapel in time for everyone to be there and from 3 to 7 we had a cool party with members and non members all afternoon.  Thankfully everything went well and now Euclides and Jessica ARE MARRIED hahaha. It was a long process and at times I honestly didn't think it would happen but we made it.

Next week we will have a couple baptisms and they are definitely going to be a part of it. Their whole family will have been baptized at that point and I am beyond excited.

Besides that the sad news of the week is that our beloved friend Elder Rees was transferred to Nampula. We will getting a new elder Elder Hancock so we will see what happens there, but Elder Rees will be greatly missed.

Also all of the people are making fun of us here because we had to leave to Maputo by Presidents orders because the cyclone didn't hit here. They only had some higher winds and rains than normal, so that bites. But the work continues. 

I find myself becoming sentimental as i think of the people that I might never see again. I love the work and the opportunity to see peoples lives change because of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Sorry for the short email, and if I didn't respond to everyone its just kind of a time crunch here but i still love y'all, i promise! hahaha  Plus I'll talk to ya here in a few;)

-Elder Thornton