Happy Birthday Elder Mathews

Well today Robert celebrated the twentieth anniversary of his thirty-ninth birthday. I'll let you do the math. We started the day by walking to the store to get eggs. I didn't have any for the cake. Eggs are not refrigerated in the stores here because they are fresh and they don't come in cartons either. So we walked about a half mile, just veering a bit from our usual walk, but still passing the usual herd of cows that cross our path each morning. We arrived at a little store, got our plastic bag, like the kind we put produce in back home, and put in our 6 eggs. My job was to make sure they didn't break as we prodded back up the hill, over dirt paths, and cobblestone streets, all while avoiding the cow patty trail. I didn't break one. Once home we had to follow the health code here and soak the eggs in bleach water. Then I make a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. I actually found a Duncan Hines cake mix and cream cheese (first time on the cream cheese!) I waited until the assistants arrived and then brought out the cake. Holden and our Bishop (who was working on something in the office) joined the assistants as they sang and clapped a crazy rendition of the happy birthday song. Holden taped it on his Iphone and I am still waiting for it to download on my email. I hope it does so I can post it. Then we all had cake.
But after that it was business as usually. We had to get a few things paid and purchased because we understand that for the next two days Cape Verde pretty much shuts down for Carnival - we expect it to be a mix somewhere between New Orleans' Mardis Gras and Rio's Carnival. Everything will be closed and in some areas things will get a bit wild. We plan on staying close to home tomorrow.
But back to the Birthday Boy. I have learned a lot on my mission. The first thing is that I am not as tough or as smart as I once thought. Sigh. Second, I have learned what a lucky woman I am. Robert is amazing. A Bishop once compared him to Nephi in the Book of Mormon because he was large in statue and just so good. But on our mission, I have come to see him as another Book of Mormon hero. I have come to see the Ammon in him. On his mission, Ammon was first a servant to the King. The king was greatly astonished at Ammon's loyalty and his devotion. He said of him: "Surely there has not been any servant among all my servants that has been so faithful as this man; for even he doth remember all my commandments to execute them." Whatever President asks, Robert does it. He never forgets a thing and he doesn't stop till he gets it right. But even more he is constantly thinking of many other things to do that will serve President and the missionaries. It doesn't bother him that he is not in the limelight. He just loves serving. Even when he was mission president for a week and a half, he was so careful not to overstep his bounds and to keep the missionaries pointed to the their real President. When a few tough decisions had to be made, he always brought the assistants in, allowing them to discover through the Spirit what he already knew needed to be done. He gave them the recognition. Like I said, he is amazing. Here are a couple of shots of him on his special day as he does his special thing. Happy Birthday, Robert.