Egans in Johannesburg: Farewell to Protea Glen, Soweto

On our final Sunday at the Protea Glen Branch in Soweto, after the 3-hour block when we delivered our farewell addresses

in sacrament meeting, the entire branch surprised us by staying 2 hours after the meetings for a feast in our honor, and they

gave us traditional African attire to wear - a shirt for Bob and a skirt and matching apron, and white t-shirt, for Martha.

The Phanyaphanya children wait reverently for sacrament meeting to begin

Martha interrupts her piano student Mlu for a hug during the prelude music

and then she greeted and posed with Sister Alicia Radebe, her first piano

student, who is now the branch chorister and choir director

Watching from the stand as the congregation filters in for our final sacrament meeting

Primary children are told it is Sister Egan's final Sunday and
Sister Phanyaphanya leads them in a special goodbye song,
then the children knelt in prayer and Martha passed out sweets

After Martha posed for a photo with the Primary presidency
and teachers, they asked us to remain in the Primary room
and not leave until they came back to fetch us.

Then they brought in our African outfits and asked us to put them on and join the branch in the (cultural) hall.

After we dressed in our African attire, Martha posed for a photo while everyone cheered, and joined Sister Radebe and her daughter , Sister Masego, and grandson for a 3-generation photo, with the baby on his gogo's back in traditional African style and posed with Brother and Sister Mnguni and Sister Thimane, the Relief Society President. Then the entire branch all waited for us to get our food first, before joining us for the feast. They made us feel so honored and special. We will really miss these dear friends!

They really put out a spread of food - when we were through

the line, everyone joined in

The primary kids did not want Sister Egan to leave, and these girls sang her a special song.

Below, Khwezi Moshani, the Elders Quorum President with his fiancée, who readily agreed

this week to be his wife - a cute couple!

Martha and Mlu had one last embrace, Stake RS President Sister Grace Mbobo presents a framed collage of Egan memories,

With Bob's former missionary Thulani Buthelezi and their baby.

Thulani is 2nd counselor in the Protea Glen Branch Presidency.

Below, Sister V. (right) with her daughter and granddaughter and

her daughter's husband, Brother Schubert, a deaf recent convert

Martha with Sister Lumke, a single mother and great example

of self-sufficiency and how to survive pay tithing even when

you have no income whatsoever, and, above, with YSA women

Martha with Sister Lumke's boys, who sat by us at church one last time the previous week

After the party, we were invited to the Nzimande home, with Musa, Bob's former Cape Town missionary, and his family, who are in the Glen Ridge Ward that split off from Protea Glen. They had originally planned to have us for dinner, but when they heard what the branch had planned, they changed the plan and we just visited and said our goodbyes.