Sunday, October 22, 2017
The End is Coming...by Elder Birt
Well, after wondering if we should apply for a mission to Nauvoo, and after submitting an application, and filling out the paperwork, and after waiting to hear for several weeks, then waiting another five months until left on our mission, and now after serving for six months, the last week is here. We have 'one' of everything left, for we will be leaving Nauvoo next Saturday! That leaves us sad to think of the people we will leave that are amazing and spiritual giants, and so kind to us. But it also has us longing for our good family, friends, and neighbors that we will be returning to. Indeed, it is mixed emotions. We're happy and sad at the same time.
Last Sunday evening, all temple workers were invited to attend a Nauvoo Temple devotional in the assembly hall in the temple. We actually sat on the stand in the assembly hall! What a sacred, special place. We had music, and singing that sounded better than if it was at the big music halls of the country. We listened to each of the Temple presidency give talks. Each one was different from the others, and each showed the personality of the speaker. We loved every one of them. And the spirit there was amazing. The Assembly Hall is only used twice a year. When the missionaries come to Nauvoo, and when they leave Nauvoo. It's hard for an old farmer to find words to describe how we felt. Suffice it to say, it was a chance of a life time.
On Wednesday, at our monthly missionary meeting, Susan Easton Black Durrant and her husband, George, were the speakers. Both of them are retired from BYU religion department. She is one of the foremost authorities on early church history. She spoke about the events that brought the Smith family to be in the right place at the right time for Joseph to received the plates. Again, it was a treat to hear her and learn of the moves made by the Smith family to get to upstate, western New York at the time they needed to be there. The Lord can easily arrange our lives to have us where we need to be, when we need to be there.
On Monday evening, at our Family Home Evening Group, we ate chili and then listened to Elder Spencer who is here as a site missionary. He and Sister Spencer are from Eden. He recites cowboy poetry. We laughed until my sides ached. He was good!
A couple of weeks ago, we had a weenie roast down by the Mississippi on another Family Home Evening. Brother and Sister Hansen, serving from Ohio, talked to us about the Amish in their area and the conversion of a few of them to the LDS church. It was very interesting and enlightening to hear of their community. When they choose to leave the Amish, they are shunned by their community and their family. They lose their business and their workers. They lose all contact with the people they live among. Yet they chose to become Saints with the simple statement, " It's true isn't it". That's a hard situation to imagine for me.
We feel very blessed and supported by friends and family. All of our children visited us during our mission in Nauvoo. It was a real treat to have our family with us during this special time of our lives in this special place. It felt wonderful to tour the sites and visit the history of this important area of church history. It was especially great to be at the temple with them. The temple is the number one favorite experience here for us. The second top favorite experience is the visit to Carthage Jail. We went there on several occasions, and every time we felt the spirit of the place and the events that happened there. Number three on our favorite list is the ancient burial grounds, where my Great, Great Grandparent's two first born children, and four others of their family, are buried. The spirit there is powerful. We realized what trials they had to travel with the church in the early days. Fourth on the top five list of places to visit in Nauvoo, was the Red Brick store. There were so many important events that took place there, that it has to be a top place to experience. The Relief Society was organized there and the first endowment took place there, as well as many other important decisions and meetings. Even though it is owned by the Community of Christ Church now, it is still very significant. In the fifth favorite spot could be one of many places that and sites that we visited. We chose to name site of the Mississippi River crossing as number five. Simply because of the view of what was behind the Saints in those early days, and the vision of what was ahead. There are many, many other interesting places in the area of Nauvoo. We visited Quincy, Illinois, several times and went down by the river and saw the plaque there commemorating the place the Mormons crossed from Missouri to Illinois. The story of how 1200 citizens of Quincy took in 5500 starving, freezing Mormons and made a home for them for the Winter. We visited Montrose where the miracle of the quail took place. You can still see Nauvoo across the river, and the people were starving, when a flock of quail flew into the camp and they were able to catch them with their hands and ate until they were full, then were instructed to let the rest of the birds fly off. We've been told that quail are not common to this area. We shopped in Keokuk, where my gggrandfather lived and married my gggrandmother. We have driven the 34 miles, that he walked to Fort Madison, the day before his wedding, to get his marriage license. We have had the blessing of living hundreds of experiences in these few short months. Of course, as many of you know, our work at the temple five days a week, was the best experience of all. Many of the things that took place there, we cannot talk about. Many of them involved the wonderful workers that we rubbed shoulders with on a daily basis. We are blessed!
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Family Visits have ended...sad!
Our family visits have ended. We have absolutely loved sharing Nauvoo and our mission with our family. We feel extremely blessed that all five of our children and 15 of our 17 grandchildren have come to see us and to experience Nauvoo. All three of my siblings (my three awesome brothers) have also visited us. Elder Birt's brother, Ralph, Dana and Tina also came. What a joy it has been to let them have a glimpse into our missionary life. Truly one of the highlights of our mission, sharing it with our family as each one has visited. We have only a month left now. Time has passed so quickly, it's hard to believe it will be over so soon. When I think of all the experiences we have had here, it's hard to imagine all of it crammed into six short months. Especially interesting was when Cory and Paige visited, (our oldest son and his wife). They both served missions here in Nauvoo over 30 years ago so it was interesting for them to show us places they lived and served. One particular highlight was in Carthage. Cory reminded us when he served in Carthage way back then, he had the privilege of taking President and Sister Hinckley on the Carthage Jail tour. President Hinckley was then first counselor, not president. He still has the photo taken with them that day. Special experience for him and special for us to have him share that experience again right there where it occurred over 30 years ago. As he was telling us about that day and showing the photo, the site missionaries overheard and wanted to see the photo, others gathered around and enjoyed seeing the photo and asking Cory questions. One of the young sister missionaries shed tears when she looked at the photo. A great experience.
We also loved seeing our friends from the Ogden Temple, Brother and Sister Ovard. They have ties to Nauvoo and know the area well, so they taught us a thing or two. We shared lunch together and enjoyed seeing them at the temple. Great friends!
We thought things would slow down after the pageant ended, but somehow the hours and days have been filled with so many great things. During August, we enjoyed the West Point Sweet Corn Festival where they cooked huge vats of corn on the cob at the park where people could have all the corn they could eat. I was amazed that the place wasn't swarming with flies like it would have been at home, but alas, no flies. We joined right in with the crowd by eating a few cobs of yummy sweet corn. They served other food items and had a carnival with rides for families to enjoy. There is a real sense of community in all the small towns in the area. Each town seems to have their own celebration during the summer.
Later, in the town of Montrose, was a watermelon festival where they had all the watermelon you could eat. There were burgers, tacos, pie, etc and rides for the kids. It's fun to see the community celebrations, everyone having a good time.
Earlier in September, was the grape festival in Nauvoo. They also had a carnival set up at the State Park with food vendors, etc. There was musical entertainment in the evening. Again, good to see the community come together. It seems they have car shows at all these celebrations so we have seen many old cars travelling through town as they make their way to the various car shows.
Brother Dennis Brown, one of our fellow missionaries and the author of a great book, Evidences of the True Church, presented a fireside for our missionary group. We were captivated as he shared highlights from his book. Of course, I ordered the book as soon as possible and have been enjoying reading. We are serving with such amazing fellow missionaries with such deep, rich church experience. We are learning so much from rubbing shoulders with them. We are black and blue from pinching ourselves wondering why we are so blessed to be here.
Another great blessing is that we serve with our wonderful matron, Sister Irion, who is President Russell M. Nelson's daughter. President and Sister Irion presented a fireside for the temple missionaries where she talked about growing up in the Nelson household and shared some wonderful stories about her father. She told us that he is an etymologist, he loves the study of words. When he prepares talks, he spends much time using just the right word to make a particular point or emphasis. She told us how he loves to ski, even at age 93 and how his security guy, who is much younger, tells him he needs to slow down so he can keep up with him. One funny story about him is when their ninth child was born, a boy, after eight girls. The family sent out announcements saying: for unto "Russ" a son is born!
Just last week, we had the privilege of having President Durrell Nelson from the temple presidency present a fireside for the temple missionaries. He was the stake president of the Nauvoo Stake during the years from the announcement to the dedication of the temple and worked very closely with city and church officials coordinating this huge undertaking. He shared some fascinating stories. He said, yes there were miracles, but I won't share them. He wanted to keep those miracles sacred by not sharing. He recalled exactly where he was seated in the stake center where we were as we listened to him. He pointed to the very row where he sat. When President Hinckley made that surprise, unexpected announcement at that general conference, President Nelson said the congregation there in the stake center cheered. We have talked to many of the locals who said they wept when the announcement was made. After the announcement, things began to happen, many meetings were held with city & church officials to acquire the building permit. President Hinckley made several visits to Nauvoo during the process. When construction began, President Nelson said for four months the sound of the pilings being pounded into the ground could be heard all over the city. When the four cornerstones were laid, President Durrell Nelson spoke at the NW cornerstone. He recalled, as the masons worked with the mortar, they could be heard singing How Firm A Foundation.They sang as they passed through the city with loads of mortar, people around would join in the singing. An interesting story about the open house...they served pink Lofthouse cookies to all who came. President Nelson chuckled as he told how for weeks after, they served leftover pink cookies at every event in town; scouts, PTA, etc. At the dedication, President Hinckley gave all the dedicatory prayers at all sessions. Afterward he said he didn't know if he would ever make it back to Nauvoo. He also said he hoped when he met Joseph, he would take his hand and say, well done, you did a great job. President Hinckley never returned to Nauvoo.
The experiences we are having in this beautiful, sacred place will change us forever. We are so grateful to serve in the sacred, historic Nauvoo temple. The experiences we are having there are very dear to us. I will end by telling about Joseph and Mary looking frantically for twelve year old Jesus when he was lost. They searched for Him for three days, finally finding Him in the temple. If you want to find Jesus...go to the temple. Enjoy conference!
We also loved seeing our friends from the Ogden Temple, Brother and Sister Ovard. They have ties to Nauvoo and know the area well, so they taught us a thing or two. We shared lunch together and enjoyed seeing them at the temple. Great friends!
We thought things would slow down after the pageant ended, but somehow the hours and days have been filled with so many great things. During August, we enjoyed the West Point Sweet Corn Festival where they cooked huge vats of corn on the cob at the park where people could have all the corn they could eat. I was amazed that the place wasn't swarming with flies like it would have been at home, but alas, no flies. We joined right in with the crowd by eating a few cobs of yummy sweet corn. They served other food items and had a carnival with rides for families to enjoy. There is a real sense of community in all the small towns in the area. Each town seems to have their own celebration during the summer.
Later, in the town of Montrose, was a watermelon festival where they had all the watermelon you could eat. There were burgers, tacos, pie, etc and rides for the kids. It's fun to see the community celebrations, everyone having a good time.
Earlier in September, was the grape festival in Nauvoo. They also had a carnival set up at the State Park with food vendors, etc. There was musical entertainment in the evening. Again, good to see the community come together. It seems they have car shows at all these celebrations so we have seen many old cars travelling through town as they make their way to the various car shows.
Brother Dennis Brown, one of our fellow missionaries and the author of a great book, Evidences of the True Church, presented a fireside for our missionary group. We were captivated as he shared highlights from his book. Of course, I ordered the book as soon as possible and have been enjoying reading. We are serving with such amazing fellow missionaries with such deep, rich church experience. We are learning so much from rubbing shoulders with them. We are black and blue from pinching ourselves wondering why we are so blessed to be here.
Another great blessing is that we serve with our wonderful matron, Sister Irion, who is President Russell M. Nelson's daughter. President and Sister Irion presented a fireside for the temple missionaries where she talked about growing up in the Nelson household and shared some wonderful stories about her father. She told us that he is an etymologist, he loves the study of words. When he prepares talks, he spends much time using just the right word to make a particular point or emphasis. She told us how he loves to ski, even at age 93 and how his security guy, who is much younger, tells him he needs to slow down so he can keep up with him. One funny story about him is when their ninth child was born, a boy, after eight girls. The family sent out announcements saying: for unto "Russ" a son is born!
Just last week, we had the privilege of having President Durrell Nelson from the temple presidency present a fireside for the temple missionaries. He was the stake president of the Nauvoo Stake during the years from the announcement to the dedication of the temple and worked very closely with city and church officials coordinating this huge undertaking. He shared some fascinating stories. He said, yes there were miracles, but I won't share them. He wanted to keep those miracles sacred by not sharing. He recalled exactly where he was seated in the stake center where we were as we listened to him. He pointed to the very row where he sat. When President Hinckley made that surprise, unexpected announcement at that general conference, President Nelson said the congregation there in the stake center cheered. We have talked to many of the locals who said they wept when the announcement was made. After the announcement, things began to happen, many meetings were held with city & church officials to acquire the building permit. President Hinckley made several visits to Nauvoo during the process. When construction began, President Nelson said for four months the sound of the pilings being pounded into the ground could be heard all over the city. When the four cornerstones were laid, President Durrell Nelson spoke at the NW cornerstone. He recalled, as the masons worked with the mortar, they could be heard singing How Firm A Foundation.They sang as they passed through the city with loads of mortar, people around would join in the singing. An interesting story about the open house...they served pink Lofthouse cookies to all who came. President Nelson chuckled as he told how for weeks after, they served leftover pink cookies at every event in town; scouts, PTA, etc. At the dedication, President Hinckley gave all the dedicatory prayers at all sessions. Afterward he said he didn't know if he would ever make it back to Nauvoo. He also said he hoped when he met Joseph, he would take his hand and say, well done, you did a great job. President Hinckley never returned to Nauvoo.
The experiences we are having in this beautiful, sacred place will change us forever. We are so grateful to serve in the sacred, historic Nauvoo temple. The experiences we are having there are very dear to us. I will end by telling about Joseph and Mary looking frantically for twelve year old Jesus when he was lost. They searched for Him for three days, finally finding Him in the temple. If you want to find Jesus...go to the temple. Enjoy conference!
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Oh Beautiful Nauvoo!
Oh beautiful Nauvoo! How we love everything about you! Wonderful, unforgettable experiences keep coming our way. I did something I never thought I would do...I bought blackberries! I wanted to make my blackberry cobbler to share with our FHE group so I had to buy them, it was painful. I'll probably make it again. There are many occasions here to make some kind of food dish to share. We are eating lots of good food, way too much. Our Thursday evening temple shift has a monthly potluck meal during our shift, so we get to sample lots of good food there.
We visited an Amish community in Cantrill, Iowa. Beautiful country! Lots of corn and soybean fields just like we see everywhere we go. We are looking forward to seeing the harvest in the Fall. They just plant and watch it grow, no irrigating, so they really count on the rain, which we haven't had too much of this Summer. So, visiting Cantrill was fun. There is a huge store called The Dutchman where they have a little bit of everything including groceries. They even have quilts made by the Amish, so beautiful! I couldn't resist, so I bought one. The colors in it are the same colors in the temple so it reminds me of the temple. I will treasure it forever. We enjoyed shopping & looking around. Nearby was an Amish furniture store called Yoders. They have the most amazing, well built furniture. A wonderful, friendly Amish man working there told us all about it. Elder Birt and the other two missionary elders with us each bought an Amish hat, pretty funny. We had a good time. As we were getting in our car to leave, the Amish man hitched up his buggy with one horse and off he went, waving to us. It's very beautiful country out there, and lots of it, acres and acres!
Visiting the Tukuafu family was an amazing, unique experience. Brother Tukuafu is Tongan. They met and married in Hawaii, lived there for many years then ended up in Nauvoo, where both of them serve in the temple. They have 14 biological children, who are all married and on their own. They have a unique home they built on the Mississippi River. Whenever new temple missionaries arrive, the Tukuafus invite them to their home for a family home evening. Our FHE group enjoyed an evening there where they gave us a tour of their round house, sang and played musical instruments and served us refreshments. Sister Tukuafu builds harps, ukuleles, and many other instruments in her very small shop next to their home. She is very talented. The recent past general RS presidency visited her a few months ago and sent a video of Sister Tukuafu singing & playing her harp to President Monson. We took videos of her also, she told us "don't you dare send them to President Monson".They are wonderful people with strong testimonies. We sure enjoyed the time we spent with them and we enjoy serving with them in the temple on Saturdays.
One of the things we are enjoying here is doing family history work. We have found many names, which we have taken to the temple and hope to do much more while we are here. We have so many wonderful resources to help us right at our fingertips. There is a Family Search Center next door to the temple, where we have spent many hours. We are presently taking a class from a sister who lives in Nauvoo. Now if we can just remember the things we are learning.
We enjoyed a great visit from two of our kids and their families; Larry & Angela, Shaury and David and all their kids came and spent a few days with us. We had a great time showing them Nauvoo and letting them feel the wonderful Spirit that is here. It's always so fun having family visit, but it's sad when they leave us. Before we finish our mission we will have had visits from all of our kids and all but two of our 17 grandkids. Also, all of my siblings will visit (my three brothers). Elder Birt's brother Ralph & Dana are coming also.
Our time is growing short now. We are trying to take advantage of every precious minute here. We are surrounded daily with rich spiritual experiences that I don't think we could get anywhere else. We are, of course, in the temple five days a week, sometimes six. On the other days, we attend various firesides, devotionals, programs etc.
Last week in the bapistry, there was quite a bit of sand in the font for some reason. The engineer thinks something was wrong with a filter since he had never seen it before. We had a family with two young boys come to be baptized, President Irion told them they were having an authentic experience like being baptized in the Mississippi River. The boys loved it. The engineers are still working on the problem.
Oh beautiful Nauvoo! How we love you! Nauvoo means beautiful city.
We visited an Amish community in Cantrill, Iowa. Beautiful country! Lots of corn and soybean fields just like we see everywhere we go. We are looking forward to seeing the harvest in the Fall. They just plant and watch it grow, no irrigating, so they really count on the rain, which we haven't had too much of this Summer. So, visiting Cantrill was fun. There is a huge store called The Dutchman where they have a little bit of everything including groceries. They even have quilts made by the Amish, so beautiful! I couldn't resist, so I bought one. The colors in it are the same colors in the temple so it reminds me of the temple. I will treasure it forever. We enjoyed shopping & looking around. Nearby was an Amish furniture store called Yoders. They have the most amazing, well built furniture. A wonderful, friendly Amish man working there told us all about it. Elder Birt and the other two missionary elders with us each bought an Amish hat, pretty funny. We had a good time. As we were getting in our car to leave, the Amish man hitched up his buggy with one horse and off he went, waving to us. It's very beautiful country out there, and lots of it, acres and acres!
Visiting the Tukuafu family was an amazing, unique experience. Brother Tukuafu is Tongan. They met and married in Hawaii, lived there for many years then ended up in Nauvoo, where both of them serve in the temple. They have 14 biological children, who are all married and on their own. They have a unique home they built on the Mississippi River. Whenever new temple missionaries arrive, the Tukuafus invite them to their home for a family home evening. Our FHE group enjoyed an evening there where they gave us a tour of their round house, sang and played musical instruments and served us refreshments. Sister Tukuafu builds harps, ukuleles, and many other instruments in her very small shop next to their home. She is very talented. The recent past general RS presidency visited her a few months ago and sent a video of Sister Tukuafu singing & playing her harp to President Monson. We took videos of her also, she told us "don't you dare send them to President Monson".They are wonderful people with strong testimonies. We sure enjoyed the time we spent with them and we enjoy serving with them in the temple on Saturdays.
One of the things we are enjoying here is doing family history work. We have found many names, which we have taken to the temple and hope to do much more while we are here. We have so many wonderful resources to help us right at our fingertips. There is a Family Search Center next door to the temple, where we have spent many hours. We are presently taking a class from a sister who lives in Nauvoo. Now if we can just remember the things we are learning.
We enjoyed a great visit from two of our kids and their families; Larry & Angela, Shaury and David and all their kids came and spent a few days with us. We had a great time showing them Nauvoo and letting them feel the wonderful Spirit that is here. It's always so fun having family visit, but it's sad when they leave us. Before we finish our mission we will have had visits from all of our kids and all but two of our 17 grandkids. Also, all of my siblings will visit (my three brothers). Elder Birt's brother Ralph & Dana are coming also.
Our time is growing short now. We are trying to take advantage of every precious minute here. We are surrounded daily with rich spiritual experiences that I don't think we could get anywhere else. We are, of course, in the temple five days a week, sometimes six. On the other days, we attend various firesides, devotionals, programs etc.
Last week in the bapistry, there was quite a bit of sand in the font for some reason. The engineer thinks something was wrong with a filter since he had never seen it before. We had a family with two young boys come to be baptized, President Irion told them they were having an authentic experience like being baptized in the Mississippi River. The boys loved it. The engineers are still working on the problem.
Oh beautiful Nauvoo! How we love you! Nauvoo means beautiful city.
Sunday, August 6, 2017
Halfway...no way!
Pageant season has ended. We enjoyed the last performance Saturday night. What an inspiring story. So glad we were able to attend several times. We will miss the pageant and all that goes with it. The young performing missionaries, bagpipers and the band. They are very talented performers that seem to have a non-stop schedule. Elder Birt has especially loved hearing the trumpeter, since he played a little trumpet back in the day. He got a chance to talk to him and learn a little about him. These young performers have certainly been entertaining to watch in the pageant and all the little vignettes & shows they do. We will really miss them. We have loved seeing them in the temple. The temple missionaries all wanted to do something to thank them for their service so we put together some gift bags for them. They were very appreciative. We have sure benefitted from their service. We love them! We just learned from President Irion, temple president, that our group of temple missionaries is going to cook & serve breakfast to the YPM's on August 15 before they leave for home. What a privilege to serve them. They have certainly served valiantly here in Nauvoo all summer.
During pageant many people gather in Nauvoo. We got to see Sister Geilman who serves in the Ogden Temple with us. She has been helping with the pageant for years. We had some special experiences with her. Also, we saw Elder Spencer (Brenda Stanger Spencer's son) who is serving his mission in the area.
Our daughter Wendy and her family came to visit. We had a great time with them. It's always so fun to have family visit. Next week my brother, Clayton & Debbie will come then our daughter, Shaury & son Larry and their families will spend a few days with us. In Sept. our son Cory & Paige are coming. Our daughter Becky & her family came in June. So during the time we are here all of our kids and most of our grandchildren will visit & my three brothers. Having family be able to enjoy & participate in the blessings of the beautiful Nauvoo temple is a joy beyond measure. I consider that one of the greatest blessings of our mission, having family share it with us.
The weather in Nauvoo has been great. We expected a hot, humid summer, but have only had 3 or 4 really humid days and not much rain. It's been quite pleasant. The corn & soybeans have suffered a little with the lack of rain. It's been nice enough for the flower beds around the flats to flourish. So many beautiful flowers. I especially enjoy watching the gardens at the Lyon Drug historical site near us, so beautiful. All the gardens and flower beds in the area are kept as nicely as the temple grounds.
One of the special things we especially enjoyed this last week is the King Follett Sermon. The brother who portrays Joseph in the pageant "performed" the sermon. We sat on log benches in a beautiful grove of trees with a small group of people and listened as "Joseph" gave the sermon. It was as if we were taken back in time to that event at Joseph's friend, King Follett's funeral, where he gave that wonderful sermon on the plan of salvation. What an amazing experience. It was definitely a highlight of our mission.
We are enjoying our service in the baptistry where very large youth groups come nearly everyday. They are doing youth conferences, EFY or YM/YW groups and of course, we always have families coming with their own family file names. Brother Birt asked one of the stake presidents with his youth group from Texas how they could afford to bring such large groups. His answer was, "we can't afford not to" because of the positive effect it has on the youth. They will have 30 youth each hour for half the day. The youth of the church are doing amazing things! Examples to all of us.
Some of the sisters have put together a small group of quilters, so of course I had to join them. We are each making a small quilt. I didn't bring my sewing machine so I bought a simple one at Joann's. Now if I can just find time to do the sewing. It's fun to meet with others that share the same interest. We have our small groups for meals, FHE, etc. We share recipes. I have made blackberry cobbler & shared the recipe. It's been pretty painful buying blackberries though! Each missionary couple got to buy one of the rag rugs they demonstrate at the Family Activity Center. So many wonderful opportunities here.
We are so blessed to serve here and feel so much love for our family at home who are all helping to take care of Big Foot Farm while we're gone. We couldn't serve this mission without their help & support. We appreciate you all so much. We miss you all!
During pageant many people gather in Nauvoo. We got to see Sister Geilman who serves in the Ogden Temple with us. She has been helping with the pageant for years. We had some special experiences with her. Also, we saw Elder Spencer (Brenda Stanger Spencer's son) who is serving his mission in the area.
Our daughter Wendy and her family came to visit. We had a great time with them. It's always so fun to have family visit. Next week my brother, Clayton & Debbie will come then our daughter, Shaury & son Larry and their families will spend a few days with us. In Sept. our son Cory & Paige are coming. Our daughter Becky & her family came in June. So during the time we are here all of our kids and most of our grandchildren will visit & my three brothers. Having family be able to enjoy & participate in the blessings of the beautiful Nauvoo temple is a joy beyond measure. I consider that one of the greatest blessings of our mission, having family share it with us.
The weather in Nauvoo has been great. We expected a hot, humid summer, but have only had 3 or 4 really humid days and not much rain. It's been quite pleasant. The corn & soybeans have suffered a little with the lack of rain. It's been nice enough for the flower beds around the flats to flourish. So many beautiful flowers. I especially enjoy watching the gardens at the Lyon Drug historical site near us, so beautiful. All the gardens and flower beds in the area are kept as nicely as the temple grounds.
One of the special things we especially enjoyed this last week is the King Follett Sermon. The brother who portrays Joseph in the pageant "performed" the sermon. We sat on log benches in a beautiful grove of trees with a small group of people and listened as "Joseph" gave the sermon. It was as if we were taken back in time to that event at Joseph's friend, King Follett's funeral, where he gave that wonderful sermon on the plan of salvation. What an amazing experience. It was definitely a highlight of our mission.
We are enjoying our service in the baptistry where very large youth groups come nearly everyday. They are doing youth conferences, EFY or YM/YW groups and of course, we always have families coming with their own family file names. Brother Birt asked one of the stake presidents with his youth group from Texas how they could afford to bring such large groups. His answer was, "we can't afford not to" because of the positive effect it has on the youth. They will have 30 youth each hour for half the day. The youth of the church are doing amazing things! Examples to all of us.
Some of the sisters have put together a small group of quilters, so of course I had to join them. We are each making a small quilt. I didn't bring my sewing machine so I bought a simple one at Joann's. Now if I can just find time to do the sewing. It's fun to meet with others that share the same interest. We have our small groups for meals, FHE, etc. We share recipes. I have made blackberry cobbler & shared the recipe. It's been pretty painful buying blackberries though! Each missionary couple got to buy one of the rag rugs they demonstrate at the Family Activity Center. So many wonderful opportunities here.
We are so blessed to serve here and feel so much love for our family at home who are all helping to take care of Big Foot Farm while we're gone. We couldn't serve this mission without their help & support. We appreciate you all so much. We miss you all!
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Nauvoo Time...Fast Time
Nauvoo time must be faster than normal time because time is passing so quickly here. So much to experience here and seemingly little time to do it all, but we are sure trying. Of course our happiest time is when we are serving in the beautiful, unique temple.
Pageant is in full swing bringing many visitors to our quiet, little Nauvoo. We can easily walk to pageant just a block from our apartment. In recent years, they added the British pageant two nights a week, which tells the story of the British saints who were prepared to accept the gospel when missionaries were sent to them. It was unprecedented that eight of the 12 apostles were sent to one place to preach the gospel. Many people were baptized then sailed to America, leaving their homeland to come here to help build up Zion. I especially love the line in the pageant that says, "when you're here, we're here", meaning those saints on the other side of the veil are here with all of us in Nauvoo. It's so true, we feel their presence daily.
We were sure surprised a while ago when a young couple came to the temple from Iowa and her last name was Birt! We talked with her and discovered that she was a convert of just two years and was from Iowa, the only one in her family who has joined the church. She married a man also from Iowa. We couldn't figure out a family connection, but there must be one somewhere. We just don't see that spelling of our name very often.
We witnessed the sealing of a beautiful little family with three young children. We spent an hour with them as they prepared to be sealed together as an eternal family. With tears in the eyes of all present, they were sealed together. I will always remember the little daughter looking at her mother with tears of joy in her eyes. What a blessing for this family. They were so happy. We walked them to the doors of the temple and watched them leave. I am so grateful for temples to bring families together eternally.
Elder Birt was so excited to find a farmer's market! In Ft. Madison, just 15 min. away. It was a very small market but very fun to see some fresh produce. There was about 8-10 vendors. One of our favorites was the Amish family selling baked goods. They have what they call fry pie and oh, are they yummy! It's kind of a deep fried, fruit filled tart then glazed like a donut. We saw a young French mother with her small daughter selling French pastries. She told us about another market on Tuesdays in Montrose, across the river, so we checked that one out the next week. It's a little bigger with live music and they serve dinner. We will probably be regular customers.
We were happy to have some visitors again, Kendall, Lindsey and Nate came and spent a couple days with us. We loved having them visit. We visited some of the sites and enjoyed the pageant. We took them to Keokuk where they have the locks on the river to allow the huge barges to go past the dam. The barges enter the lock, the water level is lowered then the gate opens and the barge goes out into the level of the river. It's pretty cool watching the process. Also, on the bridge where we watch, there is a fence & gate where couples put a regular padlock on the fence and throw away the key showing they have "locked" their love.
Some temple missionaries told us about a house for visitors to rent on River Road. We took a drive to see it. We met the owner, a great guy who is a Viet Nam vet who just started renting this house. He gave us a tour, it's a great house for a great price with a beautiful view of the river. We loved hearing his stories and enjoyed his garden produce he shared with us. He has a huge collection of "geodes", rock formations with sparkling crystals inside...google it (I had to). Lots of places around here have geodes. They are kinda fun to see.
Nauvoo has a spirit all it's own. We are hoping all of our family will be able to come and experience it. President Hinckley has said he would mortgage the farm to have his family be able to go to Nauvoo. We are having experiences on this mission that are very unique and are on a spiritual level we wouldn't otherwise have. We not only get to be in that beautiful, historic temple five days a week, but they have many firesides, programs, performances, etc just for the temple missionaries. We are immersed in the spirit of this place, which is sometimes overwhelming. We don't want to miss any of it. We are serving with some of the finest people you could find. We feel a real connection to some of the friends we have met and are enjoying spending time with them. We daily wonder how we are so blessed to be able to be serving this great mission in such a special, historic place.
On a lighter note...we are becoming regular Walmart shoppers!!! It's about the only place nearby (Keokuk) to get groceries, etc. Also, as if we weren't getting enough exercise, we joined the local gym. It's kind of nice to go there and get in a little workout. There are so many stairs in the temple, you wouldn't think we needed any more working out, but we like it, so we'll go 2 or 3 times a week. Other missionaries are enjoying it too.
Oh! We got to experience a tornado warning! It rained, thunder, lightning like we have never seen before. The thunder & lightning was literally nonstop with no breaks. They broke into the regular TV shows to give updates and tell us to get to safety in the center of house or basement. The warning sirens were sounding. It was a little frightening since we have never experienced a tornado. It continued throughout the evening and into the night, but all was well by morning. It happened on the first night of pageant, so they delayed for half hour then did a shortened version so visitors could see it.
Nauvoo is beautiful, we are enjoying every minute here, trying to soak it all in so we can remember all of it when we leave here.
Pageant is in full swing bringing many visitors to our quiet, little Nauvoo. We can easily walk to pageant just a block from our apartment. In recent years, they added the British pageant two nights a week, which tells the story of the British saints who were prepared to accept the gospel when missionaries were sent to them. It was unprecedented that eight of the 12 apostles were sent to one place to preach the gospel. Many people were baptized then sailed to America, leaving their homeland to come here to help build up Zion. I especially love the line in the pageant that says, "when you're here, we're here", meaning those saints on the other side of the veil are here with all of us in Nauvoo. It's so true, we feel their presence daily.
We were sure surprised a while ago when a young couple came to the temple from Iowa and her last name was Birt! We talked with her and discovered that she was a convert of just two years and was from Iowa, the only one in her family who has joined the church. She married a man also from Iowa. We couldn't figure out a family connection, but there must be one somewhere. We just don't see that spelling of our name very often.
We witnessed the sealing of a beautiful little family with three young children. We spent an hour with them as they prepared to be sealed together as an eternal family. With tears in the eyes of all present, they were sealed together. I will always remember the little daughter looking at her mother with tears of joy in her eyes. What a blessing for this family. They were so happy. We walked them to the doors of the temple and watched them leave. I am so grateful for temples to bring families together eternally.
Elder Birt was so excited to find a farmer's market! In Ft. Madison, just 15 min. away. It was a very small market but very fun to see some fresh produce. There was about 8-10 vendors. One of our favorites was the Amish family selling baked goods. They have what they call fry pie and oh, are they yummy! It's kind of a deep fried, fruit filled tart then glazed like a donut. We saw a young French mother with her small daughter selling French pastries. She told us about another market on Tuesdays in Montrose, across the river, so we checked that one out the next week. It's a little bigger with live music and they serve dinner. We will probably be regular customers.
We were happy to have some visitors again, Kendall, Lindsey and Nate came and spent a couple days with us. We loved having them visit. We visited some of the sites and enjoyed the pageant. We took them to Keokuk where they have the locks on the river to allow the huge barges to go past the dam. The barges enter the lock, the water level is lowered then the gate opens and the barge goes out into the level of the river. It's pretty cool watching the process. Also, on the bridge where we watch, there is a fence & gate where couples put a regular padlock on the fence and throw away the key showing they have "locked" their love.
Some temple missionaries told us about a house for visitors to rent on River Road. We took a drive to see it. We met the owner, a great guy who is a Viet Nam vet who just started renting this house. He gave us a tour, it's a great house for a great price with a beautiful view of the river. We loved hearing his stories and enjoyed his garden produce he shared with us. He has a huge collection of "geodes", rock formations with sparkling crystals inside...google it (I had to). Lots of places around here have geodes. They are kinda fun to see.
Nauvoo has a spirit all it's own. We are hoping all of our family will be able to come and experience it. President Hinckley has said he would mortgage the farm to have his family be able to go to Nauvoo. We are having experiences on this mission that are very unique and are on a spiritual level we wouldn't otherwise have. We not only get to be in that beautiful, historic temple five days a week, but they have many firesides, programs, performances, etc just for the temple missionaries. We are immersed in the spirit of this place, which is sometimes overwhelming. We don't want to miss any of it. We are serving with some of the finest people you could find. We feel a real connection to some of the friends we have met and are enjoying spending time with them. We daily wonder how we are so blessed to be able to be serving this great mission in such a special, historic place.
On a lighter note...we are becoming regular Walmart shoppers!!! It's about the only place nearby (Keokuk) to get groceries, etc. Also, as if we weren't getting enough exercise, we joined the local gym. It's kind of nice to go there and get in a little workout. There are so many stairs in the temple, you wouldn't think we needed any more working out, but we like it, so we'll go 2 or 3 times a week. Other missionaries are enjoying it too.
Oh! We got to experience a tornado warning! It rained, thunder, lightning like we have never seen before. The thunder & lightning was literally nonstop with no breaks. They broke into the regular TV shows to give updates and tell us to get to safety in the center of house or basement. The warning sirens were sounding. It was a little frightening since we have never experienced a tornado. It continued throughout the evening and into the night, but all was well by morning. It happened on the first night of pageant, so they delayed for half hour then did a shortened version so visitors could see it.
Nauvoo is beautiful, we are enjoying every minute here, trying to soak it all in so we can remember all of it when we leave here.
Sunday, July 2, 2017
Singing???
Temple service is where we spend the majority of our time here, but there are many other things going on here that we can enjoy if we choose. I'm still keeping an eye on the lilypads as they continue to grow and spread out into the river. I also love those little fireflies and I'm determined to get a good video of them.
On June 27th, the anniversary of the martrydom of Joseph and Hyrum, we attended a nice commemoration of that event in Carthage. The YPMs sang & the band played. A soloist sang " A Poor Wayfaring Man" against the backdrop of Carthage Jail. It was very moving and thought provoking.
We were told before we accepted this mission call that we would not have to sing and dance. Well, they were 50% right. Alas, we attended a "singing" practice for all missionaries. The pageant director gave us a little pep talk about what a great experience this would be. Oh, and bring your kleenex and bug spray! We sat up and listened to the director since he is the director of all the church pageants, general conference, etc. Well the practice was pretty amazing so I can only imagine what the actual performance will be. There are two pageants that alternate every other night during pageant season. One is the British Pageant which tells the story of the British saints who were prepared in their homeland to accept the gospel. At the end of the pageant, ALL missionaries; temple missionaries, site missionaries, YPMs, etc. come onto the stage at the finale, from the audience, singing Called To Serve & a couple other songs. There will be a sound track playing behind us so I don't think you will be able to pick out our voices, however good or bad we sing. We are actually pretty excited. So, whenever we are in the audience, we will join in the finale onstage. So, I guess we will be singing on our mission after all!
Last night the community band played a concert on the grounds West of the temple. Afterwards, the city of Montrose, across the river, did fireworks that we watched at the end of the band concert. It was just like the concert and fireworks at WSU (friends in Ogden) only a much smaller crowd, but still wonderful. And, we have fireflies here that add to the show!
Last week we attended a special missionary mtg where Robert Wright spoke. He is the author of Testament in Stone. His book tells about the symbols on the outside of the temple. Very interesting and informative. There are many symbols on the exterior so it was so interesting to hear him talk about them. The temple is so beautiful, inside and out.
Again, we feel so blessed to be serving here at this time. We are surrounded by such deep church history. We also feel we are walking in the footsteps of some ancestors who lived here. We have spent time at the Family History Center and researched family names, with the help of the great missionaries there. We have had many amazing, faith building experiences. It's hard to believe we have been here two months now. That means our mission is 1/3 over! Nauvoo is a beautiful place with a spirit all it's own.
On June 27th, the anniversary of the martrydom of Joseph and Hyrum, we attended a nice commemoration of that event in Carthage. The YPMs sang & the band played. A soloist sang " A Poor Wayfaring Man" against the backdrop of Carthage Jail. It was very moving and thought provoking.
We were told before we accepted this mission call that we would not have to sing and dance. Well, they were 50% right. Alas, we attended a "singing" practice for all missionaries. The pageant director gave us a little pep talk about what a great experience this would be. Oh, and bring your kleenex and bug spray! We sat up and listened to the director since he is the director of all the church pageants, general conference, etc. Well the practice was pretty amazing so I can only imagine what the actual performance will be. There are two pageants that alternate every other night during pageant season. One is the British Pageant which tells the story of the British saints who were prepared in their homeland to accept the gospel. At the end of the pageant, ALL missionaries; temple missionaries, site missionaries, YPMs, etc. come onto the stage at the finale, from the audience, singing Called To Serve & a couple other songs. There will be a sound track playing behind us so I don't think you will be able to pick out our voices, however good or bad we sing. We are actually pretty excited. So, whenever we are in the audience, we will join in the finale onstage. So, I guess we will be singing on our mission after all!
Last night the community band played a concert on the grounds West of the temple. Afterwards, the city of Montrose, across the river, did fireworks that we watched at the end of the band concert. It was just like the concert and fireworks at WSU (friends in Ogden) only a much smaller crowd, but still wonderful. And, we have fireflies here that add to the show!
Last week we attended a special missionary mtg where Robert Wright spoke. He is the author of Testament in Stone. His book tells about the symbols on the outside of the temple. Very interesting and informative. There are many symbols on the exterior so it was so interesting to hear him talk about them. The temple is so beautiful, inside and out.
Again, we feel so blessed to be serving here at this time. We are surrounded by such deep church history. We also feel we are walking in the footsteps of some ancestors who lived here. We have spent time at the Family History Center and researched family names, with the help of the great missionaries there. We have had many amazing, faith building experiences. It's hard to believe we have been here two months now. That means our mission is 1/3 over! Nauvoo is a beautiful place with a spirit all it's own.
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Lily Pads, Mark Twain, Liz Lemon Swindle
Nauvoo continues to be amazing. We are watching more visitors come to the area. The temple baptistry continues to get busier with groups of youth coming from all over. We had a group of 150 come from Oklahoma. They were having this trip for their youth conference. The whole stake presidency accompanied them and some of the bishops. We visited with the stake president about how they plan for such a trip. They do local youth conferences for 3 years then every fourth year they take the youth to Nauvoo and to the temple. They were very prepared and had a great experience. We were thrilled to be a part of it.
One of the fun things to watch here are the lily pads growing in the river. They get bigger every day and in some areas they go nearly half way across the river. They tell us that soon they will bloom with a big yellow flower. We also see many turtles near the edge of the river sunning themselves on logs. The fireflies have also made an appearance. I am determined to get a video of them. Elder Birt laughs at me outside at night with my phone taking videos of fireflies.
We enjoyed a great trip to Hannibal, Missouri on our Pday. Saw Mark Twain's boyhood home, Becky Thatcher's home and all things Mark Twain. Took a boat ride down the Mississippi on the "Mark Twain ". Saw the island Tom & Huck spent time on. We enjoyed ice cream at Becky Thatcher's Ice Cream Parlour. A fun day spent with great missionary friends.
Tonight we just returned from a fireside for all the Nauvoo Missionaries with Liz Lemon Swindle showcasing some of her artwork of Joseph. She spoke about her journey with her art. Very powerful speech. She talked of how Nauvoo has a feeling that she has only felt one other place, Jerusalem. We were certainly fed spiritually. There are so many good things happening here, it's a little overwhelming at times to take it all in. We feel so blessed and humbled to be here.
Another great week in Nauvoo!
One of the fun things to watch here are the lily pads growing in the river. They get bigger every day and in some areas they go nearly half way across the river. They tell us that soon they will bloom with a big yellow flower. We also see many turtles near the edge of the river sunning themselves on logs. The fireflies have also made an appearance. I am determined to get a video of them. Elder Birt laughs at me outside at night with my phone taking videos of fireflies.
We enjoyed a great trip to Hannibal, Missouri on our Pday. Saw Mark Twain's boyhood home, Becky Thatcher's home and all things Mark Twain. Took a boat ride down the Mississippi on the "Mark Twain ". Saw the island Tom & Huck spent time on. We enjoyed ice cream at Becky Thatcher's Ice Cream Parlour. A fun day spent with great missionary friends.
Tonight we just returned from a fireside for all the Nauvoo Missionaries with Liz Lemon Swindle showcasing some of her artwork of Joseph. She spoke about her journey with her art. Very powerful speech. She talked of how Nauvoo has a feeling that she has only felt one other place, Jerusalem. We were certainly fed spiritually. There are so many good things happening here, it's a little overwhelming at times to take it all in. We feel so blessed and humbled to be here.
Another great week in Nauvoo!
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