Hard to believe we have been here one month already. This six month mission is going very fast. There are so many wonderful things about living in Nauvoo, but the best is of course, serving at the temple. The spirit in the Nauvoo Temple unique. Those we serve with are top notch people who come from 31 different temples and bring with them years of experience.  We feel so humble to be here and rub shoulders with these good people.  We have met Brother & Sister Perez who worked with Keith & Diane Kap in Florida.

Our son, Cory and his wife, Paige both served part of their missions in Nauvoo 30 years ago, so it has been fun to see the places  where they spent time.  Cory gave tours at what was then the "temple site" and now the beautiful temple stands.  We have  been assigned to attend a ward in Galesburg which is a 1 1/2 hour drive. Cory also served some of his mission in Galesburg, so it has been fun being there. 

During July/August when the pagent is going, the temple gets very busy. Many tourists come to the temple. Bus loads of youth come to the baptistry. The youth of the church are certainly on the right path! It's exciting to see people we know.  We were surprised to see Ryan Cook here last week. I don't think it was a mere coincidence to see him. Lots of stars had to line up for him to be in the exact spot Nolan & I just happened to be at that particular time that night in the temple. He was just passing through on his way elsewhere.

Our apartment is very near the temple in an area called "The Flats". This is where the missionaries live.  When President Hinckley announced the Nauvoo Temple would be built, he said it would be the first temple built with donations, rather than church funds. He invited all who would like to donate to do so. The temple was built with funds leftover. President Hinckley wanted to use that money for something tied to the temple so it was used to build these lovely apartments for temple missionaries. They are built to look like the houses from that time period and are surrounded by the restored homes, etc. They fit right in with the surroundings. We can walk to the "sites" from our apartment. It's just an amazing place, to live and walk where Joseph Smith and those early saints lived and walked. It's a little overwhelming at times. And they have everything we need in them and just the right size...we can clean it in 30 on our P-day!
 
Getting this blog up & going has really tested my technology skills, so I've done about all I can do for this post. If there are errors, just ignore them please. Hopefully I'll get better at it. Just want you to know how we love our mission. We are very busy, lots of things to see and do outside the temple. We have FHE group, break the fast dinner group, P-day group, flower planting group, baptistry group, touring group, ward assignment group!!!  We love it all.

The experiences we are having have strengthened my testimony. I have learned much more of Joseph Smith. I know he saw and talked with God and Jesus Christ. I know he was taught and prepared by God. I know he restored the gospel to the earth. He endured so much and still did not deny what he heard and saw. I am so grateful for him. President Irion, our Nauvoo Temple President, has a quote on his desk that reads: "If you have a question about Joseph Smith seeing God and Jesus Christ...ask God, He was there."

Love from Beautiful Nauvoo


 

Finally our first post!

Well, I finally figured out how to set up this blog. We have been here for three wonderful busy weeks. Driving into Nauvoo was smazing as we drove around the bend, up the hill and right before us the beautiful Nauvoo temple came into view. It was breathtaking! I don't have the words to describe my feelings as I thought of those saints who sacrificed so much. And now, even after three weeks, I feel the same every time we see the temple.

 We live in a lovely apartment on what is called the "Flats", just down the hill from the temple. They are apartments built when the temple was built for the temple missionaries to live in. They are mingled in with the historic sites. It's great, we can walk around the neighborhood and visit the sites.

We serve in the temple five days a week. Our P-day is Friday. On Sunday, we are assigned a ward in Galesburg to attend. We drive one and a half hours there. Serving in that beautiful, historic temple is, of course, the best part of being here. We serve with some wonderful people.

We have memorable experiences everyday. We will share some of those on this blog, but I want to make sure the blog works first. So this is kind of a test.

Until next post...