Nauvoo - the city beautiful!

 

October 25, 2020

Hello dear friends and family!

This week flew by! Monday we had free so we decided to take our walk down to the Historic District aka the flats. It was chilly but was so nice to walk the streets that our ancestors walked. We walked past the pageant stage and it looked so lonely, as does the whole town.  The fall colors are beautiful! Since the sites are still closed, we weren't able to go into any of them but we did end up at the  Smith Family Cemetery where Joseph, Emma and Hyrum are buried. It is such a sacred place and the spirit there is so peaceful and strong. I am looking forward to learning more about them  and strengthening my testimony of them while we serve here.

Tuesday we met with the mission presidency and then Wednesday we met with the FM directors, Jordan and Trish. They are so nice and we are excited to serve with them. We are amazed at the FM Complex here. It has everything you need to keep Nauvoo and Carthage running - greenhouses, HVAC, Cabinetry, Auto Mechanic, warehouses that are like a mini Home Depot, etc. It's pretty impressive. We worked Thursday and Friday with the mechanic and helped clear out the garages to store the big machines in during the winter. Doug had a lot of fun driving them!

We find out Monday where we will be assigned "permanently" while we are here. 

We had a fun experience Friday night. They had a movie for the missionaries in the Visitor Center theater and it was a showing of The Nauvoo Pageant! We were excited to see it and then were even more excited when we realized it was one of the casts that we were in! It was so fun to watch - we set on the back row so we could sing and dance! So, of course, after the show was over we had to visit Annie's! For those who don't know, Annie's is the place to get amazing custard here in Nauvoo. During pageant time, Annie's is packed after each show. It was strange being about the only ones there.

I almost forgot to mention that Doug and I were asked if we'd be willing to do tours at the historic sites. We are excited to learn about the sites. It'll be a little bit before we do the tours but we look forward to doing them. The mission has seen a lot of miracles during the pandemic. They started doing Zoom tours of the sites and have had people from all over the world participate in them. There have been many who are so excited to watch the live tours because they'll never be able to make it to Nauvoo. If you want to watch any, go to nauvootours.as.me and sign up. It's a great way to see Nauvoo until you can come in person.

Love you all!

Sister Burns 

--

If you've ever been to the Pageant, you'll recognize this!  

And this...

And the stage in the background.  It all looks so lonely.

The corn is as high as an elephant's eye... (Name that musical!)

 

Nauvoo is so pretty in the fall!

I did not like this weather forecast at all!

Where do I begin?

 October 18, 2020

Hello dear friends and family!

After months of waiting, we are finally here in  Nauvoo! It really felt like we were coming home again when we arrived! We have such a love for Nauvoo and for our ancestors who lived in this beautiful city! As we pulled into the city, I asked Doug - Elder Burns - to drive by the temple before we headed to our new home for the next 18 months. It was just as beautiful and majestic as I remember it being. As we slowly drove by it, I was reminded again of my love for all of the beautiful temples and of the sacred covenants and promises that I have made in them. I was also reminded of how much I have missed being able to attend the temple since they closed for Covid.

Leaving our family was hard! Those last hugs, for the time being, are treasured! I'm grateful for modern technology that allows me to see them often and to be able to watch my grandchildren grow and change. We left 10 grandchildren, including a brand new granddaughter! Our family is our greatest treasure and blessing! 

Upon arriving at our new home, we started unloading and were soon joined by two other Sr. Missionary couples that helped us finish unloading. We had dinner brought into us that day from our District Leaders, Elder and Sister Dixon, and have had many treats brought to us from other Sr. couples here in the mission.  

Here's a brief recap of our week:

Sunday - we were able to attend Sacrament Meeting with the other Sr. Missionaries and that was wonderful. We were able to meet a lot of them and can I say, I'm so thankful for missionary badges! It's wonderful to know their names just by looking at the badge! It might take a bit before I can match the names to the faces since the faces were covered with masks. Haha

Monday was the first day of our virtual MTC (Missionary Training Center). I won't go into all the details, but it was a wonderful experience for us!  Monday evening we gathered with the other Sr. Missionaries around the campfire, roasted hot dogs, sang songs and had a lot of fun. I was able to see a beautiful sunset over the Mississippi River. Heavenly Father sure has created a lot of beautiful places for us!

Monday I was also able to visit the dress shop and pick out my Nauvoo dress fabric. I'm excited for it to be made!

Tuesday through Friday were pretty much the same - MTC training.  Thursday evening we had a call with all of our family on it and it was wonderful! I love technology!

Saturday we joined with the other SM for lunch in Kalona, IA at a small Amish place.

We were well fed and again able to get acquainted with more of the SM. We also were able to do a Costco run, since it was nearby.

Elder Burns and I have been able to walk or ride bikes almost daily and love seeing new sites around the city.

We are so thankful that we are able to serve our Heavenly Father as missionaries and are praying that this beautiful city of Nauvoo will be able to open up again to visitors for live tours, that the pageants will be able to return this summer, along with the YPMs (Young Performing Missionaries) and Brass Band. In the meantime, you can go to nauvootours.as.me and sign up to see live virtual tours of the many sites here. 

Love you all! I pray that you'll all have a great week and that you will draw closer to our Savior.

Sister Burns

These notes and dinner were waiting for us when we arrived at our new home! 

 

Sunset over the Mississippi

Picnic, fire and songs with the other Senior FM Missionaries. This was our first time, besides Sacrament Meeting, that we met with the FM Missionaries. They are a fun group and we laughed a lot!

The fire became very colorful after some scrap copper was thrown in it!

The Nauvoo Temple in all her beautiful glory! I posted this picture on Facebook and one of my favorite comment from it was: 

He left the light burning on the front porch for you. I love this so much!!

Even though we currently can't go into the temples, I still feel of the sacredness of them and the spirit that surrounds the temple grounds. I've had so many sacred experiences in the temple and the Nauvoo Temple especially. I look forward to the day that I can return again - hurry up and end, Covid!

Enjoying a bike ride before the weather turns too cold.