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.