Burns in Nauvoo: Boo-tiful Nauvoo

October 24, 2021

This week can be summed up in two words - Boo-tiful Nauvoo! That was my main focus this week and did it pay off!!! First off, I never could have done it without all of the amazing Nauvoo Historic Sites Missionaries!!! They stepped up to the plate and hit home runs all week long! This was a fun assignment and I'm so glad that I was able to be a part of the planning and helping with it.

First - the wagon and band. Our district was volun-told that they were helping me decorate the wagon for the parade and as a district activity. Several were not able to make it for good reasons (like they were going to the temple - an excellent reason!) but E/S Mills showed up for a few minutes to help before they had to leave, then E/S Snyder came and helped. Sister Snyder had some wonderful ideas and we ended up with a pretty amazing, decorated wagon! Everyone said it's the best they have seen. In the past, they've had missionaries on it playing kazoos but we decided to upgrade this year and had an actual band on it. I asked Sister Flanders to head this up and she did great! We had Sister Flanders on her fiddle, Elders Giauque, Macfarlane, & King on guitars, Elder Burns on banjolele and Elder Munoa on harmonica. The band was a hit and they all had a lot of fun! It was fun seeing children of all ages dancing to the music. Following the wagon was Elder Williams and his whip. That was a hit also!

Second - the Chinese dragon. I asked for ten volunteers for the dragon and that's what I received. Friday, Sister Wood and I took the dragon to Pageant Headquarters to assemble it (or at least figure out how to assemble it) There was a part that we couldn't figure out so, with a prayer in my heart that the Crump's would still be doing laundry (these sweet souls were washing all of the bedding left by the YPMs), we headed to pageant laundry and they were there. Sister Crump was able to come over and help me out - she was in charge of Boo-tiful Nauvoo when she was serving as site missionaries here. It was such a tender mercy to me and let me know that Heavenly Father is in the small details of my life, even in figuring out how the dragon head and tail attach. With a quick practice Saturday morning, they were ready to go and did a great job as they serpentined down the parade route. The only thing that could have made it better would be adding smoke from the dragon's mouth and maybe music of some sort. Thoughts to pass on for next year.

Elder Darton, E/S Stockle, E/S Mills, E/S Carlson, Sister Orton, E/S Smith

Third - Kettle Corn. Lots and lots and lots of Kettle Corn! I asked E/S Brown to head this up and they did an excellent job. We started making the corn Thursday morning at 8:00 and worked until 3:30 that day. Friday morning, we started again at 8:00 and by around 10:00 we had over 3000 bags and had reached our goal! We had so many come and volunteer to help. It was great to work side-by-side with so many missionaries that I don't often get to work with. Saturday night, while I was helping get the dragon going, etc., others were setting up the kettle corn stand. I had asked for two couples to hand out the kettle corn, in 30 minute shifts. When I made it down there after the parade and after the dragon was put away, I expected to see four missionaries (really I didn't expect to see four because I know the missionaries here!) handing out kettle corn, instead I was not surprised to see probably 15-20 missionaries there, handing out the corn. Many had taken baskets of it and were walking up and down the parade route (Mulholland Street) handing it out to others. By 7:00, all 3000+ bags had been handed out, the display was taken down, the kettle loaded and we were ready to go and enjoy the festivities.

👆 Making and bagging the kettle corn

👇 Handing out the kettle corn

Fourth - pumpkin drawing, gutting and carving. Although I personally was not in charge of this aspect, we were closely involved in it. Many missionaries and community members spent hours working on over 400 pumpkins that were then lined up and down Mulholland Street and lit for our enjoyment. I learned that I don't like carving pumpkins with intricate carvings. Give me the triangle eyes, nose and a mouth with a few teeth in it - that I can do! Haha

This week was a blessing to me to be able to work so closely with so many amazing missionaries, FM employees and community members. The evening was a great success and we ended it by buying us some pecan fudge from the Fudge Factory! YUM! (Dalynne, I finally had that piece of fudge for you!) I was going to buy Annie's frozen custard but they were out of Salted Caramel by the time we made it there. Note to those who know and love Helen (the owner) - I was told Saturday that she is selling Annie's. The new owners will still sell the custard and will also expand the menu to include grab and go items like soups and sandwiches. Last night they also had pies.

In addition to all of the activities of Boo-tiful Nauvoo, we also said our goodbyes, Hurrah for Israel and sang "God Be With You Til We Meet Again" to our amazing YPMs as they were preparing to leave Nauvoo and head home. It was a sad time. They have been a wonderful addition to Nauvoo and they will be greatly missed until they return next April. When we were told that they were staying until October I thought that there would be no one here to perform for but I'm so glad that I was wrong!!! They had to do two of their last Sunday "Love of the Savior" concerts to accommodate everyone. They truly were a blessing to Nauvoo and to me personally. I will miss them!

We also said goodbye to our last group of YSMs. Now we only have the "Webb Sisters" left here. During the exodus, the Webb Brothers were asked to be among the last to leave. They owned the blacksmith/wainswright shop and were vital to the building and repairing of wagons for the exodus. We now have one companionship of YSMs here for one more month, the last of the YSMs to leave, hence, the "Webb Sisters."

Friday night, several former missionaries, including our dear friend, Maryjane, returned to Nauvoo and presented a fireside called "Nauvoo Musical Fireside". They sang original songs that told the story of Nauvoo and the Saints that lived here. It was an uplifting evening and I'm glad that we were able to go.

This week has been full of exciting times, spiritual times - our now-on-Tuesday night training with Pres. Rizley was wonderful as he discussed Adam-Ondi-Ahman with us. It makes me excited for our trip there next month. I hope to learn a lot more about it before we go there again. Pres. Rizley also told us that he's been in contact with our new mission President but can't tell us much info because it hasn't been announced yet. It will be a sad day when they leave. I love them both so much and have grown especially close to Sister Rizley as we have worked together on different projects. She actually came and pulled weeds with us! She's amazing!

You'll definitely want to check out the blog when I get it up. It'll be full of Boo-tiful Nauvoo pictures and more!

I love you all! Have a beautiful and blessed Sabbath!