December 19, 2021
Monday started off with all of the Sisters in the mission joining together for breakfast in the Family Living Center. It was so fun to join with them to celebrate our sisterhood and our dear Sister Rizley. President and Sister Rizley leave in about three weeks. I will miss them so much. Sister Rizley has become an eternal friend and I will miss her! Monday, E/S Flanders departed from here. Tomorrow we say goodbye to five more couples. I've said it before but these ones will be hard to see go. They have been our neighbors since we arrived here and we have worked closely with them.
The amazing sisters that I serve with!
Tuesday I worked at Lands and Records again. I'm helping index the Tithing Records of those who lived in Nauvoo during the years the saints lived here. It's been interesting! Tithing is much simpler now. I'll have to take a picture of a page and share with you next week. My main takeaway is that they paid Tithing with whatever they could. They knew the importance of paying it and many sacrificed to do so.
This week we also cleaned the plaques on Trail of Hope. As I walked the Trail, reading the plaques as I cleaned them, I was reminded again of the sacrifices and faith the pioneers had. One of them is my 4th great uncle, Benjamin Franklin Johnson.
Wednesday the sisters in Conservation had a Birthday party for Sister Brown. We went to the Red Front for lunch. Tomorrow we lose three sisters from Conservation. 
Actually, Wednesday was their last day serving. They are missed. I bought Sister Brown a small plaque that said
Actually, Wednesday was their last day serving. They are missed. I bought Sister Brown a small plaque that said"Laundry
Fluff and Fold
Open 24 hours"
She loved it! We spend a lot of time doing laundry in Conservation. It'll be a fun reminder of her time there. I'm sad that I didn't get a picture of it.
It's a mission tradition to go to Fat Jimmy's when a couple leaves the mission. With 5 couples leaving we had a good share of the mission there. After dinner, we drove to Rand Park in Keokuk. It's all decked out in Christmas lights and displays. We drove through it several times and still didn't see them all. I wish my grandkids were closer so we could take them there. They would love it! I'm missing them!
We helped with the Twelve days of Christmas for President and Sister Rizley. We framed a copy of the Nauvoo temple that Doug drew and gave to them. I'm so thankful for his talents!
Friday was all about the Christmas party. We -Conservation - helped decorate the tables. Elder and Sister D. Mills (we have two Mills couples) were in charge and they did a great job. The dinner was marvelous, as was the entertainment. The mission choir performed so we were able to sing in it again. We love that we get to do that this year! There were a few other musical numbers and then we all sang Christmas Carols. That was fun! Oh, and the luminaries that we couldn't use at the Christmas walk were used at the party and they looked great!
Saturday morning Elder Law shared stories from his life and it inspired us to write our stories down.
Christmas in the mission is wonderful and I'm thankful to be here for a second Christmas. Our mailbox has been full of little gifts from the missionaries. We filled little glass vials with Nauvoo dirt so they can always have a piece of Nauvoo with them. We made these last year for the YSMs and they were treasured by them.
Our dear friends and family, we wish you a very Merry Christmas. As you celebrate this joyous time
of year we invite you to remember the reason for this season, our Savior, Jesus Christ. We love Him and are so grateful to serve Him here in Nauvoo. We love you! 
The garden sisters with Trisha and Jessie, our FM admin.
Of course, our beautiful Sister Rizley in the back center.
The Conservation Sisters - back row
Trisha, Sisters Brown, Wood, Rizley, Peterson, Heward
Front - Levesque, Virgin, Law, me, Darton
Pics from the Sisters breakfast
All of the sisters that have/currently work in FM.
The VC Nativity, from the 2nd floor.
This made me laugh, especially
since Doug plays the banjolele.
Maybe we'll get some snow and can actually have
a real sleigh ride. One can hope - for the sleigh ride!
Taking inventory at Lyon Drug. We have to account for each
item there. It's a huge job but someone's got to do it! Haha
Elders Neve, Stockle, Alston, Barney and King.
With Elder and Sister Elia. Oh how we are going to miss them!
Another picture of the screen Doug made.
The temple has been closed for some remodeling.
The curtains were removed so we could see inside.
It was so pretty seeing the lights.
One scene from the lights at Rand Park.
Monday night the Aloha Strummers (banjo group) were invited to
the home of a lady named Irene. It's a very unique home, filled with an
assortment of instruments, most of them that she made. You can
see a lot of them in this picture. We had an enjoyable evening
together as the group performed for her and then she for us.
Blankets above and hot chocolate kits below
that the missionaries contributed to Bright Angels -
a group here in Nauvoo that helps provide
Christmas to children.
It was a crazy weather day!
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