Times, they are a changing!

March 27, 2022

First off - HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our sweet Tessa. She turns 1 today! It's been hard watching her grow up over Marco Polo and not being able to hug and snuggle her but I am so grateful for Marco Polo that has allowed us to watch her grow as we have served here in Nauvoo!  

What a week!!! It started off last  Sunday evening with a celebration of the 180th Anniversary of the organization of Relief Society. We had a special program that was sort of a re-enactment of the organization. It was a special evening. We all wore our period clothing. Doug and I performed in a triple-quartet singing "The Spirit of God," which was sung at the first RS meeting. I am so thankful for this great organization, which started with 20 members and now has millions of members worldwide! It's a reminder to me that from small and simple ideas - let's sew shirts for the temple workers - great things can happen! 

Tuesday night at training we were told that all missionaries will now be giving tours on Sundays.  We are short on missionaries so it's all hands on deck. If I can learn one or two sites and give those tours every week, I'll be good but if I have to learn a new tour every week, I'm not so sure about that. That's a lot to learn each week, along with our FM duties, training meeting, Women of Faith, Lucy Mack Smith, etc. We work hard in FM and we are tired, some days exhausted, when we get home. That being said, I know we will have heavenly help - I will need it to remember it all! We had 3 1/2 hours of training today at the Family Living Center and that's a lot to take in and remember. This old brain doesn't remember like it used to!!! There are nine different stations in the FLC to learn - spinning, bread making, candle dipping, looms, brick making, wagon packing, pottery, barrel making and rope making. It's my hope and prayer that we are assigned to work there each Sunday. Stay tuned for more details to come on that.

Tuesday I served in Lucy's home again and we didn't have any guests come. I know that will be changing soon as more and more people are coming to Nauvoo. I also had a wonderful time doing "Women of Faith" Thursday evening. I only have a few more times to do it before it's turned back over to the YSMs. Tomorrow I'll be giving a special Women of Faith presentation for a group from South Africa! Nauvoo is truly worldwide!

Wednesday evening we attended the Nauvoo Temple for the last time for two months. It's closed again for repairs. I will miss being in that beautiful, sacred building each week. 

Saturday we had the opportunity to go with several other mission couples to Independence, Liberty and Far West. We rode up in a mission van with E/S Levesque and E/S Virgin and we had a lot of fun! In Independence, we toured the Visitor's Center and saw the Temple Lot. Many of the Saints lived in Independence when they were driven out of Kirtland. They were not there very long before they were driven out to other areas in Missouri. At Liberty, we visited the Liberty Jail replica that Joseph, Hyrum and others were held in for many months. This is where D&C 121, 122, 123 were received. I love these sections. I have turned to them often when I'm struggling through a trial. I love D&C 121:7-8. It reads, "My son (daughter), peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes." Then we are reminded in 122 that our Savior has suffered all that we can suffer and more. In verse 8 we read, "The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?" He has felt every pain we feel, every heartache, every sadness. He suffered so that we can repent and be made clean through His atonement. I don't fully understand and comprehend all of this, but I do know that I am grateful and thankful for His sacrifice for me. 

We are so excited! Next week our friends, Blaine and Diane, arrive to serve here in Nauvoo! Also, next month the YSMs will start arriving!!! We've been busy in Conservation cleaning homes and getting them ready for all of the new missionaries!

Also, two more of our 2021 YPMs are engaged!! Nate Hart and Jenna Urry, we are so happy and excited for you!!! I love these Nauvoo couples!!!

Life on the mission is always challenging, fun, learning, growing and ever changing but we love serving here and are so grateful for the opportunity to serve

 here in beautiful, albeit cold, Nauvoo!

Goodbye E/S Hokanson. We've been blessed to

serve together on the Community Outreach Committee.

Doug working on the forge in the blacksmith shop

We cleaned the Bistro this week. This is where

the YPMs hang out when they are not doing a show.

It was fun to see their names. I miss these kids.

Doug getting into his dump truck

The next few pictures are of a front tongue assembly

for a wagon that Doug rebuilt.

How many Conservation Sisters does it take to clean a

light fixture? At least two when it's heavy glass and held on by chains.

I forgot to take pictures at our FLC training until the end. 

Sister Dalton and I worked together to build this bucket.

Pics from the Independence VC

Liberty Jail

Some of the cornerstones at Far West

My view from work the other day.

 

What a fun week!

March 20, 2022

Monday night we held a combined Illinois Historic Sites Missionaries and Nauvoo Temple Missionaries social. It was a blast!!! There was dancing, entertainment, more dancing, Elder Williams and his whip, and lots of food. It was so fun to dance again! It's been a long time and we were pretty rusty to start with but thankfully it came back to us and we had a blast dancing around the floor! 

This week in Conservation we "spruced-up" a lot of homes that the incoming missionaries will be moving into. We have a lot coming in starting the first part of April and the YSMs start coming back mid-April!!! I am so excited to meet and get to know the new ones coming. The YSMs that I served with, that went outbound, are all heading home now from their outbound service. Several of the YSMs that we served with are engaged and it is so exciting to see the happiness and blessings that are coming to them. 

We had a great surprise waiting for us when we arrived at the Temple Wednesday night. No more masks!!!! It was so great to see the faces and smiles of everyone that attended. We again did family sealings and it was a very special evening. They have also increased the number of patrons that can attend at one time. Sadly though, the temple closes at the end of this week for two months so they can replace the windows. 

One day we finished cleaning the homes and had a few minutes left so I took the Sisters that I was serving with to the Pageant stage and toured them around it. It was so fun to see it up close again and it really made me excited for Pageant this summer!

We've had so many new missionaries coming in that I can't keep track of them all. It'll be fun to get to know them. 

Doug is excited because one of the new Elders plays racquetball so he finally has a racquetball partner again and was able to play this week. He's also been working on the wagons and carriages, changing tires, brakes, bearings, etc. 

Friday, Doug and I celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary! We celebrated by doing Missionary work and then spending the evening with Eric and Laurie! Yep, my brother and his wife were in town and we had dinner together Friday night at our place, then Saturday we toured several of the sites, headed to Carthage and then to Webster to see our 4th Great-grandma's gravesite. It is always special to me to go to her grave and to ponder on the life she lived and the faith she had. We also found a plaque that was placed in  Webster, which was called Ramus when the Saints lived there.  I love my family on both

sides of the veil!

 

Our grandson, Kennan, turned 15 Saturday. We love him so much and miss him a lot!

This coming Thursday, I will be portraying Sarah Grainger Kimball/Narrator in the Women of Faith virtual tour. If you'd like to join me via Zoom, go to nauvoohistoricsites.org and sign up for it. It lasts about 40 minutes and tells the story of some of the women that lived in Nauvoo, like Emma Smith, Sarah Kimball, Lucy Mack Smith, and Mary Ann Young. I have grown a lot by being a part of this vignette.

Nauvoo is starting to come alive again. We are seeing more visitors and the daffodils are popping their heads through the ground. Now, if the weather would quit being bi-polar! I walked home Thursday because it was so nice, then Friday it was cold and raining all day. Saturday was windy and cold. Today is pretty nice. Before I know it I'll be wishing for these cooler temperatures. Never satisfied, am I. Haha

I love all of the experiences that I have been blessed to have this week. I am thankful for and love my mission companion, who is also my eternal companion. Forty years have gone by so fast. It's been a roller coaster ride but I'm so glad that we hung on through the ups and downs of it all. 

This made me laugh! It's hard to see, but this is a one-way

street but yet there is a stop sign at the end of the street.

Pictures from the Missionary Social

Songs that we sang together. I love the Nauvoo words.

The Temple Missionaries

Elder Williams and his whip.

My hubby being his crazy self!

For the longest time, looking from a distance, 

I thought this was Joseph and a dog. On closer

examination, it's Joseph and his hat on a table. Haha

Sisters Heward, Cluff, Wood and me making popcorn for movie night.

Sister Wilcox and I at Lucy's home.

 

My Heavenly Father Loves Me

March 13, 2022

This was a week of lessons learned - I'm always learning, hard times and great joy. Most of all, it was a week of knowing that my Heavenly Father is aware of me and that He answers prayers. 

Jessie, an Administrative Assistant at FM was out of town this week so the Sisters covered for her at the front desk. Monday afternoon and Thursday morning I took my turn sitting at the desk. The afternoon was very quiet but the morning was busy with a lot of things going on. One of those things - well, let me tell you about it. E/S Wilson, along with several other couples, arrived at the mission this past week. The Wilson's son actually works with our son Austin so that was a fun connection. They were spending their third night in the mission when they heard what they thought was a cat fight. Turns out one of those cats was a skunk and it sprayed right by the air intake, thus filling their home with skunk scent. This all happened about 3:45 in the morning. They had to be moved into a new place while their place is aired out and hopefully they'll be able to move back in sometime in the next few weeks. What a welcome to the mission. 

Tuesday, I served again at Lucy's home. I served with Sister Price. We met at Lucy's home and spent several hours visiting and waiting for guests to come but none did so we headed home for lunch and to wait and see if anyone called for a tour. Five minutes before the sites closed, we received a call so we both headed back and gave the tour. It was a great tour and I'm glad that they called. Sister Price invited us to dinner at her place on Saturday night. We had a great time getting to know them and President & Sister Smith better, along with eating some wonderful food and homemade ice cream!

Wednesday night we were able to again attend the temple and do sealings. It was special because we were able to seal five sisters to their parents. Another couple had three brothers that were sealed to each other. It is a great feeling to know that we were able to perform the work for them so that they can be joined together as an eternal family. 

Amongst the good was some hard. I learned this week that I probably won't be going back to the gardens. This broke my heart and let's just say, I was not happy. I love the sisters in Conservation and serving with them but the gardens have my heart and are my happy place. I don't understand their reasoning for what they are doing this season but I guess it's not my problem to understand. I prayed for peace and comfort and was given it. When we first came to the mission, I told them (the FM admin) that I would serve wherever they asked me to and I will do that with a smile on my face. I have a saying on my desk that sums up my motto for the mission. It says Bloom where you are planted. I've tried hard to give 100+% in everything that I've been asked to do and I will finish off my mission by doing just that! 

Today my daughter, Eleena and her husband talked in their Sacrament Meeting and we were able to listen to them over Zoom. She talked about many great things but one quote stood out to me and that was "Fun is fleeting, joy is eternal." I love that quote!

I have found so much joy this week, amongst the hard, and I am grateful for the peace that comes to me through my Savior, Jesus Christ. I love Him and all that He sacrificed for me. 

There are a lot of different personalities among the Sisters

in Conservation. This week one of the Sisters had a tough week

and blamed one of the other sisters for things that really weren't her fault.

There were hurt feelings. It was rough on all of us.

 While we were cleaning one of the homes that missionaries had lived in, I found this quote taped to the inside drawer of an end table. I really felt that this was another answer to prayer. I had found myself having thoughts about the sister that I didn't like, because I really do love this sister. Satan was working hard on all of us. I had been praying to know what to do and here was the answer - Follow Christ's example, turn the other cheek and be a peaceable follower of Christ. I repented and will try hard to follow that advise and be a better person.

 

Look for the Miracles

March 6, 2022

I read a thought the other day about how we need to remember that the little things that we take for granted are usually small miracles that we forget to thank Heavenly Father for. After I read that thought, I started seeing other sayings and thoughts about the same thing. I think that Heavenly Father wants me to open my eyes and see all the miracles, the small and important things around me. This is another quote that showed up - "Life is a series of thousands of tiny miracles. Notice them." Then another, "It's so easy to take important things for granted. Whether it's the source of our electrical power, or the source of our spiritual power. ...When we look for and choose to see God in our own lives, everything changes! Choosing Him invites light, hope, and greater vision. So today, take some time to slow down and really see God. The more you look, the more you'll see!"

I know that in life, we (I) get caught up in all the things that need to happen, the to-do list, the meetings, the shopping, the serving, that I forget to take the time to stop - just stop and see the miracles around me. I decided to stop more often and just take in the beauty and miracles that our Heavenly Father has given to me.

As I was driving to do "Women of Faith" this week, I saw a beautiful sunset. I pulled over to take a picture and as I did, I noticed two young girls, jumping and playing in the grass, laughing and also taking pictures of the sunset. They were having joy in the moment and it brought joy into my life. 

I know that Heavenly Father is aware of us (me) and what I need. A few weeks ago, I mentioned in the letter that I'd been in sort of a funk and was missing my grandkids. Well, we had to go to the doctor for Doug (still trying to figure out the headaches) and a lady with two small children, ages 4 and 3, sat down by us. She was so worried about the kids disturbing us and kept telling them to be quiet. The little girl sat next to me and leaned over to me and whispered, "I like unicorns." I pulled up pictures of unicorns on my phone and we laughed at some of them. Then her little brother came over and said, "I like Spiderman." So, we looked at pictures of Spiderman. The mom was worried that they were bothering me and we assured her that we were missing our grandkids and that I was loving spending time with them. We looked at pictures of Princesses and baby Yoda. They brought so much happiness and joy to me in that waiting room. To me, that was a tender mercy from my Heavenly Father. Others might say it was a coincidence, but I don't believe in coincidences. Elder Bednar has told us that he believes there are no coincidences when it comes to God and Jesus Christ showing their love for us and I agree.

I invite you to take time this week to see the small miracles in your life.

I think maybe I needed those thoughts this week because my thoughts, like so many of us, have been on the people of Ukraine, as they are navigating the war that was started by Russia. My thoughts and prayers have been for them and for the good people in Russia who are suffering because of the choices of their leaders. I love the stories of faith that I am seeing coming from Ukraine. I saw pictures of Mass being held in a bomb shelter. I've seen messages from Ukranians telling how they've seen miracles because of our prayers. Prayers work. I had the thought the other day of David and Goliath. Ukraine is David and they are fighting hard to keep their freedoms and they haven't forgotten their God. Please keep praying!!!

As far as the mission, Doug has been making lots of trips to pick-up gravel, drop off scrap metal, etc. Elder Wilcox is now serving in the mechanic shop and Doug is enjoying that. I am still cleaning. We are now cleaning the historic site basements. It's a yucky job but someone has to do it. Lots of cobwebs, dust, spiders but thankfully, no dead or live mice. Haha

Friday night we had E/S Koop over for dinner before they left for home. I will surely miss them.

Training this week was full of "Never, never, never, ever, ever" and "Always, always, always" as we were taught from the Missionary Handbook. We'll leave it at that. Haha 

I am thankful for a loving Heavenly Father and for my big brother, my Savior, Jesus Christ, who loves each of us. They know us personally, know our wants, desires, needs and will always be there for us. I am so grateful for that knowledge.

President and Sister Dalton during training. This is not only a recipe 

for a good marriage but a recipe for a good life.

Sister King, me, Sister Smith

Sister McDougal, Sister King, me, Sister Smith

Sisters McDougal and Smith were doing the videoing.

Sister King was Emma and I was Sarah/Narrator.

A welcome sky as we left the temple this week.

 

Lessons learned and finding joy

Monday the weather was amazing! We hit 55 so I walked home from work and it was wonderful! There were blue skies, the sun was shining and it felt great to be outside and not freezing! That was the calm before the storm. We also had a snow storm this week and the temps dropped into the single digits again. The cold and humidity make it super cold! 

I had a really special experience this week with President and Sister Dalton. If you read my letter last week, you know how special the Community Outreach Committee is to me. We had found a need and were organizing a drive. When we sought the ok, we were basically told no. After some emails back and forth,  President Dalton set up a meeting with the committee. I had time to gather my thoughts and I had fighting words that I was going to use to convince him that we needed to continue on like we had been. When we arrived at the meeting, at the Mission Home, I was ready to fight. Well, the prayer was said and it was asked that the spirit of the Lord would abide in the meeting. When that was said, I had such a peace and calm come over me and the desire to use those fighting words totally left me. To put a long and enjoyable meeting into a nutshell, President Dalton had taken the time to really seek out what we were, by mission rules, allowed to do and then he went even further and met with local leaders as well as his leaders to see how we could serve and how to proceed. Even though the Community Outreach will be run totally different then before - we can no longer donate items but can do service - I have a love and admiration for President Dalton that I didn't have before.  I love that he took the time from his busy schedule to find answers and that he didn't just say no and leave it at that. I think about my life and how many times I didn't take the time to really listen, research, and find out what other options there might have been. How many times have I jumped to conclusions without knowing all the details? I hope that I can learn from this experience that I had this week.  

Happy, joyful news!!! Starting tomorrow, Monday Feb 28, all Covid restrictions are lifted and the mask signs are coming down!!!

In Conservation, we had the opportunity to clean Carthage Jail. After we were done, I had a minute by myself in the room where the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum were martyred. There is such a special spirit in that room. I'm grateful that I was able to help clean it.

Lesson learned this week - baking soda and baking powder are not interchangeable! Haha! I made waffles from scratch and let's just say, lesson learned! 

I received a text from my cousin Friday letting me know that my Aunt Francis had passed that morning. I will miss that spunky aunt of mine. I was able to travel (she lived about 14 hours away from me) and visit with her a few times before we came on our mission. On one trip, we went through volumes of pictures. I spent many hours that night adding them to Family Search. She even recorded some details on Family Search about some of the pictures. What a treasure! Give my parents a hug for me, Aunt Francie!

Elder Morgan, of the Seventy, spoke briefly in Sacrament Meeting today. He spoke of having joy. It reminded me of this quote, from a woman who was on America's Got Talent. She died this week from cancer, same as my aunt. This is her quote:

"You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy" Jane Marczewski, Nightbirde

I think we can all learn from her. Even in our hard times, we can find happiness. It isn't always easy, I know. 

I'd like to share a few scriptures on Joy that I really like. 

"Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." John 16:24

"Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; ...glad tidings of great joy" D&C 128:19

"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy" 2 Nephi 2:25

"And for this cause ye shall have fulness of joy; and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; yea, your joy shall be full, even as the Father hath given me fulness of joy;  3 Nephi 28:10

One last one - "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness." Mosiah 2:41

May you all find reason to be joyful this week. 

 

When it snows, they park a lot of the fleet vehicles in

the warehouse to keep the parking lot empty for the plows.

I saw this shortly after I heard of my aunt's passing.

I took this picture through the bullet hole in Carthage Jail

 showing the window that Joseph Smith fell through.

I don't check this very often, but thought I would on

this day. I didn't realize it was our day 500 and 75%.

I'm so glad that we extended. Although I miss our family

greatly, I know we did the right thing!

I love this horse in John Taylor's home and the story

associated with it. Nothing like the love of a parent.

The ice is breaking up on the Mississippi and gathering 

on the shoreline. It's pretty cool looking!

We had the "Hurrah for Israel" shout for E/S Koop Sunday

after meetings. It's always a sad day. Sister Koop was the first

missionary that I met, even before we arrived in Nauvoo.

We met over Facebook via our mutual friend, Maryjane Wadley. 

It was nice to see a familiar face when we arrived.

The eagles were out! We must have seen over 100

on our way to Carthage. I can't get enough of them!

We are sprucing up homes, getting them ready for new missionaries.

I call this one the "I shalt not covet" house. Haha! 

This home is really nice and the view of the Mississippi is amazing! 

👇The Mississippi off the back deck