Cutlers Came

Sunrise behind the temple

Cutlers came by on their way from Florida to Idaho and spent a couple of days.  They didn't stay with us, but we had several meals together and they insisted on doing dishes one day.

In front of our house.

 They went on a carriage ride with Greg as he narrated.
They also took enough pictures of us that they could fill a whole album! We certainly enjoyed their cheerful company.

Waving good-bye.

Never too many pictures of the temple, right?

Narrator, with Elder Dahl driving.

We were allowed to do "Peter and Abigail" when Cutlers came, and it just so happened that Elder Choi, and the President also came that night.

Elder Choi of the Seventy, and his wife were thrilled to pose in our hats, and then insisted that we join them for a picture.  Pres. and S. Gilliland also joined  in.
They were very sweet and humble, so grateful to be able to be in Nauvoo.

Talents Abound

We had a talent/variety show performed by any senior missionaries who wanted to do anything fun. We had a good time laughing: there were some great numbers. OK, and then some not so great, but it was still fun. I don't know what possessed me, probably Keven's faith that I could still say the poem, so I did "'Jest Fore Christmas". Greg was featured on the harmonica with the old fashioned band.
On Sundays, we have a chance to serve together as couples. One of Elder Anderson's favorite stories is one he tells in the Tin Shop. He talks about the hurricane lamp, and the rough edges that protect the inner light from the wind. He relates it to parents protecting their children from any evils, even if the parents are a little rough around the edges, and always wanting the best for them.
We went to Mexican dinner one evening in Carthage with the Morgans. The are assigned to serve in Carthage for the next many months, so they live there permanently (20 miles away).
We knew them when we were here before. They had just arrived, and we got to know them. They are great people.

Spring in Nauvoo

I have already spent many days in the sewing room. It is wonderfully light, with all the tools any seamstress would need. There are even a few that I covet. Oh, except for one: I keep telling them they need a "big board". It wouldn't take much, but they haven't taken me up on the idea yet. And they play music!The tulips are nearly done now, but they have been beautiful all over the town.
On our last preparation day, we t00k the Lymans to the Dutchman's store, and also had lunch at the quaint Bonaparte Retreat. Greg likes it because they have a blue plate special every day!
It is located on the Des Moines River, a beautiful location.

Prairie Grass Fire

There is a one acre plot of prairie grass that is grown all year, then near the end of March, it is set on fire. It is a short demonstration of how fast and furious those fires were when the pioneers were settling the country. The beginning doesn't look too bad............
But it quickly became a roaring mass of very hot and high flames.
And was over very soon.

Same, but Different

Much is the same here in Nauvoo, but there are also many changes with a new mission president, and many different people. We have President Gililand and his lovely wife. They invited us to breakfast (with 10 others) to welcome us and get to know us.
My first service day was in the Browning Gun shop and home.
This lovely little quilt was there, and I want to make one like it some day. Isn't the quilting great? I guess I should have taken pictures of the guns or something. Didn't think of that.
We took a wagon ride with all the other new missionaries, and the Mississippi River is still there.

MTC Experience

Greg and I elected to stay at Kallie and Ryan's house at night while we went to the MTC in the day. It was beautiful weather, and a great experience. We learned a lot about being better missionaries, to invite, testify, promise blessings. We met someone famous (!) This is Mrs. Powell, of cinnamon roll fame, off to a mission to Japan.
And this is the group all going to Nauvoo, during the second week of training specific to visitors' sites. All of these are teamsters.....

The cafeteria was great, no cooking was like a vacation. I loved watching all the young elders and sisters ........
And then at night we could come home and play with these darling people. What great time. (I think Kallie is at Zumba)

We're BACK!!

We have been preparing to return to Nauvoo since we received our official call on Halloween day. It has been four long months, and we finally get to go. Before we left, Adrienne and Jamie and Laura and families had a pizza party for us at Adrienne's house. We spent 10 days at Kallie's house in Provo, attending the MTC. More about that later, but here is Greg moving into our new Nauvoo home.
And our first day, reporting to the Visitors' Center, meeting up with our old friends, the Morgans.

Going Home

Thursday, Nov. 11,
It took us several hours to finish packing and cleaning. I think Greg had unrealistic expectations about how quickly things should get done! But we got the last food given away, the last DI stuff dropped off, the floor mopped, and the garbage out. Whew!
We drove by the temple one last time as we pulled out about 10:30. We gazed at the Mississippi, and Greg could hardly drive for the tears at first. We drove four hours to Jamesport, Missouri, and acted like tourists for a couple of hours, then had an early supper.
We drove by Adam-ondi-Ahman, and nearby found the Marydale Inn where we had reserved a night's stay. It is in the middle of farmland, and a beautiful place.
The common room was large and elegant, and our room was spacious. I could have stayed here for a week. We visited in the evening with Mary Jo and Dale, the owners, and helped put together his jig-saw puzzle.
The breakfast was outstanding the next morning.
We started out in rain the first couple of hours, but then the weather wasn't bad. We stayed Friday night in Sydney, Nebraska.
Saturday, Nov. 13,
We left the hotel early after a quick breakfast, and it was cold, in the low 20's. There were some stretches of black ice that had everyone creeping along. As we stopped at a gas station in Rawlins, we pulled up right beside the Dicksons, who were also traveling home. It was fun to see them.
We arrived at Ryan and Kallie's house just after 4:00, and it was so good to see them. We spent Sunday with them, and then came to our home on Monday. We were greeted by Laura, Adrienne, Caleb, Braden, Rhya, and Oliver, who had warmed the house, cleaned, and brought dinner. What a nice homecoming!

Final Days

Saturday, Nov. 6,
I conducted prep meeting for the last time. We were released today as Seventies Hall site leaders, and Morgans were announced as the new leaders. They will do a good job. We served at the Visitors' Center from 11:30 til 5:00 and it seemed really long with just a few people in and out. We serve in the same place tomorrow, only an hour longer!
In the evening we went to our last Rendezvous performance. It was our 35th "Peter and Abigail", and one of our best performances. Since it was Muellers last night also, we met upstairs afterward, and we each said our good-byes to the cast. No one is indispensable, and we will miss them more than they will miss us. Greg had a harder time getting through the speaking and singing than I did. Lots of hugs, and a few tears.
Greg is a cleaning maniac. He spends any spare time cleaning, whatever is on the list.
Sunday, Nov. 7,
Another full Sunday! As we walked into church early so Greg could prepare the Sacrament, we sat down and soon Pres. Ludwig shook our hands and said, "If you could stay one more week, we would love to have you speak in Sacrament Meeting." We just smiled, and I said, "None of the six-month people spoke, so we certainly don't need to." He said, "But you extended and we fully intended for you to speak, it just got away from us!" That was a close one.
Greg and I both bore our testimonies in the meeting. After serving in the Visitors' Center, we returned for Zone Conference, where Greg lead music, and I played the piano. Pres. Ludwig gave a good talk on gratitude.
Monday, Nov. 8,
The days are flying by,and Greg is so happy to be scheduled as a teamster for Monday and Wednesday.

Storeys came for dinner to help us eat up our food, and I gave him a haircut. I had made enchiladas, and a pie, and later Morgans came by for a haircut. We fed them also, and talked about 70'sHall stuff. They gave us two CD's of the Tabernacle Choir (he sang in it). That was nice.
Tues. Nov. 9,
Another long day at the Visitors' Center,and then we had a farewell dinner at the mission home. After a lovely meal, we all sat around and each one was asked to share a memory of Nauvoo. It was a very sweet meeting.
Nov. 10, Wednesday,
Our last service day. They all bid us farewell at prep meeting, and my last assignment was at Lyon Drug with Sister Myers. It was a beautiful last day, the weather was great, and we had several people come by. Dorrell came by to work in the garden, and had me call Sister Schiess to come get the cotton. She came right over, and with Sister Kirkman will spin the cotton and use it.

We worked all evening to get packed and ready to go, but took a bread to go watch Rendezvous one last time. I cheered and clapped, and then there were more good-byes. Sister Steadman told me that she hasn't seen anyone get more out of the Nauvoo experience than me. That I jumped in with both feet and did everything I could with an enthusiastic spirit. I certainly hope that is true of both Greg and I, because we have so enjoyed the whole experience.

Our Farewell Breakfast

Friday, Oct. 29,
I had a short three-hour shift at the John Taylor home before we went to the temple. The six departing couples were invited to go with the mission presidency together through a session. After the session we followed tradition and were escorted up into the tower of the temple. We rode an elevator to the fifth floor and then started walking up circular stairways. At each level we looked out windows until we were inside the very top dome upon which angel Moroni stands. What a view and unique experience! We counted 98 steps from the fifth floor. Sunday, Oct. 31,
I made a pot of minestrone soup for our district meeting/party. We all go home in a couple of weeks, so we just had dinner for fun. Muellers brought "severed toes" and jello, and Funks brought a Boston cream cake. We had a good visit.
Monday, Nov. 1,
We had a slow day at Tickets and Tours, but Greg had a good time being a teamster. The horses are his buddies,
and he got to drive the wagon a couple of times. It is so much fun!
We visited our neighbors, the temple missionaries, Mursets as they will be leaving tomorrow.
Wednesday, Nov. 3,
I am thinking about Kallie who hurt her ankle and cannot walk. So sorry!
We had a combined prep meeting this morning and Pres. Ludwig explained how the newly-developed winter schedule will work. All sites will be open from 11-5, but if a visitor wants to see something from 9-11, he will be assigned a tour guide (rover) to take him wherever he wants to go. He also said that last winter there were about 150 missionaries, but this winter only about 100, because there is such a lack of them worldwide. The new schedule starts Monday.

Thursday, Nov. 4, Prepration Day, the last one before we leave.
We have been cleaning and sorting in our spare time, and I almost just want to get in the car and leave now, but there are a lot of last things to do.
We made arrangement to meet the Iron and Lace people from Bentonsport here at the Family Living Center. She wanted to learn to make the shawl, and Betty also brought Artisan bread dough to bake in the bustle oven. We had a good time, and spent a couple of hours here with them.
Friday, Nov. 4,
It was our Farewell Breakfast. The seven leaving couples sat at the head tables,
with lovely fall decorations, and lots of good food. After eating, we sang our Ashby/Snow Cast song, which S. Mueller and I made up. It went over well, and we got some laughs. That is the whole point, because at the end we all sing "Farewell, Nauvoo" to each other, and there are tears all around.