Our Days in Nauvoo August 10 - 16 2014

August 10 - 16, 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, the air has been let out of our "busy" Nauvoo balloon now that the Young Performing Missionaries and Nauvoo Brass Band are gone.  It is pretty quiet here now.

Sunday, August 10 – We had a great day at church today.  My goal is to meet a few new members each week, something that is really out of my comfort zone but I have been trying hard to get to know all the members of our ward.  The Rodriguez family came today.  They attend a Spanish Sunday School that the Spanish sister missionaries teach and Jerry goes in that class with them.  That leaves me by myself in Sunday School and Relief Society while the Davis's are out of town.  Also brother Gordy was there with his family.  Our ward has a temple trip planned for this coming Saturday and we hope to see lots from our ward there.  I am also hoping our 2 sets of full time missionaries get there.  I told the sisters that we would feed them but I’m not sure how that will work.  We went to the Durrant’s to sing goodbye to them tonight.  There were lots and lots of us there.  They leave Tuesday.  What a treat it has been to serve here with them.  Both are such spiritual giants.  Dad put hot water in a hot 4 cup Pyrex this afternoon and broke it.  We were getting broken glass out of the garbage disposal with salad tongs.  It was the most horrible sound when we turned it on.  Sounded kind of like a rock crusher. 

Goodbye to George and Susan Easton Black Durrant.  (I wish I knew how to crop a picture.  Sorry.)

Monday, August 11 – The temple was so quiet today. I hope this isn’t how it will be for the next 2 months.  We did housework and I made the breakfast casserole for the YPM breakfast in the morning.  We went upstairs to the McKechnie’s for FHE – the marble game and lemonade pie.

Tuesday, August 12 – The YPM and Brass Band left this morning.  Dad went with Brother Garrett and Brother Hansen to load the sister missionaries suitcases into a pickup to take to the bus.  Dad said the girls were pretty blue about leaving. The temple was slow today.  I was a patron in initiatory and then we were patrons in a session.  We had choir tonight to practice for our large group FHE this coming Monday. We are singing a fun song called "Soft Rain."

           

Wednesday, August 13 – The temple was so slow again today.  We hardly had any patrons come and the day just kind of drags by.  Lots of us were patrons in different areas.  Dad was helping in sealings and a couple came in to do some family names.  They ended up being a couple who met  each other while serving missions in Peru.  They were there when Dad’s old mission companion and his wife were serving a leadership mission there.  It was a fun connection.  

Thursday, August 14 – Dad and I were guides today for a young man (convert of a year) and a young lady that came to receive their endowments at 10:00 and then left and came back at 4:00 for their sealing.  It was a sweet experience.  I had never done an own endowment before but it went very well.  We met for a late lunch with Jim and Lynda McKechnie in Keokuk and then we each went to buy groceries.  We came home and did a few things and then walked.  Things are kind of dead around here now with everyone gone – except us.  

Friday, August 15 – It was our day off today.  We went to the 1:00 session and then Dad dropped me off at the Family Search Center.  I had a missionary helping me but she literally took the mouse out of my hand and did the searching for me.  She was doing her own looking for the information.  I couldn't keep up with the different places she was going to. It was a little frustrating.  I came home with another wife for a couple I thought I almost had ready for sealing.  I guess that means more looking. We had the most fun evening at Montie and Paula Peterson’s.  They invited all the Idaho missionaries for a Dutch oven dinner.  There are 8 couples from Idaho.  It was a little rainy but we were in their back yard, under a big tree and we could hear the beautiful sound of the rain but it didn’t get us wet.  There were 2 fawns in their back yard and geese flew over (one of my favorite things).  It was a perfect night.  The highlight was that Jan Vasas (with the hurt knee) was feeling well enough to come.

Saturday, August 16 – We had such a nice day today.  Our Ottumwa ward had a ward temple day and came to the 11:00 session.  Jerry and I helped with the session so it was nice.  We had 7 sisters and 3 brothers come from our ward.  They also did baptisms at 2:00 with the youth. We had the 2 sister missionaries, Sister Howell from Nevada and Sister Eggett from Colorado and Sister Davis from Ottumwa come to dinner at 5:00.  We had such a nice time with them.  Sister Davis is a young single sister in the ward that offered to give them a ride here today.  They came early this morning and saw some sites before the temple and then did a few sites after.  Sister Davis sprained her ankle at the Visitor’s Center just before they came to the temple and was limping through the session.  They did wrap it at the temple, before the session started, and she was feeling some better when they came here.  It has been raining hard here today though.  We were watching for them but they parked in the back and walked around.  By the time they got here they were soaked.  I got them towels to dry their hair and clothes off.  Jerry gave one of the sisters one of his shirts to put on while we ate because her sweater was so wet and she was cold.  When they were putting their shoes on to go, Sister Howell opened the door and dumped water out of her shoes so we ended up towel drying their shoes too.   They left about 6:00 to head back.  I’m hoping to figure out how to feed the Elders.  They were at the temple too but they were on foot to see the sites for a few hours.  The YM President brought them to Nauvoo and he went to help in the baptistery right after the session so they didn’t have a way to get around.  We drove around trying to find them but never could.  We have lots brownies left over – Sister Eggett is type 1 diabetic and Sister Howell is gluten intolerant.  Thankfully we had taco salad so we were good other than the dessert.  I think I will take some of the brownies to the Elders tomorrow when we go to church. 

We love and miss you lots.  We love the temple.  Everyone plan to go through with Ila when she goes before she leaves on her mission.  We will try to do a session here at the same time.  Be happy and be good.  

Love, Mom and Dad / Grandma and Grandpa / Elder and Sister 

Ty's family gave us a jar full of hugs and kisses when we left.  We are each supposed to have a hug and kiss each Sunday and when they are gone it will be time to come home.  We are a little more than half way!

Another beautiful Illinois sunset!