Dear Family,
We have had a really fun, full week with lots of pictures. I may not be able to do all of the pictures this week.
Sunday, Sept 21 – I love our Ottumwa ward. We
have made some wonderful friends there. The
speakers got done a bit early this morning so they called on Dad and Clair Davis to share
their testimonies. We ate dinner with
Clive and Linda Parcell again today. We walked
around their beautiful yard while we waited for lasagna to cook. She is the perfect hostess – the kind I would
like to be. They are a wonderful couple and we will really miss them. We stayed there until after
3:00 and then had our drive home. The
leaves are just starting to turn. Some
of the tall trees have a red Virginia
creeper climbing up the trunk. It is so interesting and
pretty. We had a missionary report meeting tonight. President Nelson
told some of his experiences with the building of the Nauvoo Temple. It was so interesting. He said that SLC thought there would be about
20,000-30,000 visitors to the open house. President Nelson told them it
would probably be much higher. They
ended up having 330,000 people to the open house. Lofthouse cookies (who the owners aren’t members but knew someone involved the the open house) furnished all the cookies for the open house. He said they brought them in, in refrigerated
semis and as soon as one was emptied another one would appear. One of President Nelson's personal miracles was that the Palmyra Temple was dedicated just before the Nauvoo and they did the first broadcast of a temple dedication (so Nauvoo wasn't the pilot one) and several bugs were worked out before the Nauvoo dedication.
Clive and Linda Parcell They were called to be temple workers this past week and will start after the temple opens in November. They will be wonderful and we are thrilled for them.
Monday, Sept 22 – The temple was nice. We did have a tour bus come so that made for
one bigger session. We
had one of the most enjoyable activities of our mission tonight. We went as an apartment to Irene and Tomasi Tukuafu’s home for FHE. They live in a dome type or round home. She builds harps and plays every kind of
string instrument. They gave us a tour
of their home (small) and it is incredible –
full of every kind of everything. They played
instruments for us and sang. Irene had baked several loaves of
herb bread in tin cans in a 100 year old stove. The roof of their home is built like a
Mongolian yurt with a sky light. The
walls are barn wood. The floors are all small wood pieces pieced together. They have big tree
trunks that were going to be burned as pillars in the middle. They also have a railing made out of aspen
trees that had been in a fire. Irene sanded
off all the black. She has built almost
everything inside their home or found it on ebay. She is from Hawaii and he is from Tonga. They have 14 children. He knew Marsha Morton’s Dad, Ermal Morton
when he was the principal at the Liahona High School in Tonga. This night was almost magical!
Tueday, Sept 23 – Today was a bit slower. We didn't go to the temple until evening so we did some deep
cleaning. We got some
baseboards washed and cleaned the windows.
I’m glad to have that done.
We did our evening shift at the temple.
We were assigned the 8:00 session and no one came so we finished earlier
than we thought we would.
Wednesday, Sept 24 - Haircut today - too short. The temple was very busy this afternoon but we are short workers on the afternoon and evening shifts now since they split the one afternoon into two shifts. The Durrant's are gone but now our treat is Doug Brinley, the author of family and marriage relations books. He and his wife are here in Nauvoo as new site
missionaries. He is teaching
a marriage fireside each week for 8 weeks.
We will go to the ones we can but we will go home before they are
done. They are going to be wonderful.
Thursday, Sept 25 – What a great day!! We were busy in the temple. I was able to be a patron on a session and
then spent over 2 hours in initiatory.
We had one sister that did 26 names.
After the temple we went with 6 couples to Carthage with Dr. Craig Dunn. He is a chiropractor here and runs Nauvoo Tours. He took us on the
Martyrdom Trail and it was wonderful! We
learned so much about Joseph and Hyrum's last days. On the way home, as we were driving along the Mississippi, we
saw a river boat. We
decided to drive back to Keokuk with the Ricks' and watch it go through the locks. It was coming pretty slow so we drove in and
got dinner at Taco Bell and then drove back out. We still waited about 45 minutes but when it
came through it was so worth the wait. It was dark by then and our pictures weren't as good as I'd hoped.
It was a huge river boat with a paddle called the American Queen. People have private rooms with patios. They said that sometimes, depending on the
length of the trip, that it can cost $4000.
It was such a beautiful boat - at least 5 stories. We
watched it go into the lock and then drove so we could watch it come out the
other end. It was great!
Friday, Sept 26 – We went on our P Day tour to Kalona
today. We left t 8:00 and drove almost 2
hours. They were having their
Kalona Festival. It is kind of like the
Blackfoot Fair – lots of people, food booths and lots of craft booths. They had lots of old machinery and a man doing chainsaw sculptures. We walked around and ate
lunch and then left at 3:00 for a tour of an Amish Bakery with delicious baked goods, JK Creative Wood, a shop with beautiful handmade Amish
furnishings, quilts, etc. and then to an Amish Country Store (which Dad thought was a lot like the Menan Coop. As we were driving to the Country Store I realized I couldn’t find my phone. I remembered having it as we got off the bus
at the Wood Shop. We called the store
back and they found it and said they would bring it to the Country Store. We didn’t realize there was 2 stores and they
took it to the one where we weren’t. They ended up taking it to the fairgrounds and
leaving it at their booth there. I was so thankful to get it back. We had dinner at a little 81 year old Amish lady that had cooked for the 16 of us. We had a wonderful roast beef dinner. She cooked it all and her 15 year old granddaughter
served us. She served 26 two nights before and 12 the night before us. Her husband was
killed in a tractor accident about 20 years ago and she has been doing this
ever since to provide for herself. There
was a wonderful spirit in her home. We
had an older gentleman in his 80's, that drove our little tour bus. He was kind of a scary driver, backing into a delivery truck at the bakery
on the tour before us and sideswiping a barricade pulling into the fairgrounds
when we got back. We were all worn out
by the time we got home.
Saturday, Sept 27 – The temple was very busy this morning. I was Initiatory Coordinator for the first time on a morning and it was kind of crazy. But I survived. The only little grocery store in Nauvoo is struggling and may be closing next week. They have been trying to find investors to help keep it open. We have had some credit there and we went there to buy
our groceries and use up the rest of our credit. I went to the Visitor's Center for the RS Broadcast.
We are starting the countdown for having our mission end. It is bittersweet. A month from now we will be on our way home. This has been a beautiful experience and we are so thankful for this blessing. Our testimonies have grown and we will be forever changed because of this mission. We love it her! But are really looking forward to coming home. We love each of you so much! Choose the Right!!
Love, Mom and Dad / Grandma and Grandpa / Elder and Sister Hall
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