Dear Family,
We can't believe that September is almost half over. The weather has been much colder the last few days. Tourists here aren't prepared for the cold. Usually it is still very warm through September. The weather isn't their normal for sure.
Sunday, Sept 7 – Church in Ottumwa. They had to open the overflow again this
week. It is awesome! They have so many new people coming. I'm getting behind in my goal to try to meet at least one new person each week. We had our Break the Fast dinner tonight with 3 other couples. This has been a great way to get to know people better. Dad came out from the shower this morning and
said “these garments don’t fit at all.” No wonder - he folded the clothes last night and had put my long temple slip in
his drawer with his things. I'm putting that on the list with
when he thought he was putting biofreeze on his stiff neck (in the middle of the night) and found out after that it was shoe polish.
Monday, Sept 8 – I worked in the
laundry today for 30 minutes. I love it
down there. It was a good day with a
variety of assignments. We went to El
Camino Real Restaurant with the Crockett’s for lunch after we finished at the
temple. It was a fun afternoon. Dad sort of did the ice bucket
challenge. Kathy reached across the
table to hand Dad a napkin and knocked her big glass of ice water over right
into Dad’s lap. It was pretty funny –
and pretty cold and wet. We went to Land
and Records for a few minutes and found out where some of Dad’s relatives lived
while in Nauvoo, and got a CD. We had a
fireside / FHE – Lane Wright talking about his book “Symbols of the
Temple.” It was interesting but so warm.
Tuesday, Sept 9 - We tried to walk with Paul and Linda
Ricks this morning but we got rained out.
They ended up coming here for breakfast and visiting and it was fun. Our last session each day has been 6:00 PM since the pageant ended but
they have decided to offer a 7:00 and an 8:00 Tuesday - Saturday hoping
the attendance will come up. They are having 2 afternoon shifts instead
of one and dividing the workers between the two, so now the afternoons are working
with half the staff midday and evenings. The coordinators are trying to figure out how to
do the 2 afternoon shifts using less workers. It has been a struggle
for some of them. We did a double shift today because of the shuffling. We had the Arrival Center at 12:30 and then
the temple at 5:00. We weren’t very busy
at the AC but it is fun to visit with those who come through. Dad and I will be the initiatory coordinators on
Tuesday nights now. I found out when we
got there that we are over the whole 2nd floor – dressing room, name
issue and initiatory. It made me a bit
nervous but it was so slow that I ended up being a bit lonely as I was the only one on the
whole floor for part of the time. They canceled the 6:00 and
8:00 sessions but they had a 5:00 and we had a 7:00. Hopefully the word will get out that we are open later and people
will come.
Wednesday, Sept 10 – We were the officiator and follower
for the 1:00 AM session. We only had one couple on the session so it ended up being Dad and I and them. It was different. We went out
to dinner with Johnson’s. We went to
Keokuk and ate at the Ribeye Restaurant.
It was delicious and the company the best.
Thursday, Sept 11 – Busier day at the temple. We
led the 7:00 AM session with 4 brothers and 3 sisters. I had other assignments that kept me busy and
it was good. I came home and worked on
family history until about 4:00 then Sister Bonnie Fairchild met with me and
Linda Ricks and gave us some great family history tips. It was great.
I think I’ve found a few more sealings.
We went to do one of our two turns at cleaning the temple tonight from
8-10. Among other things, we sanitized
the stair rails and dusted the Presidency and Matron’s offices. They are
beautiful!
Friday, Sept 12 – OUR DAY IN NAUVOO – It was our P-Day today and I spent a really
lazy day. I stayed up until after
1:00 AM working on family history. I
don’t know what I’m doing but it’s fun.
I woke up and started working on it again
before breakfast. Dad went to an auction with Jim McKechnie. It was cold and rainy all
day – wish I had a nice jacket.
Saturday, Sept 13 – We were guides at the temple this morning for a wedding and it was
a fun morning. Dad saw Kent and Elaine Ward in the temple this morning. They are from Rigby and worked with us in Idaho Falls and are in Grandma Chandler's FHE group. They stopped here for a visit this afternoon after we got home. I went to the Family Search
Center this afternoon and had a few questions answered and printed a few more
names for Dad and I to do. We will have time to do our own work with the temple being more slow. It has been
fun looking for ancestors. I went to the Women's Garden on the way home to take a few pictures of the flowers that are still blooming. It felt like Idaho fall weather here this afternoon. We walked this evening and it was
beautiful. We went for pizza and drove
to David’s Chamber. David Smith is the
prophet’s youngest son, born after the prophet was killed. He was a poet and painter and went here to
this beautiful little Falls to meditate, paint and write. It is such a
beautiful place. Usually there isn’t much
water going over the falls but we had a lot of rain yesterday so it was so
pretty this evening.
Flowers at the Women's Garden
Here are some pictures from our walks tonight.
Parley's street
David's Chamber
Sunday night Sister
Nelson shared with us the closing line in the movie “God is Not Dead.” A man says “God says no a lot
doesn’t he?” The priest’s answer is “God
gives us what we would ask for, if we knew what he knows.” I love this thought.
Know that we love and miss all of you. We pray for you every day. Please be happy and do good! We have a testimony of the restored gospel and temple work. We are so thankful for the blessing of being here in this beautiful place.
Love, Mom and Dad / Grandpa and Grandma / Elder and Sister Hall
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