Our Days in Nauvoo Aug 31 - Sept 6 2014

Dear Family,

Our lives are getting a bit routine now that things are slower.  We don't have a lot of new to share.

Sunday, August 31 – Church was good today.  They had a great attendance and had to open the overflow which they haven’t done in a really long time.  They had a combined RS / Priesthood Mtg and it was on missionary work.  They also had a Linger Longer after, with a great turnout with wonderful food.  This evening we had a Temple Missionary Fireside.  Sister Debbie Allen talked about her husband, Charles Allen, who made the windows and doors for the temple.  Jerry has read his book, "The Window Maker" and loved it. 

 Monday, September 1 – Happy Labor Day!!  We had the temple early this morning and it was a little busier today - I think because of the holiday.  We led a session at 9:00 and that sure makes the shift go by fast.  It was a really enjoyable morning.  We spent the afternoon in Burlington with 5 other couples helping to celebrate their anniversaries.  We went to Gator’s for a late lunch and then to the movie “When the Game Stands Tall.”  We went for frozen custard afterward.  We had a great afternoon.  (Notice the decorations at Gator's.  They were interesting.)

Top picture -  from left, Grover's, Robison's, Greene's  

Bottom - from left, us, Crockett's, Murdock's

 

             

 Tuesday, September 2 – We walked with Paul and Linda Ricks this morning and then went to their apartment for breakfast. We had such a great time.  The temple was fairly quiet.  We were supposed to be 2^nd followers but we were patrons.  That is always a treat.  They have added the 6:00 session now and it's dark when we leave.  

Paul and Linda Ricks

Wednesday, September 3 – Jerry’s birthday!  We both walked this morning.  We had the Arrival Center this afternoon.  We were fairly busy at the end which was nice.  We had 3 sisters that came in for the 5:00 session and I offered for them to leave their clothes in the lockers instead of taking them out to their car, so then we had to wait for them to come back.  We ended up staying for an extra hour.  The Rick’s came by and brought Dad a watermelon. 

             

Thursday, September 4 – We had a good day at the temple even though it was slow.  We were 2^nd followers again and were patrons.  Mckechnie's invited our apartment out to dinner.  We went to Fort Madison to Chandler’s Grill.  It was delicious.  

             

Friday, September 5 - It’s our day off today.  I went at 6:50 AM to sing with the temple missionaries our farewell song "Go Now in Peace" to the site missionaries that are leaving within the next few weeks.  They were having their farewell breakfast. We had almost all the temple missionaries there and it was a neat and tender time.  Leaving here is a tough thing to do.  Lynda Mckechnie came down and asked if I had anything planned.  She wanted to wander around town here in Nauvoo.  Then Dad and I left to buy groceries and on our way we stopped at the Family Search and I ran in to get some family group sheets.   Dustin’s Grandpa and Grandma Killian were in there working on family history with Elder Alec Miller – their grandson and Dustin’s cousin.  They are here from WA.  It was so fun to see them.  We have a few bunnies that run around our apartment lawn.  They are pretty brave.  This is Bunnicula on our front sidewalk.

Saturday, September 6 – The temple was busy this morning!  Our assignment was to be there for prayer meeting at 6:10.  They changed our schedules a bit and Dad was a guide and I wasn’t.  He said it was kind of weird that he did it with a different sister - usually they have you do it with your spouse. I was a patron and going through about the same time as Lloyd's daughter, Ila.  She leaves October 1st for the Iowa, Des Moine mission.  The Nauvoo Temple will be her temple and I'm hoping they will bring the new missionaries here as soon as they arrive and maybe we can see her.  This is a beautiful area to serve.  I saw Grandma Killian at the temple this morning.  I got done about an hour before Dad was through.  Got some conference talks read in the sister’s study.  I spent the afternoon trying to fix a meal to take tomorrow to the Elders in Ottumwa and a treat to the Sisters there.  One Elder is lactose intolerant, one sister is diabetic and the other sister is gluten intolerant.  It was tricky.  

We are happy and enjoying everything that goes on here.  I'm sure it sounds more like a vacation than a mission.  We are having a great time!  The church is true and the temple is a place we need to be. Heavenly Father loves us - a lot!!  Be good!!

We love you too!  

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

Our Days in Nauvoo August 24th - 30th 2014

Hello Family and Friends,

I can't believe that August is over tomorrow!  Where did the summer go?  Nova has already started school and our Idaho kids start this next week.

Sunday, August 24 – We enjoyed church today.  We are glad the Davis’s are back - and the trip doesn’t seem as long as it used to.  They asked Linda Davis and I to substitute a Primary class as we walked in.  We taught the 7-8 year old class.  It was fun.  It was great going to singing and sharing time.  

            

Monday, August 25 – One of our assignments at the temple this morning was to be an endowment patron so that was a treat.  We don’t have any more of our own family names but there are lots of workers here who have names.  The Johnson’s made reservations for our apartment at the Ivy Bake Shop in Fort Madison for FHE.  Our little FHE lesson was on how the Lord puts us where we are supposed to be and how important it is to have sufficient faith.  We have had a great day.

           

Tuesday, August 26 – We got up early and walked to Horton Lake with Paul and Linda Ricks, wonderful temple missionary friends from Rexburg.  We talked way more than we walked but it was a great way to start out the day.  We went to the Family Search Center and got a few questions answered.  The temple was really slow today.  One session only had ordinance workers as patrons. 

 

             

Wednesday, August 27 –  The temple was slow again this afternoon and we were supposed to be #2 on the 5:00 session and ended up as patrons.  I always enjoy doing that.  The temple missionaries were invited to a site RS meeting on nutritional eating.  The sister who presented it does only raw foods.  It was really interesting but I'm thinking almost impossible to do.

Thursday, August 28 -  A slow morning at the temple.  We were scheduled to be patrons at 8:00 and I love doing sessions.  It's a good thing because we have done sessions 8 days out of the last 14 temple days.  Too bad we haven’t had our own family names to do.  I think this is what they do a lot during the winter months.  We came home and moved the furniture around in the apartment.  I think I will like it better.  I’ve wanted to do it for the last 4 months.  Joanne Robison, a temple missionary, taught an art class tonight, teaching us to use the right sides of our brains. We drew pictures from color book pages but the picture we looked at, as we drew, was upside down and we drew upside down on our paper too.  It was very interesting.  I couldn't help but think about how wonderful Mckenna draws and all the little girls in our family who love art.  I thought it was a one-time class but it is going to be every week. However they are adding a 6:00 session at the temple every night this next week and our teacher works in the afternoons.   Our last sessions have been at 5:00 PM.  They are adding  6, 7 and 8 PM sessions on Friday nights starting next week in hopes that the later times will work better for people to come.

           

Friday, August 29 - Today was our p-day and we didn’t have anything planned and I had hoped that I could go the whole day without putting nylons on.  I did run some letters to the post office but dropped them off at the box so I went in levis.  But we ended up going to buy groceries this evening so the dress and nylons went back on.  I don’t think I’ve gone a day here without being in a dress.  We did get quite a bit done here today though.  I have been writing letters and Dad has worked on getting our social security set up.  We had to wait in the car at Walmart in Keokuk for a major rainstorm to pass.  We have had lots of rain the last few days. 

           

 Saturday, August 30 – Our temple assignment this morning was the Arrival Center.  We were busy there and it was fun.  We had 2 bigger groups come for baptisms and a few small walkins.  We had a wedding with lots of children and wedding clothes to change into for pictures.  We had one couple with 2 little girls that took turns going over to the temple.  We had 2 groups come that weren’t members and wanted to watch the temple video.  It was fun.  We have invited our apartment to come tonight at 6:00 to watch the movie “Heaven is for Real.”

There are a lot of green lilies growing in the Mississippi River.  They have a pretty yellow flower on them but you can't see it very well in the pictures.  The water isn't deep where the lilies grow and it is surprising how much of the river has these lilies.  

Here is another picture of the field of praire grass that they let grow so people can see how tall it gets.  I think I sent a picture in June with Heather and Quinton standing in front of it.  If you look close, the temple is in the background.

 

I guess my challenge for this week is to try to go to the temple.  We are blessed to have 2 so close and it is sad to me that this beautiful temple in Nauvoo is so empty.  We are depriving ourselves of the needed blessings that come from our going.  

We love you all and miss you!!

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

Our Days in Nauvoo August 17th - 23rd 2014

Hi Family and Friends,

Sunday, August 17 – We had a great day in Ottumwa.  Books on tape sure save us going and coming though.  Church was good and we had dinner with Clive and Linda Parcell after.  We were barged on the way home from church.  We were on the bridge with President and Sister MacArthur (temple president and matron) and it was their first experience being barged.  Personally I think if you have to stop and wait awhile you shouldn't have to pay to get through, but no one has asked my opinion.  

 

Monday, August 18 – Quiet, but good day at the temple.  We were the 2^nd followers on the 12:00 session and there weren’t very many in the session so we were patrons.  I’m getting my family names done so I'm not complaining.  We had our large group FHE tonight.  It was a program, talent display and meal.  Our apartment building (4 couples) was in charge of the menu and we had a lasagna dinner.  When I walked into the stake center they had lots of round tables set up, reminding me of the first week we were here – 4 months ago today!  I couldn't help but think back about that day.  We each stood and introduced ourselves, and as I looked around, I thought that I would never get to know all the people that were there and then each meal they would mix us up and it was so uncomfortable to get to know new people each time.  Tonight as I looked around at each table, I couldn’t help but feel so overwhelmed at the love we feel for each of these wonderful people.  We have become the very best of friends and it will be so sad to have this beautiful experience end.  When it was time to leave home and come out here, I just didn’t think about leaving because it was too sad.  That is how I am feeling now about leaving here.  I’m just not going to think about it yet.  Sister Tanner came up after and gave me a hug.  She is a sister that was really quite intimidating to me at the first but is the most wonderful lady ever.  We will really miss this daily association with these wonderful, wonderful friends. 

Tuesday, August 19 - I was going to go to the family history center this morning but didn’t get going early enough so I worked on family history at home.  I thought I could find a few answers on my own but mostly just ended up with more questions.  I am planning on getting there in the morning when they open at 9:00.  The temple was slow.  We were supposed to follow again and ended up being the witness couple.  Elder Epperson’s parents were in the session behind ours and Dad and I both had breaks after, so we were able to meet and visit with them in the Celestial Room.  He is one of the Elders serving in our Ottumwa ward.  That was fun. I was a sealing patron first thing and Brother Slack was the sealer.  He always leaves us with a thought and it was a good one today – from President Hinckley.  “Those who wait beyond the veil for the ordinances of the gospel, are in desperate circumstances analogous to the handcart pioneers. . .Those who labor in the temples of the Lord are their rescuers.”  I love this thought.

             

Wednesday, August 20 – I spent the morning at the family search center and came home frustrated.  The sister there to help me had me clicking in lots of places and I had no idea what I was doing.  She of course, knew what she was doing, but not me.  I came home confused but having decided that I need to come up with a system to write things down in an organized binder, so I guess some good came of the morning.  We had a good day at the temple.  We were to be 2^nd followers again but not enough patrons came so we were patrons again.  I was also an initiatory patron.  They added a 7:00 session for one of the site missionary groups so we were there until 9:20. 

             

Thursday, August 21 – It was quiet at the temple.  We led the 9:00 session.  We have been in a session every day this week and 3 of the days last week.  Worked on a family history chart so I can record and keep track of what I’m finding.  I am anxious to find a few hours to work on things again.  They had a hail storm at home with hail the size of quarters.  Did some damage to peoples crops and gardens.

Friday, August 22 - We went with several of our Friday P-Day friends to Springfield IL.  We visited Lincoln’s tomb, museum, and his home.  It was a 3 hour trip over and then back.  The museum was wonderful – lots of wax figures that were incredible.  They had lots of large rooms depicting different times in Lincoln’s life from childhood to his death but photographs were not allowed.  My favorite was the room representing when his body was laying in state.  There was such a reverent feeling in that room.  We walked several blocks to his home and it reminded me a lot of the homes in Nauvoo but a lot of the furnishings in his home were actually his.  We didn't get all of the museum visited before we had to leave and that was a disappointment.  Hopefully someday we can come back this way.

Lincoln Museum

With the Robison's and the Greene's (and a young Abe Lincoln)

 Lincoln's Tomb - inside and outside

 There was also a man dressed as Lincoln that walked around the area of his home telling about Lincoln's life. He was impressive. 

Saturday, August 23 – We were guides at the temple today for a cute couple.  He is from Korea and she is from Missouri.  They met at BYU and he is a convert of a little over a year and is still in the process of learning English.  We went to the Nauvoo Hotel for dinner with the Kukuk’s and then visited at their apartment for a while after.  It was another good day.

             

Going back to President Hinckley's quote -  "Those who labor" are each of us who make time to go to the temple and do temple work.  Try to fit this wonderful work into your schedules.  You and your families will be blessed.    

We love you all and miss everyone.  Life is good here and we are happy.

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