Say what??!! It's June already?

Morning fog

Whoa! It's seriously June already??!!  The time is flying by.  Here are a few of our experiences of this past week...

For Pday on Monday we went to Amana, which is a town to the north west of Iowa City, home of the Amana appliances.  They were having a Renaissance Fair that Scott really wanted to see.  Let me tell you, I think we were one of, maybe, 10 adults there without tattoos! It was an odd mix of people and we definitely felt out of place in our missionary attire and name tags.  But it was still very interesting.  The town of Amana itself was quaint with little shops and restaurants.  

On Friday night the entire mission went to the Visitor Center to watch the church broadcast of the commemoration of the 40^th anniversary of the revelation of the priesthood.  President Lusvardi helped in putting the broadcast together and was there in Salt Lake to be a part of it.  He encouraged all of us to watch it.  I have to say that I honestly had not given that revelation much thought.  I had only been a member of the church for about a year and a half, I was 14 years old and actually didn’t even realize that not everyone had the opportunity to receive the priesthood.  I do remember where I was when it was announced…I was helping Karen Stevenson plant marigolds in her front flowerbed in Orem.  Everyone seemed quite excited about it, but I didn’t really get it.

After watching the broadcast however, I was extremely touched by so many saints of African descent that chose to join the church, knowing full well that they could not receive all of the blessings that the majority of the members could receive. Their faith in God and hope that at some future time, maybe not even in their own lifetime, that all that the Father has could be theirs as well. It was so inspiring to me.  Would I have even an ounce of that kind of faith?! I would hope so but I really wonder if I would.  Their courage, conviction and devotion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ gave me a lot to think about and strive for.

On Saturday I had the opportunity to serve in the Seventies’ Hall.  I hadn’t been there before, even as a visitor, so I knew nothing about it but it has a great history.  In a nutshell, it was the Nauvoo version of the modern day MTC :0). It was built by the Quorums of the Seventy as a place of instruction for the missions they would serve. It also served as a place for the Council of Fifty to meet and plan the exodus of the saints. 

So, I had a nice experience there yesterday that reminded me that sometimes our Heavenly Father answers our prayers, but not always in the way we actually ask.  I was giving a tour to a group of three people from Spanish Fork who were members.  The one man was probably in his 50’s and it appeared as though he maybe had suffered a stroke.  When he wanted to communicate he would try to say things but then would resort to writing a word or two on a small, hand-held tablet that he had.  Then it was like playing charades as we tried to guess what he was wanted to say.  At one point he was getting frustrated and I could just see it in his face. He pointed to my name tag, then to his chest, then to the ground and wrote “pres” on his tablet. We were all lost.  I said a quick prayer that Heavenly Father would help him be able to communicate what he wanted to say.  In an instant it came to my mind and I said, “You served a mission and your mission president assigned you to work here?” He looked up at me, astonished, relieved and with tears in his eyes, “Yes, yes!”  Apparently, he served in the Illinois Peoria mission thirty years ago and Nauvoo was then a part of his mission. And he loved serving here.   It was a blessing to be able to help him convey his feelings yesterday and I hope it’s an experience I will always remember.

Here are a few more things about Nauvoo that I don’t ever want to become commonplace:

·      Cornfields and fields of soybeans

·      Red winged blackbirds everywhere

·      Barges up and down the Mississippi

Amana, Iowa

At the Amana Heritage Museum.

Jousting at the Renaissance Festival.
(Not US jousting, people who actually know what they're doing!)

Sword fights

With some friends we connected with after our
performance of "Sunset by the Mississippi."

Scott performing in "Stout Hearted Men"

The comic relief :0)

Dancing in "Mississippi Mud"