Crump Crew in Nauvoo: Everything's good here :0)

As busy as things were from the middle of July to the middle of August, life now here in Nauvoo is just as slow. But that’s ok. It gives me time to get caught up on my journal and do a bit of studying.

I think that I’m growing quite accustomed to the quiet life of Nauvoo. There’s never any traffic, there are no shopping malls, or even grocery stores for that matter. We can drive for miles and miles through Illinois or Iowa cornfields with just a few homes scattered throughout. I drive out to Mike’s Produce to get some corn, tomatoes, cucumbers and raspberries that he literally just picked for me. It’s a peaceful place and I love it.

I also love the time we get to spend with the other missionaries; serving with them in the historic sites, spending time visiting at a mission dinner, learning together at Mission Training or hanging out for games and treats. The senior missionaries each have a wealth of knowledge and life experiences that I certainly don’t have. The young sister missionaries have been fun to get to know as well. They bring an exciting enthusiasm to the mission.

On our pday we drove up the Great River Road on the Iowa side of the Mississippi to Muscatine. The city is famous for making pearl buttons out of the mussel shells found along the river during the early 1900’s. (Just a quick fact: by 1905 Muscatine had produced 1.5 billion pearl buttons annually.) We went to the Museum of History and Industry and it was really quite interesting to see the ingenuity of the people at that time. We also drove out to the Pine Creek Grist Mill that’s on the way from Muscatine to Davenport, Iowa. It’s a beautiful old mill next to a calm flowing stream. Very picturesque. We want to go back in October when the fall leaves are on..

Scott had a great experience this week at the Browning Gun Shop. On Tuesday, a man came in for a tour not long before they were closing for the day. He works as a lawyer in a federal court in Saipan (one of the Northern Mariana Islands). Before the tour began, he asked Scott some questions about the laws at the time Joseph Smith was arrested and taken to the Carthage Jail. Joseph had approved of the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor printing press, so it seemed as though the people had every reason to have him arrested. Scott explained to him that, in the 1840’s, the freedom of the press laws applied to the federal government and not to individual states at that time. They had a nice long conversation that answered many of the man’s questions. Afterwards, Scott was concerned that he had taken up too much of his time. Fast forward to this morning and Scott had a temple recommend interview with the mission president. President Lusvardi had heard about Scott’s Browning Gun experience from the inquisitive man himself. The man told him how grateful he was that Scott had cleared up many things and answered his questions. Pres. Lusvardi expressed his gratitude to Scott for following the spirit as he taught. It reminds me that we never really know the stories behind the people that we interact with each day and that sometimes, in some small way, we can be in tune and be the answer someone is searching for.

A few things I’ve learned this week:

Every second is an opportunity to make a choice. Choose well.
Take time to step back and be touched by the things around us that we consider beautiful or sacred.
Everything is good here :0)

A few pictures from the week.