Ahhh Fall...

It has been a very busy October! And now it’s coming to an end.  This week we lose four couples and all of the Young Sister Missionaries.  The sister missionaries head to their outbound assignments for five months.  It’s going to be a ghost town around here.  To run all of the 21 historic buildings we only have 10 men and 16 women.  The math doesn’t work out in our favor, even if we have just one companionship to a site each day. So it’s called “creative scheduling” :0) We actually have the town divided into regions, and companionships are now assigned to a region.  Like the Print Shop, Post Office and John Taylor home are all in a region, the Brickyard, Lucy Mack Smith home and Log Schoolhouse are a region etc.  So a companionship will take care of the sites in their region.  On paper it seems like a great idea.  We’ll see how it all works out.  The bonus, for me, is that I get to work in the sites a bit more because they are desperate for help :0)

The Mission Presidents’ Seminar was a success.  It was so great to have them all here.  They were excited to learn about Nauvoo and mentioned over and over about the spirit they felt.  Scott and I had the opportunity to give them all a tour of the Printing Office.  Teaching members of the Quorum of the Seventy was a bit nerve wracking at first, but once we got started it was a lot of fun.  The members of the Area Presidency; Elder Wilford Anderson, Elder S. Gifford Nielsen and Elder Brian K. Taylor were all so gracious and kind. And it was fun to have Elder Carl B. Cook here again too.

On Thursday evening we had the opportunity to have Elder Neil L. Andersen speak to us, as well as his wife, and Elder Carl B. Cook and his wife.  It was just such a heart-warming experience to hear them speak and testify of the reality of the Savior.  Elder Andersen said that “this generation has seen Him.”, referring to the Savior.  And to the senior couples he promised that generations that follow us will say, “my grandparents served in Nauvoo and they knew and had a witness of the Savior.”  He said, “I know He lives, I confirm He lives.  I am His witness.”  I hope I don’t become too accustomed to hearing members of the Quorum of the Twelve speak since it can happen very frequently here.

Saturday night was the largest Halloween celebration I have ever seen!  Boo-tiful Nauvoo had over 6,000 people in town!  Mind you, the whole Nauvoo population is only 1,100. There was a Halloween parade that the missionaries participated in, pumpkin launching from a catapult, over 500 carved pumpkins, and scarecrows lining the streets.  We handed out candy as well as over 3,000 bags of fresh kettle corn, made on site.  It was a crazy event, but fun to participate in!

For Pday on Wednesday we drove over to Peoria, Illinois.  We went to the Caterpillar Visitors’ Center, which was pretty interesting.  I had no idea how expansive and global the company is.  We also drove along Grand View Drive and boy was it a grand view!  The road runs along the bluff overlooking the Illinois River Valley.  The fall colors are changing and it was absolutely gorgeous.  The leaves here in Nauvoo are beautiful as well.  

Serving in the Print Shop.

Granger Street, near Brigham Young's Home.

Another Mississippi sunset.

A tugboat pushing a barge up river.

At the Caterpillar Visitors' Center.

Peoria, Illinois

The Illinois River Gorge from Grand View Dr. in Peoria.

Pumpkins to be carved for Boo-tiful Nauvoo.

Spectators line the parade route.

Our oxen lead the way.

The Nauvoo horses even made it in the parade.

 

The Nauvoo Dragon.

Missionaries cooking the kettle corn.

Our visit from Elder Neil L. Andersen and his wife Kathy.

Elders Andersen, Cook, Anderson and Nielsen shake everyone's hand.

Elder & Sister Carl B. Cook

The Cooks, Sister Andersen, the Lusvardi's, the Andersons and the Nielsens.

It's not sweet corn...it's field corn!

Fall is slipping through our fingers as we watch the leaves change colors, the days grow more chilly and the geese head south for the winter.  Each season here brings a new sense of amazement. In reference to the above picture...in illinois 99% of the corn grown is field corn, which is used to make ethanol, high fructose corn syrup, animal feed and other products from the starch of the corn.  The corn is harvested after the plant starts to die and the kernels dry up. For the longest time I wondered why these farmers weren't harvesting their corn and letting it all dry up and die.  Well, there's the reason.  It's not sweet corn, it's field corn.

 On Saturday I had the opportunity to go to Carthage and help with a tour group from Spain. These members of the church had saved their money for years so they could make a trip to visit a few Church history sites.  It was a great experience to be with them.  There were 45 people, which we divided into three groups and I got to be with Elder and Sister Munns' group.  I didn’t do much in the way of speaking Spanish.  I was mostly there for moral support, to answer any questions and help guide the group along.  The best part was when we were in the martyrdom room.  There’s a recording that is usually played that describes the events of July 27, 1844, but they don’t have it in Spanish.  So Elder Munns had some of the information printed in Spanish and asked a few people to read different parts.  The spirit was strong at that point.  But when we sang the song, "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" together in Spanish, the spirit became overwhelming.  It was the best feeling ever.  The guests could feel it and didn’t want to leave.  I loved every minute of it. What a tender mercy.

This week in the office has been a little crazy as we planned for the Single Adult Mega Conference that took place this weekend (over 700 people) and the Mission Presidents’ Seminar next week.  The Mega Conference wasn’t as well planned out as it could have been so emergencies that came up fell on us to take care of.  That can be stressful when there are last minute things.  The Mission Presidents’ Seminar, however, is the total opposite, everything is planned down to the last detail, which creates a mountain of things to do.  But then there are fewer surprises :0) And fewer surprises is just what we want when we host Elder Neil L. Andersen, Elder Carl B. Cook, Elder Gifford Nielsen, other General Authorities, as well as over twenty mission presidents and their wives!

President Lusvardi has asked that Scott and I serve in the Printing Office next week when they all come.  We have six minutes to quickly explain the printing process, the significance of the building, and extend an invitation to them.  That’s a daunting task...trying to teach them something!  We are blessed to have the opportunity to do it though.  So we’ll see how it all goes.

In thinking back about General Conference, I have been so blessed as I try ("try being the operative word here.), to act on President Nelson's invitation to fast from social media for ten days, as well as read the Book of Mormon every day in order to finish it by the end of the year.  It has brought me peace, calm and a sense of quiet strength each day.  With blessings like that, why would I not want to continue to follow his counsel?  Not a question at all.

I came across two quotes this week that struck a chord with me.  The first is by John Taylor.  He said, "I pray that I may act all the time with reference to eternity."  If each decision I make, I do so thinking about the impact that decision will have on my own eternity, then my decisions would take on a whole new dimension. I would be able to see beyond the moment and choose more wisely.  

The second quote is from Mary Field Gardner, "We did not complain.  We were too thankful to be at Nauvoo."  I hope to always be thankful for the simple fact that I can serve here in Nauvoo.

With the group from Spain outside the Carthage Jail.

In the martyrdom room.

Along the Great River Road from Keokuk to Nauvoo.

Morning Sunrise...

Riding in the surrey...
the luxury wagon of the day.

Adam and Amos.
I think these are Percheron horses.
But I could be wrong, since I'm not too knowledgable
about them.  All I know is that they are BIG!