Brrrrr...

It has been a busy week even though we haven’t had a lot of guests.  The teamsters continue to take people on sleigh rides and everyone loves it.  It has been an awesome way to bring the community together.  We have had a couple of days when they couldn’t run the horses because the temperatures have been too low.  But the teamsters are such great guys that if someone comes and is dying to go on a ride they will hitch up a team of horses and go out, even when it’s below freezing. 

On Saturday we had the chance to help out with a group who came from Milwaukee. We were together with Elder and Sister Munns.  He served a mission in Argentina and speaks Spanish and it was a Spanish branch that came down specifically to go to the temple.  Part of the branch went to the temple, the kids were entertained at the Stake Center and we had a group in the Visitors’ Center.  Included in our group were some who were not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but had a family member that was.  We explained things at the Visitors’ Center, they went on a sleigh ride and then we went to a few of the places in town like Browning Gun, the Blacksmith shop and the Brickyard.  When we were done we joined the rest of their branch and went out to Carthage.  It was a great experience to be able to tell them about what happened there and share my testimony in Spanish as we stood in the room where Joseph and Hyrum were killed.  I had prayed and studied for over two weeks so that I could have the help from above that I needed to communicate.  And, of course, Heavenly Father came through and I was able to connect with them. I am grateful to have been an instrument in His hands to share His truth.

On Sunday we had the Exodus Fireside in the Visitors' Center. It's the first of many events to honor the pioneers who left Nauvoo in 1846.   The program was excellent.  We learned about pioneers in Nauvoo at the time of the Exodus, then about modern day pioneers around the world, building the church wherever they live and lastly, about how we are pioneers here as we serve our Heavenly Father and touch lives each day. The evening helped me realize, even more, how the decisions I make each day will have an affect on my posterity.  It's not all about today.  It's about how our example to our children, and others around us, will affect the future.  We are today's pioneers.

Yep, a little chilly here.

Elder Thatcher is willing to do
anything to get out of the office.

The snow piled up by the
Browning Gun shop.

Browning Gun

Ice flows along the Mississippi

The river is almost frozen over.

Scott had a private tour of the Mansion House
with Rick MacGregor and Fred Daniels.

At the Browning Gun shop.

Scott spent two days this week making bricks.

At the Stoddard Tin Shop

This is at the Carthage Visitors' Center with the
Spanish group from Milwaukee.

Teaching the Spanish group about the kindness the
jailor showed to Joseph and the others in Carthage.  

A two horse open sleigh...

It's been a cold, wintery week, but a great one as well.  Because we had so much snow last week, and more fell this week, the teamsters have been able to provide sleigh rides for the guests.  It has been a huge hit!  People of all faiths have come from Illinois, Iowa and Missouri.  The Nauvoo News Facebook page advertised it and that has really helped a lot.  We get people who come one day and then come back the next day with family and friends in tow. Scott and I had the chance to go for a ride on Monday while we were serving in the Visitors’ Center.  It was just so much fun! The sleigh just glides so smoothly through the snow.  Hopefully we will get another chance to go on a ride. We have the best Teamsters who are willing to get out there, regardless of how cold and uncomfortable it might be, just to serve.  They bought a second sleigh this week and have loved taking it out.

On Friday we drove down to Keokuk to try to see some bald eagles.  Apparently they come to Keokuk this time of year. They fly near the dam to feed on the fish in the Mississippi River.  It was a super cold day but we went to Victory Park, along the river, and were able to see a number of them.  The eagles were perched in a couple of trees along the bank.  Every once in a while they would swoop down toward the river in search of food.  It was such a cool thing to watch up close. On our drive home we noticed 11 of them perched in trees along the Great River Road.  So cool!

One thing that has been hard this last week is that we have a senior missionary couple that had to leave and go home to Canada for medical treatment.  Elder Hall fell on the ice on Monday.  He recovered from that pretty quick but then had some blood in his urine.  Thinking it had something to do with his fall he went to the emergency room at the Fort Madison Hospital.  They ran some tests and, to make a long story short, he has cancer on his kidney, lungs and in his bones.  The ER doctor said it was a blessing that he fell on the ice because that caused him to come into the hospital and then it was all diagnosed.  It was a devastating diagnosis but the Halls have been amazingly strong.  I’m sure that in private they shed plenty of tears, but when they spoke to us all at Mission Training they expressed gratitude for everyone’s prayers in their behalf and were positive and hopeful.  Because of health insurance they have to go home to Canada for any kind of treatment.  As I watch them deal with all of this I think of the other senior missionaries we serve with, each  has had difficult things to deal with in their lives and they are such amazing examples to me of staying strong and true to the Savior, even in the most difficult times.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is what anchors them.  I am so blessed to be surrounded by such faithful saints.

Scott had a nice experience on Sunday as we served in the Visitors' Center.  A couple came in who were visiting from Minnesota.  He was Catholic and she was Lutheran and they both had a lot of questions.  Scott was the perfect person to talk with them.  He had the historical knowledge and was able to answer all of their questions. They were curious about the Bible, the Book of Mormon, temples, the history of Nauvoo, modern prophets, and missionaries.  In the end they wanted a copy of the Book of Mormon.  Scott gave them one and turned down the page in 3 Nephi 11 because they were interested in Christ's visit to the Americas.  Hopefully they take some time to read it and think about its message.  When they do they'll know it came from God.

Amazing!

Getting ready for our sleigh ride :0)

President and Sister Lusvardi enjoyed a ride as well.

 

Bundled up for the weather. This week it's been pretty chilly, and the
humidity makes the "feels like" temperature about ten degrees colder.

Even though it's bone-chilling cold, its' still beautiful!

Sadly they had to take out some more trees because the
 trunks were rotting :0(  This time they removed the three
 huge trees in front of the Brickyard.  Looking at the rings
they figured the trees were about 126 years old.  

Every PDay we do a FaceTime interactive lesson
with Cami's 5th Grade class in Logan.  They're studying
the American Revolution.  Last week we talked about
Paul Revere and took them to the Tin Shop for a demonstration.
This week Scott talked about the Battle of Lexington and Concord
and showed them the difference between muskets and rifles at the
Browning Gun Shop and explained how rifles were made.
It's fun for us and the kids in Cami's class enjoy it :0)