After serving in Nauvoo in 2018 & 2019 as site missionaries, Scott and I had planned to serve another mission at some point. We thought we’d submit papers in a year or two. Well, the Lord seems to have had other plans. In September we received a random phone call from Dennis and Teri Crockett, the directors of the Nauvoo Young Performing Missionaries. They asked if we would be interested in being called to serve as the coordinators for the Young Performing Missionaries. At first, we were a bit confused because we didn’t even know who the Crocketts were, nor had we applied for any kind of missionary service. But that confusion lasted just a minute, we looked at each other and said we’d talk to our children, but we’d love to serve. Elder Crockett asked us to pray about it and he’d get back to us in a few days. We did pray about it, talked to Cami, Judd, Matthew, Shannon, and Zachary, and felt very good about saying yes.
In October we received our call to serve as the Nauvoo Young Performing Missionary Coordinators. Our call is for one year, with the option to continue on a year-to-year basis. So, with that, we began Nauvoo Round 2.
In October the applications for Young Performing Missionaries were made available. During October, some former performing missionaries and our leadership team got together to make a recruiting video that was posted on Facebook and the Church website. This took the place of the normal recruiting tour of college institutes from Rexburg, Idaho to Cedar City, Utah. We were afraid that, because of the restrictions placed on the world by Covid-19, we would have very few applicants. Boy, were we wrong, and gratefully so. Over 500 applications came in. Applicants submitted a video by December 1 that showcased their singing, dancing, and acting abilities, and the selection process for callbacks began. By the middle of December, about 110 people were chosen to participate in virtual callbacks which we held on January 9th. Of those 110, the leadership team chose 70 missionaries; stage, band & tech. Some would serve in the Summer Cast (May 12-August 11) and the others would be part of the Fall cast (July 22-the end of October). Having a Fall Cast will be a new twist, so we’ll see how that goes.
The Young Performing Missionary Leadership group consists of: Directors – Dennis & Teri Crockett, Voice Coach – Scott Wood, Choreographers – John & Chante Stutznegger and Teagan & Shayne Mann, Costuming – Dianne Ingram and Ruth & Carl Jones, Acting Coaches – Cory & Debbie Sackett, Production Manager – Cristian Torres, Nauvoo Brass Band - Mike & Stephanie Cottam. These are amazingly talented people and we love serving with them.
 |
| Young Performing Missionary Leaders: By couples across the back - Crump, Crockett, Cottam, Jones, Mann Front row - Sackett, Ingram, Torres |
After the missionaries who would serve in Nauvoo were chosen in January, the work for us greatly increased. Organizing mission applications, arranging flight plans and housing, collecting personal information from the missionaries, ordering missionary name tags, scheduling transportation and meals on our arrival day, and dealing with other random things that came up, kept us busy day and night. Nevertheless, it was a blessing to see the excitement build in the young missionaries that were selected to serve in Nauvoo.
Scott and I left on April 28th and drove to Nauvoo, arriving on the 30th. Elder & Sister Crockett were already there and other adult leaders arrived within the next few days. We all got busy preparing housing, music, choreography, scripts etc.
 |
| On our drive to Nauvoo, we made a stop in the little Dutch town of Pella, Iowa. The tulips were amazing! |
 |
| We were able to move back into the same home we lived in when we were here before - the Winslow Farr home. |
The missionaries all arrived safely at the St. Louis airport on May 12th. The next day they got to work singing, learning a binder full of music with Scott Wood and a boatload of new dances for Sunset by the Mississippi with Teagan and Shayne Mann. Those poor missionaries didn’t know what hit them! There was so much to learn, but they were willing to work hard and do their best . Every day they were amazed at how our Heavenly Father blessed them with open minds to take in all that they were required to memorize, and with legs and feet to dance and not be weary and perform and not faint. We have seen many miracles occur already. These young missionaries are a testimony to the fact that miracles have not ceased among the children of men, and that the Church is in very capable hands with this rising generation.
 |
| We had a nice private room in the airport that we could gather in. Here is the first group to arrive. |
 |
| Prepping to hand out missionary name tags. |
 |
| The missionaries arrived at the Pageant Building in Nauvoo. |
 |
| Nauvoo Historic Sites President, Steve Rizley and his wife Marilyn. They welcomed the missionaries the evening we arrived. |
 |
| Elder and Sister Crockett lead one of our mission devotionals.  |
Our days…people ask what we do here in Nauvoo? The shortest answer is…we keep things organized and do whatever is asked of us :0) Our calling is to help make everyone else’s calling easier, to lighten their load. When a garbage disposal doesn’t work, the missionaries call us. When they need permission to use computers for homework, they ask us. Flights need to be arranged for incoming missionaries? We are it. Mail pickup each day? We’ve got that covered. Scheduling the Pageant Building for rehearsals? We make that connection. Duct tape to fix a dance shoe? Got it. Mouse traps for a missionary home…off to Dollar General we go. Need a couple to be present during priesthood blessings? We’re there. When missionaries need to be picked up or leaders need to catch a plane home at the Quincy or St. Louis airport, we are the shuttle service. Envelopes and stamps to mail letters? That’s us (I told them we would provide those two items if they would just write the letters.), KT tape for injuries? It’s been ordered. If a missionary is sick or injured, they let us know. Scott’s covering the mission history by collecting and transcribing daily journals from our Young Performing Missionaries, he keeps track of the mission vehicles we use, and submits all the service requests asked for by the missionaries and leadership team to Facilities Management (FM). He also takes care of the mission finances. So, in a nutshell, we don’t do the singing/dancing/acting end of things, but we take care of all of the little details that keep the Young Performing Missionary program running smoothly. You get the idea.
 | ||||
Mail delivery
|
 |
| Scott doing what he loves...he took the band members on a tour of the outside of the Community of Christ properties; Nauvoo House, Mansion House, Homestead, Smith Family Cemetery, and the Red Brick Store. |
 | ||
Serving some lunch with the best bunch ever!
|
 |
| Practicing in the Pageant Building After weeks of practicing for Sunset by the Mississippi, the missionaries finally had the opportunity to perform it on the stage. On the next blog post I'll include pictures from the play, The Promise, which they've been rehearsing for as well.  |
Even though we are thoroughly exhausted every single day, we are thoroughly filled with joy at the opportunity to serve again, to serve in Nauvoo, and to serve with these amazing missionaries. We are blessed to have a small part in this work.
Saturday and Sunday were “days never to be forgotten”, to use a phrase from Oliver Cowdery. Elder Quentin L. Cook, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, came to Nauvoo to dedicate the four new historic homes that have recently been restored. Three of which are part of what is called the Temple District.
• The reconstructed William and Esther Gheen home. The Gheen family embraced the gospel and gathered to Nauvoo to assist with construction of the temple.
• The William and Caroline Weeks home, where William Weeks, the Church architect, designed the Nauvoo temple under the Prophet Joseph’s direction.
• The Edward and Anne Hunter home, where the Prophet wrote inspired epistles to the Latter-day Saints, including Doctrine & Covenants 124 regarding the building of the Nauvoo temple and the doctrine of Baptism for the Dead.
• The stone cutting pavilion built on what was the property of William and Elizabeth Jones. William was a stone mason for the temple.
• The West Grove, where the Prophet Joseph Smith delivered numerous sermons, including the King Follett discourse.
• In addition to the temple district, Elder Cook dedicated the Orson and Marinda Hyde home, which has been renovated and highlights the apostolic missions of Church leaders during the Nauvoo period.(Church News 5-29-21)
Elder Cook said some amazing things at the dedication. In the dedicatory prayer he said that Nauvoo is a place of inspiration, learning, serenity, protection, increased spiritual capacity, and significant spiritual experiences. I couldn't agree more with that description of Nauvoo. Elder Cook also taught us in a Sunday morning sacrament meeting for all of the missionaries and shared his absolute witness of the reality of the Savior. He said, “I know the Savior’s voice, I know the Savior’s face. As an apostolic witness, I know he lives.” Let me tell you, when he spoke those words, the spirit testified to both my mind and heart that Elder Cook was speaking the truth.
 |
| Elder Hart, Elder West, Sister Whiting, and Sister Urry sing at the dedication.  |
2021 Nauvoo Young Performing Missionaries
Summer Cast
Front row, left to right: Emma Leishman, Ruth Howe, Katie Talbot, Brooke Nielsen, Dana Facer, Madison Franklin, Pyper Foote, Brante Copling, Abigail Storm, Angie Whiting, Jenna Urry, Mackenzie Jeppesen, and Katie Nysetvold. Row two: Lydia Mueller, Mickayla Hunter, Sara McGriff, Abbie Derrick, Lily Stay, Bethany Fox, Rebecca Miess, Celina Adams, Kassidy Magleby, Dianna Black, Haley Reed, Rachel Fonseca, Melissa Ault, Sadie Webster, and Emilie Garner. Row three: Samuel West, Jacob Kropf, Manny Gutierrez, Chance Anderson, Joseph Grooms, David Chandler, Luke Urry, Nick Peterson, Matthew Peterson, and James Handy. Back row: Joseph Isaacson, Joseph Peterson, Braden Eddington, Tanner Perkins, Michael Ferrier, James Fenwick, Scott Young, Kyle Atkinson, Caleb Mousley, Nathan Holbrook, Tyler McQuiston, and Nate Hart.
