Sunday, July 26, 2015

Answer to Pioneer Puzzle #12 7-26-15

Answer to Pioneer Puzzle #12:

Bee Box

The children took the top part of the box and put a flower in it. When a bee landed on the flower, they quickly closed the box and took it to their mother.

The mother put a little bit of flour in the bottom section of the box, then put the top box on it. She pulled the sliding door open, and the bee fell into the flour, which coated its wings.

They took the box outside and opened it to let the bee fly out. With wings coated with flour, the bee flew lower and slower than usual. The mother and children were able to follow it to its hive in a tree and get some of the honey.

Pioneer Puzzle #13 7-26-15

Pioneer Puzzle #13
What is the large metal pronged item in this picture?

Missionary Moments. 7-26-15

The investigator I have been corresponding with since May came back to Nauvoo from out of state. We had a wonderful visit for over an hour, and I was able to share many of my convictions about the gospel. I love being a missionary!!!😇. 




Family Felicity! 7-26-15

The best part of this week for me was having Jared & Julianne and Mark & Misty come with their families. What fun for me to see ten of my grandchildren!  They have all grown so much and gotten even cuter!  

During Sunset by the Mississippi the sister sitting next to me said, "Look at that adorable little girl with the brown curls and teddy bear on the front row. I wish I could take a picture of her."  

I smiled and exclaimed, "That's my granddaughter Meda!"  I feel like I have the most wonderful grandchildren in the world!  Here we are at the Country Fair and on the Cultural Hall Stage. 


The Pageant Continues 7-26-15

What a wonderful week it has been!  The British and Nauvoo Pageants are thrilling!  They are at least as powerful for members as non members. I feel that I learn so much every time I go. 



Monday, July 20, 2015

Pioneer Puzzle #12 - 7-20-15


Pioneer Puzzle #12:  7-20-15
Can you figure out how this box was used?

ANSWER TO PIONEER PUZZLE #11:
A potato masher. I think I'd like to have one of these!

Missionary Moments - 7-20-15

Many choice things have happened this week.

Elder Jeffrey R Holland came to visit with his family and spoke to all the missionaries. He said Nauvoo is our dream of the City of Zion. It was actually achieved for a few short years here. He said Pres Spencer W Kimball said everyone should visit 2 places if possible: the Holy Land and Nauvoo. For the first time in the history of the world, the Church will survive and stand triumphant! We will hand the Church back to Christ. Nauvoo helps us remember our dream of the City of Zion.

I went to the pageants every night I could. I feel that I am so hungry for its message. One night they had to pause in the middle while it poured rain for 10 minutes, then dry off the stage and resume. We were soaked to the skin. The next night it was so hot and humid that when we arrived home we were still soaked to the skin!

There are usually organized protestors at the pageant passing out anti-Mormon literature disguised to look almost identical to our programs. The protestors even try to dress like we do. The opposition can be very clever.

I have loved the vignettes performed by the pageant cast - especially the King Follett discourse and the apostles at the Seventies Hall. It's so inspiring to be here!

"As an Elephant's Eye!"

Here are the corn fields on July 3rd and July 17th.

"Is As High..."

Here are the corn fields on June 16 & June 30.

"The Corn..."

Greetings! Since we live in the middle of the corn fields, it has been fun to watch the corn grow from seedlings. These pictures were taken mid May and June 7.

Monday, July 13, 2015

Pioneer Puzzle #11 7-12-15

Pioneer Puzzle #11:
What is the tall wooden object?

ANSWER TO PIONEER PUZZLE #10:
A mud scraper to clean your shoes on before entering the house. 


Nauvoo & British Pageants 7-12-15

The missionaries walk up at the end in their white shirts and sing with the pageant cast. It is a thrilling experience to represent the Lord as a missionary.  The pageants are powerful missionary tools.  It's a marvelous experience standing among the saints of God. 

You children may remember Elaine McKay who stayed with us in Rome, took much of the video footage for our Fortress DVD, and was responsible for us receiving the BYU Service to Family Award. Her son and his family were here this week & their son-in-law plays the part of Joseph Smith. They have always loved our family's singing and invited me to have my picture taken with "Joseph Smith", their daughter who is the choreographer for the pageant, and their son who is on of the main characters. My flash didn't go off, but you can still see us. 


Country Fair 7-12-15



The Nauvoo and British Pageants started this week. There's a Country Fair preceding the pageant each night, with so many fun things to do!  The cross cut saw, circle dancing, stilt walking, tug of war, hoop rolling, stick pulling, puppet shows, etc. What a fun place to be!

Singin' in the Rain 7-12-15



Someone told me that this year was the wettest June in Nauvoo history.  July has also been unusually wet and cooler that normal.  When it rains here it looks white to me. I finally got a picture of it coming down over the trees. Yesterday it rained so hard for about 40 minutes that this was my view from the Cultural Hall door. Many children were elated to swim in it!

Welcome to the Cultural Hall! 7-12-15



I'm the assistant site director for the Cultural Hall, which means I'm there 2-3 days a week. It's  really fun right now because we have the children's play "Just Plain Anna Amanda" every morning and also Nauvoo Brass Band Concerts. I'm just loving all this "culture," along with sharing the gospel.  

Summer in Full Swing 7-12-15


Hi Everyone!  Nauvoo is such a great meeting ground!  It seems a little like heaven, where I keep running into people I haven't seen for years. 

This week was very special because Gordon & Lesli came to Nauvoo with the young single adults from their ward.l We had so much fun exploring Nauvoo and attending the pageant together. I also got to see Bob & Susan Mitchell. Susan wrote the book "Forever Stalwart" that I gave my children for Christmas. It has a lot of stories about Isaac Morley in it. 

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Answer to Pioneer Puzzle #9: 7-6-15

Somehow my answer didn't come through on my previous post, so here it is:

ANSWER TO #9:
The item on the left is a hair Crimper and the one on the right is a curling iron. They were both heated in the fire, which meant you would have to be really careful not to scorch your hair!

Oops Pioneer Puzzle #10! 7-6-15

Have you heard the saying "Haste makes waste?" Well, I just proved it!

The picture I just posted as #9 is actually #10.

Pioneer Puzzle #9 7-6-15

Pioneer Puzzle #9
My brothers and sisters can probably guess this one, since we had one in Price!

Missionary Moments 7-6-15


This little baby bird was in one of the flower pots 
in front of the Cultural Hall.  Like this little bird that opened its mouth to receive life-giving water, each of us must open our mouths to drink of the life-giving water of the gospel. 

I've had some marvelous missionary moments this week. I met a lady while giving a tour at the Lyon Drug in May. We have been corresponding by email ever since. She is an earnest truth seeker, and it has been a joy to communicate with and answer her sincere questions.  She is coming back to Nauvoo (she lives in the Chicago area) in 2 weeks, so I am excited to see her again. 

On Saturday in the Cultural Hall I talked to a man who truly wanted to know about the saints who settled Nauvoo, about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He was thrilled when I offered him a Book of Mormon that I had previously marked. The joy that comes in seeing someone embrace the gospel is beyond description!  It definitely happens in the Lord's own way and time, and it is literally true that He puts the words in your mouth that He wants said. I have never been so aware that it is the Spirit of the Holy Ghost that converts and not me. 



Happy 4th of July!!! 7-6-15

We had a wonderful sunrise service on the morning of July 4th. The Nauvoo Brass Band played Starts and Stripes forever.  I thought of my Dad the whole time they played. He was the one who first taught me to love that piece.  I tried putting my video of it on the blog, but it is too big, so here's a picture of the band instead. 



Happy 4th of July!!! 7-6-15

Here's our patriotic celebration at home.

Happy 4th of July!!! 7-6-15

Hope you had a grand celebration of the 4th!  It was pretty tame here compared to Provo!  The fireworks were shot off from Montrose on the other side of the Mississippi. My pictures didn't turn out, so here's the sunset while we waited for the fireworks to begin, with the Nauvoo Temple directly behind us.