Sunday, August 23, 2015

PIONEER PUZZLE #17. 8-23-15

Pioneer Puzzle #17:
What is this?

Crowds of Bugs! 8-23-15

One thing that hasn't slowed down is the bug population. It seems there are ten times as many right now for some reason!  These bugs were so thick on my front door that I had to go in the back. This little frog was having a feast!  I also swept two frogs out of the Cultural Hall this past week!

I got a new calling: music coordinator for sacrament meeting. Organizing it has taken up most of my free time. 



Summer Fading. 8-23-15

The weather has been cooler this week, and we have had almost no rain for about 3 weeks. It feels like summer is evaporating along with the crowds.  Fortunately however, the number of nonmember visitors has increased!

This week we only had one Rendezvous performance each night instead of 2, and each cast only performed 2 nights, so it's really different. 

Here's the view out my front door. 




Sunday, August 16, 2015

Pioneer Puzzle #16. 8-16-15

Pioneer Puzzle #16. What is the darker item in front?

ANSWER TO PIONEER PUZZLE #15:
Bed Warmer
The pioneers put water in the pan and heated it over the fire or stove. Then they used it to warm the bed. 

Home Sweet Home. 8-16-15


Hi Everyone!  Because I posted so late last week I don't have much to add. Sister Reber left for St George, UT on Saturday, August 15. Randall and Marion Jones, 2 non-member friends she has had on all 3 missions who now live in Carthage, are driving her home. I will miss her. She was a wonderful companion. 

I am still living in the same home by myself for a few weeks. Over the next couple of months about 90 missionaries (half of them) will go home. I will then be assigned a new companion and be moved in closer to the sites. For the time being, I am enjoying my present circumstances. 



Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Pioneer Puzzle #15. 8-11-15

Pioneer Puzzle #15:
What is the item in front?

ANSWER TO PIONEER PUZZLE #14:
Hurricane Lamp
The early saints put their candle in a hurricane lamp so the breeze wouldn't blow it out when they walked at night. Each hole in the design had to be made by hand, and the rough side faced out to keep the wind from blowing the candle out. Each family had their own design, so you could tell who was coming to your house by the design on their hurricane lamp. 


Goodbye Party for Sis Reber 8-11-15

I'm enjoying my last week with Sister Reber. She has been a great companion, and I will miss her. Last night I gave her a party at the local Annie's Custard Shop. So many people came that they were lined up outside. It made her really happy!  

Last Sunset. 8-11-15

Saturday, August 8 was also our last performance of Sunset by the Mississippi for this year. It has been so much fun! We will all miss the crowds and the added performances. It has been awesome. 

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Goodbye YPMs 8-11-15

Things have been so hectic with last goodbyes that I'm late getting this blog posted. This past week was our last with the young performing missionaries (YPMs).  They have been so much fun!  It is sad to see them go. We love all 40 of them. Here are a few pictures to give you the idea how awesome they all are. 




Sunday, August 2, 2015

Answer to Pioneer Puzzle #13 8-2-15

Answer to Pioneer Puzzle #13:
1840 Refrigerator!
The saints would wrap something they wanted to keep cool, like cheese or butter or meat, in burlap (coarse cloth) and attach it to the big prongs. Then they would lower into the well to the water level to keep it cool.

Pioneer Puzzle #14 8-2-15

Pioneer Puzzle #14
What is this?

Winding Down - A Fond Farewell 8-2-15

My dear companion Sis Reber has been struggling with her health ever since she got here. Her husband was murdered at his job while he was serving as a bishop in 1998. Sis Reber is now serving her fourth mission since that time - her third to Nauvoo.

She has not been able to get the medical help she needs for her multiple health problems and will be leaving to return home on August 15th. I will miss her. She has been a wonderful companion and I have truly grown to love her. A nonmember friend she has been friends with for all three missions will drive back to St George with her.

Here we are getting ready to march on stage with the other missionaries at the end of the British Pageant.

Missionary Moments 8-2-15

Thursday afternoon I was giving a tour in the Cultural Hall. A couple about my age came in and started asking earnest questions. The 10-minute tour turned into 45 minutes. I arranged to have them come to Rendezvous to watch me perform, and the young sister missionary serving with me arranged for prime seats at the pageant for them.

We didn't know if they would come or not, and I didn't know if I could get out of the second Rendezvous performance to take them to the pageant. Somehow the Lord worked it all out. The house manager got them excellent seats, and they came! I ran into all the right people who could do my parts for me on the second show.

I went to the pageant with my new friends. The young sister missionaries reserved us some great seats and met us afterward to talk about the pageant. The couple loved it, and I asked them if they would like a Book of Mormon. They were very excited to have one! As we walked back to our cars we encounter a number of protestors, and I was so glad I was with them.

It's such a thrill to share my convictions with someone and invited them to discover the good news of the gospel for themselves! Like these beautiful water lilies on the Mississippi River, their faith is blossoming, and I will continue to pray for them!

Nauvoo Miracle 8-2-15

On Tuesday it was so hot, humid, and muggy that we could hardly stand to be outside. Just before the pageant started black clouds rolled in behind the temple at an alarming speed. Every time I have seen those clouds we have had heavy rain and flooding for an extended period of time. As the opening prayer at the pageant ended, a fine misty rain fell for about 3 minutes. You could see the rain in the flood lights, but you couldn't feel it. Then the storm bypassed us, and temperature became very pleasant for the rest of the evening. We sat an watched in awe as that miracle unfolded.

More Pageant Vignettes 8-2-15

 The Nauvoo Bagpipe Band, which helped drown out the protestors - yes, we still have them today.  Joseph and Emma's letters to each other. 


Pageant Vignettes 8-2-15

My favorite pageant vignette is called "Go Ye Into All the World."  Here are Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, Heber C Kimball, and Parley P Pratt preaching the gospel in Great Britain.  The Women of Nauvoo vignette shows how the Relief Society had its beginnings in Nauvoo. 


Farewell to the Pageants - 8-2-15

After a month of whirlwind activities the Pageants concluded last night. So many amazing things have been going on - the Country Fair every night, the bagpipe band, vignettes in several locations, and of course the two magnificent pageants themselves. 

The British Pageant (on Wednesdays & Fridays) helped me realize that when the Church was struggling to survive after Governor Bogg's extermination order from Missouri, Joseph Smith received a revelation to send all twelve apostles to Great Britain at the same time. Some were so sick they could hardly walk, but they went. Within a few months they converted nearly 8,000 saints, most of whom left their beloved native lands and came to Nauvoo. The British saints literally revived the Church.