April 2016 in Nauvoo

A Month in the Life of a

Nauvoo Missionary !

We had a very busy April so this

post is pretty  l  o  n  g

As we gain more experience and have 

fewer "firsts" the posts

will most likely be much shorter !

April started off with

an early (7 a.m., no April Fools Joke) 

but nevertheless, wonderful, 

mission breakfast.

There are 3 serving tables set up, 

one for each Rendezvous Cast.

Each cast brings all the food for their

table and that is the table you fill your plate from.

This was our last day as the

New Missionaries !

This weekend another batch of new

missionaries arrive.

We will then be the Old, newbies.

4/2 - 4/3

Saturday & Sunday

General Conference Weekend

  Both Steve and I worked in the sites
on Saturday so we didn't get to
watch Conference live.

Saturday evening we watched the
Priesthood session

on our little TV
streamed through our laptop.
It worked pretty well and only bogged
down during the choir numbers ???

Sunday was great...We were
"on-call"
and didn't have to work at all.

In between sessions....in the midst of
a wild wind storm

we drove down to the Great Mississippi river ....

Saw this very old Ferry Boat that is on display 

and the Statue titled....

This statue of Brigham Young and Joseph

Erected in 2005 on the

200th birthday of the Prophet Joseph 

and the 175th anniversary of the

 organization of the church.

It is depicting Joseph telling Brigham

about the way to the Valley of the 

Great Salt Lake as

revealed to him in a dream.

We drove to the other side of the city

to the Temple Quarry site

(other than the replica Sun Stone there isn't much to see)

and then returned home just in time to

watch the afternoon session.

It was a nice relaxing day for us.

The flu has hit Nauvoo and that has been

effecting our schedules big time.

The schedulers have been very busy

rearranging things so all the

sites are covered.

We do this by "sharing" sites.

For example:

First Remember that 

companions have to stay together.

If the Gun Shop is sharing with the Tin Shop

(right across the street from each other)

we hang a sign on the Tin shop door

telling the visitors to go to the Gun Shop.

We would lock up the Gun shop,

hang a sign to go to the Tin Shop,

go to the tin shop, unlock it, do the tour,

lock it back up, hang the sign,

go back to the Gun Shop, unlock it ....

and so it goes all day long just like that,

back and forth.

Some of the shared sites are 

pretty close together.

others are not .... those are harder

because you have to drive between sites.

We are learning soooo much !

Monday 4/4

Today didn't start out very well.
Linda threw her back out
while getting dressed but was able
 to see a good LDS Chiropractor
before going to work.

Steve worked at the Brick Yard

He learned the art of making

little Nauvoo Bricks which is

quite a process and

probably takes a week or so to complete.

Linda worked at the Lyon Drug

and among other things

was able to practice weaving a shawl.

by the end of the day her

back was feeling much better.

 Tuesday 4/5
Today Both Steve and Linda worked the
"D" shift ....
9:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. .... no breaks

Steve worked in the
Webb Brother's Blacksmith Shop

He tells about building the wagons for the
exodus, each one measured 3' x 11' and carried
1,000 lbs of food and 1,000 lbs of goods ....
there wasn't room for People ....
everyone walked.


The wagons were pulled by Oxen most of the
time because they could live on
Prairie Grass better than horses.
They also liked using oxen because they
were less expensive to buy and
didn't need expensive harnesses etc.

One more advantage was that the oxen
walked at the same pace as
the pioneers.

After telling about the wagons

He demonstrates how to make a
souvenir Horseshoe
(gives one to each family)
and ....

A Prairie Diamond Ring

The story goes like this:

While crossing the prairie

two young men went to the father

of a pretty young lady and

asked for her hand in marriage.

The Father told them that whomever

could present his daughter with

a diamond ring first

could propose to his daughter.

One of the young men used his

ingenuity and went to his

Blacksmith-father

and asked if a ring could be made

for him to give to the young lady.

To which the father said

yes!

the "Diamond" brand horseshoe nail

was used to form a ring

and the diamond-shaped head

 of the nail together with the 

sparkle of the check marks

was good enough for the 

young lady's father

and .... the young lady.

today everyone that visit's the 

Blacksmith Shop receives their 

very own Prairie Diamond Ring !

After a long day we hurried home

and changed into our 

Show clothes .... you see,

tonight would be our very first time

performing in the

Rendezvous Play and Linda

would be playing the overture on the piano

for the first time.

We are not allowed to wear glasses

during the show because the

stage lights reflect in them too much 

so there are lots of "blind" actors up on 

that stage each night !

Before the show began we had

one last practice ....

The men practicing their number

"Willingly"

We have a great "new" director in Sister Lowe.

She and her family have done shows in 

Branson, Missouri and comes to

us with lots of experience.

Wednesday 4/6 

Our P-day

and we were ready for it too !

Wednesday's are the day we have our

Mission Training Meetings

So we get up, on our P-day, and go to

the 7 or 7:30 a.m. meeting until about 9:00.

On this particular day after the meeting

we dashed up to town for another

chiropractor appointment.

Then after a little rest and icing the back,

we drove down to the town of

Keokuk to do some

shopping.

We had put together quite a lengthy list

and planned on spending quite a

while shopping.

We were doing pretty well gathering up

all our non-food items when

a sweet little lady stopped us and asked

if we were from Nauvoo.

We ended up having a very nice conversation

with her and invited her and her friends

to come to Nauvoo & Carthage

on a "Field Trip"

She loved the things we told her about

Nauvoo (especially the "Free" part)

and said she was going to try and work it out.

We hope to see her and her

"Senior Living Center" friends one day soon.

Friday 4/8

Linda's first time playing in the

"GREEN ROOM"

The green room is where the cast prepares for

the show and where they hang out

in between scenes. 

It is actually a lot greener than it looks in 

these pictures.

Anyway, We did three songs in the

green room tonight and Linda did them

all nearly perfect .... YAY !

(We sang, Welcome, Willingly & Little Town)

Sunday 4/10

We love Sunday in the Sites because

we get to serve together

(the only time)

Today we served in the

Wilford Woodruff Home

It is a beautiful home, one of the nicest

in Nauvoo.  It is fun because

there are quite a few things on display

here that actually belonged to

the Woodruff Family.

(the visitor's love to see these things)

Wilford Woodruff was totally dedicated

to serving the Lord.

He was a Missionary, serving 8 missions,

an Apostle & Prophet.

On his first mission to England he 

baptized 1,800 people

including 200 preachers of other faiths.

when we are not doing tours we have

a nice room upstairs that we

can "hang-out" in ....

We actually spend a lot of time studying

the site book .... reading the scripts.

Monday 4/11

Today Steve worked in the Blacksmith shop

making ....

"my little pony size" horseshoes

all day long, and ....

He is getting better all the time !

Today during one of his demonstrations he made

a really ugly horseshoe so at the end

of the demonstration he tossed it in the "discard"

pile and gave the family watching a

horseshoe out of the "good" pile.

After the tour the mom came up to Steve and

asked if she could have the one he made

during the demonstration.

He said sure, then she told him she wanted

to use it as an object lesson about

how we're not always perfect, but we should

keep trying.

So it looks like Elder Waite, 

A new missionary in Nauvoo,

 will be an object lesson for her, probably

for years to come.

Tuesday 4/12

Today Linda Worked in the

George Riser Boot Shop

where she demonstrated how they made

shoes in the 1840's.

back in those days they made both shoes

exactly the same .... 

no left, no right, this way they could

switch feet and the soles would

wear more evenly and last much longer.

Linda is sitting on the Cobbler's Bench.

A Cobbler was a shoe repairman

a Shoemaker made AND repaired shoes.

In the Family Living Center we

tell about a device called ....

a weasel.

It measured the wool or flax yarn

after it was spun.

After it made 40 rotations it would pop.

7 pops equaled a skein.

So after visiting both the

Family Living Center & the Boot Shop

you would better understand the

words to the children's song

"Pop Goes the Weasel"

"All around the cobbler's bench,

the monkey chased the weasel,

the monkey thought it was all in fun,

Pop goes the weasel"

This month, Tuesday is one of our

Rendezvous performance nights.

Tonight was our first time in the finale.

It is the scene where all the towns people

are gathering outside in the cold

as they prepare to say

Farewell to their Homes, Temple & City

Sisters Trythall & Cook were in the

MTC with us and this is

 the first time we have worn the 

bonnets and capes.

Wednesday 4/13

Today was our P-day and everything

lined up perfectly for us to

have the whole day off ....

(no meetings, no shows, no practices)

So we decided it would be the perfect time

to drive to Springfield, Illinois

Home of President Abraham Lincoln.

We crossed over the Illinois River on this

large .... long bridge.

It took 2 1/2 hours to get to Springfield

from Nauvoo.

We put the address of the Lincoln Museum in our

GPS and we chose the "faster" route.

There were times we wondered where it was 

taking us .... many turns through little

towns and on narrow little back road streets,

But we ended up exactly where

we planned.

We parked the car and walked to all the

historic sites.

We enjoyed the view of the

current Capitol Building

and touring the "OLD" Capitol

where Lincoln served as an attorney.

We were speaking with one of the

tour guides near the entrance when all of

a sudden everyone got quiet

and in walked the Illinois State Govenor,

Bruce Rauner.

(he had come to present some awards)

He proceeds to shake hands with us and 

asks us how we are doing and where 

we are from .... How about that !

So, after he went upstairs, things downstairs

got back to normal and we

began our own little self-tour.

Steve was surprised to see a

Butterfly stove in the first room we visited.

(we talk about Butterfly stoves in the sites)

Linda thought this was an interesting 

Sewing Machine

and this stairway was unique & beautiful.

A few blocks from the capitol was an 

old Union Train Station.

It looked like it would be interesting

so we went in.

We went on the tour which ended up not

being about the station but a

tribute to the Spielberg movie "Lincoln"

So, it was interesting, but not what 

we expected to see.

Just across the street from the

Station was the ....

"Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum"

We spent quite a bit of time here.

They had a couple of theaters where they

showed documentary's.

both had amazing special effects.

one used new Holographic technology 

in a kind of diorama setting and

the other was some kind of 3D layering

effect on 3 Big Screens.

We were not allowed to take pictures but

they were both pretty impressive.

Linda had a photo-op with the Lincoln Family

and ....

Steve with the young Abe Lincoln near his

boyhood log home.

We even purchased a little souvenir 

in the museum gift shop.

another few blocks and we were on a tour of ....

 the Lincoln's beautiful home.

We left the city of Springfield after

a few more stops ....

JoAnn's Fabric, Walmart and Wendy's

It was a long day with lots and lots of walking

We enjoyed this beautiful sunset as we

drove along and arrived back in

Nauvoo about 9:30.

4/14 Thursday

today Linda served in the

John Taylor Home.

One of the best stories we tell in this

house is about this little

rocking horse.

It was hand carved by John Taylor for

one of his little boys.

After being forced to leave Nauvoo,

John's son became upset about leaving his

favorite toy behind, so ....

John risked his life, went back to Nauvoo and

under cover of darkness retrieved the

rocking horse.

They tied the little horse to the side of their

wagon as they made the long, hard

journey to Salt Lake.

In the Jonathan Browning Gun Shop

Steve was giving tours

about the guns Browning invented ....

The slide or harmonica repeating rifle &

a Revolving cylinder repeating rifle. 

After the saints left Nauvoo 

Jonathan was asked by Brigham Young

to stay behind in Winter Quarters

to help the saints .... this he did for 5 years.

Tonight was the dress rehearsal for

the mission talent show .... 

here you can see what the stage was like.

Behind and to the right is the Digital

piano Linda played to accompany Sister Cluff

who sang "God Bless America"

4/15 Friday

This week Linda's shawl was 

put on the loom in the Family Living Center.

All the sisters work on all the shawls when

they have some free time.

With each vertical row a new horizontal

row is created so you can see we are

just getting started here.

Shawl Update .... about two weeks later and

getting closer to being finished.

Tonight was the big night ....

the Annual Mission Talent Show !

Tapping to the Gene Kelly tune

"Singing In The Rain"

Linda was second on the program of

26 acts and they were all

wonderful.

Sunday 4/17

Today our Lucy Mack Cast Choir

sang in Sacrament Meeting ....

we sang Love Is Spoken Here and with

over 40 in our cast now our

choir sounded beautiful.

After the meeting, as we walked

to the back of the chapel

we saw two familiar faces ....

Steve's 2nd cousin & his wife

Wenden & Laura Waite.

(they are on their way to Palmyra to

serve a 6 month Temple mission)

We didn't even know them until we

moved to Star and began working in the

Boise Temple.  Wenden was

in the temple Presidency and later

served as President.

We spent a little bit too much time

visiting so we were very late getting to

the visitor's center for Sunday School and

all the seats were filled so ...

We took a stroll through the Women's Garden

just outside of the Visitor's Center.

The garden is absolutely 

Beautiful right now with ....

all the tulips in bloom ....

and the statues are wonderful.

 Afterward, we enjoyed attending

Priesthood and Relief Society.

Today we didn't have to work so

after church we decided to

go for a walk around the

"Flats" of Nauvoo.  (about 1 1/2 miles)

We stopped off at the Seventy's Hall

and looked up some of our

relatives.

John Waite Q32 & John T. Waite Q27

Edmund Lovell Ellsworth Q3

Nicholas Thomas Silcock Q2

Samuel Walker West Q?

We were privileged to sign the

Descendants Registry

in behalf of each of these men.

We are anxious to make another trip

to the Lands and Records office

to see how many more

ancestors were among the Nauvoo Saints.

We left the Seventy's Hall and walked

the Trail of Hope which

runs all the way down Parley Street.

We read each journal entry as we walked

along the path to the Mississippi River.

Each one was inspiring and together

they told the amazing story of 

these faithful and dedicated Saints

and the trials they endured during their

trek to the Great Salt Lake Valley.

Near the river's edge is this replica of an

old Ferry barge like the one the

Pioneers would have used during the exodus.

The last time we were down here the ferry was

empty, but now they have placed an

actual wagon on it.

Across the street is the Joseph & Brigham

"Eyes Westward" Statue, the

"Exodus to Greatness" Memorial and 

The Pioneer Memorial.

This memorial is a pavilion with the

names of all those pioneers that

died before reaching their Journey's end.

 

The "Exodus to Greatness" memorial 

stands in the center.

The names of Linda's

 Gr, Gr,  Grandmother, Charlotte Rudland Dansie,

and her baby boy Joseph are

among the names in this memorial.

  They were buried along the trail at

Pacific Springs, Sweetwater, Wyoming.

On Tuesday this week 20

Young Single Sister Missionaries

arrived in Nauvoo.

(they serve here for 6 months then actually

receive a new 6 month mission call and

upon completing that call they

return to Nauvoo to finish up

their missions)

Tonight we had a "sociable"

(like a fireside)

where all 20 YSM introduced themselves 

and told about their 

"outbound" mission experiences.

They are all so enthusiastic and ready to

serve here in Nauvoo .... 

we are excited to get to know them

and to serve with them.

Monday 4/18, 

1 month ago today we arrived in Nauvoo.

What a whirlwind it has been !

We celebrated by spending the day 

at the hospital .... fun times .... NOT !

Steve had an unexplained and sudden

lapse of memory so the

mission doctor sent us to the emergency

room in Fort Madison, Iowa

(about 15 minutes away)

After drawing 4-5 vials of blood 

then doing a CT Scan and Chest X-ray,

the doctor said everything seemed normal.

She said it would be a stretch to say

he had a mini stroke and that

it was likely this would never happen again.

They sent us home, but said IF it 

happened again to come back ASAP.

we are pleased to report that so far

all is well !

Wednesday 4/20

When we arrived in Nauvoo

Linda was assigned a

personal seamstress .... Sister Black

(who is also a Rendezvous pianist)

Today was the Final Fitting of Linda's

2nd Site dress

Thursday 4/21

Linda picked up her dress this morning

and was able to wear it

to work today.

Our pioneer dresses may not be

the most flattering outfits

but they are sure comfortable and

all the sisters love them !

Today was Linda's first time to

serve in the Lucy Mack Smith Home.

This home has the honor of having

the steepest stairs in Nauvoo.

Friday, 4/22

Tonight Steve received a part in

the play, Rendezvous.

It is a "one-liner", but he is okay with that,

However, he is a little nervous

about having to do it at our

very next performance.

He has been practicing tonight and

is going to do GREAT !

4/25, Monday

Today Linda started out working in the

Print Shop but due to someone getting sick

she ended up in

the Post Office/Mercantile

(it was the 1st time in either place so it 

didn't matter to her)

This is in the Mercantile.  We let the visitors

try on this water bucket yoke.

"They" say if you walk the water will

slosh around and spill out of the buckets 

but ...

if you run, the water will just swirl around 

and won't spill out, so ....

If you run all the way from the 

Mississippi to the Temple site Workers

you might be called the 

first running water in Nauvoo !

ha ha ha

kind of corny but the kids like the joke.

4/26, Tuesday

Steve was back in the Brick Yard today

So Linda snuck over and snapped

a few pictures of ....

Steve giving a tour and 

then back in the shop where they

make the bricks.

Putting the "pug" (clay, sand & water)

into the Nauvoo Brick mold

Pressing the pug into the mold

(The new hydraulic press was broke down so

they went back to using the press with

a hand operated bottle jack)

Cleaning the excess pug off the mold 

lifting the newly formed Nauvoo Bricks out

of the mold and carefully placing them

on a tray to begin the drying process.

(the rack behind Steve holds the trays)

After several days of drying, the bricks are

sanded and prepared to go into the kiln....

(notice they are a tan color)

When they come out of the kiln they have

magically changed to

this red color

(the Iron Oxide in the clay reacts to the heat)

4/27, Wednesday

Today is our last P-day for the

month of April

We went to our Training Meeting this

morning at 7:30 then

loaded into one of the mission vans

with 8 other missionaries

(Chamberlin’s, Trythall’s, Skinner’s, 

Sister's May and Jensen)

and off we went to Pella, Iowa !

Pella is a little town 2.5 hours N/W of Nauvoo.

It was settled in 1847

by Dutch Immigrants that were seeking

religious freedom (sound familiar?)

It is a cute little town that has kept the

dutch culture alive.

Our first stop was the 

Historic Village & Vermeer Mill

Here we went on a tour of the Windmill

It is an authentic working 1850's style

Dutch Mill.

It stands 134' tall, powered totally by wind

and is the tallest working windmill

in the United States.

It was built in the Netherlands and

then dismantled and shipped to Pella

where it was reassembled by two Dutch

craftsmen on site. 

the huge beams are assembled and held

together with wooden pegs.

Windmills were different heights

because they only built them as high as

necessary to be able to catch the wind.

So the Vermeer Mill's blades are higher

than the tallest surrounding buildings & tree tops

and have unobstructed access to the wind.

The wind turns the blades

which turn the shafts

that then turn the grinding stones

On our tour we went right to the

top of the windmill where

we could see all the inner workings ....

 cogs, wheels, gears, 

& 3500 lb each, grindstones

It is a pretty amazing structure !

Besides the Windmill we saw ....

this hand carved 40 horse team

based on a real teamster and his team

(all the horses were just a little bit different)

this room full of miniature dutch communities

Bronze Statues

(these children are ice skating)

Tulips .... Tulips .... & more Tulips

BEAUTIFUL

and this puppet theater and marionettes

We had some lunch at

Smokey Row's Cafe'

and dessert at the Jaarsma Bakery

where we also purchased ....

this cute little souvenir.

Back at the Windmill 

we took one last picture ....

don't we make cute little Dutch people?

It was a whirlwind of an afternoon, but

we had a good time.

We arrived home 1/2 hour before having

to leave for our 1st Cast Party.

We now have over 50 members in our 

Lucy Mack Cast.

They are our Family here in Nauvoo

and we are having fun getting

to know everyone.

4/28, Thursday
Serving at the Scovil Bakery

Cookie anyone?

In the basement of the Visitor's Center
there is a kitchen and all
winter long we bake cookies to hand
out during the summer.

This Winter they baked
54,000 !

4/30, Saturday

April has come to an end and so has
this post .... whew !

It has been a busy month and our heads
are swimming with so much
new information ....
who would have thought our little,
"old" brains could absorb
so much.

With meetings, shows, site tours,
and "field trips" we have found
new challenges and are
continually "stepping WAY out of our box".
But we love it here and feel the
spirit of Nauvoo each time
we walk these streets, give a tour or
perform in a show.

All the missionaries are great and it is
like one big happy family all
working together toward the same goal ....
Helping others to learn of Christ
and his gospel,
to help each other feel his spirit and his love,
and to share the
Spirit of Nauvoo .... love it !