March 5, 2015 - Thursday

There is promise that Spring is coming to Nauvoo.  The temperature was 14 degrees this morning and the sun was out in full splendor.  The forecast over the next week is for temperatures to reach in the high 50's and perhaps into the 60's.  Nauvoo will be budding with Spring all around before we know it and it will be a welcomed season!  We also get to "Spring Ahead", our clocks, Saturday night and extend the daylight hours beginning early Sunday morning at 2:00am.  Fun times!

Mom and I took a long walk before our assignments at our sites at 9:45am.  We had the early shift today that covers opening the site and getting things ready for our visitors.  However, today was pretty quiet and mom was assigned to the John Taylor Home and I had the assignment at the Brick yard.  Take a look at mom's new dress.  It was finished last night and she wanted to wear it today;

Beautiful honored pioneer lady!

I walked her to the John Taylor Home this morning and then continued on to the Brickyard.... mom did not have any visitors at her site today, but got better acquainted with her companion, Sister Olson.

Reporting for service on a beautiful end of winter day in Nauvoo!

Here is another picture:

The front of the John Taylor Home - Sister Lasher's first day at this site!

I then continued just down the street to the Brickyard and worked with Elder Orme this morning.  We did some outdoor sweeping and some floor moping before we started in on the brick making.  I had some more pictures inside the brick making room and will explain some features;

This is called "hacking" the green bricks

This is the drying storage of the green bricks

This is the presentation table from which we give information of the brick making process

Here is where the visitors sit for the presentations

In the first picture, I am in the process of "hacking" or rotating the bricks from two days ago.  Generally the bricks are "hacked" for up to five days before being sent to the kiln to be fired to about 2,000 degrees.  The hacking process rotates the bricks for even drying and we shave and sand down some rough edges in this process.  During the full blown brick making process, moving and rotating and sanding down bricks took a tremendous amount of energy from the workers.  After a long day of hacking, the workers would be worn out and someone coined the phrase "I can't hack this anymore", and his day would be over.  Thus the phrase has been kept and used in so many instances... like - "I can't hack singing and dancing and acting"... although that phrase falls on deaf ears here in Nauvoo and some even just laugh at you and tell you to get back on the stage!

The brick drying rack in the second picture has the bricks stored at different levels of drying.  The greenest bricks are at the bottom of the rack and are moved up each day and hacked until they are ready to be fired.

Then there is the presentation table where we show the process that the brick takes from the raw ingredients, to the clay mixture, to the green brick and on the the fired brick ready to build with.  The presentation room will hold about 30 visitors.  Today we had 6 visitors to the site before I left at 3:00pm.

I took a little break around 1:30pm to go and visit Sister Lasher at her site.  I got to take this picture;

Break time for Elder and Sister Lasher at the John Taylor Home

Please note that the apron is in a funny position and that is not Elder Lasher's tummy!!  Although I did go down to see Sister Lasher hoping she had some chocolate... (which she did)....

After Sister Lasher and I got done with our shift at 3:00pm, we went home and changed from our site clothes and drove to Sam's Club in Quincy for some supplies.  We had to be back for our Sunset practice at 6:30pm and we got back at 6:28pm.

The Sunset practice is getting us ready for the outdoor summer play that runs from Memorial Day until August 8th.  Again we are learning new songs and routines to perform on stage and I am finding out that there is no way in my natural abilities that I can learn all this stuff!  But working with the other men in learning these parts is amazing.  Most of us are in the same boat as far as talent goes, but boy are we having fun.  

It is interesting to note that most, if not all, of the missionaries are trying hard to represent the mission well.  Mom and I are so appreciative of the efforts being made by the others, that it helps us to want to try harder ourselves.  There is nothing like surrounding yourself with good people.  We have that in our families at home and in our ward families at Church.  I will always be grateful for that insight as we struggle together and do the absolute best we can and then hope we can improve on that the next day!

Again, mom and I are so very thankful for the notes of encouragement coming in from family and friends.  I received a sweet note from Sister Brixius today that was so timely and refreshing.  We are so focused on the songs and dances and parts in the plays that we come to a point where we need a little boast and these notes supply us with that special lift!