It was a warm and beautiful Spring day in Carthage today. Mom and I were both up early this morning and anxious to begin this day. We had our morning devotional and then took a long morning walk around the perimeter of the town, expanding our walking route somewhat. We saw a marvelous sunrise and caught some new buds coming out on one of the fragrant trees we passed. It was quite a morning of Carthage waking up, and we got to see it....
We got home a few minutes before 8:00am and had our breakfast and got ready for the day. We were at the Visitors Center by 9:00am and our first group arrived shortly thereafter. We had some wonderful visitors from nearby areas and a group from the Community of Christ Church (Reorganized LDS). Mom had a group and Elder Shepherd had a group and they were very kind and appreciative of the information they shared with them.
I was able to take three groups through the jail tour and my last group included 8 children ages about 16 months to about 14 years. Those children were very reverent and respectful throughout the tour and the older ones had some very good questions for me. I had one precious little girl about four years old who found an old nail outside the jail building and brought it to me. I looked at it and it was one of the original roof nails. She was so excited when I told her she could have it to remember Carthage. Her mom and her brothers and sisters then tried to find one like hers, and, in the cracks of the stone walkway, we were able to find 7 more... one for each child! I then got to teach them a little about those nails and how they were very special keepsakes from their visit to Carthage.
Then tonight we were invited to attend a mission talent show. We were debating whether to go or not but decided this afternoon to go and show our support. We have some very talented missionaries here in the mission and mom and I took a few pictures to share tonight;
This is Elder and Sister Hatch. Some of our favorite people here! He has a deep baritone voice and he sang Johnny Cash and she sang June Carter. (both country western artists from the 60's and 70's) - he is bald and is wearing this wig here. It was hilarious!
This is Elder Couch. He is in construction and has built a few meetinghouses for the Church. He is also re-doing the Carthage Jail roof. He has a very nice singing voice.
This couple are Elder and Sister Johnson. He reminds me of Tommy Smothers and she just took runner-up in the Mrs. Illinois annual pageant. (her daughter back home in Colorado surprised her and sent in an application for this contest!) They are fun to be around and very talented singers and performers here.
This is Sister Black and she is one of the newer missionaries here in Nauvoo. She has a ready smile and talent in playing the guitar and singing. They have worked with us in Carthage one day last week and will return this week for another day. Her husband, Elder Black, is fighting leukemia but is very grateful to be here in the mission field. We have enjoyed getting better acquainted with them.
The sister playing the piano is very talented. This is Sister Brown and she is here on a single sister mission. Her husband passed away, and they had planned on serving together, so she is keeping that commitment. I have no doubt that he is serving with her now. She is the mission secretary and a very sharp lady.
Here is a group of missionaries that put together a fun song. From the left side we have the Udalls, (he is the mission doctor), single senior sister missionaries - Sister Layne and Sister Boyle, Elder Dalton, Sister Swindler, Elder Schultz, (who is a retired Disney executive), and Elder Broadhead. They sang a song titled "Gravy on a Bucket Lid"...
This is Sister Curtis. She is the new director of Rendezvous and is a tap dancer. Pretty amazing for a Senior Missionary!
Then, on the piano, is Elder Brinley. He is a retired BYU professor of History and a former mission president in Texas, and a counselor in this mission presidency. He plays an amazing piano with a fun way to perform, much like Brother Kenny. The song he is playing was written for his wife!
This is Elder Speirs. This is his third mission with his wife here in Nauvoo. He is a teamster and they are so hard to find so we see many who come back. He gave a recital of, "A Cowboys Premarital Test".
And this is Elder and Sister Schultz. Both retired from Disney productions and two very talented missionaries.
Here we have the Apperson's who sang and played the song, "I'm Just an Old Chuck of Coal". (Preparing to be a diamond). They sang the song and created the last verse to talk about missionaries singing and dancing and acting here in Nauvoo. Very cute couple!
Well, you see some pretty special people here in Nauvoo. We enjoy working with these missionaries and find that the time goes by quickly with our schedules being so full. We hope you enjoyed a snapshot of our day today! Thank you for checking in with us!
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