April 29, 2015 - Wednesday

Today we had our P-day and certainly enjoyed our time together.  We had our mission weekly training meeting at the Visitors Center in Nauvoo at 7:45am and we arrived at 7:30am this morning.  It is always good to get to those meetings early and have some time to talk with missionaries we don't get to see very often.  Carthage does isolate us a little!

The meeting was all about facing disappointments and discouragement in our lives.  There were several missionaries invited to share some extreme challenges they have faced and how they were able to cope and persevere.  One single sister had been married for 30 years to a man who was Bishop and then Stake President.  While he was serving as the Stake President he decided to leave her and pursue a younger lady.  Another couple lost a daughter in December 2014, who was healthy in every way, but died within 5 days of going to the hospital.  

Then another single sister lost her husband and her father in an eight month period, leaving her and her mother as widows.  It was from this special lady I got this insight;  She had a "prayer of relinquishment" where she had reached point of all she could carry on her own, and had to turn it over to Heavenly Father.  She said that she was not about to take it back and that she needed to choose "gratitude and joy", over discouragement and bitterness, and with this commitment, the Spirit helped her through it all.  It was a very special meeting.

Then, mom and I got to enjoy the balance of the day together.  We picked up a period table for the Visitors Center in Carthage, took some pictures of the greenhouses where the flowers and plants are being prepared for the after Mother's Day plantings, and did some light grocery shopping.  Here are the greenhouse pictures:

Here is one of our favorite grocery stores in Keokuk.  The prices are amazing.  They have a very limited selection but sufficient for our needs.  The milk price per gallon is $1.99.  It just went up from $1.69.  The Wal-Mart across the street is at $3.69 a gallon!  The cucumbers are .39 each.  And eggs are $1.09 per dozen.  We can stretch our money here.  We are still using the money we got from the MTC for travel expenses, to spend here on groceries, since they only accept cash.  We are stretching those pennies as far as we can!

This is the highway between Nauvoo and Keokuk.  The river is on the right and the trees are budding and filling in beautifully.  This is the road we take on Wednesdays, after our training meeting at 7:45am, to do our shopping in Keokuk.

Mom and I then made it to the Kibbe Museum right across the street from the Carthage jail.  We have been making some great inroads with the people of Carthage over the past few months and mom and I wanted to go over and introduce ourselves.  I have only heard good things about this collection of artifacts, but mom and I were absolutely amazed at what we saw.  We will be sure to take everyone over who comes to visit us here!  Take a look at some fascinating things here;

Mom right in front of the museum.  The Carthage jail is about 25 feet behind the guy taking the picture!  What a beautiful lady!

This is the most detailed doll house I have ever seen.  There are lights in each room and room layouts with furniture and accessories throughout the display.

 This is a school room around 1860, complete with all the furniture, paperwork, maps, and period supplies.

Here is Doctor Josh's office around 1860.  The chair and the assistants table. "Come here little Bobby and let my pull that nasty achy tooth....."  Yeah right!

Take a look at these tools.  One slip with that drill and you would have two large openings in your facial area right above the chin!  I could chip concrete with that tool, but Josh would just smile and then fire up the drill!

Another shot of "the drill".  I would have to believe that any toothache would be better than having this drill running wild in my mouth!

To all the grandchildren, this is an amazing collection of rocks and geodes.  They were found in the Nauvoo, Warsaw, Carthage area around the beginning of the 1900's.  It is amazing to look at each one of these rocks!

 

 A collection of period clothing about 1875 or so. 

And this calf was born with two heads and lived just a short time.  This was a fascinating display!  I just hope that his condition was not caused by the water we are drinking!

This museum was a fun place to visit and we will go back there again.  They have several pretty interesting displays on Abraham Lincoln, turn of the last century coffins and caskets, horse drawn Hearst, service uniforms from the Civil War, and a huge collection of mint condition arrow heads, and hundreds of other things.  It was worth the two hours we were there!

Our summer play called "Sunset" practice was this evening as we closed out our day  It is fun to interact with the missionaries when we go into Nauvoo.  I also get to practice my lines while we drive in for my part of the summer version of Rendezvous, and I am getting close to getting it perfect.  This old brain just seems to "selectively" remember those lines I am trying to memorize.  One pass through and I think I have it nailed, and then I try again and get stumped on the next line..... go figure.

At least the drive home on a late Wednesday evening has its benefits.  Take a look at this sunset tonight! - 

Such beautiful sunsets when we have the clouds prominently showing in the night time sky!  

We are very blessed to drive into Nauvoo and back to Carthage so many times with safety and peace riding with us.  We attribute this to all the prayers on our behalf and the support you give us every day.  Thank you for helping these two senior missionaries travel this road of the mission life.  We could not do this without you!