August 27, 2015 - Thursday our last day in Carthage

After tonight's post, I will be blogging from Nauvoo!  Mom and I started off this morning with our last day here in the Carthage Jail Visitors Center.  We were up early and had our morning devotional and prayers by 6:30am, and then we were off on our three mile walk.  The air was crisp and humid.  The leaves are starting to change colors, tipping us off that Fall is here.  We enjoyed our morning constitutional, and then we got ready to serve our last day here in Carthage with the opening shift.

As we greeted visitors this morning, we realized that any one of these groups could be our last tour here.  I had just started my last tour about noon today when I felt prompted to catch mom in the jail taking her last tour through.  I had placed my group in the movie room and then went directly to the jail.  She was just finishing up in the Martyrdom room, and became very emotional as she bore her last testimony in that room.  I had to catch that moment with this picture;

An experience never to be forgotten

This has been a very tender day for both of us

This precious lady has been such a great companion here in Carthage!  We have been here during the flood of special guests that totaled over 55,000 since our arrival in March.  The year will probably end at nearly 75,000.  What a special place this has been for us as we have studied and testified of the life and the teachings of Joseph Smith.  And what a tremendous blessing it has been to share these remarkable experiences with some of our family members!  How did we qualify for this rich blessing?

Mom and I were sitting by this monument sign here on the brick-way of the Visitors Center, and Chip came up to us to thank us for our service, and for being kind to him.  As you may recall, he greeted us back in March when we first arrived here, and as we were unloading the car.  He was on the back fence of the home we were occupying and I think he wanted to come in! 

Chip came by to say good bye!

And this is our testimony as well!

Chip was very kind but he had to leave being overcome with emotion.

As you can imagine, leaving our friends here in Carthage is a hard thing to do.  Just saying goodbye to Chip caused some emotional reactions that we did not see before with Chip!  But the lesson is clear, be kind to everyone because you never know how you will affect someone.  We all need to be a little kinder and a little more tolerant in this crazy world.... even with Chip!

Then we had a final "surprise family" come to Carthage.  This is Katie Jones and her family.  She cut my hair back in Idaho!  We had no idea she and her family were coming!  They walked into the Visitors Center just a few minutes before I completed my last tour.  Mom stayed around to catch this picture;

Katie Jones and Family from Idaho Falls

Once mom got home, we had lunch and began packing up the van.  We had Rendezvous tonight and we took in probably 90% of our goods.  I filled the van with everything that I could so that tomorrow, on our defined moving day, we will be able to get things done earlier and attend the temple as a birthday present for me!  Here is an action shot of us un-loading  in Nauvoo.  We are in the main house, just under the first apartment, (on top of this house), where we settled when we arrived in February for about 4 weeks:

Taking the first load to Nauvoo!

Well, we have come to the realization that our time in Carthage is over.  It was priceless and filled with sweet experiences, including precious family visits, but we are now back in Nauvoo.  We officially take over the residence tomorrow.  We still have some cleaning to do and we will have everything unpacked and put away by the end of the day tomorrow.  That will give us all day Saturday to ourselves with no assignments.  We are grateful for this opportunity to serve this mission together.  

Moving day gives a whole new meaning for the phrase; "there must be a constancy amid change".  We will all experience changes in our lives and will come to the realization that it really is part of our mortal test.  How we handle these tests will determine our final destinations, and how well we are able to qualify for the ultimate blessings of exaltation.... This is our goal to be together as a family forever!