October 8, 2015 - Thursday in Nauvoo

What a beautiful Fall morning!  Mom and I were up early, and ready to begin this wonderful day.  We read our Scriptures and had our devotional together, and then studied our weekly set of "pondering" Scriptures.  Then we were out the door by 6:00am into a still, dark, and star-lite morning.  I think we have the best walking path around Nauvoo that is just over 3.5 miles.  It takes us about an hour to complete.

Breakfast was next as we began our preparations for our site assignment at the Nauvoo Visitors Center.  We had a meeting with one of the mission counselors about the upcoming Thanksgiving activity that they have asked us to head up.  The meeting was at 12 noon and our shift started at 1:00pm.  After we started discussing the event from last year it was apparent that we needed to involve the Nauvoo Stake members.  

It seemed like the event was shuffled off to the missionaries and there was very little interaction with the Stake last year.  That led me to ask what the purpose of the dinner was for.  The response pretty much helped me make the meeting short.  The purpose was to help the Nauvoo Stake with their missionary effort.  But little Stake involvement?  I suggested we either have a meeting with the Stake president on how he wanted to proceed, or have a Thanksgiving soup kitchen if all we wanted to do was feed the needy here.  I could not, in good faith, fulfill a stake type of assignment without the stake participating.....

The first person I spoke with at the Visitors Center, this afternoon, was an older lady who seemed to need some help taking a picture.  As I helped her, I found out that her husband, a high priest, had just informed her two months ago, that he was leaving the Church.  However, he was here in Nauvoo because he promised to bring her here for her birthday, (which was yesterday).  She was crying as she told me about her husband.  I asked her if he was with her today, and he was.  He was sitting on a couch up in the front of the Visitors Center.  I asked her if it would be OK to go and talk with him.  She readily agreed, and I knew she was in desperate need of some help.

I went over and just started up a "welcome" conversation.  I asked him how his day was and what his plans were with his time here in Nauvoo.  As we were talking, it so happened that he was stationed at Vandenburg Air Force Base near Santa Maria when I was there opening the Santa Maria Longs Drug Store in 1976.  He knew about Longs and we talked about the beautiful area we both had lived in.  He spoke about his home state of Maine and how the ward members were so friendly.  He then indicated that his ward in Atlanta, Georgia, was not very welcoming and how he was thinking about moving back to Maine.   He never said he was leaving the Church, but I felt like he was just reaching out for a friend who might be encouraging to him.  We didn't get to talk very long but I was able to offer some encouragement in those few minutes.  I just hope that he felt the love that the Savior has for him and his wife!

My lesson learned today is that we all need encouraging words and hands of fellowship.  Sometimes this world is no fun to be around, and a kind word, or a helping hand, or a thoughtful conversation, may just help a brother or sister keep plugging away...

Mom and I are working more in the Visitors Center, and the interactions are wonderful!  A group from Japan came in late this afternoon, and only one, the tour guide, knew any English.  It was fun to see the group spread out and start taking pictures!  Well, I know the language of pictures and went and took cameras so that the owners could be in their pictures!  It was amazing how the language barrier was broken down.  I got quite a few smiles and an equal number of bowing from these precious people!

Then, I had some really neat pictures from the clouds and the setting sun this evening;

Thunder heads over the temple

And more thunderheads walking home

How is this for a Nauvoo sunset?

And the changing of the colors are gorgeous!

And my twice a week picture of the trees down this tree-lined lane

Fun times as we continue our service here in Nauvoo.  We are fast approach our ninth month being out in the mission field.  What an amazing experience!  We sure love our precious children and grandchildren!  Please don't forget Granny and Grandpa!  We will be coming home before you know it!  We still have some people we might be able to influence!!!  That is our hope and prayer each day!