January 6, 2016 - Wednesday in Nauvoo

We have arrived at another training day that started at 8:00am in the Visitors Center.  That takes away our early morning walk around Nauvoo, all in the name of training.  And the topic today was time management!  With most of us serving senior missions, I guess "time management" might be a concern....

We were able to leave early enough to walk to the meeting so that was helpful, even though it is only about a mile round trip.  It was in the upper 20's this morning so the elements were friendly enough!  We do enjoy being able to walk all year long, and the weather this winter has been very favorable!

In addition, Wednesday is one of the two days we have access to the laundry facilities that we share with the upstairs neighbors.  Mom was up early and is so good about taking care of this twice weekly chore.  She had most of the wash completed before we needed to leave for the meeting.  During the cycles, we had our morning devotional and prayers and the morning was very productive.

I had the assignment to work at the Browning Gun Shop and mom worked across the street at the John Taylor Home.  Our first tour, (and our last tour), at the gun shop came 5 minutes before closing.  That is generally how it works!  So here is how I spent my time today at the gun shop;

My new developing talent

I am starting my second knitted hat for the Humanitarian projects.  The first hat is on my knee in this picture! Who would have ever thought that they would be exposed to this kind of work coming from me?  I have to admit that in the process of serving this mission, both mom and I are discovering some very very hidden talents.  Most of our family and friends would have never thought that being on stage, singing, memorizing parts, and entertaining audiences would have ever come from either one of us....  And while I am becoming the Knit-master, mom is taking her quilting to a new level!

Actually, it has been a fascinating experience to realize that we can do hard things... at least from the initial impressions, these did seem to be too hard and difficult to embrace.  But with faith and perseverance and with a willingness to explore new options, this has been a great experience!