February 23, 2016 - Tuesday in Nauvoo

The Rendezvous Play will be held every night this week so that the cast members will get some practice during these slow weeks.  That was the decision made yesterday, and communicated today.  I wanted to go tonight with mom, but mom was tired, so I hesitantly,went by myself.  The Hansen's, who worked with us in Carthage, had a debut tonight and I wanted to support them.  The play had about 60 missionaries there, and maybe 10 visitors from the surrounding communities.

Sister Hansen is setting the record straight!

Elder Hansen is trying to make his case

The emotion that the Hansen's put into this Vignette of "Thomas and Elizabeth", was so refreshing.  They played this part completely different than what I have seen before.  There are some couples that play this Vignette very well, and the Hansen's definitely fall into that category!

I am so glad that I went.  About a month ago, mom and I were in one of the stores here in Nauvoo when we met a part member family.  We had our name badges on as we walked into the store.  The sales lady was trying to tell them about the Mormon's, and it was pretty obvious that she was not one herself.  So when we walked in, she said, "well, these people can tell you about the Mormon Church".  How fun was that?  

We discovered that the husband was not a member and his wife was a very less active member who did not want to go to Church without him.  She had been waiting to go back to Church for over 20 years.  He asked us some questions about the Church and the Temple that we were happy to answer.  We then invited them to come to the Visitors Center the next day to see some films and learn more about the Restored Gospel.  We felt pretty good about the invitation and looked forward to seeing them the next day.

Well, he did not want to wait until the next day, and he and his wife went directly to the Visitors Center, and watched some films, and talked to the missionaries on duty.  They agreed to take the missionary discussions and he is going to be baptized this Sunday in the Keokuk Branch.  They had been looking for us to invite us to the baptism, but they did not know where to find us....  Was it just a nice coincidence that they were there at the play tonight???  And I went without mom???  I was not too excited to go without her, but I am so glad that I did....  We will attend Bill's baptism this Sunday!

Our morning started off earlier than usual.  I went to bed earlier last night, so I was up and going at 5:00am.  We were out the door, after our morning devotional and prayers, and on our morning walk by 5:40am.  It was a little cooler with temperatures in the high 20's, but there was no wind.  It was a beautiful morning as these pictures can attest;

Sunrise coming at about 6:55am!

The fields were coming alive with the light!

Isn't it amazing that as the light begins to slowly fill the sky around us, the promise of a new and fresh day is so overwhelming!  That is how the light of the Gospel can help us to rejoice greatly!  That light can fill us with the joys of being alive and actively engaged in such a good cause!

We worked at the Visitors Center for the morning shift.  When we arrived at 8:45am, they men were fast at work trying to fix a leak in the ceiling.  Our Facilities Management group sometimes has a hard time getting all the projects lined up in order.  Sometimes they start a project without all the materials they need and it gets a little frustrating when missionaries, who own large companies, come here to serve, and know that things could go a little smoother than they do....  With that, check out this picture and my caption;

How many missionaries does it take.....?

I snapped this picture with this thought;  How many missionaries does it take to fix a leak in the ceiling?  The obvious answer is three.  One to operate the wrench to tighten the value that is leaking in the ceiling.  One to watch the wonderful and exciting event to unfold.  And one to go get donuts to celebrate the success....

Life in the mission field in Nauvoo is fun.  There is rarely a dull moment!  We have enjoyed getting to know so many very talented missionaries who are here serving faithfully.  There are so many reasons why they should have stayed home, and not sacrificed their time away from loved ones, but they are here and they are serving, and they are all grateful for the blessings of serving a senior mission together.  You can count on mom and me to be one of those very, very grateful senior couples who have been called to serve here in Nauvoo.