March 21, 2016 - Monday in Nauvoo

Well, typically, our mornings usually begin the same way.  Morning devotional together and prayers together.  And this morning was about as typical as it gets, until we were in the act of praying together....  Mom had started her first load of laundry for our P-day activities, and we were kneeling in prayer before our morning walk.  It was then that the fire alarm went off over the washing machine.  Thinking it was another false alarm with a dying battery, we were shocked to see smoke coming from the washing machine.

The "smoking" machine

The bed sheets from the machine, wet, but not burned!

I quickly pulled the plug on the machine as mom was turning it off.  I have never seen anything like this with any of our appliances.  As the reality set in, that this could have been much worst, we thought about how we were just ready to walk out the door, after our prayer, and take our one hour walk.  We have seen and heard about many Nauvoo miracles from other missionaries, but none quite like the one we experienced this morning here in our new little home.

Yes, we still took our walk after I made a report to the housing folks at facilities management.  We were so very grateful that we still had a place to stay when we got back a little over an hour later.  The temperatures this morning were in the mid twenties so we bundled up really good.

And since today was our P-day, we went grocery shopping in Keokuk as we are preparing for the Jeppsons to come this weekend.  Yea!!  We then went to the 11:00am temple session and spent the afternoon cleaning the house and doing a service project at the Old Nauvoo Cemetery.  Many of the early Saints are buried here that died before the Exodus in February 1846.  This was our first visit to this sacred site.

The entrance on a quiet back roadway

Some of the sadness recorded by Wilford Woodruff's wife ...

The peaceful setting about 2.5 miles from the Main Street, Nauvoo

A statue by DJ Bowden capturing the feelings ...

We got back home about 4:00pm this afternoon and I laid down for a nap.  I did get a blessing for my aching knee from Elder Skinner.  It is good to report that, tonight, it is feeling much better!  Some were suggesting I see a specialist, so I did....... I went to see an honorable Priesthood man!  This may be our only resource in the coming future!  We love Elder and Sister Skinner!  And I am so grateful for the power of the Priesthood restored in these last days to benefit all of us!