July 14, 2016 - Thursday in Nauvoo

We had a very busy Thursday...  Our day began with the early morning devotional together.  Having that time together in the morning has helped us read through the Book of Mormon several times, but we really want to get more out of the study time.  Looks like we are going to try some different ways to approach our study time together.  We are hoping that we can better utilize our study time to dig deeper into the Doctrines of Jesus Christ.  There is so much more we can do!

Today, we had our assignment at the Handcart Station.  Our first trekkers were scheduled at 7:30am so we got there at 7:15am.  That took away from our walking time, but that worked out just fine as we prepared almost 100 trekkers for this mornings treks.  We had eight groups go out, five of which went the one mile trek and the other three went the three mile trek.  There was lots of mud out on the trails!  

It is especially rewarding to see some examples of families coming together on these treks.  With the younger families, we see the Primary aged children struggle with the challenge of the mud and the hills of the one mile trek.  Mom has a special presentation she gives on the "P's" of the Pioneer trek to help address some of these challenges.  They are "preparation, planning, and prayer".  She commends them for their 'plan' to trek and the 'preparations' they made to come and trek, with their water, their snacks and the right shoes.  Then she emphasizes 'prayer' in their adventure.  We always start off with prayer.  Then if things don't go quite right, she encourages them to pray again!  And, again, if necessary! 

And you all know how we start the trek with a family or group picture shouting, "best day ever".  Today, we had two young families from pre teens to teenagers that went out for the experience together and got hit almost immediately with contention.  The kids fought over who would pull or who would push.  Some wanted to ride while others wanted to be the scout.  When they got back into the Handcart Station an hour or so later, we got reports from parents that they had to stop multiple times to have family prayer to eliminate the contention.  (How is that for a parenting tender mercy?)

The bottom line is that it worked!  As we greeted all the families coming back into the Handcart Station, they all seemed dedicated to working together, but those families that had those extra prayers along the way, seemed to be a little happier for the experience working together!  It is so much fun to see these changes in attitudes, even if they have a taste of what it might be like to embrace this attitude more often!  Good times!

Our day was completed when we got to see a precious lady from our past.  We met up with Michelle Brixius, who was a Laurel in the Creekside Ward back in the 1990's when I served as the Bishop.  Her dad served as my Executive Secretary and her mom served as the Relief Society President.  Her dad joined the Church about a year into my service as Bishop.  He has made such an impact on hundreds if not thousands of young women and their leaders from his faithful service at Girls Camp.  I count him and his precious family as a one of the high points in my church life!  Here is a picture of our reunion tonight;

Michelle brought a friend with her by the name of Sarah.  They are traveling together from Utah to Kentucky to help get Michelle settled in her new job.  It was so much fun to have them here with us for dinner and conversation!  They had a few more sites to visit after dinner and then they will continue their trip to Kentucky and a new chapter in Michelle's life.  

Right after we closed the Handcart Station, mom and I went home and got ready for the 1:00pm temple session.  We were the witness couple for this session.  It seems like they need married couples to attend the 1:00pm sessions!  It is always a boost to have the temple as an active part of our days and weeks in our service here in Nauvoo.