July 17, 2016 - Sunday in Nauvoo

This has been a most wonderful Sabbath Day!  We were able to attend our morning meetings at the Stake Center and got there about 20 minutes BEFORE the downpour and thunder storm!  It really does pay to get to your meetings early!  We had the assignment to set up the Sacrament tables.  Here in Nauvoo, we have the Sacrament attendance often exceed 1,200 visitors.  That means the full Sacrament table in the front of the Chapel and two additional full Sacrament tables set up in the Cultural Hall.  After we got things in place we counted 2 loaves of bread used, 24 Sacrament bread trays and 24 Sacrament Water trays, and places for 16 Priesthood holders to sit as assigned to administer the Sacrament.

The meetings went very well today and we enjoyed the fellowship with the senior missionaries and the Young Performing missionaries.  We are now half way through the busiest month of the year for Nauvoo and the Historic sites.  This has been a totally different experience being in Nauvoo this summer over the experience we had in Carthage last summer.  Both experiences have been marvelous and testimony strengthening experiences with many of this experiences recorded right here in this family blog!  And one of those Nauvoo experiences involved planting the gardens.  Take a look at these pictures at the greenhouses and the Visitor's Center;

Planting the seedlings in February 2016

"And it came to pass that he pruned it, and digged about it, and nourished it according to his word".

Preparing the ground in late April 2016

Planting the small plants from the greenhouses in late April

The blessings of seeing the results of your labors in July 2016!

These five pictures are significant to me.  There is no way we could have enjoyed the blessings of the work in the gardens in July, if we had not nourished the plants in the greenhouses over the winter, prepared the seedlings in February, cultivated the gardens in April, planted the flowers and seedlings in the grounds in April!  Those long hours and efforts led us to enjoy the "fruits of the harvest" in July!  I can't help but repeat that wonderful phrase, "I never said it would be easy, but I did say it would be worth it"...  Agree?

Every day that I sit down here at the computer and write out our experiences, and my feelings, on this blog, in my minds eye, I see every family member, and so many friends, that I pray will benefit from these writings.  I have always kept the experiences positive for a reason.  Even though we have  "opposition in all things",  the way we process these various experiences will lead us to a happy life or a miserable life.  I, for one, choose to make these precious experiences happy!  Because, at the end of the day, it is the way we put all these experiences we have into making this mortal journal a happy, and pleasant, learning experience.

And what a blessing it is to process these experiences into positive posts that will help mom and I remember what we went through and how it helped us to do better and to be better!  What is that saying that Grandpa loves????  "The important thing is this; to be able at ANY moment to sacrifice who we are for who we can become".  I have always said that there is no place that I would rather be than with my family.  And now, as I look at that idea, having had these precious experiences here in the mission field, it appears to me that it is the understatement of my lifetime!

And no, I am not trying to boast, but as Ammon said in effect;

And now, these are the words of Ammon, (Elder and Sister Lasher), to his, (their), brethren, (Family and friends), which say thus: My brothers and my brethren, (Our family and precious friends), behold I (we) say unto you, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we started from the land of Zarahemla, (Rigby),  that God would have granted unto us such great blessings?

Mom and I are grateful for these experiences that we have had, and that we can share for the rest of our mortal lives with those we hold most precious and dear to us!!  Isn't the Sabbath day the best time to reflect on the many blessing that we have received from our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ?

So we will close with these precious family pictures;

Here is a Younique girl pondering her next lip gloss...

Check out that beautiful hair cut!  A cuddle waiting to happen!

These precious children are growing up so fast!  We can't wait to have our family reunion coming very soon!