October 18th 2022

Last Road Trip of the Mission

Both Dave and I have been sick since last Sunday. We had a week long road trip planned which we started but then cut short because of not feeling well. We saw quite a few cool and interesting things which were mostly off the beaten path. 

The temple windows are behind schedule as they are finding out that they were installed 20 years ago with the idea that they would last forever. 

We are receiving 7 new temple couples this Friday and the hope is the temple will be up and running but it isn't looking great....we may have more delays ahead of us. 

We are working on having a positive attitude amid sickness, delays and colder temperatures, which fosters restlessness and boredom. Only 3 months left for this mission. We will soldier on! It will be wonderful! Now for picture overload!

On October 7th we took a dinner cruise down the Mississippi on the Mark Twain paddle boat that left from Hannibal Missouri. 

We went with our friends the Coffmans. It was a lovely evening shared.

Here we are with our primary class. We're teaching about being the "potter's clay" from Jeremiah. Conner is top right, then Mack and Andrea who only speaks Spanish.

Nauvoo in the Fall

First stop on trip was Pella. It's a dutch town and they have a wonderful tulip festival in the spring

This was a working windmill. It used to grind wheat.

Next stop. Matchstick Marvels. This man builds all of these amazing things out of matchsticks. They even have moving parts. 

Even the statues are made of matchsticks. 

Dave found a cool B&B for our first night sleeping.

It had a 100 year old organ he was able to play

and a beautiful grand staircase 

Next stop, Reiman Gardens

They have a wonderful butterfly observatory. 

The outside of a butterfly.....

and the inside!

So many different kinds of beauty

Next stop. Trestle bridge. This was an old Union Pacific railroad bridge that was restored to a bike trail.

We didn't make it all the way across cause it too cold!

and we were feeling not well....

Next stop: Grotto of the Redemption. A man devoted his entire life to stock piling all kinds of rocks and stones and created this monument. You just walk around with your jaw dropped. 

close up example of how he cemented every stone. He had geodes, crystals, shells, petrified rock...I don't even know....

Next stop. Bily Clock Museum. Two brothers spent their lives carving this collection of musical clocks. They used their mother's sewing machine as a scroll saw.

You have to wind them up to get them to move

Some of the lovely scenery on the drive

Next stop. Fenelon Elevator. A man invented this elevator so he wouldn't  have to walk up and down the hill to go to work. 

It goes straight up

View from the top. Dubuque, Iowa

Fun murals in the city of Dubuque.

Last stop. Galena, Illinois. We were hoping the leaves would have been more spectacular but it was still lovely.

 October 2nd 2022

First Week of Second Closure

We just finished up with the first week of the second temple closure during our mission. This one is only 4 weeks instead of 2 months so that is nice. Dave has been serving in the temple all week doing various maintenance jobs that can't be done while patrons are there. Running wire, sheet rock patching, realigning doors, painting the baptismal font etc. The windows are getting replaced slowly and the crew manager has promised it will be done in the allotted time. 

I have been mostly recharging from being quite worn down from constant temple activity. It's been nice not to wake up to an alarm and have the time to put things in order in the apartment since I never had energy to do it before. I have helped organize a bit of the mission DI because Sister Coffman, who has the assignment is also the mail sorter as well as a grounds worker. There has been a lot to organize since we've had several missionaries clean out there apartments as they leave the mission. It's a fun thing to do and it's instant gratification as you can see the results immediately.   

We got to see parts of Nauvoo that are off the beaten path, possible site of Joseph Smith's tomb, ancient Indian burial ground and city and the movie set of a new Nauvoo movie the Church is filming. 

The highlight of the week was General conference. I just want to soak up every word and hope it penetrates my heart so it stays forever. This has been an amazing conference with one more session to listen to. I always love to hear our Prophet the very most though and I was buoyed up by his message. I have on occasion just wanted to stay in my PJ's, curl up in bed and not get up with all that goes on out in the world with it seeping close to home with ones I love. I am so grateful for his direction so we know where we can get the power we need to continue to move forward and know we can find peace and rest as we do our best. It all comes from the covenants we make and keep with our Savior and Heavenly Father. I believe this with all of my heart! 

It's beginning Fall here in Nauvoo and it's beautiful. We are very grateful to be able to serve here, whatever that looks like from week to week. 

This property has been surveyed by ground-penetrating radar so they can see what's underneath the ground. Large pillars have shown up so they replicated them above ground which indicated posts which indicate walls and look out towers and gates in the city. 

Pretty fascinating. 

Sign put up by the state of Illinois for this area

diagram of location of mounds. They of course are all covered by trees by you can definitely see where the mounds are. 

Indian burial mound where many bones of bodies were found 

and DNA tested.

The Werretts, Cunninghams and me...

Dave is of course taking the picture.

me holding on to one of the posts that indicate where a pillar was originally, you can see them all down the line. 

The fence put up by the Church surrounding the 

"possible" site of Joseph's tomb

 Whether this is actually a tomb of Joseph is not important other than it's an interested historical finding. 

 This area is hidden and is not widely known. Other sites have been suggested by other people but this is the only one the Church has chosen to protect with a fence. Again, not important as to critical truth etc. just an interesting find. 

This is taken from the Mormon trail on the way to Winter Quarters. The last time the temple can be viewed heading west. 

Replacing windows one at a time... 

Location of the new Nauvoo film. This is all made of Styrofoam.

Another view

Looking forward to seeing this film some day.

Our temple recorder, Brother Macotel and his wife have been "extras" in the movie. He was there on the set when we visited. 

I hardly recognized him! He looks pretty scruffy!