LOOK TO THE STARS⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ December 24th, 2016

   One of my favorite elements of Christmas are STARS.  Whether they are on the homemade wreath hanging on our little missionary apartment door or on the top of the giant Christmas Tree in the Nauvoo Visitors Center or gleaming in the dark night sky, STARS are truly beautiful and amazing. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a "STAR" as: 1) A natural luminous body visible in the night sky; 2) A conventional figure with five or more points; 3) A person or thing that is preeminent in a particular field.
In our blog today we invite you to "Look To The Stars" that surround us here in Nauvoo this Christmas Eve Day, 2016.  

   One of the STARS around this area is the Mississippi River.  We live about a mile east of that amazing river which has a perfect viewing area right at the end of Parley's Street, the actual street where we live.  On November 6th, two weeks after we arrived in Nauvoo, I took a beautiful photo of this river which was freely flowing in the reflective glow of the sunrise.  On Monday this week, December 19th, I took another picture of The Mississippi from that same spot.  Instead of  glowing in a brilliant sunrise, that big river is now frozen and white and cold!  In just a week's time, temperatures plunged to -6 degrees with windchill factor in the -20 degree range.  We could hardly imagine this unbelievable transformation which had suddenly occurred.  The frozen river is a stunning sight to behold. It practically took our breathe away the first time we viewed it!  Please see the pictures below to help you understand what I have tried to explain, for a picture truly is worth a 1,000 words..  

   We have tried to envision how the pioneers ever walked across the frozen Mississippi during the Winter of 1846 when they were driven from their homes by angry mobs. Last week when our temperatures were sub zero here in Nauvoo, we were cold to the bone even though we were wearing our warm coats, gloves, scarves and boots as we stood next to the frozen river to take these pictures.   When the pioneers took their walk down Parley Street, The Trail of Hope, ultimately walking across the frozen Mississippi, they had none of the modern apparel we have to keep them warm.  Our appreciation for them has increased ten-fold through these chilling experiences in regards to all the hardships which they were forced to endure. 

    The main STAR of Nauvoo is the historic Nauvoo Temple.  We have also watched the Temple's exterior surroundings become transformed from a Fall scene to a Winter Wonderland.  We are blessed as Temple Missionaries to spend much of our days each week inside this beautiful, sacred House of The Lord.  The good news is that the weather is always perfect inside the Temple!  When things are gloomy outside, the sun, and The Son, always shine inside the Temple through the patrons who come to worship and the wonderful missionaries who serve with us there.  

     Speaking of STARS, "Beautiful inverted star stained glass windows adorn the top of the Nauvoo Temple.  They have a meaningful history dating back to the early Christian church.  Known as the 'Morning Star' in Revelations 22:16, it is a symbol of Jesus Christ. When the actual Morning Star's (Venus) orbit is tracked each morning it creates a mathematically perfect inverted five-point star. Unlike the large, intricate stained glass inverted stars found in the famous Cathedrals, the early Latter-day Saints had only the means to gather enough materials for a humble three color inverted star window: red, white, and blue. Though simple in design, and mocked in a nearby paper as a 'pitiful attempt' the inverted stars were a wonderful delight to those who saw them back lit each night. When the Nauvoo Temple was rebuilt in 2002, President Gordon B. Hinckley determined that the three-color stained glass window would once again adorn the Temple. The beautiful Morning Star windows again glow at night as they once did and remind us of the sacrifice of those early pioneers who loved the Lord."("History of the Nauvoo Temple Star", templehousegallery.com). I fell in love with these beautiful Morning Star windows from the first moment we arrived in Nauvoo. On days when the sun shines, the red, white, and blue colors from these windows are reflected on the walls and stairways inside the Temple. Soooo Beautiful!!!! Those star shapes are magical and bring a warm, inviting feeling to all those who witness this exciting display of light.  

    One thing we noticed when we first came to Nauvoo was the glorious night sky with its endless number of STARS. Coming from a city setting, we weren't used to seeing such an amazing array of stars each night. It is an incredible sight which testifies boldly of The Creator of all things, JESUS CHRIST. "Under the direction of His Father He was the creator of the earth.  'All things were made by Him, and without Him, was not any thing made, that was made.'(John 1:3)". ("The Living Christ, Testimony of the Apostles", LDS.ORG). Jesus is the LIGHT and HOPE of the world and the true STAR of all things! HE created the mighty rivers and the endless shining stars in the Heavens, and   you and me.  HE IS The STAR  of Christmas and of  Easter and every other day, too.  It is Christmas this weekend here in Nauvoo and in all the Christian world. We" Look TO THE STAR", Jesus Christ, and know that Sweet Baby Jesus grew up to be our Savior and Redeemer. He gave His life through The Atonement so that each one of us can live with Him and with our Heavenly Father and with our families and loved ones forever.

                                              

                             

   STARS WERE GLEAMING
(LDS Children's Songbook, pg.37)

Stars were gleaming, shepherds dreaming;
And the night was dark and chill.
Angels' story rang with glory;
Shepherds heard it on the hill.
Ah, that singing!  Hear it ringing,
Earthward winging, Christmas bringing!
Hearken! We can hear it still!

See the clearness and the nearness
Of the blessed Christmas STAR,
Leading, guiding; wise men riding
Through the desert dark and far.
Lovely showing, shining, growing,
Onward going, gleamimg, glowing,
Leading still, our CHRISTMAS STAR!


   Christmas Blessings and Love to all of you everyday throughout the New Year!
 
       Elder Martin Peterson and Sister Noreen Peterson in Nauvoo

    

We'll Be HOME for CHRISTMAS! December 13, 2016

   What a sweet assurance it is to know that you are HOME for CHRISTMAS even though you really aren't.  Home truly is a feeling more than it is a place or stuff.  Although we miss being back home sharing special Christmas activities and special events with our children and grandchildren, we feel of their love and prayers and support every day.  This week we received a fun set of Christmas letters from some of them who thought we might be homesick for Christmas back home.  One 9 year old granddaughter mailed each of us a dollar bill as her Christmas gift to us.  Their sweet sentiments were so touching!  Children are one of the necessary elements of Christmas. After all, it was a tiny Baby in Bethlehem who is The Reason for this Special Season.  We are grateful for all of our little and not so little children and grandchildren everywhere!  We want all of you to know that when we walk through our apartment door after serving our shifts at the temple, we both say, "We are home!"

   There have been some fun and exciting activities to get us in the Christmas spirit.  Last weekend we attended the annual Christmas Tree Lightening program in the Visitors' Center in Old Nauvoo.  There was even a little band Christmas concert put on by the local High School.  All the kids in the band wore Santa hats.  We could picture all of our grandchildren who play instruments all over the country performing in these similar settings.  Music brings joy to the Christmas season!  There was also a live nativity portrayed by the site missionaries.  The Christmas tree is big and beautiful and we had our picture taken by it since we consider it our tree for this Christmas.  We also went on a wagon ride which included caroling and ended at the Family Living Center with hot chocolate and cookies.  All the streets of Old Nauvoo were lined with luminaries and looked so peaceful.  We were blessed with beautiful weather that night!

   Well, we were blessed with beautiful weather on Friday, Dec. 2nd, however, on Sunday, Dec. 4th our first snow storm arrived with power and powder!  We were blessed with about 5 inches of snow in a matter of a few hours.  This decorated the temple grounds to look like an old fashioned Christmas card.  Unfortunately, it snowed on the roads, too, not just on the temple grounds!  It made traveling to church in both directions very treacherous. Our Temple President and his wife, President and Sister Irion, were with us on that scary drive.  We were blessed to make it safely home for which we were most grateful!!!

    We have been assigned to travel to a little town in Iowa called Mt. Pleasant  to attend church each week during our 12 month mission.  Each temple missionary couple is assigned to a unit which needs extra support, much like the 6 years we served in the Salt Lake Inner City Mission..  Our little branch averages about 50 members on a good day. The drive for us takes an hour each way.  Some of the missionaries travel over 2 hours to their assigned unit.  Although we have only been going there a few weeks, it is beginning to feel like our home on Sunday mornings. The Mt. Pleasant Branch also has a set of young sister missionaries.  They are Spanish speaking and this Branch has several Spanish speaking members.  They sing the hymns in both Spanish and English at the same time and always have someone translating the lessons and talks in the background.  This past Sunday in Sacrament Meeting it was especially touching as a mother gave her Christmas message in Spanish and her young adult son simultaneously translated her words into English standing by her side.

   One thing that makes Nauvoo seem like home are the kind and welcoming friends we are making who also serve as Temple Missionaries.  On Dec. 4th we were assigned to host one of the Break the Fast dinners at our home with 3 other couples, the Vintons, the Thompsons, and the Mabeys. It was so fun to get to know them and to share our home with them.  Other couples have included us in their dinner plans, too.  Last night, Dec. 12th, for Family Home Evening all of the missionaries gathered for a fun evening of music and treats.  We were all assigned  to make instruments and then we performed a song featuring all of them.  Our group played cymbals, actually metal  pie plates. Afterward, President and Sister Irion had 2 sets of pipe chimes and we all took turns playing and singing  Christmas carols  with chimes.  It was a very festive way to bring more joy to all of us who are away from our families during the holidays.  President Irion gave a brief message about that very topic, reminding us that we are each others family this Christmas. We are blessed to be part of the Nauvoo Temple Missionary Family which is a big reason that we feel like we truly are Home for Christmas this year.

     The other thing which makes Nauvoo seem like home is our opportunity to spend so many days of the week within the Nauvoo Temple serving the patrons and The Lord.  The spirit in the temple is always sweet and peaceable.  People are kind and appreciative for everything you do.  This past Saturday, Dec. 10th, my cousin's wife, Kendra Severinsen, who lives in Fremont, California, came to the Nauvoo Temple to be with her sister, Kathy who lives in Missouri while she was sealed to her husband.  It happened that Brother Peterson was asked to be the sealer for them for their special occasion.  We love serving here and receiving the blessings of having a White Christmas everyday in His Holy Temple, The House of The Lord.  This brings the true meaning of Christmas to us everyday through the love of the Lord, the love of His children, and the blessings of the temple.  When we are in the temple, we are HOME .

    Please know that we will be HOME for CHRISTMAS and we send our love to all of you at this special season of LOVE and HOPE and PEACE!  

Elder and Sister Peterson in Nauvoo