Our Nauvoo Temple Mission: LIVING OUR DREAM February 28, 2017

Since our last post we have reached the 4 month mark since we left our home in South Jordan, Utah and began our Nauvoo Temple Mission. We have looked forward to this season of our life ever since we began our marriage together nearly 48 years ago. Once we enter the Holy Temple to serve at the beginning of each week, suddenly it is Sunday again! We love our time in the Temple and we love the Spirit that surrounds us wherever we are in Nauvoo. We have learned so much and have grown to appreciate many "tender mercies" we overlooked before serving here. We truly are LIVING OUR DREAM and we remind ourselves of that on a regular basis. Here are a few of the many things we have been part of over the past 2 weeks that we wish to share with you, our dear family and friends

On Monday Night, February 13th, for our Family Home Evening activity, our Temple Missionary family climbed up the steep stairways to the 3rd floor of the Cultural Hall in Old Nauvoo. There we participated in a Square Dance on the original wood floor which the Prophet Joseph Smith and his wife, Emma, along with the other early pioneer Saints, held their socials and danced. Just thinking of that made the evening even more special! One of our fellow missionaries, Elder Adams from Snowflake, Arizona, has been a professional Square Dance Caller for over 20 years. He is generally very quiet which made it even more fun to see how amazing he was at instructing all of us! Although many of our group seemed to be left and right challenged in the beginning, by the end of the night we were actually dancing up a storm! The music was peppy and we all received a good aerobic workout! We were allowed to wear casual clothing that night which made everything even better. Being in this historic building and sharing this experience with our fellow missionaries created a very memorable Valentine's Day social. Since Pete and I met in a Social Dance Class at BYU, we have always enjoyed dancing. Of course, there were plenty of delicious homemade treats at the end of our activity served in the Family Living Center behind the Old Cultural Hall. We all look forward to having another square dance together during our season of service here in Nauvoo.

The Historic Cultural Hall- We danced on the 3rd Floor

Sister Adams with Elder Adams, Our Square Dance Caller

The Beautiful, Original Wood Floor From the Nauvoo Pioneer Era

Elder and Sister Peterson catching our breathe between dances

Merry Dancing Missionaries

President and Sister Smith, 2nd Counselor and Assistant Matron

Elder and Sister Cole, Sister Lawson, Sister Marshall, and Brother Thompson

Brother and Sister Vinton, Sister Adams, Brother and Sister Emang, Sister Cordova

President and Sister Irion, our Temple President and Matron

Valentine Treats Galore

The day after our Square Dance Social actually was Valentine's Day. We spent that night serving in the Temple. It was a perfect way to express our commitment to The Lord and to one another. I am including a picture of our Valentine gifts to each other, cards and candy, plus a fun "Love Lock" from my Valentine for eternity, Elder Peterson. When we were in Copenhagen, Denmark this past August, we were so taken by the bridges over the canal whose railings were plastered with hundreds of locks with names and dates written on them which people had locked on them to declare there everlasting love to one another. Pete gave me "Our Nauvoo Love Lock" as he labeled it, So, at some remote place, somewhere while we are out here, we will place our "Love Lock". We both agreed that the place where we sealed our eternal love forever, the Temple, would not be appropriate! So, we will find the perfect place for it one day and I will keep you informed when that occurs. For now, it's the thought that counts, right?!

Happy Nauvoo Valentine's Day to us!

On Saturday and Sunday, February 18th and 19th, we were blessed to attend the Stake Conference for the Nauvoo Illinois Stake. The Mt. Pleasant Branch where we attend Church each Sunday is the Northern most unit in the Nauvoo Stake. It was fun to see some of our stalwart members from the Branch at Conference here in Nauvoo. Elder Joseph W. Sitati, a General Authority Seventy, presided over this Stake Conference. He was called to this position on April 4, 2009. He was born in Bungoma, Kenya, on May 16, 1952. He and his wife have 5 children. In 1986 he joined the Church. He told us that he started going to the Church because a Senior Missionary couple invited him to come. Since many of us in the audience were Senior Missionaries, he wanted us to know and to realize the influence that we can have on others' eternal progression.

Elder Joseph W. Sitati

On Saturday night, Elder Sitati allowed the congregation to ask him questions. One person asked his impression of being in Nauvoo for his first time. He said he would answer that question on Sunday which he did. He said that in Africa, the members hear about Nauvoo, but they cannot come here. However, they bear powerful testimonies of Joseph Smith as the Prophet of The Restoration and of the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon. The Spirit tells them these things are true without a doubt. He went on to tell us that in the last 30 years in Africa, 500,000 members have joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. There are 100 Stakes and 60 Districts. He said that those who join the Church in Africa remain firm in their testimonies. They do not leave the Church. In Africa, there is one baptism per missionary per month. Elder Sitati went on to say that the great miracle is that God put us here. He counseled us to make Jesus Christ the" Door" to your home. He told us to establish patterns of Holiness in our homes. He also reminded us that you grow in the Gospel by serving and doing what you are asked to do. Elder Sitati concluded by saying, "Stay on course so you can access His power and receive His Blessings." It was a very sweet gift to partake of the Spirit of this special Nauvoo Stake Conference weekend.
The final activity we will share with you today took place on Monday, February 20th. For our family night activity, a group of us went to the very unique home of Brother and Sister Tukuafu. They live right along the Mississippi River about 15 minutes away from us.They both serve as District Workers in the Nauvoo Temple. ("District Worker" is the term used here to describe those who live in the Temple District and serve in the Temple on a regular basis. Some come weekly, some monthly, some every other week, etc. depending on their distance from the temple and their circumstances.) Brother and Sister Tukuafu serve on our Saturday AM Temple shift. He is originally from Tonga and they met when he was going to BYU Hawaii. They are the parents of 14 children and they currently have 59 grandchildren! They are Empty Nesters like all of us.
Music is their passion! Sister Tukuafu is a maker of Harps and Dulcimers and Psalteries and Banjos. They invite the missionaries to come to their home in small groups of 12-14 for an evening of music and stories from their Hawaiian lifestyle. The Spirit is strong as you listen to them play and sing using their many instruments. Their round home is fashioned after a Yurt, Words cannot explain the feeling inside there. The walls are made of logs from the 1700's in Pennsylvania. The log pillars for their stairway are from hewn logs from Parley's Canyon in Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves stained glass and has it here there and everywhere. She bakes round loaves of bread in her old fashioned oven constantly. Needless to say, being in their home was a real treat from start to finish! Outside, she has her wood shop where she builds her musical instruments out of specialty kits. They truly are a very amazing couple whose hospitality and talents have blessed countless others!
The pictures we will share below from the Tukuafus' will give you a slight idea of what we are talking about. However, if you go to : irenetukuafu.blogspot.com you will be able to watch a 30 minute news interview with Sister Tukuafu done inside her round house and then you will get a better feel for what we experienced. At the end of our night with them, the Tukuafus joined together singing, "Aloha" to us and told us that in Hawaiian, "Aloha" actually means: "May the Love of God Be With You."

As we keep LIVING OUR DREAM here in Nauvoo,
"May the Love of God Be With YOU".
Elder and Sister Peterson