Today is a real day to CELEBRATE, for today is our 48th wedding anniversary! We must be very old! We were married for "Time and All Eternity" on June 6th, 1969, in the Los Angeles California Temple, by President Benjamin Bowering. When we reflect back on all that has happened since that special day, it seems like we only dreamt it! Now we have grandchildren who are older than we were when we got married! We will never forget that we celebrated our 48th anniversary while serving a full-time mission in the Nauvoo Temple which has been a life-time goal of ours from our beginning together. We are grateful for the blessings of the Temple and for a loving Heavenly Father who knows what we need and when we need it. We look forward to the rest of eternity and the wonderful surprises it is sure to bring our way!
Los Angeles Temple 6-6-69
Each new day in Nauvoo right now gives you reason to CELEBRATE! The temperatures are perfect and the daily thunderstorms have ceased, so blue skies and sunshine prevail! The days have lengthened and with all this, our spirits are lifted. We have seen flocks of geese with their goslings and those baby geese aren't so small anymore! Occasionally we have even spotted deer wandering around the flats once more. The trees are so amazing! They are huge and there are hundreds of them in every shade of green, including some which have gorgeous flowers adorning them. The birds begin singing before dawn and continue on until darkness falls. I think they want to CELEBRATE the season, too! Missionaries are no longer the only people we see visiting the sites of Historic Nauvoo, for family vacationers and bus loads of youth groups are arriving so there is added energy in the air! Having more patrons come to the Temple makes our service each day much more fulfilling. The Bapistry is busiest of all now that school is out for the Summer. This past week, several busloads of youth arrived from Olathe, Kansas. Seeing the youth come to the Temple is truly a reason to CELEBRATE!
Here are a few pictures from beautiful Nauvoo during the GREEN season!
On the mornings when we work on the PM shift, we have time for an early morning walk. Afterward, I have gone for a bike ride a few mornings down to The Mississippi River. How we love that Big River! We CELEBRATE its majesty each time we see it! One morning while I was down at the river last week, one of the huge barges which travels up and down the river carrying loads of corn and other items, passed right by Parley Street. They are 5 barges long and 3 barges wide. They are powered by a large tug boat that pushes them along quite swiftly. Each of these barge systems carries the equivalent of 800 semi-truck loads of cargo. They are fascinating. The only time they are not quite as enjoyable to see is when they cause the bridge that connects Illinois to Iowa at Fort Madison to swing open and stop the traffic and trains for anywhere from 10 minutes to 45 minutes while the barges go through the bridge. Here is a picture of the barge I saw on my bike ride last week.
Good Morning to The Mississippi!
Northern bound Barge
The Tug with the Power to Push
We began to CELEBRATE my birthday on my birthday eve, May 27th. After our long Saturday AM shift that day, we went to a restaurant we have found that we like and enjoyed their Early Bird Special, a 6 OZ Sirloin Steak dinner. I chose the sweet potato fries and grilled vegetables for my 2 sides and my faithful companion chose the Wisconsin Cheese soup and green beans. It was a meal to CELEBRATE compared to what we eat when we get back to our apartment tired and hungry on our normal days. The Hawkeye Restaurant is conveniently located in Keokuk, Iowa between Dollar Tree and Walmart. We have done our part over the past 7&1/2 months to keep these 3 places in business!
Since it was Memorial; Day weekend, the annual Road to Carthage Marathon race took place on the morning of May 27th, also. This is a race that basically follows the course Joseph and Hyrum Smith rode on horseback as they were taken to Carthage Jail where they both were martyred. When we approached the Temple to serve our shift that morning at 5:45 the street in front of the Temple was lined with tents and racers ready to begin their race.
I am sure you are not surprised that we didn't enter the race, We did, however, continue to CELEBRATE by attending the amazing GENTRI concert held in the Legacy Theater in Carthage, Illinois on Saturday night. All the proceeds from this whole event went to the local Food Pantries. The GENTRI Concert was attended by mostly Missionaries and Nauvoo residents. We have seen this group perform since their beginnings 3 years ago. They began singing together at Hale Center Theater back in Utah during their production of "Les Mis". When that run ended, Zerelda Elliott, wife of Casey Elliott, who is in the group, encouraged them to keep singing and keep "Les Mis" going. With her encouragement, they formed GENTRI and the beat goes on! They first were introduced at BYU Women's Conference and "Time Out For Women" and I was there, too. The concert here was intimate and filled with the spirit. Their pianist and composer, Stephen Nelson, was incredible. The 4 of them helped us CELEBRATE with feeling and power and showmanship of true gentlemen. Here are a few pictures from that very fun and memorable evening.
Stephen Nelson
Casey Elliott
Flowers from our 3 daughters
Jose is 9. He doesn't understand English.
I taught him to call me Grandma
Elder Peterson and Brother Sanchez.
Some of the group who were at the luncheon.
Sister Sanchez (El Salvador) and Sister Rojas(Mexico)
This was at Sister Sanchez's home. She is a counselor in the Relief Society Presidency. She only speaks Spanish. Sister Rojas' husband is a counselor in the Branch Presidency. He is from Peru. Sister Rojas speaks both Spanish and English and she translates in the meetings into which ever language isn't being spoken.
This is the De La Cruz Family. They are here from Guatemala on a Work Visa. Only the father speaks and understands English. Their children are so darling! They have to go back to Guatemala in July. We will really miss them!
Like birthdays tend to do, we continued to CELEBRATE on to the next day, Memorial Day, when we had a fun birthday lunch with the 4 missionary couples who weathered the Winter months together here on Parley Street. We went to El Camino Real in Hamilton and had a delicious feast. I made Strawberry Pie for our dessert and it was quite tasty. Usually we get a Marie Calender's Strawberry Pie at home for my birthday treat, but they don't deliver here in Nauvoo for some reason!
Rod & Dottie Cole- Us- Rick & Claudia Vinton- Tom & Bev Cordova
To CELEBRATE Memorial Day, after lunch we drove through the Keokuk Iowa National Cemetery. The setting was beautiful with all the flags and flowers decorating the hundreds of graves. We are grateful for all those who have given their lives to help make our country free. Won't resurrection morning be interesting here! What a blessing it is to know without a doubt that death is not the end, but only the doorway to the next grand and glorious portion of our eternal existence through The Atonement of Jesus Christ and The Great Plan of Happiness of our Merciful Heavenly Father!
Keokuk National Cemetery, Memorial Day
As we close our blog today, we CELEBRATE the Historic Nauvoo Temple and those who sacrificed so much so we can have the blessings of the Temple in our family. The Temple is magnificent and we love the spirit we experience each day as we enter to serve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Each new day in Nauvoo right now gives you reason to CELEBRATE! The temperatures are perfect and the daily thunderstorms have ceased, so blue skies and sunshine prevail! The days have lengthened and with all this, our spirits are lifted. We have seen flocks of geese with their goslings and those baby geese aren't so small anymore! Occasionally we have even spotted deer wandering around the flats once more. The trees are so amazing! They are huge and there are hundreds of them in every shade of green, including some which have gorgeous flowers adorning them. The birds begin singing before dawn and continue on until darkness falls. I think they want to CELEBRATE the season, too! Missionaries are no longer the only people we see visiting the sites of Historic Nauvoo, for family vacationers and bus loads of youth groups are arriving so there is added energy in the air! Having more patrons come to the Temple makes our service each day much more fulfilling. The Bapistry is busiest of all now that school is out for the Summer. This past week, several busloads of youth arrived from Olathe, Kansas. Seeing the youth come to the Temple is truly a reason to CELEBRATE!
On the mornings when we work on the PM shift, we have time for an early morning walk. Afterward, I have gone for a bike ride a few mornings down to The Mississippi River. How we love that Big River! We CELEBRATE its majesty each time we see it! One morning while I was down at the river last week, one of the huge barges which travels up and down the river carrying loads of corn and other items, passed right by Parley Street. They are 5 barges long and 3 barges wide. They are powered by a large tug boat that pushes them along quite swiftly. Each of these barge systems carries the equivalent of 800 semi-truck loads of cargo. They are fascinating. The only time they are not quite as enjoyable to see is when they cause the bridge that connects Illinois to Iowa at Fort Madison to swing open and stop the traffic and trains for anywhere from 10 minutes to 45 minutes while the barges go through the bridge. Here is a picture of the barge I saw on my bike ride last week.
We began to CELEBRATE my birthday on my birthday eve, May 27th. After our long Saturday AM shift that day, we went to a restaurant we have found that we like and enjoyed their Early Bird Special, a 6 OZ Sirloin Steak dinner. I chose the sweet potato fries and grilled vegetables for my 2 sides and my faithful companion chose the Wisconsin Cheese soup and green beans. It was a meal to CELEBRATE compared to what we eat when we get back to our apartment tired and hungry on our normal days. The Hawkeye Restaurant is conveniently located in Keokuk, Iowa between Dollar Tree and Walmart. We have done our part over the past 7&1/2 months to keep these 3 places in business!
Since it was Memorial; Day weekend, the annual Road to Carthage Marathon race took place on the morning of May 27th, also. This is a race that basically follows the course Joseph and Hyrum Smith rode on horseback as they were taken to Carthage Jail where they both were martyred. When we approached the Temple to serve our shift that morning at 5:45 the street in front of the Temple was lined with tents and racers ready to begin their race.
I am sure you are not surprised that we didn't enter the race, We did, however, continue to CELEBRATE by attending the amazing GENTRI concert held in the Legacy Theater in Carthage, Illinois on Saturday night. All the proceeds from this whole event went to the local Food Pantries. The GENTRI Concert was attended by mostly Missionaries and Nauvoo residents. We have seen this group perform since their beginnings 3 years ago. They began singing together at Hale Center Theater back in Utah during their production of "Les Mis". When that run ended, Zerelda Elliott, wife of Casey Elliott, who is in the group, encouraged them to keep singing and keep "Les Mis" going. With her encouragement, they formed GENTRI and the beat goes on! They first were introduced at BYU Women's Conference and "Time Out For Women" and I was there, too. The concert here was intimate and filled with the spirit. Their pianist and composer, Stephen Nelson, was incredible. The 4 of them helped us CELEBRATE with feeling and power and showmanship of true gentlemen. Here are a few pictures from that very fun and memorable evening.
Bradley Quin Lever- Casey Elliott-Brad Robbins- Stephen Nelson
Zerelda Elliott- Sister and Elder Peterson
At the end of their concert, GENTRI invited all of us to join them in the foyer where they had someone taking pictures of all of us with them. I invited Casey Ellliot's wife, Zerelda , to be in our picture with us. Elder Peterson and I have a special connection with the Elliots, for during the week they were in the Nauvoo Temple helping us on one of our sessions we conducted. All in all, this was a great way to CELEBRATE my birthday with a magical touch of Utah don't you think?!
Sunday, May 28th, we really did CELEBRATE my missionary birthday. I was blessed to be able to talk to all 6 of our children and several grandchildren. Mail, emails and text messages were heartwarming, bringing birthday wishes from all our family and many special friends.
Tulips from Rich's Family
We attended our normal Church meetings in the Mt. Pleasant Branch. This little Branch has the nicest Sunday Bulletin each week with many interesting things on it. One item featured on each Sunday's Bulletin is entitled, "Today In Church History". That week's said, " May 28th, 1843: Joseph and Emma Smith are sealed for 'Time and all Eternity'. Joseph and Emma are the first couple sealed under priesthood authority in this dispensation. President Joseph Smith also extends a call for the first missionaries to go to the Sandwich Islands. Today the Sandwich Islands are known as Hawaii." No wonder May 28th is such a special day!
After Sacrament Meeting, the 2 brothers who bless the Sacrament every Sunday, surprised me with a darling bouquet of flowers! It was very much unexpected and very touching! I have reached out to them with weekly treats never expecting such a sweet gesture from them in return.
Codey Jacobs- Sister Peterson- Corey Jacobs
The Sanchez family in the Branch had invited all of the missionaries serving there to come to their house for lunch that day. They also invited all the other Spanish speaking families to attend. It was a sunny day and we sat in their backyard and had a potluck feast with homemade tortillas and items from their various countries including Peru, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico. They are all so gracious and humble. It was interesting to get to know them all this way and learn more about their families. None of this was for my birthday and only the missionaries even knew about that. However, I will always remember what I had to eat for lunch on my birthday in 2017!
I taught him to call me Grandma
We were at his parents' home. He went to Portland, Oregon on his mission and speaks English. We enjoyed hearing about how his family came from El Salvador. His girlfriend is making the tortillas in the prior picture. They grew up together in El Salvador.
This was at Sister Sanchez's home. She is a counselor in the Relief Society Presidency. She only speaks Spanish. Sister Rojas' husband is a counselor in the Branch Presidency. He is from Peru. Sister Rojas speaks both Spanish and English and she translates in the meetings into which ever language isn't being spoken.
Like birthdays tend to do, we continued to CELEBRATE on to the next day, Memorial Day, when we had a fun birthday lunch with the 4 missionary couples who weathered the Winter months together here on Parley Street. We went to El Camino Real in Hamilton and had a delicious feast. I made Strawberry Pie for our dessert and it was quite tasty. Usually we get a Marie Calender's Strawberry Pie at home for my birthday treat, but they don't deliver here in Nauvoo for some reason!
To CELEBRATE Memorial Day, after lunch we drove through the Keokuk Iowa National Cemetery. The setting was beautiful with all the flags and flowers decorating the hundreds of graves. We are grateful for all those who have given their lives to help make our country free. Won't resurrection morning be interesting here! What a blessing it is to know without a doubt that death is not the end, but only the doorway to the next grand and glorious portion of our eternal existence through The Atonement of Jesus Christ and The Great Plan of Happiness of our Merciful Heavenly Father!
As we close our blog today, we CELEBRATE the Historic Nauvoo Temple and those who sacrificed so much so we can have the blessings of the Temple in our family. The Temple is magnificent and we love the spirit we experience each day as we enter to serve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
CELEBRATE each new day and when you do,
we hope you can feel the LOVE we send to you!
Elder and Sister Peterson in Nauvoo
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