A large THANK YOU is in order as I begin our blog this morning to the Fathers in our family and around the world. Without the Fathers, there would be no "Youth of Zion", or any youth for that matter! In" The Family Proclamation, A Proclamation to the World", issued by the First Presidency and Council of The Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on September 23, 1995. it states the following: "By divine design, Fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families." Our family is held together firmly by faithful Fathers who throughout the generations have steadfastly upheld these inspired principles. This Nauvoo Missionary Fathers' Day, the Father and Patriarch of our family, Elder Peterson, delighted in talking to each of our 6 children and several grandchildren, for that is the only gift he ever really wants! How grateful we are for all the Fathers, both past and present, who continually bless our lives!
Elder Peterson, the Father of our family
Wearing his Fathers Day Tie from Rich's family
Wife, Dad, and Grandpa Fathers Day Card Collection, 2017
On May 30, 2017, our "Summer Nauvoo Temple Missionary Family" gathered together on the front steps of the Temple for a group picture. It was a sunny and bright day after several weeks of rain. Considering the size of our "Family", this is a pretty good resemblance of who we are. We count our blessings everyday that we are serving here with all of these valiant missionaries and friends. One of our favorite parts of cards, letters and calls from home is hearing our family tell us how grateful they are for our missionary service here and how it blesses their families, too. Looking at this picture of our Temple Missionary force and realizing that their families are probably telling them the same thing is very humbling! Since we cannot tell you about each missionary individually, we share the picture with you today. And, each of these missionaries is also someones child, once again enforcing the truth of the statement, "Shall the Youth of Zion Falter? NO!"
Welcome back to Nauvoo where "The Youth of Zion" are bringing revived energy and enthusiasm our way each new day. Bus loads of youth continue to arrive from all around to tour Nauvoo and participate in Baptisms. We were in the midst of a Stake Youth Conference from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, including 168 youth, ages 14-18, and 50 leaders at the Visitors Center. Each group of 10 youth was called a "Family" and had a married couple assigned to be their Ma and Pa much like Trek is organized. It was interesting to be an observer instead of a chaperone!
Wearing his Fathers Day Tie from Rich's family
On May 30, 2017, our "Summer Nauvoo Temple Missionary Family" gathered together on the front steps of the Temple for a group picture. It was a sunny and bright day after several weeks of rain. Considering the size of our "Family", this is a pretty good resemblance of who we are. We count our blessings everyday that we are serving here with all of these valiant missionaries and friends. One of our favorite parts of cards, letters and calls from home is hearing our family tell us how grateful they are for our missionary service here and how it blesses their families, too. Looking at this picture of our Temple Missionary force and realizing that their families are probably telling them the same thing is very humbling! Since we cannot tell you about each missionary individually, we share the picture with you today. And, each of these missionaries is also someones child, once again enforcing the truth of the statement, "Shall the Youth of Zion Falter? NO!"
Nauvoo Temple Missionaries, Summer 2017
(We are on the top back row in front of the right pillar of the Temple)Welcome back to Nauvoo where "The Youth of Zion" are bringing revived energy and enthusiasm our way each new day. Bus loads of youth continue to arrive from all around to tour Nauvoo and participate in Baptisms. We were in the midst of a Stake Youth Conference from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, including 168 youth, ages 14-18, and 50 leaders at the Visitors Center. Each group of 10 youth was called a "Family" and had a married couple assigned to be their Ma and Pa much like Trek is organized. It was interesting to be an observer instead of a chaperone!
Youth Conference from the Bartlesville Oklahoma Stake
When these large groups come to the Baptistry, they bring into the Temple about 12 boys and 12 girls an hour, spanning an entire day from 8 AM to 9 PM. Temple workers are set up in well trained Baptistry Teams and each couple has their assignments. The outside groups also bring Priesthood and Sisters to help. It is a beehive of activity down there and the spirit is strong! It is exciting to see and hear what the youth say about their special experiences inside the Historic Nauvoo Temple.
When these large groups come to the Baptistry, they bring into the Temple about 12 boys and 12 girls an hour, spanning an entire day from 8 AM to 9 PM. Temple workers are set up in well trained Baptistry Teams and each couple has their assignments. The outside groups also bring Priesthood and Sisters to help. It is a beehive of activity down there and the spirit is strong! It is exciting to see and hear what the youth say about their special experiences inside the Historic Nauvoo Temple.
Since we live on Parley Street where the Trail of Hope is located, we constantly see bus loads of both youth and adult tour groups driving by. We are enjoying the increased numbers of people here, especially the youth! They are the missing element for us in our mission here in Nauvoo.
The Young Performing Missionaries (YPMS) have helped fill that gap for us in many ways. They are busy putting on various performances night and day. However, when they have free time, we see them attending the temple with smiles and energy. We were serving in the Initiatory area of the Temple this past week with some of them which was a sweet experience. That same afternoon in the Visitors Center, we attended one of their plays, The Promise, and delighted in watching and listening to their powerful testimonies as they shared their talents with us. We enjoy talking with the YPMS after their shows. The Promise tells about life in Nauvoo and the challenges the early Saints faced. It is a powerful production put on at 2;30 PM and 4:30 PM throughout the week.
Here are a few pictures from The Promise:
Each night at 6:30 PM, the YPMS perform at the outside theater doing a presentation entitled, "Sunset by the Mississippi". It is done in conjunction with the Senior Site Missionaries. We feel blessed to be their appreciative audience! That is our best role. Their show is filled with music, singing, dancing and lots of fun! We have gone twice so far and will be there many more times before Summer ends., The best way to explain their show is to share more pictures so you can catch the vision of their talents. Each night people come to attend the free performances and to enjoy the positive energy which unfolds there.
The Sister Missionaries living at 865 Parley Street
Sister Peterson, Apt 2-Sister Cordova, Apt 1-Sister Vinton, Apt 3
On Sunday afternoons at 3;30, the YPMS do a spiritual concert in the Visitors Center Theater. We attended this on Fathers' Day and enjoyed a spiritual feast. Their program featured the Brass Band and the Singers and their sound together was heavenly. Their rendition of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" rivaled the Tabernacle Choir in power and spirit alike. What a blessing it is to be partakers of their Gift of Music with which they have each been blessed. They sweetly and steadfastly proclaim the answer to the question, "Shall The Youth of Zion Falter?" with a resounding "NO!" with every hymn they performed that day. Here are pictures to share from the concert. They looked simply amazing without their pioneer attire.
We will change gears now and highlight some of the other things which have been happening over the past couple weeks. First of all, a shout out to 3 of our granddaughters for their graduations! Audrey Heiner, our granddaughter in Nibley, Utah, graduated from High School on May 30th and received her mission call that same afternoon to the Brazil Porto Allegra North Mission. It was a very memorable day for her! Meanwhile in Corvallis, Oregon, our granddaughter, Erika Richardson, graduated from High School on June 12th. She will be attending Oregon State in the Fall. Also in Corvallis, Oregon, on June 17th, our granddaughter, Rachel Richardson graduated from Oregon State University. She has accepted a position as a full-time nanny in the Washington, DC area for the next year and will begin in July. We are so happy for these young women and they, too, are living proof that the "The Youth of Zion" will not falter! We missed not being with them for their special days, but we are grateful for technology which allowed us to be part of their celebrations through FaceTime on our electronic devices.
We had a surprise visit from Von and Julia Hansen and their daughter, Natalia. They are the in-laws of our daughter, Jennifer Hansen. Her husband, Scott Hansen, is from the Boise area. Together we share 4 wonderful grandchildren. Von and Julia are also friends of Elder and Sister Hurst from the Boise area who serve in the Temple here with us. So, all of us went to dinner together at the Nauvoo Hotel Buffet. It was a good chance to get to visit and enjoy a good meal, too. It is fun to be serving a mission in an area that people want to to come and visit. We are the ones who receive side benefits from their vacations
Elder and Sister Hurst- Elder and Sister Peterson
Natalia, Julia, and Von Hansen
Our P-Day group went to Quincy, Illinois and took a tour of the sites their. We have been there twice before and we have talked about that in previous blogs, so this time we will only share a picture of our group who visited Quincy today. We had a very good time and we always enjoy reflecting upon the goodness of the people of Quincy to the Saints in their time of desperation. The Mississippi River is our backdrop and the monument the Church made to honor the citizens of Quincy is in the middle of our picture below.
We had an interesting Family Home Evening Activity for our Temple Missionary Family last week, a Missionary Talent Show. Everything from beautiful music to slightly insane comedy acts were on our program. There were also displays for those who wished to share visual talents. Each Family Home Evening group provided one part of the program. We sat according to our FHE groups and had a potluck per group. It was like a little dinner theater night and lots of fun, too. I shared the story of Frank and Barbara Surace's conversion for our group's part of the program. At the end of the night, everyone who participated was given an "Oscar", an Oscar Myer Wiener that is! You will see it in the pictures below.
Sister Peterson's Display Talents
It is always fun to share the scenery from Illinois and Iowa that we witness each day. The crops are growing rapidly and the corn fields seem to double their growth each week. Everything is green and gorgeous. The trees are so amazing, too. Even the oxen are enjoying the fields of tall grasses for grazing. The Mississippi River is beginning to be covered with lily pads that hold the promise for gorgeous flowers over the next month. All these things testify of our Creator and His goodness in supplying this beautiful place for us to serve our mission. We will share some of these beautiful surroundings with you as Summer arrives in Nauvoo.
Iowa sky June 18th, 2017
Taken from our kitchen window, June 18th
How grateful we are for the many sweet blessings surrounding us, whether we are serving in the Temple or looking out the window where we live. Take time to smell the roses or gaze at a beautiful tree wherever you may be. We testify that because of the LOVE our Heavenly Father has for each one of His children, "The Youth of Zion" will not falter. He wants all of us back with Him one day. We are grateful for the blessing of helping with the sacred work that will bring this to pass as we serve here each day in His Holy House.
We send our love to each one of you and give thanks for all your love and support.
Elder and Sister Peterson in Nauvoo
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