We began our mission in the midst of a beautiful Fall last year. Once again, Fall is upon us here in Old Nauvoo with cool, crisp mornings, even temperatures, and best of all, low humidity on most days!
The leaves are changing all around us and the geese are returning after taking a vacation away from our hot summer weather. Looking out our kitchen window last weekend, the grassy space across from our apartment was filled with geese flocking to be our new neighbors. We love hearing them as they fly in formation overhead, honking and circling above the flats where we live. Notice the red leaves appearing on the branches below.
The plants in the flowerbed outside our front door continue to produce gorgeous foliage. The cooler Fall air has just enhanced the colors on these plants which just magically appeared without us providing any care for them. The magic is the damp, constantly humid air that irrigates the lawns and plants each night without any sprinkler system. This is something we have grown to greatly appreciate coming from a high desert climate where we have to water our plants constantly so they will survive the heat!
We talk a lot about sunsets here, and this blog will contain one of those, too, but we also had a sunrise that was a sight to behold this week here on Parley Street, the place that we call home. We have become very attached to the quiet country life here and better understand the endearing term, "Nauvoo the Beautiful", from its pioneer beginnings.
As the title of this blog denotes, this has been a month filled with many memorable gatherings with our missionary friends as well as around the community. Each is a separate event, but they all are part of the tapestry that is being woven together within our hearts and minds as we serve our Temple Mission here in Nauvoo. We will share them with you in chronological order and hope that you will enjoy seeing the pictures and feeling a taste of the spirit of Nauvoo which we enjoy from day to day.
In our last blog, we wrote about a special Family Home Evening on August 14th where President and Sister Irion did a wonderful presentation on President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who is also Sister Irion's father. Please look back at the previous post and review the great pictures from President Nelson's life.
After the Irion's presentation, we had a very enjoyable Ice Cream Party. Ice Cream is always welcomed by a room full of missionaries regardless of their age! Here are some fun pictures from that event which we would like to share with you.
Two family Home Evening Groups were assigned to plan this event. These are the Sisters who were on that fun committee. (LtoR) Sister J. Anderson, Sister Meadows, Sister Lawson, Sister Sears, Sister L. Brown, Sister N. Peterson
Elder Clark, Elder Morrison, Elder&Sister Dean, Elder & Sister Mabey
Sister and Elder Ballard, Sister and Elder Cole, Sister and Elder Lawson
President and Sister Irion
On Monday, August 21st, our missionaries all gathered at the Nauvoo State Park which is also on Parley Street about 2 blocks East of our apartment, for our very own Total Eclipse Party. Granted, it wasn't the spectacular viewing event many of you experienced in other parts of the country. We even had big thunderstorms and clouds in the early morning, but inspite of it all, we did see the Eclipse through our trusty viewing glasses. It is pretty amazing that such a heavenly occurrence can be predicted to the moment of where it will appear and how long it will exactly last, all without error. We believe in miracles and we believe in The Creator of Heaven and Earth who knows how to make planets and moons and stars and suns, including the ones we were all viewing across the whole world on this memorable day! It is an incredible thought to ponder!
Here are a few funny pictures from our Eclipse BBQ and games event. Just as we began eating, the sky darkened from the Eclipse and you couldn't see the food to identify what was even in the bowls. People were turning on their cell phone flash lights to brighten the surroundings. This only lasted a few minutes, but it was very interesting!
Sister Newbern and Elder and Sister Humphreys are next to us.
Cute Sister and Elder McBride in their Eclipse shirts
Our next door neighbor and good hearted Elder Tom Cordova manned the grill!
After our delicious meal, we played some fun games kind of "Minute to Win It"! Everyone got involved and there were even prizes!
Sister Irion, The Winner!
(below, LtoR) Sister Hansen, Elder M. Peterson, Sister and Elder Lawson
"Suck up the Skittles and Put Them in the Cup Contest"
(above) Elder Beer vs. Sister G. Anderson
(Below) Elder Cline vs. Elder Beer for Championship
Elder Beer was the final winner!
As we have said several times, we attend the Mt. Pleasant Iowa Branch each Sunday for our Church Meetings. On the Sunday prior to Labor Day Weekend, we drove through The Old Thresher's Grounds in Mt. Pleasant where they were preparing for their annual Old Thresher's Reunion. "The Midwest Old Thresher's Reunion was started in 1950 and has taken place every Labor Day weekend since in the small town of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Over 100,000 visitors from all over the world flood this tiny town of about 10,000 residents for a week long celebration which pays tribute to antique agricultural equipment." ("Old Thresher's Reunion", Wikipedia)
Here are a few pictures we took of the antique equipment on the Reunion Grounds. They were all very fascinating. However, we were more amused as we drove through the campground where the attendees of the Reunion were spending the week. The campers were nestled on the hillside right next to the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. It was all very interesting as you will see in the pictures!
The following Sunday, September 3rd, we left peaceful little Nauvoo with a population of 1,000 and headed for Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, to attend Church. We knew that the town of Nauvoo was planning their annual Car Festival on this afternoon as part of their annual Grape Festival. We had heard that lots of people attend, but found out that that was an understatement! When we drove back into our Old Nauvoo neighborhood about 6 hours later, it was inundated with both crowds of people and nearly 600 old cars on display! The streets were barricaded off and police tape was strung across our neighbors' yards to try and prevent foot traffic through their yards, but to no avail!
There were motorcycles and police cars and loud speakers and announcers that sounded like they had come from a rodeo or an auction block. It was not the peaceful Sunday afternoon in Nauvoo which we are accustom to for sure!. We can't begin to explain the magnitude of this event, however, here are a few pictures to help give the flavor of that most unique day in Old Nauvoo.
Notice our apartment in the background?
Some one's red car is parked in front of our home.
The same day the car show was taking place, we left the craziness and went to President and Sister Smith's home. President Smith is the 2nd Counselor in the Nauvoo Temple Presidency and Sister Smith is one of the Assistant Matrons. We were excited to be assigned to their home for this month's "Break the Fast Meal". They live in a beautiful area called The Bluffs which overlooks the Mississippi River. You will get to share their view with us in these next pictures. It was a very nice change sitting all together in an actual dining room around a real dining room table. They kept us in the country mode with their dishes we ate from, because they were John Deere Tractor plates! We love the Smith's and enjoyed their hospitality and their view!
Elder RK Brown, Elder M. Peterson, Elder Cole, President Smith
For our P-Day on Labor Day, September 4th, we took a day trip down to Hannibal, Missouri. It is about 70 miles away and takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes to travel each way. We enjoyed the ride and saw yet another version of farmland and trees in abundance. On our drive down we took a back route and in a matter of 10 minutes we had been in 3 States- Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. Very interesting! For our activities in Hannibal, we chose to visit Tom Sawyer's Cave and to take a Riverboat ride on The Mississippi River. The boat ride was good, but we both agreed that we enjoyed the cave tour more. The young guide on the cave tour knew her facts and had a fun sense of humor that reminded us of the guides on the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland. Here's some pictures from our Hannibal excursion.
Even though from the contents of this blog it seems like we are always partying somewhere, we are actually spending the bulk of our time serving in the Historic Nauvoo Temple. Our P-Day is Monday, then the rest of the week we are in the Temple between 6 to 9 hours per day depending on our shift. There is no place we would rather be than serving the Lord in His House, surrounded by the Holy Spirit. On Tuesday night, September 12th, we left the Temple at the completion of our shift shortly after 9 PM. Driving home we saw the most incredible full moon in the sky just above the Temple. We went home and I grabbed my trusty camera and headed up the hill to try and capture the beauty of that moment. This picture will give you a small glimpse of that breathe- taking view.
While riding my bike Tuesday, September 12th, along Parley Street, also known as The "Trail of Hope", the cool morning air set the stage for some lovely Fall photos. One shows the corn crops we see everywhere around here and how they look as they are dying down in preparation for the harvest. A small horse grazes contently in the foreground.
Just over from that was a larger horse in the same pasture, completing a perfect combination of heaven and earth with the Nauvoo Temple on the hilltop above. Notice the quote by George Q. Cannon which is posted along the "Trail of Hope" which appears in this picture below.
"Moving out with FAITH that was undisturbed by its unknown terror. It was by FAITH that this (the trek from Nauvoo to the Salt Lake Valley) was accomplished."
We testify to you that with God, nothing is impossible. As we apply George Q. Cannon's wisdom and "move out with Faith that is undisturbed by its unknown terror", amazing things can occur in our lives and in your life, too!
We end this blog with an unexpected picture taken last night, September 14th, in front of the Cultural Hall in Old Nauvoo. Four of our friends from our ward in South Jordan, Utah are currently on a Fun For Less Church History tour here in Nauvoo. We surprised them and were waiting outside when they exited the 7 PM performance of "Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo." We also saw their current tour guide, Michael Wilcox, whom we have traveled to the Middle East and Europe with over the years. I also took 15 years of weekly Religion classes from him. It was a good ending to a great day. We look forward to seeing our neighbors in the Nauvoo Temple tomorrow, too.
(LtoR) Shelley Frohm, Craig Douglass, Judy Barron, Cathy Douglass, Noreen and Pete
Members of the South Jordan Garden Park 6th Ward
We send our love to all of you! Have FAITH, make and keep good memories, and enjoy a fabulous Fall wherever you may be.
Elder and Sister Peterson in Nauvoo
