Hello everyone! First off, I must apologize if I did not respond to
any of your emails this last week. Last Monday, two whole zones of
Missionaries from the Iowa Des Moines Mission decided to come to the
Visitor's Center and use our computers for their email time.
Unfortunately, they were not very kind or considerate enough to warn us
before, so during the time we had planned to come and email, every thing
was being used, and by the time they were all done I only had 30
minutes to email before we went to go grocery shopping. So, my
apologies!
Just a little quick note about last week's
preparation day- we went to Cantrail, Iowa which is a Mennonite
community with an awesome store! There is a senior couple here in
Nauvoo, the Meyers, who cook lunch for the Young Performing
Missionaries. Also, about once a week they take a group of Young Sisters
there to have the "Cantrail Experience". It is a total trip to walk in
there and to be surrounded by Mennonites. They are some of the kindest
people though, and have great things! I got really excited about their
Pesto dip mix and Cous Cous :) haha and it was so fun! The store's name
is The Dutchman's ..... Storehouse? Something like that, just remember
Dutchman's :) They have all sorts of cheeses, seasonings, bread, meat,
and even out door gear like coats and intense boots! It was a lot of fun
to go. Apparently raspberry jalapeno jelly is a thing? I saw it, and
tried it, and it actually was not quite bad at all! I quite enjoyed it,
the spice really brought out the sweet!
After we went shopping at the store, we went to a
little Amish store too. As we pulled up, we saw an Amish lady get out of
her horse and buggy. I had seen things like this on TV, but never in
real life! It was quite the experience. I also thought it was a little
bit funny- the Amish pulling up to the store in their horse and buggy,
and the Mormons pulling up in a minivan, which ironically contained five
women and one man. HA! As we went along, Elder Meyer kept on joking
that he thinks the Mennonites probably think we are polygamists because
he always rolls in here with his wife and at least four other women. So,
as we went into the Amish store, there was no lights, no air
conditioning, and the owner even wrote everything down with a pencil and
paper! She was very sweet though, and I overheard her speaking what
they call, "Pennsylvania Dutch" to the aforementioned Amish woman who
came to the store before us. I went over, and started a conversation
with the owner about German. When you are raised Amish, your first
language is this Pennsylvania Dutch! I could even detect a bit of an
accent in her English too. Turns out that the Amish also read their
Bible in Höch-Deutsch, so I figured if I talked to her she could
probably understand me. The problem was though, that she could
understand me, but man her German was crazy! And I thought the Swiss
spoke funny! Anyways, we carried on for a little bit, and it was pretty
fun to talk to her and learn about her beliefs. She was not interested
in ours, but she liked the fact that Elder Meyers bought about 12 of her
straw hats :)
This week was also Transfers! I said goodbye to my
little greenie Sister Russell, and now I am companions with the
wonderful Sister Mills. We have known each other for a while, and were
good friends last summer and are positively overjoyed to be with each
other this Transfer! I am always just so happy around her, and we teach
so well together- pretty much it is Zion over here in Nauvoo :)
So Sister Mills is from Cache Valley, Utah,
specifically a little place called Mendon. She is 22, and has been going
to Utah State University. She is about 5'7", brunette, cuts her hair in
a bob, and dresses a little retro. Sister Mills is an incredible
singer, and was part of a choir called Latter-Day Voices. Apparently it
is a big deal to get in, and she is just incredible- her tone is very
clear, and when she sung "Savior, Redeemer" for the Sociable, people
were bawling because it was so beautiful. Sister Mills was with me in
Carthage when I was there for a Transfer, and was the Carthage Group
Leader, which is pretty much a Zone Leader. Now, we get to be together
in Nauvoo!
Also, a lot of other things were changed in the
Mission- now, two of my really good friends, Sister Hughes and Sister
Hansen are the Assistants to the President now. Geez, I really do not
envy their job! So much to do, but I know that those Sisters are
definitely the best ones for the job! As for me, it looks like I am
still the Scripture Trainer that is like a Sister Training Leader....
thing. But it's great, and actually last night's Training went really
well. Every Monday
night all of the Young Sister Missionaries gather at the Mission Home
and are trained by President Gibbons, the Assistants and myself. I
normally have about 15 min to essentially teach and train to the
Sister's needs using doctrine from the Scriptures. To be completely
honest, I prepare, but I really have no idea exactly what Heavenly
Father wants me to say until I am saying it. However, it is a slight
reassurance that it really is not up to me, and I am just being a
servant of the Lord. If a training goes really well, I cannot help but
give the credit to Him because I really did not do much! I am so
grateful to be here in Nauvoo and to have the opportunity to be here.
Also, before I forget, this last week was the first
week of the Nauvoo and British Pageant! This Summer is very special
because at the moment, this is the only time planned when the British
Pageant will be here in the United States. To add to that, I get to be
in it! At the end of the British Pageant (which is amazing) we have an
opportunity to go onto stage during the finale. The whole Pageant has
been about the Missionary Work in the British Isles, and how those
people were the Pioneers that crossed the plains. The Cast sings, "Come,
Come, Ye Saints", and after a transition, all of the Young Performing
Missionaries, a few from the Des Moines Mission, and then we (the Young
Sister Missionaries) walk on stage as we sing "Called to Serve". We all
are wearing a light colored shirt so everyone can see our name-tags, and
holding our Book of Mormons. The Director likes having the Young Sister
Missionaries in the Visitor Center stand fron and center, so we have a
good vantage point to look out onto the crowd. It is such a unique
experience to be able to look out and see people with tears in their
eyes, and to witness the Spirit touching their hearts, testifying if the
importance of sharing the Gospel. Then, we sing "Oh Say What is Truth",
which is kind of the "Theme-Hymn" for the British Pageant. The music
transitions, and we go to the side of the stage, the full cast comes
down the center part of the stage, and about 400 people are in full view
and launch into the song, "Redeemer of Israel". It is such a wonderful
and beautiful experience, and I know that I will remember it for the
rest of my life. To feel everyone bearing their testimony of the
Savior, and to feel your own conviction sweep through your soul- this is
a once in a lifetime opportunity. The British Pageant is then over, and
all of the missionaries come down, and we follow-up with the people we
spoke to before the Pageant. The big focus this year is to help members
to do their own missionary work. To encourage those people to reach out
to others themselves, to be a true example of the believers. We then as
missionaries follow up with the members after the Pageant via phone and
encourage them and help the members be missionaries. I enjoy what I am
doing so, so much, and I truly feel blessed.
One of the things I truly feel blessed to be able
to witness is to see the Nauvoo Pageant again this year. It is so
powerful, and it just pulls at your heart strings as you learn about the
Temple, the Plan of Salvation and the Restoration. I know that the
Nauvoo Pageant was inspired, and was meant to be here to help so many
people. This week, I was able to help a local family from Ft Madison
learn about the Gospel. They heard about the Pageant from the Nauvoo
Pageant Bagpipe Band. The "Bagpipes" go around to neighboring towns
through out the month that they are here and do concerts and invite
people to Nauvoo. This one family, with Dave, Crystal, and their three
little kids were at the performance in Ft. Madison, Iowa, and decided to
come see the Pageant. That night on Pageant grounds I was walking
around with Sister Hughes and talking to people. We were walking by the
seating area, when I felt that we needed to talk with this family. We
talked, developed a connection, and that family came FOUR times last
week to see the Pageants. Four. After the second one, Sister Hughes and I
taught them the Restoration, right there on Pageant Grounds. It is kind
of a funny experience to be surrounded by crowds of people, and to be
talking to a family, pulling out a pamphlet, extending invitations, and
to finish it off, all holding hands and praying together. Right there on
Pageant Grounds! Miracles happen. Then, on the third night they came,
Dave cane right up to the Missionary Kiosk and asked what they had to do
to be baptized. Well, we can help you with that! Experiences like these
just prove that the Lord is Hastening his Work, and places like Nauvoo
and the Pageant are a beacon of light that attract people who are
prepared. Miracles happen like that all the time here. We literally do
not have to go out and find people to teach, they come to us! I have had
so many experiences like this family since I have been here, and I feel
so blessed to be a part of it.
This week, Sister Munro's (my MTC Companion) parents
came to visit Nauvoo! They are both deaf, so this week I went around
interpreted for them at the sites. I think one of my favorite
experiences was going to the John Taylor Home, and having it be so busy
that the Seniors as us if we can take our group and a whole other big
group of people with us and start another tour. Now keep in mind,
normally when you give an official tour at a site, you are dressed in
the Pioneer dress, and have had an opportunity to look over the outline
and know the stories within the past thirty minutes so it is all fresh
in your mind. Well, Sister Hughes and I were interpreting that day, and
both of us were in normal proselyting clothes and had not given a tour
there in over nine months. But, with divine intervention, and I
seriously have no idea how- we did it! Heavenly Father helped us
remember the stories, and we were able to give a tour that day. Also one
of my favorite things when I interpret is to be able to interpret '"The
Promise", which is a musical that the Young Performing Missionaries put
on here in Nauvoo. It is my favorite performance, asides from the
Pageant. It is so good! There is a song called "No Ordinary Brothers"
which talks about Joseph and Hyrum after the Martyrdom. Every time that I
interpret that song, I can just feel the spirit work so strong and I
just love it. Also, at the end, they sing a rendition of "Come, Come Ye
Saints" (different rendition than the British Pageant too ;) but as I
sign that, I feel that same incredible Spirit. Also, I had the
opportunity to interpret for the Nauvoo Pageant for another deaf man who
can from Illinois. All I can say is, the Lord truly does choose the
weak to accomplish his purposes, and I know that it was only because of
Him that I have been able to do so much, or really even to interpret at
all this week.
There is kind of a running joke among all of
the Young Sister Missionaries that we serve in Mormon Disneyland. But it
is true! Seriously! Except we are better because after you pay for your
hotel and food, everything is free :) No entrance fee to this spiritual
amusement park! Here in Nauvoo there are so many fun things to do, go
see, and to watch. Yesterday, Sister Mills and I were assigned to the
Sarah Granger Kimball Home, and asides from having a blast climbing
trees and stuff in our Pioneer dresses, (no one came for about 2 hrs
because we were so far away from the other sites) and we also had a
chance to discuss this. I also shared this Mormon Disneyland idea with a
group that came in, and the husband laughed and said, "It is so true!"
All I can say is, come one, come all! Nauvoo rocks!
I love my Mission, and I love being here! I hope you all have a great week!
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