Pageantry Reigns

Two weeks have passed since my last entry and I am making a special effort to do this amid the busy schedule we are now keeping.  The pageant is now in its second week.  I have been called upon to help at the translation table many times already.  And with the number of people visiting the temple increasing, we find ourselves heavily involved.

Last Saturday, while I was providing Spanish to the visitors at the pageant, and we were about a third of the way into the production, a major cloudburst disrupted our evening.  I think it is the first time that we have ever been “rained out” since the pageant began several years ago.  There were several visitors there that had come a long way to watch this production and their schedule was such that they could not stay for the next performance (on Tuesday) and left disappointed that they could not see it in its fullness.  Except for that rain storm, the weather has been delightful – if not just a bit on the cool side.  I actually took a sweater with me the last night or two.

On Tuesday, this week, we normally work the afternoon shift at the temple.  But because there was another Hispanic family coming that morning to be sealed, we were called upon to be there during the first shift to help translate.  That was only supposed to go for an hour or so, right? But during the events of the morning, this family, along with their guests, over 40 of them, decided to also stay on afterwards to go on an endowment session as well.  We were called on to officiate that session as the majority ruled and the session was conducted in Spanish.  By the time the session was over, so was the shift and we were then expected to stay on to work our own shift.  An hour or so into that shift, someone took pity on us and replacements were found so that we could go home and eat and rest up since I was again expected to work that evening providing Spanish at the pageant.  When the time came to go to the pageant, not only was I there but the same busload of Hispanic people showed up as well to enjoy the production.  I think we had a record for Spanish listeners that night as we had every available set of earphones in use.  I hope they enjoyed it.

On Wednesday, we substituted for the afternoon shift coordinators who were out of town that day.  Again, we felt the pressure as the temple was way busy with all the extra people here to watch the pageant that night.  I didn’t feel that we had enough workers on the shift to cover all the areas that we needed but somehow the Lord provides and we made it through to the end of the day.

With this being the p-day closest to our wedding anniversary, we had hoped to celebrate today or tonight, but again the pageant is calling and I need to help provide Spanish again tonight.  So we will wait to celebrate on a p-day sometime after the pageant is over in August.  We plan on going on a dinner-cruise on a Mississippi steamboat that sets its paddles to turning in Hannibal, MO. Every night.  We look forward to it and the peace that will come when the crowds go home.

Ramus, Quincy and Carthage

I took a moment to go back and read the entry I made last year at this time.  I suppose you could, too.  Things are really similar.  The programs in and around Nauvoo are quite the same.  We still work in the temple and we still have P-days and the common holidays continue to happen again and again – every year.

 

Thursday, this week, was our P-day.  We too occasion to go to Webster, Il.  At least that is what it is called today.  170 years ago, it was known as Ramus.  It was one of the many satellite colonies of Nauvoo, where Saints were called to live.   Ramus was the home of Joel Hills Johnson and his brother, Benjamin Franklin Johnson.  Many may realize that Becky is a descendant of Joel Hills Johnson, so we had extra desire to go there and see what there was to see.  The only chapel ever to be built by the early saints prior to going west to Utah, was in Ramus.  The building no longer exists but the corners of the building are indicated by white PVC pipes stuck in the ground and an old red door stands where the entry would have been.  I don’t know if the door belonged to the original building, but it is fun to think that it may have.  The lumber from the old building has been reused and is now part of a protestant church that has been built just to the left of where the other building stood.  A plaque has been erected to explain the significance of the site.  Joseph Smith often visited there and was there when he received two revelations, now incorporated in the Doctrine and Covenants as sections 130 and 131.

On that trip we also went to Quincy to see the monuments that have been erected to show our gratitude to the people of Quincy for taking in the Saints in their hour of need at the time of their forced exodus from Missouri.  There is still a good feeling in Quincy.  There, the people are kind to the Mormons and two of the largest wards in the area reside in that town.

Yesterday, we returned to Carthage.  The temple closed its doors early so all who desired could be there for the memorial program that is held there each year on the 27^th of June.  You may recognize that as the date (back in 1844) when the prophet, Joseph Smith, and his brother, the Patriarch, Hyrum, were martyred.  The program this year was again excellent, accented by the talents of the sister missionaries and the young performing missionaries.  The main remarks were given by Elder Gibbons, now president of the Nauvoo Illinois Mission.  His remarks centered on the aftermath of the martyrdom – how the Saints in their mourning, did not retaliate and why.  He brought the principles learned back to the present to show how faith and courage are much more important than money or property.

Today, I was back in the temple again where I was assigned to be the guide for a young Mexican brother who had come with his bride, both to be endowed and then to be sealed.  I was needed to translate as neither spoke English.  I don’t know if my Spanish has improved over the time that I have been here, but I have definitely gained a lot of self confidence in my abilities as I have been called on so frequently to use this talent that has been entrusted to me.

Immersed in Spanish

Again, two weeks have passed without an entry.  It is not that we have nothing to write home about.  We are busy.  Two weeks ago, Elder Hill arrived back, bringing with him the scripts for the two pageants that are to be presented here next month.  Since his arrival, I have been busy, trying to familiarize myself with the scripts and preparing myself to read the Spanish script simultaneous to the English spoken on stage.  I will be reading the translation into a microphone that will convey the Spanish to those that choose to wear headsets, throughout the audience each night that either pageant is performed.  There are several challenges involved.  The “English” cast speak rapidly to start with.  In general, it takes more words and more syllables per word to say the same thing in Spanish, plus the fact that I am always needing to learn new vocabulary.  Hopefully, the Hispanic community that come will appreciate our efforts.  Until they arrive, I spend a lot of time practicing the parts that I will be required to read.

The busier we become, the faster time seems to pass us by.  It seems like yesterday was April and tomorrow is July.  We enjoy our time here and hate to see the end come so soon.  Yesterday, we took occasion to see “Anna Amanda” again.  We don’t go see the sites as often any more as we used to when we first arrived, but when we do, we come to meet new missionaries that keep rotating in and out of Nauvoo.  I think we have seen Anna Amanda three times in the last year and each time it is with an entirely different cast.  I suppose we go now, more to support the cast members that to be entertained.  But it is still fun and delightful.

The temple is starting to have some busier days now and then.  But then, sandwiched between busy days, we will have very slow days.  I don’t know if it reflects the day of the week or the weather or other activities that are happening around the nation, but right now the attendance really varies from day to day.  So … we ride the waves and do what we need to, to meet the demand.  One day, last week, I had opportunity to work with two sisters, one right after the other, the first in Portuguese and the second in Italian.  Since then, all I have seen is English.  I just need to be prepared.

The Lotus plants are starting to spread themselves again across parts of the river.  At the moment, it just looks like a bit of “clutter”, but soon, the green carpet will spread across the shallows and then the flowers will start opening up.  That, indeed, is a sight well worth seeing.

Memorial Day weekend

Sunday, we again went to Mt. Pleasant to attend church.  This time, both Becky and I went with talks prepared, knowing that we were providing the sacrament meeting program.  Our topic was how attending the temple would help them increase their faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ.  After the meeting block was over, the branch president pointed out a sister that lives nearby that he would like us to work with, teaching here how to better live within her budget.  We are going to get used in that branch.  And I suppose the others assigned to be there will also get used – each in a different way.  One temple missionary couple attending there with us will be helping others with their family history.  Another was called on to teach the Mel. PH lesson.  It is a branch and there are not a lot of members to draw on.  So I suppose the branch president is happy to have six pairs of missionaries assigned to his branch.

Memorial Day was basically another day at the office, in that we went to the temple and put in our shift as normal.  The attendance that day was good, especially for a Monday.  It gave us visions of what the summer could bring.  But since then we are back in to our normal low attendance.  We are hoping that things will get busier as we step into the warmer weather.

That night we were invited (along with several other couples) to have dinner with our neighbors across the street.  We enjoyed a barbeque and good company.  Later, we were invited to go over to the Durrant’s home for a reading.  Currently George and his wife (Susan Easton Black) are busy writing a novel.  Every once in a while they invite several of us over to hear a few recently penned chapters for our critique.  Of course, they leave us hanging at the end of each evening and we are always anxious to return to hear the next few chapters as their book continues toward its conclusion.  I just hope they finish before they get released in August.

It’s also enjoyable to hear the Nauvoo brass band each time they go down the street (in a wagon that is horse drawn).  These are some of the Young Performing Missionaries that are here for three months each summer.  They pulled in a few weeks ago, but are just now hitting the streets.  The others of the group are also venturing out starting to perform their vignettes and plays – singing and dancing, much to the delight of all that gather to listen and watch.

Catering to the local membership

Well, we stay busy in the temple – but often only serving ourselves.  For some reason the local members, site missionaries and visitors are coming but only in small numbers.  Perhaps after Memorial Day things will pick up.  For a lot of the year, the temple primarily serves us missionaries.  We are grateful to be here and are glad to serve and to be served as we attend the temple often – both as ordinance workers and as patrons.  I only hope that we will still be able to handle the crowds that continue to be predicted to start arriving at a future time.

Last Thursday we went to Iowa City – it being our P-Day.  Becky had need to see an eye doctor and was hoping to go to a Lens-Crafters store.  The closest ones were all about one and a half to two hours away – so we chose to go to Iowa City to see the one there.   Her prescription hasn’t changed much, but she did need to get her frames adjusted.  On the way out, we had hoped to see the place there that has been raised as a memorial to those who started their hand-cart journey to Zion from there.  But luck would have it that the weather was not obliging so we have left that visit for another day.

Sunday again found us in Mt. Pleasant to attend church.  Again I translated for the Hispanics in the branch.  Becky and I were also asked to speak in their Sacrament meeting this coming Sunday.  At least we do not have too long to think about it.  After the block of meetings, we went to the home of the first councilor in the branch presidency where we had been invited to come for dinner.  Being from Guatemala, we enjoyed the dinner that he prepared which was after the fashion of that part of the world.  They invite the senior couples over on one Sunday each month, the younger missionaries on a different Sunday, family on another Sunday and in-actives or non-members on the other Sunday each month.  Need I say, he likes to cook!

The cold of winter is gone, and in its stead we have gotten a sporadic glimpse of what summer could threaten to become.  The heat is on and yesterday, we also “enjoyed” a very humid day.  With the humidity, it doesn’t have to be real hot to get sticky and uncomfortable.  It’s a good thing that we spend most of our time in the temple.

Busy again

Somehow we missed last week … I am not really surprised.  While the temple has not been super busy, we have.  Our Sundays are gone.  Attending church in Mt. Pleasant requires a lot more travel time and we are becoming more involved in the branch when we go.  I have been asked to translate for the Hispanic members in sacrament meeting.  That is indeed a challenge since my vocabulary is still pretty much a missionary vocabulary and does not branch heavily into other topics.  Becky has been asked to teach an upcoming YW lesson, and we have been asked to think about helping the members better understand how to live within their means.

Last night we went to a group FHE at the arrival center.  There are several missionary couples that we never get to see since the five shifts we work and the five they work have nothing in common.  We don’t even get to go to church together anymore so these monthly FHEs that we go to are essential to our getting to know them.  Last night was a Barbeque dinner.  But about the same time that we arrived, so did the storm.  It started all of a sudden and amid bright streaks of lightning, the thunder roared and cracked in our ears.  It sent us all scurrying into the building to keep from getting drenched.  We were crowded inside and several of us were soaked.  Other activities were forgotten and we tried to use lulls in the storm to scurry home.  The “lull” we chose was not much of a lull as we arrived home quite drenched and with a great memory of our “rainy days in May” that we still talk about from last year.

Tomorrow, we are shift coordinators again.  This time we were asked to substitute for the couple that currently have that position.  When substituting, we actually have more to do, since we have to start from scratch to prepare the line assignment sheets that are to be used.  I think this is the only assignment in the temple that requires “homework”.  Therefore, all of this last week we have been busy preparing for tomorrow: figuring out which ordinance workers are going to be there, and the history of where they have been so that we don’t ask the same ones to officiate that did last week, etc.  Lots of fun.

Another “extra” chore that was given to me was to provide the Nauvoo Pageant president with photos of every temple missionary couple along with their names so he could provide us with a personalized invitation in the form of a webpage to which we could direct our friends, relatives and other contacts to inform all of the upcoming pageant.  When his executive secretary completes the personalized webpages, he sends the link for each couple back to me and I then send an email to each missionary couple informing them of their link and instructions on how to use it.  This requires a lot of individualized computer work.  So far I have completed the work for 47 of the 60 couples and hope to finish the rest tonight, assuming the webpages for them will be completed by then.

On our last p-day, we went with others sharing the same p-day to Pella, Iowa, a Dutch town that puts on a tulip festival every year.  We missed the festival held the previous weekend, but the tulips were still there.  We also got to tour a Dutch windmill that is used to grind wheat into flour.  We used an elevator to get up to the fourth floor which was where the platform was located above which the windmills blades hung down to.  In essence, this windmill is huge, made with woods from dozens of different type trees found all over the world, each with its specific characteristics.  Obviously I was impressed.  We also toured several museums and reconstructed homes all depicting Holland and Dutch life.  We even saw a miniature model town showing how the Dutch had reclaimed their land from the sea and where canals were used to get from place to place.  Our day in Pella was enjoyable and the travel time to and from was fun as well as we were with friends we don’t otherwise get to see very often anymore.

A week of training

The new missionaries arrived on the 18^th.  Since then we have been busy helping them settle in and then train them so that when the temple re-opens, the work can continue smoothly and efficiently. We have had all of them come to our various apartments so that we can feed them and get to know them two at a time.  My problem now is remembering who is who as we are becoming friends with about 40 new couples.

Training started with a tour of the temple.  Tours are normally not given, but these people need to be able to get from point A to point B without ending up in a dressing room for the wrong gender, etc.  With a temple that is laid out on six floors it is easy to forget which floor you need to be on.  Then, private (or closed) endowment sessions were provided so they could watch the way it is done in this temple.  Training films were also shown, not that they hadn’t already seen them a million times, but we just wanted to make sure that we all started off with the same instruction.  With permission from the First Presidency, we were allowed to meet in the Assembly Room during our training week.  There we listened as each of the temple presidency members, their wives and the recorder talked to us all – trying to answer questions that might arise and help each to feel comfortable in their new callings.  We ended with a special meeting where snippets were replicated from the ground-breaking, corner-stone laying and dedication of the temple (NAUV2) – including the dedicatory prayer.  As I recall, something similar was done last year using snippets from the multiple dedications of the original temple here in Nauvoo.

Starting this last Sunday, we were all sent out to help the many wards and branches in the temple district: to be with them and to strengthen them as best we can.  We were sent out to be part of the Mt. Pleasant Iowa branch.  It is about an hour’s drive from Nauvoo.  Of course, Sunday was a day that was predicted to bring with it a lot of thunder storms and rain and even possible tornados.  But when the time came for us to leave, the weather looked reasonable - so we headed off to enjoy some time with the Mt. Pleasant branch.  It started to sprinkle just a little before we arrived home later that day.  So for us the weather was good – until that night when the thunder and lightning suggested a war in the heavens was waging in all its fury.  But we will be returning every week to attend meeting with the branch there and see what we can do to help out.   This branch is actually the combination of two smaller branches – a Spanish speaking branch having been assimilated in with the English speaking branch.  Now, as we arrive, we find that all but two of the Spanish speaking families have gone inactive and perhaps there is a lot that we can do to try and reclaim these other families that aren’t coming any more.  We are not alone.  Two other temple missionary couples are also assigned to come with us.  One of the other couples also speak some Spanish.  Pray for our success.