Picture Nauvoo

A week has passed, and not much has changed.  We still go to the temple to work five shifts a week.  The weather is still cold – although I must admit that when we walk out in 25 degree weather, it seems so warm now in comparison to the single digits that we have seen so often over the last few weeks.  But the forecast is claiming that there will be a major drop in the temperature before the day is out and we should be back to temperatures around zero by midnight.  I’m glad that at that hour we should be safely snuggled under the covers sheltered from the winds and humidity that make the wind chill ever so bitter.

I’ve discovered that is fun to be teaching Spanish.  My class consists of about twenty other temple missionaries.  The curriculum that I use was developed over the previous years and consists of singing songs, reading scriptures and practicing dialogs related to things we do in the temple.  Eventually we will move into the temple and start memorizing some of the things we do there.  We have only met three times so far, but I am seeing a lot of hard work and resulting progress.

With the weather as cold as it is, there is very little desire to go take off and see any of the interesting things in the vicinity.  If we ever choose to do such things, we will likely wait until things warm up.  Our designated photographer, Elder Moore, will go around and take pictures of things in the immediate area and provide us with souvenir pictures of places here in Nauvoo, including its buildings, trees and wildlife.  He sends us a photo (or two) each day, and we all look forward to see what it is he has captured each time.  Here are a few examples of pictures we have received over the last few months:

 

 

 

 

Enduring the Battles of Life

This past week has not been easy.  It is always difficult when we part with loved ones.  But sometimes, parting is more difficult when the circumstances are just “all wrong”.  And so it seems to us, when we consider the circumstances surrounding the departure of Elder and Sister Holland.  This wonderful couple were called, the same as we were, to serve as temple missionaries here in Nauvoo.  They were among the ones that were asked to tough it out through the winter, extending their missions from six months to eighteen.  More than willingly, they gladly accepted and looked forward to the opportunity that this mission would provide them to serve and bless the lives of those that come here to the Nauvoo temple.  They are among the younger couples that are serving here, howbeit, “younger” is relative.  I think we are the youngest ones here at the moment, but they aren’t too much older than we are.  Even so, his hair had turned white several decades ago – and it looked good on him.  They were among the leadership – always capable and always willing – anxious to help out wherever there was a need.  Their personalities were very warm and contagious.  We loved to be around them, as they were to be around us.  One could not even hold against them the fact that they were from Texas and enjoyed flaunting that southern drawl in all they said.  It was just fun to be around them.  Then, just a couple of weeks ago, he started having health issues.  It soon became apparent that the cancer that he had previously conquered over ten years ago had returned with a vengeance.  It came and drained him, practically overnight, of all strength and color.   A trip or two to hospitals in the region confirmed it, and they were immediately sent home to get the care that he so urgently needs.  This last Friday morning, most of the remaining temple missionary couples all crammed into their apartment to bid them farewell and sing “God Be with You” as best we could, before they headed out.  Emotions were high and tears were plentiful.  We will sorely miss them.  Today we capped off our farewell to them with a fast in his behalf. 

But the fast was not just for him.  It was also for Sister Peterson, another temple missionary here, recently diagnosed with Leukemia, and for Sister Diederick, yet another with serious health issues.  In addition to the missionaries, several local temple workers have recently succumbed to illness or, in some cases, slipped on the ice and have fallen, breaking bones, or being afflicted in similar manner.  We are told that this is the coldest winter Nauvoo has experienced in the last 20 years, and it is wreaking havoc on many.  The lack of workers in the temple is becoming obvious.  We can only fast and pray for the recovery of those that are sick and afflicted. 

Today, we observe the fact that we have now been here in Nauvoo for nine months.  In another nine months we will be preparing to head for home.  We have reached the mid-point of our mission here.  So far there have been some glorious times to celebrate and rejoice, while there have been others that have caused serious reflection as we have considered the trials thrust both upon us and our ancestors that were here before us.  It was here, 168 years ago, in 1846, that the saints were lined up at the temple doors, each one anxious to go in and be endowed.  It was at this time of year, in January, and it was a cold winter (just like this one) for the Mississippi River had frozen so that the saints could and would later cross over on the ice in their February exodus.  Our having been here these last few months has helped us to better understand what these stalwart people enjoyed and endured here in Nauvoo and at the same time how they could be prepared through the endowment to withstand the trials that yet awaited them as they headed west into an uncertain future.  That trek would bring death and sickness to many, and at the same time, would fortify their spiritual conviction of the truth and the cause for which they journeyed.  We, indeed, honor our pioneer heritage.

A Nauvoo January

There have not been a lot of changes during the last week.  The weather has warmed up somewhat - our thermostat now hovers between 20 and 40 degrees – much more tolerable.  But the threat of freezing rain is real – especially when the temperature is right around 32 degrees.  As a result a lot of the district workers fear to come over icy road to work their shifts as many require over two hours on the road to get here each time.  It is not unusual to operate the temple with only two thirds of the shift members present.  It is amazing how flexible the workers need to be and are … to ensure that we meet the needs of the patrons as they show up.

Last Wednesday, I began teaching a Spanish class to all district workers and temple missionaries that wanted to attend.  It has been kind of a tradition around here to have such a class.  It meets once a week - each time for an hour - over a period of five weeks.  I don’t know how much one can learn in just five one-hour classes, but we hope for the best.  It is the intent that temple workers can learn to pronounce Spanish sufficiently to perform some of the ordinances and to help make our Hispanic guests feel a little more comfortable when they come.  Some of the visual aids and lesson materials for the class are preserved from year to year, so I don’t need to come up with a course of study from scratch.  But from looking at what I have been given, I find a lot of mistakes – which I am trying to correct as best I can. 

The Nauvoo Illinois Mission is quite unique in that during the winter it has no young missionaries – only senior couples (mostly site missionaries and facility maintenance missionaries).  Young sister missionaries join them during the summer as do the performing missionaries during the months of the pageant.  While the mission president does not preside over the temple missionaries, he does preside at the sacrament meeting held each Sunday - and we are invited to attend with them.  Today was the last Sunday for Pres. Gilliland, the current mission president, who is scheduled to be replaced during this coming week.  We wish him God’s speed as he returns to his home in the Tucson, AZ area.  We don’t know much about the man that will be replacing him yet.

During this past week, I was informed that instead of just doing the Nauvoo pageant this coming summer, we will be doing the British pageant here as well.   We will do the Nauvoo pageant on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and we will do the other on Wednesdays and Fridays.  The same family cast will be used for both, but they will have separate core casts.  As I will be used to help provide the Spanish during these productions, I will be busy familiarizing myself with both scripts when the time draws nigh.  I look forward to that time.

The Lord Is in His Holy Temple

It’s cold out there.  But not as cold as is forecast.  Tomorrow’s high is forecast to be -4 degrees.  I hope I am snuggled deep under the covers when the low hits.  I have heard reports that it could get as cold as   -40.  But I hope I don’t have to find out what that is like.  This morning we shoveled a lot of snow off the gravel driveway.  It’s hard to say just how much.  The wind plays with the snow so much that in some places, there were only a few inches while in others, there was well over a foot.  And then there were the drifts next to the house that were a whole bunch more yet.  The combination of wind along with the snow and freezing rain, make the temperatures seem to be a lot lower.  We are indeed grateful to be in the temple or in our apartment most of the time.  But just listening to the wind blow gives us the shivers.

Again, the little things that happen each day in the temple assures us that Got is there.  We know that angels are assisting the members of the church as they search out the information concerning their ancestors so they can bring their names to the temple.  We know that God is there to help patrons that come with concerns in their hearts.  They leave feeling consoled or inspired or instructed as the need might be.  We also know that other people are blessed as they are remembered in prayers offered in the temple in their behalf.  But we are learning that He is there for the workers as well.  There are times when there are just not enough workers to go around.  But each time, the needs are met – sometimes in miraculous ways.  Patrons arrive wanting to have ordinances done when no workers had been allocated in that section of the temple: perhaps they have come wanting to do baptisms, or initiatory work, or maybe sealings.  We schedule our workers to one area or another, assuming that is where they will most likely be needed at that hour and then we close down the other areas, simply because we don’t have the workers to do them all at the same time.  When it is obvious that the demand is different than the schedule, workers will be moved to meet the current demand.  But there are days, when various patrons will arrive all wanting to do all the different things all at the same time.  When that happens, the coordinator, having no idea how he is going to get the needed workers, just bows his head and waits for the inspiration to come.  And it does – every time.  It is amazing.  The patrons leave feeling blessed for their attendance, never having known that the work could only have been accomplished with the help of angels stepping in at every turn.  We know that they are there.  We feel them helping us – all the time. 

At the moment, we are aware of many of our number that are suffering in one way or another.  Some of the temple missionaries have lost loved ones at home while they are serving here.  Others have been diagnosed with serious illnesses themselves.  These winter months are tough on us old folks.  But we are humbled as we see our ranks struggle to obtain those blessings from the Lord that we perceive as needed.  As we endure in tribulation, the blessings come.  Not always the expected blessings.  But we rest assured that His will is being accomplished in every instance.  By the time spring arrives, we will indeed have earned the title of “winter warriors”.  Our battles are on many fronts, but with help from the Almighty, we have been and always will be, victorious in our efforts here.  We ask for your prayers in behalf of all the missionaries serving here as well as throughout the world.  God hears our prayers and will have compassion on us all, especially as we strive to live as he would have us do.  God bless us all.