Relief

Lots of things are completed, and with them comes a sigh of relief.  This morning we e-mailed copies of the program we use to do shift assignments to our successors and we are now pretty much done with our responsibilities – training our replacements.  Hurray!  Not that we did not enjoy being shift coordinators – we did, but we are also ready for a change.  We are happy to let others have the joy.

Yesterday, I gave the Sunday school lesson.  Although we thought we would only have that assignment once while we were here, this was my second time.  I don’t know why it is so intimidating.  We only have the temple presidency and all the temple missionaries in the class (including Sister Susan Easton Black Durrant).  But I must have had some good help from above, for it seemed to go well, and as my brother-in-aw would say “There were no tomatoes thrown”, so I guess I did okay.  But Becky gets her turn to do it next week.  So I guess the celebrations for having passed another hurdle may be a bit pre-mature.

Also this last week, we had another change in our temple presidency.  A couple who have served in the presidency for the last five years, under three different temple presidents, was released from the presidency.  They will continue on as ordinance workers (and sealer).  But I am sure it is a sigh of relief for them as well.  The new counselor is a local member of Nauvoo.  He was the stake president here when the temple was first built and dedicated here in 2002.  He is also heading up the horticulture department in the FM (facilities maintenance) group of NRI (Nauvoo Restoration Inc.)  I guess he is responsible for all the hundreds of different tree species that decorate the flats around us.  He has also been an ordinance worker here ever since he was released from being Stake President.  We look forward to working with him and his wife more in the coming months.

In a few more weeks, we will have been here for a full year.  Last April, we arrived here with the rest of our group – 40 couples strong.  Again, this year, another group of 40 couples will be arriving about the same time (mid-April).  These will be the missionaries that will be replacing us eventually as we go home the end of October.  Again we sigh, not entirely with relief, as we realize that our time here is quickly slipping away.  But we are anxious to have our numbers enhanced – we need the infusion of strength and enthusiasm that they will bring with them.  They do bring a promise of relief for us.  These re-enforcements are needed as we are now noting higher attendance at the temple as warmer weather is creeping into sight. 

Spring is a Time of Change

We’re getting released!  No, not from our mission, but as shift coordinators.  This week we started training our replacements.  We have been in that calling for the last six or seven months.  It was a great learning and growing experience – and one that we can say that we were glad that we had.  In its stead, we have been asked to serve in other capacities.  We will be serving as endowment coordinators on one shift each week, initiatory coordinators on another shift (and on a different day of the week) and on yet a third day Becky will be serving as the sealing office coordinator and I as the veil coordinator.  While that may sound like a lot, the sum total will still be a lot less stressful than where we have been and we will have a lot more spare time as these callings do not require any time outside of the temple.  When we go home, we will be able to say that we have pretty much done it all.

Every once in a while we get a warm day.  The magnolia trees have buds on them and the cardinals are back singing from the trees nearby our apartment.  It’s fun to see these signs of spring – but then those warm days alternate with snow storms.  We woke up yesterday to about four new inches of snow on the ground.  Last week, there were heard several loud cracking sounds, or so I have told (since I did not actually hear them myself).  But the ice over the river broke into pieces and started floating down stream.  It’s gone!  We now have a river again – and with it the birds that fish in the river are back as well.  It’s fun to see the eagles, the pelicans and the seagulls.  Those are in addition to the others that are back as well – the wrens, the cardinals, the robins, the crows, the Canada geese, the bluebirds, etc.

Today, Becky joined with the other sister temple missionaries at the Historic Nauvoo Visitors Center, all dressed in pioneer dresses.  From there, they were taken by carriage to the Red Brick Store.  There they attended the re-enactment of the organization of the Female Relief Society.  The Society was originally organized on March 17th, 1842.  Since Eliza R. Snow was such a good note-taker, we pretty much know exactly what happened that day: who spoke – and every word that was said.  As a result, the re-enactment was pretty accurate.  The one thing that was not as authentic, perhaps, was the modern day camera that took the picture shown here.

Becky is on the back row, next to our temple president, President McArthur.

A silent week with a fun finish

Last Sunday I woke up to discover that my hearing was gone in my right ear.  It’s a good thing that we are each given two ears!  Although my hearing returned later that morning, it was gone again when I awoke on Monday.  The medical advisor here for the missionaries suggested some steps for me to follow.  Still, it was basically some very quiet days, until I could return and have the doctor flush my ear out on Friday.  An inflated glob of ear wax was washed out that looked to be about ¾ inches in diameter.  No wonder I couldn’t hear anything!

During that week, we spent a fairly quiet week at the temple.  One day (and we thought that it would be two), we spent in the arrival center.  On another day, we worked a very short shift (only an hour and a half).  I suppose the Lord had mercy on me during those “quiet” days, because I only ended up working the veil once while I was with limited hearing.  I hadn’t told any of the presidency or the coordinators about my condition, but the assignments must have been given with inspiration from above.

With hearing restored, Friday and Saturday were much different.  We were busy and doing all that we have come here to do.  We even chose to go for a walk Friday morning before going to the temple.  It was the first time we have done so all winter long.  The temperature was all the way up into the low thirties and it felt so much warmer than it has been in such a long time.  It felt good to get some sorely missed exercise.  We enjoyed listening to the Canadian geese as the chattered endlessly to each other and to the robins and cardinals as they sang their songs - trying to convince us that spring is just around the corner and that winter is supposed to be dying.  They, as we, were trying to ignore the light snow that was falling and speckling our glasses.

Saturday was great as well.  We went to a Ball!  We were provided with pioneer dresses and ribbon ties to wear – so as to add to the atmosphere of the evening.  The dance was held on the upper floor of the old historic cultural hall following a performance of “Rendezvous”.  The site missionaries even provided us with a live orchestra.  It was so much fun.  This venue was where receptions and dances were held in old Nauvoo.  We could imagine the Prophet Joseph, and Brother Brigham and others gliding across this same floor, bringing smiles to their brides.  But the evening came to a close much too soon, as we realized that Day-light savings time would commence in just a few hours and morning would be coming much sooner than anyone desired.

Winter Quietly Marches Onward

Well, it’s cold again.  What’s new?  Today, it got up to 10 degrees.  At the moment its back down to 3 and is likely to go down quite a ways further.  I’m glad we’re snug in our apartment for the rest of the day.

It has been fairly quiet at the temple this last week.  But our temple president has been trying out several ideas with the hope of pulling in more patrons.  For example, on Thursdays, our first endowment session normally starts at 11 am.  This is too late for those who would like to attend the temple before going to work for the day, so for the next few weeks we are trying out having an early morning shift supporting just one session at 7 am.  This pulls a few missionary ordinance workers away from the normal shift that follows.  This last week, we had 32 people come to attend that early morning session.  That was good, but we noted that most of those that attended that early session were the same ones that normally attend later on in the week anyways.  Total attendance for the week wasn’t much different.  We may not have picked up any one new, but the ones that came hopefully preferred coming at the new session time.

Each of the missionary couples regularly take their turn staying in the arrival center.  We substituted for someone who was unable to fill their assignment this last Thursday.  We were scheduled to take our regular turn on Saturday (yesterday), but since the temple presidency wanted us to be in attendance at a meeting in the temple that day, we got to the arrival center, only to discover that someone else had been sent to substitute for us.  Now, today, we just got a call asking us to help out over there again this coming Tuesday.  It’s an interesting assignment.  The arrival center is located across the street from the temple.  Since many in the temple district have a long ways to come, this is a place where they can come after their long trip - to change clothes, or to have someone babysit their children while they attend the temple, or for youth groups to congregate while they wait for their turn in the baptistery.  While we are there, we don’t actually babysit; parents must supply their own sitters.  Sometimes no one comes at all.  When that happens, it gets pretty boring over there.  But we try to take plenty with us to occupy our minds, just in case.

Friday morning, just before leaving to go to the temple, I got word that one of my cousins had just died the evening before.  We were pretty much the same age, and had grown up as next door neighbors.  Our ways parted when we left on missions resulting in the fact that we have not seen or heard from each other for almost 50 years.  I always respected him highly and am indeed saddened by his departure.  I wish his family peace and understanding.  I look forward to seeing him again when it is my turn to follow him through the veil.