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.