Three Seasons in One Week

We have arrived safely in Nauvoo.  Our 2 day trip from Salt Lake City was fun.  We did have some snow and rain and hail, but were so blessed to make it without any major weather problems.  

We stayed the night in Kearney, Nebraska.  Annually there is a crane migration with 500,000 birds flying north, and this was the weekend they were flying overhead.  If you can believe it, it was hard to find a hotel room.  I guess it’s pretty popular to come see the birds.  Go figure!  (this is not our picture, ours didn't turn out too great)

We arrived at the Nauvoo Temple Saturday evening and met our host couple.  

They had the key to our apartment, 440 Partridge Street.

  Our apartment is so cute & perfect for us. 

Our building has 2 apartments in it, we are on the bottom floor.  And lucky enough to have a backdoor, since some bottom apartments do not. We love it!

We are behind Wilford Woodruff’s home and next door to Heber C Kimball’s home! 

See! That's the Kimball's house right there! How cool is that?

Tuesday morning we were set apart as ordinance workers in the Nauvoo Temple.  We were able to go on a session first thing. But after that we went right to work.  We have worked every day since with 2 of those days working double shifts!  It’s the best!  It was snowing when we came out of the temple on Thursday.  It was so beautiful.  We have had sunshine, a thunder storm, and snow. 

We were able to hear a lecture from George and Susan Easton Black Durrant Thursday afternoon.  I had met her in the temple the night before and Matt met George as well the night before.  Her lecture was about the 2 bookend temples, Nauvoo and Salt Lake City.  It was nice to hear so much detail about the building of the Salt Lake Temple since we had just spent last week there.

On Monday the sister temple missionaries rode the wagon to the Red Brick Store for a re-enactment of the organization of the Relief Society.  (yup, my first opportunity to dress up!) We met in the room up stairs.  They had a readers theater with Emma and others in her presidency and Joseph Smith.

President McArthur also spoke a few minutes.
He is the Nauvoo Temple President and our Mission President.

Our apartment is on the wagon trail. Every day we can hear the clip clopping 

of the horses as they pass our house.  We are pretty sure we will soon be able 

to tell what time it is by the wagon schedule.

We are feeling very humble about this great opportunity to serve a full time mission here in Nauvoo.  It is holy ground.  We are grateful that the pioneers (especially our own ancestors) left such a noble legacy for us to follow.

Of Joys That Never Cease

There are no words to describe what we have learned, felt, and experienced during our three day Salt Lake Temple MTC experience. It was spiritual, informative and so inspiring. It was a honor to experience all that we did in that beautiful temple. We are so humbled to serve the Lord and blessed to have this special experience. We learned so much in only 3 days.

Thirteen couples are headed to temples all over the world: Boston, Palmyra, Manhattan, Washington DC, Nauvoo, London, South Africa, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, and Guatemala City. There were 5 other rookie couples like us, but most had been on multiple temple missions. One couple is going on their 8th mission! This was such a great group of people. We know they are going to be awesome missionaries! It will be so special to be a temple missionary. We all get to do two things...be in the temple everyday and be a missionary.

Our trainers were the past President and Matron of the Salt Lake Temple, Pres & Sister Alldredge. Wonderful people. They are kind, loving, generous, and so knowledgeable. They taught us by the power of the Holy Ghost in a humble and powerful way.

A couple (the Hagadorn's) in our group were in our ward in Salem, Oregon 30+ years ago!! It's a small world in the church!

 We had most of our training in the temple chapel.  

This is a picture of the outside of the chapel.

This truly is the House of the Lord. We testify of that!

Now, on to Nauvoo!

But...before we leave for Nauvoo here are a few pictures to document the

 few day before we arrived in Salt Lake City. 

 We were to leave Mesa on March 12, 2016.  This is the morning of March 11, 2016. 

This was our little trial before leaving home. 

So grateful that this leak happened before we left, but it was a little concerning at first.

Luckily, it was an easy fix and work was completed by 2:00PM.

"For after much tribulation come the blessings." --D&C 58:4

All smiles as we lock the door and head out on our adventure.

Our favorite stop on the way north to Salt Lake City is Bryce Canyon.