Snapshots of February

There have been many different things happening here in Nauvoo this month. 

We of course are working everyday in the temple, but these are snapshots

of the things we have been doing when we aren't in the temple.

The re-enactment of the Exodus of Saints leaving Nauvoo was on February 4.  

We had to work that morning, but you could feel the spirit of this special event all through Nauvoo.

This is Elder Adams, Sisters Boehm, Bartschi, and Adams.  (Elder Boehm shared with us his pictures.)

To the right is Sister Vinton.

 Below is Elders Mabey, Marshall and Vinton.

 It was a really cold and blustery day.  The closer you get to the river, the colder it gets.

   

It is hard to imagine the sacrifices the pioneers made as they headed out on 

The Trail of Hope down Parley Street.

"My last act in that precious spot was to tidy the rooms, 

sweep up the floor, and set the broom in its 

accustomed place behind the door.  

Then with emotions in my heart...

I gently closed the door and faced an unknown future,

 faced it with faith in God."

--Bathsheba W Smith

"Those of us who can remember when we were 

compelled to abandon Nauvoo, 

when the winter was so inclement, 

know how dark and gloomy the circumstances 

of the Saints were, 

with the mob surrounding our outer settlements 

and threatening to destroy us. ...

The word was to cross the Mississippi 

and to launch out into an unknown wilderness--

to go where, no one knew.  

Who knew anything of the terrors of the journey thither, 

or of the dangers that might have to be met 

and contended with?...

We moved out with faith that was undisturbed 

by these unknown terrors. 

 It was by faith that this was accomplished." 

 --George Q Cannon

 This is a snapshot of February 8, we had another snow storm...about 6".

The next day there were lots of different animal tracks in the snow.
Deer and bunny...and who knows what else...

We took a little trip to the Keokuk National Cemetery. 

It was a beautiful day...

and you could feel the spirit of this special place. 

We wish we had thought to go here on Memorial Day or Veteran's Day. 

But the snow and blue sky were really beautiful. 

We stopped at David's Chamber on the way home thinking this may be

 one of the last times we could see it with snow and ice in the waterfall.

Snapshot of us enjoying David's Chamber.

Glad to be only walking to the car and not across the plains.

It was a good day to take a snapshot at the Arch Bridge.

Every time we drive along the River Road we see eagles. 

This tree had about 10 eagles sitting in it. 

They are kind of hard to see, but they are there.  

This is in Ft Madison at the bridge to Illinois. 

Snapshot of a big, beautiful bald eagle. 

The 'snow moon' was beautiful,  Feb 11, 2017.

This snapshot on Feb 12 is of Elder Thompson working in the Familysearch Center.

We get to work there every other Sunday.

We love this snapshot of President and Sister Irion. 

We had a Valentine's Day FHE/Square Dance on Feb 13.

The McBride's

The Borrowman's

Elder Adam's is a square dance caller. 

 The missionaries climbed up to the 3rd floor of the Cultural Hall 

and danced on the original wood floor.

Then, of course, we ate.  

We seem to always be eating. 

 We surprised Sister Mabey with a snapshot.

Elder and Sister Cole, Sisters Lawson and Marshall.

We had our refreshments in the Family Living Center. 

Feb 16 we drove to the Dutchman Store. 

On the way home we had a little picnic at Martin Pond. 

In a weeks time we have gone from snow to 70*. 

Sunsets here never seem to disappoint.

This snapshot was taken Feb 17.

Two weeks of snapshots, from snow to sunny warm days...

from sacred spiritual experiences and places to dancing and cookies...

Of course, our most favorite part of our day is the time we spend in the temple.

Return to Kalona

We wanted to return to Kalona to look for an Amish quilt.  We had a really fun day.  It started with a very long train filled with coal.  There is not a threat of being barged at the river because of the ice on the river, but trains are still delivering coal to the off-loading site north of Montrose, Iowa.

We took a new route north to the Iowa City area; 330th in Ft Madison to Highway 16.  

It goes through Denmark.

After you leave Highway 218 to head to Kalona on Highway 22 you pass through Riverside, Iowa.

It is the future birthplace of Captain James T Kirk on March 22, 2228.

There is a big difference between the year 2228 and the Amish way of life 

which began here in the 1849.  Today Kalona is home to one of the largest 

Amish--Mennonite settlements west of the Mississippi River.

Elder Thompson has German ancestors who were Mennonite ministers persecuted

 out of Germany into Switzerland in the 1500's.

Faith underlies everything the Amish do.  They refuse any form of government aid or benefits 

and never buy life, health or property insurance; to do so would show a lack of faith in God. 

 Instead, the community of all Amish is their security, their insurance. Believers in a literal interpretation of the Bible, the Amish oppose anything worldly, living without electricity, 

telephones, automobiles and the hundreds of other conveniences of the modern world. 

They are not an isolated, forbidding group, but rather prove repeatedly to be a friendly people

 who offer aid and service to non-Amish in times of trouble. (The Kalona News p.11-12)

The horses used in Old Nauvoo for the carriage and wagon rides are purchased from the Amish 

and after the horses are of no service here, the Amish buy them back.

Kalona is a beautiful town in rural Iowa where you see many Amish people, farms and buggies.

The children were at recess playing kickball. 

J K Creative Wood & Gifts was our main priority on this trip.

It has a wood shop in the back and they make the most beautiful wooden gifts and sell Amish quilts.

We picked out a beautiful handmade quilt and wooden kaleidoscope.

Thank you Laura, we love it!

We were greeted when we returned home with another beautiful sunset.

We recently had Bishop Cluff (he has been called as a mission president and will be serving in Guatemala City with his family starting in June) from the Nauvoo Restoration, Inc. come 

and tell us about the beginnings of the NRI (if you click the link there is a great article 

about NRI written by Sister Palmer who we work with in the temple).  

The history of the restoration is so interesting and was so inspired.

It is no secret President Hinckley had a special love for Nauvoo. 

He shared with us this quote from him.

On a chilly morning on the 7th of October 1989, President Gordon B Hinckley dedicated the Old Pioneer Cemetery site.  Included in his remarks were the following...

This is sacred, hallowed ground.  

This is ground that will become increasingly dear to an ever-growing number

 of people who, through the years, will come back to visit.  

I feel the spirit of Nauvoo here,

 I feel the spirit of the great people who lived here, 

who left their homes for a cause greater than any of them.  

Sunrise, sunset is the story of Nauvoo, a little more as it were, 

than a day from 1839 – 1946.  

As I rode to the cemetery this morning over the hills through ravines, 

I mentally pictured a funeral cortege with buggies, 

wagons and carriages carrying the dead and the mourning, 

and imagined how they looked as they buried their loved ones.  

I think of the love and pathos of a family in the city on the river, 

closing the door of a well-built home for the last time, 

with the realization that here in this city were the graves of loved ones 

they would never again visit. 

 Thank the Lord for the faith of those whom came before us. 

 May the Lord ever hold great in our memories the significant things of Nauvoo, 

the life and death during the day between sunrise and sunset.

We began the celebration week of the Pioneer Exodus which began February 4, 1844

Sunday evening with a sociable in the visitors' center. 

Missionaries read stories about their pioneer ancestors who lived here in Nauvoo during the exodus.

We can feel of their faith as we learn of their experiences and challenges in doing very hard things.

The weather this winter has been very erratic.  The river has mostly melted again, 

but as it begins to flow and the wind blow, the ice chunks are pushed up against the river bank. 

We see eagles all along the river sitting in the trees and on the piles of ice. 

There is so much wildlife.  So many different birds; lots of geese, ducks, and beautiful hawks.

One day there was a whole herd of deer next to the Stake Park.  

This picture only shows 4, but there were about 15 deer in the fields.

We had a fun dinner with the Friday AM shift missionaries.

Here is Elder's Mabey, Peterson, Borrowman, Cordova, and Thompson.