Overwhelmed…..Underqualified!

Tonight I am looking for a bus or train out of here!  This is only our third day and it has been hard.  I am homesick and so overwhelmed that I don’t know which way to turn.

We started out our morning by being at the church at 7:30 AM!!!! Who does that?  Then we went to Relief Society in the visitor’s center, after which we went to singing practice for an hour and a half!  Try-outs are tomorrow and I don’t want to even try out!  Your dad and I have to sing a song together and that is something neither one of us are comfortable with! I guess we will pick Popcorn Popping!  Then they will assign us to one of three casts. So much music to learn and then who knows if your dad will get a speaking part! Go out on you tube and find Celtic Thunder.  Find the song “All God’s Creatures Got A Place In The Choir.”  Here is the link:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-8BaxOeTek

Finally a church song with a little rhythm!! It is one of the songs that we will be singing.  There are 60 young missionaries, performing, that will be doing the bulk of Sunset On The Mississippi, but some of the great songs are, “Mississippi Mud, Mosquito Song, When The Saints Go Marching In, Frog Kissin, Clarinet Polka, The Devil Went Down To Georgia, Away With Rum, and Come, Come Ye Saints.”

Today after singing practice we had to go to Carthage Jail.  There are a few sisters who want to be my friend and this single sister grabbed me and said I had to ride with her.  Guess what car we were in ????  Oh that’s right, the Mission President’s car.  Well this woman and I really like each other and we were laughing, I noticed he kept looking at me.  I  told him my niece said I would be the first senior missionary sent home.  He told me not to worry, he had already sent some home!  ( Two horses who thought they were race horses instead of draft horses! They got sold to the Amish.

Then tonight we had a district supper meeting. The house was right by the river. So beautiful.  The man Brother Dahl was 6’7” and is one of the team leaders for the horses.  He is also a silversmith and makes some of the most beautiful bits and bridals ever. Here in Nauvoo you can ride on a wagon pulled by horses, or in one pulled by two oxen.  There is also a Nauvoo Brass band that goes all through the town playing all day in the summer. 

View from their front yard.

View at night, see all of the little gnats in the picture.  Can you imagine how hard it was on the pioneers in this little swamp, gnats, mosquitoes, mayflys???

Geese fly over by the flocks.  we are seeing right now lots of little babies following their mothers.  I will see if I can get a picture of them.  Also I have seen big old raccoons with huge rings on their tails walking around.  They cause a lot of problems with the trash cans.  I also saw a huge turtle on the road Taryn, he was walking with his tail straight out behind him and his neck sticking out. I need to ask Jamey what that means. 

We were driving home tonight and there were five little deer like this just running around in the fields.

Thank you for all of your prayers!  I surely need them, I am homesick right now.  But I am still trying to do my best and do what the Lord has called me to do.  I love you all…..