TO SLEEP OR NOT TO SLEEP, THAT IS THE QUESTION!

Thanks to my son who is keeping me up to date, if I don’t blog he is quick to call me.  Love you Son.  The last two days have been hectic and I have to admit, I am just plain pooped.  So when I come home and am so tired, I sometimes make a sacrifice of staying current over sleeping. 

I worked at the Wilford Woodruff home the other day and while I was there they were doing inventory.  I got to help.  Which means I put on white gloves and got to lift up ancient artifacts and read the catalog number.  I guess that we use museum software.  It was funny to pick up these “old” items while using a computer.  Anyway, every year, each house is gone over to make sure nothing is missing, I guess.  Everything in order.  So I worked with a Sister Register and she is another story all together.  We are nothing alike. 

Then on to Rendezvous, which your dad and I are currently doing the Grand Right and Left and having to make funny faces at the audience.  Your dad is getting quite the laugh as he pulls his sleeve down and pretends his muscle is underneath his arm.  Yesterday I was back at the bakery with the sister that is hard for me.  She is valiant and a good person, but hard for me to relate to.  I decided I would kill her with kindness and try to find every good thing about her that I could.  I actually had a better day and can appreciate her for who she is.  We won’t be best friends but, I didn’t have to take a Valium either.

Then on to Sunset once again.  Your dad and I danced the Clarinet Polka last night with the group.  We weren’t perfect, but I guess we have plenty of time to figure that out.  Of course, my rum song is in there.  All of my darling little new friends from the Living Legends were in the audience and they made it so much fun.  They were cheering, laughing, clapping their hands and having a great time and making it great for us as well.  Of course, I got lots of waves and smiles, I won’t ever forget them. What a blessing.  I just close my eyes and wonder how in the world that I got here.

There have been six thousand through the bakery already for the month of June.  Can you believe that?  I guess this next week starts the crazy crowds of people.  I am prepared though, because now I have TWO dresses!

Hopefully my Mother and Daddy and Sonshine are coming soon.  Blessings continue to roll in.

GRATITUDE, HUMILITY, GRATITUDE

What a day this has been.  With church, Relief Society, then home to change, back to the visitor’s center for our shift.  Then home again and I fixed chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, jello, green beans, and chocolate cake for the Openshaws and the Franklins.  We had a great supper discussion.  What a blessing to have friends.

We all finished in time to go to the fireside put on by the Living Legends, the kids from foreign countries.  I am sitting here with tears running down my face with extreme gratitude for the blessings of having attended this fireside, for having met these amazing young people, and having the Gospel in my life.  One of the songs they sang had to do with ,”Am I An Example of a Believer?”  These young people from all over the world and from different Indian tribes were so full of love, and the Spirit of Christ, I could hardly sit there without just sobbing.  Testimony in song, word and just their very presence is surely one of my greatest blessings to this point.  They sang in different languages and many of them bore their testimonies of different situations in their lives.  What goodness the world is filled with!  You can surely see the Light of Christ in them and their goodness.  They of course, sang “I Am  Child of God.” with tears running down their faces as well. Each one of the young men were return missionaries and many of the sisters as well.  Each one had graduated from seminary! Something to think about. Examples of faith in action. Faith that has been worked for.

These are the young people that I had put on my blog a few days ago.  When it was over, my eyes were swollen, hiccupping and looked up and here came four of them.  They wanted to give me a hug and tell me how much they loved me and how they enjoyed being with me.  Sooooooooo, I really started crying then, but I gave them all a kiss and a hug and a heart full of gratitude. 

So much in the world is hard, so many people lost, and yet the world is filled with the goodness that I saw tonight.  I am sitting here thinking, Am I An Example of a Believer?  I so hope so.  Because I am so grateful, and humbled to be where I am, to know that my Heavenly Father loves me, that I am part of an amazing and eternal family That although life is hard, sometimes very hard, there is a great plan, and that our Faith will sustain us through all things.  I without a doubt know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, my friend, my elder brother, my listening ear, my soft place to fall.  How did I get this blessed?  I was sitting there just thinking, how can I help my children and my grandchildren to have this faith? I can’t, I can only stand beside them as they come to learn and  know for themselves.  That is my greatest prayer…………Thank you to my parents who have taught me and loved me so well, Thank you to my grandparents who I believe still walk beside me today.  Last night, I was dreaming, but I saw my Grandmother Malone.  She was kneeling by my bed with her hand on her cheek just looking at me, I think to remind me that I am never alone.  I sit here with a very grateful and humble heart tonight……..

GOING HERE THERE AND EVERYWHERE!

Some days it seems as if my head is just spinning.  So much to continue to try and learn, so many places to be and so many new situations to try and adjust to.  But I am giving it my best effort.  That effort however on certain days requires more pain reliever than others!!!!

Today was our preparation day and so I slept in.  I have been involuntarily awaking most mornings at a little after 7 in the AM!!!! Not my style, but part of the best effort stress I am thinking.

I cleaned the house, (HEHE) and then took a shower, went to the temple.  My list of names on the temple prayer roll is significant, since I can’t be there to keep an eye on you all. So I am praying for you instead.  I love the Nauvoo Temple.  It is so beautiful on the inside, and out.  Jill works there every time I go, so it is nice to see her.  They will be coming over tomorrow night for chicken fried steak and then we will go to a fireside.  It feels wonderful to have a special friend here.

Yesterday I worked at Land and Records.  What an amazing place if you have relatives that were here during the Nauvoo period.  I helped people look up their relatives on the computer and then when they found something, we burned a cd for them.  I BURNED CD’S! No telling what I will be able to do when this is over. People are so excited in this building, pages and pages of history at their fingertips. 

Nauvoo had up to 12,000 people at it’s height. Black represents log homes, red brick homes, and green is commercial establishments.  This is only the main part of Nauvoo, not the surrounding areas.

We have a total of 12 computers in this room.

My first patrons that found so much information, we were cheering.

I will put two stories on here that I heard this week.  I worked at the Seventies Hall and served with a Sister Hardy.  The last week she had a gentleman come in.  He asked her if she knew that Mitt Romney had sewn up the nomination and since we don’t get tv, she however knew he had.  Anyway, he was a Presbyterian minister and his congregation was asking him if they should vote for him and what the Mormons were really about.  So he came to Nauvoo to do a little investigation. In the Seventies it talks about sending missionaries out two by two as they did in the time of Christ.  Other doctrine is included but I think if people have an open mind, they realize we are Christ centered to the most degree.  So he found out a few more things, took a Book of Mormon from her and is now asking for the missionaries to come and teach his congregation about the Gospel!!! Can you believe that experience she has had?

Then another sister that I worked with had been serving in the Brigham Young home. A young man had come in with his parents.  You remember the example of the broken plates and how through the refiring process, (the atonement) they were made whole again.  Well at closing time, this young man was back at the house and asked if they could come back in.  He asked if his father could give him a blessing in this home.  Of course, they said yes.  He told them that  he had decided to turn himself in to the law for some crime he had committed, and would be going to prison. He knew he needed to change his life and felt impressed to do so while being here. WOW

Then we did Sunset and I did my “Rum” part again.  They have now asked us to be able to do the Clarinet Polka by Tuesday!!!

After Sunset, we went to the Legends Concert!  Can I just say, fabulous, outstanding, amazing, magnificent just to use a few adjectives.  The music, the dancing and the costumes were just incredible.  I wish you could all have seen the colors yourselves.

Hawaiian Dance

Eskimo dance was beautiful.

Eskimo Indians

So many beautiful American Indian dances.  The colors and the bells on their costumes, drums it was all so entrancing.

I’m looking for whatever island he came from…..What? Oh, yes, I’m a missionary now!

New Zealand and Maori dances and songs.  Remember them sticking their tongues out kids?

Beautiful, but as you can tell, I wasn’t very good at getting the best shot.  They always turned just as I clicked……

Latin American dances.

Recognize these dresses, Taryn

and Shea? Loved this one.

Here’s the bling I’ve been missing!!!!!!!!!

The American Indian Hoop dance was incredible..I am going to add videos to this post, but Richard says it will take all night so come back and see the show again.

NAUVOO TRAFFIC JAM!!!

This seems to be the most popular vehicle in the community of Nauvoo and surrounding area.  The grasses are kept beautifully manicured here and actually all over this state.  Never a weed on the side of the road.  This is the granddaughter of one of the sisters I serve with.  You can see these young girls tooling down the streets at top speed.  It makes me laugh. It also makes me a little jealous.  You know that I love to mow as well as I love to vacuum!  Those neat rows are so beautiful to me..

I worked at the Seventies Hall today.  It was named for the scripture in Luke 10:1. “The Lord appointed other seventy also,and sent them two by two before his face into every city and place.” A seventy is an office in the Priesthood that is responsible for missionary work.  So we say that the Seventies Hall was the first MTC. (Missionary Training Center!) While I was there the band came by and played for me.  So you have one horse drawn wagon in front of the hall, then lo and behold, here comes another wagon pulling guests.  Watch, watch,…….wallahhhhhh

Just like that, passed at horse speed. I love the horses, I just want to hug them but the teamsters are not all soft like me, they don’t take too much to hugging their animals……..But I know me some teamsters so we shall see.

This is the inside and there is a sweet spirit here.  It was built by the seventies in between building their houses, the temple, and serving missions. They got it part way built and a tornado came and knocked it down.  They were pretty discouraged, but Brigham Young told them that it was a great sign…………Satan was trying to keep them from receiving blessings through the things that they would learn here and that was the best reason to build her up again! So they did.  We talk about discouragement in our lives and how difficult it is sometimes to continue on in faith, but when we do and when we trust that our Father in Heaven is  watching over us and guiding our lives, we will receive great strength and blessings……

Upstairs they have a museum of sorts.  In the l840’s, things had been brought back by the return missionaries, and they called them curiosities, from other countries.  They wanted to learn more about the cultures of other countries that missionaries were being sent to.  The Prophet Joseph Smith also encouraged this site because of education.  He wanted the saints to be as educated  as possible in the Gospel as well as education.  He would ask the missionaries to go to other countries and teach the Gospel, but if possible, to bring back a trade or skill as well. When Nauvoo first started there were 490 Seventies, when the saints were drive out, there were 2500. 

This picture is of the rain gutters that were on the Joseph Smith House.

Granddaddy Upchurch would have been happy.  Notice the dominoes made out of bone. 

The very small object in the middle is a piece of a comb.  The teeth were so close together, I don’t know how they could have combed anyone’s hair, except maybe mine.!!! The stick looking thing is a toothbrush made out of bone.

They ate fairly well here, these are the remains of rabbits, pigs, chickens, cows, etc.

Grape seeds and Raspberries.

Buttons made out of seashells, actually clam shells from the Mississippi.

Seventies library, you can now look up your name and see if any of your ancestors were here.

An old lamp off of a steamboat, they were called lace lamps.

Well tonight we have Rendezvous.  I am still struggling to learn my part.