IF YOU FAIL TO PLAN, YOU PLAN TO FAIL.

Sound familiar Jonathan?  So we had our training meeting on Wednesday and they talked about setting goals for our mission.  I have thought about it and certainly don’t want to go home having not accomplished what I need to here.  Of course, finding out what I need to accomplish may be a trick.  Sometimes I wonder exactly why I am here and if there is a specific reason I am here.  I certainly want to go home a better person, I don’t want to have spent l8 months and not have brought home something important, but what? I will get back to you.

So I know that one of my goals is family history and to do as much of the temple work as I possibly can.  Since we go every week and it is 3 minutes from the house I have no excuse.  There is a new pilot program here for genealogy and I guess Sister Price is an expert.  I brought all of my research, so on Tuesday nights I will be at the research center.It is right across the street from the temple.. …………………….. GOAL NUMBER !…………………………………………………………

GOAL NUMBER 2………………………………………………. Learn all I can about the gospel.  The Openshaw’s in our MTC group are our good friends.  He happens to have made a career  out of teaching Institute!!!!! He has been the director at BYU Idaho, University of Utah, and Idaho State University.  He has taught all of those years.  Guess what?  We asked him if he would be willing to teach us a class every week on the Book of Mormon!! YAHOO!!!  He said yes, and he is so knowledgeable and such a good teacher.  We basically have a one on one tutor for the whole time that we are here.  I can’t tell you how excited I am about that.  He has also taught marriage classes and I may call him on an emergency basis. 

Sunday At The Browning Gunshop

So Richard is in heaven.  He not only loves to give tours but in the gun shop none the less.  He and I worked with the Jensen’s for the afternoon.

Jonathan Browning was  from Brushy Fork, Tennessee.  He married an Elizabeth Stalcup.  They moved up to Nashville when they were married and he had been making his own guns for several years.  He was the I inventor of the repeating rifle, which made “warfare” much different after the civil war.  His son, Jonathan Moses Browning invented the machine gun and over 187 patents to the Browning name.  I guess they would make the invention, patent it and then sell it to other manufacturers, such as Winchester, Remington, Smith and Wesson etc.  They were quite well off in Nauvoo.  He stayed in Winter Quarters  for five years before going to Utah.  Brigham Young asked him to help people with their wagons and guns on the way west.

Kelly and Ryan eat your heart out!!!! Can’t wait until you come out here and see these first hand.

Big boys and their toys.  He is demonstrating the “rifling” process.

Outside of the Browning House.  The flowers are absolutely amazing around here.  It reminds me a lot of Kansas City……Homesick!

Richard is standing behind these huge elephant ears.  They are literally as big as an elephant.

Some of the young performing missionaries we work with.  I love them all so much.  They leave in the morning and Nauvoo will be a different place without them.  The one on the left, Elder Solomon will be going to Chile on a mission.  They open their calls in the Seventies Hall.

So my darling, talented and dependable Jerianne, helped me with a little sign that I put in bags of gummie bears.  It says,”I will miss you Beary much!” I put 45 packs together and went and dropped them off this morning.

I guess I will forever be the queen of nothing important, but as Richard says, fru-fru.  I will miss them so.  I look around and see little children and parents, and kids my children’s age and I just want to cry……………………

So today I worked at Brigham Young’s house again.  I will do that twice a week from now on.  It is so unbelievably beautiful outside.  I left all of the doors open for the entire day.  When it wasn’t busy I took a little walk outside.

Birds singing absolutely everywhere.  Cardinals all over the place, squirrels, bunnies, I love it all.  I am not in Colorado anymore!  Richard brought home two bikes that someone was giving away and so this evening off we went.  Probably rode for about 45 minutes.  I think it will be a tradition until it gets too cold.

PARTY IN OLD NAUVOO….EMMA HALES

I was put in charge of the cast party for the Emma Hales cast, which we have been with each other every night since we have been here, except for a night or two thrown in here and there.  I love these people.  They have to be some of the best people on earth.  They are now starting to leave in waves and I am afraid to see what will be left.  Our Sunset performances are over, and pretty soon they will be dividing the mission into two casts.  So really things will be very different soon.  The director for the whole of Nauvoo is in our cast, a member of the mission presidency, several teamsters(who are hilarious) and women I have loved serving with, are leaving all before the end of September.

So this was kind of like a farewell.  Not any money to do anything with, (you all know how I like to go over the top with decorations etc.) and so things were minimal

.  Everyone brought an appetizer/dessert to share, and then we had a program.

A sunflower made out of caramel dip, cream cheese, and sprinkled with crushed English Toffee bars!!!!

Cucumber slices covered with cream cheese and fresh herbs from the Lyon Drug House Herbal Garden!!! Who says we can’t get Pinterest here??

Some kind of chicken balls made by our sister from Brazil.  Quite good!

Lots and lots of good food.

Elder Pelling, a tough old Canadian teamster, did a hilarious poem about being surrounded by too many women. One is heavenly, many are hell!

.

Sister Brown had put together a CD of our cast and our performance, she willingly took care of that, our party favor.  Then we played a game where each person that was leaving had to share three facts about themselves.  Two were true and there was one that was false.  We had to figure them out.  It was pretty darned funny.  Lots of laughter and jabbing back and forth.  I would say that the party was a success.

Sister Nemeck, she is a hoot.  It is a good thing we don’t live by each other, that would spell trouble.

Sister Hadley who is the secretary to the mission president.  She is a doll.  She is one of the single sisters here and will be leaving soon. Elder Gustafson who is behind her is one of our more manly missionaries.  He must be at least 6’7”.  He played basketball and baseball for BYU!!!! He is in charge of all the scheduling that takes place here.  That is quite a job.

Sister Call is such a sweetheart.  I really love her.  She kind of reminds me of Grandmother Malone.  Her husband behind her is the veterinarian. He is also one of the doctors in Rendezvous that I get to hit with my feather duster.

Sister Hansen, what a crack up she is.  She is a single sister here and works on the grounds.  I have seen her and several other older women working day after day in this sweltering heat, watering, weeding, and taking care of all the plants.  She has traveled all over the world and worked in the Pentagon.  What a  hoot. 

These are the Wasson’s.  So funny and I just love them. 

These are the Openshaw’s.  They are some of our best friends and helped set up for the party.  I told them I wanted to take their picture and this is what I got.  Well today is our PD.  I slept IN!!! It was wonderful, now we are on to the temple.  Tonight we have two shows to do and tomorrow promises to be a busy day.  We have to work at the Browning Gunshop.  I haven’t a clue what that involves.

Notes from our Rendezvous Director

Emma, Emma, Emma Cast!
Whoot whoooo! You were amazing last night for both performances and the crowds were great! That first group of 29 were just as robustly happy and noisy as any 90plus youth groups have ever been.
I was so proud of you.... but not the "sinful" vain pride you hear about! Proud because you do what you do as a missionary tool for our guests.
      I was proud of you for your individual and collective performances.  The songs were great! You sang well, you lifted the lid right off of the 2nd Willingly, Men, ....."OFF THE CHARTS" GOOD!
      I'm not saying we had a perfect show....this Agatha certainly missed a few lines but showed up on time for Little Town scene. And thanks to E Young and E Call for making Agatha the "brunt of Georges frustration! And Sis Jardine!!!! ....word perfect?...No....but it wouldn't have made one bit of difference to the success of their Doc/Horse scene as she knocked the socks right off of the audience with laughter and glee nearly rolling us all into the aisles! The laughter produced endorphins and gave us all a "happy high"! Doc (Lyman) did great keeping up with her .... vying for TOP SUPPORTING actor of the evening....of course George! always snags the crowd with his "evil" trick to obtain...at Agatha's expense....a little piece and quiet....and feet on the table! George! You should be ashamed!
     I am proud because WE ALL keep trying and giving and giving!
     I was so proud of the Brown's for their last..., eye leaking (on my part) finale! Then the Kings turned right around and duplicated another wonderfully spirited Noah and Sophia "triplicated" by the chorus...no more monotone mormons on that stage!  
     I was so proud of our Peter's and Abigail's, Campbell's and Gustafson's who, in their personal presentations, were able to portray the humor, opposing cultures and beliefs of two people in love divided by "That Book"! The message was sent loud and clear!
     I was proud of our amazing pianists, Ss/Anderson and Hadley, with their fancy fingers and timing rendered to keep Noah and Sophia and Relief Society paced on the edge of perfection.
     I loved both sets of Jed and Annie with their doggone....you'll never change! How often do we hear that He$$...on an LDS stage in several dialects and accents....so well projected and received! The audience gets the idea...the true story is shared again with laughter, scriptures and human nature! My heart's being ripped out as our "dearly darling soon to leave us" Daybell's  "followed,too soon, by our loveable", Aulestia's! 
     I'm proud of our Editors, Pres McKnight's seasoned and 'almost' always WORD PERFECT show!  Elder Hoopes who in a few short and busy weeks has overcome the fear fiend and become a polished and believable editor.  I respect the difficulty of this part. The value of tying the whole show together and how he creates the historic importance of printing and editing the printed word and HE is always on (stage) for the whole 60 emotionally racked minutes.  Thank you to both...well done! 
     I am very proud of the Morgans and Andersons who both used to portray Peter and Abigail but now  perform, out of their comfort zone.... well, the parts of saintly, angry, frustrated, singing and typical early Saints, Thomas and Elizabeth who leave Nauvoo because they believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ must find a better home! 
   I was proud of all...from Welcoming hostesses, to kickers, pottery and horse and buggy set right through to our Fare-welling Nauvoo duet. Your guests and peers last night were proud of you too! You entertained them, shared the gospel with them and cheered them! they gave you many accolades as they went out the door!
     I'm proud to be part of you!  Thank you! Sis Young
--
Sister Louise Young
Historic Nauvoo LDS Mission
PO Box 215
Nauvoo, Il 62354
217-453-2039
435-232-4528

IN OUR SPARE TIME……

I was working at Sarah Granger’s house the other day and things were a little slow…..So Sister Homer pulls out her Salter!!! It is a beautiful instrument and a woman here in Nauvoo makes them.  They are played with a bow and sound very much kind of like a violin type instrument..  She also makes dulcimers.

I have made all of the “Nauvoo Necklaces,” that are allowed to a single individual, (by the way if you haven’t received one leave a request here), and  am moving on the scarves that are so pretty.  It involves knitting and so I am graduating from stick sewing to stick sewing. Then as the winter progresses, who knows maybe a Salter is in my future…….

Elder Harmer from Mapleton was fixing the Sarah Granger Home.  He is a builder in construction and I LOVE he and his wife.  They are so much fun and he plays the part of Pa in Rendezvous.  They unfortunately are leaving in a month.

So, I come home at noon and walk in the house, and laying on the bed is Richard!  Gauze on his head, blood oozing through, and me starting to hyperventilate.  What in the world happened?  I thought you started work in the warehouse today, keeping track of stock on the computer???  Did you hear me say computer?

So we walk in to do Rendezvous, and after the rehearsal starts, the pause and ask what I did to Richard.  They wanted an explanation…..He said I hit him with the duster that Agatha uses on stage!  Right! Doctor changed the dressing today and we are grateful he didn’t have stitches.

Yesterday I worked in the Cultural Hall and in walks this young man with an EFY group that I immediately recognized as a Bishop boy.  Guess what, he recognized me too in all of my pioneer garb.  So I had a good little chat with him.

We performed our last night at Sunset on the Mississippi.  Happy and sad at the same time.  I will sorely miss some of these wonderful people that I have spent the last three months with.  So many are leaving in the next little while.

MEN AND THEIR TOYS…………

I was going back to work today and see the “Gomer Pyle,” of Nauvoo being an escort with his red flashing lights on!!!  What might you ask is taking place in the thriving metropolis of Old Nauvoo????? An antique tractor brigade on their way to Hamilton for an old tractor show!!!  What are the chances.  So I race through the streets of Nauvoo to try and get a photo.  I had all sorts of men running to pose by their tractors.  Isn’t small town life a hoot?  I love it.  I bet I could have gotten a ride if I would have thought of it. Dad gum, I always miss the golden opportunities……………………….

Here is our official policeman in his new Dodge Charger.  I am still chuckling to myself.  Ah, I love the country life.