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| Merry Christmas from the Nauvoo Visitor Center |
Monday I served at Heber C. Kimball's home and Wilford Woodruff's home. If you come to Nauvoo, after the visitor's center, I'd go to Sarah Kimball Granger's home, which is interesting because the house was here before Nauvoo was. Then I'd go to Heber C. Kimball's home, because this is where the restoration of Nauvoo began.
Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young were born days apart, and joined the church one day apart in Mendon, NY. They came to Kirtland together to meet the prophet, Joseph Smith. Their wives were close friends. When Brother Brigham's wife died, Vilate Kimball took care of his little girls until he remarried. In Nauvoo, Heber eventually built the beautiful home that exists today. And then, after living in it for a very short time, he left it for the journey West. Years later his great grandson, Dr. Leroy Kimball, purchased it and start restoring it. When it was dedicated, by Spencer W. Kimball, 1500 people showed up for the dedication - people not related to the Kimballs. Dr. Kimball caught the vision of Nauvoo Restoration and Nauvoo Restoration Inc. was formed. So it's a good place to start explorring Nauvoo.
Monday night Elder Stephen Snow, the church historian, spoke to the mission. The missionary department of the church has had the responsibility for chruch historic sites until recently, when it was turned over to the history department. Their vision for Nauvoo is to make it historically accurate, even to the landscape. For instance the grove where Joseph Smith preached, just below the temple, has been planted with native trees. Right now it isn't much to look at, but in a few years it will look as it did in 1840.
They hope visiting Nauvoo will strengthen and promote faith in the Jesus Christ. The missionaries will do that by sharing the stories of the Saints who lived here. This isn't a proselyting mission. Visitors won't be preached to. They will just tell about the people who lived here. I hope people leave asking why would they leave a place where they worked so hard to beautify and which had such promise of prosperity.
Tuesday I worked in the sewing room. I learned to make pre-fab skirts for the pioneer dresses. Sleeves and skirts are made before the new missionaries arrive. Then a bodice is fitted to the new sister and the dress is quickly finished - quickly is a relative term. I've taken 18 hours to finish mine. It is the most complicated dress I've ever sewn, but the sister over the sewing room is so knowledgeable and easy to work with that it has been a great learning experience.
Tuesday evening we visited Rand Park in Keokuk.
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Wednesday I worked in Heber C. Kimball again, and Wilford Woodruff's home. Elder Woodruff also lived in his home a very short time, and in fact left it unfinished. In our information book his building time-line is printed. Anyone who has built a house will sympathize with Wilford. He kept going on missions and leaving the building to be done by others, but again and again upon returning, the house hadn't progressed much. They finally moved into a partially finished house.
I forgot to take a picture, so this is from the lds history site. The notable thing about this house is that it had 8 fireplaces. After years in log cabins, I guess the Woodruffs wanted to be warm.
Wednesday night the mission enjoyed their Christmas dinner. Imagine potlucks cooked by experienced grandmas. The food here is so delicious, it is hard not to over eat at our dinners. The quilts were donated to various churches around the area.
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| Mission gathers. |
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| President Lusvardi tries to get us to sit down. |
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| The Christensens, good friends. She organized the quilt drive. |
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| My group did the second from the right. |
Thursday I worked at the Family Living Center, which everyone enjoys. We get lots of visitors, and when it is quiet there is weaving to work on and shuttles to sew for. The history department, in their effort to portray history accurately has a problem with the weaving. We weave rag rugs, but rag rugs came into style in the 1860's. The rag rugs we use are in every house and our apartments. So do they get rid of all of them in the sites? And what do we weave. I'll have to come back in a few years and see how they resolve this.
Friday, I was back in the sewing room finishing my dress. It just needs a hem and grow pleats. And buttons. Saturday, P-Day we finished up our Christmas plans - gingerbread cookies for the missionaries and a couple of candy trains for our "boss's" kids.
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| Dee's |
The preparation for the Christmas season started in October, with practices of various kinds. There was the light the tree practices every Wednesday night, angel choir every Friday morning, and Messiah practices. I wanted to do more singing for Christmas than we do at home and I certainly achieved that goal. Add to that quilt making. Sometime in the last week our mailboxes started filling up with goodies from other missionaries. We now have a pile of goodies. And I'm ready for a long winter's nap.
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