Christmas Week

The week started with one hour church.  Our little choir which consists of ourselves, Elder and Sister Carlson, and the Bairs', teenage son and daughter of our pianist, Shauri Bair, sang an arrangement of Once in Royal David's City.   In the evening we attended the Lusvardi's open house.

Lusvardi's living room

Sister Lusvardi leads us in carol singing.

President and Sister Lusvardi wishing us a Merry Christmas

With Mensels

 Friends around the Christmas tree

With Flanders

 It was a warmish evening, so on the way home we took some photos of the neighborhood.

Muholland Street Christmas trees

 Back in our driveway I looked up to see an unusual site.  A chain of lights, maybe planes, maybe stars, were crossing the sky.  Dee pointed out that if they were jets we would hear them, although they were pretty high.  And they just kept coming.  There were at least 50 of them.  At home I googled lights crossing the sky and found this.

Star link Satellites

                                                                   
Monday I started a new chapter in my FM mission.  Since it is sometimes too cold to work outside this winter, and greenhouse work comes and goes, we are helping the paint crew.  We could work on sites, but rather than sit waiting for visitors to come, we'd rather be doing something.  Besides, if we work on sites our schedules are very different from our husbands. I was by myself in grounds this week as Sister Bailey went to her son's in Tennessee.
The paint crew is as fun as the grounds crew.  And while most of us listen to music on our phones, Sister Odum uses her boom box for Christmas music while we paint the office bathrooms.

Christmas Eve day, we quit work early and  headed up to Burlington to visit some of the members.  We visited Sister Aker, Sister Mellinger, the Sinks, and the Bucks.  While we were at the Bucks the Howards invited us to meet them at Perkins.  We went home feeling like we'd lit up the world a little.
Christmas morning Mckay sent us a video of the children coming downstairs with squeals and laughter. We spent the morning Facetiming the family.  What a wonderful invention, helping us be a part of everyone's Christmas.

Christmas breakfast

 a few presents

from Jenny

In the afternoon we joined the mission to play games (Cover Your Assets) and eat a soup potluck.  Afterwards we went home and watched the last episode of The Crown.  A nice Christmas Day.

The Oldie Weds Game
Whitings, Plesheks, Odums, and Simmons.  Elder Draney MC

Watching the Oldies Wed Game

And the ever present pot luck.

The rest of the week was normal work. But Thursday I added another first to my mission experience.  I'd been hearing about pickle ball since last Christmas.  I finally got to play it.  So fun.

In some ways this mission is like girls' camp.  We have an on-going service project - our FM work.  We have firesides, food, crafts, and now sports.  The crafts I've done include weaving, quilting, and wood carving!  On Thursday nights Elder Schmidt holds a wood carving class.  I tried to get Dee interested, and he wanted to do it, but in the end I'm doing it.  And there are lots of friends around our age.  So if not girls' camp, maybe a senior housing community.  I wonder if I'll be lonely when we go home.

Some of the treats put in our mailbox this month.  

Tree in front of Nauvoo Hotel

Red Front tree - sweet rolls and red balls

Leaves are all falling, but beautiful hybiscus blooms. 

The week ended on the saddest of notes.  On Friday the mission president called all the FM missionaries to the conference room.  Some of us thought they were going to dissolve FM missionaries - because the church has been downsizing FM departments throughout the church.  But it had nothing to do with us.  One of the teamsters, Elder Meycocks and his wife had been in a car accident and Elder Meycocks had died.  Sister Meycocks had several broken bones.  They were coming back from visiting with his mother in Iowa City.  That stretch of highway is very empty, usually, and someone crossed over the highway and they couldn't stop. They hit him straight on.  They were all taken to the hospital, and though no injuries were apparent, Elder Meycocks went into cardiac arrest.  This morning the mission president told us at our prayer meeting that Sister Meycocks, after recovering from her injuries, wants to finish her mission.  They are working to make that possible. 
We know almost everyone in the mission, but our paths have never crossed the Meycocks.  We aren't in their zone.  We weren't in the same Sunset Cast.  But we are good friends with many who did know them.  So we mourn with those who mourn.

Once more it is the week before Christmas

And it snowed! A beautiful, fluffy, light snow.  About 3 inches.  I was able to use the blower to clean the walks at the Visitor's Center.  Even shoveling was fairly easy.

And when there is snow in Nauvoo, the sleighs come out.  Last year we took a few rides in the long sleigh.  I really wanted to go in the short sleigh, with the padded seats.  It was much warmer.  I thought it might be faster too, but I don't think it was, partly because by the time we went the snow was beginning to melt. Still it was very fun.  The teamsters took us up to Inspiration Point, where it is said Joseph and Emma would go to get away from town.

A  Christmas tradition in the mission is to fill each other's mailbox with treats.  This year several people made ornaments instead of goodies.  I realized what a good idea that was, because they will remind us year after year of our mission in Nauvoo, not to mention will avoid adding inches to our waist.   So I came up with an ornament to give.  It took some time to make,  but I'm glad we made our little cinnamon boys and hearts.  I wrote a poem, too.

A few other ornaments we found in our mailbox.

After the snow was shoveled, it was too cold to work outside until Friday.  We finished our coleus project, of organizing them by name.   Now we know how many we have of each variety.   Friday we finally went outside and found a lot to do.  First we found a pile of leaves, 4 feet high and 8 feet long. We shoveled leaves into our trailer, until we realized the pile was bigger than the time we had to shovel.  We got smart and called Adam to bring the scoop.  It still took him about 30 minutes to get it all, but it was a whole lot faster and easier for us. 

The pile is half gone in this photo

Easy way to move leaves

Elder Howard saws pieces for the porch. 

Note the upstairs door.  This porch will look more authentic. 

Then we picked up a load of sticks, and finally went to check out the Heber C. Kimball house which is suppose to open on Sunday.

The Heber C. Kimball house story 

 I can't tell it like Elder Howard, but basically it is this.  Heber C. Kimball house has been lived in since it was built in the 1840s, so you can imagine how many renovations have gone on.  Bathrooms, electricity, and possibly a front porch - or so the historians thought.  So they wanted to return the house to it's original look and told the carpenters to remove the porch and replace it with ??? They weren't sure.  So last fall, 2018, the missionary carpenters, Elder Howard and Elder Schmidt started making the new railings back at the shop so that when they took the porch down it would go back up quickly.  Next they started removing the balcony over the porch, which wasn't going to be replaced, because it wasn't original - except that they discovered that it was!  The beams went into the wall and were nailed in with old fashioned nails.  The fact that there was a door leading out to the balcony might have also been a clue, but then it could have been a remodel.  The history department stopped all work until they decided what was and what wasn't original.   For sure what had to go was the cement porch. So once again the carpenters started dismantling the porch.  Eventually the historians decided the balcony was original.  The process has taken a year,  and though it won't open on Sunday, it is getting close.

One other bitter sweet event happened this week. The Crumps' mission ended.  They have been good friends, dancing together in our cast, helping me with the various assignments I've been given, and just enjoying our interest in history together.  Elder Crump was a history teacher. Sister Crump and I laugh at the same things.  I'll miss them, but I know they are glad to be rejoining their family.   And we will be following before the winter is over.

Sister Crump just glows - no matter how hard I tried to get the light off her face. 

Things slow down - finally

Here is how the week went.  We started the week with a beautiful sunrise.  This photo doesn't do it justice. 

On Tuesday we went to the doctor in Iowa City to find out what is wrong with Dee's shoulder.  Stay tuned.  MRI coming up this week.

Dinner at a really good Mexican restaurant in Iowa City. 

All FM missionaries have been given a new assignment starting in January.

Friday was our beloved intern's last day.  We ate lunch at Red Front to say good-bye.  We will miss you, Brook.

We ended the week by going to Amana Colonies for the Tannenbaum Forest and just to explore. It was fun, but I'd like to go back when it's not so busy - or cold. 

Toy display

17 foot Christmas Pyramid - German style

On the way home I discovered where I can buy Elk meat. Yum. 

The Messiah

Mission Training

Part of Mission Training the first week of December focused on President Nelson's invitation to prepare for April Conference.  President Lusvardi's office use to be near Elder Nelson's.  One day he heard a conversation between Elder Nelson and some staff. They were talking about funeral preparations for a General Authority.  The funeral was being set for noon. Elder Nelson said, "You might wish to move it to eleven."  It was moved.  President Lusvardi's point was that Elder Nelson knew how to tell what needed to happen, politely.  Keep that in mind as you read these quotes from October General Conference. 

  He has extended and invitation and a promise.  I need to make time to accept this invitation so that I have an unforgettable experience.