Nauvoo, Weeks 1 & 2 (13 – 27 Dec
2015)
Today, following Sacrament Meeting
(where we spoke) and a family get together we headed downtown to the Raddison
Hotel to prepare for our Temple training that would begin Monday, 14 Dec at
8:00am. The weather was cold and it was
snowing but we arrived with our little suitcase to begin the three days of
training at the Salt Lake Temple.
Monday morning we reported to the Joseph
Smith Memorial Building, meeting the other nine couples that would be in
training with us: E/S Angle (Cochabamba, Bolivia), E/S Covarubuis
(Quetzaltenango, Guatemala), E/S Foster (Washington DC), E/S Hurst (Guatemala
City), E/S Jeppson (Kiev, Ukraine), E/S Larsen (Copenhagen, Denmark), E/S
McKenna (Manhattan, NY), E/S Moon (Nauvoo), and E/S Wallace (Quetzaltenango,
Guatemala). As you can see we are
serving throughout the world. Training
would continue through Wednesday afternoon.
Later that day we returned home to load
our car then returned to the hotel. Loading
the car was a challenge – many, many suitcases and bags…it just barely fit with
a few choice words. Sharon Shaw 1:1 was
totally ignored! Tuesday morning we
began our drive to Nauvoo. The weather
was dry up through Rawlins, Wyoming there the I-80 Eastbound Freeway was closed
for a little while. We ate in Rawlins
and as we checked the Wyoming Road conditions we saw several dozen big rigs
start to pull out of the parking lot, so we followed. The distance from Rawlins to Laramie is about
50-60 miles; the first 20 miles were good and dry, then we hit the blowing,
drifting snow and black ice. The next 15
miles were covered in 3.5 hours due to the poor conditions. Suddenly, about 20 miles from Laramie and the
late hour we broke free of black ice and “white out” conditions and greater
speeds were possible. We cancelled our
reservation for Cheyenne and booked a room in Laramie, arriving about 7:30pm. The next morning we arose, ate breakfast and
started out for Council Bluffs, Ia.
About 10 miles out of Laramie we were again met with “white out”
conditions and black ice, the next 10 miles were at about 20 mph. We finally reached Cheyenne, ate lunch then
proceeded to Nebraska. The roads were
good for the most part and we made it to Omaha about 8:00pm. The city streets were snow packed, but drivable. The next morning we arose, ate breakfast and
departed for Nauvoo, IL. We made it to
Des Moines, IA, there we ate lunch, washed the car to remove the salt and snow,
talked with President McArthur (Nauvoo Temple President) telling him we were
about 3 hours from Nauvoo. We had kept
in contact with E/S Moon from Layton, UT who was traveling to Nauvoo also; we
had departed Salt Lake Valley a couple hours before them…they got stuck in
Rawlins for two nights, but drove hard and arrived in Nauvoo about 10:00pm on
Saturday.
Around 3:30pm we arrived in Nauvoo and
were greeted by the President and his wife, our sponsor couple (E/S Allred) and
the Temple Engineer (E/S Fellows). We
were shown to our apartment (given a choice of upstairs or downstairs), we
chose upstairs (#860 Kimball St, #3). It
is across from the Brick Yard. They had
some food in fridge and a few things for us to make it through the weekend
until Monday morning. We started to
unload our suitcases and put things away, but went to bed early.
Sunday we attended church in the Nauvoo
3rd Ward. We then ate dinner
with President & Sister McArthur and E/S Moon at the President’s home;
followed by our setting apart in the Temple as Temple Ordinance Workers. We then attended the annual Community Christmas
Pageant that night in the Stake Center…it was a multi religious
celebration. The weather is cool to
cold, but not a drop of snow on the ground.
Monday we finished putting our things
away then went to Keokuk, IL to a Super Walmart to buy our major
purchases. We had the car almost as
stuffed with food, etc. as we did suitcases.
We put everything away, remembered a few things we had forgotten and
called Scott/Malia to send us a few things.
It’s nice to know that if you have forgotten something that there is a store
down the road where you can buy things.
Tuesday we arrived at the Nauvoo Temple
for our orientation. It began about
8:30am and went until 3:00pm. We went
home to eat lunch, and then returned for more training at 5:00 – 9:00pm. The Temple is beautiful and there is a really
strong feeling within and on the grounds.
Although, it has been rebuilt the spirit is really strong and you are
humbled to walk where these wonderful ancestors walked. We came home, ate and went to bed as we have
a full day tomorrow in the Temple.
Wednesday we assumed our schedule at the
Temple arriving at 9:00am – 1:00pm, home for lunch then back again 5:00 – 9:00pm. Our experience has been rich and rewarding
each and every day. Between our morning and afternoon assignments we drove to Carthage, IL to see if there was a special presentation with today being the 210th anniversary of the Prophet Joseph Smith's birthday - there wasn't, but we participated in the tour and were touched again to see, hear and feel of the prophet's final day.
The Temple was closed both Thursday
(Christmas Eve) and Friday (Christmas Day).
We had Christmas Eve dinner & social with all Temple Missionaries in
the Arrival Center (building where large groups of people meet when they arrive
at the Temple). We ate, went caroling on
the steps of the Nauvoo Temple (very cold & windy), then returned to the
Arrival Center to sing more songs and sip hot chocolate and eat goodies.
Christmas Day we got together with the
Nauvoo Site Missionaries (those that give tours, etc. on the grounds). It was a large gathering, around 200
people. It was great food and
beautifully decorated with some good entertainment. We had the opportunity of Skyping with all of
our children/grandchildren as they gather at Jeff’s and Amanda’s house for a
lunch.
Saturday was another opportunity to
serve in the Temple. We officiated in
one of the Endowment Sessions (a little different as you move into four
different rooms during the session), then had other responsibilities in other
areas of the Temple. We have visited
some of the homes, sites and stores in the area.
Today we attended the Mount Pleasant
Branch in Mount Pleasant, IA (about 45 miles one way from Nauvoo). We have been assigned to attend & assist
the members in this branch. There is a
pretty large group of Spanish members there which we will work closely with. It’s funny, we cross a toll bridge over the
Mississippi River from Iowa to Illinois in our travels ($2.00 for a car if
coming from Iowa to Illinois – nothing going from Illinois to Iowa). Tonight we have been invited to have dessert
at one of the other Temple missionary’s home.
All of the couples are really nice and it is a pleasure to serve with
them.
We love each and every one of you. We wish you all a Happy, Healthy and
Prosperous New Year. We look forward to
sharing our mission with you and pray the Lord’s choicest blessings to be with
you now and forever.
Love,
Mom & Dad, Elder & Sister Shaw
