Nauvoo Week 48 (7 - 20 November 2016)

Nauvoo Week 48 (7 – 13 November 2016)

This was a special week in Lake Zurich, IL with Scott, Malia, Corban and Ruby.  On Monday Scott and Tom played golf in the morning and had a wonderful time.  Tom was a little shocked at the price versus what he pays in Nauvoo. 

Later that day we had a great Family Home Evening and fun playing with the kids.

On Tuesday we went to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  It is located near Soldier Field where the Chicago Bears play.  It is a wonderful place to visit; Corban was really excited to see all of the animals, fish and exhibits.  We really enjoyed the porpoise show and all of the tricks they did.  The Beluga whales were also impressive as well as the sea lions. 

We also saw Sponge Bob 4D show; they spray water at you and blow air that really makes the show come alive.  Corban kept reaching out for the characters that appeared to be right in front of your face.  It was fun and enjoyable.

Wednesday, Tom got his new glasses (progressive trifocals) and had a lot of fun with them.  Previously he had trifocals with lines and was really used to them; these are a different story.  Hopefully, they will become more functional as the days go on.  We did some Christmas shopping for the kids. 

Thursday, Sharon and Malia went to a lunch at one of the neighbors; it was a 20’s themed event.  They both dressed up in period dress, they were the hit of the event!  Malia says this lady never does anything half-way but always to the “Max”. 

They had a great time and came home with bags of goodies.

Friday, we rested up a little and had a great time with the kids playing almost every game and with every action figure, car ever made.  It is so fun to be with them and to see their growth.  Ruby is a great baby; eating, smiling and sleeping.  She hardly ever cries and sleeps wonderfully during the entire day.  We don’t understand how she naps from 5:00-6:30pm, eats and plays for a few minutes and then goes back to sleep about 8:00pm for the night (usually waking to be fed about every 4-5 hours), she is a “dream” baby!  It was also the Grand Opening of Scott’s second store (Lumens Optical) in Mount Prospect.  They had the Mayor cut the ribbon and an Open House with several visitors that enjoyed some refreshments and handouts form the store.  The stores are really attractive to the eye and the customer service is second to none.

Saturday, Scott was home from work and we had fun with them playing games, eating and catching up.  We went to the Chicago Temple and found it very busy.

  We were put on an overflow session and had a wonderful, spiritual experience.  We also saw our friends from Chicago (Paul & Ann Castleton) there.  We first met them in 2008 in the MTC in Provo.  They were going to Toronto Canada and we were going to Madrid, Spain.  They later served as President and Matron of the Chicago Temple.  They have been to Nauvoo a couple of times while we were here and we had dinner with them.  It was good to see them again.  Later, Sharon wrapped the kids Christmas gifts, Scott & Malia finished preparing their Sunday lessons. 

Sunday, we attended church in the Buffalo Grove ward and again saw many people that we had seen the previous time we were there. We came home and kind of all took naps then had a wonderful dinner of French Dip sandwiches and cake.  We then played games and had a great time. 

It was a special week; to spend time with Scott, Malia, Corban and Ruby. 

It will be sad not to be with them over the holidays, but they are doing well and liking their time in Chicago.  We look forward to seeing them again early next year in Utah.  We thank each of you for your support, love and patience with us.  Serving in Nauvoo has been a special experience for us; we have grown much and our testimonies have been strengthened.  We look forward to returning to the Temple next week and serving with all our heart, might, mind and strength.  God be with you til we meet again.

Love,

Mom & Dad/Nana & Papa/Elder & Sister Shaw

Nauvoo Week 47 (31 October - 6 November) 2016

Nauvoo Week 47 (31 October – 6 November 2016)

Happy Halloween everyone!  It was a different one for us as there was no trick or treaters and we had a social that evening.  We had a final dinner, so to speak, for all those missionaries who were leaving by November 7^th.  They had a thanksgiving type dinner and it was wonderful.  We had a little program right after to honor the old Presidency who is also leaving November 7^th.  We had a small choir which I participated in, and we sang “Each Life That Touches Ours for Good.”

There was a poem written and read about our time here.  Brother McDonald sang “A poor wayfaring man of grief”, the same way it was sung for Joseph in Carthage jail.  He also made up new words to “Homeward bound” with a slide show which was wonderful.  He then had all of us sing the song, it was quite emotional.  They also presented throws (blankets) to each of the Presidency members which had the picture of all of us from this year on it.  We then went in to the chapel and had a testimony meeting.  It was a wonderful evening.

On Monday, we went to breakfast with the Frank & Annette Mills, our friends from our Majuro Mission.  We also went to see a few of the couples who were leaving a little earlier, to say goodbye. 

Wednesday, we had the Mills over for breakfast. 

We then went to a few places with them in the city and then we went to Montrose, IA which is across from Nauvoo, IL on the other side of the Mississippi river.  It had been raining really hard and we didn’t know if we would be able to see the Temple, because of clouds.  It had cleared up some and the Temple looked beautiful.  The next day the Mills left for Cincinnati to go to the BYU football game.  We sure enjoyed their visit.

Thursday evening we had a barbeque with the two couples that live in our same building.  They are Elder & Sister Holmes from Idaho and Elder & Sister Robb from Roosevelt, UT.   We need to start using up our food and we had some steaks and chicken to use.

  It was a fun evening reminiscing about our time here.

On Sunday we left around 1:00 to go to Scott’s and Malia’s house.  How fun and sweet it was to go and spend time with them, as they will not be with us in Utah for Christmas.  Ruby had gotten so much bigger, with chubby cheeks and rolls, and Corban was as cute as ever.  How blessed we have felt to be within driving distance to make it possible to make several trips there.  The weather here has been so mild for this time of year.  It is still great now but may change at the end of this week.  Christmas is all out in the stores and they will be decorating the homes here in Nauvoo for Christmas. 

We are so excited that we will be home for Christmas.  We look forward to spending special time with all of you and catching up with all of your lives.  We love you so much, families are forever and what a blessing it is to know that. 

Love,

Mom & Dad/Nana & Papa/Elder & Sister Shaw

Nauvoo Week 46 (24 - 30 October 2016)

Nauvoo Week 46 (24 – 30 October 2016)

Another fantastic week in Nauvoo!  It began with a round of golf of Monday morning.  Tom then met with Elder Todd Jones (NM) to complete our Mormon.org pass-along cards.  We are excited to have these as we can now give something from us to meet that we meet.  That afternoon we traveled to Quincy with Elder & Sister Curtis (UT) for dinner at the Pier Restaurant.

  The food was okay, but a bit pricey.  It was a beautiful setting with the restaurant sitting out over the Mississippi River and the monument where the saints crossed from Missouri just alongside. 

On Tuesday, we attended a lecture by Susan Easton Back Durrant.  Her topic was “History of the LDS Temples.”  It was a very interesting subject starting with the Kirtland Ohio Temple, then to the Independence Missouri Temple Lot and the 24 Temples or Palaces that will be built there, to Far West, Missouri where cornerstones were placed but abandoned then to Nauvoo, Illinois where this beautiful Temple was originally built and dedicated on April 30, 1846 by Orson Hyde, and then to St George, Utah.  Following this lecture we served in the Temple as Baptistry Coordinators.

Wednesday, we served during the afternoon/evening shift and had a wonderful experience, as usual, and felt the spirit very strongly.

Thursday, we served in the morning and then attended another lecture by Sister Durrant.  Her topic this afternoon was “The Last 20 Days of Joseph’s and Hyrum’s Life.”  It was a great discussion and we learned much about the sacrifices, the trials, the conspirators, the Governor and his deception, the proposed departure of Joseph/Hyrum to the Rocky Mountains, their return to Nauvoo and trip to Carthage to face identical charges for the third time (triple jeopardy)…story to be continued next Thursday.  Later that night we attended another lecture by Sister Durrant on the “Camps of Israel.”  This dealt with the exodus of the saints from Nauvoo to Winter Quarters and their trials and tribulations.  When Brigham told them to “Flee Babylon” and head west he envisioned leaving Nauvoo in February 1846 and making it all the way to the Rocky Mountains that same fall.  When the saints actually departed Nauvoo they were ill prepared for their journey (lack of wagons, oxen, food, clothing, etc.).  These 29 camps were spread all across Iowa (Highway 2) and were building blocks that allowed the saints to successfully make the journey to the Salt Lake Valley.  There were saints that were spread among these camps from 1846-1852 (6 years).  They progressed from camp to camp as they were prepared to go making provisions all along the way eventually becoming prepared as they reached Winter Quarters.  Many of the more famous camps were: Sugar Creek, Garden Grove, Mount Pisgah, Council Bluffs and Winter Quarters.  There were many miracles that happened all along this trail which allowed the saints to become more prepared for the journey.  One note: if you look at the back side of QUARTER COIN of Iowa you will notice what looks like people and wheat stocks (this is representing the Mormons that crossed their state)-during this time the Iowa Territory qualified to become a state because of the population increase.

Friday, we were assigned as mentors for new people in the Temple so we trained them during our morning shift.  As we returned home around 9:30pm that night we noticed a message on our phone from the Saturday afternoon coordinators (Brother & Sister Hart from Camp Pointe, IL) stating that Brother Victor Hart had been involved in an auto accident (he was returning home from a business trip from St. Louis, he was driving the Interstate at about 70 mph when he hit a stopped car in the middle of the Interstate without any lights).  He was shaken, bruised and sore, but was not hospitalized.  They told us we would be coordinating the Temple work on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday, we went to the Temple earlier than normal to make preparations for the shift.  There are about 30 Brethren and 30 Sisters on that shift to assign all of the duties and responsibilities to and to make sure things run smoothly.  There were still a few surprises; some people not showing up and others showing up that we had not expected which was a blessing.  Today was also the annual “Bootiful” Nauvoo celebration.  All during the day there are about 500-600 carved pumpkins along Mulholland Street with a parade at 2:30pm where they throw out candy to all of the kids (the missionaries and some citizens donate Halloween candy and put them in bags then throw them from vehicles to all of kids standing nearby).  The site missionaries told me they had tied some 1,100 bags of candy from our donations.  Later, there was music (bands) and food for all.  Of course, we were in the Temple so we were not able to see any of the celebration, however, we let most of the workers go so they could participate.  We finished the last two sessions with five Temple Missionary couples in the Temple doing all of the work.  Some felt this would not be enough but made it work without a hitch. 

On Sunday, we traveled to Mt. Pleasant to attend church and had a wonderful experience.  Following the meetings we went with the Sister Missionaries (Sisters Beach & Rushton) to visit some less active members.  We then returned to Nauvoo to welcome Frank & Annette Mills (served on Ebeye with us in the Marshall Islands). 

They were passing through Nauvoo on their way to Cincinnati, OH to watch the BYU versus Cincinnati football game this next weekend.  We had a great time with them reminiscing about the mission, the missionaries and good times.  It was really good to see them, she is recovering from breast cancer and looks wonderful.  We will have more to tell next week as they stayed here until Thursday morning.

We are grateful for the experiences that we have had here in Nauvoo.  We know we are not here by chance but for a specific purpose; there are things that we need or needed to learn and to strengthen our testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel.  We pray we have done our part; we have learned much and have had special experiences that we could have not had in any other place.  We love each of you and thank you for your support and love.  We pray the Lord’s choicest blessings to be with you all now and forever.

Love,

Mom & Dad/Nana & Papa/Elder & Sister Shaw

Nauvoo Week 45 (17 - 23 October 20160

Nauvoo Week 45 (17 – 23 October 2016)

We had a great preparation day.  We went to lunch with the Hansen’s who are also Temple Missionaries.  We never shared a shift with them, and have said we would go somewhere together.  Since they are leaving this Wednesday we finally got together!  They are from St. George so hopefully when we take a trip there we might see them.  Our home evening was a visit to a ladies house which is in Warsaw.  Her name is Ulla Holmgren.  She was a sweet German lady who had been living in Salt Lake City for a while. 

She has three children and had decided that her daughter would probably be a good one to live by, as she becomes older and may need some help.  So on a visit to this daughter she decided to look for a house.  A realtor took her many places.  She said she did not want to live in Carthage, as that was the place they shot and killed our Prophet.  This was kind of crazy because the house she purchased was in Warsaw, where the majority of the mob that came to kill him came from Warsaw.  She said for some reason she did not realize that at the time.  She and one other man are LDS who live there.  The people who still live there are not very nice to Mormons.  The house was built in 1840 and was actually a feed store at the time.  She has done a wonderful job decorating it.  We got to take a tour through it.  She shared a little bit of her history which was very amazing.  Her daughter that she moved here for has since moved away defeating her purpose.  She is a delightful lady and hopefully through her good example she will change many opinions of those her are still holding on to a grudge against Mormon’s.

Thursday we had a meeting for all of the Temple Missionaries who will still be here after the two week cleaning break of the Temple.  We were given new schedules and we will be involved with training the new ones who come.  We have two new couples who came this past weekend, and will have ten more couples at the end of the break.  We will be leaving on December 12^th. 

We took a couple to dinner on Friday, the Swings.  Sister Swing has been helping us with family history.  She does some genealogy for money, but for most of the Temple Missionaries she offers her help for free.  She is amazing and she said that this is a way that she helps serve and receives extra blessings.  We sure appreciate all her help.

Our Saturday shift was a busy one.  We arrived at the Temple at 11:30.  That’s what time our shift coordinators arrive. 

Sister Hart was not going to be there so they asked me if I could substitute for her.  They have been training us for a couple of weeks.  Tom had a live sealing at 2:00 which he did.  They had called a coordinator meeting at 2:30, so brother Hart went to that, and we were both in charge.  I had 3 sisters who did not come that we were expecting!  So I had to shuffle things around to cover all of the posts.  We were fairly busy so it was a little challenging to keep the posts filled.  I had always been told that somehow it always works out, and I saw that first hand.  We left the Temple at 9:30.  It was a long day, but we were grateful for the opportunity.

We went to Mount Pleasant branch on Sunday.  This was the last day for the former branch president and his family to be there.  We will miss them all and hope that they will be able to adjust quickly to their new area.  They will be in Chicago.  We also had our Temple workers Devotional.  All Temple workers, both district and missionaries were invited.  It was held in the Assembly Hall in the Temple.  We have been in there one other time and that was for training.  They have to get permission from the Prophet to meet in this room, so we felt it quite an honor to be invited there again.  The devotional was so good.  There were three very touching musical numbers.  “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief,” “Oh How Lovely was the Morning,” a piano solo and “Jerusalem” sung by our Temple Recorder, Brother Marshall.  Brother McDonald, a temple missionary, sang the first song with the same music that John Taylor sang in the Carthage Jail.  The tune is just a little different in spots, and it was very beautiful.  The Presidency all talked, President and Sister McArthur, President and Sister Nelson, and President and Sister Hansen.  There talks were great and a little emotional as the McArthur’s and Hansen’s will no longer be in the Presidency.  We sang “The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning” at the end of the program, it was so touching to sing that in the Assembly Hall, you could feel the strength and the spirit of the former Saints. 

We have felt the spirit of the Saints on these grounds and in this holy Temple.  We have felt so blessed to be a part of such wonderful experiences here in Nauvoo.  Our testimonies of Joseph Smith and those who lived here in Nauvoo, has grown immensely.  We know you all felt that special spirit here as you visited.  We love you all dearly, and soon we will be with you again. 

Love,

Mom & Dad/Nana & Papa/Elder & Sister Shaw