Rendezvous

Ann in Relief Society Scene in Rendezvous

During the day, we conduct tours at the various sites where we are assigned in Nauvoo. Most evenings, so far, have been mostly spent attending the "Rendezvous" show which is put on by the senior missionaries or practicing for the show. We haven't been in a show yet but will start next week now that we have been assigned to a cast. We are also having practices for the senior missionary parts of the "Sunset by the Mississippi" show.

Ann - Grandmothers Apron song in Sunset

The Rendezvous show is put on every night of the year except Sunday evening plus Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. All senior missionaries participate. During the winter months, there are only enough missionaries for two casts. We now have three. The casts alternate days doing the show.

Ann in Relief Society scene in Rendezvous

The "Sunset by the Mississippi" show runs from May through September. Parts of that are performed by students who audition and come for the summer season. They also perform vignettes in and around some of the Nauvoo sites during the day.

The third show or performance that is put on in Nauvoo is the "Nauvoo Pagent." A senior missionary couple is called to be responsible for just that production. The performers for that production are selected from hundreds of college students who audtion for the chance to be on of the approximately 30 performers. 

Fred - "Willing" scene in Rendezvous

We are told that the students who come to perform are nearly worked to death. The Nauvoo Pagent only runs through the month of July.

Fred - in Rendezvous scene

Our First Grandchild Missionary

Kaylor Smith

This evening at nine o'clock our time, we got on skype with our daughter Carrie in Cedar City, Utah and her family to watch our grandson open his mission call. He is our first grandchild to receive a mission call. It was fun to see all the excitement and hear him read his letter. 

Kaylor received his mission call to the Tulsa Oklahoma Mission. That is great. Tulsa was part of the Central States Mission at the time I served my mission. I spent one summer in Tulsa as one of my mission assignments. My companion and I were assigned to the Tulsa Third Ward. The brother of J. Ruben Clark Jr. was severing in the bishopric at that time.

CONGRATULATIONS TO KAYLOR!

Ann Finds New Cousin Cedar City Aquaintances

Ann with cousin Welton Ward

You never know who you may meet or run into out here. While Ann and I were visiting some of our missionary sites here in Nauvoo, we saw a sister missionary who's name tag said "Sister Ward." I asked her where her home was. When she responded that she was from Malad, Idaho; I turned to Ann and said that I would bet that she is related her.

We went to the black smith shop where her husband was assigned at that time to talk to him.
Sure enough, they are related. His name is Welton Ward. Both he and Ann have  a common ancestor, George Welton Ward. His line goes through George Welton's son George and Ann's line through George Welton's son William.

Treassa Seamons and family

While I was assigned to the visitors center, I greeted a family that looked very familiar. I thought that the wife looked like our daughter Carrie's friend. I asked them if they had lived in Cedar City, Utah. When they said they had, I knew that it had to be Treassa Seamons and her family. They didn't recognize me until I told them that I was Carrie's father. They then remembered me.

They were on their way back home in Utah from visiting Tereasa's parents who are serving a mission in Kirkland, Ohio. 

Annual Prairie Fire

View from our apartment window

We had an interesting experience this evening. There is a plot of ground across the street from us that they let go in its natural state. The plot is about one acre.  It is prairie grass.

They let it grow all year. Then in the Spring, they set it on fire so that those interested can get a feel of what a prairie would be like and how fast it burns. Most of the missionaries as well as citizens of Nauvoo come to watch. 

Ground level view of the plot of prairie grass.

The whole thing burns up in two to three  minutes. I'm sure that it would be a frightening   experience for those on the prairie to be  caught in one.

Because of the drought they had this year, the grass wasn't as tall as it can get. It was about three feet high. They tell us the grass can get as tall as a man.

In the picture to the right, you can see the Buster home. It is the white building at the far left. Our apartment occupies the whole  upstairs. 

The flames get to about ten to twelve feet high.

As part of the event, Elder and Sister Taylor who are in charge of putting on the annual Nauvoo pagent, invited all the Nauvoo missionaries to their home for a hot dog barbecue with all the trimmings. 

Their home is the one seen across the prairie grass plot, looking from our window in the picture at the top.

Following the burning, we spent the rest of the evening in Rendezvous training and practice.

Family Living Center Assignment

Ann teaching about candle making

Today started early as does every Sunday with our three hour block meetings at 8:00 a.m. 

We then had our first solo assignments as site missionaries. On Sunday, site are open at 12:30 p.m. so we had to open up and get ready at noon. We were assigned to Family Living Center which has several activities which include spiritual messages. Each of us Elders were to be able to cover the areas of rope making, pottery, barrel making and rug weaving on a loom. Each of sisters were prepared to cover yarn spinning, ash bread making, candle making and rug weaving (a few different ways). 

Fred working on the rug loom

There were four new senior missionary couples assigned to the center. All the missionaries took groups around to each of the stations.

The sites closed at 5:00 p.m. We then had to hurry home to our apartment and get something to eat so that we could get to more meetings which started at 6:30 and ended at 8:00 p.m. Now we need to prepare for different site assignments for tomorrow.

First Week In Nauvoo

Our first week has been both interesting and busy. Sunday started off with three inches of snow and a temperature in the low twenties. It snowed off and on throughout most of the morning.

Sunday block meetings start at eight o'clock in the morning with Sacrament Meeting in the stake center which is located between the temple and the visitor center. That meeting is for the Nauvoo missionaries, temple missionaries and any visitors to Nauvoo. We then move to one of the two theaters in the visitor center for Sunday School. The brethren then move to the other theater for priesthood meeting while the sisters remain for their Relief Society meeting. We have to leave the chapel so that the two local wards that meet in the building can hold their meetings. The lesson manual for priesthood and Relief Society is "Teachings of the Presidents, Joseph Smith" instead of Lorenzo Snow. It was interesting to be in the meetings with only high priests and sisters in attendance. During the summer, visitors are so numerous that they would overwhelm the local wards.

President Gilliland asked that some time following the block meetings, we go through the Brigham Young home, which we did. We then drove to Carthage to go through the visitor center and Carthage jail where the prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum were martyred.

Each day this week started with training for all sixty six of us new missionaries in the mornings and afternoons with some afternoons being devoted to our visiting sites to become familiar with them and how to conduct tours. Training also included review of all the songs we need to have learned. Evenings we were attending the Rendezvous shows so that we could get familiar with them and how they are performed, since we will be doing them soon.

Thursday this week was our preparation. It was also the day that President and Sister Gilliland had us along with three other new missionary couples to their home for breakfast at 7:30 a.m. They are having all new missionaries in their home for breakfast and to get acquainted. Following the breakfast, we went to the temple for an endowment session. That was a great experience. We plan to do that each week on our preparation day.

Following our morning training on Friday and Saturday, we spent the afternoons dressed in our period clothing. We received some on site training and experience in giving tours.

Our Nauvoo Home

The apartment that has been assigned to us is the upstairs of the Buster home at 360 S Partridge Street (this is not our mailing address). It is very nice and has lots of storage space. It is located on what is called the "flat," close to and  within walking distance   of most of the historic visitor sites.

I'll try to give you an idea of what our apartment is like with the following views. They are sort of a scan of the rooms.

Living Room Kitchen 1

Living Room Kitchen 2

Living Room 4

Living Room 3

Photo #1 is what you see as you turn to the left at the top of the stairs when entering our apartment.  To the left of the refrigerator is a storage room. Then as you scan to the right your view would be of photo #2. 




Continuing to scan to the right and backing up is photo #3 and then #4. In photo #4 you see the entry into the living room at the top of the stairs.

Bedroom 5

Bedroom 6

At the top of the stairs turning right, you look into the bed room, photo #5. 

Photo #6 is taken from the right of #5 looking back toward the enterance and in front of a short hallway that leads past a walk-in closet, washer and dryer and into the bathroom.