Week #11, 18 - 25 February 2017

 We stayed after church on Sunday for their potluck.  I took deviled eggs and Sister McBride took rolls and brownies.  There was lots of food and everyone enjoyed the selection and being together.  It was nice to meet more members of the branch and get to know them and their families.

Monday, we went with a group of missionaries to Brother & Sister Tukuafu's home for family night.  They met at BYU-Hawaii going to school and married.  He is Tongan and she is American.  They have had quite the life with 14 children and living in many places in the world.  She has a deep love for music and makes various musical instruments.  Plus, their round house is unusual sitting along the banks of the Mississippi River.  It is constructed out of logs from a 1770 cabin out of Pennsylvania

and the interior is unusual in design.  They planned how they wanted it built and her contractor friend took on the job.

We toured the home, and they played the different instruments and sang for us.  She loves wood working and makes everything wood.  It was a most enjoyable evening.

Irene & Tomasi Tukuuafu, Nauvoo, IL.  (The u's are all long and the a is short.)  They have been married 63 years and have 59 grandchildren.

 2639 North Sycamore Haven Drive and their view of the Mississippi River.

 It is a compass in the center of the floor and points true north.

Enjoying the setting and waiting for the program to begin.  Us and Sister & Elder Fetzer.

 The unique ceiling with a skylight in the middle.

 The staircase leading up to the loft.  It is used for a bedroom but doesn't have a closet so guests won't have a place to put their clothes and think they can stay for a long time!

 Two views down from the loft.

 Sister Peterson, Elder & Sister Emang, Dad and the Fetzer's

 Elder & Sister Vinton and Sister & Elder Adams.

Elder & Sister Sorensen, Elder & Sister Peterson, Elder & Sister Emang.

 Playing one of the harps she has made.

 The dulcimer.

 She made this banjo.

 The psaltry and the bass recorder.

 The psaltry is lying on the table in front.

 It may be hard to tell, but this is a little wooden guy that jumps around to rhythm as the board under his feet is tapped to rhythm .

 A Tennessee Music Box.

In the loft and Dad is sitting in the rocking chair she rocked all 14 of her babies in.

She took us to her workshop and showed us the Tennessee Flat Top Box she was making.  It reminded me of the song Johnny Cash sings about the little boy who played "the Tennessee Flat Top Box, and he could play. . . . ."

Standing in her kitchen around the wood table she made:  Sister Fetzer, Sister Emang, Irene, me, Sister Adams, and Sister Sorenson.

To see a video of the house just after it was completed and learn more about their story, visit her blog,  irenetukuafu.blogspot.com.

Several of the missionaries said a must see is the Dutchman's Store in Cantril, IA.  On Wednesday after my light therapy in Burlington, we headed to Cantril to check it out.  We had a turn in the weather the first of the week with high temps, lots of sunshine, and minimal wind.  It was a wonderful drive through farm country with the warm sunshine providing comfort.

 The store is quite the place.  It is owned and run by Mennonites and has just about everything you would need from groceries, to pet and animal feed, to  whole section devoted to fabric and all things sewing, to some clothing, toys, and house wares of all kinds.  We were there a good length of time but was in no way able to see all that was there.  Lots of the products inside were homemade by them and we seemed to walk away with a bag or two of stuff.

 It was lunchtime when we headed home and stoped at a cafe in one of the little towns for a sandwich.  The waitress was the cook as well.

 It was neat to see all the farms with barns and silos.  I took an interest in this one.

Dad took advantage of the good weather and went for a walk with the camera in tow.  Great pictures came back with him.

 The Heber C Kimball home and our apartment building.  We are on the top floor.

Great pictures of the temple.  The flag is our wind sock.  Most of the time is is furled straight out with the brisk breeze.

Our week in the temple went well as we served the patrons.  We had a small family come in the baptistry during our shift as coordinators.  It was a good opportunity to work the process.  We were also trained as bride and groom guides for a couple who were sealed on Saturday.  They were older and previously endowed but we treated them as special as if they were young and getting married for the first time.  A faithful home teacher and friends from their branch joined them.  They had come to the temple open house in 2002 and felt the spirit, took the discussions, and were baptized.  They have been faithful in church attendance and she received her endowment about seven years ago.  He was struggling with a word of wisdom problem and finally got over it and was endowed two weeks ago.  This was a glorious day for them and they were both so excited and beamed with joy.  We were happy to share it with them in a small way.

Temple Fact:  The fifth floor, just under the bell tower,  has two sealing rooms, one large and one small.  Between them and behind french doors are the steps that lead to the bell tower.  From the baptistry to the fifth floor are 120 steps up the spiral staircase and looking down to the bottom is quite a sight.  The original temple had a spiral staircase in the northwest corner as well as the southwest corner.  The temple today has only one spiral staircase in the southwest corner.  

  President Hinckley had asked the nearby Shaker community (Mennonites) to do the woodwork for the temple including the very nice hardwood railings.  The shakers and Mennonites are famous for their craftsmanship.  The Shaker congregation was invited to tour the completed temple before its dedication.

 We use these stairs and railings each day we work in the temple.  What an awesome experience.

Week #10, 12 - 18 February 2017

The news of this week was amazing weather!  Temperatures were in the 40's, 50's, 60's, and even in the low 70's one day.  And, we had sunshine all day long for several days.  What a change it was and everyone's spirits seemed to be lighter.  We have had lots of wind and the locals say:  "The wind starts blowing in March!"  I guess it will be hard and furious then.

We had a good Sunday and trip back and forth with the McBride's.  We enjoy our time with them and sharing experiences and family happenings.

Family Home Evening was square dancing in the Cultural Hall on the original floor the early Nauvoo saints danced on.  Brother Adams, one of the missionaries, is a professional square dance caller and he took charge and we had a great time.  You would have thought we were a bunch of kindergarten children with not remembering left from right!

The Cultural Hall was originally built as the Masonic Hall as many of the early members of the church were masons.  The third story had been badly damaged and was taken off by some people who had used the building for a home.  When the church purchased the building in the 1960's and began the restoration process, they discovered a treasure just beneath the roof.  The ORIGINAL floor for the third story.  This story was used for banquets and parties and dances.  We could only imagine Joseph & Emma, Brigham & Mary Ann, Hyrum & Jerusha,  Heber C. & Vilate,  and all the other wonderful people dancing and laughing during happier times here in Nauvoo.

 President Smith decided to sit on the other side of the room for the instructions.

 We were trying to listen and be ready to dance.

We broke up into about six sets of four to begin.  Elder Adams gave instruction and walked us through a few moves and turns to get used to the calls he would make.  Away we went, having a great time and our square did well with going the right direction.  We danced awhile and then Elder Adams said to take a short break and then get back into squares with different people.

What a fun time that was.  Elder Fetzer was a hoot as anytime his wife wasn't hanging on to him he was off into the neighboring square just a smiling and have a great time.  We would round him up back with us and away we went.  We laughed and laughed and were worn out by the time we stopped  chasing after him.

We had another break and then into different squares again.  Everyone had a fun time and so happy we were able to dance.  We walked to the Family Living Center afterward for refreshments which centered around Valentines Day.  It was all a great activity.

 Elder Emang, Sister & Elder Cole (from Peoria, AZ).

 Sister & Elder Adams (from Snowflake, AZ).

During the week we made our three trips to Burlington for light therapy and shopping.  We seem to figure out something to buy each time we go.  We also worked on the scanning project at Brother Shurts' and I went to my family search class at Sister Swing's. 

Our time in the temple was great.  We had various assignments and duties throughout our shifts and were trained Thursday evening to be baptistry coordinators every Thursday evening.  We did not have any patrons, so hopefully when they do come, we will remember what to do.  Elder and Sister Thompson (from Mesa, AZ) were our trainers as we are replacing them.  They will be going home in April.

 Bald eagles are in plenty supply along the river and Dad managed to get a few photos of them.

Not sure what these water fowl are.  There must have been thousands of birds on the way to Keokuk on Saturday.

The Despain's and us are in charge of family home evening on the 27th, so we spent time throughout the week following up on plans, creating a flyer to pass out, and getting supplies together.  It should be a great activity.

We celebrated Valentines Day and sang happy birthday to Nelson and Caleb.  It is always great to speak with family and share in their day.  Nelson shared his news of being part of the Tucson Temple open house committee.  Caleb was excited to be 5.  He is looking forward to going to school in the fall.

Lorili, Gabe, Henry, Caleb, Eliza

One of the days we were at Wal-Mart, I happened to see Hawkeye shirts and just simply could not resist getting some for the Thorson children.  Since they are such great hawked fans, they should at least have shirts to go with the attitude.  They make quite the Spirit Line!

Temple Fact:  Did you ever think about the early saints needing a recommend to enter the temple?  I am not sure I have, read this:  "The command of heaven is to you, to all, gather; and when you arrive here, if it is found that you have previously sent up of your gold or your silver, or your substance, the tithings and consecrations which are required of you, for this building, you will find your names, tithings, and consecrations written in the Book of the Law of the Lord, to be kept in the Temple, as a witness in your favor, showing that you are a proprietor in that building, and are entitled to your share of the privleges thereunto belonging."

". . .the Prophet Joseph instructed the brethren in charge, to the effect that none should be allowed to participate in the privileges of the House of God excepting those who shall produce a certificate from the General Church Recorder, certifying to the fact that they had paid up their tithing.   The practice of issuing these certificates - the predecessors to modern Mormon temple recommends - continued from the winter of 1841-1842 and after Joseph's death in 1844."  (A House For The Most High by Matthew McBride, pp. 85-86)

Week #9, 5 - 11 February 2017

Sunday began the week with our regular drive to Washington Iowa Branch.  Meetings were good and Primary was fun as usual.  We are getting to know the members and enjoying the families and all the busyness they bring.

We went to "Break the Fast" at President and Sister Smith's home.  It overlooks the Mississippi River and has a commanding view.

We enjoyed a delicious meal of Cafe Rio Pork, black beans, rice, and all the trimmings.  It was supplemented with a luscious fruit  salad and a pudding delight for dessert.  We had a great time enjoying the food, visiting, and taking pictures.

Back:  Sister Udall (from Arizona), President & Sister Smith, Bob.

Front:  Barbara, Sister & Elder Mabey, and Sister Burgoyne.

 Sunset on the Mississippi.

The week in the temple went well with more patrons coming on Saturday.  It is always good to be busy.  We were given various assignments and I was in the baptistry for the first time.  We were both there together a couple of times as well.  We have been told we will be trained there next Thursday evening and then will be there every Thursday for awhile to really get used to working there.

We attended a fireside Sunday evening and when we got home, the outside door to our building would not open.  The latch has been broken for a couple of weeks and we filed a work order with "urgent" on it to have it repaired.  We just didn't pull it all the way shut but when we left out for the fireside, I pulled it shut as I went out, not thinking.  I went over to the Adams' to wait while Dad called the engineer to come fix it.  He came over and slipped in his credit card and it opened right up. Guess what?  Monday a new latch was put in!

The weather got freezy cold Tuesday night and Wednesday, in the teens.  The snow started falling about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday and continued throughout the day.  We made a trip to Burlington in it and got back safe and then were off to Brother Shurts.  He is a local resident and is doing a scanning project for a local historian.  There are over 40 boxes of files and we volunteered to help.  He has two computers and scanners set up in his home and he trained us on the use of them.  We were there an hour and each scanned a folder full.

 8 a.m.

 10:30 a.m., coming home from Burlington

 Noon, from our drive way across the street.

This may be a bit unbelievable, but when we went to the temple at 5 p.m., on Wednesday, the sky had cleared and the sun was bright!  Snow was still on the ground, though.

Thursday brought warmer temps, in the 30's and 40's.  We thought it was warm!  Guess we have been here long enough to appreciate when it is not freezing!  We didn't wear our overcoats.  Friday was cloudy and sunny and then Saturday was sunny and bright.

We went to dinner in Fort Madison with the Adams'.  We ate at Chuong Garden and enjoyed delicious dishes served up rather quickly.