March 2019

10 October 2015

Nauvoo, Illinois is our place of residence. The first week here we were in training for three straight days. The operation of this temple is complex since it is a destination site and has so many visitors.

We have seen people from all over the world come here since we have arrived. i.e Istanbul, Hawaii, Japan are just a few examples of folks visiting here. It is amazing who come. Just last week Chad Stanger from Idaho Falls was here visiting his sister and brother-in-law the Archibalds from Shelley, ID.

Dawn and I have bicycles left over from her cousins the Brinleys. We ride in the mornings of our preparation day. There are side roads without traffic. This place is isolated and very rural. The Sylvestors showed us routes we can ride along the historic trails of the pioneers.

Last week we visited a large dairy in Missouri. The Hartland Dairy has 9000 cows and milks half of them along with several thousand goats. The operation uses inmates from local jails to rehabilitate them back into society. Not so successful, with only less than 5% ever break the drug habit.

We also have had time to do Family History and spend time at the Family Search Center with research. Dawn had had success and provided many names for us to do the ordinances between our work schedule.

We have also had several dinners with those on our temple missionary staff. Last week we were at President McArthur’s home (he is the temple president and the missionary president). He is a wonderful guy and speaks Japanese, so when the tour came from Japan he was able to take them through the temple ordinances successfully.

Today we went to church in Galesburg, Ill. some 80 miles to the east. It is a nice drive through the farmlands of this beautiful state. However, we saw many dead animals along the roadway (35 skunks, raccoon or opossums). Be more careful as you cross the road.

The big event so far for us was our 10K run on Saturday the 10^th of October. It started in Hamilton (14miles away) and we ran down highway 26 for 3.1 miles then back to Hamilton. It was a very clear day but the temperature was mighty low and I was freezing before the run. Dawn and I stayed together and completed the entire distance in good time. She and I only stopped for Gatorade and water.

Our plans are to investigate the Indian mounds of the area. The entire heartlands are filled with evidence of people living here during the Nephite and Lamanite generations.

Chad Stanger showed up at our home this week, he as visiting his sister on her birthday, Sister Archibald from Shelley. They are serving as Temple missionaries. I had not seen Chad for 40 years. He and I were teaching school together at Ammon Jr. High in 1969.

Dawn and I golfed yesterday at the Deer Run golf course in Hamilton. It was a wonderful course of 18 holes. We did 9 holes since we had to get back for temple service. It was a beautiful fall day and the trees are turning red and yellow with warm sunny days. I hope the weather holds.

Today we rode our bikes to the Sycamore Creek Indian burial grounds. We saw several of the “Hopewell” type mounds found in this area. It is fascinating to me to think these ancient civilizations could have been the ancestors of the Lamenite and Nephite peoples.

We also worked as site missionaries this week, Dawn at the Lucy Mack Smith house and I was in the Brickyard. We tell tourists about the life here in Nauvoo in the 1800s. Wish we had more time to spend in that part of the mission.

We are going to Galesburg each Sunday to help out in the ward. There is a new HPGL (Bro. Dobson) and I am helping him reactivate the members of the High Priest group.

The six month temple missionaries will be going home in two weeks. The shift changes and we go back to winter hours. This is good since we will be loosing about 80 workers.

Next week there is a Halloween celebration here and it is big in Nauvoo. I might add we have had warm weather and a very nice rain yesterday the first since August. The cold has not arrived yet and we are still getting tomatoes off the vines.

The last Saturday of October we took a tour with Dr. Dunn (church historian) and traveled in his van during a heavy rain along the trail to Carthage where Joseph Smith was martyred. There is so much history in this area of the early church.

Next week is our last week before the shutdown for 2 weeks as they clean the temple. We will start on a new schedule when we return for the winter months.