Brrrrrrr!

 Brrrrrrr!

  January has been a very interesting month--truly a Midwest winter month for sure. I have never experienced such cold! LeRoy has had to purchase a whole new wardrobe to be able to work outside here, but so far it has worked just great. He looks like a brown snowman with all the layers he has to put on. The above thermometer shows -5, but the actual temperature with windchill factored in was about -25. That has not been unusual for several weeks now. It truly has been a roller coaster of temperatures each week. You have heard the old expression, "If you don't like the weather the way it is, just wait a few minutes and it will change." That has been the daily ritual of getting up and checking the weather by the hour so we would know what to expect as we work or serve. But all in all it has been great--the sky is always a beautiful blue in between storms, and I love that!

Isn't that an awesome photo of the eagle? Sure wish I could take credit for it, but it was another one of our missionaries with a telephoto lense. Maybe some day . . . . . The eagle have been fantastic to watch. They congregate in huge numbers downriver from Nauvoo near the dam near Keokuk, Iowa. The river is not frozen there, so they sit on the ice and then lazily fly up and dive for the plentiful fish below the dam. They will be moving north in about March, but for now they seem to thrive in the cold. The pelicans are starting to appear. I remember last year when we arrived the end of March, they were just starting to arrive in large numbers as the eagles moved out. I will really miss all the birds when we go home.


Winter has meant a great change for all the site missionaries here. The visitors are staying away, so time is spent in other pursuits: 
We enjoy partying--Here we don't need much of an excuse to get together. We have a group we love to play cards with, so we sneak that in at least once every two weeks. Then there is always someone having a birthday or a significant anniversary!

The Hufstetlers

Of course each Rendezvous cast loves to get together to eat and
maybe watch a video. Or there are those who like to teach us things: like how to bake the best cinnamon rolls or whole wheat bread, or the latest info on "preparedness". 

"Rendezvous" continues even in the winter--which means that some performances are done before the few hardy missionaries who have decided to brave the cold and ice. Or, if a family happens to come to Nauvoo, we descend on them like vultures and probably overwhelm them as we welcome them and want to know all about them.
The sites have now become places where we prepare all sorts of items needed for local or worldwide humanitarian aid--from newborn layette sets, adult bibs for nursing homes, lap robes, quilts of all sizes, hats for school children, warm scarves, or anything that someone needs. I have never seen so many talented sisters. I am returning home with many new skills and interests as a result.

Sisters Ririe and Sims

Sister Hansen

Sisters Hoen and Swapp

Sisters Stevens, Smith, Brockbank

Sister Gillespie

 One day I was working with some sisters in the Tin Shop where we were making "Boo-Boo Bears" for children who have had to be removed from their family for some reason. They are probably frightened, so we have made these little cuddly bears for them to be given when they are picked up. We were probably getting a little silly and bored with it all, so we discovered that when they were turned upside down and backwards, they made a cute bunny. So, this Boo-Boo Bear is also a Boo-Boo Bunny!

Bunny

Bear

 The two biggest projects occupying our time are the 80,000 gingerbread cookies needed for the summer crowds that come to the Scovil Bakery, and the thousands of puppets that are given to the children who participate in a puppet show which takes place before the nightly Pageant production. These two projects alone take every sister's effort!

Sisters Fuellenbach, Bowen

 One ripple in the Nauvoo waters is the fact that we now have no Mission President!! The Gillilands left us three weeks ago--it was time for them to go. But their replacement, Richard Hunter and his wife, have been delayed because of his health. So, the previous two missionary counselors are the acting mission presidency. At first, we were a little concerned, but after all, we are mature adults and can go on functioning just like we are supposed to, and all is well. President Hunter has a back condition that became acute and he is at home in Salt Lake City receiving therapy with plans to join us soon.

Russell and Karen Gilliland

LeRoy and I have been given a part to play in "Rendezvous". We have known all along that it might eventually come, but hoped we might escape under the radar. Well, we are now playing the parts of Peter and Abigail. Abigail is a widow who knows Peter and is trying hard to get him to ask her to marry him. The sticking point is the Book of Mormon, which she thinks is "a pain in the neck". Eventually, Peter creates a way for her to read it, and she is convinced that it is truly a witness of Jesus Christ, just like the Bible is. As a result, she agrees to go west with Peter as he leaves Nauvoo with all the Saints because of the threatenings of the anti-Mormon mobs. Our first performance is next week. Yikes!! It seems like all we do nowadays when we are home is practice, practice, practice!!

Winter time for LeRoy and I is still very busy. He does do a lot of outdoor work weather permitting--either pruning, tree removal, repair of machinery, or snow removal. This is his cute little "Tonka-like" snow remover. Isn't he cute in it? I am busy three days a week working in the greenhouse with another sister. We water and help take cuttings of the thousands of coleus, begonias, and scented geraniums which will grow to fill our hundreds of flower beds and pots in the summer. The other two days I work in the various sites and I love both of these assignments!

 On Saturday, we were able to take a sleigh ride in the fresh, new snow. It was beautiful. The horses, Mike and Ned, who pull our summer carriage, took us on a fantastic back country ride. It was so quiet, except for the bells on their harness. They began to really sweat from the effort, and the steam rose from their bodies. What a wonderful way to spend the morning!

We are expecting more snow this week. We know a lot of you are wishing for snow--wish we could share. I know, you could make a trip out here to see it!!

Our mission is going full-steam ahead--we can't believe how quickly the time is going. Our new home in Virgin, Utah, is being built as we write this. Construction began on January 14th. I have a picture, but it only shows a snow-covered lot. Virgin received a dusting after they had laid the forms for the footings. When there is more to see, we will include pictures in future blogs.

We love you all!!