"Book Ends"

April 27, 2013

One week in Nauvoo!  What a week!  We are settled in our small but comfortable apartment at 645 Partridge St., # 2 right on the “flats” where many of the Nauvoo tourist attractions are – close to the Visitors Center and just a few blocks from the Temple.  You may remember that the  Nauvoo Temple was paid for totally by contributions.  They had money left over and built the red brick buildings for apartments for couple missionaries.  They fit right in with the restored sites.  We are on a main floor.

We’ve been to Church at the Nauvoo Stake Center, grocery shopping in Keokuk, on a bus tour of Nauvoo with the tourism people, had our phone (217-980-1079) and internet connected (e-mail address is mapabevan@mediacombb.net , picked up our mail, found a hair dresser, a car wash, and a good bakery.

We are gradually getting acquainted with the couples who have come – 20 who were here all winter and about 30 who came the same time we did – a great reservoir of talented, capable,  experienced, good and humble folks.

We’ve had three days of intensive training in the temple with our lunches and dinners being catered at the Stake Center.  We’ve hardly cooked a real meal yet.  We finally are beginning to find our way around the Temple – five floors, lots of stairs, but, thankfully, two elevators.  There is without doubt a special spirit here – President Hinckley called it “Joseph’s Temple”, and we feel closer to him than ever before.  One of the highlights was an abridged reenactment of the dedicatory sessions with different Elders representing the Prophet and Apostles.  It was powerful!  Remember, President Hinckley said that this Temple faces west, and the Salt Lake Temple faces east.  He likened them to “book ends” holding all the great history in between.  We ended that session singing “The Spirit of God” … great feelings of the Spirit!

The Temple Presidency and their wives are all wonderful people.  Of course we knew President and Sister Condie, but it’s fun to see him in action with his sense of humor and storytelling skills.  The Rutowskis are natives of Wisconsin.  She grew up in the Church and introduced him to the gospel when he was 16.  They moved to Nauvoo about seven years ago and have served in the Presidency with two Presidents.  Jensens are from Logan – he is a former Seventy.  All are wonderful, warm, caring folks.

We’ve been reminded that this is a small temple in a large building – that we need to slow our pace, enjoy serving and be kind and loving to those who come here.  Monday morning the Temple reopens, and we are ready to go to work.

We enjoyed a lovely buffet dinner for the whole group at the Hotel Nauvoo last evening – a nice gift from the Temple Presidency at the end of our training.  Today we are doing laundry and  grocery shopping.  We plan to view a reenactment of the Civil War in Keokuk this afternoon, an annual event put on in a large park by the tourism folks in Keokuk.

Thursday evening we went out to wait for the gorgeous full moon to come up just behind the Temple.  John said our camera was not equal to the challenge, but it was a breathtaking sight.

Sunday after Sacrament meeting, we will meet on the Temple steps for a group photo and gather in the beautiful sacred Assembly Room for a final Testimony Meeting.

We are well and happy.  My knee is still a little tender, but I’ve been able to do what I need to.  Dad has been good to drop me off at the Temple and then drive to the new parking terrace where they’ve asked us to park.  There is no other place we would rather be right now than exactly where we are.  We are so looking forward to our reunion this summer so we can share all of this with our wonderful family!