I feel my savior's love

Monday:  biked 6.74 miles.  temple workers potluck dinner and program at the Pageant Center. Very melancholy for all we e built here in comradely, in testimony, in love.  It feels as though we hate to leave this place and people.  We mopped and vacuumed floors. 

Tuesday:  we walked3/4 mile. It is cold here now. Temple service starts in the dark at 6:00 am.  Eating leftovers, preparing to leave. 

Wednesday:  7:05 am preprep meeting. (Clothing, register). Biked 7.95 miles after morning temple shift. Dave and Ruth Thompson came and we went to do 4:30proxy endowments.  Drostys, our baptism leaders on Thursdays did our baptisms so we have more work ready to do. 

Thursday:  we did our regular morning shift ; came home to bike 8.02 miles; went back to the temple to do proxy initiatories (3) then a proxy endowment at 3:30.  Cleaned more of the refrigerator. 

Friday:  ate leftover pancakes and applesauce; based up at Keokuk while I had my nails fixed up. Went to the afternoon shift early as Seventies and mission presidents were having 2 sessions. There have been so many tender mercies:  a couple came through from Mesa to get clothing, they are serving in Colorado? As mission leaders. Anyway, they are neighbors of Michelle and Dennis Porter. Next time they saw me in the temple, we discovered she was our President Walkers sister.  (Rob Walker andJoni from 10th ward and our mission president in Hawaii) 

Three ladies came for clothing and they were from Idaho— I said Where?  TwinFalls, Jerome, and Boise!  Jerome lady knew Sarah and Tim.  Tim had taught several of her children in seminary, Parsons was her name and of course, they love the family.  I felt the Lords love all around me.  

Saturday:  finished recleaning bathroom, mirrors, refrigerator, washer and dryer, sinks, mirror…. Biked 8+ miles, loaded up the bike on the pack rack. I Our afternoon temple assignment was at the Arrival Center.  We were busy until 6:00 pm.  

Sunday:  attended 9:00 am church, third ward, and finished touches and bedding packing,, key fob and checkout papers drop off. Stayed the night in Dayton, Ohio, where Aunt Lil and her parents lived..  on the way we went through Indianapolis, Indiana ( Aunt Ranae and Uncle Lance lived in Indiana when Ray and I got married). We passed the raceway and that looked pretty cool.  

Very tender week. Our last of everything.  It has been a taste of Zion living.  We’re so happy to have had this experience. Love to each of you. Carry on,carry on, carry on!

October 7-13

Monday:  biked 9.25 miles; walked .67 miles. More cleaning in preparation for exiting the apartment— my dresser drawers, bathroom, finish top kitchen cupboards, cupboards on both sides of oven and get car ready to pack 

Tuesday:  temple shift 6:15. Came home to bike ride and chain was off, discovered 2 bolts were missing. Drove to Burlington to the bike store, an hour away then back to Nauvoo.  Ray fixed the bike and rode 8.4 miles, getting dark. 

Wednesday:  7:00 am shift, much nicer. After shift, we rode 8.92 miles, showered and back to the temple to participate with Janet Schultz family group sealing of her Biddle family, then we did a proxy endowment session.

Thursday:  7:00 am shift and we were assigned the leaders of the endowment session—that means, we sit at the front sides, open the doors as we go from room to room,I closed the doors behind the group attending and Ray moves the chairs out of the way in the last room😇. After our shift, we biked 5 1/2 miles—I’ve injured my right foot, the one I jump on the pedal with; it’s bruised and swollen. We went back to the temple for a 4:30 proxy endowment

Friday:  6.31 miles biking but the pain in my inner foot has cut our mileage short. I am using the ball of my foot to power with which Rays says I should have been using all the time.  We had our regular afternoon shift with a late Friday 9:00 pm veil. My schedule only went to 7:30 so I got a ride home with Pam Lewis. I’m tired. 

Saturday:  biked 6.5 miles with my foot wrapped; it’s healing. Served our shift until 5:30 in the Arrival Center because they knew by reservations the temple was going to be busy all day everywhere. It was busy in the Arrival center with recommends that were forgotten, out of date, etc.  plus lots of youth, Cedar Rapids stake youth and families to be carded with pink or blue slips and family names to be printed.  The whole day was slammed. 

Sunday:  fast Sunday. We watchedBYUtv devotional, music and the spoken word; our ward doesn’t start until 12 noon.  Walked 3/4 mile, keeping my foot wrapped.  Shortly after church, we were blessed to be part of an annual special missionary worker devotional in the Assembly Hall.  This is this presidencies last one as this year ends their 3 year assignment. Each of the presidency and matrons spoke. It was tender. In between couples was a musical, sister Larsen on piano, sister little on flute and sister Palmer on viola playing “Come thou fount of every blessing” and the second number was President Church’s daughters singing “Window to His Love”. It was beautiful. And the Church’s remarks have been their theme:  “ I could quote the prophets and apostles but my message is Love. It feels good and this is what the Lord wants His children to experience “.   We had a group temple missionaries in our picture taken in front of the temple and then had dinner with our housemates, Whittiers, who made chicken fajitas that were delicious. I took their favorite—pico with chips. He tested it by the bowl before everyone else came😁👍. Then we left to get the family call. It’s like fresh beating blood to our hearts to see our family!  Thanks for being on and for the message on family, thanks Nathan. We love you all. The gospel is true; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is restored with apostles and prophets in these days. We have been urged by our prophet to study the conference talks, read the Book of Mormon, attend church, be intentional in attending the temple, keep our eyes on covenants and prepare for the second coming.  This is our day to Love the Lord, keep His commandments, and strengthen and lift each other. Carry on, carry on, carry on!

Week of September 30-October 6

 Monday:  biked 9.92 miles, cleaned the bottom drawers of the fridge, packed 3 boxes and cleaned the inside of cupboards and drawers. We had a fireside that night at the Arrival Center with Kimberlee Jo Smith, the great-great granddaughter of Joseph and Emma Smith.  She told how she didn’t know anything about those grandparents; it wasn’t talked about. And when she was 20+, she went to an Osmond Show, against the counsel of her father. He had told her to stay away from them, they were Mormons. But she had a desire to meet them.  After the show, Merrill Osmond came out and she talked to him.  He had had a dream about Joseph Smiths posterity and Merrill was to be instrumental in saving his family.  

She didn’t want to tell him her name but decided Jo and Smith were common names so she told him.  He told her he had to talk to her.   I think he had her meet his mother and family and it went from there.  Merrill baptized her.  I may not have everything exact but the baptizer was right.  The Spirit was so great, I didn’t want to leave.

Tuesday:  we had to be at the temple at 5:45. Todays meeting was quite emotional.  The Grant’s are sad to have the temple missionaries leave and President and Sister Osterly were emotional also as this is the beginning of their last year in the presidency.  They are really wonderfully loving, personable people. 

Biked 8.81 miles after our temple shift.

Wednesday:  7 am morning shift. During our shift we were blessed to have an ordinance worker sealing hour and we had 4 of our ancestors sealed and 2 daughters sealed to parents.  Biked 8.9 miles and went back to the temple at 5 pm to do a proxy endowment session for our family members. 

Thursday:  same schedule morning shift, came home and biked 8.97 miles in 51 minutes and went back to the temple for another proxy endowment session for our family.  We went to the Red Front to get fries but they didn’t have fries so we got tater tots with cheese and bacon. They were good.  Blockers came in and ate with us and bought Ray a sandwich that Brother Blocker really likes. 

Friday:  shopped in Keokuk for a few fresh items, gassed the car, and biked 8.93 miles before our late temple shift.  

Saturday: we had a brunch at our apartment before our 11:00 conference live on BYUTV. Favero, Evans, Schultz and Blockers came.  We had 5 cup salad, bacon, applesauce pancakes, hummus, pretzels, plus fresh fruit and cinnamon rolls!

Since it was Saturday, we rode 9.15 miles, walked 1/2 mile and washed windows, doors, and purchased ribs for tomorrow.

Sunday:  enjoyed the general conference. After we walked around 1/2 mile. My knee is progressing.  And we drove around Nauvoo with a little melancholy to leave. We’ve loved the temple, the other missionaries and this beautiful place.  We will miss this wonderful experience. Missions are full with So many wonderful experiences!

Interview, Inspirations, Family

 Monday 9/23/24. Biked 9+ miles. Deep Cleaned the stove and oven and inside garbage cans.  Got a haircut at 2:00 at Tangles —not a great cut this time but I won’t need another one. 

Tuesday:  6:05 am preprep to be EWS, EWB 7 am session (endowment sister, endowment brother). At 9:45 we had our exit interview with President and Sister Church. Six months goes quickly.  Though I’ll have to say that we really miss our family. Biked 9.13 miles

Wednesday:  6:50 am temple. My first position was the celestial room. While I was there, Brother Larson came in and asked if I had the family I wanted sealed with me.  Yes, I did.  I had asked him a month ago if he would seal them. He had sealed the last family I had that was twin boys and three brothers. He doesn’t know when he will be scheduled as a sealer but he kept thinking of me. Rest of story, he got me and two young missionary sisters out of the celestial room, arranged for Jane, President church’s wife to take my place and we went into the sealing room.  He sealed Karen Reigstadt to her parents, then her husband Purvis as husband and wife then all the children were around the altar (4 daughters and 1 son) and sealed as a family:  so maternal grandparents, husband and wide and all the children sealed this morning for time and all eternity.  It was an amazing experience. All participants thanked me for letting them be a part of this sealing.  We all felt their presence and happiness at receiving these blessings.  So many miracles happened before this.  I had a thought in the morning as I came to the temple “to take my packet up to the sealing area but I got my schedule and no sealing opportunity was going to happen for me so I passed off the thought. (Your first thought is the Spirit.  The second is trying to doubt.). We’ll, I didn’t have time to get my packet but as I stepped out of the sealing room, Sister Larson was there and let me use her packet right there so in a way she was part of this experience also. I went back in and we were ready to go to work.  Miracle one:  last week in initiatory a patron came in with the name—Hazel Irene, grandma ROBINSONS name and I started crying and could feel her presence. All in the compartment could feel it. After I regain composure, I followed through with the endowment.   This family that the sealing was for this week was her family from Norway. I know she was helping get this all together. It was all an amazing experience!  

At 2 pm we were off shift and we stayed and ate in the break room and attended an endowment session.  When we arrived home, we rode the bike 8.89 miles. 

Thursday:  regular temple shift, then lunch in the break room, then a proxy endowment session, home at 4:00. Biked 8.97 miles

Friday:  biked 9.04 miles, pretty cool and crispy at 7:30 am. Went early to do a proxy endowment at 11:15 before our regular late shift, ate lunch after or before our shift. Finished at 7 pm. 

Saturday:  biked 9.89 miles. Listened to BYU football game BYU/Baylor until first quarter was over; it was time for our shift. After shift at 5:00 Brother Weed took Rays place in the celestial room so we could go to Keokuk and get chicken, bacon, ranch thin pizza at Angelina’s and then go to Weeds house as they had recorded the game.  We ate and watched the last half of the game. BYU won but it was a bad half played. 5wins!  We’ll take it. Side message— on our way back from Keokuk we were delayed 45 minutes—an accident, motorcycle. The helicopter picked up the body.  We don’t know how he was but the motorcycle was in pieces.  It was very sad.  No other vehicle seemed to be involved.

Sunday:  we watched BYUTV—music and the spoken word, devotional etc.  our church time was changed to 12:00-2:00 now. It was the 5th Sunday. The meetings were great, you know the kind you just want to sit there and enjoy the Spirit.  At 6 pm we went to the Visitors Center East Theater that was opened for us to listen to a presentation by Sister Kristi Peterson about Emma Smith. It was the temple missionaries that attended, good crowd. We didn’t learn anything new but it was tender.    We love you!  Mom Grandma (Ray). Carry on, carry on, carry on!

Wonderfully lifted by the Spirit in the temple this week

I hesitate to put this title but it has been a week of feeling so personally cared for by tender mercies 

Monday, September 16:  the bike rides are so enjoyable around Nauvoo, the weather is always perfect for me, the bike is quiet and just being with my eternal companion is comfortable. We rode 9.12 miles. After I packed one box for home; Ray wiped down the outside of the kitchen cupboards in preparation for check out. And I made my last 2024 fresh pico de gallo from those residents who have gardens, mostly Sister Carroll and Sister McLane. We went to Montgomery as Ray had been wanting to go there. It is the first night camp out for the early saints as they were exiting for the west—a direction, not a destination—not knowing where they were going. It was a lovely ride but not much in recognition there—a small road sign that said Mormon trail and there was before the sign an old wooden covered area.  At 5:00 we were invited to Sister Tau fu Lou’s round home by the river with some other couples, six couples and Sister Mills.  We met and drove in 3 cars so there was room to park. This was amazing.  She makes musical instruments—harps, banjos, guitars, ukuleles, lyres, mandolins, sitars, dulcimers, ….she married a Tongan man who has since passed on and she is actually a haoli but she laughs and is fun like the islanders.  Her husband taught at the Church College of Hawaii.  I wish I could remember everything she showed us, everything she said…she needs to be on BYUtv Artful. She had made homemade bread for us in cans.  She sews out of a dreamworld.  Her children went to Kahuuku so we connected on that.  I can’t say enough about the rewarding experience of this night.  She’s a convert to the church.

Tuesday:  our usual early morning arrival, 6 am, I was scheduled in clothing register and guess who shows up—Ryan Barton and a cute girl that looks like his sister, Sarah. It was so much fun, just not long enough but the girl did introduce herself as Ryan’s girlfriend.  For those who don’t know, Ryan and Andrew are a week apart in age and our families have been friends since Preston. 

We rode our bike after our shift 8.36 miles and purchased some turtle chocolate from the Fudge Factory.  One was enough to satisfy my sweet craving and also enough to make me wheeze;  I haven’t had much in the way of treats.  

Wednesday:  7 am temple, that one hour makes a big difference. In the celestial room where I was assigned a family of siblings and the mom came in from Preston. I don’t remember the last name but one of the daughters was married to a Peterborg and she had worked for Dr. Larry at one time.  That was a fun connection. After our shift, we ate a lunch I had prepared for us in the break room and then we did an endowment session. I have a family of siblings, parents, and grandparents that I have been working on from baptism all the way through so I’m getting excited to finish all the endowments so I can get them all sealed as a family; they are from England, third cousins twice removed.  After our session, we rode our bike 7 plus miles, we turned off the counter when we stopped to watch the performing missionaries perform “Sunset by the Mississippi”, a fast paced singing and dancing and instrumental show.  We met the Larsons from Lindon, fun couple, they wanted to know about serving a senior couple mission.  They were lucky it was getting dark and we were on our bike without lights so we couldn’t say all we wanted to say.

Thursday:  ray had to be at the temple at 6:45 am. Stayed for lunch in break room again so we could do endowments, as I am working on two families.  We were able to get the baptisms and confirmations done on the last two siblings and miraculously were able to get the anointing done and two more endowments, 4 more to go in this family, also 3rd cousins. Goal:  to seal both families next week.  

Friday:  we had afternoon shift so we rode the bike in the morning 8.76 miles. My knee has been pretty rough since last Tuesday, the 10th as I was assigned the baptistry for the entire shift with one other sister, who didn’t come because she was sick (everyone has been sick except us). So I was the only female in baptistry to do the clothing, go up and down the font steps 3 different times, squeegee the floors, pull the wet suits, towels, rugs into the laundry. So…yes, I requested not to be in the baptistry at all. So far so good.   It it has been a big set back.

  Ruth and Dave Thompson came to see us since they are going on a cruise and won’t be back until we are gone, such dear friends.  We had afternoon shift.   Ray was in the dressing room position and I was at clothing, so we got to see them right off and they completed two of our endowments because they left without their names and offered to do some of ours👍🥰. I had dinner ready to put in the oven so they went to our apartment and had dinner ready for us when we got home at 7:30 pm. 

Saturday:  bike ride 8.81 miles. Made a big breakfast for Thompson—10 scrambled eggs with cheese, a package of sausages, homemade crumpets with lemon curd and juice.  It was all ready and I called and Dave was sick.  So we have lunches ready for next week😭. Temple was wonderful again.  During our shift, I got to do a personal endowment session besides Ray and I were the endowment session leaders.  A brother asked me to help his wife during the session and we also had another sister with a walker.  It was a wonderful session, so much appreciation was felt. A sister came up to me behind the recommend desk and gave me the biggest hug and said, “I have never been in such a warm, loving place and so personal.  Please tell everyone what a wonderful experience I had!”  

We got home at 5:00 and found a sack of green apples hanging on our door. Ate    and waited for the BYU/Kansas St game at 8:30. I listened on my phone and you can imagine, I was too tired and fell asleep!  Woke up in third quarter and then Ray and I sat in the chairs and listened then watched highlights on BYU tv after.  Wow!  Four wins!  

Sunday:  first day of autumn, it rained in the night. Church was a delight. Made an apple crisp for coming back to eat.  Then we went to “Our Saviors Love” performance in the visitors center at 2:00.  We always come from that feeling so reverent and warm, loved and recharged to become more than we are.  I hope you are all feeling the Savior’s love and ours.  

September 9-15

Monday:  we so enjoyed the family call yesterday!  Biked 8.85 miles. Went on the wagon ride of Historic Nauvoo. Whittiers brought us butterscotch Rice Krispie treats. I made pan corn bread with honey butter as my assignment for the missionary temple couples and office workers and site missionaries and teamster missionaries bbq at Camp Nauvoo prior to President Nelson’s birthday broadcast at 5:00 pm, our time. One of the couples bought steak and salmon and also cooked it with some other couples who helped. It was a delicious meal; my steak was perfect.  So generous and thoughtful of the Evans missionary couple..

Tuesday:  8.79 miles biked, our temple assignment was the whole shift in the baptistry.  Two couples were assigned there but the other sister didn’t come as she was sick—Covid has really passed around including the temple presidency and their wives; the presidency have taken turns sitting all day in their office as per their assignment so they didn’t spread germs,but a member of the presidency has to be in the temple whenever ordinances are performed. Pretty miserable week for the presidency. And I was the only sister in baptistry so that meant going up and down font stairs 3x, squeegeeing the female dressing room floors every hour, rolling wet suits and towels and rugs every hour and handing out clean clothes and this was our extended day as all Tuesdays are. Needless to say I’ve been freezing my knee, heating my knee, and trying to recover all week.  It will probably take another week to fully recover.😩. Waawaa. When I was assigned again on Saturday for the whole day, I was traded with someone🤪. 

Wednesday:  we led the endowment session this morning and then other shift positions. After our shift, we ate in the break room and then went on a proxy endowment at 2:00. After we arrived at our apartment around 4:00 pm, we biked 8.81 miles. The weather is perfect and so enjoyable.

Thursday:  we served our shift assignments, ate lunch in the break room and served a 2:00 session for our ancestors again.  After we biked 8.9 miles

Friday:  morning we biked 9 miles, showered and went to an early endowment session for our ancestors, ate lunch again in the break room and went to our start meeting at 1:00 pm ;shift ends tonight around 8:30 or 9:00. We were worn out. 

Saturday:  biked  8.81 miles 46 minutes. Night shift but only until 7:00 tonight.  I was through at 5:00 but Ray wasn’t through until 7:30.  Came home and listened to the BYU/Wyoming football game W👏🏻

Sunday:  we taught our last class for newer adult members. Jodi came and Brother Phillips came plus Sister Squires.  Sacrament meeting was after.  Then we went home and ate homemade sourdough pizza. Watched Music and the spoken word, the Chosen and started checking for emails from the five missionaries out serving..  Talked with Charity, Andrew, and Sarah 🥰. 

Love being a missionary and joining the force with our grandchildren. “Carry on”

Breakup parties

Monday September 2:  biked 8.77 miles. Our baptistry group that we have served with most of our time here under Elder and Sister Cornish on Saturday afternoons is breaking up because of slow downs that occur this time of the year.  So we enjoyed a potluck dinner with meat purchased from the new bbq restaurant in Nauvoo.  I made cheesy garlic potatoes. And Cornishes set up the Arrival Center with tables and chairs. It was delightful and we shared our most memorable experiences in the baptistry this season.  A “feel good” time.

Tuesday:  early morning time as usual 6:00 am. After our temple session we rode the bike 10.24 miles in 51 minutes, ending at 4:50 in just beautiful weather.

Wednesday:  temple is a later start at 7:00. It’s amazing what a difference that hour later start makes to my body.  After our temple shift, we went to Keokuk and I had my nails done with the acrylics.  They look and feel much nicer.  When we returned home we rode the bike 8.77 miles—another beautiful day. 

Thursday:  after our temple shift, we ate a lunch I packed in the temple break room and then took a family name through an endowment session after I did 5 initiatories. We met our Thursday baptistry team with Brother and Sister Drosty as the coordinators at Angelina’s in Keokuk.  There were 8 couples. This was the team that we were not inside with but we served at the Arrival Center.  I had chicken/bacon/ranch thin crust pizza.  Highly recommend!  Home at 7:30

Friday:  bikes 8.92 miles in the morning, showered and went to an endowment session at 11:15 before our shift started at 1:00.  We arrived home after first quarter of BYU game start with SMU. We listened until BYU won!  

Saturday:  biked 8.56 miles in 45 minutes. Sent Venmo $13 for potatoes to Rachael. Thanks for splitting with me, Julie and thanks Rachael for getting them for us!  I love Idaho potatoes and it seems that the prices have dropped.

Worked, of course, our afternoon shift but it was not in the baptistry as it has been; it was regular positions in the temple.

Sunday:  we enjoyed church.  Our time here is going so fast now.  After church I made us smothered beef burritos with side de galo. Then we attended “Our Saviors Love” again.  We don’t get tired of it.  Then we walked 1/2 mile just to enjoy and test out my knee.  It went well👏🏻.  Thanks everyone for joining the family call.  It feels so good to look upon each of you.  We love you more than words can express!  And we pray for each one of you that your testimonies are growing and deepening and that your understanding of the “Family Proclamation” and Heavenly Fathers plan for each of us individually and as a family is deepening.  I’m so happy that Heavenly Father has shared His Love with us in our own family unit.  Love Mom, Grandma, etc and Ray❤️

54 years of eternity

Monday:  biked 8.95 ; grocery shopping and made an appointment for next week to have my nails done; laundry

Tuesday: pre prep meeting dressed in whites and in meeting by 6:05. After the temple three couples (Daes, Favero, us) went to Keokuk in Favero nice truck and Daes bought us all dinner at the Hawkeye Restaurant. I had hall rack of ribs, loaded baked potato and house salad—score!  (Can’t compare to Raymond’s, Nathan’s, Andrew’s, or Dads but I was so hungry for bbq ribs). Then we went to the Dam Museum (even in print it sounds like I’m swearing) and Favero paid for all of us.  We had a good time.  The museum was quite interesting and worth our time and the couples are great so…good company.  We biked 6.2 miles only.  The weather was threatening—thunder and lightening so we ended early.  It kept getting worse.  It was quite a show in the skies all night.

Wednesday:  got mixed up with temple coordinators texts and went early again 6:05 so I slowly prepared for the later meeting. We were endowment leaders in the 8:00 endowment session.  Thanks for joining us for a temple session.  We so enjoyed thinking about our children joining us this week in the temple.  Today was our actual anniversary and I feel like a Queen, so blessed to have been sealed to a man of God, a gentleman.  Ray wanted to take me to dinner again so after the temple, we drove to Keokuk, back to the Hawkeye restaurant.  We both ended up having soup and salad, Wisconsin cheddar cheese soup mmmm.  When we returned to Nauvoo, we went on our bike ride 8.3 miles. 

Thursday:  today was our last day as a baptistry group because we don’t have patrons coming so the group brought family names and Sister Hunter was baptized for 47 female ancestors of the group and Ray was baptized for 39 males, plus he did the baptizing for the females.  We ate lunch in the temple break room and then we’re patrons for an endowment session.  I went through for Constance Stokes.  I thought that was pretty cool.  Then we biked 8.59 miles 

Friday:  biked 8.94 miles, came home and showered and went as patrons to a 10:00 initiatory session for 7 sisters in our family line. Then an endowment session at 11:15 and another repentance opportunity.  There was a female who sat by me that has some weird problems. She was fidgeting and kept looking back at her mother and laughing.  It was very distracting.  I didn’t want to sit by her but she made an effort to sit by me, so I was actually flattered but each time we changed rooms, it was a different seating arrangement so the next room I had to walk between rows of chairs, which I try to avoid because of my knee.  We’ll, ordinarily I would have gone to the next row but (PRIDE!) came up and I thought others in the session would think I didn’t want to sit by her so I went between the rows and caught my foot which twisted my knee. Yes, I hurt it again but I’m hoping ice/heat/time will heal it. Pride can creep in so easily and almost catch us unaware. I’m grateful for these opportunities to become aware of my weaknesses so I can change. After the session, I went to the break room and Ate fresh cucumbers and tomatoes from Carrolls garden that they bring to share and then had preprep meeting at 1:05 so I could serve early, 1:15 pm at floor 1, chair 2😇. I enjoy this position because I get to talk to whomever comes in and tell them how to get where they want to go and find out where they are from😁. 

Saturday:  my knee is pretty stiff this morning but we still tried to bike.  I only made it 2 miles, then iced it, then heat in the shower. Last baptistry as a Saturday team. 

Sunday:  we taught our class “Jesus is my Foundation”. Great lesson for me to focus on doing the right things for the right reasons and to remind myself to build a foundation on the character traits of Christ.  Kevin attended plus some support for Sister Squires and the Maucotels.  It’s fast Sunday so we were assigned to host again and our people were the Olsens from Ephraim, Utah, a part of our baptistry teams and President and Sister Church.  It was a nice time and we heard some special stories of miracles.  I got to practice on my new found recipe from Thurstons, smothered beef burritos.  They all loved it and even had seconds!  Nice. 

We love you and so appreciate your support of our anniversary by joining us in the temple wherever you are. It was such a happy thought all week, knowing you were each joining us.   Teresa and Ray

August 12-19

Monday:  I guess bikes are like cars, they have to be maintained after so many miles. Ray and Elder Blocker changed the tire and took out a broken spoke and balanced the tire.  It took a lot of time. Elder Blocker was so nice to stop and assist. They finished what they were doing just in time to go to Keokuk for me a haircut at 11:30. She washed and cut and masssaged my head. And then straightened my hair. 😁. Wow!  It lasted that day, then the bangs first curled and then by the end of Tuesday, it was all crazy. Funny what humidity does.After we got home, we rode the bike 8.4 miles and while he was fixing the bike earlier, I had made baked beans and potato salad, peach lemonade with and we went to the park close by and had a picnic with Favero, Whittier, Whitney, Blocker, and Hartvigsen—all are temple missionary couples. 

Tuesday:  temple time 5:45 am  After 2:00 we ran errands, picked up garden tomatoes and potatoes and went to the missionary mail room for a package of hair curlers, water filters (we used our first ones out). And then our bike ride 9.32 miles. 

Wednesday:  temple at 6:45 am (much better time). We were the endowment leaders for the 8:15 session. After our scheduled time, we went on another endowment session as well as several other worker missionary couples and we all went up for the prayer circle.  That was pretty powerful.  At 5:00 pm we went for our bike ride 9 miles. We also picked up a package of miracle arthritis. Ordered for Rays hands. It was recommended to us by Sister Osterly, temple matron.

Thursday:  no more Arrival Center but we went to the baptistry. Not much happening there but we did our own proxy baptisms along with other workers in our group. Ray was baptized for 42 proxies!  After that, our coordinators released us to do an endowment session and I went through for Dorothy B Stokes from Middlesex England.  After the temple, biked 9.28.  At 6:30 I went to Relief Society simple personal history at the church.  At 7:30 we went to Whittiers place above us for game night. We played scum and some other group card game. Wilkersons, 

Temple Evans, our neighbor (Marianne’s brother in law) all came.

Friday:  biked 5.83 miles and ran out of power.  We walked 1/2 mile and went to Lions Drug. It was great. Outside we saw the arbor, the birch umbrella tree, and the buckeye bottle brush bush. The bottle brush looks more like it’s name earlier in the season.  We also went to Patty Sessions log cabin and Orion Hyde’s cram home with Miranda Johnson. At 7:30 we attended a music devotional.  This community really does a Terri’s job of including all ages of youth.  They had primary age children sing, grade school to adult in the orchestra, and older adults with young adults in the choir.  They put on a show on new hymns going in the hymn book.  They had refreshments out on tables through the whole thing to keep people busy, I guess😀. My grandchildren would have thought it was great!

Saturday:  biked 8.79 miles, walked .57 miles, served in the temple and had hoped to get to adult session of stake conference but missed that.  We’ll, we got there for the last half hour as we were next to the last persons to leave the temple at 7:30.  Conference was from 6:30-8:00.

Sunday:  we did get to stake conference 10-12:00. The theme was Jacob 5 dig, nourish, prune—as a stake, as a ward, as a family, personally.  When we’re young, we choose friends if they play our same sports or if they are “cool”. Popular.  The stake president joined the church when he was 19 and all of a sudden there were so many varieties in his ward and stake.  He grew up and chose friends who him to be good like our best Friend, Jesus Christ.  He said, in our associations, let the mix of variety simmer like a good stew until the flavor is just right.  “Let go” of offenses.  Be grateful for each other, “Each life that touches ours for good”.

At 2:00 we attended the new group of performing missionaries, “Our Saviors Love”.  It was still wonderful. There were a lot of our friends who had the same idea as us; we temple missionaries were probably 20 of us.  Elder Weed from Fallon Nevada fell face down as he tripped going down the stairs.  He was bleeding on his forehead, hopefully he doesn’t feel worse today..

We love you and are so grateful for our associations the Lord has blessed us with!  

We pray for you each daily.  Love Teresa, Mom (Dad). 

Bike troubles; a living church

I’m still enjoying the thought:  Heavenly Father is in relentless pursuit of us. (It must be a happy thought for me because my blood pressure has been down for a week without medication😇

August 12:  biked 8 miles; visited 3 homes—William and Caroline Weeks, Edward and Ann Hunter and.             It was interesting that their homes all face the temple; they assisted in drawing up the plans with Joseph Smith.

August 13:  the prophets, seers and revelatory in the Lords church continue to receive and reveal changes as we prepare to receive instruction. Looking forward to conference.

We went to Burlington to a bike shop for a new chain and ate at Culver’s.  No bike ride😩. Emma returned from Europe. Welcome home. 

August 14:  Ellie returns from a well served mission in Reno Nevada, Spanish speaking. So happy to have you home, Ellie!  7:05 was our prep rep meeting before the recommend desk assignment during the regular meeting.  After our assignments were finished for the day, I had prepared us lunch to eat at the temple so we could attend a proxy endowment at 2:00 without changing clothes twice. 

August 15:  we were at the Arrival Center for our assignment, gave lots of directions to single adults trying to find their buildings for their classes. Afterward we biked 7.96 miles—back in business!  After we returned to Burlington to have our bike chain replaced.  We had game night with Whittiers. 

August 16:  biked 10.5 miles. I’ve been reading all the talks requested of us for the upcoming stake conference in Bountiful—praise to the man, Ballard; put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, sister Dennis; covenants and responsibilities, oaks;  all will be well because of temple covenants, eyring, rejoice in the gift of priesthood keys, president Nelson. Brother and Sister Blocker came by with some wood he made into exercises for my knee.  He had the same surgery while they’ve been here and he’s been going to a physical therapist and he’s doing great.  So I’ve added some exercises and I think they are helping the area that was weak.

August 17:  biked 8.75 miles. Then listened to the memorial for Scot Henri Stokes.  It was a wonderful reminder and tribute. How much family support means.  We got home from the temple around 8 pm.  Saturdays are baptistry for us. We were exhausted as usual.  

August 18:  we taught our Sunday school class Alma 43-52. Jody and Kevin were there. We were so happy.  Ray gave an overview of the chapters and I talked about how these chapters relate to me personally— live it, show my joy, be grateful, do not criticize or find fault. Turn immediately from temptations, we get poisoned little by little, one pod cast, one criticism, one little bit at a time until we find ourselves out, deceived by degrees. I remember a conference talk about the bikers in England and how they were so terrible. Then in 2003 they hired a new coach that encouraged them to do 1 per cent better every day in one thing. (For me that meant reading the Book of Mormon every day even when we were studying the New Testament, consistent day in and day out repentance, an incremental small and steady change.  ). Britain is now number one in Tour de France.

After church we came home and listened to Ellie’s church😊. Ellie’s great reminder:  we need to feel loved first and those who desire to serve are called to the work.  Thanks, Ellie, for making yourself available to do His work—first helping others feel loved no matter how far or how close, even our parents, our siblings, our in laws….

To keep my spirits up knowing I was missing the celebration with family, I invited the Blockers over for dinner (Bonnie Pinegar style—waffles on Sunday) bacon, juice, fruit, whip cream on waffles.  It was filling.  

There is plenty to think about this week—healing relationships among family members, love and serve.  We love you all and appreciate all you do for each other, for being there.  Mom, Grandma ….

Week of Aug 5-11

August 5:  Raymond III and Rachael. Happy birthday!  

Biked 8.99 miles. Went with Elder and Sister Kroger in their electric car to the Dutchman’s store run but Menonites, we heard. A very old fashioned store with everything in it in Cantril, Iowa.   We purchased peaches 3.  Oh we wished we had purchased a box. They were so yummy.

Tuesday:  Darrin birthday. Happy day! 

Woke up at 4:20 am😩. Alarm goes off at 5 am so no reason to not get up, shower, dress, fix and eat breakfast  usually I don’t have time for that last part . Arrived at the temple at 5:45 am. Biked 8.2 miles

Wednesday:  our regular temple schedule 7-1. After dunch and a nap, we started our bike ride—1.78 miles; my knee could not do it.  Here is one of those tender mercies from God. Elder and Sister Booker saw me on the elevator and asked if they could come over after their temple schedule. He recently had the same surgery I had and he’s doing very well.  He had it done somewhere in this area and goes to physical therapy. He gave me some of the exercises he does that were different. Their temple schedule and ours never are the same. Any way, I am working on recovery again.  

Thursday was in the Arrival Center again.  One family came from Rigby and were watching two grandchildren while the parents were in the temple. Another family came to use the bathrooms; another family came from Pleasant Grove.  Jane, I understand “nothin” kind of days.  

After our assignment, we took out the bike again. 7.1 miles👏🏻. Progress again. We stopped at Brother and Sister Carrolls house. They have a beautiful garden. We purchased some red potatoes and huge tomatoes. She had a noise going off in her garage that Ray tried to fix but he couldn’t find the battery. We tried to help her. Trying counts😇

Friday:  biked 8 miles. We were the leads for the 5:15 endowment session. 

Answer to each of my challenges:  increase my faith and trust

1-study the scriptures

2-choose to believe in Jesus Christ

3-act in faith

4-partake of sacred emblems

5-ask Heavenly Father for help

Saturday:  biked 8.25 miles, made sour dough crumpets, apple crisp with green apples Amy left at our door, and exercised before going to our temple responsibilities.  We went to our meeting at the baptistry and not many were signed up.  We assisted one family of five with a recommend missing and Ray walked them over to the temple and then our coordinator said we could go to an endowment session with a family name. I had one and we went and then were sent home as there were no patrons for us.  It was great to go to a session and stand in the prayer circle and come through the veil with someone I knew.  Just imagine how it might be if I knew Jesus Christ and through Him I am able to enter our Fathers kingdom.  

Sunday:  I woke up with a thought of covenants and my next thought was how grateful I am for my marriage and the confidence Ray has always had in our covenant relationship. Sometimes his confidence in us has kept me holding on. Then in relief society the lesson was on two talks about covenants by President Oaks and by Elder Soares from the last general conference. Then in sacrament meeting we listened to a return missionary who gave a practical and powerful talk on doing those things that keep our covenants active and meaningful. Then two sisters sang, “A Window of His love”. And by now the tears are streaming.  What a blessing to look at our  eternal companions and see into their hearts and remember the many times he or she has been a window to the Lords love for us.  Those occasions when I have been thoughtless or unkind or whatever and ray has been totally forgiving and fully accepting—a window to His love.  Eternal marriage and families are such a grand blessing from a Father in Heaven who shares His love with those who desire and keep covenants. I love you all!  Mom and Grandma, Sister Robinson

11th Ty’s birthday

Two weeks have gone by, just so busy: highlights

Monday July 22:  biked 10 plus miles, grocery shopping, washing clothes

Tuesday:  10.11 miles ; made best chocolate pudding ever pie

Wednesday:  earlier temple, biked 10.17 miles, sang at the end of the British Pageant—“called to serve, oh say what is truth, Redeemer of Israel”

Thursday:  Andrew’s birthday,,we served in the Arrival Center, biked 10.57

Justin Ward, Texas youth came for baptisms. Their ward was just split. They had 75 youth!

Friday:  Sarah’s birthday, biked 10.77 miles, Mike was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, Nathan arrived in Nauvoo, we sat with him until it was time for us to go forward and sing

Saturday:  biked 10.48 miles, took a ride along the Trail of Hope—Boyd was the boy who dressed as a girl to go with the saints; he did hid part so well, we were laughing, we served in the Arrival Center again

Sunday: Nathan left😔, we watched and cried in “Our Story Goes On”. I guess as we get older, we’re like meat hanging, we get more tender.  Tears flow more easily. 

Monday, July 29 we went to Lewis and Thurston’s house to make smothered burritos. They are yummy. I have the recipes!  Biked 10.72 miles

Tuesday:  early preparation meeting again 6:05 dressed in temple attire. We were the leads for the 7:00 am endowment session. There was a sideways thunder and lightening and rain storm as we were going and entering the temple. We had never experienced a sideways storm. Umbrellas don’t work; we were soaked just getting into the temple side handicapped door.  Later rode bike 10.18 miles and watched Susan in “Women of Nauvoo”. She is so versatile, she looks like a woman and she can look like a youth. But whatever she is, she does it all so beautifully!

Wednesday:  more lightening and rain. Biked 10.64 miles, enjoyed feeding Amy, Ava, Portia, and Cole fish tacos and lemon truffle pie. It’s difficult with our schedules to get the chance to see them except on stage. 

Thursday: Arrival Center again, it’s our regular Thursday assignment. We met some people to get together with when we get home, they also served in the Philippines. Biked 8.39 and ate at the BBQ place in town—recommend it as a good place to eat here, ribs fell off the bones.  Thinking of our posterity gathering for a reunion.  So happy they pulled this off without us. That’s success.

Friday:  I had a text from the coordinator requesting that we come early.  I said yeS, but was dreading it.  Extra early mornings are killing me. Then I double checked to make sure we would be at the right time👏🏻. I forgot we go at noon on Friday and Saturday so it was no big deal. We had to be there at 12:45 instead of 1:05 for preparation meeting before the regular meeting.  No big deal. Whew. I’m glad I didn’t expose myself😇. I served in the celestial room during the meeting.

  biked 8.25 miles, walked . 72 miles, sang at the British pageant, bedtime 10:45. The family at home is enjoying Bear Lake today. 

Bike 10.84 miles. The baptistry was so busy:  up/down stairs over and over…I thought I was doing so well with my knee that I just did everything instead of trading with someone on the things that put stress on my knee.😩. I wasn’t that good, I guess—my knee just collapsed and I couldn’t walk out of the temple so I was pushed in a wheelchair😩that was embarrassing, but not until the end of the shift; I just couldn’t stand on it at all.  When I got. Home, I iced it, took ibuprofen, then heat and went to bed.  

Sunday:  I was better in the morning, fast Sunday.  Ray helped me make the chocolate Oreo pie for break the fast dinner at 5:00 at Inmans so I didn’t have to put weight on my knee for all that crushing, stirring time.  At church we taught our new member lesson and we had Macatells and Sister Squire and Kevin, one year member). We covered Alma 32-38.  It turned out good.  I love the chapters where Alma is speaking to his sons individually with the love and counsel and pleading of a father.  So wonderful how the Lord gives us family to experience such exquisite love as we are capable.  We are so grateful for each of you and love each of you so dearly. We desire you to have all the joy possible and we know that comes from family experiences as we love and serve each other along the path of happiness.  The Lords way is the way but we are each at a different point of learning how that is and how to be humble and how to check our pride and be meek and lowly of heart in the power of God.  Sounds like an oximoron.  Did I spell that right. If not, I’ll blame it on auto correct😀. Anyway, we are thankful for your participation in testimony meeting and the talent show etc.  thank you for taking care of each other.  6:30-8:30 was an ice cream social at the pageant head quarters for being part of the missionary army at the end of the British Pageant.  As if we needed any appreciation; it was such a privilege to get to be part at the end. 

We love you !  Mom, Grandma and Ray who gives me this privilege.😇

Halfway mark

Jack wanted to know if were coming back to Bountiful. 😁

Monday

Rode our tandem 10.53 miles this morning. Made bread and pizza and spinach artichoke dip after we went shopping. And Aunt Ranae sent me four pictures to give away of the Nauvoo Temple with a rainbow at the top that Uncle Lance took. 

Whittiers invited Alveys, Littles, Wilkersons, Shultz and us for games. Rick Whittier made a Nauvoo Jeopardy game that was very good. And we played one lie/2 truths. That was difficult. Ray and I both wrote down 3 truths—terrible at that game we are. They served us pizza, toss salad and gluten free cake.  We all laughed and laughed. It was a great time..

Tuesday

I was notified to be to the temple early—by 6:05 dressed in white and at the ppmeeting; then Rays phone showed up that he was to be at the temple dressed in white at the recommend desk by 5:30 so we were there at 5:00 just as security arrived. I was ready in five minutes headed down to the recommend desk and coming up were Elder Cornish and Elder DAE. They asked why I was there so early and I told them that ray was told to be at the recommend desk with Elder Cornish. They both looked at each other. Turned out. For some reason the phone showed that message but it was from back in May.😭😂. Joke was on us. After our shift we rode 10.5 miles.  Wilkersons brought us a dozen ears of corn from a farmer. It was so good.  And we received a water heater pitcher from Tim in the mail.  I need to be more careful about my speech. It is really nice to have foe oatmeal and dandy tea etc. so thanks Tim.  

Wednesday 

10.3 bike miles and saw the group gathered by the mansion house so we stopped and listened to Parley P Pratt and wife sing (Jake and Susan Slader). It was over too soon but was so lovely.  We went at night to the British Pageant and sang in the finale with the missionaries.  The crowd always cheers for the missionaries.  It’s fun to be part of that group!  Before it began, we met the Omans from Ogden—a senior couple that were so nice, their granddaughter was in the band and one of their families was in the blue cast, I think. So we had bragging competition😂. No.  We let them win and let them enjoy their posterity memories. 

Thursday

We were at the Arrival Center, rode the bike 9.8 miles And we walked from our apartment to and from the pageant!  First real walk since arthroscopic knee surgery for meniscus tears. It was a little much but ice, heat, and ibuprofen helped.

Friday

Biked 10.5 miles. Saw Nathan Rockwell at the beginning of his Scottish bagpipers practice and got a hug.  Listened to a talk be Elder Gary Stevenson from Education Week, I think 2022 about the Book of Mormon. It was so inspiring. Temple started at 1:00 today. When we finished we walked again to the pageant to sing with the missionaries again at the end and walked back to the apartment. This time I didn’t need ibuprofen, just ice and heat.  Awesome.  I’m progressing still.

Saturday

Biked only 6.44😔. And crashed after fulfilling our temple assignment in the baptistry.  It was so busy.

Sunday 

No one showed up for our class so we went to the teachers instruction class.  The instructors 14 year old son died 8 years ago and we talked with him after.  It 2as one of those moments with the Spirit.  We enjoyed our family call and thank everyone for participating. It feels so good to hear your voices and see you and know of your ups and downs as we all cheer on each other.  

Alma 31: …continue in prayer and supplication to God daily, that (you) might not enter into temptation.  :32. Alma set his brethren apart as missionaries …:34 O Lord wilt Thou grant unto us that we may have success in bringing them again unto thee in Christ.  It’s wonderful to be set apart as a missionary and we’re grateful to be in His service for our brothers and sisters in this special temple in Nauvoo with so much of our heritage in the gospel.  True to the faith that our parents have cherished ..faithful and true we will ever stand.  We love you each so much!  So glad He picked out our favorites for us!  

Visitors distracted—2 weeks email. Stop reading when you are through before I am😀

July 1:  8.6 miles on the bike. Temple missionaries family home evening (talent show). Thought about telling a mole but one Elder here is so funny, I didn’t want to waste time.

July 2:  heat of the day bike ride 7 miles only, ice knee when we returned home

July 3:  11:15 we were endowment leaders; bike ride 8.66 miles; Tim and Dallin came in a Tesla rental car at sometime after 10 pm

July 4:  our assignment today was Arrival Center—for baptism groups.  I don’t know if I’ve explained what we do here but it is across the street from the temple and we run everyone’s recommends so we can fix any problems before they get to the temple like reported missing recommends so they don’t work, or expired recommends so bishops have to be contacted, or recommends left at home or the hotel or wherever and then ray calls the recorder and gets them cleared.  Then those who want to print family names can do that at the Center and cut them out.  They can get drinks, use the restrooms etc.). 

We rode the bike 8.38 miles

We had a practice for the British pageant at 8 pm at the stage for the ending of the British pageant. 

July 5:  9.55 miles.  Filled our temple assignment. 

July 6:  Tim and Dallin went home; rode 9.65 miles, Angela and Darrin, DJ , Hunter, and Jenny arrived.

July 7:  fast Sunday, I taught the lesson; it was nice to have Angela’s family to participate; Kevin also came, a member less than a year.  Attended “Our Saviors Love “ concert at the visitors center. Later Darrin and Jenny played Chinese checkers with us.

July 8:  10.27 miles, Ossians first birthday, soaked in epsom salts bath at Amy’s condo. Saunders went to sites and Carthage, Ty called from his mission, went to the pageant stage to watch dress rehearsal for British pageant. 

July 9:  early preparation meeting 6:05 am

July 10Saunders did an endowment session at 11:15, Family did temple baptisms at 4 pm; 5:00 we all went to the Nauvoo Hotel dinner buffet with Saunders. Ray and I had the salad buffet only.  6:30 Ray and I sold snacks at the concessions stand for the ward young women and young men activities fund raiser..

July 11:we left for our AC assignment and Saunders left for home.  I saw Dr. Grant at 4:00 and we rode the bike 9.75 miles. 

July 12:  biked 10.29 miles out to the Villas after we picked up Amy’s kindle. Sang with the missionaries at the end of the pageant. Interesting story…when we were at dinner, a man saw our name tags saying ROBINSON.  His young boy asked him twice to see if we knew an Amy Robinson.  Her name was written on the kindle and it had been lost.  It showed up at this man’s house. Ray said , “yes, she’s our daughter in law”. He said a kindle showed up at their house with her name on it. Ray texted Amy and she told him that her and Cole were just praying to find it when we texted.  God really does care about us and our seemingly unimportant wants.  

July 13:  we rode the bike 10.14 miles. I cut my own hair; all I can say is that it looks better😊. Ava went to pick up Rock at the airport while we were at the temple.  

July 14:  we went to the 9:00 sacrament meeting for the visitors branch so we could tune into Dallins talk before he leaves Tuesday for the mtc. He spoke of the JOY of the gospel life with examples of faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost.  He used a combination of sense of humor with a depth of testimony and honest understanding of joy.  After we had tacos for dunch, we kept our spirits up as we were missing family gathering, by going to visit Wilford Woodruffs home and Heber C Kimball’s home with an addition by his grandson.  And we went to the Seventies Hall and a sister missionary was there who was a full-Mongolian, her parents had moved to the states from Mongolia and she had Jane on her tablet. Small world, always connections🥰. 

The Lord is in the details, Love Grandma, Mom Robinson

Nauvoo begins to come alive

Monday the core cast for  the Pageant arrived.  We rode our bike 7.5 miles.  We were blessed to get to feed Amy and Ava, India, Portia and Cole.  We went to see Sunset on the Mississippi again.  It is better than the first time.  Some funny advertisement was included this time. They have so much energy and fun in the Nauvoo performing missionaries.

It is such a blessing to serve. There is nothing like it—a continual reminder to look to Jesus Christ and Live! 

Tuesday after our early morning shift, we biked 7.6 miles, we’re inching up😳. We ate with the Thurston and Lewis couples from Cedar City. They made smothered burritos.  They were amazing with relish on the side. Wow!  And then we played one round of “Five Crowns”. 

Wednesday 7:05 prepreparation meeting because of my position at floor 1 chair 2.  We’re looking forward to Raymond III coming this afternoon. We rode 7.96 miles today.  Riding bikes is my favorite exercise.  We got to fe3d Raymond tonight and cute Amy and the four children came by too.  This is great!

Thursday we worked at the Arrival Center. It was a crazy day.  A bus came in with 70 youth who wanted to be baptized—no appointments. We had just sent a group of 25 over and three families were scheduled soon.  I told them that we would process them (meaning, run their recommends, take names and birthdays of those without their recommends and then call the baptistry for permission to send them.)  We got permission to send 10 at a time in intervals.  Ray walked the first batch over.  Then three families came that were scheduled so while I processed them, Ray took another group of unscheduled youth over and returned to take the families over. We were just waiting for a phone call to get in trouble😩.

A Smith family came in from Preston, ID—-yes, they are related to us, third cousins.  Yes, we had a phone call, but not what we expected. Not because we sent too many youth over but because someone was turned away by someone and it was perceived that it was us at the Arrival Center.  Not us, but no questions were asked so Ray actually received THE phone call.😢so onward, ever onward as we glory in His name🥰. Elder Larry and Sister Larson invited us to ride with them to Carthage for the 180th Anniversary of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.  It was really wonderful!  The performing missionaries sang for 30 minutes beautiful hymns of the Savior and then Sister Meir spoke and I thought “we’ll, it won’t get better than that”. Then Elder Joseph Monsen spoke and I wanted a printed copy.  Then President Meir spoke and he was amazing.  Yep, I wish I could hear it all over again!  How we love the prophets seers and revelatory from Old Testament-latter-days!  How full we feel to know we are Gods children and we want to be like Him.  Step by step, then a trip or fall, and get up again.  He still loves us all!  

Friday 8.22 bike miles. We prepared papers for baptisms for India, Boyd, and Ava which they did at the baptistry today.  We didn’t get to watch but we so appreciate their service for our ancestors. We started serving in the temple at 12:20-7:15 pm today. This is our regular schedule except when we go until 9:15 pm but that won’t happen again until pageant is over.  The core cast for the pageant came for the 2:00 endowment session so that was so nice to see our friends and some of our new temple friends got to meet Raymond and Jake and Susan so that was a treat for me to hear about or be part of.  We were the leaders for the 5:15 endowment session.  After the temple we watched some of the pageant rehearsal on stage but left as the temple schedule makes us pretty tired.

Saturday 8.2 miles, 40 minutes, done by 7 am. I had signed up for the ward “Get to Know You” and then didn’t have time to go before temple assignment😔whoops. I wanted to go.  12:30-8:00 pm baptistry—it was a big day!  

Sunday—sacrament meeting, actually 5th Sunday meeting—both were wonderful!  I was moved to tears.  It seems to happen every Sunday😇. No time for emotions. We hurried to our apartment and set out the food I had been preparing all week:  5 cup salad, potato salad, cole slaw, pasta salad, toss salad, baked beans, pizza strips, fried chicken and cherry cream cheese pie and lemon aid   Raymond and Boyd came, Susan and Jake and Amy, India, Portia, Cole, and Ava.  They sang happy birthday👍❤️ to Ray. They had meetings after and dad took a nap, I cleaned up and put away.  At 8:00 we went to “Our Story Goes On” with many of our new temple friends attended.  I had warned them to bring Kleenex so everything was just right.  Afterwards, many of them came up and told us thanks for telling them about it so they could attend.  Susan, Jake, and Boyd were great, of course as were the other participants.  It’s a moving story.  How we love the Plan of Happiness with the Joys of posterity.  There is nothing that even comes close to being part of the family of God and the love He shares with us as we multiply and replenish the earth as families!  We thank God for His plan of redemption, change, and eternal life as families!  

Excitement in the air

Monday:  biked 6.72 miles. Mornings are wonderful in Nauvoo, the air is still cool, everything is quiet, air is clean.  We drove to Peoria to visit Dave and Ruth Thompson, our good friends from Jerome when we all lived there.  We also went to Costco and picked up groceries—families are coming!  

Tuesday:  I had pp at 6:05 am for clothing for first session and we were the endowment leaders for the 8:15 session.  Well at my clothing assignment, in walks Whitney Petersen (Mary from Savior of the World), her sisters and her mom.  Fun!  Then in my initiatory assignment,I met a girl from Florianopolis.  Her family is still there.  She’s going to tell them to look for Elder Robinson.!  More fun!  Bike ride at night 7.56 miles

Wednesday:  a Hollingsworth came to my initiatory booth. It was shocking; she looked just like Afton Perry. It was her mother from Preston, the ones with the Christmas lights on their farm. Ray met Brock’s father in law in his initiatory booth. 

Thursday:  our Arrival Center assignment went well, very mild.  At 6:15 Whittiers and Wilkersons came down to play Five Crowns, in memory of our Groberg’s neighbors who donated the game to us.  We ate waffles with berries and lemon whip cream. Knew you didn’t want to go forever without some food mentioned😁

Friday: we biked 7ish miles, the tracker wasn’t working. April came with Hana, Finn, and Rose on their way (an extra 2 hours) to their new home in Georgia.  Ray went around with them to Nauvoo interests—walked to the pioneer pastimes on Main Street, played, walked to the “dancing trees” where the young missionaries involved the audience in a welcome dance, then Rose kept asking about the wagon rides, so they were able to get on the next wagon ride around Old Nauvoo, then the children wanted to go back to pioneer pastimes where Hana, April and Ray walked on the stilts.  Then the group walked back to our apartment and refresh themselves with popsicles from Grandma and headed on to their new home. We went onto our temple service until 7:15 and after we joined Thurstons and Lewis couples for dinner at Hotel Nauvoo .  

Saturday:  we biked 7 plus miles.  I stepped on the scales twice because I couldn’t believe what I read—I’m down ten pounds!  It’s wonderful to get that bonus from exercising my knee. Served in the baptistry from 12:20-7:30. 

Sunday:  our friend, Jody came to Relief Society!  She didn’t stay for sacrament meeting but we were excited she came. She’s in our Sunday class so that was a bonus.  After church, a nap, and some food, we took the new couple, Favaro to “Love of the Savior” in the Visitors Center.  It was wonderful again.  Most of the performing missionaries know us now as they also see us in the temple.  We met a new ypm that knows Ava from pageant and we met a ypm that served in Japan and hopes to meet Dallin when he comes and speak a little Japanese with him.  

That’s our week. I know we are the children of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, His only Begotten Son in the flesh is our Savior and Redeemer and our Advocate, our cheerleader.  His Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is restored today through the calling of Joseph Smith and successor prophets that received revelation for the specifics of our day as they see things we cannot see.  What a blessing is the plan of happiness!  Our posterity is our Joy!  We love you and pray morning and night that you will see the Lords hand in your life and seek Him daily through the scriptures and His called and ordained living prophets and apostles. Know the truths of the Family Proclamation. And recognize the challenges in life are not opportunities to bemoan our troubles but opportunities to look to Christ and become like Him.  Our struggles are blessings to help us know and feel and understand others so we can grow in forgiveness and love and compassion. We are doing our best and we know you are too.  Love mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, Teresa and Ray💕

June 10-16

Now there’s an interesting subject line😳

Monday I made bread, we shopped for groceries—I’m still riding the handicap machines. And later we biked 5.38 miles

Tuesday:  Have I received His image in my countenance?  A friend who served on my shift in the Bountiful Temple, Rachel Shaw showed up as I was on floor 4 and her family was seeing Nauvoo— 2 of her siblings are young performing missionaries this year and she was with her fiancé. I think they got engaged out here her sister told me later.  That was so surprising and fun. Another performing missionary came to do initiatories for her ancestors and , of course, I don’t visit with them then.  But she came and found me after she finished her time in the temple to tell me “thanks”. She really enjoyed my light in the temple service. 

We’ll, all that was the Lords tender mercy as I am so sad that our friends, the Groberg’s have decided to go home after just two months. The doctor they saw told them they needed to go as there are no doctors here to give him the help he needs.😢. Everyone in our house went to their apartment to hear the news and we played “Bank it” for their farewell.

Wednesday we worked from 7-1:30, had a snack in the break room and stayed to do initiatories for our ancestors at 2:00, then did a 2:15 endowment session and our good friend that we knew in Jerome was in the same session and came for dinner after we all finished.  We also rode our bike 6.3 miles after all that.

Thursday we served in the Arrival Center and after, we went to Fort Madison for dinner at Fort Colony. When we got home it was storming so NO bike ride😩

Friday Bike ride 6.3 miles, showered and went to the temple for our 12:50-9:15 shift. 

Saturday we had our second service at the Arrival Center. This baptistry group is taking turns serving in the Arrival Center. It was full of really young families, eating everywhere and crazy.  But in the morning we biked 6.7 miles. And we went to visit the four people whom the Bishop wants to attend our Sunday “Come Follow Me” class.

Sunday. Father’s Day. I cried through sacrament meeting.  A couple here is going to Frankfurt to serve a mission.  He sang during his talk:  “These Hands, these mighty hands”. It was —well, there aren’t words, but tears flowing tells how it felt.

After church, we fed Groberg’s and their son who came to take them to the airport, then drove their car packed all the way home.  Farewell meal and they drove off.  Then Steve and Michele Miller came for dinner after that.  They moved out here, had their records moved so they could serve in the temple.  They called the temple president and cleared it that they would be used but they are not missionaries so they don’t get included in all the fun.  They are really nice wonderful people and they live in Syracuse, Utah so we can get with them after the mission.  They got us tickets for the Sunday show at the visitors center, “Love of the Savior”. It’s worth seeing.  We’ll try to go again.  After they left, we had our family call. Thanks for taking time to gather once a month.  It’s magical for us just to see you on one screen and hear your voices.  We love each of you.  The church is where we learn to be like Jesus and we practice what we learn as we mingle with our family. This is JOY.  Love, Mom, Grandma, Teresa ray(the wind beneath my wings)

Sunday

Finding people and connections

Monday:  Met the Turners today at the Printing Offfice in old Nauvoo, a senior sites missionary couple from Ty’s branch in his mission where he is right now.  While there Ray found his great-great grandfathers name in the old newspaper saying he had mail.  Lewis and Thurston from Cedar City came to celebrate my Dads birthday with hamburgers and we played Chinese checkers and Fast Track. We visited the Sarah Granger Kimball house. 

Tuesday 5:50 am temple shift time. Two Robinson women came through my initiatory booth, saw my name tag and refer to me as cousin. After our temple shift, we rode our bike 3.88 miles and half of that was without power assist as we ran out of batteries.  We went out later after we plugged in the bike to power and down the road we saw my second cousin, Stephen and Renee Packer visiting with another couple from the temple.  We whirled around and had a nice visit.

Wednesday:  a sister caught me after her endowment session as I was stationed near the clothing and asked where I was from.  Bountiful, Utah. Do you know a Ray Robinson?  She was in the family cast back some years and knew all the Ray and Julie Robinson’s. She lives out here now with her husband going to medical school.  After our temple shift, we ate and drove to Fort Madison to Lily nails to have my acrylic fill-in and that was different than anything I have done. But it is so nice to have my nails done so the one I took the box cutter to when I was first time pregnant doesn’t get caught on everything anymore ;and came home to bike 5.68 miles

Thursday:  baptismal arrival center is our assignment 7:00 am- 1 pm.  While doing our work at the Arrival Center a young man came in looking for his wife and found us.  “You’re Andrew’s parents!”  It was a friend of Andrew’s from Preston, Zack Roper. We processed over 100 people who wanted to do baptisms for the deceased.  We ate at LOCK 19 after the temple. I had loaded fries (2 burgers, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, sauce over fries.  That was fun and different.  That night Groberg’s wanted to teach us how to play 5 Crowns. That was fun;  but they are always delightful to be with. 

Friday:  exercised first, bike ride 5 miles and shower etc for temple from 12:50-7:15 with us leading the 5:15 endowment session.  I was outside the chapel door with the people counter and a couple came up to me, “Aren’t you Nathan’s mom?  They were our neighbors in Texas.  Didn’t you come with the new babies?  Their daughter was with them preparing to leave for her mission, she is in between Ellie and Ava.  “. They are the Maxwells from Humble, Texas. It was a fun week. 

Saturday we rode 5.8 miles.  We were assigned to the Arrival Center again.  12:50-7:00 pm. Kids come in from Arizona and always know the Porter Brothers (Michelle and Dennis family and of course, I brag that I am their Aunt😇

It was a little strange because we have showers in the center for those who do baptisms. But some men 25-35 ish had been on a long bike ride, at least six came in and used the showers.  I was a little uncomfortable because we have youth using the dressing rooms and shower.  These were just bikers. We’ll, anyway, it was interestingly uncomfortable.

Sunday we were able to watch Janes mission farewell and Emma’s piano after our church services.  Janes talk gave me reason to repent (change) to do better in my relationship building with my Heavenly Father and with Jesus Christ and with each family member.  Talking with and listening to and serving are key to this development.  I hope I got it right Jane.  We ate dinner at Groberg’s after Janes farewell so while we missed all the family and food, we weren’t totally without a good time.

And my last treat to report:   A sister from the Czech Republic came to my initiatory booth and was so full of the Spirit.  She found me later in the Celestial room and gave me a hug and said, “I was so full of the Spirit.” And hugged me again.  

It was a great week in the Nauvoo temple mission!

Last week of May

Thanks to Raymond’s family for mowing the lawn in Bountiful!  So much to take care of when we leave.

On Mondays, I wash, make some kind of bread: sourdough, crumpets, naan, whatever is going to work for the week. There’s our food😂. Of course our bike ride and exercises and icing my knee and also soaking it. It takes a lot of time to take care of myself😘. But we managed to see a production at the Visitors Center where we were able to see “Remembering Joseph”. It was a fun, light show with quotes from different people.

Tuesday morning is the hardest, 4:30 wake-up, then arrive at the temple at 6:05 but this day, we were to arrive and be dressed in white for temple arrivals by 5:30.  We were at the temple by 4:50–yep. Before security even.  I went up the stairs and tried all the doors—locked. Security came around 5:00 and took us around the side to get in.  Overachievers!  By 7:30 Ray had a heart episode and the workers came and took me to the first aid room where Ray was laying down all white and sweaty.  After an hour, he took his pill and drank some water and we resume our duties.  by afternoon, we rode our bike 5 miles.

Wednesday we were assigned as endowment leaders for an 8:15 session.  Thanks Sarah for the turtleneck and sweater. Endowment rooms are miserably cold for me so the extra warmth provided was a lifesaver.  In the evening we rode our 5 miles.

Thursday brought some relief and surprise.  We are assigned the Arrival Center on that morning so we go to our baptistry meeting and then to the center in our Sunday clothes.  We received over 50 youth to scan and give cards to and prepare them to go over to the temple.  Ray walks them over.  It was a little challenging as they had just poured cement that morning in front of the center.  After all but two girls had toured and gone to the temple; there were 8 girls , two nonmembers, whom they requested us to talk to them about the temple.  It was an amazing missionary experience.  We were confident the Lord would have us say what He wanted so we just let Him fill our mouths with testimony, as we talked back and forth and ask if they had any questions.  The one question was given:  what if your parents get divorced?  

After our assignment, we went to Quincy, an hours drive to Culver’s.  And in the evening a 5 mile bike ride.  

Friday I was assigned LN, laundry.  I know what you’re thinking but it is quite fun.  I learn how to fold temple clothes—this time it was the new veils.  Another assignment was CLR:  clothing register but I was alone and people came 8 at a time.  President Kooyman came by and saw that I was alone and brought in two sisters to help .  Whew…. Still a 5 mile bike ride after the temple.

Saturday, June 1st. Thanks to everyone who remember my dad for his birthday.  Thanks charity for making maple nut ice cream and hamburgers.  Still just 5 miles on the bike

Sunday we were filled. We started teaching a class for adults with challenges.  It turned out great!  We missed the blessing of Gunnar which was a big disappointment but we were delighted that Allreds invited Raymond to ordain Dave a high councilman and delighted that he was so honored to leave stake conference and drive four hours.  This is what families are about. We also had two couples by assignment for break the fast for dinner and we were the hosts.  I made Swiss steak. They were impressed with our grass fed beef all the way from Preston Idaho. Thanks Allreds. It was Elder and sister Schultz and elder and sister Little.  

Mosiah 23:7…ye shall not esteem one flesh above another, or one man shall not 

esteem himself above another…

So thankful to have this opportunity to serve and the dear friends we are making and serving with.  I love each and all of you!  Mom, grandma, Teresa

We've been in Nauvoo more than a month now

I saw Dr Grant, a chiropractor in the morning of Monday and he showed Ray where to push when I kick my leg. It has helped the pain a lot. I haven’t had ibuprofen now for probably 3 days. We go shopping usually on Mondays unless we have training. But after shopping, we went to Groberg’s place right next to us and the other four housemates came and we played Buzzword. We laughed and had such a fun time.

Tuesday I couldn’t find my recommend 😳. Someone found it after we were in the temple on the bathroom counter where I left it Saturday.  I’m glad I didn’t know I had lost it until Tuesday morning or I would have been worried about it all weekend.  Both legs hurt today but I can concentrate and walk. We, of course rode our bike—just four miles.

Wednesday:  Grandma Beckstead birthday. We had quite a celebration but not any good food and my lemon custard was made from half lemon Greek yogurt, half vanilla ice cream, melted, mixed, refrozen. Best I could do.  Ruth Thompson was here again, so we fed her (that is a Grandma Beckstead memory); she fed everyone who walked in her door and some who didn’t that were tramps in the alley.  We also went up late to Whittiers apartment, directly above ours, to celebrate her birthday with a gluten free cake mix her husband made with happy birthday candles all across it.  They also invited Ruth to join and a widower across the grass. We laughed and laughed.

Thursday we picked up mail on our bike ride!  It was a fresh cut bouquet and card from our own Nathan and Amy and also a mystery package—-a white shawl for the temple!  I get miserably cold in the endowment room and we serve there next week.  So happy for Sarah picking up on my misery 😒and sending me that😘. With the turtleneck cover and the sweater, I’ll survive next week.  Thank you all for taking care of us from a distance:  April mowed our lawn, Charity keeps sending us pictures of our mail, Rachael sends newsy letters, Angela sent a beautiful card, Emily and Andrew continue to let us talk with Ossian on FaceTime, — what a great family. And many of you have answered requests for recipes.  Thank you all!  After temple time, we met a couple from Cedar City (he was another classmate my junior year) Evan and his wife who moved their records here for six months so they could serve in this temple and we went to the Red Front to eat and they came to our place after to play Rummicube which we learned from our Cedar City friends in the Philippines. We all know each other. We had fun. They left after she won the game and then Whittiers and Groberg’s came over and we played Fast-track in between laughing so much. 

Friday rained all day; it was the first time we were not able to bike ride.  We went to the temple at 1:50 for our late night shift. At chair 2/1 a girl who came to the temple when we were at the recommend desk, then came to initiatory when I was there and then on her way out, she stopped and asked where I was from “Bountiful, Utah”. Next question, “Do you know Ray Robinson?”😂. That’s my son.  Then she told me her family had been in the pageant some years ago and how her family loved the Robinson Family and I asked what her maiden name was.  King, and followed that information with “they won’t remember us.”  I said, “they surely will!”  I talked with Raymond a few days later; yep they remembered them and texted them right away,  so many fun experiences here.  We got home from the temple a little after 9:00pm

Saturday we rode four miles again on the bike; stopped at the Tin Shop that was the Stoddards in the olden days.  We are wondering if that is the family of Permelia Stoddard, a pioneer who crossed the plains and married a Robinson.  We haven’t had time to investigate yet so if anyone finds out before we do, let us know.  We went to our temple shift at 12:30; finished by 5:30 and made it to the “Sunset on the Mississippi” show and President and Sister Church moved to sit by us.  That was fun.  Last thing at night, I started my sourdough bread bubbling over night.

Sunday Ray taught the elders quorum lesson:  “words matter” by Elder Rasband and “Bridging the two great commandments” by Elder Stevenson.  Our ward now starts at 10:30 with ss/rs/eq then 11:30 starts sacrament meeting.  They added a “visitors ward” at 8:00 and a single adult ward at 12:00 and the second Nauvoo ward at 2:30-4:30. Men were coming up to Ray telling him how much they enjoyed the lesson.  Amy sent a video of Boyd and Ava singing in sacrament meeting, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives”. If anyone wants to share it with their children, text Amy. It was very inspiring and I played it for our neighbors, the Groberg’s and their daughters children 6 of them. They didn’t move or make a noise.  It was very powerful and so I added my testimony, I too know that my Redeemer lives!

That’s our week.  I hope we all get more from the other missionaries out; they are more interesting.  We love you all. Thanks for doing so much for us!

May 13-19 in review

Monday we did our usual exercises, my physical therapy, bike ride. We went to the Arrival Center for training with Elder and Sister Cornish who are the baptistery team coordinators for Saturday.  The story:  

Elder Cornish was teaching us how to manage the arrival center.  The arrival center is nice with two large rooms, a children’s area where one parent can watch while the other parent attends the temple.  There’s a small hall size kitchen for fixing sandwiches or bottles for children, along with two shower rooms for preparing travelers for the temple.  Our responsibility is to make welcome and prepare patrons for doing baptisms, taking their recommends, giving them pink or blue cards and making sure they have their names so they are ready for the recommend desk.  Elder Cornish had just finished telling us about the showers when this group of men about nine, nicely dressed with dark complexions and dark hair.  Our leader was welcoming them and telling them that we have two showers.  They were finally able to get him to catch his breath and let him know that they were a group of students studying comparative religions and wanting to see the temple.  Then we were able to direct them to the real visitors center where they could get more information.  After they left, our group could hardly keep from laughing.  Our leader was so focused on his presentation that he was the only one in the group that didn’t notice they were not church members but Muslims.  But they did find out we have showers.

After training we went to the chiropractor hoping to get some help with my leg that did not have surgery.  Nothing 😒. In the evening we had a catered picnic, tacos with all our senior temple missionaries at the Nauvoo State Park.  Many couples just walked over from their apartments and the weather turned to thunder, lightening, and rain but not until we had some fun singing and jokes from a newly created quartet among us.  We gave one set of housemates a dry ride back.

Tuesday our regular 6 am shift at the temple. Ray was involved in sealings that day with Sister Albright and he was part of the group as Sister Albrights mother, who has crossed the veil, was sealed to her parents (Sister Albrights grandparents). He said it was very tender in that room. 

 I could hardly walk by the end of the day so Ray began rolling my leg with a juice bottle from the winery. 

Wednesday, Ray started the day with rolling the juice bottle on my leg.  After our temple service we rode the bike 5 miles and went through the Mansion house and Emma and Joseph’s house and then the front tire went flat just before we got home. And then he massaged my leg again before bed.

Thursday we have morning temple shift again, went home after for lunch (right now, the temple is closed for two hours between shifts). Then we went back at 3:15 to attend an endowment session.  I’m less dizzy now so when my legs both work, I’m going to be great!  But I was pretty discouraged at the end of the day as I could hardly walk and was in a lot of discomfort.  But the Lord ent me a lot of love via others:  Charity sent a picture of Resa with an Eiffel Tower shirt that said “I want to go to Paris”.  She said, “that’s the temple where Grandma and Grandpa live”💕. She knows we don’t live upstairs and every time she asks her mom, she tells her that we’re at the temple—so we must live there.

Friday we rode our repaired bike 4 miles around and stopped at the Browning Gun Shop and found Brother Davies and his wife of two years serving there in between his work for the pageant.  That was really fun to reconnect with him. He use to be in charge of the country fair before each night of the pageant.  Then we had our shift from 2-7 at the temple.  I again saw the Lords hand in my life as the temple coordinator complimented me on my handling patrons at the veil and I also received a messenger note that from Sister Cagape with love and saying she could see me in Lillie, my beautiful granddaughter.  Heavenly Father filled up my well.  

Saturday more exercise, bike riding 4.6 miles, of course daily scriptures and prayer.  We served in the baptistery 12-5. And after clean up, we went to eat at the Nauvoo buffet and joined another couple, the Despains who were also there.  During our shift at the temple, a man who makes cool things, had made me one and brought it to me at the temple.  It’s a white picture that you hold up to a light to see.  We went to the Dollar General and bought a small kiddie pool and it fits in the shower so I can soak one leg at a time which I used.

I’m so grateful to see and feel the love of my Heavenly Father in my life.   Thanks for being part of that through calls and texts and your friends we meet here and the dear people we have met on different missions and different places.  

Sunday 9:00 church. Groberg’s came for lunch, ham and cheese waffles, berries and lemon curd whip cream on waffles.  And tonight elder Groberg’s came over to assist Ray in giving me a blessing so I’ll be all well soon.

Be good, do good and see the Lords hand in your life each day.  He likes to be recognized. I love you, grandma Robinson with some help from Ray this time. 

Journal May 6-13

Ray dug up tulips on the temple grounds with other senior missionaries and tilled and prepared the planting area for the next plants.  I did wash, prepared food and then we went to Keokuk for another bike tire.  I am trying a new blood pressure pill (senior moment news😊❤️). 

May  7 (I’m a little less dizzy and still working on the physical therapy for my knee)

  Tuesday a typical temple day 6 am-12:30. Right now the temple closes when we leave at 12:30 for the day.  We were able to ride bikes again 4 miles but after 3 days without, I took ibuprofen. 

Wednesday Ray went to get the car as usual and I sat on cement right by the temple gate to wait.  I had a small bout of shingles last week on my stomach but this was so many stinging sensations, I tole Ray when I got in the car, the shingles  must be worse than ever—they always sting before they break out and itch and burn.  I adjusted my dress and zing, a wasp flew out and I rolled down my window.  We couldn’t believe it!  It was as big as my phone, the redness and my thigh swelled up like a grapefruit cut in half.  

Ray was asked to give Brother Groberg’s a blessing. He’s been just going out with seizures so Elder Cornish came over and they administered to him.  Ray remembered to bring blessed oil with him, that was nice.

The fun news of the day:  Dave and Ruth Thompson who lived in Jerome when we did, came to see us and stayed a couple of hours.  It was so fun to visit with them! 

Thursday we spent most of our time in the baptistery; Ray was the recorder and I was the card runner.  After every group of 5, Ray put the cards by the railing and I picked them up and took them to the desk to file in alphabetical order for the patrons to pick up and take for confirmations .  I was tired after an hour. We had quite a few in the baptistery.  After the patrons re gone, then our team cleans up the baptistery, taking wet stuff to the laundry and rugs, towels, jump suits…then we squiggly floors, bring in clean, dry things for the shift on Friday morning.  It really is a lot of work, so much more than what patrons see.

Friday was Angela’s birthday and our shift was in the afternoon on this day 2-7 except the second and fourth weeks, when two hours are added at the end so 2-9.  We were all so tired.  

Saturday morning we were finally able to ride the bike and in the middle of our ride, we stopped at the wheelwright/wainwright shop. The missionaries there were really good with lots of information. Captain John Robinson must have made wheels for the saints in Maine after he was converted on his ship bringing the early saints from Europe.  Then probably made handcart wheels at winterquarters.  The young band was on its ride through Nauvoo when they saw us on our tandem bike and the senior missionary recorded them playing “A bicycle built for two”. They were excited and so were we!  After four miles, we went to the apartment to shower before the temple.  We were in the baptistery again.  It’s a different team than Thursday but same work. We were released at 7:15 when the temple closed and we had everything cleaned up and ready for Tuesday morning.  After we went for Mothers Day dinner to KFC. It actually hit the spot for both of us.  We were hungry.  Then we went grocery shopping.

Yay for Sunday!  Church, then we had Elder and Sister Weed from Fallon Nevada over for dinner.  They left at 3:00 and then we had the family call.  After we just sat on the couch enjoying the warmth of the call.  Thanks for all who were able to get on.  We had a fulfilling Mother’s Day and hope all of you did.  One funny:  Ray wouldn’t let the Weed couple leave until they look over our family picture magnets

and pointed out all our missionaries coming and going👌❤️. 

We love you. Mom, Grandma, Elder and Sister Robinson

Red brick store

Our visits to the Red Brick Store in the past have been under the ownership  of The Community of Christ. The store was used as a retail outlet, with fun candies and souvenir items. I am sure that it was a fun destination for visitors.

Now that the store has been purchased by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints, the store will (it  seems) be presented in a different way. When we visited the store a couple of weeks ago, the shelves were bare. There were three missionary sisters there to greet us. The sisters explained that they were not sure how it may be presented in the coming weeks but that it would probably be presented the way it may have looked in Joseph Smith's time, with commodities and grocery items as they may have looked at that time; with nothing for sale.

The missionaries talked to us about the store and how it was used and then invited us to go upstairs and see how the building was used up there. We saw Joseph Smith's office and (i think), Willard Richard's office. There was also a large room where meetings were held including the first meeting and organization of the Relief Society.

The missionary then said that Joseph Smith recorded some of his revelations in the office and also that the "Wintworth letter" is thought to have been written there. The Wintworth letter contained the Articles of Faith. She asked us what our favorite Article of Faith was. I could not think of a favorite Article of Faith at the time but later I chose one that had increased meaning to me in connection to our mission assignment in the Temple.

The third Article of Faith:

We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the Laws and Ordinances of the Gospel.

(We help provide the ordinances to many of Heavenly Father's children in the Temples).

Another part of the Wintworth letter contains the "Standard of Truth" , which the missionary invited us to recite with her. (many missionaries are encouraged to memorise the Standard of Truth and recite it often in District Meetings). It  always stirs my soul, and I think "who writes like this?"

The Standard of Truth has been erected: no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions nay rage,mobs may combine.armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say, "the work is done". 

     Joseph Smith Jr.

The Red Brick Store was actually re-built by the Community of Christ on the original spot. Now our missionaries are able to give meaningful tribute to the history. 

I love you all

happy days from Nauvoo