"The heavens will not be filled with those who never made mistakes."
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
"Just when the CATERPILLAR thought the world was over, he turned into a beautiful BUTTERFLY."
"Love people, not things.
Use things, not people."
Well another week has come and gone. We started the week with a trip to Springfield for my surgery. Everything went smoothly on Monday morning. They put the stent in on the left renal artery. We were able to come home later that day. I'm so grateful to have that over and get back to a normal life [whatever normal is]. I only missed one day at the temple because Monday is our P-day and Tuesday I stayed home. I felt good enough to go but the doctor said to take it easy for at least 24 hours. I got so bored just sitting around, so I cook when I'm bored. Rudi came home that night from the temple to lots of yummy food. The doctor wants to see me in May for an ultra- sound to make sure everything is still working correctly and check the blood pressure. So far my BP hasn't changed that much, but we're hopeful! Time will tell. My body needs to adjust to not having to work so hard pumping blood from the heart to the kidney. The surgery will be a success if only to save a dying kidney. I'm just thankful that I heal really fast and don't have to be down in bed. Miracles and tender mercies have been felt this week in my behalf. Thank you for your prayers and concern. We love and appreciate all of you.
The temple is really getting busy. The baptistry is going crazy with lots of youth here in Nauvoo on Spring break wanting to do baptisms for the dead. I'm so impressed with the dedication of the young people in the church in wanting to come to the temple. We need not worry about the future of the church with young people like this.
Our temple sessions have been getting larger every week. I followed a session this week with 46 people, 26 being sisters. I love seeing all the chairs filled with beautiful people in white. They remind me of angels. If this is what heaven is like, sign me up! Sometimes my jaws hurt from smiling so much for so long. Seriously, it takes more muscles to smile than to not. I just need to continue to practice smiling and I'm sure I'll get it down.
Yesterday the temple closed one hour early so we could watch the Women's Conference. What a wonderful conference! I loved the music, especially the song that was written just for that night. It touched me so much. I loved seeing the mothers holding their daughters hands while they sang. What a neat experience for those sisters. I was also impressed with all the talks, especially President Eyring's. He mentioned that if your mother was sitting next to you to thank her and smile at her. It brought back memories of last fall at the women's conference. I was fortunate to be able to attend with my daughters and granddaughter, Ellie, at the Conference Center the night before we left for Nauvoo. Yes, I got tears in my eyes when he mentioned sitting by our daughters. I miss those experiences but hope to be able to spend many hours doing things like that with them when I get home.
Today is another busy Sunday. We just got home from church and choir practice. We will be going to Pres. McArthur's for a Break the Fast dinner. He has a huge garage that is so nice. We can all fit into it comfortably. We are all bringing food, so it has to be fun. Right! Tonight we're attending a fireside where they will be showing "Ephraim's Rescue". The man that played the lead part of Brother Hanks, Richard Benedict, will also be speaking. Just another wonderful opportunity we have because of our mission in Nauvoo.
We feel so blessed to be here in Nauvoo and enjoy learning about the history of the Saints and especially Joseph Smith. The Durrants continue to inspire us with their knowledge of this period in church history. Last week at her lecture she spoke about the Prophet being martyred in Carthage. It was so touching to relive what happened minute by minute in that jail. We all felt the spirit and came away with a stronger testimony of who Joseph Smith was and what he did for all of us. His life will be remembered and honored forever in our church. Her lectures will continue after the shutdown of the temple for two weeks in April.
I best close and get this off. Our dinner starts in 15 minutes. We want you all to know that we love serving in Nauvoo and feel blessed to be able to work with such choice people. As I bore in my testimony today, this mission feels tailor made for Rudi and I. The Lord really knew what we needed and what would be best for us. We love it so much that I wouldn't be surprised if we tried another mission in the future.
May your week be wonderful. Be sure and give all your grandkids big hugs. We miss our 12 special grandkids so much!
With love always,
The Nauvoo Missionaries
Rudi and Kathy
Nauvoo Temple with seagulls searching for fish on the Mississippi River.
Cultural Hall in old Nauvoo.
Methodist Church in Nauvoo.
Catholic Church next to the Nauvoo Temple.
Icarian Winery in Nauvoo. It was established a few years after the Saints were driven out of Nauvoo.
Sunrise over the Nauvoo Temple.
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