July 1, 2014

Last prep day, Sister Etherington and I went to a quaint little antiques store way out of the way and hidden over by the river in Nauvoo. She LOVED it. I am amused by antique stores but not for very long. She bought several pieces of jewelry (one of which I covet every time she wears it... but it's okay because I borrow it sometimes:)) and I got a little Arizona keychain for Sister Hughes, another ASL sister whose birthday it was that day. (She's from Arizona. Surprise.)

On Wednesday, we were on a YS2 schedule (I think there are a lot of things that I leave unexplained. We are called the YSMs = Young Sister Missionaries. Then there's the YPMs = Young Performing Missionaries. We pronounce it yippums. When we're in the visitor's center, we can be on one of three schedules, YS1, YS2, and YS3. A 1 is 9 to 3, 2 is 9-12 and 3-6, and a 3 is 12-6. If any of that makes sense) which is the split schedule, so for the second half, we went to iDig Nauvoo again to help the Community of Christ with their archelogical dig of the Lucy and Joseph Smith Sr house. They stuck us in a spot where we found almost NOTHING. Nooooothing. Just a lot of brick pieces and mud. But it was still fun to be in pants.

That night we had a sisters' activity where we talked about desires and about Christ. Honestly I don't remember much of it but wow I got a lot of revelation. It was sweet! Also, you know you're a missionary when an 'activity' is talking about the gospel.

Thursday was my ONE YEAR MARK!!! We got Annie's- the best custard in Nauvoo- that evening to celebrate.

Friday was the 27th- the 170th commemoration of Joseph Smith's Martyrdom. There was a big program put on at 5:00, the time of the martyrdom, starting with us singing A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief, which was the song that Joseph asked John Taylor to sing the night before. The YPMs did their vignette, which is always really powerful. They quote peoples' reactions to hearing of the martyrdom, including Lucy and Emma. At the end they recite the Standard of Truth. I've seen it about six times and it gets me every time. Then President Gibbons spoke. What stuck with me is that the Lord didn't send them here (to Nauvoo, or to any other place they were) to build a city, they were to build faith. And boy did those pioneers have faith.

After the jail closed, we took a tour and sang and had a testimony meeting in the Martyrdom room. I've done that a few times and it's always really powerful.

Saturday, a deaf couple named Deanna and Eric Scott came to Nauvoo! I know them from when I was a wee tyke in the Washington DC deaf branch, and they're friends of my parents. Sister Allred and I interpreted for them all day, which was sweet. They arrived around 11 and we were scrambling getting everything ready and figured out. We needed a very specific type of lamp so they would be able to see us in the dark theater when we would be interpreting a play later in the day. We were running around, calling all the sites we could think of that might have this specific type of lamp. We were riding the elevator down to the VC floor and Sister Allred and I were talking about how she was wearing my shirt and it was neat that that shirt fits so many types of bodies. Then she says "Yeah and the collar is higher on my because my boobs are bigger" JUST as the elevator door is opening. Who else would be standing right there except a YPM elder? We were shocked and he started laughing- not because of what was said, but because he thought he scared us. Oh it was sooo funny.

Then we went on our way trying to find this lamp. Sister Allred thinks it'll be in the Post Office site. So we go- nada. She's walking down to the different shops and I'm watching from 20 feet away in the car as she is rejected from three sites. She gets back in the car and we pray, asking for direction as we have like 20 minutes left and nowhere to go. I thought we should go to the Lucy Mack Smith home, so we're on our way and we pass the Log School house. I was like, wait a second. I thought it might be a prompting so we ran in and lo and behold there was nothing. Then a senior sister who was serving there asked what we were looking for and I half-heartedly explained and she immediately said "Oh, go to the Family Living Center! They have that lamp for the shawl-weaving!" Sister Allred and I, it was like it was out of a movie, we looked at each other and both said "Thanks! Gotta go!" and literally ran out of there. It was a prompting! We found the lamp and all was grand.

For a little while before that day, then including the day and a half we were interpreting, I was thinking about getting my interpreting license. That would be sweet. Then of course, who else do I meet on Sunday while serving at the John Taylor home but a professional interpreter who is telling me allllll about how being an interpreter is the best. So, it's in the cards. I'm not giving up being an equine sports medicine vet, that's for sure, but interpreting can definitely get me through school and it's a sweet skill to have.

That's all, folks! Til next week!

Also, we're doing a theme week leading up to Pageant. Today is twin day. Every companionship is almost perfectly the same! It's awesome!