Friday, April 1, 2016 – Arrived at Nauvoo 

We made it to Nauvoo! After driving for 6 hours from Topeka, KS though Missouri and into Illinois, we arrived at the visitor’s center in Old Historic Nauvoo.  We are so very happy to be here. 

We met with the Mission President and his wife. Pres. & Sis. Hall. After a brief orientation he said, “I have a special assignment for you and I hope you won’t’ be disappointed.” I would like you to be the grounds keepers at the Carthage visitor’s center; you will be planting and tending the flower beds as well as maintaining all of the landscaping there. 

Sis. Johnson immediately clutched her chest and began to tear up. This is exactly the assignment she and I had hoped for.  “. . . Hope you won’t be disappointed. . .” No, not at all, more like doing cartwheels and handsprings with joy! We will be working with the “FM” (Facilities Maintenance) department where the plants are grown in greenhouses before transplanting. This assignment is a dream come true. 

Our housing assignment is on the grounds of the Carthage Jail visitor’s center. This is hallowed ground, the very spot where the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred in 1844 by a mob of 200 hateful men!  In fact we can see the historic Carthage jail only a hundred feet away though our living room window!