Wednesday, May 11, 2016 – Training Mtg., Parking lot cleaning, “Sunset” Band practice

Every Wednesday Sis. Johnson and I drive in to Nauvoo for our weekly mission-wide training meeting. Today was special for two reasons. First, the 12 new senior missionaries that arrived last Friday were introduced. They each stand and tell a little about themselves and where they are from. When they are finished we sing “Welcome to Nauvoo” to them. Next week there will be another 24 seniors arrive. These new arrivals are at a huge disadvantage. They will be thrown into the singing and dancing with only two weeks of practice before this summer’s “Sunset by the Mississippi” production start.

Second, the training we received from one of the speakers was simply great. Elder Swain spoke on “How to recognize the Holy Ghost, his promptings and answers to prayers.” Elder Swain has been a Patriarch for the past 20 years and if anyone knows about the promptings of the Holy Ghost, he does. His lesson was phenomenal. After he finished Pres. Hall stood up to add his part of the training but first he said that this lesson by Elder Swain was the best lesson he has heard since he became the Nauvoo Mission President. That’s how good today’s lesson was.

Next, Sis. Johnson and I were off to the offices and supply yard of FM (Facilities Management) for diesel fuel and other supplies. While we were in the parking lot we got to watch the Nauvoo Band members of the YPM’s (Young Performing Missionaries) practice their moves and routines in the parking lot. They are good and they have to be, with only two and a half weeks before “Sunset by the Mississippi” starts, they use every hour of the day for practice. 

Back at the Carthage Visitor’s Center, Sis. Johnson and I went right to work cleaning the parking lot. It is a very big job and we worked a couple of hours to finish it. At FM there is a very large street sweeper available to us to use. We could use it instead of using the hand held leaf blowers. But, it would require a trip in to Nauvoo, then load it on a trailer and after finishing the parking lot, it would have to be reloaded and driven all the way back to Nauvoo the same day. We figure, in the two hours of driving time it would take to pick up and return the street sweeper, we could clean the parking lot just as good with the leaf blowers.

 

Tonight we had “Sunset by the Mississippi” play practice again. But, for the first time we got to practice on the actual stage we will use for the performances. We haven’t been able to use the real stage until now because it has been under construction for some major remodeling and painting. Now, depending on the weather, we should be able to always use the new stage.