Wow. It's hard to believe what I have experienced over the past week or so. It has been almost four years since I lived in Nauvoo for a semester doing the BYU Nauvoo program. Amanda was accepted to attend the special edition EFY in Nauvoo and after pulling a few strings, I was hired to be a counselor that week. (I would have gone back with her even if I was not a counselor for EFY). Since I last was in Nauvoo, the only thing that has really changed was that they tore down the Joseph Smith Academy where I stayed when I was there last. It was really old and had lots of problems so they discontinued the program there and tore the building down. The JSA was located almost directly across the street from the temple (116 steps from the temple to be exact). Now all that is there is grass and mud.They also tore out the stairs that led from the statue to the flats where I used to love studying for my classes. I was really sad to see the empty space where so many things happened. The one thing that gave me hope was that I talked to the director of the program I did who still lives in Nauvoo and he said gave me a website to what will be called Nauvoo University. They are going to rebuild!! It won't be the same thing as before, but it will fulfill the dream Joseph had to have a university in Nauvoo!!
Now to the good stuff.... Amanda and I arrived in Nauvoo on Saturday night. We went around Nauvoo a little bit and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. Oh how I've missed those! On Sunday we of course had church (where I ran into the Ivies who were a part of the program I was in) and then we walked around the Flats to some sites that I thought Amanda wouldn't get to see with EFY. I forgot how big Nauvoo really is. That was a lot of walking!
Then EFY offically began!! All of EFY stayed at the Nauvoo Family Inn. This week my co-counselors were Richie, Ashley, and Kevin. They were amazing to work with. Our family's name was Kimball (after Heber C. Kimball) and we had 22 "children." I wish that I could go through every single thing that happened, but that is impossible, so will give the highlights of the week.
This week was different because of the special opportunity we had to be in Nauvoo. We adapted the schedule so that the kids and counselors could see and experience Nauvoo. Monday was the same, but Tuesday we had classes like usually and then we did games night. I was looking forward to this night all summer long because I had a feeling we would play games just down the hill of the temple. My group did a really great job making up the cheer and making the banner. We got third place for our cheer. It was also fun to see all the groups' cheers for a change because normally we only get to see the top four cheers. I have to say that this group was the most energetic and creative group I've had this summer. We had a lot of fun. We replaced one of the games we normally play at other sessions to play stick pull and leg wrestling like the pioneers did.
The teachers this week were Br. Brad Wilcox and Br. Daniel Hess. I don't think these kids know how blessed they were to have both of these teachers this week. They are the cream of the crop of EFY teachers. These teachers not only taught classes on Tuesday, but they led the bus tours that happened on Wednesday and Thursday.
One of my favorite things I did was on Tuesday. I took a small group of people down Parley street to where the saints crossed the river. It was a really great experience. Br. Hanson, our session director, repeatly talked about how crossing the river could be applied to our lives today, so I wanted them to understand and feel what it was like for the saints to cross the river where they did. I am happy to say that I've crossed the river many times.
This week we had two EFY Thursdays because for two days we had really amazing experiences that strengthed our testimonies and brought us closer to one another and the Savior. On Wednesday morning we went to the Groves, Cultural Hall, and then the Family Living Center. After lunch we went to the temple as a company. Wow. It felt so good to be there. What a unique opportunity to be in the temple with my youth. The greatest thing was one of the boys in our company recently received his mission call (Sidney Australia North) and was already endowed, so he helped confirm and baptise others in the company. After the temple we had a few hours to see some of the sites on the Flats. I was glad that I knew where I was going and could add a little more to their experience. We didn't have much time to see all that I would have liked them to see, but we saw many the sites and had a good time. That night we had a really fun dance, the only one for the week.
On Thursday we were dressed up all day as is normal at EFY. We took a bus to the Pioneer Cemetary and had a really great experience there. There was a vignette about one of the families that had children buried there that was really touching. From there we went to Carthage. I couldn't help but think of the time I walked to Cathage from Nauvoo four years ago. We had a really great experience there. When waiting for the tour ahead of us, we sang "Praise to the Man" in one of the rooms in the jail. It brought a spirit of gratitude, peace, and joy that dispelled the gloom that I have felt the past times I was there. One of my boys was a great-great grandson of Hyrum Smith which caused me to looked at things in a new light as I walked through the jail.Overall, it was another sacred experience not unlike going to the temple. When we got back to Nauvoo we watch the show "High Hopes and Riverboats" put on by the Young Performing Missionaries. That night we had a powerful testimony meeting.
Friday we had the opportunity to watch the Joseph Smith movie at the Visitors' Center when we had the Young Men/ Young Women activity. It was a really great way to summarize the week and once again feel what we felt in the different places we went. That evening after the banquet and pictures, we watched the show Sunset by the Mississippi that is put on by all the missionaries in Nauvoo. Instead of having a EFY dance that night, we watch the a cappella group Vocal Point perform. My group wanted to dance, so we left our seats and went to the back of the audience and danced. We had a lot of fun.
The Kimball family was unique for me because I have never had so many (5) kids already graduated from high school and some already graduated (or close to) gradutating college. Also, one of the boys is from a place where one of my brothers served his mission so he knew him. A funny thing that was said throughout the week was "Creepy" in a weird way that sounds like "Creepay." Another thing we did was K-I-M- "Bull" and we put horns on our heads.
I felt and learned so many things this week. I was given an increase of hope for the future even though it would involve "crossing the river" many times. I also learned more about the temple, Christ, and the Plan of Salvation. I learned the importance of following the spirit to say kind things to others and in teaching others in different ways that can help them understand what they need to at that time. My testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the restoration was also increased.
I am grateful for the opportunity I had to return to Nauvoo and have another good experience, this time with my sister nearby. I am excited for my next trip to Nauvoo sometime in the future.
Right now I am in Missouri staying at my roommates' house. We went to the Liberty Jail yesterday and had a really great experience there. Tommorrow we are planning to have a sunrise breakfast at Adam-Ondi-Ahman and then we will see other sites of Church History including Far West. We are planning to visit the Amish town Jamesport tomorrow, too!!
All pictures are on my webpage now, so look on the left under websites to find all my recent pictures!! Feel free to download any that you like!
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PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES!!!!
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