“Sometimes adversity works in our favor.”

This quote is from Jack Renouf. He’s the pageant president and an incredibly inspired man. The quote came because we were talking about the rainstorm the night before and how it was pouring all day and then let up from pre-show through pageant and then started again as we were packing up after pageant. It was a reminder that even when bad things happen, it can work to show us the power of God. Love it!

Happy August! Whoa.

I LOVE TO SEE THE TEMPLE
So we lost 3 of our sisters. 5 more leave at the end of this transfer. It’ll be weird to be in the last group left. But before they left we had a night in the temple. We did this last yr too. We started it by being able to clean in the temple. We were vacuuming in all the rooms on all the floors. It was way cool. We got to the 3rd floor and Sis. Rancie and I headed straight to the Celestial Room. It was SO quiet and still and peaceful. It was so, so dang cool! We spent a few quiet, prayerful moments, then turned on the vacuums and got to work. The coolest thing though was that the Spirit was so strong, even while vacuuming. Later one of the temple engineer people explained some of the murals to us and then we went to the assembly room to check that out too. It was just so cool. Just a reminder that the Spirit is in God’s temple, at any time of day. It was so fun with all of us in our white jumpsuits fluttering around dusting and vacuuming. Chores have never been so pleasant. :)

VISIT FROM THE GHOSTS OF SUMMER PAST
Ok, not ghosts. Three of the sisters from last yr came out. Sis. South, Francis, and Rasmussen. It was awesome to see them. Sis. South just kinda backed her way into our pageant booth when I was in there and I saw her from the back and didn’t think anything of it cause it was so normal for her to be there. Then it registered. It was so fun to see them and to catch up. They loved being here and loved to remind us that they were enjoying Nauvoo with the benefits of sleeping in and wearing jeans. It was so cool to see them get recharged about their missionary work and the things they learned from their missions. And I’m sure they didn’t mind being called “Sister” all weekend either. :)

SUNDAY, SUNDAY
Yesterday was a good, full day. We got to interpret for someone at church, then had dist mtg, then served in the NVC and made lots of phone calls (I’m continually inspired by the Church members who come here and their desire to share the gosp), then broke our fast at president’s house, then zone conference, then the pageant cast sociable. The Sociable is geared toward a more general (not totally LDS) audience and they perform it all around the surrounding towns when they’re here. The whole thing focuses on families and so many aspects of it really stuck out to me last night. I loved being reminded that families are here to take care of each other. I love the cycle of learning from each other and growing with each other. This all sounds corny but you know what I mean. I know families truly are ordained of God.

Love you all,
Sis C