A Hot Time in Nauvoo

Nauvoo Heat Index all last week was well above 100 degrees F.  It was so so hot outside, we would walk from the car to the buildings and you would already start to sweat. It was wonderful:)  Because it was so HOT, our evening outdoor show was moved inside every night!  It's different to do inside, and we can't quite do all the same numbers, but it was a fun adventure.  Plus when we come inside we get to wear our wireless mics rather than the stand mics we use on the outdoor stage, so the sound is a bunch better!  Our neighbors the Ballings came too, I ran into them on Saturday night during Sunset show.  They are here for the Pageant all this week.

 

After Sister Cook left earlier last week, we thought we would have a normal run week.  But we were surprised on Thursday when Elder Mark Lucivardi came and wanted to see our show.  He is the General Authority over our department here and came in the early summer to see the other cast's show.  So this time he could only come to the 2:30 HHRB show, but wanted to see our cast, so we switched shows for him.  It was great, he loved the show.  Sister Steele was out sick on Saturday, but was back by Sunday.  Other than that we were all in good health and running well with the shows.

 

On Sunday we put on what's called a 'Sociable' here in Nauvoo.  It's basically like a Fireside musical presentation.  All the BYU groups that come put one on, as well as special speakers, and the young sister missionaries as well.  So we took our turn.  Because of our busy schedule and because the band is never with us, we really didn't have much time to prepare our group numbers other than Sundays.  So most of the small group numbers had to practice on their own, and then we spent from 12-5pm on Sunday putting the whole blocking and order of the program together.  We performed on the indoor stage and had two performances, 6:30 and 7:45, so all the guests and Missionaries could see it. I accompanied Elder Toone on the guitar for his solo, and I sang in a quartet the song 'Write thy name upon my heart.'  The program was great, and even better the second time through.  The most moving part of the program though was the accompaniment of the Spirit.  It was strong and consistent throughout the program.  It was a great upliftment for the busy week ahead.  And even though we didn't get any rest on Sunday, the different schedule and work rejuvenated us for this week.  One of the band YPM sisters even said the program changed her life.  Nauvoo is truly a sacred place.  Specially on that stage!

 

Love,  Elder Rose

More Nauvoo Adventures

Hello all,

 

Today's been busy, but great.  Elder Costa, of the Presidency of the Seventy, has been here this weekend.  He spoke in Church today, and then he met with just the Young Missionaries (roughly 60 of us).  It is so neat to meet with a General Authority in a close setting.  He said to be sure to tell our families "thanks"  for preparing us to be here, and to tell you that we are all Noble and "Choised" spirits!  (and he wrote it on the white board and he's from Brazil so he spelled it like that and said it like that too!)  He also came to the show HHRB on Friday, (along with Mary Cook of the YW General Presidency.)  We actually had a really neat experience that day.  On Friday we were all really tired...which is normal for a Friday.  We were told he was coming to the show, but one of our themes has been to do the same "our best" show for everyone, and that we shouldn't change to impress.  But we should do our show in best harmony with the overall picture.  Anyway, with all the sickness and everything this week, Friday was one of the only days that everyone was on stage together.  Before the show we all knelt together on the stage and Elder Camp offered a pray on our behalf.  That show was a testimony strengthening show for us all.  Elder Camp told us that it was the best show he's seen us do to date!  Our group has a great unity, and everyone works together really well, specially when were on stage together.  We really are being helped by our spiritual friends.  We do so much every day, and by the end of the week we really start to feel the heat! I know if we didn't rely on the help we recieve we couldn't do the things we do!

 

Most everyone was in good enough health this week.  Elder Elwood has had the worst of it, he was out with no voice for about three days.  Elder Johnson had to cover his part.  Others were under the weather now and again, but no one else traded parts.  Yesterday morning however Elder Harrison (who also opened his mission call this week to Colorado Springs Mission.  It was actually sent to his Utah residence and they had to send it to him here...) he had an in-grown toe thing, and the doc cut it off in the morning so he was out for the dancing.  So his counter part did the show JPAA with our cast in the morning.  As we were setting up for the show we realized not only does Elder Harrison do the part of the Tattletale twin, he also does the Puppet Show part of Andy, and Elder Christiansen his counterpart does only the Tattletale twin.... So I volunteered to be the Puppet!!! and O MY FUNNY it was so fun, the sisters that I did it with said it was so fun, and I thought it was fun.  I only had to be prompted a few times on some of the jokes, but overall it was so so exciting!!! Maybe I'll get to do it again sometime....     Because he was out, that meant that I also had to cover for him in the HHRB in the stickpole stunt....which was really cool, I got to do a flip thing on stage!  It's really fun sometimes, but sad, that people sit out.  Because covering for them on stage is exciting and new!  I had to do a few of Elder Elwoods "off William" lines too, so overall I was covering lines and making things fun.

 

Another new thing in Sunset is the clogging. During the show we do a little clogging to "When the Saints Come Marching In".  There is a break where three people do a trio solo in front!  Well, we asked the Camps if we could do it with them, and then Elder Fairborn and I learned the part and performed it on Friday and Satruday....it was really nervexciting but it's so fun to do the clog solo part too! On Saturday Elder Costa was there too!!!   We will be meeting with Sister Cook tonight over at the Presidents home...while we eat Ice Cream.

 

On Friday Mornings my cast does what we call street strolling.  This is were we take the Guitar and go sing to people who are on the streets of Old Nauvoo... This week was really interesting because on Friday morning all the sisters had to be at the sites to help cover for all the senior sisters who were out sick,  and that left the 5 of us Elders...except Elder Toone, and Elder Elwood were on vocal rest and could not sing....So it was just the three of us, Elder Hazen, Elder Harrison and I left to roam and sing to the visitors! but we put some quick arrangements of some old pioneer songs and went on our way!

 

One funny thing we did for a few days on stage was start passing objects without our director or the audience knowing.  So we started by passing a vanilla wafer, and it was really funny.  The joke was that who ever had them by the end of the show would have to eat them!! except it kinda got crumbly fast....But one Elder...who will remain nameless didn't like our little game and thought it was childish or something and so when he was passed the cookie he smashed it and threw it away!   So we learned not to pass it to him,  Except Elder Hazen apparently didn't get the message, and during the second show we were passing a guitar pick (O and you just pass it by shaking hands with someone or something like that.)  And during the dance 'Nauvoo whoop-de-do' Sister Steele passed it to Elder Hazen who was playing Brigham Young, well after the dance right before the scene ends, Brigham and this Elder characters shake hands, and Elder Hazen passed him the pick.  He didn't like that.  When Elder Hazen came off stage we were all laughing and telling who we had passed the pick to... then Elder told us that he had passed it to this Elder....and All at once we all went  "Ooooooo" and we all knew that we might not see that pick untill the show was over!! What an adventure...

 

We are all having so much fun... I appreciate all the lovely letters that I've been receiving!  Thanks!

 

The weather is HOT, and we have "who can sweat the most" competitions during Sunset show!  We love it!

I'm out of Time,  We're staying busy.

 

Much Love

 

Elder ROSE

Peter

Exhausted in the Service of God

We have had a most wonderful week.  Everything seems to be going quite well.  Last Sunday Elder Camp gave us a talk about last years YPM's and how the second week of pageant is really when the fatigue started to set in, and sickness occurred.  And sure enough this past week three of our Elders rotated through a stomach flu that completely whipped them.  On Monday my counterpart for HHRB, Elder Christiansen, was out bad, so that meant for both Monday and Tuesdays shows I had to play the part of Peter for both casts.  It was actually rather exciting.  We always have a company meeting right before our shows, and when someone will be sitting out the dances, we use that time to re-position our cast to fill the empty spots.  So then everyone is on their toes for the show!  On Monday we were doing this process of filling in so that I would be Peter, and we forgot one detail...my solo on my off cast, right before whistling and whittling brigade (same solo I wrote about last week:))  Because in that single solo I have a different counter part...but he couldn't do it, because in this cast (A cast) he played the role of William the Englishman...anywho..No one realized there wasn't anyone to sing that part basically untill it came to that part of the show: So I walk off stage from the scene right before, and it's like it all hit us at once and we realized that someone had to go on!  So I actually walked on (As Peter) and sang the solo...it was really out of place, and rather funny.  The sickness then took my companion out for a day, and he missed HHRB; and then Elder Elwood was out for a day.  The sickness has really hit the Sr. missionaries too, yesterday they closed 3 sites early because there was not enough man power to give tours there.

 

Then on Wednesday, which normally is my P-day morning, I subbed in JPAA for Elder Johnson because he and his companion were spending time with Elder Harrisons family that were in town.  So this week was even more busy for me because of the extra show roles I had.  But it was very fun.  It was really neat as well because on Monday I was playing Peter when Emily's roommate Saundra came with her family...and if it weren't for the cast switch she wouldn't have seen me in that role.  And then on Wednesday at JPAA one of my friends from high school, Morgen Luedkey, was there.  Turns out her grandma is our accompanist 2 times a week, because she's on a mission here, too.  It's so much fun to run into people I know.

Also this week I ran into a girl from my tap class this last semester at BYU, and on Saturday Danny Anderson's little brother and sister were there with their Church tour group. (It's Ben and Caroline right...)  They came to the visitors center right after one of our shows. and then I saw them, and Bro. Tesch at the Pageant that night, too!  It also turns out that my companion, Elder Toone, is cousins to the Barlows, (one of them recognized me as "Becca's older brother"...I think he said you were scenic lab partners or something)...who were on the tour with Ben And Caroline.

 

On Saturday morning Elder Packer was able to open his mission call here in the first MTC for the church, The 70's hall.  He will be serving in the New Jersey, Morristown mission.  He leaves Sept. 7th.  We had to have the meeting at 7am because that's really the only open time we have.  We, the Elders, arrived first- only to be greeted by our leaders, and President and Sisters Ludwig.  As we were walking down the street towards the 70's hall, sister Camp and Sister Ludwig were chatting at how exhausted we looked. But then Sister Ludwig made a really neat comment, that was later shared with us.  "How great a blessing it is to be entirely exhausted in the service of God."  THAT IS SO NEAT.  Being a missionary is the best time ever, literally our every hour is filled with service.  And here it sometimes feels even more physically demanding than my proselyting mission in Texas.  But being so physically tired has really allowed us to trust and depend on Divine help to see us through the end of the day, or the end of the week. But being so tired never felt so great, nor was it ever accompanied by such great blessings.

 

One of my favorite happenstances here in Nauvoo is when we greet a family, or group in the morning...and then we continue to run into them at all of our shows. (be it over a day, or over their entire stay here.)  One of these experience happened on Friday and then again on Saturday.  On Friday we were out singing on the streets of Old Nauvoo and we were greeted by a group wearing similar outfits to our own.  They were a group of Mennonites from Iowa.  We sang for them and then they sang a parting song for us in German.  We continued to see them at Sunset, and at Pageant.  They were very shy, but as soon as you talked to them they opened right up.  Then an even neater group of young men came to JPAA on Saturday morning.  They were a small group of deacon age kids from West Ogden that came with their 'basketball' coach.  They first talked to me because they thought it was hilarious how I (as the school master) fell in love with the 'feckel face lady' : Then they came to one of each of our shows that day, and after each show they looked to greet me, and we talked about their experience.  During Sunset before we do the 'Audition' skit, some of us get to go into the audience and sit by people. I went and sat by them before surprising them and running up onto the stage when they called for volunteers:)  It was really neat.  Two of the kids are recently baptized members and were here having a really neat experience.  Overall it was neat to create a memory for them, and for me, and to share the experience of the spirit of Nauvoo.

 

Today we finally got some down time to take a much needed recovery nap.  It's basically the only down time we'll have before we leave...which is still a month away.  We're busier than every, but loving every minute.  Last night as we were leaving pageant, I looked back at the stage and the amazing scene of this audience watching this huge production...and I felt overwhelming gratitude to be here and be a part of this Heavenly Town.

 

Our Typical Day

 

7am special meetings as needed

8am rehersal for the coming weeks pageant with family cast

9am sites/ district meeting/ or song rehersals

10 call for JPAA

11:30 lunch

12 call for 2nd JPAA

1 set for HHRB

2:30 HHRB

4:30 2nd HHRB

6 dinner

6:30 call for Sunset

7 Sunset

8 run to pageant to greet guest before show

8:30 Pageant starts

We finish our part of pageant and make it home by about 9:45

Then we crash at 10:30pm

It's Pageant Time

Another great week gone by.  Sunday is a great day to take off and really relax- at least for a while.  But the rest is much needed because we hardly get any during the week.  We now have our early morning rehearsals for pageant every day at 7:45-8:45 and then we pick up our regular busy schedule with a half hour for meals and adding Pageant performances every night now!  The pageant opens on Tuesday.  I've never seen the pageant before.  But being a part of it has been so great so far.  We've actually only had 4 rehearsals so far  and we only have one more before Tuesday!! Keep in mind that's all been this past week and we had to learn two dances!  It's so incredible.

Last Sunday night Vocal Point from BYU put on the Sociable. They did a great job.  After our sociables the Mission President invites the featured guests and all the young misisonaries to their home for an Ice cream social.  Sis. Ludwig makes this most delicious hot fudge, and we all mingle with fun people like Susan Easton Black, The BYU folk dancers, The Community of Christ Interns, Pageant core cast, and Vocal Point.  Vocal point gave us a private concert in the living room of the Presidents home.  It was really neat. They were standing and singing right in front of a huge window which ran the length and width of nearly the entire wall. During one of their songs about Christ it began to downpour outside and then lightning and thunder.  Of course we sang for them as well.  It was a really neat evening.

On Monday we sang at two commemorations of Joseph Smith, because the 27th was the anniversary of the Martyrdom.  First was the commemoration put on by the Community of Christ chruch,  they held it in the Smith family cemetary.  We sang "Nauvoo" by their request. and then at the LDS Commemoration we sang "No Ordinary Brothers."  That was held at Carthage, It was a really great service.

I also thought I'd write a little bit about my characters in the shows.  In Just Plain Anna-Amanda,  I play the role of the school teacher.  JPAA is a musical with a message specially directed at children.  Anna-Amanda learns to just be herself..."Because there's nobody else like you! and you are a very important person"  It's a shorter play but lots of fun because many of the characters are caricatures.  The school master sings a song about Bible characters and the importandce of learning!  The kids love it.

In High Hopes and Riverboats I play the character of Peter, the sidekick to the main character Chance.  Peter is a logging man from Wisconsin that's come down to Nauvoo to sell lumber to the growing city of Nauvoo.  The story is that Chance falls in love while here in Nauvoo, and also converts to the Church.  He chooses to go west with the Saints...meanwhile Peter, chooses to go back to Quincy. .. But Peter has a family, he's still a good guy i promise:)

This is a fun handout we got during our district meeting:  "As Latter Day Saints we are practically obsessed with anxiously engaging ourselves in good causes.  Maybe it's subliminal....Glancing through the hymnal last Sunday I noted that we who are called to serve are all enlisted to go arching, marching forward because the world has need of willing men to all press on scattering sunshine.  We wonder if we have done any good in the world today because we have been given much and want to do what is right, keep the commandments, press forward with the Saints, choose the right, and put our shoulders to the wheel going where He wants us to go.  However, as the morning breaks high on the mountain top, truth reflects upon our senses, and while we still believe that sweet is the work, we also realize that we have work enough to do ere the sun goes down.  And thus we ask Thee ere we part, where can we turn for peace?"

During one of our JPAA shows her mom comes on stage and gives Anna a bowl of apples.  Well, during the pre-show puppet show, I slipped a wooden man doll into the bowl.  So then when Sister Steele came on as mom, she saw the doll and started laughing a lot, she barely made it through the scene, it was hillarious. 

That is all.  All is well.
Keep moving forward.

Love Elder ROSE!

At the Brickyard with Mom