A Week After The Trip?
Yep. Truth is, on the last day of our trip, I started getting sick. By the time we got home (midnight Friday), I was in full-blown sinus infection. Thankfully, Ken had the foresight to urge me NOT to book classes for Saturday morning. Still, Saturday evening classes loomed horrifically, until Ken & Jonathan gave me a priesthood blessing. I was able to get through. But this past week has been full of tissues and phlegm and tickling throats. Even now.
The Journey
We assembled with the youth of our Stake at the Stake Center in Norman on Tuesday, July 9th at 10 p.m., ready to board and be off for Illinois by 12 p.m Yes, you read that right. Midnight.
They had us meet with our groups before boarding the buses. Our group, the purple group, had thirteen assorted young men and women. Only three were from Chickasha: Analiese, and two girls from my Seminary class. Nearly all the rest were new to me. One other girl had been one of my online students over a year ago. I was excited to have her!
Two Hundred teens, some-odd adults, 4 tour buses. They allotted two buses for the girls, and two for the boys. Ken & I were assigned bus #4 with a group of young men. The adults were boarded before the youth and given our own set of seats (two) to ourselves, with the exception of one father with his disabled son. This was a guard against liability issues. The guys weren't always super-cooperative about this with some of the men, but they left me alone. There were only two sisters on our bus: Me and the sister working with meals. She was way at the front. I was near the back; my reasoning being that access to the bathroom would be better. There may have been some regrets on my part by the end of the trip!
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| The view from my seat. For twelve hours. |
I knew the girls' buses would be giggly. But the boys buses weren't quiet sanctuaries, either. My experience gave me a taste of what Scout Camp must be like. To be honest, I kind of liked being with the guys for the most part. Yeah, they could be goofy, braggadocian, and fascinated with all disgusting bodily functions. But I saw intelligence, kindness, and spirituality in them and their conversations. The future may not entirely be lost on the next generation (ha-ha).
But, oh! I was exhausted. There was NO way for any comfortable sleep, even in my two seats. The journey was excruciating and I think I may have slept 30-60 minutes the entire time. The boys weren't talking the whole time and some even settled down to sleep. Many had their phones out; there were outlets and wifi on the bus. We warned them, though. Our schedule was going to be rush-rush-rush. There was no down time until bed Wednesday night.
I understand this plan for two reasons. One, wear 'em out and they'll sleep through the night and cause less trouble. Maybe. Some got cranky and were probably more trouble than they could have been. Second, some of these kids may never get another chance to see these Church sites. I believe the leaders were trying to give the youth as many experiences as they could fit in. Trust me, it was tight!
Day One
So, I watched the sun rise. I saw us cross the Mississippi river. At one stop for gas, the drivers kicked us all out of the bus. I had Ken walk me through the convenience store/restaurant, to move my aching bones. I had brought medicine, a massaging pillow, what have you. Nothing was up to the task!
Nauvoo, in case you didn't know, means "beautiful" in Hebrew. I believe it. It's lovely and I wish I had had more time there!
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| Joseph Smith's Grave (RLDS property) |
I would like to have taken more photos of Nauvoo than I did, but our crazy schedule didn't give me a lot of time. There was historical Nauvoo, as owned by the Church (with a little bit owned by the Community of Christ - aka RLDS) and Nauvoo proper, the place where people lived and shopped now. We drove through town, past the temple
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| Temple view from the Visitor's Center |
, and up to the Visitors' Center. The grounds are beautiful, and the landscaping had me admiring - quickly - though I really wanted to look closely at it all. They are still working on restoring buildings, it's amazing how much there is/was!
In the Visitor's Center, they showed us a film about the Restoration. I have seen this film many times, but it still has the power to move me. According to Analiese and some other youth I heard later, this was one of the great spiritual experiences for them.
We had lunch in the Women's Garden (for those of you in CA, it is the actual statues of women, life size or bigger, instead of the small ones in front of the LA Temple Visitor's Center). The day was already heating up and we gathered our group
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| These are our Purple People! |
(we had a third adult, another brother from a different ward, to help us) as we decided where we were going and what we wanted to see.
Everything was fascinating! I love history!
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| Analiese makes the bear climb the rope at the Pioneer Games |
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| Two of my girls try stilts |
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| At the print shop |
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| Printing press |
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| Huge families...small kitchens |
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| Sod houses and root cellars fascinate me. |
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| My brick from the brickyard! |
Older couples and sisters serve as missionaries at Nauvoo. Resting at one point, I asked one sister a lot of questions about what it's like to serve there. She told us that the older sisters would sew their dresses...to fit! They picked out the fabric for the dress and apron, and the sister sewed them up - two dress and two aprons! They serve in Nauvoo nearly all year round, except in winter, when there isn't many tourists. Then, they are sent to serve in other areas proselyting (one sister had gone to North Dakota). They never work in just one area of Nauvoo, but move around. They study the historical information for their next day's assignment every evening. Wouldn't a historical mission be cool?
Nearly all of our dining on this trip was done alfresco (or in the bus on the go!). Wednesday was Domino's pizza in a picnic area near the pioneer games.
Nearby were the fairgrounds and the pageant arena. We spent some relaxing time as the sun began to set, in the comfort of the shade. There were pioneer crafts,
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| Ken works on a rag rug |
more games, and music with dancing. They had bagpipes, accordians, violins, and brass instruments. They taught dances, too. Analiese -who loves to dance - learned the Highland reel!
Why all this emphasis on British things? Why, because of the British Pageant, a salute to the Saints in the British Isles: their conversion, their faith, and their willingness to do everything they could to reach Zion and receive their temple blessings!
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| The temple is behind the stage! |
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| I thought the boat set was really cool |
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| Excuse the blurriness, there's a lot of motion and dancing! |
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| At the end, the temple lights up! |
It was an amazing pageant. When all the local missionaries came up at the end to sing "Called to Serve," I got very emotional. It was a thrilling moment and many memories came rushing back!
After the pageant, we got on the buses for an hour drive to Macob, Illinois. There we went to Western Illinois University to stay in the dorms. The leaders had mercy on we group leaders, we stayed on a different floor from the youth: the boys had one floor with men leaders (non-group) and the girls on another (ditto). Despite being so dead tired, Ken & I both took showers to wipe off the sweat & grit of the day (my socks were filthy) and to relax us for sleep. We'd only get about seven hours before we had to get up, have breakfast, and get on the buses for the next events!
Day Two
Despite dorm conditions (weird mattress, floppy pillows), Ken & I slept solidly through the night. We felt a bit better (yesterday was such a stretch) as we rearranged our stuff for what we needed (yesterday, we had to carry more stuff than we wanted because of lunch and schedules) and headed downstairs. Outside (told you!) they were grilling breakfast burritos. Apparently, the Stake RS had recruited some ward RS's to make a bunch of burritos (all kinds - sausage, potato, brisket) and put them on dry ice for the trip. I would not have wanted to be on the food crew for the trip; that was a lot of physical and brain work! Coordinating alone would be crazy. And I saw how much food they loaded into the buses' storage areas!
The day would start with another bus trip (we got tired of that really quickly) to Carthage. Our whole group was too big to go into the Visitor's Center and the jail all at once, so they put us in our color groups (Purple People!) and we visited the grounds while we waited.
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| The window on the second floor is where Joseph Smith fell out of when he was shot & killed. |
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| Entrance to the jail and the family quarters |
While we waited, a group of missionaries in period clothing played instruments (including the sweet potato, guitar, violin & mandolin) and sang hymns and songs of the time. This is a 3-6 month service mission that you have to audition for!!! Two of my group girls are very talented in this way and they both expressed they'd love to do it! They would be awesome. The Spirit was so strong with the music!
Once inside the VC, we were shown a short film about Oliver Cowdery meeting Joseph Smith and the translation of the Book of Mormon. Then, they showed us a clip from a conference talk by Elder Holland and his testimony regarding the martyrdom. This was the same clip I showed in Seminary, and it was no less powerful now. In fact, more so, because after that testimony, we were taken into the jail.
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| The Jailor's family lived on the first floor! |
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| Seven children...where did they put them? |
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| This second floor room was the Jailor's and his wife's. He let Joseph, Hyrum and others stay up here for safety. |
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| This is the window. |
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| A somber room to be in. |
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| We managed to get a (partial) family photo! |
We drove back to Nauvoo to the picnic area for a hot dog lunch and a little more sightseeing. (I actually fell asleep on the bus and didn't wake up until Ken roused me.) Our kids, a couple of whom had been to Nauvoo before, wanted to go into the town proper. You know, shopping. Frankly, I was too tired to care and Ken wanted to see the Fudge shop he's spied from the bus. Oh, but it was a trek and half to go from the lunch area to the town...up hill!
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| Best thing...we walked past the temple! So Beautiful! |
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| This was fun! Drinks with pioneer names! |
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| Yeah, I love these girls! |
Brigham's Beverages was the highlight...even over the fudge. They mixed sodas or lemonade with fruit syrups and gave them funny pioneer-ish names. Like the Parley P. Pratt - Pepsi, Pineapple, and Peach! Analiese & I had the Midwife - Dr. Pepper with cream and raspberry puree. Wow! That was so refreshing (remember - heat & humidity!). Ken had the Holy Heber - lemonade with different fruit syrups. Analiese said we need to come back every year to try a new one each year...it would take 30 years!
The hike down the hill wasn't nearly so bad. Except we had to hustle, because we were running late. We'd only had an hour and a half to go into town and a good bit of it was getting there! Then, back on the buses and quickly to the dorms for a shower and change into church clothes. After that, we headed to the nearby church building for dinner, a testimony meeting, and a dance.
They served us smoked turkey, brisket (my fav!), beans, potato salad, and cobbler for dessert. Cherry, blueberry and peach - what a conundrum! I ended up with cherry. I make peach often enough, that I wanted cherry (it's not a sacrelidge).
The testimony meeting was amazing. It was a small chapel, so the adults all had to go in the choir loft. A lot of kids from our group bore their testimonies. And more guys did than the girls! I never would have guessed that! Still, I was moved and grateful to hear of all the truths they had learned these past two days (Carthage had really moved them). They still had one more...what more could they gain?
I spent most of the dance out in the foyer. It was dark, loud, and hot in the cultural hall. I went in for a small moment to support a shy group member and then to dance with my husband. We tried hard not to pay any attention to Analiese who danced...a lot. On her own, with others, in groups. That kid loves to move! Some boys asked her, some she asked. She's not shy.
We all went back to the dorms at ten, and I was grateful for the adult floor. Because the kids were allowed to stay up until midnight playing games. Ken & I slept in peace!
Day Three
We were up at 5:45 a.m. (The kids wanted to party last night?) to head down to grab a sack breakfast and load up buses by 6:15. I didn't bother with a shower; a quick wash up was enough. I did, however, wake up with a sore throat. I was looking for juice, water, anything to keep my throat going.
It was a four hour drive south (heading homeward) to Independence, Missouri, with only one short break for refueling. The buses separated to two difference historical sites in Independence. We went first to the VC there, but had a picnic lunch outside first while half of our two buses went in first.
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| Some of the interactive exhibits reminded me of the Mormon Battalion monument in San Diego |
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| Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration |
We didn't stay long in the VC...we were running behind schedule. We had to swap out with the other two buses and head to Liberty Jail. By then, I wasn't feeling well and Ken suggested I stay in the bus. But when would I ever come here again? So, I went in.
Liberty Jail had been an interested study for me this past year in Seminary as we studied Doctrine & Covenants. Sure enough, a display there labeled the experience as a prison temple. It had refined Joseph there; he came out a man changed deeply and spiritually.
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| Four-foot thick walls with rocks in the attic area should anyone try and escape through the roof. |
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| The bottom level had only one small access through the floor. |
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| It wasn't high enough for tall men to stand straight. There was little light and air and only dirty straw to sleep on. It was mid-winter and they had little in the way of heating, food, and blankets. |
The next leg of our trip was a 4-hour drive to Kansas, where we would stop at a park and have dinner before heading back into OK. You would think these kids, hustled about constantly these past few days, would have sacked out on the bus. Nope. They were full of energy...and mischief. It was funny, but impossible to rest.
Then came the news. The park we were going to was on FIRE. Crazy! But another wonderful thing about the gospel, is that we are all over and the same. Someone in our leadership found some sister missionaries who opened a local church building for us. We ate outside, but used the facilities within. Just before we headed out again, they bore their testimonies of why they were serving to us. Cool!
We made it back to Norman and then home (after delivering a few kids) by some time after midnight Saturday morning. I just dropped everything and went to bed (by then, I was really feeling poorly). Time enough to deal with it all after some sleep!
AFTERMATH
I was a real mess Saturday morning. I got up sometime between 8 and 9, started some laundry, and went back to bed. I slept until 2:30, then realized I'd better get up and prep for my classes that night. I went back to bed again after that and slept until 4:30-5, when Analiese woke me up, concerned I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
I had Ken and Jonathan give me a blessing so I could get through my classes (I had a singing one!) and dutifully taught. My VV class, I did a Milli-Vanilli act in part of it (lip synch). Then, back to bed.
Sunday morning, I had to play the organ in church. I went, played and stayed for Sacrament meeting, and had Ken take me home. To sleep.
The sinus pain and trouble didn't last too long, but I've had drainage and a tickling throat all week. Some of my classes found me coughing. I drank a lot of water. At the dentist Wednesday (fitted for a crown), I warned them that I was draining sinus gunk. So awesome. Not.
Would I go to Nauvoo again? Yes, I didn't get to see everything and I'd like to take my time. Would I go in summer? Yes and no. Yes, because I'd like to see the Nauvoo pageant and no, because it was hot, humid and dusty. Would I go with the youth and drive for hours on end in a bus? NEVER. This was much harder on all of us (Ken & Analiese included) than we realized. I recognize and appreciate the opportunity for what it was. I was glad to have it. But I don't think it could happen twice and me survive.
