Missionary Service Project

Last week all the missionaries participated in a service project. We painted fences for the Community of Christ. We did the white fence all around the Mansion House and also stained several fences around other properties owned by the Community of Christ. Last year we had re stained the fence all around the Homestead, which they really appreciated, and they were very grateful for this years project also. It was pretty hot at first, but it was fun and we got a lot done in just a few hours.

President and Sister Peterson

Rick and I, and the Bacas in the background

The finished Mansion House fence

Sister Wells and Rick on one of the other fences.

The Kelleys

The Petersons...(Wendy's aunt)

Sister Chipman

The Lowes

Gathering afterwards.  Brother Murset thanking us...he was in charge of this activity

Loch MacKay thanking us.  He is the head of the Community of Christ sites here in Nauvoo... a very nice man.

Time to eat!!  Sister Gates and Sister Murset dishing up the brownies...yum!

Some ate while standing...

some ate while sitting...on the parking lot if they had not brought chairs as instructed! :)

But we ALL had a great time!!

Heartland Dairy & Ministry

Our P-Day group went to the Heartland Dairy and Ministry last Friday. It was so interesting. It is a HUGE operation, almost like a little city, not just a dairy, but they do have 7,000 cows, plus about 1200 goats that they milk every day! In fact the cows are milked 3 times a day on several huge carousels that operate 24/7. It is all run by a Christian couple who take in troubled youth and adults with various problems and addictions and help them recover. They have a These people that they are helping are the ones running all the stores and farms etc. That way they are learning a trade.  They also have a Christian Academy and a College.   It was amazing!!

Part of our group eating at the Heartland's SOLID ROCK CAFE....not the HARD ROCK!! It was good food.

On the bus, ready to take the tour of the area.

These old Ford cars were part of the Cafe.

This was the baby goat nursery. They were very friendly! Kept trying to "eat" my jacket during this picture!

One of the many goat barns.

One of the milking carousels.  This one took 60 cows at once.

One of their many milk trucks!  Note the sign!!

Charles Sharpe - the man who started it all.  He is 83 now and doesn't look or act that old.  He talked to us for a few minutes after the tour.  A wonderful man, and he is doing a lot of good work.

All of us in front of the big rock by the Solid Rock Cafe!

The men in front of the Heartland sign.

Rick & I...see the corn field in the background.  They also farm and produce crops on hundreds of acres. 

The Mursets by the cornfield and sunflowers!

We all decided to stop in at the Cafe again on our way home for ice cream.  Brother Tovey doesn't look too happy...is it because he only has two!!???

The Wells with their ice cream.  They are happy about the whole day.  It was a fun excursion.

Bike ride down by the river

I was given a bike the first of the summer, and have taken many rides. There are so many beautiful places to ride around Nauvoo. A couple of weeks ago, I talked Rick into borrowing a bike and coming with me. He said it was probably the first time he had been on a bike since he was 15...that is a LONG time :) He did really well though, and it was fun. I guess that old saying "it's just like riding a bike" is true...once you learn how, you really don't forget! Anyway, one of the places we went was the old Dunkee family graveyard down by the river. It is hidden in the trees and not many people know about it.  Rick had never been there, so I wanted to show it to him.  It was a cool day and quite windy, but everything was green and beautiful.

Rick coming into the graveyard. He didn't want to ride the bike through the trees. The trail was pretty narrow!

One of the remaining grave stones. Most of the others are covered up by overgrown foliage.

Looking east from the graveyard across a corn field. You can see the Catholic church steeple, the Temple, and the water tower.

There are so many butterflies in Nauvoo. This is one of many I saw on the bike ride.

The River had white caps because of the wind!

Baby deer in our back yard.

We were on our way for a bike ride the other day and I saw these two baby deer in our back yard. There used to be three of them. They were born there a few months ago, and they and their mother have feasted on our garden during the summer! :) We usually don't see them in the day, however, so I took these pictures and video. They really are cute. I just wish they hadn't eaten so many tomatoes and all my beets. I only harvested one!!

See how close they are to the house!

He sees me !

The one and only beet I got from my garden!!  We did eat it, but it wasn't very filling! :)

 

The Barlows Visit!

The Barlows came to visit August 10 - 13! Our last family to visit :( It has been fun seeing so many of them though.

At the Red Brick Store

Waiting to go into the Homestead.

"Time to wake up everyone!" These are the wonderful accommodations at the "Evan's Nauvoo Inn"!

Eating at the "Evan's Inn". Look at that big pot of Iowa corn...Yum- Yum!

Playing in the rain!

The night we were going to see Sunset, we had a real Midwestern "DOWNBURST"! The Barlows couldn't believe how hard and fast it was raining! They all decided to go out and play in it!!! I tried to take some pictures, but the wind was blowing the rain into the entry way too, so I was getting wet and so was my camera. The neighbors got a big kick out of all the kids running and jumping and even lying down in the road while the water rushed by them like a river! It was great fun!

Christina and Steve were getting wet too, even though they had umbrellas.

When they finally came in, they were soaked to the bone!