Week 29 : January 11th --- January 19, 2014

Hello again:

We feel like we've had sort of a break this week.  They have been painting and working in the Cultural Hall and so we have not had any Rendezvous performances.  It has made a little difference in the intensity of our time.  It's not quite like going on vacation but it has been a break.  For one thing it has been very cold this last week and the wind has blown a lot so it made it possible to stay in out of the cold some of the nights. 

Last Sunday there was no heat in the chapel of the church building where we meet and it was very cold.  It was around 20 degrees outside and even though there was heat in the rest of the building we all had to keep our coats on for that 70 minutes of Sacrament Meeting.  It was much better this week. 

Our Mission President has gone home and we were scheduled to meet our new President yesterday but he had an accident and hurt his back so he was not able to come as he planned.  He should be here in a few weeks.  His last name is Hunter and he is the son of President Howard W Hunter.  We had a lot of nice goodbyes with our past President this week-an open house last Sunday, a farewell breakfast on Friday, and gifts and goodbyes at our Training Meeting on Wednesday.

With the guests being  few in numbers we are very involved with Humanitarian Projects while we are in our sites.  We have made countless hats, baby layettes, quilts,  Boo-Boo bears, mittens, and pillow cases.  These things are all donated to various charities, fire stations, woman shelters, hospitals and other places for those in need.  Hope you enjoy the pictures of some of the things we have made. 

Working at the Family Living Center( Sister Pincock is making a shawl)

Elder Pincock weaving a rug

finished products waiting for tags that say
"made with love from the Nauvoo Missionaries"

getting material ready for quilts

working on a shawl

tying the fringe on the totes and runners



tying a quilt

some finished quilts

completed baby blankets

a view of some completed items

Sometimes while we are serving at the sites we have some time to work on some additional humanitarian projects.  For one of his Christmas presents Elder Pincock received a weaving loom to make hats, scarfs etc.  He made his first hat and I got it!!!

First hat made by Elder Pincock

guess who got it!!!!

making another one??

Last Monday we spent the evening at the home of Bro and Sister Tukuafu that live here in Nauvoo.  They moved here from Hawaii and before that they lived in Tonga.  They met at BYU Hawaii, married and have 14 children.  They came here 4 years ago and built a round house overlooking the Mississippi river.  She is very musical and has made over 30 musical instruments and plays them all.  Her specialty is harps and she played and they both sang us songs and gave  us a tour of their house.   She actually makes these instruments in her shop where she also made most of the furniture and furnishings in their house.  It was a most interesting evening.  They raised their family in a shack in Hawaii with no running water or electricity in the house.  They are both in their seventies and her message was to never give up because  your dreams CAN come true.  She has always wanted a round house because in Tonga the round houses are the ones that withstand the storms and hurricanes.   They designed and mostly built this house out of logs and wood that they found along the banks of the Mississippi river.  It was fascinating.

looking at the ceiling and balcony in the Tukuafu home

bed made from wood floating in the Mississippi River

Sister Tukuafu bathtub

stained glass window in Tukuafu home

full moon showing through skylight in Tukuafu home

Bro & Sister Tukuafu (she is playing a harp that she made)

making a string instrument (don't remember the name of it)

Sister Tukuafu playing for us

playing the bass oboe

 

Jennifer, did you know these people from the North shore in Laie when you were on your mission?
  
It is Eagle Celebration Days around here and the eagles  are everywhere.  We enjoyed a day of observing the eagles and we also saw some pelicans.  It is quite a sight to watch these beautiful birds.
The river has certainly provided us with much pleasure during the different seasons.  Something different is happening all the time.  From the pretty water lilies and their evolution, the hunting huts on the river, the autumn leaves and now  the frozen water and eagles feeding on fish during the winter.  We truly enjoy this and the beautiful drive when we go to the south of Nauvoo along the banks of the Mississippi.

Bald Eagle flying near a fishing boat on the Mississippi

resting from a morning of fishing

Beautiful birds.  There are hundreds of them by the river

We are grateful for the opportunity to be here and to be part of all that goes on and to see
how it all works.  We are blessed with good health.  David's cracked rib is healing after his fall on the ice, I am doing OK with the pain of an abscessed tooth that I will get taken care of on Wednesday.  I am going to have an ultrasound in my ongoing monitoring and David has his treatment every 4 months and other than a sore bottom is doing well.  Did I say GOOD HEALTH!!   Well, it's quite a sight to watch all of us older people during such extraordinary things.  We all have our ailments and we are still producing such amazing feats.  And we truly love it.  What a way to spend our later years.  The gospel is true and I'm positive without that knowledge all of this would be impossible.  Work hard and use your faith.  We love you all. 

 

 Elder and Sister Pincock                  

Week 28: December 30, 2013 --January 10, 2014

Hi: 

We do miss having family here but we look forward to several friends and family who are coming this spring and we are really excited to have visitors and being able to show people the wonderful things that happen in Nauvoo.  We also got to enjoy the Young Performing Missionaries a few more times before they left.  Devin Davis came for dinner and then all 4 of them came for breakfast.  It was a fun boost to have them here again.  Their special song in Sunday School was a reminder of their extreme talents and the real treat that is in store for those who come to visit during the summer.  They get here in May and stay until August. 

 Elder Davis and three other of the Young Performing missionaries

It was also fun to have so many visitors in the historic sites for the Holidays.  We had many fun tours during Christmas and New Years.  It was fun to be busy giving tours and enjoying the people who were visiting here. 

Also between Christmas and  New Years our Head Rendezvous Director  was here from Salt Lake  giving us training on how to do our parts better.  It was very helpful and this week we are seeing some great improvement in our performance.  It is really amazing that all of us senior citizens are singing and acting on stage.   I do have to tell you that David will have a surprise (new part )for all of you who come in the spring.  You will be impressed!

New Year's Eve we had a fun party at our apartment.  18 of us gathered for delicious food, fun games and a chocolate fountain for dessert.  There were 4 different parties going on in the mission.  We were divided up according to MTC groups.  Since we only came with 1 other couple, our group consisted of all those who have arrived since July.  At 9:00 we all met at the family Living center and enjoyed more food and a fun band and dancing.  There are some really talented people here and the band members entertain us often and they are very enjoyable.   On New Years Day the sites were open and I served at the Heber C Kimball home.  I was with Sister Scott.  She gave us some soup for dinner along with some homemade divinity that really reminded me of Christmas because my Mom always made divinity for Christmas.  That evening we watched the movie, Ephraim's Rescue.  We had never seen it and enjoyed watching it. 

We enjoy things every day.  We are never bored.  I have enjoyed making some old fashioned Christmas Tree Ornaments this year.  They are like the ones on the beautiful tree that was in the Visitor's Center.  All the ornaments were handmade.  Since I didn't get them done before Christmas I am still making them.

Christmas ornaments that Sister Pincock makes

We attended a baptism of a granddaughter of a missionary couple.  Their son brought his family here for their daughter's baptism.  It was really special.  I get to help with the music at Church and I still get to play  for a part in Rendezvous that I am enjoying.  We invite people over to watch BYU and Bowl games often and we certainly enjoy the sessions that we attend at the temple.  We also attend the lectures given by Susan Easton Black Durrant  and find them very  interesting and educational in Church history.

Today I had a great experience at the Family History Center.  We located the names of my great grand parents on my Dad's side and we were able to prepare their names for temple work.  I was so excited and felt the spirit of it all.  It was a great day for me.  We have never been able to get enough information about these family members to identify them properly.  Thanks to indexing and the available Census records now days we were successful today and I am extremely happy about it all. 

Nauvoo Family History Center
(What a special blessing Sister Pincock had here)

 

We are preparing for an reenactment of the exodus of the Saints from Nauvoo.  We will carry the names of  Drusilla and James Hendricks. They are Elder Pincock's 3rd great grandpartents on his mother's side of the family.  James was wounded and paralyzed in the Battle of Crooked River.  They left Missouri with the saints and traveled back to Quincy Illinois on their way to Nauvoo.  The home they lived in while in Nauvoo is still standing with a picture from below.  Sometime when you have a chance and want to read about a wonderful pioneer testimony look up James and Drusilla Hendricks on Google.  Wonderful conversion story, example of faith and faithfulness and great story of how their son William became one of the youngest boys to join the Mormon Battalion and the story of James and his life after Crooked River. 

James & Drusilla Hendricks home in Nauvoo

While studying about these relatives we ran across some information about the Pincock's.   I have been asked to be the site leader of the  Heber C Kimball home and I have enjoyed learning about and helping to take care of this home.  I was very interested when we read that Heber C Kimball was the one who converted and baptized John Pincock  (Elder Pincock's 3rd great grandfather ) in England.  John and his wife, Mary Marsden are both buried in the Old Nauvoo Pioneer Cemetery. There are so many connections that we have made here in Nauvoo.  We are blessed and love being and serving here.  Our experiences are remarkable and we can hardly believe all of the things we are part of every day. 

A Nauvoo

We so much appreciate our family and their support so we can be here.  We also appreciate our friends and neighbors who support and help with the yard, snow and watchful care of our  home. 

Until our next report, we hope that you are surviving the winter and accomplishing great things.  (I forgot to tell you that we just passed a very snowing and cold spell here in Nauvoo.  We think the worst of that storm has passed and hope we can get enough warmth to at least get our car washed. )

sunrise from our apartment deck

ice on our storm door during our 30 below weather

Congratulations and Good Luck to the Max and Deanna Wade(now Elder and Sister Wade) who have just reached their mission and started new adventures. 

Love, 

Elder and Sister Pincock

 

 

 

 

 

Weeks 26 and 27----December 20 to December 29, 2013

Hello again:

We had a marvelous Christmas.  What a wonderful time of the year.  We trust that you all had enjoyable experiences that make Christmas so joyous.   I can't  believe that Christmas is over for another year.  It has certainly been  a unique Christmas for us.  We had a great time with Annette, Christian, and their children.  They came on the train and had a great experience feeling relaxed, enjoying the beauty of the environment and carefree from the trials of driving with children-potty breaks, long hours on the road and being closed in for too long. 

in the van on our way to the apartment from the train depot

As you can see from the picture we started the party on the way home from the train station and continued the fun for the entire week.

Sunday afternoon we visited some of the sites.  That evening we met at the Church with all the missionaries for a soup and bread dinner before braving the weather for some Christmas caroling around the town. 

soup and bread before going Christmas caroling

Monday was a fun day at the sites and when Elder Pincock and I got done with our assignments for the day we went to the Cultural Hall to meet our friends, the Jones'.  They did their performance of Thomas and Elizabeth for us, and then gave us the tour of the upstairs so we could dance and enjoy the beautiful sight of the temple through the windows up there.

with Elder and Sister Jones at the Cultural hall

Christian and Ellie dancing in the Cultural Hall


 

Returning to the apartment to make gingerbread houses

making gingerbread houses

Ellie posing with her gingerbread house

That night we went to Rendezvous and enjoyed one of the performances that the Buhler's saw during their visit. 

During their time here they got to go on the oxen ride, the wagon ride, the carriage ride and the best of all was the sleigh ride.  It was cold but very fun to trot through the countryside in a two horse open sleigh singing Christmas carols. 

sleigh ride.  (cold but beautiful day)

Christmas Eve we played games, watched Buddy, the Elf,  acted out the Christmas Story, and hung our stockings. 

our reenactment of the Nativity (notice the wise man!!!)

It was Christmas Day!  It was so fun to have kids on Christmas morning and enjoy seeing them open their presents and stockings.  They played with their gifts and went out to play in the snow and explore the neighborhood.


Christmas morning

Ellie with her American Girl doll dressed in the
wedding gown made for the dolls by Grandma (from grandma's
original wedding dress all the girls got one for Christmas)

At 3:30 we went to the Church for the amazing Christmas dinner.  The committee did an excellent job of organizing it and picking a delicious menu of baked chicken, yummy salads, potatoes, rolls and creamy dessert.  The program was inspiring and we enjoyed the whole event.  They had reserved a table for our family and for a moment I thought we were being seated for dinner on a cruise.     That night we went to Rendezvous and we did our Noah and Sophia parts.  It was fun to perform for our family. 

Christmas Day dinner with 250 other guests at the church

Thursday I had an assignment to bake cookies and when I got done at noon we had our tour to Carthage Jail.

Buhler family at Carthage Jail

Grandma was making gingerbread cookies and the grandkids got to taste some

David was assigned there that day and so he got to give the tour.  The kids thought this was one of their favorite tours.  It  is very touching to be there and learn about the events that took place in those rooms.  We went to eat at one of our favorite places in Keokuk, an Italian restaurant called Angelini's where you design and watch them prepare your pasta.  We got home so Annette and Christian and David could go to the Susan Durrant lecture.  While they were there I got a very fun surprise.  The door bell rang and when I answered it, it was Elder Davis, our missionary that we served with in Armenia and then served with him again this last summer here in Nauvoo.  It was so fun to see him.  He told us that 3 other performing missionaries were coming and we enjoyed them several times during this last week.

We were pleasantly surprised to see Elder Davis who we served 
with in Armenia 

Friday morning, David and Christian got to help Elder Mendenhall load up his truck and trailer.  He is the husband of the Sister Missionary who got burned three weeks ago.  She was flying home with one of their daughters that afternoon and he had come to pick up their belongings and was driving home with another daughter.  Things have gone well with her  and it looks like everything will be successful in her recovery.       

Another interesting side note for the Pincock family:  We met Kelli (Sharp) Excell at the Visitor Center this last week.  She was here with her husband.  Her husband is the son of one of the missionary couples here.  She is Kim Sharp's  (one of Elder Pincocks first cousins) oldest child and still lives in Ames, Iowa.  It was very fun to see her and remember past family activities and happenings.   The meeting was another example of the Lord's tender mercies.  If we had been serving any where else but the Visitor's Center that day we would have not had the chance to meet them.

Well, all is quiet here now.  Along with all of our Christmas excitement, we have had our Rendezvous Director here from Salt Lake practicing and teaching us many fun things about our performances for the summer.  He's gone and so are our kids.  They had a safe trip home and a fun side trip for New Year's  with Christian's family in Bountiful. 

What a fun thing to have family and friends come to Nauvoo.  It's an amazing place.  And now we look forward to our son and family coming to visit before Brenna goes on her mission and my sister got  plane tickets for Christmas to come and visit in the next few months.  We are so excited for our visitors.  It is great to see how well it works out  to have people here in our little apartment and  sharing our car with them.    It's meant to be.  So hurry one and all.  We have a super year planned and the summer holds fantastic events coming for the commemoration of the  tenth year of the pageant.  We're so grateful to be here.  We love you and appreciate all the Christmas gifts and greetings.  It was very fun.  Happy New  Year!

 

Buhler family walking on the ice covering the Mississippi River

 

Nativity in the Old Nauvoo Visitors Center

                                                                                                                                                                             Love,  Elder and Sister Pincock