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