Weeks 58, 59, 60, 61,62, 63, 64, 65, 66 and 67. July 28, 2014 --- October 6, 2014

It looks like it has been awhile since our last post so we want you to know we are alive and doing well.

We are still busy every day and have great missionary experiences that we are enjoying very much. The summer went faster than we could have even imagined but Elder Pincock did have the chance to pick some grapes from the oldest grape vineyard in Illinois, its just down the street from our apartment.

grapes picked from vineyard on Parley Street, Nauvoo

 Both the Nauvoo Pageant and British Pageants were so good and we enjoyed attending several times and being in the finale one night. Both stories are about Saints who came to Nauvoo  and were part of this history.  We just got word this week that the British Pageant will return next summer.

British Pageant,  "Truth Will Prevail"

We loved being in the Sunset By the Mississippi  variety show.  It was so fun to perform two shows a week plus two shows of Rendezvous a week.  It was very busy but so fun.  The weather was perfect this summer and made everything very pleasant.

One event that goes on in the summer are vignettes that tell the stories of people who  lived in Nauvoo.  The presentations are done by the professional actors that are part of the Pageant.   There was the story of Emma and Joseph,  The King Follett Story was another.  One of my favorite was the story of the missionaries who went to the Seventies Hall for mission  preparations and then went out into the world to preach the Gospel.  The music was beautiful and this building is referred to as the 1st MTC.  It was such a great thing to be part of all these events.

Joseph and Emma performing in --"Letters of Joseph and Emma"

We also had wonderful presentations  from the Young Sister Missionaries and The Young Performing Missionaries that were remarkable and so enjoyable for us.  What a blessing we have had to be part of all this.

Dancing in the streets with the YPM Band

 

YPM's on "Sunset by the Mississippi" stage

 One of the best parts was all of the guests we had at our home who came to enjoy this beautiful city of Nauvoo.  We had such a great time with each and every one of you and are so grateful for your visits and the memories we have because you all came and shared this special time of our lives  We hope your visits and memories last a life time and that you remember the special feelings that are here.  The pioneers had faith and courage to do the things that they did.  We have the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Plan of Happiness in our lives because of their courage and extraordinary hard work. Thank you all who came to enjoy these things.

Wow!  We brought our trusty 12 year old van to Nauvoo.  We didn't know if we would have a garage or not and we didn't know what kind of use we would need a car for so we brought our trusty old friend.  While my sister, Sandy Merrill, was here the mileage turned over to 300,000 miles.  So she got to celebrate with us.

that's lot's of miles!!!!

Still looking pretty good

We are so proud of this van! We are just praying it will get us home.  A few weeks ago we took it in for general maintenance and they gave us a brand new van to drive for 24 hours.  It really made me want my good van at home.

I had a great grandfather  who lived in Richmond, Missouri.  I have always wanted to know more about these relatives.  Last week David and I had a great day checking out the records at the court house in Richmond.  I found out that he owned a trucking business (garage) and was well liked in the community.  We located his grave and next to him the grave of his son.  We found the name of his wife, grandchildren  and a copy of his obituary.  It was a very enjoyable day.  And to top it off we got to have dinner at Cracker Barrel.

Sister Pincock at the grave sites of her grandfather and his son, Eddie
in Richmond Missouri

One of the remarkable things we have here in Nauvoo is called Nauvoo on the Road.  It's a van and trailer with activities from  Nauvoo but we take them to towns for their fairs, farmer markets, etc., and we give people a small taste of what Nauvoo is all about.  We get a lot of people coming to Nauvoo because of this event.  We like to follow them around and visit the fun events where they go. A few weeks ago we got to go with them to a fun Heritage  event in a little town called Muscatine.  It took us a couple of hours to get there.  We set up the games, brick demonstration and cookie making, etc.  It's a lot of work but fun to be out with the public and see many different community activities in the area.

with "Nauvoo On The Road" at Harvestville Farms

We have fun every night when there is a BYU game.  We have several couples who come over for the "tailgate" party and then have fun watching the game and having fun with the other missionaries. Elder Pincock takes it pretty seriously and even upgraded his teeny TV to one that we can see what the score is on the screen.  I have fun making food for the festivities.

reflection of the Nauvoo Temple in windows at the Visitors' Center

We got to preview the new movie "Meet the Mormons" last week.  It starts in the theaters on Oct. 10, so I hope you all go to  it.  It's a fun film that tells the story of 6 Church members and how their lives have been influenced by the Gospel of Jesus  Christ, which is the message of the movie -that we are Christians with Christ in the center of our lives.  I hope that we all remember to live Christ-like lives and do our best to help others and live so we can return to live with our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ.
   
We love you all and look forward to our reunion with you in only two and a half months.  It's unbelievable.

Another beautiful Sunset on the Mississippi River

Love,
Elder and Sister Pincock