Family!
Okay, I'm trying to be patient and understanding, but 30 minutes!? Are you for real!? I'm so sorry my last email was so short. I'm almost positive that today was the most stressed out I have been since coming to Nauvoo! I thought I typed fast but I was terribly wrong! Also, I don't even know which pictures I sent you....I just clicked on 6 of them so hopefully they're not random selfies that Elder Felix keeps taking on my camera! haha!
So...I think I ended my email talking about the night we got here. Once we finished all of the orientation type stuff, we were assigned to our 12 passenger van that'll be our main source of transportation for the next 3 months. We named it "oo-vuan" cuz it's Nauvoo backwards and kinda sounds like we're saying "van" with an accent...we're not as funny as we think we are. We took the van to our house, which is the coolest place in the entire world. I love it so much! It's called the "Cambre House". It was built in 1852! Only 22 years after the book of Mormon was first published! Can you believe that!? All 12 of us band sisters live here and share the same van. So it's pretty close quarters most of the time but so far we all get along really well so I don't mind it too much. There are 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and 1 pretty big kitchen. It definitely doesn't feel that big when we're all in there. Dinner time is CRAZY. Speaking of dinner, I think you would be proud! I'm making pretty healthy choices! Except for the Rice a Roni....that's probably not the healthiest. Oh! I haven't even told you the VERY best part about our house! You'll have to look it up so it can be a surprise. I have a feeling you're going to LOVE it! Talk about tender mercies!
 |
| The best thing about the house is it's right across the street from the temple!! |
Okay...let's see...we have a super cool/creepy cellar in our house too! We were told to go down there if there's ever a tornado warning. It's location is super secret...under the fridge! There's a little trap door that takes you down some stairs and when we all went down we were freaking out. The past YPMs had all signed their names on the wall and left cute little notes for us. It was like a cool little treasure hunt! We turned the light bulb to have some light but we soon realized that it was full of water and started dripping down and sparking! But we still had to turn it off! So Sister Holbrook got on Sister McAllister's shoulders, put on a protective oven mitt and saved the day! haha!
Along with exploring our awesome house, we have done so much in the last 9 days. It's seriously crazy. Day 2 was our first shopping day! We had quite the trip driving all the way back from Keokuk with a van filled to the brim with groceries. It was hilarious. I took tons of pictures of that, hopefully I will get those to you next week...maybe.
Also, I have to tell you about Sister Chaput. She is INCREDIBLE! She was baptized when she was 18 and is now 23, celebrating 5 years of membership in Nauvoo! Not only is she a seriously awesome sister, she is an INSANE drummer and the first ever sister to drum in The Nauvoo Brass Band. She's hilarious. Kaitlyn would never stop laughing if she were here. She's a huge comfort in that way.
Rehearsals are every day for about 12 hours. Yeah. I know. Not only have we been rehearsing like crazy but we've also been visiting all the sites and meeting all the senior missionaries and singing/playing with the stage missionaries. Our days are PACKED from 6 AM to 9 PM.
Serving here with all of the senior missionaries is like having 200 plus grandparents. They love us so much. Everyday I get a hug from at least 5 sisters. It's the BEST. Some of our recent rehearsals have been with all of the seniors and it is so much fun to watch them dance and sing along. You guys are going to LOVE "Sunset by the Mississippi". You have to come see all of the shows and performances. Rehearsing is awesome so I'm way excited to see what the finished product will be like.
Speaking of rehearsals, we spend tons of time in the pageant building, which is where all the families who come to be in the pageant practice. I guess last year, and every year before, the band would practice in the Nauvoo Facilities Management Building out in this tiny little shack of a place. So I'm really glad they switched that around. Now we have AC! Hallelujah!
Another awesome tender mercy is that the Miller's are very aware of us and our levels of strength and endurance, but they're also aware of our desire to see all of Nauvoo. Let me tell you, I definitely have a desire to see EVERYTHING in Nauvoo at least 5 times! So we've been blessed to go to the Old Nauvoo Cemetery. We went down to the Mississippi River and skipped rocks, walked through The Trail of Hope, spent a whole evening in front of the temple where HUNDREDS of fire flies came to greet us. We went to Carthage, and finally we went to the grave sites of the Smith family. I'm pretty sure we've done more than that but I can't remember. These first 10/11 days have been some of the busiest days of my entire life and some of the very most special and spiritual days. At every single site so far, I have been overcome with a HUGE sense of respect and love for the Saints. The feeling is really indescribable, I'm so eternally grateful that I've been able to experience all of it. And this is just the beginning!
I'm a little nervous about performances starting...(on the 27th!!!) I'm so ready but at the same time I'm really not. If that makes any sense. But what I am positively ready for is the crowds of people that'll come to visit. OH! Speaking of people coming to visit, Andrew and Kenzie Beckett totally came to Nauvoo like 5 days ago! Andrew's mission president in the Orlando, Florida Mission, is my mission president now! So I told President Hall that I know Andrew and he and Sister Hall told me that Andrew and Kenzie were coming to visit! Well...sad story, Elder Larsen (a stage elder) ran into them in the visitor's Center the next day and was asked if he knew me! I guess Elder Larsen told them that I would be back in the Visitor's Center the next day and that I would look for them. Well...Elder Larsen forgot to tell me! It seriously made me so sad. I felt like crying. He told me like 3 days late and I was SO SAD! So if this letter ends up on my blog and Andrew or Kenzie end up reading it: I'm so bummed I didn't get to see you! It would've been so great! Please come back so that I can actually see you this time! haha!
Alright, this letter is super long...I don't know if you will want to type this up for the blog or not, I don't blame you if you don't want to! haha! But it would be super cool...
Before I end this I'll tell you about one of the BEST days since being here. On Saturday we had our "p-morning" so Sister Holbrook, Sister Chaput, Sister Bird, and I all went to the 7:00AM session in the temple! It was absolutely incredible! The entire time I was just astounded. My jaw was dropped and tears were falling while I was in the Celestial Room. Spending time in that beloved place gave me a feeling of peace that I'll never forget and will hold dear to my heart forever.
I love Nauvoo.
I love this Gospel.
WITH ALL MY HEART.
I know this church is true and I'm so grateful to be serving The Lord. I love you all and I'm so excited for you to come! I'm counting down the days! I'll send lots more pictures next time I'm on my email (Sunday)
Love Sister Favero
No comments:
Post a Comment