Whoa!
It's been a good chunk of time since I've sent home an update!
Good news....I still LOVE Nauvoo! Haha! I'm growing to love it more and more each day. And the time is going by so quickly. As of today, I only have 36 more days here! Only about 30 more "Sunset by the Mississippi" performances, and only 5 more Sundays! I can't believe it! My halfway point has come and gone. I'm on the final stretch! I'm getting ready to sprint to the finish! Ah!
Some cool things have happened since the last time I wrote home...One of the neatest days I've had out here so far was the 27th of June. The anniversary of Joseph and Hyrum Smith's martyrdom. The entire town of Nauvoo transformed and the Spirit was multiplied by a thousand. We were asked to perform at two memorial services. One at The Community of Christ site, where Joseph, Hyrum, Emma, Joseph Sr and Lucy Mack Smith are buried. The people who came to watch and remember our dear prophet were from ALL over. From all different faiths and religions. All of us YPMs were there either playing, singing or reading small prompts about Joseph, Hyrum and Emma. It was a unique experience! I could feel the Spirit...but it manifested itself in a little bit of a different way than I'm used to. At the end of the service, we each had the opportunity to write a small note to Joseph, Hyrum or Emma. To be totally honest...at first I thought it was really odd. We write a note to Joseph, put it in a basket, then what? But as the day went on I realized I have a lot I would LOVE to tell Joseph. If I could, I would sit down with Emma for hours! Days! So I got my little note card, put pen to paper and before I knew it, I'd written more than I thought I could! Being here in Nauvoo has helped me to get to know the Smith family on an entirely different level than before...and what a blessing it's been!
The second memorial service was at Carthage Jail and oh boy! Talk about the Spirit! As my mission president and his counselors, as well as some of the senior couples, stood and bore their testimonies of Joseph, the restoration, and most tenderly, of Christ, I couldn't help but tear up. There must've been over 300 chairs set up on the lawn of the jail. And every seat was full. The familiar warm feeling that the Spirit often brings was present from start to finish. It felt like home. I thought as I sat and listened, about what Joseph and Hyrum would've been thinking if they were there. I'm sure many tears would be falling down their sweet faces. I have the amazing blessing of playing a small solo in "Oh How Lovely was the Morning". It is very humbling and I've had to learn how to force tears back into my eyes so I can actually read my music. Especially on that sacred day! Haha! On top of all of the tender mercies already given, Heavenly Father sent one more my way! Brother and Sister Olsen came to the commemoration! We had a sweet reunion and took a few pictures. A small piece of Grantsville brought so much comfort to me!
There are so many great moments like that here on this mission. I've been blessed to see more Grantsville friends over the past few days! First, HUTCH!! Bishop Hutchins and his wife surprised me at "Sunset" one night! I almost walked right past them! They were here with a big group of Institute and Seminary teachers! It was so great to talk with them. Hutch taught me so many things that I remember and use here on this mission! I hope and pray that I made him proud!
Second, also at "Sunset" Brother and Sister Tayon showed up! But, this time I did the surprising! They had no idea I was serving here and we had such a joyous hello that night. They are INCREDIBLE people. I'm so lucky to know so many choice spirits of our Heavenly Father's! Nauvoo is a special place! If you ever find a chance to head out here, do it! It has the power to change lives!
One thing I haven't talked a whole lot about is Community Band. For years the Nauvoo Brass Band has performed in joint concerts with the Nauvoo Community Band! We've been able to perform twice with them and each week we rehearse at the old Nauvoo high school. Which is super cool but also SUPER sketchy. We're not allowed to go on most parts of the school because not only is it really old and rickety but it's also home to tons of bats! As we're playing they're just chirping away! Almost like they're annoyed that we're louder than them. Haha! I'll try to snap a few pictures of the school and some stuff inside. We only have one more rehearsal and one more concert. It's been really neat to play with all of the people who live around Nauvoo. All but one are non-members! It's given me a lot of opportunities to share the Gospel, specifically to the sweetest 7th grader, Molly. She plays trumpet and I got to sit by her every rehearsal. Kinda funny, she asked me my name at our very first rehearsal and I told her that I'm Sister Favero! Then I whispered, "but my first name is Kendra, I go by Sister Favero here on my mission." She smiled and looked at me like I was crazy. Haha. From then on she never even addressed me and she was pretty quiet until one day, we totally hit it off and talked the whole time, laughed together, and bonded as friends. As I was packing up she turned to me and said, "bye Kendra!" But I totally forgot that I'd even told her my first name! Haha! I thought it was a sweet moment.
Because July has come, so has the pageant! Talk about Nauvoo transforming! I thought it was busy before! The pageant totally brings this place to life! I've been able to meet so many amazing people who are here for the pageant. Families who come to be in the pageants are only here for a week and then a new family comes. But there's a group of people who are always here called the "core cast". They play Joseph, Hyrum, Emma and all the other core roles that are in the pageant. Meeting them has been SO cool! They're some of the most humble, beautiful people I've ever met.
Okay, the 4th of July here was AWESOME!! Nauvoo is a patriotic little town! I mean, it's no Grantsville but it was pretty great! Elder and Sister Clement gave us decorations to put up around the Bistro and they made us the yummiest lunch! It was a good way to spend a holiday away from home. I hope all of you had an amazing 4th! What an AWESOME country we live in!
There's so much more I could tell you but so not enough time.
I love you all!
I think of you always!
Sister Favero
