Dear Family and Friends,
The highlight of our week was our 40th wedding anniversary. We never imagined 40 years ago being on a mission on our anniversary. We were talking about it and realized the only things we were contemplating 40 years ago were fairly immediate, like school starting that next week for me (my 2nd year of teaching) and Elder Long returning to finish his summer job in Huntington before starting graduate school. A lifetime ago with so much growth in between. We served at Lucy Mack Smith's home together yesterday on our anniversary and that will always stand out in our memories of anniversaries.
Nauvoo has reached a calm after the busiest season, but there are still visitors and missionary work. It's actually quite peaceful. Elder Long was telling me about an incident during the week when he was on the carriage. They were waiting for people to board but there was no one so he looked around and saw a man under a tree. He walked over and started a conversation. The older man was so shy and alone that he didn't know what to do in Nauvoo. Elder Long offered a ride on the carriage. He wanted to know the price. When he found out it was free, he lit up. He just needed someone to help him know about Nauvoo but was too scared to ask. After his ride, his whole attitude changed and he went on to enjoy his day. It's great to look for the "one" you can help each day.
You meet so many interesting people each day. Some of them tell you that they just don't want a tour so you just let them come in the sight and let them to ask questions. Many times they leave actually having a tour because their questions led them on one. It's exciting what the spirit can do.
I'm making the most of the down time in the sights by drawing. I've wanted more time to spend with art and now is perfect. There are so many beautiful plants and flowers. It's great to be able to develop a skill. Well, at least have fun trying. This winter we'll be working on humanitarian projects so there will be ways to help others even when the number of guests is down.
I love being a missionary and learning so much each day. Immerged in this wonderful place with great people is the best school anyone could attend. Sure there are challenges but that helps the learning too. Missionaries are real people and some of them are quite unique. It's important to remember each day that we can learn something from each situation, even the irritating ones.
As always we love you and appreciate the many areas of our lives that you have and do bless. The most important gifts we have received in our 40 years of marriage are our family and friends.
Love,
Sister and Elder Long
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