Days In Old Nauvoo

This is the view we can see from our home. The big horses out eating in the field and the red & white barn. In the distance the two steeples are visible. One is the big Catholic Church steeple and the other the Nauvoo Temple steeple. They stand side by side in 'Old Nauvoo', both beautiful, one is not very busy and the other is busy every day. We help them, go to their dinners and the President meets with all the denominations in Nauvoo once a month, there is about 5 different churches in little Nauvoo. We live in peace, we can tell the Lord is blessing all of us.

E/S Williams we're able to work together in the "Webb Blacksmith Shop" on Sunday, which is a rare time. He is usually busy in the Mission Office each day. Here he made a little horse show and gave it to visitors along with a 'prairie diamond', a horse shoe nail ring. We served with another couple, they told about the wagons and making the big wheels for the wagons. It was a great day in Nauvoo.

The corn by our house grows tall as you can see. We are just leaving to go to our show, "Rendezvous" and stop to take a picture. Do you think it is over 10 feet tall. The deer and the raccoons love it.

President and Sister Ludwig keep track of all of the missionaries grandchildren. "If you have that many grandchildren praying for you", she says we will be blessed and all be great missionaries. In one month we added two little grandchildren to that number. Forest Williams, and Kolby Williams. We are so thankful for all of our grandchildren. We love them.

Young Sister Missionaries / Family

President and Sister Williams at the 'Old Stone Bridge', were Joseph and Emma Stood.


After the crowds slow down a little the YSM's (Young sister Missionaries) start preparing to go into the field. They practice proselyting, the missionaries are not allowed to teach here in Nauvoo. The couples have fictitious names and circumstances and we roll play once or twice a week, then feed them dinner once a week. E/S Williams are Karl and Roxanne Fox. She is a member, YW's President and he is a dry Mormon. She has been a member for 40 years, he never joined at that time, but comes to church a little. We have about 4 weeks of this, trying to get this Karl Fox baptized. I am getting a little frustrated with him, will he join or will he not. It depends on how S/Barry and S/Patterson do in their teaching. The 20 YSM's left the 1st of Oct. for their new assignments. Each got a new mission call, Mt., Co., NJ etc. They will return in 6 months to complete their mission in Nauvoo. We love them and are anxious for them to do well in their new mission and to return back to us in the spring.

Shalece, Jade, Devanie and Dalton all visited us in Nauvoo. We were so glad to see them. We had a great time showing them around Nauvoo, visiting the Amish (which Shalece just had to do), and going to Carthage with them. They loved the sites, shows and the temple. E/Williams is telling Dalton about the horse "Charlie" that was given to Joseph Smith by Dalton's G,G,G,G,G Grandfather, Peter VanOrden. He rode this horse to Carthage along with Hyrum, that fateful day.

A Mission is like being at home

Yes we planted a garden, if you call a garden 1 cucumber and 2 tomato plants between our house and the side walk. But it was different than at home, we only watered it once to help it come up and we are still getting great tomatoes and cuces off our little garden. We eat them each day and share with the missionaries. We've got about a bushel of tomatoes and I bet a bushel of cucumbers, they just keep coming. All the rain does make the weeds grow also, so that keeps me busy in my little garden.

My favorite place to be is the sewing room. We have 7 sewing machines, 4 sergers and 2 cutting tables about 8 feet long, all kinds of thread, lace, and material. And the best thing of all is the fun, great sisters that serve in there. We have such a great time, we talk laugh and just help and encourage one another. There is probably about 20 sisters that rotate in and out of the sewing room. We go to serve at the sites (homes, buildings, tickets the Nauvoo Visitor Center etc.) and then serve in the sewing room a couple of days a week if we are lucky. It is fun making the show dresses, site dress, vest, and slips and hats for everyone. I didn't ever think I would sew on a mission, but I didn't ever think I would sing, dance or play the ukulele either. We do bear our testimonies each day, so that is great. See I told you this mission was like being at home, I still have a garden and I still sew.

A view of Abe Lincoln

Springfield,Illinois is so close to us we thought we would visit the home of Abraham Lincoln on our Prep Day with E/S VanDam. What an exciting museum. We learned of the hard ship he went through to discontinue slavery. Individuals regarded their slaves as personal property and not people. During his Presidency he went through a time of sorrow with his children and wife.

Though he grew up in a log cabin he is one of our most noted presidents, a president for all people.

President Lincoln was 6ft. 3in., noted for his height, E/Williams has him beet by 2 inches. E/Williams is noted in Nauvoo for being the tallest missionary. They always make a comment about how tall he is. (And I might add, good looking)

We went to his home, a very nice home in a quiet part of town. It was very colorful inside. The more colors you had in your carpet and wall paper the richer you were. I would just as soon be a little poor. As you note the wall paper is a berry tone, with bright green drapes, what you can't see is that the big wall paper boarder is a pumpkin orange design. A lot of big patterns and colors, no wonder he and Mary had a few problems.

We had a marvelous day learning about one of our great Presidents. It made us thankful for our country and thankful for our freedom of religion.

Ypm & S/Davis leave Nauvoo

The Young Performing Missionaries have been in Nauvoo for 3 months, they have made their mark in Nauvoo, with performing in "High Hopes and River Boats", "Anna Amanda", and in "Sunset by the Mississippi" with us 'Old Senior Missionaries'.

This is the short and tall of the YPM's. Sister Benetz (waiting for a missionary and Elder Keeler (a returned missionary) Very talented and energetic young people and with such a testimony. This is the morning they were getting on the bus to return home.

The Band has been up and down the streets of Nauvoo and playing for everyone to enjoy.

These are some of the band sisters that came into the sewing room to get their costumes done.

We are going to miss them greatly, they make us feel about 19 again.

That is Sisters Pat Davis's remarks to us when she wants us to work harder in the shows, "Think 19". She is almost 80 and she does think like 19. The mission had a big 'Sociable, going away night' for her. We had a grand table with so many cookies, these are just some of them that were waiting down in the kitchen to be taken up.

Nights after 'Sunset by the Mississippi' when it has been so hot performing on the out door stage we go over to Annie's Custard, they have the best ice cream in town, and visit with some of our 'X-cast' missionaries. The Hardy's and Beahmer's from Canada, Van Dam's and Toon's from Utah. Such great people.

Mark Twain

We visited the home of Mark Twain, in Hannibal, Missouri. It is right along the Mississippi, a quint little town with museums, theaters & replicas of Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher, & Injun Joe. There are caves, amusement rides & a big Ferry to ride slowly down the Mississippi & at night a dinner ride can be bought. We had a great day, roaming the streets on our day off. We walked up about 200 stairs to get to a lite house, when we got to the base of the light house we realized we could have driven up, there was a parking lot on top of the hill. Good exercise, it was a lot better going down.

A cemetery, called the 'Nauvoo Burial Ground", dates back to the 1830's when the saints were here. It has all the names of the people that were buried there, as close as they could find, on a big wall inside of a hut at the entrance to the ground. We found two names of E/Williams, William Aurther VanOrden and William VanOrden. We couldn't find the graves but we are going to look some more. Very old head stones, some just rocks, it was a very quiet secluded hill top about 3 miles from town. There is a marvelous statue there with a family that had just buried their little baby. What a story this burial ground could tell.

Shane & Diana in Nauvoo

How great it is to have family in Beautiful Nauvoo. We met Shane & Diana in front of the Temple, always the best place to meet family and friends, it is the most beautiful thing you see when you come into town.

We kept them busy with visiting all the sites, the BYU Ball Room Dancers, which Diana just loved, I admit they were fantastic. Next "Sunset by the Mississippi" , and of course "Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo", were E/Williams and I play Jed & Annie. Would you believe he is an old non-member cagier and I am a sweet Rel. Society Sister trying to convert him, I kind of like him. Next they went on a carriage ride with E/Williams being the narrator.

Carthage Jail and the temple was the frosting on the cake. So nice to take family to these special places. A testimony and the spirit is felt in both. Hate to always see them go.