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| We only serve in the sites once a week cause we are over the Visitors Center so much. And yesterday we were at the Carthage Jail in regular clothes. |
May
7, 2014
Dear
Family and Friends,
Hello again from the Illinois Nauvoo
Mission. We are having wonderful experiences here. Each day I wake up so
excited to serve in our various assignments. Sometimes I feel like I need to
pinch myself, because I can’t believe I am really here. I feel so blessed to be
in Nauvoo. The spirit is strong here,
and great things happen every day. They strengthen our testimonies of the
restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
We have had some neat experiences
this past week. We had a bus load of seniors from local communities come to see
what our “culture” was like. They are learning about other cultures like
Mennonites, and Amish. They thought we were similar to them. In the pioneer
sites where we wear pioneer clothing, I am sure we look like them. We had the
opportunity to tell them our religious beliefs. Also that afternoon, a class
from Iowa State University on “Mormonism” came to learn about us. There is so
much interest around here in the Midwest to find out more about the Mormons. We
are surely becoming more in the forefront. Harry had a neat experience a few
days ago. He took a minister’s family with his wife and 3 children on a tour of
the visitors center. He has a small Christian congregation in Macomb, Ill.,
about an hour from here. They didn’t really want to see all the sites. They
wanted to know more of what we believed. And they had open minds, and were very
interested. He wanted to see the Joseph Smith movie, so they did, and
afterwards asked for a copy to show his congregation. Harry gave him a Book of
Mormon and asked him to read it, and he said he would. He even opened up the
section in Alma about faith that begins with a seed, and grows. Harry suggested
he use it for one of his sermons. They really connected, and he gave him his
phone number, and asked the minister to call him if he had more questions. It
was a great missionary moment!
When visitors came in, I used to
assume they were members of our church, because it seemed that way. But lately
it is the opposite. I assume they are nonmembers and want to know more. We
really love sharing our testimonies and beliefs with so many persons. We
average about 300-400 persons a day coming into Nauvoo. When it is summer, it
will be more like 2,000 people per day. We can really feel the work of the Lord
hastening in these last days, and we are so excited to be part of it. Today I
met an older woman who brought 2 young sister missionaries to see Nauvoo, from
Burlington, Iowa. At first I thought she was a member in one of the wards. But
she announced she was Catholic, and loved to come to Nauvoo because of the
history. Her name is Zenta Logan. She loved the Woman’s Garden with the women’s
statues. I gave her a Sisters in Zion book about the history of the Relief
Society, and she was so excited. I also gave her a large picture of the statue
of a woman praying. She loved it. We connected and I bore my testimony to her,
and asked her to read it, and ponder why Nauvoo was so important to these
saints who lived here and had to leave, because of religious persecution. Then
I had her sit and listen to the recording in front of the Christus statue. She
was very emotional and felt the spirit. I gave her a big hug when she left. I
hope she will want to know more. These are just some of the experiences we have
had.
Here are 2 more pictures from our show. The
couple on the bench are the Chynoweths or acting presidents when we arrived.
They went home yesterday! We grew close to them even in 6 weeks and will miss
them so much! They are from St. George. Neat people.
We are also very busy on a daily
basis. We have district meetings monthly, and zone training meetings every
Wednesday. This week, the first counselor in the Mission President gave a training
about conversion; and how to invite others to accept the restored gospel of
Jesus Christ. He asked Harry to stand and share his conversion story, of being
a young 19 year old man, and the feelings he had. He shared that he felt the
spirit strongly 3 times before joining the church, and already had a strong testimony
of the Savior. First when he was a young boy in his Presbyterian Sunday School,
then when he went to a production about
Jesus’s life as a teen, and again when he met Mormons in the Bluth
Brothers theatre group where he played in the band. He said that “feelings” are the most important
introduction to the gospel. There was just something different about the people
in that theatre. And of course as he learned more about their beliefs, he
gained a testimony of this true gospel, and was baptized.
We also have lots of social events
and parties around here. Monthly there is a breakfast for all missionaries, and
we all help bring the food. It is to say goodbye to the missionaries going
home, and welcome new missionaries. Then in our casts for Rendezvous and Sunset
shows, we have birthday celebrations in our green room meetings before shows,
and we have monthly temple sessions, and potluck dinners afterwards. We also
attend many events in the community sponsored by the mission, or the home
wards, or other churches. Tomorrow is a celebration of Joseph and Emma when
they moved into their Homestead house in 1839. It is sponsored by the Community
of Christ church, formerly the Reorganized LDS Church. There is a dinner, and a
campout, and a short trek into Nauvoo, with a celebration at their home site.
The past few days we have had
visitors; my 2 Whiting cousins from Mesa and St. Johns, Arizona. They are the
granddaughters of my Great Aunt Elda, and Great Uncle Ernest:; Martha
Brown’s brother and sister (my
grandmother). Their names are Daryl Smith Lee, and Sandy Dastrup West. They
came together to see Nauvoo, not knowing I was there on a mission. It was so
fun to spot them in the audience of our Rendezvous show. We hugged afterwards,
and they came to see us in Carthage the next day. Then last night they came to
our home for a visit. We had lots of fun reminiscing about Whiting
reunions.
Also this past week we went to Springfield, Illinois to visit Abraham Lincoln’s home, his museum and tomb there. It was amazing and so professionally made. Please visit it if you ever come out here. It is about 2 hours away but so worth it! I have an even more admiration for this great man, and all he stood for and accomplished.
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| Lincoln's Home |
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| Museum of Lincoln's Life |
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| Lincoln's Tomb |
I better close, and get ready for
our show tonight. I miss you all very much, but being busy makes it easier. We
love you all, and really hope you will all come out here and visit us this
summer or next year. The church is true, and the gospel of Jesus Christ is
moving forward across the world. We are so grateful to be part of it.
Love
Elder and Sister Schultz,( Mom and Dad, Grammy and Grandpa)
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