Pictures

I got an Email with a couple pictures of Janet today, she looks great! I'm so happy for her that she's had the opportunity to serve in Nauvoo this past year and a half, she's a wonderful mother in law and great example to all of us. Can't wait to see her when she comes home next week!

4 MORE WEEKS!

 Well I haven't written for a while.  So much goes on here, there isn't much free time and with me writing my gospel messages to my children, it takes my extra time.    Last 2 weeks my computer was down so all I could think of was to write you a blog and tell you, I saw 14 Eagles in trees as I drove down the Mississippi to go to town (we get to go once a week!), They are magnificent, But today as I went to town the Eagles were sitting on ice in the river! I didn't know they would do that?   Any way there were about 40 Eagles!! What a sight!

  You know this mission isn't like Bradley’s, we don't proselyte the people come to us and ask questions.  How great is that! Some days are good and some days are so wonderful. I love to tell the stories of the early saints and who they are and what they did. I also love to mention gospel principals.  I can tell when guest are into what I am saying and they thank me.

 Last week I was at Carthage Jail again (that is always wonderful - what a story there and everyone feels it!).   Every tour is different - I just say different things to different people - it just is there to say and is right.  Brigham Young’s home is one of my favorite to work at. We have about 20 different sites to know the outlines for and I've got them! I have learned so much while I've been here, in so many categories, I am just so happy. I read a lot ( yes me !!) and I love it . I just finished the Doctrine and Covenants, being here it all came alive I get it! I liked it before but I love it now.

  Besides all of the work, I put on a Valentines get together last Tues. It was great!!!!!   It was only about 45 mins.   That was all we had time for, because it was after our performance and we were tired but IT WAS FUN!  Decorations and 50's music and all of my great desserts!!!!WOW!  You know I love to make people happy.

Christmas

Our fall was beautiful, I know some of these emails get confused ( in my last note it talked about the draft horses wife's  got to go home with their missionary teamsters  !!!! Yikes you need to learn to read between the lines and roll with the punches LOL.    We had a great Thanksgiving, all 200 of us!   Last Sat. we had a Christmas walk in the evening.   First we had a lighting of the big tree (I helped decorate it) then we had luminary lights down the streets and all of the visitors could go from shop to shop and hear Christmas pioneer stories -Real stories.   Then the manger pageant (really a good one, then go to the family living center for hot chocolate.  And good stuff --Really nice!!

   These last weeks I have been making big red velvet bows for all of Nauvoo (our sites), I made about 300 they only wanted me to make them so that they would match.   All fresh garlands and wreaths on everything - it is really cute.   The cast Christmas party I was in charge of was   GREAT ~!!! FUN and not boring!! . The cast through a surprise (after performance) party for my birthday and to thank me for the Great cast party. I had a nice birthday!!  .   I actually get 1 night a week to do what I want to do, meaning sew or sleep!!(This mission is not for pansies).   We are talking obedience! here.  Well last Sunday the 11th of Nov.   I got my chance to talk at sacrament meeting, WOW--I did it.  The talks are always soooo good here that I was really worried.   I talked about “Who is Jesus - The Messiah “you know it is one of my favorite subjects. I had missionaries say they had learned something and it was interesting and good!  So I feel OK about it and it is over -WHOO. I will tell you I was helped, I asked for help and I got it!!!     I started a quilt for the mission pres. and wife months ago; I can't remember if I told you about it?   The Pres. and wife have served here for 4 years and I thought they need a token of appreciation.  All of the lady missionaries made a 6 " patch and I put them together -   She cried , she loved it , It was a lot of work but I am glad we did it .   So now we are on to Christmas.   We will all have a Christmas dinner together and a Program in the Evening, it is on a Sunday so we don't have to put on Rendezvous that night!   My companion and I have a TREE!! . We have a free DI here and anyone leaving leaves their extra stuff so we all go shopping after any missionaries go home, it is a joke around here - When we leave, and we’ll leave it for someone too.   I have had some wonderful experiences with some  visitors , and I learned that Missions didn't just come to give  and help others  we really learn lessons for ourselves about life, I didn't know that I didn't know so much about life . And about people, I am glad to learn.   I think my part here was to happily help with everything,   and be the fun and excited person, they say I make people laugh--GOOD.    I've got my van all decorated with garlands and bow's  and I have squeezed in making ginger bread cookies (decorated -of coarse  for all---you know a boy and a girl holding hands  with mini  M&M's  and my sham Tort is a success ,also my Chocolate forest cake .   So I think the best coming up- besides every day at the sites and performances at night is we get to sing on the Nauvoo Temple Steps Christmas night. Last Christmas it was snowing, what an incredible experience this all is.  The horse drawn wagons still go out for tours and they are decorated with bows and everyone bundles up in quilts, I love those horses!!!  . Well I will get to really enjoy the real meaning of Christmas this year.  I am so proud of Bradley in Brazil. I am proud of all my Grandchildren and I miss you all!  
LOVE,   Sister Howard,   MOM

      PS.  I know we live in a bubble here -I wish the rest of the world was like this, we pretty much love each other!   How novel!            IT SNOWED!!

Pumpkin Days

We have sent a lot of the missionaries home that came for 6 mos.,  they were mostly teamsters for the wagons and to take care of the horses, we have 16 beautiful horses you know DRAFT horses, I love them. They are matching sets!!! So their wives went home with them, of course. That brings us to about 100 missionaries here for the winter. We do a show every night so I am on every other night.   

My brother Dr. Carl Howard came a few weeks ago, that was so nice, he helped me with my hip I popped out of whack.

Well today we carved 600 pumpkins for the town's pumpkin parade. The pumpkins will line the street and corn stalks too. Nauvoo is big on pumpkin days so we missionaries participate for good relations and FUN!!!  I am going to be in the parade as a Christmas person!  You know - Big red bows, bells on my feet, a wreath on my head that lights up with batteries and a Christmas tree on my back pack, it looks cute and I will hand out candy.

  Well the weather is soooo beautiful now the trees are all in different colors.   I have helped in the yards we had to take out the gorgeous plants and plant tulip bulbs before the frost 24000 bulbs !!! Yes I said 24000, spring will be beautiful.  The trees here are so beautiful all of the fall colors, and the wind, wonderful now but not when it is an ice storm (YES ANOTHER WINTER !! YIKES!)

   Last week there was a inner faith to do and it was our turn to host. This is where 6 different religions, here in Nauvoo, get together to discuss and tell what they believe about a particular subject (7 min. each) ( what is the nature of GOD ) was this month.,  any way I made the carrot cake to be served to the 100+  visitors and it was great .  We decorated the table in fall colors. It was fun to do my old stuff. I didn't get to go because I was in the show that night, I heard it went well.

  Well I'm HAPPY and I love working on the sites and telling people about the history and whatever else they ask, that is the part I love the most. !!!!.    I organized the ladies to make a quilt for our president who is going home in Jan. after 4 1/2 years so this has taken a lot of my spare time, of which there isn't any! It is wonderful, everyone made a patch (80).
 LOVE,  Sister Janet Howard   AKA, MOM!

I Love working in the gardens here

Hi everyone, Did you enjoy the “Butterfly Circus" email I sent you!
  It has calmed down here a lot, it was so nice to have the girls come and see Nauvoo.  As you can see in one photo I love working in the gardens once a week, I've really made a dent here (You know I'm fast) well we have fun, my supervisor is Sister Skidmore.

  The first Sunday of Aug was 'Fast day " and I was working at the Skofield Bakery giving tours and a family stayed and asked lots of questions, I loved answering. I felt it such a blessing to tell them about the blessings of the temple and the peace that this gospel gives us. I feel the Holy Ghost with me whenever I need him, I don't want to end this setting apart to be a missionary - it's wonderful.

 These dolls I made for some missionaries that are leaving and I love them soooo. One of them was in charge of the Sunset Show, She was wonderful, and I put rouge on her dolls cheeks because she wears so much but it looks darling on her -I LOVE HER.  The other was like the dad here and made us all wood necklaces and beautiful pens with wood on them.   I hate to see them go. 

I had 50 tomatoes on my bushes and something ate them!!! I think a raccoon or a skunk.  I put coast soap slivers around, I hope they will stay away.   Well I finally got chiggers!! On one of my arms, Yea Jannette they drive a person crazy!!!  I got them working at Wilford Woodruff s back yard. 

  Well I'm happy still! The young preforming missionaries are leaving tomorrow, they were such fun, I hope they choose good companions to marry and have a life filled with love and kindness.   It is late and I'm in the gardens tomorrow at 6 am.

 LOVE, MOM/ Sister Howard





Visiting Nauvoo

Me, Brookelyn, Jannette and little Sadie got to go spend a few days in Nauvoo. It was so fun to see Janet giving tours at all the different homes and businesses.  We got to see her sing and dance and be in plays! She's a great missionary! The other missionaries there just love her. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I had to go and feel the spirit of the pioneers and see how hard they worked to build a beautiful city, and then have to leave it all and start over.
          If you have the chance to go to Nauvoo you should! I think it was even more special because we had someone we love there as a missionary.
Love you Janet!!  Love Jodi

They warned us that the crowds were coming

Well, They warned us that the crowds were coming - be ready! Yep they are here! 

 It is humid here so everything grows weeds and flowers!  I am really enjoying all that comes with this mission, even my growth, I can say that NOW.   We have had some really incredible experiences happen here. The saints that gave so much to the early church, are not forgotten and we feel them often, they were good strong humans.    

At this time the L.D.S. Church has 52,000 missionaries out, in the world and we are all paying our own way.
 Here in Nauvoo there are about 500 missionaries, performers, musicians, Temple helpers and helpers that keep everything going, here now.  

One man said “How does this all work?   About 90 % of everyone here are volunteers and pay their own way how does the church get people to do that?! I don't understand. 

The answer was *** How do we explain this to someone ---   The pioneers (saints) didn’t go through all of this persecution because they liked Joseph Smith! If that was the case the church would have died with Joseph and Hiram Smith (the Mobs thought the church would die - the mobs were Satan driven - most mobs are).  

We told him, The man,  This church is CHRIST'S church, our prophets are chosen and guided by Christ just as in Abraham's day. God loves us in the 2000’s as much as Adam's children.   When you read the Bible and read the Book of Mormon you get the whole picture of what Christ wants for this world. Now that you have intellectually read these books - Now Ask GOD if this is all true and asks for his spirit to tell YOU! IF it is TRUE.  We believe in personal revelation, this means you can get an answer for yourself and don't have to believe me.  Once you have felt the Holy Ghost tell you, you are willing to give all you can and that is why our church has so much. Yes we pay tithing but it goes to build temples and churches we meet in - and lots of it goes to humanitarian help all over the world.  Our clergy and even our Tabernacle choir are all volunteers so our $ is used to help the world (the Red Cross will tell you we are there before they are!).  

   There are 5 main shows to see and vignettes too; I have tried to get to all of the vignettes I had time for. I went to one yesterday (Joseph Smith giving the King Follett funeral Discourse) the actors are superb and it was wonderful about 20 min.    This talk was given at a funeral of Joseph's friend and He told of the spirit world and all of wonders and love that are there, how this world is for us to grow and serve God and each other. I have a copy of the whole discourse Joseph gave in 1842.  There is so much more than this earth!   I also went to Joseph's and Emma’s letters to each other vignette --- loved it!  

  Well enough for now, I will tell you some of the experiences when I see you. (9 1/2 mo. here and 9 1/2 mo. left)
   I am soooo glad I'm here,   

 LOVE, Grandma/Sister  Janet Howard