Today was my "Preparation Day" or free day to decide what I would like to do. So my companions, Sister Walker, Sister Brown and my former companion, Sister Thomas, Elder & Sister Curtis from Crestline, CA and I drove to Cantril, Iowa to shop at Dutchman's Store. It is an old fashioned general store run by local Mennonites. It was a fun day! We also went to a small Amish store in Menton, Iowa to find a straw hat for Elder Curtis to wear in our show "Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo". To my surprise I also found some wonderful Mexican vanilla - who would have guessed I'd find it there!!!

I took this picture from our car as we passed this carriage!

Wonderful old bridge in Cantril.

This home north of Cantril had beauttful gardens - this picture didn't begin to do it justice.

We couldn't resist taking this picture of a house raising by many Amish people in Menton, Iowa. You can see a few of the buggies, but there were many more you can't see. This is going to be a large home!!! I don't think they were very happy with us for taking their pictures.

Photo taken from the car as we are just about back to Nauvoo. Did I mention that I LOVE CLOUDS!

It occured to me today that some of you following my blog may not really know what Nauvoo is all about.....so in short in 1839, early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—called “Mormons”—established this place of peace and beauty on a great bend in the Mississippi.  Today, Nauvoo is one of America’s premier historic communities. Visitors can explore more than 40 historic sites from the 1840 time period.

Please go to the official website to check out all the things there are to do here in Nauvoo.
http://www.historicnauvoo.net/

Everything is free and families come here for several days and leave wishing they could stay longer and see it all. The summer months (with the most activities) is our busiest time as you will see on the web site.

As senior missionaries here, it is our privilege to conduct tours through all the sites and Visitor's Center and perform in the nightly shows. I am loving this whole experience!

Today my assignment was to help bake 1300 small gingerbread cookies with 4 other sisters and freeze them to be used this summer. By the end of this week the sister missionaries here in Nauvoo will have made and baked 50,000 of these cookies through the winter and spring in preparation to hand out in the Scovil Bakery to visitors this summer! I love the variety of assignments I get to do every day!!! We have been having lots of rain, thunder and lightening. It is supposed to continue through the week. But that will make it really green and beautiful around here.

Today I conducted tours of the Scovil Bakery. It is a favorite site of visitors here in Nauvoo.

Outside on the front steps.

Inside the one room bakery. See the cute little  gingerbread cookies that we hand out at the end of the tour on the red and white checkered cloth! They are a hit with everyone and yummy!

This is the outdoor summer kitchen behind the bakery.

The grist mill stones and the original well out back of the bakery.

This is a wonderful view of the temple from our front porch.

I went on a walk early this morning and as I was coming back to my home I just had to take these pictures to show that spring is happening in a beautiful way here in Nauvoo. We really are out in the fields and I love it. There will be crops growing all around us soon.

This picture is taken looking south at our home coming from the main highway/Mulholland St -- the street that goes down the center of the town of Nauvoo. There is just one main street lined with small old businesses. It is the pinnacle of small town USA.....Old Historic Restored Nauvoo is directly west of the town all the way out to the Mississippi River. I wish you could all come and enjoy the beauty and spirit of this place!

This is the view looking northwest. There will be crops growing on the brown spot soon and there are vineyards behind us that will be full of juicy grapes this fall!

This is the view I have looking out my window looking east.

This is what is next door to us on the south. This is how we go to head to Parley Street which leads right into the heart of Old Historic Nauvoo.

Here are our cars in the driveway looking west. We have had a LOT of rain lately, with more forecast to come, which makes everything turn so green right now and wakes up the buds on the trees and flowers. 

I finally got my "Show Dress" and I really like it!
I'm here on the stage at the old Cultural Hall where we perform Rendezvous.

Pretending to be "Agatha" from the show -
"No don't take me away.....he's the one that's crazy!"
One of my favorite scenes in Rendezvous.

Our "trio" companionship coming out of church on Easter Sunday. We all sang in the choir!
We even have a piano in the home we live in.....and they both play beautifully!

All the older single sisters got together and had a special potluck Easter dinner at one of the sisters homes.
Bottom Row R to L
Olsen, Davis, Thomas, Walker, Brown, me, Brown Brockbank
Standing R to L
Hoen, Peterson, Boyle, Salcido, Owens, Jones, Laynes, Allen, Redd
Sister Murray and McCann were not there

I  served today in the Post Office and Merryweather Dry Goods Store
This is how they would carry water buckets!

Here is our companionship in front of the Nauvoo Temple

Our other companion, Sister Walker from Riverton, Utah arrived late last night. So now our companionship is complete - Sister Brown, Sister Walker and me! We live in the same place and are enjoying getting acquainted. We seem to have a lot in common.
One of the assignments I have is to take tours through historic sites. Today I was at the Seventies Hall. I am standing outside with Sister Clement. This site was the "missionary training center" in the 1840s. The Seventies took the gospel of Jesus to the world in their day!

This statue of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith on their horses overlooks the Mississippi River and is directly across from the temple.
LtoR: Sister Brown, Sister Walker and me

This is a shot from inside the Seventies Hall. This was their meeting room where they received instruction. Upstairs was a library for study of religion and cultures. They also have displays of artifacts found in old Nauvoo...

Here I am going in to take a tour of Carthage Jail where the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered by the mobs in June 1844. 

 It has been a wonderfully busy week. Visiting Carthage historic site was the last of our training. This site is also part of our mission. I will have the blessing of getting to take tours through here on occasion.
Now that we have finished our training, I have had the opportunity to take people on tours through Brigham Young's home, John Taylor's home, Lucy Mack Smith's home as well as greet people in the Visitors Center! Tonight was my debut in "Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo" which is a musical production depicting life in Old Nauvoo. It tells experiences of the saints who lived here in Nauvoo in the 1840s and their reasons and preparations for the exodus West. The show runs six nights a week, year round every night except Sundays, including most holidays. ALL of the senior missionaries are expected to be in the production in one role or another, so there are 3 separate casts. I am in the Sarah Granger cast and we perform 2 nights a week. So I will do the show again this Saturday! It was soooo much fun!

The upper window is the window Joseph Smith fell from after he was shot by a mob of 100 men who stormed the jail. They also killed his brother Hyrum while they were defenseless in that room.
 LtoR- Sister Thomas, Sister Allen, Me and my companion Sister Brown.

Here I am  with one of the new young sister missionaries that serve here with us. Sister Kupfer is in my sister-in-law, Kerry Driggs Ward in Mesa, AZ and I met her in Mesa before we both left to serve as missionaries here in Nauvoo and just reunited!!

Today was my "day off" or what is called preparation day! Sister Thomas and I drove across the Mississippi  river into Iowa to see what the saints would have seen looking back at Nauvoo when they had to leave their "city beautiful" in the cold winter in February 1846. If you look closely you can see the Nauvoo temple just to the right of center.

One of the two costumes I wore in Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo tonight. I am standing outside the old Cultural Hall where the production takes place. My stage costume isn't finished yet so this is one of my site dresses that I wear when I conduct tours through historic buildings. (minus the fancy collar and white hat)

Here is the costume I end the show with! The curtain and stage are behind me. The show is a MUST SEE when you come to see me here in Nauvoo!

We have been in training with the new Presidency for the last 3 days. Lots to learn.......

This is our current Mission Presidency
Left to Right
President Chynoweth (1st Counselor), President Gibbons (President), President Jones (2nd Counselor)

Presidency with their wives

The 4 sisters that I was at the MTC with were invited to a breakfast at the Mission Presidents home this morning!

This is my new home in Nauvoo. It is out in the fields and is really nice. Sister Brown from Jerrome, Idaho is one of my companions. Sister Walker is coming on the 18th. It is 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Sister Brown is probably the youngest Sister Missionary here! She is awesome - we are getting along great! Can hardly wait to meet Sister Walker....

Please write to me at
Sister Sharon Watkins
Nauvoo Illinois Mission
PO Box 215
Nauvoo, IL 62354

or you can text me on my cell phone number.....So happy to be here, but still getting settled in! We had the weekend to enjoy General Conference broadcast from Salt Lake City and get moved in. Tomorrow we start the 3 day orientation.

The journey to Nauvoo begins. We drove from Salt Lake City to Cheyenne, Wyoming this first day - Wednesday! From Laramie to Cheyenne we had black ice! 

We stopped at this restaurant in Rawlins Wyoming for dinner.

Thursday we drove from Cheyenne Wyoming to Council Bluffs, Iowa but stopped at the Winter Quarters Mormon Trail Visitors Center. The Porters and I have ancestors buried across the street in the Old Historic Cemetery.

LaReda and I are standing on my GG Grandmothers grave and right between us in the background where you can see the small headstone sticking up at the end of the dirt grave is Harold's ancestor! Amazing they are so close to each other.

We stayed right on the Missouri River at the Holiday Inn in Council Bluffs - across the river from Omaha, Nebraska (modern day Winter Quarters)

 Friday, April 4 2014 - Here I am going into the Nauvoo Visitors Center to meet my Mission President and his wife - Elder and Sister Gibbons.

Here I am inside the Nauvoo Visitors Center after meeting with my mission President. It's official and it is wonderful to finally be here!

 Here is my class this week. I'll have to come back in and add the names. Our teachers, Elder and Sister Morgan are sitting on the ground. We are all assigned to Visitors Centers and Historic sites - Utah Cove Fort, 6 Crossings and Martins Cove in Wyoming and of course Nauvoo Illinois.

When we came out of class today to start our trip it had snowed, alot!

Just leaving Provo Utah with Harold and LaReda Porter

 We drove up to my friend Cathie Jones and picked up my tubs and clothes. She was kind enough to feed us lunch before we left for Cheyenne Wyoming.

LaReda Porter, me and Cathie Jones (Cathie and I have been friends since High School in CA and went on to be roommates at BYU.......2 of my best friends!

I'm so grateful for all the friends and family who have helped me make this journey.

My companion and I parted ways. She is driving her car to Nauvoo with her son. This is what it looked like when we left. We had good weather all the way to Laramie Wyoming - although the storms were all around us (another tender mercy). From Laramie to Cheyenne we were driving at night with black ice warnings. A little scary. We won't drive at night again! Grateful to make it to the Holiday Inn safe and sound for the night. We will be driving to Omaha Nebraska tomorrow to stay for the night and see Winter Quarters Historic site (the Porters have never been there) and we will also go across the Missouri river to see Council Bluffs Historic Site in Iowa.