SOOOOOOO THIS IS LAST WEEK'S E-MAIL... I SENT IT TO jodiba59@byui.edu (an e-mail address that does not exist). MY BAD.
Come Sunday another transfer will be over and I will have a new companion. I Love Sister Brinkerhoff and will miss her dearly, but change is good, and fun if you choose to make it fun. I love all of the Sisters here and can't think of one that would make for a hard transfer. The only thing missing in Nauvoo so far is Pagent. It has been so nice to be so busy. This week I met the Abram family. They are getting sealed in the temple TODAY!!! I cannot get them off my brain. I feel so blessed to be able to take part in their joy. What a stellar family! They are wonderful and bright. The spirit they carry with them is so powerful and I wish I knew who had taught them so I could write them and tell them how wonderful they are. Rex and Reatha have two daughters, Raleen and Gabriel. Every time I see them it's like we have been friend for ages. We even took pictures! (I will try and send some home). They are going to come find me in the visitor's center on Friday and tell me all about the sealing. I can't wait. They have loved Nauvoo and Rex has said that he is trying not to think about this morning for fear he might "pee himself". They have such a grasp on the eternal nature of things. Their testimonies shine through their faces. They can share the peace they have found with out saying a word. I hope that I can do the same. That I can remember always that we have "great cause to rejoice" and that that rejoicing can shine through my face, that it can be found in my smile and in my eyes, in my embrace. I would love to get my hands on Joseph B. Wirthlin's "Be of good cheer" talk. The Abrams bring that talk to my mind. What a joy to be able to look adversity in the face and grin as we shout "the gospel is still true"! And when you think about it, thanks to continuing revelation and a prophet on the earth, it only gets truer and more complete everyday. We certainly DO have GREAT reason to rejoice! (John 16:33, 3Nephi 1:13)
Nauvoo is a place thick with the spirit. Happiness runs as rampant as malaria and yellow fever did back in 1839 when the Saints first arrived here. Miracles happen everyday. I can't remember if I already included this in my last e-mail (I know I wrote my family about it) but I promised myself a while ago that I would only write in my journal on days where something amazing happened. I have written everyday since.
I was able to serve in Carthage on Saturday again! It was wonderful. Carthage usually is. It was an "emergency" change in the schedule. Sister Brinkerhoff and I found out the night before. I couldn't have been happier to be flexible. There was a youth conference here and also a "Joseph Smith Family reuinion" bus tour that have come through. Both groups were so cool.
I had so much to write about in this e-mail. Now it's all escaped me. Sometimes I feel like getting on here and just saying "Everything is still more wonderful than you could imagine" and then be done with it. That's not to say I don't love writing them, it's just hard to scramble for the words to accurately describe all that goes on.
Oh! Practice for the "Sociable" is going well! When I really bring people down I just mouth the words, but even that isn't happening to often. I was also given an assignment for the Sociable. I am suppose to take pictures on the topics of "Prophets and modern day revelation" and "Temples and family". It has been a joy! It has been so nice to get back into photography and I have grown so much just being able to try to find shots to represent both of these tender topics. They are both things that mean so much to me and I have really tried to do them justice. Maybe I can send some home with the label of each topic and my mom can post them.
I hope all is well at home. Thank you for your letters! They are answers to my prayers. I think of you often and pray for you even more.
Sister Bailey.
Suggested reading for the week: Joseph B. Wirthlin's "Be of Good Cheer" talk. If you don't have a copy you can get on on LDS.org under general conference talks. And if all else fails, ask my family.
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