Nauvoo 2010!

As I rounded the river bend for the first time in 11 months and read the sign, “Welcome to Nauvoo”, tears streamed down my face. These are the streets I walked with two wonderful companions. This is the river where I read scriptures and made dreams for my life. That is the temple I went to almost every week, seeking direction, seeking service, seeking time with my Heavenly Father. There is the home I lived in with 9 of the most wonderful women I’ve ever met. This is the place I prayed more than at any other time in my life. I gave tours in these homes and shops.

I initially hesitated coming to Nauvoo again. I heard from past YPM’s that it’s a very difficult thing to come and see the new performers performing your shows, singing your songs, saying your lines, and wearing your dresses. We arrived on a Sunday evening when the YPM’s were performing the sing along with the community. As I saw the YPM’s in their white and black outfits (just like us last year!), my heart was full to the brim. I immediately loved each of those YPM’s. I was so excited for them. I was so excited for everything they are learning. I was so excited for the testimony growing inside of them and what they were testifying to the rest of the world. Elder Camp told us (Mary-Martha and I) that he was going to put us back to work. He said we were going to be saying the prayers. We both thought he was joking, but when the sociable began, the senior missionary conducting the meeting announced that former YPM’s Sister Jackson and Sister Gardner would be saying the prayers. I loved it. :)

It was fun to be famous again for a couple of days. Many of the senior missionaries recognized Mary-Martha and I and ran up to give us hugs and see what we were doing with our lives. They mentioned my clogging and mentioned Sister Jackson’s fiddling.

I really enjoyed watching the shows and seeing the changes the new directors have made. I feel like High Hopes and River Boats makes sense now. :) They have done a beautiful job with the blocking and with the feeling of the whole show. Just Plain Anna-Amanda was a true joy to watch. I laughed at the puppet show like it was my first time watching it (I suppose in a way it is!). Each of the casts had their own twists and hilarious things they did. It was fun to see the differences. The only show that made me miss Nauvoo was Sunset by the Mississippi. I put my heart and soul into that one last year. I loved that show so much. The new directors have cleaned it up and made it a very classy classy show. I LOVED how they blocked Frog Kissin’. I love how much the band is a part of the show. It’s just a delight to see everything they have done.

Pageant was amazing as usual. I really enjoyed seeing it and not worrying about being home at a certain time. :) It was fun to remember what I was doing backstage during the different parts of the show.

Nauvoo was wonderful. It is still the city beautiful. The show lives on and grows and becomes better every year. I am so grateful for my time there. I am so grateful for everything I learned. I also know that my life didn’t end in Nauvoo. Like the saints, I am moving and growing and learning new and greater things in my life all the time. Before I left Nauvoo last year, I was having a hard time thinking that Nauvoo would be the highlight of my life. I told a YPM who had been there previously that and he said that he asks himself every day if he is a better person than he was the day before. If the answer is yes, he knows he is headed in the right direction. I’ve made that my commitment to myself. Sometimes, I fall short, but in the end, I will make every day better than the last. I will make every summer better than the last. I will make every year better than the last.