Realizations from Nauvoo

This week I had the opportunity to go on a church history trip with my ward. I was a little nervous going into this trip since I don't know very many people in my ward, and if you know me you know that I have a hard time making new friends. I have also discovered I have mini little panic attacks when I spend too much time surrounded by a lot of people I don't know well. So understandably I was a little nervous. I did have a few good friends from work going, so I knew I'd have some friends at least.

Sunday night we met at the church at 11:00 pm. Since I'd worked the three nights before, I was wide awake. We drove to Rock Springs, Wyoming to meet our buses. We then drove. And Drove. And drove. And Drove. We were supposed to arrive in Winter Quarters at around 3:00 pm on Monday. However a bus that wouldn't start and another bus with a flat tire made us two hours late. That is a really long time on a bus. We stayed in Winter Quarters for about an hour and a half, then we all loaded up on the buses again and headed to Nauvoo. We didn't arrive there until 12:30 am because our bus drivers had the most terrible sense of direction ever. Needless to say we all were very 

happy to see real beds.

Tuesday we spent the day in Nauvoo. I got to start the day by doing baptisms at the temple. It was an amazing experience to sit in the chapel and know that we were sitting in the same spot that the pioneers had sat. As I sat there thinking, I felt an amazing sense of peace and support. I know that my ancestors are proud of me and the decisions I had made to be in that place at that time.

While we were waiting for the rest of our group to get done we were sitting on the front steps of the temple enjoying the peace and quiet. Of course a group of protestors showed up. The thing that most surprised me was that I still felt the spirit. Even with them screaming and yelling across the street, because I was on temple grounds doing what I was supposed to be doing, they could not take that spirit from me.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around Nauvoo visiting the sites. Of course we stopped and got fudge:) That night we saw an awesome play by the senior missionaries.

Wednesday we were in Nauvoo again. I got to see my good friend Staci and her husband John as they stopped through on their way to their next adventure in Philadelphia. It was great to see them. I also ran into my friend Bryan, who was there as an EFY counselor.

That night we all met at a stake center for a secret meeting. A member of our ward was rebaptized after 5 years away from the church. It was an amazing spiritual experience for everyone in the group.

By Wednesday night I was beginning to feel the strain of being around so many people all the time. We had seven people in our condo, so finding space in there was not easy. I finally got a few minutes to myself, and got some much needed quiet.

Thursday we boarded our buses and headed to Carthage Jail. That place has a spirit about it that you don't feel at other church sites. It is a holy place where a prophet of God gave his life to seal his work.

We got back on our buses and headed to Liberty Jail. I had been there before with my roommate Lindsay, but I still loved it. One of my favorite scriptures was given there, "My Son, Peace be unto thy soul; Thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt  triumph over all thy foes. Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands".

Thursday night we had testimony meeting.

Friday we got to go to Worlds of Fun in Kansas City. I am a HUGE roller coaster junky, so naturally I had a blast. After ten hours there, we got back on the buses and drove straight through the night to get home. We were all so tired, we actually slept! 

Which is pretty big for me. I was out cold.

I am so glad I got to go on this trip and spend this time getting to know new people and learning things about myself in the process.