Nauvoo

Let's start with a math Problem:

One small Ford Focus

+ Five girls

+ Five girls worth of stuff

+ Food for Four days

+ 8 hours of driving

Equals the beginning of quite an adventure to Nauvoo, Illinois.  

At this point of the trip, I had no idea what kind of self discovery and spiritual learning lay ahead of me in the next few days...

This is Brie, Me, and Trish.  The backseat crew.  "I call backseat, middle, feet on the hump!  I'm the hump girl, riding the hump all the way to NAUVOO!"  I didn't actually call the hump, but it just turned out that way.  It was fine.  

Isn't the Mississippi River amazing and beautiful at sunset?  This is the first place we visited... the end of Parley Street, the path the saints took as they were being driven out of their lovely city.  To me, this spot represents leaving everything you know, and what you are comfortable with, and turning your path over to Heavenly Father to guide you through the unknown frontiers ahead.  And since that's a concept I'm trying hard to grasp right now, the edge of the Mississippi River at the end of Parley's Street meant a lot to me this time around.  

Trish, Amy, Annalaura, Rachel, Brie, and Me.

My lovely church friends.  

I love getting to know and understand people better, and I got to do a lot of that with these girls while in Nauvoo.    

Westward Ho!  This is us in a Nauvoo Wagon.

"So... where are you all from?"

"Kalamazoo, Michigan!"

We got to say that a lot this weekend.  

I love this picture and I have to give credit to Trish for her awesome photography skillz.  This is the Nauvoo temple seen through the 3rd story window of the Cultural Hall.  The floor on which we stood as Trish took this picture is the floor on which  Joseph Smith drew the route the saints would take from Nauvoo to the place that the Lord had prepared for them.  He also drew a picture of the Salt Lake valley... the way Brigham Young knew when to say "This is the right place!" 

This is the Nauvoo temple again through the eye of Trish's camera, and between a statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.  

"Praise to the Man who communed with Jehovah...

... Millions shall know Brother Joseph again!"

What an amazing adventure this Nauvoo vacation turned out to be!  I was hesitant to go, but I'm really glad I did.  Despite the crowded car, buggy air, snoring tent-mates, and sunburned skin, I had a truly wonderful experience.  Hearing the stories of courage and strength of the persecuted saints through their nearly unbearable trials boosts my own faith and strength to make it through my trivial hardships.  It is amazing to look at the past to learn lessons for the future.  Because of the faith and obedience of the people of Nauvoo, I feel like I have renewed strength and courage to turn my own will over to God, proceed into the scary unknown, and be sure that I'll be guided and cared for.  

And this is part of what I learned about myself in Nauvoo, Illinois: May 22-25, 2009.

Here's the other part:

Man, I've got growing up to do!  I can feel some hefty life changes coming up in the not-too distant future, and I need to be ready.  How does anyone ever become the person they want/need to be?  I'll tell you... faith and hard work.  I'm declaring this the summer of Jamilyn self-revision.  Time to work.  Time to make things happen.  Time to break old bad habits and replace them with good new ones.  Time to take things seriously.  Time to grow up.  

This is me, standing at the edge of the Mississippi River, feeling inadequate, scared, and unprepared.  But going forward with faith.