I Think I Know You!

Before our mission, I had a strong impression that I would run into people I hadn’t seen in years. This included people from my childhood and even some of the students I taught in elementary school 40 years ago. 

In my first week here I was giving a loom demonstration in the Family Living Center. A young mom said, “I think I know you. Where are you from?” I told her I was from Richland, Washington. She said, “Sister Cornwell! You visit taught my mother when I was a young girl. You look the same!” I hope I looked better then! This was Julie and Warren Caudle’s daughter, (I think her name is Stephanie). I visit taught Julie over 30 years ago. This lady had a good memory!

The next week, while serving in the Stoddard Tin Shop, I met the brother-in-law of my dear friend, Laina Taylor. His wife asked where I was from and when I said Richland, she told me that her husband’s sister-in-law lived there.

About a month ago I met Kathryn Rhoten’s brother who was here with a youth group from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

And so it goes, on and on, every week, sometimes multiple times a week, I meet someone who I can connect with in a more than casual way. So many people have connections to the Tri-Cities!

Fellow missionaries, the Childers, who are from Richland (who we didn’t know previously). I know two of their grandsons from Richland Seminary. Jonas came to visit with his family and it was great to see him again (and about six inches taller).

Temple missionaries, the Cooks, also from Richland, who served in the Columbia River Temple on Thursdays and know so many people we know.

Temple missionaries, the Meines, who are best friends with Kerry and Luanne Anderson.

One of the most exciting meetings so far was with Rick and Debbie Ragsdale. They were here two weeks ago with a very large youth group from McKinney, Texas. Debbie was in charge and had made all the plans for the mission to accommodate the group. I was in the visitor center when this group started arriving. I went up to Debbie and her husband, one of the first adult couples to come inside and introduced myself. They did the same. Ragsdale is not a common name so when her husband said his name was Rick Ragsdale, I said, “Rick Ragsdale? Have you ever lived in Denton, Texas?” He looked a bit surprised and said, “Yes, I grew up there.” I told him that he probably didn’t remember, but we met…a LOOOOONG time ago. He looked at my name tag and I assured him that it wouldn’t help. Here is the story: 

In the summer of 1976, about six months after I had joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I went to Texas with my mom. It was her first trip to her hometown of Denton in 30 years. We stayed with her good friend, Jane Stabile and her husband Nick. Jane found out I was a member of the church and told me that their neighbors were also members and she wanted to make sure I had something to do with kids my own age while I was there. She called the Ragsdale family to see if anything was going on at church that I could attend with them. Their son, Rick (recently home from a mission, and engaged to be married) told me he would pick me up and take me with him and his fiancée to a young adult dance and introduce me around. At that dance, he danced with me the first dance then made sure I had company the rest of the night. It was a very simple thing for him to do, but I NEVER forgot it, or his name. I often thought of Rick Ragsdale and the example he set for me. So, when we met again, 43 years later, I told him that as a young man, he had made a difference to a dorky girl who didn’t know much. When I mentioned the Stabile family he and his wife smiled and said that they all grew up together and knew each other very well.

The kind words we say to and the seemingly simple things we do for people we happen to meet as we go about our lives can have a tremendous impact on them. We might never know how we affect others for good.

Now some pictures of our excitement for the week: The Nauvoo Prairie Grass Burn!

In less than five minutes one acre of tall prairie grass was burned down to nothing.

Happy 177th Birthday, Relief Society!

Sunday marked the 177th anniversary of the organization of the largest women's organization in the world: the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. On March 17th, 1842, "The Female Relief Society of Nauvoo" was created, here in Nauvoo, in the second story room above Joseph Smith's Red Brick Store.

In the spring of 1842 Sarah Granger Kimball and her seamstress, Margaret A. Cook, discussed combining their efforts to sew clothing for workers constructing the Nauvoo Temple. They determined to invite their neighbors to assist by creating a Ladies' Society. Kimball asked Eliza R. Snow to write a constitution and by-laws for the organization for submission to President of the Church Joseph Smith for review. After reviewing the documents, Smith called them "the best he had ever seen" but said, "this is not what you want. Tell the sisters their offering is accepted of the Lord, and He has something better for them than a written constitution. ... I will organize the women. .. after a pattern of the priesthood.

On Saturday, the Illinois Nauvoo Mission presented a re-enactment of that event. It was held in the reconstructed Red Brick Store. We all dressed in our 1840's finery and participated, as if we were part of the original meeting. It was a very special day. We were picked up at the Wagon Depot and taken by horse-drawn limousine to the store. We were entertained by Sisters Mensel and Flanders playing violin duets of hymns as we ascended the stairs. Of course, we removed our hats so as not to block others' views of the proceedings.

After the re-enactment, all the women went outside the store to pose for pictures in front of the store. There were about 50 of us lined up outside. I don't have that picture yet, but will update and post it later. I do have a picture of Sister Holt, Sister Williams and myself together. Sister Holt said she felt like Mother Goose in her outfit. Now I can't get that vision out of my head!

Below is a picture of our photographers. I tried to snap a quick pic while they all had their cameras and phones up, but they were taking our picture at the time and I didn’t want to ruin the shot.

New Skills

Bruce and I spoke during Sacrament Meeting in the Illinois Nauvoo Mission Branch today. There were three of us, all speaking on the same topic of "Personal Revelation." The common thread among our talks was that you need to prepare yourself to receive revelation (or inspiration), be able to recognize it when you receive it and discern true revelation from false.

In Relief Society today the focus of the lesson was Elder Gerrit Gong’s talk, “our Campfire of Faith.” One of our discussions revolved around a time when we developed a new skill. Several peoples hared how their new skill (whether recently acquired or learned a long time ago) Helped or blessed them or someone else.

My pictorial journey today will revisit some of the new things I have learned in the months we have been on our mission. Whether anyone besides me is enriched by these skills remains to be seen.

Weaving:

Cutting 3-inch strips of fabric for rag rugs

Sewing yards and yards of fabric strips

Winding sewn fabric strips on shuttles

The fun part: weaving rag rugs on the floor looms

One of the rugs I made, from beginning to end, including choosing and sewing the fabric strips to weaving the headers and rags, to tying the knots.

Brick Oven Bread Making:

 

I already knew how to bake bread but I had never done it in a wood-fired brick oven.

 

Finding Cornwell Ancestor Headstones in Obscure Cemeteries:

The grave of Reuben Manning Jolley, Bruce's 3rd great-grandfather. He lived in Nauvoo in the early 1840's but died in Keosauqua, Iowa in 1849. His family went on to Utah the next year.

Brick Making:

 

Placing the pug (clay, sand and water) into the mold.

The pneumatic press forces the pug into the mold.

 

Scraping off excess.

Cleaning up the edges.

Water and a squeegee smooths the back of the bricks.

Moment of truth: unmolding the bricks.

Four perfect Nauvoo bricks!

 

We Are Still in Nauvoo!

February 24^th – March 3^rd

If a tree falls in the forest, and there's nobody around to hear, does it make a sound?

If a golfer makes a hole-in-one and no one witnesses it, did it really happen?

If we have AMAZING experiences on our mission in Nauvoo, and don’t share them with others, will we even remember?

These are philosophical questions that I have been asking myself recently. The answer to the third question has been gnawing on me for several weeks and has led me to commit to weekly (yes, WEEKLY) mission “reports.” This is an excellent way to use my extra hour each Sunday.

Bittersweet Day

 

Farewell dinner at the go-to place, El Camino Real in Hamilton, Illinois. Elders and Sisters Cornwell 1 & 2 and Williams

Today, March 3^rd, marks six-months on our mission. It has gone so fast. Every week one of us says, “What day is it? Friday?? No! It can’t be Friday already!” The weeks go fast, but they are so filled. It seems to have passed quickly, but at the same time, it feels as if we have always been here and have known these lovely missionaries our whole lives.

It is also the last day for Elder and Sister Cornwell 1 (we are Cornwell 2). Bruce's brother Gary and his adorable wife, Sharlene have been serving here in Nauvoo for the past 23 months.  After church, we snapped a few pictures, said tearful goodbyes and away they went! It has been a special blessing and privilege to serve a mission with our family!

Ice Blocks

Last Sunday we were driving home from church and noticed that to the south the Mississippi River (which has been frozen over) looked like it was moving. We drove to the end of Main Street to get a closer look and saw there was some open water in the middle of the channel and there were whitecaps. Maybe this is a sign of warmer weather? We continued around the peninsula on Water Street until we came to the west end of Parley Street where it ends at the river. This is what we saw:

 After a bit of a warming trend some of the ice had broken up and the wind had pushed huge blocks of it into piles on the shore. That was a week ago. The ice is still there but now it is colder, and the river has completely frozen again. 

 New Assignment

Bruce and I have been serving in most of the historic sites and giving tours and overviews to visitors (more on those sites bit by bit). We were assigned to be the assistant site directors of the Family Living Center where we baked bread in the brick oven, made rope, tried to spin wool, wove rugs on the floor looms, told about candle making, barrel making and pottery. It was so wonderful to serve there a couple of times each week. 

The Family Living Center assignment came to an end the first part of February when I was asked to be the mission scheduler. Sister Williams has been doing a fantastic job as the scheduler since shortly after we arrived (it was announced that she would be "temporary" scheduler. Little did I know they were waiting for me to become very familiar with the historic sites so I could be the "not-temporary" scheduler). So, back to the office for me! Sister Holt is the assistant scheduler and I am happy for help! We spent most of February training and on Monday we began in earnest as Elder and Sister Williams went off to serve in Carthage for the last six weeks of their mission.

Most Precious Gifts

Sister Allred and Elder and Sister Christensen spoke last Sunday on the topic of "Precious Gifts from God." Sister Allred reminded me that prayer is a special privilege and gift from Heavenly Father. Sister Christensen told us that every day is a precious gift. Elder Christensen says, "nothing is more precious than...a first date, gaining a testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, his wife and fill in the blank. He also said, "He who says there are no gifts knows not God."

Until next week!