Zone Conference in Sioux City, Iowa

Traveling to zone conference in Sioux City means getting up at 4:30 a.m. to be on the road early to travel about 2 hours from Omaha and arrive there by 8:00 a.m. Though it seemed way to early, it didn't take long for our carload to wake up and cheerfully greet the day with non stop conversation, which was music to my ears. Our travel inn the car seemed quick as we chatted about art, music and literature. We had a wonderful day with music and counsel and instruction of encouragement.  Late afternoon, after conference was over, two carloads of seniors and sister missionaries took a short trip (about 15 minutes) to South Dakota where we all got out and enjoyed the fresh air and the bean fields.
The Nebraska Omaha mission is the most wonderful place to serve!!

Sweet Sabbath Day

As missionaries, our Sabbath Day is a little unusual. Typically, we begin our Sunday with a 7:00 a.m. missionary coordination meeting with the Bellview 2nd Ward missionaries plus an Elder companionship and a Sister companionship, which is a 30 minute drive from our apartment. (Before leaving our apartment we must prepare lunch and other snacks as we will not return to our apartment until about 6:00 p.m.) Leaving the meeting, we drive 20 minutes to the Kanesville Tabernacle where we are scheduled to do the tours from 9:30 to 1:00. (It is lovely to have an hour before the tours begin in which we can study or update this blog, etc. in this peaceful setting.) Our Sacrament meeting begins at 2:00 in the afternoon. We leave church about 5:15 and often have firesides in the evening that are missionary experiences where we sometimes are the rides for sister missionaries or those who are wanting to come back to church. It isn't unusual for us to be tired after such a full day - but it is a day full of wonderful spiritual experiences.

Sites to See

Lewis and Clark Monument and scenic overlook at Council Bluffs

 The spectacular view cannot be captured by camera, but it is breathtaking. It was also interesting to see flocks of vultures flying in the sky, along with airplanes landing at the airport - all seemed to be at our same height from our view. 

  Mormon Battalion Mustering location at what is now the Iowa School for the Deaf

  Western Historic Trails Center in Council Bluffs

 When we arrived here we were delighted by a large circle of musicians who were performing in the center. These musicians seemed to be a spontaneous group of all ages of men and women with all manner of guitars, harmonicas, etc. Our favorite singer was a woman who looked to be in her 80's with a beautiful, clear voice.

This center is amazing as it shows where 4 trails met in this area - Lewis & Clark, Oregon, California and Mormon trails. In December they offer free sleigh rides! 

 Ted & Wally's Ice Cream in Old Market Town, Omaha

What a fun place to end our day. We enjoyed homemade icecream cones and sundaes. Yumm!

Two Senior Missionary Couples had a fun day off and went touristing! (It was a beautiful, cool, breezy day)

We drove for miles looking for the Orson Hyde Park, but alas! We never found it. (It took a lot of searching to find the map, but click on the words "Orson Hyde Park to link to the map, which I finally found, but not before our journey.) Even so, we saw many delightful scenes as we drove around looking for it - some took us back a century in time. We also saw many corn and bean fields.

We enjoyed HuHot Mongolian Grill for lunch - lots of veggies with meat and noodles cooked fresh. It was fun to discover another senior missionary couple there for lunch along with about 8 young Elders and two young sister missionaries. Too bad we didn't get pictures. 

We especially enjoyed spending the day with our very fun friends, the Openshaws.

Come Home to Kanesville

Saturday will be the last day for the performance of "Come Home to Kanesville", a musical play depicting the pioneer history as they left for the long, difficult journey to the Salt Lake Valley. Click on the title for a preview of this incredible production. The following are a few pictures of the cast arriving to the tabernacle for the performance. I must admit this toe tapping musical kept us laughing and clapping - just one of our great experiences here on our mission.