And the rain came down and the wind blew!

I thought I would share with you a few pictures from one of our "wild" rain storms during the pageant. This one occurred early on a Sunday morning. The rain pounded us, the wind blew hard and there was lots of lightening. The wind blew over all of our plastic chairs, covered many of them with mud and grass, some of the panel from our stage blew off and our large banners to the side of the stage were ripped. There was about 4" of water around the stage and seating area.

By Monday morning the ground had obsorbed the water and we were able to get onto the site. Early that morning, the young men in our work crew and the Yellow family cast came to the site and within an hour had all of the chairs cleaned and in place. Many hands made the work go fast!

That morning we had registration for the new family cast out at the school. While we were there another big storm rolled in and the rain came and the wind blew and......all of the chairs were blown over again!!! The family cast practicing on the outdoor stage had to move into the school while registration was going on. Let's see...that made about 260 people, many of them soaking wet, in the school lobby and gym at one time! It is amazing how things work out. In a short amount of time we were able to regroup and get people into areas where they could continue with meetings, rehearsals, etc.

Heavenly Father certainly blesses us so His work can move forward. We deal with the elements, rain or heat, and the work goes on. It is great to be a part of it!

Nauvoo Pageant 2010

Elder Neil Andersen, Brian & Tiffany's family, Glenn & Annette
Whew! Another pageant season is over!! What a success it was. Our attendance was up 21% and we gathered 12,000 referrals. We had no rain outs, a couple of very hot days - 110* with the heat index, a few skunks that took up residence under our stage (but only one spray), great visits from family that came to Nauvoo and many new friendships made with the casts and volunteers. Brian, Tiffany and family were in one of the family casts and spent two weeks in Nauvoo. They were awesome on stage! It was a shock to see Brian with a full beard when they arrived! Glenn's sister, Rita, and husband spent almost four weeks volunteering. Sue, Ed, Lisa, Nick and family came during the pageant. Their stay went by way too fast. But....it all comes to an end and it is so very quiet here in the office/home!



Our pageant presidency was released on July 29, 3 days before the end of the pageant. John Ricks has been called as the new president, Ross Schmid as 1st counselor (previously 2nd Couselor) and Glenn has been called as the 2nd counselor. Elder Neil Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve was in Nauvoo to make the change. Elder Andersen grew up in Tyhee and knew Glenn's family so it was a bit of a reunion. What a great experience to be able to spend some time visiting with Elder Andersen.



We are thrilled with Glenn's new assignment. We love Nauvoo and the Pageant and can't think of a better way to serve. It means we will be spending about 7 weeks each summer for probably 5 years or so during the pageant. (No time given on the length of the call!) A couple of other trips will be made during the year when needed. We have been asked to extend our mission to April of 2010 when another couple will replace us as pageant missionaries. We will be able to make a few trips home during the winter which makes us very happy!



We hope more of our friends and family will be able to join us in Nauvoo in the coming years.

The Spirit of Nauvoo is strong as is the Pageant. I wish we could share it with more of you.

Happy Father's Day

I love Father's Day! I was blessed with a wonderful father myself. He was all that a father should be and then some. I miss being able to wish him Happy Father's Day today.

I love Father's Day because it gives me the opportunity of honoring Glenn for the great father he is to our children. I sure don't let him know often enough how much I appreciate his example, his unselfishness and most of all the love that he shows to our children and to me.

What a blessing he has been in our lives.

I'm not good at words so this is short but the thoughts are humungus!!

Where Has The Time Gone?

Where has the time gone??? We will have people arriving to start the stage set-up on Mon., June 21, then the pageant core cast, directors, etc. will arrive on Wed., June 23. The first family cast arrives on Mon., June 28. Right now we feel like we are in over our heads, trying to finish our preparations! It seems to be busier than last year with new ideas being implemented and additonal asignments. It is nice to know that Heavenly Father is working with us, otherwise I'm not sure we would make it. In spite of the stress, it is very exciting work and the anticipation of the opening night on July 6 is growing.

The Young Ambassadors from BYU have been in Nauvoo this past week. On Thurs. evening they performed in a newly remodeled auditorium in Carthage. Glenn and I attended the performance and it was fabulous!

By many church members, Carthage is thought of only as the martyrdom site of the Prophet Joseph & Hyrum. However, in recent years the town of Carthage and the church have worked together to create a more amicable relationship. Thursday evening was a wonderful example of how much more accepting the locals are of the church. They loved the performance and were so impressed with the quality of the young people. As the group sang, I Am A Child of God, for their closing number, you could feel a spirit of friendship and love in the room. What would Joseph have thought to have witnessed this? Maybe he did.

Love those Grandkids!

While we were in Idaho we got to see our newest little grandbaby, Brianna. She was 4 weeks old. What a special surprise to see her - we didn't think we would see her until she was several months old. Love holding those tiny little ones. Brianna is Kristen and Craig's baby.

As you can see, Grandpa had a good time with his granddaughters!

Wish we would have had more time with all of the grandkids.

My Father, Wright Hanks

My father, Wright C. Hanks, passed away on Monday, May 24, one week after having suffered a heart attack and a stroke. His funeral was Friday, May 28.

Glenn and I flew to Pocatello and were able to spend 3 days with Dad and our family. What a special time it was to be able to sit by him in the hospital and to hold his hand and tell him that I loved him. We did not fly back home for the funeral. We felt that Dad would have wanted it that way.

We rejoice knowing that Dad and Mom are together again. What a reunion after being apart for 16 years. It is a comforting thought.

I have been so blessed to have such a special father. The memories I have of him are priceless. The examples of Mom and Dad remain with us, helping us to be more faithful and devoted to our family and to our God.

Thank you for all of your prayers and thoughtful notes. We have been comforted by them and given strength.

This picture was taken in January when we flew to SLC for the final Nauvoo Pageant core cast auditions. It was the last picture taken of Dad and me together. What a treasure.

Happy Mother's Day

It is hard sometimes to think of what to write about in our blog. So much of what we do during the week is the same - lots of computer work, answering emails, phone calls, putting out little "fires". The last couple of weeks have gotten even more busy and it am sure it will continue to get busier the closer we get to the pageant. We enjoy having Pres Renouf and his wife here in Nauvoo for 10 days. We had a few lunch meetings and several good visits with them here in the office. It is nice to have the counsel and wisdom of Pres. Renouf to rely on.

This morning in our sacrament meeting the comment was made that there are now 360 full time missionaries here in Nauvoo! It is the largest concentration of missionaries in the church other than in the MTC. I can't describe to you the spirit we feel from all of those missionaries!

I played for the young sister missionaries who sang a special number in our sacrament meeting. I was to meet them at 7:15am to practice the song. I wanted to practice on the piano in the chapel before I practiced with the sisters so we left home at 7:00. When we got there the chapel was already 1/3 full....and church doesn't start until 8:00am! Our sacrament meetings fill the gym about half full. The last ten minutes before the meeting starts it becomes very reverent and quiet. It is like no other sacrament meetings I have been in! The reverence really adds to the meeting. Each week we come away from our sacrament meeting saying the speakers were the best...and the next week they are as good or better! Well, enough of this!

Today is Mother's Day and I have been thinking how grateful I am to be a mother and a grandmother. I appreciate the respect and love our family shows me. When I think of all the good things in my life, you are all a part of what I think of. I do miss all of you so much but I am grateful for the support you give us while we serve our mission. Thank you!