Well, I guess this is it!!

I only have one more Sunday here in Nauvoo and we will be really busy next week so this is my last email home!! Usually this is the really profound email that sums everything up but a week and a half is kind of a long time in some ways so I feel like this is just another email. We had our last night of Pageant last night and then we stayed after to help clean up chairs. I haven't been able to watch all of pageant since we normally go home as soon as we finish the last dance that we are in. I wish that I had family to watch the pageants because they were pretty amazing. After our last dance there is a couple scenes and then a sad scene where King Follet dies. I really wanted to see this scene because I recently found out that I am a direct descendant from him. It was a very powerful part of the show when they depicted Joseph Smith speaking at his funeral. This is where the King Follet Discourse comes from and the prophet talks about the likeness of God and how He is like us. Also that our spirits are like one eternal round and that there is no end or beginning to eternity. In the scene the group gathered around the coffin begin to sing a hymn and then the actor that played King Follet and some others walked out and stood above the crowd all dressed in white. It was so symbolic of how people that have passed on are in our midst. We have our ancestors with us and they help us everyday. I can't wait to research and learn more about these amazing people. I am crying as I type because of the spirit and connection I have been able to feel with the saints from serving here.

I'm not sure if I shared this story earlier or not, but I had a pair of boots that were really falling apart. They were hard to dance in because the front toe was flapping around and chunks of the inside were falling out sometimes. I was really worried because I really didn't want to spend more money on new boots if I only had about 30 days left. this was kind of awhile ago. But then someone from one of the pageant family casts donated shoes to the YPMs. I now call them my miracle boots. There was a sweet young girl named Annabelle that I made friends with and she was so happy for me that I got new boots. I told her a story that we tell during one of our shows about a pioneer girl named Matilda Miner who didn't have shoes as she walked to Salt Lake. She had a friend that shared her shoes with her. They would switch off every other day. To think of the power of friendship and sharing is so amazing to me and it touched Annabelle as well. She loved the story and I think she really took it to heart. Before I got these new boots however I was in the end of one of our shows and thinking about what it would truly feel like to prepare to leave Nauvoo. My boots were already in bad shape right then and they had the same problems. I just feel so blessed to go through this mission and experience things that I can liken to the pioneers. even though it is still nothing in comparison. also the past week or so i have been sick. It is not fun putting on a show all day when you don't feel good. Especially a hard dance show every night. But I was reading about one of the sights about Wilford Woodruff. He went on a number of missions and was hardly home at all during Nauvoo. He worked so hard to build a beautiful home but only got to stay in it for 5 days before leaving on another mission. When he came back it was time for them to leave Nauvoo. I'm not sure if these are perfectly accurate facts, but basically he would work so hard to build it for his family but hardly was able to enjoy it because of his sacrifice. It said that he would work hard on it even though he was very ill at times. This also made me feel like I was experiencing similar things while I wasn't feeling well. I am so grateful for the opportunity to represent the saints in Nauvoo. Although I have it way better than them, and I have only done this for 3 months, this is how I hope to show my faith to the Lord. This is my sacrifice for God and His church. Although it is small, and only one summer of my life, I hope to be able to sacrifice more and continue to feel the spirit of Nauvoo and the saints that did so much for us. I love this gospel, I love my family, I love the pioneers, and I love my Savior who sacrificed more than anyone. Because he loves us.

Hurrah for Israel! Hurrah, hurrah!

Sister Higginson