Week 12: What a Ride

07/31/2016: Well, last night was the last night of Pageant. I am sad to bid farewell to my pageant family, but it honestly has not really hit me yet that tomorrow I will be going home after Sunset by the Mississippi rather than to the pageant stage. I hope that I jump from denial to acceptance without all the stages of grief in between, but we shall see.

I had some awesome visitors this week. My mom and aunt came for a couple of days, and it was wonderful to see them! I am very excited to be able to see my mom again in 16 days and be able to talk to her for more than just a couple of minutes between shows. I also got to see the Stokes Family, including Abby Stokes who is on the way home from her mission in Nebraska. It was wonderful to see a friend I grew up with after years apart.

The "Nauvoo Crud" is going around the Young Performing Missionaries. Some think it is an actual illness, but others think it is the body giving up and dying from how extra-tiring this month has been with the addition of Pageant. In all reality, it is probably a combination of the two. Both of my companions have it, so I have been helping try to get them healthy again (#DaughterofaDoctorProbs) and have been lucky to not yet get ill myself. Hopefully, my luck continues.

Between the end of Pageant, wonderful visitors, and the Nauvoo Crud (the latter making us look like a group of zombies, not missionaries), this week has been quite a crazy but wonderful ride. With how busy and tiring the month of July has been, I have learned the truth of President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's words, "You are stronger than you realize. You are more capable that you can imagine."   Indeed, I am through the help of the Lord who has definitely been helping me every step of the way as I have been blessed with the energy and strength to accomplish all tasks placed in front of me with a smile.

 

Picture is of me with Jeff and Aurora Dickamore and their daughter Wilde. They are in the pageant core cast, and he is getting a masters at University of Tennessee (which is way cool because... Tennessee). 

Have a wonderful week! Love you all!

-Sister Sylvestre

Week 11: A Week of Change

07/24/2016:  Friends and Family,

This week was certainly not the usual week.  At the start of the week, I learned that Sister Robinson, one of the tech sisters would be going home this past Friday.  Much of the week was spent preparing to run shows with one less person.  I have taken over backstage right for The Promise and trained Elder Schultz, our technical director on the lights for the show.  I will be in the light booth for Be Still, a show we only do on Sundays.  Sister Harmer has joined my companionship with Sister Young, so us techs are now in a trio companionship, and being in a tripansionship has been great fun!

I was very nervous about taking on a new role the The Promise so far in the season, but once I had successfully done a show on my own, I was able to start enjoying doing backstage for the show.  As much as I love lights, the adventure of being backstage is the best.  It has been great to spend more time with the stage missionaries too.

On Tuesday, Sunset by the Mississippi was cancelled for the first time ever due to rain because we do not have overflow seating in the Visitors' Center anymore to accommodate all those who are here during pageant season.  The rest of the week was so hot that they almost had to cancel a couple more shows because the senior missionaries cannot do shows outside when the heat index is higher than 105.  We shortened one of our shows because the heat index was at the border, and last night, the mission president sent all of the seniors home.  We ended up doing a YPM version of the show because there was a large crowd waiting in the heat that we did not want to disappoint.  It was so fun to mix things up!

This week has been quite a week as our schedule stayed the same while all else was different. With all the change going on in my responsibilities, it is great to be able to turn to the scriptures for strength.  A verse that brought me a lot of comfort this week is Doctrine & Covenants 6:23, "Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter?  What greater witness can you have than from God?"  I know that it is God's will that I am here serving in Nauvoo as a Young Performing Technical Missionary this summer, and because of that, He is blessing me to seamlessly transition into performing new roles.

Have a wonderful week! 

Picture is of the 4 tech sisters in our Sisters in Black shirts.  

Left to right: Sister Harmer, Sister Robinson, me, Sister Young

-Sister Sylvestre

Old friends reunited in Nauvoo

Pictured:  Lauren Denton, Youth Leader and former YPM (band), with Sister Ashley Sylvestre.

Lauren once resided in the greater Memphis area, where she attended church and youth activities with Ashley.

Week 10: Where did the time go?

07/17/2016: My Dearest Friends and Family, 

It is amazing how time flies!   We are now half way done with the pageant season, and yesterday marked 1 month until I am home.

At the start of the week, the second (and final) pageant work crew arrived, and they rock! I have really enjoyed getting to know them when the emerge from under the stage. They have carried on the tradition of doing the Highland Fling backstage during the Nauvoo Pageant, which I love. It is so cool being part of the pageant family and hearing how I am missed when my jobs do not magically get done during rehearsal. Even though pageant means there is no time to rest, I will really miss it when it is done. 

Thursday afternoon, we were all told the bad news that Elder Contreras would be going home the next morning so that his broken foot could heal properly. I knew I would miss having him around, but I was surprised to discover that I could feel a tangible void from the absence of his spirit here. Indeed, not having him here is hard, but I am glad that his foot will be able to heal as it should so that he can soon be back dancing.

This week, Elder Camp shared with us a proverb, "Your faith can move mountains, but do not be surprised when God hands you a shovel."  We can do anything through faith in God, but it is important that we put in the work first. Then, God will enable us to do more than we can do alone as we trust in him. "As much as ye shall put your trust in God, even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day." (Alma 38:5)

Pictures:  (1) Elder Wilson (one of the coolest senior missionaries) with a horse that we all think is emo with his hair the way it is. 

(2) Elder Camp loves us tech sisters so much that he designed and ordered "Sisters in Black" shirts for us. You cannot read the entirety of the back, but it is from Men in Black.

-Sister Sylvestre

Nauvoo Pageant

The 12th Annual Nauvoo Pageant - A Tribute to Joseph Smith 

Also featuring the British Pageant - Truth will Prevail 

Pageant dates for 2016: July 5 - July 30, 2016 

Nauvoo Pageant presented on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 

British Pageant presented on Wednesday and Friday 

Performances begin at 8:30 p.m.

Week 9: PAGEANT!!!!!

07/10/2016:  This week has been the busiest, craziest week but also the greatest week!  Pageant opened and has quickly become my favorite thing I do here.  I absolutely love running around "The Village" (what I call the huge backstage area that has literally everything, even a daycare center) getting things done and getting to know those involved with pageant. I am sad to see our first family cast leave (each ensemble group only performs for a week), but I am looking forward to our next cast as well.

Unfortunately, Pageant season always means YPMs getting hurt.  :(  On opening night of the Nauvoo Pageant, one of our elders broke his foot, so we have been having to change all the dances and do some recasting. Thankfully, Elder Contreras has become weight-bearing very quickly, so he will soon be able to be in some shows (just not dancing) and will not be going home early.  :)

There really are not words to describe my experience this week, but it has been beyond amazing!

I came across a verse I would like to share with all of you.  1 Corinthians 9:24 reads, "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?  So run, that ye may obtain."  While life is not a competition, I love the idea that we should all work hard to do the best we can do and be the best we can be at all times, just as we would give our all when running a race.

Sister Harmer and I took pictures in front of the temple in the garden and in a field with the Mississippi River in the background.

-Sister Sylvestre

Friends made and met on the Trail of Hope

Here is a picture taken at Trail of Hope of me with a little girl (Sophia James) who is the daughter of a YPM from 1995 (I think that was the year).  In the picture, Sophia is wearing my daycap.

Her parents write: 

Dear Sis. Sylvestre:

      It was great meeting you in Nauvoo a couple of weeks ago. Nauvoo is such an inspirational place, and the young performing missionaries were awesome! Here’s the picture (attached) of you and our 8-y.o. daughter Sophia.

Best Regards,

Curtis and Elaine James

07/07/2016