Rolling Reunion - Last day on the bus!

​Written by Gwyn Beer
Canada West Mission Centre Co-President

​I want to thank you all for rolling along with us.  We left Nauvoo and spent our last night in a hotel.  Denyse loaded our luggage on to the bus for the last time and we headed down the road.  Our goal was Iowa and then Missouri.

We arrived in Lamoni, Iowa and our first stop was Liberty Hall, the home of Joseph Smith III and family.  The house is a little outside of the town.  Our group was divided into 5 smaller groups to be able to tour through the home.  We also toured through the one room school house that has been moved onto the property.  This was the school that the Smith children did attend but it was not that close when they went to the school!   I loved seeing inside the home.  It has been lovingly restored and many pieces were original to the home. 
 
"The Liberty Hall Story", built in 1881, was the home of Joseph Smith III till 1905. Joseph Smith said "Liberty Hall throbbed with life, teeming with the bustling activities of a large and growing family.  Birth, death, and marriage occurred within its walls.  Joys and sorrows succeeded each other as the day the night." 
 
"Liberty Hall is a premier restoration site listed on the Iowa and National Registers of historic homes that gives visitors a glimpse into a middle-class family, an era of late Midwestern Victorian culture, and the story of a significant religious movement in American History."
 
Back on the bus, we went to Graceland University.  Things have changes since I went to Graceland College.  We were treated to lunch in the Commons dining room of the University. The food was very good!  We had some free time to walk around the campus and then we returned to the bus.
 
We were in for a treat that was NOT on our agenda!  We were taken to the local Lamoni Community of Christ church.  The Mite society of Lamoni, Iowa had put on a special display of quilts and quilt tops, some of which dated back to the Mite Society beginning in 1872!  The Mite Society (Luke 21:2-4 for the story of the widow’s mite) contributed sewing of clothes and quilts for the needy in the community. They formally organized in 1883 and in 1983 were recognized for this long-term service association.
 
Currently the Mites quilt every Thursday and sell the quilts with the proceeds contributing to community projects such as the library, medical center, walking trails and swimming pool.  The Mites set up quilts throughout the chapel and were set up working on a quilt while we were there.  There was a large collection of quilts from Liberty Hall and new quilts made by the local Mite Society members.  They also advertised locally so community members could also come and see these beautiful quilts.   Wow! What an end to our tour!  We left Lamoni sent on our way by these amazing quilters! 
 
As the bus rolled along, we sang and shared and had our final devotion. The bus rolled to our final stop, the parking lot of the Temple in Independence, Missouri.  “A Story to Tell: Women in Community of Christ” bus tour officially ended.