During my talk with my Sweetheart this morning I shared that although I am not craving sweets like I used to, I have a hard time resisting when the sweets are right in front of me. [I could be a poster child for the marshmallow test that one of the speakers at a recent conference referenced!] He shared that this morning at a staff breakfast he passed on the pancakes and syrup in favor of healthier choices. That good example was very helpful, since the trainer who taught the Level 1 Review class brought brownies to share, and I was able to resist the temptation to have one. I knew if I took even a bite I would probably take more than one. So zero is perfect!
After praying about the quiz I failed yesterday, and more study, going through my notes from the similar training I had a few months ago, and talking with some of the other people working through the lessons I was able to pass the quiz. I found that the feedback on the correct answers was more understandable than the lesson was! This is a beta version, so if i can figure out how to give feedback, I definitely will do so!
I had some successes in deciphering today, and I learned a few new words and meanings in the process. I had another situation in which I noticed something in one set of records that helped me an hour or so later with a different set of records. I like when that happens.
Choir was a bit different as our director came to work with the women in the sectionals segment of practice. I had some trouble even with having practiced on my own last week, but was encouraged when the director told us to sing out even if we got the notes wrong so that the problems could be fixed. He also said it would be a good thing to practice on our own. That gave me the courage to let him know that the beautiful hymn he is ordering for us to sing--Behold the Wounds in Jesus' Hands--is available in parts on YouTube. He said he will give me a copy as soon as the sheet music comes in so that I can see if the version is the same.
Off to bed before I get hungry!
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Ups and Downs. 30 August 2016
My day started and will end with an uplifting experience, as I talked with my Sweetheart for quite a while this morning, and we will talk briefly and pray together in a little while.
At the Library, the study group started a little bit rocky for two reasons. The first is that due to the construction on the Main floor, classroom space is hard to come by, and my group follows a German handwriting class [which includes 3 of the other 4 group members, so they do not get lost coming to the group--a good thing] that two weeks in a row has gone about 10 minutes over. Today's complication was that someone had turned off the computer-[not that this was apparent to my non-technical eyes, and even the young elder called in to help took about 10 minutes to figure out why the projector indicated no signal]--so what I had intended to present did not work out. We were able to have some good learning though in the remaining time, especially as I figured out that there was little point to presenting an indexing batch in our shortened group study when the others were already studying script.
I was able to write up our group notes and get them emailed to the other members, but I forgot to print off a copy to put into the sharing folders--I hope I remember to do that tomorrow.
As pager I had hoped to do more of the beta Family History Missionary Training modules, but could not get into the program. What might have been a sign of a down to come. When I finally did get into the program and go through the next level I did not pass the quiz. I went back in to do more study, and I still do not understand it very well. One of the elders in my group has said what I feel--until I actually do this, I don't really get it. This also reminds me that I am not really a researcher. I do great at deciphering weird writing, and I can figure out how to report things that are not working, and sometimes, like happened later today I learn about something just before I need to use it [a guest bumped me off a computer because it was the only one that had the CD database--and in a short while someone else needed the computer with the CD database!], but regular research does not really seem to be my forte.
I had a session in the training area--and re-experienced the frustration I had a few months ago over worksheets that do not match the learning modules. But now I know to whom I can go to get them fixed--a definite up!
As I left to go to the temple after my shift, I was a bit down. In the temple was good, of course, as I thought about my Sweetheart, who was also in the temple--just 1300 miles away.
The weather here has turned hot again, so I need the air conditioner to sleep at night. Maybe in a week or two the fall weather will return.
At the Library, the study group started a little bit rocky for two reasons. The first is that due to the construction on the Main floor, classroom space is hard to come by, and my group follows a German handwriting class [which includes 3 of the other 4 group members, so they do not get lost coming to the group--a good thing] that two weeks in a row has gone about 10 minutes over. Today's complication was that someone had turned off the computer-[not that this was apparent to my non-technical eyes, and even the young elder called in to help took about 10 minutes to figure out why the projector indicated no signal]--so what I had intended to present did not work out. We were able to have some good learning though in the remaining time, especially as I figured out that there was little point to presenting an indexing batch in our shortened group study when the others were already studying script.
I was able to write up our group notes and get them emailed to the other members, but I forgot to print off a copy to put into the sharing folders--I hope I remember to do that tomorrow.
As pager I had hoped to do more of the beta Family History Missionary Training modules, but could not get into the program. What might have been a sign of a down to come. When I finally did get into the program and go through the next level I did not pass the quiz. I went back in to do more study, and I still do not understand it very well. One of the elders in my group has said what I feel--until I actually do this, I don't really get it. This also reminds me that I am not really a researcher. I do great at deciphering weird writing, and I can figure out how to report things that are not working, and sometimes, like happened later today I learn about something just before I need to use it [a guest bumped me off a computer because it was the only one that had the CD database--and in a short while someone else needed the computer with the CD database!], but regular research does not really seem to be my forte.
I had a session in the training area--and re-experienced the frustration I had a few months ago over worksheets that do not match the learning modules. But now I know to whom I can go to get them fixed--a definite up!
As I left to go to the temple after my shift, I was a bit down. In the temple was good, of course, as I thought about my Sweetheart, who was also in the temple--just 1300 miles away.
The weather here has turned hot again, so I need the air conditioner to sleep at night. Maybe in a week or two the fall weather will return.
Monday, August 29, 2016
Quite a Day! 29 August 2016
42 years ago today I was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The date was chosen because it was the birthday of one of our missionaries--Happy Birthday, Mike!
This very full day began [if one does not count reading the first 12 chapters of First Nephi at 1:30 this morning] with choir practice at 6:15 am. I personally think I did better singing "I Come to Him" during the practice than during the devotional, but overall the choir did great. The devotional speaker was a descendant of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and I wish I could have followed all of his talk, but my ears do not do so well in the chapel in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building [yes, maybe I should get a hearing aid--someday]. Anyway, I probably dozed a bit there, but the rest of the day I had no issues with sleepiness. If this continues, I will probably eat 3 apples a day for the rest of my life! Another happy item was doing a personal weigh-in at the clinic in that building--I have dropped the two pounds I had put on the last time I weighed. Happy news.
My first assignment at the Library was a meeting to introduce the trainers to the Beta of online training for new missionaries who have just finished their two weeks in the Training Zone. I was favorably impressed with the modules I have accessed so far.
During my hour as pager I was able to prepare a case to submit to the engineers to fix the Sweden, Varmland, Church Records collection that needs fixing before the Swedish Case Study can be fixed.
After lunch was the two-hour weekly Trainers meeting. I received a new assignment to teach the review of Level 1 after next week's observation. I was able to present my suggestions for changing the Swedish Case Study once the collection is fixed by the computer experts. That was well-received, although it took a bit of explaining, as I had not prepared anything formal.
There was a proposal as to how to stream-line our serving first-time guests. When I was the monitor a short time later I was able to implement that process with the two young elders who were serving as Floor Manager and Greeter. I was pleased with how well it worked, and so was the Greeter, who has been hoping for a better process in serving the guests, even though he was a bit skeptical at first. I saw him later in the afternoon and when I thanked him for helping implement the process he said, "It worked great!"
The last hour I was a Helper, and I did help a fellow missionary get some sources attached using Tree Seek, which is a pretty nifty little program.
Then I went to the next module in the New Missionary Training, in which there was the instruction to use the Research Assessment form for a question in my family history--perfect opportunity to check out an additional child for Alexander and Wilhelmina [Rudolph] Reitz that my Sweetheart had found in Ancestry. I had just enough time to locate the appropriate microfilm and find the record, which indicated Johann Georg was the 2nd child of the couple. I am so grateful my Sweetheart pursued that, because I had looked through those records before and had missed him, as had the minister who sent my grandpa transcripts 56 years ago! I think J G did not want to be left behind!
I enjoyed a talk with my youngest daughter after getting back to the apartment. After supper my Sweetheart and I enjoyed talking and praying together. He asked if a card he had sent had arrived--but I had not checked for mail today. I went to the mailbox, and there it was--a beautiful card with a lovely message, and a sweet letter inside with an even more precious message. What a gift and blessing my dear one is!
Just a few minutes ago the computer guru at FairMormon sent links to the mp3 files which the transcribers of the conference talks have needed, so that project should be finished in a month or two. Another blessing to be grateful for.
This very full day began [if one does not count reading the first 12 chapters of First Nephi at 1:30 this morning] with choir practice at 6:15 am. I personally think I did better singing "I Come to Him" during the practice than during the devotional, but overall the choir did great. The devotional speaker was a descendant of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and I wish I could have followed all of his talk, but my ears do not do so well in the chapel in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building [yes, maybe I should get a hearing aid--someday]. Anyway, I probably dozed a bit there, but the rest of the day I had no issues with sleepiness. If this continues, I will probably eat 3 apples a day for the rest of my life! Another happy item was doing a personal weigh-in at the clinic in that building--I have dropped the two pounds I had put on the last time I weighed. Happy news.
My first assignment at the Library was a meeting to introduce the trainers to the Beta of online training for new missionaries who have just finished their two weeks in the Training Zone. I was favorably impressed with the modules I have accessed so far.
During my hour as pager I was able to prepare a case to submit to the engineers to fix the Sweden, Varmland, Church Records collection that needs fixing before the Swedish Case Study can be fixed.
After lunch was the two-hour weekly Trainers meeting. I received a new assignment to teach the review of Level 1 after next week's observation. I was able to present my suggestions for changing the Swedish Case Study once the collection is fixed by the computer experts. That was well-received, although it took a bit of explaining, as I had not prepared anything formal.
There was a proposal as to how to stream-line our serving first-time guests. When I was the monitor a short time later I was able to implement that process with the two young elders who were serving as Floor Manager and Greeter. I was pleased with how well it worked, and so was the Greeter, who has been hoping for a better process in serving the guests, even though he was a bit skeptical at first. I saw him later in the afternoon and when I thanked him for helping implement the process he said, "It worked great!"
The last hour I was a Helper, and I did help a fellow missionary get some sources attached using Tree Seek, which is a pretty nifty little program.
Then I went to the next module in the New Missionary Training, in which there was the instruction to use the Research Assessment form for a question in my family history--perfect opportunity to check out an additional child for Alexander and Wilhelmina [Rudolph] Reitz that my Sweetheart had found in Ancestry. I had just enough time to locate the appropriate microfilm and find the record, which indicated Johann Georg was the 2nd child of the couple. I am so grateful my Sweetheart pursued that, because I had looked through those records before and had missed him, as had the minister who sent my grandpa transcripts 56 years ago! I think J G did not want to be left behind!
I enjoyed a talk with my youngest daughter after getting back to the apartment. After supper my Sweetheart and I enjoyed talking and praying together. He asked if a card he had sent had arrived--but I had not checked for mail today. I went to the mailbox, and there it was--a beautiful card with a lovely message, and a sweet letter inside with an even more precious message. What a gift and blessing my dear one is!
Just a few minutes ago the computer guru at FairMormon sent links to the mp3 files which the transcribers of the conference talks have needed, so that project should be finished in a month or two. Another blessing to be grateful for.
Last Sunday in the Conference Center. 28 August 2016
As I entered the Conference Center this morning I asked one of the ushers when the Tabernacle Choir broadcasts would move back to the Tabernacle. "Next week," was the reply.
I am really glad I asked because with that bit of knowledge I changed how I viewed the rehearsal and the actual program. I was by myself, because my Cuban sister was not feeling well today, so I went down very close to the front. In fact, I tried to push the envelope a little and sit one section farther to the side than I was allowed to do. For the rehearsal I sat to the left of Mack Wilberg, the conductor. I enjoy that because I can see the tympani being played. Today, however, it was rather amazing to watch the guest performer, Jenny Oaks Baker. She is a very dynamic violinist, and as I walked in listening to one of her pieces I was already choking up. That feeling continued throughout most of the rehearsal and perfomance.
For the actual performance I decided to move over the the right of the conductor. I had not previously sat up close on that side. One of the camera crew with a giraffe-like piece of equipment was very close to where I sat, which interfered a little with my vision at times, but the experience was more like being in the Tabernacle, where the feel is much more up close and personal.
I want to quote a little from the Spoken Word portion of the broadcast. The first part dealt with how a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. Then this question was asked and answered:
"...if such a transformation can happen with caterpillars, why not with people? Can we too, regardless of our past, "put off" our old selves and improve our lives? ...
"The answer is yes--not only can we change, we were meant to change....we were created to grow, progress, and improve."
I thought this was particularly fitting for this time in my life when I have my Sweetheart to work together to improve and progress. Right now we are focusing on making healthier choices in eating, as we want to experience many years together unmarred by serious health issues. Our "apple before every meal" program is a first step in this direction, and with each other's support we think it will make a difference. So far I am not experiencing cravings for sugar--quite amazing! I will report from time to time on this experiment.
The rest of the day was a fairly typical Sunday: choir practice, meetings, and dinner with my Cuban sister, followed by a nice long conversation with my Sweetheart. As I come to the end of this post, I will head off to sleep, as 4:55 am is less than 8 hours away!
I am really glad I asked because with that bit of knowledge I changed how I viewed the rehearsal and the actual program. I was by myself, because my Cuban sister was not feeling well today, so I went down very close to the front. In fact, I tried to push the envelope a little and sit one section farther to the side than I was allowed to do. For the rehearsal I sat to the left of Mack Wilberg, the conductor. I enjoy that because I can see the tympani being played. Today, however, it was rather amazing to watch the guest performer, Jenny Oaks Baker. She is a very dynamic violinist, and as I walked in listening to one of her pieces I was already choking up. That feeling continued throughout most of the rehearsal and perfomance.
For the actual performance I decided to move over the the right of the conductor. I had not previously sat up close on that side. One of the camera crew with a giraffe-like piece of equipment was very close to where I sat, which interfered a little with my vision at times, but the experience was more like being in the Tabernacle, where the feel is much more up close and personal.
I want to quote a little from the Spoken Word portion of the broadcast. The first part dealt with how a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. Then this question was asked and answered:
"...if such a transformation can happen with caterpillars, why not with people? Can we too, regardless of our past, "put off" our old selves and improve our lives? ...
"The answer is yes--not only can we change, we were meant to change....we were created to grow, progress, and improve."
I thought this was particularly fitting for this time in my life when I have my Sweetheart to work together to improve and progress. Right now we are focusing on making healthier choices in eating, as we want to experience many years together unmarred by serious health issues. Our "apple before every meal" program is a first step in this direction, and with each other's support we think it will make a difference. So far I am not experiencing cravings for sugar--quite amazing! I will report from time to time on this experiment.
The rest of the day was a fairly typical Sunday: choir practice, meetings, and dinner with my Cuban sister, followed by a nice long conversation with my Sweetheart. As I come to the end of this post, I will head off to sleep, as 4:55 am is less than 8 hours away!
PS The post did not publish last night so I am trying again [29 Aug]
Saturday, August 27, 2016
I Finished the First Reading for our Mission Book of Mormon Challenge, and A 66-year-old Mystery is Solved! 27 August 2016
I woke early this morning and finished my first time through the 3 Times in 3 Months reading of The Book of Mormon. The 2nd reading is to focus on the Savior and the Atonement. I look forward to marking in red references to Jesus Christ and His great gift to us during this next month.
Both my Sweetheart and I bought our first set of apples today, and we each began the "apple 30 minutes before a meal" regimen. I got a bonus bag for 99 cents, which was a nice tithing blessing, but otherwise we paid the same price per pound. I definitely felt quite satisfied with my meal this evening and did not even crave sugar like I usually do. I hope this continues.
I began the shift at the Library with indexing Kentucky marriages as no one seemed to need German help the first hour or so. Then I did help a few patrons before it was my time to be at the pager desk where I had time to check on the films I would need for my research today/
During my lunch hour I went to get the apples at the nearby Hispanic market. Then I went to the temple just to retrieve my card which I did not wait for last night. At last I was off to research--and the long awaited search was a success. Johannes Reitz [not Rudolph] was born 24 May 1835, the first child of Alexander Reitz and Wilhelmine Rudolph. He did not have an older brother, as the records sent from Merlau, Alsfeld, Germany, if 1960 from the minister in Merlau seemed to indicate. It feels right to have cleared away the ambiguity about who he was, who his parents were, and what his surname was. I also found his marriage record, at least the first marriage. I could not verify that he was married a second time, because the available records stop at 1875, and the marriage was supposed to have taken place in 1877. But someday that detail will be known also. For now, I am just happy that I was led to take care of this problem today.
When the Library closed today I took my Japanese friend who lives across the hall from me to a store that is a fair distance away. It was nice to be out, and I think the car did well to be on the Interstate at a higher speed.
I decided tonight to cook some chickpeas to take to my Cuban sister tomorrow. Undoubtedly she will have made a nice meal for us to share.
I was glad to find that I had brought with me from Missouri a homeopathic that I am hoping will help me to sleep more successfully. From some research I have done I think my day-time sleepiness may indicate a REM-cycle disturbance. Anyway, since I found the remedy I figure it is worth a try.
I was so glad to talk tonight with my Sweetheart. That is a ritual which we hope to even improve upon in eight months when we are no longer 1300 miles apart!
Both my Sweetheart and I bought our first set of apples today, and we each began the "apple 30 minutes before a meal" regimen. I got a bonus bag for 99 cents, which was a nice tithing blessing, but otherwise we paid the same price per pound. I definitely felt quite satisfied with my meal this evening and did not even crave sugar like I usually do. I hope this continues.
I began the shift at the Library with indexing Kentucky marriages as no one seemed to need German help the first hour or so. Then I did help a few patrons before it was my time to be at the pager desk where I had time to check on the films I would need for my research today/
During my lunch hour I went to get the apples at the nearby Hispanic market. Then I went to the temple just to retrieve my card which I did not wait for last night. At last I was off to research--and the long awaited search was a success. Johannes Reitz [not Rudolph] was born 24 May 1835, the first child of Alexander Reitz and Wilhelmine Rudolph. He did not have an older brother, as the records sent from Merlau, Alsfeld, Germany, if 1960 from the minister in Merlau seemed to indicate. It feels right to have cleared away the ambiguity about who he was, who his parents were, and what his surname was. I also found his marriage record, at least the first marriage. I could not verify that he was married a second time, because the available records stop at 1875, and the marriage was supposed to have taken place in 1877. But someday that detail will be known also. For now, I am just happy that I was led to take care of this problem today.
When the Library closed today I took my Japanese friend who lives across the hall from me to a store that is a fair distance away. It was nice to be out, and I think the car did well to be on the Interstate at a higher speed.
I decided tonight to cook some chickpeas to take to my Cuban sister tomorrow. Undoubtedly she will have made a nice meal for us to share.
I was glad to find that I had brought with me from Missouri a homeopathic that I am hoping will help me to sleep more successfully. From some research I have done I think my day-time sleepiness may indicate a REM-cycle disturbance. Anyway, since I found the remedy I figure it is worth a try.
I was so glad to talk tonight with my Sweetheart. That is a ritual which we hope to even improve upon in eight months when we are no longer 1300 miles apart!
Friday, August 26, 2016
Commitment to Better Health. 26 August 2016
Today's newsletter from Everyday Cheapskate told of the benefits of eating an apple before each meal. The pectin helps one to feel full quicker, and the fiber is a great addition to anyone's diet. I decided to forward this to my Sweetheart, and combined with some other nudges toward better health habits we are committing to putting this to the test. Since we are on the older side of life, we both want to have long, healthy lives together--this is a great motivator. Tomorrow I will go to the very close Hispanic market to get apples for the next week.
My time in the training room was spent figuring out how to improve the Swedish Case Study. My previous mission in Historical Records taught me about way-pointing in online collections, and also about contacting engineers to fix problems. Although I began working on this yesterday, it was not until this morning that I realized there were three way-points in the collection I was accessing that had been done incorrectly. Sometimes it would make no difference, but in these three instances, the index from the previous set of records was the beginning screen for the current set--that had messed me up when I first did this case study 2 months ago, but I had not recognized the problem for what it was.
It was a little amusing that no one I was referred to seemed to understand what I was talking about--nor to whom to talk. I finally learned that I would have to open a case to be sent to the computer engineers, and now I wish I remembered fully how to do that efficiently. That used to be my prime responsibility in my internet mission, but after five years I am very rusty at it. So it will take a while until the improvements I envision for that case study can be put into play.
Being in the training room was a blessing in another way--I learned that one can change a photo to a document and vice versa in Memories without going to the Gallery. In the Details on the Memory page is a box to check to do that. I am grateful to be able to pick up tips like this to make things easier for myself and for others I can teach in preserving the photos and documents that make family history enjoyable for almost everyone.
I figured out this morning that if I put my purse over by the stove, I could risk cooking a batch of wheat this morning. I also learned that in the pressure cooker, I could cook the wheat for just ten minutes and then let it sit for the five hours until lunch and it turned out fine.
I worked twice as Greeter today, two hours on the German desk, and an hour in the training room, which did not leave much time for being a helper. I was able to help a fellow missionary with some challenges in Family Tree before I was asked to help a guest with German research. The real challenge there was that the family had not lived in Germany for at least 100 years before emigrating to the United States in 1952. The guest did not have a lot of time to spend, so I mostly taught her how to use the various tools we have available: indexed searches, image only collection searches, catalog searches, wiki research helps, Learning Center classes, and even a bit on Ancestry. She agreed that she did not have time for a specialist to come with what might be better ideas, and she also named the most important resource--MOM! We consider our time with guests to be successful when they think to involve other members of the family, especially of a previous generation.
I was asked to lead the music in prayer meeting, and the song was one with lots of Alleluias, which I love to sing with exuberance. While I was leading the thought came that maybe I should not sing so loud. Blessedly, the zone leader who was playing the keyboard stopped me later in the day to tell me she appreciated my singing enthusiastically as it helped her to know her playing was in the right time.
After the shift was over I went to the temple. I was glad to be there, but staying awake is simply a struggle that I am continually losing.
Again, a good talk with my Sweetheart was a good way to end the day,
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Little Car Does Not Like to Just Sit! 25 August 2016
The big news to day was my little car not starting when I finally got ready to go out to the grocery store. Several months ago, at one oil change, we were told the battery was getting weak, but the next oil change there was no mention, so I did not get a new battery then. I have a roadside assistance membership, and it was a lovely day, and I got to wait in my apartment for the truck to come, so this was quite the ideal day to deal with this situation. I did call the dealership while I was waiting, just in case the problem was more severe than needing a new battery, and also asked the price of a battery from them. I realized that I had not driven since Saturday--so I will try from now on to get out more often. My daughter suggested a weekly run to In N Out Burger, but I think my waistline can't afford that!
There were two nice younger men who came to give service. The engine turned over quite nicely, and no warning lights stayed on, when the jump-start machine did its work. They ran some diagnostics and did not detect anything else out of the ordinary--and their price for a battery with a good warranty was quite a bit less than the dealer price, and they installed it. While one of them did the installation, the other filled out the paperwork. He mentioned that he disliked having to use a cane. He shared that he had been in a motorcycle accident, and had to have hip and knee surgery. His wife had been with him and just had bad bruises. I mentioned that when we are protected from even worse things we probably have work to do--and I related an accident I had a few years ago which could have been very severe, but was moderated. He agreed that he probably did have something he was supposed to do.
As they were getting ready to leave I offered the one with the cane pass along cards, saying I did not know if he was already a Latter-day Saint. He related that he had been baptized but was not now active. I shared that I was a convert at 26 after having turned my back on God for 10 years. He took the card concerning family happiness, and said that having a family made a difference.
The other young man said he had been baptized and had even done baptisms in the temple, but had gone away when he was about 16. He did take a card with a picture of the Savior.
I hope, of course, that this encounter was no accident, and that the incident will help each of them come closer to Christ.
I had awakened with knowing that I needed to post on the FairMormon list a comment on a discussion where some members had indicated that they thought the support the Church gave to Proposition 8, a defense of traditional marriage, in California nearly a decade ago was a mistake. My comment was that just as in the 1800s, when across the earth most people knew that Mormons existed because of Plural Marriage, our visibility was raised because of our support of Prop 8. As our society marches determinedly towards destruction, those who are looking for a solid foundation or truth, or those like I was 42 years ago, whom the Lord humbles, will find peace in the doctrines of Jesus Christ and His Church here on the earth,
Later in the morning I got my laundry done, and while I was hanging up clothes I decided to look on You Tube for a hymn that our choir director played for us yesterday "Behold the Wounds in Jesus' Hands". I found several versions, including one in which the Alto part is separated out, so I was able to get a head start on learning that. One of the challenges that I have in the choirs out here is that we rarely hear the parts before being expected to sing them. I have learned that I am simply not very good at sight-reading pieces I have never heard before.
I decided to send the link to that hymn to my Sweetheart--he sends me a song or hymn every day, but this is the first time I have shared one with him. Then I looked to see if I could find the hymn we are currently preparing to sing on Monday--I Come to Him, by Sally DeFord. I did find it, and was able to go over the alto part so that now I am pretty comfortable with it.
This afternoon I got to Skype with my little sweet Arizona granddaughters, and enjoy hearing and seeing them. Later my youngest and I had a chance to talk for quite a while. It was good to catch up with her, as she is starting a new educational program.
An evening conversation and prayer with my Sweetheart were a lovely end to a pretty good day.
There were two nice younger men who came to give service. The engine turned over quite nicely, and no warning lights stayed on, when the jump-start machine did its work. They ran some diagnostics and did not detect anything else out of the ordinary--and their price for a battery with a good warranty was quite a bit less than the dealer price, and they installed it. While one of them did the installation, the other filled out the paperwork. He mentioned that he disliked having to use a cane. He shared that he had been in a motorcycle accident, and had to have hip and knee surgery. His wife had been with him and just had bad bruises. I mentioned that when we are protected from even worse things we probably have work to do--and I related an accident I had a few years ago which could have been very severe, but was moderated. He agreed that he probably did have something he was supposed to do.
As they were getting ready to leave I offered the one with the cane pass along cards, saying I did not know if he was already a Latter-day Saint. He related that he had been baptized but was not now active. I shared that I was a convert at 26 after having turned my back on God for 10 years. He took the card concerning family happiness, and said that having a family made a difference.
The other young man said he had been baptized and had even done baptisms in the temple, but had gone away when he was about 16. He did take a card with a picture of the Savior.
I hope, of course, that this encounter was no accident, and that the incident will help each of them come closer to Christ.
I had awakened with knowing that I needed to post on the FairMormon list a comment on a discussion where some members had indicated that they thought the support the Church gave to Proposition 8, a defense of traditional marriage, in California nearly a decade ago was a mistake. My comment was that just as in the 1800s, when across the earth most people knew that Mormons existed because of Plural Marriage, our visibility was raised because of our support of Prop 8. As our society marches determinedly towards destruction, those who are looking for a solid foundation or truth, or those like I was 42 years ago, whom the Lord humbles, will find peace in the doctrines of Jesus Christ and His Church here on the earth,
Later in the morning I got my laundry done, and while I was hanging up clothes I decided to look on You Tube for a hymn that our choir director played for us yesterday "Behold the Wounds in Jesus' Hands". I found several versions, including one in which the Alto part is separated out, so I was able to get a head start on learning that. One of the challenges that I have in the choirs out here is that we rarely hear the parts before being expected to sing them. I have learned that I am simply not very good at sight-reading pieces I have never heard before.
I decided to send the link to that hymn to my Sweetheart--he sends me a song or hymn every day, but this is the first time I have shared one with him. Then I looked to see if I could find the hymn we are currently preparing to sing on Monday--I Come to Him, by Sally DeFord. I did find it, and was able to go over the alto part so that now I am pretty comfortable with it.
This afternoon I got to Skype with my little sweet Arizona granddaughters, and enjoy hearing and seeing them. Later my youngest and I had a chance to talk for quite a while. It was good to catch up with her, as she is starting a new educational program.
An evening conversation and prayer with my Sweetheart were a lovely end to a pretty good day.
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Working With Old and Young. 24 August 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed a long conversation with my Sweetheart this morning. Since the late shift has remained in my schedule, we do not have much time to talk in the evening, but talking twice is a great compensation!
I felt that this morning I should do some work in German indexing, but then I had the thought that I ought to work on cleaning up the records in FamilySearch, instead. That had to be inspiration, because I came across one, and then half a dozen records with duplicates that had not been there before, but had been added in the last month! I messaged the person who added these duplicates, and I surely hope that the issue can be resolved easily, and that no more duplicates will be entered.
I found a passage in the book of Mormon in The Book of Mormon that I had never applied to myself before, but which struck me in particular this morning after deciphering records yesterday. Although Mormon 8:16 is speaking of the blessing on Joseph Smith for bringing The Book of Mormon to light, I think that any one who is involved in family history work, even just in preserving or sharing family stories, will be blessed for bringing these things to light. I know that I have certainly been blessed over many decades as I have been involved in this work.
My time as a helper at the Library was quite limited today, but I had fun experience with a guest who was born in Germany in 1930. He has been able to gather a lot of information, and brought along a case in which were many documents and pictures. I was not able to help him find any additional information to take his lines back farther, as there simply were no more records available. What I was able to do is to take pictures of some of his family pictures, and of a document to attach to his tree [an iPad is a very handy family history tool--thank you, dear daughter!]. I also encouraged him to enlist the help of a child or grandchild to get all of his documents and pictures attached to Family Tree so that they will be preserved.
During the time I spent helping him, he told about different instances in his life, but admitted that he had not written his life story. I wrote out instructions for using the Family Tree app on a smartphone or other device to record audio so that his stories can be preserved of his family. As he said, there is no one older that he can go to for information--he is the last repository of the family stories.
I had a nice long break for choir and for a meal in the late afternoon. When I went back to the Library there were few guests and no one needed my help, so I worked on a project that I was assigned to during the Trainers meeting on Monday--going through the Swedish Case Study. While earlier I had identified what I thought were problems in the case study, in going through the procedures tonight I figured out that I was simply taking a different path to the information on the Family Search website.
A bit further along in the case study the instructions were to go to ArkivDigital for the rest of the study. I did go to that site, but got frustrated with trying to find the appropriate records. Then I noticed that FamilySearch had the records I was looking for. Since I did not understand why I should use the other site, I decided to ask someone with Swedish experience--and the only person available tonight was a young elder. The young elder showed me how to work with the ArkivDigital site, and to a certain extent it was easier--once someone showed me how to work with it.
A more important part of talking with the young elder was learning of some of his frustrations with the case studies, and learning some additional items that we could offer in-service training on. Earlier in the day when I talked with other trainers about my finding the discrepancies in the case study I used some terms they were not familiar with concerning how the images are divided up, or way-pointed, on FamilySearch--so they suggested I should develop a presentation on that concept. I had learned about that during my internet mission several years ago, and I think it will be a very good thing to share.
Well, I am up way too late--my phone has gone into sleep mode--and it is a very good thing that tomorrow is my P day!!!!
I felt that this morning I should do some work in German indexing, but then I had the thought that I ought to work on cleaning up the records in FamilySearch, instead. That had to be inspiration, because I came across one, and then half a dozen records with duplicates that had not been there before, but had been added in the last month! I messaged the person who added these duplicates, and I surely hope that the issue can be resolved easily, and that no more duplicates will be entered.
I found a passage in the book of Mormon in The Book of Mormon that I had never applied to myself before, but which struck me in particular this morning after deciphering records yesterday. Although Mormon 8:16 is speaking of the blessing on Joseph Smith for bringing The Book of Mormon to light, I think that any one who is involved in family history work, even just in preserving or sharing family stories, will be blessed for bringing these things to light. I know that I have certainly been blessed over many decades as I have been involved in this work.
My time as a helper at the Library was quite limited today, but I had fun experience with a guest who was born in Germany in 1930. He has been able to gather a lot of information, and brought along a case in which were many documents and pictures. I was not able to help him find any additional information to take his lines back farther, as there simply were no more records available. What I was able to do is to take pictures of some of his family pictures, and of a document to attach to his tree [an iPad is a very handy family history tool--thank you, dear daughter!]. I also encouraged him to enlist the help of a child or grandchild to get all of his documents and pictures attached to Family Tree so that they will be preserved.
During the time I spent helping him, he told about different instances in his life, but admitted that he had not written his life story. I wrote out instructions for using the Family Tree app on a smartphone or other device to record audio so that his stories can be preserved of his family. As he said, there is no one older that he can go to for information--he is the last repository of the family stories.
I had a nice long break for choir and for a meal in the late afternoon. When I went back to the Library there were few guests and no one needed my help, so I worked on a project that I was assigned to during the Trainers meeting on Monday--going through the Swedish Case Study. While earlier I had identified what I thought were problems in the case study, in going through the procedures tonight I figured out that I was simply taking a different path to the information on the Family Search website.
A bit further along in the case study the instructions were to go to ArkivDigital for the rest of the study. I did go to that site, but got frustrated with trying to find the appropriate records. Then I noticed that FamilySearch had the records I was looking for. Since I did not understand why I should use the other site, I decided to ask someone with Swedish experience--and the only person available tonight was a young elder. The young elder showed me how to work with the ArkivDigital site, and to a certain extent it was easier--once someone showed me how to work with it.
A more important part of talking with the young elder was learning of some of his frustrations with the case studies, and learning some additional items that we could offer in-service training on. Earlier in the day when I talked with other trainers about my finding the discrepancies in the case study I used some terms they were not familiar with concerning how the images are divided up, or way-pointed, on FamilySearch--so they suggested I should develop a presentation on that concept. I had learned about that during my internet mission several years ago, and I think it will be a very good thing to share.
Well, I am up way too late--my phone has gone into sleep mode--and it is a very good thing that tomorrow is my P day!!!!
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Blessings Abound! 23 August 2016
The later morning start gave me time to have a brief birthday phone call with a dear friend from my home ward, and a nice phone call also with my Sweetheart. I got to the Library about 15 minutes early as I wanted to set up the room for study group--but the room was being used for the German handwriting class. Instead I got to snack on some fresh grapes that someone had brought in while I was waiting.
Study group went very well, I think. We studied map guides to German records and then completed a German indexing entry. Even the elder who is just starting out to learn the script was able to decipher a couple of words. It is so nice to have some successes along the way.
I helped out several people today with deciphering German records. In one case the guest happened to stop turning the microfilm reader handle, and there was the record we were looking for. One of the missionaries had a record to check out--and the page it was on was quite legible, while surrounding pages were too dark. Miracles here may be little ones, but they are real.
At lunchtime I walked to my apartment and sauted a yellow squash [brought right from their garden by one of the local missionary couples]. Yummy!
I went to the temple with family file names tonight. I enjoyed visiting a little with one of the sisters I was in the MTC with. She is doing quite well after having some serious health concerns. I had thought my changed schedule would allow me to participate in our MTC group's once a month social night, but I am still doing the late Wednesday night. It will be nice to have my P day on Thursday as that gives me a nice break in the week.
My Cuban sister had bought a watermelon and she called to let me know she wanted to give half of it to me. I stopped by and we had a nice chat. I was glad to get the watermelon, and enjoyed a slice already!
Another phone visit and a prayer with my Sweetheart was a lovely way to end the day.
Study group went very well, I think. We studied map guides to German records and then completed a German indexing entry. Even the elder who is just starting out to learn the script was able to decipher a couple of words. It is so nice to have some successes along the way.
I helped out several people today with deciphering German records. In one case the guest happened to stop turning the microfilm reader handle, and there was the record we were looking for. One of the missionaries had a record to check out--and the page it was on was quite legible, while surrounding pages were too dark. Miracles here may be little ones, but they are real.
At lunchtime I walked to my apartment and sauted a yellow squash [brought right from their garden by one of the local missionary couples]. Yummy!
I went to the temple with family file names tonight. I enjoyed visiting a little with one of the sisters I was in the MTC with. She is doing quite well after having some serious health concerns. I had thought my changed schedule would allow me to participate in our MTC group's once a month social night, but I am still doing the late Wednesday night. It will be nice to have my P day on Thursday as that gives me a nice break in the week.
My Cuban sister had bought a watermelon and she called to let me know she wanted to give half of it to me. I stopped by and we had a nice chat. I was glad to get the watermelon, and enjoyed a slice already!
Another phone visit and a prayer with my Sweetheart was a lovely way to end the day.
Monday, August 22, 2016
First Trainers Meeting. 22 August 2016
This morning I awoke a little before 4, so I had time to read scriptures. I was glad to find in my reading of 3 Nephi the Isaiah 54 passage that I recognized as the basis of the video Gregory sent me a few days ago: "Kindness", from the movie "Ephraim's Rescue". "..with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee....For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee...saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." I hope that each of you, like me, can see the kindness of the Lord as you look back over your lives. He is in the details of our lives.
Our choir director has us do a warm-up which involves counting: 1, 1, 2,1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1.......1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. This is quite hard for me to keep track of! I have to shut my eyes and really concentrate on singing the scale in this manner. It is rather fun, though, and the difference that the instructions and practices make are quite impressive. Today we sang "Where Can I Turn For Peace?" In the last verse as we testified of the peace we receive from the Savior, the power of the words were matched by the power of our voices, followed by a peaceful ending.
One of the speakers today talked of walking into an LDS chapel for the first time--and feeling he had come home. I had exactly the same experience, 4 August 1974. And in one week, 29 August, I will celebrate my 42nd baptism birthday. What a wonderful journey this has been! I am grateful beyond words for the opportunity to be a Latter-day Saint.
My morning at the Library was pretty quiet, so I finished up the two batches of German record indexing I had left. I helped one guest confirm that the family he was looking for was not included in the family register in the area his relatives came from.
After lunch was my first Trainers Meeting. I know all of the trainers by now, and they all welcomed me warmly. I think I was able to contribute a little of use in the meeting. I have three assignments: to review the Swedish Case Study to see if there were any problems with it, as one of the young elders had some complaints about it [and I actually remembered having issues with it, and tonight as I worked on it I remembered some of the issues I had with it]; to train or mentor a couple who will be starting with us next Monday; and next week to do one of the in-service lessons after prayer meeting. Just like my feeling that I could do all the positions OK except the Helper position, which is the basic reason to be here, I feel like the other tasks as a trainer will be fairly easy--but I feel a bit nervous about actually mentoring! I know it will work out fine, and once I have done it the concern will subside, but for now I need to do some praying that I do it well.
After the meeting I was in the Floor Manager position, but I let myself get distracted into helping a woman with Family Tree and her Italian ancestors. I worked with her also the last hour of the shift.
On my way to the apartment I saw I had gotten a call from my daughter, so I called her back. Among other things we discussed the overgrowth in the yard which is the result of hot, wet weather! She sent me some pictures via text, and there certainly are some challenges! I am hoping to retain some winter onions, and most of the day lilies.
My evening would not be complete without a talk with my Sweetheart, and tonight was no exception. We got to talk for more than an hour. I am grateful for this time that he is willing to grow our relationship even though we are 1300 miles apart.
Our choir director has us do a warm-up which involves counting: 1, 1, 2,1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1.......1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. This is quite hard for me to keep track of! I have to shut my eyes and really concentrate on singing the scale in this manner. It is rather fun, though, and the difference that the instructions and practices make are quite impressive. Today we sang "Where Can I Turn For Peace?" In the last verse as we testified of the peace we receive from the Savior, the power of the words were matched by the power of our voices, followed by a peaceful ending.
One of the speakers today talked of walking into an LDS chapel for the first time--and feeling he had come home. I had exactly the same experience, 4 August 1974. And in one week, 29 August, I will celebrate my 42nd baptism birthday. What a wonderful journey this has been! I am grateful beyond words for the opportunity to be a Latter-day Saint.
My morning at the Library was pretty quiet, so I finished up the two batches of German record indexing I had left. I helped one guest confirm that the family he was looking for was not included in the family register in the area his relatives came from.
After lunch was my first Trainers Meeting. I know all of the trainers by now, and they all welcomed me warmly. I think I was able to contribute a little of use in the meeting. I have three assignments: to review the Swedish Case Study to see if there were any problems with it, as one of the young elders had some complaints about it [and I actually remembered having issues with it, and tonight as I worked on it I remembered some of the issues I had with it]; to train or mentor a couple who will be starting with us next Monday; and next week to do one of the in-service lessons after prayer meeting. Just like my feeling that I could do all the positions OK except the Helper position, which is the basic reason to be here, I feel like the other tasks as a trainer will be fairly easy--but I feel a bit nervous about actually mentoring! I know it will work out fine, and once I have done it the concern will subside, but for now I need to do some praying that I do it well.
After the meeting I was in the Floor Manager position, but I let myself get distracted into helping a woman with Family Tree and her Italian ancestors. I worked with her also the last hour of the shift.
On my way to the apartment I saw I had gotten a call from my daughter, so I called her back. Among other things we discussed the overgrowth in the yard which is the result of hot, wet weather! She sent me some pictures via text, and there certainly are some challenges! I am hoping to retain some winter onions, and most of the day lilies.
My evening would not be complete without a talk with my Sweetheart, and tonight was no exception. We got to talk for more than an hour. I am grateful for this time that he is willing to grow our relationship even though we are 1300 miles apart.
Sunday, August 21, 2016
Enjoyable Dinner and Happy Conversation with my Sweetheart. 21 August 2016
As I typed in the date above I realized that this is my half-birthday. My Sweetheart and I were just discussing that while we would love to be together for my birthday, February is not a wise time to plan to visit the mountains of Utah! Earlier today, after a lesson in Relief Society about marriage being the foundational relationship, I was thinking that I hope I stay as mentally alert as my Dad did until just a day or two before he died at 89. Then we should have a good twenty years to enjoy together.
Of course, as Latter-day Saints, we are also looking for the Savior to return, so that could easily prolong our time here together on earth. We actually explored some pretty deep topics tonight, which is something I really enjoy about our relationship already. It will just be so nice when we can talk about those things when we are both in the same place! One of the things I have been pondering lately is how remaining humble [not an easy task for this hard-headed German!] is really the key to maintaining a happy relationship. And that is definitely our goal!
This morning I woke up after a good seven hour sleep, but it was a good thing I set another alarm as I began my scripture reading for today, because, sure enough, I fell back to sleep. I got up for good then. My Cuban friend had gotten her brother to come and visit, so the three of us attended the Tabernacle Choir broadcast.
After that I prepared some Waldorf Salad, a several generation family dish, to go with the rotisserie chicken, gravy, brown sugar carrots, and fresh corn I had gotten ready yesterday. After our meetings, two other sister missionaries and two elders gathered for our meal. One of the sisters brought a broccoli/cauliflower dish, and the other brought brownies for dessert! The elders were so kind as to eat some of everything, and we all really enjoyed the brownies. Our conversation was delightful also, and ended with quite a spiritual discussion about the guidance we receive from The Book of Mormon and other scriptures. One of the elders had noticed on his own that 3 Nephi especially shows events that are happening in our time. He was surprised to learn [he's just 19, so in 1986 or 1987 he was not yet born!] that President Ezra Taft Benson gave a Conference talk in which he told us that 3 Nephi mirrors our time. Truly that is happening now, and there are some interesting things coming before the Savior returns. But return He will, and all will be well for those who are doing their best to help with His work.
One of the sister who joined our dinner is leaving the mission this week. She wrote a beautiful poem for me. I am grateful.
Tomorrow I start me new schedule--so I am off to bed, as Monday will no longer be a day I can catch a nap after Devotional if I need to. I hope you all enjoyed a good Sabbath!
Of course, as Latter-day Saints, we are also looking for the Savior to return, so that could easily prolong our time here together on earth. We actually explored some pretty deep topics tonight, which is something I really enjoy about our relationship already. It will just be so nice when we can talk about those things when we are both in the same place! One of the things I have been pondering lately is how remaining humble [not an easy task for this hard-headed German!] is really the key to maintaining a happy relationship. And that is definitely our goal!
This morning I woke up after a good seven hour sleep, but it was a good thing I set another alarm as I began my scripture reading for today, because, sure enough, I fell back to sleep. I got up for good then. My Cuban friend had gotten her brother to come and visit, so the three of us attended the Tabernacle Choir broadcast.
After that I prepared some Waldorf Salad, a several generation family dish, to go with the rotisserie chicken, gravy, brown sugar carrots, and fresh corn I had gotten ready yesterday. After our meetings, two other sister missionaries and two elders gathered for our meal. One of the sisters brought a broccoli/cauliflower dish, and the other brought brownies for dessert! The elders were so kind as to eat some of everything, and we all really enjoyed the brownies. Our conversation was delightful also, and ended with quite a spiritual discussion about the guidance we receive from The Book of Mormon and other scriptures. One of the elders had noticed on his own that 3 Nephi especially shows events that are happening in our time. He was surprised to learn [he's just 19, so in 1986 or 1987 he was not yet born!] that President Ezra Taft Benson gave a Conference talk in which he told us that 3 Nephi mirrors our time. Truly that is happening now, and there are some interesting things coming before the Savior returns. But return He will, and all will be well for those who are doing their best to help with His work.
One of the sister who joined our dinner is leaving the mission this week. She wrote a beautiful poem for me. I am grateful.
Tomorrow I start me new schedule--so I am off to bed, as Monday will no longer be a day I can catch a nap after Devotional if I need to. I hope you all enjoyed a good Sabbath!
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Telling My Conversion Story to a Fellow Former Lutheran. 20 August 2016
As Family History Missionaries we are not called to proselyte (for which I am grateful!), but when a guest asks "How did you ever become a Mormon?" I think it is OK to share my story--so I did! I warned the sweet woman that it would take a while, and she said that was fine, but I guess it only takes about 10-15 minutes to tell--it just covers a long time-span, 20 years, from the time I was 6, and asked my mom if we were in the right church (not a question a minister's wife would ever want to hear from her child!) until I was 26, when the Lord reeled me in from a 10-year walk away from Him. I am grateful for the opposition I encountered in the church of my youth, for it helped me to appreciate the truths of the Restored Gospel when I was humble enough to listen. My guest was surprised to learn that one of my favorite doctrines, baptism for the dead, is mentioned in the Bible [1 Corinthians 15:29], and she insisted on taking the note paper on which I had written that reference and had drawn a little sketch of the wonderful plan of salvation, especially highlighting that it is the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the crucifixion and the resurrection, that make this wonderful plan possible. I hope the guest will read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, and then she can know for herself that it is true.
For that particular guest I spent a lot of time actually working through some of her problems in Family Tree. I was first asked to help her as I was getting ready to go to lunch, by Elder W. who was also leaving for lunch with his wife. At that time I could not see the problem he described, and I helped her with more entries and, as she seemed to be doing OK, I asked if I could leave her for a bit to get a bit of lunch, and she was OK. When I came back, Elder W. was helping her again, and I had another assignment. About 90 minutes later, though, I noticed that she was looking perplexed so I asked if she needed help, and she did. Eventually I did find the bigger problem--her grandfather apparently was married twice, but the children were all attached to the second wife, who was born not long before the older children. Actually, the guest was taken aback when she realized that her great grandfather was more than 20 years older than her great grandmother--I assured her it was not unusual, since my husband was also more than 20 years older than me!
Another complication was that her great grandfather had his siblings attached to him as his children, in another set of records. Several people had contributed to this tree, and some of them were just not very careful or accurate. It took quite a bit of merging and removing relationships, but I think we got it pretty well cleared up.
I had hoped to get some German indexing done, and with the help of one of the native Germans I was able to get a batch finished and submitted after she identified to my understanding the surname "Vogt" in a record.
Once my shift was done I went shopping. I needed to get some items for feeding a couple of Young Elders tomorrow, and one of the missionaries without a car needed a few items as well. When I got home I cooked some corn for tomorrow's dinner, washed the kitchen floor, and talked with my Sweetheart [nine months from today will be our wedding!!!]. Now I am writing this blog post and soon I will be off to sleep. I hope you all have a blessed Sabbath.
Friday, August 19, 2016
Thursday P day wins--and a full meal time on Wednesday to boot. 19 August 2016
I got to the Library a few minutes before prayer meeting and was able to share my "Tuesday P day does not work!" concerns with Sister L. She agreed, and asked if I had any ideas how to change the schedule, which I did, of course. I committed to stay with the late day on Wednesday as long as I could have P day on Thursday to recover. I left it up to her as to whether my research and temple day would be Friday or Saturday--and I was very pleased she gave me Saturday afternoon. In addition, I now will actually have a full meal time on Wednesday. Because choir practice went until 5:20 or 5:25 I have only had half an hour, so she scheduled me for an extra hour. Ordinarily I will try to get back to the Library before that hour is up, but it is great to have a full meal time scheduled.
Something I found yesterday that I did not write about was a computer-generated hint for one of my ancestors. When I checked it out, I saw that the two people were about 2 generations apart. I had the idea, though, to check to see who had entered the other person, and the name gave me a chuckle--I was quite sure it was Elder P. that I have been helping with deciphering names, so I sent a message via FamilySearch. This morning when I saw him I asked if he had checked his FamilySearch messages--and I was right--it was him! Today was the last day for him and Sister P on the floor. When I started deciphering the film he was working on I had noticed the Ruhl surname. Anna Maria Katharina Ruehl was my 2nd great grandfather's first wife. The villages are pretty close in Germany, so probably Elder P is a very distant cousin--but she is not the connection.
I was able to help a sister with some Family Tree concerns today, and in the meantime learned how to use Matricula online, a great source for images of many church records in Austria, Germany and Poland. She already had a hard copy, but the source was not attached to the tree. While working with the site and finding that record I realized that due to a common first name, a generation was skipped. Tomorrow we should be able to fix that, since my Saturday research does not start until next week.
The sister and I ended up sitting with one another in the temple. I got to complete one family name. Next week I should have another one ready to go.
It was so good to get to talk with my Sweetheart tonight. He is about half-way through a 6-night stretch of work. Anybody know of a reliable nurse who wants to work nights in West County? Sure wish they could find someone to hire.
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Family File! 18 August 2016
Today was a good research day! I looked at a descendancy tree, and the person I focused on happened to be [coincidences are miracles in which God prefers to remain anonymous:)] the mother whose children have some discrepancies in the information received by my Grandfather from Pastor Kalbhehn in 1960. I was not sure how I was going to find that family, and until last week I was not sure that there were microfilmed records to check--but now I can do that, perhaps next week.
In checking that descendancy I also found female relatives for whom I could do temple work today! I have not had that opportunity in quite a while. I had to stop by the Library to print out the cards, but was able to just take care of that on the first floor, so it just took a few minutes.
After several hours at the temple I went back to the Library to try to see my Zone Leader, but she was out for her research day. I realized while I was in the temple that Tuesday will likely not work as a P day for me--every Tuesday I will be in charge of study group at 11 am, and on the third week of the month I will have Choir and Mission Conference. I am hoping an adjustment can be made, because I would really like to have full-fledged P days! I realize that some of the study group members skip the meetings at times, but that probably will not work for the study group leader!
I was sad when I realized that I had gotten distracted from seeing if I could Skype with my Arizona grandchildren. If something is not on my scheduler, I just do not remember. This time it was an hour late when it dawned on me, and by that time their supper was in progress. Sad for me.
In checking that descendancy I also found female relatives for whom I could do temple work today! I have not had that opportunity in quite a while. I had to stop by the Library to print out the cards, but was able to just take care of that on the first floor, so it just took a few minutes.
After several hours at the temple I went back to the Library to try to see my Zone Leader, but she was out for her research day. I realized while I was in the temple that Tuesday will likely not work as a P day for me--every Tuesday I will be in charge of study group at 11 am, and on the third week of the month I will have Choir and Mission Conference. I am hoping an adjustment can be made, because I would really like to have full-fledged P days! I realize that some of the study group members skip the meetings at times, but that probably will not work for the study group leader!
I was sad when I realized that I had gotten distracted from seeing if I could Skype with my Arizona grandchildren. If something is not on my scheduler, I just do not remember. This time it was an hour late when it dawned on me, and by that time their supper was in progress. Sad for me.
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
The Last Longest Day! 17 August 2016
I had a good morning,talking briefly with my Sweetheart, and having a longer conversation with my oldest. These are some of the nice things about starting my shift later in the day. But overall, I am glad this will be my last late day at the Library. By the time I get there at 1 pm I have already been up for many hours, and doing things that, at the least, need brain-power.
Today's schedule is very unusual because of Mission Conference and Choir taking up 3 hours of the 8. My two hours at the German/Slavic desk turned into three, as there were not many patrons in the evening so I was mentoring another missionary in some aspects of Family Tree as well as expanding her translations of some records. We together also helped a patron with some German translation that was made more difficult because spelling was not standardized in the 1800s. Anyway, those tasks kept my attention, so this last late night shift turned out not to put me to sleep!
I got a letter from my friend back in Missouri who has written to me every month--and her letters have gotten through! I like hearing from her.
This morning I noticed an envelope which had been slipped under my door. In it was $25 and a note thanking me for sharing my internet connection! This will be a big blessing for me, because I will have some cash each. I hope to discipline myself to use this very sparingly, rather than for impulse purchases, like dark chocolate covered cranberries that I spent way too much on last month! That purchase just reinforced my understanding that I cannot trust myself to have such goodies at hand--I eat way too much of such treats!
Since I had stayed pretty alert during Mission Conference yesterday for the talks it was the music which touched me even more than yesterday. "Savior, Redeemer of My Soul" had me choked up at the beginning, and "We Are the Lambs of His Fold" which we sang for the closing ended and I lost my composure to the extent that the sister next to me asked me several times if I was ok. I learned a long time ago that I am touched more deeply by music than most other things in my life. And tears are often the language of the Spirit.
Our choir director continues to teach us new principles of singing. Today he sang a simple song off-key and off-beat to illustrate that music is different than other disciplines. In music, getting a song 90% right does not rate an "A". I hear from other choir members the same feelings that I have--we are very blessed to have a director who is able to teach us how to improve our ability to sing in a manner which touches hearts. Maybe it will prepare us for the choirs in the eternity. The image comes to mind of Aslan, in the Narnia Chronicles, singing the worlds into existence. I love that image, having had some experience with the creation of melodies.
Today's schedule is very unusual because of Mission Conference and Choir taking up 3 hours of the 8. My two hours at the German/Slavic desk turned into three, as there were not many patrons in the evening so I was mentoring another missionary in some aspects of Family Tree as well as expanding her translations of some records. We together also helped a patron with some German translation that was made more difficult because spelling was not standardized in the 1800s. Anyway, those tasks kept my attention, so this last late night shift turned out not to put me to sleep!
I got a letter from my friend back in Missouri who has written to me every month--and her letters have gotten through! I like hearing from her.
This morning I noticed an envelope which had been slipped under my door. In it was $25 and a note thanking me for sharing my internet connection! This will be a big blessing for me, because I will have some cash each. I hope to discipline myself to use this very sparingly, rather than for impulse purchases, like dark chocolate covered cranberries that I spent way too much on last month! That purchase just reinforced my understanding that I cannot trust myself to have such goodies at hand--I eat way too much of such treats!
Since I had stayed pretty alert during Mission Conference yesterday for the talks it was the music which touched me even more than yesterday. "Savior, Redeemer of My Soul" had me choked up at the beginning, and "We Are the Lambs of His Fold" which we sang for the closing ended and I lost my composure to the extent that the sister next to me asked me several times if I was ok. I learned a long time ago that I am touched more deeply by music than most other things in my life. And tears are often the language of the Spirit.
Our choir director continues to teach us new principles of singing. Today he sang a simple song off-key and off-beat to illustrate that music is different than other disciplines. In music, getting a song 90% right does not rate an "A". I hear from other choir members the same feelings that I have--we are very blessed to have a director who is able to teach us how to improve our ability to sing in a manner which touches hearts. Maybe it will prepare us for the choirs in the eternity. The image comes to mind of Aslan, in the Narnia Chronicles, singing the worlds into existence. I love that image, having had some experience with the creation of melodies.
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
New Schedule Coming. 16 August 2016
As I looked at my schedule this morning I noticed that there was no lunch on it for today. I had gotten to the Library a bit ahead of my 10 a.m. start time, so I stopped at the Zone Leaders' office to check that out. Sister L. concurred that I needed a lunch hour, and we agreed on when it would work out best.
Then she said, "I need to talk with you about something else. We are losing a lot of our trainers in the next few months, and your name has come up as a replacement. Would you be willing to consider doing this?"
My answer was really a no-brainer, and I did not need to take any time to think about it. "I promised the Lord I would do whatever I was asked to do, so, of course, I will become a trainer." [The other time I served a mission I balked at anything that approached a leadership position, so I had to repent of that attitude!]
There are what seem to be downsides to this change, but there are some good things, too. I will no longer get to have Monday as my P day. Monday from 1-3 there is a trainers' meeting--maybe a "training the trainers to train"???. I have really enjoyed having Mondays off, but I will adjust, I am sure. As of right now it looks like I will have Tuesday as my P day, which is good in that it will allow me to talk with my Sweetheart in the morning or mid-afternoon, as our typical early evening talk is precluded by our mutual temple service.
I requested that I no longer work a late shift, especially not followed by an early shift. I am not sure how that will play out--I will probably do 10-6 instead of 1-9 on Wednesday. I will find out for sure on Friday when the new schedules come out.
Since it has been three months since I did the IZ training, I do not remember exactly what the trainers did for me then. I know I will present in-service lessons after our floor devotionals on occasion. I will continue with the German/Slavic Study Group--I am glad about that.
Anyway, sometimes it seems that the only constant is change! Flexibility is a virtue!
Today was Mission Conference which is pretty much an additional Devotional in our Mission. I get to go early for Choir practice, and since my lunch was right before choir, I got there a little early. At one point before practice began the choir director asked me about my singing on Sunday: "Who arranged the piece you sang?"
"I did."
"It was very nice. I like acapella singing, because you don't get the instruments interfering with the sound of the voice."
"I like singing acapella because then if I miss something it is not obvious!" I think I kept the conversation going a little too long, but I was glad to get at least an acknowledgment of my effort from someone who knows music well.
We did not have a long time to practice today, but the choir director seems to be able to teach us new concepts even when the time is short. Our presentation of the song "We Are the Lambs of His Fold" went even better than the practice. And tomorrow we get to do it again!
My other project of getting 2016 Fair Mormon Conference talks transcribed is now off the ground. I have two transcribers working already, and tomorrow I will see if any others will join them. Maybe I will be able to do a little myself, also.
Then she said, "I need to talk with you about something else. We are losing a lot of our trainers in the next few months, and your name has come up as a replacement. Would you be willing to consider doing this?"
My answer was really a no-brainer, and I did not need to take any time to think about it. "I promised the Lord I would do whatever I was asked to do, so, of course, I will become a trainer." [The other time I served a mission I balked at anything that approached a leadership position, so I had to repent of that attitude!]
There are what seem to be downsides to this change, but there are some good things, too. I will no longer get to have Monday as my P day. Monday from 1-3 there is a trainers' meeting--maybe a "training the trainers to train"???. I have really enjoyed having Mondays off, but I will adjust, I am sure. As of right now it looks like I will have Tuesday as my P day, which is good in that it will allow me to talk with my Sweetheart in the morning or mid-afternoon, as our typical early evening talk is precluded by our mutual temple service.
I requested that I no longer work a late shift, especially not followed by an early shift. I am not sure how that will play out--I will probably do 10-6 instead of 1-9 on Wednesday. I will find out for sure on Friday when the new schedules come out.
Since it has been three months since I did the IZ training, I do not remember exactly what the trainers did for me then. I know I will present in-service lessons after our floor devotionals on occasion. I will continue with the German/Slavic Study Group--I am glad about that.
Anyway, sometimes it seems that the only constant is change! Flexibility is a virtue!
Today was Mission Conference which is pretty much an additional Devotional in our Mission. I get to go early for Choir practice, and since my lunch was right before choir, I got there a little early. At one point before practice began the choir director asked me about my singing on Sunday: "Who arranged the piece you sang?"
"I did."
"It was very nice. I like acapella singing, because you don't get the instruments interfering with the sound of the voice."
"I like singing acapella because then if I miss something it is not obvious!" I think I kept the conversation going a little too long, but I was glad to get at least an acknowledgment of my effort from someone who knows music well.
We did not have a long time to practice today, but the choir director seems to be able to teach us new concepts even when the time is short. Our presentation of the song "We Are the Lambs of His Fold" went even better than the practice. And tomorrow we get to do it again!
My other project of getting 2016 Fair Mormon Conference talks transcribed is now off the ground. I have two transcribers working already, and tomorrow I will see if any others will join them. Maybe I will be able to do a little myself, also.
Monday, August 15, 2016
Where does the day go? 15 August 2016
I had every intention of doing some German indexing today--but it sure did not happen!
5 am this morning came way too soon--so some of my day was spent napping. I no longer can get by on five and a half hours of sleep, which I did for way too many years. In fact, I used to think that this was a good amount of sleep, but then I could not understand why my brain did not seem to function as well as previously. I am not sure that my brain function has improved dramatically, but I do recognize that I really need to get at least six and a half or seven hours of sleep to feel rested.
Choir practice and then devotional took a couple of hours, and then I got my laundry done. I very much enjoyed a morning conversation with Gregory, but I did not get to Skype with my Arizona grandchildren because they are already back in school! I should not have been surprised, I guess, but I was. I hope to chat with them Thursday afternoon.
Late afternoon I talked with my youngest daughter, and learned that my assessment of one of her co-workers who has negatively impacted her work environment was seconded by the head of the nursing program. I think it helps to know that negative relationships are not necessarily fixable when one is not the instigator of the negativity.
This evening, instead of practicing German, I worked on a project unrelated to my mission. I have been a member of FairMormon for several years, and my assignment is as transcription coordinator for our annual conference, which was held about two weeks ago. Ironically, despite living within an hour's drive of Provo, where the conference is held, I was not able to attend this year, so I did not know which presenters may have given us a copies of their talks. This afternoon I got the Dropbox link to check that out, and I am very happy that many of the 15 or so presentations will not need transcribing. We will still need to do the Q & As, but that is pretty minimal. In addition, I received today the transcripts of two talks from the reporter at Deseret News who covered the conference--huge blessing!
I was so pleased to get an email today from a high school classmate saying she has caught up on reading this blog. I hope that all who read it find it to be of value. Thanks to all of you!
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Psalm 23. 14 August 2016
As I entered the Conference Center this morning, the Tabernacle Choir was singing Brother James' Air, a beautiful hymn based on Psalm 23 which I first heard as a 6th grade student in a music class. That the choir would be singing it today was a celestial hug, as within six hours I would be singing in my branch my own version of Psalm 23, The Lord is My Shepherd, set to the music of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto.
The music that most touched my heart in both the rehearsal and the broadcast, however, was "Somewhere" from West Side Story, as it reflects the wish of my heart to be with my Sweetheart. I know the time is flowing swiftly--just a bit over 9 months until we marry on 20 May--but sometimes that seems like a very long time.
My solo seemed to be well-received, and seemed also to touch some hearts. I believe my prayer was answered that it brought the Spirit even more strongly into the meeting. I sang acapella, but one sister, who indicated that the Clarinet Concerto was one of her favorite Mozart compositions, said that she could imagine an orchestra playing while I was singing.
On some level I feel that this melody was meant for the KJV Psalm 23. I first heard that concerto in 2001 as my mother was declining. My Mom had six children and had designated a psalm for each of us. As my sister and I were planning for her funeral, we thought it would be appropriate for us to each recite our psalm during the service. I thought, "I wish I could get a melody for these psalms." A few days later I was given a CD of Mozart Concertos as a door prize at a nursing conference, I was actually supposed to get a coffee mug, but the person handing out the door prizes knew me, and knew that I did not drink coffee, so she gave me the CD instead. As soon as I listened to those Concertos, I knew that the Clarinet Concerto fit Psalm 23 beautifully. It took a while for me to get the theme arranged, but I have felt for many years now that the psalm and that melody were made for each other.
Today is a rather fitting time for me to reminisce about getting the melodies for those psalms my mom assigned to us as it would have been my brother's 77th birthday today. At his memorial service last fall, his psalm was performed with the melody I had written for it [not a Mozart concerto!!]. I am glad to remember my '"little" big brother today.
Early in the morning I read The Book of Mormon, and did a batch of arbitrating Kentucky marriages. I downloaded a batch of German church books to index from the same area as the ones from last week. The handwriting looks the same, so this should not be too hard a batch to complete.
After supper my Cuban sister and I prepared the sheets for signups as hosts for Young Elder Dinners in September. Later in the evening I completed filling out and sending off the forms for next Sunday's dinners. My day has been completed and blessed by talking and praying with my Sweetheart. It was a blessed Sabbath day.
The music that most touched my heart in both the rehearsal and the broadcast, however, was "Somewhere" from West Side Story, as it reflects the wish of my heart to be with my Sweetheart. I know the time is flowing swiftly--just a bit over 9 months until we marry on 20 May--but sometimes that seems like a very long time.
My solo seemed to be well-received, and seemed also to touch some hearts. I believe my prayer was answered that it brought the Spirit even more strongly into the meeting. I sang acapella, but one sister, who indicated that the Clarinet Concerto was one of her favorite Mozart compositions, said that she could imagine an orchestra playing while I was singing.
On some level I feel that this melody was meant for the KJV Psalm 23. I first heard that concerto in 2001 as my mother was declining. My Mom had six children and had designated a psalm for each of us. As my sister and I were planning for her funeral, we thought it would be appropriate for us to each recite our psalm during the service. I thought, "I wish I could get a melody for these psalms." A few days later I was given a CD of Mozart Concertos as a door prize at a nursing conference, I was actually supposed to get a coffee mug, but the person handing out the door prizes knew me, and knew that I did not drink coffee, so she gave me the CD instead. As soon as I listened to those Concertos, I knew that the Clarinet Concerto fit Psalm 23 beautifully. It took a while for me to get the theme arranged, but I have felt for many years now that the psalm and that melody were made for each other.
Today is a rather fitting time for me to reminisce about getting the melodies for those psalms my mom assigned to us as it would have been my brother's 77th birthday today. At his memorial service last fall, his psalm was performed with the melody I had written for it [not a Mozart concerto!!]. I am glad to remember my '"little" big brother today.
Early in the morning I read The Book of Mormon, and did a batch of arbitrating Kentucky marriages. I downloaded a batch of German church books to index from the same area as the ones from last week. The handwriting looks the same, so this should not be too hard a batch to complete.
After supper my Cuban sister and I prepared the sheets for signups as hosts for Young Elder Dinners in September. Later in the evening I completed filling out and sending off the forms for next Sunday's dinners. My day has been completed and blessed by talking and praying with my Sweetheart. It was a blessed Sabbath day.
Saturday, August 13, 2016
A Special Library Experience, and Fun with Grocery Shopping and Culinary Experiments! 13 August 2016
My first guests this morning were pretty awesome, a couple who had come to Salt Lake City for Antiques Roadshow. They were looking for information about the man's grandfather, who had immigrated from Germany to the United States.
I frankly was concerned that we would not find much--boy, was I wrong! In the United States we found eight records, if I counted correctly, giving them a firm birth date with two possible birth places, names of parents, immigration date, marriage record, death record, etc. The man was very touched to find out all this information about his grandfather. He asked about our reason to do this as a Church, so I got to share my testimony about our knowledge of our obligation to put families back together, which we do in the temple. But we also are committed to preserving the records, such as pictures they took of the various records.
When we had found all the United States records in Family Search, I suggested we look at Ancestry, thinking we might find a family tree there that would give us more avenues to pursue. Instead, what we found was an actual christening record! Unfortunately I could not figure out which of the several Evangelical parishes in Karlsruhe the Ancestry records came from, and there was no image available. However, it was still rather miraculous to find out so much information, including a confirmation of the location of birth in Germany. In my opinion, the grandfather definitely wanted to be found!
I mentioned to the couple that this story would get told in my blog, and I gave them the blog address--so I hope they will enjoy knowing how special their visit to the Library was for me.
The rest of the shift went pretty well. I was bumped off the Pager position to help another guest needing some help with German research, and later I was able to help translate a Polish death record.
A confirmation of the correctness of my impression last Sunday to concentrate on indexing German records came as a guest came needing help with translating four German documents. He had done a good bit of that work already, but was stumped by a few words or abbreviations. The words he needed help with were quite clear to me, and I also ran them by one of the missionaries who is from Germany, and she concurred with my understanding.
I had some time to finish up the rest of the batches I was indexing in German--I had returned one because it had a portion about which I was unclear. The other nine are now safely submitted. Tomorrow I will download another group of batches. Although it would take three years working eight hours a day to become an expert, following the 10,000 hour rule, the time I am putting in is certainly improving my skill and my confidence. I also know that the Spirit is helping me. Today I was struggling to figure out a name when all of a sudden it was very clear, and I knew I had gotten help on that one.
Once the shift was over I met two of the other sister missionaries and we went shopping at three markets. It was rather fun to have their company, and they appreciated the opportunity to go to the stores. Neither of these sisters has a car here, so they allowed me to fulfill one of my reasons for bringing the car--to provide transportation for those without cars. Although they certainly did not need to do so, one of them gave me a nice piece of watermelon and the other gave me a cantaloupe! Yum!
I wanted to report briefly on two culinary experiments. The first started last night, as I had finished up a batch of root beer ice cubes--my habit is to fill an ice cube tray with root beer so that I can have a little bit of sweet every so often. I decided I really need to see if I could come up with a perhaps healthier, and certainly less expensive substitute. So last night I dissolved a some brown sugar in hot water, added some cinnamon, and poured that into the ice cube tray--not quite like the root beer ice cubes, but not bad!
The second experiment was actually serendipitous, as I was not anticipating the result I got. Having made flax seed crackers last night in getting them out of the oven today there were quite a few crumbles. At lunch time I put the crumbly crackers on a plate, laid a round slice of cheese on top, and put that in the microwave for half a minute. The result was almost like a flat taco shell, and bent over easily to form a pocket into which I put some pickle relish [I had been thinking of pickle on cheese sandwich which I had not had for a while]. I liked the result, and think that for someone who has issues with corn [one of the sisters here does], this could easily be used for fake tacos or other dishes. Not bad. My Sweetheart told me today his method of making smoothies and I look forward to experiencing that, also.
I frankly was concerned that we would not find much--boy, was I wrong! In the United States we found eight records, if I counted correctly, giving them a firm birth date with two possible birth places, names of parents, immigration date, marriage record, death record, etc. The man was very touched to find out all this information about his grandfather. He asked about our reason to do this as a Church, so I got to share my testimony about our knowledge of our obligation to put families back together, which we do in the temple. But we also are committed to preserving the records, such as pictures they took of the various records.
When we had found all the United States records in Family Search, I suggested we look at Ancestry, thinking we might find a family tree there that would give us more avenues to pursue. Instead, what we found was an actual christening record! Unfortunately I could not figure out which of the several Evangelical parishes in Karlsruhe the Ancestry records came from, and there was no image available. However, it was still rather miraculous to find out so much information, including a confirmation of the location of birth in Germany. In my opinion, the grandfather definitely wanted to be found!
I mentioned to the couple that this story would get told in my blog, and I gave them the blog address--so I hope they will enjoy knowing how special their visit to the Library was for me.
The rest of the shift went pretty well. I was bumped off the Pager position to help another guest needing some help with German research, and later I was able to help translate a Polish death record.
A confirmation of the correctness of my impression last Sunday to concentrate on indexing German records came as a guest came needing help with translating four German documents. He had done a good bit of that work already, but was stumped by a few words or abbreviations. The words he needed help with were quite clear to me, and I also ran them by one of the missionaries who is from Germany, and she concurred with my understanding.
I had some time to finish up the rest of the batches I was indexing in German--I had returned one because it had a portion about which I was unclear. The other nine are now safely submitted. Tomorrow I will download another group of batches. Although it would take three years working eight hours a day to become an expert, following the 10,000 hour rule, the time I am putting in is certainly improving my skill and my confidence. I also know that the Spirit is helping me. Today I was struggling to figure out a name when all of a sudden it was very clear, and I knew I had gotten help on that one.
Once the shift was over I met two of the other sister missionaries and we went shopping at three markets. It was rather fun to have their company, and they appreciated the opportunity to go to the stores. Neither of these sisters has a car here, so they allowed me to fulfill one of my reasons for bringing the car--to provide transportation for those without cars. Although they certainly did not need to do so, one of them gave me a nice piece of watermelon and the other gave me a cantaloupe! Yum!
I wanted to report briefly on two culinary experiments. The first started last night, as I had finished up a batch of root beer ice cubes--my habit is to fill an ice cube tray with root beer so that I can have a little bit of sweet every so often. I decided I really need to see if I could come up with a perhaps healthier, and certainly less expensive substitute. So last night I dissolved a some brown sugar in hot water, added some cinnamon, and poured that into the ice cube tray--not quite like the root beer ice cubes, but not bad!
The second experiment was actually serendipitous, as I was not anticipating the result I got. Having made flax seed crackers last night in getting them out of the oven today there were quite a few crumbles. At lunch time I put the crumbly crackers on a plate, laid a round slice of cheese on top, and put that in the microwave for half a minute. The result was almost like a flat taco shell, and bent over easily to form a pocket into which I put some pickle relish [I had been thinking of pickle on cheese sandwich which I had not had for a while]. I liked the result, and think that for someone who has issues with corn [one of the sisters here does], this could easily be used for fake tacos or other dishes. Not bad. My Sweetheart told me today his method of making smoothies and I look forward to experiencing that, also.
Friday, August 12, 2016
Finding Better Helpers for Guests. 12 August 2016
Sometimes I just go as far as I know how with a guest, and then I have to turn them over to someone else. That happened a couple of times today, and I was blessed to ask the right questions of the right people to find out where to send the guests.
I did work with someone who really just needed to know what to do with her family artifacts. I was able to show her some of the pictures and documents I have in my Family Search Gallery, and share some of my stories with her. I also taught her about Irfanview, demonstrated how it can work, and gave her written information so she can use it to preserve her own pictures and documents in the Cloud. As I told her, the Church is committed to investing whatever it takes to preserve family stories and documents. I showed her the audio portion of memories, since sometimes it is easier for us to talk our stories rather than write them. Although each audio segment is limited to five or ten minutes, one can get a whole lot recorded in that amount of time.
I had time to get a little indexing done, and started to submit the German batches I finished. That has been a very satisfying activity throughout the week, and I will probably continue to work on German indexing at least throughout my mission--and perhaps even after that, so that I do not lose the skill, like I had done over the past few years.
The study group member who is our Netherlands expert is beginning to work on learning the German script. I was able to mentor him and his wife for about half an hour. He really is committed to doing this work, even though it is hard and sometimes frustrating. I really enjoy mentoring--definitely in my comfort zone when I am pretty comfortable with the material.
The last guest I helped today found his ancestor's birth record exactly where it should be. That was nice, because my first guest of the day did not, even though we thought we had the correct film. Anyway, this last guest will be back tomorrow to look for the marriage of his ancestor's parents. I hope he finds them.
I went to the temple after my shift, and had a nice session. The 5 pm session tends to be small, so it goes pretty quickly. Three other missionaries were also in that session. I enjoyed thinking about times I have been in the temple with my Sweetheart. It is hard to have to wait to be able with him there again.
Since tonight is supposed to be quite cool, I decided to make a batch of flaxseed crackers--I have missed them! In less than an hour they will be baked, and I will be off to sleep.
I did work with someone who really just needed to know what to do with her family artifacts. I was able to show her some of the pictures and documents I have in my Family Search Gallery, and share some of my stories with her. I also taught her about Irfanview, demonstrated how it can work, and gave her written information so she can use it to preserve her own pictures and documents in the Cloud. As I told her, the Church is committed to investing whatever it takes to preserve family stories and documents. I showed her the audio portion of memories, since sometimes it is easier for us to talk our stories rather than write them. Although each audio segment is limited to five or ten minutes, one can get a whole lot recorded in that amount of time.
I had time to get a little indexing done, and started to submit the German batches I finished. That has been a very satisfying activity throughout the week, and I will probably continue to work on German indexing at least throughout my mission--and perhaps even after that, so that I do not lose the skill, like I had done over the past few years.
The study group member who is our Netherlands expert is beginning to work on learning the German script. I was able to mentor him and his wife for about half an hour. He really is committed to doing this work, even though it is hard and sometimes frustrating. I really enjoy mentoring--definitely in my comfort zone when I am pretty comfortable with the material.
The last guest I helped today found his ancestor's birth record exactly where it should be. That was nice, because my first guest of the day did not, even though we thought we had the correct film. Anyway, this last guest will be back tomorrow to look for the marriage of his ancestor's parents. I hope he finds them.
I went to the temple after my shift, and had a nice session. The 5 pm session tends to be small, so it goes pretty quickly. Three other missionaries were also in that session. I enjoyed thinking about times I have been in the temple with my Sweetheart. It is hard to have to wait to be able with him there again.
Since tonight is supposed to be quite cool, I decided to make a batch of flaxseed crackers--I have missed them! In less than an hour they will be baked, and I will be off to sleep.
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Index, Research, Haircut, Index. 11 August 2016
Today I did not really help any guest at the Library in real time, but someday some people may be blessed by my indexing efforts. Although we had been warned that the floor might see a great increase in the number of guests due to an Eastern European Family History Conference, that influx did not occur this morning. I spent my three hours as a Helper doing indexing on some of the ten German batches I have downloaded. I have made a lot of headway, although since I do not have a very methodical approach, I do not really know how much is left to do. I know I have at least 2 of the batches completed, and the others are in varying stages of completeness. It has been rather fun to get familiar with the surnames in the parish, and the minister has been the same throughout, so I am pretty familiar with his writing, which is a big help. I often tell guests that they are the experts on the records of their own family, even if they may need some help with some of the transcribing.
The afternoon I spent my research time on records from Merlau, Hessen, Germany. It was a joy to see the actual records, and some very old signatures, for my great-grandmother, her father and mother, her grandparents, aunts and uncles. Although I had the information, there is just something special about the actual images, many of which are now attached to the person pages in Family Tree. The improvements in the Family Tree app have made such a difference for me--truly a blessing. cleared up one bit of confusion, where the information my grandfather got from the then current minister at Merlau was not clear on the year of a great-great-grandaunt's marriage. It was 1825, not 1824. There is at least one other discrepancy in our family records, but I have not yet located where the problem is, so until I do that, I cannot fix it.
When I left the Library I went right to my car to go and get a haircut. I knew if I went to the apartment it would be really hard to get myself motivated to leave, and I really needed the haircut. I had to wait less than 10 minutes, and I actually liked the way the stylist did the cut, even better than the woman in South Jordan. I may just continue to go to this closer shop.
I went into a grocery store, bought an ear of corn, a banana, and [impulse buy!!] a little bag of dark chocolate peanut butter cups! Not bad, but not a really good idea, since I have eaten several servings worth already.
While waiting for my Sweetheart to call, I indexed more records from the batches. I doubt I will get all ten done by Sunday, but there are more done than I had anticipated.
The afternoon I spent my research time on records from Merlau, Hessen, Germany. It was a joy to see the actual records, and some very old signatures, for my great-grandmother, her father and mother, her grandparents, aunts and uncles. Although I had the information, there is just something special about the actual images, many of which are now attached to the person pages in Family Tree. The improvements in the Family Tree app have made such a difference for me--truly a blessing. cleared up one bit of confusion, where the information my grandfather got from the then current minister at Merlau was not clear on the year of a great-great-grandaunt's marriage. It was 1825, not 1824. There is at least one other discrepancy in our family records, but I have not yet located where the problem is, so until I do that, I cannot fix it.
When I left the Library I went right to my car to go and get a haircut. I knew if I went to the apartment it would be really hard to get myself motivated to leave, and I really needed the haircut. I had to wait less than 10 minutes, and I actually liked the way the stylist did the cut, even better than the woman in South Jordan. I may just continue to go to this closer shop.
I went into a grocery store, bought an ear of corn, a banana, and [impulse buy!!] a little bag of dark chocolate peanut butter cups! Not bad, but not a really good idea, since I have eaten several servings worth already.
While waiting for my Sweetheart to call, I indexed more records from the batches. I doubt I will get all ten done by Sunday, but there are more done than I had anticipated.
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
The Helped May Become a Helper:) 10 August 2016
This was my late start day. As it turned out, I did not get my hair cut, which was probably just as well, since I was busy until the last hour at the Library, but did not get overly sleepy. I spent time this morning talking with my oldest daughter, and with my Sweetheart, and reading The Book of Mormon, and washing dishes from the past couple of days. I also fried up the rest of the yellow squash--so delicious!
Several guests at the Library had happy successes. First was a guest I have blogged about before, who was looking for an ancestor but had not proven to his own satisfaction that the person in the record was the right one. Last week he got to travel to Iowa to connect with cousins, and now they are eagerly awaiting the report of his success. His case was an instructive one as far as always checking the primary record.
An index of the German church records is available online. In the Iowa trip the guest was shown a family history with a specific date and place of birth. The record was on the microfilm for that date, with the appropriate name, in the appropriate place. However, the index of the record which is posted online specifies that the child born on that particular date died two years later. The guest was motivated to check every one of the records with the appropriate surname that appeared on the microfilm. As he did so he found his ancestor, but the very next record was for another child with the same surname, and at that record was the death indication that had been attached in the online index to his ancestor's record. It actually took a few minutes to convince him that the index was in error! But when he understood, he was overjoyed! Now he has another generation, and those records are in the index, but he will go check the original records--and he will contact his newly-met cousins with the good news. On top of that, he informed me that he and his wife have submitted their application to serve in the Family and Church History Headquarters Mission! When I first helped him with translating a few weeks ago he had mentioned that his bishop had been suggesting that, so I had told him a bit about the mission, and how he and his wife would be such a valuable asset. Maybe I was an instrument in the Lord's hands to help them make the decision to serve. They had served a previous mission overseas.
I had another success of sorts when I was asked to leave the Greeter position in order to help a family with research in Slovakia. I really do not know much about Slovakian research, but I was the best that was around at the time, and I do know how to teach the research process. That family found that the online records had the records of grandparents. The couple also told me the story of how they met. He had a desire to find his Slovakian people, and had a photo of a man on a motorcycle. He traveled to the area with a map and a language book--and the woman found out about his desire to find his relatives, had taken a few lessons in English, and offered to be his guide and translator. They eventually found a first cousin of his Dad, who upon seeing the picture said, "That is me!" and produced a duplicate photo! Because of their experiences together, the couple eventually got married, and had the son who was with them--who also found a record of his grandfather.
I spent a lot of time translating German, but passed off a Latin record from Germany to someone with more experience in that language.
At choir practice today we had a visit from the choir director's niece, who is a fairly new member of The Mormon Tabernacle Choir! She shared some of her experiences about marking music and paying attention to what the director says. Of course, what she shared supported the things that her uncle has been trying to teach us! As a choir we have made noticeable improvements in our singing in the past few weeks as we attempt to learn what is being presented.
Tomorrow morning will come way too soon, so time to wrap this up for tonight.
Several guests at the Library had happy successes. First was a guest I have blogged about before, who was looking for an ancestor but had not proven to his own satisfaction that the person in the record was the right one. Last week he got to travel to Iowa to connect with cousins, and now they are eagerly awaiting the report of his success. His case was an instructive one as far as always checking the primary record.
An index of the German church records is available online. In the Iowa trip the guest was shown a family history with a specific date and place of birth. The record was on the microfilm for that date, with the appropriate name, in the appropriate place. However, the index of the record which is posted online specifies that the child born on that particular date died two years later. The guest was motivated to check every one of the records with the appropriate surname that appeared on the microfilm. As he did so he found his ancestor, but the very next record was for another child with the same surname, and at that record was the death indication that had been attached in the online index to his ancestor's record. It actually took a few minutes to convince him that the index was in error! But when he understood, he was overjoyed! Now he has another generation, and those records are in the index, but he will go check the original records--and he will contact his newly-met cousins with the good news. On top of that, he informed me that he and his wife have submitted their application to serve in the Family and Church History Headquarters Mission! When I first helped him with translating a few weeks ago he had mentioned that his bishop had been suggesting that, so I had told him a bit about the mission, and how he and his wife would be such a valuable asset. Maybe I was an instrument in the Lord's hands to help them make the decision to serve. They had served a previous mission overseas.
I had another success of sorts when I was asked to leave the Greeter position in order to help a family with research in Slovakia. I really do not know much about Slovakian research, but I was the best that was around at the time, and I do know how to teach the research process. That family found that the online records had the records of grandparents. The couple also told me the story of how they met. He had a desire to find his Slovakian people, and had a photo of a man on a motorcycle. He traveled to the area with a map and a language book--and the woman found out about his desire to find his relatives, had taken a few lessons in English, and offered to be his guide and translator. They eventually found a first cousin of his Dad, who upon seeing the picture said, "That is me!" and produced a duplicate photo! Because of their experiences together, the couple eventually got married, and had the son who was with them--who also found a record of his grandfather.
I spent a lot of time translating German, but passed off a Latin record from Germany to someone with more experience in that language.
At choir practice today we had a visit from the choir director's niece, who is a fairly new member of The Mormon Tabernacle Choir! She shared some of her experiences about marking music and paying attention to what the director says. Of course, what she shared supported the things that her uncle has been trying to teach us! As a choir we have made noticeable improvements in our singing in the past few weeks as we attempt to learn what is being presented.
Tomorrow morning will come way too soon, so time to wrap this up for tonight.
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Helper at the Last Minute! 9 August 2016
My day at the Library was very slow--until the last half hour, when I was asked to help a couple with German research. For them I stayed an extra half hour, and then turned them over to a research specialist because I did not know anything else to help them with. Because of some indexed German records on Ancestry, we found the man's father's birth record, but even though the same film had marriage records, the grandparents did not seem to be included. I hope the specialist was able to get them back farther in the line. As I was finishing up the little report on that couple I was able to help someone figure out how to enter places in Family Tree--that only took about 2 minutes.
The rest of the time at the Library was not unproductive--it just did not involve helping guests. I set up the computer for working on a How To Guide for Hamburg Passenger Lists. I learned a few new things from that, and reading through it brought up some questions that we need to research. I did not have a clear idea of how to do the guide, so we just read them almost through before doing the practice. I think next time we will go to the practice first, as most of us have some familiarity with Meyers Gazetteer. Then we can refer back to the instructions when we need to.
I also got a batch of indexing up. That turned out to be pretty interesting, as the Dutch research member of the group had a bit of trouble with understanding why the word for fourth was not fourteen--but now he understands better how the German number system works and the rest of us understand the Dutch system better.
I could not linger after the meeting because I was scheduled as Greeter. We did not have a lot of new guests during that hour, but apparently in the early morning there were many French guests. Blessedly our French-speaking missionaries do not leave for another week. They will be hard to replace!
I played the keyboard for afternoon devotional [I did not start until 10 today], and then had the in-service lesson which focused on how important it is to record the stories of our family--more people are touched by stories than by names, dates, and places.
My lunch and supper today were a bit different. For lunch I had a sandwich that a friend had left from a cookout over the weekend, plus pan-fried yellow squash that one of the local missionary couples brought from their garden--prepared with onion it was so very tasty. Then my supper, which I ate as I walked to the temple, was cheese and nuts plus a banana-nut muffin that my visiting teacher brought me last night--so yummy!
Once I talk again with my Sweetheart I will try to turn in. Even though tomorrow is my late day, I am overdue for a haircut, so I expect to get that done pretty early, and then take a nap so I can get through the evening.
The rest of the time at the Library was not unproductive--it just did not involve helping guests. I set up the computer for working on a How To Guide for Hamburg Passenger Lists. I learned a few new things from that, and reading through it brought up some questions that we need to research. I did not have a clear idea of how to do the guide, so we just read them almost through before doing the practice. I think next time we will go to the practice first, as most of us have some familiarity with Meyers Gazetteer. Then we can refer back to the instructions when we need to.
I also got a batch of indexing up. That turned out to be pretty interesting, as the Dutch research member of the group had a bit of trouble with understanding why the word for fourth was not fourteen--but now he understands better how the German number system works and the rest of us understand the Dutch system better.
I could not linger after the meeting because I was scheduled as Greeter. We did not have a lot of new guests during that hour, but apparently in the early morning there were many French guests. Blessedly our French-speaking missionaries do not leave for another week. They will be hard to replace!
I played the keyboard for afternoon devotional [I did not start until 10 today], and then had the in-service lesson which focused on how important it is to record the stories of our family--more people are touched by stories than by names, dates, and places.
My lunch and supper today were a bit different. For lunch I had a sandwich that a friend had left from a cookout over the weekend, plus pan-fried yellow squash that one of the local missionary couples brought from their garden--prepared with onion it was so very tasty. Then my supper, which I ate as I walked to the temple, was cheese and nuts plus a banana-nut muffin that my visiting teacher brought me last night--so yummy!
Once I talk again with my Sweetheart I will try to turn in. Even though tomorrow is my late day, I am overdue for a haircut, so I expect to get that done pretty early, and then take a nap so I can get through the evening.
Monday, August 8, 2016
Practice in Script Will Have a Purpose by doing Indexing! 8 August 2016
Today was a birthday and an anniversary in my Tucson family--and tomorrow it will be the 14th anniversary of my getting sealed to my parents. All of my immediate family were with me that day--a good memory!
A mystery was solved for me today. In the Elijah Choir there is a sister who seemed very familiar to me, but I could not figure out if I really knew her from somewhere else. While waiting for the devotional to begin the sister next to me asked me where my Sweetheart was from. When I told her we were both from Missouri, she said, "Oh, Sister B. is from Missouri, too!" When the devotional finished I approached Sister B., and sure enough, she had been trying to remember where she had seen me before! We had worked together in the St. Louis Temple before the Kansas City Temple was dedicated. Now she lives out here, and works two days a week in the Library, and on Saturday in the Salt Lake Temple.
Sometime during the night I realized that I could use the German indexing to share with my study group for practicing script--and this would actually be not just busy-work but something productive. I talked with two sisters at the Devotional about that, and they both were enthusiastic. This afternoon and evening I worked through some preliminary items in several batches, so they should be ready to go in the morning.
I got to talk with my Sweetheart twice today, morning and evening. That is so nice to do. I am grateful for electronic devices which keep us connected.
My home and visiting teachers came this evening. I sure enjoyed their company, and the message they brought was very comforting--do not worry too much about family members who seem to be unlikely to improve their lives here and in the eternities. Just keep yourself on the path to eternal life and the celestial kingdom, and your eternal family will be wonderful beyond anything we can imagine.
I had a difficult time falling asleep last night so a lot of today I played catch-up on sleep. I think I will have no trouble sleeping tonight.
A mystery was solved for me today. In the Elijah Choir there is a sister who seemed very familiar to me, but I could not figure out if I really knew her from somewhere else. While waiting for the devotional to begin the sister next to me asked me where my Sweetheart was from. When I told her we were both from Missouri, she said, "Oh, Sister B. is from Missouri, too!" When the devotional finished I approached Sister B., and sure enough, she had been trying to remember where she had seen me before! We had worked together in the St. Louis Temple before the Kansas City Temple was dedicated. Now she lives out here, and works two days a week in the Library, and on Saturday in the Salt Lake Temple.
Sometime during the night I realized that I could use the German indexing to share with my study group for practicing script--and this would actually be not just busy-work but something productive. I talked with two sisters at the Devotional about that, and they both were enthusiastic. This afternoon and evening I worked through some preliminary items in several batches, so they should be ready to go in the morning.
I got to talk with my Sweetheart twice today, morning and evening. That is so nice to do. I am grateful for electronic devices which keep us connected.
My home and visiting teachers came this evening. I sure enjoyed their company, and the message they brought was very comforting--do not worry too much about family members who seem to be unlikely to improve their lives here and in the eternities. Just keep yourself on the path to eternal life and the celestial kingdom, and your eternal family will be wonderful beyond anything we can imagine.
I had a difficult time falling asleep last night so a lot of today I played catch-up on sleep. I think I will have no trouble sleeping tonight.
Sunday, August 7, 2016
A Little Bit of Rain! 6 August 2016
On Friday and Saturday I noticed a change in the feel of the weather, a subtle hint of the fall to come, although a month earlier than I am used to. And today there was a little bit of rain. I have been told that September and October are the rainy [or was it "monsoon"?] season here. It has been many decades since I lived anywhere except Missouri for any length of time, so this climate will continue to surprise me, I expect.
The Spoken Word part of the Tabernacle Choir broadcast again brought me to tears. The theme was an Olympic one--how one plays the game, or lives one's life, is more important than winning, or succeeding in this temporal world. I am grateful for that reminder.
I did a batch of arbitrating Kentucky Marriages in the Indexing program today, and then decided to go back to do some indexing in German--how better to get practice in deciphering script? The batch was partly done already--and I may not get through the rest of it in a week, but I will give it a go!
My Sweetheart was asked to work a sixth night in a row due to another newly hired nurse not working out. Anyone know of a good nurse willing to work nights out by St. Luke's Hospital?
I should finish up the Book of Mosiah tonight if I can stay awake--one short and one long chapter to go!
The Spoken Word part of the Tabernacle Choir broadcast again brought me to tears. The theme was an Olympic one--how one plays the game, or lives one's life, is more important than winning, or succeeding in this temporal world. I am grateful for that reminder.
I did a batch of arbitrating Kentucky Marriages in the Indexing program today, and then decided to go back to do some indexing in German--how better to get practice in deciphering script? The batch was partly done already--and I may not get through the rest of it in a week, but I will give it a go!
My Sweetheart was asked to work a sixth night in a row due to another newly hired nurse not working out. Anyone know of a good nurse willing to work nights out by St. Luke's Hospital?
I should finish up the Book of Mosiah tonight if I can stay awake--one short and one long chapter to go!
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Several Issues Resolved Well. 6 August 2016
This was a day of issues being resolved, one in the library, and one personal. I am grateful for good counsel, and for great blessings.
I fell asleep last night reading The Book of Mormon, but I made up for that by reading at lunch and also for the first half of the time I was filling the Pager position. I am just about at the 1/3rd point, having read the Isaiah 53 recounting by Abinadi. One of my margin notes concerns Abinadi's audience. Perhaps he knew full well that Alma would be the only one to listen. Perhaps Alma was not killed immediately by King Noah because Alma may also have been in the royal family. All these cultural possibilities are of interest to me, even though my witness of the Book of Mormon is based on the spiritual witness I received in fulfillment of Moroni's promise in Moroni 10:3-5.
I learned today that one of my distant [mid-1700s] surnames might be Jewish! A Jewish guest explained that her father, who had survived Auschwitz, had changed his name from Deutsch because he did not want to have any association with anything German. Then in his later life he learned that the surname was associated with a group of Jews who had left Spain long ago, and had over the course of hundreds of years gradually moved northward into Poland and other countries. When all the records of the world come to light, what interesting connections there will be.
I actually started again on the beginning course of Polish handwriting--but was interrupted to help a guest with German ancestry. Even though she had the small locations one needs for success in research, no records for the correct time frame are now available. After an hour I asked a more experienced missionary to help--and I learned more new things.
I fell asleep last night reading The Book of Mormon, but I made up for that by reading at lunch and also for the first half of the time I was filling the Pager position. I am just about at the 1/3rd point, having read the Isaiah 53 recounting by Abinadi. One of my margin notes concerns Abinadi's audience. Perhaps he knew full well that Alma would be the only one to listen. Perhaps Alma was not killed immediately by King Noah because Alma may also have been in the royal family. All these cultural possibilities are of interest to me, even though my witness of the Book of Mormon is based on the spiritual witness I received in fulfillment of Moroni's promise in Moroni 10:3-5.
I learned today that one of my distant [mid-1700s] surnames might be Jewish! A Jewish guest explained that her father, who had survived Auschwitz, had changed his name from Deutsch because he did not want to have any association with anything German. Then in his later life he learned that the surname was associated with a group of Jews who had left Spain long ago, and had over the course of hundreds of years gradually moved northward into Poland and other countries. When all the records of the world come to light, what interesting connections there will be.
I actually started again on the beginning course of Polish handwriting--but was interrupted to help a guest with German ancestry. Even though she had the small locations one needs for success in research, no records for the correct time frame are now available. After an hour I asked a more experienced missionary to help--and I learned more new things.
Friday, August 5, 2016
A Good Day All Around! 5 August 2016
After counseling with my Sweetheart last night, I was able to talk with the appropriate person to find out how to deal with a personal concern that arose a couple of days ago. Although I still need to implement an action, I feel it will have a good outcome.
I filled several positions today, including spending my first time as Pager. I was very grateful to have some extra help from a fellow missionary. He is part of my study group and we were discussing his feeling overwhelmed and inadequate in German research, because the rest of us have experience with that, while his expertise is in the Netherlands. Then I needed to do the paging duties, and he helped me learn the nuances that were not covered in the written instructions, nor in the class I took. So I was able to reassure him that this was a similar situation for me, and until I did this position several times, I felt overwhelmed and inadequate also. While this is a humbling experience, I am sure it is designed for our growth.
During the first half hour or so of my time at the German desk there were no guests that needed help in German translation or research, so the more experienced missionary helped me get some practice in reading script. The first record was not typical of what we do--it had to do with a government official filling requests for records! Then she brought up some baptismal records from her family, and that was more comfortable for both of us.
A young woman came to the desk with an unusual request--she was a native of Kosovo, and wanted research help. [I learned later, while I was the Pager, that one of the staff consultants actually is experienced in research in Kosovo, but I did not know it in time to ask the Monitor to put in a request.] So I went through the process of "Search on Family Search for indexed and image only collections, search the catalog, search wiki, search Ancestry." We did find one person in the old genealogies with her surname, but there is a severe dearth of records from that area of the world.
Then I opened my Family Tree so that we could search there, too, and we found a few more people with her surname. I suggested she open a free Family Search account, and fill in her own Family Tree, so that she might be able to connect with others who are also looking. She mentioned that in addition to her surname she has a tribe name. I did not pursue that, but it was a surprising piece of information that I expect to do a bit of research on. When I encouraged her to put in her family tree, I was delighted to be able to tell her that, "No, you do not have to be a Christian to add your records to Family Search. We are all brothers and sisters, we just do not yet know how we are related!" That brought a smile to her face and secured her commitment to filling out her Family Tree.
Another guest wanted help with a record that had a big inkblot across it. The other missionary and I were both relieved when two of the staff consultants were also unable to translate the record.
I have been told by two of my study group members about a very good book for helping to decipher German and other similar scripts. One of the staff consultants is friends with the author, and gets copies of the book for a third of the commercial price. Today I finally got to order a copy, so in a few weeks I will have that resource available.
Yesterday I had walked off and left my iPad at one of the computers, along with all my notebooks, and that fact, coupled with a new missionary's question yesterday about photographing records with a tablet led me to take my Kindle mini in today instead of the iPad. I was able to download to the Reading List the German, Polish and Latin word lists. I have not yet been able to figure out how to get easy access to the "Helping Chinese Guests" handout, but paper copies of that are in the file. So I think the inexpensive Kindle will become my new companion of choice!
While I was at the Pager desk a guest came up to ask if anyone could help her with some Family Tree issues. Turned out I could with one issue while I was sitting there--and for an additional issue I was able to take her to another floor where she got the extra help she needed. She was so pleased to get her issues resolved that she took the trouble to come back and thank me personally for helping her!
When my shift was over I went to a session at the temple. It was a comparatively small session, but very comfortable.
Texting with my daughter, who had good news concerning her educational pursuits, and also had communicated with both her sisters, was followed by chatting with my Sweetheart. Now I need to do my Book of Mormon reading--it may be another night when I read and doze and read and doze until I finish!!
I filled several positions today, including spending my first time as Pager. I was very grateful to have some extra help from a fellow missionary. He is part of my study group and we were discussing his feeling overwhelmed and inadequate in German research, because the rest of us have experience with that, while his expertise is in the Netherlands. Then I needed to do the paging duties, and he helped me learn the nuances that were not covered in the written instructions, nor in the class I took. So I was able to reassure him that this was a similar situation for me, and until I did this position several times, I felt overwhelmed and inadequate also. While this is a humbling experience, I am sure it is designed for our growth.
During the first half hour or so of my time at the German desk there were no guests that needed help in German translation or research, so the more experienced missionary helped me get some practice in reading script. The first record was not typical of what we do--it had to do with a government official filling requests for records! Then she brought up some baptismal records from her family, and that was more comfortable for both of us.
A young woman came to the desk with an unusual request--she was a native of Kosovo, and wanted research help. [I learned later, while I was the Pager, that one of the staff consultants actually is experienced in research in Kosovo, but I did not know it in time to ask the Monitor to put in a request.] So I went through the process of "Search on Family Search for indexed and image only collections, search the catalog, search wiki, search Ancestry." We did find one person in the old genealogies with her surname, but there is a severe dearth of records from that area of the world.
Then I opened my Family Tree so that we could search there, too, and we found a few more people with her surname. I suggested she open a free Family Search account, and fill in her own Family Tree, so that she might be able to connect with others who are also looking. She mentioned that in addition to her surname she has a tribe name. I did not pursue that, but it was a surprising piece of information that I expect to do a bit of research on. When I encouraged her to put in her family tree, I was delighted to be able to tell her that, "No, you do not have to be a Christian to add your records to Family Search. We are all brothers and sisters, we just do not yet know how we are related!" That brought a smile to her face and secured her commitment to filling out her Family Tree.
Another guest wanted help with a record that had a big inkblot across it. The other missionary and I were both relieved when two of the staff consultants were also unable to translate the record.
I have been told by two of my study group members about a very good book for helping to decipher German and other similar scripts. One of the staff consultants is friends with the author, and gets copies of the book for a third of the commercial price. Today I finally got to order a copy, so in a few weeks I will have that resource available.
Yesterday I had walked off and left my iPad at one of the computers, along with all my notebooks, and that fact, coupled with a new missionary's question yesterday about photographing records with a tablet led me to take my Kindle mini in today instead of the iPad. I was able to download to the Reading List the German, Polish and Latin word lists. I have not yet been able to figure out how to get easy access to the "Helping Chinese Guests" handout, but paper copies of that are in the file. So I think the inexpensive Kindle will become my new companion of choice!
While I was at the Pager desk a guest came up to ask if anyone could help her with some Family Tree issues. Turned out I could with one issue while I was sitting there--and for an additional issue I was able to take her to another floor where she got the extra help she needed. She was so pleased to get her issues resolved that she took the trouble to come back and thank me personally for helping her!
When my shift was over I went to a session at the temple. It was a comparatively small session, but very comfortable.
Texting with my daughter, who had good news concerning her educational pursuits, and also had communicated with both her sisters, was followed by chatting with my Sweetheart. Now I need to do my Book of Mormon reading--it may be another night when I read and doze and read and doze until I finish!!
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Another Record Fixed. 4 August 2016
The blog program was not allowing me to write without underlining everything, but now it has straightened out.
This morning was an early day, which is just a bit hard after the late night last night. I was Floor Manager the first hour, when few people come in needing help, but was needed as a helper towards the end of that time for a family researching in Austria. That family eventually got help from several specialists, as the small place name did not pull up in the catalog, in Google, or in gazetteers. Eventually it was located, and the guests learned that the records in that area need to be requested one at a time from the parish that the ancestors attended. The record holders have not allowed the Genealogical Society to film or digitize the records.
Later there was another gathering of missionaries and specialists to decipher a note in a set of marriage records. In talking tonight with my Sweetheart as he remembered involvement in the old extraction program we concluded that in those old records it is important to have more than one or two sets of eyes look at them--and even then we are just doing the best we can.
My research today was focused on very old records in Hessen, where my Kalbfleisch line came from. I looked first at the same film I started on last week--Hofgarten. I was able to find my third great-grandmother's birth/christening record, and thus prove that she and her sister were not the same person. One thing that has caused confusion is that their marriage dates are identical according to notes on my ancestor's child's christening record, and her sister's death record. Of course, the records that cover that date are missing! What a blessing that for those two records, someone saw a need to include that marriage information! I was able to take pictures of the records that do exist with my iPad, and attach those in the Memories of each person's details page. I am grateful my daughter did not resist replacing the iPad I lost at Heathrow Airport in London when a nice Black Friday special made a Mini fairly reasonable. I was asked today by one of the other missionaries about using the iPad that way. The improved Family Tree app makes it so easy. I actually have also used the mini Kindle to take similar pictures, but the iPad makes it easy to also store my Polish, German and Latin word lists, along with the instructions for helping guests from China and Taiwan.
Once I cleared up my Hofgarten records I went on to Altenburg where my Kalbfleisch ancestors had originated. I had not researched these records myself previously, so it was really nice to see the Family Registers for myself--the records from which the Registers were composed are not available now as far as I can tell. So I got more pictures, before I just felt too sleepy to continue with the microfilm.
I was actually planning to go back to the apartment early, but I thought to ask two of the new missionaries if they would like a ride to do some grocery shopping. Sister M, from the Ukraine, had a meeting to attend, but Sister A, from Canada, was very happy to get a ride. She showed me how to get to one of the stores I had not gone to before. She also insisted on giving me a nice selection of fruit for having taken her. It was actually just a nice break for me to take her--I did not feel so tired anymore, and it gave me an excuse to get some dark chocolate covered cranberries at one store, and some 72% cacao bars at another store--and now I know where to get those!
I have been able to keep up my Book of Mormon reading schedule, so I have now finished Enos--almost done with the small plates! The only downside of this is that in a few days I will face the war chapters of Alma. A lot of people have a hard time with the Isaiah chapters in 2 Nephi, but for me, Alma is the big challenge, as I love the words of Isaiah.
Today was a little cooler, but tomorrow will be hot again. And now it is time for sleep at last!
Monday, August 1, 2016
Lunch and Keyboard times 2, German, and more Music. 2 August 2016
Today was our zone Recognition and Potluck Luncheon. This occurs the first week of each month, when those who have completed certain learning requirements, departing missionaries, and those who have birthdays in that month are recognized. I was asked to play the keyboard for the meeting. The Happy Birthday song went OK, the keyboard timed out before we were to sing the song for our departing missionaries, and I was clueless as to how to fix it quickly. I finally turned it off all the way, which erased the settings, so the song, set to the tune of a Primary song, left a lot to be desired. In the best of times I find the Primary songs to be much more difficult than hymns, and when I am stressed to boot--not a great combination. I ended up just playing the melody line.
I had prepared smoked sausage and baked beans as my contribution to the potluck luncheon. On my schedule I was supposed to stay at the German/Slavic desk, but one of the specialists insisted I go get food--so I did about 15 minutes into the luncheon. Almost all of my dish was gone, which I was very glad to see. Apparently other people like smoked sausage and baked beans, too.
I had been surprised to see that on my schedule I had lunch scheduled at 2 pm, I had thought about just working through that time, since I had already eaten, but I decided instead to walk back to the apartment, mostly to more fully wake up. When I got back at 3 I was asked to help with a couple from Germany who wanted to get started on their Family Tree. They did not spend much time on that, but did a bit of searching, I was sad they did not find anything in their searches, but I taught them to use the Wiki and the Catalog, and where the closest Family Search Center would be in Germany.
I was on the schedule to play the keyboard again for prayer meeting, and then I stayed for the In-service, which was about our Family Search desktop. I was just finishing up the assignment for that when I was brought a guest who needed a lot of German records translated. I still am not very skilled at anything but deciphering the names, dates and places, but I got a lot of practice! The guest has more to get done, and she will be back tomorrow.
I had been planning to walk home before going to the Temple, but I decided to just go directly there--after getting an ice cream fudge bar from the snack room! It was fun to remember doing that with my Sweetheart not too many days ago! Then in the temple it was good to remember being there together--and that we are still in the temple together on Tuesday evening--just 1300 miles apart!
I learned today that a new expectation has been set for our Study Group, which is to spend time improving our skills at translating German records. I found a couple of tutorials online, so we will work on that starting next week.
I have been practicing for singing The Lord is My Shepherd on August 14, and I decided it would be good to sing it in the key of A, since the theme is from Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A. I have an app on my iPad on which I can play melodies, but I thought it would be good to make sure it was accurate, so I googled "Play middle C"/ I did get such a response, and yes, the app is in tune; but another result caught my eye: "How to Find the Key of a Song--By Ear". The video was under 15 minutes long--and from what I learned, the method seems to be pretty good. I think I will explore this more, especially on mornings when I go in later, and just want to do pretty low-key activities before going in to the Library. So maybe tomorrow I will test this out some more.
I had prepared smoked sausage and baked beans as my contribution to the potluck luncheon. On my schedule I was supposed to stay at the German/Slavic desk, but one of the specialists insisted I go get food--so I did about 15 minutes into the luncheon. Almost all of my dish was gone, which I was very glad to see. Apparently other people like smoked sausage and baked beans, too.
I had been surprised to see that on my schedule I had lunch scheduled at 2 pm, I had thought about just working through that time, since I had already eaten, but I decided instead to walk back to the apartment, mostly to more fully wake up. When I got back at 3 I was asked to help with a couple from Germany who wanted to get started on their Family Tree. They did not spend much time on that, but did a bit of searching, I was sad they did not find anything in their searches, but I taught them to use the Wiki and the Catalog, and where the closest Family Search Center would be in Germany.
I was on the schedule to play the keyboard again for prayer meeting, and then I stayed for the In-service, which was about our Family Search desktop. I was just finishing up the assignment for that when I was brought a guest who needed a lot of German records translated. I still am not very skilled at anything but deciphering the names, dates and places, but I got a lot of practice! The guest has more to get done, and she will be back tomorrow.
I had been planning to walk home before going to the Temple, but I decided to just go directly there--after getting an ice cream fudge bar from the snack room! It was fun to remember doing that with my Sweetheart not too many days ago! Then in the temple it was good to remember being there together--and that we are still in the temple together on Tuesday evening--just 1300 miles apart!
I learned today that a new expectation has been set for our Study Group, which is to spend time improving our skills at translating German records. I found a couple of tutorials online, so we will work on that starting next week.
I have been practicing for singing The Lord is My Shepherd on August 14, and I decided it would be good to sing it in the key of A, since the theme is from Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A. I have an app on my iPad on which I can play melodies, but I thought it would be good to make sure it was accurate, so I googled "Play middle C"/ I did get such a response, and yes, the app is in tune; but another result caught my eye: "How to Find the Key of a Song--By Ear". The video was under 15 minutes long--and from what I learned, the method seems to be pretty good. I think I will explore this more, especially on mornings when I go in later, and just want to do pretty low-key activities before going in to the Library. So maybe tomorrow I will test this out some more.
A New Month. 1 August 2016
Wow, August is here already! Sometimes days drag--actually, afternoons are my worst times, after lunch--but the weeks and months are passing fairly quickly.
This morning I realized it had been more than 2 weeks since I Skyped with my Arizona grandchildren, and I was glad to get to do that today. We had a rather brief visit, but it is always good to be able to see them. Also talked briefly with my daughter.
My other daughter and I also had a phone visit this morning. After that I took a nap, because last night was very short for sleeping. Then I had a thought to go out to some stores and also get gas--some of the stations had already bumped up their prices, so I was glad to get that taken care of. I usually just get gas about once a month, which is quite a change from back in Missouri. My Sweetheart had filled the tank a couple of times, as we did a bit of driving while he was here. So now I should be set until September!
Our branch had an indoor picnic this evening--Polish dogs, with a special sauce and lots of toppings. And root beer floats, one of my favorites, for dessert! I was able to especially thank my MTC sisters who fed 2 of the young elders on short notice. One of the things I bought today while I was out was a rotisserie chicken, which I cut up into serving pieces and put into the freezer. From now on I will be better prepared to pitch in and help if someone else backs out of feeding the elders at the last minute!
I cooked wheat today. and as I was putting it away there was a little left in the pot. It tastes so good I fried up some onions, carrots and celery to put with the leftover wheat and had a mid-afternoon snack. Yum!
This morning I realized it had been more than 2 weeks since I Skyped with my Arizona grandchildren, and I was glad to get to do that today. We had a rather brief visit, but it is always good to be able to see them. Also talked briefly with my daughter.
My other daughter and I also had a phone visit this morning. After that I took a nap, because last night was very short for sleeping. Then I had a thought to go out to some stores and also get gas--some of the stations had already bumped up their prices, so I was glad to get that taken care of. I usually just get gas about once a month, which is quite a change from back in Missouri. My Sweetheart had filled the tank a couple of times, as we did a bit of driving while he was here. So now I should be set until September!
Our branch had an indoor picnic this evening--Polish dogs, with a special sauce and lots of toppings. And root beer floats, one of my favorites, for dessert! I was able to especially thank my MTC sisters who fed 2 of the young elders on short notice. One of the things I bought today while I was out was a rotisserie chicken, which I cut up into serving pieces and put into the freezer. From now on I will be better prepared to pitch in and help if someone else backs out of feeding the elders at the last minute!
I cooked wheat today. and as I was putting it away there was a little left in the pot. It tastes so good I fried up some onions, carrots and celery to put with the leftover wheat and had a mid-afternoon snack. Yum!
A Good Late Day. 3 August 2016
I hit upon a new strategy for staying awake during my late shift at the Library. I decided that I needed to not eat supper, and not even much of a lunch. Whether that was the deciding factor, or the fact that there were guests who needed my help with research and translation from Denmark, another who needed German translation, and someone who just needed to get copies of webpages printed. There was supposed to be a very experienced researcher available on the Nordic or Scandinavian desk, but no one was there, so I tried my hand at Danish research. It did not go very successfully at first, but while I was trying to find some additional resources, the guest found the record she was looking for! She was glad for that, and also glad to learn how to access the fairly-extensive Danish archives.
The other Danish records were, according to the guest, from an island which lies between Denmark and Germany. The records are on forms printed with Danish words, but the records themselves are written in German.
The German translation was from a passenger list, and it took three of us to figure out that the person's ancestor was a store clerk!
Choir practice today was not my first musical training. Since I needed to keep my activity level pretty low-key this morning, I accessed more videos on improving singing. I now have a breathing exercise to practice morning and night. It involves breathing in deeply to the abdomen. I hope it will, indeed, increase my capacity to sing longer passages.
I was blessed to talk today twice with my Sweetheart, morning and evening. I also had nice conversations with my oldest daughter and my youngest daughter. A good day all around.
The other Danish records were, according to the guest, from an island which lies between Denmark and Germany. The records are on forms printed with Danish words, but the records themselves are written in German.
The German translation was from a passenger list, and it took three of us to figure out that the person's ancestor was a store clerk!
Choir practice today was not my first musical training. Since I needed to keep my activity level pretty low-key this morning, I accessed more videos on improving singing. I now have a breathing exercise to practice morning and night. It involves breathing in deeply to the abdomen. I hope it will, indeed, increase my capacity to sing longer passages.
I was blessed to talk today twice with my Sweetheart, morning and evening. I also had nice conversations with my oldest daughter and my youngest daughter. A good day all around.
Just completed Das Buch Mormon! 31 July 2016
I just completed my reading of Das Buch Mormon--with 2 hours and 10 minutes to spare! Tomorrow I begin the Mission Challenge, to read The Book of Mormon three times in three months, each time with a different focus: how God interacts with people; the role and mission of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and His Atonement; and how to apply the principles I am reading to my life. I invite others to join me in this journey of coming closer to our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
I was grateful to have an extended time to visit by phone with my Sweetheart. despite a very full day. I am grateful for our electronic devices that help us to communicate on a regular basis.
The morning began with arbitrating one indexing batch, and then I was off to the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast. I joined a sister who is much more into music than I am--she has favorite spots to sit in the Conference Center, and took notes all over her program. Like her, I cannot NOT come, but I am there for the feelings that are evoked, in this case mostly from The Spoken Word. The music is always great, but usually there is something that speaks especially to my spirit, and today was no exception.
As I was about to enter the chapel I was greeted by a friend who said. "I did not know you were singing today!" Well, I did not know it either, but there it was in the program. An error had been made, because there were two young elders who sang an English/Spanish version of I Am a Child of God. However, there was my name on the program, and of course, an explanation was made over the pulpit that I was not singing today after all. I often times prefer to stay in the background, but apparently that will not be the case here on the mission. I had been prompted in the first place to offer to do one of my compositions or arrangements, which will happen on 14 August, but I would have preferred not to get advance publicity!
I got an email from one of the sisters who had signed up to feed 4 elders, saying she was not prepared to do so. One of my MTC group arranged to take care of 2 of them, and the couple in charge of the dinners added the other 2 to there list of 4, leaving me free to go and visit my friend who moved within the month from Missouri to Utah. I had a good time visiting my friend and enjoying supper with her and her daughter. I especially enjoyed having home made chocolate chip cookies and milk!
I just woke up after dozing off, so it is time to publish this and head for bed!
I was grateful to have an extended time to visit by phone with my Sweetheart. despite a very full day. I am grateful for our electronic devices that help us to communicate on a regular basis.
The morning began with arbitrating one indexing batch, and then I was off to the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast. I joined a sister who is much more into music than I am--she has favorite spots to sit in the Conference Center, and took notes all over her program. Like her, I cannot NOT come, but I am there for the feelings that are evoked, in this case mostly from The Spoken Word. The music is always great, but usually there is something that speaks especially to my spirit, and today was no exception.
As I was about to enter the chapel I was greeted by a friend who said. "I did not know you were singing today!" Well, I did not know it either, but there it was in the program. An error had been made, because there were two young elders who sang an English/Spanish version of I Am a Child of God. However, there was my name on the program, and of course, an explanation was made over the pulpit that I was not singing today after all. I often times prefer to stay in the background, but apparently that will not be the case here on the mission. I had been prompted in the first place to offer to do one of my compositions or arrangements, which will happen on 14 August, but I would have preferred not to get advance publicity!
I got an email from one of the sisters who had signed up to feed 4 elders, saying she was not prepared to do so. One of my MTC group arranged to take care of 2 of them, and the couple in charge of the dinners added the other 2 to there list of 4, leaving me free to go and visit my friend who moved within the month from Missouri to Utah. I had a good time visiting my friend and enjoying supper with her and her daughter. I especially enjoyed having home made chocolate chip cookies and milk!
I just woke up after dozing off, so it is time to publish this and head for bed!
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