Week of January 24, 2016

The week started with rain late Saturday afternoon. It rained into the night and when we got up Sunday morning there was a thin layer of snow. It snowed lightly all day, keeping the air cold and wet. In spite of the weather, I have felt the hand of the Lord in my life in the details, tender mercies. It has been a real testimony to me of His love for me.

Monday we met to evaluate the first teaching week on the new curriculum. We had a good discussion about our direction and some things we could do to improve. We also spent time putting together the teaching schedule for February. I will be preparing a new class to teach so that should be challenging. We will lose three really good teachers in the next few months so we will probably get some new missionaries before they go, but we need to be able to carry the program until they are ready to teach.

Our social group had a fireside with Pres. Herbert Klopfer. He shared the amazing story of his escape from East Germany during the war and his experiences in life. His father became mission president in Germany when the war broke out and all the Americans were pulled out of Europe. Pres. Klopfer is a member of the Church music committee. He also plays the piano during the lunch hour in the Church Office Building cafeteria. That started 18 years ago when they were remodeling the cafeteria and they moved to the 20^th floor where there were 3 grand pianos. Pres. Hinckley suggested they could use some music during lunch and he’s never been released.

The most touching experience to me was while he was on his mission, the Swiss Temple was opened. His mission president had been asked to provide two elders for three months at a time to help with the work. Elder Klopfer helped arrange housing for members who came to the temple from all over Europe. On one occasion he was setting up housing for a group of 100 members from East Germany, the area he was from. As he looked at the list he found the names of his three living grand-parents who were coming to the temple. They did not even know he was alive since they could not have any correspondence since his escape to West Berlin. They had a very happy reunion.

Stained glass of First Vision in our former chapel

I spent time updating the calendars for the new month and sending them out to the zone leaders. We had to modify our teaching schedule since we are using the new curriculum, but we are not ready to use the new schedule. We are condensing a couple of the classes to accommodate the transition. I also had to add our teaching assignments to the trainers’ calendar and print it for the trainers.

Friday we had rain that continued through the night and Saturday morning we woke to rain. A storm warning had been issued, but they don’t seem to materialize here. We planned to go to the Provo City Center Temple Open House with a group. Ted left a few minutes early to check the battery—it was still raining. When I left 5 minutes later, it was snowing and there was about an inch on the ground. I went back to put on my boots. When the group was gathered, we had a prayer then loaded into our cars and left. The roads were a mess with snow and ice already, but we decided if we took it slowly we’d be OK. It really was a mess until we got into the south end of the valley then the snowy roads began to clear and by the point of the mountain the roads were dry and there was nothing coming down. Utah Valley was completely dry.

Apartment Complex Saturday afternoon, cold and icy

The open house was wonderful. The temple is really beautiful and it was good to walk through again. They created a new film for temple open houses and it is really much better at explaining what temples are for. After the tour we drove to the Manti Temple. As we left Provo there was a light rain falling, but the roads were excellent so there was no worry. One of the sisters had arranged for us to work in a room at the top of one of two spiral staircases—151 stairs up. The staircases were amazing—they each have six full circles in them. The chairs in the room were all covered with beautiful needlepoint stitchery. Someone had done an incredible job of doing the work on them.

When we had finished our work and were going down the opposite spiral staircase we looked out the window to see fairly heavy snow falling. We left immediately in hopes of getting past the storm before the roads became bad. They were starting to get a little covered by the time we were nearing Nephi, but the Lord protected us and we arrived safely. We took the freeway from Nephi and it was fairly good. As we neared Provo and the point of the mountain the storm cleared and there were blue skies ahead. It was a real blessing to us to have been able to go and drive safely.

We had a couple from England riding with us and we had a delightful visit. They know one of my mission companions from when I was in Scotland. It was fun to get to know them and the other missionaries who went with us.

Week of January 17, 2016

This week we tried out our new teaching modules, sort of, and evaluated how the application lessons went. There was a lot of preparation that needed to take place before we began and it got a little crazy without our leader who is out. The modules themselves went well, but we had some technical issues which need to be worked out. I like the new format, especially the application parts. I think it gives the students some good hands on exercises they need to resolve questions.

One of the issues we had was a scheduling problem. One of the zones had their prayer meeting in the computer lab, so when we arrived for our help section (which is new) the room was filled with missionaries. I talked with the zone leader afterward and we offered to hold our help sections in the open area on the floor so they could use the room in the mornings. As it turned out, we only had three or four students come on any given morning so it worked out fine. I think we’ll be able to do that until the construction on the main floor is completed. They were very appreciative. Since the first floor is being remodeled, there is a real shortage of space for holding large group meetings.

Wednesday afternoon Ted taught his module and it went well. He relates well to the people. Because of a scheduling change, we had to split the afternoon time slot, so I taught my class right after him and just condensed what I presented. Thursday the first teacher wanted to attend a class on electronic devices so I taught my class on researching historical records first. I thought it went really well. We’ll probably keep that order of classes. We did the Applied Learning one case at a time, giving them time to work on each one then discussing it instead of having them work on the whole assignment then discussing them all at once. We were not able to finish, but it was good. The students were working together and I think they mostly understood. I was able to finish the entire module in the time I had which I felt was truly a blessing from the Lord.

We had the opportunity to get together with some missionaries we knew from New Mexico and have a good visit. We also spent time with one of my college roommates and her husband. It was really a fun week for reconnecting with friends.

Week of January 10, 2016

This week was unusual in a couple of ways. We were teaching our Capstone classes for missionaries that are going home shortly. We had seven students and they all worked in areas where they did not interact directly with guests to the Library. They were very receptive to our teaching. Ted taught his first class on the Research Process. His was the last of three units and discussed evaluating evidence found in our research to determine if it is of value. He did a good job. I taught Researching Historical Records which is very involved and covers indexed and non-indexed records and various ways to search. The teacher before me had left me with about 10 minutes more than planned, but I still had to stretch to get through it all. I think it went OK, but I need to tighten it up because I won’t have that extra time with the new missionaries next week.

When we were not teaching we sat in on discussions with the other half of the Training Zone. They are in the process of redesigning their modules and trimming them down. It’s all part of an overall re-do of the teaching modules to get rid of duplication and simplify what is taught so the new missionaries can absorb more of what is taught. Pres. Larson of our mission presidency spoke to us the first of the week and gave us a brief summary of where they are headed with training. Much of it will eventually be online and available to the missionaries before they arrive in the mission so the trainers can be of more help to them in areas they need to be stronger in. I really enjoyed some of the discussion and it was interesting to listen to the various trainers and learn from them. They did some major realigning of class content, but it now needs to be submitted to the Training Council for approval and refinement.

The other thing that happened was that our supervisor’s wife became ill in the middle of the week and will be out for a couple of weeks. As we looked at the makeup of our group and their respective release dates, it became obvious that there will be some big changes in our group in the next couple of months. Of the nine of us in our group, all but 4 are due to be released in the next few months. That means the remaining missionaries need to be ready to teach all the classes after the others are gone. Ted and I have been here two months and the other full-time has been here only a month longer. We are enjoying the work and learning so much, but we need to get better at teaching very quickly.

As I was working on my family history this week I found a family that lists 7 children. The census records indicate they had 12 children with 5 living so I spent much of the week looking for the lost children. I have checked everything I know how to find and there is nothing there. I’m really not sure where else to look for these children, but they are in my thoughts much of the day and I keep trying new angles. While I was looking for them I found some really interesting things in the early Church records, like a card giving the date my dad was blessed as a baby and the record of my grandpa, my dad’s father, showing his blessing date and the date he was baptized. I am really enjoying this journey.

We had our monthly Mission Conference this week as well. They give us a new reading challenge every quarter. Starting in February we are challenged to read the Doctrine & Covenants three times in three months. Each month has its own direction. That will be a big challenge. I really like our mission presidency. They have some great insights and give good direction to us as missionaries.

We attended the Jordan River Temple and the Oquirrh Mountain Temple this week. They are both really beautiful buildings and it was a good experience. We are hoping to visit all the temples in our mission while we’re here. Jordan River is closing in two weeks for major renovation so we wanted to get there before it closed. We found out quite by accident that Oquirrh Mountain is closing for maintenance after this week so we were happy to get there as well.

Week of January 3, 2016

Sunday we met for church for the first time at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and stayed after for the Preach My Gospel teaching after church. I was assigned to send out the calendars for our training group so I did that in the evening. Something went wrong and they didn’t go out. I’m not sure what happened.

Our training curriculum was supposed to change in January, so Monday our group spent most of the day reviewing and revising some Applied Learning exercises for the new classes. We got through two classes of the six that will be taught and I really enjoyed the process. It was a bit frustrating for some that weren’t as familiar with some of the processes. I’m sure we’ll all feel better about it when we have taught this a couple of times and feel more comfortable with the program.

Tuesday I worked on my lesson notes for the class I’ll be teaching on Searching Historical Records. In the afternoon Ted worked with Sisters Newton and Hanley on his Applied Learning cases. Elder Newton called us into a mini-meeting to tell us the implementation date has been pushed back until February because the staff has not been able to complete their part of the preparations. My classes are very dependent on actually looking at records and time is too short to do much else.

Wednesday we spent the entire day working on Applied Learning for a few classes. The class I am teaching has a large number of cases and we all felt it was too complex, but there is so much we are trying to assess. I’m pretty sure there is a better way to do it, but I can’t think what it is. It was a good experience for me to work with the group because we all approach the cases so differently. I learn so much from the others and I feel I am making a good contribution.

I fixed some soup for dinner, so while it finished cooking Ted and I went for a walk. We ended up at one sister’s to change a light bulb for her. She gave us some hot biscuits. We went to another sister’s to set up her computer with the HDMI cable so she could see her computer on the TV. It worked, but I think something needs to be tweaked to be really useful.

Thursday I ran into two missionaries in our group after lunch. One of the sisters gave me some really positive feedback about our group discussions. I really appreciated that. We reviewed Ted’s PowerPoint for his lesson then went to talk with Elder Newton to get him to fix a quirk in it. We are moving ahead with the new courses as planned so we can at least test our Applied Learning activities and the new format.

Friday I spent the day working on my own family records and trying to get them cleaned up. I attached some sources and did some good, but there is much to do.

In the evening we attended a fireside given by the daughter of a missionary couple. I was really touched by her message. She talked about having the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. It was very good. Her main points were that we need to recognize the fruits of the Spirit as taught in the scriptures, pay more attention to when He is with us (when we have the fruits of the Spirit with us) and when He is not, learn to communicate in the language of the Spirit, and be more diligent in studying the scriptures and words of the prophets so the Lord can use those to speak to us.

Saturday I slept in and that felt really good. At noon we had the swap meet. I found an iron and a mixer but there were no beaters. Just as we were ready to go home two elders asked about the mixer. They had the beaters. As we talked, they told us we could have the beaters. They had met a man with a bag of stuff to donate. He said there was a mixer but he was unable to find the beaters. They turned in the sack. Sometime later the same man gave them the beaters he’d found so they kept them. It was very sweet of them to give them to us. It turned out they live downstairs from us so I told them they could borrow the mixer any time.

The swap meet is really a fun exercise and there is real truth to the thought that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. One lady was getting ready to go home so she was picking up some new dishes. Another man was picking up something to hang on the walls of their apartment. He said he had a whole pile of stuff that will come back to the swap meet when they leave. I found a bag of eating utensils that match so when we have someone over we will have enough for everyone. There is always a lot of clothes to choose from and occasionally I find something I can envision wearing. The good thing about it is that it is a chance to visit with others and a good chance to laugh at some of the things that are available.

In the evening we had some missionaries over for dinner and a movie. We had a good time and feel we have made some really good friendships. They had been working all day so I was glad we could help them have a more relaxing evening. We enjoyed the time together.

Week of December 26, 2015

Saturday some of the ladies had invited us to join them for line dancing at the church. It was an interesting experience. There weren’t many there—about 10—but we had a good time. After a light supper we invited a couple of ladies over to put a puzzle together. It was a nightmare. None of the pieces would stay together. I finally ended up taping sections as we completed them so we could get it to hold together. We were finally able to finish it.

Sister Strange, Sister Day, Sister Roeth and the Nightmare Puzzle

Monday we had a long staff meeting to discuss upcoming changes and assign teachers for the next two months. I only get to teach four times in the next two months, partly due to the calendar and partly due to having so many that can teach. I volunteered to backup a sick missionary on the Photos/Documents class on Tuesday in case she is not able to come. The result was that I was a little crazy all day and spent all evening preparing to teach Photos/Documents. Two of us have been assigned to take over calendars and notices for our zone. I will update calendars and send to zone leaders and send invitations to classes. The other sister will prepare the invitations.

Tuesday morning I spent most of the morning working on calendars. I think they are ready to send, but I need to let them gel a bit before publishing them. I was glad to see the teacher I would have substituted for. She gave an excellent class and I was able to spend my time working on the calendars.

In the evening we went to the temple. It was really busy. The lady in the office told us on a normal Tuesday they might have at most 10 marriages—today they had 70. That made for a very busy temple.

Wednesday I really enjoyed listening to the presentation for “Stories”. The teacher made it very personal and, I think, stressed the imperative for us to record our memories or they will be lost. I presented the second half of the IrfanView lesson along with a review of the first half from last week. We added the class activity that will be part of the new curriculum. The students responded very positively to what was presented. I was pleased with the comments I received. Two of the sisters told me they really liked my way of presenting. They said I had such a calm demeanor. That made me feel good. I know I have a soothing voice because usually my students have trouble staying awake.

We met up with my cousin and her husband, Dianne and Duane Powell, for a walk around Temple Square in the evening to see the lights and take pictures. It was super cold. I was relieved to get back to our apartment for a few minutes. After that we drove up to my uncle’s house where we visited and had a yummy dinner.

Duane & Dianne Powell, Uncle Elliot Richards, Ted

Thursday was a research day for us. We went early to the library and I worked on my next lesson while Ted worked with a lady from Finland and was able to find 4 additional generations on his Pikkariainen line. There is apparently more on the other Scandinavian lines that he didn’t look at. I left early to take a lady shopping.

Late afternoon a French sister joined me for a walk. I left in a hurry and didn’t put on my scarf and it was bitterly cold. I put on my hood and scrunched the opening up as tight as I could and still be able to see. It helped a little, but I was really cold. We walked on to the train station then back up North Temple. About half way through the sister showed me her hands. She had left her gloves at Macy’s the day before when she was shopping so she was wearing some ankle socks on her hands. It was something but not enough. When we got back she hurried over to Macy’s to see if she could find them, but when it was time for ourgathering, she knocked at the door looking rather worn out and told us she couldn’t stay because she was so tired. She had not found her gloves, so I gave her my knit gloves I had brought. They are thin, but they are better than nothing. I felt so bad for her.

We had a few friends come over in the evening. We had a good visit, ate some, and visited some more. Anyway, we had a good evening and really enjoyed it.

Friday was New Year’s Day. In the afternoon we visited a friend I’ve known since seventh grade. She and her husband have an open house every New Year’s Day and serve several traditional Japanese dishes. I tried everything and enjoyed most. We had a good visit. There were tons of people that came and went. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the ride. After we returned home I went to visit another missionary to work on a puzzle with her.

Saturday for lunch I met the group of girls I grew up with in Salt Lake. We had a good visit for a couple of hours until everyone had to go their ways. It was fun. Afterward we drove to Provo to see the Norman Rockwell exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art. I wish we’d had more time for the exhibit—it was impressive the contribution Rockwell made to American art.

Elder and Sister Roeth at Provo City Center Temple

Late afternoon we met Uncle Elliot Richards and family at the Provo City Center Temple for a tour. We spent about 1 ½ hours in the temple and very much enjoyed it. The temple was built using the remaining walls of the Provo Tabernacle after the fire in 2010 demolished the structure. It was amazing how they were able to rebuild it. The columbine was used as the theme flower in the temple and it was very beautifully incorporated. The furniture was amazing. Even the hinges and metal door panels were patterned after the tabernacle metal work. When they were cleaning the tabernacle after the fire they found a repeating pattern underneath some panels. They have used the pattern around the top of the walls in one of the rooms. This was an amazing experience.