Sunday we substituted in the family history Sunday School
class. Ted taught about the “Find” function in both Memories and in the Tree. I
taught about MyHeritage and the translation function and the new source
attaching feature. After I finished I reviewed the find functions. I had
totally misunderstood why it would be useful. I have always assumed it was for
finding the person you are looking for so I thought I was teaching about
finding another record that might lead to more information. One sister raised
her hand and said she had been looking for a person in her tree, but she didn’t
know where he was. She had asked several people how to find the person and no
one could tell her. She was ecstatic to finally be able to find him. So I
looked “beyond the mark” to use a feature in some unconventional way when the
obvious use was actually of the most benefit to the class.
In the evening we went to my sister’s for a family dinner to
celebrate Mom’s 100th birthday. Mom died just before turning 90, but
we celebrated her life and our heritage. My sister had written a poem telling
about Mom’s life. I commented on her time as life guard at Liberty Park. A
young woman was pulled from the lake and Mom was able to resuscitate her and
save her life. Others shared more memories and it was fun to remember.
Monday I taught IrfanView in the morning. We only had two
students which was disappointing, but we were able to help them with specific
needs.
Tuesday we started Capstone. We have a large group, but it
isn’t large enough to require two sessions. After classes we were able to attend
the Family History Christmas Program and luncheon. The program was lovely. We
had Steve Rockwood (CEO of Family History), Elder Ian Ardern, Elder Erich
Kopischke, and Elder Bradley Foster speak to us. They shared family traditions
then we sang their favorite carols. It was really a good program.
Wednesday I taught the entire session. This was the month
for Find, Take, Teach, so I teach how to do Descendancy Research using the
missionaries own family then on Thursday we help them write a lesson plan and
practice giving it to someone else. This is a good group and we were able to
find someone for everyone there. It turned out that not everyone could find
sources easily, but I think they all found something to practice the methods.
In the evening we met
with the group of women I grew up with and spouses for dinner and visiting. We
got caught in a major mess on the interstate so we were nearly 45 minutes late.
It was fun to visit and catch up. One of the women had married a young man
whose team I had sponsored at the All Church Basketball Tournament back then. I
had introduced them at a party at my home. It was fun to see him again after so
many years. Their team was from Las Vegas, Palmhurst Ward, which is in our
current stake. Small world. It was really a fun evening with the visiting and a
fun game. It was late when we left, but again it was worth it.
Thursday was an amazing day. As I read the conference talk
Pres. Uchtdorf gave in the Priesthood Session of conference called Alma and Amuleck, I had the distinct
impression that this was something I should share with the missionaries with
the application of helping others do family history instead of becoming active
in another way. I marked the section and stuck the conference booklet in my bag
to take with me. I also wanted to show the video by Elder Renlund which has
such a powerful promise. As class started, I gave the intro to the lesson plan,
then got them started and turned them loose. It turned out that several, in
spite of our best efforts, had found names that either had no sources, needed
further research, or had already been reserved by someone else during the
night. I assured them that the process was what was important and they should
just forge ahead, knowing they would not reserve the name just now. There was
such a good feeling in the room. Several times I paused to examine what I was
feeling and it was overwhelming to me that the Spirit was so strong. After the assignment was completed we had a missionary come
to the front and demonstrate teaching the lesson plan. She was so wonderful as
she explained the things what needed to be done. It was a very touching
experience to me. We then had them teach each other in pairs. It was a good
experience.
When we finished the room was so full of the Spirit that it
was almost palpable. I shared with them the section from Pres. Uchtdorf’s talk
and the impression I had to apply this to the opportunity they have to do
family history. I really feel that was a prompting from the Lord. After this I
played the video from Elder Renlund asking them to listen to the promise. Every
time I watch this I am nearly overcome with the Spirit and this was no
exception. I closed with my testimony and we ended the class. It was an amazing
experience to have the Spirit that strong and for such a lengthy period of
time. I felt so blessed. I was exhausted.
Friday we had our class on Memories. A new couple has been
assigned to our group who will replace Barbers when they go home. Elder Barber brought
them downstairs to meet us after they received their assignment. They have been
in charge of a family history center for the last few years and have been
teaching several classes.
Saturday evening Ted and I went to the Richards Family
Christmas gathering. There were over 100 people there. My favorite part was at
the end when we gathered into a large circle to play a game. They had a slide
show and sang a special Christmas song I hadn’t heard before about “Merry
Christmas from Our House to Your House”. Uncle Elliott spoke and expressed his
love for everyone. At the end all the lights were turned out. Elliott started
by turning on the light on his phone and turning both to the right and the left
he told us he loved us and we turned our lights on and told the persons next to
us we love them. They call this their circle of love. They used to use candles,
but this was held in the Hilltop Chapel and they are not permitted to use
candles in the church. The feeling of love in the family was wonderful.
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