Week of April 9, 2017

The weather is beautiful and the flowers on Temple Square are amazing. There are many different varieties of tulips and other flowers and the gardeners do such a wonderful job of creating the flower beds. It is truly a great experience to walk through the area and enjoy the beauty and aroma of all the flowers.

Flowers on Temple Square

Monday I agreed to teach a class on Swedish Research the last day we are here. I took the afternoon to go to the library and get some screen shots and do a little research to prepare. As it turned out, the family I selected did not have great examples to use because they did not have the information some of the priests put in the records. I found another family and decided to go with them. On the way home I stopped by the Swap Meet sheds to visit with a missionary who was mopping the floor in one shed. What a good heart! She felt the floors were in need of cleaning—I’m sure the mopping has never been done.

Tuesday we started our first Capstone class. We are teaching in the afternoon and are in the JSMB Training Lab. There are only 20 computers for 30 students, so 10 people had to bring their laptops. Some forgot so we got some from the mission or from others who had them. Anyway, it worked out. We have another class next week the same size. This group has the group of missionaries we came out with taking Capstone so it’s nice. We had to really shorten Tuesday’s presentations because we had mission conference at 2:45 pm. We had reserved seats, but two of us went to the chapel to hold the seats until the others could get down. It was a good conference.

Flowers on Temple Square

Wednesday I worked on my Swedish Research class. In the afternoon I taught Descendancy Research to the Capstone class. When it was time for the missionaries to work on their project, we asked several trainers from the other group to come help. As it turned out, they did not know how we do things and it was a little confusing for the students to have the helpers not know what to do. We were able to help almost everyone. It made us aware that we need to train the trainers as well.

After we finished I thanked one of the trainers for her help and she said she didn’t really understand what we were doing. I took a few minutes to explain our method to her and help her understand our approach. She is a very sweet lady and a big help. On our way home we ran into another missionary. She told us one of the young elders had gone home. He had spinal bifida and needed to use a cane or a wheelchair. He’s been out 13 months. He is an amazing young man and I will miss having him around. He has such a fun personality and such a desire to work and help.

Thursday I spent time with a missionary who had asked for my help with several issues on her family tree. I spent a long while helping her and showing her some features she was not aware of. She is one of my most loyal students and always claims I have taught her everything she knows. She’s a good learner and usually remembers whatever I teach her. After helping her I ran into a missionary who asked if I could help her with something. I told her I could, but I suggested if she couldn’t get with me that this missionary I’d just been working with could help her because she knows everything I’ve taught her.

I taught again in the afternoon, this time helping the students develop a lesson plan from the worksheets they did yesterday. There were a couple of students that didn’t get the worksheets done so they had to have help during the class. I think everyone but one ended up with a finished plan and they were all happy with the results. It has been a good group to teach and I really enjoyed the process. When we finished I shared my testimony. It was a little sad since this is my Capstone group as well. Several came up to tell me how much they had learned and how much they enjoyed the class. It is all worth it.

Friday I worked on the Swedish Research class. I’m not sure we’ll have access to the websites from the teaching computer, so I am preparing a PowerPoint with all the screen shots. We had our last Capstone class in the afternoon. Several people suggested we need either an additional day or an additional week. It’s funny because the attendees want it to be longer and the zone leaders want it to be shorter. I know it takes good people away from already short-handed areas, but it is also good training that can benefit the missionaries.

After we finished I went to the library so I could get a few more screen shots for the class presentation and do more research. I was able to find families for a couple of children I’ve been working on.