It's Mother's Day

It’s Mother’s Day. We had a very nice sacrament meeting with two youth speakers, a returned missionary and a one-time grandpa speak. All about mothers. It was all very interesting. I need to call my mother in a bit and I hope all of my children call me. That is one very nice thing about Mother’s Day is being able to talk to all of my children. Karen came Friday afternoon and gave me a beautiful card with a heart felt message in it. And a WillowTree figurine entitled “Chrysalis…protect and cherish and give wings to fly.” It’s a mother standing with her arm around a daughter who is almost as tall as she is. It is beautiful. We had a lovely visit. It had been a long time since she was here.

We were in our fourth week of our mission last week. I am learning so much! Good hints and becoming more confident with the PAF program so I will be able to help others. In a class Wednesday I learned that I could make a temple submission file for just Johannes Rufener (my third great-grandfather on my fahter’s side) and have his work done. I need to call Shonda Queen who works at the temple and see when baptisms are being done then I can go watch it done and then have Karl complete his work. I feel a thrill that it is getting close. We tho’t it was done toward the end of last year but, it was the wrong Johannes Rufener. I found that that is a very common name in Switzerland especially in the 1700-1800’s. I’ve been cleaning up my PAF file that we down loaded from the Ancestral File and am just about ready to go into PAF insight and get any of the ordinances that have been done since the Ancestral File hasn’t been added to anymore, I think that is 1990 or 2000 or something like that. My sweetheart spent all day yesterday formatting floppy disks. They got a big box from the temple and if they are reformatted, then they can be used again and not have to charge the patrons for them. The reformatting will also show up any bad disks. It’s something he can remember how to do and he doesn’t mind doing it. After a while I think I would be bored stiff. My first two hours yesterday were on the computers or the floor as they call it. The second of those first two hours was a PAF class. Then I was on #5 which is books, maps and death records. With the books, a section about a yard wide and ten shelves high need to be checked and made sure they are all in the right order. They all have ascension numbers, which is the order in which they were receive by the library (in a given topic). We also replace all of the books on the shelves that patrons have used. The maps there are 15 long metal drawers that have maps of the different states and countries in different eras. That took forever to count and my back was killing me by the time I finished. There were quite a few out of order; I could tell it had been awhile since they had been checked. On the books and microfilm and microfische, there are just sections that need to be done and you sign a sheet to see where the last one finished and you sign it so the next one will know where to start. I think I will make a suggestion that they divide up the map drawers that way too because it is too hard to do all 15 at once and if they don’t have a signup sheet then just the first four or five will be done all the time and the lower ones won’t be done. I had to ask my sweetheart to come and help me on the loser drawers. Altho’ I was sitting down, it was so hard to bend over to count the ones just above the floor. He helped me with the last four drawers. Some of those maps are very large…five feet by five feet or so. My next assignment was #3 which is microfilm. You are supposed to check at least one drawer, the average is four per person, and return any microfilm to the drawer that the patrons have used and put in the basket. After doing those other assigned tasks you can then go to the floor and be there available to help the patrons or work on your own line. The last two hours I was at the desk. When you are there, you have to stay close by to answer the phone, empty the printer, greet the patrons as they come in, etc. I was tired by the time I got home. I don’t feel like doing much of anything for a while. I just warmed up some leftover macaroni/tomato soup that I had made the day before and sat in my chair and rested after that for a few hours before doing anything else. I think I will have leftovers to heat up for every Saturday. It is so much better. I was tired but it was a good kind of tired. I sleep very well lately. I’ve officially caught the “Spirit of Elijah”! I feel the spirit while there at the center and even here at home when I’m working on my program. I know we are doing the Lord’s work and doing what He wants us to do. I know that the Family History Program is a very important part of the three-fold mission of the Church. It is so neat being a part of it. I’ve decided that I might as well take over the roll that Aunt Pearl had before she died of keeping track of all of the people and ordinance work in my siblings families and my children’s and grandchildren’s families. With the computer it won’t be that difficult. I learned how to make a GED.com file and send it by e-mail yesterday so now I need to write up the directions and send them to my brother and sisters and have them send me the dates and ordinances on their children and grandchildren. That will be much faster to do it that way than typing all of the data and sending it via e-mail. I love this work!