Mt. Roskill Indexing Fireside

Tonight Larry did a presentation on indexing for Mt. Roskill stake.  He did a great job!  I'm quite skilled with FamilySearch and Ancestry.com, but I don't do indexing at all. I'm familiar with what it is and why it is important, but I can't speak about it at all from personal experience. Fortunately, my sweet husband is getting quite good at it, so he was able to give some great examples and explanations.  We've done other trainings at Mt. Roskill so we feel very comfortable meeting with that group.

Sister Patricia Leung Choi organized the meeting and invited us to present to the group

Brother Koula is the new High Council advisor for Redoubt Stake.  This was his first meeting to speak to a group in his new calling.  He was a little bit nervous, but he did a terrific job.

Brother & Sister Hildebrand have been leaders in Family History work in Redoubt Stake for many years.  They have now been released from their positions (she as FHC director and him as high council advisor) as they are preparing to move to Waiheke Island.  They will surely be missed in their Stake!

After the meeting there were some nice refreshments and visiting.  We very much enjoy working with members here, sharing their testimonies and feeling their love.  The people of New Zealand, both in and out of the church, have all been so kind and gracious to us throughout this mission. The culture here in steeped in generosity of spirit, courtesy, and respect.  Folks are just plain nice.  There is no sense of anyone trying to put on airs or put themselves above anyone else.  No one seems one bit concerned about relative status based on income or background.  There is an openness and authenticity that has completely won over our hearts.  I hope I can always follow there example no matter where we may live in days to come.

P-day at Piha Beach

After several days of rain we are happy to see the sun out again.  It was a chilly winter day here in New Zealand, but at least the skies were clear so we headed to Piha Beach, over on the west side, on the shores of the Tasman sea.   We climbed Lion Rock for some great views and then on the way home took a short walk along one one of the trails at in the Arataki visitor center,  a jewel of a place nestled in the Waitaikere range.   We are soaking up as much of the New Zealand beauty as we can before we have to leave this magical place.  I have come to love this country so much.  As eager as I am to see my family again and return to the familiarity of my Boise home and Shamrock ward, I suspect I will miss this land deeply all the rest of my days.

Surrounded by Angels

Photo from LDS.org

Today Larry and I went to the temple in Hamilton.   Generally we prefer to go during the week when it is not so crowed as on Saturdays.  Today, however, there were more people in the temple than we have ever seen.  There were two bus loads of young missionaries who came down from the NZ Missionary Training Center in Auckland.  Every seat in the endowment room was filled.  Others were given seats filling the balcony above.

The thing that really impressed me about the time we were in the temple was how very reverent it felt.  Even though there were way more people than usual, there was no noise, no rushing about.  All communication was in whispers.  People moved from room to room quietly, courteously, radiating quiet peace.  Everyone in the temple is dressed in white, which added to the sense I had of being surrounded by angels.   I felt so much love in that place.

One of the practices of our faith is that we can write the names of people who are sick or facing struggles of any kind on pieces of paper which are then put into a special cloth bag to be taken to the altars of the temple.  At the end of each endowment session people stand around the altar and say a special prayer asking the Lord to bless the people whose names are on those lists.

I have often put my kids, my siblings, or others who I feel need special comfort, healing or intervention from God.  Today I put my niece's name as she is getting close to the time of having her baby.

Every time I stand at the altar of the temples and pray specifically for people I know, I feel as if a window in heaven opens up granting me more love for that person, whoever it may be. There is much I do not know, cannot comprehend, about how God manages His affairs.  But one things I know for sure:  love has power.  Love heals.  Love blesses.  Love matters.

What I have learned more than anything else on this mission is how to truly feel love for others, both those I know and those I don't.   It is impossible to fully describe.  When I pray for missionaries throughout the world, when I pray for the sick,  when I pray for those who mourn,  or for the leaders of my church, leaders of my government, for my family...for the world...  love moves through me and in me and surrounds me.  I can feel the power of it.

Long after this mission ends I hope I will continue to pray with this same fervor and faith.   Even though I will soon be required to pack away my badge and return to civilian life, I hope I always will remember to access this powerful love for others.  There is something significant that happens when we reach out in faith in behalf others, loving them with the Savior's perspective rather than the eyes of the world.  That is something I never want to lose.

July Winter Days

Our short winter days are finally shifting to be just a bit longer each day.  For now, however, the sun is setting around 5:30 PM.   This was our view walking home from the office yesterday.

It was cool and rainy much of the time that my pal Carma was here visiting us with her son, but it never gets seriously cold in Auckland.   Sometimes when I go for walks in the early morning I can see my breath and occasionally there may be a touch of frost on the grass.  Still, flowers bloom year round and banana trees grow here - so it is definitely a sub tropical climate.

After being surrounded by so much lush growth and beauty it will be hard to go back to desert life where the hills are brown much of the year.   I need to remember that beauty comes in many forms and work hard to appreciate what I do have in Idaho even though I will miss the bush and the sea of Aotearea.

Training Day at Manurewa FHC

We spent much of the day today at Manurewa Family History Center doing some training.   We really enjoyed this.    One of the people we helped was a new convert who is just learning for the first time how to do genealogy work.   When we started all she had was a couple generations on her mother's side and no information at all on her dad.    By the time we were done with our session she had added about four more generations on her mother's line, found a fun photo of her grandfather who had died before she was born and gotten contact information for the funeral home who conducted her dad's services who may be able to provide more information.  She was thrilled.

We also helped Molli, a young single adult, learn how to standardize information in her tree and how to add sources.  We spent time going over the on-line version of the My Family booklet and showed her how she could transfer photos from her FaceBook page over to FamilySearch memories.

Then when all the others were gone we stayed for a while with the consultant, May Mariner, to help her work on her own family tree.  She spends so much time helping others that sometimes her own research has had to take a back seat...something I can well relate to.   We helped her retrieve her free Ancestry.com account and showed her how to import four generations of family information from FamilySearch.   We then taught her how to use the shaky leaf hints to discover sources and cross check her information with what others have in their trees.   Using this tool she was able to add several new names to her tree, completing all five generations of her fan chart.


We loved having this opportunity.  This is exactly the sort of work we enjoy doing - helping folks develop new skills and make discoveries that are meaningful for them.    We will be going back to Manurewa next week to participate in the planning meeting for a stake family history event they will be having in August.  Larry also talked with their High Priest Group leader about the possibility of having us do a fireside on family history for their stake.    Good stuff!

Another American Celebration in the Mission Field

Once again the Senior Missionaries here in Auckland, New Zealand gathered together to celebrate a very American holiday - the Independence of our nation.   We enjoyed hot dogs, hamburgers and root beer floats.  We played different getting - to - know you games and sang American patriotic songs.  As always, it was good to associate with each other.

Larry and I now have less than six months to go before we will be back in America for real.  It's hard to believe how fast the time is zooming by.

We are working extra hard to help as many people as we can to find family names to take to the temple and we have begun organizing files our office to turn over to the missionaries that will replace us.   Our emotions have been topsy turvy  as we begin winding down the last few months of this mission.

We have come to love these dear friends of ours so much and we will miss them fiercely when we go.  We treasure our times together.  We truly are surrounded by top notch folks.

Key to Group Photo

BACK ROW - STANDING - Left to Right:

Jeff Champlin, Stephen Eccles, Steve Jackson, David Crane, Larry Bennett, Lloyd Calderwood, Barry Preator, Carl Freeman, Jim Byrne, Jim Henderson, R. Craig Martin, Gary Olsen, Lynn Collins, Myron Micklesen, Mikel Bath, Scott Loveless

MIDDLE ROW - IN CHAIRS - Left to Right

Daryl Eccles, Alice Jackson, Lynda Bennett, Debbie Calderwood, Nola Freeeman, Robyn Balli, Pres Rick Balli, Marilee Byrne, Karen Collins, Shawna Bath

FRONT ROW - ON FLOOR - Left to Right

Linda Martin, Joy Micklesen, Linda Champlin, Susan Preator, Karen Richards, Susan Seamons, Pauline Crane, Linda Olsen, Kathy Henderson, Cheri Loveless

Words of the Prophets

Following up on the challenge from Sister Pearson, I'm going to put links to talks from the First Presidency and Quorum of the 12 from the most recent general conference here so I can easily review them.

I will also include some quote graphics to help me  remember key points.

I'm putting them in order of seniority of the apostles rather than by what day they spoke on.

I am so grateful to know with certainty that we are led by prophets, seers and revelators.  While I have a strong testimony of personal inspiration and know that I can get direct answers to my own prayers, I believe that these special witnesses of the Lord bring messages for the benefit of all the world and I will be blessed by paying special attention to the things they have to say.

APRIL 2016

Thomas S. Monson                          
Choices
A Sacred Trust

Henry B. Eyring
Eternal Families
Trust in That Spirit Which Leadeth to Do Good
Where Two or Three Are Gathered

Dieter Uchtdorf
In Praise of Those Who Save
He Will Place You on His Shoulders and Carry You Home

Russel M Nelson
The Price of Priesthood Power

Dallin H. Oaks
Opposition in All Things

         

M. Russell Ballard
Family Councils

Robert D. Hales
The Holy Ghost

 

Jeffrey R. Holland

Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders Among You

David A. Bednar
Always Retain a Remission of Your Sins
           

Quentin L. Cook
See Yourself in the Temple

      

D. Todd Christofferson
Fathers

           

Neil L. Anderson
Whoso Receiveth Them Receiveth Me

             

Ronald A. Rasband

Standing With the Leaders of the Church

     

Gary E. Stevenson
Where Are the Keys and Authority of the Priesthood?

                    

Dale G. Renlund

That I Might Draw All Men Unto Me