30 October 2017

A few weeks ago, we were asked by Jordan McDonell, counselor in the bishopic, to speak in the Harlem YSA (Young Single Adult) Ward on the subject of Family History. We were told that he wanted us to create a spiritual connection for the members of his ward that would encourage them to want to get involved in Family History. W were given about 8-10 minutes to do it. I have learned that sometimes the five minute pep talks can be more beneficial that dumping a whole load on them.

We decided that I would speak on the Spirit of Family History and Golden would speak on the promise that Jesus made in the premortal life that He would redeem all on condition of following the plan.  He shared the importance of the scripture Moroni revealed to the boy Joseph Smith. Elijah came to bing the keys of the sealing power for all ordinances for this dispensation of the fullness of times.  So important a scripture, we find it in all four of our Standard Works.  We are a party to the promise and agreed that we would help the Savior keep his promise.

I shared some of my most cherished moments in my life on how it blessed my children and how I learned the power of prayer. I knew that the scriptures promised that when two or more are gathered in His name, He would be in our presence and that  if we asked in righteousness our prayers would be heard and we could experience a miracle. I have seen this happen many times while doing personal family history experiences and my faith in prayer has grown so much.

The meeting went really well, and we had some people come up and express that they really wanted to try and get involved. At least it will be a beginning that they can some day build on.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Sister Lee and her companion asked if they could have a photo, but Diane was elsewhere and they were headed up to Sunday School.  So this was the photo.  Sister Lee served about seven transfer rotations at the apartment on St. Nicholas Avenue where we were assigned for apartment inspections and she became quite attached to us.

Sister Lee (center) with her companion and Elder Adams - Harlem YSA Ward

As we were leaving the meeting, we ran into some people that told us that Elder Rasband, Elder Bennett, and Elder Buckner would be attending sacrament meeting in the next ward, as Harlem First Ward was celebrating the 20th anniversary of the formation of the Harlem Branch which has now grown into three wards.

Elder Rasband talked about how he was given an assignment to be in New Jersey a year ago, and he had no idea that the celebration on the 20th anniversary was going on until a phone call during the week.  Elder Rasband was so excited that he was close enough that he could make arrangements to be at the celebration as he is very much attached to the wards. He spoke of how there are never any coincidences in life, as the Lord knows all things.

Elder Rasband served his mission the Harlem New York area and then served as mission president in New York, approving the formation of the Harlem Branch,  before becoming an apostle for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints. We opted to stay for the next sacrament where Brother Anderson, the first branch president spoke along with Elder Rasband and Elder Buckner. It is such a wonderful experience to be in a sacrament meeting with general authorities, and the spirit is always very strong.

Elder Rasband told the members to not fear the future. He spoke of the challenging times in which we live, but also the promise that if we are faithful, we will stand in holy places. Our homes, the temple, chapels, of wherever we stand can be a holy place as we live the commandments. If we build our families and create Zion within them and within the home, that we could face the challenges and experience peace.

It is always a wonderful opportunity when we go to church and find ourselves in the presence of a prophet of God, Elder Rasband,  and two members of the quorum of 70, Elder Bennett and Elder Buckner. This is the second time that this opportunity has come so I got the courage to approach  Elder Rasband and asked if we could have a picture with him. He is so personable and welcoming and we were so blessed to spend time with him.

Elder Rasband, Elder Golden and Diane Adams 22 October 2017

On Monday, the 23rd of October, President and Sister Smith sponsored a trip to West Point for all the senior missionaries. We thought that we would be seeing the same tour as last year, but it was all different and we had a lovely time. Brother Fleek was our tour guide and is the West Point Historian at the present time.

Elder and Sister Adams, Elder and Sister Miles, Elder and Sister Honeycutt, Brother Fleek, Elder and Sister Young, Elder and Sister Pothier, Elder and Sister Pederson, Elder and Sister Hanson, Elder and Sister Goodier, President and Sister Smith, and Elder and Sister Smith (Parents of President Smith).

Our first stop was the West Point Cathedral, currently used as the main chapel for several denominations.

Brother Fleek, guide at the front door of the West Point Cathedral

As we walked in the front door, we were greeted in a large chapel lined with flags and a seating capacity of over 900 people.

This is the main chapel area lined with historical flags from all periods of time in American History

Stained glass window at the front of the chapel.

These are some missionaries looking at the flags and listening to the lecture. In the background is President and Sister Smith with Elder and Sister Pothier near the front with their backs toward us.

The organ has 23,235 pipes, and is awesome in both its scale and its unique character. The impressive four-manual keydesk is arguable the world's largest "Horseshoe" console. 

Organs Horseshoe console, world's largest

 Organ Pipes near the front of the chapel near the organ

 Organ pipes near the rear of the chapel. This is where the entrance is.

 After seeing the main chapel, we were taken down to the crypt. These use to be used to bury their dead.

Crypt in the basement of the Cathedral.  LDS services used to be held here for the cadets.

Elder Fleek, our tour guide, telling us about the  crypt.

After touring the Cathedral, we walked over to the "Olde Chapel".  This building was moved to this spot in the early 20th century and is located adjoining the West Point Military Cemetery.

This mural is at the front of the Old Cadet Chapel near the West Point Military Cemetery

 For an excellent commentary on this quotation on the mural at the Old Cadet Chapel, Click:   Old Cadet Chapel Mural Text

Entrance to the "Olde Chapel"

Interior of the "Olde Chapel"

Some headstones are distinctively LDS.  When families are serving here, members may be interred.

View of the West Point Academy Military Cemetery. Note fall colors in the background.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch at the edge of West Point by the river.  Elder Adams, Br. Fleek and the Goodiers.

After our tour, the Hansons drove us home by way of Tarrytown, New York.  North Tarrytown is now known as Sleepy Hollow and the cemetery there bears that name, as well.  Walter Whitman wrote the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and lived near here.  Although it was a bit early for Halloween decorations, we saw a few along the streets.

Sleepy Hollow, settled in 1640 as North Tarrytown, became Sleepy Hollow in 1969.

We stopped at Ossingen, New York and made a quick stop at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, aka Sing Sing Prison.

Several look-out towers surround the perimeter of Sing Sing Prison

Sing Sing is a large facility and this is the other portion of the same street as above.

On Tuesday morning, we scheduled two apartment checks with the Elders in Harlem.  The first was at 128th Street near the Harlem Chapel.  Two of the four Elders were at appointments but we got this one finished, and then decided to walk to the other Elders apartment on 125th Street and near Old Broadway, some eight long blocks away.

We had made the appointment to visit this apartment with Elder Mafi and his companion on Sunday, and they said it was a mess.  Elder Mafi took the blame.  But when we checked the apartment, they had repented and it was very clean, even mopped behind the stove.  Each time we see Elder Mafi, who is from Tonga, we are reminded how he likes to joke around.

A couple of weeks ago, when getting onto the train at Lincoln Square, Elder Adams was just past the turnstyle and on the platform.  He was putting some cash away in his wallet when Elder Mafi came from behind him and grabbed him.  The look on his face made Elder Mafi laugh so hard that every time he now sees Elder Adams, he is reminded of the look on Elder Adams face thinking he was being mugged and robbed.

Elder Adams and Elder Mafi at the NYNY Family History Center at Lincoln Square, NYC

On Wednesday, one of the patrons Elder Adams worked with was Luz Garcia who has been trying to get the records straightened out on her late husband, Carlos, who passed away in El Salvadore.  The branch clerk had not added the death information to Carlos' membership and she was able to get that done this weekend so we could prepare the family ordinance card for his ordinances beyond baptism and confirmation.  She was so excited to be able to have that completed and to be able to move forward with it.

This evening, we were able to meet with Abu Conteh, the high priest group leader from Harlem First Ward.  He is from Sierra Leone and he has been promised several times over some years to have help with his parents temple work.  But, apparently, time after time, the person(s) would take months to get back with him or the computers didn't work, etc. Elder Adams has been working with him since we began training in Harley in June.

With his memory, since the records his father had left for him, as the oldest living of the children, were destroyed by the rebels when they broke into their home and destroyed everything, we did the best we could to estimate dates for the family.

His parents were sealed to each other, he was sealed to them, and then the deceased siblings were also sealed to their parents.  He remarked that he felt real good, like when he was a school boy coming home from school and his parents were there for him.  He expressed it was the same feeling of being in their presence.

It was amazing to feel the Spirit as Diane and I knelt across the altar as proxies for his parents when he was sealed to them.  I don't know if Abu really understands the import, but he did say he knew it was important.  On a couple of occasions, during the early morning hours, I received the promptings that I needed to help him with his sealing to parents before we end our mission, as he is 82 years old.  A few ordinances still need to be completed before his parents can be sealed to their parents.  But beyond that, we don't have any information.

Abu Conteh, Elder and Sister Adams at the Manhattan Temple entrance

On Thursday, we served in the Manhattan Temple and then at the Family History Center.  At the temple, President Kem Nixon suggested that we do a sealing session and complete those I had prepared since we are winding down on our service here.

Diane had another appointment with Dr. Schottenstein at the New York Spine Clinic for injections in her neck.  She reacted to them in a manner that made it impossible for her to stand and not fall over backwards without someone holding on to her.  So they called Uber and sent her home.  I met her at the corner of Columbus Avenue and 65th Street, the corner where the Family History Center is located.  The block home was a challenge, as she was worse than a drunk trying to stay vertical.  After a couple of hours and overnight, she was able to get back to being able to walk on her own.

Friday, Diane manned the Family History Center while I moved the microfilms around in the microfilm room to make room for the films that had come in now that FamilySearch is no longer providing film rentals.  I was able to complete the move and ready the drawers and cabinets for final film numbers to be posted.

Arranging microfilms in the final drawers for storage in the Microfilm Room

On Saturday, we did apartment checks.  We were able to complete the 54th Street Elders after they weren't available in the morning and we went back in the evening after our service at the Family History Library.  Also in the morning, we took the C train to St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem and completed the apartment check for Sr. Leavitt, Sr. Hess, and their companions.

After retiring for the night, Zach (a grandson) called and I returned the call to find that he was to give a talk Sunday on an ancestor who had received their temple ordinances after they had passed away.  I wrote a narrative on Sunday morning regarding his 3rd great-grandmother, Willemke de Jong who was sentenced with her mother in the criminal district court in Groningen, Netherlands as a 13 year old.  She was placed in solitary confinement for a few days and her mother was in solitary confinement for 45 days for vagrancy.  In those days, homeless people had no place to go, and they had to live in the streets, which would have been a crime.

We had an appointment to do a "Helping Others to Love Family History" experience with Ryan Wood, the Elder's Quorum President in Inwood 1st Ward.  The Spirit was strong and Ryan was able to make the connection of his great grandmother, which he had been trying to do for quite some time.

In the process, he merged duplicates that were already in the system for his great-grandmother's parents.  The result was to link several more generations and fill his fan chart for this lineage as well as clear the temple work so he can complete the sealing of his 2nd great-grandfather's family and other ordinances.  It was great to feel the Spirit of Elijah as he connected with his ancestors and the same feelings he has felt as as Lenard Reeves, as both have experienced loss of spouse either through divorce or death.  Such experiences are miraculous.  Feelings always are a part of conversion, and it is such a blessing to be part of the process.

Ryan Wood and Elder Adams participate in a "Helping Others to Love Family History" experience

We began our mission being assigned to Inwood 1st Ward where we served to help build the Temple and Family History program in the ward.  It has continued to be very successful under direction of Maya Kite, Temple and Family History Consultant lead and the priesthood leaders of the ward.  As a result, their unit continues to lead the New York Stake in the major indicators reported.  The Ward Virtual Tree was pretty baren when we arrived, and as members have submitted baptisms for their kindred death, the tree has "grown" name leaves.

Inwood First - Virtual Ward Family Tree - October 2017

October 22, 2017

Tuesday, October 10th was Lloyd's birthday.  He would have been 71 years old this year.  All of the siblings were involved in group texting with Lloyd's family on this first birthday since his passing in June.

As part of our FHC service, one of the Lincoln Square YSA Temple and Family History Consultants, Mary Taggart, came into the center with the request to learn Indexing.  Since her Find-Take-Teach experience will be getting to know more about a family member who was killed in an automobile accident when his family was very young and he was from Michigan, we chose a Michigan Indexing Project for her first batch.

Diane and I spent quite a bit of time working on Johanna Kreutz's request to learn where in Germany her family came from.  Johanna has been our Orthology physician assistant for the past year and has been very helpful with our physical therapy and other health issues, and has kept us going while we have been serving in New York City.  We found that there are many sources and line extensions to immigrant ancestors on her father's side of the family. They all come from different parts of Germany--Bavaria, Prussia, Baden.

Johanna Kreutz, RPA, ATC at Orthology at 1889 Broadway in New York

Wednesday, a Spanish brother came into the FHC indicating that there was a problem with his living sealing information since the temple could not read the bar code on the living ordinance file.  After going up to the temple recorder, we were able to find that a different part of the temple program not only cleared the sealing, but it recorded it.  So we immediately made arrangements to have him sealed to his parents to make the record valid.  He came to the FHC afterward and said he was very grateful to have that ordinance completed.  He had actually planned to have it happen at a future date.

Thursday, October 12 was our 45th Wedding Anniversary.  As part of our temple service, we participated in a sealing session where President David Smith and several of the sister missionaries also participated.  President Bean was the sealer and two of my Dutch families allowed the sisters to experience a whole family together.

One of the patrons who came into the FHC from seeing the sign outside inviting people to come in and "Find Your Ancestors" wanted to see if we could help her find her father's immigration record.  This was the first time I had looked for a passenger list on an airplane.  Amazingly, we did find the record that showed he had come from Brussels, Belgium on a Pan American Airlines flight to New York City.

Afterwards, we went out for dinner at the Sugar Factory on Broadway, a couple of blocks away.  This is a family-oriented restaurant where lots of young families bring their children to celebrate their birthdays.  We shared a hamburger and fries along with a Snickers Milk Shake.  New York prices being what they are, this was a $40.00 meal.

Golden sharing 45th Anniversary meal

Diane about to share the Snickers Milk Shake Specialty

We finished out the week, as well as Sunday afternoon, working on additional findings for Johanna Kreutz as well as putting some of the information together in a lesson plan for her.  We found many Find A Grave Index records for her family in Illinois and especially in St. Louis, Missouri where they stayed for several generations.  I also revamped a lesson plan for Ryan Wood, Elders Quorum President that we had planned to present as a demonstration in Elders Quorum Priesthood Meeting but we had to postpone as he was called last minute to go to New Jersey for the weekend.  With our mission ending soon, some of the plans for presenting FH experiences are being postponed with members having other things going on.

I have been sending microfilms back to FamilySearch Distribution that have been digitized and made browsable. Several microfilms where marked "Spring Street" for a project that Pat Nixon, former FHC Director, and now assistant matron in the Manhattan Temple, had used to transcribe information on deceased Spring Street Church members.  But I did not realize until this week that the films were of the Manhattan Death Records.  FamilySearch had said that if they weren't from them, they were to be given back to donors or they could be destroyed.

I found that these were actually records that FamilySearch had on microfilm and they have been digitized, and even indexed.  When Pat told me why they were transcribing (they had called it indexing), it made a lot of sense.

In the 1960s, Donald Trump purchased the property which, at that time, was vacant since the Spring Street Church had been razed.  In the building of a 42-story Trump International Hotel and Tower, it was discovered that under the church, parishioners had been interred after their deaths.  These graves had to be relocated, which was done in the process.

The college was interested in how these people died, and the ten microfilms of Manhattan Deaths contain death certificates that include these people.  Before Pat left as director, about 100 entries were provided to the college for their project.  Should they wish to continue, these records are now digitized and so I was able to prepare to send these films back to FamilySearch.

On Sunday, as Diane was working with census records on families for Johanna, she said she was interested in finding where they came from.  I told her that I doubted that she would find a specific place in Germany where the people came from in these records.  She reminded me that she had sufficient faith, and had seen and been involved in enough miracles to know that she would be able to get the information and scolded me for shaking her faith.

We continued to work on these research findings, and Monday she found an entry for a great-grandmother of Johanna's in the census, and here was the miracle!  Few times had I seen that census takers had listed a specific place, other than the country of birth.  But here was the entry giving Hanover, Germany.

Besides this, a Find A Grave Index listed Frank Kreutz with an exact birth date in Germany and listed the names of his parents.  When doing a search in the historical records of FamilySearch, it brought up a Roman Catholic Baptism record for Franziscus Kreuts in Boppard, Rhineland, Germany.  The exciting thing was that the dates of birth matched!  And baptisms were also found for six siblings.

On Tuesday, we went to Harlem for a doctor's appointment for my annual checkup and a follow-up for Diane.  While there, Diane had her hair cut at the Dominican Star on Lenox Street where she had gone a couple of times before.  We grabbed a bite at McDonald's and I noticed that a truck was pulled along the side street and a vendor had set up a vegetable and fruit stand.  Since we see this quite a bit in these neighborhoods, I decided to take a photo.

On Wednesday, Diane had an appointment for consultation with Dr. Patrick O'Leary who is a spinal surgeon, also a member of the Manhattan 1st Ward. He gave her all the reports from results of total body scan and the copies of the x-rays and MRI she had provided.  He said that surgery was not indicated and that after we get home, to look for a specialist that uses combination of pain management and physical therapy.  We found that Johanna's office was exactly that and we have been under her care this entire year.

While serving in the FHC, Sr. Luz Enith Garcia came in for a second time for help with her late husband's temple work.  He died in 2014 in El Salvadore and had only been baptized.  However, when he died, and ever since, his death information was never reported to membership department.  So without the death information, his ordinances can't be completed and Sr. Garcia sealed to him.  With help from the temple recorder and FamilySearch support, we need to get the death certificate to have it added to the membership.  We will continue with that next week.

This afternoon we met with Johanna Kreutz in our apartment to guide her through her family history experience and what we had found.  We spent three hours together teaching her how to navigate and search in FamilySearch.org and the historical records and had her attach sources and merge duplicates that extended and branched her family tree.  She was amazed at how much time we had spent and how organized the information was.  Pedigree charts and copies of the records were put together to help her see the extent of what we had found as to where here ancestral families came from in Germany.  At the time, she also said that it was much more than she had expected and felt connection to her family as she went through the Kreutz findings.

On Friday, I had an appointment with Johanna for my last injection in my knee. When I got there, before she did anything she gave me a card to say thank your for all that we did on the family search project.

At the same time, I reached over and pulled out the gift and card that I had for her. She smiled and asked me "Is that the Book of Mormon?" I said "Yes, it is and if you read it you will have a greater feeling that what she was feeling at that time but it would be the Spirit telling her of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon." She said that she was feeling something that she could not put into words and I explained to her that it was the Spirit of Elijah revealing to her the eternal nature of the family.

Then she had many questions about the Book of Mormon so I told her that we had marked the first scripture to start with in Moroni 10:4-6 and then she could read it however she wanted to. I suggested that she read with the focus on our Savior Jesus Christ and try underlining anything that was about the Savior. She said that she was so excited to read it and asked where to begin. It didn't matter, I gave her some of my favorite sections in 3 Nephi and Moroni but she could just start at the beginning. The Spirit was wonderful in her office and we talked for about 45 minutes before getting down to business on my office visit. It was a wonderful experience. She will be moving out to the west to Los Angeles, California in January, so she thought that we would be able to visit each other much easier. I really feel that some day, she will become a member of the church.

9 October 2017

We have had some wonderful experiences these last few weeks. It always amazes me how wonderful our Heavenly Father is and the many opportunities we can have to strengthen us through hard times. Although these next two experiences that I will share are not trials, they have been life changing.

Throughout the year, President Monson, President Nelson and our Mission President Smith challenged us to read the Book of Mormon. President Smith wanted us to read it by the end of December. With our mission ending on November 16th, I opted to try two approaches in reading it this time. One was to read it in a short period of time to help create a continuity to context. The other approach that I took was focused on the purpose of the Book of Mormon which is to bring people unto Christ. With that in mind, I set my goal to finish by the end of September and my focus was going to be on:

1. Anything in the Book of Mormon that had reference to the Doctrine of Christ which is a) Having Faith in Jesus Christ, b) Repenting and being baptized by immersion for the remission of sins, c) Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands under authorized authority, d) Keeping the commandments and enduring well to the end.

2. Anything referencing the Atonement of Christ.

3. Anything where the Savior was teaching or involved with the people to help them through their burdens.

I began marking anything on these subjects in red. By the time I finished, Golden looked at my Book of Mormon and said that I had marked almost everything. That statement itself was powerful to me, because it was a testimony that our Savior is with us at all times until we harden our hearts and reject Him, and then He has to leave. There are only a few areas in the Book of Mormon where things were not marked, and that was when the people's hearts were hardened and the Spirit withdrew and they were on their own headed for complete destruction.

As President Nelson testified "I am a changed man." I can also testify that my life was also changed. I got to know my Savior personally and my testimony of the Book of Mormon grew.

The next experience was when a gentleman came into the FHC and asked me if I could answer some of his questions regarding the church. I told him,  "I would be happy to", and the questions began. After a few minutes, I told him that his questions were leading to a discussion about the Plan of Salvation and I asked if that is what he wanted to hear and he said, "Yes".

I spent the next hour answering his questions until he ask if I knew anything about the destiny of the United States. I had just finished reading Ether 2 which covers how the promised land is only for those following Christ. As soon as hearts are turned and they reject the Savior, we will lose our freedom and we will be facing our own destruction.

I told him he could learn about it by reading Ether 2 and other places in the Book of Mormon and he would know where we are headed. I showed the Book of Mormon and invited him to read it under one condition. That was that he had to follow the instructions in Moroni 10:4-5 which states that we must read with real intent, having faith in Christ and pray for, and asking for, a witness of truth to the Book of Mormon. He agreed and took the book. The Spirit was there and he was satisfied with the answers that I was able to give him. I love sharing my testimony with others. It is always such a powerful experience.

On September 29th we left New York City on the 4:00 train for Maryland arriving at 7:30 p.m. at Union Station where Jovy and her son-in-law Sterling picked us up.

Amtrak map of train from New York to Union Station in Washington DC

Diane and Jovy in Owings, Maryland

We spent five nights with Jovy and our plans were to visit Washington DC on Friday and then we were going to just visit and watch General Conference on Saturday and Sunday. Monday, I washed my clothes and got ready to leave on Tuesday morning at 6:50 a.m. to go back to Union Station and catch the train back to Penn Station. Then get on the 1 train back to 66th street and Columbus where we live.

Friday we spent the whole day touring Washington DC. We took a 90 minute tour around Washington DC on the Old Towne Trolley and then got off to see and walk to some of the sites.

Golden, Roxanne and Rod Barney on Old Towne Trolley

Jovy and Diane on The Old Town Trolley

Here are some of the places that we were able to tour while in Washington DC.

Washington Memorial - 555 ft and 5/8 inch high. Made of Marble, granite and bluestone gneiss and it took 36 years to complete the monument - no cement is used between the blocks.

Washington State Capital

Diane and Golden in front of National Treasure Dept.

Front of National Treasure Dept.

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Diane and Jovy with the Republican Elephant in Washington DC

Golden, Diane and Jovy entering Arlington National Cemetery

John F Kennedy Eternal Flame at Arlington  National Cemetery

Diane and Jovy in the Arlington National Cemetery

Jovy and Golden in Arlington National Cemetery

Amphitheater - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

WWI Gift from China of the Unknown. It accompanied the Unknown Soldier as he lay instate in the Capital Rotunda and during the funeral service in the Memorial Amphitheater on November 11, 1921 .

Victory - The Republic of China gifted this iconic statue to America's World War I Unknown. It accompanied the Unknown Soldier as he lay instate in the Capitol Rotunda and during his funeral service in Memorial Amphitheater on November 11, 1921.
Augustus Saint-Gaudens 1848-1907, a famous American sculptor, designed the statue as part of the William Tecunisch Sherman monument dedicated on May 30, 1903 in New York City. 

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - Arlington National Cemetery

Guard preparing for the ceremony of the Changing of the Guard which is done every 30 minutes

Beginning of the replacement of the shift of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Soldiers lining up for the changing of the guard -- the retiring guard being replaced by the new guard

Guard inspecting gun before relieving the soldier

Return of the guards as the replacement guard takes the next shift

Guard at the beginning of walk

On Sunday, we each presented a "Helping Others to Love Family History" experience for Rachel Blair, one of the Manhattan 1st Ward Temple and Family History Consultants, and her husband Preston Blair, a Priesthood Leader in the Lincoln Square Young Single Adult Ward.  Both were able to find names of progenitors to take to the temple.  The challenges was given to then teach others to do the same.  This is the Find, Take, and Teach initiative of the Church.

On Monday, Columbus Day, the temple was open as it is for most holidays that fall on Monday when the temple is usually closed.  Brother and Sr. Brown were in charge and were the coordinators for the day.  I attended a session and then served in the baptistry taking care of the laundry while Golden was at the Recommend Desk and served in a couple of sealing sessions.  Following our service, President and Sr. Bean, Manhattan Temple Counselor and Assistant Matron served a "light refreshment", --sandwiches, grapes, potato chips, and cheese and smoked white fish salad on crackers.

We love our service both in the Temple and in the Family History Center.  We started to pack up some of the items to ship back to Utah.  Due to the high cost of shipping, which amounts to between half and full value of the items being shipped, we will be leaving many items for the next missionary couple.