Change is always scary, exciting, and challenging, but always rewarding. I am learning that more and more each day as I serve this mission. Each time I go the the FHC I wonder if I am going to end up not being able to help someone. I am so lacking in the research and analytical part of family history. When patrons come in from places that I cannot even pronounce or have not heard of I have the hardest time trying to give them a positive experience.
Today we went to Harlem Days which is kind of like Salem Days only a lot bigger. The stake had set up a booth where we had about six or ten computers going and our job was to open an account for them and try and find a census or something to find their families. Trying to talk over the loud speakers and pounding music was quite the experience.
I worked with one from Trinidad and could find nothing for him on either is mother or his fathers side so I encouraged him to write about his parents and what he remembered about his grandparents so that he could preserve the now and not lose what he had of his family He kind of got excited about doing it but I don't really know where it will go.
The next patron I worked had a family that was in the United States and we were able to find her grandparents and I think great grandparents in a Louisana census record. She was excited and it was good for her.
The next patron I could not get her into her account. There was something wrong with the system and it was not accepting the new accounts. I called Salt Lake but could not get through before they shut us down because of the impending rain storm. I guess Golden was having the same problems that I was having so there must of been something up in Salt Lake causing the problems. I took her name and information along with two others that came late and told them that I would give them a call and hopefully I can get them up and running.
At the family history center this last week, I was able to demonstrate how to use photos of original documents in FamilyTree. She and her sister had gathers some really good documents on her family that no one else has seen. When I showed her how to preserve them, she got really excited and wanted to come back in with her sister and have a lesson. I do enjoy teaching the photos part of FamilyTree. It has been a rewarding experience for me.
We were contacted by Elder and Sister Huntington who are the CES missionaries in our area. She does a lot of entertaining of the youth and a lot of cooking for them so she needs a little larger kitchen. They have an apartment on the 20th or 30th floor with a larger kitchen and have to be out of their apartment by the first of September. They were asking us if we wanted their apartment and invited us over to see it. It is a lot smaller than ours but has a lot more storage. The kitchen is walk in and back out and only has a half of a stove. I guess there is challenges in all experiences, but I really think that we will be moving into their apartment by the middle of September.
Other than the few things mentioned, it has been a rather quiet week. We are really enjoying working here in New York and have learned a great deal. We have just completed our first month of teaching in the Innwood 1st ward and in the next couple of weeks, they will start a new class and their consultants will be teaching it while we shadow them. I think it will be a good experience for everyone.
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