9 April 2017

The last couple of weeks have been somewhat of a blur.  Our regular work at the Family History Center has kept us quite busy, as this has been a couple of weeks when various parts of the country have had spring break like Idaho, and with the weather warming at times, we have had increased activity with walk-ins during the week.  And Saturday mornings have been very busy with mostly Spanish speaking members wanting to print family file cards.

During the last week of March, we had the opportunity to make apartment inspections with some of the full time Elders and Sisters.  After Diane got her hair cut up in Harlem, we met with the Sisters on St. Nicholas Avenue on Monday.

On Tuesday, we took the bus from across the street from the temple down Columbus and 9th Avenues to the Elders at the 54th Street apartment.  Last time we inspected, a large hole in the sheetrock had been made, apparently by an angry elder with a bit too much energy.  But that had now been repaired and we find that these apartments usually need some small maintenance like replacement of lights, etc.

This was early in the morning, and from there we came back to the apartment just in time to grab a bite, and then catch the crosstown bus to the East Side where we travelled to the stake center building on east 87th Street.  Here we spent about five hours training five sisters from the Manhattan 2nd and 3rd wards who had been called as Temple and Family History Consultants to help them become more familiar with FamilySearch.org. Rather than take a return bus, we opted to take the Q train back to Times Square and then the 1 Train to Lincoln Square - 65-66th Street Station across from our apartment.

Sister Adams at the new Q train station on East 85th Street and 3rd Avenue

On Thursday morning we served at the Manhattan Temple, and later in the afternoon we worked with patrons at the Family History Center.  We have been preparing lesson plans for the "Helping Others to Love Family History" (HOLFH) experience as part of the Find, Take, Teach principle taught by the Brethren. Wanting to also share this with family, Diane was in contact with our son Paul and his wife, Jenny to help them have such an experience.

Diane  worked with Jenny to find a name to take to the temple on one of her paternal lines, and not finding a female name (male names had been found), she kept searching.  With Paul and Jenny's prayers coupled with ours, she was guided to a family.  In speaking with Paul on the phone, Paul told her that he andJenny had been praying all week for a family to be found that needed to have temple ordinances completed.

When Diane heard this, she broke into tears because she did not know that Jenny wanted a family, she had just requested a name. Paul said, "Mom, did you find a family?"  Her answer was, "I did."

On Saturday we viewed both sessions and Priesthood Meeting of General Conference.  At the afternoon session with sustaining of officers, when the new Seventies to be called were sustained, David T. Buckner (Stake President here in the New York New York Stake) was one of the names read.  Now we knew why our Stake Conference had been postponed from March until the week after General Conference, since this would necessitate a reorganization of the stake presidency here.

On Sunday evening, via telephone, we gave Jenny her HOLFH experience and she printed the family cards for members of the family Diane had shared in the experience.  Paul reported the next day that Jenny was so excited, and he explained to her that it was the Spirit of Elijah that was responsible for her feelings.

Monday, our P-day, we cleaned, did laundry and did grocery shopping for much of the month.  This time, we walked up Columbus Avenue to between 73rd and 74th Streets with our shopping cart to Pioneer.  On the way back, Diane picked up her new glasses, as she has not been able to read anything outside of the 16 inch range, so she changed from bifocals to progressive lenses.

Grocery checkout at Pioneer on Columbus Avenue, NYC

To get an idea of NYC prices, this can of vegetable beef soup is marked $2.29

On Tuesday after General Conference, Diane served at the temple as a substitute for Elaine Holloway who is serving with her husband, Richard as Temple Missionaries.  They are from Rexburg Idaho.  Since some of their family members were in the City, they were spending time with them.  We have been working with them in their family history endeavors, and in the preceding weeks, they have prepared many family file cards for members of their families who needed ordinances, and these were completed while their family was here.

While Diane was at the temple, Golden worked on another lesson plan for Hailey Roark, and was guided to make a real sketchy search in FamilySearch for a great grandfather's marriage in Iowa since she had learned from her first experience as we demonstrated how to have a HOLFH experience in stake training that the wife of this grandfather was born in Iowa and they would have been married about 1900 (whereabouts unknown as the had settled in Oklahoma where they raised their family). In the time between 1899 and 1901 when searching "Ritter", only one marriage came up with Herman Ritter and Lena Krall.  Not only did this give the maiden name Hailey didn't have, but the marriage also listed the names of both their parents!

We both testify that the power that comes from faith put into action is illustrated in this inspired "Find, Take, Teach" strategy for helping others to love family history.  We have experienced this multiple times now. It is as miraculous to us now as it was the first time we experienced it.  We are in the process of preparing several lesson plans for Temple and Family History Consultants here in the New York New York Stake.

This past week, we also talked with our son Matthew and Melissa, our daughter-in-law and are excited to be praying with them as we prepare to give them a similar experience as Jenny and Paul experienced when they come to visit us the first week in June.

Stake Conference this weekend was presided over by Elder Kevin W. Pierson, assisted by Elder Paul H. Sinclair of the Seventy.  Saturday evening adult session was one of great power and learning. Sister Pelo, Stake Relief Society President who lost her mother just two days before, Arie Ball, a YSA from India, shared her conversion story we first heard as we attend the Manhattan YSA ward in March's fast and testimony meeting when she announced that after three years waiting for her parents' ok she would be getting baptized (which will happen this coming weekend). President and Sr. Smith of NYNYN Mission, Pres. Mark and Sr. Dorothy Bench (temple president and matron) addressed the congregation prior to Elder Sinclair's message that we need to be slow to judge but very quick to help, and Elder Pierson's message on relationships of faith, action, power and light [Holy Ghost].

Today, Presidents Buckner, Cropper, and Gonzalez were released and they spoke; new stake presidency was sustained - President Cropper, Norm Merritt (who has been our temple and family history high counselor under whom this work has moved forward so quickly in the past couple of months, and another brother (who name was not known by Bro. Merritt until the meeting today) will now exercise the keys that have been transferred to them under direction of Pres. Russell M. Nelson, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  Music by the stake primary children and choir and the talks today were also very upbuilding, especially regarding the promises of Elohim and our heavenly mother were made regarding the eternal family and how Satan seeks to keep us distracted from the promise.