my stake conference talk…

or how I became a nFS missionary

A couple of weeks ago I thought my husband walked into the kitchen. “Will you speak at Stake Conference?” he asked. I glanced up initially thinking that he was kidding. Then I saw that he wasn’t. But just in case, I responded, “Is this a request or an assignment?” Nope, definitely not kidding as he responded, “an assignment.”

You all know that there is really only one answer to the Stake President’s question. And I did what all of us, card carrying members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have covenanted to do. I smiled, and said, “Sure. I’ll be glad to. What would you like me speak about?” But when he told me he wanted me to talk about being a Family History Missionary, the smile actually became genuine.

Becoming a service missionary actually started floating in and out of my consciousness quite a while ago, as gradually I became more and more interested in the idea.

Then, Thanksgiving 2008 found us visiting our daughter, Tricia with her family in North Carolina. There we participated in a family tradition. After dinner, but before dessert, each person around the table is called upon randomly to share a Blessing, an Accomplishment and a Goal. We call it our BAG. It was then that I finally said it out loud.

My Blessing - to teach school and have such a great group of kids

My Accomplishment - making my blog into a book

And my Goal - to be a service missionary

Everyone clapped as we traditionally do for each individual, but the look on my husband’s face betrayed his surprise. I was going to be retiring from teaching in a few weeks and had decided that once I got my life organized that a service mission would be a good idea.

Well, you probably know how things fill up your life and some goals are easy to put off. It was about 5 months later that I received an email from Tricia. It was actually a “forward” entitled:

Family History Church Service Missionary Opportunity

‏Tricia is a family history consultant in her ward. Now I had always imagined that I would be a Church Service Missionary over at the Bishop’s Storehouse. I love the Family Canning Facility. I had great dreams of making it a very fun place to go for date night and all the families in our Stake being well-stocked in an emergency. So I called her up and said “Why are you sending me this email?” She told me that she thought I might like to do it. I reminded her that I hadn’t done any genealogy since we lived in England. And although I did a lot then, it has changed…significantly…over the past 18 years. However, she talked me into calling the phone number for Elder Davis, the mission president. I actually ended up speaking with his wife, Sister Davis. I told her that

Quote I could serve 3-5 days a week to include 12-15 hours of service per week and Quote had a good knowledge of personal computers, with instant messaging and e-mail communication experience.

But! I had virtually no

Quote experience with family history software and products.

“We’d love to have you Sister Carter”, she replied. “Just fill out the missionary application. We are starting a new class in five weeks. That might be a little tight to get your paperwork done though.” She said that the Stake President Referral is what normally holds up the procedure. I assured her that I had that one covered, hung up the phone and downloaded the application.

My classes convened on the internet with my trainers, Brother and Sister Blanchard, in Wendouree, Australia. Eight weeks later I graduated without fanfare and was assigned to a district headed by Sister Robin McClure. She is known in Family History circles for her research and documentation of Black Family History using techniques that she developed documenting her own family history. However I am blessed to be one of the 17 missionaries she supervises. We have an internet meeting most Wednesday nights. Truly this is one of the most supportive groups I have ever been a part of and I have appreciated their unfailing support and encouragement.

Thanksgiving 2009 found us again in North Carolina. And it was with no small amount of emotion that I reported my accomplishment: Learning to be an online new FamilySearch support missionary. It is definitely an understatement to say that I have been on a steep learning curve the past 8 months.

My first patron was an elderly man who had forgotten his password to sign into new FamilySearch. I was so grateful that he wasn’t in any hurry, while I went through the steps to reset it for him.

Recently, on my blog, I posted this experience: Sister Jones is a family history consultant in Connecticut. I was working with her on the phone from 10-11pm. It is not unusual for me to work on the phones that late at night, but it is very unusual for the caller to be on the east coast. She had her patrons with her and as fast as I could give her information, she absorbed it and implemented it. I was so thrilled to be able help with this multi-faceted problem. I felt very blessed as the Spirit guided me in the way I should help.

Later, she wrote me a note that said in part:

I was wondering how I could let you know how much I learned last night and how much I appreciated your help.

I love this work and have been using nFS almost since inception.  I truly believe this program puts us on the precipice of the millennium.  Our obligation through covenants we've made is to clean-up the existing files so they are ready to be presented in the Holy Temples.  This will allow our next generation to continue on without wasted time, energy, money, and efforts. Doing duplicate work will become a thing of the past.  Collaborative efforts will bring accurate and complete files. With each generation of this program I see the Lord's hand.  Oh I just love the work.

Thank you again for the wonderful lesson last night.

There are many people, probably most, serving in the church where their service is under-appreciated. In this service, I am not one of them as you can tell. Like Sister Jones, I am so privileged to be able to see and receive blessings while working with others.

My favorite caller to date was last weekend, a family history consultant from Matthews, NC, my very own daughter, Tricia. When we finished, she said, perhaps tongue in cheek? “Mom, you are still teaching me things.”

I do love my mission, however, in November, I took care of my mother post cancer surgery and logged significantly less hours than normal. In December, many of the patrons took time off. It has been good this month to be back to the full commitment of my missionary service again.

Years ago, President Hinckley was asked about the symbol of our religion, or rather, the lack thereof (in reference to the crucifix). He responded, and an article was published in the April 1995 Ensign entitled Our One Bright Hope:

We cannot do a good and gracious and generous act without burnishing more brightly the symbol of Him whose name we have taken upon ourselves. Our lives must become a symbol of meaningful expression, the symbol of our declaration of our testimony of the living Christ the Eternal Son of the living God. It is that simple, my brothers and sisters. It is that profound, and we should never forget it. The lives of our people must become the only meaningful expression of our faith.

If there were a symbol of our faith, I daresay, it would be a missionary tag. My husband served his mission in Peru, in the olden days before the MTC and before missionary tags. He has always wanted one though, and we have planned since our courtship to serve a mission together one day. As it turns out, our three oldest daughters graduated from college and married without serving missions, so I am the first one in our family to wear The Badge. You will notice that service missionaries wear their badges on the opposite side, their right rather than their left side. We are asked to wear it at all church meetings. However, I will be the first to acknowledge that I wouldn’t be able to wear this badge without the support and recommendation of my husband who occasionally walks into my kitchen as the stake president.

There are many ways to serve and I am grateful for this opportunity at this time in my life. I bear my testimony that this is the true church, and it is a marvelous work and a wonder in which we are engaged.

for my tennis partner

Thanks to Center Court because they were able to get the racquet in and strung for the birth date.   And thanks to some special others,  he’s got

 

the bag….

 

 

 

 

the shoes….

 

 

 

 

the racquet…

 

 

 

 

the shirt…

 

 

 

 

and the hat.

 

 

 

It’s time to play!

  

 

 

 

     

Then, we had a very delicious dinner at Goblin Market.

Happy Birthday to my Wonderful Tennis Partner

who also happens to a wonderful husband and a wonderful dad!

spontaneous movie night

I went to drop Brianna off at Natalie’s house for a surprise birthday party. On the way, I was thinking…I would just love to see The Young Victoria again. My husband took Brianna and I to see it a couple of weeks ago. (They both liked it too.) I was hoping, though not really expecting, to run into Gail Berge. I decided that if I did, I would lobby for a girls night out. Imagine my delight when I discovered that Megan was driving and we could make it a threesome. Nevermind the fact that I was a)wearing my slippers, b)didn’t even have my wallet with me, and c)supposed to meet my husband for dinner at 7 at home. Gail spotted me the money, and Doug agreed to eat alone and in my slippers, I…

I had so much fun chatting with Gail and Megan at Panera before the movie that we had to go running out of there in order not to miss the beginning of the movie. Loved it again. Yes, I will have to buy it. But you just can’t recapture the big screen and beautiful photography at home.  This is one worth paying for…twice even.

my own joy of cooking

Bread is my favorite food group so I decided to ask for a baking stone for Christmas this year. My husband bought me a beautiful specimen which I inaugurated with Rustic Italian Bread, the recipe of which I found on the back of the Better for Bread flour package. It was pretty simple and turned out terrific.

Now I am not Julie, nor Julia and when I went to see the movie, although I admired the talent of both of them, I came out thinking, No Way! But then the new year hit and brought with it a renewed desire to be more organized, eat healthier, yada, yada, yada. A few years ago, at this point in time, I organized all those recipes that I have been clipping for 30 something years. I put them in sheet protectors and organized by category into binders, which has come in useful on many occasions since I actually know where to go to look for those scrap recipes.

But then I thought…I could work my way through my very own collection of recipes, many of which were ripped out before I had cholesterol issues and many of which I have never even tried. Of course, I now need rework some of those recipes or toss them.

I don’t aim to cook 500 and something recipes in 365 days. I’ll  actually consider myself successful if I make 50 new recipes this year.

Not surprisingly, I decided to start with my Breakfast, Bread and Pasta book. So far I have made the bread, previously mentioned, Pecan Sticky Muffins (recipe compliments of Phil Thompson, my state farm agent) 

and Amazing Apple Pancakes. I can’t honestly remember where I got the recipe for it, but it looks like something my friend Mary Gronlund would have given me.

Did you know that puff pancakes will actually puff when made with egg beaters! I forgot to take a picture before I ate two pieces.

Three tries, three very yummy successes. Yeah!

Next up, Cornmeal Crepes with fresh buttermilk cheese and blackberries, which the editors put in the “Fit to Eat—smart desserts” section of their magazine, but I filed it under breakfasts. Chances of me doing all that before breakfast is not high, but I am not opposed to having breakfast for lunch or breakfast for dinner or breakfast for a snack as my family will attest. As a matter of fact, I am not opposed to having dessert for breakfast either so this recipe works in every way for me. I just hope it turns out since I have never made cheese (low-fat buttermilk, cooked and cooled then stirred with sugar which provides the base for the filling) before. I have purchased low-fat buttermilk so seldom that I actually had to ask the guy at the store where it was located.

Now all I have to do is put on the pearls I inherited from my mother and get to work.

Bon appe’tit!

tuppence a bag

  

 

  In the leafy treetops the birds sing good morning…today, hundreds of them. The above photos all taken within a 5 minute photo shoot.  I feel like Mary Poppins.

ginseng

I went to Panera Bread  and ordered a strawberry smoothie and an orange scone. It was very yummy. Panera is one of my favorite places to go out to eat. This man in line in front of me randomly asked me why I liked to go there. I told him that it seems like it is more healthy that other fast food alternatives.

That night I had a weird headache that ran down one side of my face. Since I don’t usually get headaches, I can normally track them. But this time I couldn’t…until the next day.

Same Panera Bread…ordered a strawberry smoothie again. And as I was waiting for them to make it, I looked up and saw a new sign.

“Strawberry Smoothie now with Ginseng”

So I asked the smoothie maker if the strawberry smoothies always had ginseng and he said no. They had changed the recipe and started serving the new one yesterday.

This lead me to go home and check out the ingredients for some of my favorite Panera menu items online. Happy to report that the cinnamon crunch bagels are still aok for me. But I was surprised that many of the menu items are not all that natural/preservative and dye free. Thank heaven there is now a Black Cherry Smoothie without ginseng.  And I still think that Panera is probably more healthy that other fast food alternatives…but I am mourning the Strawberry Smoothie because it was a personal favorite.

sanlando

Gail Berge and her husband, Derek, recently invited Doug and I to play tennis with them one late afternoon. Gail is an amazing tennis player.  I am not. She was very kind to me, and I especially liked being on her team and beating Doug and Derek.

Several days later, I talked with her about improving my game. She suggested a lesson and class at Sanlando Park, which is the home of her league.

Why is it so stressful going someplace you have never been before? I don’t know. Intellectually, I could reason myself out of being stressed, but my emotions weren’t buying it. The day of my lesson it was a brisk 39 degrees. After hitting for about 20 minutes, I decided I better ask to sit down before I fainted. I don’t recall having that problem on the courts before. It was soooo embarrassing. My teacher, Brian, kindly suggested that it was just the cold. Anyway, after a few minutes, we carried on and then he recommended a class on Thursday.

So I drove back to Sanlando today. It is a beautiful park with lots of trees and lots of tennis courts. The women I met and played with  were very nice.

 

Brian asked me how I was feeling today. Really, it was just a one off…because of the cold…Really.

Since I am writing tonight, I obviously survived. 

I am glad that it was 55 today and that my first class  is over. I am looking forward to improving my game.

sleet

Sleet, to meteorologists in the United States, consists of frozen raindrops that hit the surface as little ice pellets. Sleet is different from hail, in that sleet is seen exclusively in the winter months. It is a product of a winter storm system.

It’s rare that you get a forecast with a possibility of snow in central Florida. I feel badly for all the tourists who came here this week hoping for nice winter weather.

I talked to Brianna on the phone while she was spending the night at Natalie’s house.

What are you doing tonight?

Watching for snow.

I woke up this morning and saw some white stuff when I looked at the detached garage roof. Had to quick grab my camera. But when I went outside to photograph it, I knew straightaway that it was not snow. Snow is quiet. This white stuff was noisy.

This white stuff was sleet. And the little ice pellets on the sheets protecting my herb garden? They never melted all day long.

Brrrrrrrrrrrr.

the birds are cold

 All across the United States the weather news is cold and colder.  I have been watching the food line drop in the feeder outside. Lots of tiny birds are frequenting this food oasis and sticking around to enjoy the company. The feeder in the backyard is racist and only one type of birds feed at a time. It was interesting watching the pecking order develop. But for some reason the feeder on the side yard beckons: come, gather together—and they do.

The good news about the cold and dry weather is that my hair stays curled all day long. The bad news is that my face and hands feel like they are chapping right off my bones. The past couple of days, it has been warm enough to play tennis for an hour or so in the afternoon. The cute little tennis balls are sporting yellow afros.

Yesterday afternoon the heater downstairs stopped working. I was worried that we had run out of oil and ordered a special delivery, but when Doug got home, he checked the oil and said we were fine. We changed the battery in the thermostat, pushed the reset button on the heater and checked all the fuse switches without incident. There was nothing left to do but schedule an appointment with the technician  and bundle up.

As I write, it is 54 degrees outside and 55 degrees inside. Luckily, upstairs, we have electric heating, which I am grateful for as I compose from my beddie. Brianna is stationed next to me wearing a faux fur-rimmed hat and working on her schoolwork. It is going to be an upstairs day.

Hopefully the technician will be able to quickly solve our problem since the family meteorologist, Tricia, called this morning to let me know that we were heading down to 27 degrees this weekend and have a 40% chance of sleet or snow.

I pulled up the Southern Lake County weather alerts for the following:

Freeze Watch for Southern Lake, FL

Temperature Map

Issued by The National Weather Service
Melbourne, FL
9:28 am EST, Fri., Jan. 8, 2010

... FREEZE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING... ... FREEZE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING... ... FREEZE WARNING IS CANCELLED...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE HAS ISSUED A FREEZE WATCH... WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING. THE FREEZE WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED. A FREEZE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING.

A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THROUGH CENTRAL FLORIDA THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING... WITH ANOTHER SURGE OF VERY COLD AIR PUSHING SOUTHWARD INTO THE REGION DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO DROP TO THE LOWER 30S NORTH OF THE INTERSTATE 4 CORRIDOR AROUND SUNRISE SATURDAY. IN ADDITION... STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS OF 10 TO 15 MPH WILL BRING WIND CHILLS IN THE 20S. CLEARING SKIES SATURDAY NIGHT WILL ALLOWING TEMPERATURES TO DROP INTO THE MID AND UPPER 20S FOR SEVERAL HOURS SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING.

missionary memoirs

We,  new FamilySearch missionaries,  have recently been counseled to write down some of our favorite missionary experiences.

 

Sister Jones is a family history consultant in Connecticut. I was working with her on the phone from 10-11pm. It is not unusual for me to work on the phones that late, but it is very unusual for the caller to be on the east coast. She had her patrons with her and as fast as I could give her information, she absorbed it and implemented it. I was so thrilled to be able help with this multi-faceted problem. I felt very blessed as the Spirit guided me in the way I should help. Here is part of the note I sent her the next day:

Dear Sister Jones,
I am the missionary that worked with you on the phone last night.  I was called in June and knew nothing about nFS so it has been an intense learning experience for me. I felt like everything I have learned came together last night…

Have a great day!
Sister Debbie Carter

And her beautiful response:

Wow Sister Carter you've only been on the job since June?  You are amazing.  I was wondering how I could let you know how much I learned last night and how much I appreciated your help. 
I love this work and have been using nFS almost since inception.  When I first used it, I could see the potential and was so excited.  I tried to explain to people the vision I could see.  I truly believe this program puts us on the precipice of the millennium.  Our obligation through covenants we've made, is to clean-up the existing files (correct information, confirm ordinances performed, combine duplicates, etc.) so they are ready to be presented in the Holy Temples.  This will allow our next generation to continue on without wasted time, energy, money, efforts, etc.  Doing duplicate work will become a thing of the past.  Accurate information will be easier to obtain and confirm.  Collaborative efforts will bring accurate and complete files. With each generation of this program I see the Lord's hand.  Oh I just love the work.

I truly believe I have the best calling within the Church.  I not only receive blessing for performing my calling, but I am so privileged to be able to see and receive blessings while working with others.  I could go on forever about the many blessings, miracles, and experiences I have witnessed and been part of while fulfilling my calling…

Thank you again for the wonderful lesson last night,

Kathleen Jones

hanging on to the holidays

Some years are easier to leap into than others. This one--not so easy for me. We are still staying up late and sleeping in,  and the house was fully decorated until Monday when I did at least have to get the tree down so that it could go out with the garbage.

The book club group came to breakfast Tuesday at 10:00 and stayed on until 2:00 playing games. We planned our reading schedule for the next six months, but it was mostly just fun and relaxing hanging out together.

But then Doug started talking to me about Stake Conference at the end of the month, youth conference in February and Sony Ericsson in March; and Tricia called about Carter’s baptism and spring break and Cherylyn is having her baby in April

and I just have to face it…the New Year is Here!

So today I put on some of my favorite music with the hope that I wouldn’t be toooo sad and began putting Christmas away.

My heart wasn’t in it though. About half way through, I gave up on the project. Maybe tomorrow…after some Eggnog (or actually RiceNog, which I discovered this year, and it is very yummy!)

Some bits aren’t coming down though.

Happy Valentines Day!

cool fun

 

It is really cold outside. In fact there is hardly any other news around here.

Megan did a photo shoot of Brianna.

I love these cute pictures!

 

 

happy new year