missionary memoirs

Sister McClure is the mission leader for our group called Carolina Contacts. I was assigned to her group when I finished my classes to become an online support missionary for new FamilySearch. The group size fluctuates but there are normally about a dozen of us.

Sister McClure helps each one of us feel valuable. She  kindly and gently trains us so that we can better serve our patrons. In  difficult situations  she has been my champion, and I have seen her do the same for others in our group. She has been a wonderful source of encouragement to all of us.

I have really wanted to actually meet her. Today it was my blessing to do so.

We met up at a pretty little chapel in Columbia, not far from the temple.  I think she is a very interesting woman. For example, as we chatted, she told me about a couple of projects that she has been involved with lately. One of them is an indexing project. It was previously believed that before 1870 there were few, if any records regarding the slave population in the south. Recently, however, records have been found in many plantations with census information and soon this information, for approximately 30,000 individuals, will be available online. She also shared some articles that she has been writing about genealogical resources. There are many reasons that she is an inspiration to all of us, but it is her kind heart that draws us in.

We  prayed together, and then, I continued on my way. It was a great experience that I enjoyed thinking about all during my journey home and will remember with fondness.