FountaineReport

Hi Sister Westra,

I really enjoy my part in the Family History program. I have three callings that work very well together: Ward Sunday School Teacher (genealogy) at our Tri-Stake Center which is in our ward; Tri-Stake Consultant on Wednesday evening; and Stake Indexing Leader. I have made appointments to speak in sacrament meetings in each of the wards in our stake (I have two to go) where I present the importance of family research work and completing our loved ones temple work. Then I explain the wonderful blessing that indexing has been and is to my research and those I help. My husband passes out cards after the meeting for me that has my phone numbers and email address. I ask anyone that is interested in helping with the indexing to call me or send me an email. So far we have just under 30 people participating in our stake in the indexing program. I love the indexing program and the simplicity of it. It just keeps getting better!

When the indexing came along, it was wonderful because then I could find people who were interested and sign them up. We have been doing indexing for two going on three months and have indexed and arbitrated over 40,000 names.

The new program of helping people in their homes is slowly starting in my ward. They called someone who is teaching a temple ready class right now. The nice thing is that we are in the building that houses a tri-stake library. I teach a class each Sunday by getting each person on a computer searching and building a PAF file. We have cleared hundreds of names for temple work for members age 18 to 80.

As the members find people on the internet, they sit there and just cry. One sister had searched for over 20 years for her family with no success. She is a convert from England. With the new indexed census records, marriage records, death records and birth records she is back several generations. We are preparing her work to submit to the temple now.

Another convert brings back the thrilling experience of feeling his father with him through the entire session and actually hearing him express his gratitude and encourage him to keep looking for his other family members.

Jeff is going on a mission soon and came in to search for one line that had previously been hard to find. Through the marvelous indexing of records, he was able to find and join this line to his other lines. His family is thrilled to be doing the temple work.