Once in a Lifetime

Tuesday, 1 March, we had our first day working in the family history centre.  Tuesday is one of the busiest days at the centre.  Saturday morning is the next busiest and is the reason that we start work at 6:30 am on that day.  Our first day went really well considering that most of those who came were French speaking - some spoke a smattering of English - but most only spoke French!  The Area offices are full of returned missionaries from all over the world; so, we asked two French speaking sisters to join us for the morning.  We opened at 9:00 am and from then until 11:30 am we were busier than a one-armed paper hanger.  One group came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and there were some from Madagascar.  We have fourteen computers with fourteen + chairs and all the chairs were full and all computers were occupied.  The floor was also full with fourteen children! It was heavenly chaos for those two+ hours ;)  We counted 43 people there at one time.  The patrons come in groups and stay at the patron housing for those attending the temple.  They usually stay for four days so they can get as much temple work done as possible.  I sat with a young couple from the Congo who were being sealed, along with their five children.  Through an interpreter, I learned that this would be their only opportunity to be able to attend the temple.  The couple had four absolutely beautiful children with them (their first baby died shortly after birth).  They were so happy to be getting sealed as a family for all eternity.  I helped them prepare a family group sheet that they took with them to the temple and then I helped them prepare five more names of ancestors that they could do ordinances for.   When I get back home, I plan to take better advantage of having a temple 15 minutes away by car.  Most of us do not have a clue of the sacrifices made by so many people so they can have a once-in-a-lifetime trip to attend a temple.

Back to our first day.....the next couple I helped were from Madagascar and they were being married and sealed for time and all eternity.  They were so cute and could not stop smiling!  They both needed a family group sheet to take to the temple; so, I helped them with that.  I then tried to help the young man find his great grandfather.  Unfortunately, we did not have any success.  I asked him if he had other relatives he could ask for the information.  He said, "yes".  I suggested he "pick their brains" and get all the information he could get while they were still alive.  He looked at me with a blank stare until I realized that he had no idea what I meant by "pick their brains"!!!!  I explained and he smiled and said he would talk to them ;)  This couple had a lot of family with them for the big event and there were hugs and congratulations all around.  When they came in the following day they were still all smiles!
As the week went on, each day was quieter than the day before; then came Saturday!  A bus full of people came and were lined up at the door at 6:30 am.  We spent a busy morning making sure everyone was helped.  Once again, we are finding that this family history mission is very different from the others we have served.

The picture is a little blurry but here are the three couples serving in the family history centre.  The couple on the left is Al's brother Brent and, wife Charlene.  The couple on the right are the Coleman's (Russ and Linda).  An interesting coincidence - all three couples have served missions in Ukraine!!





For those of you who are interested, here are a few pictures of our flat.  There are 23 couples in the apartment building called "Dukes Court".  We are literally across the street from a nice mall with two grocery stores in it.  The drive to work is about 8-10 minutes.

The "sun room/music room.  I just got this really nice Yamaha piano moved into the flat!

Looking out our front door.  Very secure building and flats.  This gate locks twice.

Looking from the outside in.....

Living room.....

Our "wee" recliners.....

Looking from living room into the dining area.....

Looking from front door into flat.....

Our dining area.....

The kitchen!  The matching dryer is under the closest counter and the fridge and two pantries are across from the washer.

Another angle into the living room.....

The shower .....

Other side of bathroom!

Didn't get any pictures of the bedroom but it is very large and has a king-size bed and lots of storage.

As you can see, we are not suffering in our accomodations ;)  We are very happy here and are fortunate that it is so well stocked!  I have three (yes, three) artificial Christmas trees!!!!