My sister, Jo, and I apparently look quite a bit alike. Neither of us agree but others seem to think so. Often I have called Jo to tell her that I am having an identity crisis. The usual mistaken identity experience goes something like this: someone approaches me and starts to talk. I smile and listen. It doesn't take long to realize that they think I am my sister. They are talking about things I have no knowledge of like her business or baseball or Kiwanis. Then I quickly decide whether to say, "Oh, you must think I'm my sister," or to just go along with what they are saying and try to respond appropriately.
The thing is I am much taller than my sister. People never stop her in WalMart and ask her to reach something on the top shelf for them. She has nice teeth, perfect sized feet, a nice figure, etc. The only thing we have in common is dark hair. And perhaps a bit of genetics.... But she takes after our father's side of the family and I have been told that I look very much like my mother's Grandmother Erickson. So how could anyone think we look a like?
When we got to SLC and began to meet our neighbors and other missionaries we heard people saying often, "You look just like Sister Peterson." It happened over and over. A couple of ladies even called me Sister Peterson. One day while we were stopped on the sidewalk chatting with some new friends, one of the young missionaries that serves here came running up with an excited look on his face. When he got close enough to say something his expression changed; he looked a bit confused. And then the confusion changed to disappointment and embarrassment. I felt like an impostor and so sorry to have unintentionally deceived him.
Another day a woman walked up to me at a mission meeting and said, "I see you made it back!" I didn't have any idea what she was talking about....back? from where? I told her I was taking it one day at a time, thinking she was a trainer and wondered if it was too much for me and she thought I wouldn't return. Later I thought about it again and realized she must have thought I was Sister Peterson, too.
Sister Peterson and her husband were serving in our mission some time before we got here. Their daughter began having problems with her pregnancy and needed someone to help with her other children so Sister Peterson took a leave of absence. Her husband continues to be our mission photographer and is seen around the campus when new missionaries arrive. I ran into him in a hallway one day and asked about his wife....and told him that there had been a bit of confusion regarding our looking somewhat alike. He smiled and said, yes, there were some similarities, but no, we didn't look so much alike to him.
Now when someone says I look just like Sister Peterson I tell them that her husband doesn't think so.... One woman agreed that he knew best and she guessed I didn't really look like her. She turned to leave and then turned back and said, "What do men know? You DO look like her!"
So for the time being, I have MPD (multiple personality disorder) and I am looking forward to meeting Sister Peterson soon. I wonder if she looks anything like my sister, Jo?!
Elder & Sister Thomas aka Grampa & Annie
Smiles All Around!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Going Forward
When we arrived in SLC on Thursday, June 2nd, I thought we might look like the Beverly Hillbillies coming to town. If we had been coming from North Carolina or Maine or England like our new neighbor, we would have brought only what we could fit in a suitcase. But, since we live only two and a half hours north of here and we have a pick up we kept adding to our stack...First, all of our family history boxes (well, I had boxes, Larry had a book of remembrance and a folder). Then bedding, some food storage, clothes, a couple of appliances that would cost a bit to buy new, etc. The more we brought the less we would have to buy to get started in our new apartment. Larry was going to put a rocking chair on top and put me into it long before we got done adding to the pile.
So we arrived, moved in and started life as missionaries in the Family and Church History Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
There were about 35 in the group coming in with us the first of June. Because the training zone is running at half-staff (lack of missionaries) they divided our group into two segments. Our portion received our zone assignments immediately and we followed Elder and Sister Harwood over to the Family History Library to tour our new area.
The other half of the group headed into two weeks of intense training in genealogy methods and sources. At the end of their training we all had what they call a "Go Forth" day. On this day, usually, the new group gets their zone assignments, we all go to the temple and eat dinner together and then go forth wherever they have sent us.
Because we were assigned first we had two weeks of training in our zone and then went to the other training classes. We were hoping that we wouldn't forget all that we had already learned....age shrinks your capability to recall as much I am afraid. Maybe recalling things learned is just slower after 50. At any rate, it is not as easy to learn, remember, recall, perform, learn more, etc...
After our genealogy training we really were ready to "go forth" and we needed a large amount of faith that we could remember and do what was needed. We are assigned to the Digital Preservation Zone. Interesting enough our zone leader, Elder Harwood, was born and raised in Grace, Idaho, too. We know some people in common but he is a bit older than Larry.
The only thing I remember from that first tour of the zone was that we went from one area to another by way of back elevators and hallways I never dreamed existed after my few trips to the FHL. On B1 clear in the back between some rolling shelving and a wall were three copibook scanners set up on two long tables. There were two people intent on their work, one of which was Sister Escabado, who has become a favorite friend. The lighting was dim...very dim....almost dark because of the machines. And, they said, this is where you are going to be working. I looked at that small dungeon-like cubby hole and thought, "I am going to need all the faith I have to spend the next two years here..."
We began to learn that day. And it was so interesting that by the end of that day I was hooked. By the end of the next day I had caught the spirit of the goals of our zone: to make all of the books accessible on-line for anyone who wanted to search through them. For free. What a huge undertaking!
We've learned how to scan using the copibook machines and the form feeders and how to audit the books that have been scanned looking for mistakes like bent pages, missing pages and misfed pages. When they are fixed we put the scans into a file that goes to Orem. I'm not sure what Orem does but basically they make the pages nice and neat and get them ready to go on-line.
So we work with books. Those who know me know how much I love books. I love the smell of books, the feel of the pages, the look of the type. I love the covers, the bindings, the words... The only thing I don't like is that we go through each book so quickly we don't get to read them!
And what about Elder Thomas (aka Larry) you ask? Do you know how much he likes to work in an office? Almost as much as he loves to work in tractors. One of his favorite places to shop is the office supply stores. He loves pens and pencils. He loves putting things in order. He likes to work on computers after he learns how. And he likes being needed, appreciated, and feeling like he is accomplishing something.
We are truly having the time of our lives.
Remind me to tell you about how I caught the vision of what we are doing on the second day of our "going forth with faith."
So we arrived, moved in and started life as missionaries in the Family and Church History Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
There were about 35 in the group coming in with us the first of June. Because the training zone is running at half-staff (lack of missionaries) they divided our group into two segments. Our portion received our zone assignments immediately and we followed Elder and Sister Harwood over to the Family History Library to tour our new area.
The other half of the group headed into two weeks of intense training in genealogy methods and sources. At the end of their training we all had what they call a "Go Forth" day. On this day, usually, the new group gets their zone assignments, we all go to the temple and eat dinner together and then go forth wherever they have sent us.
Because we were assigned first we had two weeks of training in our zone and then went to the other training classes. We were hoping that we wouldn't forget all that we had already learned....age shrinks your capability to recall as much I am afraid. Maybe recalling things learned is just slower after 50. At any rate, it is not as easy to learn, remember, recall, perform, learn more, etc...
After our genealogy training we really were ready to "go forth" and we needed a large amount of faith that we could remember and do what was needed. We are assigned to the Digital Preservation Zone. Interesting enough our zone leader, Elder Harwood, was born and raised in Grace, Idaho, too. We know some people in common but he is a bit older than Larry.
The only thing I remember from that first tour of the zone was that we went from one area to another by way of back elevators and hallways I never dreamed existed after my few trips to the FHL. On B1 clear in the back between some rolling shelving and a wall were three copibook scanners set up on two long tables. There were two people intent on their work, one of which was Sister Escabado, who has become a favorite friend. The lighting was dim...very dim....almost dark because of the machines. And, they said, this is where you are going to be working. I looked at that small dungeon-like cubby hole and thought, "I am going to need all the faith I have to spend the next two years here..."
We began to learn that day. And it was so interesting that by the end of that day I was hooked. By the end of the next day I had caught the spirit of the goals of our zone: to make all of the books accessible on-line for anyone who wanted to search through them. For free. What a huge undertaking!
We've learned how to scan using the copibook machines and the form feeders and how to audit the books that have been scanned looking for mistakes like bent pages, missing pages and misfed pages. When they are fixed we put the scans into a file that goes to Orem. I'm not sure what Orem does but basically they make the pages nice and neat and get them ready to go on-line.
So we work with books. Those who know me know how much I love books. I love the smell of books, the feel of the pages, the look of the type. I love the covers, the bindings, the words... The only thing I don't like is that we go through each book so quickly we don't get to read them!
And what about Elder Thomas (aka Larry) you ask? Do you know how much he likes to work in an office? Almost as much as he loves to work in tractors. One of his favorite places to shop is the office supply stores. He loves pens and pencils. He loves putting things in order. He likes to work on computers after he learns how. And he likes being needed, appreciated, and feeling like he is accomplishing something.
We are truly having the time of our lives.
Remind me to tell you about how I caught the vision of what we are doing on the second day of our "going forth with faith."
Sunday, July 3, 2011
JUST BEGINNING
Last October during the general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints of which we are members, our prophet, President Thomas S Monson, put forth a call for more senior missionaries. When we moved back to Idaho from Alaska we had fully intended to go on a mission but life just seemed to take over and our mission plans got put on a back burner. Larry and I were remodeling the house we had purchased from the Young family. Larry went to work on a local farm and once he got back in a tractor I thought he would never leave again. I had gotten involved in working in the Family History Center; quilting on Tuesdays with a group of women; going to our new book club once a month and spending time reading the monthly choices; and other wonderful activities. However, once President Monson put out the call for more senior missionaries we knew it was time to start planning to go. We decided we would work hard to get enough money into our bank account to cover our expenses for 18 months to 2 years and made a goal to have our papers turned in by October of 2011. We were talking to our daughter, Robyn, soon after our decision. She was excited for us but wondered why not start immediately. We explained our plan and our need for money to pay our way.
Soon after we had made our decision and come up with the plan we told our Bishop who quickly led us into his office, got us a password to access our online mission forms and had us filling them out that evening! That wasn't in the plan! Before we knew it we were going through our medical, dental, and vision exams; writing out our physical life history as well as our church and service history; checking boxes about what we did well and what we didn't know at all; and meeting with the bishop and stake president in our area for interviews. The speed with which all of the above happened probably seemed slow to our friends and family but to us, as we watched our bank account fluctuate as usual, the time went by way too fast.
The miracle of our entering the mission field so much sooner than planned nearly took our breath away. Our children began to offer to make donations to our mission. Our paychecks seemed to grow; our expenses seemed to shrink and the difference began to show in our check ledger. Even when it was time to go, there wasn't enough but when I went to balance the checkbook after we got here it seemed that there was enough and more.
It is in the high 90's at almost 10pm. Larry is out on the deck and has turned off the air conditioning so I am going to have to go join him. I will explain our title: GO FORTH with FAITH in my next post....
Since this whole blogging thing is new to me, I guess I can only hope that I can push the right button and get this onto the internet.
Here goes....
Soon after we had made our decision and come up with the plan we told our Bishop who quickly led us into his office, got us a password to access our online mission forms and had us filling them out that evening! That wasn't in the plan! Before we knew it we were going through our medical, dental, and vision exams; writing out our physical life history as well as our church and service history; checking boxes about what we did well and what we didn't know at all; and meeting with the bishop and stake president in our area for interviews. The speed with which all of the above happened probably seemed slow to our friends and family but to us, as we watched our bank account fluctuate as usual, the time went by way too fast.
The miracle of our entering the mission field so much sooner than planned nearly took our breath away. Our children began to offer to make donations to our mission. Our paychecks seemed to grow; our expenses seemed to shrink and the difference began to show in our check ledger. Even when it was time to go, there wasn't enough but when I went to balance the checkbook after we got here it seemed that there was enough and more.
It is in the high 90's at almost 10pm. Larry is out on the deck and has turned off the air conditioning so I am going to have to go join him. I will explain our title: GO FORTH with FAITH in my next post....
Since this whole blogging thing is new to me, I guess I can only hope that I can push the right button and get this onto the internet.
Here goes....
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