Open Chapel is a program we created as a way to interact with community members here in New Zealand where we didn't know anyone.
Everyone loves family. Open Chapel is here to help them find their families, living or dead.
We learned skills along these lines when we were missionaries in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. They include both research skills and familiarity with various kinds of records. We also have skills pertaining to recording what they find.
Every day we open the doors of the chapel from 10am to noon and invite in anyone who would like to come discover their ancestors. We get them to write down what they already know, then send them off to look up other information and to talk to family members.
Many members of the ward have stepped up to help and so we have been able to give one-on-one attention most of the time. And that is really important for beginners!
A great number of those who have come are Maori. They have their whakapapa at home or someone in the family does or they have memorized it. There are helps online for them and ways to help them, and we're learning right along with them. Fortunately several of our helpers are also Maori.
We are working in conjunction with the local library and genealogical associations.
The church has published a small booklet called My Family. It is this we use to record their first several generations as they work backward in time. There is space for photos and stories and makes a nice keepsake. These booklets are free from the church. And there is an online facsimile at familysearch.org that anyone can use. Unfortunately we don't have enough. We have several thousand on order.
In the church, we believe that families are an essential part of who we are. By finding families, including lost or forgotten members, and recording not only their information but stories and photos, we are helping turn the hearts of the children to their forefathers and vice versa.
For more information see The Family: A Proclamation to the World.
We love families! This is a natural work for us. And we are building community here in a place where we knew no one. It's a joy to come here to the chapel each day. The biggest challenge we have is being in four towns, widely separated, to get this program off the ground!
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Sunday, July 12, 2009
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Friday, July 3, 2009
Ten years...
Ten years ago this evening, Nana died.
My thoughts are often about her. Among the questions I have is whether I did all I could for her.
She moved to Tucson in July 1985, leaving behind friends who revered her, and a house full of all sorts of things that had accumulated over 31 years, and all sorts of other things that had been crammed into it when they first moved there when I was 11.
So she arrived to join us in Tucson in Summer 1985 with a moving truck full, the subset of possessions with which she filled her new condo.
She immediately took up grandmothering, driving kids to school, serving in its little library, eating supper with us, taking the kids to the pool where she lived.
She had 3 1/2 good years, and then she got sick. Surgery left her blind. Her driving, reading, and knitting days all came to an end at once. She was in and out of facilities - PT, nursing home, group home - and then came to roost at a good group home not far from our house. And it was there she died.
I could recount the circumstances, but it wouldn't make any difference. She did die. I didn't expect it, since she had been about to die so many times before. And this time, instead of falling on her head, or losing a function during surgery, or going into insulin shock, or having a stroke, she got pneumonia and faded away.
She always had said that pneumonia was the best friend of the elderly. All four of her grandparents had died of it, all around age 50, all around 1900. And she was far more elderly than they.
It may have been her friend, too. I don't know. I just miss her.
By now, 10 years later, she would have been almost 98, and would certainly be gone. So I would be missing her anyway. But it still doesn't seem right that she faded away when she did.
But what is a librarian without books? Maybe the time had come.
But, Mother, I still miss you. Love, RM
My thoughts are often about her. Among the questions I have is whether I did all I could for her.
She moved to Tucson in July 1985, leaving behind friends who revered her, and a house full of all sorts of things that had accumulated over 31 years, and all sorts of other things that had been crammed into it when they first moved there when I was 11.
So she arrived to join us in Tucson in Summer 1985 with a moving truck full, the subset of possessions with which she filled her new condo.
She immediately took up grandmothering, driving kids to school, serving in its little library, eating supper with us, taking the kids to the pool where she lived.
She had 3 1/2 good years, and then she got sick. Surgery left her blind. Her driving, reading, and knitting days all came to an end at once. She was in and out of facilities - PT, nursing home, group home - and then came to roost at a good group home not far from our house. And it was there she died.
I could recount the circumstances, but it wouldn't make any difference. She did die. I didn't expect it, since she had been about to die so many times before. And this time, instead of falling on her head, or losing a function during surgery, or going into insulin shock, or having a stroke, she got pneumonia and faded away.
She always had said that pneumonia was the best friend of the elderly. All four of her grandparents had died of it, all around age 50, all around 1900. And she was far more elderly than they.
It may have been her friend, too. I don't know. I just miss her.
By now, 10 years later, she would have been almost 98, and would certainly be gone. So I would be missing her anyway. But it still doesn't seem right that she faded away when she did.
But what is a librarian without books? Maybe the time had come.
But, Mother, I still miss you. Love, RM
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Not enough!
Twelve months here is not going to be enough. So we have extended for another 6.
But 6 more won't do it either: we are fulfilled in what we are doing, with people we know, with being near family and walking distance to the temple and the choir and beautiful gardens.
We really need to stay forever.
But on the other hand, we need to get back to Anacortes and plant our garden and write our books. And see our friends and the ocean and enjoy cold summers.
So we have a plan: 6 months here, 6 months there. And that means buying a house here. And we've started looking.
We can't be full-time missionaries on such a schedule, but we can be Church Service Missionaries, and that can be essentially the same thing but with more freedom.
In fact, there may not turn out to be anything magic about 6 and 6. We'd have to learn by doing.
Which we intend to do. :)
But 6 more won't do it either: we are fulfilled in what we are doing, with people we know, with being near family and walking distance to the temple and the choir and beautiful gardens.
We really need to stay forever.
But on the other hand, we need to get back to Anacortes and plant our garden and write our books. And see our friends and the ocean and enjoy cold summers.
So we have a plan: 6 months here, 6 months there. And that means buying a house here. And we've started looking.
We can't be full-time missionaries on such a schedule, but we can be Church Service Missionaries, and that can be essentially the same thing but with more freedom.
In fact, there may not turn out to be anything magic about 6 and 6. We'd have to learn by doing.
Which we intend to do. :)
Monday, June 15, 2009
Integration
We have been on our mission for 7 1/2 months. Each month has led us to new understandings and confidence. The pieces have been collecting. And now we are beginning to experience integration.
One of the beauties of turning 50, I recall, is the feeling that things were beginning to make sense. The parts were starting to add up to a whole. This new mindset resulted in peace as well as a certain headiness around the idea that life could be grasped.
Becoming 60 was like turning a shallow corner. The changes were not abrupt, and the realities of the sixties could be seen from well back in the 50s. The biggest augmentation of 50s life was in realizing we could take control of our affairs when retirement finally became our reality. We figured it would happen when JSL was 67 or 68, but times changed and we were fully retired right after his 66th birthday.
Retirement meant being able to make more choices about our life, such as where in the world to visit, where to settle, when to serve a mission.
The mission came upon us sooner because retirement was sooner. We had been thinking about our mission for years, but by January 2008 we knew we wanted to go to Salt Lake for a family-history mission. One reason was because the economy appeared to be tumbling and house prices were falling, which meant, we felt, that we needed to stay close to home so we could take care of our affairs.
So the events of our 60s started coming at high speed, and we embraced them.
Now, after 7 months of full-time mission life, we find ourselves molding the pieces of our lives - the ones we began to discover as part of a whole more than a decade ago - into just the life we want. Here's where we are today with this creating:
We want to continue to serve in the Family History Library indefinitely. We extended our full-time call until April 30, 2010. But that will hardly be enough.
We could stay here forever - till the end - but we have other work to do. We have books to write, and places to visit, and gardens to plant.
So how to bring it all about...?
By living half a year in Anacortes and half a year in Salt Lake. By having a garden in Anacortes. By living in Anacortes from mid-May to mid-November, or June 1 to November 1, or something like that. By writing books in Anacortes. By indulging widely in the outdoors life. And then by coming back to Salt Lake, serving in the library many days a week, visiting children and grandchildren, enjoying conference and the Choir and evening concerts. And in between by traveling.
It's a beautiful vision to me. I see our moving forward in this dynamic setting for at least another decade.
There is such a balance to this plan! I see a small house in each location. The Anacortes one would have room for a garden, a little greenhouse, and visitors. It would have a view of the sea. The Salt Lake one would be a short bus-ride or walk from Temple Square and would be cozy and have good workspace.
We would write the books we have lined up and continue to be physically active as well as deeply engaged in understanding our kindred dead and helping others to do the same.
This is what the 60s is all about: not only understanding the parts but molding them into a meaningful and dynamic whole.
This understanding is causing a great swell of passion, excitement, rightness, and goodness within us. We will create it, and do it. Amen.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Love Month Q&A - answers to a quiz
I stole this from a wonderful family member who wrote it on Feb 10, 2009 (2 days ago)
Valentine 25 (stolen from my sister)
Now here are my answers:
♥ How long have you been together? A bit over 45 years.
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? Not a moment! It was a blind date...
♥ Who asked who out? Another couple asked each of us out... I mean, Mary asked me and Phil asked him and then we all went together for the blind date. And Bob and Carol came, too.
♥ How old are each of you? I'm 65, he's 67.
♥ Whose siblings do/ did you see the most? About the same. It takes a cross-country trip to see them, and then we do them all at once, his sister and my brother and sister. In that order.
♥ Do you have any children together? Six. And 27 grandchildren.
♥ What about pets? We have a few grandpets and that is enough.
♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Nothing. We're having a wonderful time doing and teaching family history research and enjoying all the benefits of being on a mission.
♥ Did you ever go to the same school? Never once. But while he was teaching at the University of Arizona, I was a grad student there in a very different department.
♥ Are you from the same home town? No, but we think our paths probably crossed.
♥ Who is the smartest? Depends on who you ask! And the answer is him. In fact, I used to be pretty smart until I married him...
♥ Who is the most sensitive? Definitely me. But deep down he is a bucket of sensitivity.
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Nowhere. But if we were still in Tucson it would be Mariscos Chihuahua. Now we just love to eat at our sons' houses.
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Hainan, China, in the South China Sea, probably, unless it's some other place in China. Definitely China. But I wish it was to Mars (and back).
♥ Who has the craziest exes? He doesn't have exes.
♥ Who has the worst temper? Oh, me, definitely. He doesn't have one.
♥ Who does the cooking? He is the prep chef and I am the real chef. We always cook together now.
♥ Who is more social? We're both show-offs in our own settings. He impresses, I .... I use a lot of energy connecting with people, strangers and co-workers and friends. But we're also both reclusive at times.
♥ Who is the neat freak? That would not be me!
♥ Who is the more stubborn? Shockingly, he is. He doesn't really yield.
♥ Who hogs the bed? We do. We like to live in places that are cold at night so we can keep each other warm.
♥ Who wakes up earlier? Right now the alarm wakes up first. And I have always been a morning person, but now it's a matter of just hoping the night is over when I wake up at 3:30 - and then having the smarts to go back to sleep.
♥ Where was your first date? A Dartmouth College football game weekend.
♥ Who has the bigger family? We both come from teensy families - he has one sister, I have one of each.
♥ Do you get flowers often? He likes to give them, but I don't like to get them. I like electronics.
♥ Who is more jealous? Mostly we're not jealous anymore, but this one lady in the library really annoys me...
♥ How long did it take to get serious? It took him a brief moment, and took me a long time - about 4 months.
♥ Who eats more? Him at meals and me total.
♥ Who does/ did the laundry? He does. Except I put away my clothes, mostly.
♥ Who’s better with the computer? I am. I have an intimate relationship with them, while he's a bit of an outsider. I know what they're thinking, and he's just mad that they're thinking it.
♥ Who drives when you are together? Me unless we're pulling the trailer, then him.
Now don't forget to share! YOUR TURN!!!!
Valentine 25 (stolen from my sister)
Now here are my answers:
♥ How long have you been together? A bit over 45 years.
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? Not a moment! It was a blind date...
♥ Who asked who out? Another couple asked each of us out... I mean, Mary asked me and Phil asked him and then we all went together for the blind date. And Bob and Carol came, too.
♥ How old are each of you? I'm 65, he's 67.
♥ Whose siblings do/ did you see the most? About the same. It takes a cross-country trip to see them, and then we do them all at once, his sister and my brother and sister. In that order.
♥ Do you have any children together? Six. And 27 grandchildren.
♥ What about pets? We have a few grandpets and that is enough.
♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Nothing. We're having a wonderful time doing and teaching family history research and enjoying all the benefits of being on a mission.
♥ Did you ever go to the same school? Never once. But while he was teaching at the University of Arizona, I was a grad student there in a very different department.
♥ Are you from the same home town? No, but we think our paths probably crossed.
♥ Who is the smartest? Depends on who you ask! And the answer is him. In fact, I used to be pretty smart until I married him...
♥ Who is the most sensitive? Definitely me. But deep down he is a bucket of sensitivity.
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Nowhere. But if we were still in Tucson it would be Mariscos Chihuahua. Now we just love to eat at our sons' houses.
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Hainan, China, in the South China Sea, probably, unless it's some other place in China. Definitely China. But I wish it was to Mars (and back).
♥ Who has the craziest exes? He doesn't have exes.
♥ Who has the worst temper? Oh, me, definitely. He doesn't have one.
♥ Who does the cooking? He is the prep chef and I am the real chef. We always cook together now.
♥ Who is more social? We're both show-offs in our own settings. He impresses, I .... I use a lot of energy connecting with people, strangers and co-workers and friends. But we're also both reclusive at times.
♥ Who is the neat freak? That would not be me!
♥ Who is the more stubborn? Shockingly, he is. He doesn't really yield.
♥ Who hogs the bed? We do. We like to live in places that are cold at night so we can keep each other warm.
♥ Who wakes up earlier? Right now the alarm wakes up first. And I have always been a morning person, but now it's a matter of just hoping the night is over when I wake up at 3:30 - and then having the smarts to go back to sleep.
♥ Where was your first date? A Dartmouth College football game weekend.
♥ Who has the bigger family? We both come from teensy families - he has one sister, I have one of each.
♥ Do you get flowers often? He likes to give them, but I don't like to get them. I like electronics.
♥ Who is more jealous? Mostly we're not jealous anymore, but this one lady in the library really annoys me...
♥ How long did it take to get serious? It took him a brief moment, and took me a long time - about 4 months.
♥ Who eats more? Him at meals and me total.
♥ Who does/ did the laundry? He does. Except I put away my clothes, mostly.
♥ Who’s better with the computer? I am. I have an intimate relationship with them, while he's a bit of an outsider. I know what they're thinking, and he's just mad that they're thinking it.
♥ Who drives when you are together? Me unless we're pulling the trailer, then him.
Now don't forget to share! YOUR TURN!!!!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Training is over...
We have just completed our two weeks of intensive training in the Family and Church History Mission department. It was amazing!
The 34 or so of us met in 4 labs on the third floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The labs were filled with computers, and we met each day, all day long, with a trainer apiece. Each trainee and trainer shared a computer. A written manual guided the way. The trainer pointed at the screen with a soft-tipped stick. Following instructions, the trainee learned all the tricks of using PAF, Family Search, New Family Search, and Ancestry.com.
Some of us had more experience than others. Because we each had our own trainer, though, we were able to go at our own pace.
I have had a lot of experience with computers, some with the various programs - and absolutely no discipline in sourcing the results of my research. That was my biggest lesson: how to source effectively. I now have census record and World War 1 draft card images attached to the people they refer to. It is very satisfying!
One surprise is that we are using PAF (Personal Ancestral File, a free download at http://familysearch.org/) as the main location for all our records. It's easy to create sources in PAF, and an enormous family can fit all its records, including images and photos, on a memory stick. No internet connection is needed, then, to add a fact or a new photo. PAF is easy to use, and I've enjoyed getting to know it again.
Our days consisted of intense instruction, practice, snack breaks, an hour for lunch, more of the same in the afternoon, and trips at times to the Family History Library. The FHL is about 300 steps from our apartment, so it's easy to drop in there and take a look at christening records made nearly 500 years ago that have been preserved on microfilm.
But now training is over. On Friday we had our 'Go Forth' day, a beautiful event filled with inspiring talks, announcement of our assignments, and a trip to the Temple with everyone in our Training Zone.
The Family and Church History Mission is made up of 28 zones, so after training we are assigned to one where we will spend 6 months to a year, or possibly more. Some zones work on the technical side, such as digitizing or repairing books, or entering data. Others are there to help patrons visiting the FHL to find what they're looking for. John and I were assigned to the International Reference zone.
In International Reference, we help people looking for ancestors from countries other than the US, Canada, or the British Isles, which have their own zones (and their own floors of the FHL). International has its own floor, and covers every other part of the world. Some of the patrons are English-speaking, but a large number are not. We need to be able to communicate the basics in foreign languages on a regular basis. Both John and I have studied several languages, so maybe that's why we received this calling. It sounds really exciting, and of course more than a bit challenging!
We have our first meeting in the zone on Monday, when we begin more training and have a new manual to absorb, specific to that zone. I am really excited to learn more about what we'll be doing.
These are all the details of our life, but the bigger work is about finding and linking to our kindred dead. All our training was focused on our own family histories. Our hearts are fully engaged with these loved ones from the past, most of whom we don't know and haven't even heard of. We have had many touching successes during our training period. I will write about these elsewhere.
I have learned so much these past two weeks! We feel it a true blessing to be able to be here at this time. Living on Temple Square is a wonderful experience: we are able to walk to work, and come home for lunch. We have new friends. One son lives 5 minutes away by car, another less than half an hour away. We have friends in the Provo area and also just north of SLC whom we are able to visit. Senior missionaries have a lot of latitude in their after-hours activities, and can travel a radius of 60 miles. We have a small apartment, sufficient for our needs, at a very reasonable price. We walk over to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearsals and performances each Sunday morning, and to church at the old and lovely Salt Lake City Stake building half a block away. It is a lovely life. No gardens, of course, and no long trips. But it suits us very well.
And since we can't come to you, why don't you come to us? Or better yet, come be part of this mission? (They need you - they are short 125 missionaries and have projects on hold for lack of faithful servants.)
The 34 or so of us met in 4 labs on the third floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The labs were filled with computers, and we met each day, all day long, with a trainer apiece. Each trainee and trainer shared a computer. A written manual guided the way. The trainer pointed at the screen with a soft-tipped stick. Following instructions, the trainee learned all the tricks of using PAF, Family Search, New Family Search, and Ancestry.com.
Some of us had more experience than others. Because we each had our own trainer, though, we were able to go at our own pace.
I have had a lot of experience with computers, some with the various programs - and absolutely no discipline in sourcing the results of my research. That was my biggest lesson: how to source effectively. I now have census record and World War 1 draft card images attached to the people they refer to. It is very satisfying!
One surprise is that we are using PAF (Personal Ancestral File, a free download at http://familysearch.org/) as the main location for all our records. It's easy to create sources in PAF, and an enormous family can fit all its records, including images and photos, on a memory stick. No internet connection is needed, then, to add a fact or a new photo. PAF is easy to use, and I've enjoyed getting to know it again.
Our days consisted of intense instruction, practice, snack breaks, an hour for lunch, more of the same in the afternoon, and trips at times to the Family History Library. The FHL is about 300 steps from our apartment, so it's easy to drop in there and take a look at christening records made nearly 500 years ago that have been preserved on microfilm.
But now training is over. On Friday we had our 'Go Forth' day, a beautiful event filled with inspiring talks, announcement of our assignments, and a trip to the Temple with everyone in our Training Zone.
The Family and Church History Mission is made up of 28 zones, so after training we are assigned to one where we will spend 6 months to a year, or possibly more. Some zones work on the technical side, such as digitizing or repairing books, or entering data. Others are there to help patrons visiting the FHL to find what they're looking for. John and I were assigned to the International Reference zone.
In International Reference, we help people looking for ancestors from countries other than the US, Canada, or the British Isles, which have their own zones (and their own floors of the FHL). International has its own floor, and covers every other part of the world. Some of the patrons are English-speaking, but a large number are not. We need to be able to communicate the basics in foreign languages on a regular basis. Both John and I have studied several languages, so maybe that's why we received this calling. It sounds really exciting, and of course more than a bit challenging!
We have our first meeting in the zone on Monday, when we begin more training and have a new manual to absorb, specific to that zone. I am really excited to learn more about what we'll be doing.
These are all the details of our life, but the bigger work is about finding and linking to our kindred dead. All our training was focused on our own family histories. Our hearts are fully engaged with these loved ones from the past, most of whom we don't know and haven't even heard of. We have had many touching successes during our training period. I will write about these elsewhere.
I have learned so much these past two weeks! We feel it a true blessing to be able to be here at this time. Living on Temple Square is a wonderful experience: we are able to walk to work, and come home for lunch. We have new friends. One son lives 5 minutes away by car, another less than half an hour away. We have friends in the Provo area and also just north of SLC whom we are able to visit. Senior missionaries have a lot of latitude in their after-hours activities, and can travel a radius of 60 miles. We have a small apartment, sufficient for our needs, at a very reasonable price. We walk over to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearsals and performances each Sunday morning, and to church at the old and lovely Salt Lake City Stake building half a block away. It is a lovely life. No gardens, of course, and no long trips. But it suits us very well.
And since we can't come to you, why don't you come to us? Or better yet, come be part of this mission? (They need you - they are short 125 missionaries and have projects on hold for lack of faithful servants.)
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Visits
Last week I enjoyed reconnecting with many wonderful friends and family members, and also met some new cousins. Here's the way it happened:
Friday. Left the house at 7:45 am, took the shuttle to SEA-TAC, flew to JFK, flew to Hartford, took the shuttle to La Quinta for a good night's sleep.
Saturday. Took the shuttle to Enterprise to pick up my car. Sat in the car and downloaded GoogleMaps to my Blackberry. Discovered I had GPS. Entered Aunt Dot's address and got directions. Spent an hour trying to follow them. Ended up driving through scary parts of Hartford. Got to Dot's latish (1 pm). Took her to lunch in Farmington, got back around 3 PM, had a message from Cousin Paul Strauss that he'd love us to come to Cheshire to see him and family. We did that. Had a great visit with our Chinese cousins Hailey (7) and Kira (2 1/2). Took photos, will post. Had good conversations w/ Paul and his wife Mary. Drove home, dropped Dot off, and drove to Natick, again going through Hartford to get to I-84. I got to the Daniels' about 10:40 pm. Long day! They had gone to bed, since I was again running late.
Sunday. Woke up in time for church, we headed out in two cars: Peter in one, me and Val in the other, so Peter could come home after the first meeting. Met Danny Ainge, the bishop. Enjoyed great talks. One was my a sportscaster from a local network news program but I don't remember his name. Then I met some friends from years past: Mary Anne Foley and Jane Nebeker Murphy. It was like meeting life-long friends, though it's been 27 years. I found out during Sunday School that my Blackberry could access the scriptures online at lds.org, so I was able to enjoy the lesson. I found out in Relief Society that I don't know many people there at Weston Ward. And I found out afterwards that Jane had divorced Bernie Murphy after a 9 year separtion. Their 3 kids are grown... And while I was waiting to sing in the choir just for the fun of it and because Val was staying for that, Jane came and got me because the Lavins were in the foyer. What a wonderful thing to see them! I got to talk to Marsha quite a bit, saw Tony's kids, found out Jolene was in North Carolina with many goats (7?) (or maybe 5), and that they were visiting just for that week. I did get to share a few thoughts w/ Dick, too... Then choir was over and on the way out I saw Fred Bowman, who I heard had gotten married, had a leaping hug w/ him, and then went home w/ Val. We took a walk around the lake at Wellesley College, including hugging the edge of the Hunnewell Estate (or was it Honeywell?), walking between their topiaries and the lake. Then we went back and meditated while Peter made curry. We ate, talked, went to bed. Nice visit. Oh yes - while Val worked to get ready for the next day's teaching, Peter read the paper and occasionally watched The Game, and I watched it and did my very best to get tose Sox to win, but it was The 7th Game and, well. I stayed up to 11:30 to see the end and shoulda gone to bed.
Monday. Got up almost on EDT, at maybe 7:30 aka 4:30 am. Took a shower, packed up, took off for Hadley MA where I had an appt w/ some Shaklee people. I planned to be there at 10:30 and that's when I got there. Talked to Joyce and Bill, took them to lunch, talked some more, meditated, took off for Hartford just ahead of rush hour, gassed up for $2.27 a gallon, and got to Hartford 15 min early, at 5:30. Picked up Dot soon thereafter, went around the corner to the home of Cousin Bob Killian. There we met not only Bob, but Jim Killian (uncle to Bob), Candy (Bob's wife), and Cindy (Bob's younger sister). The purposes were first to meet and second to figure out who everyone was vis-a-vis each other. While we had the wonderful hors-d'oeuvres, we chatted to the point where I began to feel that we were imposters in their wonderful home full of their wonderful hospitality. I got out my computer and went wirelessly to task trying to find the link. Dinner was served, so we exited to the dining room. Bob helped Candy cook steaks in the kitchen while we sat and chatted in the vein of Catholic culture and politics Democrat-style. I felt right at home. My relatives are all part of the party machinery in Hartford, with Bob himself being the elected Probate Court judge for the past 24 years. (Uncle Jim, actually our cousin but Bob's uncle, spent most of his adult life in San Francisco - never married, and apparently enjoyed politics more from a distance.) While we were at dinner, Bob came in w/ his computer because their daughter Virginia was calling on Skype from Chicago. That, folks, is the cousin who wrote the comment here about Robert K Killian (q.v.). She is about 28 and is married and teaches...nice girl, has a dog. (The Killians have a younger daughter who lives near to them.) So we ate steak, had rice pudding for dessert, and with the exclusion of the LDS member of the family managed to consume several bottles of this that and the other thing. We went back to the living room, made our connections, and we left. My plan was to spend the night at Dot's so she made me up the other bed in her room (Uncle Bob's, still there) and we had a pleasant end of the day and good night's sleep.
Tuesday. Lucy and Alan Katz, having arrived home from England the night before, were expecting me, and I drove the 75 min or so to Easton. We visited, went out to eat, had great conversation with Lucy about ethics, morality, and religion. And politics. Slept. Wonderful day!
Wednesday. I worked while Lucy did some things she needed to do, including a chemo treatment. I went to Greenwich and met with our new tax accountants for a couple of hours, then took them to lunch. I got back around 3 pm. The Katzes' granddaughter Ginger turned 4 so we went out to supper with Steve, Laura, Owen, and Ginger. More talk, sleep.
Thursday. Lucy had an appointment in the morning, and I worked. Then we had a quick lunch and headed off to Norwalk City Hall Vital Records office. We spent the next 3.5 hours researching the Tanner line. Lucy's a research whiz! Then we went to Starbucks so she could have a pick-me-up, then back to the house. I cooked supper, then bundled up for the trip home.
Friday. I intended to wake up by 7:15 so I would have time to drive back to Hartford. That worked out, so I arrived at Bradley early, dropped off the car, took the shuttle to Delta, etc etc. I had a 4 hour layover at JFK. I got to Seattle in plenty of time for the shuttle to Anacortes, took the 2 1/2 hour ride to Anacortes, and was picked up by D at 11:40 pm PT. Long day!
Saturday. Good to be home! And it was good to see so many family members and friends...
Friday. Left the house at 7:45 am, took the shuttle to SEA-TAC, flew to JFK, flew to Hartford, took the shuttle to La Quinta for a good night's sleep.
Saturday. Took the shuttle to Enterprise to pick up my car. Sat in the car and downloaded GoogleMaps to my Blackberry. Discovered I had GPS. Entered Aunt Dot's address and got directions. Spent an hour trying to follow them. Ended up driving through scary parts of Hartford. Got to Dot's latish (1 pm). Took her to lunch in Farmington, got back around 3 PM, had a message from Cousin Paul Strauss that he'd love us to come to Cheshire to see him and family. We did that. Had a great visit with our Chinese cousins Hailey (7) and Kira (2 1/2). Took photos, will post. Had good conversations w/ Paul and his wife Mary. Drove home, dropped Dot off, and drove to Natick, again going through Hartford to get to I-84. I got to the Daniels' about 10:40 pm. Long day! They had gone to bed, since I was again running late.
Sunday. Woke up in time for church, we headed out in two cars: Peter in one, me and Val in the other, so Peter could come home after the first meeting. Met Danny Ainge, the bishop. Enjoyed great talks. One was my a sportscaster from a local network news program but I don't remember his name. Then I met some friends from years past: Mary Anne Foley and Jane Nebeker Murphy. It was like meeting life-long friends, though it's been 27 years. I found out during Sunday School that my Blackberry could access the scriptures online at lds.org, so I was able to enjoy the lesson. I found out in Relief Society that I don't know many people there at Weston Ward. And I found out afterwards that Jane had divorced Bernie Murphy after a 9 year separtion. Their 3 kids are grown... And while I was waiting to sing in the choir just for the fun of it and because Val was staying for that, Jane came and got me because the Lavins were in the foyer. What a wonderful thing to see them! I got to talk to Marsha quite a bit, saw Tony's kids, found out Jolene was in North Carolina with many goats (7?) (or maybe 5), and that they were visiting just for that week. I did get to share a few thoughts w/ Dick, too... Then choir was over and on the way out I saw Fred Bowman, who I heard had gotten married, had a leaping hug w/ him, and then went home w/ Val. We took a walk around the lake at Wellesley College, including hugging the edge of the Hunnewell Estate (or was it Honeywell?), walking between their topiaries and the lake. Then we went back and meditated while Peter made curry. We ate, talked, went to bed. Nice visit. Oh yes - while Val worked to get ready for the next day's teaching, Peter read the paper and occasionally watched The Game, and I watched it and did my very best to get tose Sox to win, but it was The 7th Game and, well. I stayed up to 11:30 to see the end and shoulda gone to bed.
Monday. Got up almost on EDT, at maybe 7:30 aka 4:30 am. Took a shower, packed up, took off for Hadley MA where I had an appt w/ some Shaklee people. I planned to be there at 10:30 and that's when I got there. Talked to Joyce and Bill, took them to lunch, talked some more, meditated, took off for Hartford just ahead of rush hour, gassed up for $2.27 a gallon, and got to Hartford 15 min early, at 5:30. Picked up Dot soon thereafter, went around the corner to the home of Cousin Bob Killian. There we met not only Bob, but Jim Killian (uncle to Bob), Candy (Bob's wife), and Cindy (Bob's younger sister). The purposes were first to meet and second to figure out who everyone was vis-a-vis each other. While we had the wonderful hors-d'oeuvres, we chatted to the point where I began to feel that we were imposters in their wonderful home full of their wonderful hospitality. I got out my computer and went wirelessly to task trying to find the link. Dinner was served, so we exited to the dining room. Bob helped Candy cook steaks in the kitchen while we sat and chatted in the vein of Catholic culture and politics Democrat-style. I felt right at home. My relatives are all part of the party machinery in Hartford, with Bob himself being the elected Probate Court judge for the past 24 years. (Uncle Jim, actually our cousin but Bob's uncle, spent most of his adult life in San Francisco - never married, and apparently enjoyed politics more from a distance.) While we were at dinner, Bob came in w/ his computer because their daughter Virginia was calling on Skype from Chicago. That, folks, is the cousin who wrote the comment here about Robert K Killian (q.v.). She is about 28 and is married and teaches...nice girl, has a dog. (The Killians have a younger daughter who lives near to them.) So we ate steak, had rice pudding for dessert, and with the exclusion of the LDS member of the family managed to consume several bottles of this that and the other thing. We went back to the living room, made our connections, and we left. My plan was to spend the night at Dot's so she made me up the other bed in her room (Uncle Bob's, still there) and we had a pleasant end of the day and good night's sleep.
Tuesday. Lucy and Alan Katz, having arrived home from England the night before, were expecting me, and I drove the 75 min or so to Easton. We visited, went out to eat, had great conversation with Lucy about ethics, morality, and religion. And politics. Slept. Wonderful day!
Wednesday. I worked while Lucy did some things she needed to do, including a chemo treatment. I went to Greenwich and met with our new tax accountants for a couple of hours, then took them to lunch. I got back around 3 pm. The Katzes' granddaughter Ginger turned 4 so we went out to supper with Steve, Laura, Owen, and Ginger. More talk, sleep.
Thursday. Lucy had an appointment in the morning, and I worked. Then we had a quick lunch and headed off to Norwalk City Hall Vital Records office. We spent the next 3.5 hours researching the Tanner line. Lucy's a research whiz! Then we went to Starbucks so she could have a pick-me-up, then back to the house. I cooked supper, then bundled up for the trip home.
Friday. I intended to wake up by 7:15 so I would have time to drive back to Hartford. That worked out, so I arrived at Bradley early, dropped off the car, took the shuttle to Delta, etc etc. I had a 4 hour layover at JFK. I got to Seattle in plenty of time for the shuttle to Anacortes, took the 2 1/2 hour ride to Anacortes, and was picked up by D at 11:40 pm PT. Long day!
Saturday. Good to be home! And it was good to see so many family members and friends...
Set Apart
Today we were set apart. We are missionaries. We are very happy.
We were set apart by Pres Rhine, our stake president, in the Anacortes building. We had several guests, our dearest friends from the ward: Nancy Oczkewicz, Kay and Larry Winebrenner, Bishop Rutter, his second counselor Bro Treiber, Fred Stone, Karen and Norm Buker, and my dear 'brother' Norman Landerman-Moore.
I was set apart first. D and Pres Rhine did it, w/ Pres Rhine as voice. I was blessed with health and strength and the ability to inspire and teach the family history patrons effectively. I was also blessed that during our service our own family would be blessed with the things they need. There was much more that is only vague in my memory. It was very nice.
Then D was set apart. Pres Rhine was voice again, and Bsp Rutter assisted. D's blessings emphasized more of the technical side of the work, and mentioned patrons only toward the end. Again he was blessed w/ health and strength, patience, and blessings for his family during his time of service.
So we are missionaries now.
Our report date is still 12 days away. But this was our last Sunday here. Next week we will attend w/ our new branch.
Which reminds me that we were both promised wonderful new friendships. Stay tuned...
We only hope the friends we are leaving behind will find their way to SLC and visit and have some fun with the wonderful family history facilities that will be our bailiwick. They think they will...
We were set apart by Pres Rhine, our stake president, in the Anacortes building. We had several guests, our dearest friends from the ward: Nancy Oczkewicz, Kay and Larry Winebrenner, Bishop Rutter, his second counselor Bro Treiber, Fred Stone, Karen and Norm Buker, and my dear 'brother' Norman Landerman-Moore.
I was set apart first. D and Pres Rhine did it, w/ Pres Rhine as voice. I was blessed with health and strength and the ability to inspire and teach the family history patrons effectively. I was also blessed that during our service our own family would be blessed with the things they need. There was much more that is only vague in my memory. It was very nice.
Then D was set apart. Pres Rhine was voice again, and Bsp Rutter assisted. D's blessings emphasized more of the technical side of the work, and mentioned patrons only toward the end. Again he was blessed w/ health and strength, patience, and blessings for his family during his time of service.
So we are missionaries now.
Our report date is still 12 days away. But this was our last Sunday here. Next week we will attend w/ our new branch.
Which reminds me that we were both promised wonderful new friendships. Stay tuned...
We only hope the friends we are leaving behind will find their way to SLC and visit and have some fun with the wonderful family history facilities that will be our bailiwick. They think they will...
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Justice and Heredity
Recent sound research shows again and again that a person's character grows to be more like his heredity (nature) and less like his upbringing (nurture) the older he gets. By 50, it's just about all heredity.
Obviously level of education and probably hosts of other factors influence the outcome of heredity, but still, the principle holds. Twin studies confirm it: studies on identical, fraternal, and virtual twins (those who are raised in the same household but are less than 9 months apart).
These are the things I've been reading, and they make sense. At least they are gospel-compatible: the essential principle underlying the gospel is that we are each responsible for ourselves, and that it is through personal repentance that we are redeemed. It is not the fault of our parents, the way we turned out - but it is in great part due to our heredity.
There are some interesting implications of this for family history research, though they're all pretty subjective.
What traits follow the family lines? How mixed up do they get? What can we learn from our ancestors by noting family traits in the current generations? Are traits survival characteristics or just random behavioral tendencies? I'm thinking about it and doing some reading. No one knows of course. But there are clues...to be continued.
Obviously level of education and probably hosts of other factors influence the outcome of heredity, but still, the principle holds. Twin studies confirm it: studies on identical, fraternal, and virtual twins (those who are raised in the same household but are less than 9 months apart).
These are the things I've been reading, and they make sense. At least they are gospel-compatible: the essential principle underlying the gospel is that we are each responsible for ourselves, and that it is through personal repentance that we are redeemed. It is not the fault of our parents, the way we turned out - but it is in great part due to our heredity.
There are some interesting implications of this for family history research, though they're all pretty subjective.
What traits follow the family lines? How mixed up do they get? What can we learn from our ancestors by noting family traits in the current generations? Are traits survival characteristics or just random behavioral tendencies? I'm thinking about it and doing some reading. No one knows of course. But there are clues...to be continued.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Poignant Realization
Back in about 1979 or so, when we lived in Massachusetts, I had a poignant realization. We had waited for years and years for our cousins to return from overseas duty to the US so our kids could get to know them. We were really looking forward to renewing acquaintances and raising our kids together. But when they came back, they decided to move to Colorado, nearly the whole width of the country away. I was so sad! Even though we did what we could to go see them, it was years between visits and the kids ended up barely knowing each other.
Now we are having a parallel experience, and the poignancy is far more intense, because we realize that many of our grandchildren are going to grow up with knowing us only as very occasional visitors.
I am very dedicated to putting family together. I spend hours and hours trying to find and understand my ancestors just for that reason. We have driven many hours every month to visit a couple of our grandchildren who had to move away. We have driven hours and hours at other times to be sure we see grandchildren.
A lot of the separation was inevitable when we were locked into being in Tucson for most of the year. That's the way things are in our culture right now, with families thinking little of separation if it's because of a career. When our grown kids started setting up their work locations far away, we took it with a grain of salt because it didn't seem permanent.
Now it seems devastating. Of course we have moved away from everyone ourselves. But we picked a place where we felt the family would most likely gather sooner or later.
But it's not going to happen. Maybe in 20 years or so we will stop living our dream and try to go where everyone is, but by then every one of our grandchildren now living will be out of their homes, and many - most - will have homes of their own.
We could stay in Tucson instead of Anacortes. We love Tucson. But the values we can live in Anacortes are closer to ours. We like the climate, we like eating for free out of the garden, we love a place where we can be outside every month of the year, every day of the year. We love the water and the wildness and the easy access to all sorts of biomes and ecosystems and opportunities for adventure.
So it's a challenging tug of war, our desire to be part of the lives of our grandchildren traded off against our desire to live in a life-supporting setting where we could even live self-sufficently if we had to or wanted to.
Our most fervent hopes are that every family member would live in a place that we could reach for a weekend visit - say within 6 hours maximum. That would take a miracle. But even if some lived in ONE remote location that we could visit quarterly, it would be a help.
Otherwise the few memories they have of us will fade away.
I saw a photo of my grandmother a couple of months ago and didn't recognize her at all. She has a big smile on her face and all I remember of her is that she was grouchy. HOW HORRIBLE!
I don't want to be forgotten!
Sigh. I can only pray.
Now we are having a parallel experience, and the poignancy is far more intense, because we realize that many of our grandchildren are going to grow up with knowing us only as very occasional visitors.
I am very dedicated to putting family together. I spend hours and hours trying to find and understand my ancestors just for that reason. We have driven many hours every month to visit a couple of our grandchildren who had to move away. We have driven hours and hours at other times to be sure we see grandchildren.
A lot of the separation was inevitable when we were locked into being in Tucson for most of the year. That's the way things are in our culture right now, with families thinking little of separation if it's because of a career. When our grown kids started setting up their work locations far away, we took it with a grain of salt because it didn't seem permanent.
Now it seems devastating. Of course we have moved away from everyone ourselves. But we picked a place where we felt the family would most likely gather sooner or later.
But it's not going to happen. Maybe in 20 years or so we will stop living our dream and try to go where everyone is, but by then every one of our grandchildren now living will be out of their homes, and many - most - will have homes of their own.
We could stay in Tucson instead of Anacortes. We love Tucson. But the values we can live in Anacortes are closer to ours. We like the climate, we like eating for free out of the garden, we love a place where we can be outside every month of the year, every day of the year. We love the water and the wildness and the easy access to all sorts of biomes and ecosystems and opportunities for adventure.
So it's a challenging tug of war, our desire to be part of the lives of our grandchildren traded off against our desire to live in a life-supporting setting where we could even live self-sufficently if we had to or wanted to.
Our most fervent hopes are that every family member would live in a place that we could reach for a weekend visit - say within 6 hours maximum. That would take a miracle. But even if some lived in ONE remote location that we could visit quarterly, it would be a help.
Otherwise the few memories they have of us will fade away.
I saw a photo of my grandmother a couple of months ago and didn't recognize her at all. She has a big smile on her face and all I remember of her is that she was grouchy. HOW HORRIBLE!
I don't want to be forgotten!
Sigh. I can only pray.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Pre-Mission Travels
We expect to take a month to travel before we end up in Salt Lake for our mission.
We have people we don't want to postpone seeing, and we want to feel free to extend our mission if we want to without getting Wanderlust.
Here's our pathway, without firm dates so far. If you are on this list, be forewarned. And then later we'll add some dates:
1. Drive (in the Durango) to Great Falls MT to see grandkids and drop off a bed.
2. Drive to Salt Lake City UT to drop off our mission belongings. Quick hello to friends and family.
3. Drive to Boulder UT to meet someone coming from Tucson with our Prius, who will take our Durango back to Tucson.
4. Drive to Denver or Colorado Springs (in the Prius) to see the Samuelsons.
5. Drive to Fairfield IA to see Kay Ferguson.
6. Drive to Paulding OH to see Deb and Sara and Sara's kids.
7. Drive to New England to see: Jim and Lenny, Lucy and Allan, Patrice and Harry, Valerie and Peter, Bill and Joyce, Dorothy, and as many other people as we can find and fit in.
8. Drive to Eden Prairie MN to see Adamses.
9. Drive to Cowley WY to see Toni, Rich, and the boys.
10. Drive to Salt Lake for our mission, arriving approx Nov 5 in the evening.
This is the best guess right now, some 3 mos and several days before we'd have to leave.
What is not on this list, and still a possibility, is a trip to England with Lucy and Allan Katz. They lived there for a year and would be great tour guides. Plus, we've been planning a walking tour w/ them, plus some family history in the same locale where they wanted to tour, for some time, long before Lucy retired. But we may not be able to afford it this year. If we do go, the trip will be shoehorned in just after arriving in New England. That means an early start date for the trip.
As it is now, the trip will need to be close to a month long. With England, add 2-3 weeks.
If you have any input about when you don't want us to be somewhere, let me know quick! And I am looking for volunteers to drive the Prius to Boulder, and the Durango to Tucson, on the date when we would be there, which, best guestimate, would be about Oct 15.
Here are some durations of visit. This would be subject to some flexibility as needed - we may build in 1-2 days for flexing the plan:
Great Falls - 2 nights, one full day
Salt Lake - 2 nights, one full day
Boulder - 1 night
Denver/CO Springs - 2 nights, one full day
Nebraska - 1 night
Fairfield IA - 2 nights, one full day
Paulding OH - 2 nights, one full day
New England - 1 week
midway to MN - 1 night
Eden Prairie MN - 2 nights, 1 full day
midway to Cowley - 1 night
Cowley - 2 nights, 1 full day
Total: 25 nights on the road, 26 days - Approx dates Oct 10 to Nov 5 (no-England version),
It will be nice to be based in SLC after that. We have so very many wonderful family members and friends we can visit on our days off! Because we will have something like 1 to 3 years for those visits, we're waiting to do them when we're living right there on the Wasatch Front.
We're getting excited.
We have people we don't want to postpone seeing, and we want to feel free to extend our mission if we want to without getting Wanderlust.
Here's our pathway, without firm dates so far. If you are on this list, be forewarned. And then later we'll add some dates:
1. Drive (in the Durango) to Great Falls MT to see grandkids and drop off a bed.
2. Drive to Salt Lake City UT to drop off our mission belongings. Quick hello to friends and family.
3. Drive to Boulder UT to meet someone coming from Tucson with our Prius, who will take our Durango back to Tucson.
4. Drive to Denver or Colorado Springs (in the Prius) to see the Samuelsons.
5. Drive to Fairfield IA to see Kay Ferguson.
6. Drive to Paulding OH to see Deb and Sara and Sara's kids.
7. Drive to New England to see: Jim and Lenny, Lucy and Allan, Patrice and Harry, Valerie and Peter, Bill and Joyce, Dorothy, and as many other people as we can find and fit in.
8. Drive to Eden Prairie MN to see Adamses.
9. Drive to Cowley WY to see Toni, Rich, and the boys.
10. Drive to Salt Lake for our mission, arriving approx Nov 5 in the evening.
This is the best guess right now, some 3 mos and several days before we'd have to leave.
What is not on this list, and still a possibility, is a trip to England with Lucy and Allan Katz. They lived there for a year and would be great tour guides. Plus, we've been planning a walking tour w/ them, plus some family history in the same locale where they wanted to tour, for some time, long before Lucy retired. But we may not be able to afford it this year. If we do go, the trip will be shoehorned in just after arriving in New England. That means an early start date for the trip.
As it is now, the trip will need to be close to a month long. With England, add 2-3 weeks.
If you have any input about when you don't want us to be somewhere, let me know quick! And I am looking for volunteers to drive the Prius to Boulder, and the Durango to Tucson, on the date when we would be there, which, best guestimate, would be about Oct 15.
Here are some durations of visit. This would be subject to some flexibility as needed - we may build in 1-2 days for flexing the plan:
Great Falls - 2 nights, one full day
Salt Lake - 2 nights, one full day
Boulder - 1 night
Denver/CO Springs - 2 nights, one full day
Nebraska - 1 night
Fairfield IA - 2 nights, one full day
Paulding OH - 2 nights, one full day
New England - 1 week
midway to MN - 1 night
Eden Prairie MN - 2 nights, 1 full day
midway to Cowley - 1 night
Cowley - 2 nights, 1 full day
Total: 25 nights on the road, 26 days - Approx dates Oct 10 to Nov 5 (no-England version),
It will be nice to be based in SLC after that. We have so very many wonderful family members and friends we can visit on our days off! Because we will have something like 1 to 3 years for those visits, we're waiting to do them when we're living right there on the Wasatch Front.
We're getting excited.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
What Elder Hales Said
Years ago Elder Hales gave a wonderful conference talk on senior missionary needs. He then wrote a sequel in the Liahona (May 2005). I have just been reading it as I prepare a talk on Sacrifice for church today.
"My brothers and sisters, if you have felt stirrings to engage in this work, however quiet those feelings may be, do not procrastinate the day of your service. Now is the time to prepare; now is the time to be called, the time to sacrifice. Now is the time to share your gifts and talents, and now is the time to receive God's blessings for you and your family."
"Only through our faith can we heed God's counsel to 'choose ye this day, whom ye will serve' - to serve the Lord God who made you. And only through a trial of our faith can we receive the miraculous blessings we see for ourselves and our families. 'For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them.'"
"If any man serve me, him will my Father honor." John 12:26. (quoted by Elder Hales).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sacrifice means to make holy, or to go back to the original Hebrew word korfan, it means to draw closer to God. There are many ways to do this, such as parenthood. But it is my testimony that one way that was prepared by the Lord for senior couples is to serve a mission - when called, where called, done with honor, service, and sacrifice.
It is sacrifice to leave family behind, to sell possessions, to learn new ways. It blesses those whom we serve, but it also blesses us abundantly because we literally draw closer to God.
"And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name's sake, shall find it again, even life eternal."
So be it. PL
"My brothers and sisters, if you have felt stirrings to engage in this work, however quiet those feelings may be, do not procrastinate the day of your service. Now is the time to prepare; now is the time to be called, the time to sacrifice. Now is the time to share your gifts and talents, and now is the time to receive God's blessings for you and your family."
"Only through our faith can we heed God's counsel to 'choose ye this day, whom ye will serve' - to serve the Lord God who made you. And only through a trial of our faith can we receive the miraculous blessings we see for ourselves and our families. 'For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them.'"
"If any man serve me, him will my Father honor." John 12:26. (quoted by Elder Hales).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sacrifice means to make holy, or to go back to the original Hebrew word korfan, it means to draw closer to God. There are many ways to do this, such as parenthood. But it is my testimony that one way that was prepared by the Lord for senior couples is to serve a mission - when called, where called, done with honor, service, and sacrifice.
It is sacrifice to leave family behind, to sell possessions, to learn new ways. It blesses those whom we serve, but it also blesses us abundantly because we literally draw closer to God.
"And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name's sake, shall find it again, even life eternal."
So be it. PL
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