December 23-29 - Sunday to Saturday

Here is a picture taken on Wednesday morning December 26.  We missed snow for Christmas by one day.

Sunday Dec 23

We very much enjoyed Music and the Spoken Word.  The music was of course all Christmas themed. We enjoyed hearing the Choir, the Orchestra, and the Bells. 

Notice the interesting background

Music and the Spoken Word Program

President and Sister Fenn spoke in Sacrament meeting which was a combined meeting for both of our two branches.  I thought that maybe I would be able to sit with Sister Tolman but President Fenn wanted all members of the mission presidency and branch presidencies to sit on the stand.  Their messages were inspiring.  I always enjoy listening to President Fenn as he has such a knowledge of the gospel and a powerful testimony.  

Following the Sacrament meeting, the sisters in both branches had prepared Christmas stockings to give to the Young Elders.  You can see below the stockings around the Christmas tree 

We picked up the Seniors and went out the Sister Tolman’s sister Jayne’s for dinner with her family.  Since there were so many we met in the cultural hall at their church building for dinner.  Sister Tolman took a salad.  It was good to visit with Jayne and Greg and their family.  One of the benefits of serving our mission here is connecting with extended family. 

Every evening this month before retiring for the night, we have read a Christmas story.  Prior to leaving for our mission Sister Tolman gave all of our children a book with these stories, one for each night from December 1 to December 25. 

Monday Dec 24

This was a full day that started with picking up Sister Tolman’s parents and traveling to Herriman where we met with all of Sister Tolman’s sister Marn’s family a total 28 people for breakfast and other festivities.   We were at Marn’s son Kyle’s home.  We had a tasty breakfast of French toast, waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit and juice.  

Right to Left, Sister Tolman, her sister Marn, and her parents

After breakfast we went downstairs for a white elephant gift exchange.  We played Christmas songs with the individual chimes like we always did with our grandchildren at Christmas.  

The original plan for the day was to take in a movie and then go out to dinner.  By the time we left Kyle’s home, there was not enough time to do both so we helped mom and dad Senior do some last minute stocking stuffer shopping at Walgreens and the Dollar Store.  We then went to the Golden Corral for a buffet dinner at around 5pm.  The food was good.  

At the Golden Corral, right to left, Marn, Mike, Carley, Katie, some of their children

We finished the evening at home by reading the story of the birth of Jesus in Luke 2.

Tuesday Dec 25

We missed being at home for Christmas day but enjoyed being together.  We had toast and salmon for breakfast and opened our presents.  It was a relaxing morning.  We spent some time by the tree.  

Before the end of the day we talked to all of our daughters.  It was good to get a chance to visit with all of them. 

We went to mom and dad Senior’s home about 2pm and exchanged presents with them.  We then drove them out to Lynne’s sister Jayne and Greg’s home. We enjoyed visiting with them and ate a few snacks.  By the time we returned home it had started to snow and it was difficult driving home due to visibility but we made it safely.

Lynne's sister Jayne with grandchildren

Wednesday Dec 26

We woke up to about three inches of snow this morning.  It is beautiful outside.  We attended the temple for the 8am Endowment session.  We walked around Temple Square and took some pictures of the snow scenery on the way back to our apartment.  We took the long way through Temple Square.

At the library I helped Jeff Candeleria print out copies of the grandfather’s WWII draft registration card to share with family.  His grandmother’s memorial service is in a couple of days and he wanted to share this document with several family members.  I have been helping him at least once a week for the past month.

After dinner we helped at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for about 90 minutes as they needed extra helpers.  I helped several families set up accounts for their children so they could enjoy the discovery experience.  I also helped a young couple who live in Phoenix connect to their families.  The husband is Jonathan Collins.  We were able to find more about his wife.  The family rumor is that there is Tahitian royalty in her family.  We saw a connection to a family member who married a Tahitian woman in the mid 1840’s. Both plan to continue working to add to their tree when they return home.

Thursday Dec 27

It continued to snow more overnight and we saw a snowplow clearing the road outside our apartment in the early morning.  

Sister Tolman needed to drive to a doctor appointment with the dermatologist this morning and Elder Tolman went to the temple to complete Initiatory work as he needs more Endowment work to do. Elder Tolman waited to go to the temple until Sister Tolman arrived at the doctor’s safely.  The roads were slick but she was careful.  It has been a while since we have driven in the snow and we plan to avoid snow covered roads as much as possible.  Since we walk to our assignment and to church we can pick and choose when to drive.

We got together at about 11:30am with my three sisters (JoAnne and Craig, Gerri and Dave, and Glenna and Lori). We all met and visited at my sister Glenna’s house. It took a while to decide where to eat lunch and finally decided on Mimi’s Café on State Street and 53rd South.   We enjoyed a good meal and visiting.  I think the restaurant wanted us to leave as when we had finished our meal, the heater stopped and all we felt was cold air.  We returned home at about 3:30pm after an enjoyable afternoon with my family.

We went to the library at 6pm.  I was able to help an older sister, Cheryl Adams who lives in the Eagle Gate Apartments just east of Temple Square.  She has been visiting the library recently.  I was sitting near where she was working and she asked me if I could help her and of course I said yes.  We spent over an hour and I helped her attach sources and learn more about one of her aunt’s family.  I encouraged her to bring some photos and other family history documents when she visits the library again so we can get these uploaded to FamilySearch.

Friday Dec 28

We talked to our grandson Mikey and checked how things are going with him now that the new baby is home.  We had a nice visit with him. Here is a picture of dad, mom and new daughter (our first great-grandchild).

I helped two daughters who were visiting with their parents from Idaho Falls.  They were sitting in the front area on our floor looking bored and I asked them what was going on. They were visiting the area so they could see the temple lights and also so their parents could get some help at the library looking for some of their ancestors.  I showed the daughter Nikosia who is a high school senior how familysearch worked while her younger sister who is a high school freshman watched.  We looked at their tree and needed to make connections to some of their ancestors.  I showed her the “Ordinances Ready” feature and she reserved five names for baptisms and confirmations.  We tried out the “Relatives Around Me” feature on the phone app and it turns out I am third cousins to her and her father.  My great-great grandfather Gilbert Belnap is our comment ancestor.  They continued their interest by sitting next to their parents to see what was going on with them. This experience illustrates how we can find ways to help others by being observant and willing to help

I helped an older couple Gary and Sue from New Hampshire get accounts and find ancestors.  They were here with their daughter and son-in-law who live in Colorado.  Another missionary helped them.  I was able to find more ancestors for Gary than Sue.  I encouraged them to add photos, documents and stories of their family.

Saturday Dec 29

This morning I finished preparing my talk for Sacrament meeting tomorrow.  Both Sister Tolman and I will be speaking.

We had several opportunities to help.  I helped Heston Beacco. He visited the library today with his sister and they were both looking to find more about their ancestors.  They were in a little competition to see who could find the most about their family.  They were born in Price, Carbon County, Utah and it was interesting to see the professions of their ancestors who lived there.  Most worked in either the coal mines or a related industry.  One was working as a mining engineer and made a good salary.  It was enjoyable to help them find more information about their family.

I helped a Brother Paxton from Toledo, Ohio and his son who lives in the Salt Lake area.  Brother Paxton is second counselor in his Elders Quorum presidency and works at the local church Family History Library.  I showed him the Consultant Planner to help when working with others and helping them with their family history.  I showed him the “Ordinances Ready” feature on FamilySearch Temple.  I then shared my family history blog and indicated he could use this blog to help members in his ward gktfamilyhistorylessons.blogspot.com.

We helped the Crane family.  The father and mother are from Mississippi and are visiting their son who moved to Roy, Utah about a year ago and works for an oil company.  We had four missionaries helping them at the same time and we were able to find a lot about their families.  The father and his son are both named Richard.  They both shared some of their experience living through Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  They lived near the coast and had to evacuate.  It was difficult for them to share the experience and they got emotional as they shared all the help that they received from others as they rebuilt their home and their lives.  When they were leaving they met some people they knew from here in Utah.  They had good visit with them.  I encouraged the family to see the Christmas lights on Temple Square before they leave.

Sister Tolman helped a family who visited the library.  They live in Key West, Florida.  I helped the husband a little and Sister Tolman helped the wife more to get connected and get her family tree established.  She showed her about the familysearch mobile app and about Memories and was able to show some as they attached the image of a marriage license.

We have been busier that last few days than normal probably due to all the visitors to the area between Christmas and New Years.

We miss being with our Arizona family as they are having our family Christmas get together tonight at our daughter Angie's home.