Major Status Change!

 Yes!! It finally happened! We were given the news that............ drumroll please...........................................

We will be adding a new member to our family that just might enjoy playing with little planes, trucks and cars. We're finally able to tell................................. we're having a grandson!!

Ok, sorry for the clickbait, we know what you were thinking. (heheh) But this is news we've been waiting for many years to hear. Our daughter Rachel gave us this gift last Christmas but she didn't want us telling anyone for 2 months until their gender reveal so that they could make their announcement on social media first. Oh, the agony of a non-disclosure clause! We sure have had to keep a lot of secrets lately ie. marriages, pregnancies, etc. 

She hath taken away our reproach!

Just this last Monday we had a family zoom meeting and found out the happy news that we can now share with one and all. We are literally the only missionary couple we've met for the last 4 months that have 0 grandkids. I tell ya, blessings sure come to people who decide to serve missions! 

But besides that major announcement, everything else is status quo. Except...The BIG EVENT going on all around us for all amateur and professional Family History buffs..... RootsTech2023. When we heard about it back in December, we assumed we'd be long gone by now but we're actually so so glad we were here for it. It was huge and it was a blast to be a part of it all. The volume of guests was incredible! We enjoyed the many perks, (oh, we did eat!) the throngs of people we met from all over the world, and the many personal visits from friends and family, not to mention the brand new friends we made.  

                                         St George neighbor Ken with many India connections

                                                              Highschool friend Linda 

                              2nd cousin once removed Dave from WA. who I'd never met before. Nearly savant                                       at remembering names and dates. One of  my 23,454 cousins at RootsTech.

One special encounter this week tops them all. A beautiful international family came in who were members of our church, asking for help in getting some family ancestor names found so they could take them to the temple the next day. They had twin 11 year-olds so they wanted 10 names for baptisms plus 2 endowments for the parents. A righteous request if ever there was one.

                                                             A miracle waiting to happen

 Dad Scott was from Scotland. Mom Beatriz was from Beatrizland, jk, from Brazil but her ancestors were from Portugal. Obstacle #1- Scott's grandpa's name was super common in the town of Aberdeenshire. #2- all they could recall was Grandma's name being Ina. It just so happened that an intern named Lynzi was sitting on the other side of their computer, she overheard us attempting to find some record matches and coming up with zilch. She joined in the quest to help but sadly, we had no luck and by then the family said they needed to be somewhere else very soon. But Lynzi had some new ideas so we said we'd keep looking for them. So no sooner after they left, that's when the miracles started happening. Lynzi's friend Melissa had told her about this website called Scotlandspeople.com since it's her emphasis country of research. It was free to peruse the index of records so we just kept putting in Scott's grandma and grandpas' names, nicknames and guesses of approximate ages they might be. The rule is if you have 1-a name, 2-an approximate date and 3-a place, you might get lucky. Suddenly, up pops a marriage record of Thomas and Jamesina!! That was Ina's full name. We had found them! We were so excited you would've thought we'd won the Showcase Showdown! Not only that, it had both of their parents' names listed too so we were able to research their marriage records and find their marriage dates and then their parents as well. And the perpetual list goes on. Every generation found is a major victory! When we started transcribing the info into FamilySearch, strangely, they had been hiding there all the time, we just couldn't find them with the wrong name and they weren't attached to the son's tree, like a branch severed from its trunk. So just like popcorn popping on an apricot tree, once attached, suddenly there was a harvest of blossoming names, oh I'd say 10-12 at least, just perfect for the kid's baptisms. After the initial ecstasy wore off, we just started praying "Please let them come back, please let them come back!". It was my turn to be a greeter at the front desk and I couldn't keep my eyes off the big sliding glass doors. It felt like an eternity since they had come in the first time. I was starting to get a little bit discouraged that they weren't serious about returning but just about then, I saw them through the windows. It was like Christmas morning but better. When we showed them their tree and all the records we had found, they were ecstatic, we were ecstatic all over again, and we had a gigantic Hugfest! Once again, they had to leave to be somewhere but we promised them we'd get their cards printed and cut and would leave them in Guest Services for them when they came back in the morning before our shifts. 

                                                                  The Miracle Dream Team

It's a testimony builder when the Lord puts people in the right place at the right time when they are needed for a special purpose to bless His children. Always both the givers and receivers are blessed in these instances and they all rejoice together. We bonded tightly with this family and the 2 interns Lynzi and Melissa through this experience. We only wish we could utilize Lynz/Mels amazing expertise every day, as they normally work remotely from home, not at the library. We're a little teary we won't see them anymore now that RootsTech is a over. (Sigh) Thank goodness for Facebook to stay in touch with the many many friends we are making on our mission.

       Poor Polaroid quality photo but the best of Instamatic-Friends

By Saturday 5:00PM, we were plum tuckered out from the 9-hour days we had put in all week but we had one special event still to go. We invited all our Indian YA friends plus our kids Maddy and Franklin for an evening temple trip. With some last-minute cancellations, we ended up having only Raj able to join us. It was just the right size group. We felt so joyful being together and marveled that night how the Gospel of Jesus Christ unites us all; Americans, Peruvians, Indians, Scots, Brazilians, male, female, married, single, full-time missionary, part-time intern; all are alike unto God and all are so loved by him. 

                                                  What a Mod Squad!