Answered Prayers - Peaceful Heart

Indexing: 50 names for the California - San Francisco Flight Manifest for 1947.


Although it's been a few days of great disturbance in the force, I am grateful for my testimony and my faith in the Father in Heaven.  As things seem to worsen around me and around those I love, I prayed fervently and with a full heart to know and understand the reasoning for some decisions that are necessary to be made on behalf of the Church and its people.  I received a quiet and peaceful reassurance to be patient, to stay calm, and to not partake of or get caught up in the whirlwind of "immediate reaction without thinking".  And although much was said over those few days, I didn't react, I didn't become upset and disappointed, and I didn't lose faith.

My husband taught the Gospel Doctrine lesson on Sunday and it was perfect.  Lesson 42 - "Pure Religion".  The highlights of the lesson - James taught: we should endure affliction patiently, we should pray to God in faith, we should control our tongues and "be slow to wrath", and we should be "doers of the word", showing our faith by our works.  The class was quiet and listened intently, and I truly believe that everyone received the same peaceful message that was so much needed.

My daughter's email from the mission field today:  "Don't ever let Satan discourage you.  Shut him up with your Testimony.  Shut him down with your strong faith and desire in doing the Lord's work!"  I love her advice on this matter.

Indexing - sure takes my mind off worrisome matters.

Stop Thinking of Myself!

If I could say I have been feeling discouraged this week, that would probably be an understatement.  I've felt the sting of discouragement hitting me almost every day this week.  Mid-terms were stressful, getting all my assignments in on time was stressful, missing one and seeing a big old "0" come up was stressful, and work was super busy!  As I was sitting here thinking about "why am I putting myself through all of this" tonight, I was suddenly overcome with emotion.  I saw one of my grades go from an "A" to a "B" in an instant because I missed an assignment and my heart sank.  I was basing all of my worth and my effort on seeing that A and was becoming more focused on that than the work.

As I prayed for some peace to comfort me tonight, I was more or less chastised.  And it hit me hard.  The question that came to my mind was, "Who are you doing this for anyway?"  Immediately...without hesitation, I knew I was thinking the wrong things.  I knew I was letting myself become discouraged instead of moving forward and just doing the best I can and giving it my best shot.  Because ultimately, what I am trying to do is to learn how to put all of this work together...not get an "A" so that I can brag about it.  Oh how I have been humbled this evening.

Once I put myself back on the right track, I got back on my computer and back to work, and sailed right on through my assignments.  I know that once I had put my heart back in the right place, and humbly asked for guidance, I was blessed with His loving support.

Pondering My Purpose!

This has been a full week.  I've been so busy in every facet of my life.  But I've also been very fulfilled.  Hearing from my missionary daughter is the highlight of my week right now and I can honestly say that nothing competes with that at the moment.  She is my joy!
One of the questions asked this week made me ponder about why I am taking these classes in genealogy.  Then I remembered my grandparents, and my great-grandparents, and for a brief second I chastised myself for even wondering why.  I love this work!  I love my family!  And because I love both of these things, I know that I love my ancestors enough to do this work for them.  When all is said and done, and my time has come to be re-united with them, how am I going to feel if I have done nothing for them.  I don't even want to think about that - and that's what drives me to get this work done!

LeBlanc is the name - Genealogy is the game!

I have been consumed this week with Ancestry.com and finding more of my ancestors.  This week I found my (fifth) and (sixth) great-grandparents and the information looks perfect.  Even though it looks like their temple work has already been done (many times), I can now check and make sure that all the history links are matched up with siblings, aunts, uncles, etc.  It's a big job and I'm up for it!  I can honestly say that I have spent well more than a dozen hours this week on genealogy.  I really need to do some laundry.
I am so grateful that I was able to learn about all that Ancestry.com has to offer.  I had no idea how to really "dig in" and look for someone.  I was doing a basic search and pretty much giving up.  Once I learned about the sliders, the wildcards, all of the Collections, the catalogue, the map....everything, I was able to find out so much more.  The doors to our past have really been opened and my heart is about ready to explode.  Can I not just do this full time?

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Yes, I am Canadian - Camerican acutally!  And because of this reason, we celebrate Thanksgiving twice a year.  And since Canadian Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the U.S., we do make a big deal out of our 1st of two Thanksgiving dinners.  Having dinner for 32 adults + a half dozen children made for a busy, fun, and wonderful day and I wouldn't change it for anything.

The other big thing this week was that my daughter left the MTC and headed out to serve her mission in San Jose.  As I was sitting at the kitchen table, very early on Wednesday morning, waiting for that airport telephone call, waiting...waiting...my phone rang then immediately disconnected.  Oh no!  My heart sank.  I thought I wasn't going to get to hear her sweet voice.  A few minutes later, it rang again and there she was, crying so hard because she thought she wasn't going to get to talk to me.  We're such funny creatures.  But once she heard my voice, she was fine and so happy to be on her way to serve.  That evening we received an email from her Mission President with photos of 13 very tired missionaries who had been on their way to him since 2:00 a.m. that morning, and who were fast asleep all over the chairs and floors of the mission home.
Oh how great is the work :)

Another big deal this week was all of this genealogy work!  Oh my goodness - I have lost myself in it's depths.  Through some new technique I have been able to learn and put into play this week, I have found some information that I have been looking for since the early '90's. I feel as though I have connected, and been touched, by a Great-great grandmother - one of whom I had only known by name and not even thought to look at any closer than to turn the page.  But because of this class, because of this desire to gain more knowledge of genealogy, because I want to fasten tight the links of my ancestors, I have been blessed this week to feel her presence, her guidance, her love!

I cannot begin to even describe how full my heart is this week.

The Link to our Ancestors!

In doing an assignment for another Genealogy class, I was to try and find a published genealogy or history on an ancestor of mine.  Well, with one branch of my family being Acadian and settling the North East of Canada, there are literally tons of history books out there.  But even with all of that history, there are still a few branches of that family that are hard to find.  I found one such book as I was looking into the LeBlanc family, but as I began to read I found so much more.  There is a story at the beginning of a book, with an excerpt written by a Bob Cholette talking about his grandparents Maurice Belliveau (1881-1953) and his wife Elisabeth LeBlanc (1878-1962).  He talks about finding a place called "Belliveau Orchard".  This leads into my story...

A few years ago, my husband and I went to visit a place in Nova Scotia called "LeBlanc Cove" which I didn't know existed. It was nowhere near where I grew up and I was surprised to learn of it.  When we arrived, we discovered a land untouched: a nice sandy beach, a few older homes scattered along a worn road.  There was not a soul in sight.  We walked along the beach for a bit, breathing in the salty Nova Scotia air.  I tried to imagine my early ancestors attempting to settle this land.  I walked back to our van as my husband scoured the beach for some rocks to toss into the Atlantic Ocean.  There was a man standing by the back of the van.  He wore a plaid shirt and blue jeans.  I quickly turned to see where my husband was, and he was off in the distance tossing rocks out to sea.  The man spoke to me in a thick, heavy French accent, which I tried very hard to understand.  Oh how I wished at that moment I had paid better attention in French class in school.  But I finally figured it out. "What are you doing here," he asked?  "I'm visiting the area of my ancestors, LeBlanc Cove.  My maiden name is LeBlanc."  He reached out to grab my hand and shake it.  He said, "My name is Belliveau.  You should find the graveyard." Quickly I responded, "Yes, oh yes, I would love to know where the graveyard is."  He quickly gave me directions to the graveyard which was really just a hop, skip and a jump away.  I responded with a very grateful thank you and he looked at me and said again, "My name is Belliveau, Thomas Belliveau - please remember my name."  He seemed desperate for me to know this.  I turned towards where my husband was, and nearly bumped right into him as he was almost standing right beside me. A little frightened by not even hearing him approach, I said, "Honey, you need to meet Mr. Belliveau."  My husband said, "Who?"  We searched and searched - and there was no one there!  The beach was completely empty except for us.  We sought out the graveyard, which was old and small, and every single headstone was one of my ancestors, but there was no Belliveau.

When we got back to Utah, I began to do some work on my family tree.  After a few months of looking for names, one evening as I was searching guess what name came up on my direct line about 7 generations back.  You guessed it - Belliveau!  Yeah that's right - Goosebumps right there!  How I love this work!  That's why I'm here and that's why I'm driven to find out as much as I can about my dear, dear ancestors.

The Hidden Key

            When I was a little girl, on Sunday mornings my Dad would sit at the kitchen table and play solitaire while he listened to hymns on the radio.  His favorite hymn was "How Great Thou Art" and when it came on the radio he would sing along with all his heart.  When he was younger he was a Choir Boy and an Altar Boy.  But he doesn't go to church anymore because the church changed too much and he doesn't think a church should change.  But every Sunday when he heard that song and I heard him sing it, I would feel very sad and very lonely inside and I never knew why.

            Then one Sunday, after I had joined the LDS church and I was sitting in Sacrament meeting a new member of this new faith, we began with the opening hymn.  And guess what song we sang?  That's right -  "How Great Thou Art".  Imagine my surprise.  As I soaked it in, the feelings that rushed through me were not those feelings of sadness and loneliness that I had always experienced when I heard it on the radio.  The feelings I now felt were of joy and gladness, feelings that I had come home!  And I cried, oh how I cried and I thought everyone would think I was crazy.  But they didn't because in this church, everyone cries because everyone feels this thing they call the Spirit!

            It's this connection to something greater that kept me coming back for more.  This connection to HOME that I was not about to let go of.  I found it, I knew it existed, I knew it was there somewhere, I knew I had to keep going, and I knew I had to let as many people know about it as would listen.  The song was a hidden key to opening the greatest treasure on earth.

The White Ribbon

A few years ago while serving as Young Women President, we did an activity for the girls called the White Ribbon.  Before we left for camp, we had all the Moms of the girls write a letter to their daughters telling them how much they loved and missed them, and how they couldn't wait for them to come home.  These letters were presented to the girls on the last night at camp, along with a simple white ribbon.  Also, we gave each of the Moms a roll of white ribbon to cut up and tie in bows all over their house and their daughter's bedroom - just anywhere.  The lesson taught to the girls was that white represents faith and purity.  Heavenly Father wants each and every one of us to return home to him.  Keeping that white ribbon close to us is a reminder to stay true to our covenants and to obey the commandments so that we are worthy to stand in His presence and "return home" someday.

Today my daughter left for the MTC to begin her mission.  When she was a Young Woman receiving the lesson about the white ribbon, she was only 14 years old.  Those white ribbons have been hanging in her room all this time.  Before we took her suitcases out to the car, I ran into her room and snagged two of the white ribbons and quickly tied them to the handles of each of her suitcases.  She looked at me and smiled, and without saying a word, nodded her head as if to say, "NOW, I'm all packed."

As I was thinking about this today, along with all the work I've been doing for my ancestors, the thought came to me that each one of my ancestors could possibly be holding onto a white ribbon so that they too, can remember the covenants that are needed to return home to Heavenly Father, and for them to continue their journey.  However, I received the strongest impression that unlike my daughter whose connection with the white ribbon was between her and Heavenly Father, my ancestors' connection with the white ribbon is between them and me.  And I promise to make sure all of those white ribbons that I feel surrounding me will be taken care of.

Lost in the Library or in the Clouds

I thought that this week's challenges were going to overwhelm me when I looked over my to-do list. Considering the fact that this is Tricia week - and that means "everything Tricia" until we get her delivered to the MTC - I really thought I would lose my mind before I would be able to complete that to-do list.  But two things happened this week that are worth mentioning:

1 - The Library!

The word "library" quickly brings to mind a large room, wall to wall and ceiling to floor books, rows and rows of tables, an overbearing librarian making certain that not a word is spoken, and a place where you can probably hear a pin drop.  But the library I became lost in this week was actually on my computer. And it wasn't just one library - oh no!  It was many, many libraries. 

Learning about the many family history centers, what they offer, and their capabilities was so overwhelming to me that I actually became giddy.  Oh I have visited the physical Family Research Library before, but I had no idea what the virtual libraries were capable of until this lesson.  I actually found a book entitled "The Deveau Family of Nova Scotia" that I could even download and print...and keep for myself!!!  How cool is that?!?  I was so excited!  And even better - this is my Deveau family - MY ANCESTORS.  Right there on that virtual library that I didn't even know about until I took this class and now I have it in my sweet little hands and I can update my family history and I'm so happy that I can't even contain myself, AND I'm going to drive everyone crazy with my happiness!

2 - The Cloud!

The word "cloud" quickly brings to mind "look up and what shape do YOU see?"  That's right - we all played that game.  But today - the cloud simply means the internet.  I have learned so much about the cloud this week that I am completely overwhelmed.  Just as overwhelmed as I was about the "library", but in a different way. It is exciting to think about putting all the information out there so that we can all work together, and gather everything up and piece the puzzle into place, so that all of our ancestors will have their work done for them. We are all striving to be disciples of Christ, and this is a big part of His work.  I know I have so much more to learn about the "cloud" and it may take me a little time to figure it all out, but I can't wait to absorb all of it!

How exciting it is to keep the learning processes open and flowing!

Keeping a Record

An important part of family history work is keeping a record of our personal experiences.  This journal will provide the opportunity to reflect and record any thoughts or experiences gained.  My hope is that this journal will be of value to my children and grandchildren, and so on, to help them catch the Spirit of Elijah and keep our families bound for eternity.

Ponder - from this weeks lesson in family history -

1.  What were my experiences with family history?
I think this week, I've just been so busy with getting Tricia ready to head to the MTC that I've sort of put my genealogy on the back burner.  However, Tricia has been wanting to go to the Temple a few times before she leaves, and this has been valuable to me because it has forced me to gather and prepare some names.  I've been working on my genealogy for quite a few years now, but I am good at "putting it off" when I hit a brick wall.  My goal is to keep in on the "front burner" so to speak and keep it boiling, not giving it time to simmer, so that I can get as much work done as I possibly can.

2.  What did I learn?
As I went through the number of "pink" cards that I have, I realized that many of them are not ready for endowments.  I began to panic as we were getting ready to leave for the temple.  I felt really bad because I wanted to do my own family names, even though I knew I could get other names at the Temple.  I opened my temple bag to double check and make sure that I had everything with me, and there in the bag were two pink cards, needing endowments.  I don't remember putting them there, but they were exactly what I needed to see at that moment, and I know they were exactly what THEY needed me to see.

3.  What obstacles did I have and how did I overcome them?
My obstacles were in not being better prepared this week.  I didn't overcome them by my own means. This was a blessing from the Lord.

4.  What tender mercies or miracles did I witness?
I know how much Tricia wanted to go to the Temple, and the tender mercy received that evening was that she was able, for the first time after receiving her own endowment, to perform an endowment for one of her ancestors before she leaves on her mission.  It was a wonderful evening.

5.  Do I have any helpful tips to share? - Yes!  Be prepared.

6.  What resources were most useful to me?
I guess the resource I used this week was definitely the Spirit.

7.  In what ways did I receive "more than my own strength?"
Being as busy as I am this month, it would appear that this work was done for me.  I am grateful for the small miracles and tender mercies in my life.  I am grateful that Heavenly Father knows my limitations and fills in the gaps for me.  He is always there when I need Him, in every way!