Pope Francis comes to Philly for the World Conference for Families

We are Hastening the Work as we have been given a new goal of 2,000 images a day!(last week we were excited to have 5,500!). Our challenge this week was the restrictions around town. We have been on lock down since Thursday miday until Monday at noon. The library is closed and many of the ways to get around town have been stopped for the two masses held in Logan Square in the large area around the Art Museum and the Cathedral, which are right next to the Temple and our Apt. We had to go through security to get across town, just like at the airport, only worse! But, we love the presence of extra police, FBI, national guard and undercover cops.

Here is the beautiful Cathedral before the Pope came

Here are a few barriers around town

Police everywhere

Port a potty everywhere.

 We could not even drive out of our parking garage.  We were asked to man the temple site and help organize the missionaries handing out info, but only if they were approached, they were not allowed to approach anyone. All questions are to be answered by our media experts. We enjoyed getting to know all the Missionaries serving around here.

Cape May- Senior Missionary Field Trip

We posted about 5,500 images this week by  going in early and staying late. All this so that we could join other Missionary couples at the Southern most tip of New Jersey. Jim's favorite part= the lighthouse. me= going in the Atlantic ocean. Well, I did bring my swim suit but. alas, no one else did, so I had to settle for two locations, the bay and the ocean! We also enjoyed a fish dinner and walk along the canal. This really helped lift our spirits in so many ways. Being with other couples who have left their families to serve far away from their homes, to enjoy nature, AND relax. 

Here we are one in mind, body, and spirit as we leave this joyous place      

Brown and Green Collection

We are now working on a collection of books called the Brown and Green Collection. We also try to see some of the sites. Yesterday we happened to bump into this flea market that circled the old East State Penitentiary and I got a great idea how to hang my necklaces and Jim is happy to find me an old rake.

 Our new job of scanning  includes over 1,500 books that are records collected from all the counties in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. These books included church and state records from 1700- 1920 including births, marriages, land ownership, baptisms, deaths and other recorded information. We are finding, recording,  and scanning these records for Family Search, Historical Society of Penn, and Find My Past (located in Ireland ). Last week we were learned new meta data from our trainer who is fluent in Spanish and French and lives in Montreal.  This week we completed our first 21 books, from Allen and Allegheny counties!

 Here is Jim and I at Boat House row  which happens to be right below the famous art museum that Rocky used for training.

We are learning new things everyday. We love sharing and growing together.We  also love seeing wonderful places in Philadelphia. If you are wondering how our brains can do all these new skills, so are we!! This is keeping us young

New Hope

After spending the last 2 weekends, both of us throwing up, but Jim in much worse shape than me and ending up in the ER, we planned a geta way. We traveled north to New Hope, Pa and Lambertville, NJ. Along the way we saw where Washing crossed the Delaware, saw a lot a green beautiful hills, valleys, trees, the river, and Thrift stores.

We did a little walking and found something enginerring that Jim read about the canal and I found some ducks and beautiful wildlife

We found some treasures at a garage sale just outside of New Hope, Good Will had other things we needed for our Apt., and fell in love with great finds at Warminster which included a store on York st, Costco and our favorite grocery store Aldi. On our return we listening to the BYU game in our Apt and then ventured out to see the latest on our Philadelphia Temple And the big event, Made in America, put on by JZ and Beyonnce.

The Rodin Museum is right across from the big event that everyone was coming to hear and we found it much more inviting than the concert, so turned around and went back to our place, content with the joyful time we spent together. Of course seeing the last 1/4 of the BYU football game at  our neighbors Apt. was the icing on the cake of our New Hope adventure 

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Our first week on the "job" we had orientation and security checks and a tour. The building is beautiful, old, but great bones, The Society was founded in 1824 with over 21 million historical manuscripts from 17th century.

This is a view from the front, which we enter when it is open, but we usually go in the side door. The front entry has black and white tile with sea foam walls.The security is very tight and one must be a member. Our books are on the main floor in the family history area and then we will scan a private collection called the brown and green.

 We work on the second floor and eat on the third floor. Where, to my delight, we can go outside and eat on the roof of the horseshoe part of the building

Here is the view at lunch, Notice the barb-wire at the edge of the wall. Jim asked what all the beautiful rainbows ment around the block of the building--we are in a safe area for people of all sexual persuasions!

Next week we will try to scan more than one book a day! We hope to be able to finish what friends , the Symes have left us, from letters M & N  to the end of the alphabet and the brown and green collection. We have already met many wonderful people and look forward to Hastening the Work

Summer in the City.

We have arrived and of course Jim is excited to see all the great structures and I am excited to be here and renew old memories of my childhood. We are both excited to get to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania to begin our research and discovery of books needed to be scanned for the Society and for Family Search. These books will include family records, journals, and documents.

First stop off Rt 202 is 709 North Valley Forge Rd. The house that my father designed and we lived in during my formative years. Here is the updated front door. The new owners have done a great job of making this home a beautiful memory for me. The view of Valley Forge Park over 2 1/2 acres with the pool and trees centered from my old bedroom sliding glass doors. Sadly the famous tree growing up through the home is on longer there but the deck and furnishing are delightful

Next stop the Pennsylvania Philadelphia temple construction sight

The view from my home in Valley Forge. I will love and cherish this memory. My years here helped strengthen my testimony and I continue to grow in the gospel. The relationships and friends that I had during my teen years were instrumental my growth and faith in the Lord and now wanting to serve Him

From Coast to Coast

Preparation for this mission started many months before we left. We had the Lund in Midway with most of my siblings and all my children and the Chatterley reunion on the Oregon coast with all the Chatterley kids and cousins.  Jim traveled to Southern California to secure our home in Simi Valley for the next two years by putting on a new roof and fix the exterior. After our week at the MTC we started our drive with a great diversion in Toledo, Ohio. We met Val and the 4 grandchildren in the late afternoon. Swimming, eating, laughing and watch So You think You can Dance, then more swimming the next morning.

We drove through Lancaster and the Mennonite villages and luck would have it, they were having their annual book sale,MORE BOOKS

But, not to get distracted from all the grand couples we met in the MTC we continued our travels, after doing a little missionary work at the Mennonite Book sale.

We already love all the green and water and beautiful country side