My Dad's Telling Me to do This

August 2, 2010 Monday

We were back at the Broome library this morning with our family history exhibit. We both worked it this morning then each took time off for lunch while the other stayed. I’d had good conversations with 15 or so people during the day. But one fellow from Spain refused to think that the church would provide access to its family history records for free without some hidden agenda. He didn’t stick around long enough to hear an answer. Anyway, close to 4:30, a fellow came in with whom Orson had talked last week. He sat down, and Orson and he had a great discussion over a variety of topics. He mentioned he’d been to Salt Lake in the 60’s and had heard the choir in the tabernacle. Anyway, while they were talking a lady about my age came up and said, “I need to do this.” So I showed her some of the information things we had and how to get started. She asked how long we were going to be at the library and if she could come back when she had some of the papers filled out so we could help her some more. I explained we were only there through the end of the week, but that we’d be happy to drop by her house to continue to help her or she could come to our house. She said she knew where we lived and that she lived just down the street. Then she told me that this morning she’d been looking for something and had opened a drawer in her search. In the drawer she found her dad’s scriptures. She decided to sit down for a minute with them to “talk with dad.” When she opened them, out fell several letters from a relative who had been old when she was a little girl. She then told me, “I just feel like my dad’s telling me to do this. I’d heard last week you were going to be here this week, so I came over to get some help.” She gave me her name and address so we can follow-up and help her as she moves along. I found it fascinating that a woman who lives a block down the street knows where we live. There’s nothing on the outside of our house that indicates missionaries live here. It would be so great if we can help her with this and then explain to her the doctrine of eternal families. What a blessing we didn’t fold up and go home an hour early!