NATIONAL FAMILY HISTORY WEEK

July 30, 2010 Friday

Today was the start of Australian Nation Family History Week. Six weeks ago we started trying to get permission to set up an exhibit in the big shopping center in town. After jumping through all kinds of hoops to prove we were a non-profit organization and that we have liability insurance, we were turned down because we are sponsored by a religious organization. So we went to the public library to see if we could do something there. They were happy to have us there because it brings more people into the library.
We went to set up last night before we went to visit Ricardo and couldn’t believe how happy they were to help us get set up. They gave us a table and some display boards between the front door and the circulation desk, so pretty much everyone would have to pass by us. Kevin Wylde, who is married to a member and works there, made huge copies of the flyer we’d been handing out all week so we could put them along the front of the table. (The flyers and some other handouts had been sent to us by the Family History folks in Sydney. We added the hours and days we’d be in the library and have been canvassing town getting businesses to hang them up for us.) Then he found every book on family history in the library and brought them to a small table we’d been given in addition to the big one we were using. We loved the royal treatment after being rejected by the shopping centre. (That’s Australian spelling.)
So today we were there when the library opened and manned the display all day. We took turns having lunch. There were tons of people who came in the morning; then fewer came in the afternoon. People were really nice and lots stopped to talk to us. We felt like we were able to spark an interest in some and suggest a few things to others who were already involved in family history. Of course, there were lots of folks who said their auntie or their nana (grandma) had done it. We are doing this solely as a “service” to the community and are being very careful not to proselyte. Several people were aware of the huge collection of records the church has. Others were excited that it is free. One lady asked us what it meant when she saw “sealed” on some of the records she’d found in Family Search. We have a pamphlet that explains a little about temple ordinances and why we do temple work. We gave that to her but didn’t get into a discussion about it. We decided the next time something like that happens we will also give the person one of our “business cards” so he/she can contact us to get more information.
We are walking this fine line because twice this week we have met very unfriendly people who’ve accused us of being a cult and refused to discuss anything with us.