Ghana and Nigeria are done!

The php load for the internet is all ready to go so it will be up tomorrow. What a great feeling! About 2.5 million names in 4800 records. The pattern has been laid and all the leg work done for the records from 2003 so now the unit is ready to receive new records from this year and going forward. Hurray!

This is Elder Moulder with our new Zone Leader, Elder Koch walking home last week. Everyone is so happy.

In our mission, missionaries are hosted by the Mission Presidency at a final luncheon on the last Wednesday of their mission. After the luncheon missionaries are released to do what they need to do to pack and clean up their apartment and most leave the following Saturday so yesterday we said goodbye to some dear friends. The funny thing is that it was our luncheon too, but we are not leaving until December 13th.

I had some very unexpected feelings after the luncheon. It felt like a closure for me; that I was finished. But....we are here for a few more weeks and although we have basically turned everything over to others, we can be here to help if (when) they have questions. I still have a little clean up to do with the new English translations for the Tongan records so basically Tonga was my first assignment and it will be my last.

I'm hoping we can spend some time over the next few weeks learning how to actually do family history research. I have a concern that people at home will think that we have experience that we do not have because we were part of the Family and Church History Mission. Not that we haven't been doing some work on our own lines, but the real research..... no I haven't learned how to do that yet.

I thought I would share a before and after photo. The first is from 5 Nov when we had our first real snow. I took this photo knowing that it would only be a week or so before that area would be filled with the nativity.

So now there is a nativity, but no snow! They are actually raking leaves every morning.
We had a snow storm over the weekend but there wasn't any accumulation because the weather has been too warm. We will have more snow tomorrow morning, but rain and sun the rest of the week. It has been good for the workers putting up all the Christmas decor around the Square. They have covered the beds and some water features with white fabric;
they are testing the lights;

they have put up the "fake" lighted trees (can you spot the fake ones in the two pictures below?)
Clue: Evergreens don't grow under the chestnut trees..... ^_^

This morning I went to Music and the Spoken Word. It was a Thanksgiving special and they performed "Come, thou Fount of Every Blessing". I cried and cried. This is one thing I will miss. It is so nice to be able to walk over and sit in the Tabernacle and be uplifted.
I particularly liked the beginning of the Spoken Word today: " True gratitude manifests itself in how we choose to give to others. When we truly feel grateful, we feel a compelling desire to help other people. Perhaps that's why "thanks" and "giving" so often go together.......Indeed, life is so much more meaningful when we choose to live in thanks - and giving - daily."

There is so much I am grateful for, but today I am grateful for the reminder to live in thanks and giving all week long.