Family History Mission

Week 10

Hello to everyone;

This has been a packed week. We started with a Branch dinner Monday evening in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  We had a great dinner and then the West Jordan High School Madrigal Choir performed for us, they were a talented group of young people.  We said goodbye to about 30 people, who are leaving our mission this month.  We are losing a great group of people, many from our zone. Elder and Sister Shaffer, and Elder and Sister Kirtland serve as assistant zone leaders in our hosting zone. They will truly be missed.  Unfortunately there are few replacements.

This is candy making season and Sharon has gotten together with Erika to make some caramels and fudge.  They are planning on making some peanut brittle in the near future. With all these tempting goodies around it is hard not to be continually eating something.

While Sharon and Erika were having fun in the kitchen on Wednesday, I took the opportunity to get out and play some golf. The weather was great and the course was sitting there, just waiting. Hard to pass up the temptation. I had great missionary luck !!

This week I got the news back from an important DNA test.  While in training I tried to tackle the problem of our Great Grand Mother, Augusta Garbe.  For those not aware of this problem let me give a brief explanation. Our Grandfather, George W Waller, claimed on his marriage record that he was born in Utah. That his parents were George Waller and Augusta Garbe. We have over the last 50 years not found any records. We have located a Garbe family here in Utah and they indeed had a daughter named Augusta, but they contend she never came to America or had a child in Utah. So my trainer and I decided since there were no records available a DNA test might be the solution. So I contacted a descendant in the Garbe family still living in Manti, Utah and asked if he would possibly be willing to take a DNA test. We of course would pay for the test.  So about 5 weeks ago Sharon and I traveled to Manti to meet Lewis Garbe.  The results came back this week and were positive for him being a 3rd cousin. This would make his grand father's



sister our Augusta. Yippee!! A genealogical mystery partially solved. This  gives us new direction to focus on.

This week we have had many visitors to the Library from around the world. Yesterday we had people from Tahiti, Germany, Spain, Colombia, South Africa, China, Japan, Brazil and Russia. They have all been fun to meet and get started on their research of their families.

Spiritual Thought: Elder Clark from our Zone quoted Elder Widtsoe about Temple Power

" God's definition of a temple is given over and over again in this good book, the Doctrine and Covenants.  A Temple is a place in which those who he has chosen are endowed with power from on high.  And what is power?  Knowledge made alive and useful-- that is intelligence; and intelligence is action-- that is power.  Our temples give us power--power based on enlarged knowledge and intelligence--a power from on high, of a quality with God's own power (Widtsoe, 1921, p 55).

May your Holiday Season be bright with thoughts of Christ and His perfect gift to each of us. That our lives will be filled with joy and thanksgiving for God's gift of His son to mankind.

Love to all

E/S Waller, Chuck & Sharon, Mom & Dad, Bama & Bampa

Photo above of organ in the Assembly Hall- Sharon had the opportunity of playing the organ for a Christmas devotional. Other photos of Temple Square lights.