FHC experience

This afternoon Sister Black came in from Polacca to show us more about Ancestral Quest.  It is an amazing program and very similar to PAF, so it is easy to help people get started with their family history.  In any case we shared some time together and then Susie Tracey came into the center.  She is not a member and something came up about membership and Susie said. "Not yet"  

  Sister Black was showing Susie how she could take all the information from her PAF file and create a new tree with Ancestral Quest, which was easy and quick to do.  Susie had brought a picture of her grandmother which appeared in the newspaper when she died at 115.  

  In comes Sally Yazzie from Coalmine who has come for a piano lesson and Sister Anderson is still with another student, so she comes in to visit with us.  She points to the picture and says, "That's my grandmother."  We start talking about what Susie is doing and Sally says, "Oh I have done that kind of work.  I have papers with 8 generations, but the names are all in Navajo."  They are connected and Sally has names that Susie needs.  The two talk in Navajo as they point to certain people on the tree.

  Sister Black and I explain how they can come together with their information, make gedcoms. and tie the families together.  Sally promised to bring in her worksheets next week then and goes in for her piano lesson.  Ace and Rhonda Black are visiting with Elder Black and Rhonda comes over and mentions that their school has a program that allows you to type Navajo.  She is going to check with her people at school and find out how we can get it so that we can type the Navajo names as they are written.

  Then Brother Wayne Smith comes in and sees her tree and they too are related and soon start sharing in Navajo their clans and the relationship that they have together with common ancestors.  Some days are pretty quiet at the family history center, but today was not one of them.

Sister Olson

Eager Elders and FHC experience

Dear Family and Friends,

  These are the two young Elders who are serving here now.  Elders Hunsaker and Lords are hard working and do not hesitate to help out where needed.  The people watch very closely out here and recognize others who aren't afraid to work very quickly. 

  They helped one young family with 4 beautiful young daughters put in their garden and have been invited back to share the message of the gospel.  They met with them tonight and will be going back later to meet with them again.  People truly are being prepared Alma 13:24

  

Tonight at the family history center we had a lady and her mom come in because someone told her that we might be able to help track down a birth certificate for her mother.  We weren't able to do that, but we did tell her how she could do it herself.  Many of the older people were born at home, so they do not have a regular birth certificate.  Sister Norris explained that if they document their birth day with three notarized documents they can have a legal certificate made. A baptismal record, a school record, a hospital record when they had to be admitted for something, or a notarized paper from someone who may have been around at there birth is what is usually used to prove a birth date.

  Meanwhile we are building a family tree on one of the computers, so we are all interacting and multi-tasking between the four of us and we end up with 49 people on a family tree.  Both mom and daughter are just glowing when they leave three hours later, with promises to come back and add to their tree, which they were thrilled to watch grow right while they were sitting there.  We figured we had put together 7 generations in just a few short hours.

  Elder Olson went out Friday to help and new gardener and arrived at their garden site to find 8 people ready and eager to go to work.  In an hour and a half with the 8 of them working they had it tilled, fenced and ready to go.

  One of the team (Joe Manywhiskers) asked about the possibility of getting a garden at his home about 4 miles west of Tuba.  On Saturday Elder Olson followed him out to find 4 willing and eager family members ready to get it done.  He was glad to supervise.

  Elder Olson has over extended himself a wee bit. ;o} and will be taking off a few days since he can't raise his hand or arm.  He attended a PEC this morning in which they were asked to sustain someone.  President Justice who is not above getting a good laugh asked Elder Olson if he could raise his hand a little higher, and Elder Olson gladly complied by standing up.  The influence of his older brother, Evan is often seen by those who know him best.

  It has been another wonderful week on the rez.

Sister Olson

Gloria in the Hospital, Assistant 1 & 2, 1st Ward Valentine Party

Dear Family and Friends,

  Busy busy, week.  Our dear sweet "Shima" was in the hospital with the flu and pneumonia, not good for anyone, let alone someone who just turned 93 in Jan. She was suppose to come home, but no one has called to verify that she did.

Tomorrow we speak at the Monument Valley Branch, but will be stopping by to see how things are going.  We took a bag of candy to her and she loved that.

This picture is of Matthew Tallman and his brother Eric or Jason haven't got them straight yet.  These two along with their two sisters and another brother were baptized last Saturday.  It was very special.  

  They were recruited to serve at the 1st Ward Valentine Party on Tuesday evening.  They were a little nervous at first, but it didn't take them long to get the hang of it and then they had a lot of fun.  It was even more fun to watch them do it.  They served all of us including their parents and I told their mom that she should have them do it at home also. ;o}  She liked that idea.

  The man in the hat is Brother Ray Mitchell.  His wife kept telling him to take off his hat, but he said Navajo's don't take off their hats.  You will be glad to know that he did take it off when I took their picture together later.

  The two young Elders are Elder Lords on the left and Elder Hunsaker on the right.  They are becoming Elder Olson's Assistant 1 and Assistant 2 in the Gardens and they are loving it.  I would love to video Elder Lords imitating Elder Olson, who they call the "Gardenator" among other funny names.

  Elder Lords said that he thought Elder Olson was an old man and figured he could shovel as much if not more than Elder Olson.  It did not take him long to accept that he could not keep up with him or out do anything he could do.  They are both hard working, young men, they can also eat a lot and never turn down an offer for a meal, or a chance to help me carry something that they think might be to heavy.

  Elder Hunsaker is a farm boy and Elder Lords is a city boy, but both have great work ethics and aren't afraid to roll their sleeves up and go to work.  Elder Olson says that he tells them what they can do and knows it will be done.

  We have introduced them to several of our future members who are putting in gardens.  You can tell they ask the Holy Ghost to tell them exactly what to say and do, to put the people at ease with these "Mormons"

  The 2nd Ward Valentine Party was last night and we had about a dozen future members attend.  It was really fun. Sister Morales was a bit "uptight and snappy"  her words, not mine.  Anyway I told her that Elder Olson was a massage therapist in his other life, and maybe he could help.  I then walked back to our table and told Elder Olson that he needed to give Sister Morales a mini massage, because she was very tense.

  Sister Morales, her sister Bessie Horseherder and her two daughters, came over to the apartment and stayed for a couple of hours just talking and laughing.  Elder Olson massaged her neck, shoulders, and scalp.  You could see the stress leaving her, literally.  She asked me "Why did come over to my table and what did you say?"  I am not sure why I walked over, but I did know that she needed someone that could help her feel better.  Her niece, one of the girls that came over with her, is turning in her mission papers soon.  I think I actually went over to ask about that and then everything else just happened I guess, not sure, but I know that left much more relaxed. 

  It was funny because her son came looking for her and when he walked in he said,  "It sure smells good in here."  Sister Morales asked if Elder Olson had anything good for sore muscles.  Her son, Journey, works with the cheerleaders, by catching them after they are tossed in the air.  (Reminds me of Crystal Olson and all the amazing stunts she did as a cheerleader )  Elder Olson sent him home with some oils that he knows will help him.

  They also started the remodeling in our history center which they will finish up on next Tues.  We are having a few more people come in to find their families and prepare their names to take to the temple.  They are teaching a temple prep class and part of their assignment is to come in to the family history center and find someone to take to the temple.  It is really exciting.  One man came in and wrote a great "memory" that he wanted preserved for his children.  He found out how fun it was to find some of his ancestors and create a family tree.

 Sister Margaret and another future member have also come in and found out how fun it is to find your ancestors. ;o}

Bother and Sister Mitchell

Off to Monument Valley in the morning.  We love all of you and think of you every day.

Elder and Sister Olson

PS Tullie Phatt and Katie came to the party.  ;o}  He was the one who made the wall hanging in the previous blog.

Elder Olson is sleeping, so he didn't edit this. ;o}

Kee and Ruth Holmer in Monaeve 24 Jan 2013

Today I wanted to capture a part of what happened as we went out to Monaeve to meet a new gardening participant.  Sister Deana Benally had called us earlier in the week and asked if we could go out on Friday to meet with some people she had been working with.  We decided that it would work out and agreed to meet her at the Dinosaur Tracks out on Hwy 160 at 10 AM.

  We followed her for a few miles and ended up at Kee and Ruth Holmer’s.  Two of her brothers and a nephew showed up shortly after we arrived.  So now we had Kee, Ruth, her brothers Evan and Ben John, and a nephew Glen, surrounding an outdoor table under a branch awning.

  Deana is a single sister in the 1^st Ward, who works for the BIA in Land Management Resources.  She has had a garden for 3 years and loves working in the soil.  We often hear her out in her garden in the summer long before the sun is fully up.  She lives in BIA Housing just behind the church.  We often visit over the fence and she never hesitates to call when she has a question about her garden or anyone else’s garden for that matter.

  She is trying to develop a relationship with the older people and some of the younger ones who want to have gardens and/or cornfields, like the people did years ago.  The Holmers and the Johns are in this group.

  We were well received and Deana started off speaking Navajo and explaining about the need to prepare the soil and put back into it what has been depleted after using it year after year without putting anything back.

  She had started visiting with them back in Nov. and had told them how important it was to put manure onto the areas where they were growing corn.  When we arrived it was evident that they had taken her advice and the ground was thickly covered with manure.  She held class in the covered area where they held reunions with their family.  She explained in Navajo how the soils were depleted and how using manure, fertilizer and Humate would make a huge difference.  They asked questions as she explained and then we went over to the area next to their orchard.

  Glen watched Elder Olson as he started the tiller and then it became very obvious that he wanted his turn.  After a few rounds he turned to his aunt and said that he wanted one of these things.  We all laughed.

  Meanwhile Ruth was asking about her trees.  I called Elder Seeley to ask about pruning such well established  fruit  trees.  He suggested that we prune just two of the bigger branches each year on the older trees and show them how to prune the younger ones so that the bowl effect could be realized, allowing sun to shine on the inside and outside.

  Evan caught the vision right away and made short work of the first tree.  We think he will be able to continue through their orchard which has been fruit bearing for years.

  They also have well established grape arbors just beyond the shelter where we met.

  Meanwhile Glen had tilled a 30x30 area and only with major coaxing would he allow Evan to have a turn.

  As we visited with Ruth she explained that this area had been her family’s home for several generations and that she had grown up playing among the orchards and grape arbors.  She also mentioned that her parents were buried there.  I asked if I could take pictures of the family cemetery and she said that would be fine.

 Deana had brought sandwiches and water, so we broke for lunch and ate where we had first started. They wanted us to tell them about ourselves, so I shared my conversion story.

  I then walked over to the family cemetery and took pictures of each headstone or marker.  I was able to index 8 names and the names of 6 children that had been written in the cement on the one marker for the father.

  I also was able to get all of Ruth’s brother’s and sister’s names,  and her parents, so we can start a family tree at the Family History Center,  We will give her a copy.

  The thought crossed my mind that although they had not come to us, we had felt that we should go to them and then the thought: “The exception now may turn into the “exceptional  leader”  later.  We need to continue to look to Ammon as he served and waited for the opportunity to teach.  We have to develop our faith and our patience in trusting Him to provide the opportunities to bear witness of Jesus Christ and the hope that the restored gospel brings.

  I continue to observe how unique our circumstances are here on the Navajo Reservation, and how important it is to trust and listen to the spirit  as we seek to know how to teach each participant.

  The principles of the gospel will always be the same, but we should never forget that we are teaching individual people and that each of them is precious to our Heavenly Father.  He sent us here to listen and teach them just as He did.  Each person is of value, each family and their circumstances are unique.  We are servants in His kingdom and they are His children.  We must not forget that in the end we are serving Him.

Sister Elaine Olson

24 Jan 2013

One of the reasons we stay.

Dear Family and Friends,

  Some of you may have already seen this, but maybe not.  I decided I could send you copies of the reports I sometimes send to President Justice when something really fun happens.

  This occurred earlier in the week.  Hopefully you can enlarge the letter and read what he said about the spelling of our name. ;o}  Sister Goldtooth said she could fix the spelling, but we didn't want to change if before Tullie was asked.

This mission isn't always easy,(that may be a surprise to some of you), but yesterday was one of those days when you are very glad you are here. 

 The needlepoint is awesome (Tullie made it himself), but the  the real treasure is letter.  Hopefully you can enlarge the image and read what Tullie Phatt wrote.. Tullie lives in one of the "farthest most parts of the vineyard." 

 When he came to the first demo, he sat down, crossed his arms, and did not smile, nor speak once.  It was the sort of "I dare you to teach me anything" posture.

 Now he shakes your hand and tells you how much he appreciates what the garden program has done for him and his wife.  He comes to your door with a big smile and a warm handshake.  When you are out and about and he sees you, he yells out your name and comes over to say hello, give you a hug, and ask how things are going for others.

He explains in his letter  that he did not have to buy produce at the store last summer, a great blessing to those who live a very long way from town.

He has extended his garden and has the Humate, fertilizer, and manure tilled in, and is anxiously counting the days until he can plant again.

On the hard days we willl have his letter as a reminder of what can be accomplished in serving where we are planted, by the Lord,  especially in the "farthest most part of His vineyard."

Memorable Moments and Revolving Doors

Dear Family and Friends,

  What an amazing weekend we’ve just had.  On Saturday we attended a baptism.  Three young people were baptized.  In both families their dads were able to perform the ordinance.  Almost every seat in the baptismal font room  was filled.  There was such an amazing spirit that filled the room.

 After the baptism we went to celebrate Gloria Babbitt’s birthday.  She did not know why she was coming to the building where it was held.  They just told her that everyone was going there to eat.  When she came in we all sang Happy Birthday.  She really didn’t understand at first, but soon it became evident and she enjoyed every minute with relatives and old friends who had come to celebrate with her. 

 After we ate people would stand up and pay tribute to her and the extraordinary life she has lived.  They asked me to share some thoughts also, which I was happy to do.  I told how much I had grown to love her and how she had helped me with my rugs.  I said that Mary was a little jealous that her mom called me her baby, but that Mary had been her daughter all her life and I had only had her as mom for a couple of years, so she should be OK sharing her.  Everyone thought that was pretty funny.

  We had to leave a little early and Mary texted this morning and said that Gloria had spoken at the end and had talked about her daughters and how much she loved them.  Then she talked about her last daughter meaning me.  It meant a great deal to me to know that she shares what I feel for her.  She has lived an amazing life and faced tremendous challenges raising a family on the rez.  We are all privileged to know such a great woman.

 Saturday night was one of the “revolving door” nights which happens frequently.  It is a night when you have revolving guests in a steady stream.  There was a knock at the door.  Elder Olson answered and said which he frequently does  “Woshdee”  which means Come in.  In come two people, male and female.  Both have black eyes and evidence of being in a bad fight.  We don’t know them and now they are sitting on our couch, asking for a ride and wanting us to drive them to their home just over there. 

Elder Olson explains that he is waiting for some friends and does not want to miss them.  Within a short time his friend and her husband knock on the door.  He invites them in.  Now we have 4 people in our tiny apt.  Devonne was about 4 when he last saw her.  She and I went to the same college, worked in the same mall in Torrance and we discovered all this in just a short time.

   Meanwhile the first two are commenting about common friends and working close to where Devonne and I worked and other places we seemed to have in common, although many years apart. She mentions graduating from Torrance High.  I am feeling a little safer thinking Devonne  and her husband can testify and identify who was in our apt.

  Then comes another knock and I open the door.  There is a sweet lady asking if someone can give the sister in her car a blessing.  They had just come from the hospital.  The woman had slipped on some ice and hit her head.  Elder Anderson is gone and the young Elders do not answer when I call their phone.  I am pretty distressed by now and call Brother Allen who answers even when I ask for Elder Anderson.   I ask if he can come over to the church.  He says he can. 

Devonne and her husband had come by to see Elder Olson, but are actually on their way home to Phoenix.  They had just taken her husband’s grandmother back to Missouri, so she could be buried with her husband.  Devonne had found lots of family history when they were going through her things and promises to email copies so we can start a family tree.

  They exit as Brother Allen arrives, Elder Olson goes over to the church to help with the blessing and I am now alone with the couple who came for a ride.  Oh me, oh my, NOW  I am alone with complete strangers who now share that they were “jumped” and “beaten up”  They also share that they have attended a funeral as well and that they had their money and wallet stolen by the thugs who” jumped “ them.  They notice the pictures of the temple and a copy of the Ensign.

I ask her name thinking it might be good to know and she tells me her name and that she was baptized a long time ago into the church.  He also gives me his name.  I ask if they would like some water and he says he wants a sandwich. 

 I check and we do have 4 slices of bread, peanut butter and honey.  I  slip into the kitchen wondering about what is laying around the living room and if it will be there when I return and also the scripture, “Oh ye of little faith,”.  I make the sandwiches quickly and return, with them, a bottle of water for each and two apples.  I hand them the food.  As I sit down he picks up the top slice to check what is inside and rolls his eyes just a bit.  They eat slowly , take a few sips of water and slip the apples into their pockets.

Meanwhile I am counting the minutes until Elder Olson returns.  He had to feel my concern and appears fairly quickly.  They have finished the sandwiches and are now ready to be driven home.  They drive off and I wonder if I will see Elder Olson again.  It was only “3 miles” away, how long would it take? 

  Elder Olson returns in 20 mins, much to my great happiness.  I am thinking of installing an iron gate on the door and not allowing Elder Olson to answer any knocks in the future.  He also had to endure Lecture #82 on not letting everyone who comes to the door into our apt. ;o}

Today we spoke in the 1^st and 2^nd Wards in Kayenta.  It was so fun.  The people enjoyed hearing about how Elder Olson and I met.  I always speak first so he can correct anything he thinks I remember incorrectly. ;o}

 We spoke on President Utchdorf’s Ensign talk on “Regrets and Resolutions”.  I will be writing about that experience next week, since this is getting rather long, and tonight has been another “revolving door” night.

 We appreciate all the prayers in our behalf, I know that they are answered.

Elder & Sister Olson

Christmas 2012 Headstands and gathering firewood

Dear Family and Friends,

  I know it seems like I don't write as regular and I always feel a little bad, because things are happening all the time and I think I need to record it, but then I get tired and have lots to do, so I talk myself out of writing it down.  Then I think, you are doing family history right, so what is up with that kind of thinking?

  We did get to go to Utah for about 8 days over the Christmas holidays.  The missionaries now need to get special clearance to leave even for Dr. or dental appts. when they are out of zone which is every time we go to Flag or Page or even to one of the other units in the Stake,.  I don't think anyone is ever turned down, but they need to keep tract of where you are, just in case.  It is actually one of my responsibilities to keep tract of the gardening missionaries.  I tell them it is just a safe guard, so we know which way to start looking if they don't get home safely.

  While in Utah Elder Olson was able to shovel Shelaine's driveway about seven times.  He loved it, trust me.  He had good help with Brock and Braxton although Brock was a little more interested in doing back flips into the snow banks. ;o}  I took his picture which looked like he was doing a headstand in the snow bank, which I guess you might say was exactly the effect he was trying to get.

  We were suppose to leave the day after Christmas, but Shelaine had prayed for snow, which came in abundance.  We stayed 2 extra days. You need to know that we did have our baggage packed and by the door and were ready to go, so we did try. ;o} even if we didn't leave the driveway, which Elder Olson gladly shoveled again.

  On the Saturday before Christmas all our kids, grandkids, (minus JaKohbi, who called) plus Deana and Ricky came together for dinner, which was wonderful.  I didn't have to do much except enjoy being a mom and grandma and watching everyone have fun sharing memories, good food, tender moments in time and laughing their heads off.

  As usually I heard "memories" that the kids shared and that I wasn't privy too at the time they were being made.  Some of them probably could have remained their secret, but maybe the fact that they can remember and laugh makes it OK.

  We did head out on Friday at 5:30 AM and got back to Tuba around 2:30 PM  The roads weren't bad until we got to Jacob's Lake and then we had to drive more slowly, but all went well.

  Elder Olson went with a member to cut wood for the member's mother-in-law the next week.  They drove about 40 miles away and then off road in the snow.  If I can find the picture I will post it.  I say this for all the comments we get about being in sunny Arizona and basking in the sun.  It went down to 8 degrees the last couple of nights.  Many people are dealing with frozen pipes, which is certainly not fun.

  Sister Goldtooth continues to make me stand in awe of the amazing testimony and the great faith she has of the Savior and the Atonement.  A week ago she ended up coming to Relief Society long after opening exercises.  She is the president and right now both counselors are unable to be here, and she still doesn't have a secretary.  She also showed up in pants, which was a surprise.  Well, we are not suppose to judge and so often we do without knowing the whole story.

 Sister Goldtooth had had a young man come late at night, knock on the door, and simply say, "You need to come with me."  After a few questions and prayer, she ended up going.  She also ended up spending the night in Flagstaff with his mother who did not want to be alone.  She just told her something to the effect that she had watched Sister G and knew she could trust her because of what she had observed in her. 

  It is a tragic story in many ways, but also an amazing story that confirms that people do watch us and what we do.  I do not know how that part of the story will turn out, but I know that Sister G takes her calling very seriously and felt it was more important to come as she was, because she was the president and no one knew where she was or why she hadn't shown up.  She had left Flagstaff at 9 am that Sunday morning after spending the night with someone she didn't hardly know, but  who knew her to be a good woman and someone who could be trusted when she needed someone the most, who would stay by her and not judge her.

  The other part of the story is that when Sister G did not show up, the other Sister Missionary asked Sister Goldtooth's counselors daughters who were there if their mother had told them what to do, and if their mom could not be there then they were taking over by default I guess you might say. Both girls got up.  One played the piano while the other conducted the singing.  Then quickly one of them used her Ipod, found a conference talk, and gave a beautiful lesson.  

  Sister Goldtooth came in some time later and quietly sat in the back. After the girls finished the lesson, she shared her story.  For obvious reasons I have not shared the details of her story, which is one that you hear in stunned silence, and which fortifies your testimony of having the gospel in your life and seeing the wisdom and strength of members here  who help those who do not have the gospel, but who recognize the Savior's attributes in the example that the member lives and knowing what they see in the member, they will come forward and ask for help.

  I am not sure I have written what I wanted to say, exactly how I should have, but I hope you will continue to keep the people here in your prayers.  Members here have a number of challenges that other members do not.  Those who have found the gospel and gained strong testimonies are amazing examples of what the gospel does to change lives and provide strength in difficult circumstances.

  The weather continues to remain well below average temperatures for this time of year, and it is suppose to continue to stay cold throughout this week.

  Something that warmed our hearts yesterday was a picture sent to our phones, showing Carter Michael Kjar Olson as the newest deacon in the Church.  We are very proud grandparents of Carter and hope we can attend his ward so he can pass us the sacrament.

  We would enjoy hearing from you.  Letters, comments, or emails, warm our hearts. ;o}

Elder & Sister Olson