I got my official zone assignment. I'm going to be serving in the Family History Library under British Services on the bottom floor. British Services includes keeping track of records from all of the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. I won't find out until Tuesday what I'm going to be doing but from what I've heard it's one of the hardest zones and requires skill in almost every field. It was pretty much the last zone I was expecting to get but I'm glad. I just realized as I was going to bed that my dream mission was to go to the U.K. or Australia, and I pretty much got my wish...even if the angle is kind of obscure.
I still haven't
gotten any e-mails from my siblings so slap them upside the head for me.
Saturday (January 12)
After finishing sending you my e-mail we got ready for our trip to Harmon's. It is a relatively short walk, but it still takes about 15-20 minutes because of all the traffic lights. I asked Elder Scotto if our bags would be able to hold up and he said that Harmon's has really strong paper bags with handles so we should be fine. I was very skeptical but I decided to trust my trainer, which I would actually soon regret.
When we got there I was worried about overspending because it's a really expensive store but to my surprise I only spent $32. The happiness of that moment wore off as we started walking home with about three bags in each hand for both of us and the coldness. We got really tired real quick and we couldn't help but lay the bags down on the wet snowy ground because of how sore and cold our arms were getting. About halfway back our bags started ripping and we had to get really creative for how to bring all our junk home. We watched in despair as several Elders walked by us and didn't even ask if we needed help because we seriously did. Finally right when we got to the apartment complex, three senior sisters asked if we needed help and we were able to get everything home without damaging any of the food despite how many times they fell down.
Once we got home I found out that Elder Scotto had a ton of those heavy duty personal shopping bags and I was like, "Why didn't we bring those?" and he said that he didn't think we'd need them.
And then I found out that we could have gone to Smith's by taking Trax for free because Trax had free fare from where we are up to Smith's!!!
Monday (January 14)
We had what is called a Hail and Farewell in the cultural hall of the Stake Center which is a gathering so we can eat food and welcome the new missionaries while saying farewell to the old. It was pretty cool and I have pictures.
(The Hail and Farewell. Notice the amount of Young Elders in line to get food compared to the Senior Missionaries that are just sitting ratio.)
(The buffet line. What's the best way to stop the spread of the flu? Getting 200+ people in a crowded not very ventilated room and then feeding them homemade food apparently.)
(I have no idea what most of this is but I'm eating it. I guess tonight was a goulash extravaganza.)
Tuesday - Thursday (January 15-17)
These days were pretty uneventful, just more training and evening zoning. The only thing I should probably tell you about is my red and dry hands that we thought was probably nothing...turned out to something.
I think I got some sort of severe rash or something because it just kept getting worse and worse even though I got my gloves and hat on Monday (thanks for that care package btw.) Or it could have been a severe case of that thing Katie got that one time because it looked a lot like that except worse. My hands were so dry and cracked that even minimal movement would cause my knuckles to break out with blood everywhere. When Elder Scotto saw how bad my hands looked he gave me some cheap sports tape he had laying around so I looked like a leper or something.
I went to the Nurse's office the first thing in the morning and when I showed her she and all of the patients in the waiting room were gasping because it seriously looked like my hands had been burned. When she asked me if that was the case I just said "No this is just from the dryness or whatever." That's when she told me that this isn't just dryness, and that this was caused by something else.
She gave me some special cream in packets (forget what it's called) and told me to rub it on frequently until it got better. And to our relief it did get better. So much better that my hands look perfectly fine now. The dermatologist for my mission only comes in on Friday's so he's really booked up on appointments so I won't be able to see him until about the middle of February when my hands will probably be more than fine by that time but I took the appointment anyway.
So sorry to scare you but my hands are seriously fine now, and it wasn't caused by cold or dryness (as far as we can tell.)
Friday (January 18)
I got my zone assignment, and then we all went to the Temple because that's the tradition. Since the Salt Lake Temple will be closed until February we all took a trip to the Bountiful Temple for a morning session. I don't know if you've been there, but it is a very beautiful Temple. Much prettier than the Mt. Timpanogos Temple I'm afraid to say. I was really worried about going through the session without dad or someone to help me so I asked Elder Lyon (one of the Elders at that presentation thingie) if he could sit next to me and he was happy to help. To both of our astonishment though I ended up not needing his help at all and I found that I somehow knew how to do everything correctly. Afterwards he told me that it must have been The Spirit and I said that I know it was The Spirit.
So yeah I now know what Andrew meant when he said it gets better because that was one of the greatest experiences of my life.
Because of my new zone I will probably get a new P-day but I don't know yet. British Services is an all day zone and that usually includes Saturdays but I'm not sure if they'll do that to me yet because I need training in that zone. I'll let you know as soon as I find out. Because it's an all day zone I won't be doing Photo Duplication in the evenings anymore which I'm kind of sad about. I'm pretty confused as to why they would give me something like that and then take it away after a week but whatever.
Elder Earl, one of the new Elders and one of the only other Elders here that shares the same interests as me, got Digital Preservation zone which is the one where you scan books and junk. He was one of the new guys in Photo Duplication with me and I knew at least one of us would end up doing that for their zone but I guess they chose him. Though when I talked to the zone leaders they said they were actually fighting to get both of us in that zone because we were both so good at it even though we were only working for a week.
Elder Earl is from Alberta, Canada and I keep forgetting to say that he sounds and talks like Scott Pilgrim. Which I find hilarious because Scott Pilgrim is also Canadian. That has nothing to do with anything but that thought just randomly popped into my mind.
One thing I miss is people that get my sense of humor, because people around here really don't and it's starting to bum me out. Whenever I make a joke they either ignore me or give me that awkward smile that implies they can't tell if I'm joking or not. One example of this is on Thursday when they announced we were going to the Bountiful Temple and then eating in its cafeteria for lunch. I raised my hand and said "What if you're poor and can't buy your own lunch?" Then Elder Gilbert told me he was planning on buying all the young elders lunch to which I said nevermind to that question. The next day, however, apparently one of the Senior Sisters anonymously donated $10 to so I can buy my lunch. This made me feel really bad because I get the impression that she really did think I was just poor, when I was really just joking. I should have said "What if you're on a budget and really would rather not spend money eating out?" but the poor joke seemed appropriate because it's one I crack around the young elders all the time and it's one of the few jokes they get.
But other than that I'm still flourishing here and I haven't gotten in any fights with any Elders yet even though there have been a couple to get on my nerves. Although I'm not the fighting type at all and that was just a joke. (See?)
Love, Elder Larson
Zones in the Family & Church History Headquarters Mission
There are 19 zones within the Family & Church History Headquarters Mission. Following is the name of each zone and the responsibilities of the missionaries who are assigned to them.
Church History - Collections (Church History Library, 2nd Floor)
- Acquire, process and catalog personal histories, oral histories and artifacts
Church History - Libraries Division (Church History Library, 1st Floor)
- Conduct Church History Library tours
- Patriarchal blessings
- Help patrons use library resources and order materials
- Monitor secured items
- Staff-directed research projects
Church History - Special Projects (Church History Library, 1st and 2nd Floors, Granite Mountain Records Vault, and Family History Library and Museum)
- Photo and digital/film preservation
- Audio/Video migration
- Joseph Smith papers
- Historical site
- Museum collections
- Overland Trails
- Marion G Romney project
- Conservation
- Relief Society by Sister Project
Family History - Data Quality (Joseph Smith Memorial Building, 5th Floor West and 6th Floor West)
- Provide technical support for patrons using New Family Search (http://new.familysearch.org)
Family History - Access Services (Family History Library, All Floors)
- Manage books, films and equipment in the Family History Library
- Assist patrons with photo-duplication
Family History - British Services (Family History Library, Basement)
- Assist patrons with British Isles, New Zealand, and Australian research
Family History - Digital and Preservation (Family History Library, Basement and 3rd Floor)
- Preserve, reproduce, catalog and digitize books and records
- Take book donations from patrons
- Conduct research for off-sight patrons
Family History - Deaf Services (Family History Library, 2nd and 3rd Floors)
- Use American Sign Language to assist deaf patrons in family research
Family History - Family Search Center (Joseph Smith Memorial Building, Main Floor)
- Introduce guests to basic family history research
- Host tour groups and youth conferences
Family History - Historical Reconstitution and Data Analysis (Joseph Smith Memorial Building, 6th Floor East)
- Link early history pedigrees
- Prepare community trees from oral genealogies and post online
- Analyze genealogical records and indexed data for accuracy and completeness
Family History - Hosting Services (Family History Library, Lobby)
- Guide patrons entering the Family History Library
- Provide Family History Library orientation and training for missionaries
- Host youth groups at the Family History Library
Family History - International Services (Family History Library, Basement)
- Assist patrons with international research
Family History - US and Canada Services (Family History Library, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Floors)
- Assist patrons with US and Canada research
- Assist Family History Library staff with family search projects
Headquarters Zone A (Church Office Building, 4th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 12th Floors)
- Assist with:
- Perpetual Education Fund
- Seminary and Institute
- Welfare Services
- Church Education Systems
- Special Projects
- Natural Resources
- Assistant to Elder Hinckley in Public Relations
Headquarters Zone B (Church Office Building, 20th, 21st, and 28th Floors)
- Coordinate Interpretation Teams
- Assist the Military Relations and Security Departments
Headquarters Zone C (Church Office Building, 2nd and 3rd Floors)
- Assist the Human Resources and Missionary Departments
Family History - Digital Imaging Processing (Church Office Building, 3rd and 6th Floors)
- Process digitized records into digital pipeline
- Create and edit Wiki and Gazetteer articles
- Create lookup lists and waypoint records
Family History - Worldwide Patron Services (Joseph Smith Memorial Building, 3rd and 6th Floors)
- Assist and train Family History Center directors
- Assist patrons with research, indexing, FamilySearch.org, Family Tree, and Personal Ancestral File
- Recruit and support Wiki contributors
- Recruit, screen and track at-home Church Service Missionaries
Granite Mountain Records Vault
- Retrieve requested records, sign them out, and send them
- Sign in returned records and put them away
(This is a microfilm. It contains thousands records.)
(This is the box the microfilm goes in. Obviously it has a number so I know which one to get.)
(We keep the microfilms in really big drawers like this.)
(And here is just one of the rows (out of like 10) that contain the films on just one of the floors. Now you know why the temple is able to get so many names.)
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