It’s Time To Rejoice!

Much of what I write about comes from my research into my family, and I finished a big project last week. I rejoice because this project took me almost 20 years to complete.

Don’t freak out over how long it took. I chose to work on this project for many reasons and it was a lot bigger than I ever imagined. Despite that, it was really a blessing to me and my family as we worked on it.

The end of the project came a bit suddenly. The project was to index all the individuals in a parish in East Prussia who share the surnames of my family. One thing I didn’t anticipate was that I would need to add new surnames as I found family. I still have some of those to look for, but it is a lower priority.

The end came abruptly as I still had a rather large book of christenings to look through. As I went back to it, I had looked at it before and was confused by it, I found that it still didn’t make sense. I sought help from a friend who, despite her expertise, came out confused by it too. She recommended I ask in the FamilySearch Community page for Germany.

There, I got a response that made sense. The book is not what the title page says it is, and the contents are not from the parish I am researching. Happy day! Suddenly, it is complete.

How Did I Get There?

It is easy to say, “Hurray, it is done!”, without really looking at how it came about. Certainly, I partied. Happy dances occurred, and I peppered my kids with, “Guess what I finished.” But, I also took time to look at the journey and enjoy the milestones.

I started when I realized that several generations of my family lived in this area. My great uncles were compelled to research the family lines to prove that they had no Jewish ancestors. Remarkably, none exist within five generations and I have yet to find any. I used what they knew as I started researching. I found a few errors, but more than anything else, I found lots of aunts and uncles, and their families.

What a great blessing it has been to learn who they are and not allow them to remain forgotten. Think of it. You are living and creating things in your life. You learn and share with others. Do you want to be forgotten when you are no longer living as a mortal?

Finding Time

I have taken that to heart, so I started looking. Trips to Salt Lake City to do research at the Family History Library happened. I would go once every two or three years. It took a lot of effort to go with a growing family. I then learned that the same films I was looking at in Salt Lake City were available in the Family History wing of the Harold B. Lee Library on the campus of Brigham Young University. It still took some effort to schedule a trip with my family responsibilities, but it was easier. That brought me joy.

I started going a few times a year. I also took my kids. As they became more mature, I took more of them. I did find that having them look for names was not easy for them, so I adjusted what I had them help with.

Using a vision board, I put the goal to complete the research and cross checking of christenings, marriages, and deaths up so I could remind myself of it each day. I started looking at images at home. Using those images, I did more research.

Then came the day I was dreading. I knew that FamilySearch was digitizing their collection of microfilms, and I asked some employees about the German records I needed. What they told me was not encouraging. Germany had strict privacy laws and it was unlikely that those films would be available on line. Knowing this, the day it was announced that I would no longer be able to request films to the BYU library was crushing.

Rejoice Because Miracles And Blessings Do Happen

The day the change in policy for requesting films came. I sullenly went online to look at what I would have to go back to Salt Lake City to view. As I looked at the catalog listings, I noticed that some of the icons at the end of each record look different. They now has a camera icon instead of a film roll icon. I clicked on one and to my great surprise, the record came up on my computer. Over the next few weeks, almost every film I wanted to look at in the future was now available online. I rejoice at the tender mercy God had shown me.

Over the last two and a half years of research, I have covered 80% of the records I needed to look through in this parish. Having focused on the goal and assuming that answers to problems would come, results changed. New ideas occurred to me. Things moved much faster.

Now I can move on to other goals. I will use the same ideas to reach them. Find your why for the goal. Put it in writing. Look at it constantly. Ask who can help or whom you can help. Ask yourself when it can be accomplished. Look at possible places where you can accomplish it. Then let the how come to you. Keep your mind open. I know it works.

If you are interested in learning methods to get your goals faster, contact me. I know I can help you find clarity in reaching your desires. It just takes courage and willingness to change who you are today to get what you want.

Mark Fincher
Chief Mentor and Trainer
Living Tree Connections