Tabloid & Testimony

This particular blog is dedicated to the new Indexing program that the church wants everyone to do. It is geared as to be assessable for all members of the church who want to help further the work for the dead. We are especially targeting the youth because they are already familiar with the computer and when they have free time between studying and working, they can quickly do a batch which is about 30-50 names. We make sure they are signed on to new.familysearch.org and from there they are able to log on to family indexing with the same log on information. We are showing the youth ages 12-18 that genealogy is actually fun and interesting and at the same time, they are giving service to others. We want to get them interested before they are told by the grapevine that genealogy is for the old retired people that have nothing else to do. Wrong, it is for everyone to do. The First Presidency is urging everyone to become involved. This work is so exciting we are privileged to be working in this area of the church.

We drove to Budapest Friday night and stayed at the Mercure Hotel downtown, a block away from the Danube River. Saturday morning we put the address of the Stake center into our GPS and got there about 1 1/2 hours before the seminar started. We took out the electrical wires, cables, chains and locks for each computer. We have to lock the computers to the tables because youth from around the neighborhood, who play basketball and soccer there sometimes, "grab and go" with them if they are left unattended. The Seminar was interesting and informative, because we want to do the teaching with an interpreter in the future, when we get settled in the job.

After the Seminar we stored all the computers in the hotel room and placed a "Do not disturb" sign on the door, hoping no one would come in the room and discover the computers. Lots of stress on this point, but the church's computers have been stolen from Hotel rooms before. Wherever we go, one of us needs to stay with the car. Sister Walters took a few pictures of the chapel, the street that it is located on and the group of people that attended the seminar. They came from various Stakes throughout Budapest. Up until a year ago, there were not any records available for the people in this area but the church has started a Hungarian project that enables the people to do extracting and Indexing for Hungary.

On the 14th of April, Sister Walters and I started on our new mission assignment to Budapest, Hungary. Our job is to carry laptop computers so that the members in the various Stakes throughout Europe can learn first hand how to work the New Family Search and the new indexing programs. Our Supervisor Bro. Richard Walker does the teaching now because he speaks German. He is highly respected for his knowledge in Genealogy research and we hope he can help us find our German ancestors. He has two Doctor's Degrees and was an assistant District Attorney in Seattle, Washington. We really do enjoy working with him. Our job is actually more than just delivering computers however. We are responsible for them, so they are our babies so to speak. We can never leave them in the car unattended. We also have to be careful when we leave them in our Motel room. When we get to the conferences that are given, we set up, take down and help on the computers. Richard told sister Walters that he wanted her to give the next seminar. I know she will enjoy doing that.

We drove to Passau, also known as the Venice of Bavaria, where we decided to spend the night. It is in East Germany so we feel privileged to be able to even go to Passau. It is near the Austrian border. This was also one of the stopovers for the famous princess Elisabeth of Bavaria, better known as Sissi, on her way to the Imperial Throne of Austria. It was once the largest geographical area in the entire Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.

In the morning we took a driving tour of the city. Below are a few of the major places of attraction. The New Residenz has served as the palace of the prince bishops since its completion in 1730. In front is the Wittelsbacher Fountain which was built in the Baroque style. It commemorates the annexation of Passau to Bavaria. Napolean Bonaparte lodged here in 1809.

Next we saw the St. Stephen's Cathedral. It is a beautiful building with blue green copper Baroque cupolas. It was built in 1674 but from notes that were found, we learn that the first St. Stephens church was built in 731 AD. This church boasts the world's largest organ, an 18th century Gilt pulpit. The art work here is extensive and huge. There are 171 in all painted by Carpoforo Tencalla. The High Alter is a representation of the stoning of St. Stephen. I was amazed at the ornateness of the Organ, gold everywhere. I took pictures of the stucco work which was amazing. I think you will get a good idea of how beautiful this cathedral is.

St Paul's Baroque Church was our third place to visit. This church dates back to 1050 in the Romanesque and Gothic style. Instead of focusing on frescos and statues, its focus was on the furnishings, especially the alters. They are all hand carved out of black stained wood and they are adorned with gilt ornamentation. There is a large guilt statue of St. Paul at the front of the church.

The last place we saw was situated high up on a hill in Passau. The citadel Veste Oberhaus started its construction in 1217. From here you can see how the three rivers converge one with another. The Ilz has dark water that comes from the Bavarian Forest, the Inn River with its light green water and the Danube with its blue water create a stark contrast.. This is a most unusual occurrence and the only one in the world that I know of. These three rivers made this area ideal for trading goods as far back as the crusades. We had to get to bed early so we ate dinner at McDonalds and got a good nights rest for the rest of our trip to Budapest.

NEW RESIDENZ