Sunday, October 3, 2010

Mission Possible -- 4th Ward Relief Society October 2010

NOTE: The Mission Possible missions are designed to be projects that will turn “the hearts of the children to their fathers” and to be things that will strengthen families. Some of them require computer access and some computer skills. Some do not. Before you accept your mission you will be given the opportunity to trade missions or accept another mission, if necessary. It is expected that you will spend about four hours over the next month working on your mission and that you will report your experiences at the next Relief Society meeting. It is also expected that we will help each other and provide resources for everyone to work on their mission.

Family History Mission #1
Take time to gather ALL your genealogy papers, documents, photos, books, outlines, etc. Organize them and file them. OR Get a cardboard box. Then follow the instructions given by President Packer as written in “Your Family History: Getting Started,” Ensign Aug 2003, 12-17.

Family History Mission #2
Digitize your Family History records if you have not already done so. Use Personal Ancestral File (free from Family Search) or use one of the Certified Products shown on the New Family Search web site.
Examples are Legacy, Roots Magic, Ancestral Quest, FamilyInsight, Gaia Family Tree, Genetree
If you already have your Family History digitized, spend four hours reviewing and updating your information.

Family History Mission #3
Register for New Family Search if you have not already done so. Once you are registered spend four or more hours reviewing the information about your ancestors. Check for accuracy. Investigate whether other family members are researching your family history and contact them to collaborate.

Family History Mission #4
Choose one of your ancestors and write a history about them and their life. Include all important dates, names and places. Give citations for your sources. This can be as long or as short as you desire. Imagine that you or your child is giving a talk about this person.

Family History Mission #5
Promote food traditions. Take a traditional family recipe and learn to prepare this food. Serve it to your family. If you are already doing this on a regular basis, then teach a child, grandchild, niece or nephew how to prepare an old family recipe so that the family tradition will continue into the next generations.

Family History Mission #6
Display your heritage or your personal history. Use a shadow box or a frame to display photographs or artifacts from your family. Beware of bright sunlight and use copies if necessary or display only on special occasions. Another option is to learn how to preserve fabrics, antiques, etc. and take steps to protect valuable family heirlooms. Create labels and inventories so that your children know the history of your family treasures.

Family History Mission #7
Register to volunteer with Family Search Indexing and complete three or four batches. You will help make genealogical information available for researchers and you will gain valuable research skills that will help you when you desire to research these documents for your ancestors. Go to http://www.familysearch.org/eng/indexing/frameset_indexing.asp to get started or ask a family history consultant to visit you in your home and help you. If you are already an indexer, complete at least four batches in the next month.

Family History Mission #8
Make an Internet Blog. This can be a family news blog, a research blog, an educational blog, or a blog to co-ordinate research. If you already have a blog, you may choose to update it.

Family History Mission #9
Organize your photographs. Make sure all photos are labeled. Convert old photos and slides to digital format. Make scrapbooks. Attach digital images to your ancestors in your digital genealogy software. Decide which part of this project you are going to spend four hours on in the next month and get started.

Family History Mission #10
Be a film critic. Watch at least four genealogy TV or Internet programs and review them for our group next month. Suggestions are:

NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/

PBS’s Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates Jr.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/facesofamerica/

BYU’s Generations Project http://www.byutv.org/thegenerationsproject/Episodes/

Roots Television http://www.rootstelevision.com/