Week Number Two

We are staring to adjust to our new schedule.  We leave our flat at about 7:45 each morning to walk to our "work"  We arrive on the job at about 8:15 a.m. ready to venture into the world of digital image capturing.  Our work stations are in the basement of The National Archives across the river from downtown London.  Many friends are concerned about us being shut into a dingy dungeon of a basement.  Not true!  The room is huge with very high ceilings. It is clean and full of lots of other people working there.  There are employees from Find My Past, Ancestry, The National Archives, and many many other groups filming old documents. We are there for FamilySearch.  Once we get to the archives we take off our missionary badges and put on FamilySearch badges.  As a missionary sister, it is suggested that I wear comfortable slacks, and Paul wears casual clothes as well. 

Annie the Digital Capturor

This week we have learned a lot about the computer camera program we are using.  Our supervisor left the country to visit family in Canada and so we learned by the harder, trial and error method to overcome challenges.  Paul's knowledge of computers has been our lifesaver.  We will send a "shuttle" to Salt Lake tomorrow with all of our work so far.  They will return the shuttle in about a week with an "acceptance" of our work or a "do it over".

Paul with old document to capture

We are enjoying the walk to and from work each day.  It gives us a built in exercise program.  When we move to our permanent flat in 2 weeks, the walk will only be 10 minutes each way.  I guess we will have to take advantage of the gym in our new apartment complex.

Since the Family History Centre (English spelling)  is up two floors from where we film, we usually spend time after "work" doing some genealogy.  You would have guessed this, being that I am married to Paul Smart.  He has got me looking up the Ward line in the Kirkby Ravensworth area of Yorkshire.  Lots of things are getting cleared up and accurately completed.  I hope to get a lot done in the next 18 months.

Staines Chapel

Staines Chapel Inside

The trip to church was a challenge this morning.  Our meeting in Staines starts at 10:00 a.m.  We left the flat at 8:30 a.m.  We first took a bus to the train station, only to find out the tracks to Staines were under repair.  We rode the train to Hounslow where they transferred us to a bus that finished the journey to Staines.  We arrived at exactly 10:00 a.m.  The church in Staines is a short 1/2 block from the train and bus station.  We were a little concerned about getting back after church.  We gratefully met a young couple that lives fairly close to us.  They offered us a ride home.  I guess Kew, where we live does not have many LDS people.  It was nice to meet someone from our neck of the woods.  We also met some sisters  who do a single adult family home evening on Mondays.  They invited us tomorrow, so we'll meet some more members.

I am beginning to learn some of the local lingo....like "que"  means to line up.  "Mind the gap" is the common phrase for watch your step (there's usually a gap or space between the train station and the actual train).  "Give Way" is the yield sign over here.

We work hard and are more than ready for bed when the day is done.  Life is good!  We love the Lord and are happy to be doing his work here in the UK. 

Love to all who might read this,

Mom and Dad (Elder and Sister Smart) (Paul and Annie (Flora))