58 Days Left to Make a Difference

Our mission in Florida ends on August 1, 2016.  We've had many great experiences and we look forward to finishing strong.  Although our last blog posting was a short time ago, we have some exciting things to share with you at this time..

Our missionary calling is to digitize published materials from the University of Florida's collection so that the results can be uploaded on the websites of Family Search, Internet Archive, and the University of Florida.  We continue to make substantial progress with this endeavor. 

Sister Wolff on Scribe 1 - "her machine"

Elder Wolff on Scribe 2 - "his machine"

When we're working on the scribe, this is our view from the "driver's seat".

We also "republish" the work that has been digitized by the scribes.  We share this station with Lynda Preston.  On a typical day, all three of us will spend some time republishing.

May was our most productive month!

The total number of items uploaded in May was 1,161 bringing our grand total to 4,246.

The total number of images captured in May was 88,766 bringing our grand total to 781,485.

We also enjoy being involved in traditional missionary work.

During the last few weeks, we had an opportunity to feed the two sister missionaries that serve in our ward.  Afterwards, we spent the evening with them trying to locate less active members.  It is always a treat to spend time with our "junior" missionaries.

Today, we witnessed the 10th convert baptism in our ward since we moved here 13 months ago.  We also witnessed two convert baptisms in the previous ward we lived in.  In each case, we've been involved in the support system for the new members both before and after baptism.  It is great to watch people progress in the Gospel. The Gospel does change lives!

Florida is a great place for those who love nature.

You never know what you might encounter when you're outside of your apartment.

There are many ponds surrounding our apartment complex.  One in particular, has a large population of fish and turtles.  We like to throw bread into the pond and watch the feeding frenzy.  The ripples are fish. If you look close you will also see at least one turtle.

One day last week, a Blue Heron kept coming closer and closer to us while we were feeding the fish and turtles.  As we threw bread in his direction, the fish flocked to the bread and he grabbed a fish.  This went on until he ate seven fish.  We even got to see them go down his throat!

During one of his extended walks, Elder Wolff ran across this plant.  One of our son's identified it as the flower from a Button Bush.  It was both unique and beautiful.

The most common animal "type" we see is the Anole. They are small lizards.  Anoles are all over the place during the warm months. We try to dodge them when we are walking on the sidewalks, but we're not always successful.

One afternoon last week, we were in the swimming pool. Elder Wolff picked up a small bug that had just flown into the water and flipped it onto the pool deck.  Two Anoles raced onto the deck.  The winner ate the bug!  The two just stayed there waiting for him to provide them with another meal!  He found a dead beetle in the water and flipped it to them.  Again, there was a race.  This time the winner chewed on the beetle for awhile and then spit it out - too hard!  Our grandchildren would absolutely love chasing an Anole.

Work - Church - Travel = Our Mission

It has been an eventful couple of weeks since our last post.  We would like to take this opportunity to share a few of the highlights with you.

Work

Many days we feel like we're doing more for Internet Archive and the University of Florida then we are doing for Family Search but then there are exceptions.  During the last few weeks we've digitized records dealing with each person who has been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor as well as bibliographic sketches of over 300 army generals.  We're also working on a series of memorials given in the United States Congress for colleagues who have died.  The work continues to move rapidly.  By month's end, we anticipate setting a new record for our site regarding the number of items uploaded onto Internet Archive's website in one month.

Church

Sunday, May 14 was a historic day for the Gainesville 5th ward. Bishop Thomas was released after serving as the Bishop of this ward for nearly eight years.  He has been the Bishop since the ward was created.  Our Ward Mission Leader was called to be the new president of the Young Single Adults branch. The sacrament service included a missionary farewell as one of our young men has been called to serve in Texas.  A sister was confirmed a new member of the church following her baptism the day before and we had five investigators in attendance, as well as an inactive member who returned after a two year absence. This was the tenth convert baptism that has occurred in the two wards we've attended since arriving in Florida. It is amazing to watch the Gospel at work in the lives of both members, investigators and missionaries.  

Travels

We enjoy spending our free time seeing the sights within our mission.  During the past few weeks, we visited the Appleton Museum of Art located in Ocala and affiliated with the College of Central Florida.  We were very surprised at the extensive collection of art and artifacts found in the museum.

We were unable to take pictures of the beautiful paintings, but we did get a few pictures of items in their Asian collection.

We were surprised to find this statue of a horse during our stop in Ocala.  Ogden, Utah isn't the only place with decorated horse statues along its' streets.

We enjoy taking walks and riding our bikes in the neighborhoods surrounding our apartment.  You never know what you'll see!  Yesterday, these four Sandhill cranes were taking a stroll through a neighboring apartment complex.

During the past year, we've had membership in the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens located in Gainesville.  A couple of weeks ago, we made our last trip there during our stay in Florida.

Their collection of bamboo is amazing as is the different form trees take in the gardens.

We've been surprised to see how many types of cactus grow in Florida.

During the upcoming week, our good friends Elder and Sister Martin will be returning to their Utah home.  It has been great serving with them and enjoying many activities and some great restaurants together.

April was a Great Month

Our Work

April saw the continuation of our efforts to bring additional resources to those who are hunting for information on their relatives.  We were able to upload 850 items onto Internet Archive's website.  The items included a total of approximately 62,000 images.  We continue to make good progress and look forward to reaching higher goals during the last three months of our mission.

Go Gators!

Serving in Gainesville has provided us with several opportunities to attend college sporting events.  The quality of athlete and level of success associated with the University of Florida and the SEC has been exciting to experience.  We had a chance to attend both a baseball game and a football scrimmage on the same day with our good friends, Elder and Sister Martin.

Baseball - University of Florida vs. Mississippi State University

46,000 fans at the University of Florida's spring football game

Good friends serving together in the Florida Jacksonville mission.

Gators are great - We still follow BYU, U of U, USU, and the USNA!

Other Missionary Activities

We also enjoy doing the activities that are usually associated with missionary work.  One responsibility is to check on the apartments of our younger colleagues.  Missionary safety is a significant priority as is the maintenance of a healthy living environment.  In April, we had a chance to visit missionaries in Williston, Chiefland, and Old Town.  Since it was their "P Day", we all met in Chiefland for lunch after our inspections.

It is always great to have the missionaries in our apartment.  They bring a great spirit, eat a lot of food, and engage us in a Gospel discussion during each visit.  This month, we had a little bigger gathering then usual.

These are some of the finest young men you'll every meet.

Every Tuesday, we attend a Book of Mormon class taught by our missionaries.  The group includes investigators, new members, and missionaries.  We enjoy studying the Book of Mormon together.

Missionaries come and go as transfers occur.  Two of the four missionaries here were leaving for other parts of the mission the following day. 

Our chapel, home to the Gainesville 1st and 5th wards.  It can be a hive of activity.  Last weekend it hosted a baptism on Saturday evening, church services on Sunday, and a "break the fast" potluck dinner after church Sunday afternoon.

Sometime for Fun

We managed to sneak away to one of our favorite spots, St. Augustine, to celebrate Sister Wolff's birthday.  One of things on our "to do" list was to take a tour of Flagler College.  The facility was originally built in 1888 to serve as a winter retreat for the "very" rich.  We had been told that it was beautiful, but words can't really describe what we saw.

The grounds are amazing.

The Tiffany stained glass windows are beautiful.

Many of the ceilings are painted - this is the student cafeteria!

We don't go to St. Augustine without spending a little time on the beach.  For those who worry about coming on a mission because of the separation from children and grandchildren, modern communication goes a long way in resolving that issue.

Sister Wolff getting birthday wishes from children and grandchildren on her I Phone.

Help Wanted!

Our mission ends on August 1.  They are still searching for our replacements.  Interested, contact the Family History - Records Preservation folks at the Missionary Department in Salt Lake City.  You are needed!

Spring in Florida - Amazing Time of Year

March - Our Most Successful Month to Date

 

March was an extremely successful month for us with regards to digitizing published materials for Family Search and Internet Archive.  We were able to upload 660 items onto the Internet Archive website.  Of that total, 474 were appropriate for Family Search.  The items uploaded to Internet Archive included 85,994 images (pictures).  As we begin the month of April, our totals include 2,030 items and 623,291 images uploaded thus far during our mission.  We're really excited when we go to the websites and see how many people are viewing the materials that we've digitized.

 

It Continues to be About People

 

We're pleased that our work helps people on both sides of the veil, connecting families to each other.

We also enjoy our time spent with the other missionaries, members of our ward family here in Gainesville, as well as friends and family members that are able to visit us.

 

 

Our sister missionaries getting up close and personal with a gator!

 

 

Elder Wolff with his brothers, Tom and Randy.  Randy visited from Ohio.

 

Our ward experienced their seventh convert baptism since we moved into this area eleven months ago.  Great missionaries + strong ward members + the Gospel and the Spirit working together = changed lives.

 

Walking and Riding in our Neighborhood

 

One of the things that we'll long remember are the many walks and rides that we've taken in our neighborhood.  There is something special about taking a walk surrounded by beautiful plants, green trees and grass, and temperatures in the high 70's and low 80's when it is snowing back home in Utah.

 

 

 

You never know what you might find around the next corner!

 

Gainesville Florida - Gator Land!

 

It is fun to be living and working in Gainesville where the University of Florida is a dominate factor in many aspects of the community's life.  It has given us an opportunity to watch many outstanding athletes perform.  This month, it was the Gator softball team - two time defending national champs and the #1 ranked college softball team at the current time.

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, they lost to Alabama this game, 2-1.

 

Just for our younger grandchildren - he's hiding from you!

 

 











February Included Hard Work and Fun

On February 2nd, we celebrated the completion of a full year in the mission field.  On February 26th, we celebrated the first anniversary of the Family Search/Internet Archive/University of Florida partnership.  During the first year, we have uploaded 1,370 items (books and pamphlets) on the Internet Archive website (including 1,189 books of value to Family Search) and digitized 534,501 images (pages).  It has been a successful year for our team.

One of the joys we have is the opportunity to work with the missionaries who are assigned to our ward.  We love to have them in our home for dinner followed by a gospel discussion.  During February, we spent an evening with the sister missionaries in our ward.  The evening included following up on referrals from church headquarters.

We continue to have both friends and family visit us during our time in Florida.  Elder Wolff's brother and sister-in-law came up one weekend to take in a UF gymnastics meet, La Chua Trail, and the Butterfly Rain Forest.  Bruce and Ginny Beamer also met us for dinner one evening on their way to Alabama.

Living in Gainesville provides us with access to the various activities sponsored by the University of Florida.  We've taken advantage of this opportunity by attending both musical and athletic events.  During February, we attended a gymnastic meet as well as a men's basketball game.

 

#2 & Defending National Champs UF vs. #6 LSU

 

 

 

University of Florida vs. University of Kentucky

 

For those of you who do not like snakes, we have a new hero for you!

 

 



 



 

 



January equals benchmarks, visits, and goodbyes

Benchmark

 



On January 13, we reached the benchmark of 1,000 items (almost entirely books) on line with Internet Archive.  Family Search also uses the materials that we process as a resource.  Our next benchmark will be 500,000 scanned pages.  That benchmark will be reached in February.  Our team looks forward to continued progress and reaching our next goal.  A special thanks to our coworker, Lynda.  She is a part-time employee of Internet Archive.

 

 

 Visits

 

As senior missionaries, we enjoy the opportunity that we have to receive visitors.  January was a busy month for us.  Our youngest son and his family visited from Virginia for a long weekend.  We enjoyed time together as we visited Payne's Prairie and the Butterfly Rain Forrest.

 

 

 Sister "Grandma" Wolff also got some one on one time with her youngest granddaughter.

Spencer Wood, our direct supervisor from Family Search, came from Salt Lake City to spend two days with us in Gainesville.  It was a great visit and he left with a good understanding of our worksite as well as some great ideas for the future.

 Elder Wolff's mother spent a few days with us.  She also visited Elder Wolff's brother and his wife who live just outside our mission's boundaries.  Elder Wolff's mother made the trip from her home in Ohio.  She also enjoyed the Butterfly Rain Forrest.

Goodbyes



 

Our young missionary colleagues come and go as transfers occur and missions end.  This week, three of the six "young" missionaries serving in our ward left.  One Sister headed back home while two of our Elders were transferred.  Elder Geist and Elder Hopkin have been in our ward for eight months.  We've had some great missionary experiences together.  Monday evening was our "last supper" together.

 

 



Our home in Morgan this week while we enjoyed temperatures in the 70's and low 80's in Gainesville!

 



 On February 1, we completed the first 12 months of our eighteen month mission. We're excited to move the work along during the next six months.