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.

Our Mission Provides Opportunities to Explore While Serving

As Family Search missionaries, we have a regular schedule that includes working from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.  The facility that we work at follows the calendar established for the regular employees of the University of Florida and thus there are times when the facility is shut down.  One such time was over Christmas.  We enjoyed a break that started December 25 and continued through January 3.  We took advantage of the break to continue our exploration of the sites within our mission's boundaries.

St. Marys and Cumberland Island

 

Cumberland Island National Seashore is a national park located on a barrier island in southern Georgia.  There is a daily limit to the number of visitors who may travel to the island.  The only access by visitors is by ferry.  It is a wildlife and historical preserve.

 

At one point in time, the Carnegie family owned most of the island.  Some of their mansions are still standing, while some are not.

 

 





Part of the attraction to the island is the presence of wild horses that were first brought here by the Carnegie family.

There are several points of interest on the island although it is highly suggested that one take advantage of the guided van tour that is available.  We had an opportunity to see the small church that John F. Kennedy's son (John Kennedy Jr.) was married in.

 

 



President Jimmy Carter also visited an old friend that lived on the island.  They would sit on the front porch of this house and discuss life in Georgia.

On the ferry ride on the way back from Cumberland Island we were able to enjoy a beautiful sunset.

 



We also enjoyed our stay in St. Marys, especially the bed and breakfast where we spent the night.

 



Fernandina Beach and Amelia Island

 

We also spent some time on Amelia Island where one of the attractions is a fort that was constructed by the Union Army during the Civil War.

 

 

There are also many attractions in the Gainesville area that we enjoy on Saturdays.  In December, we visited the Dudley Farm.

 

Sugar Cane Festival at the Dudley Farm







 

At one time, sugar cane was an important crop in some parts of Florida including the Dudley Farm in Gainesville.  They celebrate each year by having a festival where the sugar cane is harvested and then processed using the same methods that were used many years ago.  Other displays depict the culture and lifestyle of the people in earlier times.

 

Dudley farm house

 





Grinding corn to make meal for chicken feed.

 

Music from that time period.

 

We enjoy the opportunities we have to visit the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens in Gainesville.

 

Kanapaha Orchard and Camellia Shows

 

In October, we enjoyed Kanapaha's annual orchard show.  In January, we enjoyed their annual camellia show.  Both are examples of the beauty in God's creation.

 







 

Our calling as Family History Missionaries is providing us with the opportunity to do meaningful work for those on both sides of the veil, while giving us ample opportunity to explore the many attractions within our mission while enjoying life in Florida.  We are thankful for this opportunity.

A Sample of Flora and Fauna

We have wanted to include a sampling of some of the flora and fauna we've enjoyed as we've traveled

about in our mission in central and northern Florida.

Azaleas and  roses blooming and a garden full of flowers greeting us Christmas week.

Lemon and Orange trees loaded with fruit during the month of December.

We have no idea what this particular specimen is, but it was a huge blossom hanging from a very long stem from a very tall tree!

It seems that nearly half of the trees in this part of Florida has Spanish Moss hanging from them, which no doubt gives the whole area a spooky eerie atmosphere-especially on days when there is also fog.

There is an abundance of life in our wonderful mission. Here are some of the ones we have encountered that crawl, swim, and fly.

These little guys are everywhere!  We just call them lizards, but technically they are anoles and are the fastest moving critters around. They only grow to maybe 3-4 inches long (the baby ones are so tiny and cute). It took a couple weeks of living here before Sister Wolff wasn't jumping, hollering and shuddering every time she saw one. (especially when they managed to sneak into the apartment!!)

This adorable little frog turned up one day on our patio sitting on one of our planters. It was only about 1 1/2 inches long and spent an entire day with us before disappearing the following morning.

These fellows are enough to make you pause for a second look!  They are about 6-8 inchs long and if you look really close you'll see a baby piggybacking on the bottom half of the adult.

Yep-that's a spider!  The biggest ugliest one we've ever seen.  And we've seen more than one of them!

Turtles, and alligators about anyplace there's fresh water.

Not surprising, there are unlimited amounts of birds everywhere! We really aren't familiar with the names of most of them, but they are beautiful and different and enjoyable to watch.

These 2 need no description, Aren't they lovely?

And then there is the beach and ocean, which we love to visit and there is no limit to the beauty we find every time we go.

What a wonderful world we live in.