Unexpected Surprise And How I Spent My Summer Vacation
I am not quite sure how to begin.
Maybe at the beginning, MY beginning.I was born in Seattle, WA in 1956. My mother and father got divorced when I was two years old. I never knew my father. I never heard from him as I was growing up.
After I graduated from high school I moved to Provo, Utah. I took some evening classes at BYU, worked, and had fun making friends. The people there were great. Even the young people, they were respectful to their parents, they always tried to do what was right and had a desire to do as the Lord would have them do. They also were avid readers of the scriptures. I was very impressed with this.
I decided to go to the church there. I went to church on campus. Also I began to take Institute classes, these are classes that teach about the scriptures. Also after a year or so, I met with the missionaries to hear about the gospel. I was later baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, in Sept of 1976.
A few years later I was working in Salt Lake City, as a PBX (telephone) operator for the church. One day I was too ill to go to work, I stayed home and was really bored. So bored that I was checking the phone book to see if I could find church leaders names in it. Then I decided to look for Joneses.
My fathers name is Faye Eugene Jones. I found three 'F' Jones, and one F.E. Jones. I thought hmm.... I called the membership office at the Church Office Building where I worked. Now this was in the 1970s. Back when security and confidentiality was not as big an issue as it is now. I asked the girl who answered the phone if there was a Faye Eugene Jones on the records of the church. She said yes. I wondered if he could be MY Faye Eugene Jones. I asked for more info on his record. She told me a name. WOW ! The name was of my half sister Linda, his daughter from a previous marriage. It IS him! I thought wow, he is a member of the church. I then found out that he had recently passed away and had lived in a town just about 90 miles north of me. We were within just a few miles of each other and didn't even know it. Now it was too late.
I also found out that he had been married again and had a family. I was able to get his wife's name and went to visit her in Brigham City, Utah . We had a nice visit. She told me that my dad's father and stepmother lived in California. And I also found out that he had an aunt in Iowa who, from the time she was 14 years old, had compiled a family history. I called her and spoke with her for quite a while, Aunt Mattie, was a very sweet lady. She sent me a copy of the Jones Family History. A notebook of about 80 pages of info on both sides of the pages. Dates, births, deaths, marriages, stories. Wow! I now had something about my dad's family. That was as far as my excitement went then. I was 22 years old or so, only a member of the church a few short years.
Years went by, about 35 or so I have grown in my understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the importance of family in this life and in the life to come. We are to be together in Heaven. There is only one way to make that happen. I have to find that notebook. I haven't seen it in all this time...
This past summer 2010 I went to visit my mother and sister. I drove from Evanston, Wyoming to Mt. Vernon, Washington on my own. The trip was fun, just a little tiring on the last leg, from Portland, Oregon to Mt. Vernon.
My reason for going was to go and help as they have health problems. I was going to be there a couple weeks and ended up staying there 3 months. Another reason for going was to find the Jones Family History notebook. Mom had said that she had it. We looked and looked for it and just couldn't find it. We were in an apartment, how hard could it be?
While I was there I attending church services each Sunday. I had mentioned to a few ladies from church that I was searching and was having no luck. One little lady, Betty G, sweet little thing, was so concerned about this. One Sunday I sat next to her in Relief Society. I said to her 'I sure wish I could find that book.' Then right there she said 'Dear Lord, please help her find that book' She sounded so sweet, honest and humble, I was just in awe.
I went home from church. Mom and I were sitting in the living room. I was thinking, gosh, where is that book? Mom left the room. I was sitting there and a thought came into my head 'Look in the file cabinet' I said to myself, 'I have already looked there.' Then again, only louder or more persistent, the thought came, LOOK IN THE FILE CABINET. So I got up, went across the room, opened the top drawer of the file cabinet and there it was. Oh my goodness!! The Jones Family History. I had not seen it for at least 35 years or so! Wow! The answer to the sweet petition of a sweet little lady.
I spent many hours in the Family History Center at the church up there in Washington and in the center here in Wyoming. I have done a lot of work for members of my family. This genealogy stuff is addicting. It keeps me awake at night. In fact, it is now 3:23 am. It is a good addiction though and the rewards are eternal.
