New Beginnings

Last night I had the privilege of attending New Beginnings with the Young Women from our ward. Before you get confused, I don't have a calling in Young Women's, but I will be spending some time with the YW throughout the year.

In our YW, they like to have a year long project--typically they have it count for a Personal Project Value Project. Last year the girls learned about gardening, and planted a garden in our community garden. It gave them a chance to learn a great skill, and also to work together towards a common goal. I don't know how it all turned out since I got released from YW when Emma was just a few weeks old, but I do think they learned a lot.

This year they are calling the project "My Story". The church has a big push for family history work, and especially for us recording our own history. At the end of last year each adult (and maybe youth?) in our ward that attended a specific combined 3rd hour meeting received a copy of this booklet called My Family. It gives you spaces to record the names and important dates of your ancestors. It gives you places to record parts of your family story.

This year for their year long project, the young women will be learning more about family history, and will be encouraged to record their own story. At New Beginnings the YW President, Lauren, asked what story they would be leaving behind if they were to die tonight. Someone would be able to find their Instagram/Facebook/Blog, and is what they would find the story you really want to leave behind? Have they only shared selfies? Or have they been super negative, only posting things like "worst day ever"? Throughout the year the young women will take the time to record their stories.

This is where I fit in. The presidency is pairing each young woman up with an older sister from the ward. We will spend the year getting to know each other, and helping each other record our stories. I get to go to mutual once a month and help the girls figure out how to tell their stories. I get to tell them my own stories, and together we will be adding our stories to familysearch. We will be adding pictures as well.

Together we get to discover who we are, and who our ancestors were. We will spend time together working on family history, with the hope of finding family names to take to the temple at the end of the year. We also are working together to help the girls realize that Relief Society isn't scary, and that they can fit in with us when they turn 18.

I'm excited to be associating with the YW again! I have missed the girls. Last night they came over to the table I was sitting at to introduce themselves to the other RS sisters who will be mentors, and when they got to me they all were like "Marci! We already know you!" and excited that I was there. I'm excited to be with them, but also to be able to get to know the other mentors too!

I'm not sure exactly what all we will be doing throughout the year, but hopefully as we work on things I'll take the time to blog about them. I want to do better at recording "my story" here on my blog, since it is the main place I use as a journal. I may go back and write posts with past dates to record things that I recorded on Facebook (like the first night that Emma slept through the night, or when she started crawling) so there may be a ton of new posts, but that will be back in the archives. I'm excited at the thought of filling in the gaps on my blog!