It's been about three months since I've last blogged. It's been a very interesting as well as busy three months. Right after writing my last post, I left my house one day with the intention of visiting the Manoa Chinese Cemetery. When I arrived, they were closed, and as I sat there disappointed, I made the decision to head to the Kawaiaha'o Church off of Punchbowl Street, so that I could try to find the graves of my SO's great-great grandparents. As I arrived there with my youngest daughter in tow, I pulled up to find that most of the cemetery was closed off to the public. We crossed the street to the Hawai'i Mission Houses gift shop to ask for information on where to go. The man in the gift shop told me that there was a set of stairs I had to take and a bell to ring, and IF someone was working, they might be able to help me. So, we crossed over to the church again, and found the stairs and rang the bell. A very nice woman answered the door and funny enough, as we talked she became more intrigued with what I do "for fun." She offered me a job helping to digitize and archive documents for the church and it's historical background, that would start around late August, early September. Needless to say, I was so excited! I was going to get to do something I already love to do-my passion. I didn't care honestly if I'd get paid, I just wanted to help others just like me find out more about their ancestors. I gave her my information, and she gave me the number to call to find out about plot mapping for the cemetery. Afterwards, my youngest and I walked over to the cemetery and tried to use the Findagrave.com photos to find the two graves. We found the graves, right up against some of the construction area. I took some photos of the graves, but not before we were approached by someone who worked at the school that's on the church property. I explained why we were there and that we'd be leaving soon. As I had mentioned earlier, the cemetery is normally closed off because of construction and Covid.
Fast forward to today, I have just taken a position to help archive and digitize documents for the church. The hope is that I'll get to help as many people as I can, while doing something I love. As I look back at my journey through life, I realized even more so today, that every single previous job, every accomplishment, every setback, has honestly brought me to this very moment in time. I am so grateful as this is literally for me the job of my dreams. This entry was more of a get to know me and what's currently happening. So if you ever feel discouraged, regardless of what phase of your research you're in, just remember that when I started my geneaology journey, I had a binder that only had four generations of living family members in it and it hadn't been updated in over 10 years. They weren't my blood family (my now ex's family who I still do the geneaology for). It's been several binders of information later, hours upon hours of research, and lots of post-it notes later, and I still think I learn something new each time. I'm excited for this journey-this chapter in my adventure that is life. Thank you to all of the ancestors, God, and my spirit guides for all of their pull. -Christine
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