This day brought some very tender memories and promptings I want to make note of today, before these thoughts fade away.
While I was serving today, I had some names come up from the same area in Mexico as one of my 2nd great-grandmothers. Encarnacion, Jalisco, Mexico. One of the sisters I worked with was impressed how I could pronounce the names as places so clearly.
Most of my co-workers try very diligently to say the places and names correctly. I am amazed at how well they know how to say them. I call it the "gift of tongues," when that happens.
Well, while these names came up, I started to explain how I came to know this information about his second great grandmother, whose name is Maxima Munoz. She was from Encarnacion, Jalisco, Mexico. She was married to Clemente Ulloa, my paternal 2nd great grandfather. I consider his father, Quirino Rodriguez the Patriarch of our family on the other side, since he is the end of line ancestor and know very little about his parents; I know the name of his mother only. I just know that he is listed on the birth record of Ricardo Rodriguez, my paternal grandfather. Imagine my delight with them all listed on my grandfather's birth record from Guanajuato. It was like finding a road map.
I had pictures given to me of these 2nd great-grandparents from this trip to Monterrey in 1970. Only they are not downloaded on a CD or disc as yet. When I get them done, soon I hope, I will post them.
The thing that stands out in my mind to share here, today, is their story of how I came to know about them, and who they are.
I have my grandfather, Ricardo to thank for that. He was instrumental in making it possible, along with my father for me and my younger sister, Linda Ruth to go to San Antonio, Texas in June of 1970 to travel with our grandfather to his birthplace, in Guanajuato, Gto, Mexico.
We, my sister and I flew to Texas to go with Buelito, aka Ricardo to Guanajuato. We traveled by car, and went down through Brownsville, Texas on down to Monterrey, Mexico and onto to Guadalajara, then to a place where a shrine of Christ at El Cubilete in some mountains. Buelito wanted for Linda and I to experience seeing this special place that legend had about Christ visiting the people at one time. I believe that is why there was a shrine because of the account in the Book of Mormon and the great number of healings that took place at the time of his visit and since.
People would travel for miles and miles to this place in crutches or make shift wheel chairs and leave healed through their faith in Christ. The Catholic Church had so many who had come for this purpose, the healings.
Nevertheless it was a testimony to us, that Jesus did visit the Americas to the people there and passed down the stories and accounts of the miraculous healings that took place.
While we went to Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico Buelito took us to visit his cousin, Angel Ulloa. He was an educated man, who attended university in the U.S. in New York. I think my grandfather helped his cousin through school and he became an engineeer in Mexico. His son, became a plastic surgeon years later. I would meet him thirty years later when I traveled to work with students in the institute with the Perpetual Education Fund announced by President Gordon B Hinckley for young returned missionaries to get their education and become better leaders and providers for their families in this newly announced program.
The night we stayed with Angel Ulloa, we went to Horsetail Falls, in the mountains by Monterrey. We slept in an upstairs room in their hacienda. It was a very Spanish style, Moorish type home. This room we stayed in had on the table, a scrapbook of Angel's family history. It had all the names of the ancestors I am related to from my grandfather's parents and grandparents. That is how I came to get the family names and genealogy of my ancestors. I had only known as far back as Eduiges, my great-grandmother, before. This information took me back two more generations.
Buelito, made sure he took pictures of the pages and I still have copies of those photos. I will post them later. I have since been able to record all this information and do the temple ordinances for my ancestral lines. It is a joy to know how I link to them, and have found many good records that verify the birth dates and vital statistics of our family.
El Cubilete in Guanjuato
I have been very blessed to have come by the photos and stories of our family's historical record. This genealogy research is something I have worked on for over forty years. Several generations will know about our ancestors for the diligence of those who have gone before and passed down through me.
I know we are all blessed by my ancestors. The hearts of the children are turned to the Fathers, and the Fathers to the children in this great monumental work. I praise my Father in heaven for his great love for me to allow me the privileged of finding all of the records that have been discovered and preserved for me and my family.
This work would not be as complete as it is, had they not been made available on this trip in 1970, as I sought out the genealogy for my family.
I am reminded right now, of the scripture, I Nephi 3:7
7 "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."
I bear testimony of this, in the name of Jesus, Christ, our Master. Amen.
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