I decided to design my own invitations for this event and printed them out on card stock; the manila envelope on one side and invitation information on the other and then cut, folded along the manila envelope lines, sealed with a sticker, and delivered.




I decided to make some modifications to some of the missions as well. I did not to do the Pioneer Ancestor challenge or the Landscape Tree Challenge. Instead I created two of my own challenges, an Ancestry.com challenge and a Google Search challenge. And since I wanted the youth packets and signs to look cohesive I redesigned all of them.  I assembled each youth packet with binder clips. On each mission page is a check box in the upper right corner for leaders to mark when a youth has passed off the mission. One leader is in charge of each mission and can be seated with sign visible, or wear their sign around their neck/carry it, if they are assisting the youth with their challenges. The youth then go to each leader to get each different mission passed off.

Below are free pdf files of the packets and leader signs I designed if you want to use this idea in your own church group.

Use + and - to narrow your results. Adding a plus sign before a word, with no space between, will restrict the search to all pages that have that exact word and exact spelling. Likewise adding a minus sign before a word, with no space between, will restrict the search engine to showing only pages that do not contain that particular word or spelling of it. So if you wanted to search for an ancestor named Elizabeth Taylor but wanted to omit any results about the actress, Elizabeth Taylor, you would enter your search term like so: Elizabeth Taylor -actress or if you only wanted to find out about the actress you would enter your search terms like so: Elizabeth Taylor +actress

Use quotations to narrow your results. Say you search for the words, Elizabeth Taylor, The search will likely bring up pages about various Elizabeth Taylor’s but it will also include any pages that have either the word Elizabeth or Taylor in them. Putting a phrase in quotation marks causes the search engine to treat the terms inside the quotes as one word. Meaning that if you search for “Elizabeth Taylor” it must bring up only pages that have the words Elizabeth and Taylor right next to each other, in that order.

Use the ~ sign to narrow your results. Using the tilde symbol in front of a word, without a space, will cause the search engine to give results that contain both the specific word as well as synonyms for that word. For example searching for “Elizabeth Taylor” ~headstone would bring up pages with the exact phrase Elizabeth Taylor and terms such as grave, tombstone, marker, etc. in addition to headstone.

Use the term “allinanchor:” to narrow your results. When this term is used directly in front of a word or term the search will find all websites that define themselves as your specific keywords. For example, the search allinanchor: “Irish Immigration” would return results containing all the websites that define themselves as being about Irish Immigration.

These are just a few beginning ways to make your internet searches more effective. Learn to use these well and in combination with each other and you’ll soon be able to feel that if information you seek is published somewhere on the internet, you’ll find it!

One way that many genealogists research is through use of the internet. Instead of writing into historical and genealogical societies and waiting weeks or months for a reply, we can find much that we seek at the click of a button. But remember, most of the genealogical information out there still isn't on the internet. And often that which is on the internet displayed in other users family trees is not verified.

You'll find that after questioning your relatives, you'll have gaps in your information; people, dates, or places that are missing, and that is where the real fun begins! Family documents, bibles, photographs, and more can provide vital clues to help you fill in the big picture and it's possible there are some of those hiding right under your nose. Just because your grandma doesn't know about them, doesn't mean they aren't hiding in her attic. You would be amazed at what people inherit and store away without ever looking at. You would also be amazed at what people forget they have!




Ask your parents, grandparents and other relatives if they think they might have any documents or photographs pertaining to your family history. Even if they don't think they do, don't be shy about asking if you might look around their home just to be sure. I've found many documents providing proof of information and other priceless glimpses into my family's past that might have been forever buried had I not asked if I could just double check.

When you're looking around, don't discount anything. A bin labelled "clothing" might have your great grandma's diary buried at the bottom of it. A dusty old shoe box might contain a treasure trove of photos. Boring looking manila envelopes inside a filing cabinet might contain newspaper clippings filled with family names and dates. These pieces of family history might provide just the information you need to fill in some of those gaps. And they'll help you connect with your ancestors in a more meaningful way.