When DNA results don't tell your story.....

This picture from 1912 is my maternal grandfather with all of his siblings at the funeral of their father.  My grandfather, Arnold Toensing, is second from the left, back row, in this picture.  Aunt Anna (who was like a grandma to my family) is on the right in the front row.  My grandfather and Aunt Anna both died before I was three years old.  I have a couple very sketchy memories of them.  However I have very clear memories of Aunt Lydia, pictured on the far left.  We visited her several times after we moved to St. Paul when I was six years old.  It is interesting to look at a picture and see people that you have heard so much about, but never met and you KNOW that you are related to them.

Well, a few months ago I decided to do an Ancestry DNA test.  I thought I knew exactly what would show up on this test since I have clear family tree records.  I know that my dad was 100% Swedish (both his parents came to the US directly from Sweden) and I know that my mom's mother was 100% Norwegian and her dad (pictured above) was 100% German.  Therefore, my DNA should be 75% Scandinavian and 25% German.  Apparently, you really can't believe your DNA tests!

My results actually do not show any German at all!  What????  I have the most detailed information about the Toensing family, including photos of relatives that still live in family homes in Germany.  My mom knew all about the Toensing family since both her dad and Aunt Anna told many, many stories of their parents immigration to the United States along with four of their siblings!  Yes, four of those people pictured above were actually born in Germany.  So what gives???

Well, to start off, my sister Julie has also done this DNA test and believe it or not, we do not share enough DNA to be siblings.  We have several first cousins, out of our 34 first cousins, that have also done this test and at least one of these does NOT show up at all as a relative of my sister.  We have totally different results.  And strangely enough, she DOES have German included in her results. 

However, in spite of this DNA result, I know that my German ancestors sowed many Spiritual seeds into my life.  I am so thankful for the detailed written and photographic evidences I have of my true heritage.  The son of one of my mom's cousins actually has traced the entire Toensing family tree.  He has visited relatives in Germany and also in South Africa.  The photo above was given to me, along with many others, by this man.   More than that, I am blessed with the knowledge through oral history (stories told to my mother and then retold to me) of the faith journey of our family.  I love that I know the connection - one generation to the next - and the way that the faith journey of these past generations are influencing me today.  This has given me a renewed desire to write, to tell and retell all of the precious memories from the generations before me, so that they are not lost to my children and grandchildren.  Exactly what I wrote about in my last blog post. 

I actually decided to do the DNA test after Ken did his.  Since he is adopted, we were more curious about what the DNA would show.  There was nothing very exciting on his results and no close relatives were found.  After seeing my results I really don't put much stock on the results of these tests anyway. 

So now I have another reason to continue to do this blog.  These posts about my daily life and memories of the past are being done for the future.  I am hopeful that there will be a time when my grandchildren will be interested enough to look through these posts and find a connection to their long ago generations.  I am praying that they will see the fruitfulness and the faithfulness of Jesus in my life when they read these words!

Jesus, thank you so much for photos and stories from the past that keep us connected to our ancestors.  Holy Spirit, help us to remember the importance of oral story telling, as well as written and photographic memories.  Jesus, thank you for the spiritual heritage that is woven into my family.  Amen