Attitudes and Blessings

I’m weeks behind on the blog.  Sorry!  Lots to catch up on.  2 weeks ago we went and hiked the Brooklyn Bridge.  It was a beautiful day and the bridge was quite crowded.  But it was fun.  When we got to Brooklyn, we went about a block to Grimaldi’s for Pizza.  Best pizza ever!  I thought it might be a little hyped up but it was better than I expected.  The crust was amazing!  Then we took the subway to Williamsburg because Sister Petersen wanted to show us the Hasidic Jewish neighborhood.  It sounded interesting.  But when we got there the streets were empty.  That’s when we realized it was Saturday—the Jewish Sabbath.  They were all at home.  Fun day anyway.  We love going to new places and there are a lot of new places to see here.

The big news—we started church in our new Chapel last week.  It was packed, everybody wanting to see the new digs.  It has 2 stories and the Primary has its own wing and Marc has a whole hallway to himself and the pick of any classroom for Sunday School.  We are loving it.  The members were sad to leave the old church they had been in for so long and we all had our picture taken out front the week before with all the neighborhood watching as they walked by.

Speaking of Marc, he is a wonderful Sunday School teacher.  He has a difficult class but seems to be able to draw them out.  I can tell when I see him interact with them that they really like him and respect him.

Two observations from today. I realized I am developing a New Yorker attitude, which may or may not be the best thing for a missionary. It may be a defense mechanism.  Some guy yelled at me for blocking the sidewalk as I was perusing the fruit stand looking for tomatoes. 9 months ago it would have bothered me. I just gave him the New York shrug and double-sided sneer that says, "WHAT??!!!" Taught him a lesson he won't soon forget! Then on the other hand, Marc and I were wandering around by the mall tonight going for a bite to eat at McD's. People were everywhere of every possible nationality and ethnic group. Walking, eating, shopping, socializing. I realized I love New York and I really do love people!

One funny incident (and maybe a lesson in judging?):  We were at Dyker Heights (Brooklyn Chinatown) today for Zone Conferences. I was the go-fer. Marc took me to the fruit stand because we were short of tomatoes for lunch, (Hence the sidewalk yeller story). Marc had to do the thing where you drop your wife off then circle the block because there was no parking. He decided to get gas so I had to wait there on the corner. I was thinking how angry some New Yorkers seem to be, like the yeller, when some guy waiting at the light started honking his horn--loud and long. There was a guy in front of him who had left a space so he wouldn't be caught in the intersection. I thought it was pretty rude and ignorant of the second guy to be so impatient. He just kept honking away--as if that would make people move! I gave him my best New Yorker glare, shook my head and looked away in disgust--idiot!! More honking--I looked again. It was Marc, honking to get my attention. I had forgotten he was in a brown mission car instead of our blue car.

And one tender mercy to share.  The week before last was transfers and along with them all the heavy paperwork.  It is our busiest week.  I hadn’t had any time to plan for Activity Day which was Friday.  By Thursday I had it half planned but knew it wouldn’t be enough.  Friday morning I was sitting at the table not knowing what to do.  I said a fervent, tearful prayer for help.  I put my head down in my arms, feeling overwhelmed.  Immediately in my mind I could see the activity exactly the way it should go.  I know the Lord supports His missionaries and I feel so blessed to be a recipient of those blessings.

Forever Changed

Our last week in New York was bittersweet.  Our replacements came and we turned over the reins to them.  

Elder Williams, Jay, Elder Shapiro

On Saturday, we went to dinner with ALL the senior missionaries with the exception of Elder Openshaw who was at home with a lame foot.  President and Sister Reynolds even came.  It was such an enjoyable evening.  The only thing that would have made it better would have been if we could all have sat closer to one another.  There were 20 of us so we were a bit spread out.  We hated to say goodbye to all those wonderful friends.

With sisters from the branch at
Linger Longer

On Sunday, our last day at church, the Branch had a surprise Linger Longer for us.  The Primary kids had made a poster and everyone signed it.  We felt like celebrities with everyone wanting their picture with us.  We were grateful that Jay made it even though he wasn’t feeling well.  Both he and Marc ended up with the flu (which I came down with later).

On the ferry leaving Long Island one the way out, I jotted down a few things that we have learned from this grand adventure.

I’ve learned from other missionaries that true charity—Christ like love—can be shown in the simplest of ways. I saw it in a Senior Sister who ordered a carton of soup from the restaurant we were leaving to give to the man in the wheel chair on the corner.  I saw it in a sweet Senior Sister who made sure our every need was met during our last week when we were “camping out” in our Jamaica apartment.  I saw it in a young elder who came in the office with no coat on because he had given it to “someone who needed it more”. 

We both learned that some of the people who will come to mean the most to you in this life may be the ones you have not met yet.

We learned that a great ward/branch social doesn’t have to involve topping the last one with better decorations and activities.  It can be just a few Dollar Store plastic flowers, a rousing game of musical chairs and just visiting with people you care about. 

We learned that with the Lord’s help we can stretch far more than we thought possible.

We learned that you don’t have to speak someone’s language to come to love them completely.

And we learned that a person doesn’t have to have the same beliefs as you to be a kind giving person who has an impact on your lives.

We can honestly say that as a result of the last two years in serving the Lord we truly are forever changed.

With Zoee, Maya and Arya

Sister and President Reynolds, Elder and Sister Ho

Elder & Sister Adams and Photobomber

Sister Ho, Elder Conger & Elder Adams

CHANGE IS GOOD

On Tuesday the 16th, we got to attend the Manhattan temple with President and Sister Reynolds and all the missionaries leaving for home on 2/6.  It was wonderful to be with them in the temple!  Then after the session, President Reynolds had arranged for us all to do some sealing work, for people who the sealer (President Fox, I believe, from the temple presidency) said were his ancestors.  It was a choice experience, and one we will remember forever!  Upon returning to the Mission office, we had the traditional meal (catered by ‘Pio Pio Restaurant’) for missionaries returning home. It was fun and nostalgic! (I’ll see if I get any photos in…the lack of internet at home and the fact that I left my phone at home today are impediments.)

Last Wednesday we went to ‘Phantom of the Opera” at the Majestic Theater on Broadway.  It was great!!  We had box seats in the closest box on stage left.  We really enjoyed being able to see the actors’ faces, and I really enjoyed looking down into the orchestra pit and seeing them do their work.  (It was interesting that several would play like crazy for a few minutes, then put their instrument down and read a book until they were up again.) Once again, I was just so impressed at HOW GOOD everyone was!!  The pinnacle of success is Broadway, so they get the best!  What made it even more fun was being able to go with several of our senior missionary friends, Sister Conger and Sister Postma.  (I thought sometimes that I probably looked like a fine Mormon man with his three wives…)

Diane spearheaded a primary activity on Friday night, which turned out to be wonderful!  Pretty much all the kids that are active, plus a few (and a number of parents and other adults) were there.  She had the American Sign Language sisters come and teach the kids more ASL words and phrases, then had some activities that required them to use their new ASL skills.  We have a little deaf girl that was baptized recently, and Diane said she was just glowing!  I’m proud of Diane for going out of her way to teach ASL songs to the kids in Primary over the past year, and I don’t doubt that was one of the main reasons Arianna made the decision to be baptized.  (Diane was even the ASL interpreter in her baptism interview…in the interview there was Arianna (speaks only ASL), Arianna’s mother (speaks only Spanish), Diane (speaks a little ASL and a little Spanish), Brother Lopez (BP1C, speaks English & Spanish) and President Garcia (Branch President, speaks only English and Tagalog))  AMAZING, but so Queens!

I begged off going to the Primary activity so I could keep cleaning the apartment, getting ready to move out Monday.  It’s amazing how long it takes to pack and clean a 750 sf apartment after you’ve been there 2 years!!  I think the results speak for themselves and it’s something we are proud to turn over to our replacements, the Palmers!  We moved to a newly rented apartment in Jamaica (NY) last night, which we will camp out in until we leave in a week.  The Palmers are driving to NYC today from their home in Lexington, Kentucky, and will be here at 9PM or so tonight.  We remember our hazy memories of doing the same thing 2 years ago.  Everything was just so strange, and you are in a fog the first several days! 

The apartment we are staying in this week was just rented and furnished by the mission for the Zimmermans (records preservation) who will arrive on the 2^nd.  The apartment is larger than ours, and will be great once it’s upgraded by some senior couples.  Our old apartment had had couples in it for 6 or 8 years, so the quality and quantity of provisions was pretty nice.  We old people are used to a standard that is a little higher than the young missionaries, so we tend to replace things as needed.  (We replaced the bathroom light fixtures, the kitchen faucet, the TV, the microwave, and the vertical blinds, along with towels and linen and a few other things.)  It will be an interesting week camping out in a strange apartment, and roughing it with no internet!  The Congers, one of our favorite couples, lives in the same building and dropped by last night, which was fun!  I’m sure the week will fly by!

It’s sad to think of our time here ending, and we will sure miss a whole bunch of people we’ve grown to love!  One of them for me is Jay.  In SS class a couple of weeks ago, I was talking about something Jay said or did, and Nicole (15) said, “Is Jay your best friend?!” And I said, “Certainly one of the top two!”  It’s kind of amazing that in 2 years you can get to know someone and love them so much (which we don’t talk about because we are men…).  It will be sad to leave because I know what kind of long-distance communicator I am, and it’s not good.  I’ll try to tempt Jay to come out west and visit, and hope he will give me a good reason to visit here, too!  The relationships are the thing you miss when you leave somewhere, and luckily we know that they are eternal.

Just Kicking Down the Cobblestones

Elder Williams keeps them captivated

This was our last big busy week before we start winding down.  We had 4 mega-zone conferences. At each conference, President Reynolds gave our “eulogies”.  It was a bit embarrassing but a tradition we had to put up with.  He did say very nice things about us and the missionaries were wonderful to us.  There are many that we have grown close to and some even shed tears, which made us teary but it was nice to know we will be missed.

Brick Street

Last night was probably our last “Jay tour”.  Jay took us in to Manhattan to Greenwich Village.  Jay’s tours are better than the kind you pay for.  He knows so much and is constantly pointing out little things we would have missed.  Sometimes people passing by try to listen and catch part of the “tour”.   This one may have been our most fun tour yet, in spite of the below-freezing windy weather.  I think the weather made it seem even more of an adventure.  The skies were clear and everything seemed so crisp.  We saw lots of historic buildings from the 19^th century and some cobblestone streets.  Afterwards we went to a wonderful Peruvian/Chinese restaurant.  We had a short wait to get in and the entry-way was packed with people, cheek-to-cheek, as it were.  One thing I’ve noticed about New Yorkers is that they don’t seem to mind being packed in like sardines.  There was much chatting and joking with complete strangers and it made the wait that much more enjoyable.  The food was wonderful too!

Popsicle People

Only two more Sundays to go.  I will certainly miss my Primary kids.   They are rowdy but still lovable. I guess we are at that stage where we are torn.  We are excited to be with our family and friends but keep noticing all the things and people we will miss when we leave.

Before coming here, I had built up serving a mission so much in mind that I was a little worried that it would be a let-down.  It has ended up being a far better experience than I ever dreamed.  Who would have thought you could have so much fun, meet so many wonderful people and do such meaningful service in your mid-sixties?  We are truly forever changed.

Sweet Sisters

Handsome Elders

Preparing Mega-Zone lunch with a little help from the
office elders.

Sisters waiting for companions who are on
a temple trip.  Sisters Barney, Borges, Monteiro and Bingham.
Sister Borges' mother is Elder Williams' mother's visiting teacher.

Not all the beautiful art in the city are in
the big museums.

Jefferson Market Library

COLD Week!

This last week winter finally hit the city!  Temperature has peaked each day in the low 20’s, with the wind chill taking it to around 0 degrees.  I went out and walked for a mile Friday morning (dropping a car off at Maaco), and found that, fully dressed for cold, you can keep everything warm except your face!  It made me feel bad for the elders and sisters, many of whom are not really prepared for extreme cold!!  (I also wondered how they keep their runny nose in check while greeting people outside…) All I can say is that the beanies and hand warmers given out in the Christmas packages are now being put to good use! I don’t think I had ever really felt a COLD wind that cuts right through you before coming to NYC.

Parking lot under the Flushing Church

Looking out the church window (16 Deg F, 0 with wind chill)

Diane and I went to Staten Island on Thursday to swap cars with some elders to get body work done.  It was under 20 miles during the low traffic hours, and it still took 90 minutes each way!  The BQE (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) always has bad traffic due to construction and congestion.  We couldn’t help thinking that this may be our last trip to Staten Island, so it was necessary to go to the “Z Diner”, one of our favorites, for lunch.  Then, next week will be my last monthly vehicle reports, and the week after that will be our last set of MegaZone Conferences!  I’m not sad to see all the work end, but it’s still a little nostalgic!  We love the relationships with the young missionaries and the senior missionaries!!

At "Z Diner" on Staten Island

As I think about the new year, I know the resolution I really need to meet is to continue to study the scriptures every day like I have on my mission!  I’ve mostly always read the scriptures, but have been far too weak in studying them!  It will be interesting to see what the next year brings.  I know I will be doing many serious home projects, but I can’t help but wonder about what callings and assignments Diane & I will receive. (My worst fear is that Diane will be called again to be a seminary teacher, with me as a co-teacher.  I really don’t want to work that hard.  Luckily, we’ll return home more than half way through the school year, so most seminary positions should be filled…)

We had another one of those sad experiences this week where one of our former office elders had to go home for medical reasons.  He was in the office van probably four months ago when it got rear-ended, and in spite of regular medical attention, his headaches have gotten worse and worse.  I think he will be OK, since he served 18 months, and he will be able to answer all the well-meaning (but rude) questions at home in the ward.  It is really hard for any missionary to come home early, because our church culture seems to equate it as a failure, but IT ISN’T. Service is service, and often we have no control over what actually happens in mortality.  I for one will try to do a better job of just loving return missionaries, no matter how long they serve!

On a happier note – Angie and Allen and their family moved into their long-awaited new home in Clinton, Utah last night.  What an exciting time for them!!  They had been living in Allen’s parent’s basement for 5 or 6 months while the house was being built, a very stressful proposition for all involved!  Many thanks to Ron and Gaylene for helping to make the kids’ dream possible!!  We know they will be blessed for this service! Speaking of service, Diane and I still love our missionary service!  What a blessing it is to learn to love so many new people, and we know that even if we don’t see them again in this life, we will always be friends!!!

Radio City Music Hall

Saint Patrick Cathedral

Inside Saint Patricks

It's Christmas Time in the City

I made the mistake last week of saying this week would be a calm one.  I learned my lesson as this one ended up being very busy.  Transfers should never be allowed to take place on the week before Christmas.

Transfers

Saying goodbye to Sister Wuthrich

This was a kind of sad transfer since this group of departing missionaries were the ones we had known the longest.  Many spiritual giants left the city of New York to return to their families.  So many of them will be in our hearts forever. 

I spent most of the week doing investigative work to see which of the missionaries did not receive packages so we could provide them with a special gift bag.  I had it narrowed down to 50 names and Sister Reynolds and I spent some time texting and calling to find out if they had received their Christmas packages yet.  Sister Reynolds was the one who got to call the parents to ask them if they had sent their son/daughter anything.  We were able to get it down to 20 missionaries which was 10 fewer than last year. 

Elder Talbot and Elder Serruto Dias (office elders
aka "Santa's Helpers")

On Friday we divided up the mail and packages and gift bags among the Office Elders and the Senior Missionaries and spent the day delivering them.  Marc and I took the east end of Long Island, calling it our “Farewell Mission Tour.”  It ended up being easier than expected.  The Zone leaders were more than eager to play Santa and we even provided some Santa hats.

We got back to the office to find that packages were still pouring in.  I also had several emails from frantic parents saying they had overnighted gifts and was there any way I could be in the office Saturday to get them and make sure they got to their kids.  I tried to be patient, as I can understand their anxiety and desire for their kids to have a nice Christmas, and I know they have no way of knowing what a monumental task it is to deliver to Staten Island or Brooklyn or to many of the far-reaching corners of the mission.

I had one experience that reminded me that the Lord is with His missionaries and sometimes helps us to do the seemingly impossible.  I was having trouble updating some paperwork that I absolutely needed to get done this week.  In the meantime, there were constant interruptions from missionaries, delivery persons, people giving me new responsibilities etc..  I finally had to leave it for the day after only finishing a couple of pages.  When I came in the next morning to work on it I kept turning pages to find that I had already finished most of them (or someone had anyway).  I know that when the Lord gives us responsibilities, He provides a way for us to accomplish them.

Looking from Saks 5th Avenue towards the
 tree at Rockefeller Center

Yesterday Marc went into Manhattan with Jay for a tour of the Christmas lights.  It sounded very impressive and I was sorry I missed it.  Maybe Marc will write more about it next week.  I couldn’t attend because Arianna, the little deaf girl in our Primary, was baptized.  It was interesting with the Spanish speaker being translated on one side into English by one of our Spanish sisters and on the other side into ASL by one of the ASL speakers who knows both Spanish and ASL along with English.  I am always amazed at how many of our missionaries are multi-lingual at age 19.

Today we had a one-hour Sacrament (actually it was only 50 minutes.  The Relief Socity sang and then the brethren and then the Primary (my personal favorite).  Afterwards, there was a light lunch and mingling.  The people in this branch sure love to be together.

The Sisters in the Branh love each other and much fun and
laughters ensue in the taking of a picture such as this.

David and Elder Williams compare ties.  I think I will miss
David the most when we have to leave.

I'm grateful to have some down-time today to reflect and think about my Savior and what Christmas really means to me.  This week in Bible Study Class we were reading about the death and resurrection of the Savior and it seemed so appropriate because the Atonement is the true meaning of Christmas and the reason for the birth of the Savior.  

Tomorrow we will feed between 8-12 missionaries a Christmas dinner.  Actually, I will do the cooking and Marc and Jay will ferry the food back and forth to the church. 

I wish I could feed more but am only allowed to invite the ones in this area.  After that I should have a calm week.  WAIT!  I didn’t say that!

The Quiet Week Before Transfers

It’s another one of those weeks where I’ll just start writing and see what comes up.  Last week was the typical week before transfers (although our last one).  It’s usually a pretty quiet week, and this one was mostly quiet.  (Diane may disagree, since she had to prepare a talk, and the lesson and music for primary, plus prepare for the Christmas packages for missionaries without packages from home, and handle all the incoming Christmas packages and mail.  Yes, she works harder than me…).  The week before last, the church replaced all the GPS/driving units in the cars with a newer model, so I spent most of the week fielding calls about issues with the new units. There were a few serious issues, but a lot of it was calls like, “This crazy thing gets me for aggressive driving WAY more than the last one did!!” or, “This one only lets me go 5 miles over the speed limit, instead of 7 like the last one!” Fun being a dad to 50 drivers…

We did have our first snow storms of the year last week.  On Monday and Friday, we got 3 or 4 inches each storm, but they had salted the roads so well ahead of the storms that the roads actually stayed relatively clear.  (That’s why you should never buy a car that’s lived in the NE.)  In Seattle, 4 inches of snow would pretty much shut things down for a couple of days, but not here. Diane and I walked a few blocks Friday night in the snow to go get dinner at ‘Steve’s Pizza’, and it was fun! (I had a couple of pepperoni rolls instead of pizza, and they were excellent!!)

On Saturday we got together with the senior missionaries to put together the 30 bags for missionaries who for one reason or another are not getting anything from home. It went really well, and we had fun talking and eating (and working, a little) together!  It takes some faith to know how many will actually need them, since as of Friday there were still 70 or so that had received nothing.  It will all come together this week and work out fine (but we have no idea how!).  We’ll be getting together Friday to spread over the mission and deliver last-minute packages and the bags!!  (It would be nice if the roads are clear…)

Last night was our branch Christmas party.  It was scheduled for 6:00-9:30, and because of the diligent efforts of President Garcia, it actually started on time!  (They were still decorating, and only 10% of the food had arrived, but there was still plenty of food…I saw some food coming in as late as 8:00, so there was fresh food whenever you came.) We left after the dinner, program and games, just before the dancing started.  We love to dance, by my Latin repertoire is pretty slim, so Jay and I convinced Diane to leave.  We just can’t believe how much we love these people and how much they love being together!!  They don’t do everything per the traditional church culture, but we can all learn a lot from them!  Diane and I were commenting on the fact that we may find the activities dull when we get home!  Here, it’s all about being together, not decorations or organization or even skilled entertainment!!  We love it!

Diane gave her talk today, and it was EXCELLENT.  She has a way of speaking with love with an audience, instead of preaching to them, and I love to hear her talk.  She prepared to speak for 15 minutes, and at the last minute the branch presidency found out about an additional speaker from the stake, so she had to cut it short, but you couldn’t tell.  (One good thing about not having a written bulletin is that the congregation is clueless with the change and drama behind the scenes…)

Friday we had our normal (and last) transfer meeting, held the Friday before transfers.  In attendance is President & Sister Reynolds, the assistants to the president, the Shapiros ($ & transportation), the Carlins (housing), and us (vehicles & food). At the meeting the president goes through all the changes that will occur Tuesday, so we can all get our parts ready for the changes (new trios, ending trios, new apartments needed, apartments to be empty temporarily, vehicles needed, vehicles not needed (temporarily), new drivers needed).  Since the number of missionaries constantly ebbs and flows, there’s a ton that goes on behind the scenes to make it all work out!!  (Then all the missionaries try to weasel information out of us Saturday, Sunday and Monday!)  We love the people we work with, and we love the work!!!

President Reynolds, Elder Brown (outgoing AP), Elder Ha (new AP)

Elder Asplund (AP

Shapiros, Diane, Carlins, President Reynolds

Rat curled up in a warm place away from the snow

(but too warm - he didn't survive)

People and cart escalators in the Brooklyn Costco

Sister Postma and the Carlins in a crowded subway