Still Working!

We’ve had a busy few weeks.  Now that Mega Zone Conferences are every 6 weeks instead of quarterly, we don’t have as much down time.  The Senior Missionaries have volunteered to head up the luncheons for Zone Conferences.  We have four of them so by the fourth we pretty much have our menu down to a science.  We try to take as much weight off President and Sister Reynolds as possible.

Elder Williams, Sis. Adams, Sis. Petersen, Elder Johnson and Elder Adams
after preparing lunch at Mega-Zone.  Kids aren't
the only ones who like to spend time on their devices.

Sometimes after a storm it will be days before people can get
their cars out from the snowbanks left by plows.

We had what we hope is our last big storm a couple of weeks ago.  We didn’t get as much snow as was expected but there was lots of ice.  It was much harder to dig out of.  We could even drive our car on top of it, so most people just waited for it to melt rather than shoveling.  Elder Williams did do his hourly shoveling of the office walk, and was excited to use his brand new gloves.  The snow gives our missionaries many great service opportunities and they were busy with shovels.

I have noticed a changing trend as the Baptism Records have come across my desk.  When I first got here most of them were Spanish-speaking.  Now I think there are as many Chinese-speaking.  We feel like one of the ways the Gospel will be taken to all the world is by the foreign members who join the Church here and then take it home with them.  Sometimes the missionaries tell me we need to hurry and get their records into the system because they are leaving to go back to their home country.  Our area just had its first Chinese Family History Conference.  It’s so exciting to think of all the family history and temple work that will be opened up as these new members begin their work.

We often think how we miss our family and friends (and garbage disposal and king-size bed) but then we think, “What will I ever do when I get home that will be as exciting and as fulfilling as this?!”  We both love serving the Lord and the missionaries and the people of New York and the 9 months we have left doesn’t seem long enough.  

Elder Williams & Friend in Manhattan

New York Public Library.  They even had books.

Rose reading room

Library ceiling detail

Ceiling detail in the library Rose reading room

Grand Central Station

Office Supplies and Other Important Things

My companion has said for years that one of the stores that makes her feel ‘peaceful’ is Staples.  She loves to buy office supplies!  In fact, when I used to go grocery shopping with her here in NYC (before she began driving), I would sometimes stand between her and the office supplies and say (in a cleverly police-like voice), “Move away from the office supplies!!”  However, I don’t think it ‘took’.  What began as a small handful of pens and colored pencils brought along in the car from Washington, has morphed into literally hundreds!  (This certainly isn’t all of them…)  You may ask how I put up with this egregious character flaw!?  I remind myself that it certainly could be worse—it could be jewelry!  I think my companion is more excited to return to her private office at home than almost anything else!! (Oh, the hardships of missionary life!)

Note the professional use of the ruler in the foreground to provide scale...

As you may have noted, I don’t have very significant news to write about this week.  I did go home teaching for the first time in NY (one at the church, and one a ‘drop off cookies so we can get a real appointment later’ visit).  My informal companion is Jay Stonehill.  I say ‘informal’ because he’s not a member yet, but we are all hopeful he will be someday soon.  As we stood on the porch after knocking on the door, Jay said, “Now I get a feeling what the elders must feel like, not knowing what the reception will be…”  They weren’t home, so we left the cookies and a note.  (Talking to the fulltime sisters later in the week, they said they got thanked for the cookies when they called the family!  I guess my note wasn’t that memorable…)

I also got rid of five mission cars that were for sale.  The church gives me 60-90 days to sell them via Craigslist and the member grapevine, then sells them to auction houses.  My brother Randy has bought several cars from auctions (he has a friend…), and you can get really good cars if you are careful.  These would be great ones!  I was really glad to see them go (in spite of feeling like a failure for not selling them).  I have mentioned that parking is GOLD here, and when I have extra cars I spend time every week moving them around for street sweeping (Monday – right side, Wednesday – left side) so as to leave the 11 spots in the church parking lot for church-goers.  In addition, I had one car that got hit by a hit & run driver, and cost $1100 extra to prep for sale.  We are so thankful to have a safe, private parking space for our car, so it doesn’t get beat to pieces while parked.  (People often use the ‘touch method’ of parallel parking…)

Five cars going to auction

This is a NY commuter car after a few years. Note the one in the background with the "Bumper Buddy" protector. You see a lot of those!

As Diane has mentioned many times, one of the best parts of serving a senior mission is watching the elders and sisters work and relate to each other! For most, this is their first experience of feeling the ‘mantle’ of a significant priesthood calling on their shoulders, and it’s wonderful to see them learn to magnify the calling!  Some do it from the beginning, with most it takes a little longer, and of course a few never really do.  (But the last are a very small minority.)  They like being together with just missionaries because they don’t have to be ‘on’, and can act their age.  It’s sometimes jarring to us to see them act like teenagers, and we enjoy seeing the missionary personas better because we know that’s a glimpse of what they can become if they stay on the right path!  I remember very well the challenge of having to be ‘on’ with the members when I was a 30 year old bishop, and it’s the same for them. (And a precursor of their whole lives if they follow the gospel plan of growth.) We love the missionaries!  (And my wife still does a lot better job of showing it than I do.)  I know this is the Lord’s work!  There is no doubt in my mind!