New York is Full O' The Irish!

Huge Parade in Bay Shore

We should have remembered from last year. On the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day there is a huge parade in Bay Shore - at least two hours. We were heavy into studying for our classes for the coming week, but decided to walk the quarter block (our apartment building is in the background) to Main Street and watch the last half. It was delightful! Colorful costumes, friendly people, wonderful bagpipers, marching police, family floats, cyclists, etc.

"Look, no hands - and what beautiful music from this family!"

The weather cooperated this year, but bad weather would never have discouraged the true Irish heart. Last year was a downpour and the turnout was great!

Even with more than half the parade over by the time we finally left our apartment, we still saw well over an hour's worth of color, bagpipe bands, marching police units, floats and cyclists to fill our hearts with Irish fun. New Yorker families really know how to celebrate!

New Yorkers are BIG on Family Activities!

Click the play button to see and hear the Bagpipers...

Service on Fire Island

Heading South to Fire Island

We were asked to help a young couple in our ward whose little girl was having surgery by taking in a meal in. The grandparents, non-members from Missouri, had come to care for the little boy while the parents were at the hospital. This would be a good opportunity for them to see the Church in action.

It was a perfect time for us to see Mother Nature in action as well. We had wanted to drive to Fire Island, but never had. What breath-taking views! The sunset shot was taken from a bridge, through the passenger window at 60 mph - a miracle!

The directions were easy to the Love house - just drive across the bridge, go around the tower and turn left at the flashing lights. What was hard was to keep our eyes on the road - the sights were so amazing!


Speedy Recovery for a Tiny Girl

The family lives in Marine housing on the Island and we were very happy to be assigned to take dinner to them. Their little daughter had surgery on Monday and was doing great and was already home. We enjoyed a brief visit with them... as well as the spectacular drive finding them!

District Meeting and President's Interviews

It was a happy time of eating lunch and just visiting with our great district between interviews with our beloved President Bennion and district activities and business. How thankful we are for the President's leadership and love.

Memories of Camp

How long's it been since you had a foil dinner? We made 20 of them for our district and for a family in the ward. We started out by browning the pork chops and added red potatoes, carrots, garlic, parsley, dry chicken noodle soup mix, a few other spices, baked them slowly for a couple hours and voilà... ready to eat. Of course the five loaves of crusty French bread added something. It all seemed to go down just fine!

(Thanks, parents for your kind comments on this blog. We try to take good care of your missionaries. You get an extra solo picture of your missionary just for that:-)

Elder Maughan

Sister Burton

Elder & Sister McIff - New Mission Doctor

New Area Mission Doctor

We were so pleased to meet Elder McIff and his wife, from Mapleton, Utah at our recent Zone Conference. The McIffs have been serving since November. Dr. McIff spoke to the missionaries on the balance of obeying the mission rules regarding eating properly and doing 20 minutes of aerobic exercise daily which will "benefit them all day long." He was very direct - not push-up, not muscle-strengthening work-outs...NO! Aerobic exercise - brisk walking, running in place or outdoors. "Just be obedient." Good advise for us old missionaries too:-)

Sister Bennion on "Obedience"

Sister Bennion gave a powerful talk on obedience, involving discussion with the missionaries. In her usual insightful and sensitive manner she called the elders and sisters to a remembrance of the "first law of heaven." Quoting many scriptures and examples of missionaries she brought to our attention the fact that obedience is freedom. We often have the opposite idea, don't we?

Then from Preach My Gospel, she read - “Obedience is the first law of heaven. It is an act of faith. You may sometimes be required to do things you do not completely understand. As you obey, you increase in faith, knowledge, wisdom, testimony, protection, and freedom.”

Sister Bennion went on, "Please listen carefully to what Apostle Elder Robert D. Hales, stated, 'No matter how much an individual or family may sacrifice for a mission or anything else, unless missionaries choose obedience, consecrating all of their time, talents, and resources in the service of the Lord while they are in the mission field, they can not fully realize all the great blessings the Lord has in store for them.'”

This is a great woman with a great message that day. We are blessed to learn from her.

"Be Thou An Example of the Believers"

After preparing and serving zone conference lunch for sixty missionaries Wednesday, we drove 75 miles east on Long Island beyond all the freeways because the little branch in Riverhead was in need of an accompanist at their New Beginnings program. The woman who had practiced with the young women for several weeks had fallen on the ice and injured her back and no one was able to play the difficult accompaniment. Even after a heavy day, a sore back and bronchitis coming on, what could I say except 'yes' ?

The Young Women's theme for 2009 is from I Timothy 4:12 "...Be thou an example of the believers..."

By some miracle I regained my strength. We loved being with them! This meeting brought back beautiful memories of attending many such events with our four daughters. And now, as our oldest granddaughter, Hillary nears 21 years of age and marries Scott, her returned missionary in May in the Salt Lake Temple, we are reminded how quickly the years pass and how important it is that each generation remain "an example of the believers."

Zone Conference in the Plainview Stake Center

The food was ready. They were hungry.

Checking Mail, Visiting, Getting Ready to Eat!


And here they come... first things first - straight to check out the mail and packages! The missionaries just have to check that first before they dish up the food:-)

Then they ate and ate...and were really filled with this lunch! Everybody was so appreciative. What fun missionaries!

One of our mission assignments is to occasionally help organize, prepare and serve lunch at a zone conference. We love to feed missionaries! On Wednesday, March 4, we fixed a quick baked potato bar with all the trimmings, a huge green salad, rolls and butter, with a tangerine and a large chocolate chunk cookie for dessert. It filled these starving missionaries right up!

There was a choice of several toppings for the baked potatoes - butter, sour cream, shredded cheese, corn, salsa and chili con carne. Some had all of the above:-)

We couldn't have done this task without the wonderful help of Elder & Sister Comer and Elder and Sister Roush. What a team!

"Weather"...You Like It Or Not

...It Snowed!

These pictures were taken right by our apartment, but all of New York and most of the eastern seaboard was plummeted with snow - the biggest of the season - even as Spring approaches. Universities, schools, some businesses and most preschools were closed. Area airports canceled numerous flights and experienced countless delays. The Long Island Railroad had rare delays due to blowing and drifting snow and problems with frozen switches and added an additional eight trains from Manhattan east to Long Island beginning in the early afternoon to get commuters through the storm.

Our Institute Training meeting was canceled this morning, sparing us the (normal) hour drive each way into Queens. And as things didn't improve at all during the day, our texting back and forth to our students at the Marine Academy resulted in the decision that it would not be wise to attempt the long journey.

Snow plows could not keep up with the snowfall which lasted all day. We were happy to be able to stick close to our apartment and away from the treacherous roads.

The record snow fall today may have only been outdone by the record stock market fall. Ouch!