Breakfast in Our District is Fun!

Feed them and they will come...

Friday is District or Zone meeting. So, if you have to meet, why not eat. That's how the elders feel. Everybody gets an assignment, prepares what they can at home, then comes together to assemble, set the table and eat.

Today the menu was sliced fresh pineapple, huge black grapes, oranges, sausages and scrambled eggs, french toast, grape juice, orange juice, fresh hash browns, milk, muffins, and huge homemade cinnamon rolls. Let's see....is that all?

Everybody pitches in with food and also helps with cooking, setting tables or cleaning up. After adequate time for eating and a few moments of socializing, there is district business to attend to. These are wonderful, committed elders and sisters! Elder de Paula and I are honored to be working as senior missionaries among them:-)

A Magnificent Evening at Carnegie Hall!

Dr. Craig Jessop Directs at Carnegie Hall

The occasion was the FIFTH ANNUAL CARNEGIE HALL NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL CHORAL FESTIVAL on March 10.
The concert featured soloists soprano Janice Chandler-Eteme and baritone Stephen Powell performing with four choirs from Baltimore, Maryland; Raleigh, North Carolina; Santa Barbara, California; and State College, Pennsylvania.

At the concert, each choir performed repertoire under its own conductor before coming together to perform the Brahms work. In typical form, Dr. Jessop was a master at the director's podium as he lead the choirs and the Orchestra of St. Luke's in the brilliant Brahms German Requiem.

What a Wonderful Visit Backstage!

Almost as surprised as Craig, Ranae and Rick were, it was us who could hardly believe we were allowed backstage after the concert! We had no idea what the protocol was, but I asked an usher during intermission if it were possible to visit with Dr. Jessop's party. She told me to check with the house manager on the Parquet Level near the stage, but by then, there was no time before the Brahms was to begin after intermission.

Of course, Elder de Paula and I were so eager to see them, to express our gratitude for their being here tonight, for having worked with them for many years and to simply express (quite unexpectedly) our love and support for them 2,300 miles from home! (We were to have taught a CES Institute class on Monday evening, but one of our students from the Academy was out at sea and the other resigned from school to work and save money for his mission.

So...just two days before, we were free to go to the concert at Carnegie Hall and see Craig Jessop in action!) I slipped out of the concert for three or four minutes near the end, took the elevator down four levels, found the house manager's office, plead our case and went back to my seat. She could give me no answer because Dr. Jessop, of course, was on stage conducting!

What she did do was put our names on a list, told us to return to her office after the concert and wait then to see if clearance would be granted. (What if Craig didn't want to see us? Oh no!) We waited. In several minutes house manager answered her phone, then nodded at us and security. We got the go-ahead to proceed to Dr. Jessop's reception room, which meant he knew we were in the hall.

We knocked on a door, it opened, we spotted Ranae Jessop sitting across the room. She almost jumped out of her chair when she recognized us! She had not known we were in New York serving another mission, so it was a real surprise for her to see someone from "home."

Craig heard people talking, came out of another room, smiled, hugged us and in his always gracious style asked how we were. That is so "Craig!" One of our first comments to him was that the Brahms was simply marvelous! Craig's eyes lit up... "Did you like it?" Of course we did! In Craig's unique style, he lifted those young high school singers to the performance of their lifetime enabling them a musical experience not bestowed upon by many.

We told him we loved him and asked what the future would bring. His selfless comment was about his dear wife - that Ranae would have hip surgery on Monday and he would be helping her get through that. He would worry about "other things" later. The Jessops and those in their party left for Salt Lake City this morning.

A few days after this Carnegie Hall event, we mentioned to Craig in an email that we were certain the whole world has "a thousand questions about his resignation - none of which may ever be asked nor answered". Our purpose for visiting was not to invade their privacy, but to express our love and thanks for our many years in the Salt Lake Mormon Tabernacle Choir under the leadership of Dr. Ottley and Dr. Jessop.

To be in the presence of Dr. Craig Jessop - this great servant and dear friend to millions - was a sweet experience for us. He is moving on without revealing all the details and we must do the same without knowing any of the reasons. It is time to follow his lead...again ...and move forward graciously.

District Meeting - Districts 7 and 8

This is our P-Day Activity!

Friday is our P-day. Does that mean Play day? Well it must, because we love our Fridays getting together with these elders and sisters from the two eastern-most districts in the New York, New York South Mission. Ten of us in this picture attend the Bay Shore chapel ward or branch - six English-speaking and four Spanish-speaking.

Today there was an activity on "Souls and Goals - How to Baptize." This is how it went down. (I'm still laughing!) There was a judge's panel of four elders. There were contestants from the two districts who were asked "Did you baptize?" If they answered "no" the music began and they had to dance. Oh boy...would they dance! An elder from Jamaica could really jive! WOW! Then the MC would say something like..."OK, if you can dance like that...you can certainly baptize...so get working this week!" Sisters danced with sisters. Elders danced alone. Missionaries were standing on chairs video taping their peers. It was so fun.

We then divided into districts and had a spiritual presentation on how to get commitments from investigators. This was followed by lunch, treats and good-byes until next Friday.

Our First Drive Through New York

Pictures taken on January 15

This is actually our very first photo taken in New York City the day we arrived. Here we passed through downtown Manhattan on our way to the New York New York South Mission office in Queens on Long Island, NY January 15, 2008!

That's right! The pictures were taken through the windshield of our well-traveled, very dirty, heavy laden Odyssey van. But who could pass up a shot like this? New York at its finest - hustle and bustle!

"Why did it take so long to get these pictures uploaded from my camera?" you ask. Well...for some reason I had taken twelve photos on the internal memory of my Kodak EasyShare. I had why, and therefore had no idea how to get them out of there! Then I forgot all about them and actually thought I had lost them until today.

The pictures bring back good memories of our first drive through the "big city" on our way to meet our mission president and his wife, President and Sister Steven Bennion, CES Coordinater Cory Bangerter, and other senior couples who work at the mission office in Queens, NY.

We were thrilled to be driving through the heart of Manhattan at lunch hour! I was on the phone with one of our daughters - "You won't believe...we just passed Times Square...and, oh my gosh we're truly at Broadway." I can't believe this is the most direct route to get to the mission office. Getting anywhere in New York, you go through Manhattan - that still surprises me. It's wonderful!

Our Updated Teaching Schedule

This is our latest teaching schedule as of March 10, 2008
(notice it's not engraved on "brass plates")

• Monday 1st & 3rd weeks CES In-service 11:00 am - We leave our apartment at 9:30 and get back at around 2:00pm, just in time to study for a few hours in preparation for our evening class.
  
• Monday - US Merchant Marine Academy CES 8:00 pm Old Testament - travel time is over one hour each way
  
• Tuesday - Stony Brook University CES 8:30 pm Old Testament - now seven students!
  
• Wednesday - a Spanish CES class will hopefully materialize for Elder de Paula
  
• Thursday - Bay Shore CES Book of Mormon class 6:30 pm
  Keyboard Class 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm - 15 students
  
  Friday - P-Day (However... District or Zone Conference is every Friday 11am-2pm) with travel usually one hour each way
  
• Saturday - Keyboard Cass 9:00 am - 10:00 am Bay Shore Ward - 10 students
  
  Also on Saturday we visit less active YSA (young single adults) in our ward area (we have 111 of them) and invite them to attend a CES Institute class. Many of them have not been to church in quite a while.
  
  On Saturday, March 8, when we went out in the pounding rain to visit, we were met with open arms and received in genuine love. And we got commitments from some wonderful young people to come to our Book of Mormon class and the keyboard class on Thursday evenings! The work is moving forward!
  
  
• Sunday - Bay Shore callings, CES firesides, Young Single Adult meetings, Stake choir practices, reactivation planning dinners with ward members, etc.

Battery Park in Lower Manhattan

Battery Park in Lower Manhattan

At the very bottom of Manhattan is Battery Park (Manhattan's green toe),
a wonderful waterside haven with gardens, playgrounds, a one-mile walkway, public art and views of the Hudson River. (Today, however, we almost froze to death having our picture taken!)

When Dutch settlers landed here in “New Amsterdam” in 1623, the area was given its name because a “battery of canons” was set up there to defend the new city against the French.

Battery Park has fine views of Governor's Island, Staten Island, the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island and Ellis Island, the famous immigrant gateway to America for ancestors of one in four present-day Americans. Frequent ferry service to Staten Island, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty departs from South Ferry and Battery Park. We'll definitely come back to this wonderful place in Spring when our warm-weather visitors arrive to visit the Big Apple!

Aren't you just dying to come for a visit?

Yes _____ No _____ Not sure _____ (click comments to vote)

A Moment of Reverence at Ground Zero

Ground Zero 16 February 2008

There is an unspoken reverence as throngs of people approach the area that must have once been the twin towers. No one speaks. No one asks questions. No one gives directions. People move quietly, slowly, trying to find their own way - without words - somewhat reminiscent of a sacred trek. Everyone makes it.

The day is so bitterly cold, but who can turn away? We came to honor these people - those who died. Those who lived. Those who helped. Those who live with pain and hurt. We strain to see...to imagine the fright, the sorrow, the tragedy, the shattered lives that showed an entire world how Americans unite. It was there we came to appreciate, a bit better, the resiliency of the human spirit.

The displays, the flags, the tributes, the stories...we browse through them and feel anew a fervent love for our country, its strong, good, people, and are so grateful to be serving here amongst them.

Click these links below to read about what is happening on the site now, what is planned for the site and fascinating information about the designer of the Ground Zero Park.

http://www.gothamgazette.com/rebuilding_nyc/PATH.shtml

http://www.tributenyc.org/

http://www.usatourist.com/english/places/newyork/worldtradecenter.html