The Work Moves On

September 7, 2021

Wow! We have already been home from our mission for two months! It is hard to believe we are at this point! I remember so keenly the day we arrived in NYC a little over 3 years ago and met President & Sister Smith and President & Sister Reynolds. In some ways it feels like yesterday and in others a life-time ago. Time is funny that way. 3 years ago we were excited, a little nervous, a lot out of our comfort zone and completely unaware of all the trials, joy, growth and learning that was waiting for us. From combining two strong missions into one even stronger one, and figuring out how to continue the work and keep hundreds of young missionaries physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually safe in the midst of a global pandemic to welcoming over a hundred re-assigned missionaries–we can never say it was boring but can always say God helped us with every challenge and we were blessed with amazing missionaries and senior couples who served and loved tirelessly (well maybe they were tired, but they always hid it behind a smile).

The time we had to serve in the NYC Mission will always be sacred and precious to us! We are so grateful for the opportunity and also grateful that President and Sister Holmes will now get this experience. This is the Lord’s work and we are blessed to be a part of it! I am so grateful he uses ordinary people and works with us despite all of our shortcomings and weakness.

Shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward.
Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. . .
Let the mountains shout for joy, and all the valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King!
Doctrine & Covenants 128:22-23

Welcome to the NYC Mission President and Sister Holmes

The Final Transfer

The week before the Holmes arrived was our transfer week. Transfers were great! It is always so much fun to see each other and to see former companions or other friends from your previous districts! We had gorgeous weather and were able to gather outside in larger groups now that a large percentage are vaccinated, so it just added to the fun.

Below is the last group of new missionaries we picked up at JFK! I wonder how many trips to this airport we made over the past three years? We should have kept track! Each time we pick up new missionaries or see them off as they complete their service we are filled with gratitude. We like to say that we have a deal with the missionary department that they will only send the very best missionaries to the NYC Mission and so far they have done just that! 😉 Even though we only got to serve in NYC with these missionaries for 1 week, we can already tell they are going to be amazing missionaries!

ARRIVALS-JUNE 2021

TRANSFERS-JUNE 2021

DEPARTURES-JUNE 2021

What a group! We are incredibly grateful for the blessing of serving with each of these amazing missionaries. We couldn’t ask for a better group to be our last departing group! I remember so distinctly picking this large contingent of Elders up at the airport two years ago, and a few of them just a year ago when they were reassigned to NYC from their previous missions. We could tell even then that these were going to be some outstanding missionaries and we were right!

Back Row: Elders Keele, Giles, Covey, Webb, Steele, Pauni, Bradfor, Kerby, Davis (Grant), Skinner, Fawson
Middle Row: Elder Davis (Noah), Harris, Craythorne, Stanford
Front Row: Elders Steiner, Hopkins, Holley, Ward, Hoopes

SAYING GOODBYE

We had a “Farewell Tour” and over the course of 4 days we were able to meet with all the missionaries and share some final thoughts and testimonies and take photos. As I looked out into their faces I was filled with so much love and gratitude for each and every one of them and for the blessing of serving with them. President Teuscher and I have been so blessed to have a front row seat and watch the conversion process take place over and over again in the individual hearts and minds of these young men and women. It is a remarkably consistent and yet entirely individual process. I love the story of Jesus turning water to wine at the wedding in Canna. Luke records it as “the first

These photos aren’t in any particular order but are grouped by the building that we met those particular missionaries at: New Rochelle, Woodside, Lincoln Square, and Flushing.

New Rochelle

Woodside

Lincoln Square

Flushing

Heading Home

Our son Isaac finished his mission in Iowa City, Iowa just a few days before we left NYC. We loved picking him up at the newly remodeled LaGuardia Airport, spending a couple of days with the whole family in NYC and then experiencing the transition home together. He had a wonderful mission and we are so grateful to his mission leaders, President and Sister Sturm for the wonderful guidance and inspiration they provided.

When we got home we stopped to see my mom who was recently diagnosed with Leukemia, then we headed to a Teuscher Family Reunion in Idaho. The following week we were able to give our mission reports in our new ward in Park City and then have an open house and visit with lots of our missionaries who are home and meet some of their families as well. It was such an amazing day and we are still basking in all the love! Members of our new ward were so surprised to come to church and wonder what was going on because the parking lot was never so full! Then to come in and see the chapel full to overflowing and hear the powerful singing of hundreds of returned missionaries! So many members have told me that the spirit they felt was powerful and it wasn’t anything we said it was the love for the gospel and the goodness and light these returned missionaries carry with them. Later we flew to California and had a whirl-wind few days visiting friends and giving a mission report in our Alameda ward. We have been trying to get to as many weddings and receptions as our schedule allows and it’s also been so fun to get together with some of our missionaries to have lunch, get ice-cream or have them over for game night with our kids and their cousins. Even though we are home and done with our full-time mission now, I am going to try and go back and fill in some details and add a few posts about things that happened in the mission–mostly so I have a better history. We were blessed to serve with 760 missionaries over the course of our three years in NYC! And there are hundreds more New Yorkers who we are now blessed to call friends. We are so grateful to have so many people to love and stay connected to.

We are forever changed by our experience and NYC will always have our hearts! 🗽❤️🗽

We are forever grateful to God for providing this opportunity and for preparing a way for us to accomplish it.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
1 Nephi 3:7

Called to Serve

June 17, 2021

We are so excited that President and Sister Holmes have been called to serve as the new Mission Leaders of the New York, New York City Mission! They are wonderful! We have been able to meet with them over Zoom several times and we love them already! We are thrilled for their family and know they too will experience blessings as their parents serve.

3 years ago, as we were preparing to come, I remember feeling really excited about coming to New York, but also overwhelmed and not exactly sure what I was supposed to do or how I was supposed to do it. The Holmes are way more experienced and competent than I was (President Teuscher was always more confident and competent than me 🙂 but you know, even if you feel like I did and still sometimes do; overwhelmed, under-prepared, not sure if I know what I’m doing–it’s OK, God can still use you and work through you to help others. He is right there to help you every step of the way.

If ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work
Doctrine & Covenants 4:3

Almost the final transfer and… almost done with Covid! 😷😊

We are in the final stretch of our 3 year mission and honestly, I’m not sure how we got to this point already. Time has this crazy way of going faster than we want, but here we are having the “last of” a lot of things. Our last zone conferences, our last round of interviews with all the missionaries, our last Mission Leaders Council, our last Stake Conferences. Next week will be our final trip to Bermuda as mission leaders. But, the “last of” for us also means the “first of” all of those same things is coming soon for President and Sister Holmes and we are so excited for them to get to experience it all! They will be here in just a few short weeks and there is a lot to do to get ready. As we’ve been planning out the transition we have a “how we’ve been doing it during Covid” plan and an “assuming Covid is over and many restrictions are gone by the time you get here” plan. We are thrilled that NYC is at 70% vaccination rates and our mission is over 80%. We are so grateful for modern medicine and technology. NYC is definitely coming back. There is an energy and optimism in the air. The traffic is definitely back! 🚕 🚗 🚙

One thing that we did not anticipate in this final stretch is that we’d be moving the mission home and office from Scarsdale to Manhattan.🗽 🚕 🏢 It is causing us all to scramble a bit more than usual. One thing is for sure–we can never say we had a boring mission!

We love Manhattan and all the rich texture of the city, but this move poses some unique challenges to how the mission is run and pretty much everything logistically speaking needs to be re-thought and re-planned in order to have things run smoothly, which is a big ask for the Big Apple! 🍎 So this past transfer we decided to do a practice run to try and work through some of the anticipated challenges. Ha ha! Glad we did as we learned a few things not to do. We will be changing things up again and try to have a smoother go of it this upcoming transfer.

ARRIVALS-May 2021

This is the second to last group of new missionaries we will greet. We pick up one more group next week. Even though we’ve only known these missionaries for a few weeks now, there is a bond and a love for each of them that is hard to describe. God has truly expanded our capacity to love.

The May 2021 Arrival group getting checked into a hotel in Queens (above). After a long day of travel and waiting for some late flights to arrive everyone was really tired and I think they were pretty happy to get to the hotel and to sleep. We got them all back to Woodside the next morning to meet their trainers. (pictured below)

TRANSFERS-May 2021

DEPARTURES- MAY 2021

Screen shots from departing testimony meeting above and saying goodbye at the airport below. Several of these missionaries were our Covid champs! They are true pioneers in figuring out and excelling at online and social media missionary work. We are so grateful for their good attitudes, their willingness to try new things and the talents and abilities God has blessed them with. The New York City Mission is better because of their service.

ZONE CONFERENCE

It is so hard to believe this is our last zone conference. The assistants told us everyone was expecting it to be the best one yet. Ha ha! no pressure there! Luckily, the gospel of Jesus Christ is always the best and you can’t go wrong when discussing any aspect of it. Our focus was on the first great commandment to love the Lord and the second to love our fellowmen. When we get that right, and get our loves in proper order everything else falls into place. St. Augustine had it right when he taught that the root of all sin and the reason so many people are discontent in life is because our lives are out of order; we have disordered loves. Ezra Taft Benson said that “when we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives.”

❤️🤟❤️ Our joy increases as love becomes the motivation for the work we are called to do. ❤️🤟❤️

We prepared a little farewell gift for the missionaries and also took photos with everyone. I am working on getting those all sorted and will add them to a separate post here on the blog. Oh my goodness! My heart is full to overflowing with love and gratitude for these missionaries and all who we have had the privilege of serving with for whatever length of time. We are now at just over 760 young missionaries and with senior missionaries that number goes over 800! God is so good to allow us to know and love and learn from each one of them. This mission has been anything but ordinary, from combining two missions at the start to navigating the Covid-19 pandemic and being blessed with some of the absolute best missionaries that were re-assigned to NYC from over-seas missions to now trying to make all the necessary adjustments to moving the mission headquarters. We have been blessed and helped every step of the way by the most loving and willing to serve senior couples, mission nurses, assistants, office elders, social media specialists and so many more. The church leadership and members of the church here in the New York City area and in Connecticut and Bermuda are the best of the best. The Lord keeps sending the cream of the crop in terms of missionaries and senior couples. I sometimes wonder if he has us mixed up with someone who actually deserves all these blessings, but then I remember that God is not a God of confusion and that none of us deserve his grace but he freely gives it anyway and he delights to bless us if we exercise even a particle of faith and try to do his will. When I remember that, I offer another prayer of gratitude and vow to work a little harder, love a little deeper and try to be a little better at truly keeping my covenants.

Eva Timothy was so generous and sent prints of her “Reaching For The Stars” art as a gift to all the missionaries.

These small items pictured above were in the farewell gift bag for each missionary. We also included a sticker of our mission logo which was a much bigger hit than I would have thought. They do love those cool stickers for their water bottles!

I made this video to show at Zone Conference. We talked about the call to serve and what it really means. There is always a lot of excitement and anticipation when missionaries open their call. Those who have served always say that missions are the best, but the hardest 2 years or 18 months of their life. Why? Why do hardest and best seem to go together when describing any meaningful endeavor? We talked about all we can learn from Jesus Christ accepting and completing gloriously his call to serve. His was incomprehensibly the hardest and best mission. He exemplifies to perfection the attributes of Work, Obedience, Love and Trusting in the Lord that we have tried to weave into all we have done and taught the missionaries these past three years. We hope and pray it has become more than a mantra and that these principles have sunk deep into their hearts as true principles that will help them be successful and find joy in any endeavor of life.

Springtime in the City:

May 9, 2021

Spring 2021

Central Park looks like a George Seurat painting coming to life-April 2021

Spring in the City is so gorgeous! It is especially delightful this year as we are cautiously emerging from the year+ Covid-19 Pandemic. It feels like everything in the city is coming back to life. Our family all got our Covid-19 vaccines and we feel so grateful for the way God works his miracles. It reminds me of one of my favorite miracle stories that also “sits at the intersection of faith and medicine” (a quote from the article referenced below). This miracle came as an answer to faith and prayers but through the preparation of a brilliant heart surgeon named Russell M. Nelson. I won’t tell the full story here but you can read all the details in an article called, “Discovering a Surgical First: Russell M Nelson and Tricuspid Valve Annuloplasty.” by Austin A. Robinson and Curtis T. Hunter.

Click to access RobinsonDiscovering.pdf

We know the pandemic isn’t over, and even if it was, we don’t want to entirely go back to “normal” from before; especially not in regards to the way we do missionary work. It was a long and sometimes hard road, but we feel so blessed for the opportunity to be “online missionary pioneers” in figuring out new and improved ways of sharing and teaching the gospel for our current day and time. These missionaries are so creative and more importantly they are faithful. Through hard work, obedience and lots of love they have tuned their hearts so they can really hear the spirit guiding them in their work. They are frequently inspired to try new things, and as importantly, they have the faith and the courage to try them! We have set some big goals for the mission and our attitude is “Why Not?” Why not reach for the stars and stretch yourself and put your trust and faith in God, that he can help you reach farther than you ever could on your own. We are only part way through our 6 month goals but so far God has helped us reach them and we have no doubt that he will continue to provide opportunities for us to be instruments in His hands as he orchestrates this work!

REACHING FOR THE STARS

BY EVA TIMOTHY

We were so grateful to have Eva Timothy join us for a devotional! Eva has an incredible conversion story, having searched for light from a young age she found the missionaries as a teenager in her native country of Bulgaria. She is a shining example of someone who lets God prevail in their life. If you don’t know her you should look her up on social media and feel of her contagious enthusiasm for the gospel. She is a fine art photographer and artist who actually served as a young missionary here in NYC!

We are lighting up the city and people’s lives with the gospel of Jesus Christ! Thanks to the creative efforts of Elder & Sister Clifford, we have our own mini cityscape where each window represents a friend who made covenants with God through baptism in the last few months. I wish I could share all their stories. There are so many amazing ones and it is evident every day that God is answering prayers and helping people find the hope and peace they are longing for in their lives. So many of them saw a post online or got a friend request from a missionary and when you ask why they responded to the request or commented on the post they say, something like, “I just felt like I should say “yes.” Or, “I knew the message was an answer to my prayers.” Lots of people respond to offers to pray with or for them, or to get help learning English or for Bible studies. One woman remembered the missionaries coming by her home when she was a young child. Her parents weren’t interested and sent them away. All these years later, she remembered how she had felt as a child and how she had wanted them to stay because she felt that they were teaching the truth so she walked into the church and found the missionaries and now she is baptized. The sisters taught a man who they call a “modern day Job.” 5 weeks ago he lost his house, 4 weeks ago he lost his brother, 3 weeks ago he got in a devastating car crash but this week he said he wasn’t going to let the enemy win and he chose to make covenants with Christ! Below are some but not all of those lights from above.

Volunteering

In addition to their regular missionary work, many of the missionaries volunteer at community food banks, parks, or other non-profits in their neighborhoods.

Fort Washington Armory Covid-19 Vaccination Center-Manhattan

Salvation Army-Harlem

Interfaith Community Services-Manhattan

Woodside Neighborhood Association-Queens

Morningside Park-Manhattan

Pakistani American Youth Organization-Brooklyn

TRANSFERS

February 16, 2021

March 30, 2021

It was a beautiful day for transfers in Woodside with crisp air and lots of sunshine! There is always a lot of energy and excitement and it is fun to see so many of the missionaries as they come throughout the day. Instead of having everyone come at the same time like we used to do, we schedule 3 or 4 mini transfers throughout the day so we don’t have big crowds gathering. The assistants are really good at coordinating it all so that each group for the most part is in and out with their new companions in less than an hour, which is remarkable give the varied locations and modes of transportation they use. I will forever be grateful Uber and all the drivers that got us through several transfers during the height of the pandemic when we couldn’t use public transit, but it was a huge headache logistically and it is just better over all to be outside and to see each other if only for a few minutes. We still give Uber plenty of business though as many of the re-assigned missionaries who joined us last summer are returning to their originally assigned missions over-seas or are flying to and from consulate appointments in other states in order to get the proper Visas for travel. We’d love to take them all to the airport to say goodbye and get photos with them, but we still haven’t figured out a way to be in multiple places at once so I’m once again grateful for Uber and cab drivers!

DEPARTURES

February 2021

Sisters Randall, Halverson, Bradley and Elders Manning, Garcia, Bargeron

March 2021

ARRIVALS

FEBRUARY 2021

APRIL 2021

Happy Birthday 🥳

It was so fun to have a surprise Happy Birthday Zoom call for President Teuscher with some of our missionaries who are home now. It made us extra happy to see some of the missionaries who had to leave at the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic and either finish their mission early or finish serving in their home country. We loved hearing everyone’s stories and memories–some funny, some tender–all of them made us super grateful that we have had the privilege to serve with each and every one of these remarkable young men and women! We are so sad that our mission will be ending in a few months, but at the same time we are really excited for President and Sister Holmes because they get to serve with and love all these missionaries too!

Leadership Council

So many screen shots! It’s been a while since I posted any photos from MLC or Mission Leadership Meetings. Screen shots aren’t nearly as good as in person, but here are some from one of our recent leadership meetings. We usually have a big Zoom call for the first part of the leadership meeting where we have trainings and spiritually uplifting messages, then we break out into zones and the Zone Leaders, Sister Training Leaders and District Leaders make their goals and plans for the transfer.

For our most recent MLC we had a group discussion about what we can learn from following Christ’s leadership style. We read one of the best talks ever by Spencer W. Kimball called “Jesus: The Perfect Leader.” He gave it in 1977 to the Young Presidents organization in Sun Valley Idaho. It is still such a classic because it is straight truth! Go read it if you never have and read it again if it’s been a while. I wish you all could have been in the discussion with us listening to the depth of understanding and insights these 20 year old disciples of Christ have. It fills me with hope to think that these are some of the future leaders of homes, classrooms, businesses, churches and civic organizations. Elder Parker Bingham gave a masterful training: “The Answer is the Doctrine,” based on a talk given by Elder Bednar. The doctrines of the gospel are always the foundation and the “why.” The principles are “what” and the application is “how.” True doctrine understood changes attitudes and behavior. I have seen this over and over again in my own life and in the lives of the people who are learning and coming to understand for themselves the true doctrines of the restored gospel. When understood and applied it changes our lives for the better. We have more peace, more light, more goodness, and more desire to share all those things with others. When we struggle to accept or live a principle of the gospel we can ask, “what doctrine do I not understand yet,” and then embark on a study of that doctrine. This approach has helped me so many times and I always come away asking myself: “How did I not know that, or how did I not understand that until now!” And then I think, “Wow! What else don’t I know or understand?” and while definitely humbling, it makes me grateful for a loving, patient God and for the opportunity to start on my next quest to learn more!

Speaking of always more to learn and discover…that is how I feel every time I get the chance to wander through the city a little. See below for some of the amazingness that I found on recent preparation day walks

OUT & ABOUT NYC

The High Line, Chelsea, Roosevelt Island, Central Park West, Central Park, Windows of the remodeled LaGuardia Airport. There is so much to see and love here ❤️🗽

Still serving in the time of Covid: part 5

February 3, 2021

#LightTheWorld 2020/Happy New Year 2021

THE NYC MISSION CHRISTMAS VIDEO & VIRTUAL CHRISTMAS CARD

I love these end of the year videos and cards. I know we don’t quite get all the missionaries in as some leave before photos are taken or arrive just after, but this captures all who were in the mission as of Christmastime 2020. We have a lot of missionaries this year so the video goes through them quickly, but here they all are holding still 🤣

Christmas is always a wonderful time in New York City! This year a lot of things were not quite the same because of the ongoing pandemic, but there is still a festive spirit in the air and lights, beautiful trees and seasonal decorations still fill the lobbies and store fronts and Manhattan in particular feels like a magical place. We were sad that we didn’t have the Giving Machines for the #LightTheWorld campaign as that is always a highlight of the season for the missionaries to work at the machines, but we hope they will be back next year. We did have fun taking #LightTheWorld initiatives online. We started a couple of Facebook groups, one in English and one in Spanish so we could have a place to share and encourage others to do the #LightTheWorld service prompts each day and it was a big hit. Within just a few weeks we had a couple thousand people join, so we decided to keep going with the groups and see what happens. So far they continue growing and we hope they will become just one more way the missionaries can find people who are prepared and share the good new of the gospel with them. The mission Instagram account is also doing well. The missionaries we have running it are super creative and super focused on their missionary purpose and they are seeing lots of success. If you don’t follow our Instagram account yet you should go do that and tell any friends you have that live in New York to follow it too! It has really great content and will put some extra light and goodness into your day. The account is @comeuntochristnyc and here is the link: https://www.instagram.com/comeuntochristnyc/

Similar to Thanksgiving, we planned some special activities for Christmas. Below is our schedule for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was so fun to gather on Zoom and hear stories from Sister Lori Mortensen and President Norris Chappell. What a blessing to have the Mortensens and Chappells serving with us! They are the best members, examples, and Mission Presidency counselors! Sister Mortensen introduced us to her friend and former New Yorker, Jenny Richards. Jenny is a graduate of The Juilliard School and a brilliant pianist. She gave us a access to her musical offering of the most peaceful, worshipful Christmas music. We had asked the missionaries families to send letters expressing their testimonies of the Savior and also any blessings they had seen while their missionary had been serving and then we asked the missionaries to read the letters and have some time to reflect on their own testimonies and blessings they had seen while they listened. Then, Christmas morning we were joined by Elder and Sister Bennett. Elder Bennett is our Area President. We are so grateful they took time out of their Christmas Morning to share an inspiring and uplifting message with us.

A little fun out and about with our kids. Adam and Noah came back for 7 weeks and finished up their winter semesters here. There was a lot of Zoom going on between 3 kids in school and all of our missionary meetings.

TRANSFERS

ARRIVALS

DECEMBER 2020-JANUARY 2021

Elder Walton, Elder ROSKELLEY, and Elder Holdon
Elder Hopkins & Elder OLSEN
Elder TRIPLETT
Sister Dewey & Sister CASILLAS
Sister BURKE & Sister Buist
Sister Buckles
Elder Frank
Elder Locke
Sister Sadler
Sister McCurdy
Elder Anjewierden
Sister Erickson
Sister Jobe
Sister Ricks
Sister Jensen
Elder Harlow
Elder Harwood
Sister NIELSON, Sister Larsen
Elder KENNEDY, Elder JORDAN
Elder Larson, Elder FISCHBECK
Elder GARNS, Elder Pauni
Elder Cloward, Elder Steffes, Elder STEPHENSON
Sister Shaw, Sister GREEN, Sister Avondet
Sister Halverson & Sister ADHIKARI

DEPARTURES

DECEMBER 2020-JANUARY 2021

These 16 missionaries finished their mission and returned home during December and early January. We loved hearing each of them share their powerful testimonies and experiences they’ve had while serving their missions. 5 of them were reassigned to NYC after being in overseas missions and were only here since this past summer, but we feel like they’ve been here the whole time and it’s hard to imagine they weren’t always a part of our mission. We feel so blessed to have served with each of these amazing young women and young men and we are grateful for the legacy of hard work, obedience, love, and trust in God that they leave for all of us.

Sister Lines, Sister Froelich, Sister Martial

Elders BIngham, Mendenhall, Lowe, Harrell

ZONE CONFERENCE

We met with each zone over Zoom and then later met with them in person at a church building for a devotional. On the Zoom calls we did role plays where we picked a few different companionships to teach us about The Plan of Salvation in just 2 minutes! Wow they are some powerful teachers. It is amazing to me how the spirit is not restricted by us not being in the same room or anything like that. We could feel their love and the truthfulness of their message. I know the people they are teaching feel the same things. We had one companionship teach simply but powerfully using the lyrics to primary song, another one used a single verse of scripture and another used some artwork and a white board. All bore testimony and expressed how understanding God’s plan of happiness and salvation has blessed their life. We also had several missionaries read their one page personal statement we asked them to write about one of the principles of the plan of salvation. Those are my favorite! I love hearing their personal insights and experiences of coming to more deeply know their Savior and his gospel. In addition to being heartfelt and personal, some of them are just so well written. I think there are several future famous authors and poets in our midst!

SPECIAL GUESTS

We were thrilled to have President and Sister Smith and President and Sister Reynolds join us on morning devotionals. They were the mission leaders of the New York North and New York South Missions just before we arrived and those two missions were combined into the New York City Mission! We love them so much and are grateful for the amazing legacy of faith, work, obedience and love they left. We also had several former missionaries join one morning too and share some of their mission experiences. It was the best! Unfortunately I didn’t take screen shots that morning. We had the former Elders: Thompson, Carlson, Walker, Eastmond and Sisters: Schetselaar, Choi and Franks. We hope to organize a few more of those calls with NYC Mission alumni in the future. There is a great sense of connection and an instant bond we all share to this city and specifically to doing the Lord’s work in this city.

❄️ Nor’easter ❄️

After two fairly mild winters (by East Coast standards) we finally had a big storm! Even though school is mostly online now Grace still got a “snow day” and was pretty happy about that. You can hear her practicing the piano in the background of the video 😊. The missionaries had their preparation day but had to mostly stay home because the mayor said no cars could be on the roads (except for essential travel) and even the above ground trains quit running for part of the day because of the high winds and heavy snow. It is such a blessing that they can still do all their finding and teaching from their apartments if needed, but most of them got out and had some fun in the snow too 💨❄️☃️

He directs the snow to fall on the earth

and tells the rain to pour down

Then everyone stops working

so they can watch his power

Job 37:6-7
New Living Translation

Serving in the Time of Covid: part 4

February 3, 2021

AUTUMN 2020

I’ve been so grateful these past few weeks for the beauty that God has designed for us!
Fall in New York is the best!!!
🍁☀️🍁
I’ve been pondering about that phrase from President Nelson’s talk in October’s General Conference, “Let God Prevail.” What does it look like to let God prevail in my life? One day as I was on a walk, enjoying the fall colors in all their glory, I realized that these leaves are giving me the answer. They are showing me exactly what it looks like to “Let God Prevail!” They are doing what they were designed to do! They are trusting their creator and following His plan for them. And when they do, they bring so much beauty and joy to the world ! What if I did that? What if I trusted my creator and the plan he has for me? What if I did what I was designed to do, if I chose to do what he asked me to do: to love Him and love others? Would my life, like these leaves, bring beauty to the world too? I want to be more like the fall leaves and Let God Prevail!
🍁☀️🍁

Yep! We love Jesus! Sister Barnum, Sister McClara and Sister Allen. October 2020

Manhattan District (one companionship joined virtually because they were still in quarantine with a new missionary.

Devotional with the Chinese Zone. We read the “Dedicatory Prayer of the Chinese Realm for the Preaching of the Gospel” by Elder David O. McKay of the Quorum of the Twelve given on 9 January 1921. There are some blessings for the missionaries in that prayer that even a century later are relevant.

…may the young men and young women come out of the darkness of the Past into the Glorious Light now shining among the children of men. Grant, our Father, that these young men and women may, through upright, virtuous lives, and prayerful study, be prepared and inclined to declare this message of salvation in their own tongue to their fellowmen. May their hearts, and the hearts of this people, be turned to their fathers that they may accept the opportunity offered them to bring salvation to the millions who have gone before. May the elders and sisters whom thou shalt call to this land as missionaries have keen insight into the mental and spiritual state of the Chinese mind. Give them special power and ability to approach this people in such manner as will make the proper appeal to them. We beseech thee, O God, to reveal to thy servants the best methods to adopt and the best plans to follow in establishing thy work among this ancient, tradition-steeped people. May the work prove joyous, and a rich harvest of honest souls bring peace to the workers’ hearts which surpasseth all understanding.
“Dedicatory Prayer of the Chinese Realm for the Preaching of the Gospel,” Elder David O. McKay of the Quorum of the Twelve given on 9 January 1921

SPECIAL MORNING DEVOTIONAL WITH ARTIST CLARK KELLY PRICE

We really enjoyed learning from Clark Kelly Price and hearing the stories and inspiration behind some of his paintings. He was so generous to share digital images of a dozen of his paintings with us. I’ll share a little about 3 of them

“Dan Jones” is every missionary’s hero! Especially here in NYC where (pre-Covid) we would take to the streets, trains and busses and talk to everyone. Faith over fear, just like Dan Jones. Now they open their mouths online!

“First They Pray” depicts a father and son in Tonga (where Clark Price served his mission with my dad as his mission president 😊) before heading into the sea. First they pray, then they go! Much like Nephi: “I will go and do what the Lord commands…” trusting that he will provide a way for us to accomplish our tasks.

“All Present and Accounted For” which depicts the Stripling Warriors from the Book of Mormon at the end of a difficult battle–many wounded and tired from the fight but all present and accounted for. He shared how we sometimes want to quit the fight when it feels too hard, but that one day we will meet these warriors–will we be comfortable looking them in the eye and explaining our reasons for complaining or not doing our duty?

Virtual Mission Tour with Elder & Sister Clayton

We loved spending several days online in a variety of formats with the Claytons. We learned so much from both of them and loved having them join district councils, companionship studies, lessons with friends the missionaries are teaching and even some personal time with individual missionaries.

ZONE CONFERENCE:

Zone Conference has become a hybrid of online and in-person meetings. We love being able to gather in-person in small groups for our devotional portion and we also really like the convenience of being able to get the whole mission together at once on Zoom. We also like being able to meet online with individual zones and practice teaching or other skills. It gives more people a chance to participate and it gives us the opportunity to hear from and be taught by more missionaries.

In October, we focused on working with members. It was really wonderful for the missionaries to hear from several different local members who live and work here. They helped us gain insight into things we can do to earn trust and be more helpful to the members.

In November we learned about different ways to have effective scripture study and then we did some effective scripture study together by combining two of those ways–careful or in depth study of a certain passage and also topical. We explored the topic of gratitude and studied together the story of the 10 lepers. I’ll try and condense nearly an hour into a few sentences. All 10 lepers had the faith to call out to Jesus, all 10 were obedient when he told them to go show themselves to the priest, all 10 were healed as they went and did as he said, all 10 must have been overjoyed to be given this miracle of being healed, but only 1 returned to give thanks, 1 recognized who the true high priest was, 1 was grateful not only for the gift, but for the giver of the gift. It is easy to be grateful for the gift or the blessing or the miracle that is what we asked for, the prayer that was answered the way we hoped, but are we equally able to be grateful for and recognize the Savior as the source of all our blessings–even when we don’t recognize them as blessings? I love the quote from President Nelson and also this artwork entitled “Holding Sorrows” from Caitlin Connolly. When we truly develop a grateful heart we will be able to see beauty and good and opportunities for growth even in our sorrows. I am so grateful that He has provided a way through those sorrows and that he gives “beauty for ashes.” One of my favorite hymns is Come, Thou Fount. When I learn to see Christ as the source of every blessing, when I “tune my heart to see his grace” in and through all things, when I learn to recognize “streams of mercy, never ceasing”, then it truly does “call for songs of loudest praise.”

“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”
I loved filming this music video for our Facebook page on the steps of the Met and in Central Park!
New York City has so many beautiful spaces. Sister Low, Sister Barrus and Sister Martial singing and Sister Taylor as videographer.

THANKSGIVING

We wanted to make Thanksgiving special for the missionaries since Covid cases are back on the rise so they weren’t able to have meals with members or others this Holiday season. Elder and Sister Buckner joined us on Zoom in the morning and gave an outstanding devotional. Elder Buckner is the Area Authority Seventy and they live in the Manhattan 1st Ward and are the absolute best! We love the Buckners! After the devotional we had our very own baking show featuring our star chef Sister Clifford! She taught us how to make homemade rolls and then I showed everyone how to bake a pumpkin pie. The missionaries spread lots of joy and messages of gratitude and then we met back together over Zoom in the evening to eat our pie and share our testimonies how good God is!

Arrivals

SEPTEMBER 2020

Elder, Palmer, Elder Stephens, Elder Baird

Sister Avondet, Sister Simmerman, Sister Martial

OCTOBER & NOVEMBER 2020

Elder Payne, Elder White, Elder Hall, Elder Cowley, Sister Freeman, Sister Feldman, Sister Braithwaite

Departures

OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2020

Hermana Hamilton
Elder Tolbert
Elder Murray
Elder Ochsenbein
Elder Thompson
Elder Sanders
Elder Kang
Elder Mortensen
Elder Rindlisbacher
Elder Morgan
Elder Ashton
Elder Wade
Sister Van Tassell

RAINY DAY OCTOBER TRANSFERS

NOVEMBER TRANSFERS

Hooray for Elder and Sister Clifford! They are currently the only senior couple that is able to be here in New York. Elder and Sister Spanos are also serving remotely and we are so grateful for the support we get from them. They each do double or triple duty!

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

🍁 Isaiah 40:8 🍁

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

🍁 Galatians 6:9 🍁

English Standard Version

Serving in the time of Covid: part 3

September 21, 2020

SUMMER 2020

I think we all thought or at least hoped that by now Covid-19 wouldn’t still be dictating large portions of how we live our daily lives, but we have learned to adapt.

Once the epicenter of infection and death, now New York City has one of the lowest infection rates in the country. That ability to come together, make sacrifices for the greater good and work to overcome is true not only of the city and state, but for our mission too. The missionaries here have been AMAZING at dealing with all the curve-balls the virus throws their way. They are mastering teaching the gospel using technology and social media. Instead of just waiting around for things to go back to normal, they have seized the opportunity to learn and grow in this new normal and have been incredibly creative. They learned to become even more effective missionaries than they were before all the restrictions that Covid brought.

Can’t talk to people on the streets and trains? No problem just figure out how to open your mouth online. Can’t meet at the church building to teach English Class? Well then, we will teach using FaceBook live and end up teaching 10 x as many people! Can’t go to church? That’s OK we will bring church and scripture study to you via WhatsApp, Facetime, Zoom, Google Duo, etc. One thing is for certain, the spirit is not restricted by a virus or a computer screen. It can speak to, inspire and enlighten us no matter what means of communication we use.

Here are just a few examples of the many creative ways we are serving and spreading the light of the gospel online here in the New York City Mission. You can join us too! Scroll down on the image below and click on any of our pages to follow, like, comment and share.

Click to access share-the-gospel-online-in-5-minutes-or-less.pdf

ARRIVALS

This is going to be a long arrivals post, but that is what happens when you don’t post for 3 months and then receive over 100 new missionaries during that time!

After a few months of only sending missionaries home we were blessed to have both new and reassigned missionaries start arriving here in NYC. The reassigned missionaries had been serving in other missions overseas but were sent home when it became apparent that Covid was going to spread around the world. Most of them came home in March and were at home waiting for their reassignment for 3-5 months. That time at home counted as part of their service so by the time some of them got here they only had a few months left to serve. Others were only in their overseas mission for a few weeks when they were called home and some never even made it to their first assignment. No matter the length of service left we are so grateful that they each chose to serve. They have been a blessing for sure! I wish I could give all of their first mission leaders a huge hug of gratitude! I know it must have been so hard to send them home.

🇧🇷 🇦🇷 🇸🇬 🇿🇦 🇿🇼 🇨🇻 🇲🇽 🇭🇳 🇨🇱 🇵🇪 🇵🇦 🇨🇷 🇯🇵 🇮🇹 🇳🇱 🇸🇷 🇼🇸 🇵🇭 🇨🇴 🇬🇹 🇲🇾 🇪🇨

We made this “Welcome” video to let them all know how excited we were to have them join us in New York! At this point we’d been in self-isolation for a few months and some of the elders needed haircuts. Some of them tried to give themselves a buzz and others decided to wait until barber shops were open. I’m so grateful we captured this moment in time.

I lost count of how many trips we made to JFK this summer but it was a lot! Missionaries arrived over multiple days every other week (and sometimes random days in between) for a good part of the summer. There was always a lot of excitement as each new group arrived. If they were going to serve in a car area, their companion was there to greet them at the airport which was always fun. If they were in a metro area, the assistants or office elders or President Teuscher and I would drive them to their apartments and meet their companions in their area. There is this section on the drive from Brooklyn heading to Queens when you come around a curve and all of a sudden the Manhattan skyline appears on your left. I love taking that route with a brand new missionary–I love to see their reaction of amazement that they are really here and that it looks just like it does in all the movies they’ve seen! 🚙 🚘 🏙 🚕 🚗 🏙 🚙 🚘

June 2020

AT THE AIRPORT: JUNE 8

This is the first group of new missionaries to arrive post Covid lock-down.

WITH COMPANIONS

Sisters McClara, Matthews, ***Marshall***

**Sister Bailey** arrived on her very own day and we loved the chance to visit with her on the drive to Brooklyn to meet her companions Sister Randall & Sister Froelich.

REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE

We rejoiced when the reassigned missionaries started arriving! It felt a little like the story from the Book of Mormon when Helaman and his group of Stripling Warriors show up as reinforcements for the army of Antipus. Not anywhere close to the same thing as being in a war, I know, but the sentiment was similar for those missionaries who had been here throughout the months-long self-isolation, working hard to figure out the new normal of serving not only in the time of a pandemic but in what was the epicenter of it. They pushed themselves mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Many of them had friends who had come home from their missions, or family who was worried about them and so while they were certainly valiant and steadfast and I have no doubt they would have and could have kept going strong, still, it was good to get reinforcements!

AT THE AIRPORT: JUNE 22-24

Properly socially distanced photos make it hard to see who is who 🤣 masks don’t help much either 😷 but I kind of love these photos anyway because they capture the current situation well.

WITH COMPANIONS

July 2020

AT THE AIRPORT: JULY 6-8

WITH COMPANIONS

AT THE AIRPORT: JULY 20-22

WITH COMPANIONS

August 2020

AT THE AIRPORT: AUGUST 3-4

WITH COMPANIONS

AT THE AIRPORT: AUGUST 17

WITH COMPANIONS

AT THE AIRPORT: AUGUST 31

WITH COMPANIONS

DEPARTURES

Certainly, one of the things we’ve missed the most because of Covid-19 restrictions is having the departing missionaries over to the mission home for dinner and a departing testimony meeting. We are grateful for Zoom technology so we can still hold a virtual testimony meeting. And we are grateful for Uber drivers who help up get all these wonderful missionaries from their apartments to the airport.

DEPARTING ZOOM TESTIMONY MEETING: JUNE

from top left: Eder Meyer, Elder Sutherland, Elder Harmer, Sister Peterson, Sister Nelson, Elder Lemke, Sister Woodin, Sister Tuttle, Elder Hein, Sister Liu, Hermana Christensen, Elder Dalby, Elder Turley, Sister Wallace, Elder Hwang.

Sister Liu sent me this photo from her flight home. Never stop sharing truth and light!

DEPARTING: JULY

I didn’t get screen shots of everyone at the testimony meeting for this group but we were able to get to the airport for photos. I also love this screen shot of Sister Grimmer during her final interview with President Teuscher when she showed him her stack of her mission journals!

Sister Schetselaar, Sister Grimmer, Sister Matthews, Sister Rowley

DEPARTING: AUGUST

Sister Mabaya (top row) and Hermana Bastian heading home.

With Covid restrictions easing ever so slightly, we were able to have a small testimony meeting with just the 4 of us, President & Sister Teuscher and Elder Lambert and Elder Lombardi. The Elders flew home the next morning and we flew to Bermuda to visit the branch there. The last time we visited Bermuda was the week between Christmas and New Years so it was definitely good to get back! One of the exciting things was that we sustained a new all Bermudian Branch presidency. Elder and Sister Moss who had been serving so faithfully in Bermuda for the past two years ended their mission a week later and now we are in the process of trying to get the young missionaries as well as another senior couple back on the island. Covid cases in Bermuda as very low and thy are trying to keep it that way so the testing is strict. We were scheduled to travel there a week earlier than we did but had to cancel our first trip because it was too rushed for us on this end to get a Covid test back in time and be ready to travel. We got the test for that first flight, then had to go back and get tested again the following week so it would be in the correct time window to fly. Once we arrived in Bermuda we were tested a 3rd time at the airport and had to quarantine in the hotel room until results came back negative–luckily all 3 tests were negative. While the procedure itself is unpleasant and the quarantine period is a bit annoying, we will gladly do it if it means protecting others from Covid. I see a lot of things online and hear about people who think it is a hoax or isn’t that serious, but having lived here where thousands died, where thousands more sacrificed their own health and safety to care for them, and where these people aren’t just numbers but are a part of our church congregation or friends that we teach; it is hard to understand why you wouldn’t do what you can to prevent it’s spread, even if it is a personal inconvenience for a little bit. The missionaries have certainly been inconvenienced over and over again because of it. Because New Yorkers were so strict with masks and social distancing and keeping things shut down for a long time, we are currently one of the states with the lowest rates of infection and to keep it that way, travelers coming to New York from other states with high rates of infection are required to quarantine for 14 days. With all the new arrivals we have a rolling cycle of companionships in quarantine. I want to give a big shout out to all the parents who help us with this, placing online grocery deliveries for your missionaries and also volunteering to help any other missionary who might need it! We not only have the best missionaries we have the best parents of missionaries too! We love you all and are so so so grateful for your support!

Here are a few pictures from beautiful Bermuda ☀️ 🌴 🌺 All the bright colors make me so happy! The bottom photos are the new Branch Presidency, the baptism of the newest member of the branch and the missionaries before they had to come back to NYC in March.

Elders Turley & Ochsenbein, Sisters, Moss, Tuttle, Snyder, Carlson

TRANSFERS

I’m excited I get to post a few transfer photos again! Uber transfers just aren’t the same 🤣! I do want to write a little about those transfers during Covid restrictions (I don’t have any photos of them). I can’t say enough how grateful we are for the amazing assistants who were faced with the monumental logistical task of figuring out transfers without the use of public transportation or the option to have missionaries meet up in a central location to do the exchanges. About 2/3 of our missionaries use public transportation so this is no small task. Thank goodness for Uber, Lyft, Yellow Cab, Google spreadsheets and extremely capable assistants! We love them!

After the Uber transfers I think everyone was excited to have a modified “regular” transfer. It took some more detailed planning on the assistants’ part but they were able to pull off a 4 part transfer where limited numbers of companions met at a church parking lot during a certain time block and then left before the next small group arrived. This time we were able to use public transit again which made most of the missionaries realize that actually having an Uber or cab pick you up at your apartment turns out to be much more convenient than taking the metro when you are lugging all your and belongings with you. 😉

Morning Devotionals

We continued with our Morning Devotionals throughout the summer. We aren’t having them as often now that restrictions have eased up somewhat, but I’d say they are probably everyone’s favorite part of the Covid shutdown. We learn so much from each of our guest speakers and we are extremely appreciative of them taking the time to join us over Zoom and share their thoughts, experiences and testimonies. Below are some thumbnails from our mission google drive that show a sampling of the morning devotionals. Ask your missionary what they learned from some of them!

Serving in the time of Covid:

July 3, 2020

By late March 2020 this great, bustling city we’ve come to love was at a virtual standstill. In response to the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus and the rising number of cases and deaths from Covid-19, the Governor of New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo put the state of New York on PAUSE. All but essential business and services closed, school moved online, people were asked to stay home, no gatherings, no church, no meeting with others or teaching people in their homes.

The news reports out of New York were frightening. Thousands of new Covid-19 cases and rising by the day, hospitals overloaded, not enough ventilators, not enough protective equipment for the healthcare workers, people dying, portable morgues, so many questions about treatment, prevention, immunity etc., economic hardship, wide spread shortages of hygiene and cleaning supplies…the list goes on!

left: The New Yorker cover art recognizing the sacrifice of the front-line Healthcare workers
right: The first “hot spot” in New Rochelle, about 4 miles from the mission home

We were humbled by the generosity and thoughtfulness of people who offered to sew and send face masks–they came from several states as well as China, Korea and Taiwan.

Face masks became our new accessory when we did have to go out. Hand sanitizer, cleaning supplies and toilet paper were all suddenly in high demand. The same happened in many places around the world, but New York was our reality and it quickly became the epicenter of this pandemic. Our “new normal” was just trying to keep up with the rapid changes and trying (often unsuccessfully) to provide answers and reassurance to concerned missionaries, parents, family and friends. While there was an incredible amount of uncertainty about the future and how this would all work out, there was also an incredible amount of faith and trust in the Lord that this would all work out! We were touched time and time again by the thoughtful messages from our family and friends and from the families of the missionaries letting us know they were praying for us and expressing trust in the Lord, in their son or daughter and in us as mission leaders. It was just the encouragement and strength we needed on many an occasion.

The empty streets and spaces of NYC during the city-wide effort to #StopTheSpread

This is a Facebook post I shared in response to a lot of questions and concerns from family and friends…

A lot of you are asking how we are doing in here NYC during this Covid19 pandemic. We are humbled. We are in awe of the strength and dedication and kindness of so many. We are sad. It is hard to see people suffering wether from the illness, loss of work, effects of social isolation, or any other hardship. We are aware. Aware of the difficulties and inconveniences–yes, but also aware of the unity of purpose and love for those most vulnerable that echos in the emptiness of an otherwise bustling city. We are blessed. In the midst of all of it, we are blessed to know and feel of God’s love for all of His children and to see so many of them turning to Him and choosing to let His light more fully into their lives. We are grateful. Grateful for the privilege of being in this amazing city that is so resilient and “tough, tough in a good way” as Governor Cuomo likes to say. We are grateful to be serving with some of the strongest, most dedicated, and learning-to-be-resilient young missionaries there are. We are grateful for the love and support and prayers and faith that are extended to us by all of you! We love you! We love New York! We love New Yorkers! We love being missionaries here! We love the Lord!

Arrivals: March 2020

Our “Covid Corps.” This awesome group of missionaries arrived and the next day we began self-isolation. They still haven’t met any of the people they are teaching, the members, or ward and branch leaders in person. They haven’t had the chance to knock doors or do street and train contacting that has traditionally been such a huge part of how missionary work is done in this city. They haven’t been able to get out and see much of the city other than where they can walk to during a break for exercise. They haven’t been to a district council, zone conference, church or any other traditional meeting that wasn’t held over Zoom or some other social media app. They have however completely embraced the world of online and social media missionary work. They are brilliant at it and have the best attitudes. Most of the sisters in this group had to learn Spanish by talking to people over the phone or on video chats! If you’ve ever learned a foreign language you’ll know how hard that would be. They’ve risen to the challenge and done beautifully. If you watched one of their Facebook live events–scripture study, english class etc. you’d never know the’ve only been at it for 3-4 months!

Elders Harris, Fingerle, Goodworth
Elder England & Elder Pak
Hermanas Blanchard & Haws
Hermanas MacDonald & Dewey
Hermanas Flores & Rutledge
Sister Heiner & Hill
Hermanas Hamilton & Stubblefield
Hermanas Bastian & Vasas

Arriving “home” to NYC from Bermuda

It was a boomerang trip to Bermuda 🇧🇲 ✈️🌴for Sister Bradley and Elder Rindlisbacher. They were both so excited to go to Bermuda! Sadly, they were only there a few days when we learned Bermuda would be closing borders. Along with missionaries serving in many foreign countries throughout the world we were asked to bring them “home.” Luckily for us home meant to NYC and they were able to stay on their missions where many other foreign missionaries were asked to return home and wait to finish their service until a later date.

Elder Laird also had a boomerang trip. He had been serving here for about 6 weeks while waiting for his Visa to Suriname. His Visa arrived and his flight was booked. He made it the first let to Florida but when his flight was supposed to leave they informed all passengers that the flight was cancelled because borders were just closed in Suriname. So he flew back to NYC and we are so grateful he gets to serve with us longer. Here he is (on the left) with his companions Elder Turley and Elder Barnes.

Departures: March-May 2020

March 11, 2020–We didn’t know this would be our last temple trip for a while. The temples around the world were closed due to the pandemic. The Manhattan temple is still closed and we assume it will not reopen for some time.

This group left in the morning, and that day the missionary department asked us to start “self-isolation!” We are glad we got one last departing dinner and testimony meeting with them (the night before) and were able to take them all together to the airport to say good-bye.

Sister Andoh-Kesson
Sister VanWoerkom
Sister Reed
Sister Prue
Sister Murphy
Sister James
Sister Ingersoll
Sister Gonzalez
Elder Navarro
Elder Jensen
Elder Palmer

🎶🎵We got serenaded at our departing dinner 🎵🎶

Elder Wu and Sister Rios–they left a day or so before the rest of their departing group so they could make it home to Argentina before the Argentine borders closed.

One of the “casualties” of Covid was that due to health or other concerns, many of our senior couples and a few of our young missionaries, including most of them who are from other countries were asked to return home earlier than planned. In some cases they were finished and in other cases they continued serving in a mission in their home countries. We were so sad to have them go, but glad they all made it home safely and that many of them are currently back out serving in their home countries. Because we were in self-isolation we weren’t able to all meet at the airport and instead we had to send them in individual Ubers or cabs, so I don’t have departing photos of everyone, but we sure love each of them and are so so grateful for their service–what ever length of time that was. Here are a few photos from shortly before they left or after returning.

From top left above: Elder Fingerle, Elder Gaytan, Sister Chen, Elder Reyes, Sister Hoe, Elder Kim, Sister Stillo, Elder Kim, Elder Sa, Sister Connolly.

From top left below:
Elder Robison, Elder Fosse, Sister Crow, Elder Jamison, Elder Lee, Sister Meyers, Elder Vickers

April was another Uber transfer and departing group–no photos from transfers but here are airport selfies from our departing missionaries. We are truly grateful for their service!

From top left above: Elder Aubrey, Elder Sullivan, Hermana Haws, Sister Snyder and Sister Dyreng and a double dose of Sister Park who had to wait an extra 10 days to leave until she got back a negative Covid test! Group shot includes Sister Dyreng, Sister Snyder, Elder Mensching, Elder Monk, Elder Kelley

Zone Conference

Zone Conference went digital! I asked everyone to send in a companionship “selfie” so we could document our first fully online zone conference–the results are this slide show. During zone conference we talked about the blessing of being able to serve in this place and time and under these circumstances. God was not and is not surprised by a pandemic or anything else that comes our way. He called us to be missionaries at this time and in this place and he still needs us to “bring the world his truth!”

These screen shots below are from a training by the Assistants, Elder Sutherland and Elder Lambert. It is slightly amusing looking back now, that 2 weeks of isolation seemed like a difficult situation. But in reality, those first weeks probably were the hardest because we were all learning how to adapt, how to stay focused on our purpose as missionaries and continue to do our work even though it felt like we were constrained and unable to get out and do missionary work in the ways we knew how and had become fairly proficient at. I have been so impressed with this group of missionaries overall–with their resiliency, willingness to learn and ability to not only survive but thrive in difficult circumstances.

Daily Devotionals

Daily Devotionals are one of the good things to come out of being stuck inside. We started having a morning devotional with the whole mission over Zoom. It is a great way to start the day and be able to connect and see everyone on the screen at least! The devotionals are a mix of motivation and spiritual uplift, sharing information and training; sometimes from President and Sister Teuscher and sometimes from fellow missionaries. The best are days we have guest speakers join us! We have been taught and inspired by so many amazing people! I’ve been blown away by their generosity and willingness to take time to join our devotionals and support the missionaries. We’ve heard from a wide range of people including: General Authorities, local church leaders, business, marketing and social media executives, musicians, artists, therapists, professors, motivational speakers and even the Governor of New York (via a downloaded YouTube video 😉) One thing all our guests speakers have in common is they each use the gifts and talents God has given them to lift and help others. Below are just a few examples.

One of our early devotionals set the tone for facing this time of our missions. We love the story of Caleb found in the Old Testament. (Numbers 13 and Joshua 14) He was one of the 12 advance scouts sent by Moses to check out the land of Canaan the Lord had given them. They found a rich land full of fruit and “flowing with milk & honey” but also found giants living there. Everyone else was scared of the giants but Caleb was different. He “wholly followed the Lord” and even though he saw the giants too he focused on what was possible and said “Let us go up at once, for we are well able to overcome….The Lord is with us, fear them not!” Caleb is our hero and we want to be like him as we face the giants of coronovirus or whatever else may seem too hard. “Give me this Mountain!” Caleb said and we say too…”Bring it on, for we are well able to overcome and wholly follow the Lord.”

It was a huge privilege to have my favorite contemporary religious artist, J. Kirk Richards, join us and talk about his mission, his art career and how he strives to keep his covenants.
It was SOOO GOOD and inspiring. I absolutely love his art!

My dad told stories of his adventurous mission to Tonga and showed some clips from the movie, “The Other Side of Heaven” that was made about his mission. That was a big hit!

Musician and Motivational Speaker Yahosh Bonner had us all smiling for days! He sang to us and shared how he uses his gifts and talents to uplift others.
(the video flips to the right direction when you play it)

One of my personal favorites from Yahosh.

Even though we were mostly stuck inside, spring was gorgeous this year! Here’s a glimpse of what I see on walks around the neighborhood. Enjoy!

Serving in the Time of Covid: Prelude to a Pandemic

July 2, 2020

An Apostle Visits

The NYC Missionaries with Elder & Sister Christofferson, Elder & Sister Haynie, Elder & Sister Buckner

In the weeks before the big red dot, the one that would soon appear on epidemiology and newsroom maps designating New York City as the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak in the United States, we were blessed with a visit from an apostle of the Lord, Elder D. Todd Christofferson and his amazing wife, Kathy. We knew at the time it was a rare and beautiful experience to shake the hand of an apostle, to sit near him and hear his counsel and teaching. We did not know just how precious it would soon become. As it turns out it was one of the last times we were able to shake someone’s hand, give a hug, or even be in proximity to one another. In the weeks that followed, the viral disease known as Covid-19 stealthily and steadily spread on the crowded streets and spaces of this city we love. But before that, way back in the other pre-Covid life (which was only 4+months ago), we had the blessing of being in the presence of an apostle and even walking down the street a few blocks to enjoy a nice lunch together. Grace sat next to Elder Christofferson and they had a pleasant conversation while they enjoyed their avocado toast (Elder Christofferson’s choice) and a crab-cake BLT (Grace).

We have never been able to gather the entire mission in one place at the same time, so when we got word that Elder Christofferson was coming and wanted to meet with all the missionaries together we got to work trying to figure out how to get everyone to Manhattan and how to get a photograph to commemorate the day. We only had about 10 days notice so I called my sister Jane who is a professional photographer to ask her for tips on how to organize and take a quality photo of 200+ people in the few minutes we had prior to the meeting. After hearing her tips and tricks and things we would need to consider–things like lighting, special lenses, ladders and seating and standing charts according to height, I asked what she thought about taking a trip to NYC! Thankfully she was willing to pack up her gear and fly out here to help us out! The photo above is the result of all her hard work! Thank you Jane!

At the devotional, Elder and Sister Christofferson encouraged us to seek to have our own divine guidance and revelation in life. The best way to do this is to treasure up the word of God. Reading the scriptures each day is like charging your phone, it is how you get spiritual power and information for your day. They taught that the Book of Mormon is and should be our instrument of conversion and that as we read it we are putting ourselves in a position where God can perform the miracle of conversion. There was time for the missionaries to ask questions which I thought was awesome until Elder Christofferson turned and asked me to share my thoughts about one of them! Ha! If ye are prepared ye shall not fear right? Well, luckily a scripture did come to mind and I was able to share my thoughts, but I was definitely not fear free, so I guess it’s time to up the spiritual preparation!

Arrivals:

January & February 2020

Sister Zhang, Sister James, Sister Liu
Sister Wright & Sister Cheney
Sister Scott & Sister McClara
Sister Peterson, Sister Chan, Sister Hoe
Sister Jensen & Sister Woodin
Sister Buhman & Sister Barrett
Sister Yan, Sister Chen Sister Jerome, Sister Teuscher, President Teuscher
Sister Warren & Sister Grimmer
Elder Palmer & Elder Hwang
Elder Holley, Elder Laird, Elder Thompson
Elder Ashton & Elder Rindlisbacher
Elder Holmes & Elder Spencer

The Return of our Hong Kong Missionaries: Elder Yee, Elder Heaps, Sister Chase, Elder Siu with Elder & Sister Wallace and President & Sister Teuscher

Departures:

February 2020

Snap-shots from transfers February 2020

We were all blissfully unaware at the time these photos were taken that this would be our last transfer for a while at least where we got to greet friends and former companions momentarily.

MLC

I haven’t posted photos from our Mission Leaders Council for a while. Here are the Elders and Sisters who were serving as zone leaders and sister training leaders in January-February 2020. They are asked to take on extra leadership and teaching and responsibilities and to be good examples to their fellow missionaries. We are always so impressed with their dedication and willingness to put in extra effort. So often missionaries will tell stories about how a conversation or experience they had with one of their zone leaders or sister training leaders made a huge difference for them and got them to change an attitude, see things from a different perspective, increase their desire to be “all in” and make the most of their time as a missionary. We love the way they build, encourage and lift each other!

Front: Sisters Wallace, Reed, Yeager, Dyreng, Arthur, Payne, Barrus, Buhman, Rios, Prue
Back: Sisters Christensen, Patchell, Ingersoll, Grimmer, Matthews, Pulsipher, Rowley

Left to Right Elders: Hwang, Chao, Tolbert, Wu, Palmer, Young, Takatori, Sutherland, Ginez, Bennion, Vergara, Homer, Lee, Mensching, Palmer, Meyer, Murray, Harrell, Lambert, Gleed, Palmer (at the piano)

I love this song the elders sang. It is one of the songs my dad loved from his mission days. When I was young I remember him teaching us kids to sing the chorus in Tongan. I don’t really know much Tongan, but every time I hear this song and the chorus comes up I sing 🎶🎵” Pa-pi-lo-ne, Pa-pi-lo-ne no-fo a ko-e. Kau fo-ki a-u ki ho-ku fo-nu-a” 🎶🎵 Isn’t it amazing the power of music and melody? And also the power of what we are taught when we are young. I am so grateful for wonderful parents who taught me truth and taught with love. We are all still very young in terms of our relationship with our heavenly parents. Heavenly Father only teaches truth and always teaches with love. It is my prayer that the power of his teachings will sink deep into my heart and memory so that years from now, or during future trials and difficulties, I will be able to remember and know those truths instinctively–even if I don’t fully understand–I will still be able to sing!

1968 in Tongan with my family while my parents served as mission presidents there.
Back from left: Elder Thomas S. Monson, Mom (holding baby John Enoch) Dad (holding me)
Front from left: Nancy Liz , Jane (turned sideways) and Marilyn

#Light the World

January 18, 2020

Highlights from 2019 #LightTheWorld

Giving makes us happy!

We loved having the Giving Machines in Manhattan again this holiday season! They are such a fun, creative way to support local and global organizations and give to those in need. The missionaries are eager to help at the machines and spread cheer every day, even when it is cold and windy, which it often is! The holiday season is also a great time for creative ways to bring a little cheer to others and find people who are interested in learning about the gospel. Some favorite activities as pictured below are sidewalk chalk and Hot Chocolate stands and caroling in the subways!

I think this last photo of Hermana Rios in her #LightTheWorld hat with the temple in the background and the taxi passing behind her captures the NYC mission so well! Life speeds by all around but the missionaries stand calm, happy, confident and grounded in the knowledge of what is truly important in life. So often people describe them as “a light” and it’s true–they are spreading light and truth all throughout the world.

Elder Miller designed these area specific pass-along cards for Brooklyn, Manhattan and Long Island as a parting gift before he finished his mission and returned home to England. New York City is such a fun place to #Light the World! We are so grateful to be part of this world wide charitable giving event. This year well over $6 million was raised for charity at the 10 different locations around the world!

ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES

Elder Farr
Elder Barnes
Elder Goodman
Elder Harrison
Elder Kim
Elder Koo
Elder Richards
Elder Richey
Elder Weller
Sister Golightly
Sister Jerome
Sister Shade-Moreno
Sister Simmerman
Sister Smith
Sister Steed
Sister Stillo

Here are the new missionaries (the last group of this year and decade!) above with us and below with their trainers.

Heading home for the holidays! These sisters were in the first group of missionaries to arrive after we started. I remember so clearly picking them up at the airport! It is crazy how fast this past 18 months has gone!

CHRISTMAS DEVOTIONAL

This year transfers got moved to the week before Christmas and zone conferences got moved until the 2nd week of January so we planned a special Christmas Devotional that was held for 1/2 the mission on December 23rd and the other 1/2 on December 24th. Oh how I wish you could all be there or that we had recorded the two devotionals! There was such a beautiful spirit and SO MUCH JOY!! Each day we had missionaries share their musical talents and several of them shared short talks too. We have some seriously talented musicians serving here in NYC! We also sang several Christmas Carols together which I loved! My favorite group song might have been “Go Tell It On The Mountain”, they all sang with so much energy and enthusiasm! We also watched a short but incredibly beautiful film called “The Shepherd”. The Senior Couples worked so hard and made a fabulous Christmas Brunch for everyone and they also had gift boxes filled with treats and fun surprises for each missionary. Packages from home were passed out and there was just lots and lots of smiles and happy faces and lots of love and desire to go out and tell the world about that baby boy born to save us all! Being a missionary at Christmastime is the Best!

Because we had the Christmas Devotional and took so many photos, I didn’t take any at Zone Conference. However, we had a wonderful week of zone conferences this transfer too. The theme was “The Gospel of Jesus Christ”. We asked the missionaries to write on one page what they had learned during their mission about one of the areas of the Gospel: Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost, Enduring to the End. Then we had several of them get up and read what they wrote. I love hearing their thoughts, testimonies and expressions of growth! Several of the zones also choose to have those who weren’t called on to share during zone conference, share what they wrote on the zone messenger chats–I love that they want to share! Listening to all their testimonies and experiences is so uplifting!

President Teuscher taught that all aspects of the gospel come together as one in the ordinance of the sacrament. He shared some insights from a talk by Elder Bednar https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/10/gather-together-in-one-all-things-in-christ?lang=eng and also quoted a talk dad (Elder Groberg) gave years ago about the sacrament that had a really beautiful insight: that when Christ was on the cross and said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” That prayer was not just for the soldiers and those close by, but that he saw through all time to all of us for whom he was atoning and asked the Father to forgive “them” all–us! https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1989/04/the-beauty-and-importance-of-the-sacrament?lang=eng

I spoke about personal conversion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how we can know if we are truly being converted. Conversion isn’t a checklist of things we do, rather it is a change of heart and mind–a change that leads us to be more and more Christlike in our thoughts and behaviors. We looked at examples and stories of what conversion looks like and also at several scriptures that help us determine if we are headed in the right direction.

We have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.
Mosiah 5:1-2

Those who have obeyed my gospel…they shall receive for their reward the good things of the earth…And they shall also be crowned with blessings from above. Yea, and with commandments not a few.
Doctrine & Covenants 59:3-4

His commandments are not grievous.
John 5:3

Do you feel a disposition to do good? Do you feel that commandments are blessings, not burdens? If so, I think you are on the path to conversion!

Hurrah for Israel

Conversion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses lives! To illustrate, I showed paintings, photographs and a short movie clip of three related “Hurrah for Israel” stories. First was the story of Brigham Young and Heber Kimball when they are so sick but still go on their missions and instead of complaining, they rise up and cheer “Hurrah for Israel!” as a way of encouraging their families who were also sick of malarial fevers. (Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1996, p.266). 100 years later their example inspired a young boy named Feki who lived on a little island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean–he grew up to be my dad’s mission companion and the two of them had their own “Hurrah for Israel” experiences as depicted in the painting and film. I also shared a personal “Hurrah for Israel” experience from my mission when we taught Diego and his family. Diego recorded his thoughts and feelings for me to share about how the gospel has blessed his life and included photos from my mission, his mission and his son’s mission (his son is currently serving in California).

Left to Right: 1) Me and Hermana Emineth the night of Diego’s Baptism, Santa Cruz de La Palma, Canary Islands. 2) Diego (in the glasses) as a missionary in Malaga, Spain.
3) Diego’s son on his mission in Arcadia, CA. 4) Diego today–professor at Weber State

We also talked about the examples of faith, conversion and enduring to the end of the Banza family, Mary Whitmer and Jane Manning James.

The Banzas story of faith can be found in a talk given by Elder Renlund called “Unwavering Commitment to Jesus Christ” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/10/16renlund?lang=eng

Mary Whitmer’s and Jane Manning James’ stories can be found in a variety of places including in the book Saints as well as these two sites.

https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/what-does-mary-whitmer-teach-us-about-enduring-trials

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1979/08/jane-manning-james-black-saint-1847-pioneer?lang=eng

❄️ MERRY CHRISTMAS ❄️

One of the fun traditions in this mission is making a Christmas Card with the photos of all of the missionaries currently serving in the mission. Here they all are–we love them all and are so grateful to be serving with them!

🎄🎄🎄

Things we are thankful for

December 19, 2019

It feels like Thanksgiving and the entire fall season went by in the blink of an eye! I am grateful to have these photos as evidence of the beautiful days and events that happened during this past transfer. In the spirit of the season here are some things we are especially grateful for.

🍁🍁 Grateful for new missionaries 🍁🍁

🍁 Grateful for wonderful companions who train the new missionaries 🍁🍁🍁

Sister McClara & Sister Park
Sister Nelson & Sister Hoe
Sister Thunhorst & Sister Van Tassell
Sister Reed, Sister Kasson, Sister Payne
Elder Steiner, Elder Filimoe’ulie, Elder Williams
Elder Stanford & Elder Webster
Elder Webb & Elder Martin
Elder Davis & Elder Holmes
Elder Vickers & Elder Goodworth
Elder Gaytan & Elder Jackson
Elder Bauer, Elder Ginez, Elder Scott
Elder Pauni & Elder Hale
Elder Gleed & Elder Waters
Elder Davis & Elder Gutierrez
Elder Hein & Elder Coray

🍁🍁 Grateful for transfers and the chance to see friends from past areas plus the chance to experience new areas & make new friends.

We are very grateful for this group of departing missionaries and the legacy of work, obedience and love they leave.

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

We are grateful we could spend time with them in the temple before they returned home.

Elder Masopeh
Elder Perkins
Elder González
Elder Kang
Elder Tauteoli
Elder Piatau
Elder Ihalmo
Elder Garner
Sister Walker
Elder Miller

I love this last photo of some of our “legends” ready to return, with a few of the newer missionaries who look up to them and want to follow their examples!

🍁🍁 Grateful for Zone Conference 🍁🍁

Our focus for the zone conferences and for the entire transfer has been “The Restoration.” President Teuscher taught about the broad scope of truths and gospel doctrines that were corrected and restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. Sister Teuscher’s training was on ways we can personalize the restoration. We want the story to become less factual and more personal.

One of the beautiful and personal messages of the Restoration is that there is hope and there is healing; there is light, truth and knowledge available to us. Like Joseph Smith, we can be truth seekers and light gatherers. If the world can be restored from darkness and apostasy to truth and light then individually we can be brought from ignorance, suffering or sin to knowledge, peace and wholeness. We can be restored!

As missionaries we share the message with others that restoration is real, both as a momentous, course-correcting event for all of humanity that God himself ushered in on a beautiful spring morning in 1820, and also as an intimate and personal event that can change the course of our individual hearts, minds and lives if we let it.

You shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in
Isaiah 58:12

Missionaries practiced teaching the Restoration simply but with conviction. They tried to teach all the most important information into 2 minutes! It’s harder than it seems!

Grateful for opportunities to serve with our friends of faith in the community 🍁🍁🍁

One of the many things we love about New York City is the rich diversity of culture, religion, ethnicity and so many other ways we often categorize ourselves. We love being part of different interfaith groups and serving along side them to help in the community.