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!