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

WITH COMPANIONS

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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

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July 2020

AT THE AIRPORT: JULY 6-8

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WITH COMPANIONS

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AT THE AIRPORT: JULY 20-22

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WITH COMPANIONS

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August 2020

AT THE AIRPORT: AUGUST 3-4

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WITH COMPANIONS

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AT THE AIRPORT: AUGUST 17

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WITH COMPANIONS

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AT THE AIRPORT: AUGUST 31

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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.

DEPARTING: JULY

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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!

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DEPARTING: AUGUST

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

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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.

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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!

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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. 😉

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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!

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