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🍁 🍂 October Arrivals 🍂 🍁

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🍁 🍂 Missionaries arriving off transfer 🍂 🍁

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What a fun surprise to get 4 more Chinese speaking missionaries! Sister Chase, Elder Yee, Elder Sui & Elder Heaps. They speak Cantonese but are quickly learning Mandarin too and are all such good sports to serve here with us in the NY, NYC Mission while they wait for
things to calm down in Hong Kong. 🍁 🍂 🍂 🍁

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One last pick up at JFK for Sister Randall the newest ASL missionary to arrive! We are thrilled to have her join us!

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We had a cool experience while waiting for Sister Randall to get off the plane. A guy walked up to us and said he noticed our missionary tags and wanted to let us know that he had served as a missionary in NYC years ago! It was fun to hear a bit about things back then. I noticed the jacket he was wearing had the logo for Operation Underground Railroad on it and so I mentioned how impressed I am with that organization and all the amazing work they do in their fight against human trafficking, at which point he said, Tim Ballard (the founder of OUR) is here and called out for Tim to come over and meet us! I have so much admiration for the work they do and it was an honor to thank them. We visited briefly then they thanked us for the work we are doing! At first I almost laughed, I mean to me it seems like there is really no comparison–these guys are literally heroes–sacrificing their own comfort and safety to save the lives of others. But then I thought about what our missionaries do–they sacrifice the comforts of home and of normal young-adult life and go out onto the streets of New York City (and all over the world) because they want to help others. It’s all part of the same work … it’s about doing what we can, with what gifts or abilities we have to bring more light and love and hope for salvation to others. It is about the worth of a soul.

Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; “For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him

Doctrine & Covenants 18:10-11

🍁 🍂 Transfers 🍂 🍁

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🍁 🍂 Departures 🍂 🍁

Wow! These were some of the “young ones” when we first arrived 16 months ago! Hard to believe they are finished and have returned home. Well done Elders and Hermana!

🍁 🍂 Zone Conference 🍂 🍁

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Thanks to Elder Auxier, our mission doctor, we are updating all the emergency storage in each of the missionaries’ apartments. This time we passed out water storage containers. Next is food and first aid. We hope it never needs to be used!

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Below are a few photos of one of my favorite parts of zone conference. It is called “No Effort Wasted.” We put up the names and photos of all the people who came closer to Christ through the covenant of baptism during the past transfer and ask the missionaries to stand if they had any part of helping that person in the process. It is incredible to see how often an Elder or Sister will see a name and excitedly stand because it is someone they talked to on a train months or even a year or more ago when they were in another area. They had no idea that person had continued to progress. Sometimes they stand because they remember being on an exchange with another missionary and teaching that person just one lesson. Other times they worked with the person for months. Anyhow, the point is that every effort we make to share the restored gospel, to be kind, to help one another–no matter how big or how small–all efforts are important.

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Teaching, training, discussing & practicing…I really like how they learn with and from each other. 🍁 🍂 🍁

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🍁 🍂 Area Broadcast 🍂 🍁

We had the privilege of hearing from two of the apostles Elder Christofferson and Elder Ballard along with our Area President, Elder Bennett. We were also blessed to hear from Sister Bennett and Sister Christofferson. They were in Sharon, Vermont at the birthplace of Joseph Smith but they broadcast the devotionals to all the missionaries and members in the North America, North East Area. Our mission was asked to provide photos to the Church News of missionaries listening to the devotional at the Lincoln Square building in Manhattan. I’m not sure if a photo actually ran in any of their publications, but here are some of the ones we sent. Photo Credit to Elizabeth Green from the Morningside Heights Ward who graciously gave her time and talents to photograph the missionaries listening to the devotional.

The counsel we received from these leaders was wonderful! They encouraged us to develop the gift of teaching, which Elder Christofferson reminded us, is a spiritual gift that can be developed. He asked them to learn to teach the gospel eloquently–especially those who are called to teach in their native tongue, to set aside the jargon of teenagers and use mature language to teach and testify. Elder Ballard gave a broad history of apostasy and restoration throughout the various dispensations and detailed many of the significant historical people and events that allowed for this final great apostasy and restoration in this dispensation also known as “the fullness of times.” He explained that this was not some casual event, so many things had to take place and many people worked and struggled and made huge sacrifices which helped prepare the way for the restoration of the truth to arrive. Two notable people he mentioned were Martin Luther and William Tyndale. Likewise, he noted that this is not a casual moment in our lives as missionaries, but rather much preparation; our own, perhaps that of our family and ancestors got us here and we have been set apart as representatives of Jesus Christ to preach His gospel and the truths that have been restored–there is nothing casual about that! He encouraged missionaries to teach with power and confidence which, he said, comes from truly understanding and internalizing the message.

Some great quotes from the devotional:

“It is good to be good, but be good for something.”

Sister Christofferson quoting President Hinckley

“We’ve never lost a missionary through hard work.”

Elder Bennett quoting Elder Ballard

“When missionaries finally internalize what Gethsemane was all about, when it becomes part of you and not just a story, then you have power and confidence to teach His gospel.”

Elder Ballard

Put “oh me, poor me” away and focus on others and on the Lord, when you do this you’ll get over any hard days or challenges.

“Christ never gave up–let us not give up!”

Elder Ballard

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We had the honor of having Elder & Sister Bennett and Elder & Sister Johnson come and spend a couple of days with us here in New York City. They call it a mission tour, but this time rather than actually tour the different areas of our mission we brought all the missionaries to Manhattan. Half came on one day and half on the next day and we all enjoyed hearing from these wonderful leaders. It was particularly engaging and exciting to have Elder Johnson share his experiences growing up right here in Queens! Some of the sisters have been teaching in the exact neighborhood he grew up in so they thought that was pretty cool! As a teenager in NYC he was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, then he moved to Hawaii and ended up playing basketball for BYU Hawaii where he first met the missionaries. He has a remarkable story of faith and devotion to the restored gospel. Of course we loved hearing from Sister Johnson and Elder and Sister Bennett too. They taught us about receiving personal revelation and how we can improve our ability to recognize and receive it. Here are a few highlights:

• Revelation comes when we ask questions, this is the pattern for the prophets too, learn to ask the right questions
• “How do I best apply what I am learning?” is a really good question to ask
• In order to receive revelation we need to be living obediently and have pure thoughts and intents
• If we don’t receive specific guidance we should act using our best judgement and act according to what we know to be right according to the truths taught in the scriptures and by prophets
• The scriptures are like our textbook–the answers are in it!
• In the process of helping others the Lord often piggy-backs direction for our own lives

Departures and Arrivals ✈️ ✈️ ✈️

We had lots of trips to the airport this past transfer. The departing missionaries left in small groups or one by one on different days throughout the transfer as several of them had to get back for school, orientation or sports teams started up. Thankfully we had some help from senior couples to make the extra airport runs, but that means we didn’t get photos with each of the departing missionaries. Just to keep things exciting the new missionaries arrived on different days too! We also threw in a few extra airport trips for our kids (Adam, Noah and Grace) who took trips back to California to see family and friends, to Texas for a job, to Iceland & Norway for a fun vacation and then back to Provo (Adam) and Atlanta (Noah) for school!

Heading Home…

It’s always tough to lose some of the best and the brightest, but we haven’t really lost them…we know where they are 😊 and they they are still doing great things. They will always be part of our NYC Mission Family!

New Missionaries

We love picking up the new missionaries! It was an extra crazy-busy day at JFK this time, especially for our missionaries arriving from Mexico City. They took over 2 hours to clear customs and the group from the Provo MTC waited so patiently for them even though they were tired from their own flight. The extra delays meant that there wasn’t actually time to do our traditional first day “dive-in-the-deep-end” activity of street contacting on Jamaica Ave. in Queens. I have never seen a group as a whole be so excited about the prospect of going out street contacting, nor more genuinely disappointed that we’d run out of time to do it! This is one big group of ready-to-get-to-work missionaries! I love it and love them!

…and here they are with their trainers…

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Transfers

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Zone Conference (August 2019)

President Teuscher talked about the principle of fasting and how it can be a spiritual tool that when used properly can bring great strength and blessings into our lives. Here are some quotes and scriptures he shared:

“We observe that in the scriptures, fasting almost always is linked with prayer. Without prayer, fasting is not complete fasting; it’s simply going hungry. If we want our fasting to be more than just going without eating, we must lift our hearts, our minds, and our voices in communion with our Heavenly Father. Fasting, coupled with mighty prayer, is powerful.”

Joseph B. Wirthlin, The Power of the Fast, Apr 2001 General Conference

Through his prophet Isaiah, the Lord promises great blessings from fasting. “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am….The Lord shall guide thee continually…and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”

Isaiah 58: 8-11)

Elder Wirthlin promises at least ten specific blessings from fasting:

1. Fill our minds with revelation
2. Fortify us against temptation
3. Prepare us for adversity
4. Develop within us courage and confidence
5. Strengthen our character and build self-restraint and discipline
6. Lighten our hearts with joy
7. Our righteous prayers and petitions will have greater power
8. Mature us spiritually and emotionally
9. Sanctify our souls
10. Open the windows of heaven

One blessing that we want for our missionaries is for each of them to have the spiritual strength and inner commitment to use technology and social media in a healthy way. We asked them to choose one of the specific blessing listed above and pray for that blessing as they embark on a “Social Media Fast” which is really just a break from using the Facebook app on their phones for a period of time. The vast majority of them are thrilled to be doing this as Facebook tends to be a big distraction for them.

Which blessing do you want?

For my devotional, we discussed how we can “bridge the gap” between our personal spiritual development and all the other things we have to do in life. For missionaries there are a lot of “non-spiritual skills” they have to develop to be effective missionaries; things like like scheduling, planning & organizing, learning to teach more effectively, finding (talking to people on the bus, train, street etc), setting goals, and following-up just to name a few. Sometimes it feels like we have these different areas of our life and one doesn’t have a lot to do with the other, but in reality all aspects of our lives are intertwined and “all things are spiritual.”

Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created.

Doctrine & Covenants 29:34

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

We listened to an incredible story about a surgery President Nelson (Dr. Nelson) performed in 1960 on a man who had a severely damaged tricuspid valve. At the time it was considered an inoperable condition and Dr Nelson refused the surgery more than once saying it wouldn’t be right to do it since he was going to die anyhow. But the man and his family fasted and prayed and felt directed to ask again and tell him that the Lord would reveal to him what to do. This time President Nelson agreed to do it and prayed for help but went into the operating room not knowing what to do to fix the problem. As he is contemplating the situation he has the thought come to his mind “reduce the circumference of the ring” and then he sees in his mind how to do that: a diagram of sorts including where he needs to place the stitches. He performs the surgery according to the revelation he received and the man recovers. He tells the story as part of a conference talk called “Sweet Power of Prayer” linked here  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2003/04/sweet-power-of-prayer?lang=eng and more detail about the experience can be found here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282279727_Discovering_a_surgical_first_Russell_M_Nelson_and_Tricuspid_valve_annuloplasty

Was this miracle brought about by faith or works? Spirit or skill? Obviously it was both! President Nelson had to work hard to develop the skills necessary to qualify himself to even be in a position to operate–years of schooling and study and practice. He also had to be spiritually in tune and worthy to receive the revelation God sent. We need to develop both spirit and skill to be a truly effective instrument in the Lord’s hands to bless the lives of others!

I really love this story of the surgery. Decades after Dr. Nelson performed this groundbreaking procedure I worked in a Cardiac Rehab center and it was not at all uncommon to have patients who had undergone the same surgery–now considered completely operable and fixable. The Lord could have performed a miracle and just healed this man’s heart without the need for surgery–he healed lepers and blindness and issues of blood with just his word. But instead he performed a “bread and fishes miracle” healing thousands over the years by working through a servant who was prepared both intellectually and spiritually. He truly is a God of abundance! If we work to prepare ourselves spiritually to be able to receive revelation and inspiration and also work to develop our skills and capabilities in other areas of our lives we too will be better instruments in His hands.

We talked about preparing ourselves to be those instruments and what that preparation might look like in regards to righteous technology use. I shared a fable with them called “I Can Sleep When the Wind Blows” found in this talk: https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/shayne-m-bowen/i-can-sleep-when-wind-blows/ and challenged them to spend time during the Facebook fast to prepare themselves for when they start using it again. There are so many potential storms brewing online, pornography being a huge one that can do a lot of damage. With reference to the fable we challenged them to learn where the “chinks” in your walls are and fill them so the storm doesn’t do damage. Tighten up the hinges and locks. Develop such a strong sense of purpose when using social media or technology that your internal filter allows you to “sleep when the wind (or temptations) blow.”

Learning to use technology in a righteous way is not heart surgery, but if we follow the pattern President Nelson set and put in the time and effort to learn and understand all we can about the technologies of our day and we work to strengthen our faith and personal capacity to receive revelation, the Lord can instruct us. We can learn to use these technologies in the way he directs and I believe we too can save lives. I know we can at least strengthen and save a lot of heartache in personal lives as well as in relationships, marriages and families.

Now here is a look at them … preparing, learning, trying, growing and singing! 🎵🎶🎵

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Wow! I can’t believe we’ve been here on the mission for just over a year! I can’t decide if it seems like this past year went fast or if it seems like we’ve been here a long time. It changes from day to day. Today it seems fast! We have had so many wonderful experiences and made so many wonderful new friends. We see or hear about miracles on a regular basis and can’t deny that God’s hand is really in this work and in our individual lives. Once again it is time to say goodbye to a group of amazing missionaries. We always miss them but are also excited to see them continue growing and continue blessing the lives of others as they head back to school and work and their futures!

Departing Missionaries

Temple Trip

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
July 3rd we went to the Manhattan Temple with the missionaries who are heading home next week. We are so grateful to the temple staff for accommodating our large group. It was a particularly busy pre-holiday day at the temple plus they are getting ready to close for several months for some renovations. Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged and cynical about the present or future state of things–especially in our current political and online worlds that are so full of confusion and contempt! When I think of these missionaries as future parents, leaders, and influencers it gives me hope! They are young and already choose to look outside of themselves for ways to help and serve and lift others. They have spent the past 18 months or 2 years of their lives doing just that.

🇺🇸 Isaiah 61:1-3 🇺🇸
… the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound

John 8:32
ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
🇺🇸 #letfreedomring #NYNYCMission 🇺🇸

🇺🇸 More 4th of July Fun 🇺🇸

We had a Mission Leaders Council meeting on the 4th of July and all the sisters showed up wearing red, white and blue! So cute! We also enjoyed a BBQ lunch–burgers, chips, watermelon and ice cream sandwiches–yum! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

July 2019 Arrivals

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Transfers

It was a really beautiful day on transfer day! We’ve been having quite a few beautiful days this summer! It is a lot of fun for the missionaries being transferred to come to Woodside and meet their new companions and get to see former companions and friends they served with in other areas as well as have a chance to say goodbye to the departing missionaries who are usually there getting their luggage weighed (has to be under 50 pounds or the airline charges a hefty fee) and packed into the vans for their flight home the next day. Depending on where they are being transferred to they often have to exchange car keys or metro passes and then of course they have all their luggage and bedding to get from one place to the next–some in cars, some using public transit. They are super efficient at all of this and are usually off to their new areas within an hour or less to keep working!

Zone Conference

I loved this round of zone conferences! (I probably say that every time).

As wonderful as our missionaries are, they sometimes get really stressed and down on themselves for not being better. The very human tendency to compare and declare ourselves lacking is a tendency that seems to be amplified in missionaries. We had a wonderful discussion based devotional where we talked openly and shared experiences and insights with each other. We had asked the missionaries to listen to or read two talks in preparation for the discussion. The first is a BYU devotional address given in May 2019 by J.B. Haws entitled “Wrestling with Comparisons”. It is full of insights and lessons I think we can all relate to. I will post a link to a highlights version of his talk here, but you should really listen to the full version. Better yet, print it our and study it as we asked the missionaries to do! (see link below video)

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/j-b-haws/wrestling-with-comparisons/

The second talk is a classic and if you aren’t familiar with it, you should absolutely get yourself a copy and study it! It is Ezra Taft Benson’s talk “Beware of Pride”

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1989/04/beware-of-pride?lang=eng

Here are just a few of the many powerful quotes from that talk.

Our discussions on these topics of pride and comparison with each of the zones were really good. I always learn so much from the missionaries and love hearing their experiences and insights. We started the discussion with these two statements:

Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.

2 Nephi 2:25

Comparison is the thief of joy.

Theodore Roosevelt

Those two statements make for an interesting contrast. From the beginning, God’s plan provided a way that we might have joy–if we choose it. One of the many ways Satan tries to get us to rob ourselves of that joy is through comparison–through choosing to see ourselves as less than, unworthy, not good enough, lacking etc. Or on the opposite end of the spectrum we believe that others are less than, that we are somehow superior. Either way we are looking and worrying too much about self and how we compare or measure up. Social media seems to be a particularly effective means of getting us into the vexing cycle of comparison.

We came up with a pretty good list of antidotes and there were a few that came up in each of the group discussions (this is just off my notes, so not super flushed out)

Gratitude: “Remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men” (Moroni 10:4-5) and unto you! Look for the hand of the Lord in your life .

Celebrate the success of others: sometimes we mistakenly believe there is a fixed amount of blessings almost like a pie–if someone else gets a piece that means there is less for me, but in reality, God is a God of abundance. There is enough and to spare and Christ invites us to be “joint heirs” with him.

Identity: In Moses chapter 1, Moses learns of his divinity and can discern between what God tells him and what Satan tells him we can learn to do the same. Pray for clearer glimpses of self and others to see our individual worth and potential as God sees us.

Additional thoughts: Privilege is real and life is not a level playing field. Life isn’t fair…almost alway not fair in your favor. Focus on personal growth, have pure motives–why are you trying to improve? Keep trying!

Once again I forgot to take pictures at each of the zone conferences (keep trying to improve right:) Sorry if your missionary isn’t featured here but I got a lot of them!

until next time…

Departing group

They came, they worked, they loved, they served, they grew and they leave us better people for having known and worked with them. We had the privilege of serving with this group of missionaries for almost 1 year so I feel like I really know them well. I loved seeing them grow and become even better versions of themselves over this past year. I have learned so much from their humility and willingness to learn, well more than willingness for some of them actually, I’d say it was an eagerness to learn. I want to be more like them.

The newest missionaries

Zone Conference May 2019

I forgot to take pictures at two of the zone conferences this go around. I also didn’t take any pictures at transfers–I will do better at the upcoming conferences and transfers.

We had a wonderful zone conference! We learned about the importance of scripture study and ways to make it more effective, how to work with members more effectively and involve them more in our teaching and fellowshipping efforts. It has been amazing to see just how impactful even a short video call into a lesson or a pre-recorded testimony from a member can be in helping the people the missionaries are teaching. You should all reach out to the missionaries in your area and see if you can do that for them! We also explored what it means to “Choose to Believe.”

Here are some excerpts and quotes that I liked:

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

Viktor E. Frankl

“The tilt of our souls in those first moments is so important”

Neal A. Maxwell

Our questions, concerns and worries aren’t the problem, it is what we do with them that matters. Do we use them as a catalyst to new spiritual growth or do we use them as justification for our behaviors or sins?

When we don’t understand something, or are struggling with our faith what do we choose? How does your soul tilt? Is your inclination to:

• Doubt, disbelieve or dismiss as untrue or is it to contemplate and consider that we may lack knowledge or insight
• Complain or count blessings
• Reject the experiences and testimonies of others or remember the times we did see His hand, the times we did receive answers
• Forget what He has done for us or forge forward in faith trusting that he will keep his promises
• Mock or marvel
• Sit and criticize or stand all amazed
• The times we don’t feel the spirit do we think “He doesn’t care about me” or think of “His hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt”

In this space we are given, when we choose a response that has our souls tilt toward faith and toward the light, when we choose to believe we are more able to see the signs and miracles all around us.

Alma 30:44

44 But Alma said unto him: Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.

As Alma points out to Korihor in the passage above, it’s not hard to find miracles in our lives; we just need a little humility—we just need to choose to believe.

Miracles should not be regarded as deviations from the ordinary course of nature so much as manifestations of divine or spiritual power (“Miracles,” Bible Dictionary).

We watched this short, powerful video from a BYU Devotional address by Lawrence Corbridge called “Stand Forever.” I highly recommend the entire talk. (both links below)

In addition to zone conferences we had a special visit from Elder Bennett and Elder Buckner with 1/2 of the mission at each meeting. These two photos are from one of those meetings.

Last year when we moved from Alameda, CA to New York to start our mission service it was right in the middle of the hot and humid summer so Spring has been a very pleasant surprise! I don’t think it lasts for long (see below) but I’m enjoying it while I can!

 

April 2019 Transfers and a new Teuscher Missionary

April was an exciting month for us here in the mission and at home! We had the usual zone conferences, new missionaries arriving and a group finishing up all of which are wonderful, but in addition our son Isaac received his mission call! I put together this video and showed it at zone conference. We talked about what the call to serve means, the memories we each had opening the call and how our understanding of what that call means has deepened with time and experience. Plus it was a fun way to let the missionaries know where Isaac will be serving! I posted the video on our Mission Facebook Page. Here is the link if you want to see it. https://www.facebook.com/NEWYORKCITYMISSION/videos/350177488954350/

Here are a couple of the zones singing “Called to Serve” at Zone Conference. Unfortunately I didn’t remember to take a video at each of the conferences, so only about 1/2 of the missionaries are in the videos.

I am constantly amazed at the willingness of these missionaries to leave behind the typical teenage/young-adult life for a while and come and do something that is hard but so worth while! My training this zone conference was about doing hard things, about understanding the need for opposition in all things and about how we need it to grow and become stronger and reach our goals. I told a personal experience about when I was training for a big bike ride called “the Death Ride.” In order to complete the ride you had to be able to climb 5 mountain passes (about 15,000 ft. of climb over about 130 miles). It was hard! The only way I was able to accomplish that goal was by riding up hills for my training and using the resistance those hills provided to get stronger and better at riding up hill! It is such a basic analogy, but it is true–we need hard things in order to grow. We talk a lot about doing hard things and how it can shape our character and help us grow into a better version of ourselves. That is really what the gospel is all about. It is about growth and progression and becoming something more–more like our Savior Jesus Christ. We become more like Him as we choose to have faith in him, follow what he asks us to do, repent, change and grow. Doing hard things is cool, Repentance (or in other words, change and progression) is cool! Missions are cool! We are super grateful for the new missionaries who arrived this transfer to begin their journey and also for the group that served so well and is heading home, having done hard things and having become even better versions of themselves than when they started.

All of us experience various kinds of opposition that test us. Some of these tests are temptations to sin. Some are mortal challenges apart from personal sin. Some are very great. Some are minor. Some are continuous, and some are mere episodes. None of us is exempt. Opposition permits us to grow toward what our Heavenly Father would have us become.

Dallin H. Oaks: Opposition in All Things, April 2016

New Arrivals

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Heading Home

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Transfers

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I know March 4th was a few weeks ago, but still, March 2019 brought lots of marching forth to serve, to teach, to lift and to love the people of NYC, Bermuda and Connecticut: some are marching into the mission field, some are marching home after a job well done, some are marching on to a new area. They are definitely marching toward all the goals they set and the miracle of bringing people to Christ and His church. Every couple of weeks in the morning we have a conference call with all the missionaries. We call it “The Miracle Line” We spend the first few minutes sharing some things we’ve been learning in our scriptures studies and then we share miracles that are going on around the mission. There is always way more to share than we have time for in the call!

It is always exciting to pick up the new missionaries. Several weeks before they arrive we get a small thumbnail photo and a little bit of information about each missionary. It is so much fun to see those thumbnail photos in real life! It is crazy (crazy in a very cool way) how every time I feel an instant connection with and love for each one of them. I guess that is part of the job description! I want them to succeed and am so excited to watch them grow and become an even better version of themselves than they already are.

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It was one of those cold & crisp but super bright & sunny days so there are plenty of squinty eyes in the photos but at least we documented their first morning in the mission.

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Marching home after a job well done

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Transfers

happening every 6 weeks at the Woodside chapel parking lot in Queens, NY

Zone Conferences

This is one of my favorite weeks. During the week we have the chance to meet with all of the missionaries and being around them is always inspiring! I love to hear about the miracles they are experiencing every day and share with them some inspiration and guidance. They are so willing and eager to learn from us and from each other, but most importantly from the scriptures and from the Lord. For the devotional portion of the conference President Teuscher talked about learning to hear and respond to the direction of the Lord’s Spirit in your life. He used the example of when he was learning to kite board and had to learn to feel and respond to the wind. He told a pretty funny “fail” story from when he was just learning that the missionaries appreciated. I think we all fail spectacularly from time to time, but the important thing is to get up and try again. My thoughts were based on the scripture in Moroni 10:32, “Yea, Come unto Christ and be perfected in Him.” So often we read this backwards and think we have to be “perfect” or that we aren’t worthy of His love because we make mistakes–sometimes we even make the same ones over and over, but Christ isn’t looking to find perfection in us, He is asking us to find perfection in Him! He invites us to come unto him, follow him and allow his perfect knowledge and perfect love to make our lives better–to heal us. I shared a very insightful analogy about a piano tuner that someone shared with me on Facebook. This woman talked about how the piano tuner slowly worked his way over the entire key board, very carefully tuning and adjusting each key, each string, and how he adjusted them all in relation to a fixed pitch and she likened his work on the piano to the adjustments Christ can make in our lives if we come unto him. It is kind of long, but worth the read (the piano tuner analogy is about 1/2 down in the talk linked below)

A couple of quotes I love on this topic are from Elder Holland:

“Come as you are,” a loving Father says to each of us, but He adds, “Don’t plan to stay as you are.” We smile and remember that God is determined to make of us more than we thought we could be.

“Many of us who are “musically challenged” have had our confidence bolstered and our singing markedly improved by positioning ourselves next to someone with a stronger, more certain voice. Surely it follows that in singing the anthems of eternity, we should stand as close as humanly possible to the Savior and Redeemer of the world—who has absolutely perfect pitch.

Manhattan & Chinese Zones

Yorktown & Westchester Zones

Plainview & Lynbrook Zones

Brooklyn & Woodside Zones

MLC

It’s been a while since I took a photo of our Mission Leadership Council. (MLC). This was taken right before the last transfer. We made a lot of changes this transfer so the group already looks different and by the end of the summer the vast majority of these missionaries will be finished with their service here and heading home. It is hard to express how much we love, admire and look up to them. Through their example they really set the tone for the whole mission. They make being obedient the cool thing to do, they make working hard fun, and loving the people they teach and serve is automatic for them.

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2019 is off to a great start but I’m already behind and having a hard time keeping up with documenting all the good things happening in the NYC Mission. Even though January is over it is Chinese New Year right now so I’m still going to say “Happy New Year” or “Gong xi fa cai” (I hope that is correct) Happy Year of the Pig!

It was fun to have our boys home for the holidays. We got to ring in the new year in Bermuda visiting with the missionaries and members there. Did you know that in Bermuda they do an “Onion Drop” for the new year? We did not know that until after it dropped so I guess we will have to go back next year to see it!

Beautiful Bermuda

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New Year…New Missionaries

“The time has now come to turn about and face the future. This is a season of a thousand opportunities. It is ours to grasp and move forward. What a wonderful time it is for each of us to do his or her small part in moving the work of the Lord on to its magnificent destiny.”
—President Gordon B. Hinckley

We are so grateful for all the young men and women who choose to serve a mission and do their part to move the work of the Lord forward. It truly is a “season of a thousand opportunities,” as President Hinckley said.

These 4 missionaries arrived within a few hours of each other. Elder Bennion & Hermana Wallace flew in from Mexico, Sister Mabaya had a day plus of travel from DR Congo and Sister MacDonald arrived from Boston.

They were tired but excited to be there to help welcome the next group to arrive–all coming from the Provo MTC.

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Transfers…New Areas & New Companions

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New Adventures Await

We know there are great things in store for this group of dedicated missionaries. As they head home after completing their missions they are “forever changed” and so are we because of our association with them. In addition to some who have already returned home, we think of many in this group as our “trainers” who helped us figure out what to do. We are still learning, and always will be, but they’ve given us a great start!

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Due to winter weather in the Midwest, about 1/2 of their flights were either delayed multiple times or canceled. It made for an extra adventure as we tried to re-book flights and get to three separate airports in all the NYC traffic, but we felt grateful for a few extra hours to spend with some of these amazing missionaries! We are so grateful for their service and examples.

And finally…Zone Conference Week

The January Zone Conferences were really good! We always love this week when we get to see all the missionaries over the course of several days. It is an energizing week where we are reminded again and again how amazing these young missionaries are. I am always struck by their individual and collective faith, diligence, hard work, creativity, love for others and meaningful insights as we discuss scripture and the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this round of zone conferences, President Teuscher taught the story of the rich young man who asked Jesus what he needed to do in order to have eternal life. Jesus listed several of the commandments we need to obey (but interestingly not all of them–is it because Christ knew those were the commandments the young man was keeping and he would be able to say he had been living all of those since his youth?) After focusing on the things he was doing right, “Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest” This verse found in Mark 10:21 was the focus of President Teuscher’s training. God loves us and focuses on the good we are already doing, but he always invites us to improve–not in an overwhelming “here is a list of 100 things you need to do better” way but in a loving, inviting way. Here is one thing you can work on. He also shared some quotes from this masterful sermon given by Elder Holland: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/be-ye-therefore-perfect-eventually?lang=eng&country=au

My training was based on the hymn “How Firm a Foundation” and the scripture found in Helaman 5:12 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/hel/5.12?lang=eng

I shared the story of the Sand Palace which is a home in Mexico Beach, Florida that sustained remarkably little damage during Hurricane Michael and compared the planning and construction of that home to how we should build our spiritual foundation on Jesus Christ. We looked at Hebrews chapter 11 “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/heb/11.1?lang=eng

Just as our physical eyes give us evidence of things we see in front of us or our tactile sense gives us evidence of things we can touch, faith is a spiritual sense that allows us to “see” or “feel” spiritual matter. (see D&C 131:7-8). I shared several examples of people we can look to as examples and reflected on how I have often leaned for repose on Jesus, and on his excellent words–found in scripture and through modern day prophets and apostles, but I have also frequently needed to lean on the foundations of faith of other people which have strengthened me and given me support. The Sand Palace was built with the goal that it would last for generations and provide a safe place for others to enjoy time at the beach. Interestingly it also provided protection for the home directly behind it. We build our foundations of faith for ourselves but we are also building for generations to come and so that others can lean on our faith when needed. I shared several thoughts and quotes from a wonderful BYU devotional given Jefferey McClellan. https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jeffrey-s-mcclellan_thy-troubles-to-bless/

A couple of my favorites from that devotional address:

“Imperfect Faith is still faith. Be patient with the imperfection of your faith. The incompleteness gives faith its power.”

“Faith is a courageous, optimistic response to the ambiguity and adversity of this world. Faith is a choice to believe. Faith is saying, “even though I am in pain, even though I am confused, even thought I don’t hear God’s voice clearly. I still choose to believe”… Remember what Moroni said, “Ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.” Ether 12:6

Plainview and Lynbrook Zones

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Brooklyn & Woodside Zones

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Manhattan & Chinese Zones

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Westchester and Yorktown Zones

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December Zone Conferences

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year in so many ways. There is no better time than the Christmas season to serve as full-time missionaries sharing the message and gospel of Jesus Christ. Our December Zone Conference had a special focus on Christ. President Teuscher taught powerfully from the scriptures and prophets about the premortal Christ and about his eventual return not as a baby but in all his glory when “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is the Christ.” I shared some thoughts about his willing condescension from the glorious position that President had talked of, about the beautiful symbolism of the Nativity story, the fulfillment of prophecy and how he was born to be our Savior, how you can’t separate Bethlehem from Gethsemane.  We sang Christmas Carols, passed out gifts and had a wonderful meal prepared by our senior couples.

Manhattan and Chinese Zones

Brooklyn & Woodside Zones

Plainview & Lynbrook Zones

Westchester & Yorktown Zones

December Transfers

They’ll be home for Christmas!

December 2018 Departures

We are really going to miss this amazing group of missionaries! We have learned so much from each one of them. They helped us and taught us and loved us from the day we arrived and got us through to the point where we kind of know what to do (still working on it). They are looked up to by all the younger missionaries in the field as leaders and examples. They helped our mission reaching some really impressive goals in the last few weeks of their mission. Collectively, this group is the defenition of “Finish Strong!” Their family and friends should be proud of the men and women they have become. They are diligent, hardworking, loving and exceptional young adults who will go on to do great things in life. I have no doubt having them home in time for Christmas was the best gift ever for their loved ones!

Departing Temple Trip

At the airport

Last night at the Mission Home

Note: Elder Merrell, Elder Gover, and Sister Kuykendall are in the departing temple trip photo, but they each flew home on different days from the rest of the group so we didn’t get individual photos with them at the mission home on the last night.

Arrivals

It is always exciting to meet the new missionaries and we consider each one a gift! They are unique and have so much to offer and so much to learn as they begin their missions. Here is our newest group that came in November and December 2018.

We are so grateful for Elder and Sister Palmer and their help hauling all the luggage!

We had special visitors for this round of zone conferences. Elder and Sister Haynie are originally from San Diego but spent the last three years living and serving in the Philippines and now they are back in the states and in the area presidency over the North America North East Area–which includes our mission. It was really fun to have them stay with us for three days and to hear all their wonderful counsel and advice.  Notice the appropriately placed angelic glow over the two of them!

 Zone Conference Photos

Our Senior couples went above and beyond once again in preparing delicious lunches at each of the three conferences. We enjoyed an early Thanksgiving feast, hearty soups, and fresh salads! I didn’t take as many group shots this time (sorry!) but hopefully, you get a feel for what a great group of happy missionaries we have here!

 

It was a busy month and it felt like we were at the airport A LOT! We had our biggest group yet go home–31! This is the BEST group of missionaries (and I reserve the right to say that about each group). I have truly loved getting to know each of them and have been humbled by their life stories and all the good choices they are making to love and help others. You can see the joy on their faces and you feel it, even more, when you are around them. Lucky family and friends who get to welcome them home and be blessed by the amazing men and women that they have become.

Departing Temple Trip

Departing Dinner and Testimony Meeting

(Elder Morency, Elder Rhodes, and Sister Larsen left a few days earlier and unfortunately, we didn’t get a photo with them)

and finally…at the airport

 

Luckily each time a group leaves, we get new missionaries coming. And here they are…

Newest Haitian-Creole& Korean Speaking Missionaries

We have a fun tradition of having the missionaries do something a little old fashioned and send a postcard home to their families on the day they arrive. Here they are filling them out. Every so often I have to explain to one or more of them where the address goes–it is amazing to realize that they all grew up with digital communication as the norm and some have never sent a postcard before!

 

Newest Group Arriving from the CCM in Mexico City

and from the MTC in Provo, UT

Meeting the Trainers

 

Transfer Day