Lights, Visitors, and Area President

 This week we were blessed with a visit from Olivia's sister, Jennifer Smith, and her daughter, Jessica Smith. After several delays, they finally arrived at LaGuardia Airport late Thursday afternoon. So late that we were not able to keep an appointment for Pepe's (Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana) in Fairfield, Connecticut. Jessica had live and worked in that area and had a friend who hoped to meet us there. We did manage to see and do many other things in that short visit, however. It will take some days to recover. I won't share everything, but I will try to include some of the most interesting.

At LaGuardia Airport. Gotta 💗New York!

Jessica by our Advent cards; Jennifer, right

We started in the south of Manhattan with St. Patrick's Cathedral.

 

 Inside the massive St. Patrick's Cathedral. Some of the pipes for the organ. Others were below.

The nativity scene was nearly life sized. All carved,
including the camel, sheep and cow in brown on
the outside.

A major item on their list of things to see was a visit to The Cloisters. I shared our previous visit to that site, earlier. Still, there is so much to see there, that much seemed new to Olivia and me. 

This bundle of grain next to the alter
was new and begging for a picture

One of several depictions of animals
that the artist had never seen.

We needed to be at a mission meeting, so we left our visitors there and rushed to the Metro to get to the building that houses the temple where we had a conference with Elder Haynie, our area president.

President Holmes and Elder Haynie shared insights about how the work is going and what needs to be improved. In 1924, when President Nelson was born, there were:

• 600,000 Members of the Church
• 90 Stakes
• 6 Temples
• 867 missionaries

Elder Allen D. Haynie, 
President
North America, North East Area

Today, in the North American Northeast Area, alone, there are:

• 500.000 Members
• 140 Stakes
• 16 Temples
• 3,641 Missionaries

The NYNYC Mission baptizes over 130 people every month (they are going to easily exceed their goal of 133 by Christmas) and the other missions are baptizing, though not as many. As their friends, family and others join, and their children remain faithful, the Church grows exponentially. He also emphasized the importance of realistic goal setting, which our missionaries know well. Walking to the meeting earlier that day, we met two of our district elders who greeted us, then continued down the walk inviting people to come to church with them. Others were doing the same thing.

In our district, alone, the two sets of elders are teaching over 100 people per week. They are cautious to set goals that take faith to achieve, but goals that are pie in the sky. The results are impressive. Today, one missionary mentioned that a woman who has expressed a firm testimony, and is regularly attending church, but is not willing to receive baptism until she knows more, is being dropped. They teach so many people, that if she is not progressing, there is not enough time for the others they have to teach. They are checking with the woman's friends in the ward and with the Ward Mission Leader, to be sure she continues progressing, but she is not in their pool any longer. These are examples of what is happening all over the mission.

The meeting lasted 2 1/2 hours, but it zipped by - for me. Olivia was anxious to get to see her sister and niece again. It turned out that they had come to the chapel and waited outside the doors, in the warm hallway. 

It was a very rainy day and
while the coat was warm, it
was not water proof. 

They had finished their tour of the Cloisters and decided it would be a good idea to go to Central Park and walk around. They even got food at one of  the street vendors. By the time we were finished they were ready to get somewhere warm and dry.

Saturday, we spent the day seeing other sights that were on the visitors' list before going with the other senior missionaries on a tour of the lights of Manhattan. Beginning with the World Trade Center and the Oculus. There are some spectacular displays and we only saw a fraction of them. Again, we started in the lower part of the city where we made our way to Trinity Church, an ancient Episcopal building, then to the Morgan Library and Museum. 

Inside the Oculus

One of the two pools where the original
foundations were located.

Entering Trinity Church

Outside Trinity Church

Robert Fulton's Grave

There are several graves of the original

patriots who risked all and entered the

brave, new experiment of this country.

Above is Alexander Hamilton's grave.

   

Francis Lewis, who signed the Declaration of
Independence  

We finally got to experience Grand
Central Station. The women didn't
want to climb the stairs, so I took 
the photo

One of the 3 Guttenberg Bibles the Morgan
owns

Bust of Christ as a boy by
Antonio Rossellino AD 1460

Other ancient bibles in the large
collection of books here.

The working manuscript of 
A Christmas Carol, by Charles
Dickens

Because the Metro can be a little uncertain on the weekends, we took no chances and arrived at the meeting place for the tour of the city lights about an hour early. We were to start at the statue of William Tecumseh Sherman, which is known as the Grand Army Plaza on a corner of Central Park. Since we had some time, I left the women to hike back to a restaurant where I had left a scarf the day before. I didn't have any idea of the true length of the park. On the map it's rather small 😬. It took about the full hour to hike there and back. In the meantime, the women took a nice hike around the lower part of the park.

Sherman with Lady Liberty leading

The Delacorte Clock has wonderful bells and
movement when it chimes

A vendor at a Christmas Market was very crafty

A nativity actually in Central Park

At the appointed hour, we were met by Jay Stonehill, a local member who has spent his life in New York and loves everything about it. We walked from Central Park to various parts of Manhattan to see sights we might otherwise miss.

This window was a tribute to
scrapbooking. Enlarge for a
better view - worth it.

Musical instrument display

Creations made of paper

This store has some amazing displays
of all kinds of sights.

Interior of the Peninsula Hotel

You need a shoehorn to get through
the crowd, but that was part of the
experience.

A little closer to the tree in Rockefeller
Center 

Above every door in 
Rockefeller Center are various
forms of Art Nouveau 

Several walls in the halls beneath the buildings have
murals depicting the relief from manual labor with
the inventions of the modern age, as well as 
cautions about the dangers. Here the emancipation
from slavery.

Several buildings had light shows moving up the entire face of the front wall. I couldn't include video from the computer without being even later than I am,  now. You'll have to trust me. Jessica tried to persuade us to hike to Saks 5th Ave. for more, but that sounded like another 100 miles, so she was out voted.

Sunday, we traveled to attend church in Little Neck where we found many of the ward members out with various illnesses, or traveling. Happily, however, we saw two sisters with whom we wanted to talk. Sister Baxter once gave us an invitation addressed to Brother and Sister Anderson. Realizing that I should be addressed differently, she wrote Elder above without crossing out Brother. I told her it was appropriate - I could be her elder brother. Since then we are Elder Brother and Sister Anderson. She is the Relief Society President in that stake and was assigned to speak in Sacrament Meeting. What an inspired talk. 

We had an enlightening conversation
after her talk.

Sister Hartrick came in as we were leaving. You will recall her from our last post. She had just spoken at another ward, because the high councilor was not well. Again, we were able to talk to her about some issues with which she could help us.

We have wanted a picture with her and
now we had the chance. 

We had some time after the Sunday meetings to drive out to Oyster Bay and see some of the towns and villages where Olivia's ancestors lived before joining the Church and traveling with the saints, eventually to Utah. We walked around the grounds of Sagamore Hill, where Teddy Roosevelt's home is located (I have shared those photos in an earlier post). We stopped in a parking lot about 3/4 mile from the Fire Island lighthouse. Again, a long walk in bitter cold wind, but an interesting place.

Nearly there

The original light in a nearby building

This incandescent oil vapor lamp was
in use from 1908 to 1933. It is like the
Coleman lanterns that use the burnt 
mantle for light. 

It was a joy to have family who are also close friends come for a visit. We encourage any of you to make the trip. We are always happy to schedule our work around your visit as much as we can. 

A reminder that we live in a Jewish
community. This is at the park near
our apartment. 

Our work is challenging, but we are seeing some great progress. Every stake is involved in making Self Reliance a priority. We have seen the Lord's hand in the miracles where it seemed impossible for it to happen. We are blessed and grateful.

We wish you all a very happy few days to Christmas, a blessed, holy day. We love you and miss you.