The Week of Lost Sleep

 It has been a week of not a lot of sleep, for various reasons. I won't list them, but I will mention them as we go through the days of the week that had highlights that you would be interested in knowing about. 

We had a busy Monday with the things that Mondays are supposed to be used for, except we had the opportunity to pick up Elder and Sister Shiley from JFK Airport. You may recall that we took their place at the Bishops' Storehouse delivery, so they could leave for the week. We were supposed to pick them up at 6:00 PM, but the plane was delayed, so we were required to wait until 9:30. By the time they had disembarked and found their way out to the street, it was after 10:00. We took them to their apartment and went home and after preparing for bed, we found it was after 11:00. We saw them again on Tuesday for the Employment Services devotional and again heard how grateful they were that we had made ourselves available for them. We were glad we could, so it really was not a sacrifice for us.

Our Thursdays we are scheduled to work at the Employment Center, as I have mentioned before. This week was a little different. We had a couple of candidates show up, but before they came, we had a surprise visit. The chapel door remains locked, but it has a doorbell. We open our office at noon every Thursday. This time the doorbell rang at 12:15PM. Olivia was closer and expected a candidate, so she answered the door. Soon she came back with a young man in tow. "Brad," she said, "you have to use your Spanish. He speaks no English." I am fluent in all 20 words of Spanish, so we conversed using Google Translate. I will make a long story as brief as I can, but I have to tell you that the entire story is very interesting.

One of our candidates, Soul, is fluent in Spanish,
so he provided a great service interpreting.

Ender and me making our way to get
some food for him. He hadn't had food
for a couple of days.

The young man's name is Ender (as in Ender Games; literally) and he had been in the City only a day and a half. We figured out where the shelter was located that he was assigned to and the ward building was about a 5 minute walk. Just as we had that all figured out, he got a call from a Brother Owens in Orem, Utah who was anxious to get him to Utah. Brother Owens had been a missionary in Venezuela and baptised his mother. They have stayed in touch over the years. I talked to him and we worked out a way to get ender to the airport, so Brother Owens could take care of him. He stayed in our apartment overnight, and we took him to JFK Airport at 5:15 the next morning. 

Boarding the E train to Queens.

Walking from the Metro, Olivia insisted that we
take his picture by the beautiful cherry tree.

No leftovers at this meal.

He finally got through to his mother
and his wife and 2 children.

We needed a picture of all of us. There is much
more of this story; just ask us.

After shower, shave and preparation for the rest of the day, Elder Barnes and I drove to the Woodside building where we met 6 other senior elders. We got into the mission van and drove to Long Island where we picked up 7 new cars at a Nissan dealership and bring them back to the church where they will be exchanged for older ones at the mission transfer this coming Tuesday. There are 10 more that will have to be brought in by someone. Maybe us, again.

Olivia and Sister Barnes did some walking and took Ender's phone charger, he had accidentally left, to the Post Office, while we were away.

That afternoon, Brother Chris George, our WSR manager was in town and wanted to come by to see if he could reduce my anxieties about the reporting system we have to use that was doing crazy things. After seeing what was happening, he agreed that it was as over his head as it was mine. He had some hours before he was supposed to go to the airport to pick up his mother, so he took us to dinner at our local Mexican restaurant. 

"You know that old people are supposed to use
this program, right?" "I can't see how to solve
this, but I know someone who, perhaps, can." We'll
see about that.

On Saturday, we were assigned to go to the NYNY YSA Stake Conference sessions. The first didn't start until 6:00 PM, so we arranged to go to an endowment session at the Manhattan Temple. After the temple we visited the American Heritage Museum and saw a display of heritage quilts. Then we walked around Lincoln Square to see the buildings where the Metropolitan Opera, New York Ballet, Julliard, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and several arts cinemas are housed. It was thrilling to me. I really want to see an opera, a ballet and a performance at Julliard before we go.

The temple from the Lincoln Square
side. There is an angel up there.

One of the dozens of quilts on display.
We were sad that this had been put up
after Olivia's sister and her daughter,
Jennifer and Jessica Smith came to
visit. They are avid quilters.

A wall inside Lincoln Square gives
the essence of the arts center of NYC.

The sign advertising what is located in this 
special center for the performing arts.

The first session of the stake conference was a special meeting for those who have been members of the Church for a year or less. It was interesting that the young high councilor who conducted had no one to play the piano, so he asked the audience just before the visiting authority and stake presidency came in. It's New York City. Of course, one of the members who was baptised just a few weeks ago played the songs perfectly, and even play prelude, having never played from the hymnal before.

The new members are as diverse as any other group we have met and have circumstances that, for most, could be seriously mitigated by Self Reliance. We talked to some before and after, to make them feel welcome and get to know them a little. We were nothing compared to Elder J. Matthew Scott, an Area Seventy from Chesterfield, Virginia. He seemed almost shy in his humility, but he greeted each with complete interest and dignity as he had them introduce themselves. Afterward, he remembered every name. When he spoke to them, he had their complete trust and attention.

While I was talking with someone else,
Olivia spoke with this young man. He has
been a member only a few weeks. He 
feels an affinity for family, so Olivia 
encouraged him to get familiar with Family
Search. She took the Tree of Life from
her necklace and gave it to him to remind
him to keep his promise. Who else would
do that? 

The second session started just minutes after we left the first, so we found our way to the chapel and sat on a row with other senior missionaries and members with whom we got acquainted. It was on the isle, so we could see the people in the hallway as they walked back and forth, even after the meeting started. During the first talk, Olivia poked me and said, "Sister Christensen just walked past." I must have looked a little confused, so she said, "Sophie Christensen." I watched with her, but she didn't walk by again. When the talk was over, the door in the front of the chapel opened and three or four young women hurried to the only seats still available - in the front. 

After the service was over, we rushed to the front and stood in front of her. She looked up and was at first shocked and then tearfully ecstatic. She hugged Olivia and then she hugged me. We talked for a minute, then she hugged us both again. We talked for several minutes and shared contact information.

We had grown close to Sophie in Sweden when
she served in Uppsala. She came with her room-
mate Kiki Manning who was also a Swedish
missionary, to visit us when we stayed in Starr
Valley, NV while our house in Idaho was
being built. Sophie is on the left.

We stayed a little longer, but then hurried to catch our train home. Weekends are a challenge on the subway system, because that is when most of the repair work is being done. When we got to our train, a bishop of one of the YSA wards saw us and boarded the D train with us. We talked and continued to talk until we realized that we had gone past our stop. We got off on the next stop and caught a different train that still got us home. There was no bus, so we walked, huddled under one umbrella for about 15 minutes in a downpour. We had to hang up our clothes and everything in our temple bags to dry. It was after 11:30 before we could get to bed.

Early Sunday morning we caught the train to the other side of Central Park (called Eastside) for the leadership session and heard some amazing talks by some of these YSA leaders. President Bond, who is our Self Reliance lead, also spoke along with Elder Scott.  Afterward, we split up and talked with different people. I found myself with President Yamada, the stake president. He was very concerned for the self reliance of his members and expressed the need to get things going. I told him of our desire to contact the bishoprics of the wards and let them know about how easy it is to register a group and to let us know, so we can contact other wards and stakes to fill a class. Someone else needed his time, so I excused myself, but he would not have it. He called me to come back, so he and President Bond, who had joined him could talk further with me.

President Bond and President Yamada.
Behind them is Sister Scott who came
with her husband.

Olivia sneaked a shot of the young woman who
played the flute during the meeting. To her left 
are some of the speakers. A young man who was
sustained to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood
that afternoon, and the Relief Society President
of the Manhattan YSA Ward. Her counselor
is turning pages for the flutist. 

There were other very good conversations following that meeting that will help us to promote this sacred work among the many diverse wards in the stake. We are hopeful.

Following the meeting we shared a half of a bagel and made our way back to the subway to get over to the other side of Central Park to the Lincoln Square building. It is the same building that holds the temple. The last session was the general session in the chapel and cultural hall at 2:00 PM. We thoroughly enjoyed it, and I have to comment here about the music at all these sessions. Every one was above beautiful. We did have to leave fairly quickly so we could get back in time for our next Zoom meeting and dinner with the Barnes (thank goodness for them). We had our first facilitators' training, but no one came, because it had not been decided on until just a couple days before. We were able to talk to Chris George who came on to help train and Sister Nulty, Plainview Stake RS President who was there just for the information.

A steep, lengthy escalator to the train.

From the south end of Central Park is
a view of the skyscrapers of the NYC

Our next meeting was with the New York Stake Welfare and Self Reliance Committee and the elders' quorum presidents from all the wards in the stake. Also, on the call was the stake president, President Cropper. Each member of the committee explained the resources they provide to the ward councils. We were able to provide some insight and answer some questions, but the high councilor and the stake SR specialist are very current, so we were not needed all that much, which was a blessing for us and for the presidents. 

Our last meeting of the day was at 9:30, as it is every Sunday. It is the missionary devotional where the departing missionaries bore their testimonies and the Assistants to the President shares the progress on the goals for the month. The baptism goal is 161; by the end of this week, they had 160. The difference between a goal and a vision is that unless there are actual people who have committed, they can't count them as a goal. The vision is what the missionaries feel they can achieve based on their experience. The vision for the month is 200. They have achieved over 40 each week, so with a week left in the month, they may well reach the vision.

The Las Vegas Andersons (our son Jordan's
family) know Sister Mayo. She has been
home for about 3 months, now, but can't
help being a missionary. At our last meeting on
Sunday, Sister Holmes, the president's wife,
told about Sister Mayo baptizing her friend.
She remains a legend in this mission.

It is Monday, late, and I will cover today next week. We have commitments in the morning. We love you all and hope your week is full, and fulfilling. The closer we get to being Christlike, the less minor matters matter, it seems to me. That is our prayer for you and us, too.