Wouldn't It be Loverly?

 Spring is making its presence known in the City. Lots of flowering trees are showing off, forsythia on every corner (even along the roads),  and there are daffodils and narcissus everywhere. Olivia is taking pictures of every magnolia tree we see on our walks.We are still wearing sweaters and jackets, but we see warmth in the forecast.

We began the week with the zone leaders and sister trainer leaders visiting our district council meeting. It was enlightening to watch them in their review of goals and achievements, then break up into pairs to role play street contacting. 

I observed Elder Fairchild with Sister
Blood. She is a seasoned missionary,
he is struggling with Spanish. The way
she worked with him was inspiring. 

Sister Anderson with Elder Moser

Olivia observed these two and was impressed
with how well each accepted the suggestions
of the other. 

Elder Asay is being approached by 
Elder Larson who had 15 friends in
church the Sunday before
General Conference.

Elder Erickson (ZL) is being taught by
Elder Huerta. Both had baptisms this week.

Elder Asay is the DL. He is explaining the goals
and accomplishments for the district. 

Olivia made Easter treats for each of them. L to R:
Sisters Anderson and Blood, Elders Fairchild, Larson,
Huerta, Asay, Summers, Reeve, Erickson & Moser

We hurried home so I could make it to the dental appointment. I was welcomed by a young Hispanic woman, the hygienist was a Jamaican man, the X-ray tech was African American, and the dentist was Jewish. That's our town in a microcosm. 

We finally started shooting video on Wednesday. We went to Bishop and Sister Miller's home in the Williamsburg part of Brooklyn. Sister Miller is a professional actress and voice artist. They live in a townhouse with a second story. She had set up a photo area for the videos of President De La Hoz (2nd Counselor to President Peguero of the Lynbrook Stake), who gave the introduction and testimony and for Sister Theresa Chinheya, who has participated in two courses. She gave a testimonial. 

I had vetted Sister Chinheya after a high councilor had recommended her. He told us she was disabled, but didn't mention what her disability consisted of. I talked to Elder Packer, who is assigned to her ward, assured me she is an amazing person. I contacted her by text and the text I got back was full of errors, which was a little disconcerting until I realized that she had spoken into her phone and sent the text without reviewing it.

On the phone, she told me that she wouldn't need me to write out anything, she was sure she could just express how the courses had blessed her life and bear her testimony. I decided to take my laptop, so if she needed me to write a cue card for her I could use PowerPoint and make one. We arranged to give her a ride to the Millers. When Olivia went to the door to collect her, it was then that we discovered her disability was blindness. I still used the laptop for Pres. De La Hoz, who spoke in English and Spanish; Sister Chinheya was great without help.

Ashley Bryant Miller and President
De La Hoz

Part of the time, Olivia was entertained
by the Miller's 3-year old daughter, but
she was also available to catch details
to make the process more professional

Deciding where to set the lights and mic

Theresa being so patient

Sister Miller begins the shooting.

We still have to record the main portion of the video, but Sister Miller discovered a way to make the audio separate from the slides, so we can record in the voiceover booth and apply it to the slides separately. Sister Miller is a Brooklyn Stake Self Reliance Specialist, so after being involved in this project, she is anxious to make one for the Brooklyn Stake, as well. We will just need to have the testimonials recorded by someone in that stake. Other stakes are starting to gain interest, as well, because holding a devotional, like we do in the West, is very difficult. With the video, it can be done in wards on a 5th Sunday, or whenever is convenient.

Thursday was a busy day in the Union Square Employment Center. Our Russian friends came and informed us that they have enrolled in the English courses at Henry Street Settlement, which is good news. They are also able to get legal assistance there to move their asylum process forward. Olivia also got to work with Sister Engstrom, one of our senior missionaries, who is partially hearing. She and her deaf husband are assigned to the ASL branch. She interpreted for Sister Lopez, who is deaf. Sister Packer got involved to help Sister Lopez, who has never had a job. I was on a Zoom meeting with another candidate.

Stepan and Pavel looking at some opportunities
with Sister Packer. They were excited to tell us
about Easter traditions and foods in Russia. We 
invited them to go to church, and Pavel agreed to go.

Sister Packer worked with Sister Lopez to improve her interview skills. Sister Engstrom is telling
her to look at Sister Packer, even though
she will not sign back.

We took a day to go with Elder and Sister Barnes to visit the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, which is next to and shares a parking lot with the Brooklyn Museum. We were there in time to see the early blooming plants, some of which will not be there when we go back in June. It was worth the walk. It reminded me of the song from My Fair Lady: "Oh, Wouldn't it be Loverly!"

The cherry trees outside of the gardens, in front
of the Brooklyn Museum were in full bloom. Elder
and Sister Barnes in the canopy.

All around the museum are pieces taken
from buildings in NYC that have been
torn down.

We knew our granddaughter, Norah
would appreciate the dragon

We took a shot on a different part of the plaza.

There were daffodils everywhere, but
we had never seen these that have
multiple petals, like a rose.

Many of the trees are quite old, so the branches
stretch out, over the walkways.

A thing of beauty. Nice tree, too.

The plants and trees in this part of the garden are
all from Japan.

A beautiful pond with a waterfall

Barnes with different types of magnolias.

Didn't quite get the picture I wanted. Earlier, she
had been squatting down to get a picture of her
stuffed animals in the grass.

We saw them earlier with the groom,
but we didn't get the picture until they
were leaving and had put on a coat over
the beautiful bride's dress.

Many huge trees. I saw a plaque on one dated 1935.
It was a gift from a girls' school commemorating
the 25th anniversary of the botanical gardens. So,
some of the trees are 123 years old.

Contrast of two types of magnolia trees.

Inside one of the greenhouses in the Japanese area,
is a display of bonsai trees, some of which are
quite large. We were amazed and how shallow
the root systems are.

Our good friend and neighbor, Drew Williams
is an aficionado, so we thought he would
appreciate these.

Some amazing plants of every kind in the 
greenhouses. 

A Twisted White Pine. It was not in
the Japanese area, so I don't know
where it is native.

A sundial in the rose garden area. This will be
full of color in June.

A replica from the 1930s, but apparently
no one knows who did it. It is in the 
parking lot.

For Easter, we went to the Flushing 1st Branch. Several months ago, we heard the Relief Society president from this branch speak in stake conference. We have wanted to attend there earlier, but it has not worked out until now. We met Elder and Sister Barker from Salt Lake City, who are temple missionaries, assigned to the branch. He gave the opening prayer and she one of the talks. We met President Duffy, a retired physician who writes books about why the medical profession doesn't work. They treat symptoms, so you feel better, but remain sick. He was quite animated as he talked to us. We finally met Sister Ausra Jurksaite, the RS president with whom we spoke for several minutes. She is from Lithuania, and said that there are about 12 languages spoken among the branch members. English is the primary language, but everything is also interpreted into Spanish in their meetings. She is very anxious to see that the courses are made available to her sisters.

We shared contact information and talked about
ways that self reliance can be brought into the 
branch. The branch has elders and sisters for English
and Spanish, so they are seeing many new members
almost weekly.

This woman is from the Dominican
Republic and teaches Relief Society.

Sister Packer gave Olivia the tulips. The Sturgills
gave us the name plaque, the clay lamp, and sent
a nice card for Easter. Olivia and Sister Barnes
made the little bunnies and chicks. We love Easter!

We ended Easter with a Zoom meeting with kids and grandchildren. It was so much fun to catch up on what they are doing, how they spent their spring breaks, and our telling them about our Sunday. It was a great way to remind us of the blessing of Christ and his Atonement. We felt the love of everyone present and with the texts that followed, it seems they all felt the same.

We do see the hand of the Lord in this work. We see the ward, branch and stake leaders everywhere, running to keep up with the baptisms. We encourage them and try to make them see the value of raising the level of independence. I have pointed out the obvious that is seldom obvious: Alma 32 tells us that the poor in heart and in the things of this world are the ones who will be humble enough to receive the Gospel. These new converts see at least a glimpse of their possibilities, because the Holy Ghost propels them. We have the opportunity to bring them to that scary next step; out of poverty and dependence, to independence and eventually to a point where they can motivate others. 

We love you all and hope your Easter was blessed. We wish you the best in the coming week.