She Deserved a Mothers' Day

 We have established a facilitator training twice per month on the 2nd Tuesday and the 4th Sunday, so Monday was the day to put the final touches on the PowerPoint presentation. Olivia insisted that we practice and time it again, so that identified some hiccups, but we got it done. That evening our Region Manager, Chris George, and his wife came for a meal and a visit. They are a delightful couple, so we really enjoyed our time with them. 

During our evening, their missionary son called. 
It was uplifting to hear how well he is doing after
not being sure he could overcome some roadblocks
before he made the decision to serve. 

Tuesday we had a very full day. We started with a ENT appointment for Olivia to see what caused the ear to bleed on Sunday. We have another this week, so hopefully, the issue will be resolved. Following that we hurried to the district council meeting, but only stayed until role plays, because all the poking and prodding caused some ear pain. We handed out the cookies and left. Olivia took some ibuprofen and relaxed and I worked with a couple of employment candidates. We left as soon as I was finished to get to the Woodside Employment Center, but traffic was so backed up that we were late for the beginning. Still, we enjoyed the meal while we shared skunk stories that we had experienced. I'm not sure how we got to that topic, but it just shows that mission friendships can be lots of fun.

We left a little early in order to be home in time to set up the computer in preparation for the evening training for the facilitators. I wish I had thought to take a screenshot. It was a very successful meeting, as far as we could tell. 

One of our participants was a 13-year old girl who has taken a class before and wants to be a facilitator. She was quite mature for her age, but we weren't sure what to recommend. We emailed our friend who is in her stake presidency and offered to help with whatever they decide to do. One of the objections we hear from youth leaders is that the youth are already over scheduled. That is true for the children of the leaders, but not for all. There are some who are not in sports, or other after-school activities and are isolated, depressed and need support. We need to think of something that will give them a more positive outlook. We'll see what happens, but it was a great wake-up call to have this girl in our training.

    We worked with several employment candidates this week, both on Zoom and in person. Following our time in the Union Square Employment Center we took a little walk to Chelsea Market and to the High Line. We were obligated to try Elder Packer's favorite taco shop. It apparently is not just his favorite; there was a line out the door waiting to place their order. The market is now kind of a boutique mall with restaurants and specialties shops. It is the former Nabisco factory. The High Line was a railroad line that was constructed over the streets and actually went through some of the factories along the route to make loading and unloading more convenient. Today, much of it was preserved from demolition by creating a park where the tracks had been. It was a fun walk on a very nice day.

At the entrance is the original brick;
typical of a factory.

Some old posters with the Nabisco
poster boy.

Appreciating the history of the market.

Proud of the Oreo Sandwich

Swedish stars! Of course, we had to
take a picture.

Parts of the park are covered and no foliage. 
Vendors can rent space.

Thousands of plant varieties are present. Here 
with a tiny creek.

Elder and Sister Packer find a place to
rest tired feet. 

Looking out to the water less than a
block away.

Some places left remnants of the old rails.

Below is the traffic and in the distance
another part of the High Line Park.

I helped a couple of Olivia's employment candidates with their resumes. One person seems exceptionally qualified, but says her age has been a problem. She can't get her friends to be roommates, but she does have 19 cats to keep her company. New York has every variety.

Some of you will recall that we met one of the missionaries with whom we had become especially close in Sweden while attending a stake conference: Sophie Christensen. She and her roommate came for dinner and a visit on Friday. It was so uplifting to visit with them and hear what they are up to. It was especially good to hear how faithful they have remained. We were able to tell them what we are doing here and hear about their jobs. Of course, some reminiscing about our days in Sweden was inevitable.  Olivia's Swedish meatballs and gravy, Swedish Hasselback potatoes, Swedish coleslaw, asparagus and Swedish pepparkakor with ice cream were a big hit. Happily, there were left overs.

Sophie and Rebecca 

Not only has Sophie given her hair a
professional look, she has matured in
every appropriate way.

Olivia sent pictures of the flowers they brought so
they could see how beautiful they are in a vase.

The four of us before they left.

Saturday was set aside for the monthly senior missionaries' outing. This time we went to Staten Island to visit Snug Harbor. It was first set aside as a retirement for sailors who were no longer able to sail. It was built in the 1830s and upgraded over the years. When Social Security and pensions became a reality, the old sailors began to look elsewhere to live. No wives or girlfriends were allowed on the property, but they had food, wonderful shelter, entertainment, church services, laundry, hospital, morgue, and they could help on the farm, if they chose to do so. It was a very welcoming environment, all paid for by a trust established by the heir of a shipping magnate of the era. Men lived there until the 1970s. Now the buildings are used for other purposes. The large buildings that were dormitories and libraries are now rented for other purposes such as contemporary art museums, dance and music rental a small cottage that had been the laundry matrons' quarters is now a center for counseling children who have lost their parents to death or even divorce. There are now multiple gardens that are kept by a small crew and paid for by contributors.

Manhattan and the World Trade Center behind us.

On the ferry to Staten Island, a great
view of Lady Liberty.

Robert Richard Randall, the founder

Giant Horse Chestnut trees create a canopy 

Helping carry boxes into Emma's place. It was 
named after the first child given counseling
after watching the murder of her parents.

Sister Duncan followed by the principal
counselor of Emma's Place.

The canopy of the bamboo forest in the
Chinese Scholars' Garden

Some of the stonework and statuary in the Garden.

Sister Packer's dress matched the Koi fish. The 
other Sister Duncan.

Sister and Elder Rigby found a place
to rest for a while.

One of five remaining buildings that were once
dormitories for the sailors.

Our very knowledgeable tour guide in front of a
building that housed workers. 

The bell had to be removed from the 
belfry to make room for the air condi-
tioning in the old chapel

Elders Eastman, Hill, and Elder and Sister Aagard
in front of the row of former dormitories.

Details of the interior of the dormitories.

Though they were a rough group of
men, they were well read and Christian.

Sunday was Mothers' Day in the US, so we celebrated appropriately, mostly. Olivia knows better than to let me prepare a meal, but I tried to show my love and respect. You may recall that she gave the tree of life pendant from her necklace to a young man who was especially concerned for his ancestors. She called it his family tree. For Mothers' Day I gave her a replacement, and a poem. The kids called and/or joined in a Zoom call on Sunday or Monday (there were two, to make it convenient). She also got a rose from the ward we attended on Sunday.

The premortal as well as the postmortal illustrated
by Family Circus.
(Shared by one of our senior sisters.)

The rose got an honored place among
the sunflowers from Sophie and Rebecca.

We feel so blessed to be involved in the amazing work the missionaries, young and old, are accomplishing throughout the world. We see the hand of God is so much of what we do and observe. We thank you, our family, and friends, for your support and encouragement. We hope you have a wonderful week.