Where is Love?

 There has been an ongoing theme in several circles, lately, about the destructive nature of loneliness. We have heard of studies stating that isolation, voluntary or imposed, is as dangerous to health as smoking 10 - 12 cigarettes per day. The Surgeon General issued an advisory with a warning: Disconnection fundamentally affects our mental, physical, and societal health. In fact, loneliness and isolation increase the risk for individuals to develop mental health challenges in their lives, and lacking connection can increase the risk for premature death to levels comparable to smoking daily. (New Surgeon General Advisory Raises Alarm about the Devastating Impact of the Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation in the United States FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 3, 2023)

We heard much of it during this week of conferences. One of the major reasons people give for being interested in learning about the Church is that someone cares about them. Many of the immigrants are separated from family, thrown into a new culture and language, and find that their religion lacks the opportunity to connect. Even people who have lived here many years keep to themselves out of survival. When they learn of the personal God who knows them and hears their prayers, they are open to learning more.

On Tuesday, we had our Zone Conference and got to serve the young missionaries. They no longer have the senior couples provide the meal, which is a good thing. Sometimes, for special occasions and holidays, we provide desserts, but not this time. When everything is set up and set out, we can go in and listen to the training and lectures. Much was said about retention, this time. It was even further reiterated in the Sunday Devotional, when the training was given by a set of Elders who were experiencing more success than others.

Setting things up before the conference began.

Putting things up after lunch.

Singing "Called to Serve" at the end of the 
training and teaching sessions.

Mending clothes crew. Olivia is the noted expert
on trousers that have experienced disaster.

Following the conference I gave the spiritual thought for our employment devotional in the same building. We take turns speaking and providing the meal. This time we had no meal because there was plenty of food at the conference (that was the theory - I was glad to get back to the apartment and have a meal afterward).  My theme had to do with the statement, "I wondered why the ball was getting bigger, then it hit me." In my early education, we learned that when a blind person receives sight, they cannot distinguish distance. The ball is bigger, not because it is close, but because it is bigger. They become overwhelmed by the new sensations and find comfort in a dark room. People who come into the Church often find that despite the wonderful feelings they experienced with the Spirit, membership seems complicated. If they don't have friends and assistance, they tend to go back to what was familiar, even knowing the old ways are inferior. That is why our service is sacred: we provide friends, service and the good word of God.

Following our service in the Union Square Employment Center on Thursday, we took the opportunity to attend the musical, Oliver! with Elder and Sister Packer. Having seen the motion picture a few times, it was all very familiar. This production is done by a traveling troupe and is in NYC only two weeks. We were so glad we went. Every part, even minor parts, were performed with talent and skill. The boys playing Artful Dodger and Oliver had trained voices. The dances and other parts requiring athletic skills were performed by men and boys who were like gymnasts. The orchestra was actually on the stage with action taking place in front of it and the music was superb. Scene changes were done in minimalist style and were very effective. Again, the theme of belonging was a major theme: "Where is Love?" "As Long as He Needs Me" "Consider Yourself" "It's a Fine Life" "Be Back Soon" All hearken to belonging and the fear of being alone.

Steinway center is very close to the 
theater,

as is Carnegie Hall, which is undergoing some
renovation on the outside.

Oliver Twist takes a bow at the curtain call.

The proscenium arch in this classic theater.

The interior of the New York City Center Theater

We are training facilitators monthly, now, starting last Sunday. Because notice went out so late, no one showed up, luckily, as it turned out. Going through the materials, we found that there is a lot that is outdated and time consuming, so I started putting everything on PowerPoint, adding the videos to make it go faster, because we also wanted technical training, and want to keep it close to 1.5 hours. Saturday morning, Olivia insisted that we try it out. We did and found a lot of gaffes, so we were so glad we had done it.

My nice, cluttered, happy workspace. Working on
facilitator training, here.

Saturday afternoon, we went to the Woodside building and participated in the leaders' session of their stake conference. We had been asked to assist the 1st Counselor in the presidency in his presentation of the resources available in welfare and self reliance. It turned out that so much time was taken in the early part, that we only had a couple of minutes, but we have learned to be brief, and effective. What was said generated a lot of interest, so we got a lot of questions afterward.

It was the first nice day of spring weather, so between
meetings on Saturday, they served pizza  outside. This 
complex was built by Bulova as a training center
for disabled veterans and people with special needs.
Now, the chapel and some classrooms are in the
building on the right. The cultural hall and more
classrooms are in the building on the left. 

Matthew and Ana Romney with their
toddler. She is a 1st cousin of our
daughter-in-law Ruth, so it is always a
nice reunion when we see them.

We should have known that some of the talks would be in Spanish for the Sunday session because one of the talks in the Saturday evening session was in Spanish with no translation, except through headphones. We got through the evening session alright, without headphones. We knew the speaker and got to clarify some things with her. On Sunday, there was a large bin of headphones, but we assumed they were for the Spanish-speaking members. If we had been a little more observant, we would have noticed that the majority of attendees were from Mexico, Central, and South America. Most of the talks were in Spanish. I tried to identify as many Spanish words as I knew to see if I could discern what they were talking about (I couldn't); Olivia read a good part of Jesus the Christ, by Talmage. Still, the day was not wasted. We got to talk to more people and we wrote emails to the leaders thanking them and offering our services. We got very encouraging responses. 

We hurried out of the conference to get home, 
because we had been invited to dinner with the 
Barnes and the Brooklyn 5th Ward bishop and his
family. It turned out that cars were parked blocking
us from the front and the back. (Photos taken through
the windshield)

 I got in to wait for one of the owners to
arrive and move a car. Olivia struck
up a conversation with the man in
the car next to us. He is investigating
the Church. Elders Harris (above) and
Reeve (left) are teaching him.

Even though we were late and the meal was almost over, we brought the dessert and enjoyed the meal while Bishop and Sister Miller tried to keep their children from breaking everything in the Barnes' living room. The children are well behaved and couldn't hurt anything. They are very curious, something that should be encouraged; and here it was. You have seen Sister Miller before. She is the vital part of the video we are trying to complete. 

This is an exceptional family; we feel privileged
to have become acquainted with them.

Kids (except, of course, for our grandchildren) don't
get much cuter than these.

Members of the Missionary Committee came to NYC to observe and interview, in order to determine why they are seeing such success in our mission. Bishop Miller's ward has been among the more successful in the number of baptisms and in retaining the new converts, so a member of the Committee had quite a visit with him. Even in this ward, retention is not great. We are doing all we can to incorporate the Self-Reliance courses, to help with that effort. We are convinced it will go a long way to help, not only to keep people in, but to improve their temporal and spiritual circumstances, so they will be active contributors. 

As I mentioned, the Sunday Mission Devotional was devoted to retention, which we were happy to see. President Holmes did his best to be cheerful and upbeat for the encouragement of the missionaries, but in the end, bore testimony of the joy of the Savior and the atonement. In doing so, he indicated that his father, with whom he is very close, is declining rapidly. He is a valiant  servant of the Savior, and we all appreciate what he is doing, despite the grief he is experiencing.

We hope your week is as blessed as ours has been. We have had our share of challenges and discouragements, but when was the last time you accomplished anything significant without opposition in one form or another. We love you each and all.