Well, That's not Normal (as if there is normal)

 We loved having family visit for the past two weeks, but it was nice to have a little time to catch up on items that were a bit neglected. We had a lot of reporting to do and we were also able to get back to our employment services responsibilities. We have learned that when we have visitors, they can make it to some destinations without, or with very little of our help. That made it possible last week to still keep up for the most part. It's also nice to know that Cedric's family is all back together on St. Thomas, USVI.

Tuesday, while I met with one employment candidate, Olivia met with a 24-year old young woman from Haiti, for the second time. She finally shared that she had been homeless for the last four days and was desperate for a place to live. She is actively looking for work, but she has limited English skills. We ended up bringing her home, so I could conduct the Facilitator Training while Olivia spoke with the local Haitian-Creole branch RS president. They worked out having the young woman stay in a hotel that night which took us a couple of hours driving her there, and then early on Wednesday taking her to an intake shelter for women. That took the entire morning and necessitated my driving from Queens to Brooklyn (where we picked up the RS president and the young woman), through lower Manhattan, to the Bronx. Waiting for her to go through the intake process, and bringing her back to the RS president's house where she was taken care of for the rest of the day.

Merlanda with Sister Exume (RS Pres.)

From our apartment to Brooklyn's crowded,
double-parked streets, across to Manhattan,
then up through the Bronx. Then back the 
same way. It looks like a long way - it is!

At least we not only saw, but actually
drove across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Same coming home.

Olivia took a secret shot of the guard
booth where we waited for her to
complete her intake process.

The shelter is not in the happiest neighborhood, but
the facility is secure. It is in the former National
Guard Armory.

We were able to keep one appointment while we waited, but it had to be in the car, and on the phone. The other things we had planned had to be rescheduled, but we were happy to help (except for the driving - Olivia said there were some interesting things to see; I wouldn't know).

We were able to make it to our English Connect class in the El Salvador Consulate on both Wednesday and Friday. Our students are a gregarious bunch, but seem to be learning. We strongly encourage them to practice during the week. It is obvious that some do more than others. 

In the window next to the front door.

Around the table: Beatriz, Ines, Kathia, Julia, and
Flor. Standing behind is the Public Relations intern,
Madison Weber, who speaks Spanish.

Busy at work. Ines speaks pretty fair English, so 
she helps, though we try to keep her from helping
too much.

We were finally able to meet the Consul General, Daniel Erazo, but didn't get a photo with him, yet. Friday was Madison's last day in NYC, so she left a tracking form that will help her supervisors get a feel for whether this is something they want to encourage throughout the country. We need to remember to update it after every meeting. We are going to miss her, but we know she will do well in her final semester at BYU. 

The Church is updating the English Connect manuals, so we couldn't order any. I put the lessons and  with illustrations on PowerPoint, and we print off copies of the lesson for the day - typically only 2 pages. 

                                      

               Illustrations for some vocabulary words "I like to ___________"

For studying family vocabulary words (and just to show off).

While we had Madison to interpret, we told the group the story of our son, Jordan, who was a missionary in El Salvador. He was injured and unconscious for 14 days while serving there and we went there to be with him. We told them about the excellent medical care he received and the the wonderful  people we met. We told them that is why we love El Salvador. They were appreciative. We will tell them more as the opportunity arises.

Sundays are always a risk on the subways, but we managed to get to the Harlem YSA Ward without much trouble. Getting home was a trick, but we made it, just took twice as long. We were finally able to meet Bishop and Sister Brown. He is the uncle of Elizabeth Jones in our Idaho ward. When we left, she was the RS President and Olivia had been her counselor and very good friend. For that reason, we have been anxious to meet the Bishop, but haven't been able to make it until this weekend.

We understand that he was called to serve as a
bishop from his home in Utah. Now that YSA men
are called as counselors and to stake positions, 
more experienced local men may be available to
replace him when his time has concluded.

It is a fairly large and very diverse group of young
single adults from the eastside. A lot of new converts,
which became obvious when, after the special musical number, and after the talks, many applauded.

In the second picture, the ward gathered for a "Linger Longer," which is a pretty common thing in this

mission. The bishop is standing in front of a young man from Liberia, who came to the city on a student visa with a scholarship. In the last couple of weeks his school lost its accreditation. He joined the Church at about a month ago, so he is quite new. We gave him some contacts and resources so he can, hopefully, continue his schooling. He will also have to find employment, however, as the scholarship is also gone.

Olivia told me of her Relief Society meeting. At the conclusion of the meeting the RS Pres. announced the closing prayer. As the young woman made her way to the front of the group, The RS Pres. said that if any of you have problems that you want her to include in her prayer, raise your hand. Twelve raised their hands; five of whom needed jobs. She prayed specifically for each of those women, the people in Maui, someone's mother who is sick, etc. Olivia met with the five needing jobs and introduced them to employment.churchofjesuschrist.org. 

"Toto, we are not in Idaho any more!"

We love the newness we experience every week in this mission. Our own prayers are becoming lengthy as we pray specifically for so many. We see the Lord's hand in this work daily. We appreciate your prayers on our behalf. We are grateful to be on the Lord's errand every day. We hope you are enjoying your lives and circumstances, as well.