2023 Out with a Bang!

 Literally, the old year went out with a bang that sounded like it should have rattled our building. It didn't, but the fireworks were exceptionally loud. Our view was blocked, so we could only hear them, not see them. We have always stayed up to welcome in the New Year, and I thought this time we would forgo that, but we did not. We stayed up and talked, looked at some posts on Instagram, but right after midnight, we went to bed. I did not feel well, and Olivia is just getting over what she shared with me, so it was probably not the smartest choice. Still, we are now officially into 2024 , which will be a year of adventure for us.

We went to the El Salvador Consulate on both Wednesday and Friday. Olivia made cookies for Julia, who turned 29 the day before, Kathia whose birthday is six months away, and Inez who should have had her 1/2 birthday in October, but we didn't go into the consulate that month because of the heavy work load they were experiencing. They are always delighted with her cookies and are very expressive.

Kathia (L) doesn't practice as much as she would
like to, because she has a family and is busy all
the time. Julia is roommates with Paola who has
good English knowledge and they practice a lot.

We took another look at our calendar and realized that even if we don't miss any classes, we will still leave before we finish with English Connect 2. We have decided to combine lessons that have the same or similar subjects, so we will finish by the Wednesday before we leave on Thursday in February.

The Brooklyn Stake is experimenting with a self-reliance website and asked us to take a look. We did and found it very informative and compelling. We suggested that they put links for each of the classes they are starting. They did so, after meeting with their committee. It looks great.

One of the several pages introducing the reader to
learn more before registering.

Clicking on any one of these will take you to the
registration for that group.

We also got to go to the Terryville Ward, on the east end of Long Island, by invitation from Bishop Check. We have been there one other time when I got to know the EQ president, Paul Snow. Brother Snow has since come to facilitator training and has corresponded from time to time. He was thrilled that the bishop is now ready to promote it. They wanted to know more about the classes and what they can do to help people utilize them. I took some time with a video editing software to make the video we did for Lynbrook Stake more generic. We have new specialists in that stake, so they were thrilled to come along and be a part of the presentation, along with the stake RS president who has been pushing for this since way before we got here.

Bishop and Sister Daniel and Shae Check

President and Sister Paul and Gina Snow

with their kids.

Following that meeting, we went from the east part of Long Island to the west, and met with the new Welfare and Self-Reliance Specialist in Lynbrook, Minerva Peguero. We were so pleased that she was called for a few reasons. First, their campaign on the last Sunday in October was so successful that the RS president and the HC advisor are overwhelmed with trying to get everything set up and organized. Second, she is very enthusiastic about what increasing self reliance can do for their members. Third, she is married to the stake president who is also anxious to see improvement in the self-reliance efforts of the members.

President and Sister Peguero

We see these things happening in the stakes of this mission and it makes us exceptionally happy to see the progress. We can't really count these as notches in our belt, because so much work and coordination has to take place in the wards and stakes. We are just happy to be a part of it.

Well, the young missionaries did it again. The goal of 250 baptisms has always seemed like it would be unachievable, yet at the beginning of the month, based on the number of progressing people in every zone, the goal was 259. They exceeded that by 20. They did not achieve every goal, but they exceeded the numbers from any prior month, even in those areas that fell below the goal. They are purpose-driven missionaries.

With the exception of baptisms, these are averages
per missionary companionship.

Some time ago, I told you I wanted to include some of the miracles the missionaries have experienced, so here are a couple of those. One recent convert told how the missionaries contacted him on the street and he agreed to come to a lesson, then cancelled. The missionaries kept his contact information, but did not pursue him because they only work with progressing people. One night, this man was experiencing some serious challenges in his life and felt that he really needed to know God better. At the same time, the missionaries decided to contact some of the people who had shown interest earlier, but had dropped off for one reason or another. They called this man at just before 10:00pm, and he was ready this time to accept lessons and receive baptism.

Another, that President Holmes related in one of the stake conferences that we attended involved a woman and her young son from Ecuador. She made the decision to take the journey to the USA from her country and prepared the best she could. They walked many hundreds of miles, sleeping wherever they could find shelter. Entering one country, they found shelter in an abandoned military barracks. She wanted to read the Bible to her son in order to bolster their determination to continue the long, difficult journey. She searched through the barracks, hoping to find a Bible that might have been left behind. She saw a bag under a bed in one room and inside the bag was a copy of the Book of Mormon. She began reading it to her son and became more and more excited with the principles taught. When she made it to the USA, she was shipped to New York City. Days after her arrival, missionaries approached her and she was well prepared to receive their message. These experiences happen all the time here, and so often that they can be taken for granted if they are not recorded. Every Christmas President and Sister Holmes give out journals to the missionaries.

We did get in some holiday fun. Elder and Sister Taylor had never been to Historic Richmond Town on Staten Island, and we knew there were special tours for the holidays, so we took them and Elder and Sister Barnes with us to experience that.

The Staten Island Ferry is free, so very
popular. It passes very near the Statue
of Liberty.

Inside the upper courtroom.

The old courthouse still has the judge's bench,
a nice gift shop and it is where the tour began.

This is kind of the main street. It is already getting
dark in the afternoon.

The general store has a nice frame
for taking pictures.

 

Elder and Sister Taylor, the
Employment Services 
missionaries.

Elder and Sister Barnes, our
next-door neighbors.

This general store was very representative of those
of the mid-to-late 19th century. While most of the
items in the store are either reproductions or taken
from other locations, much, including this counter
came with the store.

This post office was part of the original
 store, as well. Our very knowledgeable
tour guide.

The Franklin-style stove is a central
feature.

Inside one of the wealthy family homes.
This one has a Christmas tree, so it is
from the Victorian era.

A spacious home with many rooms,
including this sitting room with a
holiday table.

This table has a display of the various lighting implements
of the early and mid-nineteenth century.

This is in a modest farm-style home. It is actually
the home of the basket maker, who would have
been a fisherman and oysterman in good weather.

As you can see, this single room had multiple 
purposes.

This is an up-close picture of a very large holly tree.
The women couldn't pass it up.

 On Christmas Eve, we had cake and eggnog with Elder and Sister Barnes, as well.

We are looking forward to all that this coming year is going to give us. We know there will be lots of challenges, and trials, but also many blessings. We have lots to do in the next eight +/- weeks to make sure everything we are doing gets proper attention, so we leave with a good foundation for the couple who will take our place. We haven't done more than is necessary regarding our going home so we can concentrate on our mission, but there are a lot of issues there, as well.

Thanks to all of you who actually read this. Thanks for your prayers on our behalf. We know we are blessed and we are happy to be able to do this work.