YSA Conference

We really enjoy our mission assignment working with young adults. They keep us hopping as we try to keep up with them. The Regional YSA Council sponsored a three state singles conference in Manhattan this past weekend, at the Lincoln Square chapel, which is in the same building as the Manhattan Temple.

Over 300 young adults were in attendance. The Lincoln Square chapel is the only Church building in New York able to handle that many participants at one time.

We attended Sunday Sacrament meeting with them. Sr. Elaine Dalton and her husband were guest speakers.

After sacrament meeting we enjoyed a delicious lunch.

They did a good job of feeding so many so quickly. The young people seem to enjoy meeting new friends. We had about 30 members of our YSA branch in attendance.

After lunch we had a concluding fireside devotional. The speakers were two young black sisters who recently joined a church in Utah.

They were funny and inspirational as they told their conversion story. They maintain a blog and a radio talkshow. They have also written a book entitled "Two Mad Black Mormon Women."  The young adults really took to them. There is a great amount of diversity in the Church out here.

Riding the subway train to Church was different but enjoyable. 

We are often entertained in the subway station. Yesterday was no exception.

Occasionally we are able to enjoy a meal in one of New York City's many find restaurants.  On Saturday we ate at the Marco Polo restaurant, an authentic Italian restaurant near our Park Slope chapel.

The weather was great, the food was good, and the company was the best!

We've had a great summer and now we look forward to a beautiful fall in New York City and Long Island.

A day to remember always

September 11 is a very big day in New York City. This year we marked the 13th anniversary of the attack on the Twin Towers. The names of the nearly 3000 victims were read by family members again. At night powerful searchlights beamed into the night sky to mark the place with the twin towers once stood. 

This was the view from our apartment. You can see the tallest building which is one World Trade Center and the beam of light to the left. 

The 911 Memorial Museum is now open to the public. We were able to Tour it earlier this month.

Remnants of the old twin towers are housed in the museum.

The demolished fire engine is symbolic of the more than 200 firefighters who lost their lives that day.

New Yorkers and fellow Americans should never forget that day. It was in most vicious attack on our American soil.

During the past two weeks a series of mega zone meetings were held throughout the mission. Along with Pres. and Sr. Calderwood, Sister Tenney and I served lunch to 70 missionaries in the three zones in the Brooklyn Stake on September 3. We are the only senior couple in the Brooklyn Stake. 

Present Calderwood gave an excellent training session teaching missionaries how to be effective and to keep the Spirit.

Our Bushwick zone leaders also gave us excellent training as they taught us how to be fearlesslike a lion, using one of their many cute costumes.

Working with the young missionaries is it part of our mission we had not really anticipated before our mission. We really enjoy this part of the work.

The sisters clothing exchange was fun to watch. 

We enjoy our temple work every Friday.

The subway rides to and from Manhattan are always interesting.

We are getting pretty good at getting around now that we've been here over seven months.