18 Months in the Big Apple: Elders Serving In Brooklyn

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Elders Serving In Brooklyn

Monday we had CES Training in the morning and then we met Elders Wiggins and Patton at the Mission Office. They were delivering some things and picking up others for their zone. We were able to take them for Fish 'n Chips at one of our favorite little places in Maspeth, The Cornerstone. It's a Irish cafe, with great atmosphere and delicious food. It was 2 PM, and we almost had the place to ourselves which made for pleasant conversation. Both have served as Office Elders, Elder Wiggins when we arrived in NY and Elder Patton "was born" in Astoria and then served in the Mission office. It was good to catch up and hear about their work in Brooklyn and how they were each doing. Elder Patton just celebrated the completion of his first year in the mission, and Elder Wiggins will finish his mission in September. They have had a good companionship and both love serving as missionaries.

The Brooklyn Zone had a photo activity together with their famous bridge as their backdrop!

Afterward they enjoyed a lunch date together.

Elder Patton and Elder Wiggins

Today was Transfer Tuesday and we learned that Elder Patton was transferred to Riverhead, out on the very end of Long Island. It's the most incredible place, so beautiful and much more peaceful than the city. The best part, his new companion is Elder Werner, who was also born in Astoria, and they will serve with Elder and Sister Roush, a huge bonus. He will love the branch there and if we could have picked a place for him to go, it would have been Riverhead!

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“Service is the virtue that has distinguished the great of all times and which they will be remembered by. It places a mark of nobility upon its disciples. It is the dividing line which separates the two great groups of the world–those who lift and those who lean, those who contribute and those who only consume. How much better it is to give than to receive. Service in any form is comely and beautiful. To give encouragement, to impart sympathy, to show interest, to banish fear, to build self-confidence and awaken hope in the heart of others, in short–to love them and to show it –is to render the most precious service.”

Bryant S. Hinckley

January 10, 2008 we arrived in Queens, New York. We are currently serving as full-time missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We were called to serve in the New York, New York South Mission. It is a special and unique assignment. Serving here is like teaching all nations, with missionaries who teach in English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Russian and American Sign Language. Nearly 10 million people live within our mission, representing 112 nationalities. We are blessed to be serving along side the most incredible missionaries in the world! We love President and Sister Bennion who have been cherished friends since he was the president of Ricks College. We are happy to be serving the Lord and living on Steinway Street in Astoria.
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History of the New York, New York South Mission

Long before our mission was organized, Elder Parley P. Pratt was the first missionary in this dispensation to preach the Gospel in New York City and Long Island.
This mission has significant historic roots. It is the heart of the former Eastern States Mission which was established in 1839.
That mission, headquartered in Brooklyn, enjoys the distinction of being the second oldest mission of the Church, behind the British Mission.
The Eastern States Mission consisted of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and West Virginia in 1948. Since that time, many changes have been made in the boundries of the mission.
The name of the mission was changed from the Eastern States Mission to the New York New York Mission in 1974. At that time the mission included the following areas: New York State as far as Poughkeepsie, the entire state of Connecticut, a small part of Massachusetts, as well as part of New Jersey and the island of Bermuda. The mission boundaries were once again changed in 1976 excluding Massachusetts and all of the state of Connecticut, with the exception of Fairfield County.
In 1987, after another boundary change was made, the New York New York Mission consisted of the five boroughs of New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Staten Island), Long Island, New York State north to Poughkeepsie, a portion of Connecticut and the island of Bermuda.
The mission was divided once again in 1993. The New York New York South Mission encompasses the New York City boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island, as well as the New York counties of Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island. It also includes the small British Island of Bermuda in the Atlantic.