18 Months in the Big Apple: Treats + Friends= Jamaica FHE

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Treats + Friends= Jamaica FHE

Friends, Peyi from Flushing and Kevin who lives in Richmond Hill meet to enjoy one another's company as the Jamaica 1st Ward hosted Queens Stake Singles at Sunday's FHE. We have so enjoyed our assignment working with the singles in the stake and attending their activities. As we have seen friendships grow and flourish we have been reminded of this special time in our lives. Peyi is a returned missionary who served a Temple Square, Salt Lake City Mission, (with Ann and Gary Gardner former neighbors from Rexburg). She has one more year left of school at Queens College. From the time we met her, (she offered to help me in the Woodside kitchen), we knew she was extra special. Kevin, from Colorado is a RM who served in Brazil. Soon he begins his medical residency in the Bronx. He is planning to specialize in Oncology, and serves as the Elder's Quorum President in the Richmond Hill Branch. Kevin is especially outgoing and kind to all he comes in contact with. He and Peyi are "birds of a feather," always looking for ways to serve and reach out to make others happy.

Bishop Urbanowski taught our FHE lesson on the importance of family history and temple work. He has involved his family and they have been able to do some remarkable family search work together. We were all inspired by his personal work, how he started and well he's progressed. He challenged all of us to get busy! Grace directed a fun Book of Mormon, game where we worked in rhythm as teams in "Ping, Bang, Boom!" They played this game at the last FHE we missed and wanted to play it again. It was easy enough that we even had a fair shot at winning. Amazingly, our team came in 2nd place! Thanks all for a great night together.

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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.
Thank you for visiting our blog! Please feel free to leave comments or questions. It makes our day:-)

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.