"Great Expectations"

All were uplifted by President Thomas S, Monson, as he spoke to the young adults of the Church, Sunday, January 11th. The Queens Stake had close to 100 members join together at 7:00 for a "Munch and Mingle" that included getting to know you activities. Some just wanted to enjoy the treat of each others company. We got lots of hugs and have come to love the singles of this wonderful stake in the past year.

Citing examples from the classic literary work Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, President Monson suggested that the students "have great expectations, not as a result of an unknown benefactor but as the result of a known benefactor, our Heavenly Father, and great things are expected of you."

President Monson counseled the students on the vital role of preparation to enter what he termed "the race of life." He spoke of academic preparation here that you learn to meet the challenges of this changing world in which we live. Four specific suggestions would assist students in achieving their "great expectations in the race of life: avoid pitfalls and detours like peer pressure and temptation; persevere--beware of the flashy start and the fadeout finish; help others along the race of life; and seek the Lord's help in every decision." He reminded the young people of the critical need for spiritual preparation for life's experiences. He recounted the story of Joseph Smith's search for truth and counseled the students to follow the same process when questions arise in their lives. In closing, President Monson said, "This promise I leave with you, the Divine Father will attend those who humbly seek the truth. With His help and the preparations of which we have spoken, you can go forward in this race of life and achieve your own great expectations." We loved President Monson's encouraging message and were blessed for being there with so many friends.

Sisters Folsom and Marshall do such a great job of signing for the deaf members that join us and really are involved in activities and add to the Spirit that is always there.

"The New Testament- Part II"

Elder and Sister dePaula became our treasured friends when they entered the MTC a little over a year ago with us. We see each other at least every two weeks at our S&I training meetings, at Senior Missionary socials, and sometimes on a P-day we do something fun together. They are gifted teachers and have had the opportunity of blessing our mission with their musical talents. Both of them sang in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for 20 years. They shared their talents most recently at their Bayshore Ward and at our two Christmas Zone Conferences in December. Each program was well planned and presented. All three were miracles as they each turned out beautifully with little to no practice time. Now were are all back to teaching our Institute classes after the December break. Last semester we taught the Four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Our last night of Institute before our break was filled with inspired testimonies as our students shared what they had learned about Jesus Christ. This week we began, "The New Testament, Part II." We will teach through the month of April, The Book of Acts through Revelation.

Sister dePaula is a most creative writer and I asked her permission to copy her post and include it on our blog. The words from President Kimball and Andrew Skinner about the Apostle Peter are true. Last semester as we studied and taught about "Peter's Denial," we each knew that it was a command from Christ. This week we again had the opportunity to teach and testify of Peter's obedience and strength. Our thanks to Sister dePaula for allowing us to add her post and picture to our blog.



What a thrill for us! We just love The Acts of The Apostles and are so happy to be back teaching our classes. This great book could also be called "The Book of Luke - Part II" since Luke is the author, writing a beautiful discourse to an acquaintance, Theophilus. I have given it a subtitle - "The Gospel in Action."

Acts is just that - a book of action. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ in action. It begins with organizing, calling new leaders, spreading, teaching, baptizing, training, caring, ordaining, feeding the poor, healing and vast missionary travels to "the uttermost parts of the earth." Acts feels much like the Church today...as well it should.

We read Peter's first powerful public discourse and testimony of the risen Lord, and of his skilled direction of the apostles, and of the healing of the sick and other miracles. We found Peter's leadership as president and prophet of the Church to be nothing short of spectacular - preaching with such a Spirit as to bring 3,000 souls to repentance and baptism in one day shortly after his call.

This is that same Peter who obediently denied knowing the Savior three times when the Savior gave him the command... "thou shalt deny me thrice." Had Peter not done so, his life, along with that of Jesus, would have been taken and the Church would have all but withered and died shortly after the Savior's cruificition. Our lesson manual suggests that we bear our testimony about Peter. It was an honor to do so!

We readily agree with President Kimball who refers to Peter as "Peter, My Brother" and asks the question "Do we understand the circumstances of Peter's denial as well as we think we do?" Additionally, we were thrilled when Dr. Andrew C. Skinnner's article from the 2002 Sidney B. Sperry Symposium later appeared in the Church News where he maintains that everything he knew to be true about Peter indicates that "when Jesus told Peter he would deny Him thrice before the cock crowed twice, it was not a prediction; it was a command."

My interpretation of Peter going out and "weeping bitterly" afterward was because of his sorrow in having to obey a difficult command from the Lord - one he would never have chosen to do. This is the Peter I have known and admired for over 30 years. How wonderful it is to be teaching our students the Lord's teachings through Peter and the other great apostles' dedicated service.

Our Gifts...Christmas 2008

The Best Gifts this Christmas could not be wrapped..

after months of fasting, prayer and bed rest,

December 16, 2008
at 11:29 AM

Krista and Will

along with all of us,
welcomed their precious new baby daughter,

Elsie Renee

...named after her Great-Great Grandmother Elsie Talmage and Grandma Renee...I'm so honored!

5 pounds 8 ounces

18 inches long

She came with all ten long fingers and ten little toes...
(her Mom's feet)
and is perfectly healthy...

Bright eyed and gorgeous....
the best gift, sent from God...

to the best parents...who were so happy
to leave the maternity ward and take
Elsie to her new home...
such a blessing to her family!

My parents, Norm and Geri, celebrated another
Christmas together...

and on December 29, 2008,
they celebrated their

58th

Wedding Anniversary together!
Congratulations on a great
journey.

December 12th, 2008

our son,

Zachary West

graduated with his MSHR Degree

from Utah State University...

Jenelle, Corbin and Lilly helped...
Corbin displays his joy...
with a tug on Zach's tassle!

Zach begins his new career the end of this month...
We are so proud of him...them!

NY, NY South Christmas Miracles...and Gifts

Our dear friends and leaders, President and Sister Bennion, are celebrating their third successful year of New York, New York South Mission Christmas Zone Conferences. Our mission has eight zones with four zones that attended on Tuesday, December 9th and then four more zones were invited on Tuesday, December 16th. The conferences began like most with all singing beautiful hymns, the introduction of new missionaries, inspiring messages and departing missionaries shared their testimonies of their missions. Next, Senior missionaries served a lovely Christmas dinner of ham with all the trimmings. After the meal, a beautiful musical program, "The Gifts of God," was presented by missionaries. President Bennion inspired us with his message of recognizing the miracles that we see each day in our work through out the mission.
Several months prior to Christmas, the Bennions asked each of us to submit a mission miracle. They were compiled and bound and given to each of us. What a incredible gift....each miracle is a treasure! We read a few each day through out the holiday and had such warm thoughts of all of the missionaries we are blessed to serve with. They also gave us a delightful Christmas card with individual pictures of each missionary on it...it is small poster size! In past years we have been blessed by their thoughtfulness at each holiday and special occasion in our lives. Now to see each missionary remembered in the thoughtful ways that are, "Bennion worthy," has meant so much to us. Month after month, each birthday is celebrated, and missionaries are cheered on by these two leaders we love.

Mark and Kristine Bennion planned a surprise for their parents. They asked each missionary to send a Christmas message to them in Rexburg. They created a collection of memories for President and Sister Bennion for a Christmas gift. It was a special surprise.... and they pulled it off! Way to go in creating another Mission Miracle for such incredible leaders. We are thankful we will be released with the Bennions, as filling their shoes will be difficult!

Congratulations, Sister Chiriac!

A highlight of the Christmas Season was the baptism of Sister Lydia Chiriac, by Brother Brent Sorenson. It was held on Sunday, December 14, 2008. Elders Werner and Goodman had a beautiful experience as they taught Lydia and felt of her receptive spirit. Tiffany and Brent Sorenson invited her to join their family Thanksgiving Day, and a new friendship began. We have been impressed with how Lydia wants to participate and become an active member of the Astoria Ward. Congratulations Lydia! We are looking forward to getting to know you and supporting you in this New Year. We are happy for the Astoria Ward that is strengthened by new members like Lydia.

"Do You Hear What I Hear?"

Newlyweds, Leah and Yancy Zimmerman, new members of the Astoria Ward, portrayed a beautiful Joseph and Mary, in the Queens Stake Christmas program, "Do You Hear What I Hear?" It was held on Saturday, December 13th, and written and directed by talented, Kathy Curtis, who also sang, "O come, O Come Emmanuel." We both had parts on the program. I read from Luke 2, and Chas was the Old Testament Prophet, Enoch and gave a scriptural reading. There was a lot of singing and musical presentations, an inspired message, and the Christmas spirit was felt by all.

TEACH BY THE SPIRIT

We love working with the Bennions and the elders and sisters through out our mission. We also spend a good deal of time and energy with the Young Single Adults and Singles here. But the part of our calling that is the most challenging, time consuming, and rewarding for us is preparing for and teaching our institute classes each week. We are so grateful for each one of our devoted students who bring such diversity to our classes. We have grown to love them and appreciate the fact that most of them are very new to the gospel, and each varies in his or her level of knowledge. All have a desire to learn, and so we feel the weight of this responsibility and want to do our very best, with the Lord's help.
Friday we were called to a special Church Education System, or since we have been here, Seminary and Institute meeting. None of us knew why, including our coordinator, Pres. Cory Bangerter. When we arrived, we met Brother Randy Daybell, who is from the Area Office in Virginia. He works as the Assistant to the Director, and described himself as "a home teacher for CES teachers, who travels around making home visits, checking to see how we are doing." We talked about where we were serving and our assignments. It was like a home teaching visit warm and friendly.
Then Brother Daybell began to teach us.
He talked about forts that surrounded Washington DC, built to protect the city from attacks from the South. He also mentioned empty silos, once filled with missiles to protect East Coast Cities. Then he reminded us that President Faust talked about temples, "sentinels of refuge and protection," that are across our country. We were asked to open our Bibles to Zechariah 3 and 4. He assured us that "we would own these two chapters when we finished that day." I thought to myself, I remember teaching Zechariah last winter, I also remember teaching that Zechariah was a contemporary of the Prophet Haggai and also that he prophesied that the Savior would come, riding on a donkey. Brother Daybell challenged us to look at these scriptures with a visual perspective and then had us read just a few verses, and asked us questions, having us quickly fill in the blanks from the verses we'd read. Next we discussed the symbolism, of the menorah, the olive trees, pipes, bowl, and the oil. What did it all mean? We discussed Joshua, the High Priest, and King Zerubbabel, and it was so interesting, and I was wondering, "Have I ever read this before?" We talked about "tapping into others," and others "tapping into us", and about the woman in Luke 8 who "tapped into" the Savior. He explained that we never know when someone else is "tapping into us". Even when the youth seem uninterested in what we are teaching, they are "tapping into our oil". Brother Daybell shared some important things he learned about this in his teenage years, during his mission, and while serving as a Bishop. By the time he finished we were completely thrilled by what we had learned. It was so powerful and meaningful to us. We did own it and have thought, and discussed it ever since. We want to be teachers who truly teach by the Spirit. We are so grateful for the lesson he taught us, not only the material, but what he gave of himself. Through him, the Spirit testified of the truths that were taught and we were all edified. It was a choice experience.

(above L to R) Elder and Sister West, Sister and Elder dePaula, Sister and Elder Smith and Brother Randy Daybell. Picture taken by President Bangerter.

Train Carroling, Joyfully Inviting All to Join Us.

Elder West, Elder Olsen and Elder Goodman sing with might!

Nothing brings the Christmas Spirit quite like beautiful music and we had such success on Thanksgiving weekend, that we decided to give it another whirl! Saturday, December 6th, it was cold and crisp. As we sang Christmas carols, we gave out printed invitations to The First Presidency's Christmas Devotional on Sunday, December 7th. We sang on busy platforms and inside the trains. We would sing two carols, talk to the people for a minute or two and extend our invitations to all, and then hop off at the next stop, into the next car. It was a little like a Chinese fire drill, and we had to really race to all make the next train car. It's everyday fare to see people singing or performing on the trains and then they "pass the hat." We sang and then gave something to them. They seemed to really appreciate and enjoy it, with some even joining in, singing with us.

Sister Thomas, Elder Goodman, Elder Law, and Elder Bahr "hang on" as they barrel down the tracks, singing all the way!

Our plan was to sing in groups of four at different ends of the trains, fa-la, instant stereo! One lady made sure we gave an invitation to each person on the train and when a few new ones got on, she made sure we gave an invitation to them too. It was very rewarding as we received handshakes and smiles. It was a free and easily given gift to all!

Comfort and Joy...serving with the Queensboro Zone!

Senior's Celebrate...Christmas Is Coming!

Elder and Sister Smith planned a great December Senior Missionary Social to usher in the Christmas Season. We went to the famous Sardi's Restaurant for their business lunch. The food was very good with great service, a festive atmosphere, and we were with such cherished friends.

Sardi's is famous for their signed caricatures of celebrities that decorate the walls.

The Smith's filled New York City mugs with candy and had it at each of our places!

We attended the matinee performance of the famous 76th Annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular. The sets were magical, with joyful music, starring the high-kicking legendary Rockettes. Santa arrived with the reindeer in the beginning and we wore 3-D glasses. It was very well done and we all enjoyed it. The Rockettes performed their famous "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers." They also danced as darling rag dolls. There was a meaningful story told about two brothers who were looking for the perfect Christmas gift for their sister and Santa was the helper and narrator.

In the end, and the most marvelous gift of Christmas was the birth of Christ. The living nativity with camels, sheep, and beautiful set was so touching. We live in the most secular city in the world, and yet the birth of our Savior was what was celebrated and it was spectacular. Thanks Smiths for hosting a most memorable and festive activity.

Just a quick block away is Rockefeller Center with the most incredible Christmas Tree.

Toy Soldiers with flags and beautiful angels decorate the Square.
Manhattan is magical at Christmas.

Our Day After Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving Day was spent with members and investigators and then on Friday we had our weekly district meeting. It was followed by Christmas caroling on the trains. We gave out many Joy to the World pass along cards. It was lots of fun and people were very receptive. Then we all went back to the church to celebrate with our Thanksgiving potluck together. We won a free 22 pound Butterball Premium Turkey from Best Market. We brought the stuffed bird, candied yams, gravy, cranberry sauce, peach cobbler (for Elder Werner) and pumpkin crunch dessert. The elders and sisters brought mashed potatoes, corn, green salad, fruit salad, and cherry, banana cream and chocolate cream pies and miracle rolls! Amazingly, our dinner was absolutely delicious and we had such a wonderful time together. On Thanksgiving Day some of our elders shared that they had stomach lining, which was tasty and good, but they were grateful for a traditional dinner. Friday was also Sister Marshall's birthday. The sisters put 23 candles in pumpkin crunch and she made her wish and blew them out! We each talked about our beloved family traditions and then drew each others names and told why were thankful for that person. We are a family of sorts and we loose and gain new members every six weeks. Still we grow to love one another as we strengthen and serve together. It's a blessing we cherish. pictured above at the head of the table, our birthday girl, Sister Marshall, on the left side, new Hermano Montano, from American Fork, Utah, Sister Folsom, an ASL sister (who was transferred back to Woodside), Elders West, Werner, Goodman and McLean. On the right side, Hermano Thomas, Elders Imlay, Froerer, and our new Zone Leader, Elder Heiner.