"It Aint Over Till it's Over"

Three of the proud Nephites!

Elders Alverson and Lawrence, along with Sister Heininge celebrate their runs!

Once a transfer we hold a zone activity. We made plans to meet under the Queensboro Bridge at Queensboro Park, Monday, June 8th, to work through some, "baseball fever." Our game was rained-out so our headed to the Woodside gym, soft balls and bats in hand.

Dividing into teams was easy, The Nephites, senior comps, vs. The Lamanites, junior comps!

Hands down the favorite play of the game, Sister Crandell was up to bat, bases were loaded with Lamanites, she slammed the ball and we weren't sure where it went! After all three runners and Sister Crandell made it home and were celebrating their 4 points, the ball fell out of the ceiling in front of the foul line. The Nephites cried, "foul ball," and the humble Lamanites returned to their bases. Once again Sister Crandell gave the ball a whack, a line drive to the corner of the gym and two runners made it home.

Elder Flores searches the ceiling after his hit. It became the great challenge of the game. Elder Norris, was a terrific catcher for his team.

Nephites head out field while the Lamanites head in!

Favorite ballpark fare, four large cheese pies were delivered along with soda, a big hit with all the sluggers!

Elder Godwin demonstrates how to eat a piece of pizza. They fold it in half and open WIDE...

Love, love, love our scorekeeper, Elder Pickering, who can sure slam the ball too!

Elder Pape was awarded, "Most Comical Batter," by the ZL's and shows the kind of big league play and talent that was the heart and soul of this great game.

After 9 innings the game was tied, 16/16. The Lamanites struck out the Nephites in the 10th and were able to score one more winning run, thus this game comprised of two well matched teams was over.

The victorious Lamanites, overcame adversity deferring to their senior companions who reffed the game and played it too! It was hilarious. We are sad that Sisters Heininge and Crandell had to head out a little early to get ready for an appointment and missed the final team pictures.

Yes, proud and now humbled Nephites played a great game and fell in defeat to their juniors. Is there a modern day scriptural lesson here? Seriously, in every way these are great leaders, and their juniors had a great time teasing them.

Our Zone Leaders, Elder Nehmer and Elder Sanford presented awards:

"Best Curve Ball" Elder Eaton

"Most Hustle" Sister Crandell

"Best Puerto Rican Player" Elder Torres

"Best Phyc-Out Stare" Elder Godwin

"Most Comical Batter" Elder Pape

Year Anniversary Celebration

Last Friday, June 5th, we were given the opportunity to accompany the missionaries for their anniversary trip to the Manhattan Temple. I was so disappointed that I couldn't go with them because of my eye injury, but Elder West was honored to represent us with this unusually small, but wonderful group of elders. Elder Hutchings, Elder Law, Elder Norman and Elder West were all so happy to be together at the best place in all of New York City!

Elder Norman has actually been serving for more than a year, but at his one year anniversary of service he was serving on the Island of Bermuda. Elder Norman is an outstanding missionary, our district leader, and what really sets him apart is that he is an Astoria missionary currently.


Elder Hutchings, who has served in Flushing, and speaks Mandarin Chinese, is completing his mission in New York and was not able to attend the departing temple trip with President and Sister Bennion, lucky for us. Elder Law has served for one year and is currently serving in the East New York area of Brooklyn.


Generally, after attending the temple, we spring for a "NY dawg" out on the street because we have 12 or more missionaries with us. It was a rainy, windy day and so Chas decided to take them to one of our favorite little Italian restaurants on the West Side, Il Violino, for a lovely meal with linens and fresh flowers. They all had a wonderful time and celebrated an anniversary we hope they will always remember.

An Eye for an Eye

I've had lots of email questions about the swine flu and if it's affecting our mission. The answer from Sister Bennion, (who deserves some sort of honorary medical degree after dealing with all the medical problems for almost 500 missionaries for the last 3 years) is, "Definitely yes." We have had swine flu in our mission, but not to the extent that anyone has had to go to the hospital.

Wednesday, June 3rd, Sister Crandell and I arrived for Zone Conference with eye afflictions. With Sister Bennion's help we both saw specialists on Thursday afternoon and were diagnosed and helped. Sister Crandell had an ulcer on her cornea and I had a scratched cornea. She is using drops every 15 minutes, and they actually patched my eye. Both of us had to lay low for a few days. We compared notes today at our district meeting and we are both now treating for scar tissue. Eye problems are very common here and contact lense wearers especially have problems due to the humidity and the environment here in NYC. We are both thankful to be on the mend.

Momentous Mission Memories

Tuesday, June 2nd and Wednesday, June 3rd we attended our final two Zone Conferences. These meetings every 6 weeks are a "shot in the arm," providing just what missionaries need to fulfill their quest. For President and Sister Bennion it was "close to their 100th conference" as they end their 3 years of service. Each meeting begins as we sing the New York New York Mission Song. We will always think of these great missionaries when we hear it.

Verse 1

From many states and nations,

From cities large and small,

We serve the New York mission here in

answer to our call.

Verse 2

For here we find our calling,

We labor and proclaim,

The message of the Master and bear witness

to His name.

Verse 3

So many here are waiting,

They hunger for the word,

Oh, bless our hearts and voices, that our

message may be heard.

Verse 4

Then guide us on our journey,

And may the road be straight,

That we may bring the message to the

humble souls who wait.

Chorus

With courage, obedience and love,

With faith and humility,

We'll serve Him by sharing the gospel plan.

Conference highlights for us were:

Sister Bennion taught from Luke. Jesus Christ cautions us with the statement, "Remember Lot's wife." She shared many of the things she has learned from 500+ missionaries. She admonished us to learn from the past, don't dwell on past mistakes. Instead, focus on what we've learned, and follow our Savior. She gave each of us a little reminder for our wallets,

"Which way are YOU facing?"

Our inspired President Bennion told the remarkable story of Vincencia Defranchesca, a faithful man from Italy. He was training for the ministry in a Protestant church early in the 1900's. One day he found a Book of Mormon on the ground. The front cover and title page had been removed so it was not possible to identify the title of the book or its church sponsor. With keen interest he read and reread the book. It had a magnetic effect on him. The book changed his life forever. (We'll add here that so many of the young missionaries and saints here have not seen, "How Rare a Possession.") President Bennion urged us to testify of the Book of Mormon in our work, "Indeed, The Book of Mormon is our most powerful source of conversion."

Elder Salazar challenged us to unite our efforts in one great cause. Our efforts as companionships, districts, zones, and as a mission need to focus on planning activities that will remind people of their cause. He spoke of Moroni, a great Book of Mormon prophet, who reminded the people of the cause they were fighting for. Moroni knew that a memory, a constant thought of the righteous cause, would kindle an unquenchable fire of faith within each individual. He likened our zone and district leaders to, "modern day captain Moroni's." We surely must be the stripling warriors that knew their cause and were willing to stake their lives for it. He continued by asking us to understand our priorities and state them, be examples of hard work, Fear not, be an example of faith and press on with faith.

Sister Bennion and I agreed that Elder McLean gave one of the best talks we'd ever heard. He talked about his frustration as an AP, duties include dealing with faulty Internet connections, fax connections, and the complicated process of turning these devices back on. His talk was titled, "Keeping the Switch Turned On." He has been challenged, "a constant battle," during his mission to always stay connected to his purpose. Three things affect how he connects to his purpose and affect the work greatly, his thoughts, actions and attitude. He has found that when he is connected to his purpose he corrects things more often and everything he does is more effective. He taught us to plan our time, plan effectively, and then follow our plans. He gave us a great plan of action, taught from Preach My Gospel, and then this humble, sweet missionary shared a beautiful testimony. He told us the Lord sets many of our goals for us. We know these goals and we can set the Lord's goals and plan to fulfill them, or we can turn the switch off and not participate. We each came away switched on and prepared to better fulfill our purposes here in the New York New York South Mission.

Elder Salazar has served most of his mission in Brooklyn, and we are so thankful for the chance to learn from him during the last three months of our mission. We have served with Elder McLean our entire mission and know and love him. He taught us to be fearless on the streets of NYC! Both are Spanish speaking, powerful servants of the Lord. They have both done so much to serve and further the work of this mission.

Both Tuesday and Wednesday we served pulled-pork sandwiches on Perisi Bakery buns! We have given the two Perisi brothers and their Astoria bakery much business during the last 18 months and they have done an outstanding job.

Our elders from Flushing, (where one feels they are in China) speak Mandarin, Korean, and Chinese. One of our favorite things about Zone Conferences is hearing all of the elders and sisters share, MY PURPOSE, in their languages. At our conference, it is given in six languages!

Thanks for the smiles, elders!

It's a treat to relax and visit together.

President Bangerter had just returned from China. Welcome home!

We appreciate all the help that is offered from all of the elders and sisters who are so appreciative. We will miss this opportunity every 6 weeks...we know we will!

Mostly we will miss all of these incredible missionaries we have grown to love so much.

NY FLOWER POWER

We never want to forget how magnificent the Spring and Summer flowers are in NYC. I took all of these pictures last week in our backyard on Steinway Street. Notice the raindrops on the roses...it takes a lot of water to keep everything growing and green. It has been a cool Spring and we are so grateful. It has been glorious too!

Astoria Has It All

Last Friday night after meetings and a workshop out on Long Island, we tried a new classic Parisian Bistro at 47-16 30th Avenue in Astoria. We have enjoyed all of the ethnic diversity surrounding us here. There are loads of pizza, Italian, Greek, Brazilian grills, Chinese, and Mexican take out restaurants in our neighborhood, but Bistro Les Minots is the first French Bistro we've found in our neck of the woods. It is cozy and charming and it was jam packed full of New Yorkers.

Bistro Les Minots is just three months old, a joint venture of Parisian Yann Henriet, who works the front of the house, and Chef Henri Devegeux who hails from Marseilles. It reminded us of so many places we have visited in Paris and the South of France while touring with dancers.

"Minots" is slang from the South of France for kiddos. The first party they had at Bistro Les Minots was a baby shower for Yann's sister-in-law. This charming board is a lasting reminder for all to admire.

Amazingly, this efficient kitchen is only about the size of the one in our apartment. We wondered how they could have 3 men working out of it and what the outcome would be.

We were delighted by the Les Paupiettes de Poulet Farcies, chicken rolls stuffed with seasonal vegetables & Gruyere in a rosemary jus, served with the creamiest Parmesan mashed potatoes.

Le Saumon Grille, grilled Atlantic salmon with asparagus, baby leeks, green zucchini and a whole grain mustard sauce, was cooked perfectly, a little bit of heaven on earth for this fancier of fish.

We shared a few bites of the crepes assortment....delish and lovely, strawberry, mango, and mixed berry. Everyone around us seemed to be enjoying a variety of mussels, French fries, and duck! We will return we hope for one more go. It's enjoyable and entertaining all rolled into one great little place.

"A Mighty Change of Heart"

Wednesday, May 27th, we taught from Alma, chapter 5 in the Book of Mormon, at the Queens Stake Institute Forum. We began with a heart shaped dry sponge and talked about hard, scratchy, unyielding hearts. Next we dipped our heart sponge in a bowl of water and watched the, "mighty change" of our heart. Instantly it was enlarged, soft, and pliable. We could work with it! It was just a little sharing time moment to introduce our topic.

Elder West compared an individual who's life was saved by a heart transplant, and the importance of being spiritually saved after we experience a mighty change of our hearts. As we read the scriptures in Alma 5, he pointed out Alma's 28 indicators he gave to his people through out the chapter as to whether or not they have spiritually been born of God. Alma also wrote this for our day. Alma's question to us also, are we being celestialized?

Our students were organized into four activity groups. They studied and reported to the class different principles Alma focused on. Each group did a great job. We were so pleased with their insight and the outcome of their interaction together.

This group was asked to describe the judgement day, when we will all come before God to be judged. The searched Alma 5 16-25 and compared the feelings of the unrepentant and the repentant.

These students focused on Alma's testimony that he shared in 5:37-52. They shared five important words or phrases in his testimony and explained why they selected them.

Alma knew that the Church members in his time faced difficult challenges. This group searched Alma 5:26-35, and 52-62. They were asked to list two challenges Alma mentioned that are also challenges in our day and what we can do to overcome them.

These class members were asked to imagine a friend who does not take religion and the gospel very seriously. They had a lively discussion about how they would help their friend understand what it means to "be saved." They reported to our class about what we can do to have a mighty change of heart and how important it is to continually work to change and progress in this life.

We finished the lesson with some examples of how pride and selfishness can get in the way of what Alma teaches each of us about having soft hearts. President Ezra T. Benson said, "Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right." When we humble ourselves the Spirit will always tell us what is right.

This evening was the culmination of our formal teaching, CES assignment. We will treasure this part of our mission experience. We have loved the students we have worked with, the opportunity to immerse ourselves in scripture study and lesson preparation, and the opportunity to teach together. It has been a rich part of our mission and we will miss it. Thank you to all our beloved students who have willing attended and shared with us each week. We love you and you have forever changed our hearts!

Memorable Memorial Day BBQ

Amber and Doug

Paige and Leah

The Astoria Ward will really miss this darling family who are packing to move on. They are leaving Astoria about 10 days before we do. Doug is attending medical school, practicing podiatry, and has a busy round of rotations ahead. They have lived in a home with a good size front and backyard. They threw a farewell BBQ for friends in the ward. It was perfect weather, sunny with the temperature, just right.

Scott and Cardon downing dogs!

Gavin was crazy for chips!

Lydia and Austin, a perfect pair....

Quality time for all the kiddies with Popsicles.

A leisure afternoon into the evening with lots of visiting and delicious food.

We will miss all of these fun friends.

Kristie and Leah...

Marybeth, Helen, and Kelly...

and a blooming rose... We are thankful for those that sacrificed so much for us and for all who have given us such beautiful memories.

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.

Astoria Missionary Moments

We could not have been more impressed or proud of our beloved and genuine friend, Lydia, who gave her first talk in the Astoria sacrament meeting last Sunday. She told about a co-worker who introduced her to the gospel through example and unconditional love. Lydia was raised in a Christian home and felt that kind of love from her parents. After they both passed away, Lydia was searching for that in her life. She was baptized December 14, 2008. It's been a choice experience to watch her grow in the gospel, reach out to the ward, and work to improve herself. She thanked the missionaries who found her, our bishopric and the ward members who love her, and she bore a beautiful testimony about the truths of the gospel. We are so happy for her and so glad we've had the chance to teach her in our temple preparation class. Elder Pickering and Elder Norman spoke too, encouraging all of us to be missionaries working to make a difference. What a gift if we could all find more of the Lydias of this world!