Our Heros

Not enough good can be said about Elder Roberts and Elder Douglas, the current NYNY South office elders. They were so accommodating, kind and helpful during our move from NYC. We are surprised at what we gathered during our 18 month stay. We sent out 750 pounds to New York, using Busfreighter.com to get all we needed here. We were told we would be using what we had at home to cook for large groups, plus sound equipment and music for activities. We sent twice that home, again using busfreighter. All of our boxes arrived both ways without anything broken or missing. It's a great way to go if you have over two hundred pounds to send.

Our thanks to Elders Duce and Wiggins, the office elders who helped us when we arrived, and Elders Roberts and Douglas on our departure. These elders assist the mission in so many ways. They help with mission cars, mail, driving elders and sisters when they arrive and depart, and move senior missionaries, just to name a few of their extra responsibilities along with regular missionary work. Imagine driving a huge van around New York City...then add a black box! I've done it and it's not easy. They are just the greatest...and they serve in our Queensboro Zone too!

Several people have asked us what we used and needed the most in addition to what missionaries are asked to bring. Our answer is simple; three insulated Sam's Club bags. We hauled prepared food, groceries, teaching aids, etc with these good size bags. They kept everything hot and cold and we were so glad we had them. Surprisingly they are still in good shape and may even someday survive a second mission!

Major Mission Moving

Elders Salazar and Flores found a patch of carpet where they could revive.

Our office elders and Woodside district along with the APs came Thursday, June 25th to move the contents of our apartment. All of the furniture and contents that belonged to the mission were moved to a storage facility in Manhattan. The elders drove it just over the Queensboro Bridge where it will stay until another senior couple move into the mission. Midway through all of our missionaries were tired and hungry. We served a make-shift picnic and they had a brief rest from their service project. We had a lot of food and as always it disappeared fast.

We had sisters and elders hauling boxes and furniture down our traitorous staircase. We could have never done it on our own. We gave away food and wood furniture we had collected from the street to the Young Single Adults. The Astoria Elders inherited our $25.00 tabletop grill and they were absolutely thrilled. It was like Christmas in New York all over again!

Elder Norman came ready to work. He greeted us and slipped a T-shirt over his white shirt and tie. He's always looking for ways to serve.

Creative Elder Sanford used the back of the sofa as a table top! We appreciated his positive attitude the entire time we served together. We will always remember the love and happiness manifested by these incredible missionaries as they found ways to serve all, especially us.

NYNYS Mission "IN 'N OUT"

New missionaries arrived during our last transfer, Monday, June 22nd. 11 Elders and 1 Sister came to bring new life to the mission. They were quiet, tired, and ready for a nice dinner after eating peanuts on the plane. It's always a pleasure to welcome them and learn where they've come from. All of the Bennions personal belongings that made the Mission Home so warm and inviting were on a moving van heading for Utah, but the new missionaries feel of President and Sister Bennion's spirits and love for them and it's a great thing to be a part of.

Elder Salazar and Elder McLean step it up and do their part of helping the elders and sisters get settled in, take their pictures and collect information that will help the incoming mission president. They do a marvelous job of assisting anyone who needs help. "Assistants" really fits!

Elder Norman will train his new companion, Elder Nielsen. They will serve the Astoria Ward together.

Sister Phillips was happy to arrive. She told us that to leave the MTC they had to go through a line where their temperatures were taken to avoid taking the swine flu with them. Because of exposure she and her district have been taking Tamiflu and were tested for the swine flu too.

We asked Elder McLean to take our picture with the departing missionaries and when we got home we discovered he'd taken several self portraits. This shot is our favorite! We learned the day we left NYC he was accepted at "the I" and we are so excited that we will see him in Rexburg. President Bennion told us about 25 NYNYS missionaries will be attending BYU-Idaho! Chas was able to help several make application. It's a remarkable university and we are very excited so many of our missionaries will be coming to Rexburg.

Tuesday evening after the transfer meeting all of the departing missionaries and 3 of their families joined together for dinner and a testimony meeting. President and Sister Bennion, three senior couples and 12 young missionaries all told of their love for the gospel and our gratitude for being able to serve in New York. None of us will ever be the same again.

Farewell Astoria and Beloved Dads

Father's Day, June 21st was a special day as we were able to honor our wonderful fathers and bid farewell to the Astoria Ward.

Elder West talked about his love of the Book of Mormon. As a young man he used to join his father who traveled world-wide sharing his experience of putting the Book of Mormon on trial for his final project in a law school class. His budding testimony grew as he learned from his father about the authenticity of this powerful book. Our children also learned from Grandpa Jack about the witnesses, internal and external evidence, and from his slides of trips to South America.

The Wests, Theresa and Craig in front of the Woodside Building

My older brother, Craig and our sister-in-law, Theresa, visited the Astoria Ward. They were spending time with friends in Manhattan and came to spend Sunday afternoon with us. In thinking of our Dad, while serving his mission in '92-'93, he used to jog by the Boliva School for Watchmakers. He heard that it was being sold and felt it would make a wonderful building for the Church. Much later the Church did purchase the building and Dad was right! It's a wonderful building for the saints to meet in. It's probably the most unique building we've ever attended with nice wide halls and ramps, designed for the disabled. It has been a great blessing to see some of the fruits of Dad and Mom's mission. How thankful we are for our missionary fathers and their examples of faithfulness to us and our family.

We took Craig and Theresa home to Steinway Street for a little Father's Day dinner celebration, Greek style! Craig is the father of six great kids and grandpa to 3, as of last Monday. Our five kiddies and their 13 think Grandpa Chas is the best in the West! Thanks Craig and Theresa for a memorable visit and to our kids. Your phone calls made Dad's Day.

As for the Astoria Ward, we have grown to love and appreciate the faithful members here. Shortly after we arrived our Stake President, David Duffy asked us, "How do like living in the resort ward of the Church?" We weren't sure what he meant. He told us, "People stay for a little while and then they leave!" We have found that he's right. Amazingly, it's sad when someone moves away and joyful as incredible new ones arrive. It's a blessed ward for sure, and we are so grateful President Bennion assigned us to serve there.

For Father's Day the Primary children sang, paid tribute to all their fathers and Bishop Glass, and passed out Hershey Bars to all the guys....what a treat! We will miss all of you so much.

ALOHA!

An activity was added to our district meeting agenda last Friday we'd never heard of before, "Departing Hot Seat!" We weren't sure what it meant, but we were pretty sure we'd be involved. Elder Norman placed two chairs in front of the group, called us up front, and explained that each elder and sister could ask us a question. They asked us for advice, about mission memories, etc. The last elder, Elder Pickering asked, "Would you be surprised if we planned a party for you?" They opened the room divider and yelled, "Aloha!"

Sisters Heininge and Crandell made a Bon Voyage banner, they'd all hung lights and crepe paper, blown up balloons, leis for all, and had a spread of Hawaiian delights to sample.

They asked me to bring Peach Crunch with ice cream. The sisters made Rice Krispie treats, traditional and peanut butter chocolate, elders brought bananas, cookies and so many goodies to go along with the flowers, noise makers, umbrellas, and festive lights.

Clowning, Elders Pickering, Sanford and Nehmer.

Elder Norris is our district baker. He loves to cook, and made pineapple upside down cakes.

You can see it was a happy good-bye party! Last Tuesday Astoria lost Elder Pickering to East New York in Brooklyn. He is serving with Elder Caramia who is from Italy. He had a great start with wonderful trainers in our ward and we loved working with him. He will be a future leader in this mission. Elder Norris also was transferred to Brooklyn in Midwood. The balance of our district remained the same. A pair of ASL Elders were added, Elder Grow and Elder Wheeler who just arrived from the MTC last Monday night. Elder Nielsen is also brand new from Sandy, Utah, and he is serving with Elder Norman in Astoria. Elder Law who replaced Elder Norris is Elder Flores new companion. We know they will all continue to do great work in Woodside or Brooklyn. Thanks all for a very fun and successful surprise!

Simply Sensational

Marvelous Manhattan from beneath the Brooklyn Bridge.

We hit the road Monday, June 15th to see two of our favorite former Astoria elders and visit Staten Island. Elder Patton and Elder Rencher have served together three different times, first in Astoria when Elder Patton arrived, in the mission office, and for Elder Rencher's last transfer in Staten Island.

Staten Island is the only borough of New York City we had not visited. When we asked the missionaries who have served there to describe it, they would surprise us by saying, "It's more like Utah!"

Traveling down the Brooklyn-Queens Express way Lady Liberty is off to the right and the Brooklyn skyline is to the left.

We love seeing trains, planes, and automobiles in each direction we look. We will miss the hustle and bustle of the city and yet long for the peace we feel in the West.

We crossed the beautiful Verrazano-Narrows Bridge that connects Brooklyn and Staten Island. It is 13,200 feet long, the fourth largest suspension span bridge in the world.

Our elders were hungry and waiting for us! We gave them a selection of 4 different kinds of restaurants to choose from and they both wanted pasta. Italian it was!

Trattoria Romano was a great place to visit and catch up. They were happy to be serving together again. We laughed about "the third time is the charm!" They are both the oldest sons in their families and want to set a good example for their siblings. It really shows and their parents can be so proud of them.

Elder Rencher and Elder Patton wanted us to see a little of the city, so after a tasty lunch together we headed out. Staten Island did not remind us of Utah, but they are some residential areas with homes that are more spread out like Utah neighborhoods. It is definately the most different part of the city that we have seen.

The Staten Island Ferry is a "free ride" to and from Battery Park on the south end of Manhattan. The elders and sisters often ride it and find people to visit with. It took us about 30 minutes each way and it was a lot of fun.

It was cloudy, windy and even cold, but we enjoyed incredible vistas off the front of the ferry.

We always thrill when we see the Statue of Liberty, and we were able to get some great pix of her welcoming all the world majestically in her harbor.

The stormy skies were amazing that day.

Historic Ellis Island processed over 12 million immigrant steamship passengers between 1892 and 1954. The main building was restored and in 1990 was opened as a museum.

We were freezing but enjoyed every minute!

On our return trip to Staten Island, the smoky Manhattan skyline got smaller and smaller.

Carnival's Triumph, made quite an entrance into the NY harbor, such a spectacular ship. We think maybe we're ready for another cruise! Anyone want to join us?

We said our final farewells to Elder Patton, knowing we would see Elder Rencher the next week. We had such a fantastic time with these two friends and will look forward to seeing them again.

The traffic on the BQE was bumper to bumper towards home. We made it as far as the Brooklyn Bridge, and decided to take a detour. We've had many friends tell us not to go home till we had Grimaldi's Pizza. Pizza is not on our "lifestyle list" but we threw all caution to the wind and stood in line for a chance of a lifetime experience!

We made some new friends while waiting for a table. One outgoing girl was from Astoria. She works at Kaufman Studios with the kids on Sesame Street. She frequents Grimaldi's, "at least three times a month," and told us to order a pepperoni pizza with extra cheese.

We did exactly what we were told and were not disappointed! It was the best pizza we've ever had, thin and crispy, perfect crust, sauce and fresh basil, with pepperoni and lots of cheese. We promised one another we would visit just once a year...we will be back for more!

We walked to the East River and drank in the beauty of our favorite bridge...

and the Manhattan Skyline. We will miss the lights and splendor of this city.

As I write this morning, Elder Rencher is flying home to his family in Las Vegas, Elder Patton is a new District Leader serving on Staten Island, and we are in the middle of packing our place. After working with Elders Rencher and Patton for several months here in New York, our p-day will forever be remembered as one of the best days of our mission. We will miss them and so many others we have had the joy of knowing. Thanks elders...we love you!

Smiles + Merit Badges = Troop 227

Sunday, June 14th the Astoria Ward Boy Scouts of America had an awesome Court of Honor. We remember when there were 2 scouts in the troop and now there are 6! David invited one of his friends from school, and the leaders found another young man who is less active, but wanted to join. Each week the scouts meet, work on merit badges and have the added fun of monthly camp outs. We congratulate these young men on earning several merit badges each, and we so appreciate their fine leaders, Rob, Kevin and Jose.

David conducted the color guard...he's all business! We were proud of him.

227 Scoutmaster, Rob handed out the awards and Phillip, a Varsity Scout assisted him. Notice how great all of their uniforms look, Natasha, a young mom in the ward sews them all on! With that kind of support, plus some missionary efforts from the scouts, and enthusiastic leaders we can only foresee a bright future for troop 227!

Kevin decorated these blue and gold merit badge cookies...that were way too creative to ever eat...actually they were gone in a flash!

Adventures in the NYNY North Mission

We have been so excited for our friends, Richard and Jill Smith from Rexburg. Richard served as our Bishop in the Rolling Hills Ward and Jill was our daughter, Krista's, Young Women's President. As we are preparing to leave NYC, they are coming to begin their calling of leading the New York New York North Mission. President Smith will be outstanding, firm and loving, he will have just the right touch. Krista's comment was, "The sisters in their mission are sure lucky!" Jill is easy to love and will reach out to all the missionaries. We have been happy that out of the whole world, they will be here in NYC. We know they will be super busy, and we also know they will be perfect for the job! With the Lord's help, we have seen miracles in our mission under the inspired direction of President and Sister Bennion.

President Bennion gave us permission to teach a dance workshop in Westchester, Saturday, June 13th. A former member of the Astoria Ward, Kristie, invited us to teach dance at a ward activity in her new ward in Westchester, NY. We learned that the building they meet in is next to the North Mission home where the Smiths will be living for the next 3 years

The beautiful NYNY North Mission home is up on a hill and is nestled in, surrounded by lush green foliage.

The back of the mission home looks down on the ward building Richard and Jill will often attend. We could see it is the perfect set up for zone conferences and mission activities. Both the mission home and church building are fairly new in a lovely area of New York. It's very different from the city...much more serene! All of the elders and sisters can take the train from their pads to this area.

Chas had a small but enthusiastic group. He began with a Russian Folk Dance to warm up, taught some steps and before we knew it they were dancing the swing. This activity involved families and it was lots of fun to watch Dads and Moms and their children dancing together.

Rock-step!

They were awesome!

While we enjoyed a light dinner, Alysa, 12 and Peter, 10 provided the floor show, a fast Jitterbug. They are talented!

It was a very nice afternoon and evening. We were so glad to see where President and Sister Smith will be and meet so many of their new ward friends. Thanks Kristie! We wish all of you our best.