7/23/2017
Hello everyone!

The best news of this week is that Elder Jacob Dike safely arrived in Arkansas to start his mission.  He is serving in Branson--now does it get any better than that?!  That is almost as good as Manhattan. :)

Last Monday night we had our monthly FHE with the other temple missionaries.  We are saying good-bye to the Grimleys.  They are wonderful missionaries,  They will be returning to Lehi, UT.  A while back he served as Mission President in Tai Pai, Taiwan.  Sister Grimley is of Japanese descent.  Brother Grimley says in Taiwan he has the perfect situation--an American house, Chinese food and a Japanese wife.  Sister Grimley made origami swans for all of the sisters.  It was a fun evening.  I made a HUGE Caesar salad for 24 people.  They licked the bowl clean.

This has been a busy week in the temple.  It was the last week before maintenance closure, so everyone rushed to get there.  Friday night our ward scheduled a session.  They requested Spencer and I as the officiator and follower.  So we stayed for a double shift.  It was great.  That day I was able to participate with three new endowment sisters, two English and one Hispanic.  What a special experience.

Some "unique" personalities are starting to surface among temple workers/missionaries.  Life is definitely a growth experience and we are all mortal with our many foibles (including us!).  But we are trying to do our best and not react negativity.  I share this, so that our four missionary grandchildren can take comfort when they face similar challenges--grandpa and grandma are going thru some of the same "stuff".  But we take comfort in knowing that our covenant is with the Lord, not other people.  We are here to serve him and do his work.  We continue to serve with joy in our hearts.

Tomorrow we spend half of the day cleaning in the temple before we are "turned loose".  Missionaries are scattering in all directions--UT, AZ, ID, Germany and locations on the east coast.  We are going to the priesthood restoration site, Philadelphia temple, Gettysburg, and then the BEST PART.  We will spend a few days with the family of Jon and Marjon Brown in Virginia and then with the little family of Cassie (Crawford) and John Kidd.  I'm not sure if we will blog next Sunday.

I have mentioned that I am attending the Manhattan 1st Ward prior to going to Concourse Ward with Spencer.  I really enjoy it.  Those who have visited NYC understand that most everyone uses mass transportation.  It is interesting to see tourists arrive with the carry on luggage in tow.  Today one little boy obviously forgot his Sunday pants.  He had on a white shirt, bow tie and suit coat with summer play shorts and tennis shoes.  Very cute.  People arrive wearing every standard of clothing you can possible imagine.  Well, back to transportation.  We don't have street parking or an affordable parking garage.  BUT, we have very wide hallways for the strollers.  Last week I counted 22 strollers--most of them double so that two or more children could be transported.  Here is glance at the hallway.  The stroller parking continues around the corner and down another hallway.

You wouldn't see that in the Bradshaw Ward in Prescott where we have almost no little children.

Some of you are old to remember the original movie Ghost Busters.  It was filmed using some buildings right next to Central Park.  Do you recognize these buildings?

Now I will close out my part of this blog post with two more pieces of Walter Rane's beautiful artwork.

I hope you have been able to recognize the scripture sources for this artwork.

Love,
Jeanine

Now, from Spencer:

I have just a few thoughts to share this afternoon.  One is—I love to be a part of this great work called temple work.  Even though the 7+ hour shifts and getting changed at the temple and at home makes the day long and fatiguing, there are rewards.  We shouldn’t talk too much about the workings of the temple, but there are a couple of things I feel that I can say.  There is a closeness we feel to the Lord and towards our kindred dead.  We will always have a closeness with our kindred on the other side of the veil.  Another point is we see people who come with great needs and they are so blessed by being here.   A sister came by the recommend desk.  I asked her how she was and she said “So-so” and started crying.  I responded by telling her she was in the right place.  I then facilitated getting a wheel chair to help her.

There are a couple of highlights for me lately.   I continue to run into Brother Mortenson who is Adam in the “B” film.  He looks a little older and has lost weight.  He always gives me eye contact and smiles when we pass.  Yesterday I caught a glimpse of his wife.  She still looks as young as ever.  Only now she appears to be pregnant. In our previous conversation, Brother Mortenson mentioned about being a father.  Also, I was privileged to officiate a session with our ward of mostly Dominicans.  There was lots of good affirmation afterwards.

The Dominicans that I know are mostly very dark black people.  They speak Spanish like anyone, but they are loud and dramatic and chop off words.  You have to be gifted to follow them.  There are two Dominican sealers in our temple on Saturdays.  They are so fun.  One man looks like he could play for the Saints football team.  He pronounces sealings with a roar.  When makes a check mark, he bounces the pencil on the table and starts again with authority.  One little sister went up to his desk and with her finger in front of her lips she tried to “shush” him.  He smiled and increased his volume!  Isn’t it wonderful that those people can be leaders like multi-generational people in the church?! 

Our lives here in mortality are short and time goes by fast.  I daily see the importance of our daily acts.

Spencer

July 16, 2017

The special thing about today is that Spencer and I have been married for 18 years.  We are getting to be old timers at this marriage thing.  :)

Last Monday we spent a day away from each other.  I went to the Mantuak Lighthouse with several other missionaries.  Spencer wasn't really interested so he stayed home, worked on his talk for Sacrament Meeting and did grocery shopping.

The train trip out to the tip of Long Island took about three hours.  But it was comfortable and fun.  The view from the top was beautiful and you could see forever.  The lighthouses have saved many lives.

This week there were less patrons in the temple on some of the days.  But we have a lot of our visitors from out of state stop by for baptisms.

Last evening I broke out in hives while we were shopping.  I hadn't eaten anything different, so I have no idea why.  But I had to head for home and left Spencer to deal with the groceries.  I took Benadryl, hopped in a cool shower to slow down the itch and the welts and applies a Rx Cortisone cream.  I was still itchy this morning, but the welts were gone.  I stayed home a slept all morning.

I felt bad to miss church because Spencer was speaking in Sacrament Meeting.  He says his talk was well received.  I'm glad.

Here is my gift to you for the week.  More scripture pictures.

I hope you are enjoying this pictures.  I wish you could see them in person.

Love,
Jeanine

This is CLEARLY from Spencer (please forgive him) :)

Dear friends and family,

For today my message is not going to be a spiritual one, but non-the-less, a real one.  Friday , before our shift which started at 11 AM, I took a package to the post office.  Well, there was a fruit and vegetable stand nearby so I went over to buy some things.  I had a sharp pain in my abdomen, but decided I’d be all right and so went on a block more to make a purchase at Lowes.  The pain increased, but I could put up with that long enough to buy a three way light bulb.  Well, you know, it takes a while to get checked out.  I was getting desperate and hurried back toward the apartment building, when the most awful thing was happening and was out of my control.  I think you can guess from that point on.  I didn’t look left or right and walked on in an awkward manner.   

When I got to the apartment building I went straight to the elevators.  There was on door open into which I jumped, only to find two well dressed women.  Up we went to the 6th floor.  Thank goodness I had a key ready to get into the apartment.  I headed straight into the bathroom peeling off my clothes.  You can imagine my stress.  

I did get cleaned up in time to make it to our 11 AM shift, without a minute to spare.

You may be disgusted with me.  However, it was a life experience to remember.  So I guess that makes it part of my mission experience.

Spencer

4th of July 2017--this is from Jeanine

We learned that there would be special events in Federal Hall for Independence Day.  What a great day it was.  I was surprised to see that the crowds were small--nothing like Frontier Days in Prescott. 

Federal Hall was where George Washington was first inaugurated.  There presentations be George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, a slave woman, and a Tory.  There was a militia group from King's College and a Fife and Drum Band.  In addition we were able to view all of the exhibits that are part of this National Park display.  We really enjoyed the day.  

Enjoy the pictures.  You can enlarge them by tapping on them.  

George Washington read the Declaration of Independence from the balcony.  Thomas Paine also read some of his Common Sense.  It was truly a day of history!

I was amazed to see the size of the flag displayed on Wall Street.  This is truly a beautiful sight.

We of course have visited Central Park more.  We learned that the official Manhattan weather is measured right here just a couple of blocks from us!  I'm including a plaque that shows weather extremes measured here.

I'll just include a couple of pictures from Belvedere Castle and grove just below it.

But the weather is still very unpredictable!  One day I went to the bank while the sky was clear.  Then a downpour started!  And as you can see I was soaked to the skin after just rushing home three blocks.

I promised to include a couple of pictures of Walter Rane's beautiful art work.  I will end with that and tell you that I know the scriptures he depicted are truly the word of God.  I have a testimony that the work we are engaged in is of eternal importance.

This is a realistic depiction of the 2000 Stripling Warriors--we read that they sustained serious injuries but their lives were preserved.  The Lord loved them and He loves each one of us!

Jeanine

Analyze our personalities

I think you will have fun if you analyze our personalities based on the following pictures taken at "Top of the Rock"!
The first one is of us sitting on a steel girder "above New York's skyline".  We are OK so far.

 Then we were instructed to "act like you are falling".  Hmm, which one of us rather "ho-hum" about it all? 

 

Finally, I was told to act like I was pushing him off.  I did it.  But look at Spencer's reaction (or should I say "non-reaction"?  Does he look bored with the whole process to you?

I'd say this is a great photo-op describing a lot about our personalities or outlook on life?  What do you think?

Sacrament Meeting was presided over by ...

Today we both attended Manhattan 1st Ward prior to going to Concourse Ward. We had heard rumors--and they were true! As we approached the door, church security was lined up on the sidewalk. The chapel was full 30 minutes ahead of time and most of the Cultural Hall. We all stood up when our "special visitor" entered and he smiled his infectious smile, blew us a kiss, and indicated we should sit. It was President Dieter F. Uchtdorf and his wife.

The program was outlined and we heard from their grandson, their daughter and each of them. We had a beautiful vocal solo. The meeting was about one hour and 40 minutes, but no was complaining or leaving early. It was such a special Sacrament Meeting. All of the missionaries from the North Mission were there and had a mission picture taken with him afterwards. I can't begin to tell you how my heart quadrupled in my chest when he came in and tears flowed down my cheeks.

What a highlight!!

Now everything else well seem mundane, but I will at least make a picture report. Last Monday, June 26, 2017, we went to the "Top of the Rock"--the Rockefeller Center. It was an amazing 360 degree view. The pictures don't do it justice, but at least they prove that we were there. You will recognize some things like the Empire State Building.


That night we had a missionary FHE to welcome the Tans from Singapore and the Debrys from Utah. Elder Tan served as an Area 70 and Elder Debry was a mission president and then in the YM General Presidency for several years. They will be a great addition to our team!

Tuesday night after we worked our shift in the temple, President David Bean (a counselor in temple presidency) picked us up along with our neighbor, Kathy Nabors. He took us out to rural New Jersey where they have a home. His wife joined us and we went on a beautiful 3 mile hike along a scenic road. It was so very beautiful--especially to all three of us who are accustomed to the browns in AZ. Our objective was to see fireflies--and we saw many thousand of them. On our way back to the car it looked like Christmas tree lights were twinkling in the forest. Unfortunately the fireflies are too fast and unpredictable to get a picture. But these pictures show you this part of the Garden State.


We try to walk in Central Park as often as possible--the last few days have been too muggy (86% humidity on Saturday). We get various pictures of waterfalls, turtles, castles, bridges, etc.


I loved the fence in the first picture. It is still really confusing and sometimes we have a hard time finding our way home when we have been in the deep foliage or circling the lakes. One day after we hike thru the North Woods, I had to crash and rest before we finished the trek home.


I will wait until next week to continue sharing Brother Walter Rane's paintings. They deserve to not be cluttered in with our sight seeing.

It has been another great week in NYC!

Love,
Jeanine