He forgives

My week started off on Monday with a mini adventure with the sisters who lived above me on their preparation day.  We went to Little India or Little Bombay as the sisters call it. Here is a quote I found on line, by Pauline Park, in a Daily News article that adequately describes the area: 

"Walking through Jackson Heights' famous Little India invigorates the senses. Bhangra music blares out of stereos, and plumes of smoke waft from exotic-smelling food carts. "I love the sari shops and the jewelry stores," says Park. At Perfection Bridal are saris that owner Hari Ram has been importing from Bombay for more than 20 years.

"Pacific Asian Supermarket is Park's favorite place to grocery shop. "You get stuff here that's hard to find elsewhere," she says. The shelves are lined with Korean, Chinese and Thai ingredients integral to authentic pan-Asian cooking. "I come here especially for the huge sacks of rice. They're cheaper than just about anywhere in the city.

The storefronts in Little India are packed with incense, scented candles, gold jewelry and Bollywood DVDs." 

 

Sisters Persinger and Panoussi

Streets of Little India

Street vendors

Striking ornate saris

I find it interesting the every corner if utilized:  triangular shaped buildings and street sitting

Produce display

Bakery- we bought an almond cookie

I was disappointed with the chicken kabob. It was put on a hot dog bun and the "white sauce" thinned mayo.
The mango ice cream bar was pretty good though.

It was a fun afternoon.  We stopped in a market and I picked up some Indian snacks.  When I go to Ruma's home, the Indian investigator, she always offers snacks so I bought an assortment to share with the senior missionaries at FHE.

I was interested in the produce section of the market where we stopped. This is only a sample
of the things I saw. I know the "Garth Gobi" as kohlrabi. I bought one for old time's sake.
Fresh from the garden is so much better!

Some unusual looking veggies

Difficult to describe the taste of each snack.
Please come pay me a visit and I'll introduce you to Indian snacks.

Tuesday was a megzone conference in Flushing and on Wednesday I drove to Brooklyn, picked up a missionary and back to my apartment, went to Manhattan to a doctor's appointment by train, and then back to my apartment to get my car to take the missionary back to Brooklyn.  It was a long "travel" day.  On my way home the construction at the Kosciuszko Bridge slowed traffic down to 3-10 MPH as 4 lanes of traffic merged into 1 lane for a few miles.  I didn't get home until almost midnight but I did get to cross the new bridge recently opened and dedicated.  It is beautifully lit at night.

This bridge has been under construction since I've been here causing huge delays every time I've gone this way to Brooklyn.  It will be really nice when the other bridge is completed.  Here is info about this bridge:

The Kosciuszko Bridge (ko-SHCH-OO-SH-ko) is the name of two bridges that span Newtown Creek between the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, connecting Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Maspeth, Queens. The older bridge, a truss bridge that opened in 1939, is no longer in use and slated to be demolished by summer 2017. All traffic uses a newer cable-stayed bridge to the south, which opened in April 2017 and carries three lanes in each direction. The crossing is part of Interstate 278, which is also locally known as the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway or BQE. The two bridges are the only bridges over Newtown Creek that are not drawbridges.

The older truss bridge replaced a swing bridge called the Meeker Avenue Bridge, which connected Meeker Avenue in Brooklyn to Laurel Hill Boulevard in Queens. The bridge, originally also called the Meeker Avenue Bridge carried six lanes of traffic, three in each direction. In 1940, a year after opening, the bridge was renamed after Polish military leader Tadeusz Ko?ciuszko, who fought alongside the Americans in the American Revolutionary War.

In 2014, a contract was awarded and work begun to build one of two replacement bridges with more capacity, with the first bridge initially carrying bidirectional traffic. The new bridges have the same name as the original bridge, and are both cable-stayed bridges that will eventually each carry one direction of traffic. The first bridge, located south of the old truss bridge, opened on April 27, 2017, with three lanes in each direction. Once the old bridge is demolished by summer 2017, a new westbound cable-stayed bridge with four lanes and a bike/pedestrian path will be built on the site of the old bridge, and the existing bridge will become eastbound-only with five lanes when the westbound bridge opens in 2020.

Thursday I took two missionaries to dinner as their farewell from me.  They go home at the end of the month.

Sisters Brinton and Bush
We went to a Korean BBQ. The main course is cooked at the table on the grill in the middle.

Eggs cooked in broth; pork, corn on the cob and taro;  seafood pancakes

Foil wrapped veggies and meat on the platter to BBQ- marinated beef, chicken, pork

Friday I met a friend, a former missionary, at Grimaldi's in Brooklyn for pizza.

Walking under the Brooklyn bridge on a misty/rainy day on my way to Grimaldis

Grace Loertscher

Saturday I enjoyed a visit from another former missionary.

Unisphere with Hannah Fouts and her friend Megan

Megan and Hannah with our ice cream treats

New York Pavilion and observation towers from the 1964 World's Fair.

Read about the pavilion and unisphere.

Saturday afternoon and evening was a ward fundraiser dinner, talent show and silent auction to raise money for scout camp and for the YM/YW program.  I made a large crockpot of baked beans as my contribution to dinner and 2 plates of "sinful" brownies (chocolate chip cookie dough layer followed by Oreos followed by brownie batter and baked) for the silent auction.

Sunday was a regional conference and then I had the regular missionary Sunday meal.  I so enjoy these opportunities to be with the missionaries.

We continue to have a stomach virus and allergies/spring colds going through the mission.  Tick and bedbug season are also upon us.  Time for me to do some education!

At the regional conference on Sunday, one of the speakers talked about the importance of repentance in our lives.  This morning as I walked, I read (listened) to chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel and again learned about repentance and the role it plays in our eternal lives.

I particularly liked this from my reading this morning:

God sent His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, into the world so that all of God's children would have the possibility of returning to live in His presence after they die. Only through the Savior's grace and mercy can we become clean from sin so that we can live in our Heavenly Father's presence. Becoming clean from sin is being healed spiritually (see 3 Nephi 9:13; 18:32).

Because of Christ's Atonement and Resurrection, all people will be brought back into the presence of the Lord to be judged according to their works and their desires (see 2 Nephi 9:10-16; Helaman 14:15-18; 3 Nephi 27:14-22; D&C 137:9). We will be judged according to the laws of justice and mercy.

Justice is the unchanging law that brings consequences for actions-blessings for obedience to God's commandments and penalties for disobedience. We all commit sin. Sin makes us unclean, and no unclean thing can live in God's presence (see 1 Nephi 10:21; 3 Nephi 27:19; Moses 6:57).

The Savior satisfied the demands of justice for those who repent of their sins and endeavor to keep all of His commandments when He stood in our place and suffered the penalty for our sins. This act is called the Atonement. Because of this selfless act, Christ can plead with the Father on our behalf. Heavenly Father can apply mercy, withhold punishment from us, and welcome us into His presence. Our Heavenly Father shows mercy when He forgives us of our sins and helps us return to dwell in His presence.

However, Jesus did not eliminate our personal responsibility. He forgives our sins when we accept Him, repent, and obey His commandments. Through the Atonement and living the gospel we become worthy to enter the presence of our Heavenly Father permanently. We must show that we accept Christ and that we have faith in Him by keeping His commandments and obeying the first principles and ordinances of the gospel.

This line hit me:

He forgives our sins when we accept Him, repent, and obey His commandments. 

I enjoyed this talk by Elder Renlund and it came to mind this morning as I thought about repentance.  You can read it here.

From the talk I liked this quote:

"Real repentance requires recognizing the Savior's divinity and the truthfulness of His latter-day work.

Instead of making excuses, let us choose repentance. Through repentance, we can come to ourselves, like the prodigal in the parable, and reflect on the eternal import of our actions. When we understand how our sins can affect our eternal happiness, we not only become truly penitent but we also strive to become better. When faced with temptation, we are more likely to ask ourselves, in the words of William Shakespeare:

What win I, if I gain the thing I seek?

A dream, a breath, a froth of fleeting joy.

Who buys a minute's mirth to wail a week,

Or sells eternity to get a toy?

If we have lost sight of eternity for the sake of a toy, we can choose to repent. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we have another chance. Metaphorically, we can exchange the toy we so ill-advisedly purchased in the first place and receive again the hope of eternity. As the Savior explained, "For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him."

Jesus Christ can forgive because He paid the price for our sins.

Our Redeemer chooses to forgive because of His incomparable compassion, mercy, and love.

Our Savior wants to forgive because this is one of His divine attributes.

And, like the Good Shepherd He is, He is joyful when we choose to repent."

I love my Savior and the gift of repentance that I have and you have.  I pray that we may all utilize this gift and enjoy the blessings of doing so.

I love you my family and friends.