The Vital Importance of Love

Finished the last two Mega Zone Conferences this week. The one on Tuesday was just next door in the Rego Park Chapel so no travel.

Group hug at the Rego Park Conference

Tuesday evening I walked to Queens Mall with the sisters. You can't see him but
there was a man walking back and forth along the freeway playing bagpipes.
Wednesday morning on my way to Brooklyn he was there playing again.

Descending into the subway.
On the way out of the subway the escalator wasn't working. Thought I was in pretty good
shape but I was huffing and puffing and my knees were screaming STOP!! 
It was a long flight of escalator steps to climb. Whew!!!

Trinity Church

The conference on Wednesday was in Dyker Heights in Brooklyn. I really like to go to Brooklyn.  It is busy there like Queens but I can see the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhatten skyline.  I love both sights.

Bumper to bumper traffic going to Brooklyn. The 45 minute drive took way over an hour.

They are constructing a new bridge beside the existing one.

Looking at Staten Island

There is a HUGE cemetery with the Manhattan skyline in the background. The cemetery goes for miles.

Verrazano Bridge (half of it)

Store fronts in Dyker Heights. On my way out I saw many fruit, vegetable,
fish and meat markets street side. Moving too fast for pics.

The area where the chapel is located is mostly Chinese.  When I left the chapel about 3:00, the smells of cooking food were tantalizing!!  I took Anthea, my friend and the woman the mission hires to help with the meal preparation, home to Jamaica.  The route we drove took us along the beach and an expressway I had not traveled.  However, I was moving too fast to get pictures.  It was a scenic and beautiful drive.  I want to go again.

On Monday, I took two more sisters from the Flushing area to dinner at Mizumi.  I ate so much sushi I think I could have burst. It was as good this time as the time I went before.  Monday evening we had our FHE with the senior couples.

Sister Seo and Sister Fitt

My lunch guests

Sushi assortment

Friday morning, we had a surprise birthday breakfast for one of the sisters in the Woodside area. (I was invited because they needed flour and oil.  I loved it anyway.)  I have included pictures.  It was a nice way to begin the weekend.  I did have to go home and do those pesky weekly reports!!  It was a quiet week for the most part knock on wood,.  No ER visits nor car accidents.  Just run of the mill sore throats, nausea and vomiting.  A few emotional upheavals but we all survived.

The birthday breakfast crowd

Elder Paterson's Crepe Shop

The elders made the crepes-mostly Elder Paterson with Elder Sewell looking over his shoulder.

Fancy flipping!  Show off!!!

A note on the bulletin board in the chapel.

Saturday I had a joyous reunion with my friend, Jeri Maughan, from my home ward in Sandy.  I was able to meet up with her for lunch in the Wall Street area of Manhattan.  It was so nice to talk to her and to get hugs.  BTW, you are all invited to come to visit me.  I have air mattresses and floor space.  It is not the Ritz but it is free so come on over!!  I'll leave the porch light on.

My dear friend Jeri Maughan

Dessert with Jeri. One can't come to NYC and not eat cheesecake.

Saturday night I took Tula, my 91 year old friend from Peru, to the Women's Conference Broadcast.  If you saw the session, Sister Linda K Burton, the General Relief Society President, talked about helping the refugees.  A picture of a young woman, Sister Yvette Bugingo, was shown on the screen and Sister Burton told the story of her family and that the mother and younger daughter were singing in the choir.  Sister Bugingo is serving here in my mission.  She is a sweetheart.  I love her. If you were not able to see it, you can watch it here.

With Easter Sunday, I took the opportunity to reflect on the Savior and His gifts of the Atonement and Resurrection to mankind.  Our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He gave His son to save us.  Jesus Christ loves us so much that He willingly gave of Himself on our behalf.  What great love they have.  The really important thing for us to remember is that we must learn to love them and each other.  Love is vital to each one of us.  If we can love each other as our Father in Heaven and our Savior loves us what a beautiful world this would be.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ and charity, the pure love that Christ demonstrated for us, is our salvation.

I love you my family and friends.

Places I've been this week.

Forsythia- a sure sign of Spring.

I can never see purple pansies without remembering this little song we sang in Primary when I was little:
1. Little purple pansies, touched with yellow gold,
Growing in one corner of the garden old;
We are very tiny but must try, try, try
Just one spot to gladden, you and I.
2. In whatever corner we may chance to grow,
Whether cold or warm the wind may ever blow,
Dark the day or sunny, we must try, try, try
Just one spot to gladden, you and I

Spring

Full moon over Queens

The Road to Babylon.....and Amityville, Bay Shore & Little Neck ;)

Last week I went to two zone conferences. This week I went to two Mega Zone Conferences.  Every three months there are mission-wide conferences in which the president, his wife, the assistants to the president and other invited people present to the mission.  Two-three zones come to each mega zone conference.

This week on Thursday I went an hour drive out on the Island to Bay Shore where two zones met for training and edification.  I did not present at this conference nor the others in this cycle but I always like to help with the luncheon preparation and also interact with the missionaries.  Besides it gives me an opportunity to see new territory and to learn about my area.

Sister Mejia and Sister Jahnel

This is what I learned about Bay Shore:

"Bay Shore is a hamlet in the Town of Islip, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is situated on the South Shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay. In 2008, Bay Shore celebrated the 300th anniversary of the purchase of the land from the Secatogue Native Americans. The population was 26,337 at the time of the 2010 census.[1]

Bay Shore is one of the older hamlets on Long Island. Sagtikos Manor, located in West Bay Shore, was built around 1697. It was used as a British armed forces headquarters, at the time of the Battle of Long Island during the Revolutionary War. President Washington stayed at the manor during his tour of Long Island in 1790.

The land that would become Bay Shore proper was purchased from the Secatogue Native Americans in 1708 by local school teacher John Mowbray for "several eel spears".

The hamlet's name has changed over time: Early European settlers referred to the area first as Penataquit and later as Awixa; both were names used by the Native American Secatogue tribe. For reasons never documented, the name was changed in the early 19th century to Sodom. In 1842 there was a further name change to Mechanicsville, then a return in 1849 to Penataquit. The name Penataquit proved unpopular because it was difficult to spell. The name of the hamlet and post office was changed to Bay Shore in 1868.

Bay Shore became renowned in the late 19th century for its shopping district and resorts. The rural hamlet became popular with affluent New Yorkers looking to escape the city to white sand beaches of the Great South Bay and the fishing villages of Fire Island. It was a tourist spot on weekends and during the summer, in large part because the newly built Long Island Railroad enabled easy access from New York City."

It was overcast and misty/rainy that day so I didn't explore too much. Besides I had work waiting for me at home.  However, I couldn't help but go a little out of the way so that I could say I went to Babylon.  One day when it is nice and sunny for exploring, I will take a day and drive out that way and take some pictures of the South Shore to share with you.

Couldn't resist going to Babylon.

Have I told you how much I appreciate awesome clouds!

Bay Shore, Babylon, & Amityville on Long Island

I Googled Babylon and Amityville which I drove through:

"Babylonis a village in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 12,166 at the 2010 census. Its location is approximately 25 miles from New York City at the Queens border, and approximately 33 miles from Manhattan.

Its official name is The Incorporated Village of Babylon. It is commonly referred to as Babylon Village, to distinguish it from the Town of Babylon, of which it is a part.

What is now Babylon Town and Village was originally part of Huntington Town and known as South Huntington (or Huntington South). Lightly settled from 1689, its main industry, in common with much of the area along Great South Bay and South Oyster Bay (both actually lagoons), was the harvesting of salt hay, which was used as cattle feed and bedding.

When a coherent community grew up in the area by 1803, prominent local citizens sought to adopt a new name. An influential local lady, Mrs. Conklin, was used to living inland in what is now considered Dix Hills and was at unease with the home site that her grandchildren would be raised in. The bible-reading Mrs. Conklin compared the new hamlet to the biblical city of Babylon and proposed that name in apparent defiance of the area's rather bawdy reputation as a stop-over place for travelers on Long Island's south shore. Her son Nat was appalled by the use of an "unholy" name. The family legend states she replied: "But it will be a new Babylon." The name stuck, despite some effort to change it. The adjacent part of Islip town, an effective extension of Babylon, was originally considered as part of Babylon, or as East Babylon, but today is the hamlet of West Islip.

Amityville is a village in the town of Babylon in Suffolk County, New York, in the United States. The population was 9,523 at the 2010 census.

Huntington settlers first visited the Amityville area in 1653 as a source of salt hay. Chief Wyandanch granted the first deed to land in Amityville in 1658. The area was originally called Huntington West Neck South.  It is on the Great South Bay and Suffolk County, New York border in the southwest corner of what once called Huntington South but is now the Town of Babylon. According to village lore, the name was changed in 1846 when residents were working to establish its new post office. The meeting turned into bedlam and one participant was to exclaim, "What this meeting needs is some amity". Another version says the name was first suggested by mill owner Samuel Ireland to name the town for his boat, the Amity.

The place name is strictly speaking an incidental name, marking an amicable agreement on the choice of a place name. The village was formally incorporated on March 3, 1894. In the early 1900s Amityville was a popular tourist destination with large hotels on the bay and large homes. Annie Oakley was said to be a frequent guest of vaudevillian Fred Stone. Will Rogers had a home across Clocks Boulevard from Stone. Gangster Al Capone also had a house in the community.

Amityville is the setting of the book The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson, which was published in 1977 and had been adapted into a series of films made between 1979 and 2015. The story of The Amityville Horror can be traced back to a real life murder case in Amityville in November 1974, when Ronald DeFeo, Jr. shot all six members of his family at 112 Ocean Avenue. In December 1975 George and Kathy Lutz and Kathy's three children moved into the house, but left after twenty-eight days, claiming to have been terrorized by paranormal phenomena produced by the house. Jay Anson's novel is said to be based on these events but has been the subject of much controversy.

The house featured in the novel and its film versions still exists, but has been renovated and the address changed in order to discourage tourists from visiting it. The Dutch Colonial Revival architecture house built in 1927 was put on the market in May 2010 for $1.15 million and sold in September for $950,000. "

On Friday the conference for three zones was held in Little Neck which is about a 25 minute drive onto the Island's North Shore.  After the conference, I drove in the direction of the water and came to Udall's Salt Marsh.  I thought about walking out through the trails, but then I spotted a warning sign:  TICKS!

Tick habitat

I know you can't read this but at least you can read the name of the park.

I know you can read this one!

Ticks are a problem we deal with here in our mission.  All of the beaches, forests, parks, etc on the island are homes to ticks.  Since I am not fond of the idea of getting ticks on me, I may not be too adventurous.  Until I saw that sign, I'd forgotten that a few years ago, Kay and I were on the island.  We were about to walk out onto a beach when we spotted the signs about ticks.  There was not that much shrubbery so we ventured out.  The marsh is another story.  Lots of places for ticks to hide.

In the near future as missionaries begin to do outdoor service projects, I will in fact be taking around handouts to district meetings on the island about what to look for and how to treat it if you get a tick.  The area, even in Queens and Brooklyn, has poison ivy in abundance too.  So I will also be teaching about watching for and staying away from poisonous plants.

Little Neck

When I got home, I Googled Little Neck and Udalls Salt Marsh:

"Little Neck is an upper middle class neighborhood of Queens, New York City, bordered on the north by Little Neck Bay and on the east by Great Neck in Nassau County. Due to this proximity to Nassau, Little Neck remains one of the most suburban-looking areas in New York City. The southern border is the Grand Central Parkway, and to the west is Douglaston. The Little Neck station is the easternmost New York City station on the busy Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), and thus Little Neck is home to the busiest of approximately a dozen remaining railway grade crossings in New York City.

Little Neck

Prior to the mid-1600s, the Matinecock lived in what is today considered Little Neck, sustained by the seafood in Little Neck Bay. In the 17th century, European settlers began arriving in the area for its conveniently located harbor. Soon after, the British and Dutch gained control of the Matinecock lands peacefully, except for a small area known as Madnan's Neck (possibly a shortened form of Indian name for the area, Menhaden-ock, or "place of fish"). Thomas Hicks, of the Hicks family that eventually founded Hicksville, and a band of armed settlers forcibly drove out the Matinecock in a battle at today's Northern Boulevard and Marathon Parkway. An old Matinecock cemetery remained in Little Neck on Northern Boulevard between Cornell Lane and Jesse Court. One of the last photographs of the cemetery (available online) was taken by the Daily News in August 1931, a few months before it was removed to make room for a widened Northern Boulevard. The remains from the cemetery were moved to the Zion Episcopal Church of Douglaston and placed under a stone marker that reads "Here rest the last of the Matinecoc."

The settlers thrived producing produce for the Manhattan market and the area was used as a dock on Little Neck Bay. As the population of Little Neck and New York in general began to grow, the Little Neck Long Island Rail Road station was opened in 1866 on the Port Washington Branch to serve the community and the dock area. Northern Boulevard was developed into a commercial and cultural hub, and the Little Neck Theater, a 576-seat movie theater, was opened in 1929 at the intersection of Northern Boulevard and Morgan Street. The theater was closed in 1983.

From the 1860s through the 1890s, small hard clams (quahogs) from Little Neck Bay were served in the best restaurants of New York and several European capitals. Eventually, the term "littleneck" or "littleneck clam" came to be used as a size category for all hard clams, regardless of origin."

"Salt marshes play a critical role in the support of human life, acting as natural filtration systems by trapping pollutants that would otherwise contaminate our bays and oceans. Salt marshes have the ability to absorb fertilizers, improve water quality, and reduce erosion. They are also among the richest wildlife habitats.

Located in northeastern Queens, the 30-acre Udalls Park Preserve contains a variety of habitats, including salt marsh, woodlands, and a freshwater pond. The salt marsh in Udalls Cove is one of the most pristine in the city. Tidal creeks wind through broad salt meadows, supplying the marsh with an abundance of food for many birds, insects, and small mammals. One of the best views of the marsh is from Virginia Point, an old clam digger's landing at the end of Little Neck Parkway.

As saltmarsh cordgrass, a specialized grass, spreads its stems, they trap floating debris. Sediments and particles of decaying matter slowly build up, forming nutrient-rich mud. This mud, called detritus, supports life on the marsh. It is the basis of a complex food web in which energy is passed from one organism to another. The fiddler crab and ribbed mussel have developed a mutually beneficial relationship with the cordgrass. While the crabs and mussels benefit from feeding on decaying matter trapped within cordgrass roots, cordgrass gains from the fiddler's burrowing, which aerates the soil, and the mussel's excretion, which provides necessary nitrogen.

At the end of each season, the cordgrass dies, creating a spongy peat. Each year's peat layer raises the surface of the marsh, enabling it to colonize new territory. A variety of plants with less salt tolerance can colonize the peat, as it is out of the range of most of the high tides. This causes the formation of two separate plant communities, the intertidal marsh and the salt meadow. A third type of salt marsh community is the mudflat. Each of these communities has its own distinctive vegetation, insects, fish, birds, and mammals that have adapted to survive in a saltwater environment. While salt marshes do not have a very wide variety of species, the volume of life present is remarkable.

On the salt marsh of Udalls Park Preserve, clapper rails stalk silently through the salt grasses. Snowy egrets carefully wade through the calm waters and osprey dive for fish. In the middle of the preserve lies Aurora Pond, its placid waters alive with dragonflies and wood ducks. Raccoons also hunt along the edges. Common reed lines the brackish inlet known as Gabler's Creek, which flows into Little Neck Bay. Wooded uplands of silver maple, black locust, and box elder are scattered about The Cove."

I so enjoy learning about the history and geography of the places I go. Hope you enjoy it too.

Saturday morning and afternoon I worked on the weekly reports I have to do.  Midday I took a couple of hours out to go to the ward Relief Society birthday luncheon. It was pot luck with lots of interesting dishes.  Some from Ecuador, Haiti, Philippines, and good old United States.  I took brownies. Couldn't be more American than that.  Well…maybe apple pie.  We played a couple of "get to know you" games.   It was fun to get to know the sisters in my ward a little better. 

Our lesson in Gospel Principles class today was about the Holy Ghost.  What an awesome gift we have in the Holy Ghost.  I have been led by the Spirit many times in my life.  Daily I feel the hand of the Lord and the guidance of the Holy Ghost in my work here in the mission.  I am so blessed to be able to serve the Lord in this capacity.  I am re-learning information I've forgotten and learning new medical information and then using it to help the missionaries.  I know that I would not be able to do this without the help and guidance I receive.  I know I've mentioned this before, but it is important to me.

May the Lord bless you and may you feel the influence and guidance of the Holy Ghost in your life.

I love you my family and friends.

The sister who took this picture just gave it to me at conference.
This was taken the night I spent in the ER with the sick sister. Really.
I wasn't asleep. I was thinking!! Deep thoughts.

Good morning Manhattan!

My dear brother John is spoiling me and the missionaries.

Spring

Wednesday night dinner. No wonder my clothes are shrinking.

Guinea pig tastes like chicken?

This week has been all about meetings. I had district meeting and two zone training meetings and trainer/trainee meeting which is new missionary orientation.  It is enjoyable to go to locations where I can interact with the missionaries.  They are all great people.

Sister Wheeler at trainer/trainee meeting

Zone 4 missionaries

At Zone 5 training meeting I was entertained by this cockroach.
He was wiggling around. Actually I kept an eye on him so that if he managed
to get on his feet he didn't come my way.

I was asked by one of the Relief Society teachers to substitute for her on Sunday and then I attended the last half hour of the Spanish speaking ward Primary.  Sister Jenkins plays the piano for their Primary but she was on exchanges for the weekend so she asked if I would substitute for her.  Made me realize how much I miss Primary and the beautiful songs that are sung there.  Even though it was all in Spanish, the spirit is the same.

Sunday evening I went with Sister Anderson and Sister Frost, who is on exchange with Sister Jenkins, to teach a lesson to a mother and daughter from Ecuador.  The family had invited us to eat dinner there before the lesson.   It was good:  salmon, salad, roasted plantains, cauliflower, and a pastry type dessert.   They are from a coastal area in Ecuador so they eat a lot of fish.  They were telling us about some of the typical inland foods and how they didn't like them.  One they mentioned is cuy.  It is guinea pig!!  Sister Anderson says there is a street cart in Corona that sells cuy. 

Jim, I know how much you like to eat regional foods so here is one more for your "countries to go to eat the foods" list.  Couldn't resist Googling this.  I found an interesting review.

"What is cuy?

Guinea pig in Ecuador is one of the traditional foods you should try while visiting Ecuador, Bolivia or Peru. It is more commonly known as cuy (kew-y) in the indigenous language of Kichwa, because of the high-pitched bird-like sound the animal makes.

Many people wonder why Ecuadorians eat guinea pig. It's because guinea pigs were the main source of meat before cattle were introduced to the country. The number of cuy became a status symbol because it meant you had enough money to eat meat. It was never an everyday meal but a luxury.

It is much larger than what we know as a guinea pig in North America and is about the size of a rabbit. While many travelers think eating guinea pig is gross, I don't think you can really judge if you eat meat of any kind.

Guinea pig tastes like chicken?

The taste of guinea pig is difficult to describe and depends on how it is cooked. In Ecuador it is often cooked over an open spit; it reminds me of chicken wings or some other kind of dark meat.

I ate guinea pig again in Cuzco when a Peruvian friend took me to a local place to eat. It was deep fried and I had to admit in the cuy wars, Ecuador won the best preparation test as deep frying it seemed to enhance its already pronounced greasiness. Trust me, it really does matter how you cook this animal.

Where to eat guinea pig?

Guinea pig can be found in the Andes of Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.

Although Colonial Cuenca is known as one of the best places to eat cuy, my first time eating cuy was in Baños with my mother and sister. Surprisingly my sister really liked it but my mother once had a pet guinea pig and the sight of little feet on her plate turned her stomach.

After Banos and Peru, I had to go back to Cuenca famous for its cuy.

How to eat guinea pig?

It seems like a strange question to ask but most people try to eat guinea pig with a knife and fork. Don't worry about being polite, just get in with your hands and eat it like chicken wings

I must admit it wasn't the best, as it had a really strong flavor but I have heard the age of the cuy changes the flavor dramatically. And while I can't say I loved it, I know I'll try it again"

I guess I should be more daring, but I don't think I'll search for the food cart in Corona to try cuy right away but if and when I am in Ecuador, I may be persuaded to try this.  (Hint. Hint Jim.  I'm available March 2017.)

The weather here is like Utah weather.  If you don't like it, wait 10 minutes and it will change.  One day it was HOT!  The next day it was nice.  Today it is windy, cold, and raining.  I'm not complaining as I know it won't be long until the hot, humid days of summer are here.  Then I may complain.

The temperature on Wednesday on my way home from Zone meeting.

As I mentioned earlier, I gave the lesson in Relief Society this week.  It was from the teachings of President Howard W Hunter.  We learned of President Hunter's testimony of Joseph Smith, his qualities and life and his role in the restoration of the Church as it was in Christ's time.  We all know the trials and hardships that Joseph and Emma endured with the persecutions, the loss of 6 children, and the difficulties of being driven out of their homes and living in and developing new lands and cities.  From Joseph Smith's example we can learn to endure well.  No matter the persecution nor the pain and suffering, Joseph never wavered in his testimony and teachings. 

Joseph Smith communed with Jehovah and many other personages of heaven.  He had a great diligence and capacity to translate and to receive hundreds of pages of revealed scripture.  It has been estimated that more pages of scripture passed through Joseph than through any other human in history.

I also discussed the terms prophet, seer, and revelator which are often used interchangeably.  I never really thought about it but each of these three terms have separate and distinct meanings.

A prophet is a teacher: he teaches truth as revealed by the Lord to man and under inspiration explains it to the understanding of the people.  He is a spokesman for the Lord.

A seer is one who sees through spiritual eyes.  Joseph was a seer.  In Moses 1:11 Moses explains this supernatural gift:  "But now mine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him."

All men have spiritual sight but are not always privileged to use such sight unless quickened by the Spirit of the Lord.

A revelation makes known something unknown or which has been previously known by man and taken from his memory.  Revelation is received in various ways, but it always presupposes that the revelator has so lived and conducted himself as to be in tune or harmony with the divine spirit of revelation, the spirit of truth, and therefore capable of receiving divine messages. 

So Joseph Smith was a prophet, a teacher of divine truth, a seer in every sense of the word, and he was dependent upon the Lord and received help and was given his instructions.  His life was led by revelation.

As I've traveled and visited the sites commemorating Joseph Smith's life, these truths have been reaffirmed in my heart and mind.  As I've stood in the Sacred Grove and particularly in Carthage jail and have felt the Spirit testify to me, there is no question in my mind that Joseph Smith is a man of God.  He translated the Book of Mormon from the plates, through him the Priesthood was restored and through him, the church of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth as it was when Christ lived on the earth and organized His church.

I know these things to be true through the power of the Holy Ghost.

I love you my family and friends.

My workout garb- I don't do selfies very well.

The story of the chocolate bundt cake:  I made this cake for the elders because they helped me
connect my laptop to the TV at the church so I could show some Joseph Smith videos.
As I was turning the cake pan over with the plate on top, the plate slipped in the turning over
motion and half of the cake fell to the counter under the plate instead of on top of the plate.
Don't ask me how this happened!! Anyway I managed to save most of the cake but you will notice
it is rather lopsided. I seriously don't think the elders even noticed.

One of the sisters brought me this cute gift. I do love sour patch kids. I had to quit eating them though
because my mouth has little sores from the "sour".  I learned I can't eat 1.9 pounds in one sitting.

A friend sent me this bouquet to remind me of Spring. Isn't it gorgeous!