It's a Battleground, But HALLELUJAH

The mission provides around fifty cars to missionaries that live on Long Island where mass transit is not available.  Mission cars are purchased new and are sold when they reach fifty thousand miles.  Missionaries are not to eat or drink in the cars and are required to keep them maintained, clean and washed.  Missionaries are tested before they are allowed to drive.  The cars have tee wees installed in them so they can be tracked if they exceed a certain speed limit or are driven outside the missionaries proselyting area.

Given all of these guidelines, but understanding the missionaries are between eighteen and twenty-one years old and this is New York, you can only imagine what can (and does) happen.

But, not to fear!  The mission is a major customer of a local car repair shop.  The cars are forever being rotated in and out for service and repair.

Now, in your widest imagination, can you guess the name of the repair shop?

HALLELUJAH!, PRAISE THE LORD Auto Repair Shop.  I am serious. Every time I think of it, I laugh.





Don't you just love it!#             Only in New York

You can even purchase license plate covers.....would you like me to pick one up for you?






Or maybe a business card?

Senior Christmas Elves

This Monday for Family Home Evening, a few of the senior missionaries got together to stuff Christmas stockings and bags for elders and sisters who have not received Christmas packages from home.  Some of our missionaries come from foreign countries where it is very expensive to mail packages from home. Others come from humble circumstances where their families struggle to send them on a mission.

The senior missionaries, along with some of the parents of missionaries, contributed either money or suggested items to put in the bags and stockings.  It was so touching to see the amount of donations!  There were gloves, scarves, candy, cordless chargers, personal care items, and the list goes on and on.  We were able to fill 33 bags and stockings and still had money left over to purchase any larger item a missionary might need.

Sister Williams and Elder Adams

Elder Johnson wrapping presents; Elder Shapiro watching

Getting the bags and stockings organized

Sister Williams taking pictures (she probably has pictures of me taking pictures;
and Sister Peterson having some pizza)

Old Friends are the Best!

We had such an enjoyable day this week.  Our dear friends, Gail and Linda Goodman, were visiting a daughter and found time to met us in Manhattan.  It was one of the coldest days so far this year and very windy (as you can see from the picture).  We were anxious to catch up on Payson happenings and mission updates.  They just received another mission call to Hawaii Visitor Center and will report in July.  They certainly deserve such a wonderful calling as they have served one 18 month mission plus four 3 month dental missions.  So we get home and then they leave.  They are our card playing friends so maybe we can get a couple of games in before they leave.

Their daughter and two grandchildren joined us at the Stardust Cafe for lunch.  If you are not familiar with the cafe, the wait staff sing and perform the whole time you are there.  It was very noisy!  So noisy that we had to yell just to hear each other.  I told their daughter that when she serves dinner tonight to her children, she can't get angry with them for jumping up on the table and belting out a song. It was her idea to go the cafe.  Both of the kids looked comatose, simply overwhelmed by the noise and activity.