Summer End

 P-Day Activities

New Jersey played a significant role in the Revolutionary War. George Washington spent more time in New Jersey than anywhere else during the war.  As we drive through the state we have passed by many historical sites and markers.

We decided to take time on our last two P-Days to visit a couple of famous battlefields.  The Princeton Battlefield State Park is the site of one of the fiercest battles of the American Revolution.  (It is only about 30 minutes south of where we live.)  Washington crossed the Delaware near Trenton on Dec. 25, 1776. The Continental Army won the battle in Trenton then had their second battle win a week later near Princeton on January 3, 1777.

As we walked up to the Clarke House we marveled (again) at all the green around us and stopped to take some pictures.  Arizonans never tire of enjoying green surroundings.

The Clark House sits near where the battle took place.  After the battle, the home was used as a hospital.  Among those who died in this battle was General Hugh Mercer.  He was a close friend of George Washington's.  Today there is a county named after Mercer as well as shopping centers and roads and much more.

Closer to Princeton University is the Princeton Battle Monument.  It was dedicated in 1922 by President Warren G. Harding.

The other battlefield that we visited resides in Freehold, N.J.  It is about a 45 minute drive southeast of where we live.  The Monmouth Battlefield is the site of one of the largest battles of the American Revolutionary War.  This area has been very well preserved and has a visitor center and tours.  Here are some pictures that we took that day.

OK--- now on to the "work" we do here.

YSA's and Classes

Starting early in August, Sheryl was asked to start teaching an English Institute class in Newark.  Up until then she would spend her time keeping in touch with the young adults, baking cookies for refreshments in each class, shopping and cutting up fruit, keeping records of students on the Institute website, teaching piano, studying Spanish, preparing food for linger longers and potlucks, and reading the lessons so she'd know what is being discussed in classes.

Now, she spends lots of time studying and preparing for her Tuesday English class.  We have since not had as many homemade cookies and desserts but are serving more Oreos, ice cream sandwiches, and chips and salsa. Here is a picture of Sheryl with the English class.

R to L: Andrew, Sister H, Rahameen, Danny, Amy, David

 This picture was taken on a night when not many were there.  As you can see, we were celebrating a birthday.  There are usually seven or eight attending regularly.

On the same night in Newark, Reed teaches a class in Spanish.  This class is always well attended. There are many adults that attend also. There are some very special young ladies here.  Most of them have gone on missions or are planning on going on a mission.  In fact, in Newark, there are LOTS of young adults and most of them are good strong members of the church and have great goals.  We attend church in Newark from time to time and attend (or teach) the young adult Sunday School class and every time we attend, we meet new young adults to invite to Institute.  Below is a picture from the Tuesday Spanish Institute.  The boy in the picture is actually in Sheryl's English class.

Kathy, Theresa, Pamela, Samantha, Ron

We have the English and Spanish Institute class on the same night, split for classes, and then get together afterwards for food, visiting and fun.

Now and then through the last year, Reed, in talking to the young adults about marriage would say "you can't catch fish in a bathtub."  Or, in other words, if you don't see any prospects here where you live, you might want to look in areas where there are bigger numbers of young adults.  Within the last month we saw MANY take trips to Utah and three of them moved there.  Some moved there with their family, but another finished school, graduating in finance, and decided to move to Utah and look for a job.  She (Yantna) had a job within a week with Goldman Sachs.

This is a picture of Yantna the night before she left.  We went out to eat with some YA's from Perth Amboy to Golden Corral.

Ivan, Yantna, Ezequiel

This is the time of year when different colleges and the Pathway program is starting up.  We are excited to see some joining Pathway.  Ezequiel in the picture above just started Pathway. He hopes to eventually attend BYU-I.  Reed has talked with many of the young men here and is always encouraging the importance of schooling.

We are excited about a wedding coming up!  We met Paulette Pinargote a year ago.  She is originally from Ecuador but she is here studying to be a doctor.  She told us a year ago that she was engaged and that her fiance is in Ecuador also studying to be a doctor.  They will get married in the Guayaquil Ecuador Temple in October.  They would like us to attend their wedding but we can't get permission to leave the mission ... :(

Christian and Paulette

We have enjoyed spending lots of time with the young adults this summer.  Classes have gone on as usual, but we have also watched movies, played lots of hands of UNO, and gone out to eat numerous times and have gotten home late (or early in the morning). Our bodies tell us that we are not as young as we used to be but we are having fun nonetheless. We truly love these young adults and worry about them as much as our own. So that presents some happy and sad days to us...

From this week's lesson:

There are in the gospel of Jesus Christ some paradoxes. That is, there are principles that on the surface just don't make sense to the natural mind. Here are a few of these.

1. Tithing. Many struggle to get by on 100% of their income and then the Lord asks us to get by on 90%. It doesn't make sense how it can work, but it does simply because the Lord blesses us in various ways to make up the difference. We just need to trust Him.

2. The day of rest, the Sabbath. Some find it hard to get everything done, work, play, study, etc. in 7 days and the Lord asks us to keep His day sacred by doing his will and not ours on that day. It doesn't make sense, but it works because He blesses us when we keep this commandment.

3. Helping others. Pres. Kimball taught that in order to have your burdens lifted, you must lift another's burdens. To the world, that doesn't make sense, but that is how the Lord works.

4. Fasting. Just as paying tithing opens the "windows of heaven", fasting also opens those windows and we receive significant blessings that simply don't make sense to the human mind as to why and how.

I'm sure there are others, but these teach us the principle to trust the Lord, demonstrate faith, and you will be blessed in His way and time.