Party! Party! Party!

It is that time of year again when there are parties, dances, special programs, etc. etc. etc.  At this time we  associate with three stakes:  Scotch Plains, Liberty Park, and Soldier Hill.  Each stake contains at least three Spanish units and Liberty Park has a young single adult ward. We have enjoyed getting to know many wonderful people in these units.

Each year there is a tradition for the Scotch Plains stake to put on a "Black and White" Dance for all the young adults in the region.  This year the dance was in Maplewood on December 12th.  We have been attending the Scotch Plains YSA planning meeting each month.  As a result we were given an assignment to be the photographers for the photo booth.  This was great because Reed got to dust off his good camera and put it to use.  There was not the attendance that there usually is, but we and the YSAs had a good time.  For this activity we told the Union City Institute group that we would come to their building and pick up any that needed rides to the dance. We brought five there and six home. There were a couple of boys that took a taxi to get there. This is the ongoing challenge for the young adults that live in the populated cities.  They don't drive or have cars and when there is an activity out of their area, it is hard for them to attend. If they took a bus, it would take about an hour to get there.

In these pictures I see:  Alejandro, Katherin, Daysi, Alan, Jefrys, Jerry, Penelope, Danny, Josey, Ronald, Angelica, Theresa, and Patty. 

The next big activity was "The BEST Christmas Party Ever" put on by the Hoboken YSA Ward in Union City on December 18th.  We are just starting to feel apart of this group.  This ward is a bilingual ward so many of our young adults attend here on Sundays.  The Bishop of this ward, Bishop Joel Wiest, recently retired and now he is a full time Bishop.  He is great!!!

There was a LOT of energy at this party.  A dinner was provided for all and then there was a relay game, musical chairs, two piñatas, and a gift exchange game.  Here are some photos.

In the upper left picture it shows the piñatas that Sister Cuk made.  The lower picture makes us laugh every time we see this.  Samantha, who eventually became the winner, shows how you are suppose to play musical chairs. Of course, all through the evening, there is music.  Samantha is dancing to the music and protecting a chair at a time as she goes around the circle.

Our instructions from Brother Bean is that during the last couple of weeks of the year that instead of having classes we are to set up activities for the young adults.  So, on December 23 we met with the Union City group who were interested in seeing the new Star Wars Movie.  Here we are as we are trying to decide if we want to sit on the front two rows of the theater or not.  We ended up going but it wasn't bad being that close to the screen as the seats were each a very nice recliner and we could lay all the way back and see everything OK.

 Pictured: Jose, Ovidio, Dan, Chris, Henry, Emily, Maria, Jasmine, Reed, and the Cuks.

 Emily's Dad is in front.

We can see the real need for having these activities.  We have met four new young adults who came to the activities but do not attend Institute.  Also, there are some young adults home from school for the holidays and this gives them some fun options while they are here.

After Christmas, on December 29th, there was a Game Night in Newark.  For this activity we combined the Pathway group and the Newark Institute.  The Pathway program is overseen by Elder and Sister Cherrington and they meet there at the Newark building also.  There were around twenty that attended.  We served pizza and soda and played a team building activity, the candy bar game, the Minute to Win It ping pong balls in a tissue box race, and a game called cat and mouse.  Here are pictures.

The Candy Bar Game

Both the Paterson young adults and the Union City young adults wanted to go Ice Skating.  Originally, there was talk of going to the city and skate at the rink at Rockefeller Center.  Norberto looked into it and when he found out that to skate there it costs $32 during the peak season and to rent the skates the fee is $12, we decided to look elsewhere.  Really close to Union City is Secaucus and the ice skating rink fee was $3 for admittance and $2.50 for skate rental.  It was a no-brainer!  We could skate for the full two hours that it was open also.  The young adults had LOTS of fun.

Here we are before hitting the ice!  Actually, two more boys showed up later.

Happy Faces belong to:  Maria, Emily, Valeska, Fanny, Secundino, Penelope, Melquisedec, Emily (again), Norbert, Courtney, and Ovidio.

Afterwards we headed over to Chili's for something to eat.  It was great to relax and eat with this group.  They were having a great time with each other and we didn't leave until almost midnight.  Then, we had to drive them home.  Thankfully, there were two cars.  We took the northern group.  It was raining so Reed made sure that they were dropped off at the doorsteps.  We got home at 1:30am.

And . . . besides activities with the young adults, we had a Mission Christmas Party plus we were invited to ward Christmas parties.  We did not attend the ward parties as we were all partied out!

Around the table:  Cherringtons, Sister Newman, Hancocks, Sister Procter, Gilchrists, and Saunders

From this weeks lesson...

President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said:
“Jesus Christ has prescribed a very clear method for us to repent and find healing in our lives. The cure for most mistakes can be found by seeking forgiveness through personal prayer. However, there are certain spiritual illnesses, particularly those dealing with violations of the moral law, which absolutely require the assistance and treatment of a qualified spiritual physician. . . .“If you . . . wish to return to full spiritual health, see your bishop. He holds the keys and can help you along the pathway of repentance” (“The Key to Spiritual Protection,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 28).

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas

It is that time of year again when there are lots of activities and special events and time slips away so quickly. In the mission we have enjoyed a special FHE with all the seniors, mission firesides put on for the community, and a special mission conference all within a week. We had the wonderful opportunity to be taught by Elder David Evans of the Seventy this past week at a mission conference.  He was recently released as the executive director over the mission department in the church. He taught and reminded us of the patterns that will keep us grounded in the gospel.

Senior Missionary FHE
On Saturday, Dec. 5, President and Sister Taggart invited all the Senior Missionaries to their home for a Christmas family home evening.  We enjoyed being all together and meeting two new couples that had just arrived: the Ricks and the Rhoads.  (The Dunns and Kellers were not able to attend the activity.)

Pictured:  Cherringtons, Hendricksons, Taggarts, Rhoads, us, Sisters Newman and Procter, Roses, Ricks, Gilchrist, and Ross (in front.) 

CES Cluster Meeting
On Monday, Dec. 7, all those that work in CES in New Jersey and New York met together for a meeting/party in Manhattan.  We spent the whole day in the city and enjoyed this time together.  We ended the day by going to see the Rocketts Christmas Spectacular.  I always love being in New York at Christmas time.

 This photo was taken after the CES Cluster meeting.  We are on the rooftop of the apartment building that is owned by the church which is near the temple.

Some of us walking through Central Park

Posing near the tree at Rockefeller Center

Messiah Sing
Again this year we attended the Messiah Sing at the Princeton Chapel on the campus of Princeton Univ.  This is a sing-along for the community.  They had a six piece orchestra and Eric Plutz was at the organ. Soloists are from the music program at Princeton.  Kate Wadmon (from Tucson) was one of the soloists.  It was really fun and we sounded pretty good.

Christmas In-service and Lunch
On December 16, instead of meeting for the usual inservice meeting at the Scotch Plains building, we were invited to meet at the Bean home in Annandale, NJ.  It is always a beautiful drive to this part of New Jersey.  We sang Christmas carols together, went over the upcoming lesson material, and then went to lunch at the Clinton House.

The Clinton House is the location where the minutemen used to come and meet during the Revolutionary War.

Clinton House

Walking in Clinton after lunch

Special Times with the Young Adults
There is a wonderful group of YSAs in Newark.  We love and respect these young adults.  Many have served (or plan to serve) missions.  They know the gospel.  Some here are the only members in their families. Many have just recently arrived in the country and are struggling with the English language.  In many of the areas in which we serve, it is possible to live and to never have to speak English.  Most of the young adults that are new here are learning the language well.

 

We went out for pizza after class and had a great time.

R to L:  Samantha Munoz, Jorge Sarmiento, Kelly Cruz, Reed and I, Sarah Diez,

Ronald Rodriguez, Gabriel Asitimbay, Theresa Diez

 The Sunday after Thanksgiving, Jorge Sarmiento was baptized.  Pictured with the missionaries are Bryan and Kelly Cruz (brother and sister) and Jorge.

Nefi, Loren, Jefrys, Josey, Carola, Belyruth, me

On Friday, Dec. 11, the Elizabeth Institute took Belyruth Ordoñez to dinner after class.  She and her family are moving to Utah.  The family has lived here for ten years and now they are following Belyruth as she goes to Utah to attend UVU.  We will miss her!!!


From the lesson...

This week we studied Leviticus and the teachings on sacrifice. Here are a few quotes. Elder Neal A. Maxwell said: ‘Real, personal sacrifice never was placing an animal on the altar. Instead, it is a willingness to put the animal in us upon the altar and letting it be consumed!’ (‘Deny Yourselves of All Ungodliness,’ Ensign, May 1995, 68).
“. . . When we overcome our own selfish desires and put God first in our lives and covenant to serve Him regardless of the cost, we are then living the law of sacrifice” (“The Law of Sacrifice,” elder Ballard, Ensign, Oct. 1998, 10).

Kat's Baptism and UN

On Friday, November 20, 2015, we attended Kaytlin Germosa's baptism. What a special occasion! Kat started coming to Institute in Elizabeth last spring with her friend, Gina Campoverde.  Both Kat and Gina were attending Kean University there in Elizabeth.  Gina has since graduated.  As we were getting to know Kat, she told us that she had a class at the university about world religions.  She was intrigued with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  A mutual friend introduced Kat to Gina. Thankfully, Gina had a car and was able to bring Kat with her to Institute.  Last spring we were studying the Doctrine and Covenants.  During the first class that Kat attended, Elder Hancock showed a short clip from the video "Joseph Smith and the Restoration."  He asked Kat if she understood what was being discussed and she said no.  She did say though that she wanted to see the complete video about Joseph Smith.  Elder Hancock sent her a link and she did watch it.

The next week after Institute class as I was getting to know Kat better, I asked her if Gina had given her a Book of Mormon.  She said no.  I gave her a book and told her a little about it.  Then I told her that if she was really interested in getting to know more about the church that I could set up having the missionaries come and meet with her.  At first she was a little unsure about having missionaries until I explained to her that they would be young and about her own age.  She gave me permission to give them a call.  That night after class I texted the sister missionaries and gave them her contact information.  I then texted Kat back and told her the names of the sister missionaries and that they would be calling her.

For the next couple of months, Kat attended the Elizabeth English Branch and had all the missionary discussions.  Everyone was calling her "golden" and she had a baptismal date scheduled for the end of June. Then, the challenges started.  Kat cancelled the date for her baptism because her mother was in the hospital. Then, later in July, Kat's family went on vacation to Texas. Kat no longer answered my texts and we wondered if maybe she had changed her mind about the church. The missionaries that had taught her were bewildered.

It was a happy day when we heard that Kat was attending the branch again and had decided to go ahead with her baptism.  Kat brought her mother and sister, three roommates and a childhood friend to her baptism.  It was a nice service.  After the baptism, Kat came and thanked me for setting things up with the missionaries last spring.  She looked very happy.

Before Kat's baptism

Gina Campoverde, Kaytlin Germosa, Hancocks

Briefing at the United Nations

We have been able to do and see practically everything we have wanted to while here in this area. And, most of these opportunities have come through our CES Director, Brother David Bean.  This last week, Brother Bean sent us an email telling us of a briefing that he had just been made aware of and wondered if any of us would like to attend with him.  The briefing was about human trafficking and LDS author and expert, Timothy Ballard, was to be on the panel.  We decided to go and have this experience even though it was a difficult topic to listen to.

 The briefing was on Thursday, November 19th at 11am.  It was a rainy day, but not cold.  We had to catch a taxi out of Penn Station to get to the UN.  Being in a taxi in Manhattan is an experience in itself!  I took a quick photo to document the experience:

There were three in the back seat and Reed in the front.

The taxi driver on the way back to Penn station was quite the entertainer!  He told us story after story and we realized by the time that we arrived at the station that none of it was true.  He said that he does that to keep the occupant's minds off his driving.

As we attended the briefing, I kept thinking of my daughter, LeAnn, who works with women and is an advocate for them. What was mostly being discussed in the meeting was the sexual exploitation of women and children.  One of the presenters said that it was a 32 billion dollar a year business.  Then, another presenter said that it was more like 150 billion dollar business.  Either way, it is way out of control all around the world.

Tim Ballard is the CEO of Operation Underground Railroad and he tries to help and rescue those who have been caught in the sexual slave trades.  Sad to say, but only one in a hundred are ever rescued.  This, and pornography, are definitely a latter-day plague!


Primary Programs

On to a happier topic . . . this past weekend we attended two Primary programs; one in New Brunswick and one in Newark.  I played the piano for both programs.  Last year I helped with the Primary programs in Elizabeth and Perth Amboy.  If these wards and branches cannot find a missionary to play the piano, then they use the recordings of the primary songs and hymns.

The Primary in New Brunswick ward is small and the children are very young.  Hermana Sevilla, the Primary president, had her son, Elvin, and Alan Sarabia join with the Primary for the program even though they have graduated and are deacons.

After the program, Hermana Sevilla went from class to class and took pictures of the New Brunswick Primary children.  Here are a couple of pictures.













The Newark Spanish ward had a very polished program.  The children knew their parts and songs.  There were solo singers and one girl played the piano as they sang.  As typical with the Latino culture, they asked everyone to wear the same color and then they had flowers for the girls' hair.  They decorated the chapel and entryway with flowers, footsteps, pictures of the children and messages from the program. We were impressed that each year this Primary sends out invitations with the children to invite grandparents, teachers, and friends to come and attend the program.  The chapel was packed as was the overflow.

Newark Primary, Rosa Benavides President on right

From this week's lesson...

The Hebrew word "manna" means "...what is it?" That is what they said when they first encountered it. And thus the name stuck.

“By providing a daily sustenance, one day at a time, Jehovah was trying to teach faith to a nation that over a period of some 400 years had lost much of the faith of their fathers. He was teaching them to trust Him, to ‘look unto [Him] in every thought; doubt not, fear not’ (D&C 6:36). He was providing enough for one day at a time. Except for the sixth day, they could not store manna for use in any succeeding day or days. In essence, the children of Israel had to walk with Him today and trust that He would grant a sufficient amount of food for the next day on the next day, and so on. In that way He could never be too far from their minds and hearts” (“Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”, elder Christofferson, [Church Educational System fireside, Jan. 9, 2011]; broadcast.lds. org).

We can likewise daily partake of "the bread of life" through prayer and studying the words of God in the scriptures to feed our spirits. Our spirits are on the same cycle as our bodies as they both need daily sustenance. What a blessing we have to have the scriptures so available to us - literally at our finger tips. I think that places a sacred responsibility on us to use them often, daily.

November Fun

Even though our mission here is day after day filled with studying and preparing for our weekly classes, we always enjoy being with the young adults in the evening. We feel very blessed to have this assignment. Being with the young adults is great!  We may not be in our 20's like them, but they accept us and act like they enjoy being with us. (They are so kind!)

We recently were asked to go back and to teach in Union City.  Their prior teacher was called to another assignment in his new stake.  We taught for a few months in Union City last spring and summer.  The young adults there are terrific.  They are the ones that are always wanting to stay after class and play UNO.  I took this picture this past week.  There were conflicts this night, so attendance was small.  Bishop Wiest and his wife from the Hoboken YSA Ward joined with us after class:

 Back Row: Wiests, Nuria, Penelope, Carmen, us

 Front Row:  Alejandro, Evelyn, Jose

Today we attended the Hoboken YSA Ward because there was a multi-stake planning meeting afterwards that we were asked to attend.  Every third Sunday, some from the Scotch Plains stake come and join with the Hoboken YSAs.  The last couple of months, the leaders have been inviting all young adults from Liberty Park and Soldier Hills stakes to come to Union City and attend the Hoboken YSA Ward.  Today there were about 60 in attendance. Many of our students were there.  Someone we know posted this picture during church.  We are on the last bench on the left side.

   After church there was a linger longer:

Some of our "kids"

Top of the Rock

On Friday, November 13th, Brother Bean and Shaz took us and the Kellers into the city to the "Top of the Rock." Ever since we have been here we have heard Shaz tell us that we should do this.  The "Top of the Rock" is the observation deck on the top of the Rockefeller Center, which is one of the taller buildings in NYC.  Shaz (Brother Bean's secretary) is a great one to be with when going into the city.  She knows the city and enjoys showing us around.

Before going into the Rockefeller Center, we went out to see how things are going with the huge tree that will be decorated and lit in a couple of weeks.

This scaffolding is being used to decorate the tree.  And, yes, that's Reed looking at it. 

Just to the left of the tree is the ice skating rink:

 I really love being in New York during the Christmas season.  It is SO festive.  Things are just starting now.  The window displays are starting to evolve and lights are being put up all over.  I'll enlarge this picture so you can kind of see all the limbs with lights attached.

Inside the Rockefeller Center is NBC Studios, including where they have the "Tonight Show."  As we were looking for an elevator, we passed this:

Lots of tourists go to the "Top of the Rock."  We heard many languages and accents.  Shaz makes sure that we always have lots of pictures taken of us on these trips.  Here are a few:

The Kellers, Brother Bean, the Hancocks

A view from one level up from the observation deck

We found a beam to sit on above the city.

After seeing the sights around the Rockefeller Center, we walked a few blocks to Times Square to "Ellen's Stardust Diner" for lunch.  What a fun place!  As we walked in, Shaz explained to us that those that work here are aspiring Broadway performers.  This 50's Diner is known for its singing waiters and many there will become future stars.  The waiters or "Stardusters", take turns performing (singing) for the guests.  The performers sometimes get on top of tables while singing, or they wander around through the tables filled with patrons.  The food was good here, but the performers were GREAT!

Sisters Keller and Shaz Kramer "hummm... now what looks good?"

A "Starduster" waiter singing

Senior Missionary Dinner and Talent Show

This past weekend the seniors met together in Newark for a Thanksgiving potluck and then we shared our talents with each other.  One advantage of serving a 23 month mission is that we shared the song that we helped to write when we first arrived, and it was to an entirely new group.  Here is a picture of the CES missionaries singing.

Cherringtons, Kellers, Hancocks

From the lesson...

We discussed Moses coming to Egypt and the 10 plagues this week. The Israelites had been in bondage for approximately 400 years. During that time, they were influenced by idol worship and beliefs about Egyptian gods. The Israelites responded negatively to Moses because they did not know the Lord and had been in bondage and suffering for a long time. It was one thing to take the Israelites out of Egypt but quite another to get Egypt out of the Israelites.

In order to prepare them to become his "peculiar people", each plague showed the power of the one true God, Jehovah, by, in a sense, destroying the power of each the Egyptian gods. For example, the god Hapi was believed to control the Nile and with the first plague Jehovah changed all water into blood for 7 days. Thus demonstrating to the Israelites that Jehovah's power was greater than Hapi's power.

Next the water goddess Heket often appeared as a woman with the head of a frog. So when Jehovah, through Moses, brought forth frogs from the Nile, it was intended to destroy the belief that this Egyptian god had power.

And thus through all of the plagues. Each was designed to show that Jehovah was the only true god with power by specifically demonstrating to the Israelites and to the Egyptians that the gods of the Egyptians had no power. Each plague was focused on specific Egyptian gods such as Hathor, a god depicted with the head of a cow, was the target in the fifth plague when all of the cattle died. And so it was with each plague - designed to demonstrate Jehovah's power over specific gods of Egypt.

Mischief Night and Halloween

New Jersey is one of the few places that has "Mischief Night" on October 30th, the night before Halloween.  The separation of tricks from treats have developed only in certain areas of the United States.  New Jersey is one of them. Today we took a drive to see the last of the fall colors before they are all gone.  On the way home we saw a nice big tree in someone's front yard that had been toilet papered; probably the result of Mischief Night.

Last weekend, our young adults had a Halloween Dance sponsored by the East Brunswick YSAs.  It was a very fun dance.  There were young adults there that had traveled from Connecticut, New York City, and Long Island.  Some of our young adults had to travel over an hour to the dance.  Most of the Hispanic young adults LOVE to dance and they will try to make it to any dance as long as they can find a ride. Our YSAs asked us several times... can't you ask the DJ to speed up the music and eliminate the delays between songs... They love dancing....! The two in the white shirts love to break dance and often put on a little show.

Mostly "our kids"

            All of the YSAs that were at the dance...

From the left... "Chicken cord on blue" (Becky Gerhartz), "Pork and Beans" ( Sis. and Bro. Bean), and "Indiana Jones" (Jon Mecham).

Activity in Paterson

Also, last weekend, was a senior activity in Paterson.  Paterson is the third largest city in New Jersey.  It has a population of many Hispanics, as well as many from the middle East.  We teach in Paterson every Wednesday night.


Many industries developed in Paterson because of the power from the Passaic Falls.  There used to be many mills and other manufacturing structures associated with the textile industry in the area and later the firearms, silk, and railroad locomotives manufacturing industries arrived.  The senior missionaries met in Paterson to see the falls and then visit the museum near there.

The Wikipedia entry on Paterson indicates that many of the attackers in 911 were living together in Paterson at the time of the attacks... interesting but sad.

The small pool of water in the picture below was a popular swimming hole many decades ago. The swimmers often left the water with color tainted skin due to the die pollution from the many textile mills who dumped their die residues into the river. The moms could tell if their children had been swimming... :)

Passiac Falls w/ power plant on left that still is operational

 

Lunch with the Senior Missionaries at Liby's Lunch -  It has been around since 1936

 

Tree on "fire"

In front of Paterson Museum
This engine was used to build the Panama Canal

 More . . .

We are trying to soak up all the colors of fall.  The leaves are falling fast.  We are usually in our apartment studying during the day, but a couple of times a week, we try to get out and enjoy the beauty here.


 

Looking out our front door - what colors!

More beautiful colors....

     

Plaque in East Brunswick Stake Center
Do you see a name that you recognize?

The East Brunswick stake center was dedicated by the friend of the first stake president, Pres. Dane, whose daughter, Sis. Cherrington, is a Sr. Missionary with us here in NJ. The friend's name was Harold B. Lee.

There are many wonderful experiences to serving a mission. Some are wonderfully happy, others can break your heart. There are a lot of emotions, especially as you learn to love the wonderful youth we work with. How will we ever be able to leave them!?

From this week's lesson on Joseph who was sold into Egypt...

"We learn a great lesson from Joseph. When he was presented with a temptation, he immediately separated himself from even the appearance of evil. All of us have events in our lives which find us in challenging situations.

"When we are confronted with that which is evil and degrading—whether it be the wrong kind of music, a television program, or the Internet which places us in the wrong environment—how strengthening it is to remember the story of Joseph: “And [he] fled, and got him out” (Gen. 39:12). He removed himself from the temptation." (Elder Perry, Ensign, May, 2002)