21 May 2017

21 May 2017

Sunday was Mother's Day but we were so scheduled for training in several wards that it was pretty much the same as any other day. My daughter Chantel sent me some beautiful flowers that I put on our dining table with my  bamboo plant. They really made my table look pretty and colorful and after a long dead winter with no colors, it helped to brighten each day as I looked at them.

Diane Opening the "FlowersWholesale.com" package

Golden putting the flowers in the vase

A beautiful bouquet for our apartment with card from Chantel

Left side F-B: Fusako Miyashiro, Marjean and Paul Lewis, Linda and Serge Martinez, John Harris, Golden and Diane Adams. Right F-B: Melba Grimley, Kathleen Nabors, Ric and Mary Huntington, Ken and Patricia Bean, Shellie Harris, and Carol and Ronald Mumford.

 Monday, we had another temple missionary outing. This time we went down to the John's of Bleeker Street - a pizza place. It is ranked number 3 place in the United States. I must say, the service was very good and the pizza was also good but I like Papa Murphy's best. We had a lot of fun just being together and enjoying each others' company.

Sitting in the booth to the right is front Elaine Holloway, Mark Dransfield, back Sister Holloway's granddaughter, and Susan Dransfield.

Wall decorations on inside wall of John's of Bleeker Street in New York.

Corner of Bleeker Street just outside of the Pizza place. The whole street is rather nostalgic and just a fun place to walk and enjoy a whole new atmosphere in Greenwich Village, New York.

We haven't been going to physical therapy this past couple of weeks awaiting what our insurance would cover, what with Golden's total hip replacement surgery coming up in July, but we were informed that unlimited physical therapy had been approved as long as the surgeon and the orthologist indicated it was medically necessary.

Columbus Circle (59th Street, Manhattan) - view from the physical therapy place we have been attending. Trump International Hotel is located to the left of the world ball on the upper left of the photo.

At the FHC this week I had my first experience of being a proselyting missionary. The sister missionaries were bringing a gentleman into the FHC to have us help him find his ancestors.
While they were at the door, he began trying to pin them next to wall with questions they could not answer so I went over and invited him to join me in the center where I could help him with his family. He was gracious to come with me so the sisters could be on their way.

He gave me some background for his family that told me there would not be very much as he was from Poland and Russia. I was able to find his family in some census records in the United States and he was excited about that. Then he started picking up the same conversation he was having with the sister missionaries. I told him that we were not suppose to proselyte in the family history center because we did not want to frighten people from coming in for fear of being preached to. We wanted them to be comfortable to know that all we would do would be to focus on family history.

I seemed to be able to answer his questions about the church satisfactorily and the more I answered him the more questions he had. He told me at the beginning that he was a theologian and had investigated many religions.

He had a real hang-up on the Greek Orthodox Church and how they did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and how they believed in the Trinity. I suggested to him that if he did not believe them just don't worry about it. He did not have to believe them and it was ok.

He asked me questions like how did the prophet become the prophet and did he know that he was going to be the prophet. He asked how they were called. He asked if our marriages were arranged or if we could choose our own. He asked about miracles and if the prophet could perform them. I told him that they had the ability with the priesthood they held but they did not talk about them much. I did share one with him about President Monson being prompted to go to a stake meeting and led to a little girl that was dying of cancer and wanted to meet the prophet before she died and prayed that she would have that opportunity.

I also shared with him that any priesthood holder could perform miracles if needed and how my husband had healed me from leukemia. He drilled me to make sure that I could have died before he was willing to accept that I was alive even 30+ years after the experience.

By the time an hour had passed, we have covered the first vision, the plan of salvation, and the three degrees of glory. I explained about our belief of burning in hell but that very few would be there. He seemed very content with what I explained and I noticed that the Spirit was able to touch him a couple of times.

I challenged him to read the Book of Mormon with real intent to know the truth, having faith in Christ that he could receive an answer as to whether or not what I had told me was true and that the Book of Mormon was true. I told him that if he were a true theologian, then he would naturally want  to know more and that he would be missing out on a life changing experience if he let this challenge go by.

I do not know if I will ever see him again, but he left with a good experience with family history and a lot of questions answered about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints. He also asked me why we were called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints and when I gave him the answer he said, that makes sense. At least I know that seeds were planted that maybe someday they will blossom and he will find the truth that was taught. It was a wonderful experience.

This week we have traveled to Harlem St. Nicholas Avenue and 125th Street to do apartment inspections with one set of sister missionaries, and two sets of Elders--one set assigned as ASL missionaries and the other assigned to the Harlem YSA ward where Bishop Walter Rane presides.  Bishop Rane is the artist that painted the original Book of Mormon paintings that are exhibited here in the Lincoln Square Building where the temple and Family History Center are located.

Today was a busy day.  We attended our Church meetings at Inwood and helped in the FHC there with teaching the Elders assigned to the Inwood 2nd Spanish Ward how to work with new converts and navigate their own Family Trees.  We made arrangements to do a "Helping Others to Love Family History" experience with a member of the Inwood 1st Ward Bishopric, Ryan Mangum.  In starting to prepare the lesson plan for his experience next week, we found that Diane and Ryan are 4th cousins, 2 generations removed [4c2r] with Thomas Adair and Rebecca Brown as their common ancestors.  After we prepare the lesson plan this week, we will meet next week-Memorial Day weekend.

From there we traveled by subway to the Stake Center on east 87th street and trained a couple of their temple and family history consultants by helping them start a lesson plan for members of their Manhattan 3rd Ward.  We ended the evening by attending a fireside given by Tom Hanson, one of the other FHC missionaries abuot his experience with Pres. Hinckley and other General Authorities as the Project director of the building of the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.