This n That of June '16

 The month of June seems to be flying by. Just want to share a few experiences of late that have increased and strengthened our love for this "work" we have been called to do. Two Saturdays ago (June 11, 2016) I was serving in the Initiatory area of the Temple. On Saturdays--the last Endowment session begins at 5:00 pm and the Temple closes at that time so the workers can finish up with this Session and any other assignments that are going on. Well at about 4:50 pm-- Sister Buchanan, who is one of our Senior missionaries, answers the phone in the Recorder's office and it's a lady who wants to know if she has time to make  it to the temple to do initiatory work. Sister Buchanan tells her that the temple will close in 10 minutes--that perhaps she should try to come another day. This dear lady pleads with her to let her come. She said she was bringing a friend who "really needs the Temple today!" This Sister tells her how close they are ( they were by Columbus Circle--which is a few short blocks away) and Sister Buchanan softens and tells her to come--and she will tell the Recommend Desk to let them in. This Sister and friend come up to the 5th floor to the Dressing rooms and Initiatory area. One of these Sisters is so bent over and we learn that she has been to her Chemo appointment and is in a lot of pain. BUT she wanted to Come to the Temple!! So they get dressed and we begin. Now Saturday mornings are extremely busy--we have 8 Endowment sessions during the day and in the morning 3 of those Sessions are in Spanish and those Sessions fill up fast! We also have many Spanish ordinance workers on the morning shift and they start very early (6:00 am). So by late afternoon--many of these local workers have finished and are gone--leaving a small crew of Missionary/local workers to finish up the work. At this point, I am wondering what/why we are opening Initiatory at this time--as I have just "closed" it and taken down the cards and secured that area. Sister Buchanan rushes up from the Office to explain that we will accommodate these 2 Sisters and their request. I feel quite bad for the Sister who is "rocking back and forth--in pain" and wonder if we can even get this done. But I am verbally (and spiritually) assured to proceed. I was NOT prepared for what happened next!! This dear Sister literally "hobbles" around as we perform the Initiatory work and  as I see her the Spirit whispers to ne that she is indeed a special lady! At one point I am crying such that I can't even talk. She kindly looks up at me and she is weeping too. As is the dear Sister who brought her to the Temple. As we were finishing--the Sister who is in such pain has hurried off to her locker to get dressed--but the other Sister shared with us this sweet Sister's story. She is a little Filipino lady who was orphaned at the tender age of 6. (In the Phillipines, I assume). She is adopted by a 60-year old woman and comes to live in the U.S.  Her life is not easy--but she finds the gospel as a teenager and actually served a mission. She married but then gets divorced at age 29. And now she is fighting cancer--alone. I think the Sister who was with her may have been her Visiting Teacher. She told us that this Sister had said to her after the Chemo appt "I need to go to the Temple--now". The accompanying Sister then told her that the Temple (Manhattan) closes early on Saturdays and with the distance between them and the Temple-- they would not make it before it closed.  And this faithful Sister responded to that with this "Do you believe in miracles? I  believe and I really need to get to the Temple"--and so they did. I truly hope I never forget that experience!! What a blessing/pleasure it was to serve them that day!!

This next experience kind of "reveals" how things go for Sis Mumford (me) when she gets "pressure" to hurry through something. I was working in the Baptistry a few weeks ago on a Thursday or Friday late afternoon (June 9 or 10, 2016) and there have been several groups of youth come from one of the Stakes in our area that has been "celebrating" Temple week. So I am issuing the clothing for this one group of youth who have come and their Bishop. There are about 5 boys and 4 or 5 girls. They are all standing in the doorway where we give them their clothing and it's kind of up to us to "size them up" and give clothing that will fit them. You also issue undergarments as well as a baptism jumpsuit and
footlets. Well I am so efficiently helping and sending the young men off to the dressing room to get changed and ready to participate in the baptisms. Then, several minutes later this kind Bishop comes back to us in the clothing area and asks "Sisters, has the Temple 'changed' the clothing requirements for the young men?". Puzzled, I ask, "Not sure what you mean, Bishop"-- and he says "Well my
young men are in changing and they have these "stretch suits with straps and they tell me they've
NEVER had to wear these before". Another Sister who is also helping looks at me and then it dawns on me that I have given that whole group--girls And Boys, the baptismal liner that is only for the girls and unendowed women. We just burst into laughter at the thought of these poor young men in the dressing room struggling into those stretch liners that look like old fashioned bathing suits!! I apologize to him and tell him they don't need to wear those--but he says, "they are already kdressed so we'll just leave it as is"--but he did want to clarify if it was a recent change--to which I sheepishly replied, "Only if you have a Sister Mumford issuing the clothing!" And she hopes she has not "traumatized" anyone because of it." He smiles and tells me they are such good young men--"I just won't tell them otherwise" and then winks at me and hurries to join his waiting group. Sister Topolov and I are still chuckling when the Assistant Matron, Sister Bench, comes into the Baptistry and asks how things are going as she knows it has been extremely busy that day. Sister Topolov says we're fine except when Sister Mumford issues the clothing--and then proceeds to recount what's happened. Sister Bench also "enjoys" the moment and says "this is too good to NOT tell Pres Bench--he needs a good laugh today!!" Needless to say, I was very careful and have been since--to get "the right clothing to the right person" from then on!! Even now as I fold the laundry in the Baptistry and I see one of those liners--I get a smile on my face as I think of those obedient young men and their caring Bishop. Sweet is the Work!!!

Visitors from "Home"-- Sessilee Choules and her daughter Kelly Elder and grandson Cole. They stayed overnight with us--saw some sites, went to see "Wicked" and then went on to a Gymnastics Competition for Cole in Providence, RI. It was so great to have them here.

Entrance to our New York Manhattan Temple

Side view of the Temple entrance

Elder Mumford and his High Priest group of the Rego Park 1st Ward 

Elder M "captured" this sweet picture of our dear Bishop Greg Blanchard of the Rego Park 1st Ward as he is conducting Sac Mtg. The cute little brown head in front of him is his darling 8-month old daughter in a baby carrier. He works long hours and is gone so much--that very often this is what we see on Sunday's as he tries to spend time "close" to her😇.

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More visitors from "home" (we ll sort of). Vicki (Henderson) Olsen and her daughter, Lyndsey,  were in NYC with a group of "Theater-goers" lead by the Drama teacher from Riverton High in Utah where Vicki teaches. He brings a group to NYC every 2 years and Vicki and Lyndsey have been here 3 or 4 times. We had them to dinner on Sunday (Father's Day) and so enjoyed their visit. We went to the Rooftop Garden of our Apt Building and took a few photos.

Lyndsey, Vicki Olsen and Sis M with NYC skyline in background 

Since the Subway sort of "re-routed" us on our way to Church on Father's Day--we found ourselves walking to Times' Square to try another Subway line. We got "caught" by Cookie Monster for one of those "yes, we'll let you take our pic" and then are "asked" for a tip because of it. OH WELL!! 

Just a fun "wrap up" of some of our "doings and goings" of June 2016

" 🎼Oh What Do You Do . . . While Your Wife Gets Her Hair Cut?"

We made the "trek" to "hinder land" (Washington Heights) again for another hair appointment and Elder Mumford, after a brief Quiz on directions ( which I failed), decided I should probably NOT try it on my own just yet--came with. I know it's not very fun for him--but I so appreciate it and the other Sister Missionaries think he's so Great to go with me.😉💕!! So since the weather was so lovely--he "took off exploring" the area--looking for a Park that others had told him about. So here's a few pics of what he found:

Sidewalk "chalk" advertising--Clever and "Free"!

Exercise and Fresh Air--we see this ALOT in most Parks we pass by

Fort Tryon Park was the location of the battle of  Ft Washington on Nov 16, 1776.  It was a victory for the British and one of the worst defeats for the Americans of the Revolutionary War. It was the last American stronghold on the island of Manhattan. General Howe refused to abandon the Garrison in spite of orders from General Washington. Howe thought he could "save" the Fort. The British had over 8,000 troops--while the Americans were only 3,000+ in numbers. This site is the highest on the island of Manhattan--and overlooks the Hudson. On the opposite side (New Jersey) was Fort Lee.

A view towards New Jersey--across the Hudson

We also found a quaint little Indian restaurant to eat in--but didn't get a pic. We hope we can "find" it again the next time we make the trek up there.

But speaking of restaurants--we did find a Japanese one thanks to friends and fellow missionaries, Tim and DeEtte McKenna--who organized our Temple Shift to celebrate 1 last time with the Calls. We finished "early enough" last Saturday (June 4, 2016) that we hurried ( in a down pour) to the Sapporo Restaurant, and were treated to some wonderful Japanese dishes. It was a fun Farewell--as Elder Steve and Sister Janean Call departed on June 6, 2016 for home (Arvada, Colorado--near Denver). We already " miss them like crazy"!! And plus we are "short" a bMissionary couple--and will be for almost 2 weeks before their "replacements" (not a good choice of words😒) will get here. Here's our group:

Back to front--Bob and Dee Ann Buchanan, Steve and Janean Call, Kathy Thompson (next to Sister Call) Tim and DeEtte McKenna, Elder Mumford ( leaning in so you can see down his row 😁) and Sister M (me). Check out how much food is on that table!! I could have fed many from my dish alone!! 

I was in "shock" when the Waitress put this in front of me and said it was "all mine"!  It was so delicious--but way too much food for ONE person!

It was "hard" to have that time together end!! We so miss those Calls!!

"Changing Shifts"--all part of the Work

June 1, 2016
Today we had a "Changing of the Guard" so to speak-- our Temple shift now goes to evenings for the next 3-month period. It's all part of the way our Temple Presidency chooses to use the Missionary couples and Senior Sisters. Those "seasoned" couples like to define the shifts as " the Broadway Plays" group and the "Museums" group! You see, the morning- late afternoon shift finishes anywhere from 4 to 6 pm-- which allows for free evening time to take in a Concert or Broadway Play while the afternoon-night shift goes from 3:30 to 10:30 or even 11:00 pm (Friday nights)-- which only allows time to do those things, like most of the Museums, which are open then. So we are anxious to see some other sites during this time. We did get a chance to see one more play before this change took effect. We went to see "Cagney" The Musical--a musical about the life of James Cagney. It was well done and I loved the music and tap dancing that filled up the stage often. A little peak at this show:

CAGNEY is the dramatic new musical that follows the life of the legendary James Cagney from the streets of New York to his rise as one of the brightest stars of Hollywood, from a vaudeville song-and-dance man to the cinema’s original tough guy. Broadway’s Robert Creighton, in the role he was born to play, leads a cast of six who tap dance through a score that blends original music with classic George M. Cohan favorites, including Give My Regards To Broadway, Grand Old Flag, and Yankee Doodle Dandy.

"I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy"

"Jack Warner" of Warner Bros Studio--legendary figure of that Studios "magnate" of the 1930-1950's

"Give My Regards to Broadway"

The entire cast

Inside the West Side Theatre

View of the Stage       It was a fun night!!

Next Adventure-- the original Downtown New York Macy's Department Store

My friend and fellow Missionary, Sister Kathy Thompson, was very anxious to introduce me to one of her "favorite" places-- the huge Macy's store where the movie "Miracle on 34th Street" has scenes 

from--and yes, it's part of the whole Herald Square nostalgia. So we set out on Wednesday, June 2, 

2016, to "go and see" this famous icon. (We could because our days are pretty much open now). I 

thought we were going on a little walk--oh-h no--- we got on the Subway and headed "downtown"--to 34th Street and when we came up out of the Subway--there it was--the giant Macy's store. It has 9 

floors!!! I've heard people say they "can't shop there" because they can't "find their way around"! I 

believe them now!!  But Sis Thompson knew what she wanted me to see--although it's a little "out of season" right now!! We found the "original old wooden escalator" that took us up to where the Christmas village and train will take children (and Sis Thompson and our Missy) to see Santa and sit on his lap!! Missy ( some of you know her as Melissa 😉) is coming to visit at Christmas time and Sis Thompson is so excited to meet her!! So here's just a "sneak preview" of what is in store: 

The "original wooden escalator" leading up to the 8th floor where Santa will be set up 

Close-up of the steps on escalator

It really works!!

Letters to Santa display

 

Window display

A Favorite Christmas Movie

See "Herald Square" sign above me 

The huge store 

Marker placed by Historical Society of New York--signifying this IS the Original Macy's 

 

We had a fun time even though we went to such a HUGE store and didn't buy a thing!!

CAN'T WAIT!!!

A"Different" Memorial Day for sure!!

First of all, we cannot believe it is really Memorial Day 2016!! Where has the time gone?! We arrived here in New York City on March 18, 2016 and we still find that we enjoy a new adventure every day! But this Memorial Day weekend has been quite different from those we've enjoyed . . . Back home. There has been no "gathering of family, no shopping for extra food to feed the masses, no flowers for the graves of loved ones passed, no 'golfing with 'da boys', no Memorial Picnic--come 🌧 or ☀️, and "kick-off the summer" party." But we have had a MEMORABLE DAY! Many temples in the Church in areas outside the Wasatch Front open their doors on some Monday holidays, i.e. Martin Luther King Day, President's Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day and Columbus Day--for a few hours of Temple work. The New York Manhattan Temple was open for all temple ordinances including baptisms, 2 Endowment sessions and other associated work. Ours was totally "manned" by the Temple Missionaries and Presidency members and a few of the local ordinance workers. It was a wonderful experience!! It was a "rainy" morning--so not sure if that contributed to or detracted from attendance--but there was a large group of youth who came for Baptisms--early (like 7:00 am--so they would have been up quite early to get there at that time) and then we had to be there at 8:00 am for Prayer Meeting and be ready for patrons at 8:30. We had a full Endowment session at 9:00 am, lots of patrons for sealings and initiatory from 9-12 and a somewhat full Endowment session at 11:00 am. The doors were closed at 12:00 and we finished at 1:00 with a lunch provided by members of Temple Presidency in our little "break room". It was amazing to me that people would come and spend their morning in that way. Some we visited with said they come every year--as traffic is easier to navigate and it's a day "off" work. It does make the week "longer" for us Missionaries, as we have now lost our full Prep Day. But it remains to be seen how that will "affect" us "greenies".
Yet, I must report on something "amazing" that made this day all the more "memorable". I wish you could all see the Celestial Room in the New York Manhattan Temple! It is such a bright and lovely room--decorated in soft yellows and pale turquoise-covered furniture with lovely lamps and small tables around the room. (those tables look like the exquisite music boxes, made in Sorrento, Italy, that Marcus Mumford brought back to the ladies in our family upon his return from his mission to Rome, Italy). In the center of the room is a large oval table with a gorgeous floral centerpiece of beautiful white roses, callalilies, and other "fancy" flowers--so rich and aesthetically-pleasing. (My description DOES NOT do it justice at all😦!) Anyway, I was "assigned" to be in this room (hard assignment, huh!) as part of my duties on this day. I was in there alone for a few minutes before people starting coming in from the Session. It is so peaceful there--many love to go in this room and sit and pray or to just sit and look around and quietly ponder.  As I said, I was alone--and sat looking around the room--when I 'looked up' and in my mind began to "see" faces of people whom I love, that have passed on--and an "inespeakable" (is that even a word??--well it should be--as I can't think of any other way to express it) JOY poured into my heart and soul!! Love of family spilled out of my body by way of my "teary eyes" and I remembered those "Angel faces smile, which I have loved long since, and lost (for) awhile!". ("Lead Kindly Light", Hymn #97, vs 3). Quite an experience for me and this different "Memorial Day" (in New York City) we were celebrating away from "Clifton and family" who were gathering for some food and fun!! I was so blessed to be where I was at that "moment" in time and though I "missed home", I will be forever grateful for such a choice experience of "remembering"!
Our daughter, Missy, has since posted her recap of the Memorial Day weekend in Clifton--which made us so HAPPY to hear of siblings gathering and carrying on with "TRADITIONS" so dear to me/us!! We love you all for that MEMORY!!
Later that night, I went up to the "Rooftop Garden" of our apartment building to see some of the "light" in the City. Some buildings had red, white and blue lights in honor of the day. But it was quite cloudy so my pics didn't quite capture the "colors" but I'll share them anyway.

The Lincoln Center (brightly lit building) just across the street from our apartment building

I'd tell you what "direction" this was taken--but I can never " get it" here!

A fun pic announcing "Mumford & Sons" 

Concert right here in NYC!!

I'll just close this Memorial Day memory saying "Thank You" again for those we REMEMBER whom we love and appreciate with all our hearts!!