Family and Friends

We have been a little behind in our blog posting so we will catch you up as much as possible for the last few months. Since Teri and Troy had baby Brodie in New Mexico it was only fair that they come to New York to bless him. Troy has a sister and brother-in-law here in Harlem and it was easy to convince Troy's mother and dad to visit here to help bless the baby in the Harlem ward. It was a fun and blessed event for the three families involved. We love being around the Brown's and the fun we have being with them. We had the entire group here for dinner after and enjoyed the time visiting and playing with the baby. Teri was able to stay a few extra days here with Brodie making everyone happy that missed the birth and the special time after the birth of a grandchild. We also welcomed Brian and Erins new little girl Isla into our family. She is a beautiful little girl and has already added a great deal of joy to their family and we can' wait to meet her. Grandchildren are wonderful!!!!!

We had a fun visit from some old and favorite friends the Millers from Littleton Colo. It was so great to see them and we had a nice time visiting upstate NY and seeing a few of the sights and we took them to our Sunday meeting up in Kingston where our missionary assignment is located. We welcome guests and even tho we have a small apt. we can put you up on the floor or you can stay at a hotel nearby. We can't go home, but we can have guests and be flexible with our schedule and would enjoy spending a little time with you if you are in the NY area. The whole state is very unique and has many places to visit other than the city.

We have had the pleasure of working with Pres. Searle as a mission president and now we have a new president as of June 30. He is Richard Smith and his wife Jill. He is an attorney and farmer from Rexburg Idaho. As soon as he gets his feet on the ground, I am sure he will provide wonderful leadership to our mission. Mission Presidents have so much to do, it is a dizzying blur of activities and they are expected to get up to speed and continue to push the work forward almost immediately. They are only given about three hours with the previous president and then they are on their own. We are trying to get him up to speed with office activities while he is trying to meet and interview missionaries and meet local leaders and learn to drive in the city. He will be very effective very soon as the Lord watches over those who watch over His missionaries. The New York North Mission is the top baptizing mission on the East coast and he want to keep that going. The senior couples have appreciated his kindness and spirit as we work together.

Our work can get hectic at times during the month. This last week was a transfer week and the end of a cycle, we also welcomed 20 new missionaries and 19 were honorably released.
We have gotten to know these fine men and they are ready to serve and continue to grow. Let these servant of the Lord know that you love them and keep them actively engaged in moving forward. Too many go home and if they don't go to college right away they tend to feel they are not as needed and get lost. Help them transition and look out for them they will be the leaders of the future and need our watchful care and love. Anyway it was a frantic week where Sister Farnsworth carries a big load as it is the time to do all kinds of paper work. She makes sure all the missionaries gets the assigned missionaries to the right companions, districts, and zones. Their cell phones and number have to be assigned and changed and they need to have their support money and move to new apartments. She is very efficient and I sweep up behind her paying the bills for the whole process. It is a zoo sometimes, but fulfilling when it is over and we have everyone in the right places with apartments, cars, and phones.

We don't get much proselyting time on Sunday when we are up North in our old area. It is hard to get much done in 4-5 hours, but we do what we can. The Kingston ward has had some nice success recently and the New Paltz branch could be better, but it is like many new areas of the church they struggle with leadership. We need more senior couples to help and train these new leaders. We will be struggling to get everything done in the next few months as we will go from 6 couples down to 4 and 2 of those have other assignment leaving just two of us to do the work. There are fewer senior missionaries putting in their paper due to economic conditions and we need more. I know it will be a struggle, but you are needed out here.

We are all waiting and looking forward to the coming of the Savior. He will only come when the things that have been prophesied are fulfilled. If we are really looking forward to His coming, there is much work yet to be done. It will require the strength of all members teaching and living the gospel. If you can't go on a mission now do as much as you can do locally to help move missionary work along. Make the sacrifices, and savings that will allow you to serve.

I didn't get the blog published a couple of weeks ago so I will update you on the past few weeks activities. Another Sr. Missionary couple who went home last week has acted as the senior couple social and activity planner. He set us up to go out on a pier on the Hudson River to watch the New York Fire works display(the largest and most expensive the the world according to most New Yorkers. There were 5 large barges anchored about 1/2 miles away from the pier. With computer the way they are, all 5 barges fired the same set of fireworks at the exact time for about 45 minutes. I was spectacular!!! After the show there was this great mass of humanity in the streets as the gathered multitude began the trek home. We had come by subway and we were afraid that we wouldn't be home until 2-3:00 AM. It seems like the crowd dissipated more quickly than anticipated and we were home and in bed before midnight. I have come to love the largeness of the events in the city, the scale is beyond what I have experienced. Sis. Farnsworth is not so much enamored with all the people and the attendant masses of people.

We said good bye to our good friends and fellow couple missionaries the Evans who we will dearly miss. They were such great missionaries and friends. They just did their job and loved missionaries and did all the little things necessary to help the mission run smoothly. I can only hope to be as good as he was. I had to take over a few of his social planning activities and I set up a concert in Bethel Woods, the real sight of Woodstock. It was not incidentally in the town of Woodstock, but in Bethel Wood. There is now a museum there and a beautiful amphitheater where they hold concerts of varius kinds all summer long. I hate to admit it, but I am a doo-wop fan and Sis. Farnsworth set it up the trip and we went, and it was a fun day for me. I think the others in the group, not so much.

While Woodstock has become somewhat of a shrine, it was more of a shame then and shrine to us. It was my generation and acted a strengthing event for the continuation of everything that is elil and wrong in our society and a great victory for satan. There were 400,000 young men and women doing every sin imaginable. It has cost our society immesurable harm and many still view it as such a wonderful event. Such a travesty and waste of humanity. We get a glimps of the opposite wonderful young people of today as they have resisted the temptations of the world and are serving in behalf of the Lord as missionaries all over the world. We will win this war and I am confident of that happening. If we could get 400,000 worthy and committed missionaries (both young and seniors)we could influence the world for good and maybe offset much of the evil perpetrated and enshrined at Woodstock. A heratical comment from my generation.

We had some bad news in the mission this last few days. One of the APs and a terrific young missionary was struck with leukemia. He had to be sent home for treatment and futher diagonis and chemo-therapy. Sis. Farnsworth was very instrumental in seeing how badly he looked and pushed him to go see a doctor. They were able to take tests to begin to understand the condition. I am sure he will fight hard to overcome this illness. Keep him in your prayers his name is Elder Stephen Evans. It is hard to see such a great young man to be stricken with this dangerous illness.

More later.

Love
Elder and Sister Farnsworth