Remember, Remember

 The New York New York City Mission had the special privilege this month of a visit from Elder Ronald A. Rasband, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  For the first time in over a year, all 220+ missionaries in the NYNYC mission gathered together so everyone could listen to him speak. 

  Elder Rasband served as a young missionary in the Eastern States Mission, headquartered in New York City, then later served as a mission president in the New York New York North Mission, so his heart was very tender as he met with us.  The theme for his message was "Remember, Remember" as he taught us to pray for and then fully expect miracles on our missions.  He encouraged us all to keep journals and then refer back to them frequently, especially when discouraged or our faith is waning.  I will always remember the love he had for us, for the gospel, and for our Savior.  Two favorite quotes: "If the Savior were here today, he would say, 'I love you!'" and "This is the greatest work of all dispensations!"

Here are a few other happenings in September that I will always Remember, Remember as we celebrate our first six months in the mission:

• We've had three baptisms in our ward this month, Jeff who is Jewish, Hussein from Ethiopia, and Nikhil from India.  None of them knew Jesus Christ until they met our missionaries; now they are joyfully starting their journey on the covenant path of discipleship.  Truly, the gospel is being taken to every nation - without even leaving the city!  I hope I always remember the joy on their faces after their baptisms.

• Our Senior Couple Activity for September was a walking tour of Church History sites in New York City that included the site of Columbia College, where Martin Harris showed the engravings to Charles Anthon; City Hall Park and Newspaper Row, where Parley P. Pratt published "The Voice of Warning" and other publications to counter anti-Mormon newspaper articles; the Ohio Hotel (that was rebuilt and renamed after being destroyed by a fire) where Joseph Smith stayed and wrote home to Emma about how wicked yet incredible NYC is; and the Old Slip harbor where the Brooklyn set sail for California and the first saints from Britain landed.  We also saw the John Street Methodist Church (the first Methodist church in the US – and it has a clock that was given to them from John Wesley!), the Stock Exchange, and the New York Federal Reserve Bank in the financial district. We finished with lunch at the Fraunces Tavern, where George Washington delivered his farewell speech to his generals at the end of the Revolutionary War – so cool and so delicious!  I tend to think of NYC as being all modern skyscrapers, but there is so much history here that needs to be remembered.
  
  
  
• Neil and I decided to stay in the City and go to the Broadway musical Come From Away.  It's about a small town in Newfoundland where 38 international flights were diverted on 9/11/01 when US airspace was closed, and how they and the passengers learned about and dealt with the disaster. It’s an amazing story depicting how they came to trust and care for each other, regardless of language, race, etc.  It was an extremely powerful reminder of how human kindness is universal and how we gain strength from each other - something I always need to remember.  I highly recommend it, should you ever get the chance.  
• This month we have finally been able to get out visiting families on a regular basis.  It has been amazing how many of them said they were thinking of coming back, but no one had been to see them in years.  This teaches me to remember to do my ministering - it really does matter.  

"O remember, remember that these things are true..."  Mosiah 2:41