Farewell, New York

It's official. We are finished with our mission. The picture above is the last day we went to the Family History Center, our last train ride into Grand Central Station. This was Saturday, October 22nd.

Several people stopped by the Family History Center to bid us farewell. Here is a picture of Dick and I and Sisters Pryzbyla and Nalawas. Our last week in the temple was a very special one for Dick and I. Sister Nalawas is from Vanuatu, an island between Australia and Fiji. She only has an eighth grade education. But, she was called as a missionary to the NYNY North Mission. She didn't know any English when she started her mission, and she has progressed significantly in her English skills. She has such a sweet spirit. Her family are members of the church, but there is no temple in Vanuatu. Her brother died in 2005, and she has really wanted to have his temple work done for him in the Manhattan Temple. She talked to President Smith, and he told her that it would be fine for her to have his temple work done. He suggested that the Dalebouts help her in getting the ordinance card for her brother and also suggested that Elder Dalebout do her brother's temple work. She was very happy and told us that she had prayed that Elder Dalebout could do his work before we left to go home from our mission. She and her companion came in and Sister Nixon (the Family History director) and I helped her to get the card for her brother. Sister Nalawas went up to the Temple office, where Sister Nixon was, and Sister Nixon helped her get the information she needed to print the ordinance card. When Sister Nalawas and her companion came down from the temple office, she was smiling and happy. She went over to Dick and asked him if he would do the temple work for her brother. Of course, Dick said "yes." Then, she told us that the night before, she had a dream and that she was walking along with her brother, who was so happy. He told her that he was happy that Elder Dalebout was going to be doing his temple work. It just so happened that we were working in the temple the next day, and Dick was able to arrange his schedule so that he could do the baptism and confirmation in the morning, and we were asked to be the witness couple for the 2:00 p.m. session, so Dick did the rest of the work for her brother at that time. It was a special experience for us, especially for Dick.
Oh how we love the people we worked with. Sister Nixon is an incredible person, who is handling the Family History Center with love and kindness. We are so happy that a new couple will be coming December 17th to take over our place. For about six weeks, the hours had to be cut, because there weren't enough people to man the center.
Here is Joe Michalak. He is one of our regulars and is 85 years old. We really love Joe. He has been doing genealogy for 15 years. Every time he comes, he rides his bike. He has reminded me of Grandpa Miller, and we have taken a real liking to Joe. Maybe some day he'll join the church.
Here are three wonderful ladies that I worked with in the temple: l-r: Sister Fairweather, Sister Girsdansky, and Sister Potter. They were so kind and loving and helpful as temple workers.
Sister Bataelic (on the right) was also another of my favorite temple workers. She is from Scotland and has the most amazing Scottish accent. She is a ball of fire and always makes people feel good about themselves. Jane Leathers was another one of our guards and was also a member of the Inwood 1st Ward. She is an amazing opera singer and a good friend.
These three elders came to see us the last day: Elder Hellberg, Elder Mattai, and Elder Huerta Luna. We really love them.
Our last train ride back to Scarsdale. For the next three days, we packed and cleaned, packed and cleaned until we were very tired. The mission is not using our apartment again, so we also had to pack up all the dishes and pans, etc. so that the missionaries could come in and move all the furniture and boxes of stuff.
Before we left, we took a picture of two of our good friends. These people were neighbors of ours: Haifeng Li and Karl Li (little boy). The mother's name is Keshu Zhang. We loved seeing Karl and his dad every day as they waited for the school bus. They were our good friends.
The night before we left Scarsdale, we stayed with the Merrells. We can't say enough about these good people, who really have been stalwarts in the office. They have been our good friends and we have enjoyed having family home evenings with them. We will miss them greatly. For dinner, they invited four sister missionaries over to their apartment. These sisters live in the same building as the Merrells.

As our mission closes, I am going to write the words to a song that two of our missionaries sang at our last zone conference, Elder Hellberg and Sister Fuiamono. Elder Hellberg wrote the last two verses. It sums up our feelings.

When All Is Said and Done
When the music fades into the past, When my days of life are through, What will be remembered of where I've come When all is said and done.

Will they say I loved my family? That I was a faithful friend. That I loved to tell of God's own Son When all is said and done.

Chorus: How I long to see the hour When I will hear that trumpet sound and rise to see my Savior's face, see Him smile and say, "Well done." You can forget my name and the songs I've sung, Every rhyme and every tune, But remember the truth of Jesus' love When all is said and done. When all is said and done.

I have worn my Badge and I've borne His name, Since this journey I've begun, And his missionary I'll be still When all is said and done.

When the city lights drop way down low O'er the skyline sets the sun, I'll remember this land, it's become my home, when all is said and done.

Chorus

What a great privilege we've had to serve in the New York New York North Mission. We will miss you.