Regis and Kelly Show

While I'm on a roll, I'll just keep going.  After coming home from the concert at Carnegie Hall last night, I thought it would be nice to go see the "Live with Regis and Kelly" show this morning.  We have been planning to see a show while we were here in New York. The ABC building where the studio is for this show, is just outside our window.  It is literally across the street from our apartment building.  One of the guests today was Brook Shields.  You need to be in line before 8:00 to try to get a standby seat.  So I walked there in 2 minutes and got in line.  It was fun to see how they make these shows.

Verae's teeth are FINALLY done

For a while we thought her teeth might never get finished .  The ordeal following the loose bridge with her front teeth has been more than we could have imagined.  At first the school told us that it could take 2 months and maybe more to finish a bridge.  We thought that was plenty long, but our visas weren't here and probably wouldn't be for 2 months or so.  We were told it would cost about twice as much to have a regular dentist fix her teeth.  Not having excess funds for this helped us choose this route.

After 3 months and still looking like we would be at least another month, we had to do something else. I started to look for another dentist on the website for our insurance carrier.  I don't think it is the best way to find a dentist so I talked to the temple president and he talked to others to get a recommendation for us.  That night as we were leaving the temple, Verae was talking to a sister who was waiting for her husband. She told her of our dilemma, this sister said she had a great dentist who they had been using for years who was close by.  When her husband came he gave us the office phone and the cell phone number of Dr. Ayoubi.  I called the next morning which was Friday the 14th and was able to get an appointment for Tuesday the 18th of January.  When we saw the dentist he said we could have the teeth all done in 9 days.  We were SO HAPPY and Surprised.  He made us feel special.  He completed the work even with one setback by Thursday the 27th.

Wednesday night New York was pounded again with 15 inches of snow.  Trying to get to the dentist on Thursday morning was another ordeal.  We normally take 2 buses to get there.  After waiting for buses that didn't come, we tried to get a taxi.  The taxis wouldn't stop either.  We were ankle deep in slush in the middle of the street when I finally got a taxi.  The streets were so plugged that it took him 45 min to get close to the dentist office and I paid $17.00.  We then trudged another block in the slush. Within 15 minutes the permanent 6 tooth bridge was in and looks very nice. Then to get home was another 1 and 1/2 hour ordeal waiting for different buses that didn't come. We in desperation tried to get another taxi, which wasn't easy either.  We arrived home frozen but thankful.

We were invited to a delicious dinner at one of the missionary couples in our building, no traveling involved.  They live one flight of steps down from us.  Afterwords, we all had tickets to a concert at Carnegie Hall.  We thought that by evening the buses would be on schedule . Wrong again. It took 2 taxis for the 6 of us, but me made it there in time.  The piano concert was 41 year old Wibi Soerjadi from the Netherlands. The two hour concert was wonderful.  I didn't know that 2 hands could produce so much music from one piano.  It was a delight to listen when he played.  He demonstrated the 3 hand technique. Under normal playing the left hand might not be used to its fullest extent all of the time, nor the right hand either.  Therefore when you make use of this idle time for the hands, you have the equivalent of an extra hand.  When he played with just the left hand it sounded like most musicians using both hands.  We he used both hands it was incredible. After the concert we decided to slosh home because it wasn't too cold (35 degrees) and it was so pretty.  The streets are still lit up with Christmas lights in the trees.  We went by Central Park and it looked like a winter wonderland.

Central Park Earlier In The Day

We Changed Dentists

We have changed dentists now so we can get things going.  It was still going to be more than a month with the previous dentist at the NYU School of Dentistry.  After waiting 3 weeks during the Christmas shutdown at the school we find that they hadn't sent the impressions off to the lab.  We were under the impression that the lab was making the bridge during the school shutdown, but they weren't.  Needless to say we felt very bad.  We found a new dentist the next day Friday the 14th of Jan.  Dr. Ayoubi is the new dentist and he gave us an appointment for Tuesday the 18th and they began work for new bridge.  It will be completed on the 27th and by the 2nd of Feb. we will be ready to go.

Out travel arrangements are to leave New York the 4th at 9:30 PM on American Airline flight 951.  We will arrive in São Paulo at 10:15 AM on Saturday.

Visas Have Arrived

The phone rang yesterday and notified us that our visas had arrived.  When Verae's teeth are finished we will be able to go to Brazil.  That should be in a couple of weeks.

Snow in Manhattan

 Well we received almost 2 ft of snow in Central Park last night. With the drifts and snow plows, you can see it made for quite a mess.    The show house was closed because of the storm so we can't go to the movies.  Snow plows and snow blowers were working all night so it would be ready for traffic and pedestrians today.  I walked to the grocery store this morning and took these pictures.  Things were pretty much normal except not a lot of people, but you could get around.  I saw two cars stuck in the middle of the street because part of the streets were not plowed yet.
The cars that are parked will be there a while it looks like, but we are warm in our little apartment.  We were able to sleep very well because there were no fire engines and sirens going all through the night.

Buba Gumps

Looking out at Time Square from Bubba Gumps

Bubba Gumps at Time Square

Tonight, December 13th, we went with a group of about 16 temple missionaries to Bubba Gumps Restaurant for dinner before going to the "Donny and Marie a Broadway Christmas" show.  Actually 16 went to dinner and 14 went to the show. Another brother and I decided to save the the $110 for the ticket.  This was Verae's anniversary gift from me.  She said it was worth every penny to her.  She told me she didn't have words to explain how spectacular it was.  We will have been married 44 years on the 21st of December.  Honestly she only wants her 6 front teeth for Christmas, but she won't get them until January.

Yesterday at Church we had the ward Christmas program.  It was very special.  The musical talent here is wonderful.  The soloists were members of the church who are also professionals with wonderfully trained voices.  The final song of "Oh Holy Night" was sung by Michael Ballam who was just visiting and was asked the night before to sing on the program.  Tonight at dinner President Garff told us that Donny Osmond was there also, but we didn't see him.  Later in the evening there was a Messiah Sing a Long.  This is where they have an orchestra and opera singers perform the Messiah on the stand and the congregation sings along on some of the songs if you want to.

We are looking forward to Christmas here and New Years also. New York is decorated so pretty.  It is pretty cold now.  We went out and bought some gloves and ear muffs, and a scarf and hat for Verae.

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving has arrived and we are still here in New York.  We are happy to be here .  Verae is most of the way through her ordeal with the dentist or should I say dentists.  She is very thankful that the drilling and carving on her teeth is over.  She has the temporary bridge and they gave fit her for the permanent bridge which should be ready in maybe 3 weeks, but most likely 4 weeks.  So we may be here for Christmas also. One of the largest holiday festivals in NY is here at Lincoln Square just in front of the temple.  There will be live music and the lighting of a large Christmas tree. Still no word on the visa accept that SOMEDAY it will just show up and they will call us.
We love serving here, the people are wonderful. Besides the temple missionaries some of the senior missionaries in the area work one day a week in the temple.  Many of the workers are young adults without children and give one day a week.  A few are even coordinators.  We have a new Temple Presidency who we love already.  We had a wonderful dinner with the missionaries and the presidency at President Garff's apartment. Everyone brought what they wanted to make.  Everything was delicious and there was more that we could eat.

Click on the picture for the whole album

I took advantage of the fact the the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was just a block away on Central Park West street. So I went at 7:00 AM to the Parade to get a seat.  Many people were there since 5:00 AM.  The parade began at 9:00 AM.  The weather was milder than I thought it might be, but I bundled up anyway and I am glad I did.  The rain held off till the parade was over.  Here is a link to the photo album.  Verae decided to go up to the top of our building on the 37th floor and see what she could see from there.  Because of the other taller buildings all around, she could just see what passed between the building at the end of the street which wasn't much.  We then watched the last part on TV.  The picture at the left was taken after I raised my camera as high over my head to take the picture.  This is what it looked like if I didn't raise the camera.  It really was neat to see all the balloons though.

The week before we went to the New York Natural History Museum and walked and walked till our feet fell off.  We saw the Journey To The Stars show in the large planetarium sphere.  This was really spectacular.  This made it worth the walking and sore feet.  See the photo album here.

Statue of Liberty Trip

Click on Picture for FULL Web Album

   For our P Day on November 8th we went with another missionary couple from South Carolina to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  I have been procrastinating this trip because I don't like finding out how to get to new places here in NY. and I had other things I wanted to see, like ground zero.  We went to Ground Zero last week so my excuse was gone.  The day Verae wanted to go was a beautiful day, but I didn't want to go very bad.  Our friends tried to go but the lines were just too long.  So I felt vindicated for my reticence to go.  However we mad plans to go on the 8th of November at 9:00 AM and so we bought our tickets online to avoid some of the lines and make sure we got tickets.  It was a horribly cold and windy day, too windy to use umbrellas.  We walked or stood in line for an hour anyway, but were finally able to board the ferry to Liberty Island after the security search like at the airports. Then when we were on the island we had another security search.  So much for the freedom we take for granted.  I didn't mind the screening because I know it keeps us safer.  I still thought it was ironic that to a degree we don't have the freedom to travel like we used to.
   I did enjoy the visit even though it was super cold and it even hailed a little.  There is a museum in the pedestal that supports the actual statue.  I learned a lot about the history of the statue which can be viewed at this link:  History of the Statue of Liberty.  It stirred in me deep patriotic emotion about the goodness of America and the symbol of freedom for which she stands along with our flag.

Click on Picture to see the FULL web album

   Next it was off to Ellis Island on the ferry which is very close to Liberty Island.  You can find the History of Ellis Island here.  I felt more emotion as I toured the great hall and visited the rooms that my father and grandmother passed through in 1918 we they arrived in America from Norway. Again it was fascinating I didn't want to leave after only 2 hours there.  We had to get back home to a group Family Home Evening with our new Temple Presidency.
   Sunday the 14th we went to two evening meetings.  One was a devotional for temple workers and friends and family. This was very inspirational. The other was a singles fireside which we crashed.  The speakers at the fireside were Elder and Sister Yost.  Elder Yost is a retired 4 star admiral and past commandant of the Coast Guard.  Their assignment now is in the New York Public and International Affairs office, assigned to represent the church in the United Nations.  They have hosted many affairs for the ambassadors of the various countries.  They learn more about our church.  To learn more about Admiral Yost and his career click here.  Needless to say it was an inspiring fireside for all who were there.
I have been working in their office helping with the computers.
   Verae has her temporary bridge now and we will go to the dentist again on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  We will really miss not being home for the holidays.

Stake Conference in Manhattan

New York, New York Stake Conference                   24-0ct-2010

Well today was stake conference here in Manhattan.

In every respect it was like conference in Richfield with a few twists.

1^st of all we walked in and found a few rows of seats on the side that were marked reserved for Chinese.   (There is a Chinese branch in the stake.) The overflow in the multipurpose room was almost full and there was a monitor set up in another room for mothers to take there children to.  The chapel is on the 3^rd floor, (the temple is on the 4th, 5th and 6th Floor) so all the strollers with kids in them had to come up the elevators too.  Most members don’t own cars and use public transportation to come to church.  That means families come with backpacks and strollers on the subway and buses to attend church.  (A few weeks ago I was late leaving for Stake High Priest meeting, in another building, and I had to take a taxi in order to get there on time. )

After the meeting started they explained that the conference was being broadcast in other buildings in the stake by way of the Internet. There are at least 3 ward houses here in Manhattan.  Isn’t technology wonderful.  They also handed out earphones for those who need to hear it in another language.  They are similar to those used at the Conference Center in SL.  Hymn numbers are announced for English, Spanish, and Chinese.  One other difference is that there is someone in the front doing the signing for the deaf for the whole session including the songs.

By now you are getting the picture that things are just a bit different here in NY. The feeling was the same the spirit was the same.  We felt at home.  It was with all this in mind, the mixture of so many nationalities, that we sang the opening hymn “Now Let Us Rejoice”.  The spirit was really strong for me and I couldn’t even sing I was so choked up.  I’ll type some of the words here.

“Now let us rejoice in the day of salvation. No longer as strangers on earth need we roam.  Good tidings are sounding to us and each nation.  And shortly the hour of redemption will come”.  2^nd verse. “We’ll love one another and never dissemble, but cease to do evil and ever be one. And when the ungodly are fearing and tremble, we’ll watch for the day when the Savior will come”.  3^rd verse  “In Faith we’ll rely on the arm of Jehovah to guide thru these last days of trouble and gloom, and after the scourges and harvest are over,

 We’ll rise with the just when the Saviors doth come.  Then all that was promised the Saints will be given, and they will be crown’d with the angels of heaven, and earth will appear as the Garden of Eden and Christ and his people will ever be one.”

The theme of conference was on missionary work.  We had wonderful talks.  I will only mention one here.  The Branch President of the Chinese Branch spoke about his conversion and how his life has changed since becoming a member 7 years ago.  It was difficult for him to speak in English but I could understand him well.  He is so humble and thankful for his family’s blessings.  When he joined the church he and his family were living in an apartment of about 150 square feet and worked 13 hrs a day 6 days a week.  They now have a bigger apartment and a new job that lets him serve in the church, and he has Sat. and Sun. off.

The Gospel is True, The Lord lives and he blesses our lives when we obey His commandments.

The Stake is having a special Thanksgiving worship on the 21^st of November.  They are calling it “Come and See”.  We are asked to invite someone to come with us to church this day. 

One of the ways we can share the Gospel is by contributing to Mormon.org.  In fact I just found out that the Church has special missionaries that find and teach over the Internet only.

Check out this profile on Mormon.org from one of the members of our ward.

http://mormon.org/feature/robert/eng/

I will close for now,  we miss all of you

Love Elder and Sister Hansen

17 Oct 2010

17 Oct 2010

Dear Friends and fellow missionaries;

I have been wanting to write for some time and give you an update of our mission.  Some of this may end up in the blog as well.  Which is http://jbhfamily.blogspot.com

We are enjoying New York City and the mission a lot. It is very different than life in Richfield.  We have a nice apartment in the same building as the temple.  Part of the building is a high rise apartment building with 37 floors (as seen in the picture behind the temple).  The other part of the building is the temple and ward house.  There are 3 wards that meet here.

This picture was taken from the building across the street where the New York Philharmonic Orchestra is housed.  The snow flakes were on the window of this building.  As you can see there is a lot of traffic all the time.  This city does not sleep either.  We are on the 6^th floor of the high rise and there are 6 floors to the temple part of the building.  The 2^nd floor houses the distribution center for clothing and the Public and International Affairs offices.  I have been working on their computers to get them to talk to each other.  The 3^rd floor is the ward house, it fills the whole floor including the high rise part.  The multipurpose room has the same high ceilings as in other chapels.  The 4^th  5^th and 6^th floors are the temple and the 1^st floor has the baptistery in part of it and the main lobby in the other part.

I can describe a little about the temple.  The 4^th floor has the laundry and clothing rental, and the temple office and dressing rooms for the workers.  The 5^th floor is the patron dressing rooms the ordinances rooms and the 6^th floor is the 2 sealing rooms and waiting room.  We have had some wonderful experiences here already and have met many people who are devoted to the Lord. One of the big differences we have noted is that many young people serve here weekly, some couples but mostly single people.  The other workers come from various parts of the world.  They live and work here in the NY area.  We have met people from Nigeria, Algeria, Dominican Republic, Japan, Brazil, Ireland, and other parts of the world.  I say “If you can’t travel to see the world, come to New York, everybody is here”.  Spanish is the most spoken of languages other than English.  It is very common to have Spanish speakers in sessions.  There are 3 session on Saturday that are in Spanish and English speakers wear the earphones.

We are part of the Manhattan 1^st Ward.  It is estimated that about 284,000 people live within the ward boundaries. The ward has within its boundaries many notable sites, such as Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Carnegie Hall, and part of Central Park, Lincoln Center. Lincoln Center is home to the famed Julliard School of Music which is directly across the street from the temple.  Our ward has about 600 members and the new bishopric spoke today.  One of the counselors said he was aware of about 6 families in the ward who had cars.  Everyone travels by public transportation.  If you do bring a car to NY, parking is between $15 for ½ a day to $24 for 2 hours.  There is parking on the street for up to 1 hr for less money, but they are hard to find and have meters.

We do a lot of walking, even though we live so close to the temple.  When we go grocery shopping we walk a few blocks and then each of us carry two bags or sacks the few blocks home again.  The few times we have gone out to dinner we have had to walk.  There are a lot of places to eat very close, but are pretty expensive.  I had the best hamburger I have ever had.  It serves pizzas and burgers and fries.  I paid about $15 for the burger, fries and a drink.  The burger was very large and the fries were great too, so I didn’t feel too bad about the price.

We are still waiting for visas to come, but some visas are now coming through.  Our friends who were supposed to leave for Brazil in July, left on Oct 11^th.  So we have hope ours will come.  Verae has a dental problem now that will take maybe 2 months to get fixed.  She has to have a new larger bridge made for her front teeth because the tooth that was anchoring the bridge has some decay in it.  She will begin next Wednesday so we hope the visas come before we are though with this.

Love;  Elder and Sister Hansen