Service Project at AFYA

AFYA is a not-for-profit organization that takes unused, unexpired medical supplies that have been donated by New York area hospitals and ships them to developing countries. ("Afya" means "good health" in Swahili, the language of Tanzania, which is the country to which the medical supplies were first shipped). Each Tuesday, the missionaries in Yonkers volunteer up to two hours of their time to help sort, categorize, label, and box up the medical supplies. Today, Tuesday, September 22, 2015, was our first time helping with this amazing project.

Beverly sorts through the hundreds of medical supplies in this box:

 Sister Tesch (left) and Sister Larsen (far right) label the sorted supplies:

Elder Barberán helps box up the medical supplies:

Elder Wilson tapes up boxes for shipping to developing countries:

Scott helps sort supplies:

We are proud of all the service that the LDS missionaries render here in the New York New York North mission and worldwide!

MoMA and St. Patrick's Cathedral

Two of the top sights in Manhattan are the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the nearby St. Patrick's Cathedral. We visited these sights on Friday, September 11, 2015, before our temple shift at 3:00 pm. Fortunately, the MoMA allows photography, so we took pictures of our favorite works of art. Here are a few of them:

MoMA Sculpture Garden, with skyscrapers in the background.

The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh, one of the most beloved and most viewed paintings in the MoMA. It is one of our all-time favorite works of art.

Beverly poses next to The Starry Night.

The Bather by Paul Cézanne.

Portrait of Joseph Rouilen by Vincent van Gogh.

Evening, Honfleur by Georges-Pierre Seurat. This example of pointillism (painting with little dots) also includes the  frame, which the artist also painted.

Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat by Paul Cézanne.

Pines and Rocks by Paul Cézanne.

The Sleeping Gypsy by Henri Rousseau.

Broadway Boogie Woogie by Piet Mondrian.

Three Musicians by Pablo Picasso.

Picture with an Anchor by Vasily Kandinsky.

One (Number 31, 1950) by Jackson Pollack

Man with a Guitar, Georges Braque.

I and the Village by Marc Chagall.

The Park by Gustav Klimt.

Christina's World by Andrew Wyeth.

House by the Railroad by Edward Hopper.

Scott poses by Family Group by Henry Moore.

St. Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Avenue, Manhattan.

Interior of St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Beautiful stained-glass windows of St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Many buildings displayed American flags on this 9/11 of 2015 in commemoration of 9/11 of 2001 and the attack on the World Trade Towers.

 We love the art and architecture of New York City!

Senior Missionary Couples' Trip to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty

On Labor Day, September 7, 2015, the three Senior missionary couples who work in the mission office had a day off because their office building was closed. They took a trip to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty and invited us to go with them. Here are some of our photos of the trip.

Our ferry that took us from Liberty State Park in New Jersey to Ellis and Liberty Islands. The Manhattan skyline is across the bay in the background with the One World Trade Center (the tallest building on the left).

The New Jersey pier that we departed from, with the Newark skyline in the background.

Ellis Island.

The main building of Ellis Island, through which millions of immigrants passed from 1892 to 1956, with peak years 1900-1920.

Entrance to the Main Building of Ellis Island.

Great Hall, Main Building, Ellis Island.

Sister Zimmerman, Sister Hunt, Elder Hunt, Sister Frei, and Elder Frei look over copies of interesting documents in the Great Hall.

These tables are located where the immigration officers sat at their desks as they interviewed the millions of new arrivals to America.

Waiting for the movie about Ellis Island to begin: Sister Beverly Zimmerman, Sister JoAnne Hunt, Elder Roy Hunt, Sister Colleen Gardner, Elder Henry Gardner, Sister Katherine Frei, and Elder Greg Frei.

We pose on Ellis Island with the Manhattan Skyline in the background across the New York Harbor.

Elder and Sister Frei, Sister and Elder Zimmerman, at the Statue of Liberty.

Us at the Statue of Liberty.

Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty.

Close-up of the beautiful Statue of Liberty.

A view of the Statue of Liberty from the back.

A schooner passes by Liberty Island.

One of the ferries that goes from Manhattan or New Jersey to Ellis Island and Liberty Island.

Verrazano Narrows Bridge at the entry to the New York Harbor.

The Brooklyn Bridge as viewed from the New York Harbor.

The Empire State Building and other buildings in Mid-Manhattan.

The One World Trade Center, Manhattan.

Early-morning view of the Manhattan skyline as viewed from New Jersey.

The amazing southern tip of Manhattan Island.

It was a special day for us to remember the great sacrifices of our ancestors in coming to America, and the blessed country in which we live.