December 7, 2011

Elder and Sister Blattman’s Missionary Weekly Journal
December 7, 2011

From our journal it might appear that we don’t do any missionary work. It looks like we spend all our time sightseeing from the photos we post. But we want everyone to know that we are working hard. That being said, last week we had some time while we waited for the return bus after attending an inservice & Christmas get-together with the other CES missionaries from New York and New Jersey in Manhattan.
As far as we know we are the only CES missionaries from Eastern Pennsylvania. At the Manhattan CES center we met with about 12 other couples and swapped war stories. Everyone wants to know how many classes other the couples are teaching, what their apartments are like, extra duties, and class sizes. It was a lot like any other teacher conference except that we start with prayer and are extra polite to each other. Talking with other people doing much the same thing we are was comforting and reaffirming.
We walked from the 42nd Street bus station to the CES building on 15th Street and helped get the place ready for the program and luncheon. On the way back we went by Union Square, Times Square, Macys, and the Rockefeller Center. If we had been thinking we might have gone that way early with a poster and gotten on the Today Show.
First, a photo for my sisters who may be wondering “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”:

The Empire State Building was in the background when we took the photo but it magically disappeared. Was there an illusion of the building? We were sure it was in behind us.

Nancy at a Macy’s animated window display. Even the windows are busy here.

Jim and Nancy in Times Square.

Large decorations for the Big Apple.

It’s hard to believe but we were relieved to get back to the comparative relaxed pace of Philadelphia that night. We were glad that we didn’t have to drive in New York City. Public transportation is the way to go. Some of the missionaries who did have a car in New York told us they paid as much as $400 a month just for parking.