Good morning from NYC. I see it has been some time ago since I last posted. We have now been here two months! In some ways it seems longer, as I ponder what all has filled our time here. Seems to me a fair part of our work is redundant. There are also things each day which makes our work rewarding and some things we hope will be less frequent. We have been happy and healthy, and we hope you all have a good start to 2023.

I don’t think I have shared our normal Sunday here at Sugar Hill Mission. We have breakfast a little later, try for 8:30. We all take turns with Bible reading and prayer, then eat our breakfast. When done eating, the boys go to fellowship hall and set up tables for lunch. Then they go to chapel and choose songs for pre-sing, usually 10:15 to 10:30. Next one boy leads opening song to open service, after which a general opening by whoever. We then have Sunday school, taught by one of the boys. After that someone shares an inspiration for a while and service is concluded with a song and prayer for lunch. We all eat together every week, including all attendees. Every other week, Poughkeepsie joins us for service, Papa Isaac and his two children and their children. Todd and Donna Schmidt from Scott City come also. They are current missionaries in Poughkeepsie and Donna teaches school for the children there. Lawrence and Bernice Penner are also regular attenders, as they live in Queens, NY. We usually have Jerrold and Jan Smith, tract workers from New Jersey join us to. Then we have four regular attendees from community, so usually a nice group. After lunch and visiting, we all kind of drift off to various activities (hopefully a snooze) and fill the remaining time however deemed appropriate.

We somehow decided to freshen up the boy’s dorm, so with a team effort and much ado, we moved the boys into the apartment and repainted all the walls and cleaned the carpets. So, now the dorm is all spiffed up and looks and smells like an inhabitable spot to live. The boys were very helpful and enthused about the project. Seems like a few words hardly cover the magnitude of such an endeavor! The boys have done very well with keeping their rooms in good shape, as space is very limited. Thank you, parents, your labors have not been in vain. I see no further improvement projects in future.

Another noteworthy event that happened Saturday night was a broken water line in the basement. After doing our jobs, we went on an afternoon outing and then had supper. When we returned home, mama went to prepare some of food for Sunday lunch, and heard a funny noise below, so I went to investigate the matter. As I opened the basement door, there was water everywhere! What a feeling to discover a scene like that. There were two holes through the drywall ceiling from the water pressure, spraying a lot of water. We got the water shut off and removed more of the drywall to find the line that was leaking. By then, the boys were all down with Stan and I, trying to decide what to do next! At 10:30 Saturday night with no water for the whole building. Stan tried calling some plumbing repair service with no success. Meanwhile we were cleaning up the mess and getting rid of the water, some of floor had about 3 inches of standing water. Luckily, there was a sump in one corner, so we scooped up water in buckets and had a wet-dry vac to help. After getting the water mostly out, Stan found a hardware open all night about a half hour drive away, so we headed downtown at 11:30 in search of some fittings to fix the line temporarily and restore water. We found our hardware about midnight and went in to get our repair parts. The woman that tried to help us was not the most accommodating or open to our suggestions of what we thought we needed. Enough to say, that anyone working at midnight in a hardware store in downtown NYC might not have many social skills. We left with an assortment of parts and got home a little after 1 am. and fixed the line, holding our breath as we turned on the main valve, praise the Lord it held and still is while we schedule a repair by a professional. The boys set up fans to help dry the floor and by Sunday morning, most of floor was dry. We don’t think to much was damaged by water, but some things will need to go. Again, the boys were awesome help, cheerfully slopping around when they could have been sleeping. We figure the line froze, as it was close to outside wall and temp was down to 2* the night before. Have no idea how long it was spewing water.

The last two weeks on Thursday morning, my wife and I have helped serve breakfast at the Bowery Mission. Stan and Marilyn usually go, so we wanted to try it. The boys have to get their breakfast themselves, so we need their approval and they cheerfully agreed. We leave by 6:30 and be there at 7:15 to start serving. Both times they served around two hundred people. They come in all shapes and sizes and look like they need a good meal. Most are respectful and grateful, a few get a little bossy at times. I guess that one way they still in control of something. Was good to see the famed old Bowery Mission, God only knows how much good has been done for others thru the years.

Some things we have done of late is take the water taxi to Far Rockaway, a strip of land an hour from Manhattan by water. For only four dollars a person you can ride the big boat there and be on the Atlantic Ocean side of the island. Was cold and windy, but beautiful to see the ocean. Some guys trying to surf on the big waves coming in. Was enjoyable to stroll the sandy beach. In the summer it will be packed with people trying to beat the heat.

We went up to Poughkeepsie a week ago for a memorial service. Bissi’s mother had passed away in Nigeria a while ago. Bissi is Rueben’s wife, and he is Papa Isaac’s son. The boys were working, so Stan’s and we went together to the service. It was an interesting experience for sure. We sang a few songs, and they really sing now! got really animated. Then Papa Isaac shared a few words and read her obituary and then we had lunch together. After lunch we went to Rueben’s house for a little bit, then home. They are a very nice family.

Yesterday after lunch we went to Fort Tryon Park for an afternoon walk. It is a park with lots of walkways and trails with many different trees and bushes and plants. It was a Fort back in the Revolutionary War and General George Washington was defeated there by the British Army led by a General Tryon. It sits high above the Hudson River. I am surprised by different parks in the concrete jungle. A few places where people can enjoy a little nature.

So, that is what’s been going on here. Hope all is well in your world.