Good morning from NYC. March has arrived here, and February went out with a snow of 2-3 inches, depending on where you live in the city. Thought maybe spring was here and escaped winter without really much force. Oh well, keeps me from thinking of Phoenix!

We will soon reach our third month of being in the city. A lot of experiences have transpired, mostly good ones. I believe we finally are adjusting to our new life. Not sure what that all means, but something is changing. We are very much enjoying our work here; it has been rewarding in many ways.

We welcomed our second visitors from MI. Dillion and Renae Koehn arrived on a Friday afternoon and left on Tuesday morning. We tried to show as much of the city as possible. When you come to see us, we’ll do the same for you.

Our senior boy Brett leaves this Friday, our second of the first four when we arrived. We will miss him for sure, as each one adds their own flavor. Our new boy that arrives on Saturday is Cade Koehn from Nebraska. We all have been speculating what he will be like. The boys are fine tuning the initiation process for the event!

We took a quick trip to Philadelphia on Presidents Day, as things were closed where the boys work on Mondays. A little under two hours away, Stan and I and four boys left in good time and returned safely later that evening. Rachel and Marilyn went to sewing at Poughkeepsie for the day. Philadelphia is a city with much American History, and we filled our time up efficiently as possible. We saw the Liberty bell and Independence Hall and visited East Penitentiary prison. It was the first prison with the intent to reform its prisoners. All were in solitary confinement with strict rules. It is no longer open, failing to operate it as was very expensive to operate and little reform. Seems to be a problem we still have with current prisons. We also went to the Reading Market for famous Philly cheese sandwiches, very good. The city had its own vibe and was much cleaner and smaller population. A good experience enjoyed by all of us.

We are happy that Lincoln Hospital is finding us more work, as we were not always as busy as we wanted to be. The boys volunteer there Monday and Tuesday. A clothing program for patients who come for treatment and don’t have the clothes they need or the ones they do have are not very good. They are donated from various companies or individuals, so we sort through and size them and have a room where they can be picked up. Lincoln is a city hospital. and many of patients are very poor and do not have what they need. The hospital has police officers stationed around to help control the unhappy ones who cause commotion.

The Bronx is a borough where the Lincoln Hospital is and also the Bronx pantry where the boys and I help package produce and dry goods for the needy. The boys go there twice a week. It is not uncommon to have those people we meet show a dislike for our presence. The other day, we were walking down the street to lunch and a couple women on other side of street were proclaiming loudly that whenever people like us show up, it is to exploit them. I wonder who taught these people to dislike someone they never met or talked to. Very likely we were the ones who packed their food that someone donated so they could have something to eat.

Today, Rachel and I are going shopping for a few things downtown. We are learning the city landscape and subway routes enough to get where we want. Always something new to see and experience. A while back, we met a lady on the subway and had a nice visit about what we do here. Sunday we were walking down the street a long way from where we met her and here she was again, saying I recognize you guys. She lived in the community where we were walking. Amazing in the city of millions, we meet up again! There are many who are friendly and will reach out in different ways.

Wishing all a good day, and hope you are planning a visit to NYC!