In the midst of New York

Hello once again. This past week has been amazing. I hope yours has been as well.

I'm adjusting to New York life quite nicely. I've rode buses and subways more times than I can count, and easily walked more than a few miles on foot. The New York MTA is extremely complex, but I'm starting to figure it out. Travel is a fairly important and lengthy part of the day, as going most places we need takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, which requires good knowledge of the system and planning.

There is so much to see, and I've only seen the tip of the iceberg. I've walked around a couple of squares and down some streets lined with tall buildings like in the movies. I just recently returned from seeing a part of the Natural History Museum and also Grand Central Station. I've touched the tip of Chinatown and looked down the Hudson River. Still many, many more things to do and see. Good thing I have nearly 22 more months to do it.

According to my experienced companion, Elder Fotheringham, there are about 8-10 million people in my mission, which means you almost never see the same person twice on the streets. I've only seen one person twice on a street near my apartment. There are also around 90,000 deaf people within the five boroughs. So many cultures are here, and I continue to see and learn new things every day.

My apartment is on 125th St near Broadway. It's also right next to a subway line, which is both noisy and convenient for us. Also, keep sending snail mail to the mission office address, as it is then distributed to our respective church buildings. We get it every Tuesday there. Same with packages.

I will likely be here in the same apartment for my whole mission (the ASL area comprises all of Manhattan, the Bronx, and some of New Jersey, which we reach by videophone) except for a four-month period where I will go up to the Newburgh area. There, I will mainly teach in English with an English missionary and then interpret for the five deaf members in the ward there. Not sure when that will be in my mission. 

I'm loving it here, and am looking forward to the rest of my time here. Love you all.

-Elder Ryan Turner

Letter from the mission president

Ryan's mission president, Pres. Morgan, sent home a letter and a picture of him and his wife with Ryan when he arrived at the mission home in Scarsdale last week. Here is the picture and some excerpts from the letter:

20 August  2014

Dear Brother and Sister Turner:

It was a pleasure for Sister Morgan and I to welcome your son upon his arrival in the New York New York North Mission. We were touched by his enthusiasm and sweet spirit. It is our desire to do all that is within our power to help him become the finest missionary possible during his opportunity for service in New York.

Elder Turner has now left the mission home and has been assigned to serve in the ASL District. The first few months in the field are critical to the success of a missionary. For that reason, we encourage you to make your weekly letter one that will lift and strengthen your missionary during this time. Positive, encouraging communication will be a great source of motivation throughout his mission.

We are grateful to have your son with us. I enclose a picture we took with him at the mission home together. He is happy and very excited to be here. We look forward to getting to know him and serving with him.

With love and sincere appreciation,

Thomas B. Morgan

Mission President

Live from (Harlem) NY, it's Elder Turner!

Hello once more. I am currently typing this email on my mission iPad from our apartment in Harlem. We finally finished configuring our devices, with a few kinks left to sort out.

The remainder of my MTC stay was short and fairly uneventful. The last night at dinner, Elder Scott Johnson gave me a tie with the Manhattan Temple on it, which I didn't make out how he got it. One more tie for the collection.

The plane ride from SLC to Detroit was long and uneventful, save it was the three of us ASL elders going to NY were joined by another sister. She's supposed to be going to the Baltics Russian speaking, but got called to our mission temporarily last-minute when her visa didn't come. So, the four of us made our way together to New York. In Detroit, we shared the first vision and gave a Book of Mormon to a young man who was on our flight to New York, and discussed more afterwards with him, as we were in different parts of the small airplane. He began reading it on the flight, and we referred him to the English missionaries upon arrival. I sat next to and talked to an
83-year-old Korean War veteran, and we had a discussion about Christian aspects and about the Church and missionary work. I felt The Lord soften his heart during our talk, as he said he would possibly accept a Book of Mormon in the future.

We were met by a senior missionary couple, a sister companionship who took in Sister Johnson (who was the sister previously mentioned), and the ASL elders, elders Filoso and Fotheringham. The five of us are a five-way companionship, and can rearrange ourselves any way we want, which means a different setup every day. We all stayed the night in the mission home and met President and Sister Morgan, who are really wonderful people.

The five of us live in our own apartment in Harlem, which is three bedrooms and two bathrooms all to ourselves. It's one of the largest and fanciest in the mission, and I continue to experience blessing after blessing that continue to manifest themselves in my specific mission call. We have the beds in the living area and  use the rooms as study rooms. One room has a tv and a videophone, which the elders say they use frequently for lessons. I feel so blessed and lucky to be in the situation I'm in.

This is my first full day here in New York, so I haven't done or experienced a whole lot yet. It's more humid than Arizona, though they say right now it isn't as humid as usual. I rode the train from the mission home into the city, got a mass transit pass in the subway, and took the bus to our apartment. Transportation will mainly consist of walking, busing, and subways. Since our area consists of the entirety of Manhattan and the Bronx, travel is long and precise every time. We actually allot a fair amount of time each day for travel, according to the weekly plan in our apartment. 

My New York experience has just begun, and I am already having a blast. You need not worry for me, as I am in very good hands. Though I am on the other side of the nation, home still feels close as you and others continue to write.

Love,

Elder Ryan Turner

T-minus 96 hours

As the title infers, I have four days left here at the MTC. In exactly 96 hours, I will have just left the SLC runway bound for Detroit, and from there to Westchester County. We have a very brief layover in Detroit; I don't think I'll have time to call home at any point. My excitement and nervousness grows by the day.

Jemesa Snuka, one of my good friends from home, was just called to the New Mexico Farmington Mission, which includes some of the Native American reservations. It is exciting for him to join me in the missionary effort, and wish him the best of luck. 

The ASL elders that are currently in our mission sent the three of us going there a letter. It was cool to hear from them, and they told us a bit more about the mission. I can't wait to meet them. I am a bit nervous about cooking my own food, but figure it will be for the best. As of last week, the cafeteria food made me pack on 8 pounds. I've acquired a few other materials during my time here, such as shoe-shining supplies and a few misc. things, but am not concerned about weight of suitcases.

Yesterday for most of the day, I had what's called "In-field Orientation", where we learned skills for finding people and other good tips for our first few weeks in the field. One major point of the presentation was the use of members to help the work. I was really impacted by it, and would encourage you to become a little more active in the ward mission efforts. The elders would love you to death if you have referrals for them. Don't be afraid to open your mouth about the gospel.

Well, the next time I email, It'll be from the opposite end of the nation. For those of you who wish to write me, start sending them to the NY Mission Home address. Love you all.

-Elder Ryan Turner

1/24 complete

Things are ever moving forward still, though most of the missionaries are developing MTCitis. My mission is about 4% complete, and I'm not even across the nation yet. Weird to think about.

I opened your package last Friday and am very grateful for the things you sent. Though, I now have two water bottles, as I bought an MTC-labeled one the first week. Oh well, one for the residence and one for the classroom. That same night, I got another package! It was a box of what I believe to be homemade cookies from the Park family. I don't think I need anything else from you while I'm still here, though it may change once I get to the field.

Brooke has told me how much she loves her ASL class, which is good to hear. I wish her and Kelly and Sean the best of luck. It's still odd to think that my high school days are over even as I write from my boarding school of six weeks.

It's rained twice this week for about an hour each, the second time of which was pounding pretty hard. It was still nothing compared to March 1st though. Most of the sidewalks in the MTC are covered, but it was still fun to stand out in the rain for a brief time. My favorite sport to play during our allotted gym time is indoor volleyball, probably because I'm tall and can play well near the net.

I continue to learn something new each day, and love the missionaries I associate with. May all of us continue forward in faith.

I love you, and pray for you often. 

Love,

Elder Ryan Turner

July photos

Ryan sends home his memory card monthly for us to save the photos; here are some of them.

The photo every missionary must take -- with the MTC world map point to your mission

Elder Holloway (from Alaska) with Elder Turner

Running into friends at the MTC (left to right): Elder Kasey Lester (Argentina), Elder Scott Johnson (Marshall Islands), Elder Joey Hanny (Nampa Idaho)

MTC roommates, all headed to New York ASL missions: Elder Turner, Elder Holloway, Elder Crockett, Elder Clair

Home for four elders for six weeks

Class time

Elder Turner and his district at the Provo Temple

I'm halfway there (to NY) and always livin' on a prayer (in my heart)

Three weeks here in the Provo MTC feels like forever, though each individual week flies by. Things are still sailing smoothly. I've gotten several letters and emails this week, and just picked up the package you sent (though I have yet to open it).

I went back to the Provo Temple last week as I said I would in my email, and am going again in a few hours. E-mail in the morning, temple in the afternoon. In the session last week, they showed one of the old videos from whenever the last set came out 20 or so years ago. Some parts were a bit cheesy to me, but the experience was overall the same. I enjoy feeling the peace that comes from temple attendance.

My companion, Elder Holloway, has taken to only using ASL to communicate on most days of the week. P-day's and Sundays are the exceptions. So, when he does in fact open his mouth on those days, everyone else is astonished. "You can talk?!" they ask in amazement, which is quite humorous for both he and I. I Use ASL most of the time, but usually talk with non-ASL missionaries and occasionally to the other ASL missionaries. When my companion signs to the non-ASL's, I usually interpret, which is good practice for me.

Tuesday night was probably one of my favorite experiences so far. The devotional was given by the Emeritus G.A. John H. Groberg, whose mission in Tonga is depicted in the movie "The Other Side of Heaven." He talked on how we express our testimony, and how vital it is to do so. Afterwards, all 22 ASL missionaries met with President Washburn, our Branch President, and had a remarkable testimony meeting on testimonies. I know that sharing testimony through word and through action can be powerful, and would suggest for the family to share their testimonies often with others not of our faith.

I have to keep pushing away the thoughts of going to New York and focusing on my studies now. I hope you continue to take hope from my correspondence.

The 22 of us are all going to similar missions; I believe 21 of us are headed to either New York, Arizona, or California, all having different missions within those states. The other one is going to Arkansas. We are all getting to know each other better, and I really enjoy spending time with them. 

Your letters, emails and prayers are very appreciated. I continue to pray for you. 

Elder Ryan Turner