January 1, 2015

Happy New Year Everyone! You may be wondering why I didn't send this email out yesterday, as I typically email on Wednesdays. This is because our mission president changed our P-day to today, so that we aren't out and about doing random stuff in the city where New Year's Eve is known for. We did normal missionary work, but had to be inside by 7 pm. That, and we had to avoid Times Square like the plague. Didn't see the ball drop, but that's alright. We all slept through the holiday festivities, which was a good option. Still went to bed at 10:30, and still awoke at 6:30. 

This calendar year for me is what missionaries in the mission refer to as our "ghost year" -- the year a missionary is completely in the mission field. So, that means that I will stay in New York for this entire year, from today until New Year's Eve this coming December.

Don't have a whole lot of time, as we are currently rearranging our apartment. Since I got here, we had the beds in the main room and used the bedrooms as study and videophone rooms, and we decided to change it. Once we are done, the beds will be in one room, all our study desks in another, and the main room will be an actual living room. That should be fun and a nice change.

Transfers are next week, and we have no idea what to expect. I've now been with Elder Fotheringham for over four months, so it's about time to change. That, and there is a chance of opening a new ASL/English area in the town of Ossining. For years, a few members have interpreted for the few deaf members in that Ward, though they are all getting burned out. So, two weeks ago, President Morgan called to tell us that each week, one of the two ASL companionships will travel up to Ossining via the Metro North railroad to interpret for church. The other two did it a week and a half ago, and we did it this past Sunday, and it was a neat experience. However, the Metro North is rather expensive, and we aren't able to fellowship our people we work with at church if we are gone, which leads us to speculate that one of us will get sent up to work there, just like in Newburgh. President
hasn't said anything concerning the matter, so we are eagerly awaiting transfer calls on Saturday to see if our program gets messed up or not.

Hope you all have good goals and plans for this year, and make the most out of everything!

Elder Ryan Turner
New York New York North Mission
American Sign Language