1st Zone Conference - August 28, 2012 in Ossining

Today we attended our first Zone Conference.  There were about 60 missionaries there and four couple missionaries.  President Morgan is an awesome leader and we learned more about the mission rules and our purpose here as missionaries.  President and Sister Morgan are with us in the photograph taken in the cultural hall after lunch.

Mission Hut

Our good friend, Julie Miles, did some vinyl lettering for us to put on a wall in our kitchen going into our living area that says "Mission Hut on the Hudson".  We love it!  Our mission president and his family came over for dinner on Sunday, along with the post historian, Sherman Fleek, and four cadets.  They got a kick out of it.

President Morgan at Camp Buckner - August 26, 2012

President Morgan and Elder Hohosh went to Camp Buckner on August 26, 2012 and attended sacrament in the field with the cadets.  This was the first time for President Morgan and he was very excited for the opportunity to be there and share that experience.  Sister Morgan and her two sons went with Sister Hohosh to the branch for meetings.  Afterwards, they came over for dinner.  We had a great day!

Bambi

We were out walking one morning and this deer stopped and looked at us - he wasn't afraid at all.  Then he stood there and posed while Jim took his picture.  Hahahaha!

Club Night - Eisenhower Hall

On August 20, 2012 we attended what they call "Club Night" at Eisenhower Hall.  This is where the cadets come and sign up for any club or clubs they wish to belong to.  There is every kind of club that you can think of ... i.e. the bagpipe club, chess club, debate, and all types of religious clubs.  We attended with Brother Russell May who is the Church Institute teacher for this area.  Our booth was the LDSSA club.  In this picture there is Brother Steve Elgan from our branch, Chaplain Major Pinkie Fischer, Brother Russell May and Elder Hohosh.

Acceptance Day (A-Day) Parade

Summer training for all classes officially culminates with the Acceptance Parade.  It is at this ceremony that the plebes are allowed, for the first time, to wear their white hats, a traditional symbol of having been formally accepted into the Corps of Cadets.  They are no longer “New Cadets.” 

This is one of only two parades that are totally dedicated to a particular class during the entire West Point experience (A-Day and Graduation) and also that include the entire Corps of Cadets.

The New Cadets will march out and line up in front of the bleachers facing Washington Hall or the Plain.  The rest of the Corps of Cadets will march out and face the bleachers.  After the New Cadets are accepted into the Corps, they march to join their academic companies (may be different from their Beast Companies). 

Times Square - August 17, 2012

On Friday night, we went to Manhattan with our branch President and his wife, Rone and Brenda Sparrow.  The temple is really small but it so awesome in downtown Manhattan.  After the temple, we decided to ride the subway and go to Times Square.  We went to a place called "Juniors" and ate cheesecake.  It was so delicious.

Friendly New Yorkers

On our walk one morning, we looked across the street and painted onto the front steps of a house in Highland Falls are the words "Go Away".  Pretty funny!  It makes you kind of want to go and knock on the door.  HAHAHA

Transfer Day - Ossining Stake Center - August 15th

Today was our first experience in going to see how all the transfers work.  Nothing here is close in New York - you drive and drive and drive.  This church building we went to in Ossining was about 40 minutes away from where we are in Highland Falls.  The first picture shows all the luggage and Elders wandering around in the parking lot at the church looking for where they need to go.  It was a great meeting.  President Morgan was there and he gave a great talk about charity and about getting along with your companions.  The second picture is our zone leader Elder Head (Clinton, Utah) on the left, Elder Fragiacomo (Italy) in the middle, and Elder Lartey (Orem, Utah) on the right.  We love these guys.  They have been really good to us.

March Back - August 13, 2012

The "March Back" is a big event at West Point.  This is where all the new cadets (plebes) march back to West Point from Camp Buckner.  I believe it is about a 12 mile hike.  They start at about 4:00 a.m.  This picture is those cadets marching back.  There are 1,100 new cadets this year.  It was really a spectacular site seeing all these young men marching in with their different regiments and companies.  So one of the amazing things is that each cadet is carrying a 40 pound ruck pack!  These guys are tough!

Military Band Concert at Trophy Point

On Sunday, August 12, 2012, Jim and I went to an outdoor concert at Trophy Point on West Point.  Every Sunday evening they do some type of concert.  It was a lovely night with hardly no humidity!

Camp Buckner - Sacrament Meeting

On Saturday, August 11, 2011, we were blessed to have the opportunity to go Camp Buckner and hold a Sacrament Meeting.  The branch President asked that Jim and I drive to Camp Buckner and hold this meeting for those cadets in the field who wanted to partake of the sacrament.  We had nine cadets who attended.  It was a very spiritual meeting and those cadets were very thankful for the opportunity.

On August 6, 2012, West Point holds what is called "Chaplain's Night".  This is a night set aside for the plebes to go to where their faith is meeting and have a short meeting and just chill for about an hour.  Our branch meets at Thayer Hall and there was about 60 cadets who came - not very many of them of the LDS faith. So many came because the LDS people do pizza and tons of treats.  Jenny Neff gave me two names of soccer guys who came to West Point this year and I was able to meet them.  Here is a picture of Cadet Dixon and Cadet Chambris.  They are both great guys and they are both from Utah.

Bridges on the Hudson River

We have a chance to get out and walk. These are bridges over and near the Hudson River with Bear Mountain in the background. The pathway goes over to the bottom of the Bear Montain Bridge. Our blog seems to be a pictorial of the area for now.

Pictures of Historical Significance at West Point