Ten Days with Sister Stellet

Once upon a time there were two girls who were assigned to be mission companions. They served together for many moons and became as thick as thieves. Years later they still get together, bundle up and walk around town, side by side through rain and cold. Luckily they no longer have to awkwardly stop every stranger they pass or knock on doors.

Sister Stellet (Desiree) and I were companions for 4 1/2 months while we were serving as missionaries in the England London South Mission. We were in the same district for the 4 1/2 months before that. I served with or close to her for the first 9 months of my mission and she helped shaped the sort of missionary I became. We've had a few visits in the 7 (!!!) years since we were companions but this one trumps them all.

Sister Stellet arrived on Dec 1 and we hit the ground running! We did Gloucester, Rockport, Concord, Orchard House, the Freedom Trail, Harvard, the Boston Temple and just about everything in between before heading to New York for a few days. It was exhausting but so worth it!

Orchard House

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

Seriously creepy swamp lurking back there.

I love the old gravestones in New England, they are so interesting and haunting.

Harvard

Wreath Making

Our ward does a massive wreath making every year and the whole church smells amazing because of it! We each made a wreath and being the stubborn German that Des is, she stuffed it into her suitcase and took it to her sister-in-law in Utah!

New York

After 4 days in Boston we headed to New York to walk ourselves all over that city too! The first night we spent watching my nieces and nephews and the next few days were spent on the subway and the sidewalks. It rained a lot while we were there, so much so that I ended up marching into Lord & Taylor and buying a pair of rainboots one afternoon so I could get out of my soaking shoes.

I seriously can't get enough of this crew! Putting all five of them to bed was quite the adventure but so so much fun.

Central Park

World Trade Center

Brooklyn Bridge

Times Square

Staying in Harlem

After our first night we stayed in a little AirBnb place in Harlem. It was the alright side of Harlem but on our second night there things got a little crazy! We were woken up at 1:40 AM by pounding on our door and yelling in the hallway. At first I couldn't tell what was happening- was someone fighting or trying to break in?? Des sat straight up in bed and after I hissed at her to not answer the door we realized it sounded like someone on the phone.

We thought it might be police in the hall but when I first looked out the window I didn't see a cop car so we just sat in the dark, terrified. Once my brain started to come into focus I realized it smelled really strongly in the apartment. No sooner had I thought it smelled odd did 3 fire trucks come racing down the block right to our front door.

Des was throwing things out of her suitcase trying to find her passport and I was pulling on shoes when a fireman knocked on our door telling us there was a heating oil fire in the basement of the building. Luckily we didn't have to evacuate but the whole place was full of smoke and we were instructed to open all the windows to air it out. At this time we found out that the windows on the apartment didn't lock. At all. Really makes you feel safe and at home huh?

We found that breathing in all of that smoke before we were woken up had left us with black, black boogers. We had a little bonding moment in the bathroom as we blew and blew our noses until everything came out clean. We put a fan in the window and tried our darndest to get the smoke out!

A couple of hours and a lot of heart pounding anxiety later we crawled back into bed and tried to fall asleep. We couldn't breathe very well with the windows shut so and we ended up sleeping with them wide window open- did I mention that it was 28* outside?? In the end we bundled up in our coats and  hats and tried to sleep. It was not restful...

The next morning we threw our things back in our suitcases, called an Uber, went back to my brother-in-law's house and felt so so so so so so much more comfortable and safe!

More Central Park & 5th Avenue 

Harlem Globetrotters- Whaaaat!

^^ Has anyone ever done the Big Piano at FAO Schwartz? It was not as cool as I thought it would be ^^

Rockefeller Center & Top of the Rock

Broadway- Les Miserables

One of the things Sister Stellet really wanted to do was see a show on Broadway. Les Miz is back so it was a natural choice to see it. The show was unbelievable! More amazing than I could have imagined! After the show we stood outside the stage door and had all of the actors sign our playbills. I've never done something like that before, it was really fun! 

Natural History Museam & Oragami Tree

Statue of Liberty

And one of the last things we did together was have Wendy's for lunch. It's a little bit of a tradition for Stellet and I to have frosties and fries together.

On so many occasions I found myself bundled up with a shoulder bag on, walking next to Sister Stellet and I'd just look over at her and shake my head. It seemed so much like the old days! Thanks for being my "companion" for a few more days Sister Stellet! I sure do love you to bits!