Spending a Lovely Afternoon in Bryant Park, Manhattan, New York

Recently, we attended a  conference in New Jersey which finished at 12pm on Sunday. We were able to get a ride from Fifi and her husband who live and work in the vicinity of the conference venue.

They dropped us off at the Trenton Transit Centre. The first thing we did after leaving the TCNJ campus was to check our phone messages and wifi as we were unable to get wifi access and phone messages at the conference location.

A street blocked off for pedestrians i downtown Manhattan, NYC, USA 

Thank goodness, we were able to connect with E. on S’s cell. Then took the 2:37pm New Jersey train to Penn station in New York. I  was surprised how crowed the train was on s Sunday afternoon.

By the time we were out of the Penn Station, it was 4:40pm. We waited for E, at 5^th and 33^rd Street for a few minutes. Then we saw an excited E. running towards us to greet us! What a feeling to be so welcome. E. was dressed in his gym outfit and he looked fit and well.





 He asked us what we would like to see in NY. We told him, we wanted to be outside enjoying the lovely weather.














He took us to his favourite park -

 the Bryant Park, a lovely public outdoor space for New York residents.


There were a few food stands and cafes opened and E. took us for a quick tour of the park.

The park was busy with visitors! 

Bryan Park was designed as a Scenic Landmark in 1974 by the New York Landmark Preservation Commission.









Designed in the French Classical style, Bryan Park covers an area of six acres.

It is an urban oasis with many mature trees, more than 100 types of woody shrubs, perennials and 150,000 bulbs!

Admission to the park was free and there were a lot to do for park visitors.

Enjoying reading and being outdoor at Bryant Park's Reading Room

We discovered a Reading Room in the park where free books and programs were available for children and adults.

What a great idea! An outdoor reading room to enjoy two of the most enjoyable activities in life - reading and enjoying the outdoors!

There were lots of things for families and kids to do, such as this carousel.

Playing mini golf at Bryant Park, NYC

 A mini golf course for the little park visitors.

People enjoying a ping pong game at Bryant Park, Manhattan , NY

There were ping pong tables for ping pong beginners and enthusiasts.

We saw a stage for performances and free movie showings during the summer months.

We ordered some cold drinks, a special taro chips, salsa and a kimchi bacon burger- delicious!

It was good catching up with what’s happening with E and his important papers.

We stopped at McDonald for ice cream and then
he took us to Time Square.
















 Lots of people, more than I remembered from our last visit.

People watching at Time Square, NYC

It was nice just sitting there and enjoying people watching and the breezes blowing on our faces.

Leaving New York City that evening at 8:45pm from the New York Port Authority, we needed to be mindful of our time. E. took us to the bus terminal, carrying my suitcase and finding us the right terminal. He was very helpful indeed. It was good seeing him even for a few hours! We are grateful for any time we could spend with our loved ones!

R.T.
New York CIty,
USA

Attending the New York Summer Conference at TCNJ, the College of New Jersey

The NYSC held at the College of New Jersey

Beautiful buildings on the campus of TCNJ

My girl friend has been attending the NYSC for the past decade. Each time she came back from it, she is always full of enthusiasm, on fire for God and keeps encouraging us to register for the conference the following year.

The 2019 New York Summer Conference was held at TCNJ 

We had politely declined her invitation for years. But this year, we decided to go and personally experience what she has been talking about.

Brower Student Centre, TCNJ

We were not disappointed at all!

Eating area outside the dining hall, TCNJ

The venue of the NYSC was at The College of New Jersey – TCNJ.

















TCNY is a campus of over 200 acres with mature trees and beautiful buildings.














I liked the buildings with modern design as well as those with classical Greek columns.

Students are accommodated in these townhouses. 

We were assigned to stay in a 3 level town house and slept on the bottom floor.

The conference schedule was full with two keynote speakers back to back in the morning.

Conference organizers and TCNJ were considerate of the needs of the attendees. There were golf carts available taking less mobile people to the various locations on campus.

Dining Hall at TCNJ

  We enjoyed our hour long lunch break each day and met some friends from Canada and New York,

There was a vegetarian option from which to choose for lunch and dinner.

There was about an hour for break in the afternoon, followed by an afternoon workshop of our choice, then dinner and evening keynote speaker again.

There were over 1000 people attending this annual conference with meetings and venues arranged for various aged groups.

I was glad that my girl friend kept encouraging me to attend this conference which has been happening for the past 49 years. This was their 50th year!

One of our two inspiring keynote speakers

Everyone enjoyed our two keynote speakers who were humble, knowledgeable men of God, well prepared for their messages and delivered them with sensitivity and humor.  

I was touched by the speakers deeply from day 1. When one of the speaker said that we could always serve God no matter where we were and how old we were. He cited many examples and inspiring real life stories when Christians in their last stage of their lives,  were still dedicated and served God.





 My eyes were filled  with tears.  God once again reminded me that my  husband and I are retirees who are enjoying the fruits of hard work of many years. 


We are moving towards the last stage of our lives and we need to fill our lives with meaningful things to do.

We enjoyed the beautiful architecture at TCNJ

We thank God for this great Christian conference where  we experienced the joy of corporate singing and praise, worship and fellowship.














 It was uplifting and inspiring!  It also confirms the new ministry of what we will be starting in September!

R.T.
2019 New York Summer Conference
The College of New Jersey
New Jersey, USA

The Best Way to the College of New Jersey from Manhattan New York By Public Transit

We were going to attend a conference in New Jersey. Prior to our departure, I googled the instructions of how to get to our destination. However, I found the instructions given by Google search
complicated and lengthy.  It discouraged us as it said that it would take almost 3 hours to get there.

Port Authority, New York City

We persisted and kept looking, the instructions we found on the College of New Jersey's website was very helpful.

It advised people to take the  New Jersey train from PENN station, about 7-10 minutes walk from the Port Authority where our bus ride terminated and passengers alighted .

We enjoyed some delicious pastries at one of the Port Authority cafes

Port Authority offers a lot of places to eat and we enjoyed some fresh Italian Stromboli before walking to Penn Station.

Penn Station, New York City

Penn Station is a huge place with numerous trains going to all directions. There were many automatic ticket selling machines. But We didn’t find any info booths with staff working answering puzzled travellers’ questions in the main lobby .

A Penn Station staff member offering directions to confused passengers

However, we did find many police offices’ presence and they were helpful along with a couple of staff members standing around the transit maps assisting confused passengers.

There are many levels and numerous tracks leading to various trains going to all directions.

We followed the signs showing the JY transit helping us to navigate the mazes of pathways and tracks.

Finally, we located the New Jersey transit ticket booths with three live agents! We went to one of them who helped us with the ticket purchase and informing us that our train would leave in 4 minutes. On the website, it said $15.50 per person one way. We informed the agent that we were seniors and got a 50% discount, Amazing An extra word from me saved us 50% of our ticket price!

A comfortable ride from Manhattan, NY  to Trenton, NJ

Our train to Trenton, New Jersey departed from Track 8 and we made it in time for the 7:03 train which left right on time! The seats were comfortable, spacious and clean.

We took the New Jersey train to Trenton, NJ

Rather than following Google’s instructions directing us to transfer numerous times to get to the College of New Jersey,  we followed the instruction given by the college's website and enjoyed a comfortable and economic ride to Trenton Transit Centre..

Trenton Transition Centre, Trenton, New Jersey, USA

From there we could have taken the 601 bus to the College. The ticket was $1.50, very affordable indeed!

But it was July 4, the bus followed the Sunday reduced service schedule. We missed the last bus and took a taxi to the college instead.

We got to the college shortly after 9p.m. and were glad to hit our bed for a good night rest!


R.T.
Trenton
New Jersey
USA

Bussng to New York City Via Greyhound from Toronto, Canada

July 4 - the American Independence Day, a day of celebration in the US where all things come to a stand still. Streets are quiet, there was hardly any soul on the street. We were traveling to NY city by Greyhound bus. We booked our online bus tickets a few weeks ago, for the two of us, it cost less than $300.00 compared to almost $900.00 if we take the plane. We are retirees, not in a hurry in our travel therefore, decided to take the scenic route by bus this time to NY city.
We wentto NY numerous times, either driving or by plane when our son was working in the Big Apple. However, we rarely took the bus, so it was a new experience.

We boarded the 6am bus at the Toronto Bay Street bus terminal and in no time at all ( less than 2 hours), we arrived at the Buffalo border custom.

I thought with the Trump's hard-line anti-immigrant policy, we would probably take a long time at the US border. To my pleasant surprise, it took less than 20 minutes for all the passengers on the bus to pass through the custom inspection.

Nice scenery en route to New York City via a Greyhound bus

By 12:30pm, we were in Syracuse, the half way point between Toronto and New York City. The bus stopped allowing there allowing passengers to have a lunch.break We were happy to find a Tim Horton, Canadians' favourite  coffee shop, in the US,.

The scenery going to New York was beautiful. The bus passed by and stopped at bus terminals a few small towns.

Lovely buildings on Clinton Ave in Cortland, NY

Cortland, a place where we had fond memory as this was the place we always stopped whenever we drove to NY to visit our son.

Binghamton, NY State, USA

Binghamton, another scenic small town we remember well.
 

Binghamton train station, New York State

It was exactly a decade ago when we made the frequent visits to NY city to watch the shows on Broadway, shop and Macey's and stroll in Central Park.

We spent the July 4 long weekend in U.S.A.

It was shortly after 6pm when the bus pulled into New York City. It seemed no time at all.

Here we are again for the July 4 long weekend to recapture part of the happy memories of our younger days!

R.T.
New York City
USA

Toronto Raptors - One Win Away from the NBA Champion Title

 June 8, 2019

I am not a sports fan and do not normally follow any hockey or basketball games on TV.
But this time is different! Canadians are embracing the basketball game and are excited about the NBA playoffs. So are we!

The entire Canada  is watching the NBA finals cheering on our beloved Raptos basketball team. Raptors won Game 4 against the Golden State Warriors in the finals at Oracle stadium in Oakland tonight! In fact, the Raptors was ahead of the Warrior most of the night and it was a comfortable win. There was no nail biting hoping for the catch up scores moment.

Our son and his cousins are both working and living in the States. They have been cheering on the Raptors over skypes, social media, cell phone etc. I get in the action too. Every time when the Raptors games are on, I text our son and cheer the team on our cells. It is fun! The games are helping us to keep in touch and communicate more often. Thanks, Raptors! 

We are one win away from being the NBA champion, the first time ever!!!
We the North are very proud of the Raptors!

R.T.
Cheering for the Raptors in Toronto! 

Conducting a Dating Workshop at a Youth Retreat, Rice Lake, Ontario

A Sunday morning drive to Rice Lake, Ontario

I am privileged that I have many invitations throughput the year to speak at various gatherings and retreats.

I had a great day today giving a workshop at a youth retreat held in the Rice Lake area. Pastor Cheung came to my house and picked me up at 8 a.m. We were on our way.

Rice Lake is about an hour and 15 minutes drive from Toronto

It took us an hour and 15 minutes car ride to get to our destination, Hastings, a cottage area north east of Toronto.

Rice Lake, Ontario

There are fifteen cottages located on this property fronting Rice Lake, a beautiful lake! A couple of the LW church members bought this cottage property business recently.

This cottage property is owned by a Christian couple

The owners, Esther and her husband, a Christian couple, was generous enough to allow the youths to stay there for their retreat for free!

I met this group of youth and conducted a workshop dealing with dating and choosing the right person at the spacious communal kitchen dining room.












We did the following interactive activities and the participants seemed to enjoy them.

Rice Lake, Ontario - a beautiful location for a church retreat!

It is my sincere hope that the young people will start thinking of the desired qualities they are looking for in their potential mate and able to make that commitment once when he/ she meets that person.


A 90 minute Dating Workshop Program

1. 5 -7 minutes - Introduction of me

2. 5-7 minutes - Survey questions
    Divide the room into 2 sections
    Yes side vs No side
    Youths go to the side for their answers

a. Would you like to get married eventually?
b. What do you need to do to find the right person before getting married?
     Yes – going out for dates       No – internet dating

c. Are you ready for dating?
d. Who have gone on dates?

The young people liked this activity a lot! They were honest in their responses and it was fun for them to see how other responding to each question.

 

The drive to and from Rice Lake was enjoyable as the landscape was gorgeous!

3. 15 minutes - Brainstorming Activity –  Divide the youths into 2 groups
    Give each group a chart paper, a marker and masking tape to tape paper on wall
    Each group write down their answers on chart paper and present at the end to the whole group

   What kind of person (qualities) are you looking for in your future mate?

4.  15 Minutes - Follow up group discussions on the qualities listed. Discuss the importance of setting standards for yourself – wait for the right person, avoid regrets, don’t jump into easy relationships
Look at all the qualities, keep a mental note

5. 15 Minutes Triangle activity – Find out which geometric shape is the strongest?

Divide youths into a group of 3
Give each group 50 straws
Each group will come up with the tallest and most stable structure

10 minutes for the task
5 minutes to share

Rice Lake, Ontario

6. 15 minutes - The Relationship Triangle
Give out the Triangle handout
Go over the model - A God centre relationship/ marriage with God at the top while she and he on the bottom, coming together in oneness in God.

Our body is the temple of God – avoid premarital sex.

Christians and non believers cannot bear the same yoke

7. 15 minutes - Questions and answers

R.T.
Rice Lake
Hastings, Ontario