DanNBarb Aldridge's Family Blog: A NEW MISSION PRESIDENT, GREAT MISSIONARY EXPERIENCES AND LOVING GETTING TO KNOW THE ELDERS AND SISTER

Last Thursday, we met our new mission President and his wife, plus a son and daughter that are returned missionaries and will only be here for a month or less. We enjoyed getting to know them. They each seem to have a great sense of humor. President and Sister Blair like to kind of tease back and forth. She is a relative of Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley and had a lot of association with him. The Blair's son, James, talked about not being afraid to stand up for what you believe and to share the Gospel. He referred to the scripture in D&C 50:41, that says, "Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me." What a great reminder for each of us.

Sister Blair shared one of her favorite scriptures, it is found in Esther 4:14, the last portion of the verse. It says, "and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" I love that verse. This too applies to us all. Wherever we live, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves, we each have a mission to perform. We don't always know what it is, but as we move our feet forward, we will find as we look back that He was always in charge. We just need to stay on the path, and keep moving forward.

Sunday was a special Sabbath day. At church, we had several African members there, as well as a husband and wife and another husband and wife and 2 girls, that we are assisting and friendshiping. Dan has more than abundant opportunity to use his French. Barb has more than abundant opportunity to share her love, and relates so well to these people. They love her.

There were many wonderful talks given and things said, but there are two that we want to share here. First, we had two women speakers. They each did a great job talking about General Conference and how we should read and study the talks to remind ourselves what was said and what we need to work on. Although they each did great, they left about 15 or 20 minutes before it was time to close the meeting. Brother Eubank, the Bishopric counselor, who was conducting, shared some thoughts. He retold the story from General Conference by Elder Arnold, about the two ships in a storm. One ship lost it's engine and the other ship came to their rescue, using a cable to hook the ships together. On the shore, they were aware of the dangerous circumstances, but couldn't decide what they thought would be the best course of action, so they did nothing. As the storm increased the cable between the two ships snapped. Again, the ship that still had it's engine went back to help the damaged ship. Without any help from shore, and with the increasing winds and waves, both ships went down with all hands on deck.

He also told a personal story about a college student that was cramming for exams and she kept getting the prompting to stop studying, make some chocolate chip cookies and take them to her next door neighbor. She kept ignoring the prompting thinking she had to study, she wanted to pass all of her classes. Finally, the impression was so strong that she thought I am not going to get any studying done anyway, and stopped to make the cookies. She went next door and knocked. A young man answered and she said to him, I was suppose to bring you these cookies, but I don't know why. He broke down and sobbed. He had been feeling so depressed, that he told God that if in the next hour he didn't have a sign that God loved him, he was going to kill himself. The hour was almost up. We never know what effect we might have on others as we listen to those promptings.

We cannot delay to seek out our brothers and sisters that are lost in the storms of life. Not that we can take away their challenges and trials, but we can extend our hand and seek to be the voice of reason striving to guide them back to their Savior, Jesus Christ.

A counselor in the Mission Presidency attended our ward on Sunday, President Hawkes. He talked personally with us for a while and then he said, "I know you know this, but just remember that the Lord has always known that this is where you would serve your couple's mission. All of the experiences you have had, have led you to this point, and you have all of the skills needed to make a difference in the Portland Ward." Do you would think Heavenly Father was trying to get a point across, or what?!

We went visiting some members of the Ward on Sunday afternoon. We ended up visiting a sister in the ward that has just been divorced. She is probably in her late 30's. She has an 8 year old son. She has not been actively participating at church for many years. She has many challenges. We left her with some home made rolls Barb had made, tried to lift her spirits and left her with a prayer. We were reminded of how blessed we are. We all have challenges and trials, but when we also have the Gospel of Jesus Christ to guide our way.

The other day we visited an older woman in the ward named Fran Cole (See attached picture). She and her husband were very kind to the missionaries when Rick served here, in Portland, ME. They had him to dinner many times. She would always have chocolate chip cookies available for them. We had a wonderful visit. Her husband passed away 5 years ago. She celebrated her 90th birthday in April. She is still very sharp, mentally. It was a treat to be in the same home, visiting the same woman where Rick had been about 23 years ago.

Working with so many of the African people seeking asylum is really eye opening. They have incredible stories of loss and running for their lives. Many of them have family members still in their native country. One man who was baptized the end of May said, "Because I am here, I have food to eat, but I don't know if my children at home have anything to eat." He had a good life there, but the government wanted to kill him so he had to go into hiding and ultimately come here. He sends money home, hopefully for them to have food and a roof over their heads.

Monday evening, we met with some investigators in our home. Constant and Prisca are pretty amazing. Constant's sister Jeanne, was also here, she is already a member of our Church. They relate really well to Dad (and they love Mom, and listen to every word she speaks :-)) and already have a deep belief in Jesus Christ. They know that they have to help people, show kindness and strive to follow the example of the Savior. They have had two lessons from the missionaries here at our home ... and we have had them here two additional times ... a week ago Sunday night for dinner, and tonight to watch the Restoration video, answer questions and discuss the "kingdoms of glory" after the resurrection. We have developed a mutually respecting and admiring friendship. They are very enjoyable to be with.

There is another family that has only been here a few weeks. They have come from the Congo. They have 2 little girls 5 and 7 and the wife is pregnant with a little boy, due July 24th. They are living in a one room hotel room. They have to move before the baby is born and they have no money. They are planning on meeting with an attorney next week, but they have to come up with $500 for the lawyer to see them. And, they have no deposit money for a place to live, even if they can find one. There are so many people in such challenging circumstances.

We have been hither and yon as we have looked at missionary cars and apartments as well as visiting ward members. We have completed well over 2/3's of our cars and apartments to inspect for this transfer period. We do this every 6 weeks. Today, we completed another District. We neglected to tell you that we have been to "Around the Pond" in Norway. We know we were in Norway because on two different streets, we saw a man that was skating down the road (on a longboard) but had a ski pole in each of his hands and was working them like he was cross country skiing. We have been to South Paris, Peru, Freyburg and many other places I can't think of right now.

We are so tired every night that we practically fall into bed. There is so much to be done ... and, so little time to complete it. We feel like the little Dutch boy at the Dike, trying to plug all the holes that were leaking. But ... we are finding some "joy in our journey". We have found some wonderful bakeries and places to eat. It is so-o-o beautiful, green and densely forested here, with many waterways, lakes and the ocean. We find the people to be quite friendly and polite ... even on the roadways.

We will include a few pictures to share some of the beauty.

Love you all.