27 December 2015

Hi All,

We loved Christmas dinner at our apartment.  We had four of the young missionaries and Joseph Bizimana as well as Evariste and his children Emma and Kenzo.  We enjoyed playing a few games and eating roast beef, but the highlight was showing the Church’s short Christmas video and afterwards singing a Christmas carol together.  There was a wonderful feeling in the room.  Evariste’s children said they wanted to come to church afterwards (Emma has not been baptized though she is ten years old; Evariste doesn’t push them). 

On Christmas Eve we had a party at the Community Center with the people who are learning English.  We made a lot of food and had four different games for fun and learning English.  We also brought notebooks and other things as gifts.  It was very successful.

A disaster occurred on Christmas Eve.  A tree fell on one of our African member’s car (Joseph).  Joseph had an old clunker which is essential to get to work at Walmart (his shift starts at 4 am so the bus is not an option).  Hopefully, we can get the apartment owners and/or insurance to replace this vehicle.  In the meantime, he needs help to get to work.

Also on Christmas Eve, Evariste, Emma and Kenzo dropped in to our house because they thought that the dinner was Christmas Eve, not Christmas Day.  Though in pajamas, we quickly heated up leftovers and played games. 

We had a great discussion with another lady, Kathy, this week.  Sandy met her at the African party at Lillian’s house two weeks ago and Kathy expressed interest.She is a pale face in the apartment with all other africans.  We had her over to the house for dinner and afterwards essentially gave her the Restoration discussion.  She really enjoyed the discussion and said she would come to church and also wondered if we could teach her son.  We didn’t see her at church this week but we think there was a lot going on for Christmas so it’s still very encouraging. 

Earlier in the prior week the Ward had an interdenominational fireside that was great.  We had the Methodists at the church.  Their Pastor gave the opening prayer and they had a little choir that sang songs.  We Mormons had a Choir and our Bishop gave the closing prayer.  It was really a neat evening.  I talked to the Pastor who was very gracious and gave her and several others the link to the Church’s Christmas video.  Several investigators also came—Gizelle and Salvator. 

We were with the missionaries earlier for a lesson with Gizelle.  She is from Burundi.  She was tortured and brutalized and then taken to the woods where both of her legs were broken and was left for dead.  She was able to escape with help.  The discussion went very well and Gizelle seems quite interested. 

We helped Salvatore fill out a Walmart job application.  It took about three hours because Walmart has a psychological test with 65 questions.  He did not understand many of the questions so I had to help  (see I have a purpose here—I help people fill out Walmart job applications).  This is the fourth Walmart job application done at our apartment. 

One of our African members Jean De Dieu gave a moving talk in church about focusing your life on religious things.  He related how when soldiers came to kill his Uncle, his Uncle asked for 10 minutes to sing, “Nearer My God to Thee” and pray for forgiveness for the soldiers.  He was then executed.   Jean reported that several of the soldiers later became Christians after that.  Sounds like the Anti Nephi Lehis, huh?  

7 December 2015

Hi All,

We enjoyed a Saturday evening social with some of our African folks.  Lillian and Jan organized a get together and invited two old people (that’s us).  We ate African food and socialized.  It was great. 

On Sunday Lilian and Anaklet bore their testimonies at church.  I was sitting next to Anaclet and had a feeling I should encourage him to bear his testimony (In the time we’ve been here, no African has spoken in Church or borne testimony).  I was about to lean over and suggest this to him when he got up and bore his testimony.  Lillian also got up and talked about how the Book of Mormon is a light to her and her African friends. 

We had another discussion with Joseph Bizimano and his friends.  I asked Joseph if we could come to his apartment and read the Gospel Principles manual with him for a few minutes since he works on Sundays.  Joseph asked us to teach two of his friends about the church.  With Sandy correcting my imperfections we went through the first discussion and then showed the First Vision.  One of the young men, he is from the Ivory Coast, told us that he has been confused and seeking for some time.  He took a Book of Mormon and said he is interested in learning more.  We will give his name to the Elders.  We really enjoyed the evening.

As we mentioned previously, Joseph was also the source of another teaching—Janvier.  Janvier is coming to church and progressing with a baptismal date. 

We are also accompanying the Elders in teaching a young woman named Felista.  She converted from Muslim to Christian in Tanzania.  She says her parents would kill her so she came to the United States.  She is a very sweet young lady but difficult to read what she is thinking.  She has also been coming to church. 

We’ve been working with another African, Maisha and Azziza, to try to get them another apartment.  They live in very substandard housing and are expecting another baby in December.  We’ve been getting them to fill out applications for Section 8 housing and public assistance housing.  We’ve also been looking on the websites to help them.

 

We’ve enjoyed the English classes.  We have one at a Community Center and another with several of our African sisters to help them learn Gospel language.  I enjoy doing it and also continue to improve my French. 

We visited with a woman and her son in Scarborough this week.  She is going through a divorce right now and is a bit lost and confused.  Hopefully, we can help. 

Some of the African dishes we’ve enjoyed and want to try are: Sambusa, Fufu, Isombe (Kasava Leaf Stew).

  

30 November 2015

Hi All,

We had two lovely Thanksgiving dinners—one at 4 pm with the young Sisters and another at 7 pm with Evariste and his two children as well as Elders King and Lawrence.  The Turkey was soaked in brine the night before and when we ate it, it was very succulent; even the white meat was very tender.  We enjoyed chatting with the young Sisters.  We also enjoyed playing games with Evariste and his two children as well as the Elders.  Evariste’s wife is in hiding somewhere in Uganda (?); Evariste has the two children Kenzo and Emma.  These children were delightful to be with. 

We also had a delicious Anniversary dinner at a Thai restaurant in South Portland.  It was to die for.

 

We took Jan to Higgins Beach last Monday and, can you believe it, there were surfers.  It was fun to watch them and good that Jan could get out of Portland and see some of the beautiful sites in this state.  This Monday, Sandy and I went to a beautiful beach called Kettle Beach. 

Sunday we taught Gospel Principles and had a good discussion.  One of the Sisters, Lillian, laughed so hard at something I said I thought she was going to explode.  See, I have a purpose—I provide comic relief….

We are assisting the Elders teach a man from Birundi, Janvier.  He has a baptism date and is making good progress.  We are also assisting the Elders in teaching a young from Tanzania—Felista.  She became a Christian and because her parents were Muslim, she said they wanted to kill her so she fled.  She is almost child-like in her faith.  Both came to Church and enjoyed it.  

By the way, here is a picture of the pond by our apartment without the beautiful fall leaves:

23 November 2015

Hi All,

We had a wonderful visit to the Temple.  We took two missionaries, Elders Harper and Johnson, and three African members, Anaclet, Beatrice, and Jane, to the Boston Temple for Baptisms for the dead.  The three of them brought names of their relatives.  This was particularly meaningful to Anaclet because he had the names of his parents and his brother who had all been killed.  While waiting for our turn to do the baptisms, I went out and got some scriptures.  Anaclet told me when he opened his scriptures they opened to D&C 138 verse 30 which talks about the Savior sending missionaries to spirits in the spirit world.  This was very meaningful to him.

We had several good meetings this week.  On Tuesday we had an appointment to visit Joseph Bisimano—we wanted to read from the Gospel Principles manual since he has to work on Sundays.  When we got to his home, two of his friends were there and wanted to learn about the Church.  Sandy did a wonderful job explaining the First Vision and I piped in occasionally.  Joseph’s two friends, Janvier and Olivier, have been taking the discussions from the Elders and Janvier has been coming to church.

Later in the week, Joseph came over for dinner.  He told us his sad history in Burundi.  He was a deputy mayor in his village and disagreed with the ruling party.  He had to flee for his life and his wife and children are in Uganda in a refugee camp.  He hopes to bring them over sometime in the future (how you can do this making $9 an hour at Walmart, is difficult to imagine).  Later, we helped him move to a different  apartment which is actually quite a bit better than the one he was living in.

We’ve been reading about Burundi and the wars between Hutu and Tutsi (Joseph is a Tutsi) which have caused the deaths of over 300,000 people so far.  President Obama also made an impassioned plea to the Burundi government which is on YouTube.  

We also had dinner with Susan Chinchette and the Relief Society President at our house.  Susan has been an active member in times past but is somewhat afraid of commitment.  We ate a lovely dinner.  She said she wants to learn French so we invited her to our Gospel Principles class.   Also, we are going to invite her to listen to the discussions in French.

We also had a good evening with another inactive, Bonnie Kline.  She was active at one time but with the death of her husband and caring for her mother she feels overwhelmed and just doesn’t feel she can do anymore.  She is interested in painting so Sandy might be able to encourage this and she would still enjoy visits.

We had another entertaining discussion with a less active, Eileen Ladeau.  Her family is active out west but she just doesn’t feel it.  She is very interested in ghosts and spirits.  She says there is a ghost in her house and she has used a pet clairvoyant.  Next time we visit we’ll have some scriptures and teachings of the Presidents on this subject.  By the way, we are dying to see her “ghost meter” that she tells us indicates when there is a ghost. 

Another of our African members, Evariste, is looking for a part-time job.  I called Walmart again and they would love to interview him so we hope this will be another happy Walmart employee.

We’ve also started another English class with Jane, Beatrice and Aziza to help them learn religious terms.

We had a lovely Ward dinner this week.  Someone sent some clothes for the African members and so we set them out for people to take.  It was a successful day.

As part of our work with Catholic charities we are helping a lady, Pierette, study for the TOEFL.  This tests your ability to understand and converse in English at a College level.  Sandy primarily works with her.  She is a lovely person and I wouldn’t be surprised if she eventually wants to learn more about the Church.

Our English class at the Community Center is going well.  We are getting a system down that seems to work well.  Doing this also helps me with my French.

Sandy and I also went to Higgins Beach this past week looking at the Ocean and the beach.  It was very relaxing.  We bumped into a young mother from the Ward with three children.  I actually think she enjoyed talking with adults for a few minutes rather than just with the little ones.

We taught the Gospel Principles class this week.  It went well.  Sandy does great job.  

9 November 2015

Good things have been happening. 

Joren got baptized on Friday and immediately left for Utah.  She asked me to confirm her and it was a very spiritual experience for me.  Joren gave a lovely testimony based on Matthew where Jesus says “if you’ve done it unto the least, you’ve done it unto me”.  Joren expressed appreciation for everything people have done for her and afterwards sent us a text with kind words.

John M. also got a job this week.  He is working at Ruby Tuesdays!  This is a big step—as we mentioned he’s had an addiction problem.  He’s been working hard and actually got another job also.  He’s really trying to straighten his life out and get back with his wife and daughter.  It is very difficult because he’s dug quite a hole for himself.  For instance, he applied for an apartment and the background check came back and he was denied.  He’s living at a motel where they don’t do background checks. 

Joseph Bizimano got the job at Walmart! He texted us about how happy he was to get the job.  He needs money to support him and send back to his family in a refugee camp in Uganda.  I can’t imagine anyone in the family rejoicing because they got a job at WalMart.

 

I went to a Zone Conference this week held at the Joseph Smith birthplace (Sandy went to Brandon’s baptism).  A General Authority, Brent Nielsen—Karla’s brother-in-law—and his wife made an excellent presentation.  His wife compared kids going out of the home and marrying with getting new companions.  She made the point that the in-laws don’t have to follow the culture that was in the Nielsen home to be loved and accepted obviously comparing this to mission companions.  Brent talked about working with members and his experiences.  He also pointed out that Joseph Smith learned as he translated the Book of Mormon.  For instance, after translating the comments in the Book of Mormon about infant baptism, he went to Emma and comforted her with this news as they’d recently lost a child.  That evening the Senior couples got together and had a dinner.  Brent and his wife talked to me about how grateful they are to have Karla as a Sister-in-law.

Bruce and Connie Latham came down for a short visit and we had them eat dinner with one of our African members, Anaclet, at our apartment.  We enjoyed the evening a lot and hope things will go well for Bruce and Connie.

We also did apartment inspections.  We enjoy the visiting with the Missionaries and seeing this beautiful countryside.  We’ve set up an incentive program which we’re hoping will improve the cleanliness of a few of the apartments. 

I had a spiritual experience last night.  I went to pick up a young man to assist in giving a blessing requested by a member.  As I was driving past a street I felt I needed to stop by an inactive we’ve been trying to visit for a while.  We’d been by several times and called.  We knew someone was there but wasn’t answering so we’d written them off.  I dropped by the house (I was alone since Sandy was still in Utah).  The woman answered the door and was very kind.  We set up a time to come back the following week. 

Also, when I got back from the blessing, I felt I should text one of our African members, Norbert, who had gone to Texas.  He texted back that he couldn’t find the church.  I contacted the Bishop who will set up someone to pick him up.  Norbert genuinely wants to do good—he is endowed and wants to be faithful and active.

Also, while trying to contact a less active, we talked to the handyman working on her house.  He was very interested in Genealogy and had also just been talking with his son about life after death.  We talked a lot and gave him a Book of Mormon and other contact information.  Hopefully, he’ll be interested. 

Hope everyone is doing well....

 

26 October 2015

Hi All,

This week we continued teaching, feeding and taking Joren on errands.   Her son was in the Primary program and all of us were very proud of how well he did.  She has had an occasion where she has run out of food.  I can’t imagine how difficult this would be for a young mother.  Our apartment is like a feeding center as well as a teaching center for her.

We also visited with one of our African members who’s looking for a job, Joseph.   He reports that he did purchasing and payroll for a company in Africa.  Right now he is doing car detailing and he is not getting enough hours.  The ward mission leader gave us a lead on some part-time soccer referring and coaching which we are hoping to get a response for.  I also talked to the Store Manager here at Walmart and they are looking for help and would like to interview him.  Hopefully something good can happen. 

Norbert left for Texas because he has job possibilities there and his current job was going to lay him off.  He is a real humble young man who has been through the Temple.  His wife and children were killed by tribal warfare.  We hope things can turn around for him.

John M consumes a great deal of our time.  He claims to have recovered from his addiction and we’ve gone through all sorts of hassles with him in getting a place to live (the cheapest apartment complex we could find wouldn’t take him based on the background check they did).  He was about to be homeless—the Bishop, as well as us, told him he’d have to stay at the shelter because the church wouldn’t pay anymore.  Miraculously (?) some family members came up with some money to help.  We are not being cynical.  We are learning about all the difficulties a person can get into who has an addiction.  Without support, John would certainly be homeless.  We are hoping for progress—he tells us he is determined to get a place to live and a job and turn his life around.  We hope for this and are trying to help him.

We (using the term loosely, Sandy did most of the talking) taught the Gospel Essentials Class to our African Investigators.  Sandy did a wonderful job.  I enjoy watching her patiently explain things and put tender emotion into her teachings.  In the closing prayer, the member saying the prayer said some kindly things about Sandy’s teaching and prayed that I would learn better French.  Sandy is the star of this mission; I am the supporting cast. 

We actually enjoyed doing apartment inspections again this week.  Though it is a lot of miles and time, we enjoy being with the young missionaries and seeing the magnificent countryside.  For instance, one apartment is located on “Around the Pound Road”.  To get to it, you drive along a magnificent, rural countryside.  It will be interesting to do inspections when there is four feet of snow.  After a day of inspecting we met up with another senior couple, the Seamons, for a late lunch.  We thoroughly enjoyed being with them and listening to their mission stories. 

Here is a picture of a lobster we caught at the store and turned him into a lobster roll  (He was $5). 

This picture was taken of houses by the coast.  If you look at the houses you can see many of them have a “Widows Walk” which is a walkway on the roof of the house overlooking the sea. 

This is a picture of a crane along the highway:

This is a picture of the "Bug" Lighthouse in South Portland 

19 Oct 2015

19 October 2015

This week, among other things, we spent time assisting Joren and inspecting apartments.

Joren and her two boys come over for dinner and a missionary lesson.  We have had her show us how to make an African dish which we were suitably impressed by.  She is progressing and will hopefully be ready for baptism on November 7.  After which the older Sister missionaries who were here before us, are going to take her and her boys to Utah.  They are going to try to help her live there.  It’s a noble gesture but fraught with difficulties.

We also had a birthday dinner for Joren’s youngest son Lucas.  She and her two boys, another African man named Norbert, and the Elders came over.  We played animal guessing game and reverse Jinga and everyone had a blast.  Afterwards Joren texted us and said she had not laughed in a long time, so we think it was a success. 

We had dinner with an inactive member from Brooklyn New York and his wife from California—Yolanda and Victor George.  She has been a caterer and once catered Morgan Freeman and Mike Tysom.  We enjoyed our visit and read the Book of Mormon with them.  They committed to read with us. 

I had an interesting experience.  I went to pic up the Elders for a meeting with Joren.  The Elders were not there and while waiting for them I talked to a young student who was questioning what his purpose is on earth.  He told me he had contemplated suicide multiple times.  We talked about various philosophies and got around to Joseph Smith, the pre-existence and the Book of Mormon.  This young man lives up the street from the Elders.  Hopefully they will be able to talk to him again.  Interestingly, the Elders said they texted me and told me they would meet us at our apartment for the dinner but I never got the text.  Had I gotten the text I wouldn’t have gone to pic up the Elders and met this young man. 

We also went on an apartment and car inspection tour.  We loved being with the missionaries but some of the dwelling places left a lot to be desired.  We have made an incentive program for getting cleaner apartments and cars.  We took some pictures of beautiful countryside.

We’ve been working with a man named John.   The Bishop wanted us to work with him.  He is from Idaho, has been living in a Motel 6, has been addicted to pain meds and is looking for a job.  We think he was one of Mike’s patients…..Anyway he’s making some progress and enjoyed Church yesterday. 

We are teaching an English class at the Community Center.  So far it has been enjoyable.  This week we have some folks from Angola.  

We miss you all and pray for you

A pond by our apartment

Eastern Trail while inspecting apartments

Joren, Marc, Lucas and Sandy

The Elders with Norbert

12 Oct 2015

12 October 2015

We enjoyed General Conference this week.  Our African members and investigators were very touched by it.  I spent the bulk of my time babysitting Joren’s two boys so she could watch the conference.  They are cute, smart little guys. 

We also enjoyed the District Meeting this week.  The missionary program is much better organized and focused than when we were on our mission.  Afterwards we fed the missionaries lunch and visited.  We enjoy the associations with the young missionaries very much. 

We had a wonderful baptism this week of an African man and woman.  He was a minister in several African pentacostal churches but was searching for something different where obedience to commandments was taught.  He was imprisoned for seven years because he opposed the government.

 

Sandy is a key cog in the missionary effort here.  She speaks such good French that the Africans go to her for answers and she says things in discussions which parents relate to (which the Elders have difficulty with because they are not parents).  I do OK.  I’ve briefly participated in several discussions and said several French prayers.  Though I don’t do well, this is just like Albania—people appreciate the effort. 

We’ve asked the Bishop and RS President how we can help.  He wants us to compile a list of services available in the Community as well as visit some less active and clean up the rolls.  He would also like us to assist in Employment and Addiction Recovery.  The RS President gave us a number of names to visit. 

We’ve made a lot of visits and so far have had a couple of hits.  Last night we stopped in to see an African man and his two children.  He was very kind and gracious.  We left with a short scripture discussion (Sandy helped correct me as I spoke---sounds normal doesn’t it?).  We’ve noticed that the folks seem to want me to pray even though I have much less ability in French than Sandy.  We hypothesize that it might be because our African folks, like the Albanians, look to the man to be in charge (I wonder what that would be like…..having never experienced this).

We’ve been working with Catholic Charities and the local shelter to compile a list of services.  We’ve just about got it together but it’s like jumping into a swamp and trying to find your ring.  I’m putting together a spreadsheet with tabs for housing, employment, food, etc. 

Speaking of Catholic Charities, we’ve volunteered to be mentors for a refugee family.  This should be quite interesting and will help us get better acquainted with the services available. 

We also volunteer once a week teaching English at a local community center.  This is an excellent opportunity to meet and help.  In fact, Joren was met at the Community Center. 

We also met with a young man looking for a job whose wife is going to school here in Maine as a Physical Therapist.  We gave him the “Me in 30 Seconds” and helped him establish his network.  He was very receptive and we’re hopeful.  By the way, he and his wife went to SUU where Chris was one of her professors!  

Mission Update Sept 2015

Hi All,

We've arrived in Portland and are immersed in the work.  We've had some great experiences already. Below is Sandy's summary and some pictures.  We don't know about the internet in the next little while so until we get that straightened out, we'll have to call you.  Much Love to all!

Wednesday we started our trip back East.  We stopped at Andrea and Mike’s house first and enjoyed playing with the girls as well as an evening at Culvers and playing Pinochle (we got slaughtered). 

Thursday we went to Jackson Hole and went to some art galleries.  That night we stayed in Rawlins Wyoming. 

Friday we ended our driving in Lincoln Nebraska; Saturday in Indiana.  The driving has been long but Sandy has been tutoring me in French part of the time which has been good.  Surprisingly I am remembering a lot from my High School days 45 years ago. 

Sunday we went to a Kirtland Ward for church. Afterwards we went to the Kirtland Visitors Center.  We toured the Newell Whitney Store, the sawmill, and other sites.  We enjoyed being shown around by the young sister missionaries.  We were quite inspired by the films and the historical events that occurred there.  We learned about the Whitney’s incredible sacrifices—for instance, he donated a potash making plant to the Church which could have made him a fortune and which was used to help pay for the Kirtland Temple.  We also learned that the Father and Son appeared to some of the brethren in the upper floor of the Whitney Store in fulfillment of a prophecy made by Joseph Smith. 

Tuesday we left for Palmyra, New York.  Again we found the church history sites very uplifting and spiritual.  We enjoyed the missionaries we met there and were invited to the home of the Parkerson’s, friends of the Latham’s.  We ate together in a restaurant where we met several people (working there) who were Albanians.  Craig went ultra-enthusiastic and talked to them in Albanian and they gave us their address and phone number.  We sent a missionary referral for them. 

After leaving New York, we drove to Bruce and Connie Latham’s house and enjoyed their company for a night.  The next morning we met the Putnam’s, a missionary couple assigned to the area, who had already served in Portland and who tried to help us know a little more about the mission.

That day we drove to Maine and finally arrived in the city of Portland.  Sunday we went to church and met many people.  A party was planned for the African members and investigators.  The Africans sang together beautifully in Swahili and we enjoyed listening.  We started right in using our French with them.  Many speak English to some extent but are more at ease in other languages. 

Monday was an interesting day with the employment specialist from New York, Leanna Bingham.

Monday afternoon we had a discussion with Joren, an investigator from the Congo.  She is a mother who escaped with her two children after protesting against the government and being arrested and abused by that government.  She does not speak English.  She has two sons, Marc and Lucas, 4 and 2.  She is being taught by the missionaries and will be baptized on Nov. 7^th.

The pictures are of us at the EB Grandin Print shop, Sacred Grove, Joseph Smith Farm, Leaf Colors in New England, Africans at Apt.  

Backpacking Trip August 2015

Hi All,

We had an amazing backpacking trip this year.  We went to the Green Lakes Region and back packed to Slide Lake.  It was the most difficult hike yet but it was the most spectacular.  The scenery reminded me of Alaska.  The fishing was great and we all had a good time.  Unfortunately, Chris and kids could not come with us.  Brian was called in to Jury Duty but came up a day late with him and Jaimee.