Dear Family and friends,
SLAINTE ---- and what's about ye -- it is another lovely day in the luscious Emerald Isle. Today is dry and pleasant, however yesterday we had a wee bit o the famous Irish mist -- often referred to MIZZLE in norn iron language and by the way, " what's about ye " means -- " how are you doing ". While juggling our mission responsibilities we are expected to know 3 languages !!! We have found if you smile and say AYE to everything it will usually pass.
Now first, for a wee bit o trivia : -
WHY POLAR BEARS ARE REALLY " POLE O' BEARS " ---- Across the globe, there are hundreds of millions of people who lay claim to Irish ancestry, however tenuous the link ( I have always maintained that there are only 2 types of people in this world -- those who are Irish and those who wish to be !!! ) Now it would appear that polar bears wish to join the club along with 12 American Presidents, including Obama ( perhaps it really is O'Bama !! ) who now wants to join the bandwagon. A DNA study suggests that every polar bear alive today is descended from a single female brown bear living in IRELAND during the last ice age, 10,000 to 110,000 years ago !!!! ---- so there you have it, dear family and friends and this is the scientists findings, not mine , so " BEAR " with me now for the remainder of our missionary report.
We are down to the final months and we are told our return travel plans are in the mail -- time is flying, the work increasing, and of course, the reality that we will be " homeless " is on the horizon ---- but we are happy, very, very blessed and candidly we would not want it to be any other way. Heavenly Father will provide, he always has and always will. We will miss a lot as we leave for home and it sounds peculiar to say the words ' leave for home " as North America is home now, even though we were both born here. Our children are all there and home is where the heart is --- we love each of you so very much.
It is " marching season " in Northern Ireland and of course there have been a number of riots that have escalated into ugly scenes. The missionaries are under strict instructions to not be near any locations that may be a danger point and there are a few. A few weeks ago, late at night, on returning home from Coleraine we drove along side once such flashpoint. It did not look good, but we know Belfast very well so were able to circumvent driving on those streets. Next day we found out the extent of the damage and injuries, etc and it was indeed extensive. It is now past the " Glorious Twelfth " and most areas in Belfast appear to be normalizing. The missionaries were confined to their flats for 2 days over the 12th July and that is always a difficult time for them -- I guess they feel that the seniors are not so vulnerable as the young Elders and Sisters, so we are able to do as we please !!!
The 12th July parade. We are teaching a lovely couple -- Dee is from Utah and she married an Irishman - Shamus, he is a great guy and we enjoy them very much. They live on the beautiful Antrim coast road and it gives us an excuse to teach them regularly there, alongside the ocean - what a magnificent teaching location. Dee had never seen an " Orange parade " before and of course Shamus had been a Catholic before joining the church. Now you may not understand this but because of his background we had to refer to him during the parade as " James " --- yes, only in Northern Ireland. You see it could be trouble, if someone heard the name Shamus ( which is a catholic name ) -- so we take little precautions and that is just simply what you do here --- my given name is William so I am ok, as of course, King William of Orange is what the celebration is all about --- however the " Elder " bit kind of throws them off a little.
Some of the housing estates we work in are " hardened " areas politically and we are told to never be in them after dark. It is amazing to us, what you do not know, holds no fear and we have always worked in them without difficulty. Flags fly on all lampposts indicating where their loyalties lie. Yes, we see many things that are undesirable and also numerous shady characters. Some of our members living there have huge challenges, but we have come to recognize them as valuable in the sight of God and therefore his children, which makes them no different than us. As we have sat in their homes and repented on the spot for our feelings toward them on occasion, it has brought a sense of joy into our beings of " whose " they really are. One such experience occurred a few weeks ago. As we sat in our car for a few minutes after leaving a home where the smelll of smoking and animals was so overpowering that we could barely breathe, we both looked at each other, the odor embedded in our clothing, and said " Did you recognize that feeling in the home as we looked into her eyes as we talked of the Saviour of the World ".
Instantly, we both shared the identical feeling and it was a powerful testimony to us of the message of our master, Jesus Christ.
1st. -- 4th July -- Canada Day and Independence Day. The senior missionaries in the Emerald Isle thought a little trip around Ireland would be a great idea to celebrate both days together. We had been working hard and the new senior missionary policy allowed for a few little breaks like this but the policy does not come into effect until Sept. 1st. It was decided that the " rebel from the north " ( that would be Elder McBride !! ) would address the trip with our mission president. Unfortunately one sister in the south let the cat out of the bag, before he came to Belfast, that it would be nice if he and his wife would join us !! He said " What trip " and then suggested that he might wait until he would see who would be bold enough to mention the event to him !!!! -- No problem, it's the Irish in Elder McBride -- The word NO has never been a problem to the Irish --- we not only got approval, we did have a wonderful time --- the Tall Ships in Waterford harbour, kissed the Blarney Stone ( for the 4th time, some think I swallowed it !! ), on to the magnificent Lakes of Killarney and the Ring of Kerry, Trallee ( The rose of trallee ) went to church there - we more than doubled the branch attendance, up to Galway Bay and seen the sun go down on Galway bay, it was spectacular, on to Connemara and " John Wayne " country -- back to Belfast through Sligo and lovely Leitrim. It was a spiritual feast with all 14 senior missionaries and of course fantastic scenery, as the tour guide ( Elder McBride ) led them through numerous tiny mountain roads where only one car could pass at a time -- it was all part of the experience, we kept telling them !! Now, those of senior missionary age reading this --- you can have some fun while enjoying great missionary experiences and blessing the lives of those we labor with -- and who knows, you might also end up with a crazy tour guide along the way --- it is all in a days work !!!!
We are so very blessed to be able to visit often the places of our baptisms and renew fond memories of events in certain locations in our early church life. Our dear family and great friends are very dear to us. Friends that we love dearly on both sides of the great Atlantic ocean. Some of our family have been able to visit with us for a few days, including " the baby in the bag " and we cherish those times together -- never to be forgotten. The places of our baptisms should be sacred places in our hearts, never to be forgotten. In the Book of Mormon ( Mosiah 18 verses 8,9, 10 and 11 --- also verse 30 ) Alma talks of the Waters of Mormon --- how beautiful are they to the EYES of them who came to THE KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR REDEEMER and they shall sing to his praise for evermore. How very beautiful are THE WHITE ROCKS at Portrush to me personally and how very precious it is to Sister McBride and I that we came to a knowledge of our redeemer -- HE LIVES, WE KNOW HE LIVES and we get to represent our dear Saviour each day we serve here in this beautiful part of the world.
When each of us were baptized we entered into a sacred covenant with our Heavenly Father. It is our desire to never break this and during this mission it has been a particular blessing to us to have these opportunities to visit these locations frequently. In addition each of us who are baptized also have that privilege to partake of the sacrament each Sunday to renew that covenant. May we all remember as we do this, there are 3 important things that we agree to do, as we say amen : -
1. We take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ.
2. We promise to obey his commandments.
3. We commit to serving our Lord and master.
May each of us " keep pressing forward " --- we love you all very very dearly. You mean so very much to us --- we love to be around you. We learn so much of that which is good from you -- you make us better every time we meet and feel of your goodness and testimony. How very blessed we feel because of you.
All our love always and we pray daily for you our dear friends and our dear children and grandchildren every day, by name.
Elder and Sister McBride --- mom and dad.
Scotland / Ireland Mission.
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