Hi Mom!!!

   How are you??? That's awesome about Glen Olpin being the Bishop. He will do a wonderful job!!! Did you get anything at the antique store that you went to? When is Aunt Diane going to have her surgery? I can't believe that they changed the temple video. I'm sure it will take some getting used to but I'm sure it is wonderful nonetheless. What did Sister Wilcox e-mail you? I'm sure I'll find someone in this ward just like Sister Wilcox. The members of all the wards are amazing!!! They all love having sister missionaries in the wards, especially the sisters in the ward. 

  I'm now serving in Portland, Maine. It is about 20 miles south of Brunswick/Topsham. We are right on the coast. This ward has 4 sets of missionaries in it....WOW!!! There are 2 sets of Elders, one Senior couple(The Campbells)...love them, and my companion and I. It's amazing!!! My companion is brand new from the MTC. Her name is Sister Beus and she is from Highland, Utah. She turned 20 in the MTC. She is awesome!! She is very excited to be out on a mission. Right now our living situation is temporary. The ward didn't find a place for us to live so they moved the Elders into one apartment and we are staying in one of the apartments the Elders had. They are hoping to have us in our own place by September.

                                                                                                                   Portland, Maine 04101. 

 . Just have people send stuff through the mission home address. They will forward my mail to me. They are trying to get us a place to stay right on the beach. It is so pretty here. Portland is a bigger city than my other areas. We are going to be in the suburbs of Portland. 

  We haven't found anyone to teach yet. We are trying to get to know the ward members more and also trying to contact some less actives. We are working hard trying to find investigators. One of the members from my first area has moved down here to Portland so when we got to church I knew there would be a familiar face. It was great to see the Ashton family again. We have a lot of refugees from Africa in our ward and that are investigating the church. They don't speak very much English. My companion and I are wanting to start an English class for them. They speak French and Swahili. They have been through a lot. They love hearing the gospel and they know right away that it is true. Sister Campbell(the senior missionary) said they can't baptize them soon enough. They all want to be baptized right away. They are such special people!! Lilian is one of them and she has been baptized for 7 or 8 months. She is so funny! She told us that it doesn't matter what people think of her because she knows that God loves her. She has a great attitude about life. She asked us about who we were going to visit this week and we told her that we were going to visit some less active people. She couldn't grasp the concept why people would ever stop going to church after being baptized. She is a wonderful example to everyone!! The ward is so focused on missionary work. They had a combined meeting yesterday to brainstorm ideas for the Ward Mission Plan. It was wonderful!! 

  This week has been great!! Coming to a new area is always an adventure. I'm sure I will love this area just as I have my other ones. This week I have been thinking about how much Heavenly Father loves us. We are His children. He wants us to be happy so He has given us every opportunity to be happy in this life. He has given us His Son so we can become like Him. 3 Nephi 27:13-15. God wants to bless us and wants to help us. We can't make it through life without Heavenly Father's help. He has provided a way for us to inherit everything He has. 2 Nephi 9:18. What do you think of when you hear the word inherit? We are children of God and because of that we have limitless potential to become just as He is. Life will have challenges but we have them so we can become the people that Heavenly Father needs us to be. Have a great week!!! I love you and miss you!!!

   Love,

     Sister Griffin