Jackie LeMoine

Last night we had dinner with the LeMoines. Jackie is the camera operator at the Archives here in Bordeaux where we have been working. He is an employee of the Church and has sacrificed a great deal helping to obtain records from the area of Gironde. He and his wife have seven children between them and a large German Shepard called Navajo.



Jackie at work microfilming records at the
Archives Departmental Bordeaux, France

Jackie is in the middle. The woman at the far left is Francoise, behind her is Jerry, and Mark is at the far right in light blue. They are some of the people we worked with at the Archives.

Jackie prepared a wonderful French meal for us. Our entree was a delicious baked dish with shrimp and scallops to start. Then we were served a sumptuous Basque Chicken (chicken baked with red and green peppers and onions) served over rice. All this was accompanied by wonderful French bread. We then had several types of great French cheeses, a selection of fresh fruit (peaches, nectarines, apricots and cherries), more French bread and finally some ice cream (mint chocolate chip and mango). It was such a pleasant and "filling" evening. Jackie joked about opening a restaurant, and we believe he could make a great success of it. He showed us a great French cookbook that I am going to try to get - the recipes were delicious.

When we left on our mission it was difficult to leave friends and family, but it was made easier knowing that in 2 years we would be returning to our loved ones. We had not anticipated how hard it would be to leave the friends and family (Jackie is so like a son/grandson to us) we have here in France. This time we know that there is a good chance this will be the last time we will see these wonderful people. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we are able to have a mission reunion when we reach the spirit world! Of course, with the Internet we will still be able to keep in touch and that has helped our leaving be more bearable.

This next part is for Jackie if/when he reads this blog.

Jackie, c’était une telle bénédiction pour nous de vous connaitre. Vous êtes admirable jeune homme que nous aurions été fier d’être vos grand-parents. Vous avez merveilleux chaleur d’esprit. Nous remarquerons l'absence de votre sourire ainsi que votre bon humour. Je vous remercie de vos grands efforts à me parler en anglais. Ça m’a donné beaucoup de réconfort. Que le Seigneur vous bénisse ainsi que votre famille avec toutes les prodigieuses bénédictions dont vous méritez. Veuillez savoir que nous vous aimons et que nous prierons toujours pour votre bonheur et succès.

Avec tout notre amitié, « pépé et mamie » / Elder et sœur Miller