JAARS Volunteers Speak

Shirley Aldridge kept a list of places she wanted to visit and JAARS was on it. During a 1996 summer vacation trip, she and husband David decided to check out the place to see what they would find. They expected not much more than an airport where pilots trained.

To get there, they took a series of country roads and wondered, “What could possibly be way out here?” Arriving at a beautiful 600-acre campus with much more than an airport totally surprised them. “It was wonderful,” Shirley says. “We stayed over night and took a tour the next morning. The JAARS bug bit us, for sure!”

Having worked with MAP International*, for years, first in Illinois and then in Georgia, the Aldridges were anticipating early retirement. Feeling God’s direction during their visit here, they thought, We would really like to be a part of supporting Bible translation by working at JAARS. They returned later for a JAARS Day open house and then applied for long-term volunteer service.

By June of 1997, Shirley left her receptionist job at MAP and David, having left MAP earlier, closed down his business before the move to Waxhaw, North Carolina.

Shirley wondered what job to take at JAARS. Hearing about the need for a receptionist in the accounting department, she knew she’d found her niche and served there for six years. More recently, she has been helping on occasion in the cafeteria kitchen. She also ministers to octogenarian ladies, many being retired missionaries, at a weekly club called Golden Treasures.

David, a business systems analyst, worked on administrative systems in Information Technology Services for six years. In addition, he participated with the guidance team for Enterprise Architecture, a plan that helps unite various JAARS and Wycliffe computer systems. Now he’s serving as business systems auditor, assuring quality control and reliability. He’s also redesigning the JAARS budgeting system. “My work is fulfilling and I enjoy the responsibility it affords,” David says.

Shirley says, “God continues to use us and teach us even in our retirement years. Coming here to work involves change and learning new ways of doing things. Expertise gained in previous employment in the business world does not release us from these adjustments. David agrees, “There are different challenges here, but all of my business experience has come together to meet job requirements at JAARS.”

The Aldridges say, “We had never thought much about what retirement would be like. But hey, this is great! We enjoy our work, our colleagues, home and church. We travel lots too, visiting our three children, nine grandchildren and one great-granddaughter in Georgia and Ohio. They like to visit JAARS, in turn, and see what we are doing. We have no complaints!”

It’s no surprise that JAARS was on the Aldridges’ list of places to see. David’s uncle and aunt, Herb and Hilda Whealy, were the first candidates accepted by Wycliffe Canada in 1943!

You may not have that special incentive to come visit, but why not put JAARS on your vacation list anyway? You will be surprised too at what you will find here. And—just maybe—you will discover special plans God has for your retirement years.

* MAP International is a Christian mission providing health and hope for people living in the world's poorest communities.