My first transfer came to a close this week and we started
our second transfer. Elder Yeager got transferred over to Fort Belvoir, which
is in Alexandria. We spent a lot of time on Tuesday and Wednesday driving
around for him to say a lot of goodbyes to people that he's grown to love in
his 6 months here.
My new companion is Elder Shelley! He was born and raised in
Provo, Utah and is Japanese/Hawaiian/American. He's a great guy and I'm excited
to get to work with him here in Centreville! Elder Shelley came to the mission
the same time that Elder Yeager did, so they knew each other from the MTC.
Along with transfers, we also no longer have a car in our area, so we will be
on bike or foot. It was nice being able to use a car for most of last transfer,
so it will be an adjustment no longer having a car. But we're ready and excited
to experience missionary life in its typical fashion!
On Wednesday night last week, Amy went with us to the
Somkey's home. Brother and Sister Somkey are family history consultants and
they were able to help her prepare some names to be able to take to the temple.
It was difficult to find information on FamilySearch.org because there aren't
many records online from people in Africa and Sierra Leone, but she had enough
information to be able to get about 6 of her more recent ancestors to be able
to participate in baptisms for the dead. There are so many people on this earth
that never have the opportunity, during their lifetime, to hear about Jesus
Christ and his teachings. I love how God has provided a way for those people to
learn about and accept his teachings after they leave from this life. It
wouldn't be fair if the millions of people that never have a chance to learn
about His gospel are forgotten. Amy is super excited to go on Wednesday to the
temple to perform ordinances on behalf of her ancestors! We're going to be able
to be there with her, so I'm excited to go to the DC temple for the first time!
And we will take her over to the visitors center for a little bit afterwards!
It is our stake temple day this Wednesday, so there will be a lot of ward
members there with us supporting Amy!
Saturday morning, I got to go with Elder Shelley to his
previous area to attend a baptism for someone that he and his previous
companion have been teaching for a while. The man who was baptized is named
Nuwan. He is a refugee, that was born in Sri Lanka and then lived in Thailand,
that came to America about 5 months ago. His story is pretty miraculous. It was
a beautiful service and I'm glad I was able to go to it!
Afterwards, Saturday was the first day that we went out on
bikes. Our area is a decent size and it takes us about one and a half hours to
ride from one end to the other, but it's all good, we're going to get in good
shape!
Last night, we finished teaching Michelle about the Plan of
Salvation at Bishop Duersch's home. It was an awesome lesson and we were able
to address a few of her concerns and get her feeling more confident and
comfortable with her decision to be baptized. We were praying that she would
express a greater desire and level of excitement for baptism, and by the end of
our lesson, she expressed that she "feels so much better about
baptism" after the discussion was over because of the things she learned
and the spirit she felt. I know that as we come to know and understand God's
Plan of Salvation for us, we will have a greater desire to keep all of His
commandments. As Michelle learned about where we came from, why we're here on
the earth, and where we're going after this life, she was able to understand
why baptism is an essential step to make on the path towards living with our
Father in Heaven again someday. Her daughter, Kaylie, is a great example to her
and it's awesome to see them grow closer together as Michelle continues to progress
and learn more about the gospel.
Something that I liked in my studies this week came from 2
Nephi 4. This is Nephi speaking a few verses after his father, Lehi, died.
Nephi catches himself complaining but then he remembers everything that he has
been blessed with. He said:
26 O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in
his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy,
why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my
flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?
27 And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea,
why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart
to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy?
28 Awake, my soul! No
longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy
of my soul.
30 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O
Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God,
and the rock of my salvation.
I love when he tells himself "why should my heart weep
and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow." The Lord has shown him so
many marvelous things and has blessed him and his family so much. Although they
did go through many trials, Nephi was able to remember the experiences he's had
and rely on those to get him through the tough times. His father passing away
must've been really tough, but he puts his trust in the Lord and rejoices in
Him instead of complaining and committing sin. I think this is an awesome
example for us when we experience trials. We should all try to remember what
the Lord has blessed us with and remember the experiences we've had. If we
build upon and remember the positive, spiritual, and uplifting experiences that
we've had in the past, it will be much easier for us to stay on the path that
leads back to our Father in Heaven and make righteous decisions throughout our
lives.
Hope you all have a great week! Love you all,
Elder Duvall
This is our friend Richard Knox! He's 76 years old, and we
go over to his house every couple weeks to check up on him and see how things
are going and usually spend an hour talking with him. He's such a nice man and
loves talking with missionaries about a bunch of random stuff. He gives us a
bunch of good advice! He shares stories from his life and lessons he's learned
and it's always fun spending some time with him. He jokes around a lot and is a
super funny guy! He's not really interested in the church, but he reads the
Book of Mormon and has talked with missionaries for years. He thinks that
missionary work is great and he loves asking us how our work is going and the
people we are working with!
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Sad saying bye to Elder Yeager!But I had a great first transfer with him and I am excited for him to go to the Fort Belvoir area! |
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Here's my new companion Elder Shelley! I'm super excited to work with him!
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