July 25, 2016 Zone conference, exchanges, Power of Prayer

I had an awesome first full week of work here in Alexandria!

Our Zone conference turned out great! We did our training portion based on a few points from chapter 4 of Preach My Gospel about the "power of the spirit in conversion" and the different roles that play a part in the conversion process of an investigator. We as missionaries have to be able to teach with converting power so that the investigators can feel the spirit to receive conversion. So we discussed what we need to do to create a spiritual environment and have the spirit with us as we interact with people. One major thing that I learned from preparing for this conference was how critical the spirit is in conversion. We thought an analogy to help us understand it better: Just as the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our testimony and the keystone of our religion, the Holy Ghost is the keystone of our conversion. Without the Book of Mormon, our testimony and religion falls apart. Without the Holy Ghost, we can't become truly converted. We can have a testimony of the gospel, but without the spirit we will lack conversion. Conversion is an ongoing process that we work on throughout our lives as we consistently are true to our testimony. The Holy Ghost is what will allow us to make decisions that will keep us on the path back to our Father in Heaven. The conference was really discussion based and it went really well. President and Sister Huntsman, and the Assistants gave different training portions as well and we all learned a lot.

This is our Zone right after our Zone Conference! Left to right: Elders Judkins, Larsen, Goodson, Hall, Mecham, Richards, King, myself, Norton, Ma, Sister Huntsman, President Huntsman, Sisters West, Corey,Young, Alldredge, Blackham, Moore, Adair, Hansen, Richardson, Morris.

Enjoyed a brief visit with Uncle Mark and Brayden last week! It was great to spend a little time with them! We both enjoyed seeing them! Elder Judkins thinks he's an awesome uncle! So do I!  Brayden is lucky to have such an amazing grandpa! He's such a smart kid and is going to be a great man someday!

As a Zone leader, I get to go on exchanges with the district leaders and their companion each transfer. This week we went with Elder Ma and Elder Norton. It was great being able to spend the day with Elder Norton, who was in my MTC group! We taught a lesson together to a 12 year old kid from Egypt, that Elder Judkins and I have been teaching. His name is Aiman and he is such a smart kid! We taught him a brief lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and said a prayer with him at the end. Right after the prayer he said "I feel something... It feels good!" And then he started tearing up a little bit. It was sweet to help him recognize that what he was feeling was the Holy Ghost. It was fun teaching with Elder Norton! I remember practice teaching with him a lot in the MTC back in January, seems like it was yesterday.

We also got to go on exchanges with the Assistants (AP's) this week. Their area is Fort Belvoir over in Mount Vernon. On that exchange we did a church tour with one of their investigators, and taught a couple other lessons as well. Their church building in Mount Vernon is in such a beautiful location! It is right on the Potomac River and is close by George Washington’s estate.

 Elder Duvall and Elder Judkins "On our exchange with Elder Ma and Elder Norton"

I got to do my 1st baptismal interview this week! I have the privilege to interview people for baptism that were taught by the district leaders in our zone. The man I got to interview this week was Bill. Bill is about 60 years old and he met the missionaries a while ago. They've been working with him for a long time and he finally was ready to be baptized this last week! He had been smoking for about 40 years, a pack a day, but has gone the last two weeks without smoking a single cigarette! He explained to me how difficult it had been for him, but through relying on Jesus Christ, he was able to have the strength to stop! It's remarkable how much strength we can get as we rely on the Atonement of Christ in times of need!

The power of prayer is real and works wonders- we say a prayer every time we leave the apartment, even on our way to the gym. As a result, we've felt great direction as we search for people who are prepared for the gospel. The other day we ran into this lady named Brigitte. It was amazing how we were led there- our original plans would not have brought us to her, but because of specific impressions we felt (which felt like small decisions in the moment), we were led to her. So we knocked on a few doors in a certain complex, until we got to hers. She's a rock solid Catholic, but loves the missionaries, and she met with some back in Africa. But when she moved a few times since coming to the states, she has lost contact, and lately has been going through some family struggles. Apparently she had been in tears all day, until we showed up. She told us her background and past interactions with the church and with missionaries and we spent a while talking at her door and said a prayer with her. She felt much better when we left. Then we had a lesson with her and a member yesterday and have plans to take her to a baptism later this week and the temple visitor's center. Crazy! We had no idea we'd run into her, but because we were praying, the Spirit led us to the right place at the right time. Cool, right?! Don't forget to pray- the power is as strong as our faith.

Ultimately, we're here for the Lord to work through us. Nephi writes in 2nd Nephi 33:1 "And now I, Nephi, cannot write all the things which were taught among my people; neither am I mighty in writing, like unto speaking; for when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men." It's the Holy Ghost that is able to work within people to help them make changes in their lives that'll draw them closer to the Savior. As long as we are worthy and do our best, the Spirit will be able to carry into the hearts of the people we teach! I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve here!

I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Jeremy Duvall Washington DC South Mission

We saw this family from a distance and said to each other, "I bet you they're Mormon." Thirty seconds later, the little kids yell "Missionaries, Missionaries!" It was pretty funny. They were visiting Old Town Alexandria from Utah and they know a cousin of Elder Judkins. Small world!

July 18, 2016 Enjoying P-day basketball!!!

July 25,2016 Zone conference, exchanges, Power of Prayer

I had an awesome first full week of work here in Alexandria!

Our Zone conference turned out great! We did our training portion based on a few points from chapter 4 of Preach My Gospel about the "power of the spirit in conversion" and the different roles that play a part in the conversion process of an investigator. We as missionaries have to be able to teach with converting power so that the investigators can feel the spirit to receive conversion. So we discussed what we need to do to create a spiritual environment and have the spirit with us as we interact with people. One major thing that I learned from preparing for this conference was how critical the spirit is in conversion. We thought an analogy to help us understand it better: Just as the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our testimony and the keystone of our religion, the Holy Ghost is the keystone of our conversion. Without the Book of Mormon, our testimony and religion falls apart. Without the Holy Ghost, we can't become truly converted. We can have a testimony of the gospel, but without the spirit we will lack conversion. Conversion is an ongoing process that we work on throughout our lives as we consistently are true to our testimony. The Holy Ghost is what will allow us to make decisions that will keep us on the path back to our Father in Heaven. The conference was really discussion based and it went really well. President and Sister Huntsman, and the Assistants gave different training portions as well and we all learned a lot.

This is our Zone right after our Zone Conference! Left to right: Elders Judkins, Larsen, Goodson, Hall, Mecham, Richards, King, myself, Norton, Ma, Sister Huntsman, President Huntsman, Sisters West, Corey,Young, Alldredge, Blackham, Moore, Adair, Hansen, Richardson, Morris.

Enjoyed a brief visit with Uncle Mark and Brayden last week! It was great to spend a little time with them! We both enjoyed seeing them! Elder Judkins thinks he's an awesome uncle! So do I!  Brayden is lucky to have such an amazing grandpa! He's such a smart kid and is going to be a great man someday!

As a Zone leader, I get to go on exchanges with the district leaders and their companion each transfer. This week we went with Elder Ma and Elder Norton. It was great being able to spend the day with Elder Norton, who was in my MTC group! We taught a lesson together to a 12 year old kid from Egypt, that Elder Judkins and I have been teaching. His name is Aiman and he is such a smart kid! We taught him a brief lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and said a prayer with him at the end. Right after the prayer he said "I feel something... It feels good!" And then he started tearing up a little bit. It was sweet to help him recognize that what he was feeling was the Holy Ghost. It was fun teaching with Elder Norton! I remember practice teaching with him a lot in the MTC back in January, seems like it was yesterday.

We also got to go on exchanges with the Assistants (AP's) this week. Their area is Fort Belvoir over in Mount Vernon. On that exchange we did a church tour with one of their investigators, and taught a couple other lessons as well. Their church building in Mount Vernon is in such a beautiful location! It is right on the Potomac River and is close by George Washington’s estate.

 Elder Duvall and Elder Judkins "On our exchange with Elder Ma and Elder Norton"

I got to do my 1st baptismal interview this week! I have the privilege to interview people for baptism that were taught by the district leaders in our zone. The man I got to interview this week was Bill. Bill is about 60 years old and he met the missionaries a while ago. They've been working with him for a long time and he finally was ready to be baptized this last week! He had been smoking for about 40 years, a pack a day, but has gone the last two weeks without smoking a single cigarette! He explained to me how difficult it had been for him, but through relying on Jesus Christ, he was able to have the strength to stop! It's remarkable how much strength we can get as we rely on the Atonement of Christ in times of need!

The power of prayer is real and works wonders- we say a prayer every time we leave the apartment, even on our way to the gym. As a result, we've felt great direction as we search for people who are prepared for the gospel. The other day we ran into this lady named Brigitte. It was amazing how we were led there- our original plans would not have brought us to her, but because of specific impressions we felt (which felt like small decisions in the moment), we were led to her. So we knocked on a few doors in a certain complex, until we got to hers. She's a rock solid Catholic, but loves the missionaries, and she met with some back in Africa. But when she moved a few times since coming to the states, she has lost contact, and lately has been going through some family struggles. Apparently she had been in tears all day, until we showed up. She told us her background and past interactions with the church and with missionaries and we spent a while talking at her door and said a prayer with her. She felt much better when we left. Then we had a lesson with her and a member yesterday and have plans to take her to a baptism later this week and the temple visitor's center. Crazy! We had no idea we'd run into her, but because we were praying, the Spirit led us to the right place at the right time. Cool, right?! Don't forget to pray- the power is as strong as our faith.

Ultimately, we're here for the Lord to work through us. Nephi writes in 2nd Nephi 33:1 "And now I, Nephi, cannot write all the things which were taught among my people; neither am I mighty in writing, like unto speaking; for when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men." It's the Holy Ghost that is able to work within people to help them make changes in their lives that'll draw them closer to the Savior. As long as we are worthy and do our best, the Spirit will be able to carry into the hearts of the people we teach! I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve here!

I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Jeremy Duvall Washington DC South Mission

We saw this family from a distance and said to each other, "I bet you they're Mormon." Thirty seconds later, the little kids yell "Missionaries, Missionaries!" It was pretty funny. They were visiting Old Town Alexandria from Utah and they know a cousin of Elder Judkins. Small world!

July 18, 2016 Enjoying P-day basketball!!!

July 18th, 2016 Transferred from Centreville to Alexandria

I've been transferred to Alexandria!

My last couple days in Centreville were great! I was able to have lessons with and say bye to most of the people that we have been working with. We had a recent convert lesson with Michelle that was great! She told us that she just finished reading the Book of Mormon! It's crazy to think that I knocked on her door my very first night in the mission field. It's been a journey with her and I'm glad to have been a part of it!

It was and honor to be able to teach the Koroma family the last 6 months and to see their love for the gospel progress. I will miss them tremendously! But I will get to go back and visit when Omarr gets baptized next year and when Amy goes through the temple next February!

We visited with Katie and Jackson my last night in Centreville and invited them to pray about a date to set as a goal for Jackson to work towards for baptism! They are thinking about the end of August! I'm so glad Elder Shelley and I were able to have a neat experience finding them, and I'm grateful for the loving persistence that we showed to them that helped soften her heart. I'm confident in Elder Chu and his new companion as they continue teaching them!

It was sad saying goodbye to all of the people that I've grown to love in Centreville, but I am excited to get to work here in Alexandria!!

Leadership calls go out on the Monday before transfers, and we got a call from President Huntsman last Monday night. When he called, my initial thought was that that maybe he would be asking me to be a District Leader in another area. But he gave me the assignment to serve as a Zone Leader here in Alexandria with Elder Judkins! I am humbled and excited to be able to serve in this capacity, and I know that the Lord will me! Elder Judkins is from northeast Texas and he's an awesome missionary. We are both beyond excited to be able to work together here and to serve in this zone!

My first few days serving here in Alexandria have been great! Serving in this city has a completely different dynamic than out in Centreville. There are a lot of big apartment complexes, buildings and condominiums and not as many individual homes. The ward is also a lot different. It's a smaller ward and it consists of a lot of young couples along with a few elderly people and then a few different families from Ghana. Since there's pretty much no young men in the ward, we got to bless the sacrament on Sunday for the first time on my mission which was sweet! I'm excited to get to know the members of the ward! I've already made a few connection with different members from California. Our Assistant Ward Mission leader is from Murrieta! There are a few other members from SoCal as well so that's sweet.

I've loved serving in this district my first 6 months. Different elders have ome and gone,but I have loved them all! (Left to right: Elders Bradley, Beatty, myself, Chu, Teeples, Marshall, and Elder Strawn and Vasilyev in the front.) 

We're in a car, so I'll probably be off of the bike for a while. There's a lot of really humble people that are ready and willing to listen! There are A TON of Africans here. So far, most of the ones I've met have been from Ghana and Ethiopia, and they're all super friendly. We've taught some great lessons together and I'm excited to get to know more of the people in the area and hopefully start to help some of these people progress in the gospel.

We've spent a lot of our study time the last couple of days preparing for our zone conference that we have tomorrow! This is Elder Judkins 2nd transfer as a Zone Leader, and my first transfer as a Zone Leader, and neither of us have ever led a Zone Conference before... But we're super excited for it! It'll be a spiritual meeting and we're always happy to learn from President and Sister Huntsman!

Elder Judkins and I have decided that we want to focus this transfer on having a greater sense of faith and hope. Preach My Gospel states that "Hope is an abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promises to you. It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance. It is believing and expecting that something will occur. When you have hope, you work through trials and difficulties with the confidence and assurance that all things will work together for your good." I love how it says when you have hope you "expect" results to occur. When we do our part, exercising faith, we can have hope and "expect" that blessings will come. This isn't only true in missionary work but in our lives as well. If we are obedient to the commandments, center our lives on Christ, and serve others, we can have the hope and confidence that everything "will work together for [our] good."

I'm super excited to get to serve here in Alexandria! Can't wait to see the work progress here and to serve alongside the missionaries in this zone.

Love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Duvall

July 11,2016 The Savior calls us His Friends

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July last week and I hope everyone is enjoying your summer!

We have had a great week this week and have been busy!

July 11, 2016 On the Metro on the way to the National Zoo

Had a great day at the National Zoo! Left to right: Elders Marshall, Johnson, Jones, Babcock, Chu, myself, Poulson, and Teeples

We got to teach Amy's brother Alex Koroma at her house this week! Alex has been in the states for just a couple weeks, and is excited to start going to church here. We taught him the first discussion and the spirit was strong. It was so great to see Amy and Kadija explain to Alex how they both came to know that this is the true church and to watch them testify that they both know the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. When we invited Alex to be baptized, he immediately told us he wants to pray about it to receive an answer from God before making a decision. I have faith that he will receive his answer! Alex came to church with us again yesterday! He said he still praying to get an answer, but he enjoyed church and is beginning to make some friendships in the ward. He's working on finishing up some papers so that he can stay in the states longer and start working, so we're excited to keep working with him!

Stevie came to church yesterday! He's the man that we met sitting on a bench while we walked by a park last week. He stayed for all 3 hours and participated a lot on our Sunday school class and in Elders quorum! He seemed to enjoy church a lot! He's really open to learning and has been reading the Book of Mormon on his own. We're excited to be able to start teaching him consistently!

We had two different lessons with Katie and Jackson this week! The first one was just with Katie, because Jackson was gone at a summer camp, but it was still really good. We visited with her and her friend and answered a lot of her questions about the church. Since she went when she was a little kid, she thought she understood a lot of the basic principles of the gospel, but she misunderstood a lot of things, so it was good to clarify any concerns and questions she had. At our second lesson with them, Katie was super busy with her two little girls so we wound up just teaching Jackson. With him, we reviewed the principles from the first lesson that we had with him a couple weeks ago to make sure he remembered everything we taught. I love how much faith little children have! He's 9 years old but strongly believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true! We encouraged him to still pray to get an answer to confirm his belief that he already has. Here's a picture with Jackson and Katie and one of his little sisters:

Yesterday was the last Sunday of the transfer, which means it was the New and Returnig Member fireside again! I have loved going to these at the end of each transfer! Nothing brings us more joy as missionaries than seeing the faith develop in the hearts of those we serve and teach. The testimonies were powerful and I'm glad that we were able to attend. Alex Koroma came with us and felt the spirit strongly from all of the converts that spoke! Michelle came as well and brought a friend of hers who I met at her baptism a few months ago! I'm grateful for the friendship and the love I have been able to feel as I help these people grow in their testimonies of the gospel!

I wanted to share some of my favorite verses from the bible with you all this week from John chapter 15 verses 9-15 about friends.
9. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
11. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
12. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
13. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

The Savior calls us his friends, and he laid down his life for each of us! We need to follow his example and lay down our lives in love and service to those around us! Be friends to others. As missionaries, we have the calling to be a servant set apart to share the gospel with the world. But as members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we also have the covenant obligation to be a friend to those around us to "mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in..." (Mosiah 18:9).

Yeah, we can be a friend everyone as we mourn with them and as we comfort them, but we can truly demonstrate Gods love for them if we strive to always stand as a witness of God, by serving them and helping them come to know of the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! We are all part of God's family and we are all brothers and sisters, but we should all also be friends! I've been blessed in my life with some great friends, and I've made so many friends serving here. I've become friends with the missionaries I serve with, but also became close friends with so many of the people I've grown to love here in Centreville! We have transfers this week! I'll find out tonight or tomorrow if I get to stay here one more transfer! I'm anxious to know already, but I know that whether I stay here for another 6 weeks or if I go somewhere else, it is the Lord's plan for me!

We're on the metro right now heading into DC today for Pday! We're probably going to go to the Zoo today. I'll send some pictures later!

I love you all! Hope you have a great week!!

Elder Duvall

Onward Christian Soldiers, marching as to war!

July 4, 2016 Happy 4th! A broken heart and contrite spirit

Happy 4th of July everyone! 240 years of independence! I'm grateful for the freedom of religion that we have in this country and for the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the prophet Joseph Smith! I know the principles that this nation were founded upon were inspired by God and that it allowed for the true gospel to be restored back to the earth beginning in the year 1820 when Joseph Smith received divine answers to his humble prayers. I hope everyone has/had a safe and happy 4th!

We came across this chalk on the sidewalk! Great advice! Love you Momma!

Just to follow-up from last week, we weren't able to meet with Vincent and his family because they had a death in their extended family and had to travel for a funeral. We will keep praying for them and hopefully we can see them soon! We were able to have a lesson with Brandon again this week which went great! He's hopefully going to start going to the YSA ward soon.

One afternoon last week we were walking by a park and noticed a man sitting down on the bench listening to music through his headphones. At first we thought we shouldn't bother him, but we decided to go talk with him. He immediately turned off his music and allowed us to sit on the bench with him and talk! His name is Stevie! We talked about God and about Jesus Christ and his beliefs in them, and then we taught him about the The Book of Mormon and the restoration of Christ's church. We sat there for about an hour discussing things with him and he was really interested and open to what we taught. At the end of our discussion with him we invited him to say a prayer before we left. He said a really simple prayer, but it was powerful! After he prayed he immediately said "that felt really good!"  I'm grateful for the spirit and power of prayer, especially when we invite those who don't pray vocally often to pray, because you can feel of their sincerity as they communicate with God. It makes me want to strive to be more sincere in my own personal prayers. Stevie is a really humble guy. He has Job Disorder (pronounced like Job from the Bible), which is a rare immunodeficiency disorder of which there are only about 200 current reported cases (don't quote me on that, not sure if I understood him correctly). He's been through a lot, but is really optimistic and has a lot of hope for the future. Before we left, he randomly asked us "hey, can I take a picture with you guys?" So here it is! We hope to get in touch with him again this week.

On Saturday, we had dinner with an awesome family in our ward that are neighbors of Phyllis, who I've mentioned a couple times in previous emails. We invited her to join us for dinner and she came! We had a great discussion afterwards about the blessings of the gospel and talked about different ways that we've all been able to see Christ's hand in our lives. After dinner, their family put on a little firework show for the neighborhood kids, so we stuck around for a couple minutes. (Sorry for the bad quality photo)

Amy Koroma walked into church yesterday, not only with her two kids, but she brought her mother, brother, and nephew as well! Her mother just got back from her Sierra Leone and will be here for a while before she has to go back again. Amy's brother, Alex Koroma, had recently been going to the LDS church in Sierra Leone and he seemed to really enjoy being at church here! We will be having a lesson with him this week! Amy bore a powerful testimony at sacrament meeting about how she came to know Jesus Christ and that this is his church on the earth. I know that her family, along with everyone else in the congregation, felt the spirit strongly as she testified of the truthfulness of this church!

I read an Ensign article recently called "The Promise of the Sacrament." In the article, it relates the story of the Jaredites in the Book of Mormon, to the sacrament.  The Jaredites needed physical light to be able to be prepared to cross the “great deep” to the Promised Land. Without the light they received, they couldn't have safely been guided here. Just as they needed the stones to be lit up so that they could have light, we need spiritual light that will help guide us through our life's journey back to our heavenly home.
The article states that: "The sacrament prayers have the promise that we will have the Spirit to be with us, and the Spirit provides the light we need to make our life’s journey. But was I getting the light I needed from the sacrament? And if not, how could I get it? What could be the stones that I, like the brother of Jared, should bring with me to sacrament meeting? The Lord said that He wants from us a broken heart and a contrite spirit. So it would not be enough to come to the sacrament; I would need to bring my own stones--my broken heart and contrite spirit.”
Wuat does it mean to bring the Lord a broken heart and a contrite spirit? Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has explained that "a broken heart is a repentant heart and that a contrite spirit is an obedient spirit."

I've been trying to focus lately on having more of a broken heart (repentant heart) and contrite spirit (obedient spirit) so that I can get the most spiritual light possible out of the sacred ordinance of partaking of the sacrament each week. To be able to have a more broken heart, I was thinking about how humility ties into repentance. Steven E. Snow said in his talk "Be Thou Humble" (April 2016) that "We must all strive to become more humble. Humility is essential to gain the blessings of the gospel. Humility enables us to have broken hearts when we sin or make mistakes and makes it possible for us to repent." What I got out of this is that we can't truly use Christ's Atonement without humility. It is humility that causes us to recognize that we have messed up, it's humility that causes us to realize we need help, and it's humility that allows us to recognize that without turning to Jesus Christ we can't truly be cleansed. So try your best to be humble, so that we can all have a more broken heart and contrite spirit as we prepare to partake of the sacrament each week!

I love you all! Thanks everyone for being so great! Have an awesome week!

Elder Duvall

Had the chance to go fishing early in the morning and I caught 4 fish within the span of 30 minutes! It was pretty fun! (Please excuse my lack of nametag in the picture...whoops)