2016-11-14 Addu Tarnue & Temple with Isha

I can't believe how colorful the fall is here!
  We found this path cutting through a couple different neighborhoods in our area.

Hello family and friends!

We  have transfers this upcoming week!
Elder Judkins and I have been together for 3 transfers now and have loved every moment of it. Alexandria is awesome! Missionaries rarely do 4 transfers (about 6 months) together, but it has happened one other time under President Huntsman, and he hinted to us a few days ago that it was actually possibility for us. So we're not really sure what to expect at this point. If we get to spend another 6 weeks together, we'll be super excited! But if a change happens, we will embrace the new opportunities that lie ahead. We find out tomorrow night what will happen, and transfers are on Thursday. This past week was another great one, always is. Had some awesome experiences!

After checking up on a less active member we were leaving this building and we met this lady Fatmata. She met missionaries years ago but hasn't talked with us in a long time. She was sad that we walked past her without talking to her on our way in the building, but we stopped and talked on our way out. She's been going through a rough time, and was sitting in her apartment all day and decided to come sit on the steps at the entryway to her building, just to get a change of scenery from her apartment. She told us that she had never done this before, but randomly just felt like coming to sit down here. She called it a miracle and an answer to her prayers that we were able to meet her! We taught her a brief lesson and brightened her day!

Here's Carlos and his daughter!

That same morning, we were able to teach a man named Carlos from Guatemala, who we met a while ago. He speaks decent English, but not a ton. We had a good discussion with him and when we told him there is a huge Spanish Ward here, he got really excited! So we passed him off to the Spanish elders. I was able to bear a really brief testimony in Spanish (a few memorized sentences, but it was still sincere haha). His daughter doesn't speak any English but she was super nice to us!

There is a couple that lives in the ward that is from Liberia, the Tarnue family. They have four kids, but haven't been coming to church until recently. None of their kids have been baptized (3 out of 4 are above 8 years old), but the sister missionaries in the ward have been teaching their two daughters for a while and they'll be getting baptized in on the 23rd! In this past week, their oldest son Addu finally moved here from Liberia.

This is Addu! It's been so fun talking with him learning about his life the past few days.
He's a great example to us! I can't believe that he was separate
from his family for over 10 years and he's finally with them again. 

He's 20 years old, and hasn't seen his family for 11 years, but has finally been reunited with them!  When the sisters met him, they figured it would better for us to teach him because we can connect with him better. His two sisters are getting baptized in a week and a half, and after teaching him, he decided that he wants to join them! So in less than two weeks time, we are going to teach him all the lessons! Addu is sweet! He's 20, but looks like he could be younger. He loves soccer and has the coolest accent. He is so humble, and understands and accepts everything we've taught him so far. It's such a blessing to be able to teach him and see him embrace the gospel!

This upcoming week, on Friday, will be Chris's baptism! So we're super excited for him as well!

On Saturday we had the incredible opportunity to go up the the Washington DC Temple for Isha to do baptisms for the dead for the first time. She had a great experience and the spirit is always so strong at the temple! What made it even more special was that a lot of members from the Centreville 1st Ward, my previous area, were up at the temple at the same time for a man that is going through the temple for his first time who Elder Shelley and I worked with a little bit. It was fun to talk with those members briefly! We also spent a good amount of time with Isha at the Visitors Center where the sisters there taught her more about the temple. It was such a great day!

This week a scripture that has really stuck out to me was 1st Peter 1:7-9:
7. That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
8. Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
9. Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

We all go through different trials of faith in our lives. But this scripture teaches us that our trials are precious, and that they are what prepare us for the unspeakable joy that lies ahead. We need to have patience, combined with an eternal perspective to realize that our trials we go through in this life are so small when compared to the eternal glory that shall one day be revealed.

I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!

Elder Jeremy Duvall
Washington DC South Mission

1) With Elder Larsen and Elder Holdaway. Elder Holdaway goes home this week! I'm going to miss him! We've been able to serve around each other most of my mission so far and he's been a great example to me.

This is Fatmata, such a kind old lady!

This lady is Aminata.
A kind lady from Sierra Leone who we were able to meet and teach this week! 

 Abenezar and Ruth and their family are going to me moving to Arlington in a couple weeks. We're going to miss them! They are the nicest Ethiopian family! Their mother always loves when we come and pray with them and teach them a little bit about Jesus. They were never able to come to church due to work, but we have loved teaching them a little bit over the last few months.