September 11, 2017 Dancing with Grandma

Hey everyone!

I felt quite a bit of peace this week with the passing of my Grandma Smith. I am grateful that I was able to say some final words to her over the phone, but most of all I am grateful to know that for this past week she has enjoyed a sweet reunion with Papa Smith and Uncle Randy! I am so blessed to have had 4 amazing grandparents in my life. I love them all! I am grateful for my Mom and Dad, who wouldn't be the great parents who they are if it weren't for their parents. I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, that has blessed my family and brought so much peace and joy.
One of my favorite memories with Grandma was one of the Sundays that she came over for dinner. For a while, she and Uncle Mark would regularly come over to our home on Sundays. One time, I remember that I randomly took her by the hand and starting dancing with her in our kitchen. I think there was some music playing. It was really fun and she was laughing a ton. There's nobody else I'd rather dance with than my sweet grandma! I figured that someone had to dance with her in place of grandpa, but now she's probably happily dancing away with Papa Smith in heaven! Many of my memories with her over the past 5 years include sitting by her chair in her bedroom making her laugh. I enjoyed sitting in front of her, allowing her to put her hand on my head, letting her scratch my hair. She always had the prettiest smile, and nothing brought me more joy than making her laugh and seeing her smile. As a child, I also always looked forward to Christmas Day breakfast when I would have her yummy coffee cake for breakfast, and I remember getting to make it with her a couple of times. We had a member of our ward here this last week give us some banana bread that reminded me of hers!

I will miss grandma but I know she is in a better place. And I know, without any doubt whatsoever, that I will get to see her smiling face again! I know that she will be watching over me as I continue to serve as a missionary, and I know that she will continue to watch over all of us as we continue our lives here on earth.

This is the video of Jeremy dancing with his grandma Smith taken on December 23, 2012

Early Wednesday morning, dropping off all of these
great missionaries off at the airport! It's been an interesting
feeling being able to be there in the airport each transfer
 as we say goodbye and send them all back home. If anything,
 it motivates me to keep working hard each and every day.
 I'm grateful that it's not me on that plane, and that I still
 have a lot of time left to serve here in VA.

We had a busy week starting off the new transfer. We had to spend a little more time in the office again this week than we usually do, taking care of a bunch of changes and things that have happened as a result of all the new missionaries arriving last week. But we still were able to teach quite a bit this week.
Our main investigators right now are Tenisha and her children, and Michelle. We taught them both this week multiple times and they are both doing great, reading the Book of Mormon in between our visits and enjoying everything that they learn. I'm grateful to be a missionary in this area and I am grateful to be able to share the gospel with people each and every day. I am grateful for the great Plan of Happiness and our Savior Jesus Christ that is central to it all!

Elder Ure and I have been looking every day to try and find 3 or more unplanned opportunities to serve someone. It's been awesome and we've met some pretty cool people as a result! We've helped quite a bit of people carry groceries inside from their car, opened tons of doors, and taken people's trash out. Elder Ure even cleaned someone's headlights on their car for them while they were cleaning their car. He used to detail cars for work, so he knows how to clean cars super well. They were pretty impressed with how clean the lights looked (bug spray was the secret, it cleans the lights really well). It's cool to see how simple acts of service soften people's hearts. We've been able to introduce a lot of people to the Book of Mormon and even taught a few lessons as a result of the simple acts of service.

I finished the Book of Mormon again this morning! The Book of Mormon truly is the keystone of my testimony! I know without doubt that it is true. I am grateful for the more personal relationship with Jesus Christ that I have gained from it as a result of studying it and trying to "abide by its precepts."

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!!

Elder Jeremy Duvall

Michelle is so sweet! Her testimony of the
Plan of Salvation after we taught it to her is so solid!

Early morning breakfast with the Office Elders
at Denny's, right after leaving the airport.

Elder Jeremy Duvall
Washington DC South Mission