December 11, 2017 Simple Formula

Hey everyone!

We had another great week here in the trio! There is never a dull moment. Elder Smith and Elder Gleed are great companions.We had a neat experience meeting and teaching this girl named Carolyn this week. She was just walking her dog and we approached her and started talking with her. Not too long into our conversation we recognized some of her concerns based on some of her past experiences. She felt like she was putting forth so much effort to be close t God and go to church in the past, but that he wasn’t there and she couldn’t feel his influence, so she decided to stop attending the church she was going to. She recognized that she felt even more empty when she stopped going to church and that she wasn’t as happy anymore. We simply testified of a few brief truths to her that resonated with her. We just told her that God loves her and is aware of her, that he knows her name and what she is going through. We told her that even though she couldn’t recognize his hand in her life that that didn’t mean he wasn’t there. We promised her that if she would meet with us and learn the message that we share that she would begin to feel that joy again. She got really emotional and started crying and said this is exactly what she needed and that she felt like God sent us to her. It was a neat experience meeting her.

It snowed this week, the first time since early
this year! It reminded me of my first week in the
 mission field when there was a massive snow storm
. It feels like that was just yesterday! 

We had a couple exchanges this week with some of the zone leaders. I was able to go to their areas and spent one day in Annandale and another day up in Ashburn. It’s fun to be able to go visit different parts of the mission!

I was asked to give a talk in our ward on Sunday. The topic was “Missionary work: Giving the Gift of the Gospel.” They also asked me to speak about the “Light the World” initiative. The greatest gift we can offer someone is the love of the Savior Jesus Christ, especially during this time of the year. My favorite thing that I shared was a section of a talk from President Uchtdorf from a couple months ago.

“Every time you turn your hearts to God in humble prayer, you experience His light. Every time you seek His word and will in the scriptures, the light grows in brightness. Every time you notice someone in need and sacrifice your own comfort to reach out in love, the light expands and swells. Every time you reject temptation and choose purity, every time you seek or extend forgiveness, every time you courageously testify of truth, the light chases away darkness and attracts others who are also seeking light and truth.

Elder Smith and I at Melt, this famous burger place in
Leesburg, VA.
That’s one big burger!

Think about your own personal experiences, moments of service to God and fellowmen when divine light has shined in your life--in the holy temple, at the sacrament table, in a quiet moment of prayerful pondering, in your family gatherings, or during an act of priesthood service. Share those moments with family, friends, and especially with our youth, who are seeking light. They need to hear from you that with this light come hope and healing, even in a world full of darkness.

Christ’s light brings hope, happiness, and healing of any spiritual wound or ailment. Those who experience this refining influence become instruments in the hands of the Light of the World to give light to others. They will feel what King Lamoni felt: “This light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and … the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul.”

There is so much that we can do in our lives to increase our light, and we should always strive to share thee light and love of the Savior with those around us.

The lights that we decorate our homes with go up a few weeks before Christmas and come down shortly after. But the light of the Savior of the World can and should shine brightly throughout the year. The month off December isn’t the only time where  we should reach out and serve others, but instead we can make Christlike service a part of our daily lives, throughout every month of the year.

Augustine and his son Joshua, we’ve taught them for a while.

I am grateful to have served in this ward for so long and I’m glad I was able to speak! I have served here in the Fort Belvoir ward longer than any of my other areas on my mission. 6 transfers is a long time! I’ve grown to love the members and investigators in this area. The recent converts in this ward did a trip to the temple this week to participate in baptisms for the dead and to see the visitors center. It was a great experience for all that went!

This week I was reflecting on the missionary purpose, which is to “invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.” Every day as we make decisions, as we set goals and make plans, as we talk to people and teach lessons, we are constantly striving to fulfill this purpose of helping others come unto Jesus Christ. Over a long period of time of serving and helping others, I’ve come to realize that in this process, I, myself have come so much closer to Jesus Christ as a result.

It’s a pretty simple formula- If you want to grow closer to the Savior, help others grow closer to him, and naturally you will simultaneously grow closer to him as well.

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

Elder Jeremy Duvall
Washington DC South Mission

This is Elder Duvall with Annabeth and Rachel Goss. Since Elder Duvall is returning home from his mission  on December 28th  I wanted to do something special to help him celebrate Christmas the way we do at home.  We make Christmas Bear Breads and go Christmas caroling on a Family Home Evening prior to Christmas and we deliver the Bear Bread  to neighbors and friends.  Since the bread is best fresh I recruited  Annabeth Goss to bake the bread and make a special delivery of FRESH BEAR BREAD with a card and Santa hats from me. (Annabeth is my dear friend from Warrenton Ward where Jeremy  previously served .  These are pictures from today's Special Christmas delivery.- Sharon Duvall
From Elder Duvall: "When you said that you were going to have someone deliver something personally, I was 95% sure it would be Sister Goss! Thanks for having her do this for us! I am excited to go share these bears with people! We have 3 people in mind for tonight that we will deliver one to, and then we’ll try to give out the rest over the next day or two! Love you TONS Momma!"

Elder Jere Bear Duvall, Elder Bear Smith, and Elder Bear Gleed