Duncan, Jarom

Hey all! I apologize for the title having no connection to the email. It was a good quote from a good play I've seen, and it felt like a good title. I'm going to see if it's possible to write a sub-twenty minute email on a phone! College Studies We've been doing our studies through the week at the 3 local colleges, going to a different one each day. We accidentally showed up to Walla Walla University on Saturday not realizing it was closed (For the sabbath ;) ). Its quite goofy how we say "Hello!" "Have a great day!" And we get a lot of blank stares from the passerby. I think we take people off guard by saying hello to them. Hopefully we help them feel seen. Berta was getting stressed During a lesson with Berta, we learned that she's felt very pressured by the commitments we've been extending, as if she's 'our student'. It's tough to find the balance between 'being super friendly' and 'teaching lessons'. I feel...

Buena semana! This week I don't want to write a whole lot, so, I'll pick the best just for you. The beginning of the week, I was super stressed about finding someone to come to a lesson with us, and that was kind of bumming out the whole day. Then the lesson came, didn't happen, and went. Suddenly everything I was worried about melted away. Such is life. One obstacle comes, seems like the epitome of our struggles, then it passes and we work towards the next obstacle. We were having a lesson with our amazing friend Gerardo and Steve, a member, and then halfway through, Elder Hill's nose started to bleed! Frantically, I tried getting him tissues out of my bag fast enough, but he was already out of the room. I was left there trying to continue the lesson with Gerardo and Steve, the member we'd brought. I later learned that I was supposed to follow my comp out. Otherwise it was a good lesson. We're hoping to be able to help Gerardo work through some stuff, and then ...

Happy fourteenth of January! So, United Airlines will now be using Starlink in their flights! Wait. I mean, This week I've seen so many blessings. (1)After this new transfer, I got a new companion, Elder Hill! He is quite awesome. (2)With our friends, Berta and Gerardo we were able to teach some of the most spirit filled lessons I've experienced. (3)And, I had no idea how this transfer was going to be, being the only person who knows the area and the people here, so I prayed and prayed, and prayed, and it helped. I was able to send out a bunch of texts through the week, which I've never done before, managing many conversations at once with our friends. God is there. Sunday was full of miracles, and we had some amazing speakers at sacrament meeting, and Adam came to church! And Berta! Something I have always had issues with is not wanting to inconvenience people. But here, I've had to step way out of my comfort zone, and approach people even when they look busy, or invit...

Buenas a todos! This week was good, and I learned quite a bit. I apologize that this email is a little scattered. I'm out of time and creative energy. It started off with a kick to the head. Not a real kick, that's just a metaphor. But if metaphors could hurt, that's what it felt like. This is because we had a lesson that went very poorly. We went in with almost no plan, and our friend(I'll call her Jill) basically talked the whole time. After ending with a prayer, the member we brought pulled us aside and said that if Jill would learn anything, we needed to be more bold, and have a solid plan. Let the spirit guide, but we also had to be putting in that effort. After some to think, we put into effect some standards to help our lessons moving forward. And we saw improvements just a couple days ago in a lesson. That was rough to hear though. Like a muscle, the growth occurs only after we are broken a bit, and then have protein... I mean make a change. Transfers I will be ...

Wait, I thought yesterday was P-Day... This week, we had back to back exchanges friday and saturday, which means that i was with a different companion 2 days in a row. One of those days was in our area, Walla Walla, which meant i was in charge of making sure we got where we needed. That was tough. Planning stuff out is really tough for me, and then carrying out those plans is equally tough. But, that day i learned that i can make plans! Woot!  I also learned a lot about the other Elder, Elder Crowther, which was awesome. Getting to know new people actually might be one of my favorite things. (Maybe i could apply that to the work... hmm) Personal study is one of the best parts of the day. Especially when things are really tough. But up until the mission, I never did any kind of Gospel study. I'd always heard that the scriptures could become delicious, but that didn't appeal to me. But, after taking an hour each day for studying the word of God, it has become something I crave. I...