Im so glad i went on a mission

Week #52
9/15/14

Hey Everyone!!!

Well this week went pretty well and was pretty fun!! In addition to my 1 year mark on thursday the work picked up a little bit more this week!!

At the beginning of this week we werent really having too much luck with the visits or with finding new people or anything really but then on Thursday things started looking up! We went out in the afternoon to start proselyting and we visited one person and then after that we didnt have any planned visits so we didnt really know what to do and while we were walking a member called out Elders and i almost just waved and kept walking but i just ha a feeling that we should go over there and say Hi and so we went over and she presented us to some of her friends! We then had a good lesson with her friends and they seem really cool and like they could progress well!

My favorite part of this week was Thursday! My 1 Year mark!! Thursday we had a good work day and to top it all off we had a little party with 2 other Elders from our District! We went to the pension early and baked brownies and then went to the room of the other elders and we ordered Pizza! Then we went up of the top floor and ate and hung out there for a while! All in all it was a pretty fun night!  

I cant really believe that in less than a year i go home! I cant believe all the stuff i have learned and all the cool experiences i have had! I can wait for this next year! Its going to be awesome and i hope to be able to help a lot more people and learn lots more!!! Im so glad i went on a mission and i know its where im supposed to be!! 

Well thats all for this week! Love you all! I know this Gospel is true!!

Love,

Elder Jarman

1 year!?

Week #51
9-8-14
Hey Everyone!!!

I really cant believe that this week in three days i will have been out in the mission for 1 year!? It has gone by crazy fast and i have learned so many incredible things and have been blessed to be able to help many people too! I have grown to love the people and serving a mission and im excited for the next year i have left!

Anyways this week was a little tough for us and especially for me! We werent able to have much luck this week and to top it all off i got a little sick!

I'll start off with how i got sick... On Thursday we had everything all planned out that we were going to visit some people with a member and when the time came the member had failed on us and so we went to visit the people a little down in heart! For the next couple of hours i didnt feel so well and i was telling my companion but he thought i meant emotianlly becuase everything was going wrong. So we finally got into a lesson and we watched a video and after the video i started feeling worse and while we were explaining the lesson to her i told my companion lets get this over with quick!!!! By that time i had started sweating a whole ton and i knew something bad was going to happen! My comp finished explaining and we said a prayer and right when he finished the prayer i got up and headed for the door and just in time because right when i steped out the door i threw up in the street... It was really pretty embarassing!!! After that we ended up just going back to the room and we rested the rest of the day. Ever since then i havent really wanted to eat too much but im starting to feel better now which is good!!!

So yeah other than that we had a baptismal date for John A. for this Saturday thats coming up but he didnt end up coming to church yesterday so im pretty sure he will not be getting baptized this week! The area is also changing some of the rules and so now i think he will not be able to get baptized for our ward because he doesnt live in our ward boundaries.. So our one baptismal date that we had fell through on us!! We havent been having much success in that sense but hopefully the seeds that im planting right now can see fruits in the future!!

So im not sure how probable this is but they are talking about putting more missionaries here in Jaen especially in the stronger wards. So that could mean that if two new missionaries come to our ward that i would end up staying in Jaen for even more time!?! That would be crazy but it would be pretty sweet too!! 

Other than that things are going pretty well! Weve had some minor setbacks but were still here working hard! The areas putting in new rules and getting more strict on things and the ward is getting a little more organized and excited about helping us out which should be good! Were hoping that things will look up in the future!! I know that through the Gospel of Jesus Christ we can find real and lasting happiness and that we can find comfort in our problems!! 

Have a great week eveyone!!

Love,

Elder Jarman

There is no better time to prepare ourselves to meet God than now!

Week #49
9/1/14

Hey Everyone!!

This week has been pretty fun and pretty stressful also!

Two days ago was my companions B-day and so all this week the sisters in our district were trying to plan a surprise party for him and that was the stressful part!! The sisters kept calling me to help them plan it but when im with Elder Aves 24 7 its a little hard to hide things from him!! Everytime i tried to talk to the pension or to the sisters he was there listening and so it was almost a lost cause! What made it even worse is that we were going to go to the pension for the surprise party at 7 30 but there was a ward baptism that night that we were going to go too. When we got to the baptism at 6:45 the lights were off and nobody was there so we called and got the keys and we ended up having to fill up the font, give the talk, and be the witnesses! The whole time i was freaking out because it kept getting later and later and there was nothing i could do to go faster! We ended up getting to the pensions at like 8:20 and all the missionaries surprised him! Then we ate dinner and and had some cake and then we took some pics and thats when it all went down! The sisters and i and the pension and some other people got some eggs and we all at once just nailed him with a bunch of eggs!! 8 in total!! It was really pretty funny!!! It made it all worth it!! That same night when we got to the room when i went to open up the window the mirror got caught on the window and it ended up falling from the fourth floor and it was done for!! It was quite a day that we had!!

Other than that we were able to schedule the interview of one of the less actives that we are teaching and she was able to pass her interview with the bishop and so that was really cool! She also said that she wants to be a missionary!! It always a really nice feeling helping people out! Her brother is also getting more active in the church and that should help both of them our and help them to stay active in the church!

We also had a lesson with John and hes doing well! Hes excited about his baptism and he came to church this past sunday so hes basically all set to get baptized! Just need to teach him a couple things more!

Other than that this week has been better than the last couple of weeks and everythings going well here in Morro Solar Jaen even though its an oven! Haha! The Spanish is doing really well! My comp says that on a scale of 1-10 that im at a 9.5! I hope hes not just being generous! Anyways i know this church is true! There is no better time to prepare ourselves to meet God then now! I know the grace of Jesus Christ is sufficient for everyone!! Love you guys!

Love,

Elder Jarman

 

 

No matter how hard Friday is Sunday will come!

Week #48
8/25/14

Hey Everyone!

Well this week went a little bit better than the last week  but not by much! At least progress is progress! 

The coolest thing that happened this week or my favorite thing is that we received a reference from one of the members and his name is John A! Hes is 20 years old and he is really cool! We had two lessons with him this week! In the first lesson we taught him about the restoration of the Church and about halfway through the lesson he asked us about baptism. He wanted to get baptized which was really cool! We told him that we were going to explain that to him a little later and when we finished the lesson we invited him to be baptized and set a goal for him baptism and he accepted! That was my favorite part of this week and during the lesson I was thinking about a Mormon message from Jeffery R . Holland that says no matter how hard Friday is that Sunday will come!! That was the most spiritual experience we had this week!

After that we didn't have much luck again finding our investigators... Although one of the investigators that we are teaching came to the church this Sunday for the first time which was cool!! We had gone to pick him up and take him to church and so we got to Church a little bit late. When we got to the church we sat in the back and i was looking around trying to see who had come to church that we are teaching.  As i looked around i saw a bunch of people that we had  been teaching and it was just a good feeling to see people come to church and progress!!

We have been working a lot recently with the less actives and they have been coming to church too so even though we aren't having many baptisms we are helping members come back to the church which is good also! 

President Williams is really cool and his wife is really nice too! We got a letter from the President today and he notified us of a lot of changes that are going to happen in the mission!? Some of them seem like they are going to be difficult to do! For example one of the new rules is that we cant teach or baptize anybody under the age of 18 unless one or both of their parents are members of the church! In the long run i know that it will be good for the mission and for the church but we have investigators that are progressing under the age of 18.. So were going to have to make some adjustments from now on! In the long run it should be good for all of us and for the converts too but it might take some time to adjust!

Overall everything is going well! My companion will have 1 year in the mission in 3 days and in 5 days is his B-day so this should be a good and a fun week!

Hope you all have a great week and enjoy summer that's coming to and end! I know this church is true!!

Love,

Elder Jarman

This week has been one of the harder ones of my mission!

Week #47
8/18/14

Hey Everyone!!

Well this week has been one of the harder ones of my mission! I guess it was a test of our faith! I'm sure it wont be the last one either but hopefully next week will be better!

Anyways so this week started off so so.. We had quite a bit of lessons planned but it seemed like all of the lessons failed and that nobody wanted to let us into their houses!! I don't know if we smelled bad this week or what but nobody wanted to let us in!?!! We were just basically walking around the whole time getting rejected by everyone! So yeah it was pretty fun haha!

On top of that we went to visit Gregori who had a baptismal date and we actually got into his house which was a shocker. When we got into the house we had planned to watch a video and so he went to get the DVD set up but right before he left he told us he had to tell us something and then he left to set it up. So we were waiting there for a couple minutes my companion and I just going through all the things that he could tell us and we thought of the good things and the bad things too! Finally he got everything ready and we started the lesson with a prayer and then right after that he told us... He said that he was going to withdraw from the church because of some problem that he had and that he didn't know for how long but he also said that some time in the future he was going to pick it up again.. That was a bummer for us! He was progressing so well or at least it seemed like it! He always said that he had those little doubts but that over time he was going to resolve his doubts and things like that but he never wanted to tell us what they were and i think that his doubts got the best of him! He told us at the end of the lesson nice meeting you guys and maybe well see each other again sometime.. So it was pretty sad! It was like losing an investigator but more was like losing a friend! I hope that some time in the future he does get baptized even if its not with me!!

We also had some other difficult lesson with some members of the church and it was hard to help them feel the spirit and help them return to the church. 

On the other hand we were able to have a couple of good lessons with a couple of people! We are helping two youth come back to the church and they seem like they are really progressing well! They both came to church this Sunday and one of them especially seems really excited and she felt good in the church! Its really cool to see those experiences! The church is like a big family and everyone was happy that she came to church that day and it was just a good day! 

We were waiting for another youth to come to church this Sunday but he never ended up coming! His name is Luis M and hes really cool but he never makes it to church! If he came to church this past Sunday we were going to invite him to be baptized at the end of this month but he didn't end up coming even though we called a bunch of times and we had someone go by his house.. Hopefully he'll come next week!

Another cool thing is that one of the less active members that we are teaching came to church this Sunday too! She had come the last two Sundays too but she got to the door of the church and then turned around and didn't come in... So this Sunday we were waiting for her at the bottom and she came!! That was cool! Now hopefully next Sunday she can come with her husband too who is investigating the church!

Other than that there is one news that's really cool!! This week the whole mission got cell phones!?!?! I thought the time would never come but it did!! Haha! So now we should be able to work a little more efficiently!

Other than that all is well! Hope you all have a great week! I know this church is true and that we are literally guided by Jesus Christ!

Love,

Elder Jarman

Today is my 11 month mark!?!

Week #46
8/11/14

Hey Everyone!!

Today is my 11 month mark!?! I cant believe its already been 11 months! Its flown by so fast!! So this week went pretty well!! There were a few things that i really liked! One experience that was really awesome!

The first thing is that after all i did not have a change which means i will be here for a couple more weeks, im excited about that! If i dont have an emergency change in the middle of this transfer that means that i will be here for my 1 year mark, my companions 1 year mark, my companions birthday, my pensions birthday, and also Gregoris baptism!! Theres also a little festival thing thats coming to Jaen so there should be some cool stuff from Peru to buy as little gifts and things!! So im pretty stoked i didnt have changes! Now im hoping that i wont have emergency transfers!!

The second thing was that on Saturday we had the baptism of Luz Vargas! She is the sister of Ruth, one of the recent converts! After she was baptized she gave her testimony and shared her feelings with everyone and that was one of my favorite parts of the week! During her testimony she said that the first time that we visited her it was in the perfect moment in her life! She said she was passing through trials in her family and that she was having some difficulties in her life and thats when we showed up to be able to help her! I remember the first visit we had with her! It was one night that we were going to visit Ruth and we called her name but her sister, Luz came to the window and said yeah she'll be down in minute and when Ruth came down to meet with us i just felt like i should ask if her sister wanted to meet with us too. Ruth went and asked and from then on we taught Luz until she got baptized on Saturday! It was just a cool experience to realize how guided we were in that moment by the spirirt! Thats was a really cool experience for me!!

Other than that this week has been pretty normal! My companion has started studying English and so im helping him learn and thats a pretty fun experience! We started saying some prayers in English and i have to admit that the first time i had basically forgotten how to pray in English! I had forgotten how to phrase everything! It still sounds weird to me to pray in English but were getting better at it together! Haha! Hes also teaching me how to talk in an accent from Argentina and its pretty fun! Other than that all is going well and im happy to be staying for a little while longer! 

Hope you all have a great week! I know this church is true and that there is a living prophet today and that we should follow his words just like in times of old!!

Love,

Elder Jarman

We just felt prompted

Week #45
8/4/14

Hey Everyone!!!

Wow i cant believe that its already August!? In a week i'll already have been in the mission for 11 months!!  Wow its going by fast!!

This week was pretty awesome!! We had two things that really stuck out to me!! 

The first thing: Remember Gregori... He's an investigator who always comes to church and always goes to the activities and even sometime went out visiting with us sharing his testimony to the other people! He never wanted to be baptized because he always had doubt after doubt! We have been visiting him a little less since he wasnt really progressing but this week we went by and visited him and now when we go we always talk about the Book of Mormon because thats his biggest doubt. We visited him a couple days ago and were just talking to him about the Book of Mormon and we just felt prompted to ask him to be baptized and we said we wanted to help him set a goal to get baptized the 30th of August and he accepted!!!!!!! That was really cool to hear!! The bummer is that there is a chance that i might not be here for his baptism... Hopefully i will though!!

Changes are next Tuesday and so this Saturday they will tell us if we have changes and then Monday if i have changes i will be coming down from Jaen. I think it is very likely that i have changes even though i dont want to have changes. The cool thing is that if i do have a change i will be in the transfers meeting and i will be there when Camille presents herself in front of the mission!! That would be pretty could but its going to be sad if i have to leave! I feel like ive gotten to know the people so well and its always hard to say goodbye but who knows maybe i wont have to!

The second thing is that in the mission now we dont focus so much on what is missionary work but what is the work of Salvation. So instead of putting all our focus on baptizing people we are also focusing on bringing members who are less active back into the church! This week we were able to do that! We helped a member of the church who was less active get all the missionary lessons over again and talk with the bishop and now she is attending church again!! Thats a cool thing that happened this week!

If eveything goes well Luz Vargas is going to get baptized this week which will be awesome! Shes really cool and understands everything and is really prepared to be baptized! She started reading the Book of Mormon too! The only thing is that her sister went on vacation and Luz wants to get baptized while she is here so if she doesnt get back this week i will probably miss her baptism too.. 

Other than that everything going really well and the mission is awesome!! Hope you all had a great week and that you will have a great week too! I know this church is true and im so grateful for it and i also know that the Book of Mormon changes lifes and i have been able to experience that first hand!

Love,

Elder Jarman