English or not metal drain plugs, knees and last second buckets are a certain recipe for an exciting evening

Dear anyone who has ever looked at the ceiling and wondered "now just how did that get there?",

First and foremost!

Natalia got baptized and confirmed this week! There was really no stopping her and there really I’m not sure anything could have. She was so determined and so excited for her baptism this entire time that I was just grateful for my role in helping her make the last few necessary steps in fulfilling her desire. The ward already loves her and helps her. At the baptism pretty much all the young women in the ward were there as well as most of the leaders. They've been with her and have been working with her for so long that many got quite emotional as the actual ordinance was performed, with many of the young women in tears as they saw their good friend baptized. The next day Elder Gill and I had the privilege of being able to participate in her confirmation. It was a marvelous experience to be able to be a part of that ordinance.

I thought a lot about these many crucial moments of our lives. Baptism and confirmation seem to be such small and simple things that we do. Yet when you put the significance of these events in the eternal perspective they loom as momentous life changing mountains in the mortal journey. So much happens to an investigator's heart in their preparation for baptism. So many changes that occur as faith and repentance replace pain and despair.

With Natalia, we were only here to witness the end of the beginning of her transformation, but the testimonies of the members and her family have filled us in on the miracles that have occurred.

The person who performed the baptism was a man named Daniel O'Feilaind who served as a missionary in Farnborough nearly two years ago and was an integral part of Natalia originally investigating the church. It was great to see his joy as he was able to see the fruition of his labors all that time ago. While it may have appeared to him at that time that his efforts were in vain he and we are able to see now that no righteous effort is ever wasted. You really can never begin to appreciate the effects of the good things that you have done. But the lord knows :) and that’s why he prompts you to do them in the first place.

Transfers are coming up this Wednesday and the spirit of Christmas is definitely in the air. I’ll probably be able to let you guys know whether or not I’m moving either on Wednesday or Thursday depending on the outcomes of the transfer.

I love you guys and love hearing from any or all of you about the experiences and blessings you each are having.

Know that I love where I’m at and couldn't be happier right now than I am right now

With love

Elder Jarman

ps. this announcement is not public neither is it an announcement yet I will now publicly announce that at this time I am not going to announce anything here publicly

pps. I am also pleased to announce that I was not involved in an emergency move to Spain on the sixth of December. I consider this a compliment

 

ppps. muffins chopped look nothing like chopped muttons in either the meaty or the hairy format

 

 

elder gill decided to bend down to make their height difference a little less awkward

just another day in a missionary flat

elder jarman's favorite german elder he just thought that this picture looked cool....

his zone doing a fun pose

daniel and natalia before the baptism

natalia before the baptism

 

 

what doesn't exist most likely isn't going to get covered in whipped cream

Dear those who have either ridden on a one horse open sleigh or greatly desire to do so,

one of my favorite things about being on a mission has been in my experiences at the end of the day when i think back and try and recall and record the miracles and blessings i have witnessed through the day. i've found that as i do so each day i'm able to recognize lessons, blessings, and miracles that i either missed or did not fully appreciate in the moment that they happened. i've learned that the hand of the lord is always evident in the details of our lives if we only take the time to look at what he has done.

one experience i had with this was after the end of a day where at first glance i wasn't sure what i could write that would be considered "journal worthy". as i thought about the activities of that day i remembered a lesson i had learned in sacrament meeting earlier that day. there was a baby blessing that day. participating in the blessing along with a number of other priesthood holders was the grandfather of the new baby. the grandfather has recently gone through a knee replacement surgery and has been literally bedridden for the last six months about. he recently became well enough that he is able to get to church and maneuver around with the aid of supportive crutches. as the brethren went forward to the front of the room for the blessing this dedicated grandfather stood up and began to slowly make his way toward the front of the room. many of the brethren recognizing his need came and supported him as he laboriously traveled to the front. in joining in the priesthood circle he was unable to support himself without his crutches so instead he wrapped his left arm around the shoulders of his brother on his left while using his right arm to participate in the blessing. i remember being touched as i watched this loving grandfather bless his grandson while literally relying on the strength of those around him. as i remembered and recorded this experience in my journal that night i was blessed with an increase of understanding about the nature of priesthood service and the love of our Father in heaven in blessing us with the opportunities to participate in this work. i then was able to remember and recall other experiences throughout the day where i saw miracles and blessings once again in the details of the day. i remembered the instruction of President Monson in the last conference where he said "the lord is in the details of our lives" i can testify that this is true from this as well as many other experiences i have had writing in my journal throughout my mission.

i wish i had the time or the means to convey all that i have seen learned and experienced this last week but sadly this is probably improbable. what i can tell you is that natalia is progressing quite well and is completely set for her baptism this coming saturday. we've seen a lot of support from the ward and other leaders in preparation for this advent and she has invited loads of friends and family members to attend as well. We're pretty exited:)

it's definitely coming up to christmas season here. the decorations are basically all up (they're going up in our flat today!), side note a surprising number are pink. . .  and christmas music is once again the norm! as well it's finally really getting cold here. it got below freezing for the first time this year this last week so hopefully we'll start getting some snow soon.

i love you all and i'm grateful as ever for your support and love :)

sincerely

Elder Jarman

ps. along with the amazing uplifting experiences, some of which i share via e-mail, i also have a quite a few interesting experiences that may or may not tug at mouth corners in an upwards direction. but most of these will have to wait :)

pps. no but really though why would christmas decorations be pink? i don't really get it myself

ppps. i think i'll just say the word pink again because two apparently isn't enough

pppps. i'll send some baptismal pictures next week!

the woes and wonders of turkey shaped bowls in comparison to bowels of shaped turkey

Dear those that prefer to be stuffed with turkey than to eat turkey stuffing,

Without too much ado I would like to dedicate the remainder of this email to something else:

I am grateful for my Father in Heaven and all that he has blessed me with (which is a lot).  I am grateful for the plan of salvation that he has made for us. I am grateful for Jesus Christ and his Atoning sacrifice.

And to save on space,  I will now commence with the remainder of begratitudes: the book of Mormon, the gift of prayer, fried eggs, English chocolate, Elder Gill, my new winter coat, the winter, the word "winner", the opportunity I have to teach the gospel so regularly, England, Crumpets, how milk tastes after the cereal, the opportunity to see Natalia progress and prepare for baptism, (side note: she gave a talk this last week in sacrament meeting! it was the young women’s program so she spoke about the Holy Ghost and about the influence it has had in her life as well as how excited she is to be baptized on the eighth! It was really cool),

President Millar, My father, My father’s tendency to grow a beard twice a year, warm shoes, colorful ties, uplifting sacrament meetings, the sacrament, my siblings and their influence on me, a library with a heating system, books in general, School, Hot chocalate, Herbal Tea, the great blessing of teaching a man named Mark this week…

(k this story is really really cool. Mark met the missionaries in a different area about an hour after his mother’s funeral.  His mother had always been religious and had tried to help Mark find that joy as well but Mark never got too much into it. When he met the missionaries, he took it basically as a sign that he needed to find God in his life. So he agreed to meet up and his details were sent to us. We taught him for the first time last Tuesday.  We taught him about the plan of salvation and especially Jesus Christ's central role in the whole plan. He told us that when we first came in he was really nervous and kind of anxious about meeting with us, but as we talked he felt a calm come over him.  He talked about the guilt he's felt in his life from past mistakes and his desire to raise his family right. We taught him about the blessings of baptism and he accepted a baptismal date! It was an amazing teach and Mark is one of those people that I feel blessed to even know. He is so humble and has such a sincere heart and desire to learn. We're quite exited!)

…working back packs, the fact that my mother taught me how to sew buttons onto stuff, my mother in general and all that she taught me about life, the gospel, and cooking :), that Mormon message about gratitude, hot showers, scrambled eggs, peppers, smiling about things, meeting new people and learning about them, honest and sincere conversation, cloud breaks, cloud bursts, wind, RAIN (I really do love rain!), the fact that I have not yet heard the song "last Christmas" in England yet, letters from friends, being able to see so many of my friends serve missions and receive the blessings of missionary work,

(side note on this: I read a talk this last week on pride and humility. it compared the human way that people try to elevate themselves above others, either by demeaning others or by focusing on obtaining things that we think will raise us higher than the next person, to the example our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ set by continually seeking to raise all of us to where they are. It stated that to follow their example we need to seek to lift others up rather than pridefully seeking to lower others.),

…the fact that it is really easy to select what shirt I will be wearing each day, Music!, Hymns in general as well I mean seriously hymns are completely underrated, muffins (both English and American style), jingle bells, harmonicas, Choral singing in church settings, the spirit that so often softens hearts of others, the gift of testimony, the assurance of gospel living, tender mercies in all their various shapes colours and substances, the support I still receive from my friends at home and abroad, pictures of funny moments, pens that work consistently, all you can eat buffets, American Pancakes, Elder Gill for finding a recipe for American pancakes that is easy enough for even me to cook, balconies, fake mustaches, English senses of humor, Humor overall, study journals, personal journals, planners, Preach My Gospel, Fish and Chips, Kebab and Chips, Roast Potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, Music related alarm clocks, interesting doorbells, funnily shaped bushes, and modern day prophets.

well that is a small yet incomplete list of some of the things that I am finding mucho gratitude for at the moment and I’m also grateful for all of your guys love and continued support.

with love

Elder Jarman

ps. I just realized that nearly half of the things in my list were some kind of food. . . . .

pps. my apologies for those who desire and request details concerning weekly activities

ppps. no but seriously we are seriously blessed so much its incredible,

pppps. why do we celebrate giving thanks by eating food. I mean I’m not complaining but really. . . where did this come from

exaggerated experiences excite enormously, even extraordinary expanations envy every explicit entreaty

Dear faithful readers of at least the subject line and first line of every letter i write,

i would like to congratulate each weekly reader for their dedication in enduring through approximately fifty two meaningfully meager subject lines and uncounted ps.'s in their quest to follow mine adventures. for each of those that prefer to participate annually i welcome you for the second time.

around the time that i am writing this letter i can say that exactly one year ago i first saw the green and pleasant knolls of england. it's always a weird experience to come to anniversaries so hopefully i won't spend too much time on this subject but i do want to write a few thoughts i've had. first is the most obvious. the time has flown by! the only way i can begin to actually understand that i have in fact been on my mission for a year is when i think about the person that i was when i first came out, the way i viewed the world, myself, and this work is probably the most notable, at least to me, indication of the passage of time. what i have come to realize though is that even though i'm on what most people consider to be the downhill i very much still feel like i'm just in the middle. i've gained valuable experience in the last year of service and i plan on continuing this process with the only change the increase of effort and diligence that i now can put into the work. as we strive to fulfill our callings the lord changes us so that we are able to give more of ourselves to this work. perhaps because as we serve the lord we find that there is now more of us to give.

the highlight of this week for us was the opportunity to teach the solari family twice. Rob and Carly have both had incredible and trying experiences in their lives and already i have been impressed with their dedication to each other and to their family. as we taught them about the restoration, they both understood and applied what we taught them and asked meaningful questions that showed their real intent in learning about the gospel. we also had a great experience seeing them again later in the week. we found the solari family by knocking a street that a family in the ward had prayed about for us to knock. so when we saw the solari family for the second time we brought this family around as well so that they could participate in teaching the family that they, by inspiration led us to. it was great to see both the members enthusiasm and the connection that they had with the solari family.

i also had an opportunity to give a talk in sacrament meeting about missionary work this week. in preparing the talk i was amazed and pleased to learn that the same principles that apply to preparing for and teaching people on an individual basis help as we prepare to give talks. as i prayed for guidance and followed the impressions i received in the writing and preparing of the talk i was guided and helped to create a talk that i felt would both inspire the members here and give them some of the tools that we need to share the gospel with our friends. i learned again as we honestly strive to do all we can the lord will strengthen us every step of the way, giving us guidance as well to help us do more than we could ever do on our own.

Natalia is still preparing for the eight of december and is integrating and supported by the ward amazingly well.

the work is still just as amazing as it was a year ago :)

have i mentioned that i love it here!

with love

Elder Jarman

ps. in three weeks it will be the anniversary of my first crumpet. i will give you three guesses to guess how i will celebrate that event

pps.i may or may not have broken down and broken out the christmas music last night.

ppps. is it thanksgiving this thursday?

parliment, poppies and a whole new perspective on the word conflageration {November 12th, 2012}

dear those who facilitate their nasal faculties at least frequently,

have i ever mentioned how much i love the month of November? (or mo'vember currently (as in mo'stache novemeber) as it is over here) november has always been one of my favorite months. with all the color changing leaves, crisp autumn air, and the whole thanksgiving thing what’s really not to love. november is a little bit different in england than what i'm used to here. first off they've actually moved the fourth of july to the fifth of november over here and changed its name to guy fox night. the basic idea is that on the fifth of november years and years ago a man named guy fox tried to blow up the parliament building but failed. and so to celebrate the non-explosion of the british government they instead explode lots of other things instead. it's quite fun :) another important advent in novemeber is on the eleventh of november we had remembrance day. it's a day set aside for the remembrance of those who have given their lives in the protection of freedom. those who have sacrificed themselves for the good of many. as part of this everyone wears a poppy on their lapel to commemorate those sacrifices. yesterday during sacrament meeting we had a two minute silence in respect and reflection of the price that has been paid for our freedom. during this silence it really overcame me just how much has been done for me and for us. the number of people that laid down their lives for others. to protect each of our individual freedoms and liberties. the things we take for granted came at a much higher cost than we can ever truly comprehend. as well my mind was drawn to the greatest sacrifice that has ever been made, the great atoning sacrifice of Our Savior Jesus Christ. i thought of John 15:13 where it says greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. when i think about how great a price was paid for my own freedom it makes me realize just how precious of a gift it is. how much we should treasure it, how much thanks we should give for it, and possibly most importantly with what great care we should use it. He did not die for us so that we could waste what he has given us but so that we can succeed gloriously and eventually return to live with our Father forever. i know that this is true. i can bear testimony that i know that Jesus lived and that He died so that all man may live.

i love being a missionary because i get to share this amazing message with people, to help them realize how precious they are, and to help them receive the blessings of this atonement. natalia is still currently preparing for baptism on the eight and is progressing really well. we were able to teach her and her mother this last week! so hopefully her mother will begin investigating soon as well. other than natalia, we had some great miracles in our finding this last week. we found two new families to begin teaching! one is Rahina and Rosie Singh, a great couple from northern india. and another great couple called Rob and Carly. Rob and Carly were an especially cool miracle because we found them knocking a street that some members of the ward had prayed for us to knock. after we reported back to the members about who we were able to see they got really really excited and told us that they actually knew the couple very well and had tried before to introduce them to the church unsuccessfully, but now they’re both willing and wanting to listen and to learn more!

Missionary work is so much fun!

i love you guys and i'm super grateful for all of your support and help. i feel your prayers and am grateful for them.

with love

Elder Jarman

ps. i haven’t been able to shake the feeling that someone is probably going to start balding tomorrow. i'm not sure why. . .

pps. or maybe just some gray hair and a mountain of wrinkles. . .

ppps. also! i'm pleased to announce that it is no longer untrendagain to wear scarfular devices in public.

i dont think it's actually a beaver.. . . it's more beaveresque than anything else

dear pencil users,

i'm going to preface this letter by apologizing for the last of space in-between the opening stanza (if you can call it that) and the final post script. for various and mostly non explosive reasons we're a little bit short on time today so i just want to share two great miracles from this week.

uno!

we started teaching a girl named natalia this week. she investigated the church about two years ago after she was invited to be taught by her member friend. even though natalia never really had any religious background she was really interested in the church. after being taught for a while she accepted the commitment for baptism but in the end she wasn't able to because her mom wouldn't let her. fast forward two years. natalia has been attending church and young women consistently for the last two years and has also been attending girls camps and family home evenings at members’ homes. recently she persuaded her mom to let her join and this is where we come into the picture. so here is natalia a fifteen year old girl absolutely full of faith and testimony now finally able to join the church that she loves and we get to be here to see her finally make this last step into the baptismal covenant! needless to say we're very very excited and grateful that we get to be a part this whole process.

Two!

yesterday we decided to stop by the home of a part member family that we didn't really know that well. a woman named kelly white. much to my surprise we quickly learned that she was from Utah. so we basically had an instant connection. then much to my greater surprise i found out that she is actually the niece of a certain sister nelson who lives in bountiful in the area around muir elementary. (sound at all familiar?) we talked with her for a little while as well as her super super nice nonmember husband named peter. before we left kelly asked us if we could give her a blessing because she was going through a difficult time with her schooling. she explained to her husband a little bit about what a blessing is and why she would like one and then we proceeded to administer her one. during the blessing the spirit came into the room really strongly and after the blessing was finished i looked around to peter to see how he was reacting to the spirit in the room. he was standing in the corner with a happy yet mildly puzzled expression on his face. after sitting there for a moment he asked us if it were at all possible for him to receive a blessing as well. we we're more than happy to oblige. once again the spirit came upon us all very strongly and afterwards when he was thanking us he mention just he just felt really really good and he didn't really know why. we explained it to him :) so he's not investigating yet but he did promise us that he will attend church with us very soon. :)

so that’s all i have time for today (apologies again) but we've had a great week and we're planning on having an even greater one next week. this happens quite frequently while in the mission field.

with love

Elder Jarman

ps. i just realized a few days ago that the worlds going to end in like a month! weird huh.

pps. will someone please check to see if sister Nelson has a niece named kelly. please and thank you!

ppps. it would be really hard to type if you only had two fingers. . . i mean think about it

pppps have i mentioned i love it here lately?

did the person who named the coconut have taste buds. . . i'm not entirely sure that he did.

dear those anyone who is currently under the age of a tree,

i've decided the spend the next minutes of my time in this day typing words on a keyboard in my local library. since i have so committed myself to this course of action i now find myself needing to fill these assembled words with meaning and direction and possibly a subject matter. this can be quite a difficult achievement and requires the focusment of mindly matters and speradicificity in making up words to fit with certaineous subjects and mental propelations. so i've decided to write about missionary work :) cuz i'm creative!

anywho first off we got the call yesterday and it turns out that nothing will be changing this transfer1 so i get to stay in farnborough at least another six weeks with my amazing companion. i'm super grateful that i have more time to work in this area and with this ward and especially with Elder Gill. (side note, the game monkey in the middle is called piggy in the middle over here. the real question is why?)

in other news Wendy was able to come to church for the first time yesterday! it was amazing she loved the service and especially the gospel principles class where she really connected with the teacher and with the things being taught. she got a long great with the ward members. (i don't know how anyone couldn't with this amazing ward) and we're going to be seeing her again tonight to read some from the book of mormon with her. we tried extending a baptismal date to her again this week but she isn't willing to commit for a date yet until she feels ready. so we're going to be working this week on helping her understand and feel the importance and power of the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

As well we started teaching two new FAMILIES this week!!!!! one we had actually met about three weeks ago but were able to see us for the first time this week. a great couple named billy and selena (or selestia we're not yet sure which one is the actual name) who also have kids. we also started teaching a younger couple named karis and derron just a few days ago. neither of them have much religious background but get this, their young daughter attends a catholic school ( a lot of people do) so she's been hearing a lot about god and has been asking her parents questions. this has been causing them to ask questions and hence caused them to let us in so they could ask us questions. it was an amazing teach and they really felt and understood what we were saying. we're going to see karis again this tuesday with her daughter so we can help her daughter begin to learn for herself as well. and then we'll be seeing them both together this next saturday.

i feel like this ward is being mobilized ( for lack of a better and less millitaryish word). it's such a great and strong ward that really desires to do missionary work but for some reason they just haven’t really had the tools to do it. and recently with the adjustments made in our ward mission team everything seems to be fitting together and just taking off. (have i mentioned that i've been blessed a lot?)

i learned something that really stuck out to me recently in my study that i want to share with you all. in preach my gospel there is a bit on the light of christ that i found to be quite meaningful. it says that every person that comes into the world is given the light of christ which will lead all that hearken unto it to the true gospel of Jesus Christ, the church, and the eventual reception of the Holy Ghost. every person that comes into this world has the ability and the opportunity to receive the fullness of truth. god wants all of his children, all of our brothers and sisters to know what is true and have a way to eventually return to live with him and he is continually seeking to guide each and every one of us back to him. the more i learn about the gospel the more i am amazed and awed at the depth of god’s love for each one of us. he truly loves us and he has provided the means for us to return home. and we all have the great and amazing opportunity to be part of this great work--to teach, to guide, to love, to listen, and to lift. i love being a missionary; absolutely my favorite calling i have ever received. and i'm so grateful to be a member of this church so i will forever have the opportunity to share this gospel with all who will listen throughout the rest of my life.

i'm grateful for all of your guy's love and support you guys send me.

with love

Elder Jarman

ps. recently i head that armenian turtle doves are actually bred in australia. but this may in fact be not be fact

pps. it recently dropped below scarf temperature here

ppps. i have great news! i found out where i can buy popcorn kernels here! this makes my life at least 4% more complete :)

pppps. as i am typing this i'm watching a collage of colors painting the wind with leaves. it makes me want to sing some sort of a song that may or may not be written by disney

sog and leaves would not that soggy would leaf {Monday, October 15th}

dear anyone that has used the chinese zodiac at some previous point,

you know you think that after being on amission for so long i would have figured out at some point how to write an adequite letter to describe the acti/fun/fantas;tivities that you get up to in the life of a full time missionary. buuuuuuuut i still can't :) sorry about that. so instead i will spend some time talking about the various people we've seen this last week. we've started teaching loads of new investigators (again) this last week. the first is named wendy. she has always had a strong beleif in god but has often been confused about different veiws and has ended up with some incorrect understandings that have realy troubled her because of it. so teaching her is an amazingly different experience. she ahs a strong trust in us as servents of the lord and beleives everything that we teach her but we feel what she realy needs is to just truly feel that the gospel is true by the witness of the Holy Ghost. i've noticed a lot about that witness in my study over the last week. one of the main focuses of our teaching and our commitments as missionaries is to help others receive that witness for themselves that the book of mormon is true and that therefore the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored in it's fullness. it makes sense that this would be the focus of our teaching because our focus as missionaries is to invite others to come unto Christ. and every person, no matter who they are, needs to receive that witness from the Spirit at some point or other in the course of their eternal progression. for myself this witness came gradually, ever so slightly. bit by bit by bit until one day (i still remember the day) i looked back on my life and realized that i knew for myslef that the Church was true. that is why i love sharing the book of mormon and it's message with investigators because it was so instrumental in this process of my own conversion.

As well we also had a realy cool experiance in the first teach with a new investigator named paul. he had never realy had too much religous backround and as such didn't realy know too much about god. When we asked him why he let us into his house he thought about it for a moment and then told us that he realy didn't know but that he felt that he should. after teaching him for a while we commited him to say the closing prayer. he was realy hesitant because he hadn't realy had too much experiance with prayer so far in his life. most of his experiance was with scripted prayer. but after some counsel and after we said a prayer as well to help him get a feel for it he said an amazing kneeling prayer before we left. the spirit enveloped the room touching our hearts as well as his. when the prayer was finnished he looked up, was silent for a while, and then commented on how different he felt. we were more than happy to help him understand what he was experiancing. something i noticed specifically, that i later recorded in my journal, is that when we all felt the spirit we all felt a natural and powerfull increase of love for eachother. this isn't the first time i've experianced this either. when i feel the spirit i feel love for those that i am with. i beleive this is at least one way in which the love of god can "sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men"

as always i have loads of more experiaces that i could share but i'm kinda running out of time. and if i took the time to type out all the things that happened this week it would take about a week. which would make next weeks letter a little boring. . .

so i'll stop here :)

with love

Elder Jarman

ps. the leaves are changing!!!!!!!!!!!

pps.i've decided that i'm basically realy realy blessed to hav Elder Gill as a companion.

ppps. i've also decided that i'm basically just realy realy blessed. full stop. : D

see it's much like a general's conference but much less stars and guns are hardly ever mentioned

dear people who live, breathe, and read e-mails, (and maybe do other things as well in their spare time) General Conference was SO COOL! i feel that every single general conference just gets better and better from the last one. it always amazes me just how strong the spirit can be as saints gather from around the world to be united under the prophet’s voice and direction. one of the principles that really stood out to me was the necessity of serving others and the divine gift of being able to recognize the potential in others. it's something that kinda hit home for this last week because of an experience i had with an investigator named Gary. we've been teaching him for a while now and haven't been able to see much progress so i had recently been praying that i would be able to see Gary as the lord sees him and recognize him to be a child of god, and my brother. we taught him this last week once again about the necessity of baptism and how turning his life to the lord to prepare for the ordinance will help him. i was desperate to help him see the decision that was placed before him and what i could do to help him understand that the happiness he's been looking for is RIGHT THERE in front of him just his for the taking. god blessed me and i caught a glimpse of his potential and really felt love for him, maybe just a glimmer of the full and perfect love that our father in heaven has for him. Gary chose not to accept our invitations and chose to continue the way he has been going. it was hard for me to see him go and hard for me to see him turn away from the answer to all the problems that he is and will be facing. i know for myself that the heavens weep over those that make bad choices. i know that god cares more than we can even begin to comprehend about each of his children. our mistakes and trials pain him, He weeps with us when we weep. I am more determined than ever that i will do everything in my power to declare this message to everyone that i possibly can. it's true. it’s all gloriously, magnificently, and perfectly true. i love the lord and i want him to know that so i will do all i can to make every action of mine into an outward manifestation of my love for The Lord. we are so blessed to be members of this church. we have every opportunity and blessing out before us that we could ever possibly need and want. because we have been given much we too must give. and i just want to tell you all that i know that God is real and that He does love and care for each one of us personally, individually, and perfectly. Jesus Christ did atone for our sins and through his grace we can become exactly who God wants us to be. This is His church and is led by living apostles and prophets. the greatest happiness that i have found in my life is by applying the principles of the gospel and by sharing these diving principles with our fellow brothers and sisters. with love Elder Jarman ps. i may or may not be getting gray hair in about 9 days. . . . pps. three is a good number but i can change and i'll prove this to you ppps. who came up with peanut butter anyways. . . i mean really? or butter for that matter pppps. this one is number four :)

excuse me sir but i mustache you a question

dear qwerty typers of type face,

so we have miracles to share!!! one fantastic piece of news that relates to the news of this week is that lorraine is finally back from her trip to spain! so we were able to start teaching her again. Yay progress! she still doing fantastic and told us that while she read the book of Mormon on her trip her desire to keep on reading it kept on increasing. so ya the power of the book of Mormon is already kicking into gear. she as well really enjoyed church and contributes really well in the classes. one experience that I'm not likely to forget happened while we were in the gospel principles class. the question posed to the class was "what reasons to we have to believe that there is a god"? so we got this big long list of things like "all things denote there is a god" and how like the stars and the trees and the earth and all that surrounds us are proof that something bigger than us exists. and near the end of the lesson lorraine raised her hand and just said that she believe because she feels in her heart that he's there. It was so cool! and this is something that i've been really impressed with lorraine as we have been teaching her is that she is the kind of person that just has a firm and simple belief in the reality of god. even though she was not raised in a religious environment and had little opportunity in her life to learn about god she has always held on to that belief that he is there because she can just feel in her heart that he's there. i really like her :)

as well we started teaching christine and bobby, a part member family this week. christine has been a member since she was really little but hasn't been around the Church for the last few years. while bobby has absolutely no real previous experience even with the concept of god. it's something that’s hard really for me to comprehend what it would be like to just not Even know who god is or what he is like but unfortunately there are many people that aren't privileged enough to learn these basic truths while they are young. the understanding i have had of god has been one of the biggest grounding principles in my life. no matter what happened i always had the things i had learned, from the time i was tiny, about my heavenly father that i could turn to for help. i just want to share that with everyone, it gives me a lot of joy to share this good news. bobby in fact is really eager to learn, he's been searching for something more in his life for a while now and i feel that he will progress well in his understanding of the gospel.

something i've learned this week that has really stuck out to me is in mosiah chapter 5 verse thirteen when king benjamin says "For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?" two things stuck out to me about this verse. one is that it will be difficult to come to know god if we aren't willing to serve him (which we can do by serving our fellow man) and secondly the fact that if this is true it would seem that the opposite would be true as well. that as we serve god we can come to know him. it makes sense that as we engage in the same work the master preformed while he was here, in giving and sacrificing to serve those around us, we will come to know him better. i've found this on my mission that as i try and struggle to give my everything i am to him i've learned so much more about my savior and redeemer. the one who extended the invitation to "take my yoke upon you, and learn of me" and promises us that in return we will find rest for our souls.

i really really like this whole missionary work thing :)

with love

Elder Jarman

ps. the leaves are starting to change here!!!!!!

pps.i would like to publicly announce (without too much ado) that i now regularly eat both porridge and lasagna.

ppps. someone should probably go resuscitate mom right about now :)

when good things go bad you've probably left your fruit out too long {monday, september 24th}

dear enjoyers of a good emoticon,

well i must say that the most exciting slash terrifying thing that has happened this week was definitely the call i received to be a trainer again. i was not expecting to be called again especially not so soon but hey it’s good to know that these calls always come from the lord. Elder Gill is a fantastic missionary. He has such a strong testimony of the power of the Holy Ghost and he shows it by trusting in the lord and doing exactly what the lord would have him do, when the lord would have him do it. He's going to be a fantastic missionary and I'm grateful that i get to serve with him and get to know someone so cool. I've been blessed a lot on my mission with fantastic companions.

so in other news we did missionary work this week! we spent most of our time finding this week because Angel has been caught up at work and Lorraine, Cartier, and Tom have all been away on holiday. But! lorraine is back now so we can continue teaching her Yay! as always we've found some great success as we've set goals and prayed for help to achieve them and then did everything in our power to reach our goals (while respecting the agency of others) something I've really noticed in our work this last week is that sharing the gospel really is a very natural thing to do. i feel like we're all kind of conditioned and taught by the world that sharing our beliefs is bad and rude and something only crazy bigots do for no good reason. but when we look at what the gospel has done for us personally, and also just how amazing the message really is it is naturally to share with others what has made us us. as I've talked to people this week I've been working on trying to get to know and love all those i speak to and as i have done so I've been amazed at how much people have opened up to the message of the gospel. if someone comes to you with a cut you give them a band aid, if someone comes to you thirsty you give them some water, so of course it is natural that when we meet people who are thirty for something greater than water, and cut in ways that don't always appear on the surface we naturally want to share with them the great power and blessing of the atonement and gospel of Jesus Christ. it truly will help everyone no matter where they are where they've been and no matter what they're going through there is always a principle of the gospel that applies to them. The gospel is amazing and the more i learn about it the more that i love to share it.

I LOVE being a missionary!!!!!!!!!

sincerely

Elder Jarman

ps.

pps. i would have to say small flying shoulder monkey. i'm pretty sure that that counts

ppps. namaste! miro nam Elder Jarman Ho! mo Jesus Christ bisvasgiso. . . . miro napali no ramro

for some bizzare reason i find myslef craving swiss cheese dipped in custard {Thursday, September 20th}

dear those who may or may have not read a letter from me earlier this week,

so transfer day has come and past and we got some exciting news. Elder linden has been moved to clapham junction and i've been called as a trainer! i was super surprised/ terrified to find out that i would be training again especially so soon after i finished training elder pond but at the same time i'm excited to serve with another new missionary. the "greeny fire" as we call it is always contagious!. so my new companion is named Elder Gill and he is from just north of yorkshire. so i'm basically super stoked to be serving with yet another northerner (this makes it half of my companions so far) he's 6 foot 6 inches and as such basically towers over me. already he has shown to be incredibly excited about missionary work and very much in tune with the spirit. can't wait to tell you guys later about all the miracles we're going to see in this next transfer!

well that’s it for now but i'll be writing again very soon

With love

Elder Jarman

ps i don't recommend the above recipe

monks, magnifying glasses, and a little too much of the prince of egypt soundtrack

dear those who dwell upon the isles of the sea,

seven days and seven nights have passed since my previous epistle hath fallen upon thine eyes and ears (depending on circumstances) missions are a little bit like roller coasters. in that your spun a little bit all over the place and sometimes you don’t know which way is up but you always enjoy the ride. we have been so so so so blessed here in farnborough over the last few weeks that it's left my mind in the blown condition.

Angel is still doing really well. this week she told us that she has no doubt that the book of mormon is the word of god and she is just so excited for her baptism in the coming weeks. (she's from johannesburg btw) she still hasn’t been able to come out to church yet because of work but hopefully we'll be able to clear that up really soon. lorraine left on holiday this week so we weren't able to see her too much unfortunately but she took the book of mormon with her and was very excited to read it while she was gone so i'm excited to see just how she's been affected by the spirit of that amazing book on her trip. as well this week we picked some more new investigators and had great experiences with those were currently teaching.

one that really stands out in my mind happened while we were teaching cartier about the gospel of Jesus Christ. we've been a little bit worried about how well he understood the restoration, specifically what makes out church different or why the message we're sharing is so crucial to understand. basically we didn't think that he really understood the importance of the restoration of the priesthood authority of god. while we were teaching him about the gift of the Holy Ghost something we said made the reality and necessity of priesthood authority click for him. all of a sudden everything we had taught him fell into place and he had a huge AHA! moment. he got really really excited about the restoration and began telling us about how he couldn't wait to tell his family about this amazing news. i have no idea what exactly happened to help him understand, i don't know why what we said made everything else fit together for him. But the lord does. it was amazing for me to see just how well the lord knows his children. we just follow the spirit and say and do exactly what the lord tells us to and miracles occur. the gift and power of the holy ghost are real and if we prepare ourselves to receive the spirit, then listen to and follow the promptings we receive we can be sure that we will always be led to good. 

this is the lords work. i have absolutely no doubt about that. i can't even begin to tell you guys how much i love doing this work, how much i love being a missionary, and how much i love england and all the people living in it. i love hearing from you guys and i'm grateful for all of your support. i'm happy :) happier than i've ever been and having more fun than i've ever had.

love you all

Elder Jarman

ps. i've recently gained a strange love for scottish porridge and i really don't know why

pps.transfers are this week so i'll let you guys know on wednesday if anything changes

ppps. if you think about it prayer is basically the coolest thing EVER!

pppps. penguins preform platform paralympics stupendously

volumes of villians can verify the value of vindictiveness

dear anyone who thinks that monochromatic pens are lame,

side note: if anyone that happens to be reading this letter is actually completely satisfied with the monochromaticasy of their pen collection do not fear i will allow you to continue reading.

wher (swedish for where) do i even begin to begin. missionary work is just so full of incredible experiences and miracles, everyone who reads missionary letters frequently probably gets tired of hearing this but that’s just kind of the way it is. we saw so many miracle this week and saw so many people open up their hearts to the spirit. that’s probably one of my favorite things about being a missionary, seeing that change in people when they open up and let the spirit of the lord into their hearts. This week we had two new investigators commit to a date for baptism! the first is named lorraine (i can't remember if i've mentioned her before) she is amazing. in our first teach with her, when we asked her about her religious beliefs she told us that firstly she knew the church was true (this is kind of a really good foundation to build on) and since that teach she has seen blessings in her life for reading the scriptures and keeping the commitments we leave her so she was very much willing and excited to accept a baptismal date for the thirteenth of october. unfortunately she's going on a trip in the next few days so we won't be seeing her for a while but she has committed to read the book of mormon while she is away.

another miracle happened in teaching a new investigator named angel. she was raised in south africa in a really religious home but it has been since she's come to england that she's really opened up to the gospel and to the scriptures. when we first taught her we saw an incredible thing happen as the spirit witnessed to her that what we were saying was true she got really excited and told us that she had to go and tell all her friends the great news! that the Church of Jesus Christ is back on the earth! then when we met with her again, later in the week, she told us that she's been posting messages on facebook about it and because of that she found out that one of her good friends is actually a member of the church. when we invited her to follow the example of jesus christ and be baptized her answer was "of course" (probably one of my favorite attitudes towards commandments).

other than that we also began teaching a man named cartier (pronounced carcheer. . . he's french) this week who has a lot of great hope for progression in the gospel. the blessings we've seen this week are just amazing. missionary work is one of the greatest blessings the lord has given us :)

well i have loads of more stories to tell you guys but due to the lack of time and the fatigue of mine fingers it will have to wait for a future time.

thank you all for your love support and prayers. i promise you it is felt and very much appreciated

with love

Elder Jarman

ps. i've started using words with a lot of v's lately because it’s been decided that v words can be some of the funnest to say. such as. verocity, viscocity, vernacular, and vindictive.

pps. due to the fact of cartier being a male model the rate of zoolander quotage has increased by at least 76%

ppps. in the spring here the area gets covered with blackberries. we basically never get hungry going from appointment to appointment anymore :)

 

the following pictures are from Elder Jarman's trainer Elder Peach who has since returned and posted these pictures on facebook.... LOVE IT!

 

 

mix up the melting pot without melting your mixing pot. it's less messy that way

dear electronically connected countrymen (and women),

you know i usually begin e-mails (and journal entries) with beginnings that begin with something like "this week i" or "today we" or something similar. i feel that it's kind of annoying how repetitive the beginnings of my e-mails must be. is there some other way that i could commence mine epistles!?

And it came to pass that missionary work has been very fruitful in this portion of the lords vineyard during these last seven days. we saw miracles and many many many answers to prayers as we worked this last week. let me give a few examples.

when i came to farnborough we didn't really have that many people to teach, and due to the fact that this area is a lot more suburban and less populated than my last area i really felt like it was hard to find new people to teach. so me and Elder Linden talked about it and we decided to start making our prayers more specific, and to start specifically praying to find a family to begin teaching. long story short we have seen our prayers answered time and time again and we've been blessed with more new investigators this week than i have ever found in such a short space of time. more than i've found in some months!

i'll share a few examples.

this last thursday we started our day by praying that we would be led to new people to teach and that we would be led to them or that they would be led to us. later that day after we started teaching a great potential named lorraine we decided to do some finding in the area. we set aside an hour and set a goal to find and teach one new person on that street as well as set up a return appointment with that person. we knocked for the entire hour and had little to no success. then when we turned the corner to start our walk back a lady walked up to us and said she was looking for spiritual guidance and was wondering if we could help. (Whaaaaaaaaaat!) we went to a nearby park and taught her about the restoration. she told us that she has always been a christian but that she has always been confused by the tumult of opinions and war of words (so to speak) and that this confusion is what caused her to come to us seeking guidance. she absolutely loved the restoration and told us that she thinks this is what she has been looking for. we realized after we left that everything we prayed for was granted. someone was led to us and we were able to teach one new person and set up a return appointment.

the next example happened on saturday. we had been praying to find a family to begin teaching for a while now, so as we started to do some finding around the local chapel we said a prayer that we would be able to make at least one specific return appointment from our finding that day. the very first door that we knocked a woman opened the door with a child in her arm and two around her feet. as we began talking to her about gods love for us and her family she was joined by her husband at the doorstep. as we talked and they listened the spirit came so that when we asked if we could return and teach them more they accepted gladly and set up a time with us and gave us their phone number so we could confirm later. as we walked away from that door me and Elder Linden were ecstatic. not only had the lord answered the prayer we had just said but he had also answered the prayer that we've been repeatedly offering since we got to this area.

these aren't the only cases that we've seen this week and i don't really have time to talk about every miracle we see each day but i learned something important from these two instances. first and foremost i gained a firmer testimony that the lord answers prayers. i also learned that sometimes the answers will come quickly and even immediately in some cases. but that sometimes the answer will be after many many many prayers. sometimes after we have then done all that we can do. but he does answer. i love this work and i love being a missionary. god loves us all and is eager to hear and help us and this is at least one reason why he commands us to pray always.

thank you all for your love and support

with love

Elder Jarman

 

 the car ride to farnborough

more luggage packing fun

i may have not been able to feel my legs . .

top of st pauls cathedral in oxford city

scary staircase

 a view of part of the campus

hey look thats me !

 mission garden



 stalker/ awesome zoom pics

 stalker/ awesome zoom pics

me in a castle crevice

oxford in all its oxfordness

 

Monday, August 27th {one of the best ways to avoid moldy bananas is to duck}

dear faithful readers of mine words,

i have great times doing this whole missionary work thing that i'm doing over here. i love teaching the gospel, so many people (all of them) have a great need to hear this message. everyone i meet on the streets has problems and concerns and confusions they've been facing but one of the amazing things that i've realized is that the gospel always always answers the greatest questions that we have.

we were blessed this week to be able to witness a family that has recently returned to activity in the church receive one of the highest blessings we can receive in this life. we witnessed a man and a woman who love each other very much have the opportunity to make their marriage eternal. it was a great experience and my companion basically summed up my feelings as we walked out of the temple that day by stating simply that this is what it's all about. it's very true. the Gospel is about families. it is about keeping making and strengthening out relationships with those we care about. we build our relationship with god through our prayers and receive guidance and an added help of love as we follow the counsel he gives us both in the scriptures and in the guidance of the spirit we receive throughout the day. god has given us a perfect plan for us to be successful and to return to live with him throught the gospel of Jesus Christ.

this week we spent a lot of time teaching people on the streets and on their doorsteps and wherever else we could find them. we found one new person to teach this week named slyvia marsh who is an elderly lady with little religous backround. she was interested in meeting with us because she remembered that her mom was really interested in religion and as such slyvia wants to know what made her mom so dedicated to the faith. We were excited to help her find faith in Jesus Christ and experience all the blessings that come from that gospel living.

sorry this letter is going to have to be a little bit shorter because i'm pressed for time today. but know that i love and care for you guys and am always grateful for the support you guys give me.

with love

Elder Jarman

ps. does andrew still know the days of the week?

pps.have i mentioned that my companion is swedish!

ppps. Sha! lagit

nerf guns may be used for object lessons on the conditon that you have both the creativity and a box big enough to sneak them past the bishop

dear long summer breakers,

did you know that the summer break is only six weeks in England! it's alright though because they have tons of bigger small breaks thoughout the year.

so i will start this letter by relating some news relevant to my last area. i just got the news that yolanda has been confirmed a member now (by elder pond) and is fully working her way into the work of the kingdom. elder pond told me that she's been referring more of her friends and that her niece has been progressing well since yolanda's baptism. as well yolanda went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead for the first time last Saturday. yes seeing someone enter the gate of baptism is amazing. but it is just as rewarding, if not more so, to see them travel down the path of discipleship in the lord’s kingdom.

the work in farnborough as well is taking off. we started teaching a man from ghana named justice this week. he knew members of the church back in ghana and has always wanted to know more about what the church believes and "what exactly is the book of Mormon". he found us quite willing to answer his request. as well we taught a very interesting elderly man named todd. todd is a historian who works in a local museum and as a past time repairs and creates vintage furniture. when we started teaching him he wasn't very open to the ideas of god and the gospel as an influence but as he asked us more about ourselves he became quite fixated on the sacrifice that missionaries make, he wanted to know why we do this service. missionary service is the most worthwhile thing i have ever done. ever. i have never been more Happy more fulfilled or more sure of myself as i have been on my mission. i have a clear idea of what the lord expects of me and even more incredibly i can know that what I'm doing is what the lord wants me to do. when i meet people on the street and i tell them about how much god loves them, about how powerful the atonement is, and the blessings they can have i am filled with an inexpressible joy. the Holy Ghost testifies of truth, and as i teach the doctrines of the kingdom the Holy Ghost often testifies to me, as well as those i am speaking to, the truthfulness of what is being said.

i have thought a lot this week about the connection between agency and the inspiration we receive. we are all familiar with the subtle promptings of the Holy Ghost. we all know what it feels like when you receive an impression to do something good, or not to do something bad. these impressions often come when we are seeking guidance, but we will also often receive these kind of promptings when we are minding our own business and doing things as we usually do. every time we receive an impression we are immediately faced with a choice. The Lord makes it clear that there is something that we should do, probably something we are not going to be entirely comfortable with, and then we have the choice whether to act on the impression or to ignore it. the lord will not force any person to do the good things, the better things, or the best things. it is our choice if we will do what he wants us to, if we will submit to his will. many times each day we will receive impressions and promptings, many different occasions where the lord will provide us with an opportunity to exercise our agency for good, for better, or for best. our responsibility as disciples of christ is to live worthily, pray fervently, and learn to recognize and follow courageously the Spirit’s guidance.

love you all sincerely

Elder Jarman

ps. never ever try and cut a swede's hair. ever.

pps.all packages will arrive at their intended destinations. no need to worry :)

ppps. i've (sort of) learned to juggle a foot(soccer)ball ! and i just wanted to tell everyone so that you could all spend a lot of daytime hours being proud of my accomplishment :-D

"three words elder, Jump. Ready. You?"

dear anyone who had the foresight to open this e-mail before attempting to
read it,
so i am now residing in the pleasant town of farnborough (pronounced
farn-burra) with my new Swedish companion Elder Linde`n (pronounced lindian
by those who can and linden by those who can't) so far I've been really
gratefull to be here in farborough and really grateful to be able to work
with elder linden (I'm one of those that can't :)  )  ranborough is a much
more residential area than staines and has a lot more houses as opposed to
the flats that make up the majority of my last area. so everyone is a
Little bit more spread out. it's a beautiful are with lots of trees and
pleasant hills and knolls (we have knolls in England. whaaaaaaaaaat)  so
lets talk a little bit about the people. we're currently teaching a twenty
three year old named lucy who is the daughter of a returning less active
named mkaylia. mkayla works as a translator of ancient records at the local
museum. basically she goes and digs up old papyrus scrolls and such and
translates them from latin and ancient egyptian into english. i told her
that i basically consider her to have the coollest job of anyone that i've
ever met. lucy has a lot of interest in religion and her mkayla is strong
in her testimony so we're very hopeful for her progression. we've spent a
lot of time this week working with the amazing people in this ward. a lot
of the members here have great previous experiance in sharing the gospel
with their friends and are eager to do more for the missionary work. this
ward is amazing and i'm very grateful that i have this opportunity to work
with them. i have a good feeling that a lot of great things are going to be
happening in this area very soon :)

well i don't have much time today but i'm grateful for the support all of
you have given me and i just gotta tell you how much i love this work. A
lot!

i'm happy. are you happy? good. stay that way :)

with love
Elder Jarman

ps. my companion has the lion kind soundtrack in swedish. it's basically
the coolest thing ever.

pps. i found a place wher i can buy and 8th wheel of brie for a pound!

ppps. no annie, spaghetti is still just as good if you leave the meercats
out it. remember that