January 9th, 2012 {bifocals and nutella}

dear dearies,

you know i feel really old using the word dearies but hey when in rome do like the english do. anywhays so i've been in the mission field a monthy now and i really feel like i got here about three days ago. not only because i'm still walking around like a lost puppy in seattle with no idea what i'm doing or why the cars are all on the wrong side of the street. and i'm supposed to be here to provide people with direction!  it's a little bit like hey i have no idea where i am right now and i only understood about half of what you said because you sound like the lead singer of mumford and sons but i'm here to tell you where you came from and where you’re going with a little bit of why we’re here on the side. it doesn't help that anytime you study missionary work in the scriptures it basically tells you over and over again that oh ya the missionaries were great but really they weren't able to do anything and i'll be like whaaaaaa and the scriptures will be like ya as it turns out the authority they had to speak was given to them oh and on top of that even the words they said were given to them so ya basically you can't do anything. it's a really big confidence booster. (a little bit of british sarcasm, which by the way is anything a brit says!) so what we do out here is we work as hard as we can and we study and we pray and work a little bit more and then if it is the lords will miracles happen. and we had a miracle yesterday that i want to tell you about but in order for you to understand it i need to explain a little bit of less fun backstory. this last week we had to drop david and marie. this was hard because david still has a testimony and many times he's expressed a sincere desire to enter the church. but him and marie stopped keeping commitments and they stopped coming to church so we didn't have a choice but to drop them, we did invite them to start coming to church and to visit the temple visitors center and some people from the ward are going to work with them to see if they can start progressing again so there is still hope there. k so now to continue i have to tell you about alan. alan is this guy who was apparently baptized in bolivia when he was nine and hasn't really been to the church since. because of that he doesn't really know much about the church and has an entirely nonmember family. he contacted the missionaries before i got to this area and they've been coming around and teaching him and inviting him to come to church. alan was actually the first person i taught right after i got into this area. i love alan he is probably one of the funnest and friendlies people i have met since i got out here but he hadn't been able to come to church yet so we had to stop meeting him until he started coming to church. on our way to church on sunday we were still a little bit sad about david and marie and we were talking about that when we pulled up to a red light and alan was in the car next to us. we excitedly rolled down the window and he asked us where we were going and we said to church and then we asked him where he was going and he jokingly said oh i'm going to church and drove off. then when we got to church we were surprised when alan showed up just a few minutes later. when he got out of his car he explained that his six year old daughter had been in the backseat during our little exchange and had begged him to take her to church. so basically like i said, we do all we can and then if it be the will of the lord he will work in mysterious ways and bless us abundantly with miracles when we need it most. missionary work is the most humbling work i've ever been involved in, no matter what i do or how hard i work i can do nothing without the lords help. there is no way anything would ever happen out here if it wasn't for the continual support and blessings i receive each day. i saw a devotional where elder bednar was speaking in the mtc and he said "you all are probably wondering if you have what it takes, if you can do this. well of course you can't. i know this because i know that i do not have what it takes to be a member of the quorom of the twelve and i can only do what i have been called to do because the lord guides me and lifts me every step of the way". please remember that as members of the church you all have made covenants to remember christ in all that you do and that you are called to serve him continually. do not ever doubt the ability you have to spread the gospel in each of your individual lives. i know that as you strive to serve the lord and as you do all you can to do what he would have you do the lord will bless you and guide you. he will uplift you in ways that you would of never thought possible. i love you all and i love my savior.

with love

Elder Michael Jarman



ps. for anyone who is interested in an amazing book of mormon study read and compare 2 nephi 2 and alma 42. it’s totally worth it i promise!