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!