you know ive been thinking about it, and i'm starting to beleive the moon is actually made out of sauce

dear those who would respond positively to an ewok revolution,

first and foremost for todays correspondance i would just like to announce that it is FINALLY snowing here! we've only gotten the occasional flurry so far but nothing has had ANY lasting impact. but lo! and behold we woke up this morning to find our yogging (completely purposeful misspelling) trak frosted more (only slightly) than Elder Gills breakfast.

but increasingly cold and correlatingly less colorful weather aside lets now chat about our eventful week. bad news out of the way first, vicky has unfortunantly dropped out of our teaching pool. she's been facing too much opposition from her family and hasn't been able to overcome her concerns because of it. this was hard for both me and elder gill because we have been working with her for a while now and really were hoping for her to find the peace of the gospel for her family. we left on good terms and she texted us later to say goodbye and that she was glad that she had met us because, although she can't accept the restoration at this time, she could recognize that meeting with us had helped her to find a stronger faith in Christ. 

coming away from that meeting we were sad, as anyone familar with this work will understand, but we went on to experience miracles. later that day we taught Sonya for the first time. After her amazing experience at church last week she was exited and open as we began teaching her. she said that although she had some resistance on the part of her family when she decided to come to chruch. they we're all more than happy to accept her continuing in this path because they all commented on how much happier she had been that sunday after church. this is one of my favorite things about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the immediate and powerful effect it has on our being and on all our interactions with others. in short when we experience the spirit we naturally start becoming more joyful and more loving. as we taste the goodness we then begin to both desire to bring it more into our life and also to begin sharing it with those that we love. as we taught her the gospel she opened up to us and accepted all that we said. telling us that it all made sense in a way it never had before. she wanted to learn more and seek more and share more of this with her family :)

the work is still going great here in farnborough and i'm exited for the future of the work here. one of the my favorite things about being a missionary is being able to have the feeling that because of choices i have made that i've been able to leave places and people feeling that because of the work that we do that place or person is better off than they were before. i know that this has nothing to do with me but more with the power of the message we bring and the spirit that accompanies it. there is nothing more rewarding that i have experienced than to feel that the lord has worked through me to the blessing of even one of my brothers and sisters here.

i love you all and i'm grateful for your continued support.

 

With love

Elder Jarman

 

ps. what would you all do if for at least one e-mail i didn't anything scripted after the post?

 

pps. a few days ago a kid pointed at my scarf and asked me why i was wearing his blanket. . .  go figure :)

 

three reasons why boxes and days only mix in the UK (and Canada)

dear anyone who was puzzled by the term "missile-toe" as a child,

well first and foremost i want to present my sincerest apologies for the lack of communication last week. i could explain why but then i would have to describe a long ardourous story that may or may not involve both the frustration of automatic doors and a mystery about that hobo that lives on top of the polar express. so i have instead decided to refrain :)

so in making up for this lasck of communication i am going to describe the majority of our focuses for the last two weeks. we've been doing a thing here in this ward where we have invited the members of the ward to pray together as a family to select streets for us to knock. a little over three weeks ago we started taching a woman named vicky from one of these streets. she has spent her entire life seeking for the truth even though she was raised in a family where religion was despised and rejected in forms. she eventually found truth in christ and became a born-again christian. she was more than happy to meet with us when we met her for the first time. we later learned this was because she was eager to show us the truth :) in every meeting with her we began and ended it by inviting her to learn the truth for herself by just reading and praying about the book of mormon. after two weeks we had a miracle in teaching her. when we came in to teach her she was energetic as always and exited to see us. after the opening prayer we began the lesson by asking her how her reading and prayer had been going. at this point she broke down and began crying. a little bit taken aback, Elder Gill and I just sat there waiting for her to speak. she told us that she knows that it's true. she didn't know how or why but she knew that she knew it was true.we explained from there what the significance of this revelation is. that by knowing that the book of mormon is true that we can know that Jesus Christ has established his church once again on the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith.

from this experience i gained an additional witness that the book of mormon is true, and specifically that moroni chapter ten verses three through five are true. anyone who receives this book and asks sincerely, with real intent, having faith in Christ will receive a witness by the power of the Holy Ghost that these things are true. and from there by the power of the Holy Ghost we can know the truth of ALL things.

sadly this testimony is not the end. as Elder Bednar taught in the most recent conference, testimony is only the beginning of the much more difficult process of conversion. Vicky is not quite there yet, she is facing a lot of opposition from her family and from other influences as well but we are determined to help her receive all the blessings of the Atonement through continued conversion.

we had a great christmas her in Farnborough ward. they've been incredibly gracious and have fed us incredibly well (mostly with chocolate. intrestingly enough three different members of the ward bought me and Elder Gill deoderant. . . .

Natalia is still doing really well. She has been ill for the last week or so but is back on her feet now and we're going to resume teaching her this week.

i truly love this work. there is nothing that i have ever done that is nearly as exiting, fun, and rewarding. something that has impressed me as i have thought about it recently is the connection between The Gospel of Jesus Christ and giving. the very first witnesses of the living Christ were compelled, as soon as they had beheld for themselves, went for teaching and witnessing unto others. the commandment of Christ to his disciples was always to go, love, teach, share, heal, and bless. Christ himself spent his time and his strength in the service of others, both by healing, exhorting, and teaching. this commandment and principle has been an identifying teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ in every dispensation. one of my favorite ways i've heard it described is that when we are filled with the love of god, and i mean both our love for Him and His love for us, it fills us so powerfully that the love naturally spills over into love and service for those around us.

 

i want you all to know that i love you guys and i'm grateful for all the support and help that i receive from you. i feel your prayers and depend upon that support.

 

with love

Elder Jarman

 

ps.as it turns out no one in england really know why boxing day is called boxing day either. . .

 

pps. english chocolate is more sincere than american chocolate ;)

 

ppps. if anyone understands the above post-post script i will be sincerely impressed and will reward you with at least 12 points

 

pppps. have i mentioned how much I LOVE IT HERE! :)

it's funny how often the end of the world can slip your mind {December 17th, 2012}

dear believers of ancient american writings,

i would like to point out that this letter is not necessarily addressed to those that also believe in ancient american astrology but can in fact be read by them as well if they so please.

some highlights of this last week definitely include receiving the news that both me and elder gill will be staying in this area for the next seven weeks. officially making elder gill my longest companion (so far) and Farnborough my longest area (so far, longer than epsom by one week:)  ) this news was unexpected but enjoyed. now knowing that we have at least till the end of january to work together in farnborough has given us an added measure of commitment and  blessings this last week. most of the missionaries in the mission actually stayed put this last transfer as well with only four missionaries coming into the mission. the last time this mission received a group that small was about a year ago when i got here :)

we had a great miracle this last week in that Mona Cowie came to church this week. Mona is woman from Germany that we've been teaching on and off for the last two months or so. she is really really busy with her work schedule so it's been hard to find the time to see her. she has a strong belief in Jesus Christ and actually investigated the church about six years ago when before she moved to farnborough. she became great friends with the sister missionaries that taught then, although she didn't join the church, and actually is still in contact with both of them. she originally let us in because she had fond memories of the missionaries. as we've taught her and grown close to her over the last few weeks we've stressed how much keeping the sabbath day holy by attending church can bless her. specifically we felt impressed to read the account of the savior instituting the sacrament in the americas with her this last week. as we read and explained the blessings she focused in on the blessing the savior gives that those who keep this commandment shall be built upon his rock and therefore be safe from the destructive powers of the adversary. as we read the spirit came and she committed to come!

one of my favorite parts of having an investigator attend church is seeing the support the ward gives them. it's always great to see my great friends in the ward become friends with the friends that we've been teaching. as always one of the great aspects of the gospel is that it brings people together :)

the christmas spirit is really picking up around here. you can tell it is when Merry Christmas becomes the standard end to all conversations. we had a great experience a few days ago when the stake choir went to a local shopping centre to sing christmas carols. for about an hour the missionaries handed out fliers for the upcoming stake christmas concert. it was great to see the affect that just singing christmas carols had on all the people in the area. many people would stop to listen or at least take the time to slow down, turn their heads and listen as they walked passed. among the busy shoppers the true meaning of christmas took root as the choir sang about the greatest gift that has ever been given. as we were handing out fliers i had the opportunity to have many short conversations with people about christmas and christ. one elderly irish woman told me that for her it's never quite christmas until she hears a few carols. she waited around listening to the choir for as long as her schedule would allow and applauded openly before she had to move on. it's amazing to me how much the spirit of christmas helps so many people to feel the spirit of christ.

i love you all and am grateful for your prayers and your support

with love

Elder Jarman

ps. who came up with the word Nogg anyways?

pps. this post script is the natural byproduct of forgetting to write down certain codes

ppps.i recently thought about how cool it would be to actually have a fully sized and fully operational cane made out of candy. and i haven't been able to stop thinking about it since