you know. . . this isn't exactly how it's usually done. . .

Dear those who are strangely amused by slide screen screen savers,

Robert was baptised and confirmed over the weekend! this entire week i've been freaking out and praying that everything would go well and it totally did! it's still amazing to me that he has made so much progress in so short of a time. I met Robert the first day i was here in Redhill, we taught him the next day, and then he attended church with us two days after that. the next time we saw him, he committed to be baptised on the ninth of march and stayed firm to that commitment till it was realized.

i've thought a lot about his progress and his baptism and talked a lot about it as well with Elder Keller and other missionaries. when i first met Robert and even the first time we taught him i would never have thought that he would now be a member of the church. even after he accepted a date i, regrettably, had my doubts. throughout the entire process of teaching him i have been repeatedly humbled as i have witnessed Robert’s great faith and the miracles that followed his faith.

i have learned that no matter how bleak the outlook is, and how dark the way looks, God can always provide the way as long as we exercise faith in him. this principle applies in both physical things, such as the many miracles we read about in the scriptures, and even more amazingly in spiritual things. God can change, magnify, and enlighten individuals. the potential of each of his children is much more than any of us can comprehend. it's hard sometimes for us to see this, when we keep on looking at people through the lenses of our own weaknesses. But i've learned that we need to remember that God sees His children a lot differently than we do. Robert has a bright future ahead of him. and i am grateful that the lord has allowed me to get to know him and witness his conversion.

it's always amazing to me how seemingly random people we meet on the streets can become such amazing and great friends--how someone that you first meet with reservation, can become someone who you love dearly. this is one of the most amazing aspects of missionary work and it's something that each of us can, and often do, experience every day. Robert was a stranger only six weeks ago. Now he is a good friend and someone who i will always remember and do my best to support.

life is pretty good :)

well as always i have loads of more stories to tell but alas they’re going to have to wait for another day.

love you all and i'm grateful for all the support you give

with love

Elder Jarman

ps. it's transfer week again. so updates will most likely come around sometime on wednesday.

pps. there's a guy sitting next to me looking at an atheist website. he has the word "hate" tattooed on his knuckles. i think i prefer what’s on my screen.

ppps.it started snowing again today! winter’s not done yet here in england!

pppps. does anyone actually know what a "woodchuck" is? do they actually chuck wood? who named them anyways?

once goes the manatee, twice and you're asking for a bear

dear those who exclude the word vernacular for their vernacular,

After a brief mental review of my many opening to an e-mail i have concluded that i always either begin with an opening that could be considered typical or a commentary on how many of my opening are quite typical which is then followed by a random sentence or phrase that has little to do with anything that would typically be considered relevant to anything relevant. juniper trees. today i decided to break the mold by beginning the e-mail by commenting on both the typicalness of my standard e-mail openings and also my varied but not infrequent commentaries of typicalness in my e-mails. so therefore this e-mail has now been began in a way that was not used to begin before.

so anyways.

we had a REALLY busy week this week it was absolutely amazing how busy and how many teaching appointments we had this week. i will give a sample of yesterday to illustrate. we woke up at six thirty went through the morning routine. studied. started traveling for church at about nine thirty. Robert came and had an awesome fast Sunday! after church we had a brief missionary correlation meeting with the ward missionaries then organized the baptismal service for Robert on Sunday. we then traveled back to redhill and got there about two. went straight from our flat to teach a Ghanaian lady named Maxine at two thirty. left that appointment at about 3:15 traveled to an appointment at 3:30 with a super funny pair named Leroy and Joe. finished that appointment a 4:30 and walked straight to another appointment at 4:45 with two new investigators from the Philippines named Victoria and Heidi who are over here to study. finished that appointment at about 5:45 and then traveled straight to another appointment at 6:15 with a recent convert from Kenya named Binky. we finished that appointment at seven and then walked (while accounting over the phone to our district leader) to an appointment at 7:30 with a recent convert from Brazil named Elian and her friend that she's referred named rahissa. we finished that appointment a 8:30 and then walked back to our flat to arrive at 9:00 for planning. we've been blessed SO much in our work here in redhill and amazingly even though we spent nearly the entire week teaching we were still blessed with four new investigators through the week!

 

it's been really interesting for me to compare this time in my mission with the time i spent at the beginning of my mission in epsom. while i was working in epsom we didn't have too many people to teach. we would spend the majority of our time looking for new people to teach, which is work that is rewarding and honestly one of my favorite things to do as a missionary. but we saw next to no outward fruits from our efforts. now I'm back in epsom ward and it seems like we have to work to stop from drowning in fruit. it's things like this that make you wonder what the difference could possibly be. why are the blessings coming now? why weren't the outward blessings coming then? truth is, i haven't the foggiest. :) the lord will always bless us for doing the right thing and for working diligently in the calling that we have been assigned. as President Uchtdorf taught the joy of priesthood service comes whether we are flying a fighter pilot or a piper cup. although from the outsiders view (and sometimes we can be outsiders even though we're involved) it is easy to judge success from outward fruits. i am learning though that true success comes from our inward commitment to keep commandments, magnify our callings, and diligently press forward on the path of discipleship. as one of my previous Zone leaders taught me, "the lord brings forth the harvest, all we do is everything that he tells us to". or to put it in scriptural language "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed" i like to put emphasis on the word cheerfully here :).

 

one of the greatest blessings we've seen here continues to be Robert and all the progress he makes as the spirit continues to work changes within him. he is completely living the word of wisdom now and is dedicated to his course of being baptised this Saturday. our bishop announced the baptism at the close of the sacrament meeting and as he did Robert looked over at me with a huge grin on his face and gave me a thumbs up. i love this guy!

 

i'm grateful for your prayers both in my behalf and in behalf of those that I've been privileged to work with. this means the world to me.

 

love you all

sincerely

Elder Jarman

 

ps. there is a man that looks like a younger version of Shaun white sitting opposite from me. he's probably getting creeped out that i keep on looking over at him. . .

 

pps.what is more american than pizza?

 

ppps. a lot of people ask why me and Elder Keller are wearing the same ring (the pro ring) we're starting to become more creative in our answers