"Funny Parable on the Consequences of Poor Decisions"

Hey Mom!

Sorry that I didn't write on Monday. We worked yesterday since everybody was home for Memorial Day.

 

 

I'm doing well. Teaching lots of people! Busy, busy, busy. One change I've seen in myself out here is that I don't like to sit still for very long anymore; I have to be doing something or going somewhere. Which is good, because there are a lot of people we're teaching right now. Many will soon be baptized too :)

I heard Uncle Brett got his Brazilian Visa to go to the World Cup.  Stinker.  Mine will get here when it gets here.

Uncle Brett and his tourist visa to Brazil

I will be sending some stuff back to you before I go to Brazil. Elder McCleve advised me to get rid of as much unnecessary stuff as possible. (My suitcases are already pretty heavy right now.)

Did I tell you about what I did to my big suitcase the morning I left the MTC? This is ridiculous. At 2:00 am the morning we left we had to take our suitcases down the stairs to get out of our dorm rooms. I was moving my suitcases (which were strapped together) by the handle of the big suitcase, and I decided it would be easier to drag them down the stairs rather than carry them. So I did. The extending handle broke off in the process, almost immediately. So my big suitcase no longer has an extended handle. It's a little awkward to drag around now, but not too bad. 

 

Sample broken suitcase handle courtesy of Google Images

It was a big consequence for a moment's laziness; the only good that came out of it is a funny parable on the consequences of poor decisions :P haha

Memorial day was nice and sunny for us down here, but it's dumping rain now, ha ha. 

 

 

I can't really think of any funny thing that happened this week. I feel like last P-day was only two days ago; the weeks are flying by. We got a new investigator named Henry. We taught him again last night. He has some promise; we're just trying to get him to read and pray.

I'm hoping to stay in the area I'm in now until I get my visa comes in. We're doing lots of work here and I like teaching so often.

I like the flower pictures! You have the nicest back yard in the neighborhood!

I miss you guys! Glad you and the rest of the family are doing well. :)

Love you, mom! Thank you for your prayers and support!

Talk to you next week,

Elder Duffin

I Like Being a Missionary!

Hey Mom!

I'm doing well. the past week seemed longer than it really was; I think it was because of the temple trip we had on Tuesday. 

That was a lot of fun. We drove about two hours up to Houston on Monday night and spent the night in another couple elders' apartment. Then we left at 4:00 in the morning for the Temple. We packed 65 missionaries into one endowment room and did a session. Afterwards we had two hours in the training room with our mission president and the temple president and got to hear them and their wives. It was neat.

Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary happened this week. Still teaching a lot, which is nice. We have two investigators left who are on target for being baptized; though each will be baptized next month. 

One of my drawings

The weather has been nice down here too, though I'm afraid it is not scenic at all. I'm sorry to say that compared to the Pacific Northwest this area is...less than pretty. The people are really nice though and that's more important. :)

The Gulf of Mexico.  It's brown.

I wish I could've gone hiking with you! [We sent him pictures of a hike we did on Mt Peak here close to us]  I really wish I could do that here. I miss hiking. And walking. We spend most of our time sitting right now and I miss the exercise! 

That story about Hogan on the hike made my companion laugh, ha ha! Poor dog. Glad to hear that everyone is well and having a good time! :)

I'm coming up on my year mark in less than three months! I can't hardly believe it. It doesn't feel like it's been a year at all. I've had a number of dreams where I'm back home and I'm dumbfounded because it doesn't feel like my mission was two years long; then I remember what my last area was and I panic because it hasn't been two years and I'm wondering why I'm home! Then I wake up and feel thankful that I've got a year left.  I like being a missionary :) 

I'm looking forward to coming home though in 2015. I can't wait to spend time with you all again! I miss you! :)

Thanks for writing me, Mom.  I'll attach a few pictures. 

Last bit of the blackberry pie you mailed me (plus a few kernels of packing popcorn)

A state of blackberry pie-induced bliss

Love you!

Elder Ben-Daniel Duffin

Mother's Day Visit via Skype

Hi Folks,

Shari here.  We got to visit with Ben-Daniel for about an hour and a half via Skype on Mother's Day.

Our screen view of him; there were some technical difficulties, so he only got audio from us.

I'm going to give you a quick summary of his news with a few pictures he sent on Monday.

Ben-Daniel reports:

• He's still enjoying Houston but says it's totally because of the really great people and not the humid weather or the vast variety of insect life that call it home.
• He loves the area he's in right now because they are teaching nearly full-time.  This level of activity hasn't happened in any of the other areas he's served in, so he feels really blessed.  They are baptizing lots of people.  Here's one:
• 

• He's not stressed about the Brazilian visa; he's says it'll get here when it gets here.  He thinks it will be soon, though.
• He told us a few stories.  One was about the day he and his companion were walking by a dumpster.  His companion threw a banana peel in the bin and a feral cat came flying out "Right at my face!"  I won't repeat what he said to the cat.
• He says that Texans continue to be baffled by the Seahawk Super Bowl win last February.  Whenever someone finds out that he's from the Seattle area, he says he's treated to a lot of head shaking and puzzlement.  He enjoys this.
• He sends his thanks to the Daughertys and other families who have written to him.  He only has 90 minutes to read and send emails and says that he usually only has time to write to immediate family.
• He sends his best wishes to his cousin Danielle, who is leaving on a mission to Mexico City this week.
• He wishes Braden Willits would email him.
• He has plans to visit an Alligator Park soon and also the Houston temple.  He sent me this picture of flowers outside the temple (because he knows his mom loves flowers):

  

  Snapdragons

 That's about it!  He sends his love and good wishes to everyone back home. 

Sharing news of Baptisms, Star Wars, and Mold (but not in that order)

Hey Mom!

I'm doing well! I just got your package; but I haven't opened it yet. (This morning was pretty busy. I spent a lot of it deep cleaning our shower. I'm sick of mold.)

 

I'd like to go to some writing classes with you when I get back home! One of the things the mission has gotten me to realize is just how much time I wasted right out of High School. When I get back, I'm going to devote my time to doing things that are fun and productive; writing in particular.

Things have been going well down here; we had an investigator get baptized and confirmed this last weekend, so that was awesome! We're having another investigator get baptized this next weekend too! This last week has been very busy; we've been teaching a lot. I'm very happy about that. We have five solid, golden investigators who will be baptized soon. And we didn't do anything to find them--- they came to us.

This is Rick, our recent convert, between Elder Rogers and me. The man to Rogers' right is the member who baptized him.

A month ago I was sitting in a zone meeting and I had a revelation which told me that if I wanted to find people to teach, I'd have to have faith that I have the ability to teach anyone according to their needs---whoever the Lord puts into my path. Since then I haven't doubted the abilities the Lord has given me and He's blessed us for it.

This is my zone.  I don't know why we're all "talking on phones."

 

Catriel's birthday party sounded fun! Wish I could've been there! Hope she's safe and has fun at the concert in August! 

Haha Star Wars Day---I knew about that. I like Catriel's Darth Vader T-shirt. I didn't know we had a red light saber though! [We sent him a Star Wars themed photo of us.  He returned the compliment below.]

May the Fourth be with you!

 I forgot to tell you in last week's letter, but last year when Blackanne started having those weird aging quirks, I noticed that taking her out to Mt Rainer with Jake seemed to help her. She lost some of the quirks I was noticing after we got back from that. I think exercise is something she needs a lot of.

On Mothers Day we might have to talk over Skype. I've been trying to find a member who has Facetime on a tablet; I'll keep looking. In any case, the family we end up calling you from will phone you beforehand. Looking forward to it!

​This was my dinner last night. It was pretty good!

Love you Mom! Thanks for the package! I'm thankful for all you do for me and I'm looking forward to seeing you on Mother's day! :)

Dad, sorry you've been grounded (literally) with no airplane for a while.  Thanks for all you do for me; I love you very much and am proud of saying I have parents with a healthy marriage who live the gospel.

Talk to you all next week,

Elder Duffin