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

Happy & Productive in Richwood

Hey Mom & Dad!

I'm doing good. The heat and humidity finally hit today, which just happened to be the day we packed up all our stuff and moved into the new apartment, ha ha. This apartment is nicer than the last one though---less mold, and more spacious. :)

So, my new mailing address is:

200 Timbercreek Dr #910

Richwood, TX  77531

We're doing a lot of work in this area. It seems like prepared people are just falling into our laps. We teach a lot here, which is really nice. I'm happy. Still hoping the visa comes before it gets really hot, though.

 

 

Some answers to your questions: Yes, our investigator Rick made it to church yesterday. Not at 9:00 am, when he was supposed to come, but to the later ward's services. He'll be getting baptized this Saturday.  We're almost to the point of baptizing weekly.

 

We have a car (thankfully). No need for bikes! 

Please let Grandad know I got his email!  I'll respond when I can (this goes for everyone else who emails me). It takes me a while to get back to everyone.

Is Danielle going to the Provo MTC then, if she doesn't have her Mexican visa yet? Tell her the high school Spanish I took does help. The gift of tongues helps even more though, ha ha! [His cousin Danielle is leaving for a mission to Mexico City soon.]

Glad to hear Grandma is doing better! Sounds like you all had an awesome weekend! I was with you in spirit! :)

I found time to make Catriel a birthday card; I sent it off today. I don't know how long it takes the mail to get there.

I have a few pictures to send to you, so I'll do that now.

 

A lighter moment in Texas

Love you Mom! Thanks for your love and prayers! You and everyone else back home are in mine.

Talk to you next week!

Elder Duffin

A New Hope (for a Brazilian Visa)

Hey Mom & Dad!

So this week has been pretty good. I got transferred to this new area officially (the one I was telling you about last week). I'm happy about that because there are a lot of people we're teaching and one of them is going to get baptized next weekend.  My new companion is named Elder Rogers; we get along great. 

The only bad part is that the apartment bathroom is literally being eaten away by mold---to which I am very allergic. As a result, I don't get much sleep at night. :P

 

 

BUT, next week we are moving into a different apartment! 

*Cue the hallelujah chorus* 

 

 

Soooo, next week I will know what mailing address to give you.

Yesterday was Easter and we were expecting our main investigator, Rick, to come to church. (Investigators need to come to church at least twice before baptism and he'd already come once.) He did not show up, however. So after Sacrament meeting, we drove over to his apartment, so we could get him to come to the next ward's services. His car was there, so we knocked on his door, but no one answered. We waited outside his apartment for an hour, knocking on the door every now and then. 

 

 

Finally, I got fed up and started knocking continuously until someone opened the door. While I was knocking, we heard this: 

"BLAEH!  Who's there?! I'm coming!"

A bleary-eyed Rick opened the door. We discovered that he had been getting ready to go to church that morning, but when he got out of the shower and sat on his bed, he fell back asleep. :P He was very embarrassed and apologized. He'll be going to church this coming weekend, though.

I had a weird feeling all week that he wasn't going to get baptized this weekend. Now I know why! haha.  That's basically all that happened on Easter Sunday.

 

I'm glad to hear that everyone is doing fine up there! I can't believe Catriel is going to be 17! I should have a card sent to her by her birthday. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Catriel at almost-17)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

McCleve got his visa to Brazil, which means mine should be coming very soon. [Note from Shari: Elder McCleve is also from Washington, went into the MTC with Ben-Daniel on the same day, is also called to the Florianopolis mission in Brazil, and was temporarily assigned to Houston South as well; he submitted his visa application at the same time BD did---which is why BD thinks this is a good sign for his own visa coming in soon.] McCleve checked the status of my application and he said it was listed as "received." I'm very excited! :)  

I'm going to the temple this Thursday; I want to do that before the visa comes. It'll be one of the last times I can go to the temple on my mission.  I'm really shocked at how fast time goes by out here. It doesn't seem like eight months have gone by. 

 

I have learned a lot from being down here in Texas. I can see how the Lord is shaping me into what He wants me to be.

Love you Mom & Dad! Thanks for all your love and support and for writing me every week! Looking forward to talking to you on Mothers Day!

Love,

Elder Duffin

A Sudden Change of locale, Baptisms & More

Hey Mom!

Well, the past week has been interesting. I haven't been in Lake Jackson all week; I've been on an extended exchange in another Elder's area, and will probably just get transferred here early. (He and his companion have been having issues so they swapped me over here to give them each some air.) I won't find out until later today (hopefully) if I'm getting transfered here permanently or not, so my mailing address might change. I'd advise not sending anything until I get a chance to tell you where I am, next week.  :P

On the bright side, I've been able to teach a lot more people in this area than in my own. :)  We baptized a woman I've taught three times before (on past exchanges) last Saturday, and we have another guy getting ready to be baptized before the end of the month. I've been getting along well with Elder Rogers, too.

 

With our new convert, Nina

I did get the package, thank you! :) I appreciate it. The popcorn chocolate was interesting, haha. Where did you find that? I thought the note was funny too. I have a vague memory of when we wrote that. 

 

Bowling on P-day

 

Yes, I have been sketching; during church meetings mostly ;P haha. I'll send a few pics to you.

 

 Sorry to hear about Grandad's thumb injury! I can imagine he's frustrated. I'll send him an email. I've been wanting to write to him and other people, too, but every P-day I run out of time :( 

 

Tell Grandma and Grandpa I'm thinking about them and they're in my prayers! You'll have to see if there's any way we can get them hooked up to Facetime when I video-chat you guys on Mother's Day; that would be nice if we could do a three way chat.  You guys told them that I got their package, right? 

We're going to have a mission conference in the Houston temple coming up here pretty quick; makes me miss my conversations with Grandpa. I'm excited for it, though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weird little caterpillars they have down here

  And yes, I saw an alligator a few weeks ago. It was a tiny one, not much bigger than Hogan. I thought about trying to touch it, but I figured life would be much easier if I retained all my fingers. ;P haha

Looking forward to talking to y'all on Mother's Day too! :)

Talk to you next week,

Elder Duffin

I thought you'd like these flowers, Mom

Thoughts on Conference, reports on shoes & socks, and a few brief messages for friends

Hey Mom!

I watched this conference in the chapel with everyone else. I hate how the pews don't let you lean back. I had to sit in a really awkward position the whole time to be comfortable, lol.

 

I really liked conference. When Elder Packer said that he's seen and spoken to Christ, it reminded me of a story I've heard from some other missionaries, of this missionary who refused to shave or get his hair cut, and when Elder Packer came to his mission and saw him, he asked him why he wasn't doing that. The missionary replied that "Jesus has a beard and long hair." Elder Packer then said, "Not the last time I saw Him."

Don't know if that's a true story, but it's funny. But he's said that he's seen Him, so in any case he knows what he looks like!

We're going to the Temple sometime this month, so I'm looking forward to that. I think we're also having a zone conference with our mission president in the temple this month.

 

Portuguese is coming to me easily; I think I'll be able to pick up the language quickly once I get to Brazil. I went on exchanges with a Spanish speaking missionary a few days ago. He taught a lesson to someone who only speaks Spanish, and the whole time I understood everything said by him and the investigator.

This is my mailing address for the apartment complex:

110 Lake Rd #907 

Lake Jackson, TX 77566

We check the mail every day so it doesn't matter what day you send packages :) Thank you! I've missed pie. And contacts.  In answer to your question, my socks and shoes are holding up great. I LOVE the socks; they are the best socks ever. 

 

 

I took a few pictures of myself, so you can have more pictures of me. I'm trying to remember to do that more. I'll send them to you :) 

Dad---be safe on your trip to Grant's Pass! Send Grandma and Grandpa my love and tell them thanks for the package! I received it a few days ago; I have a picture.

 

Tell Grandma and Grandpa thank you for the cookies! I ate them between conference sessions,

This is my companion, Elder Jensen

 

Braden Willits is HOME???  Well, tell him to email me! I'd like to talk to him! 

Please send Courtney my congrats and good wishes! :) I can't believe one of my friends is getting married already! Crazy. I wonder how many more of them will get hitched before I get back?    (My bet is Braden Willits---ha ha)

Love you Mom! Thanks for all you do for me!

I'm looking forward to talking to you and everyone on Mothers Day! 

Talk to you soon,

Elder Duffin