Fifteen

Hello Everyone!

Does time fly or what? It is crazy to think I have been out for almost four months. 

It is hard to tell weeks from each other. This week we went to Nime for district meetings.  In two hours we are going to Aix en Provence and then Saturday we are going to Toulouse. This week we are only going to be in Montpellier for 3 1/2 days. I am pretty excited. 

How was everyone's Halloween?! Here Halloween is when a lot of crazy people get out (plus everyone else) so it was kind of interesting.

But really C'est tout! Something that I have really been thinking about is Elder Anderson’s talk on how “believing is a conscious choice”. If you want a testimony, and want to believe, all you need to do is act. Action is the remedie to fear. An interesting video that I watched before my mission (I believe it is a Ted talk) is the main reason why people don't accomplish their dreams is not lack of resources, it is simple because of fear. I like the scripture that talks about “God has not given us the spirit of fear but of a sound mind”. So my invitation this week is get out there and don't be afraid. Master your fears and become the person that you have always wanted to become. 

Have a fantastic week! 

Elder Duffy 

Fourteen

This week was really good. I am feeling healthier.  I probably regained back all the weight already:) French food is just so good and light.  It is easy to eat a lot of it. 

It was really awesome seeing those pictures and video. Sadie is so cute.

So my new companion is Elder Hansen! He is from Payson, Utah so we have something in common. We both love the Payson temple! That temple is so beautiful, magnificent, sublime, and wonderful. He lives right by it.

Our typical day here is really just the handbook but instead of two hours of study we have four. Personal, companionship, language, and twelve weeks which is like the program for entering the mission field. 

I also just got the Halloween package this week. Thank you so much! Something just like that for Christmas would be amazing. Elder Hansen ate all the Kit Kats… so he is loving it.

The thought that I wanted to share this week is from President Uchdorf’s “Grace” talk from the April 2015 conference. I challenge everyone to read it. 

Something that really struck me was when President Uchdorf recited the story about Jesus and the lady washing his feet. It really stood out to me that nothing we do, no matter how righteous and good we are, can qualify us to enter heaven. It is truly by grace. Then the question can be asked, why do we have to do anything at all? It is through our actions that we show our thankfulness.  It is also how we can utilize the Atonement in our lives. The gift is given but we must do our part to accept the gift. Sorry if that was a little hazy, but when you read the talk you will understand.

Ponderizing is really awesome. My companion and I have found if we share a spiritual thought that week’s scripture is what we use.

I just want to leave with my testimony.  Look at the fruits of living the gospel and applying the principles. It is true. I promise that if you stand firm in the tenebre of life and stand steadfast, you will be happy and find peace.

Sincerely and lovingly,

Elder Duffy 

Thirteen

This week was crazy, awesome, bizarre all at the same time!

I was sick last week. It was like a fever/ chills for 2-3 days and

then it was digestive stuff for like 5 days after at. I am not going

to lie I lost 18 pounds but don't worry I will regain them real

quick;)

The fish recipe that you saw my colleague made. I am not going to lie

but it was probably the best meal that I have had in France yet. To be

honest I have not actually ate a lot of French things. Really for the

most part I eat cereal, sandwiches, and potatoes in that order

everyday;) Mom I miss your cooking a lot. 

Living in France is interesting.

The people here actually are really polite. They are really honest and

tell you how it is. There a lot more crazies in France then in the U.S. 

It definitely adds personality to everything;) 

I feel like we see other missionaries a lot. Since we live with the Zone leaders 

there are always new missionaries sleeping at our apartment and all that. 

I really love the mission unity. 

My french is coming. I can usually get what I want to say across even

though for sure my grammar is off but it is all good. It is coming.

So my new companion is Elder Hansen and he is really cool. We are

having a good time together and I am really looking forward to get to

know him better.

This week we had the comeback conference for all the 6 week old

missionaries and it was awesome. It was really great to see my comp

again.

A cool spiritual thing this week was Elder Perry’s last testimony in

church for his mission. It was so powerful and like the Spirit was

totally there and it was so awesome!

That is my challenge this week: for everyone to share their testimony to someone. I

t can anyone. I know if you do, your testimony will grow and you can really help someone out.

Also this week while I was eating a big carrot my bottom retainer fell

out all in one piece. It's super sad. I will try to take care of that

as soon as possible.

That is it. 

You are a pleasure and joy to me.

Love,

Elder Duffy

Twelve

I am staying in Montpellier but have a new companion named

Elder Hansen. I am really excited for this exchange. My companion Elder Lythgoe is going to a place in between Marseille and Nice and it was sad to see him go. Also Elder Perry returned with honor.  We have two new Elders in the apartment and they are both cool. 

This week I was pretty sick.  It was hard but I remembered Dad gave me Imodium which helped so much! Dad thank you again.

Next week I will send more just know I am feeling better and excited

to start my second transfer. 

I love you so much and thank you for

everything you do.

With Love,

Elder Duffy

Eleven

This week has really gone by so fast. It is so true

that the mission flies by.

The French is coming. I feel like I have made good progress but I

definitely have a long way to go. We watched about half of General

Conference in French and I am not going to lie it was a struggle to

focus but what doesn't kill makes you stronger right?:)

This Friday is the day when I will see if I am staying here our going

somewhere else. I really love Montpelier but not my will be done. 

Montpelier has so much potential. I know missionary

work will keep on going stronger and stronger then before.

One of the Zone Leaders, Elder Perry,  is returning with honor this

week. It has really been a blessing to live with Elder Perry and Elder

Shaw because they really are amazing missionaries who are

dedicated to Heavenly Father and missionary work.  They have really

helped me as I strive to get better.

For the food experience for this week/transfer, I ate rabbit. It was

actually really good. it was a lighter chicken. I am not going to lie

it was hard not thinking of cute little rabbits while eating but it

was good nevertheless.

For the spiritual thought this week: I really loved Holland’s talk in

General Conference about MOMS. I got a little teary. 

The more I have been the mission the more I have realized that

I am not my own. That everything I am is because of my Heavenly and

Earthly Parents and my older brother Jesus. Literally without those

key 5 people I am nothing and would be nothing. I just have to say I

am so thankful for them and for everything they have done for me. I

would like everyone just to think of the part Jesus has played in their

lives.  

I love the Gospel and I love all of you.

I think of you often (but not to often):) and please stay on

the right path to find your personal destiny and internal peace.

Love you all and I know even more than that, that Heavenly  Father loves you,

Sincerely,

Elder Duffy

Ten

This week has been really cool. We had a a huge conference with a

third of the mission in aix en Provence. 

Aix en Provence is by Marseille. I guess Marseille is like super sketch in some parts and missionaries need to be in by 6 pm. For the conference Elder Adler spoke.  

He is in the third quorum of the seventy. We talked about really focusing on the temple and not just baptism.  Baptism really is just a stepping block to the temple. 

We had a really good French meal so that never hurts.  I

had a good conversation with someone I knew in high school: Elder Wade.

In France if you go right into religion it doesn't work out very well.  One thing we do for contacting is talk about families and tie that into the gospel.  People are usually more open to that.

Cool experience for the week: I was on a train about to get off and

I had the feeling that I should compliment this random guy on his bag.  After I did that the guy just started talking to us and he was really cool. He said “are you the Mormons?”  and we said, “Yes”. 

After that he said, “my girlfriend goes to sports extreme” (which is like a sports thing at the church). Then we invited him to come so hopefully he does :) 

It was just really cool to see the Holy Ghost guiding me. So that is my challenge for everyone this week.  Do the prompting they feel from the Holy Ghost. If you don’t know what the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is there is a really good

definition on mormon.org.

Well, everyone make it a fantastic week and if your ever are feeling

down, just smile till you feel happy. Believe me it works:)

Love Elder Duffy

Week Nine

Hello Everyone!

Montpelier is awesome. There are pigeons everywhere and many diverse

smells. If you get my drift;) my companion is Frere L he has

been out for just over a year now. He is the district leader. He is

from Heber, Utah and is super good at soccer. 

We live with the zone leaders Elder Perry and Elder Shaw. Everyone is great, and chill at the same time.

This week was crazy because we housed the APs and the missionaries

from Nimes. We had a bonne nettoyer today.

It is so sweet just to talk with people on trams and stuff and help people. It's so true the scriptures when it says, “when you lose you life serving others is when you will find it”. I invite everyone both old and young to prepare now to

go on a mission because there are so many people out in the world to

help and so much to see. 

Every time I study each day my mind is blown how amazing the gospel is and how amazing everyone and everything is. I have come to know how minuscule I really am. Being a missionary is not about being perfect with everyone but it is trying your best everyday.

Spiritual story for this week. So we have an investigator named E.  He was

going to be baptized the 20th but it has been pushed back to October

10. He has had some problems with the commandments. This last lesson

we had with him was all about he commandments and why they are so

important. During the lesson he just went off and bore his testimony

on the commandments and the Spirit was there making everyone feel

peace. 

We have a lot of potential friends that so close to being baptized. My companion and I decided that we are just going to invite them to be baptized and see

what happens. Because they all have a testimony. I think that just

need a commitment to get them to that next step. So please feel free

to pray for them especially E.

The ward is here in Montpelier. There are just over 100 people that come

every week so it's pretty good sized. There aren't a lot of less

actives so that is really cool.The members are all really nice and

want to do missionary work. So you just need to bring Amis and they

will take it from there.

I would just like to share my testimony that I know the gospel is the

truth. I call it the truth because this isn't just religion it's how

things are. We have a loving Father in Heaven that loves and wants to

bless us. He sent us here to grow and gain experience and to get

better. He knew we would fall short of getting back to Heaven, so he

gave us a Savior. It is so simple. I invite everyone that is not a

member that is reading this to learn as much about the Gospel of Jesus

Christ as you can because I promise it will bless your life and give

more peace then you have felt before. I invite you to call the

missionaries. They aren't perfect teachers (believe me) but they will

try the best to help you. As missionaries we are not here to

persuade but here to invite and help you on your own personal journey

to find meaning and happiness.