Sixty-one

This week was LEGENDARY!

There are so many things that happened I will have to go day from day.

Monday-Wednesday were solid days. We are working more with members

because we have found that is the best way to do missionary work.

Thursday it was an almost nine hour trip to go to Brive for the

baptismal interview of Soeur Cojan. We went to Angouleme to Libourne

by train! Libourne to Perigeux by train. Perigeux to Brive by Bus and

then back again except we took a train between Brive and Perigeux the

second time through. The baptismal interview went great! Soeur Cojan

was really prepared, as well her husband is a acupuncturist so I had

a good time talking to him about acupuncture. He told me there are 5

different reals/ways to do acupuncture and each having to do with

fire, earth etc, he told me he practiced the 6 type. I forgot the name

of it but it was an interesting conversation and an even more awesome

baptismal interview. 

The Brive chapel was dedicated less then 2 weeks ago so the actual

church was brand new and really beautiful.

Friday was planning for the week and for the baptism.

Saturday was the big day. The baptism was at 15h and it was the most

spiritually strong baptism I have ever been to. Her children came and

we had some less actives come as well. Frere Humblot gave a talk on

baptism and I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. Nobody that was there

could play the piano so we sang with a clarinet played by President

Savreaux. After we ate 5 different desserts so that made the event

that much sweeter ;) Nathalie was super prepared and she felt the

Spirit very strongly during her baptism. I think everyone that came

did. It was like an actual heavy, comforting feeling every felt. I

know I did. Truly the power of God is manifest through his ordinances.

(As well we bought her flowers so that doesn't hurt at all either :)

Sunday was awesome because at church we had our Amis come that

basically are looking for a church to join. Fridolin was contacted 3 years ago. For the baptism of Nathalie we texted all the contacts in our phone to come (which is like a couple hundred  :) Fridolin was one of these contacts and he had walked 45 minutes to come. He missed the baptism but he became friends with Christ Kevine and he came to church. Christ Kevine brought one of his friends as well. During Amis class we taught these 2 investigators with our two recent converts (Nathalie and Christ Kevine).  It was so powerful they both basically taught the lesson and they both shared strong testimonies. During this whole ordeal I felt so lucky to be surrounded by such awesome people.

That was my week! Elder Sorrensen and I are staying together for this

next transfer so I will be here in Angouleme for 6 months! It's super

awesome and some really good things are happening here and it's a

blessing to be a witness of it!

Have a great week!

Elder Duffy

Sixty

I tried on french suits, but did not buy one.

Another week has passed by? Crazy!

So I have noticed that my emails have started becoming too much of a

thought journal, so this week I will recount what I did :)

So in the last couple weeks I have been blessed to give 6 baptismal

interviews and each interview has been quite unique. Everyone has had

a different story, but at the same time they were all quite similar.

Each person had differing strengths of testimonies, 

but they all had the underlying base of hope, faith, and charity. 

All 6 of them have been been baptized and we have another baptismal 

interview this Thursday in Brive.

Nathalie is getting baptized this Saturday and the Zone

Leaders are coming up this Wednesday to give her the baptismal

interview.

This week another highlight was we had a lesson with Florent at the

church and after he invited us to a HUGE ping pong club just a 5

minute walk from the church and I played one of the best ping pong

players in France! He smoked me good! 

Honestly he wasn't even trying but it was really fun to play against him.

As well we had Zone Conference last Tuesday in Bordeux with the

Bordeaux and Toulouse Zones. It was really enriching and a good time

to see President And Soeur Brown.

That was my week :) I would invite everyone to read Moroni 7: 40-48. I

felt the Spirit a lot when I read it today.

40 And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning

hope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have

hope?

41 And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that

ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of

his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of

your faith in him according to the promise.

42 Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without

faith there cannot be any hope.

43 And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and

hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart.

44 If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before

God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly

in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is

the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he

is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.

45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is

not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh

no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth,

beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth

all things.

46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are

nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity,

which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail--

47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever;

and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well

with him.

48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the

energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath

bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ;

that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall

be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this

hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

Have a great week!

Elder Duffy

Fifty-nine

THE MISSION IS THE BEST THING FOR ANY 18-25 year old TO BE DOING WITH THEIR LIFE!

Hello loved ones, family, acquaintances, mission blog readers, and

everyone alike:

I hope you passed a legendary last week.

Angouleme is ever beautiful and fall is almost fully ripe. The

mornings are quite crisp and the afternoons are sweater weather. It is

quite an enjoyable part of the year. It is interesting how the earth

has a life/mood cycle, just like us. We both have our sparkling

springs, summer highs, autumn reflections, and winter depressions. We

both have scars created from ourselves and from others. We both take

up place in the universe, we are both living organisms. If Mother Earth

could talk I wonder if she would ask herself, “what is my part in the

universe?” 

How much we share in common.

May we all turn to the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus Christ is

the light that shines constantly on us. His words and life should be

the center of our attention so that we can look unto Him and live. He

will gives us warmth, hope, and give us life, just like the sun

permits life to flourish on this earth. I find it interesting that the

places on this earth that receive the most warmth and light have more

abundance then their northern and southern neighbors.

Sorry for going off like that :) I have just been thinking of the

comparisons between us and the earth recently.

Nathalie is getting baptized in 12 days! It's super cool and literally

we have been seeing a ton of miracles here in Angouleme! France is so

awesome!

Love ya all and have a great week!

Elder Duffy

Fifty-eight

Hello everyone,

Since this week we were all  blessed to be given the chance to

hear/watch general conference, I would like to focus my thoughts on

this wonderful event.

Here is a list of things that I have learned from this conference:

1. As in most everything else, conference is what you put into it.

2. Revelation is giving to us according to Heavenly Fathers timetable, not ours.

3. We must be willing and ready to act on the revelation we do receive.

4. If The Book of Mormon is the book that can bring a man closer to

God than any other book, shouldn't it be the Book we read the most to

get closer to the source of truth?

While watching the Saturday afternoon session of conference we were

with two members, one being a recent convert, and as well, one

investigator. The investigator, Florent, paused during the conference talk and he simply said, “this man is sincere”. It was interesting how he felt the message in his heart.

Why do we have general conference?

Here are some thoughts:

1. It gives the general officers of the church a chance to talk on subjects they receive revelation on.

2. When we are gathered we are stronger.

3. Repetition brings gradual perfection.

I don't have have adequate time to deepen my thoughts in this email, but I would challenge you to think of the following questions: 

1. How will this conference change my character and actions?
2. Do I have a strong testimony of the messages shared?                                                                                   I invite you to do this now because I have done it myself.

Love,

Elder Duffy

Fifty-seven

Fall has arrived here in the southwest of France! The days are warm, but you can feel a change in the air.

This week we have had a lot going on.  We have had ups and downs.  The mission is a challenging, humbling adventure.  I have been thinking about how a lot of characters in stories involve adventures where the character finds themselves.  A lot of time I believe you must leave where, who, and what you know in order to figure out life.

This week we had two people commit to baptism.  Their names are Nathalie and Seda.  They have a lot of faith.  It has been a fantastic experience for Elder Sorensen and I to meet, teach, and learn from them. 

We also met a lady named Joanna. She is from Tahiti and was born in a LDS member family. She has lived in France for the last two years, and yesterday was the first time she has attended church in France. She enjoyed the hymns and lessons and we will begin to meet with her.

For me, missionary work is pressing steadily and confidently forward. This is the Lord’s work for the salvation of mankind. Through our agency we can

choose to become like Him. My goal this week is to pray earnestly and humbly so I can become closer to my Heavenly Father.

Love ya all and have a fantastic week!

Elder Duffy

Fifty-six

Picture thanks to Roberta Battezzato, Elder Battezzato's mom.

Hello everyone! I have just noticed (because of a gentle reminder from my Dad ;) that my weekly letters are in fact getting shorter and shorter. Sorry for that :) 

So first off I would like to resend that poem that I send out last week because I messed up a little bit. 

Fleeing Greens

Fleeing greens flow ever yonder

Before I even have a glimpse

To truly come to appreciate and ponder

What to me they truly mean

So this peaceable dream continues

Without a hint of slowing down

I have come to trust the Lord

By the flow of fleeing greens

Voila :) 

So there is so much that I have had to catch up on, simple said Elder Curtis whitewashed Marseille and my new collegue is Elder Sorensen. He is from Draper Utah, he is a really hard worker and obedient and is super cool! 

He can do back flips and he is really good at skiing, and unicycled down a mountain at Snowbird, so he is pretty legendary. 

So at the start of the week a couple other missionaires and I transversed like all of France and got to Lyon. We had a lot of meetings. It was really fun to catch up with all the other missionaires that are like my same age. Elder Sorrensen and I headed back to Angouleme and it was awesome! For each of the train rides that we were on, (each consisting for a couple hours) we had conversations with the people across the USA for the whole time! It was really awesome and we meet with some really cool people. On Saturday we finally moved all the way into our apartment.  It is really nice to be done and the new apartment in Angouleme is so sweet! 

I would like to share another experience that we had. This last Sunday we were passing a less active, who ended up not being home. We saw 2 young guys, smoking, and doing other things, the type of people you wouldn't just go up to and talk to. But we had a really strong feeling that we should and we had no idea why. So we approached them and started talking to them to see if they knew the person we were looking for.  They said no but they said there was a guy that they know who is really believing who would be interested to talk with us. They pointed to this apartment building that we were right next to and say to press the number 1 so we did and this guy on the intercom answered real quick to us a let us in and it is a super cool guy from Congo who is about 30 years old, married, and has 2 kids. He is Buddhist but believes in Christ so he is Christian as well. He was super interested and we taught him the restoration and on the temple on the spot and he said he is going to church next week and inviting one of his friends! It was such a miracle and this experience really showed us the importance of following impressions of the Holy Ghost even when at first it looks like it will lead to nothing. It was an awesome experience. 

Besides that the work is progressing here in Angouleme, it is such a blessing to be a missionary. 

This is the Lord's work and it is such a blessing to know that. 

I love you all and everything is awesome here. Thank you for the emails and I love you all so much!

Elder Duffy

Envoyé de mon iPad

Fifty-five

Hello Everyone,.

Right now I am in Bordeaux.

So we got our calls on Friday and I will be staying here in Angouleme! I will be training a new bleu and becoming district leader! Elder Curtis will be going to Marseille and he will be white washing into Marseille! He is really excited and this next transfer is going to be really fun! The next 3 days I will be in Lyon getting training on how to be a trainer and then we will return back to Angouleme Thursday night or Friday morning. Then on Friday we will be moving everything into our new Apartment. We stayed in Angouleme for the whole week and we got to work :) 

I would like to share a poem I wrote 2 weeks ago on a train from Perigeux to Angouleme

Fleeing Greens

Flowing greens flow ever yonder

Before I even have a glimpse

To truly come to appreciate and ponder

What to me they truly mean

So this peaceable dream continues

Without a hint of slowing down

I have come to trust the Lord

By the flow of fleeing greens

I love you all and have a great week :)

Elder Duffy