How is life?!?
I heard that the band got 1st, so that's pretty neat! Keep making all us former band members proud!
This week was good, but pretty tough!
We had exchanges on Tuesday. I went with our DL, Elder Jensen, to the Arlington 2nd Ward. They're on bike, so it was the first time I've ridden bike since my 2nd week in Great Falls! It was the best!.......until it started pouring rain.... We had a 20 minute ride to our dinner appointment, and it was raining so hard! So we rode through the streets of Arlington trying to get to this restaurant, while being drenched! We finally got to the restaurant, and luckily we were sitting outside under the awning cause we were soaked! It was great! After dinner we had a lesson with one of their super awesome investigators named Kristen. She was the bomb! She was previously in the military, has tons of energy, and is short like Emily! 
She was awesome, and we had a super good lesson with her about the Book of Mormon and what she learned from general conference.
Saturday, we got a referral from the Hermanas. They found a deaf guy in front of a grocery store with some of his friend's. They went up to this group of Hispanic people and started chatting with them. Then they pointed out their friends who was sitting by himself on the curb. They said he didn't talk. So the Hermanas freak out and go to talk to him. Hermana Callahan took an ASL class at BYU so she knows some sign. But they go and talk to him and get his name and address. So we go on Saturday night to go contact him. We find out when we be to the street, that the number is wrong... the number we got was only 3 digits, but the numbers on all the houses are 4 digits. So we thought maybe they left out a number when they sent it to us. None of the houses had anything similar to the number they gave us... So we called the Hermanas and talked about it. Then we decided we were just gonna tract it out and try and find him. It was a huge street though! Like a mile long! So we tracted about 1/3 that night. We didn't find him, but we know that he chills outside Wal-Mart with his buddies on the weekdays! We'll find him!
I have another good, "still learning the language" story! Cause those are always the best
So Sunday were sitting in Elder's Quorum. Everything's going good. We're just chatting, waiting for everyone to show up. Then a visitor walks in, an older gentleman from Montana here on vacation with his wife. Right before we get started, our Branch President, the only other hearing person in the room, gets up to walk out. As he walks out, he turns to me and says, "Elder Duke, do you mind interpreting for our visitor?" I'm just like.... "huh....uuuh....uuuuh...sure!"
"It'll be good practice!"
So I'm sitting next to this man from Montana, and I have to say everything everyone is signing! It did not go well..... I was so stressed, and I started sweating really bad! I felt so bad!! But afterwards, the gentleman thanked me, and we chatted for a little before he shook my hand and left.
That's my story for the week! I promise I'm getting better!!
A cool thing I noticed this weekend while re-watching some conference talks. Towards the end of President Nelsen's talk about the name of the church, he said, "My dear brothers and sisters, I promise if we will do our best to restore the correct name of the Lord's church, He who's church this is will pour down His power and blessings upon the heads of the Latter-Day Saints, the likes of which we have never seen!" And then he tapped the pulpit with his fists!
I thought that was pretty awesome!!
Also, this week me and Elder Pauley made a video to send the the rest of the mission about how to help us find deaf people to teach, and we've gotten like 6 or 7 referrals since we posted it yesterday! The work is picking up, and we're pretty stoked about it!
Also, another thought I had this week... I've thought back to some of the harder times in the mission, this week was one of them. I was really discouraged and feeling overwhelmed. Then I saw a quote on Facebook another missionary posted.
"If we're on the right path, it will always be uphill!"
I also thought of a poem that was quoted in a talk I listened to before.
"I walked a mile with Pleasure
She chattered all the way
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say
I walked a mile with Sorrow
Not a word said She
But O the things I learned from her
When Sorrow walked with me"
Love you all!! I hope you have a great week!! Keep praying! Keep loving the Lord!
-Elder Duke
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