January 2, 2017 New year, new area, new companion, new everything!!!!

¡Hola mi familia y mis amigos! Espero que hayan tenido un buen tiempo festinando el Año Nuevo! It's crazy that it is already 2017. Time just seems to fly by. I am so grateful for all the wonderful experiences that I had in 2016, and I am excited to see what happens in this New Year! It's crazy to think that I will be coming home at the end of this year and kind of makes me a little sad at the same time ha-ha. I really love being a missionary and I feel like the time is just going by so fast! I got transferred to East St Paul this last week. It was kind of hard saying goodbye to some of the people that I met in North Minneapolis. It's crazy how close and how much I grew to love the people there, even though I was only there for 6 weeks. 

Jessica!! I am going to miss this crazy girl so much. 

It was like saying goodbye to my little sister.
I hope the best for her and I know she will eventually get baptized.
She's so awesome and such a great example to me! 

la Familia Hernandez! We ate with them every week. Hermana always made the best food.
They both have super strong testimonies of the gospel and I learned so much from them!

So this was taken a couple of weeks ago, but I tried Camel!!
Yeah, I actually ate a camel burger. It was interesting.

Hermana Vicenta!! I am going to miss her so much. 

She was holding up her physical therapy exercises that she has to do every day, 

because she wanted to make sure my family knew that she works out. So precious ha-ha 

Elizabeth Ayala!! Love her and her crazy awesome kids. 

Jose and Ellie!! 

This was such a good lesson with them and it was so sad saying goodbye.

They are continuing to progress towards baptism. 

I hope one day I can attend it! 

But, I am so grateful to be here in St Paul! My new companion is Hermana Warmbier. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Toasting at 10:15 because we are missionaries and can't stay up late ha-ha.

She is originally from Germany. Her dad is German and her mom is Mexican! So she's fluent in German, Spanish, and English! She's so awesome and I love her so much already. We have a lot of fun together. I think I may have mentioned this last week, but I was called to be an STL in this North Saint Paul Zone. As an STL, basically I just get to serve the sisters in my zone and visit their areas. I love it! 


This zone is super cool. It's all language missionaries: Spanish, Hmong, and Korean. I love this area and we have already had some really cool lessons and experiences.
On Sunday we had a really cool miracle! We were driving to church and we got a call from an investigator, Jesus Hernandez. He called to tell us that he was on his way to church and wanted to make sure we would be waiting for him at the door. We tried getting a hold of him the day before to invite him but he didn't answer us. But, he still ended up coming! It was his first time coming to church, and he loved it. He just moved to a different apartment which apparently has made it a little difficult for missionaries to visit him, however he is finally all moved in to his new apartment and we are hopefully going to meet with him this week!! He has such a desire to learn and he is so humble. I am excited to see how he progresses. We also visit a lot of Less-Active members in this area, and I got to meet a few of them this week. Our ward is super awesome! It's smaller than the ward that I was in back in North Minneapolis, but the members are pretty strong and just the nicest people ever. I love this ward so much already! There's this super cute girl named Ketzali. She is actually pretty active, but we still visit her to help her out every once and a while. This week we read in Alma 36 and talked about repentance and taking the sacrament. Ketzali is a junior in high school, yet she had so many insightful comments. She has such a strong testimony in the Savior, and has a desire to continue learning and growing. She's such a good example to me, because it just helps me remember the importance of continuing to strengthen you faith in Jesus Christ. We need to continually strengthen and nourish our testimonies just like we need to water seeds so they can grow and become strong!! Sorry for the cheesy metaphor, but it's true. :) On Friday night we had a prompting to stop by a member, Hermano Barrascout. We didn't have him in our schedule and didn't have too much time until our next appointment. But we went anyways. This visit was so inspired!! He has been having some health problems and hasn't been able to come to church in a while due to it, and he was just not having a good day. We shared a little message about Jesus Christ and after he just started crying and thanking us for stopping by. He told us that he really needed the visit. Also, on Sunday he was able to make it to church too!!! I had to bear my testimony and introduce myself to the ward on Sunday, and when I was up there I just saw Hermano Barrascout smiling so big. It's so cool to see the difference that the gospel of Jesus Christ can have in people's lives. Jesus Christ can mend anything if we just turn to him, and we can always find joy when we do so!! This week I've been reflecting a lot on the Joy that the gospel of Jesus Christ has brought into my life. I was reading in a talk titled "Have we not a reason to Rejoice?" By Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf this morning and I found something that I really loved. He said,
"Wherever you live on this earth and whatever your life’s situation may be, I testify to you that the gospel of Jesus Christ has the divine power to lift you to great heights from what appears at times to be an unbearable burden or weakness. The Lord knows your circumstances and your challenges. He said to Paul and to all of us, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” And like Paul we can answer: “My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9)." I love this quote so much!! Jesus Christ can help us with anything. No matter what we've done, where we are, he can help us up and bring the light into our lives that we may be missing. I know that He is always there at our side, and all we need to do is turn to Him. Due to the fact that this is a new year (wooo!) I want to invite you all to think of ways that you can become closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that as you do this and make goals to strengthen you relationship with Jesus Christ you will be able to find more peace and joy and happiness in your life!! I love you all so much!! But more importantly, Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ, love you all so much more!!! Have an amazing week!!
Hermana Duvall Minnesota Minneapolis Mission

La Norcutt Familia. They are from Peru! They are all super awesome.
They kept telling me that I look like a "Muñeca""Barbie" ha-ha. So funny. 

Hermana Irma!! She is seriously one of the sweetest people that I have met!!
We visited her last night and she made us some chamomile tea when we got to her house
 because it was so cold outside. 

Video: The last day that Hermana Chavez and I had together. I miss her lots already! Super cheap ice skating, am I right?