Sweet friends of the earth,
This week was awesome. we had the best district meeting ever on Tuesday! Elder Browning gave an amazing training on obedience, and the spirit was so strong. every missionary walked out with a determination to stand a little taller.
On a different note, as missionaries, we keep records about lots of things, like lessons we teach, people we talk to, contact information, etc. each area in which missionaries work has an "Area Book" where the records are kept. It's kind of like a book of life for the geographical area. however, the records basically only give information about the people in the area that aren't members of the church. A little while ago, Elder Browning had the awesome idea of making a "member area book," where we could keep records and information about our visits with members. Brilliant! We felt so great about the idea. So, after much work, we've finally brought it to life, up and running. I love it! it really helps in this ward because it can be tough to find Samoan people to teach, so we try to focus on teaching and strengthening members. and keeping record of what we teach them and invite them to do is pretty important. I'm so excited to see how our member area book blesses missionaries who serve in this ward later on down the road. and yeah, it may seem like a small thing to be excited about, but I know "that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." :)
We also had a lesson with Moli at the Matapula's home on friday. And remember how I said she decided to read the Book of Mormon with an open heart? Well, boom. you guessed it. She's loving it. We talked with her and Sabrinna for a bit about reading the scriptures and how powerful the word of god can be. Moli loves what she's reading, and you can just see a brighter, more sincere thirst for truth in her eyes. We read Mosiah 5 with them. Mm. The spirit was there. Hearts are changing.
I know God does not lie when He tells us that our joy will be so great when we work with Him to bring souls unto Him. The joy of His work is so sweet! Sweeter and more pure than any other joy available. I LOVE being a missionary. I love preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The power of his atonement is real. The plan of happiness is perfect and true. The greatest being in the universe is our Father and loves us unconditionally. What more could we ask for? :)
Love,
Elder Judd
We leave these shirts and ties as thank you notes at our dinner appointments. cool, huh?
