Really great week. I really love 29 Palms and the people here. I love my mission.
Transfers are this week, and I'm staying. Which I am really happy about, even though I didn't really expect to leave. There are just a lot of great things happening here.
We have a mission conference coming up at the end of December. It will be focused on the Savior (really, everything is) and becoming like him. And to prepare, President Van Cott invited us to study how Jesus prays to the Father and how He teaches. So I've been doing that and been trying to pray more earnestly and mightily.
On Saturday, the ward had a Christmas party/dinner. Lots of people showed up and we ate at a table with a family we really love. They had brought their neighbor's kids because they were watching them all weekend while the kids' parents were out of town. The kids had never heard the original Christmas story, so we shared it with them as we ate. It was fun.
On Thursday night we saw a young man standing on the side of the street in the dark. We had a strong feeling to talk with him. So we did. His name was Colby and he was from out of state, traveling the country for a contest. We talked with him and ended up talking about God and prayer and the Book of Mormon. Well just as we were about to give him a copy of the Book of Mormon, his friend, Nick comes up. Colby had been waiting for Nick. We talked with Nick too and he soon saw the Book of Mormon and seemed like he wanted to say something and then just said:
Hey, by chance, do you have another one of those?
We walked and talked on the way to the truck to get another and Nick said that a missionary had given him a copy once and he started reading it and really liked it, but then lost it. And he was excited that we had one. More happened, and we gave them a chapter to read and invited them to learn more. Because they are both from out of state, we will probably never see them again. But I can't put the whole experience into words. I just felt so good afterwards and during the whole thing. I felt so much love for Heavenly Father and I felt that the things I know and believe--the Savior, the book of Mormon, temples, everything--are so important. I felt like Lehi, when he said: how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth. It's true! I know it is. And I felt that there are people out there who have no idea about the things I have been raised up with. I felt just a sweet peace and joy that is hard to describe.
I know I won't always be a set-apart, full-time missionary. But I hope that I can continue to have faith to open my mouth to share the good news throughout my life.
#ShareTheGift
I love you family!
Elder Judd
