"be the children of your Father who is in heaven"

Family!

Marty moved to another ward in the Stake this week, which was sad to us because we love him. But he is doing great so it's all okay. He is a solid missionary. He reads the Book of Mormon whenever he has down time throughout the day and shares scriptures with coworkers and prays for opportunities to share these things. He invited his boss to "Meet the Mormons" too. He has no fear!

On Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon I went on an exchange with Elder Weaver in his area. He's a great missionary and my district leader. There were so many miracles throughout the exchange. One cool moment was this: 

We went to see a less active family (meaning they don't always come to church). As we walked toward the home a voice from the semi-open garage called out to us. We walked closer and heard:

Youngster!

It was Collin! Sitting on the top step of a ladder with sawdust all over and a sander in one hand. The whole picture made me smile. He was doing work for the family. Just a funny moment cool to see Collin even though I wasn't serving in my ward.

We drove to Banning for a conference on Thursday with Elder David F. Evans, a special witness of Jesus Christ. He is the head of the missionary department of the church. He told us that our mission will be receiving iPads as proselyting tools in January or February. It is amazing to see the great things that are happening in the world. And one thing that impressed me from the conference was the principle of faithfulness. King Lamoni was astonished because Ammon did what he said he would do. I want the Lord to be able to trust me to do all the things I have said I will to do.

The Lord is keeping His promises! We prayed this week that we would be led to those who are prepared or that the Lord would lead them to us, and that we would be where we needed to be.

Well, yesterday afternoon we were in a Wendy's parking lot eating an early dinner that a member had given us to-go. We were planning on meeting a member there to give us a ride to a baptism at the Stake center. Just as we finished eating, a young man our age came up to us and asked:

Excuse me. Are you guys Mormons? ... One of my best friends are Mormon and I have a lot of questions. Would you come and talk with me?

Really surprised, we grabbed some copies of the Book of Mormon and followed him to his table in Wendy's. His name's CJ, he has a lot of great questions, and we'll be meeting with him again later this week. Miracle!

I know that Jesus lives. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet. I know the Book of Mormon is true.

I love you!

Elder Judd

"for they are not lost unto the Father, for he knoweth whither he hath taken them"

Hey family!

This week is transfer week and I'm staying! I love Indio!

On Wednesday, we did more service at the food kitchen and it was great again. We cleaned tables, unloaded breads, peeled potatoes, and put away dishes. 

We are really looking for more service opportunities. So, on Friday, we borrowed our Ward Mission Leader's lawn mower, went to the Indian Reservation, and went door-to-door offering lawn service for free. It was warm and fun. 

We also helped a man clear away many many books from his bookshelf. Many were cookbooks of his late wife. We're going back this week to finish the job, but for now we have stacks of cookbooks in our apartment until we can take them to a donation center somewhere.

So we learned this week that a young man in the ward named Andrew 1, has a friend, Andrew 2, who has been coming to seminary with him. Andrew 2 had asked about seminary and asked if he could come.

On Tuesday, we learned that the door we knocked on last week--when we met Enrique--was the home of Andrew 2!

It is a miracle! And I could not stop smiling after we found out. There is a God and He is our Father and He knows every one of His children and He knows exactly what needs to be done to help them--His children--us. He loves us! He wants us to become happy and strong!

I'm so excited for General Conference too. Everyone should come listen to a prophets voice!

We also had the opportunity to see Meet the Mormons as an early showing. It will be in theaters on October 10th. It is great! everyone should see it. It is a great family movie. and funny. Go see it and invite everyone!

Love,

Elder Judd

pictures:

elder allred, me, and elder weaver - the district, minus elder fife

the desert