"do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy"

Dear family,

Many miracles this week. I love serving with Elder Gunter. He has such great optimism and faith and testimony.

On Thursday a member brought us to Five Guys for dinner. Just as we left and were heading to the parking lot, a young man came out after us and stopped us. His family had been eating at a nearby table. He asked:

Are you Mormons?

Yes. 

Who do Mormons believe Jesus Christ to be?

Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world.

Is Jesus God?

He is God the Son.

Is Jesus the same being as the Father?

God the Father and Jesus Christ are 2 separate beings.

Then, without hesitation, Elder Gunter told them (the boy and his family) Joseph Smith's experience of seeing Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

I felt the power of the Holy Ghost as he spoke and as I added my testimony. The boy asked other questions too. The thoughtfulness of his questions impressed me. He and his family wanted to learn more. It was an unexpected miracle.

Other great things happened too, but that's all I have time for. 

I love you all!

Elder Judd

"no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father"

Dear family,

This week was great. 

We started teaching a young guy that I'll call Sam. He is awesome. He was taught by the sister missionaries who were here before us, but we lost contact with him as we came into the area. But we met him last Monday. He does tattoos for his friends. He's a real cool guy.

And Sam actually just came into the library a moment ago and he's using the computer next to us. Funny!

On Tuesday we helped a woman clean her back yard.  We brought a young couple with us that just moved into the ward. It was fun to talk with her while we picked up items that she wanted to take to the dump. 

On Saturday we exchanged and I worked with Elder Tingey, my old companion and now my zone leader.  It was really fun to work with him again. 

We taught Jim, who we've been teaching for a few weeks. He is awesome. We met him one Sunday when he walked in before sacrament meeting asking some members:

How do I go about getting baptized?

The members direct him to us. Jim is originally from the east coast.  His mom was a convert to the church many years ago, so he grew up with some knowledge of the gospel. But his mother passed away a few years ago and her dying wish was that Jim and his siblings would join the church. He has been embracing the gospel. we love Jim!

We had interviews with President Van Cott on Thursday. I left feeling inspired and filled with goodness and joy, as usual. I love President Van Cott, and I love my mission. I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ. These are really happy days. 

Alofa atu,

Elder Judd

29 Palms church building

Joshua Trees

Picture in the church. We love the Marines!

Me, Elder Duffin, Elder Seright, and Elder Howard

"he himself also knelt upon the earth; and behold he prayed unto the Father"

Hey Family,

This has been a great week. On the days leading up to Christmas we went to many families and presented a "Live Christmas Card" in which we caroled and read the nativity story from Luke 2 and sang some more. It was great fun. And some friends later told us that the father of one family we went to "cried like a baby" after we left. 

On Tuesday we went to Redlands to serve in the temple. The last time I went to the temple was in February, so I was really happy for the opportunity. And while I was there, there were some missionaries from the Riverside mission just getting to the temple. One of them was Elder Haslem, whom I knew in the MTC. It was really cool to see him, after being split to different missions.

On Christmas eve we taught a man who struggles with schizophrenia and bipolarity and hyperactivity and other mental and physical challenges. Last week we gave him a priesthood blessing to strengthen him. When we saw him this week, he said:

I used to hear voices telling me to 'do this' or 'do that'. It's strange, but I haven't heard any voices since you guys gave me that blessing.

The priesthood power and authority is true! It's been restored!

On Christmas we had brunch with a great family in the ward. They fed us waffles and fancy scrambled eggs and bacon. Before we left we shared the Nativity Bible video. 

On Saturday we went to Highland for a mission conference. It was refreshing. I love reverently gathering as missionaries for a conference because I always come away edified and inspired with direction specific for my needs. And it was nice to see missionaries I love that I haven't seen in a long time.

I love you all! The gospel is true! It's going to be a GREAT year!

Elder Judd

"could we have supposed when we started ... that God would have granted unto us such great blessings?"

Malo le soifua!

It is transfer week. And I am leaving Samoa. And I am going to the desert.

I can't express everything that is on my mind and in my heart. These people have a home in my heart. I am so grateful for Heavenly Father and the experiences He has given me.

I will be going to the Shadow Hills ward, and I think it is in Indio. But I don't know for sure, and I don't know how to spell my new companion's name because I learned it over the phone. Elder Faif. I hope this is the way it's spelled because "Faife'au tala'i" means "missionary". Elder Holcomb is leaving too, and both Samoan wards will now be covered by a pair of Sisters. 

Anyway, this week was great. Many, many miracles.

We started teaching Emo and Su. They just moved in from Alaska and they are living with Emo's aunt and uncle, who are members. We actually met Emo on her 21st birthday, so we brought her cookies the next day. Su is Emo's boyfriend. They are awesome and came to church on Sunday.

Also, a long time ago we met a guy named Joe (We've taught a lot of Joe's). This is Joe P. He has daughters that live in McKinney. Joe said we could come back, and we did, and tried many times, but could never catch him. We ended up meeting his wife, his neice, and his son over time, but they all said to come back later. But we finally caught Joe again this week. He is an older man. He invited us in and we mostly tried to get to know Joe. We learned that his wife passed away 3 months ago. He misses her very much. He loves his family and the Lord. We invited him to read a chapter from the Book of Mormon and set a return appointment. Really, it was a small experience. But I am so excited for Joe because I know the Book of Mormon can change his life. 

We also met with Lea and Jordan again. Lea insists that she be baptized in our ward, and then she will attend the English ward in Redlands. She is awesome. She quit drinking coffee before we even taught that God has commanded us not to drink coffee.

We also brought a young man named Keli out with us to teach Lea and Jordan and he spoke sincerely about how keeping the Sabbath Day Holy has blessed his family. He said this and I could feel it was true: 

God will bless the other six days when we keep His day holy.

On Saturday there was the monthly Samoa temple day, where the Temple service is offered in Samoan. Like always, we met up with the ward at the Temple after they had finished serving in the temple and they went out with us to visit people. I love these people.

I am really excited to serve in the Shadow Hills ward. I am excited for the future. I love my Father in Heaven and my Savior Jesus Christ!

Faith is always pointed toward the future!

Alofa atu,

Elder Judd

pictures: 

a bunch of people that I love. more description later.

Matapula family

Sai and Amy and their boys

"And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit."

Hey family!

Today we drove out to a doctor appointment for Elder Holcomb in the desert. It was a long drive, but interesting because I've never been out past Yucaipa, which is the gateway to the desert. And we drove through Palm Springs, which is the place with hundreds of windmills. I forgot my camera, but I'll send pictures next week.

On Monday we taught Sai. He has been doing really well. He has started reading the Book of Mormon again, and has come to church a couple times too. He is visibly much happier compared to a few months ago. He is huge into music and he told us about a song that he used to know long ago called "Happy Inside". He's been thinking a lot about how happy he is. He wants to do things that will make him and his family happy inside, which are the things that Heavenly Father has asked.

On Tuesday we had district meeting. It was Elder Maynes last district meeting on his mission. He was an awesome missionary.

Also on Tuesday we felt to stop by a family in our ward. the dad is a king of an island back in Samoa and not a member of the church. We talked with him about his king name because we knew someone else with that name. And after a few minutes he invited us in! The family fed us briefly, and we were able to share a scripture from the Book of Mormon. It was awesome, especially because we have never been able to meet with this family before.

Heavenly Father answers prayers. Saturday night we taught Charles. He is atheist, but has been reading passages from the Book of Mormon that we give him. However, he has said he will not pray--he doesn't believe in prayer anymore.
All day leading up to his appointment, we prayed that God would soften his heart enough that he would be willing to pray. Then we met with him. We focused on him. We learned his mom had died of cancer 2 years ago, and it was the worst experience he's ever had. We listened, then testified of the resurrection. At the end of the lesson, we again invited him to pray. He said he would give prayer another try--that night! I was happy inside. I couldn't stop smiling all night.

Many miracles this week. The gospel is true! I know that Jesus is the Son of God! 

Love,

Elder Judd