"And now ... I would ask if all is done?"

Dear family and friends,

There is so much in my heart right now. It is hard to put it all in words. It has been such a great week.

On Wednesday I went to the temple with President and Sister Van Cott and the other departing missionaries. I love the temple!

This week we made another new friend. I'll call him Brad. After facing a difficult change in his life, Brad found himself chatting online with missionaries. They referred him to us, and we began teaching him. We LOVE Brad. As we began teaching him he said:

I know that it's not a coincidence that I'm here with you guys. I need this right now. I even had a dream of this moment, with a park table, and 2 guys like you, and a tree in the back, just like I see it right now.

We had a lesson with another man I'll call David, who is not a member of the church. David loves music and is great at singing, so we decided to sing "I'm Trying to Be like Jesus" with him at the beginning of the lesson. Just as we finished, we heard a surprise from the kitchen:

Another! ... 'I Am a Child of God'.

We could not hold back the smiles. It was David's wife, who has never joined us for a lesson and is also not a member of the church. We learned she had been to an Inside-ut concert some time ago and had always wanted to know how the real version sounded. We fulfilled her request; the Spirit filled the room. 

On Saturday I went to the baptism of one of my favorite people in Indio. When I asked him what his college plans are he said: I'm going on my mission first.

It was such a great, great thing to hear.

Thank you to those who have supported and encouraged me throughout my mission with emails, letters, and gifts. I have felt love from heaven through you.

Tomorrow I fly home. I am so grateful for my mission. Heavenly Father has been so good to me. I am so grateful for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Our Father in Heaven loves us. Jesus is the Savior of the world. Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. The Book of Mormon is true. I know these things are true!

Love,

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

"if the salt shall lose its savor wherewith shall the earth be salted?"

My family,

These are some of the happiest days of my life. 

I forgot to write about this last week, but last Saturday Lea was baptized back in Rialto. In our mission, we have permission to go to baptismal services of people we were privileged to teach. We just have to find a member ride and arrange for another member to stay and work with our companion. But, Rialto is about 1.5 hours away, which meant it was going to be about 5-6 hour trip, total. I really wanted to be there, but after praying about it all, I felt I should continue working in Indio. Hopefully soon I will be able to write a letter to Lea and Jordan congratulating them.

I don't know if I have already mentioned this, but we did service a while ago for an older lady, Pat, who hasn't been to church in years and didn't want any contact from the church. Her daughter, Barbara, who is very active in the gospel and the church, just moved in and had asked help moving things. We believe the experience softened her heart. 

Pat and Barbara had us for dinner this week and we brought another brother from the ward, who was great company for them. Barbara talks about her mission in Canada when Elder Ballard was her mission president. She is amazing. She listens to Preach My Gospel on audio every day (which I didn't even know existed). She is awesome. 

On Friday there was a ward dessert social. We were asked to be the judges of the desserts. They had a get-to-know-the-members jeopardy game. It was a fun time.

This morning we went to seminary. One of the teachers asked for our help in teaching about the Holy Ghost and missionary work. The youth of the church are awesome. It made me think about Andrew, because I was in the Junior's class. 

Cool story: we were out trying to meet a less active family. They had moved, but the current resident referred us to a family she thought was Mormon. We pulled up to the house and before we even got out of the truck this man came up to Elder Fife's window, slapped his hands on the door, and said: 

Which cult are you from?

He told him that we were missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The man, Dave, said that he knew our church well. Dave went on to share claims and research and attacks about how our beliefs were false. We shared our testimony of how the boy Joseph Smith had seen Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and how we knew that the Book of Mormon and all these things are true by the power of the Holy Ghost. 

Dave brought up more claims against our faith and asked to see our bible. While he searched for a scripture that he knew would prove us wrong, we talked with him, and listened. We learned that Dave had a sincere desire to believe in the Savior. He eventually stopped bringing up claims, we shook hands and went on our way. and the Spirit was there. I felt love for Dave. And although I felt nervous at first when he approached us, I prayed for help, and I felt help come.

God is our Father! Jesus is the Savior! This work is true! 

Elder Judd

picture: driving with Elder Fife

"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

"they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ"

Hey Family,

Every Wednesday night we have a ward missionary work night, and this week I went to see Uilisone. Uilisone is one of my favorite people. In the past, he would occasionally answer, only to speak to us through the screen door. but his heart has softened, and we were able to come inside and share a message. We talked about prayer. we asked him if he believed God listened to his prayers.

I was surprised by how sincerely he responded. He spoke about how he's prayed for his family to be provided for, and how he's relied on prayer when his family has struggled--like when he has had children pass away, or when he cannot find work. He does believe God is mindful of him.

Lea and Jordan are doing awesome. They live in Redlands, so we usually help them to find a ride for church. But right before church on Sunday,  Lea called us and told us that they were going to bike to a Redlands ward. As soon as we finished talking with her, we contacted the Assistants to the President to contact the missionaries in that ward so those missionaries would be looking for Lea and Jordan. We also prayed that they would have a good experience and that the members in Redlands would warmly welcome them and notice them. 

After church, we got a surprise call from the missionaries in Redlands. Lea and Jordan had an awesome experience. Many members noticed Lea and Jordan and smiled and greeted them. one family even invited them for dinner that day. They also had a great discussion in Sunday school.

They will probably begin meeting with the Redlands missionaries this week. It is awesome because we have been praying for a way to get them in contact with the ward out there. they will benefit so much more from a ward that speaks their language. Last week after church, Lea told us she needed Rosetta Stone. They are funny.

During Sacrament meeting yesterday, a family that I love sang a children's hymn. It was a mother and her 3 grown sons and some little cousins. The father of this family passed away years ago. The words of the song are simple and true, and I could feel it clearly as they sang.

For the temple is a holy place
Where we are sealed together.
As a child of God, I've learned this truth:
A family is forever.

I love you, family!

Elder Judd

Me and Elder Thompson, a really funny missionary that was in my zone last transfer.

Pictures from the doctor trip in the Desert.

Did you know the original Cozy Cone is in my area? The Wigwam Motel. 

"then cometh the time that ... he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still"

Talofa family,

On Friday, Elder Urry came to the Samoan wards with me for an exchange. I've always wanted to work with Elder Urry because people have mixed our names up several times and we've been told we look alike. He is a really solid teacher and a great missionary. It was an awesome day.

We taught Lea that night. I don't think I've written about Lea. But she is so solid. a family that I love invited her to meet with us. She had her son, Jordan, commit to be baptized in our first lesson with them. They are preparing to be baptized in September. But we taught them about Faith and Repentance. Lea understands doctrine so well. She always asks thoughtful questions and she has so much to desire to live right. 

On Thursday we had Zone conference and it was awesome as always. President Van Cott had invited us to invite recent converts to the conference to share their testimonies and conversion stories.

We invited James, who was baptized last September. We weren't sure if we should invite him at first, because he isn't that fond of speaking to large groups of people. But something told us we should invite him. He accepted the invitation. Then at the conference as he spoke, I felt an assurance that Heavenly Father wanted James there. 

Then on Sunday, James bore his testimony in sacrament meeting! He spoke about how he has felt the Spirit guide him recently. He said that when we first invited him to the conference, he wanted to tell us that he was busy or something and couldn't make it to the conference, but a little feeling pulled him to accept the invitation. He told the congregation that we do not need to fear, but rather trust the Lord. 

These words from President Monson pressed on my mind: 

Doubt yielded to faith. 

When we have the faith to do what is right, and to do good, and to do what God wants, He helps us.

On Saturday Siniva and her sister, Paris, were baptized. Her dad and several other brothers from the ward sang a Samoan hymn at the baptism, and the Spirit was strong.

Also, our pianist wasn't able to make it to the service. So I played. And I prayed. hard. Because I am really rusty. But it went well. Heavenly Father helped a lot.

I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that Jesus Christ is alive today and leading the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. God is our Father and knows us by name. He loves us. 

I love you all! :)

Elder Judd

"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

"Marvel not that all mankind ... must be born again; yea, born of God, changed"

Hey Family!

There were so many miracles this week.

We saw Rodney again. Rodney is awesome! He earnestly searches and digs in the scriptures everyday. He tells us how he gets lost in scriptures. Right now he is searching to understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

This week we started teaching Rodney about God's commandments. He has so much faith. He talked about how he knows if God gives a commandment, and we choose to obey, we will be blessed. He talked about how in the Book of Mormon, Nephi would teach his brothers God's commandments plainly. Then his brothers would get angry and say that Nephi spoke "hard things" against him. Rodney loves the "plainness" of God. 

Then we taught about the Word of Wisdom, in which God commands not to drink coffee. Rodney had just bought a tub of Folgers. He laughed and shrugged and said that he would do it. He said:

There's God's will, and there's man's will. And I know if I make excuses and say that "this is okay" then I won't be in line with the truth.

Also, remember when Elder Holcomb and I went to a bible study a few months ago? Well, we finally got to see that family again--Peleti and Julian. They are brothers-in-law. We saw them twice this week. 

On the first visit, we taught about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They asked good questions. I remember praying for strength to know what I could say to strengthen their faith in the Savior. We testified of the Savior and of the Book of Mormon. They said they would read a chapter we gave them and pray about it. 

Our second visit was amazing. They immediately confessed that they had not read the chapter we had given. The visit became an opportunity to understand their faith more. They shared how religion and faith had played a role in their lives. I wish I could put to words everything that was felt and said, but it is enough to say that there was so much love and kindness in the room. We shared Mosiah 3:19 and spoke of the change that can happen through the Savior.

I know that we have a Creator who loves us! He is our Father! He wants us to succeed!

Love,

Elder Judd