"I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear."

Dear family, 

Many great things happened this week, as usual! The Lord led us to more great, new people. There are so many people in the world who need the gospel.

On Thursday we had zone conferences in Palm Springs. We learned a lot about the great blessings we can promise to people when we invite them to act in faith.

Right after the conference we had to stop at a gas station in Desert Hot Springs. While we were there we saw a man sitting near the entrance to the gas station parking lot, and we had a strong impression to go talk to him. I honestly had no idea what we were going to say, but we felt that God would help us. 

He was young, bearded, and shoe-less, with holes in the toes of his socks. we talked with him and learned that he had recently lost all that he had through a crooked business deal which led to depression and addiction. He said that he doesn't really know what to do with his life anymore. 

We testified of God's infinite love and of His plan of happiness.  He had no way to be contacted again, but we left him with a copy of the Book of Mormon and a pamphlet about the Plan of Salvation. He said that he felt this might be what he needs to get himself out of the hole that he's in. 

I felt a great love for him and for God as we left. Missionary work is so fun! there is no greater joy!

We also started teaching a guy I'll call Greg. Elder Duffin and I contacted Greg on one of our very first days in 29 Palms. He said we could come back, and so we have attempted to catch him again for the past several months, whenever we were in the area. We honestly didn't think much would come of Greg, because he didn't show too many signs of interest. WELL, last week we stopped by and invited him to our friend's baptism. Little did we know Greg's niece was baptized a few years ago! And her mom is Greg's sister! And she is best friends with a member family that we love! And that great family has been trying to help that whole family receive the gospel for forever! And we had no idea.

But Heavenly Father did.

So we started teaching Greg and he is excellent. And he quietly told us:

I feel like there's something here for me.

There is something here for Greg. There is something here for all of us. 

The gospel is true!

I love you very much,

Elder Judd

"we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually"

Dear family,

It's the beginning of a new transfer today, and I'm staying in 29 Palms! But, Elder Duffin will be leaving. We're sad about that. I really enjoyed the time I had to serve with him. But I'm excited for the future. I'll be training a new missionary again and I'll meet him this Wednesday.

On Saturday, we went to the baptism of a woman that the other Elders have been teaching. It was a great baptismal service, and we had worked hard to encourage everyone to come. And several of our friends came! Jim and Rory and a woman I'll call Kate. Jim really enjoyed it and told us he felt something strong during the baptism ordinance. He also said:  Whoa! That was quick! (referring to the ordinance itself)  And He told us that he's excited for his baptism in about a month.

Rory is doing really well too. We taught him on Wednesday about the Plan of Salvation, but really it was more of a review. He understand the doctrine so well, it's really fun to teach him. But here's a miracle: Early in the lesson, I felt the nudge of a small voice inside me to share Alma 32:27-28. We hadn't planned on sharing that at all, but we only made it to about the 2nd line of verse 28 when Rory stopped us, saying:

No way, I know this. My lady friend was reading this to me [over Skype] last night.

He went on to explain the rest of the chapter in his own words and said how he felt he knew he needed to be looking more through a lens of faith more than logic. 

We also taught Jim about tithing and he fed us Fish and chips.

Many more miracles happened, but I don't have time for them all.

Love,

Elder Judd

"And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever"

Hello my family!

So many great things are happening in 29 Palms! We have been praying so hard that we will find those many people and families that Heavenly Father has prepared to be taught, and He has been leading so many good people to us. I know that there is a God and He answers prayers.

A few weeks ago we were looking for a certain family at a certain address. They had moved, but we met a woman named Windy who now lived there. She was interested in learning more and taking a tour of our church, and we asked her who else might be interested. She said we should stop by Richard, her next door neighbor, and jokingly said:

He needs God. He needs God.

We attempted several times to contact Richard and honestly didn't expect much to come from him. But on Wednesday we finally met him and his family. We taught them and they are awesome and Richard and his family of 6 have commit to be baptized. And during the lesson we asked:

If there were a prophet today, what would you ask him?

There was a pause. Then Richard's mother-in-law asked:

What happens to our loved ones when they die, and are they happy?

She is a widow. We read Alma 40:11-12 with them. The Spirit in the home was sweet, and we are so excited to teach them more about the Plan of Salvation.

We are also teaching a man name John. His wife is a member and this week he commit to be baptized in March. He decided to quit smoking at New Years' and he's been doing really great, even though it's been really hard for him. But they are so happy cheerful all the time. They're just funny. 

We've met many other people and our planners are so full for this coming week. We've been trying really hard to talk with everyone and teach everyone. It's been really fun.

And I can't think of other specific things I wanted to write about, but this comes to mind: Yesterday as the closing hymn in the Samoan sacrament meeting, they sang one of my favorite Samoan hymns. It's upbeat and I feel the spirit whenever we sing it. And it's not in the english hymn books, but the chorus in English would probably be this:

Face the war;

Fight strong for Jesus.

Satan has come, our enemy

There's many in his army.

Soldiers of Zion, 

Let's all be strong

Fight with alertness and diligence in doing good things.

I know the gospel is true! I love you all!

Elder Judd