"I pray unto thee for them, and also for all those who shall believe on their words"

Talofa family,

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

"If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me."

Hello family,

Many miracles this week. Heavenly Father is so good to us.

Tuesday night we went to the town tree-lighting at city hall and sang Christmas hymns with the ward and branch. I love christmas and all the people here! 

Wedesday, went on an exchange with Elder Seright on the other side of 29 Palms. We were going along with our plans. But we both felt that we weren't where we needed to be. We stopped. Prayed. Adjusted and started again, but still felt off. Stopped again. Prayed more inside. A name, Andre, kept standing out to Elder Seright as he flipped through his planner. We went to Andre. He was home and outside, and his friend Faasavali was too. One thing led to another and we ended up teaching the Restoration and they want to learn more.

Thursday we had zone meeting and it was great. We were trained more about planning. I love planning! I have learned so much about planning on my mission that I hope to use throughout my life. GREAT meeting.

Sunday we went to the Christmas devotional. But just after we sat down and the choir was singing, it didn't feel right. It felt like we needed to be somewhere else. So we left. We didn't know where to go. But we prayed and then went to a potential that came to mind. He wasn't home, but we met a less active young man who lived next door. We had a great, brief visit and set a return appointment to teach his family. Then, the feeling was satisfied and we went back to the devotional to catch the closing prayer by President Durrant. Lots of Joy.

Love you all!

Elder Judd

"God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles"

Happy Thanksgiving, Family!

GREAT week. 

On Monday night some of our plans fell through, and long story, but we were biking and a taxi pulled over beside us. The driver asked if we were missionaries. Then he asked if we could meet with him this week. Found out he's a member of the church and has a lot of struggles and hasn't been to church in a while. God places us right where he wants us!

District meeting on Tuesday. It's funny because our district is just the 4 of us in 29 Palms, and we live together. But we still have district meeting at the church, because we are dignified. and we all love 29 Palms. It's a great district.

Thursday morning we went to Desert Hot Springs and helped feed the homeless at a nice church of another Christian faith. We had Thanksgiving dinner with the Panzarella and Tavai family. Just one dinner this year, and it was great. We also dropped off thank-you notes to families in the ward during the day.

Really Cool miracle on Wednesday. We were biking down a main road and passed an Auto Zone parking lot. We saw a man and woman fixing an Astro van. We had almost passed them, but something urged to us to pull over quickly and offer to help. We started to talk with the woman and she recognized us as being from the Mormon church. I had a hunch she was Samoan. She talked a lot and we listened and asked questions and she said she used to meet with missionaries about a year ago and was baptized in Samoa as a child. (Sadly, she speaks very little Samoan) Her name was Ti. She wanted to meet with us. Her name was really familiar to me.
I thought a lot about it, and at night I looked for an old letter from my good friend Sister Morris, serving in Reno, Nevada. I found the letter, and it confirmed that Ti was meeting with Sister Morris and her companion in Nevada, but then moved to somewhere in California.  Little did we know it was 29 Palms! There are no coincidences! I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has been merciful enough to send me to the desert to 29 Palms and help me and my companion have the faith to open our mouths about His gospel! I love this place! And I know that God is mindful of me. And I know that God is mindful of you! None of us is lost to him. 

Jesus said:

What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

And when he cometh home, he calleth his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

Everyone should watch He is the Gift. Do it! Share it. It's great. You're great. You'll love it. 

#ShareTheGift

Love,

Elder Judd 

"Jesus anointed that Prophet and Seer"

Dear Family,

Great week!

On Monday we prayed that we would find someone to teach. In the evening after dark we rode by a guy putting his bike and little makeshift bike trailer away. We talked with him and his name is Omar. He said we could come back.

We also taught a family I'll call the Sweetwater family. The Sweetwaters are members of the church but haven't been to church in a long while. We taught them about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They have family and siblings who have served and are serving missions. The message wasn't new to them, but as we talked with them and they shared their thoughts about it, a spirit of peace was there. We testified that Joseph Smith saw heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and I felt God confirm that it was true--I felt a powerful peace and calmness. 

We invited Bro. Sweetwater to say the closing prayer and we knelt with their family. He looked to his wife and seemed like he didn't want to. but something moved him to say yes. It was a great prayer. And as we stood and were about to leave he said:

Kudos to you guys. You got me to pray. I've had missionaries come over here for years and they've never gotten me to pray.

I was so happy and smiley all night. Filled with joy.

On wednesday we met a samoan family that was in their garage. We didn't realize they were in the branch. We found out a son in the family had passed away that morning. Really sad. They gave us a ride to a Priesthood meeting last night, and as we drove home the remaining brothers practiced a song they wrote for their brother's funeral next week. They sing really well.

We had zone conference on Friday and it was focused on the process of conversion.

On Saturday we went to meet a family that past missionaries had been teaching, but accidentally went to the wrong address. We ended up semi-lost in the middle of the desert on sand roads. We prayed that we would not get stuck in the sand. Just really funny adventure. 

Last night we had a stake priesthood meeting. we have a really great stake president. He is really young. we sang "Praise to the Man" and the spirit was powerful and uplifting. the stake president spoke of one time the priesthood sang that song when he was a bishop. They started to sing, but were sort of lame and didn't have energy. he stopped them and said:

If we're going to sing 'Praise to the Man who communed with Jehovah' we need to sing it as if the Priesthood of God has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. 

They sang again, this time with vigor. 

I know that Joesph Smith is a prophet of God! 

Love,

Elder Judd

"O how you ought to thank your Heavenly King!"

Talofa Family,

My last few days in Indio were good. On Monday we met with Joe again. He really liked church and liked what he read about Joseph Smith in the Restoration pamphlet we gave him. He said:

When I read about the light that Joseph saw when he prayed, I thought about when I first opened the door the night you guys came.  You both just had a bright light with you that I could feel when you came in.

I felt a peace when Joe talked about that. Joe is just really great. 

So you know, I love Twentynine Palms. It's kind of a small town out in the middle of the desert, the far top right corner of the mission. Our boundaries go out to Arizona and the Las Vegas mission. And we cover the small town, Amboy, which the town in the movie Cars was based on. There's a marine base in 29 Palms, which is the main reason why people come live out here. And it's much colder than any area I've been in so far, mostly because we're getting into winter. It will probably snow, people say.

And my new companion is Elder Duffin. He is a really quick thinker and really sincere, and I am really excited to work with him. I feel like we're going to see a lot of miracles together and do good work.

We are working hard to meet everyone the Sister missionaries who were here were working with.  I love serving with Samoan people again.  Great things are going to happen here.

Love,

Elder Judd

"Make us thy true under-shepherds; Give us a love that is deep"

Dear Family,

Transfers are this week and I'm leaving. I'll be moving to 29 Palms, on the other side of the desert, and I'll be serving in an English ward and a Samoan branch. And I'll find out this week who my new companion will be. He will be a brand new missionary, so I'm excited! And honestly surprised. I didn't expect to be leaving at all. But I know that the Lord is in charge and knows all things and I am excited to see what great things He has prepared for me. Obviously, He wants me to learn something from Samoan people. 

This week was great. We were blessed to meet Joe, who seemed to come out of nowhere.

Joe was raised Jewish, but had Mormon roommates in college and really likes Mitt Romney. He recently moved into the area. He had a guy, Chris, come to his home to notarize something and Chris is Mormon and reminded Joe a lot of Mitt Romney. They got to talking and Chris invited Joe to meet with missionaries. So we came. And Joe is awesome. The first time we met him he said he had already stopped drinking coffee 2 days earlier because he read online that Mormons don't do that. And he came to church the next morning, 30 minutes early. 

We didn't see Collin all week, but we left a tie hanging from the handle of his front door with a note saying we hoped to see him at church. He didn't have any ties. But then he came to church the next morning, wearing the tie! It was a great little miracle.

We haven't seen Andrew 2 in a long while, and we are praying that he is doing all right. Please pray for him.

We met with Frank and Jane again and they are doing so well. Frank told us that when he was in Utah a few weeks ago he met up with an old friend he hadn't seen in years. He told his friend he had been coming back to church. His friend then gave him a lot of opposition about the church. But after a moment Frank responded:

You know what, I know the Mormon church is good because there is an empty void in my heart that is being filled with love and peace and joy.

As he told us this, I felt that his words were true. I know that Jesus Christ is at the head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know it. And I know that God Loves us and that every person can know these things for himself.

I love you all!

Elder Judd

pictures:

Me and Frank and Jane

Me and Elders' quorum president

"even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you"

Dear family,

Happy Halloween! This week was busy and great. 

We met with Collin again, and he's doing well. He didn't come to church last week because he was sick. but he came this week! And he seemed to really like it. At fast and testimony meeting yesterday there were many young kids who came up to bear their testimonies. They were simple and sincere. And in sunday school we were talking about baptism, and Collin commented:

I liked that kid in sacrament: "Baptism is for a second chance." Bam! That's it.

It was funny and true. Collin is just funny. He has so much goodness in him. 

On Halloween we had to be in our apartments by 6 PM, so we had our weekly planning session for the rest of the night. And a really sweet sister in the ward made us a dessert she said she always makes for the missionaries. Brain! Very realistic and funny. (see below)

We're teaching a couple who are members of the church working to become active and eventually sealed in the temple. It's the same people we met in the far corner of our area a few weeks ago when we felt to go to that area. They are so great. They were gone last week because they took a trip to SLC to visit family they hadn't seen in a long time. They loved the tours on Temple square and recently began reading the Book of Mormon and listened to the audio version as the drove.  I'll call them Jane and Frank.

This week they told us about how they felt in SLC and at church last week. Jane told us that during one video at Temple square, she felt a big "whew" feeling of peace. She didn't know how to describe it fully, but she knew it was good and that it felt good. She felt at peace with everything. Everything was going to be okay.

Frank had a similar experience while in priesthood class at church. While he sat and listened in class, he felt the most powerful and good feeling that he had ever felt in his life. He does many things that make him happy, and been in places where he has felt fellowship and love, but nothing like this. 

I know that the feelings that Jane and Frank felt are from the Holy Ghost, which come to any humble seeker of truth. God speaks to us and comforts us by the Holy Ghost.

We also had interviews with President Van Cott this week. It was great, as always. He gave me direction that I know is inspired of God. Missions go by so fast. I only have 7 months left here. I want to use the time I have to the very fullest.

Love,

Elder Judd