God loves you

Sister Fullmer and I were walking to try and contact one of our referrals. We had our cameras on us from the baptism so we took some pictures. Here I am showing you North Carolina. All you that you ever see is trees. Trees trees everywhere. You probably had no idea there are tons of houses right behind those trees did you?

On Saturday October 19, 2013 C was baptized! Oh what a glorious day. Who knew planning and preparing for a baptism could be so stressful? I didn't sleep much the night before with so many thoughts going through my head but when the moment finally arrived I was filled with so much joy! It was wonderful to be able to see the fruits of my labor and change somebody's life! Ward members came and supported and even our mission president was in attendance! Funny story, we had a lady in the ward doing a musical number. About 30 minutes before the baptism started she was practicing and said her voice was a little rough that day. She then asked if Sister Fullmer and I would sing with her. With much hesitation we agreed. Now in case you didn't already know, I am not a good singer. I would never choose to or volunteer myself to sing in front of people. A mission definitely changes you in ways you would never imagine. We sang the song and by the end much to my surprise there weren't very many dry eyes in the room. I know the spirit was helping me sing that song. It was one of those "I wish my friends and family back home could see me doing this" type of moment. All in all it was a wonderful day and I look forward to seeing C grow and strengthen herself in the gospel! 

Yesterday our investigator M came to church for the first time! We had a little rough patch with her. She was supposed to watch general conference with us 2 weeks ago but instead of showing up she sent us a text saying "I don't think it would be fair to myself or the children if I made a commitment to the mormon church without researching other things first". It was a heart breaker! We were deeply saddened but we knew that was not going to be the end. We have been able to resolver her concerns over that past weeks and now she is stronger than ever! She had a wonderful experience at church yesterday and we are praying for a baptism sometime in November! She is just fabulous.

So some exciting news... We are having 2 General Authorities come visit us this weekend! We found out on Saturday. We have been expecting one and preparing for one to come in November (which is still happening) but we are also getting graced with the presence of 2 this weekend! We are so excited. We have no idea what is happening all we know is that it is a "very special occasion" and they have "something special to share". All the missionaries will be gathering together in Fayetteville. So we get to go on a little road trip about 2 hours south. We are very anxious and cant wait to learn from them!

Thought of the day is about FAITH! What a powerful principle!

2 Nephi 26:13 And that he manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their faith.

We were promised by our mission president that there are at least 10-20 people in our ares that are prepared and ready to accept the gospel. We also had the goal set that our mission would double baptisms from last year in the months of October, November, and December. Now this kind of seemed daunting at first. Sisters have been in this area for about a year now and there has been one baptism, C. How in the world are we supposed to find those 10 people and also be able to double our baptisms?! One word, faith! As the scriptures say miracles can and will happened, according to our faith. How do we develop faith? The bible dictionary says this "strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ; in other words, faith comes by righteousness" We must be obedient to the commandments in order for our faith to increase and in order for miracles to happen in our lives! 

I know that God has not ceased to produce miracles. He is a God of miracles. But we must have faith in order to see those miracles in our lives! We must be obedient to the commandments and we must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ! I challenge you all to strive to increase your faith and I know that you will be able to see those miracles start to happen in your life.

Thank you all for your continuing love and support. 

Have a wonderful, blessed week!

With love,
Sister Judd