Dec 16

Hello Family and Friends!!

I hope you have all had a great week!

Part of our responsibility as Sister Leaders is to go on exchanges with all the other sister companionship's. We switch companions for 24 hours and just make sure they are doing okay and help them with anything they need. Well this week we got to go on exchange with a spanish speaking set of sisters. I went to their area with Hermana Cardenas who is fluent is spanish. I got there at about 5 on Tuesday. We then headed over to our dinner appointment. She told me that the parents don't speak english but the kids do. I basically just talked to the kids the whole time while Hermana Cardenas was talking with the parents. We had a real authentic meal. We had "poor soup" which she explained is called that because its made of the most basic ingredients that everyone could afford and then we had these tostada like things. Homeade tortilla with beans and meat and sour cram and lettuce with parmesan cheese. They were pretty good. We drank some super surgery koolaide drink that reminded me of Ecuador. And then dessert was mexican cookies basically covered in berry yogurt. The parents were so very kind. Even though I couldnt understand anything they said they had the sweetest spirit about them and so much love! It was so wonderful to be apart of their culture. After dinner we went and taught a lesson to a 16 year old girl. She spoke both english and spanish but preferred to talk in spanish. Most of the lesson was taught in spanish but to allow me to chime in they asked me questions in English. At the end of the lesson the member we had brought with us wanted us to sing "I am A Child of God" to her in spanish. I did my best to sing along and am grateful for the spirit that filled the room despite my horrible accent. The next day we did our studies and then knocked on some doors. Hermana Cardenas taught me how to say a prayer in Spanish. After we exchanged back Sister Fullmer and I went to say a prayer before planning. I offered to say it and then did it all in spanish. Sister Fullmer got a good kick out of it and was quite impressed. It was such a wonderful experience to be in the spanish area but left very thankful that I get to share this message in my native tongue of english!!

M surprised us and signed up to feed us dinner this week! We always love going to her house. We had a great dinner with her and her kids and J and his daughter. (Have I told her that her and J are dating? sorry if I left that detail out. And he is doing well. The elders are teaching him and he should be baptized probably the first week of January!) After dinner we all decorated the Christmas tree. It was so much fun! Its people like M and J and their kids that make every single hard day worth it!!

This weekend was party filled! Friday night we had the Falls Lake ward party! They did somethign different this year. They did the spanish tradition called "Los Posados". It is a reenactment of Mary and Joseph getting turned down at all the Inns. We we were told to dress up as people from Bethlemhem. (Which by the way sister fullmer and I had great costumes. So sad I didnt get a picture. But a lady in the ward owns a theatre so she has tons and tons of costumes. She lent us some things and we basically won best dressed award) We then walked to a couple houses that are all in the same neighborhood only to be turned away and told that there was no room at their inn. The last house held the party in the backyard. They had a big bonfire with smores and hot chocolate. It was a great party! Then on Saturdaynight we had the Wake Forest 2nd ward party. This was your more typical ward Christmas party. Dinner of ham and potatoes with a talent show following. It was so much fun also! I have grown to love these wards so much!!

I am so grateful for this Christmas season and cant even put into words how grateful I am for our Savior Jesus Christ. I came across this scripture this week in the bible and love it so much!

John 16:33
 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me [Jesus Christ] ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of goodcheer; I have overcome the world.

True joy and happiness can only come from our Savior. Let us all remember what He has done for us, especially during this season.

I love you all so much! Thanks for all your support! 

Have a great week! 

Love,
Sister Judd

Ps: Included is first a picture of the most wonderful Wake Forest district! I love these people so much and am honored to serve with them! 

Then second is a Christmas picture of Sister Fullmer and I wishing you all a wonderful Holiday!

\

Dec 9

Hello everyone!!

Hope you all have enjoyed the first week of December! I'm over here in compete shock this it is actually December. Feels like September still to me.

We had a good week. Keeping busy even though we have no one to teach.

This weekend we had a fabulous Community Christmas Celebration put on by our stake. They had hundreds of nativities from around the world and different local musical groups performing. We were ushers for it. We werent allowed to go up to people and talk about the gospel but they could come to us to ask questions. We basically just stood around and smiled. They also had a live nativity on the front lawn facing the road. We had gotten there when it first started one night and they didnt have anyone to be people for the nativity. So they grabbed us missionaries. We each took a character and put on the costume and went and stood as the nativity. Sister Fullmer and I were angels. The costumes were pretty great. We all got a good laugh out of it and had a good time.. Oh the things that are fun to a missionary.. One of the elders took pictures on his camera so if we get them from him I will send you all a pic of us next week.

To prepare for this celebration we handed out lots of invitations to it this week. One fabulous lady in the ward make a treat and wrote a note with an invitation for lots of people she knew. She asked us to go pass these out and carol for them. Once again I am not a good singer but Sister Fullmer and I did just that. We sang a song and then handed them the treat and invitation.

We had a special sisters meeting this week. Last year at this time there were 12 sister missionaries in the mission. As of Thursday there are over 70. It was great to have all of us sisters together to learn and be instructed by President Bernhisel and his wife. He talked about woman and priesthood. What a fabulous power that we all are able to be blessed from. Then Sister Bernhisel talked about motherhood. It is not about the number of children but the qualities and attributes it takes to be a mother. And how to be a great woman and mother with faith.

As sister leaders we had the chance to teach our zone this week. We were pretty nervous but it went smoothly. This calling is definitely a hard one with a lot of responsibility but it is teaching me and helping me to become a better missionary.

This week we had a beautiful 78 degree day. And then yesterday it was 38 degrees. The weather is always dramatically changing but I am loving all the warmer days we can get!

In Mosiah 3:7-8 we read..
7 And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people. 8 And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and hismother shall be called Mary.

Jesus Christ did more for us then we can comprehend. This Christmas season let us not forget the real reason we are celebrate. Let us think of what we can do to give back to Christ.
I'd love to hear your experiences with this!

I had a little tender mercy this week. On our way out of ward council yesterday in the bishops office I decided to grab a dove chocolate. I opened it later that day and it read "You are exactly where you are supposed to be". If I ever had wondered what in the world I was doing here that all went away in that moment. Heavenly Father is always watching out for us and loves us! Even if he shows it with a simple dove chocolate. I hope you can all feel of His love in your life.

The title of a song I heard this week describes a mission perfectly..

The hardest thing I've ever loved to do!

I love you all and hope you have a fabulous week!

Love, Sister Judd

Dec 2

Hello!

I am going to apologize now for the short email. Not much has happened here this week.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! We started off celebrating Wednesday night. We had a wonderful dinner at M's house. It was M and her kids, J and his daughter and then M invited over her neighbors who have 2 kids. It was delicious and so much fun! M and her kids have become family to me! Sister Fullmer and I sat at the table with the kids. 

Then on Thursday we had two more Thanksgiving meals with two wonderful families in the ward. We were well taken care of and it was a Thanksgiving to remember.

The rest of the week was rough. It was cold and rainy, no one was home or wanted to talk to us because they were too busy with the holiday. But all is well. It is a new week!

"With all my heart I invite you to seek the Lord's acceptance and enjoy His blessings.. We can come to know that we are accepted of Him, regardless of our position, status, or moral limitations. His loving acceptance will motivate us, increase our faith, and help us deal with everything we face in life. Despite our challenges, we will be successful, prosper, and feel at peace." -Elder Erich W. Kopische Ensign of May 2013.

I can testify of that! We are all children of a very loving and forgiving Heavenly Father. He wants us to turn to Him and enjoy the blessing that he in anxiously waiting to give to you. I challenge you all to seek out the Lord this week and look for those blessing that come from Him.

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

love, 

Sister Judd

Nov 25

Hello all!!

I hope you have all had a wonderful week!

It was an interesting week over here to say the least! It was a pretty slow week. Not the easiest week to be a missionary. But all is well!

We are on the search. We don't have any people to teach right now. Things have slowed down a ton. We spent much time out in the cold knocking on doors trying to find. Not much luck but we are not getting discouraged!! We know that there are people out there ready to accept the Gospel. We are doing all we can and being obedient and we know we will be able to find them!

We had quite the experience in one of the wards this week. You all know B.. Well she became interested in the church because of her friend A. A, who is also 15, was baptized earlier this year and told B all about it and that's when we started meeting with B. Well on Tuesday this week A overdosed on drugs and tried to commit suicide. We got a phone-call late Friday night finding out about this. We were in shock and couldn't believe sweet A would do this. She was in ICU for 2 days and then was moved to the children's hospital to be watched over closely. We were told she had been requesting a visit from us. We of course said we would go visit her as soon as possible. Saturday afternoon we went and saw her. I was extremely nervous, not knowing the condition she would be in. Well we were able to go and had a wonderful visit. We just let her know that we love her and that most importantly our Savior and Heavenly Father love her. We were reading the general conference talk Like a Broken Vessel By Elder Holland with her. She has a nurse that has to be with her 24/7. After reading the talk the nurse was asking about it and then we got onto the topic of religion. She was so interested as to what us missionaries did and all about Mormonism. We ended up sharing the whole first discussion with her and was able to give her a Book of Mormon. A was able to chime in and share her testimony also and help bring the spirit back into her life. The Gospel of Jesus Christ can turn any bad situation better. When we know that Jesus Christ atoned and died for us we can have immediate peace and be able to come closer to Him. All in all, A just wanted some attention and will be okay. She is still in the hospital and will be until her emotions are settled.

This week we were also given the opportunity to serve dinner to a battered womans shelter.
What a wonderful experience! These woman were so appreciative and so sweet. They all come from not the greatest of backgrounds but i'd say 95% of them had some sort of faith in God. It was so neat to be able to share with them that God does loves them and is watching over them. I figured we were going to a more dangerous place so I didn't bring anything with me. Didnt think I would need it.  As we were talking with them 2 woman asked for a Book of Mormon. Here I was, a missionary, and I didn't have a Book of Mormon to give to them. I was so ashamed and felt so awful for not being prepared. After that I promised my Heavenly Father that I will carry a Book of Mormon in my hand anytime I step out of my apartment to be readily available to give to people. I did just that and in the next two days I was able to give out four Books of Mormon. I know that those opportunities were given to me because Heavenly Father trusted me and knew I was prepared with the Book of Mormon in my hand. My testimony was strengthened. We must always be prepared for what is ahead of us. We must put on the armor of God every morning so we can go out and fight against the temptations of Satan. As a missionary and for all of you! Pray and study the scriptures. You will notice a difference in your life when you do these things!

Funny story of the week, we had pulled over in a neighborhood down the rode from one of our members houses waiting for our dinner appointment. We had a few phone calls to make. As we were sitting there a cop pulls up behind us with his lights on. We were so confused. He comes up to us and asks us what we were doing. Sister Fullmer is in the drivers seat and is freaking out. We tell him we were just making some calls and would be on our way. He then asks sister fullmer for her license. He then takes forever to run it. He comes back and says the owner of the house we were in front of called the cops and wanted us to leave. He let us go and said to just watch where we park our car next time. It was pretty funny. I wonder how many times I will get the cops called on me over the next 18 months.

I also just have to add that I had a nice surprise in the mail for me this week. The return address was The Office of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles. I was like "what in the world is this?" My first honest thought was that I was sent a new mission call and I was going to be sent somewhere else. I had no idea what to expect when I opened it. Turns out it was the sweetest personal letter from Elder D. Todd Christofferson. He sent me a letter telling me what an honor it was to be in Bakersfield to call my father as the new Stake President of Bakersfield South Stake. He shared with me the love he could feel the people of the Stake had for my family. He told me he used to live in North Carlina while he attended Duke University to go to Law school. He expressed his gratitude to me for serving the Lord here and that I was missed in Bakersfield. It was such a kind gesture for him to take the time to send that. And he personally signed it (the ink smeared when I put my wet finger on it). A letter I will treasure! Its great to be a missionary!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I will be very well fed out here, no worries about that!
Thank you for all your prayers and support!

Love,
Sister Judd

Nov 19

Hello!!!!

M was baptized on Saturday November 16, 2013. What a glorious day!! It had surprisinlgy been a pretty easy week for M. Every day she would text us and say something along the lines of "I dont care what Satan thinks, I am getting baptized!". And she sure did. We met her at the church a little before and she was smiling from ear to ear!! She had gone shopping the night before to get some new church clothes. She had been wearing dress pants for the past couple of weeks to church but she wanted to find a skirt for her baptism. She looked happier than ever. The baptism service went wonderful. We had asked if she would be willing to bear her testimony after she was baptized as part of the program. She was hesitant but agreed. We promised that the spirit would put words into her mouth. She did a wonderful job and there was not a dry eye in the room. She shared her story on how there were 3 specific times in her life that she felt completely alone and overwhelmed and quite frankly just wanted to die. She says on those 3 days exactly were when the mormon missionaries knocked on her door. She knew that God was answering her prayers. She has such a strong testimony and I look forward to seeing her learn and grow in this wonderful gospel!! Her kids keep asking me if I will move in with them, after my mission I might not be able to turn down the offer. Included is a picture of us on her baptism.

J was able to come to the baptism. He is excited to be baptized in December. We sadly found out that he lives in another ward boundary. So he will now be being taught by other missionaries. But it will be good for him to learn from these elders. They are great! We will continue to meet and see him when we go to M's house. He also will still come to our ward. We found out this week that he is an ex-nfl player! he played for the Giants. Its didnt come as a complete shock seeing as he is the biggest guy I have ever stood next to in my life. It was funny because yesterday someone at church invited him to play turkey bowl on thanksgiving. He doesnt tell a lot of people that he played in the nfl. So sister fullmer and I joked that this nice man didnt realize he just invited a ex-nfl player to join in on a turkey bowl game. Wish we could watch that game go down. 

On Wednesday we had a wonderful visit from Elder Baxter of the 70. He taught a lot of wonderful points, especially to us in our missionary work. He made a statement that stood out to me. We are the New Testament church brought back to the earth! I couldnt say it any better. We are the church of Jesus Christ. His church that he set up while He lived. I love this gospel and I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has given us this truth so we may know exactly what we need to do to return to live with him and live in complete joy for eternity. It is always a special time when a lot of missionaries gather together. It is my favorite! A picture is included of part of my district from the MTC. We all got so close in the MTC and it is so fun to be able to reconnect and share stories on how we are now applying what we all learned together. 

So tomorrow is transfers and guess what.. i am staying. And so is Sister Fullmer!!! We were both in complete shock when we had our interviews with President Bernhisel on Thursday. Sister Fullmer will now be in this area for half of her mission. We are excited to be together another transfer, especially since it will be during the holidays. The reason she is staying is because we were called to be the Sister Training Leaders. Basically we are in charge of all the sister missionaries. We are a little shocked, definitely a calling we were not expecting. But we are excited for the adventure. We will be going to all the leadership meetings and going on exchanges with other sister to make sure they are doing okay and keeping everything in line. Wish us luck!! 

I am sure you all saw on facebook but I now have a blog. It is sisteremjudd.blogpsot.com. I will hopefully be posting throughout the week. 

I love being a missionary! I love this gospel! I love my Savior Jesus Christ!!

Have a wonderful week.

Love,
Sister Judd