Nov. 2, 2015 Pict. with Elder Holmes

Hello Christi!!!!

  Iºm so glad that you liked my email! I get hammered from members of the ward and other missionaries and my companionºs mothers that I do a terrible job at emailing you but that isnºt the reason why Iºm going to be improving it is because you want more details. Haha, Iºm not sure exactly what details you want from me though.

  You can send me a list of all the questions that you have for me that week. Then you can also send a list of things you would like me to include in every email such as best part of the week, worst part of the week, etc. Thanks sweetest mother!!!!!

  

Hahaha, my companion doesnºt even eat that much, haha. I actually eat a lot more than he does. Ecclesiastes 5:12 explains well enough, haha. And yeah, weºve talked about the kunzelmanºs, haha. 

  Also please pray for Ronisia. She is an investigator that is in a pretty tough situation, because she wants to be baptized and is sooo ready but she has had a child with a man she used to live with (the kid lives with the grandma) but the man has a bunch of other women in his life but she wants to marry him anyway even though the man doesnºt want to marry her at all he just wants to continue living with her. Itºs even more complicated than that just know that she needs lots of prayers! THANKS!!!!!

  Iºll make sure to let you know on the packages when they come. Haha, you know I donºt even need anything material because I already know you love me but it is greatly greatly appreciated sweet mother!

  

Can I just say how excited and happy I was to hear that you got the job! Parabens!  Iºm still praying like crazy for Dad and his job.

-I love teaching the young menºs quorum every week. There are only three in the whole branch but the lessons are so spiritual with their great comments! I love being able to participate and watch the Lordºs loving care over these choice young sons of God. 

-Sis. Kendrick emailed me and told me that I am very similar to my mother. It was honestly the best compliment I think I have ever recieved while on my mission. It made me SO happy!

Well, I love you and hope you had a wonderful week (and halloween) and that this week is even better! 2 cor. 5:6-7

Elder Judd

October 26, 2015 Crazy storm Experience

Best part of the week

Seeing lots of miracles yesterday. I met a lady from Praia and I miss the island of santiago so much!

Worst part of the week

The computers are broken and so I only got 10 minutes to email my wonderful family!

I loved your email!!!!!! Iºm soooooo soooooooorrrrrryyyyyyyy but next week will be a novel, alright? Okay, I love you more than life itself. Iºm praying like crazy for you and dad to find jobs!

October 19, 2015

Yeah, Iºm still set on USU, I feel that it is the right place to go. I also just want to let you know that I most likely will be extending my mission a little bit. Just so that it doesnºt come as a surprise to you. I miss you all so badly and I know that the Lord will bless you very soon with those things our family needs. Whether that is more frequent family nights or more job opportunities or something else, I donºt really know. 

  Guess what? I love you! We are having computer problems and so I decided that Elder Holmes needed to email more than I do so this is the only email Iºm sending this week. It is his first week and his family really appreciated it so thank you sweet mother and father for your understanding. (I didnºt even email any girls first, hahaha, Totally Kidding!)

  My ºsonº(trainee) is super amazing! And he already speaks Portuguese amazing for only studying it for a month and a half! Anyways, I will send you much more next week! Everything is well though

  

I love you all so very much and I want you to know that from the bottom of my heart: I love you!!!

October 12, 2015

Sweet Mother!

  Elder Karl is feeling a lot better. Iºve had such amazing health lately, it is so great! Haha, if I take it for granted then Iºm bound to get sick though, haha. He isnºt coughing at all anymore and so he has made a full recovery just in time to be transfered to Brava! An island that has had only sister missionaries on it for years! Now it will only have 2 Elders on it. I will miss him a lot but I am super excited being Iºve been so blessed with the opportunity to train!!! Iºm sooo excited! His name is Elder Holmes, from the US, and will be getting here by the end of the week. Iºll be traveling to Praia to go and pick him up. Here on the mission the trainer-trainee relationship is described by the words dad-son (or mom-daughter in the case of sisters). When I get a picture with Elder Holmes Iºll make sure to send it home.

  Iºm still absolutely in love with Santo Antao! And yes, we had a baptism this week. A few weeks ago we had 14 people with dates marked for this past week but one by one they fell until only 1, Catia, was baptized. She is so amazing though! We will still be helping our other friends to get back up though by taking Christºs outstretched hand.

  Well, I just want to thank you so much for the email this past week! It made my day! It touched my heart! And it reminded me to be grateful for the perfect family I have. I know they arenºt without flaws but I say perfect because with no other family could I be as happy and learn as much. I love you all! 

Elder Judd

Oct. 5, 2015

Hey, guess what?

...I love you!

  This past week was such a blast! Elder Karl and I have been working as hard as we could. Haha, good ol Elder Karl is such a trooper! He was super sick but he wouldnºt complain at all...nor even mention to me that he was in a lot of pain. (He is like me in the fact that he doesnºt like taking medicine) So when I finally took his temperature and saw that it was 104º F I made him stay inside and get some much needed rest! We finally went to the hospital after all the members yelled at me for doing a bad job of taking care of him, hahaha. I even made him icecream! Except he has no apetite so I ate it all.

  The worst part of my week is... I donºt know. I canºt think of one. 

  To be honest my companion and I have not had a single baptism here on Santo Antao yet. This Saturday though, we are going to be having three! And I am soooo excited! They are the best! One is a 19 year old girl, named Katia, that lives almost 2 hours away by car. One is a 19 year old girl, named Carmen, that lives just up the road. And the other is a 23 year old woman, named Ronisia, that lives in a neighboring city. 

  Then outside our church building before we went in for Conference I get a tap on my shoulder. I turn around to see Antonio!!! A great great friend from Boa Vista! He is actually from Santo Antao but living and working in Boa Vista! We helped him return to church activity while in Boa Vista and one of the first meetings he went to was conference 6 months ago and now 6 months later I got to see him again!!! He just reminded me how crazily bad I miss everyone from Boa Vista and Santiago!

  I didnºt get to watch all of conference because we left to go get investigators. We have seen conference before but this will be their first time!

  Carmenºs mother past away 2 months ago (that is how we found her and began talking with her). I had a distinct spiritual impression that her mother has already accepted the Gospel in the spirit world and is anxious for her daughter to do the same. In conference she was deeply touched with Elder Hollandºs talk. As was I. Mom, I love you. When Elder Holland was basically implying the messianic role of mothers I couldnºt stop crying. 

  Dad, As Elder Renlund (what a great new apostle!) spoke of Chadºs death and his fatherºs eyes I couldnºt help but think of you dad. You are such an amazing example to me. Period. Enough said. You are my hero!

Note to Isabelle: Please stop it, stop growing. I think I saw you in Monsterºs University, oh wait... that was the librarian. Well, you are as tall as that lady now!

Tchau!

Elder Judd

Walking into a small home with dirt floors and feeling how it is a house of prayer, a house of fasting, etc. and to see that even though it had no lightbulbs the ambiente was as bright as the temple in recife brasil. Even though they wonºt have the money to go for many more years the future is as bright as their faith. 

  You lucky duck! I miss the temple soo bad! But instead of being temple trunky I try to help members truly understand its importance.

Sept. 28, 2015

Yeah, thatºs a centipede... in my hair.

 Things here are super great! The best part of the week was a leadership training that I got to go to on a different island. Iºm trying to be so much more loving and Iºve seen a little bit of progress but, hahaha, Iºve got a looong way. Thanks for your example though. You amaze me! Iºm trying to wear perfume every day as well so that I can have a lovely day (see attached image, haha, this was in the quote book you gave me)

  Tell Harrison to email me back! Haha, the only things that I hear about harrison are from you, hahaha.

  Sorry for how short this email is you are the second person Iºve emailed. Dad is the first. I only have 2 minutes left because the computer was having some serious problems but Iºll try and send a letter/package soon. 

  Christi mother, I love you soo much! I miss you like a lot, and the thought of you only inspires me to work even harder and enjoy life even more. 

  

 You are all in my prayers!

Elder Judd

 Dad, It warms my heart to hear that you are praying for my investigators. That may seem like a simple phrase but I love them so much! I miss my old investigators in other areas. I love it here, dad. 

  You are the best dad in the world. I hope you know that! All the time that we spent together was more valuable than gold to me. Even more valuable than time at a concert with my buddies. Why? Because you are the Buddy that I always get to have as my dad!

Sept. 21, 2015 Pictures!

Love you more than words can say
Love you forever like you for always

WOW! Did you make that up? It kinda rhymes!

Anyways Family,

  Life is all around going super incredibly well! This past week my companion and I worked just about as hard as we could and it was sooo rewarding! We havenºt had a single progressing investigator in church for months and months and then yesterday we had 4! It was a miracle!!! When the Lord really wants to bless someone He does His job really well!

  Well, Parker, you havenºt let anything stop you from being a trooper so Iºm not worried about you. You are a boss!

  It is great to hear about your homecoming! You are so good looking! It looks like youºve been putting on a little bit of muscle lately, nice! Your date is also cute and those decorations on our house! Way cute too! Nice job, Mom! I got you a pinterest follower this past week (jose or jesse carlos ... or something like that. Hahaha, youºre welcome)

  Elder Karl and I got to do a lot of service this past week too and it was so much fun! The best part of some service projects is doing it in secret! We got caught though! So we may or may not have lied to get out of it, haha. No, we didnºt lie, donºt worry.

  Well, I love you all! Tchau!