One Happy Momma! I found his Companions blog! (and stole stuff from it!)

from Elder Drawe's blog:   So this week what another great week that I learned alot. Literally sometimes me and Elder Judd just walk and talk about life and stuff its pretty sweet. But this week we were talking about Prayer. We figured out that prayer is not to change the will of God but to gain the vison that he has. So for example, here in Cape Verde, there is alot of people that ask God for work. They rarely gain work..but yet God blesses them with knowledge and the will to look. But half the time they don´t realize that. Its interesting how God blesses us. He never gives us things on a plater but he gives us desires, strengths etc. But its our job to act on the disires. So we have made a goal not to ask for baptisms, strengths, abilities..etc. We decided that we pray for desires and for us to realize opportunites to serve and excercise our power to act. Just with these little changes in our prayers we have been able to find two families and some new investigators. Literally the Lord works in mysterious ways. But its our job to understand His nature and then change our life accordingly, and prayer has the power to see his point of view and to really know the nature of our Father in Heaven. Prayer is a pretty sweet principle! 

Well pretty much the joke these days is that its blazing hot out side. Like literally you guys should see us after a days work. Its soooooooooooooooooooooooo gross. Also the tan lines that we get are freaking killer. Played basketball today and had a reg. shirt on and it was freaking funny! My tan line is crazy! Also Elder Judd is getting eaten alive out here. Sad...but funny!

However, I got Filho (son) 2.00. He is super cool! He is from American Fork, Utah. He really just wants to work his butt off out here and wants to be obedient. Nothing more I can ask for. He is the golden Child!  He already speaks the language and is humble enough to take some input and everything. So last night we had a lesson, about Joseph Smith and it was a pretty good lesson and he just got super pumped after the lesson and just jumped up and down and just was so pumped. Yep he is my Elder Calhoon!

Short Note- 94 weeks to go (don't worry he doesn't know I'm counting.)

  This past week was the fastest week of my life so Iºm going to make this entry short. Our investigator and super close friend Luis has not yet been baptized but is already strong in the faith of Christ, he has already been doing missionary work! After a lesson with our other investigator Na, which he sat in on, he went up to her and offered some words of encouragement and help. He then got her phone number and marked a date that he could pass by and talk more with her. From after the first lesson we had with him Iºve kept saying that he is going to go a serve a phenominal mission. 

  I just want to say to anyone reading this how much of a impact you have made on me and to my parents who are the reason the Gospel, the way to happiness, is in my life. Thank you all.

Love, 

Elder Judd

No, we havenºt moved yet but we will probably this next transfer to a place that has air conditioning... I donºt want to jinx it though. Haha, to be serious I am beginning to love the weather. The other day it was probably 65 or 70 degrees because it had been raining so I went out with my cardigan, hahaha! Thanks, but Iºm good on stuff. Iºve realized how little really is needed to survive and have a comfortable life. 

 This past week has been hard at parts but overall I have learned a major lesson from a major mistake. We got out of teaching a crazy lesson to walk out and see 5 guys holding down a girl and a huge crowd gathered around. She was struggling against them and at first I thought she was having a seizure. When we asked what had happened they explained that her and her boyfriend got in a big fight and he pushed her off this 5 foot ledge and so she was trying to go and find something to kill him with so that is why all the guys were holding her down. My companion was super freaked out by all of this but he suggested we give a blessing but he just kept backing up and backing up. In my mind I was creating excuses that Iºm just the junior comp., if I were to give her a blessing I would forcibly have to hold her head and she would struggle like crazy, and other excuses. Our window of opportunity was very short because the Hilux (truck) came within one minute. She stopped yelling for a few seconds and then let out the most blood curdling scream I have ever heard and my companion jumped about a foot off the ground. Regardless we should have given her a blessing. I felt absolutely horrible afterwards. So I decided I will never ever make that same mistake again. 

   The Lord provided me with a way to redeem myself and exercise the priesthood. Later in the week we asked a member as we passed by if there was anything that we could do to help her, she said ´´no, not really´´ and as we were way down the road I hear a tiny voice saying ´´Elders``. When we got back up there she told us that her baby has been crying nonstop all day and has been really hot. Elder Drawe told me that I would be giving the blessing. Another mini-miracle was that morning I had this weird feeling like I should carry my white bible with me, which would be the first time in my whole mission that I would carry it with me, but I needed it to understand how to give the blessing in Portguese. As I laid my hands upon this screaming baby the very instant that I began speaking she became completely silent as if she had fallen asleep in one second. After the blessing which I could not have given, which the spirit gave, I looked down to see her eyes completely open and looking up at me. The following day we passed by the father and he told us the baby has been completely fine ever since.

  Pres. Mathews paid an unexpected visit to Terrafal on Sunday and told us we need to focus just on finding and teaching families so we began fasting for that very thing. That same day we found two families that we can now teach. Fasting in Africa can be kinda rough but it is more than worth it.
  Other less significant things throughout the week: We had a wedding where we got to help out a lot and make some awesome cakes. We had a drunk man the other day come up to us and began singing to us and slow dancing with me... it was an experience I guess you could say.
  

Mormon 9:3-4 this really has helped our investigators understand what hell really would be. Along with being without your family.

Alma 12:14-15 this has helped me realize some important things about my weakness.

God be with you all,

-Elder Judd

Finally a picture of Chandler! (and a pig)

Tired and Blessed

  I have never been more tired in my life or more blessed. I fell asleep a few nights ago while my companion was saying our nightly prayer. He kept hitting me with a pillow afterwards but I wouldnºt wake up so he just went to bed. I wouldnºt believe him that I fell alseep on my knees, except for the party that woke me up in the middle of the night, haha.

  This past week I learned the importance of prayer, a little bit better. As we sat on the couch and were about to begin teaching this one lesson to our friend and investigator To, Elder Drawe and I both felt like we should say a quick prayer right there in between the two of us. It seemed like a weird thing to do afterwards but it felt right at the time. Anyways, we begin teaching and his parents, who had previously refused to speak with us, came into the lesson with the rest of the big family and wanted us to teach them to. It was a miracle that was even very apparent, because the day before our Mission President had emphasized the great Great need to teach and invite and help Families unto Christ. What a blessing from God.

  Most things donºt really surpise me here anymore but yesterday something really hit me hard. We taught this couple who were in their 40ºs, and soon found out that they didnºt understand Portuguese and only understood basic criole and couldnºt read or write. It really caught me off guard, yet it was so wonderful as they told us how their friend used to be illiterate as well before but when she began trying to read the Livro de Mormon that she is now able to read and understand, that is a real miracle that God can give to the humble and faithful.

  The humble are willing to ask. We must ask. Asking is acting. Mark 9:24 is a scripture that becomes more significant to me as my companion and I invite others to simply ask. We do not want to charm them or persaude them, we want to point them to ask God.
  

With all my love,

-Elder Judd

Oh and I forgot to tell you that Iºve been helping plan a wedding here for some recent converts! We get to make 2 cakes for it! You would be so proud of me! It is tomorrow so I will send you some pictures next week. (Oh I've taught him well..:)

We do service when ever the opportunity arises. Like today, we helped Mcguiver this umbrella that broke from the wind for this lady.

Living conditions are almost American, but sometimes a have to shower with a bucket of cold water in the dark. We eat a lot of cereal but sometimes we make pasta or something and we eat out a lot. Classic Cape Verde dish is exactly this: rice, beans, fries, and chicken. 

 I feel your pain of house shopping... we have looked at probably 25-30 houses so far. SOO MANY, but none of them can really work for us because the specifications they give us are super difficult, but today I think we actually found one! Donºt worry about me, Iºm fine. 

Ants and cockroaches

 Too much to include: killing cockroaches, eats ants in my cereal, listening to Cabo Verdean Parties go from 10pm to 6:30am right outside our house, teaching to, ti, ta, na, di, and other people with cool names (like this guy named jet li), getting eaten alive by mosquitos, haha, and getting to teach the biggest thugs in Terrafal. This is the best place in the world, I am pretty sure.

  I have really been able to feel all the prayers and I am so grateful for the things that God has blessed me with, specifically the almost infinite amount of small things. Miracles are happening here in Cabo Verde, and even though Terraffal hasnºt had a baptism in over a month this doesnºt matter at all, even though, on average, 85% of lessons fall through and all the baptisms have fallen through as well, so far: it isnºt our work, it is the work of the Lord. We get the opportunity to share the most important message they will ever hear and their life: the glad tidings. God could do his work himself but he is kind enough to let others help so that they can  be helped.

  #1 thing I learned so far: Glorify God, because it is not about you. I want to be the missionary who isnºt the best but rather relies on God for other people and their eternal Salvation.

  My Companion is literally the best missionary for me. I have learned so much and he is one of my best friends. He is always doing service for me, as Christ would.

  I can testify that God prepares his children who are willing: my friend and nonmember, Luis, went and prayed for his first time and asked God "Is the Book of Mormon a true book" and before he even finished his prayer he could look into my eyes and say with conviction and actual feeling that God gave him and answer. He is 17 and after he is baptized he will be one of the greatest missionaries Cabo Verde will have ever sent out.

  DC 76:40-42

  Alma 5:7-9

  Alma 34:29,30,32

I thank our loving heavenly father for my support back home,

With love,

-Elder Judd