Christmas Miracle and Tears

THIS WEEK HAS BEEN A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!

I don't even know really what to say because we just skyped a could days ago. By the way i was very impressed with myself because i didn't even cry. I'M GROWING UP! well...i did cry later just not in from of yous hahaha. but then sister flake skyped he family the next day and i was sitting next to her as they started the call and then all of a sudden the tears just started to flow. i was like "i don't know why i'm crying you're not even my family" it was pretty funny. so at least i cried for someone :)

i really don't know what to say because there hasn't been much that happened since Christmas, but i hope you're all doing GREAT!

I just want to share some from one of the Conference Talks i have been studying lately and hope it helps you as much as it has helped me. maybe it will be a beginning and maybe it can be a refresher like it was for me.

It is the talk "Choose to Believe" by Elder Whitney L. Clayton. He talks about a little girl, Sailor, who was the only one who survived a plane crash with her family. she saw a light and walked miles to get to it all alone to be saved. I want to share some of my favourite parts with you.

"After the crash, Sailor had a choice. She could have chosen to stay by the airplane in the dark, alone and afraid. But there was a long night ahead, and it was just going to get colder. She chose another way. Sailor climbed up a hill, and there she saw a light on the horizon.

Gradually, as she made her way through the night toward the light, it grew brighter. Still, there must have been times when she could not see it. Perhaps it went out of view when she was in a ravine or behind trees or bushes, but she pressed on. Whenever she could see the light, Sailor had evidence that she was on the right path. She did not yet know precisely what that light was, but she kept walking toward it based on what she knew, trusting and hoping that she would see it again if she kept moving in the right direction. By so doing, she may have saved her life.

Our lives can be like that too. There may be times when we have been hurt, when we are tired, and when our lives seem dark and cold. There may be times when we cannot see any light on the horizon, and we may feel like giving up. If we are willing to believe, if we desire to believe, if we choose to believe, then the Savior’s teachings and example will show us the pathway forward."

I love that so much! If we CHOOSE to believe then the Saviour's teachings and his example will be the light that saves us. Just like Sailor, we all have a choice. we can choose to stay where we are or we can choose to progress. to strengthen our testimony and our faith. but it takes effort on our part. He goes on to say,

"Sailor could not know at first if what she was doing as she pushed her way through the underbrush would actually work. She was lost and injured; it was dark and cold. But she left the crash site and ventured out in hope of rescue, crawling and scraping her way forward until she saw a light in the distance. Once she had seen it, she did her best to move toward it, remembering what she had seen.

We likewise must give place for the hope that we will find spiritual light by embracing belief rather than choosing to doubt. Our actions are the evidence of our belief and become the substance of our faith. We are choosing to believe when we pray and when we read the scriptures. We are choosing to believe when we fast, when we keep the Sabbath day holy, and when we worship in the temple. We are choosing to believe when we are baptized and when we partake of the sacrament. We are choosing to believe when we repent and seek divine forgiveness and healing love."

Once we choose and decide to change or seek the light then that's when we have to start putting that choice into action. Just like with Sailor walking and crawling to get to that light we too have to walk to the light. Sailor didn't see the light and then was saved; she had to get to it before the safety came. When we have our own "crashes" we need to seek the light, keep it in our view, and do all that we can to get to it. Especially with all the little things. I can testify that as you seek to find the light that the Saviour of the World gives you too can find safety and comfort. I love this promise that he gives at the end,

"In those moments when the light of your faith has dimmed, let your hope for the Savior’s love and grace, found in His gospel and His Church, overcome your doubt. I promise that He stands ready to receive you. Over time you will come to see that you have made the best choice you could possibly have made. Your courageous decision to believe in Him will bless you immeasurably and forever."

I know that He is ready to receive you all you have to do is seek to feel of His love, and once you feel it you will want to do all you can to have it with you at all times.

I love all of you SO much and i hope you have a great week!

be safe!

May the Force be with you

Kia Kaha

Sister Judd

Singing to Old People and Riding the Bus

This week has been SO GOOD! We've had so many things happen i will try to fill you in as best as i can!

This week started out with Sister Flake and I going to sing to old people. It was so cute! we sang some carols and then did karaoke with them. THEY ARE SO CUTE! you know how i feel about old people so you can just imagine how happy i was. they were even getting up and dancing and my heart just melted away with sheer happiness and joy.

Another cool thing is public transportation. It's so big here. people are always getting on the bus and going places but because we have a car we never get to ride the bus, but we really really want to. So a perfect opportunity arose when we needed to get our car serviced outside of our area in the city so we were in the city without a car and so we rode a bus!! it was so funny though because we had no idea what bus or what stop or anything so we called one of our members who rides the bus heaps and she told us where to go and what bus to get on. So we got back to our area and went to an investigator's house and before we left she looked up the times and what bus to get on. So we got on a bus. got off that bus. and got on another bus to get back to our car. it was a very fun and interesting experience. but we are just very grateful for our car, Gandalf the White (because it is this bright white car). 

This week we also had our ward Christmas party and it was so fun. The ward was meant to dress p as nativity characters but the only ones that actually dressed up was me and sister flake and our investigator family. (i'll send the pictures after this). it was the cutest thing ever. all these angels walking around everywhere :) We really love this family and are so excited for them and this journey they are on. They are so prepared and ready to take this step. I love them so much.

The last bit that i want to talk about is the Christmas Devotional. We got to watch it last night and i LOVED it! Elder Bednar's talk was my favourite, He related to the first Christmas in The Book of Mormon and how Samuel the Lamenite prophesied that Christ would be born and that the sign would be three days of light. No darkness. and then when Christ died on the other side of the world there was three days of complete darkness. no light. How amazing is that. Christ is LITERALLY our light in the world and He even says he is when he comes to the people in Book of Mormon and says "I am the Light and the Life of the world". Christ is our light and we can always have light in our life when He is involved. Find the light and embrace. Especially this Christmas season.

I love all of you!

Can't wait to skype!!!

May the Force be with you

Kia Kaha

Sister Judd

Tone Deaf Christmas Carols and Pulling out Trees

FAMILY! This week has been super fast, super fun, and super exhausting.

I think this has the been the quickest week i've had on my mission, and the most eventful one. I'll try and update you on some of the stuff we did.

So at the beginning of the week we got to have a little road trip and drive over to Hamilton! Sister Flake was in a meeting and so i got to stay at the Visitor's Centre while she was with all the other leaders in the meeting. It was so fun to be back again. I got to see all my lovely sisters i served and most importantly i got to see Sister Lualua! It was so good to see my daughter :) she is doing so well.

We also have been singing so much these past couple of weeks with Christmas coming. We just sing carols to anyone that we can. So a funny thing that happened this week was that we were at this old lady's house and she is so sweet but she doesn't let us read from anything because she doesn't want us to 'preach' to her so we usually just watch Mormon Messages and then sing a hymn for her. But she is kinda deaf and so she usually just compliments us on the tune of the song because she doesn't usually hear the words hahaha so this time we sang "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" and a couple words into it she recognized what song it was and started very loudly singing along with us, and if you remember what i said earlier...she can't hear very well. SO if she can't hear us she definitely couldn't hear herself. So here we all are happily singing along to this lovely Christmas Carol and her face is SO HAPPY! It was the cutest thing ever. and so Sister Flake starts getting the giggles because of the tone deafness and her happy face and then i get the giggles so we're just taking turns giggling as we sing and she has no idea because she's just sitting over there singing along to her own tune...all three verses of her song were the same as well. It was such a fun experience. it made my heart hurt because she's so cute.

Hah i just realized this next story is about ANOTHER old lady :) So Aunty Dulcie lives on a farm with heaps of sheep. And Aunty Dulcie is getting so old she can't do much anymore. So the Elders and us take turns going over and feeding her sheep and mowing her lawn and al lthe other good stuff. So on Saturday we went over there thinking we were just going to hop on her lawn mower and mow the lawn but instead she had us cutting down trees and pulling the roots out of the ground. We didn't take any before pictures but let me just tell ya it looked SO nice after. I worked on this one tree for a good hour cutting the roots and wedging it out of this little corner of the yrad and I FINALLY GOT IT!!! IT WAS THE BEST FEELING EVER! That darn tree. Here's what i did after i got it out hahaha. If anyone needs a tree pulled out.......don't call me. Because my body is still super sore.

Last thing i wanted to talk about was our Christmas Fireside that the Stake put on. it was SOO GOOD! And Sister Flake and i sung in the choir. So many pretty songs! I've been feeling weird lately because it's Christmas time but it doesn't even feel like it. It's hot and summery here and there's no family around me so it's just a normal day or something. But last night at the fireside as we were singing all these Christmas songs it hit me and it actually feels like Christmas. No matter where you are in the world right now. People are singing. and people are rejoicing. and people are praising the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ. And then i thought to myself, it doesn't have to be winter, it doesn't have to be a time surrounded by family. If you're rejoicing in the birth of your Saviour and that is what you're focused on it will be Christmas to you. and it'll be the best Christmas ever. But i am SUPER stoked to skype yous in a couple weeks!! it's been so long! So get ready to see my face soon :)

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

Heber! STOP GROWING HOLY FLIP!! Have an amazing birthday! I'll be thinking about you!!

Baptism Miracles and New Transfer!

Kia Ora...what up...what's crack a lackin. hey.

This week has been so cool!! First of all, it's a new transfer and i get to be here in Tauranga for another transfer WITH Sister Flake! WOOPEE!! WOOHOO!!! YIPPEE!!! We're really excited. There is this cute little town in our area called Bethlehem so guess who gets to spend Christmas in Bethlehem? HOW CUTE IS THAT? We're just a little excited. It's weird that we'll be away from home at for Christmas but we're making the best of it and decorating the flat and singing Christmas songs every morning for companionship study. it doesn't get old!

This week we've had some crazy stories and heaps of laughs. First of all we set our most favouritest investigator and we're super excited!! #dunked i love when they just know that this is what they want and it becomes a part of them. She is so excited and so are Sister Flake and I!!!! :) We love being around her because the spirit is so strong. She is so receptive and know that this is the truth. She is such an amazing example.

We also had some fun times door knocking this week. Anybody who has done this knows you come in contact with some weird as people hahaha it's always fun to have a good laugh. Sister Flake and i are constantly laughing i feel like and i love it so much. There are countless stories that i have for all of yous soon! :)

If yous haven't seen the Christmas video the church put out yet do it now!  https://www.mormon.org/christmas and then once you watch it and love it share it with all your friends. use your social media for good! :) Help all you know understand really what Christmas is about. When i watched this the Spirit spoke to me so strongly. That if it wasn't for Christ being born we wouldn't even have this holiday. yeah the music and the traditions and the decorations are all really amazing but if you go down to the core it's truly about our Saviour being born. and that's what we should be celebrating even more that the other stuff.

I LOVE ALL OF YOUS!!

have an amazing week!

Kia Kaha

May the Force be with you!

Sister Judd

Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from the country that has no idea what Thanksgiving is! Hope yous had an amazing Thanksgiving! Ours was fun! I don't know f you saw the pictures that we sent but we had Thanksgiving with one of the most amazing investigators ever, we're all just best friends it's cute. So we had Thanksgiving lunch with her and I made Pumpkin Pie!! it actually turned out really yum for never actually making one before. I've only watched dad do it every year haha but it was so fun! then we had a thanksgiving feast with our ward because they had no idea what it was and we talked it up heaps. So we all got together and Sister Flake and I told them all about thanksgiving and then we all went around the room and said what we are thankful for and then we had a massive feed! It was so cool! The only thing that we missed was the actual Turkey because turkey here is like 85 bucks so we just decided on heaps of rotisserie chickens. Pretty much the same thing :) But we had heaps of fun and felt a little closer to home with our mashed potatoes and Pumpkin Pie.

We also went to a Tangi (funeral) at a Marae and apart from the sadness of our member passing away it was really cool to be a part of her culture. there are so many different things that they do and that i love. i love being a part of this culture and sharing the gospel will these amazing people in this beautiful country. THIS GOSPEL IS SO COOL AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH!

Sorry this email is going to be short but i have some photos to make up for it! :) I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Kia Kaha

May the Force be with you

Sister Judd

Wananga and The Priesthood

So this week has been better! We were able to find miracles for everyday! Sometimes it's hard but we doing it! There are ALWAYS miracles and Tender Mercies that the Lord gives each of us. This week we had a Wananga (a Maori "devotional" i guess) with Herewini Jones, who has traveled around the world linking the Gospel to different cultures. On thursday he was talking ALL about the Maori culture and how all the things they learn and all the stories that are told, all those carvings i showed yous, they're all Gospel Principles. Guys this culture is SO FLIPPIN cool! The culture itself is so spiritual and then to learn all about how they have all these gospel truths just sitting there in their Marae's is mindblowing. it's definitely become a part of me and i love it. The spirit is so strong and people grasp onto it and desire to learn more. IT'S THE BEST! It's hard to explain over email bu just know that there are heaps of stories waiting for yous. 

Another thing that happened this week was a Gospel Principles lesson on the Priesthood. And as the Elders were teaching we were all talking about the different responsibilities and felt prompted to email some to yous. So this is kinda directed to the three boys but it's good for everyone. 

Teacher: A teacher visits and encourages members to live the principles of the gospel. The teach the truths of the gospel from the scriptures. Prepare the Sacrament.

Priest: Preach the gospel to those around them. Bless the Sacrament to help those in the congregation renew their baptismal covenants. 

How cool is that?? I love all the different responsibilities. Obviously that's not all of them but those are some that stood out to me. You boys get to preach the gospel to everyone. You get to visit members and strengthen their testimonies with yours. And you get to participate in giving us the Sacrament. Which is the best part. Christ has given us the Sacrament to renew our Baptismal Covenants, remember Him, and make new what we have done wrong throughout the week. I LOVE THE SACRAMENT and i love you boys for using your Priesthood to help everyone in the ward come closer to their Saviour. SO COOL! Do all that you can to keep it with you so that you can grow older and use it whenever you're called upon. I love the Priesthood and i love all of you. 

Have a good week!!

I love yous!

May the Force be with you

Kia Kaha 

Sister Judd

Struggle Station and Self Reflection

Family!!! It's been a crazy week! So disclaimer this email is going to be a little different than usual so just go with it. Being completely honest this week was really hard. There were so many things that happened and i have had to put so much trust in Heavenly Father, but miracles happened as well so i'll talk about that later. 

But this week started out with our solid as investigator, Tama who was set for baptism at the end of the month, moving down to the other side of the north island. it was really hard for Sister Flake and I. These past couple weeks we've had so many good things happen and we were so excited for Tama because he was SO prepared it was unreal. I had to really put aside anything that i wanted and had to put my trust in Heavenly Father and trust that He had a plan for Tama and me being selfish was getting in His way. And because of that little bit of revelation i knew that i had to just trust. That word has been my motto all week. when things come, when doubt creeps in, when people try to tear down my faith; all i say is "trust".

 it's been able to be answers to so many prayers because the past couple of months i guess i've been trying to figure out how i have changed since being on my mission. I made a list of who i was before and who i think i am now. Throughout this whole week i thought about how i would have reacted if something important to me happened and how i would react to it versus now and i can see that i have changed. Before my mission i was very selfish. i really only cared what mattered to me and how I can be happy and not about how it affects others. But with all that has happened i have come to see that i have been able to put SO MUCH more trust in my Father in heaven and i have been able to completely pull myself out of a situation and still be so happy. I don't care about how i look to others, what others think of me; but what OTHERS need and what OTHERS can do to come closer to their Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. I'm really figuring out what it means when Christ said, "those who shall lose their life for my sake shall find it". like i said it's been a crazy week!

I'm just glad i'm here. i love this gospel and i love being so close to the spirit and changing to become who Heavenly Father wants me to be. I'm still learning and still changing but that's what life is for. I'm sorry for being selfish and caring about myself but i know that being here is so good for me. and it'll be good for us and for my future family one day. 

Sorry for no pictures but i love you all SOOOOO FLIPPIN much! 

Stay awesome

May the Force be with you

Kia Kaha

Sister Judd

Investigator Friends and Christmas

Kia ora Whanau!!

This week has been so cool! In the missionary efforts and the weather! It's going into summer and we're by the water so the weather is really nice. 

We have had HEAPS of miracles this past week and so i will just say a few :) 

This past week we had a lesson with one of our new investigators. She is so cool and super sweet. Like her and i bonded RIGHT away and i literally want to be her friend. We taught her the Restoration and she thought it was so cool and really loved the Spirit that was there that she could feel it. We invited her to be baptized and it is DEFINITELY something that she wants. it was so so cool to meet her and seriously feel like she was prepared specifically for me. i have never felt it like that except when i met her. She is solid as and i love her, and it overwhelms me to then think about the love Heavenly Father has for her. 

This past week we also had Zone Meeting, our zone leaders gave us inspired commitments to pray and ask Heavenly Father to let us see our investigators and the people we meet with His eyes and to see the potential that HE sees in them. It has been so amazing to meet people on the street and feel just a tiny bit the love that Heavenly Father has for them and it makes my role as a missionary and helps me understand my purpose even more because it's up to me to help them feel that love for themselves. Guys, this gospel is SOOOOOO amazing and Heavenly Father loves all of you SO MUCH! I know He does and i know that He wants you to succeed so that one day yous can embrace and He can welcome us home with open arms. I can't wait for that day. I know that this church is true, I wouldn't be here if i didn't know that and i know that WHATEVER we may be going through Jesus Christ knows EXACTLY what we're feeling. whether it be stress, sadness, loneliness, homesickness anything. and as we turn to Him he can make it easier. that's something i didn't understand for a while, was that sometimes, most of the time, He doesn't take away what we're going through. He just makes it easier to bear. Remember that and things will be easier. I promise. 

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! 

Stay cool. 

May the Force be with you.

Kia Kaha

Sister Judd

Faith and Miracles

Kia Ora!!

This week has been SOOOO AMAZING! I have to make this quick because I sent HEAPS of photos but I figured it's more un to see pictures anyway.

this week Sister Flake and I were able to see all the miracles that come from fasting, prayer, and diligent hard work. I have earned SO much on my mission that will help me for the rest of my life. I have learned how to make goals and then how to achieve them. As missionaries all we do is make goals and steps to achieve those goals. and one of the goals we made last week when I got to Otumoetai was to set our investigator, Tama, for baptism. We fasted and prayed and the Lord gave us a date that he could be ready for and we went to his house with the "faith of the fast" as we call it and because the spirit was so present and he had felt it we set him for 28th of November. He is ready and has been completely prepared by the Lord. I am so excited for him and all the other miracles that will come from his faith.

We also were able to meet a new investigator, Dillon, on that same day! We were trying to find someone that missionaries had met before but he was there and we asked him if he wanted to learn more and he just straight up told us yes and that he is very willing to accept what we have to teach him based on the promise that we gave him as we testified of the Restored Gospel. It was so cool because Heavenly Father just placed Dillon in our hands and said, "here. I trust you two. help him and his family." 

This work is the best and I STILL can't believe I'm a part of it. I love this country and the people here and I know that there are people here prepared for me and Sister Flake. Whenever you need help, guidance, comfort, ANYTHING turn to your Heavenly Father in prayer and He will ALWAYS be there for you. I promise you that.

I love yous and am praying for all of yous EVERY day!

May the Force be with you

Kia Kaha

New Companion and New Area

FAMILY!!!!!!! So I have gathered that you all figured out that I got transferred but all goods. I'm gonna tell you anyway...........I GOT TRANSFERRED! I'm in the place called Tauranga in the Otumoetai area. Yeah try and pronounce that. it's on the coast so very different than Hamilton and I LOVE MY AREA! And also does anybody remember that girl that is related to the Taylor's in our ward who we met at the temple lights? and we flew to the mtc together? Yeah I'm companions with her. When President told me I was going to companions with Sister Flake I thought he was joking because he knows that we knew each other before the mish. But nope, this is real guys. I have only been with her for 4 days and we have had so much fun and SOOOO MANY MIRACLES.

This area is RIGHT by the beach and is so pretty. Go and google it now!!! there is so much ocean and so much pretty and the members are amazing and there are SOOOO many people here who are literally just waiting for us to find them. I have already seen so much of that in the short amount of time I've been here. I can see how hard work, faith, diligence, and love can bring forth so many miracles. And it's so fun being with a companion that I already love. like we don't have to get used to each other and we don't need to learn about each other's personalities because we're like the same person. We have this goal to make EVERY single person that we come in contact with laugh. Because we make each other laugh and we know the difference it makes.  So we make everybody laugh and it is so fun. We bond with them so quick and then we have a relationship with them and they are comfortable talking about the Gospel. MISSIONARY WORK IS SO COOL!

Sorry this email is pretty short but I'm sending some pictures and will have more to say next week when I get a full week in this beautiful area.

LOVE YOU!!!!!

May the force be with you

Kia Kaha

Sister Judd

Night at the Museum

So here in Temple View (the community right by the temple hence the cute name) there are MAJOR changes happening to the roads the houses and most importantly the church history centre. So in a couple months they're going to have their very own Church History Museum for all of the South Pacific! That's a big deal here because church history is major here. all the service missionaries who helped build the temple and church college and the people have amazing stories of the first missionaries and Matthew Cowley and it's just a very big part of the culture here. So yesterday there was a "sneak peak" fireside for the museum and i snapped heaps of photos. i'll send you a couple because there are heaps of stories that go along with them so your just going to have to wait till i get home! 

But it so amazing being a part of this amazing work in this country. I have literally fallen in love with it and i'm not sure i'm going to be able to leave. the culture and the love and the people all show me that I am supposed to be here. I know that this work is the work of salvation and ALL of you are involved in it! Talk to your friends about Seminary. Tell your friends how much the church means to you. Share your light and help people realize that they don't have to thirst after anything when they rely on their Saviour. 

I love you SO MUCH!!!! 

Have an amazing week! 

Kia Kaha

May the force be with you

Sister Judd

FIND A PONDERIZE SCRIPTURE!!!!!!!!

Ponderizing and Birthday Package

Kia Ora America! 

This week has been an amazing blur! 

First of all i received my birthday parcel and it was so great! I got it on a day that i needed a good laugh and a smile. i opened it up and grabbed the the NZHM tshirts and all the sisters were like "woah you were JUST talking about how you don't have NZ shirt yet" because i have been like for the past couple weeks. how did yous get those and how did you know i've been wanting one? man the spirit guys, revelation is a thing. And the star wars pictures were THE BEST and the card made me so happy. I click it and listen to the the star wars song every morning before we leave the flat hahahaha It was so fun to share the pixy stix and skittles with all the sisters who had never tasted flavored sugar in a paper tube. everything in there was just what i needed and i loved it all SO much! Thanks!! and my companion loves her socks :) 

This week we got to watch conference! YES!! Waiting a week is so weird, lame time differences. But i loved listening to all the inspired talks and finding things that can help me as a daughter of God, a family member, a missionary, and a future mother. And heaps of other things as well. One of my favorite talks was about "Ponderizing". I really liked how Elder Durrant talked about how he ponderizes with his family and friends and how it has helped them grow closer to each other and their Heavenly Father. So I have made a decision on behalf of the Judd Family, and we are going to Ponderize a scripture verse each week! Since I received this revelation for our family i decided to prayfully pick a scripture for us to ponderize this week and yous can decide who can choose the next verse for next week. I'm really excited about this because we get to be close while still being far away from each other. I know that if each of you really put in the effort to truly ponder this verse and decide how you can apply it into your individual live and the life of the Judd Family we all can grow closer to each other and to our Father in Heaven.  I"M EXCITED!! So the verse is  John 4:14 "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."  

I love you all and can't wait to hear about the verse! Get creative, mum i challenge you to put it somewhere where all the family can see it! Boys and Jess put it as your screen saver or with all your school work so that you can see it everyday. And when yous wake up in the morning and say your morning prayers ponder the scripture and apply it to your life. I love this scripture so much because it shows s that with the Gospel of Jesus Christ we don't have to thirst or hunger after anything else because The Gospel of Jesus Christ can help us with anything. and once we realize that our decisions are based on returning to be with the ones we love for eternity. IT"S AMAZING!! 

okay i love you all 

may the force be with you

kia kaha 

me

Birthday Miracles and General Women's Session

Kia Ora Family! What up? My names Sebastion. sorry, that just came out. didn't plan it.

This week was so good!! So on my Birthday we had a cliche missionary lesson at a bus stop and was seriously the coolest thing ever. We had an AMAZING lesson and as the bus came she was like getting on the bus but yelling out her address for us and we gave her our number on the VC card as she was getting on and it was just so great. i loved it. that was just one of many miracles that happened on my birthday. The sun was out ALL day as well. I was so happy. And my legs and arms were happy as well. oh also a NOT miracle that also happened on my birthday: Okay so we were walking down the street and a member who owns a donut shop just pulled over and was like, "sisters do oyu want a donut?"  DUH!! birthday miracle, but what happened next was not cool. as we were eating our delicious donuts my companion looks at me and says "wait, do oyu have white hairs??" uhm.....no. but sure enough there it is. WHITE HAIRSSSSS. guys there were white hairs in my head. and we found them on my 20th birthday. WHAT THE FLIP? the irony is so painful. don't worry i took a picture. it's sad, but i have just told my self it's just a patch like stuart has. all goods! 

but this week was just so beautiful! The sun, the flowers, the Women's Session of General Conference. I loved when President Uchtdorf spoke and told that amazing story and said, "God didn't create us to be sad; we're meant to have joy." FIND THE JOY IN EVERYTHING. Laugh and make mistakes and laugh some more and smile everyday. That's what Heavenly Father has created us to do. I know that for a fact. Find the joys and the things you're grateful for and then thanks Him for it. once you do that your life becomes even more meaningful.

Stay amazing! 

Kia Kaha 

May the Force be with You

Sister Judd 

The Temple and Daylight Savings

Kia Ora Family! 

This week has been SO GOOOOOOOD! Except for moving the clocks forward for Daylight Savings. So weird, i live my whole life never having to do this and so everyone makes fun of me because it freaks me out that at a certain time everyone just turns their clocks forward and then we just accept that it's a different time. it's strange let me tell you. 

So family, remember when Mum and Dad went through that phase where we could only watch church movies on sunday so like EVERY sunday we would watch Legacy? Yeah, good times. Well here at the VC we love watching Legacy. We can quote it word for word and we laugh at the cheesiness and EVERY time i watch it i think of yous and how we would all marvel at her getting healed or when they healed the ox and cheered when David Walker came back with the Mormon Battalion. And so it's fun having all these joke and quotes about this movie with the other sisters. When something happens we'll quote the movie to the seniors or each other as if we're actually saying it and it's so fun. So just wanted to share that little tidbit of information with yous. kay onto the good stuff...

 

But other than living in a weird time changing and a Legacy quoting world we got to go to the Temple as a mission this week. It only happens every 6 months and I can't believe it cam so quick! But I loved it!!! The extra boost that i needed. And then the next day on Thursday Sister Lualua's cousin from Wellington came p to the Temple to get married and we got permission to go to her sealing! It was my first time at a sealing and it was so cool mate! the temple is perfect. It truly is the House of the Lord. I feel so whole and loved there and I know it's because Heavenly Father's presence is there. It was such an amazing experience on both days, because of the opportunity we have here at the VC i have done a little bit of Family History and was actually able to take a family name in to do Temple work for. It was an even stronger experience doing it for someone who i am related to. It was one of the biggest spiritual experiences on my mission thus far. 

I hope all of you have an amazing week and stay safe! ENJOY CONFERENCE! 

I LOVE YOU! 

Kia Kaha

May the Force be with you! 

Sister Judd

September Showers Bring October Flowers

This week has been mean as! So much fun!

It is officially Spring time!! YES! Do you know what that means? MORE RAIN! I just keep telling myself September Showers Bring October Flowers. Nobody here has actually heard that saying before and i think it is because it is something we say to keep ourselves going and enduring the rain, but it rains here all the time so yeah. But RAIN IS A GOOD THANG 

This week I taught Relief Society. That shouldn't be a scary thing as a missionary but it was terrifying! I discovered that I would MUCH rather teach people who know nothing about the gospel than teaching people who have been going to Relief Society longer than i've been alive. But it was fun. 

We have also been teaching a friend of a girl who just go back from her mission. people, i LOVE teaching member's friends and loved ones. it is so amazing! So moral of the story family, LOVE YOUR FRIENDS ENOUGH TO LET THE MISSIONARIES TEACH THEM! Because then all of you can go to the celestial kingdom and be happy for eternity.  

HEY! I love you all so flippin much! 

Mum! have an AMAZING birthday and make sure the boys spoil you! I'll thinking about you extra this week! Have fun! 

Stay safe

Stay awesome 

and May the Force Be with you! 

Kia Kaha 

Sister Judd

Baptism Day!

Kia Ora Whanau! What.A.Week! 

Saturday was the day! The baptism of Tara and Patrick! It was such an amazing day! The best baptismal service i have ever been to. The Spirit was so strong and it just confirmed to me how amazing this work is. how amazing baptism is and how we are baptized JUST like Christ with the SAME exact power and authority. Watching Patrick and Tara go into the water and watching them go under was when i felt it the most. Knowing that they just took the first step to go back to their Heavenly Father and Saviour Jesus Christ. That little step takes them on this amazing journey. My testimony was strengthened so much this week watching those kids be baptized and then receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

And then on Sunday we went to Young Women with Tara and they were all talking about how she can go with them to the next temple night and she was so excited. It was like she was glowing. And now that she is baptized and has taken that step and walked through the gate that gets us back to our Heavenly Father she can now go help other people who didn't get a chance to do so when they were on the earth.  THIS CHURCH IS SO COOL! 

And on top of that all last night we had someone come on chat and ask about our family history program and why it is so massive and why we're so big on genealogy. So then we got to testify to him about temples and baptism and it all just went together. And I know it was because Heavenly Father orchestrated it and we were able to start teaching him because he felt something as we taught him. None of this was a coincidence and that's what i love. PEOPLE coincidences don't exist! It's Heavenly Father's hand in your lives giving you opportunities and moments. EMBRACE THEM! 

I love all of you HEAPS!!! 

May the force be with you!

Kia Kaha

Week 6 and Miracles

Kia Ora America! 

This week has been so quick, i know every missionary says that but i'm serious i feel like someone is playing a joke on me and has stolen days out of the week or something. It's already week 6 of this transfer. i literally feel like i was just emailing you about Sister Lualua and training and it's been a whole transfer now! MAN! But week 6 always brings miracles and i love it! 

We have Patrick and Tara's baptism this week and they are so excited! I asked Patrick, who is 8, if he was excited and he looked at me and shrugged and said "it'll just mean i'll have to start repenting" it was SOO funny. He is so cheeky it's adorable. So we're all very excited! And their dad is so pumped to baptize his kids. On Sunday he told us his story that brought him back to coming back to church and it was so amazing to see how much he has changed and how he has so much trust in the Lord. It was because he felt prompted to say a prayer and now, after 20 years of being gone, he's baptizing his kids and going to the temple again. Guys, this church is so cool! And the blessings that we receive when we follow promptings are beautiful. PEOPLE, Heavenly Father is SO mindful of all of us. Even when we leave church and think we're never coming back Heavenly Father has His hand in our lives. And then when we  realize He is a part of our lives and recognize Him and thank Him even more blessings come.

So moral of the story: Recognize Heavenly Father in your lives and things will work out. Life will be good and you will be happy (or happier) we meet so many people or are already happy without The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints  but then we see how much happier they are when they have it in their lives and i just know it's because they have that extra boost that knowledge that they are children of Heavenly Father and that they can return to be with Him again with their families. Who wouldn't be happy about that? 

The Plan of Salvation has been on my mind so much these past couple weeks and i'm just SOOOO glad that Heavenly Father has given us this plan. That we have this knowledge that we can be with our Saviour again. With our Father in Heaven and with our loved ones after this life. I'm so happy that I get to be with all of you nuggets for eternity. That i get to see Papa again and all of my loved ones who have passed on. They are there waiting for us and rooting us on so that we can be with them again. 

HEAVENLY FATHER LOVES US! 

and so do I

Live Long and Prosper

Kia Kaha

Sister Judd

Welcome to Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (but neither one of those becuase they are frowned upon)

Family! 

This week was SOOO stinkin quick! I can't believe I'm emailing again! it seems like our week was busy as well! Thanks for all the updates!! 

So this week has been so fun! 

Sister Lualua and I were just hanging out at the VC on our shift and Sister Hawkins (the VC Director's wife) came out and asked us to come outside and take some picture. (which is very normal for us. We joke that we've been trained to take pictures for people). and so we walk outside and see Elder Nielsen from the Seventy, who is in the Area Presidency and President Robbins who is in the Presidency of the Seventy and spoke last Conference on "Which Way Do You Face?" So we got to talk to them and take a picture with him and his wife. They are doing a little tor around the Pacific so they were just in Samoa and came in to NZ to check on the Temple because it was being cleaned and getting new carpets. And they were on their way to Papua New Guinea. So it was really fun seeing him. 

This week we have just been preparing for a baptism that we have on the 12th of September! So excited ! Tara and Patrick and even more excited :) A couple days ago after the lesson they were asking about how they were going to be baptized and how they would plug their noses so we did a little mock baptism and it was so fun. They just want to be baptized tomorrow and it has been so cool to see their dad turn around. Because if it weren't for him coming back to church they wouldn't be getting baptized. He is so excited to use the Priesthood that he holds and baptize his children. When we talk about it his face just lights up and he knows they're all making the right decisions. It's been amazing to be a part of that. 

A couple days ago  entered into Hogwarts. I found a stick while proselyting and was yelling spells and quoting Harry Potter all day, no like all day. My companion had no idea what i was doing and why i all of a sudden was speaking in a British accent and yelling random words so i was teaching her some spells and we were practicing on random cats that we saw. I have pictures to prove all of this but close to the end of the day we were tracting a street and walked past a boat that said "Hagrid" on it. It was such a happy time and i looked at Sister Lualua and said "YOU'RE A WIZARD HARRY" and she laughed only because i was so happy.  

This week has been fun and I never get over the fact that I am in flippin New Zealand teaching the amazing people here about Jesus Christ. How cool is that?? It sometimes overwhelms me when i think about what i'm doing because it is such an amazing message, and i love these people and i want everyone to learn about how they can be with their families again. I can't think of a better way of God showing His love then by letting us be with the ones we love most for eternity. I'm so grateful for the Temple and for all the amazing blessings that God gives us EVERY SINGLE DAY! Don't forget to thank Him for all the little things. 

I love you all!!!!! 

Kia Kaha

PEACE

Sister Judd

Cleaning the Temple and High School Musical

Kia Ora America! 

This week in the NZ has been a blur. How is it that I feel like i was JUST on the computer emailing yous? Masi'i! 

The past two weeks the temple has been closed for cleaning and so being VC Sisters has some perks :) We got to go in and help them clean the temple! We got to take apart the chandeliers in the Celestial Room and clean the little crystals and then put it all back together! and we did it in two of the Sealing Rooms as well. It was such an amazing and beautiful experience. And also a little weird standing on ladders in the middle of the Celestial Room but we had fun. Another day we also wiped down all the white Book of Mormons and all the railings for the stairs. It was a fun job. such a cool couple of days! 

We have also received some new protocols because our Mission President leaves the same time as me and so our mission rules have been in place since he got her and some missionaries have become very casual with following them. It's like deja vu from a while back when jess was talking about disobedient missionaries sticking out and now it's if you're obedient you stick out like a sore thumb. But oh well. As we follow the mission rules we are blessed. It's just like in life, as we follow the commandments and the council from the prophet and our leaders we will be blessed. Sometimes we don't want to or we don't know why we have this rule or commandment but following it brings us happiness. So we trust in Heavenly Father and know that these things are here to help us and make us stronger and that as we trust in Him we will be blessed because he sees our willingness to turn to Him. 

I hope you all have a great week! Remember that Heavenly Father has a plan for all of us. He is mindful of each of us and He knows what we're going through. The Atonement isn't just for our sins but our sadness and heartache as well. Turn to Him and our Saviour Jesus Christ when you need comfort and they will be there to help you. Trust Him and things will work out. 

Arohanui 

Kia Kaha

Sister Judd

Time Out for Missionaries and Sunlight

Well hello there family!

This week has been so cool!!! 

First of all, there has been sunlight and it has been glorious. So nice to have sunlight on my skin. but also weird not being wet like all the time. so that happened. 

Another thing that happened was far better than the sun. So Brad Wilcox, David Archuleta, and Elaine S. Dalton (old General Young Women president) came to the NZ for Time out For Women and some of the zones in the mission got to go on thursday and have a little devotional with Brad Wilcox and David Archuleta and President Nielsen from the Area Presidency. It was SOO good. David sang 4 songs and Brad Wilcox is such a god teacher it's unreal. After we got to talk to them for a tiny amount of time before they had to leave so we got to shake David's hand and thank him for the day. it was great. he's adorable. 

But, the story gets better. The next day Sister Lualua and I were on the morning shift at the VC so we walk in and i look over to my right and Sister Elaine S. Dalton and all these other people are standing there with her so we got to show her around the VC and talk with her and then they left to go to the temple session that was starting and right after they left David Archuleta walks in and we are just casually talking with him and it's like no big deal. and then he asks me where the restroom was and i took him. yeah i took David Archuleta to the restroom. what of it kids? it was fun. We got to take a picture with him and show him around the VC before they left. So it was an odd morning that we had. but so fun. 

other than meeting a famous person on my mission, i'm actually doing missionary work too. We set Tara and Patrick and they'll be getting baptized really soon!!! they are the cutest and are so keen to be baptized. they want it to be this week but we haven't even taught them everything yet. hahah when we talked to tara on sunday we asked her how her prayers were going and she said "i haven't stopped." it was the best thing ever! 

This work is amazing people! i love it. 

AND I LOVE YOU!!!!! 

Stay safe and stay cool. 

Kia Kaha 

Sister Judd

4th of July and Meet the Mormons

Kia Ora Family! 

it's kind of terrifying how fast this week went by! it was so fun to see all the adventures yous had this past week! I'm glad you had a fun 4th of July! i got to celebrate it as well so that was really fun. it wasn't the scorching hot July that i know because i was wearing a huge scarf and a coat but it was still so fun! 

This week my scarf that i'm knitting has doubled in size and i still think i'm not going to be finished until next winter. it's taking AGES! but i definitely feel like an old lady because when we go to dinner appointments with the older ladies in our ward (there's a lot of them) we recite scriptures with them and knit. it's an experience. 

We're working a lot with the less actives in our ward these past couple weeks because there are SOOO many people who just stopped coming to church and have all these kids that should be baptized already! so we're just trying to find the ready and prepared and we have a lot of potentials. this work is amazing and i love it so much! 

Thanks for all the love and encouragement I LOVE YOU ALL 

Kia Kaha

Sister Judd

New Zealand 4th of July.... It's Beginning to Look alot like Christmas

FAMILY! it's me you're favorite daughter who also is living in New Zealand, hey.

This week has been C-RAZY! I'm really excited for the 4th of july because they is a family in my ward and she's from the states so they put on this big celebration and invited us to come so i still get to have hot dogs and a bbq! we're just hoping it isn't raining because it's winter so that's weird.... 

story time: the weather is trippin me up because it's opposite so it's cold and wet and my body and brain keeps thinking it's christmas time, because it's winter. all week i've been bracing myself for christmas music when we walk into shops and such but it's not happening. and i've been subconsciously singing christmas music, it's been crazy. every time i start a song my comapnion just looks at me and says, "it's june sister" it's so funny! i was in the shower last night singing chestnuts roasting on an open fire and she yelled through the door "IT'S JUNE SISTER JUDD THERE ARE NO CHESTNUTS!" It was seriously so funny.  

anyway, we are teaching these three kids Nadia, Kases, and Llaiton and they are the best! their mum was baptized last year and they finally want to be baptized! we play rugby and basketball with them and have them say gospel principles before they shoot or run to a tri (pretty much like a touchdown but rugby words). they are such a fun bunch of kids. 

we also met another lady on chat this week! Her name is Molly and she's from Florida. we called her (that's how we do the teaching) and by the end of the lesson she was set for baptism!! she is solid and the spirit was so strong as we taught her! we're so excited to teach her even more and help her make covenants with our Heavenly Father. again, it's just so crazy to me that i get to teach people all over the world who wouldn't have received it unless they for some reason get on chat on mormon.org and we talked to her. it's a freaking cool experience. 

as you can tell with the pictures we've been obsessed with our projects. we don't have a lot of free time so we knit during our meal breaks and before we go to bed. so the past couple days we've been getting back to our flat and the common phrase that is said is "let's plan so we can knit" it's a sad life. but it's fun bro! 

i love you all! stay safe as stooge drives you around everywhere ;) 

Kia Kaha

Sister Judd

Knitting and Mighty Miracles

Kia Ora Family!!

i would just like to start out this email by saying "RAIN IS A GOOD THANG" we've been singing this part of the song ALL week and i just needed to share. rain is a good thing and i love it. 

This week i learned:

1.  How to knit (i'm making a scarf be jealous)

2.  To love raw onions. yeah.....

3. That people go to "sleep" by 6 in the evening because it's pitch black by then. it's a weird concept.

4. To teach a Quite Smoking Class

It's been a crazy week but the miracle that happened came from us going to see a less active that we haven' seen all transfer and when we got in we helped with the laundry and clean up and we had a really good lesson with her after. She said that she craves the spirit again and that because she has a new boyfriend she needs to be an example for him and her kids. So we committed her to come to church and that we could have a lesson with her non member boyfriend later in the week and so as we're waiting for her to come to church on Sunday she walks up and guess who was with her?? her boyfriend! he had heaps of questions and nek minute we had a new investigator. he's so keen and excited to learn about the church! we're going o teach him here at the Visitor's Centre  tomorrow and he's so excited! This new transfer is going to be SOLID!

oh yeah, transfers happened. it's pretty irrelevant when you're not getting transferred which is good for me. Sister Puaina and I are still together at the VC! REPRESENT! We're really stoked to smash this transfer. Missionary smash it. 

I hope you have a wonderful week and stay cool. if you get too hot just envision what it feels like here you'll be better. oh i used my gloves for the first time last week. still hate gloves but my warm fingers don't. good idea mum! 

keep reading and praying together it'll bring you all closer then you imagine. and do a fun FHE activity and send me pictures! I LOVE YOU ALL

Kia Kaha

Sister Judd

ps Happy Birthday Stooge. Stay cool bruh

Hail and Christmas Miracles

To: Steve and Neola Judd; Jessica Judd; Kortni Judd; Kylee Smith; Kacie Leigh Moss
Subject: Hail and Christmas Miracles

 

KIA ORA MY BEAUTIFUL FAMILY! 

 

Hi. This week it hailed. This week we saw so many miracles. This week was CRAZY! 

 

So i know school is starting and summer is ending but, winter is going full throttle over here in the NZ. Guys, i'm so pasty it's a bit ridiculous. but it's fun and i love it. As we were walking yesterday in our area it started to rain and then the rain got really loud and i looked down and the rain drops were bouncing....welp not rain. It was so fun being in the hail. it was sticking to our hair and we were eating it from the sky. My companion was flippin out because she had never seen ice come from the sky before. it was a fun time. So that happened. 

 

And then because we were out in the crazy weather and not driving in our car we found some amazing people!  We're teaching a lady who is way prepared!! We're sacrificing some of our P-Day today to teach her and we know that as we sacrifice miracles come. I've seen it heaps of times here. 

 

I hope ya'll have an amazing week! Remember that Heavenly Father is mindful of each of you and that He loves you and has a specific plan for you. As you trust Him and follow the prompting of The Spirit you will see blessings come into your life and the lives of those you touch. 

 

I flippin love all of you and i pray for you every stinkin day!!! 

 

Be amazing in school boys and make good choices 

"Have a good day sweety"

"you too hun" 

 

LOVE YOUS! 

Kia Kaha

Sister Judd 

Transfers and New Investigators

ATTENTION ATTENTION: THE SUN CAME OUT THIS WEEK! I REPEAT THE SUN CAME OUT. The weather was nice, the week was wonderful, my life is good. 

 

So it's transfers week! i can't believe i'm already done with my fourth transfer! IT GOES BY SO FAST MAN! I'm pretty positive i'm staying at the VC so next week i'll update you on the news :) 

 

But this week has been beautiful. We've been working harder than we've ever worked before and have DEFINITELY seen the results. a couple weeks ago we got a call from this guy in another ward saying that his friend was moving into our ward soon. He has been a member his whole life but has been less active for 20 years. recently he just reactivated himself and is ready to come back to church in our ward when he moves in. So we met him last week and he told us that he has three kids and two of them are living with him and are keen as to get baptized! so We met the daughter, Tara, yesterday at church. she's 14 and knows like all the YW because they go to school together. She told us that she wants to get baptized and that she knows it is what she wants. We were talking with a member after church and we told them about it and i said that it felt like we were just handed these kids and their already wanting to be baptized we just have to teach them the lessons. like no work required. he said that it was because we have been diligent and faithful and Heavenly Father has recognized that and is rewarding us for our efforts. 

 

i know that is true and that is happens in our everyday lives. as you work hard in whatever you're trying to accomplish and you are faithful, Heavenly Father will see that ans He will reward you for the things you are doing. Rely on the Lord and He will guide you in the things you are doing. i know He will because i see it happen in my life every day. 

 

I love you all. 

Stay sweet.

Kia Kaha

Sister Judd

I'M A MUM!!

Well heelo ther family! I am mother!!!! and i am very excited to share this news with yous! I am training a new missionary Sister Lualua. She is from Samoa and was in the MTC learning english for 6 weeks. She came to me on Thursday and we are having so much fun together. All day thursday i as thinking about the Grinch when "tiny who-girls and tiny-who fellas" come to the door and the two of look nothing alike so it's even funnier "hey honey! our baby's here....he looks just like your boss" too meke. (funny) But i love being a mum...if training a new missionary is anything like having a baby then i am definitely not prepared for that time in my life haha. But i love Sister Lualua she is teaching me samoan and making me SO much islander food. i'm gonna get chubby again, but it'll be worth it because her cooking is beautiful. 

 

This week we had the most cliche and by far the best miracle so far on my mission. We met this guy at the visitor's Centre because he came in just wondering about this big white building that he sees on his drive everyday (it's really hard not to miss the temple when you drive over here because it's up on a hill so day or night it's bam right in your face) so we taught him about the temple and then about The Book of Mormon. We gave him a copy and left 3 Nephi 11 with him, because everyone loves reading about when the Saviour comes. And when he left it was about 2:15. later that night at about 9:45 he texted us and said "hey sisters it's Ryan...thank you for that book yous gave me i haven't put it down since i got home" W.H.A.T. i seriously thought i was dreaming. like that only happens in movies and like Preach My Gospel. Def not in real life. so we texted him back and invites him to read the introduction and guess what? he had read it already. So we invited him to pray about it, and then taught him how to pray. We called him yesterday and taught him and are calling him again tonight. We know 100% that God orchestrated all of that and we were just placed into that moment to help him. 

 

I know Heavenly Father is mindful of each of us and that He loves us. 

 

Stay safe

Be happy

Soak up some sun for me

Stay cool bros

and Kia Kaha

Sister Judd

 

 

ps jess this is for  i thought about you the WHOLE time i was watching it http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/give-back/serving-the-community-immunization-awareness

Hurricane NZ and 24th of July

Kia Ora Whanau! 

 

This week has been mental! i can't believe it's Monday already and that we're i our last full week of transfers! i feel like i just started this transfer! Life in the VC is so good mate! i love meeting all the different people that come in from all over the world. so that's been really fun. 

 

On Saturday i went on exchanges with Sister Clarke and we got attacked by a hurricane which we are now calling Hurricane NZ. we're just walking along the road with one umbrella and it's raining pretty good but nothing we're not used to and then all of a sudden it raining in sheets! the rain was coming from an angle so i don't know why we were fighting with the umbrella hahaha our skirts and legs got soaking wet and the wind was blowing us around everywhere. we couldn't even see in front of us. my chest hurt because i was laughing so hard. it was so much fun! when we got back to the flat to change our skirts to go to the vc we took off our boots and literally poured out water from the inside of them! the rain was coming from such a weird angle water just seeped inside. it was so funny. In the pictures that i sent the rain was coming straight at our faces so we shielded ourselves with the umbrella, people probably thought we were crazies. 

 

The past couple days Sister Puaina and i have had an RM come out with us and it's been so fun. She just got back from Manila and so she sounds just like a Filipino, so its been fun to have that little connection with jess even though it was a different mission that she served in. 

 

So i've had Pioneer Day on my mind because i  know how much fun the family was having in Pima so i told my ward about it in ward council and nobody knew what i was talking about. they thought it was so weird one was like "wait, you have a rodeo for the pioneers? and the WHOLE town celebrates together?" it was such a foreign concept to all of them. so we're going to have a ward get together for pioneer day and they're all really excited. it's been fun sharing it with them and telling them what family traditions we have. 

 

i hope all of you stay safe and happy this week! soak up some sun for me! 

i just ant to leave with a quote "I bear witness that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the living God. He stands at the head of the Church. Through His Atonement and the power of the priesthood, families which are begun in mortality can be together through the eternities. The Atonement, which can reclaim each one of us, bears no scars. That means that no matter what we have done or where we have been or how something happened, if we truly repent, He has promised that He would atone. And when He atoned, that settled that. There are so many of us who are thrashing around, as it were, with feelings of guilt, not knowing quite how to escape. You escape by accepting the Atonement of Christ, and all that was heartache can turn to beauty and love and eternity.  -President Packer

I just want to add my testimony to his. I am so grateful for the Atonement and i know that as we accept the atonement in our lives we will be happier, made whole, and who Heavenly Father knows we can become. i love each of you and so does Heavenly Father.

 

Kia Kaha

Sister Judd

I'm a KIWI!!

Kia Ora Whanau this week i was told that i don't sound like an American! i was so excited i cried do you know how excited i was to get an accent and i didn't even know i had it! It's official friends i am a kiwi. I drive on the opposite side of the road. i eat sea urchin and lamb. and i talk like the locals. I AM A LOCAL. sorry but this was really exciting for me and i had to share. 

 

I'm stealing Ky's email idea and giving you New Zealand updates:

-it's been raining ALL week. i literally haven't seen the sun. 

-frost and ice are a thing and i've been singing Let It Go ALLLL WEEK like all week. at least it's not christmas music anymore eh? 

-i've mastered writing with gloves, they are now a new extension to my wardrobe and i love wearing them...but not really. 

-ATTENTION: there are hedgehogs here! i repeat NEW ZEALAND HAS HEDGEHOGS. Just ponder on that gem forever, because it is the best news next to be asked if i were a local. 

 

We've been working with this a lady, Lisa that we met last week. she is KEEN AS to learn about the Plan of Salvation and it's so exciting to see her desire and devotion to want to be with her family for eternity. YAY FOR ETERNAL FAMILIES! 

 

We're also teaching a man from California and he has been through some crazy stuff mate. He wants to change his life and be forgiven. on saturday we called him and taught him about the atonement and the sacrament and how they work together. that as we repent of our sins and use the Atonement the sacrament is that extra buffer for the week to help us get through all the craziness of the world. the sacrament is such a blessing and im so glad and thankful i have brothers who can bless and pass it to help others feel of the love of our Savior. 

 

i love you all HEAPS 

stay cool. 

love your Kiwi daughter

chur 

Short Email June 7th

Hello Family! 

This week has been crazy!

 

We had a really cool opportunity to meet with one of our investigators that we had been trying to contact for two weeks and he read the pamphlet we gave him THREE TIMES and is really excited to learn more. he is SOOO busy though so hopefully we get to see him this week! He has been so prepared by Heavenly Father it's crazy! We just gotta continue to pray for him and be there to help him!! 

 

Yesterday we had a fireside at the VC and it was so good! There was a 13 year old that played the harp i literally felt like i was in heaven. it was so cool! 

 

sorry this email is so short i don't have much time! 

LOVE YOU ALL 

Sister Judd

Feeding Cows and Teaching Old Ladies

Kia Ora Whanau!!

WHAT A CRAZY WEEK and this week is going to be even crazier with zone conferences and Elder Cook and i'm so excited!!

 

This week has been all about FINDING INVESTIGATORS! When i got into my new area we didn't have any people to teach so we've been going through all our records and walking through our area talking to LITERALLY everyone we see. now coming into the third week of the transfer we have two progressing investigators and HEAPS of potentials that we've met! it's so amazing seeing the hand of The Lord so prominent in my life. i know that we didn't find these people on our own, Heavenly Father sent them to us because we had the Faith that He would. These people have all been so prepared by Heavenly Father and i know they are specifically meant for me and my companion. 

 

One of those people is Margaret. Margaret is 80 and she has lived in New Zealand all her life and she is the PERFECT example of Old Lady. she can talk for AGES but she is so stinkin cute that i don't even mind. she has so many questions about the church and what to believe. she knows she's been living her life and believing in the wrong things and she knows that we were sent to her from God because she prayed for the first time in 50 years and we came and knocked on her door one hour later (the funny thing is that we would have probably been there and hour before if we didn't get lost.....Hand of the Lord). She is so solid but still has so far to go. there are some things that we have to work through with her but that's what i love about teaching older people. They've been living their lives one way for so many years and if they've been prepared by God they will change EVERYTHING they've been doing for 80 years and listen and learn from the Holy Spirit. it's truly a miraculous thing to witness. and i love it so much. she is already making the changes needed and we've only met with her once (but it practically was two lessons seeing how long we were in there with her). She is so funny and i just feel like im at Grandma's house when i'm there. she's a miracle!

 

Something that made me SOOOO happy this week just happened yesterday when we went out to a member's house for dinner and they showed us around their farm and saved feeding time for us so that we could help! IT WAS THE BEST MAN. Baby cows, alpacas, ducks, dairy cows. IT WAS ALL SO AMAZING AND I WANTED TO STAY THERE FOREVER AND PET THE COWS AND HAVE STARING CONTESTS WITH THE ALPACAS. those are some weird animals. 

 

This week has been wet, challenging, full of cows and most importantly MIRACULOUS. I love this area SO much and i know that I was sent here for a specific reason and for specific people. i love you and. thank you so much for all of your support and prayers. i truly can feel your love here in this amazing country. stay safe and remember who you represent! 

 

Kia Kaha! 

Sister Judd

Visitor's Centre and Winter

Kia ora Family!!

WOW i feel like we were JUST skyping like a few days ago. it's terrifying how fast time goes by here. 

Well i told the family during skype but i'm just gonna say it again because i didn't really explain everything very well and i love this news but anyway, I got transferred to the Visitor's Centre!!! (yes that's how they spell it here it's weird i know) 

but i love love love love it here! the sister that i serve with are amazing! the senior couples that i serve with are amazing! being across the street from the temple is amazing! IT'S ALL JUST AMAZING! one of the super amazing things that we get to do as VC sisters is chat online and call people from ALL over the world! i chatted with a girl from the Philippines yesterday and it made me so happy knowing that my seester was somewhere in that country haha. it's just a neat and beautiful experience. 

I LOVE MY COMPANION! She is from American Samoa and she is hilarious. i can definitely be myself with her and she doesn't judge (well she does think im an idiot bc duh but she still lets me be an idiot) we sing ALL THE TIME and dance around our flat every chance we get. she's kinda amazing and i kinda love her alot. 

winter time is fast approaching and my body is terrified. but no need to fear. i use my beanie every night and we have a nice heater that we use. but the rain everyday is something i am for sure not used to. it's so weird always having water falling from the sky. like what? that is not a thing in arizona but it's nice because i don't have to spend so much time on my hair every morning now. what a blessing. 

I've just been getting to know the area and all the people this past week so it's been really fun and my brain hurts trying to memorize streets and numbers all over again. but one of the members that i ABSOLUTELY love is May Gullivar but we call her aunty May. We should probably be calling her nana may because she is 80 but she is adorable. every other day we go over to her house and download mormon messages and write her emails for her because she doesn't know how to use her computer. we answer her voicemails and do all sorts of things for her. we also pick her up from her house on Sunday and walk to and from church with her. (the chapel isn't very far just up the road) she is so lovely and we're gonna have a baking night with her this week and she is going to teach us how to bake heaps of yummies. she is absolutely the cutest old lady and everytime she speaks i laugh bc she is just so fancy and old. i'll send pictures of her next week. 

speaking of service and aunty may it reminded me of the new mormon message that just came out last week. i don't know if yous have seen it but it's called Lift and it is SOO good. it'a all about how serving another affects not only that person but yourself as well. here's the link 

http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/lift-the-power-of-service?cid=HP_WE_5-13-2015_dPTH_fMM_xLIDyL1-A_

i really love it especially because as a missionary we are CONSTANTLY doing service. and that is the best way to show our Christlike love to others. i hope each of you strive to serve as many people as you can each day because i can promise you that it will not only help those people whom you serve but it will also change you. 

I LOVE YOU ALL and i'm sending pictures right now don't worry mum

Kia Kaha 

Sister Judd

ps Elder Quentin L. Cook is coming to my mission on May 30th and I AM SO FLIPPIN EXCITED bring it on Elder Cook!