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