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!!!!!!!!