October 27, 2009

Family and Friends,
Well, I didn´t write last week it is true because we had transfers and I have the great opportunity to once again train a new missionary, two in a row! She is awesome her name is Sister Olsen, I think that we will be stayingtogether for a good time, I think probably three months! I had an interview with Presidente tobias, he is such an excellent man and truly called of God to head this mission.
This week was crazy as was the other, I thought about not writing it, but I think that i have to, you know there are somethings that missionaries shouldn´t tell their folks, and Marci is you think mom will flip don´t show her the e-mail okay, well we were assaulted this last week, it was a really interesting story, but I am not sure that I have the tuime to tell the whole thing, they stole our stuff, and right now it doesn´t seem like as big of a dfeal as it was at first, but they only took 12 reais worth of money or like 6-7 dollars and all our stuff, but we received everything back when a lady found our stuff and called a member in the planner, it was awesome and a miracle that I hadn´t taken mycamera and bank cards with me to the zone conference, I know that the Lord is with us guiding and directing our path! In a way it was a but funny. Adventures I love them!
But this week was awesome the first week in the field for my american companion Sister Olsen and we baptised Euripedes and Anderson, sadly Divino moved, but we are looking for more baptisms! I know the Lord will bless us! He is so good to us. The baptisms were wonderful and now we need to help them stay strong in the gospel, this is the hardest part in every mission, Anderson is a young man of 11 years adn we are teaching his mother and aunt and cousin, who I hope will all be baptised here shortly. I love this family they are sospecial, I love especially Rita, she is awesome adn loving the church, I am not sure exactly what she needs, but we are willing to do what it takes! I love the Lord in HIm my soul delights!
Mom I wanted to ask you if you could pretty please use my money to buy a CTR ring for sister Gonçalves, it would be a size 7.5 I think or 8 and it has to be the kind that says CTR in the middle and spins. It is more of a manly make but the one that she really wanted and that they don´t have here in Brazil!
I am happy healthy, in fact I think that I have gained 1-2 pounds here:) but really that is the least of my worries! It is getting realyl hot again here yikes! Love sister judd

October 13, 2009

Family,

Well, I am loving my new area, it is really great, but without a doubt I miss so many wonderful people there. Yesterday we had a miracle occur, it was pretty sweet! I made a contact with a man and now on the mission we are inviting everyone that we meet to be baptized! It is amazing, but I invited him and he accepted, but he didn´t know the address of where he lives but explained where, we marked a day that we could visit him and left, he in one direction and we another, well we continued on and decided to pass by where he lived to know where to go the next day to meet with him. We passed by found out where it was and then I invited another young man to be baptized, about 5 minutes we talked with him and after we heard someone calling us, we turned around to find Divino the man we had made a contact, he said I was going to the mall, but when you spoke to me it touched my heart what you said, I had taught a short lesson so that we could count him as a new investigator,I thought perhaps tomorrow isn´t good for me and I thought if you´d be willing to share this message with me now I would really appreciate it. Of Course we went with him and taught him, before the lesson started he began to cry and tell us a few things, but the spirit was there really strong as we testified of the Restoration of the church and the Book of Mormon, he was really excited about the Book of Mormon and invited himself to church. It was really a neat experience to see the Lords hand in the work. HE followed the spirit. I think he will be baptized here in 2 weeks! Yipee! HE also said that just 6 months ago he was able to stop smoking after 35 years! I know the Lord has been preparing him for this encounter!
I love the Lord!
Happy Birthday youall! Brent and Becca, I wrote a letter, but i lost it in the transfer, it had I think 4 pictures but I will send others!

Love you all and hope that Mac is feeling better I fasted for him and my Brazillian Comp as well. I know the Lord will bless him. It was funny to hear her say his name in the prayer!
Sister jUDd

October 6, 2009

Family!
I am excited I finished early with all the other things that I needed to write and read all my e-mails really fast so I have a little time to write and tell you a little about Brazil.
I am loving Brasil certainly! It is very beautiful and green. You know the drive from Grandma Alma´s to our home in St. George, pretty dry and boring, but the mountains are beautiful I will give it that, but here it is wonderful to drive around, really gorgeous with jabuticaba everywhere. Jabuticaba is a fruit that grows here and it is delicious. The trees are chuck full. It is interesting the fruit grows on the tree trunk and on the braches and everywhere. It is fun. HIdrolandia is called the city of water and jabuticaba. There is a man who has something like 31,000 trees.
Speaking of Hidrolandia I have some news as of yesterday I am not there anymore. I was transferred all of the sudden when I was minding my own business I received a phone call from Elder and he said I would be transferred, before the conversation was over I was bawling like a baby. I was so sad, I knew that I would be transferred, but I thought that at least I would finish the transfer in Hidrolandia, but I guess Presidente has something in mind. I cried thinking about all the people I came to love in HIdrolandia the 12 recent converts that I left in the hands of the members and other sisters to take care of. I hope everything will go alright. I know it will. I cried thinking that I would not have time to visit them all. I did visit Adriana, and Washington, we baptized him and helped Adriana become reactivated. She cried. It is wonderful to know the people that we have helped really feel a great love for us. I know that Maria will cry as well, I didn´t have time to go to the cidade das aguas where she lives.
My poor companion, She is the best ever! I love her so much Sister Gonçalves. She was crying pretty hard as well. I am her trainer and we had so many good times. I think she was a little scared, but I am confident that she will be okay I did my very best to train her in truth and righteousness. She is amazing and has a lot of faith. WE had 3 baptisms in 3 weeks. The Lord blessed us immensely and now he desires that I baptize here in Park Amazonas. No Annie I think that the address is wrong. You should send letters right now, or this week to the Mission home.
I think this will be way different; I am now in a large city, and finally serving my mission Brasil Goiania, in Goiania.

It has been raining here which has been a huge blessing because it is so stinking hot, before it rains it is much hotter, but the rain cools it down. They say that Goiania is hotter than Hidrolandia so we will see. I still don ´t think that it is hotter than St. George when the sun gets really hot, but we don´t spend all day out in the sun when it´s like this and everywhere has air conditioning which is pretty much the greatest invention ever. Here no one has ac and it makes it a little more uncomfortable, but I am not complaining. I definitely feel like the luckiest to be in Brazil serving a full time mission and I pray that the Lord will continue to bless my immensely like he already has.

Jandre is a recent convert that is so special. He amazes me. HE came to conference with us. He will be a great leader one day I think. He is searching. I love conference and all week I was so excited to hear from our wonderful prophet! I received a lot of personal revelation and hope that All of you as well received what you needed.

I love you all
Sister Judd

Sept 30, 2009

Familia,
Greetings from Hidrolandia again,
This was a very awesome week where we witnessed miracles, yes real live miracles Tuesday night we received a telephone call from our leaders saying that we needed to baptise three people over the weekend. My immediate non faithful reply in my mind was WHAT! Is my Presidente crazy, but i knew this was not the case and i said okay elder we will work hard. We, Sister Gonçalves and I worked our little tail ends off, and prayed prayed prayed and fasted fasted fasted and I felt that we should contact all the people who had the possibility of being baptised, had already had some lessons ect, and we looked in the Area Book I felt that we should visit a lady that Sister Galvão and I had taught, but the day before her baptism decided not to be baptised and we went there and told her that we had been praying to baptise 3 people Sunday and would like her to be one of those people. She said she would pray and we prayed with her in the moment. We checked up with her and you know what, Luzia and Isabel were both baptised this weekend, I know that with faith and revelation and inspiration and the help of my companion that although the tribulations were tough, the baptisms were beautiful! I thank my Father in Heaven every day for these great blessings and know that he has helped the small an dthe simple do extraordinary things. He is helping me in every moment, I plead for your prayers and love! Thank you for all the letters! Congrats SIssy Rebecca on Homecoming Royalty! YOu are absolutely beautiful inside and out! Hope all is well with all you all!
SIster Judd