Hey everyone how are you doing? I am doing great in England. I love it! I didn't get transferred and neither did Elder Wear. I am glad we have another transfer to work with each other. It will be fun. Rugby will have a lot of success.
Well something pretty cool is happening on sunday in Birmingham. L. Tom Perry is coming to speak to i think the Birmingham Stake but im not 100% sure. President Moffat said that we could go if we have an investigator to go with us. I really hope we can go. I am anxious to see if i can talk to him and talk to him about Grandpa Rudd. I am asuming he knows him because Grandpa knows everyone. So that should be neat.
Well this week was a little different. Not as successful as last week. We started out the week with 4 people committed for baptism. Everything went great on Monday and then on Tuesday morning we got a text from Doreen who is one of the people getting baptized and she said that her and her daughter couldn't see us anymore because they have their own church and they just came to our church to see what it was like. So that was pretty disappointing. We went by that night anyway to see if we could talk to her but she wasn't home. We were on the street visiting another person and this lady came and yelled at us and said that she better not see us up there at Doreen's house anymore and if she did then she was going to call the police. So that was the end of her which was really disappointing. So now we only have 2 committed for baptism. After we went and saw her on Tuesday we went by Eileen, the other person getting baptized, and tried to see if we could meet with her. We hadn't made contact with her for a few days and we were a little worried. When we got there we saw that she was just walking in from work. We went and talked to her and she freaked out at us. She said that we called too much and we came by her house too much and just told us that she pretty much didn't want to see us again. We were trying to explain to her why we were trying to make daily contact with her but she wouldn't listen. It was a little bit shocking because she was very excited about the church and really liked it. So it was quite an eventful tuesday. Not a whole lot happened after that until Sunday. We didn't have anyone show up for church. Not even Tricia who is getting baptized on the 6th of September. I was a bit frustrated and wondered what we did wrong. Then we were sitting in sacrament meeting and right after the sacrament ended in walks this lady. We didn't think anything of it at the time but after the meeting was over we went and introduced ourselves. Then a member told us that she had just walked in off the street and wanted to know more. Her name is Rosemary and so i went and talked to her and asked her if she enjoyed church. She said yes and she said she really enjoyed the feeling that was there. It was amazing. I was so happy for her. She seemed very nice and then after church we went and saw her. We taught her a little bit about the Restoration and then asked her to be baptized. She accepted and was very willing to do so. It was so great. I was so excited. We just talked for a minute after and she is a little wierd. She smokes big time and pretty much has no front teeth. It's pretty sick but when we were leaving Elder Wear went to go shake her hand and she gave him a big hug. I was laughing so hard. I immediately turned around and started laughing. I had to walk away because i was laughing so hard. It was a very interesting night. We taught her last night and she has no furniture in her house and so we sat on the floor and she was wrapped up in a blanket the whole time. She had it around her head and was biting it. It was pretty wierd. I can just tell there will be some more interesting stories with her so i will keep you posted. Also we have another lady who is getting baptized on the 13th as well. Her name is Thresa and she is from Zimbabwe. She doesn't read english very well and so it is a little difficult but her and Rosemary will be baptized on the same day. I am so excited.
Thanks for all your updates on the Olympics. They were great. I am glad that we got the gold back in basketball. It shouldn't have ever left the U.S. I wish i could have seen it. I am glad Deron did well.
Well thats it for this week. Thank you for all the emails. I love it. Me and Elder Wear are not getting very much mail. We have gotten two things in the last 2 weeks and they have both been from Grandma Lancaster. It is pretty sad. We have told members to feel free to write us a letter and put it through the post box. Hopefully we get some mail soon.
Well the mission is still going great. It's been almost 5 months! It's going by way way way too fast. I don't want it to end. I absolutely love it. Seeing how the gospel changes peoples lives is the greatest thing i have ever experienced in my life. Nothing else matters except the gospel. If we have the gospel we are everything but if we don't have the gospel we are nothing. I love it with all my heart. You are the best family in the world. Thanks for all the love and support. I love you guys so much.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Pictures
Here's some fun pictures Sam sent home a couple weeks ago!
A lady he taught that was baptized
It's raining...AGAIN, or should I say STILL!!!
He hasn't lost his swing! 
His bike
Cleaning a baptismal font
Another lady he taught that was baptized
Sleeping on the job! 
Hasn't changed much, has he?
Service with a smile!
Nate Morgan and Taylor Nordquist are two Elders from Sam's stake back home
The kitchen in their apartment
Gorgeous!
Hooray for brownies...
...and basketball!
His companion Elder Wear 
Do you two ever get any work done?Letter - August 19, 2008
Hello Family!!!! I am glad that everyone has had a good week. It makes me very happy to hear that. I have heard a little bit about the Olymipcs but not what i want to hear. Yeah Michael Phelps is amazing but what about the sport of my life? WHAT ABOUT THE BASKETBALL TEAM? How is Deron Williams doing? Boozer? Lebron? All those guys. I haven't heard too much about it. I heard that they won 2 games but thats about it. So please update me on the basketball. I miss basketball so much its crazy.
Well this week has been a great week. Elder Wear started out the week not very excited and he wanted to go home. He talked to President Moffat and that changed real fast. We just told him that it was a long swim and a pretty long walk so he might as well just stay. Ever since then this area has exploded! We have 4 people commited for baptism. It is great! We had 5 people at church and i think it was my best all around week of my mission. I love it. I hit the Standard of Excellence this week which i was really happy about. The Standard of Excellence is a thing that President Moffat decides on what the goals of the mission should be each week. Ours is 2 people commited for baptism, 3 people at church, 4 progressing investigators, 16 other lessons taught, 5 member present lessons, 15 hours tracting. I was really happy i hit it but this is when the work really starts. We have to make sure that these people get baptized and that they understand why they need to be. I am so excited for them. We have been trying to get this lady named Tricia baptized ever since i have been here. She has never accepted a date but we went in on Sunday and she told us that she wanted to be baptized. It was awesome. I was shocked. All i could do was tell her how happy i am for her that she decided to be baptized. It was incredible. But other than that the week has been pretty good. I almost got in a fight with some punk last night. We were riding our bikes and he was starting to come up this little path and so i moved out of the way so he could get by and as he passed me he swore at me and i didn't say anything. Then he went across the street and said what did you say and i didn't say anything so i just said nothing then he asked if i wanted to go and i said i would like to see you try and then we rode off. But it was close. Don't worry though i don't get in too much trouble with people.
We had interviews on Wednesday and they were great. I love them. Elder Nordquist is A.P. now and he is doing a great job. He is making the stake proud. President Moffat is an amazing man. He really knows how to talk to us as missionaries and he truly cares about each and every missionary. This mission is having great success right now. As of wednesday we had 103 people commited for baptism. I am sure we have a few more now. President Moffat has changed this mission around completely and it is one of the best missions in Europe. I love it so much. It is the greatest thing i have ever done. I am so happy right now and i know it is because i am in the service of our Heavenly Father. This is the only way to true happiness. I love it so much.
I am excited to hear about From Cumorah's Hill. I loved it when i did it. It was so fun and i know it will be even better this time. (Maybe it was fun for me because i stood next to Kelly Casaday the whole time.) Dan it is a great experience. You will love doing it. Tom i know you don't like singing but this is a great experience. Go and try out for one of the acting parts. It would be a blast for you. I know that if you do it you would not regret it.
Well before i forget i should tell you that next week is transfers. I can't believe it is here again. Time flies out here. I don't want it to. I can't believe i have been gone almost 5 months. It is crazy. So i will be emailing you on Wednesday. I wouldn't be suprised if Elder Wear gets transfered so it might even be thursday but we will just have to see. So don't expect an email on Tuesday.
Well i love all of you guys and i love hearing from you. You are the best family in the world. Thank you for all your support and prayers. The church is true and it is amazing to see it change peoples lives. It is the greatest joy anyone can ever have. I love you.
Elder Sam Rudd
Well this week has been a great week. Elder Wear started out the week not very excited and he wanted to go home. He talked to President Moffat and that changed real fast. We just told him that it was a long swim and a pretty long walk so he might as well just stay. Ever since then this area has exploded! We have 4 people commited for baptism. It is great! We had 5 people at church and i think it was my best all around week of my mission. I love it. I hit the Standard of Excellence this week which i was really happy about. The Standard of Excellence is a thing that President Moffat decides on what the goals of the mission should be each week. Ours is 2 people commited for baptism, 3 people at church, 4 progressing investigators, 16 other lessons taught, 5 member present lessons, 15 hours tracting. I was really happy i hit it but this is when the work really starts. We have to make sure that these people get baptized and that they understand why they need to be. I am so excited for them. We have been trying to get this lady named Tricia baptized ever since i have been here. She has never accepted a date but we went in on Sunday and she told us that she wanted to be baptized. It was awesome. I was shocked. All i could do was tell her how happy i am for her that she decided to be baptized. It was incredible. But other than that the week has been pretty good. I almost got in a fight with some punk last night. We were riding our bikes and he was starting to come up this little path and so i moved out of the way so he could get by and as he passed me he swore at me and i didn't say anything. Then he went across the street and said what did you say and i didn't say anything so i just said nothing then he asked if i wanted to go and i said i would like to see you try and then we rode off. But it was close. Don't worry though i don't get in too much trouble with people.
We had interviews on Wednesday and they were great. I love them. Elder Nordquist is A.P. now and he is doing a great job. He is making the stake proud. President Moffat is an amazing man. He really knows how to talk to us as missionaries and he truly cares about each and every missionary. This mission is having great success right now. As of wednesday we had 103 people commited for baptism. I am sure we have a few more now. President Moffat has changed this mission around completely and it is one of the best missions in Europe. I love it so much. It is the greatest thing i have ever done. I am so happy right now and i know it is because i am in the service of our Heavenly Father. This is the only way to true happiness. I love it so much.
I am excited to hear about From Cumorah's Hill. I loved it when i did it. It was so fun and i know it will be even better this time. (Maybe it was fun for me because i stood next to Kelly Casaday the whole time.) Dan it is a great experience. You will love doing it. Tom i know you don't like singing but this is a great experience. Go and try out for one of the acting parts. It would be a blast for you. I know that if you do it you would not regret it.
Well before i forget i should tell you that next week is transfers. I can't believe it is here again. Time flies out here. I don't want it to. I can't believe i have been gone almost 5 months. It is crazy. So i will be emailing you on Wednesday. I wouldn't be suprised if Elder Wear gets transfered so it might even be thursday but we will just have to see. So don't expect an email on Tuesday.
Well i love all of you guys and i love hearing from you. You are the best family in the world. Thank you for all your support and prayers. The church is true and it is amazing to see it change peoples lives. It is the greatest joy anyone can ever have. I love you.
Elder Sam Rudd
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Letter - August 12, 2008
Hey there!!! How is everyone doing? I am glad that all is well and everyone seems to be doing excellent. I love the emails. Keep sending them.
Well this week was a decent week. The work is a little rough right now. We haven't been teaching too many people and we can't get anyone to keep their dang appointments. That is what we are really trying to work on and improve. I still love the work so much and it is amazing to see it work in people's lives. We had this one black guy from Ghana that we were teaching. He accepted a baptismal date but he hasn't been to church yet. He told us that he would be there for sure on Sunday. We had an appointment with him on Saturday and he wasn't there. We called him quite a few times and no answer. I left a message on his phone that said he had to be at church the next day or he couldn't get baptized. Well he didn't show up to church and the rule is that investigators have to come to church twice before they are interviewed for baptism. So he couldn't be baptized on the 23rd. It was really really frustrating. We have been calling him loads of times the past two days and no answer. If he ever answers he will get it from me because he has done this before and he promised us. So it has been a little frustrating week but that happens. We did have a lady show up to church though that we didn't expect to. I called her on saturday night and she said she would love to come. She is from Portugal and so it is hard to understand her. I am like dad when it comes to people speaking other languages. I still only pick up on about half of what the English say. Well other than that we didn't have alot going on this week. Just alot of tracting. Tracting can be frustrating but you just have to stay focused and keep in mind that the seed may be planted for a later time. I love missionary work and i love everything about it.
Warwick Castle was awesome. I loved it. It was so cool to see all the history that was there and just see all of it. We were only there for a couple hours so we weren't able to see all of it but i hope to go back sometime next transfer if i am still here. Cameron would have loved seeing the jousting and the guys riding the horses. It was way cool.
Well this past week Ms. Flynn got home from her trip to Ireland. She got back and then left again for a couple days to go to London. While she was in Ireland a couple weeks ago we did something that Ms. Flynn was not happy about. Our bread got moldy and so we decided to throw it outside to feed the birds. Well we threw it onto her conservatory that she has and thought nothing of it. Then because it is England it rained and rained and rained some more. The bread got wet and more moldy and slid down onto her door and onto her deck outside. It was not a good thing and we didn't know it had happened until she got home on Sunday. She was not very happy with us and so we spent some time yesterday cleaning it all up. It was not easy to clean up and it was everywhere. She wasn't too mad at us yesterday and we know she couldn't be because we are the best missionaries that have ever stayed with her. Lets just say we learned our lesson.
Well thats about all that happened this week. Tomorrow is interviews and i am really excited about that. I love talking with President Moffat and learning from him. He is going to be an apostle one day. His knowledge of the gospel and missionary work is amazing. I love it.
I love you guys and i love all the support you give me. You are the best family in the world. I absolutely love my mission. It is the greatest time of my life. Dad i am asking you right now to please not release me when i come home. I never want to stop being a missionary. I love it so much and i love this gospel. You guys are the best and i love you.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Well this week was a decent week. The work is a little rough right now. We haven't been teaching too many people and we can't get anyone to keep their dang appointments. That is what we are really trying to work on and improve. I still love the work so much and it is amazing to see it work in people's lives. We had this one black guy from Ghana that we were teaching. He accepted a baptismal date but he hasn't been to church yet. He told us that he would be there for sure on Sunday. We had an appointment with him on Saturday and he wasn't there. We called him quite a few times and no answer. I left a message on his phone that said he had to be at church the next day or he couldn't get baptized. Well he didn't show up to church and the rule is that investigators have to come to church twice before they are interviewed for baptism. So he couldn't be baptized on the 23rd. It was really really frustrating. We have been calling him loads of times the past two days and no answer. If he ever answers he will get it from me because he has done this before and he promised us. So it has been a little frustrating week but that happens. We did have a lady show up to church though that we didn't expect to. I called her on saturday night and she said she would love to come. She is from Portugal and so it is hard to understand her. I am like dad when it comes to people speaking other languages. I still only pick up on about half of what the English say. Well other than that we didn't have alot going on this week. Just alot of tracting. Tracting can be frustrating but you just have to stay focused and keep in mind that the seed may be planted for a later time. I love missionary work and i love everything about it.
Warwick Castle was awesome. I loved it. It was so cool to see all the history that was there and just see all of it. We were only there for a couple hours so we weren't able to see all of it but i hope to go back sometime next transfer if i am still here. Cameron would have loved seeing the jousting and the guys riding the horses. It was way cool.
Well this past week Ms. Flynn got home from her trip to Ireland. She got back and then left again for a couple days to go to London. While she was in Ireland a couple weeks ago we did something that Ms. Flynn was not happy about. Our bread got moldy and so we decided to throw it outside to feed the birds. Well we threw it onto her conservatory that she has and thought nothing of it. Then because it is England it rained and rained and rained some more. The bread got wet and more moldy and slid down onto her door and onto her deck outside. It was not a good thing and we didn't know it had happened until she got home on Sunday. She was not very happy with us and so we spent some time yesterday cleaning it all up. It was not easy to clean up and it was everywhere. She wasn't too mad at us yesterday and we know she couldn't be because we are the best missionaries that have ever stayed with her. Lets just say we learned our lesson.
Well thats about all that happened this week. Tomorrow is interviews and i am really excited about that. I love talking with President Moffat and learning from him. He is going to be an apostle one day. His knowledge of the gospel and missionary work is amazing. I love it.
I love you guys and i love all the support you give me. You are the best family in the world. I absolutely love my mission. It is the greatest time of my life. Dad i am asking you right now to please not release me when i come home. I never want to stop being a missionary. I love it so much and i love this gospel. You guys are the best and i love you.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Letter - August 5, 2008
Hey there!!! It was so good to hear from everyone this week. Sorry this email might be a little shorter but we are going to Warwick Castle. (Pronounced Warrick) We have to catch a bus in less than an hour and so i will try to write as much as i can.
This week was a good week. Not the best but it was better than the week before. We had an investigator at church and then after that we went over to her house and tried to set a baptismal date with her. I tried as hard as i could but she wouldn't commit. She is too worried about smoking and drinking coffee. Elder Wear likes to just throw the lessons on me and not give me any warning. He doesn't prepare as well as he should but we usually have pretty good lessons. I have taught about 3 or 4 lessons just on my own pretty much. It is a good experience but a little frustrating at times. So we are going to try and get her to accept a baptismal date this week and i am just going to go in there and tell her how it is and tell her that she needs to be baptized because if she does it on her own time then it won't happen. But other than that it was pretty much just a normal week. We have an appointment on wednesday with a guy we stopped in the street and he seems pretty solid and so we are going to set a date with him as well. So hopefully this week we will get two people commited for baptism. I'm really excited. I don't know what it is about me but i swear every time i go and stop someone on the street i get either a dirty look or i get sworn at. This one lady said the f word to me about 5 times the other day. I just laughed. But thats how the english are. This country really is about 10 years behind America. Its crazy.
But last Tuesday it was Zone Conference. We had it at the Gadfield Elm Chapel. It is the oldest dedicated chapel in the church. We spent the whole day going around to a few different sites where Wilford Woodruff baptized some people and where Heber C Kimball, Brigham Young, Willard Richards, and all the early missionaries of the church were. It was so cool to be there. The spirit was so strong. President Moffat took a couple minutes at each site and just talked about it and then we ended up at the chapel and had the rest of Zone Conference. It was amazing. But the sites we went to were Bembo Pond (i don't know about that spelling), and then the hills i can't remember what they are called but Jeffrey R. Holland said he used to go there when he was the area president over here and recieve revelation. I can't tell you how neat it was. I absolutely loved it.
I love being a missionary. It is the best time of my life. I can't tell you how much i love it. The work is amazing and the gospel is so true. I love it with all my heart. I know that if we put our whole heart, might, mind, and strength into this work that it will bless our lives. The gospel is the only way to 100% true happiness. I am so blessed because of it.
Well i guess i will take a few minutes and tell you about Rugby. It is a small town. Smaller than Swindon. It is a ward but only about 60 - 70 people show up to church. It rains just as much as Swindon. Asking if it rains in England is like asking if i am a boy. It seriously rains almost every day. If it doesn't rain it is hot and humid. But England is just an old country and very different. Elder Wear is a good companion. We get a long very well. I love being a missionary and doing the Lords work. I tell you that all the time but i can't say it enough. I wish i knew more and i wish that i had studied about the gospel more before i left. I love the studies i have every morning and i love reading Preach My Gospel. Every time i read it it just bears witness to me that it really is inspired and that missionary work has taken a big step forward with it. I love it so much. I love the family. I love all of you so much. Katie i am so happy that you still remember me. I love you and Cameron you will always be my best bud. I am glad you are recovering well from your fall. I hope that one day you will serve a mission just like your dad and grandpa and Cade and me and see how fun it really is. I love you bud. I love all of you and i hope that everything is going well back home. You are the greatest family in the world and there is no family that is better. I think about you guys all the time and i hope that i am making you proud. Thank you for all of your support. You don't know how much it means to me. I love you.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
This week was a good week. Not the best but it was better than the week before. We had an investigator at church and then after that we went over to her house and tried to set a baptismal date with her. I tried as hard as i could but she wouldn't commit. She is too worried about smoking and drinking coffee. Elder Wear likes to just throw the lessons on me and not give me any warning. He doesn't prepare as well as he should but we usually have pretty good lessons. I have taught about 3 or 4 lessons just on my own pretty much. It is a good experience but a little frustrating at times. So we are going to try and get her to accept a baptismal date this week and i am just going to go in there and tell her how it is and tell her that she needs to be baptized because if she does it on her own time then it won't happen. But other than that it was pretty much just a normal week. We have an appointment on wednesday with a guy we stopped in the street and he seems pretty solid and so we are going to set a date with him as well. So hopefully this week we will get two people commited for baptism. I'm really excited. I don't know what it is about me but i swear every time i go and stop someone on the street i get either a dirty look or i get sworn at. This one lady said the f word to me about 5 times the other day. I just laughed. But thats how the english are. This country really is about 10 years behind America. Its crazy.
But last Tuesday it was Zone Conference. We had it at the Gadfield Elm Chapel. It is the oldest dedicated chapel in the church. We spent the whole day going around to a few different sites where Wilford Woodruff baptized some people and where Heber C Kimball, Brigham Young, Willard Richards, and all the early missionaries of the church were. It was so cool to be there. The spirit was so strong. President Moffat took a couple minutes at each site and just talked about it and then we ended up at the chapel and had the rest of Zone Conference. It was amazing. But the sites we went to were Bembo Pond (i don't know about that spelling), and then the hills i can't remember what they are called but Jeffrey R. Holland said he used to go there when he was the area president over here and recieve revelation. I can't tell you how neat it was. I absolutely loved it.
I love being a missionary. It is the best time of my life. I can't tell you how much i love it. The work is amazing and the gospel is so true. I love it with all my heart. I know that if we put our whole heart, might, mind, and strength into this work that it will bless our lives. The gospel is the only way to 100% true happiness. I am so blessed because of it.
Well i guess i will take a few minutes and tell you about Rugby. It is a small town. Smaller than Swindon. It is a ward but only about 60 - 70 people show up to church. It rains just as much as Swindon. Asking if it rains in England is like asking if i am a boy. It seriously rains almost every day. If it doesn't rain it is hot and humid. But England is just an old country and very different. Elder Wear is a good companion. We get a long very well. I love being a missionary and doing the Lords work. I tell you that all the time but i can't say it enough. I wish i knew more and i wish that i had studied about the gospel more before i left. I love the studies i have every morning and i love reading Preach My Gospel. Every time i read it it just bears witness to me that it really is inspired and that missionary work has taken a big step forward with it. I love it so much. I love the family. I love all of you so much. Katie i am so happy that you still remember me. I love you and Cameron you will always be my best bud. I am glad you are recovering well from your fall. I hope that one day you will serve a mission just like your dad and grandpa and Cade and me and see how fun it really is. I love you bud. I love all of you and i hope that everything is going well back home. You are the greatest family in the world and there is no family that is better. I think about you guys all the time and i hope that i am making you proud. Thank you for all of your support. You don't know how much it means to me. I love you.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
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