Hey familia how are you guys doing? It sounds like everything is going great there. I got the package you sent me with the scriptures so that was good. Thank you for that. I love them!!! Also good job Utes for pickin up the W this last weekend. Keep it up!!!!
Well this week was a pretty good week. We had interviews in Coventry and those went well as always. President Moffat once again continues to amaze me. He is a great mission president and a great example. I will miss him quite a bit when he leaves. My interview was very good and i learned a whole lot from President Moffat. At the end of interviews President Moffat came in where all the missionaries were and just yelled ''Elder Rudd, Elder Wear in my office right now.'' It scared the crap out of me and then he started laughing and said ''I got ya pretty good didn't i.'' It was typical President Moffat and so we went and talked to him and he told me that i was senior companion for this next week. He wanted me to experience that for a week and see how i did. So since friday i have been the senior companion. It has been a very humbling experience and i have learned alot from it. I hope i can continue to help this area grow the rest of the week.
Trisha is doing good. She hasn't smoked since Thursday!! It is awesome. Hopefully she is done for the rest of her life. She is scheduled to be baptized on the 11th of October so we are really pushing her. She has made a lot of progress. I am really really proud of her. She just needs to take that next leap of faith and rely on the Lord. We had an interesting thing happen in church on sunday. We were sitting in Elders Quorum and all of the sudden we see Rosemary walk in again. (She is the blanket lady.) She also had a friend. Apparently like half way into Relief Society the friend decided to try and light a cigarette. The relief society president saw her and took her outside and came and got us. We went outside and she just started to walk home. There were definately some screws loose in that head. She was crazy. We all had a pretty good laugh with that one. Other than that we haven't had to much more goin on. Just tryin to get the crazy and depressed english to accept the gospel.
I'm glad you got the memory card. Throwing those things out the window was so fun! It was a little slippery on the roof but we handled it ok. We had had a long day and it was pretty rough so we needed something to calm us down. It was very fun. Also the stuff in front of the door is the moldy bread that we threw out and it got rained on so it fell down onto the deck.
I can't believe General Conference is here again. That is crazy. I can't believe i only have 18 more months to go. It goes by too fast. I love serving the Lord and doing this great work. It truly is a great work. There is absolutely nothing else like it. I am so blessed and so honored to go and to share this gospel with people. I have come to really know that the church is true. If this wasn't the Lords work us 19 year olds would have already screwed it up big time. I love this gospel with my whole heart. I was walking down the street the other day and i just looked around and thought to myself how lost all these people are. They say they are happy but they really aren't. It just made me that much more grateful and motivated for this work. It is the best thing we can ever do.
Well that is about all for this week. Unless tiff didn't tell you it is transfers next week and i think Elder Wear is leaving so i probably won't email until Thursday. I love you all and i hope your doing well. I hope school is going well and that everyone is happy. I challenge everyone who reads this email to find someone for the missionaries to teach. Members of the church are full time finders, Missionaries are full time teachers. You don't understand how much a referral means to a missionary. I know all of you know someone who isn't a part of the church. Invite them to meet with the missionaries. I can promise you that you will be blessed more than you can imagine. I love being in the service of the Lord. I love the gospel and it really is the true church. Thanks for all your love and support.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Letter - September 23, 2008
Hello there!!!! Thank you for the emails. They mean alot. I love hearing about everything that is going on. It makes me feel good to know that everyone is happy and safe. I love you all.
Well this week was a pretty good week. We had a baptism on Saturday. Her name was Jennifer Ferrell and she is 10 years old. She didn't get baptized when she was 8 but she comes to church every week and rarely ever misses. Since she was over the age of 9 she counted as a convert baptism. It was a great service. Also Trisha was supposed to get baptized this upcoming Saturday. President Moffat came teaching with us to her house and sorted the past concern out and now all she needed to do was give up smoking. She was doing great until yesterday. We call her at 7 in the morning every morning to make sure she doesn't smoke and then multiple times throughout the day. We talked to her at about 5 30 and then again at about 7 30 and when i talked to her at 7 30 she told me that she had smoked a couple hours ago. I was devestated. My heart just dropped and felt like it shattered into a million pieces. I told her that was not good and she said she knew. It really just broke my heart when she told me that she smoked. I honestly have not cared about an investigator as much as Trisha. She is a great lady. Me and Elder Wear both feel that way. We are going to teach her tonight with our new ward mission leader, (who reminds me exactly like Mark Hulet. It's scary. But he is exactly like him ), and we are just going to be bold with her and help her through it. It is so hard to see people not keep commitments that are so important. I want Trisha to be baptized so much because i know that it will bless her life so much. It will bless her family. I never thought that i could love people as much as i do out here. I really do care about all of our investigators. It is still hard to love everyone that i talk to because we meet some real winners and some real jerks but i pray for that help every time i pray. Also this week Rosemary, blanket lady, walked into church again. She is out of control. We didn't really understand what happened but we did not expect it at all. She walked in and then we asked her to be baptized on October 11th. She accepted and we stressed that it has to be different this time and that she needs to hold her appointments. Hopefully she will understand. We also found a guy named Lee and set a date with him on the 11th as well. Also BIG NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!! WE FOUND ELVIS!!!!!!! HE IS STILL ALIVE!!!! DONT WORRY!!!!! THE KING IS BACK IN THE BUILDING!!!! Hahaha we found this guy yesterday who thinks that he is Elvis. He goes and does shows and immitates Elvis. He played a cd of him singing which was actually pretty good but he told us that one day he will make it big. He told us that he is the next best singer next to Elvis. It was pretty funny. I was laughing and also worried because this guy was nuts. That is our interesting story for yesterday. This week should be a good week. I am excited about General Conference but i'm not at the same time. That means that i only have 18 months left. Time absolutely flies out here. I remember Elder Nordquist told me that he had 9 months left when he got here and now he only has 3. It seems like yesterday that i was sitting in the MTC watching General Conference and watching our brand new prophet wiggle his ears. It is amazing how time goes.
WHAT IS UP WITH UTAH???? DISCIPLINE KYLE, DISCIPLINE. Why are we having so many penalties? I don't get it. You are right it is a good thing i am 10,000 miles away. Kyle would definately be hearing from me. That is great though that we are ranked again. I love it. GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well i think that i have gotten everything you have sent me. I haven't gotten the package yet that you sent last week but im sure i will get it soon. I haven't sent that package home that i was going to a few weeks ago but i am today. Thats about it for this week. I am loving every minute of my service. I love it so much. Alma 29:9 sums it up. I love the gospel. It brings so much happiness into peoples lives. I think i took it for granted back home but i realize now more than ever how important it is. The gospel truly is the only way to true happiness. I testify that Jesus Christ lives. He is our savior and our redeemer. I love him more than ever. Joseph Smith truly is a prophet and he did look up and see through the trees Our loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I love the Prophet Joseph. I know that Thomas S. Monson leads this church today. He is an inspired man. I love him. This gospel is so true and i love it with all my heart. I love all of you and i am so greatful for your love and support. You don't know how much it helps me and how much it means to me. I love you.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
p.s. i cut my own hair and we don't have too many dinner appointments. I am still starving but you know that even if i eat i am still hungry. Send me some jif peanut butter. They have jars that say peanut butter over here but it ain't no peanut butter.
Well this week was a pretty good week. We had a baptism on Saturday. Her name was Jennifer Ferrell and she is 10 years old. She didn't get baptized when she was 8 but she comes to church every week and rarely ever misses. Since she was over the age of 9 she counted as a convert baptism. It was a great service. Also Trisha was supposed to get baptized this upcoming Saturday. President Moffat came teaching with us to her house and sorted the past concern out and now all she needed to do was give up smoking. She was doing great until yesterday. We call her at 7 in the morning every morning to make sure she doesn't smoke and then multiple times throughout the day. We talked to her at about 5 30 and then again at about 7 30 and when i talked to her at 7 30 she told me that she had smoked a couple hours ago. I was devestated. My heart just dropped and felt like it shattered into a million pieces. I told her that was not good and she said she knew. It really just broke my heart when she told me that she smoked. I honestly have not cared about an investigator as much as Trisha. She is a great lady. Me and Elder Wear both feel that way. We are going to teach her tonight with our new ward mission leader, (who reminds me exactly like Mark Hulet. It's scary. But he is exactly like him ), and we are just going to be bold with her and help her through it. It is so hard to see people not keep commitments that are so important. I want Trisha to be baptized so much because i know that it will bless her life so much. It will bless her family. I never thought that i could love people as much as i do out here. I really do care about all of our investigators. It is still hard to love everyone that i talk to because we meet some real winners and some real jerks but i pray for that help every time i pray. Also this week Rosemary, blanket lady, walked into church again. She is out of control. We didn't really understand what happened but we did not expect it at all. She walked in and then we asked her to be baptized on October 11th. She accepted and we stressed that it has to be different this time and that she needs to hold her appointments. Hopefully she will understand. We also found a guy named Lee and set a date with him on the 11th as well. Also BIG NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!! WE FOUND ELVIS!!!!!!! HE IS STILL ALIVE!!!! DONT WORRY!!!!! THE KING IS BACK IN THE BUILDING!!!! Hahaha we found this guy yesterday who thinks that he is Elvis. He goes and does shows and immitates Elvis. He played a cd of him singing which was actually pretty good but he told us that one day he will make it big. He told us that he is the next best singer next to Elvis. It was pretty funny. I was laughing and also worried because this guy was nuts. That is our interesting story for yesterday. This week should be a good week. I am excited about General Conference but i'm not at the same time. That means that i only have 18 months left. Time absolutely flies out here. I remember Elder Nordquist told me that he had 9 months left when he got here and now he only has 3. It seems like yesterday that i was sitting in the MTC watching General Conference and watching our brand new prophet wiggle his ears. It is amazing how time goes.
WHAT IS UP WITH UTAH???? DISCIPLINE KYLE, DISCIPLINE. Why are we having so many penalties? I don't get it. You are right it is a good thing i am 10,000 miles away. Kyle would definately be hearing from me. That is great though that we are ranked again. I love it. GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well i think that i have gotten everything you have sent me. I haven't gotten the package yet that you sent last week but im sure i will get it soon. I haven't sent that package home that i was going to a few weeks ago but i am today. Thats about it for this week. I am loving every minute of my service. I love it so much. Alma 29:9 sums it up. I love the gospel. It brings so much happiness into peoples lives. I think i took it for granted back home but i realize now more than ever how important it is. The gospel truly is the only way to true happiness. I testify that Jesus Christ lives. He is our savior and our redeemer. I love him more than ever. Joseph Smith truly is a prophet and he did look up and see through the trees Our loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I love the Prophet Joseph. I know that Thomas S. Monson leads this church today. He is an inspired man. I love him. This gospel is so true and i love it with all my heart. I love all of you and i am so greatful for your love and support. You don't know how much it helps me and how much it means to me. I love you.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
p.s. i cut my own hair and we don't have too many dinner appointments. I am still starving but you know that even if i eat i am still hungry. Send me some jif peanut butter. They have jars that say peanut butter over here but it ain't no peanut butter.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Letter - September 16, 2008
Hello how is everyone? I hope all is well there. It sounds like everyone is doing well and having fun. We just had our mission football (soccer) in coventry and it was pretty fun. We won two games and lost two. We should have won all of them but we just werent making our shots. It was a little disappointing but it was fun to be with all the missionaries. I scored a couple goals and people said i was one of the fastest kids there. I am going to be sore tomorrow though. I saw Elder Nordquist, Elder Landgren, and Elder Morgan. We got a picture together so you will get that sometime. So we have had a fun day.
Well this week was a good week. We had Zone Conference which was amazing and i learned so much from it. President Moffat is so inspired and i love learning from him. He puts things so simple and he truly cares about each and every missionary. The Zone Conference was on Chapter 10 in Preach My Gospel and i had to give a talk at it. We are reading the Book of Mormon as a mission and finishing it before the end of the year. As we read it we are looking for all the references to the spirit. It is amazing to read the Book of Mormon. I love it with all of my heart. I know that it is true. I encourage all of you to read from the Book of Mormon daily. It makes your day so much better. Also during the week i think it was Friday, it absolutely poured. All day long it rained. It poured and poured and poured. Streets were flooding and it was not very good at all. I was so wet. I think it was the worst storm of my mission. We finally went back for dinner and i took everything out of my backpack and i took my scriptures out and they were absolutely drenched. They are not in working condition right now lets just say that. I would love it if you guys sent me a new set. I still have my small set so it will work but i pretty much need new scriptures ASAP!!!!! I don't care what color or style but i would prefer the medium sized set. I just need new ones. Also that night we were going to talk to a lady that we had spoken to earlier but we got to the house and no one was there. As we were walking away a guy was walking by and saw us and went inside and got a Book of Mormon. We taught him and he was a little drunk but i shared Helaman 5:12 with him and told him that if he gets his life in order and in line with God that satan would have no power over him. As soon as i said that he started to get tears in his eyes and we set up a return appointment. It was just amazing to see how the spirit works. I love it so much. I love missionary work. It is the best thing that we could ever do. I can't imagine doing anything else.
Thank you for the sports update. I need to have a talk with Kyle and tell him that he better get his team disciplined or else nothing good will happen. What is up with all the stupid penalties this year? Well i still love the Utes and i cheer for them every saturday. GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!
I still haven't gotten a lot of mail so if anyone back in Utah loves me i would love to hear from them. I am happy that you are enjoying From Cumorahs Hill. I wish i could do it again. I loved doing it. Well that is it for this week. I am having a great time out here. I am so happy and i love every minute of every day. Missionary work is the greatest. I love all of you guys and i hope that this week is a good week for all of you.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Well this week was a good week. We had Zone Conference which was amazing and i learned so much from it. President Moffat is so inspired and i love learning from him. He puts things so simple and he truly cares about each and every missionary. The Zone Conference was on Chapter 10 in Preach My Gospel and i had to give a talk at it. We are reading the Book of Mormon as a mission and finishing it before the end of the year. As we read it we are looking for all the references to the spirit. It is amazing to read the Book of Mormon. I love it with all of my heart. I know that it is true. I encourage all of you to read from the Book of Mormon daily. It makes your day so much better. Also during the week i think it was Friday, it absolutely poured. All day long it rained. It poured and poured and poured. Streets were flooding and it was not very good at all. I was so wet. I think it was the worst storm of my mission. We finally went back for dinner and i took everything out of my backpack and i took my scriptures out and they were absolutely drenched. They are not in working condition right now lets just say that. I would love it if you guys sent me a new set. I still have my small set so it will work but i pretty much need new scriptures ASAP!!!!! I don't care what color or style but i would prefer the medium sized set. I just need new ones. Also that night we were going to talk to a lady that we had spoken to earlier but we got to the house and no one was there. As we were walking away a guy was walking by and saw us and went inside and got a Book of Mormon. We taught him and he was a little drunk but i shared Helaman 5:12 with him and told him that if he gets his life in order and in line with God that satan would have no power over him. As soon as i said that he started to get tears in his eyes and we set up a return appointment. It was just amazing to see how the spirit works. I love it so much. I love missionary work. It is the best thing that we could ever do. I can't imagine doing anything else.
Thank you for the sports update. I need to have a talk with Kyle and tell him that he better get his team disciplined or else nothing good will happen. What is up with all the stupid penalties this year? Well i still love the Utes and i cheer for them every saturday. GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!
I still haven't gotten a lot of mail so if anyone back in Utah loves me i would love to hear from them. I am happy that you are enjoying From Cumorahs Hill. I wish i could do it again. I loved doing it. Well that is it for this week. I am having a great time out here. I am so happy and i love every minute of every day. Missionary work is the greatest. I love all of you guys and i hope that this week is a good week for all of you.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Letter - September 9, 2008
Hey family how is everyone? I was glad to hear from all of you this week. I don't have a lot of time on the computer today so this may not be very long so i apologize for that.
Well this week has been just an ordinary week. Not a whole lot of exciting things. We have Zone Conference on Thursday in Birmingham so i am excited about that. Trisha is making a lot of progress. She didn't come to church on sunday because her son didn't want to go and she doesn't like to leave him home alone so she didn't come but she is getting alot better and we are planning on setting a baptismal date with her again. I am confident all will go well. We still haven't made contact with Rosemary and it is pretty frustrating so we have decided not to go by her unless we are in the area or see her on the street. We will get her back though. We found a few more people yesterday that seem pretty good so this week is looking good. I am excited for it.
We worked with the Zone Leaders this week and it was really good because i learned a lot of new things. They helped us realize some things and we have really worked hard at doing the things that they asked us to do.
The computers here are messed up so hopefully we can get on to another computer and email. But we only got like 20 minutes so this one is really short. I love being a missionary. It has been a tough week and a real faith trying week but i know that the Lord will help us and we will see success. The greatest joys in my life so far have been on this mission. There is nothing greater. I love this gospel. I love all of you and i want to thank you for all of your support. It means a lot to me. I love you and i look forward to hearing from you again.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
P.S. GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well this week has been just an ordinary week. Not a whole lot of exciting things. We have Zone Conference on Thursday in Birmingham so i am excited about that. Trisha is making a lot of progress. She didn't come to church on sunday because her son didn't want to go and she doesn't like to leave him home alone so she didn't come but she is getting alot better and we are planning on setting a baptismal date with her again. I am confident all will go well. We still haven't made contact with Rosemary and it is pretty frustrating so we have decided not to go by her unless we are in the area or see her on the street. We will get her back though. We found a few more people yesterday that seem pretty good so this week is looking good. I am excited for it.
We worked with the Zone Leaders this week and it was really good because i learned a lot of new things. They helped us realize some things and we have really worked hard at doing the things that they asked us to do.
The computers here are messed up so hopefully we can get on to another computer and email. But we only got like 20 minutes so this one is really short. I love being a missionary. It has been a tough week and a real faith trying week but i know that the Lord will help us and we will see success. The greatest joys in my life so far have been on this mission. There is nothing greater. I love this gospel. I love all of you and i want to thank you for all of your support. It means a lot to me. I love you and i look forward to hearing from you again.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
P.S. GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Letter - September 2, 2008
Hey family how are you doing? It was good to hear from you again as always and it sounds like all of you are doing well. It always makes me feel better when i know that you guys are safe, healthy, and having fun.
Well first things first...We were tracting on Sunday and all of the sudden i look at my watch and it said the 31st and i was like wait its already August. Football probably started this weekend. Wow time flies. It seems like it just got over. Did Asiata start or did Mack? Did Mack play and if so how did he do? Did he pick up right where he left off from? Well anyways make sure that they don't fly over to Hawaii again to celebrate and leave the practice squad to play against UNLV. They better get fired up. Are we ranked at all? Was Michigan ranked? Well i love it!! GO UTES!!!!!!!! (I will have to tell President Moffat about that one. He is a HUGE Utah fan!!!) Keep me updated on all sports.
Well on Sunday we went and heard L. Tom Perry speak in Birmingham. It was awesome!! He is so powerful. When he was just speaking normally he was just like he is in General Conference. But wow when he bore testimony he raised his voice a little and the spirit just filled the room. It was so amazing to see and hear an apostle of the Lord bear testimony of the reality of the Gospel. He is on a tour of Europe and some of the missions as well. He brought Elder Rasband with him as well and so he spoke. It was a great meeting. I loved it so much. After the meeting i went up on the stand and shook hands with Elder Rasband and told him that he had come to stake conference a couple years ago. He asked me which stake and he said that is a great great stake and he said to tell dad hi. After that Elder Perry was making his way out of the chapel and i caught him and put my arm around him and said to him Elder Perry i enjoyed your talk. It was great. Then he said are you related to the "famous Rudd" and i said yes he is my Grandpa and he said wonderful. Then he had to leave. But it was amazing to talk to an Apostle and shake his hand. The spirit just glows off of him and he is one amazing man.
Well this week was full of interesting things. Trisha was supposed to be getting interviewed for baptism on Saturday so we went and taught her on friday and reviewed the questions with her. I asked her a question and a concern came up. It was not a good one. We had to call President Moffat about it and things just didn't go to well. Our district leader came and did the interview as usual on Saturday and when it came to that question she flipped out and we told her that she had to meet with President Moffat before she could be baptized. Everything went downhill from there and she didn't want to come to church anymore and she just went crazy. So Trisha's baptism for this Saturday had to be pushed because of it. We had to go back Sunday and pretty much build our relationship back up with her. That didn't go too well. She didn't talk alot but when she did she yelled and yelled at us. We went by last night and it was alot better. She was talking to us and laughing with us so we think she has felt the spirit pretty strong and hopefully something has changed. It was pretty intense. Rosemary aka blanket lady is wierd. I don't think she realizes she needs to be taught and give things up before she is baptized. We have tried to make contact with her but no luck. Hopefully we will today. I really hope she gets baptized because it will be a great blessing in her life. Well thats about all for this week. It has been a somewhat disappointing week but the work moves on and we will try to resolve some concerns. It is great. I love it. This work is inspired of God and we have to be in tune with the spirit 100% or else its not effective. I have learned so much since i have been out here and i continue to learn and grow each day. I have learned so much about myself and just how important the gospel really is. It is amazing what missions do for people. Best time of my life. No doubt about it. I hope i am making you guys, our ward, our stake, but most importantly the Lord proud. I am working hard and working on improving every day. There is nothing greater. I love you guys and i do miss you but i love being on the Lords errand. I will forever be in debt to him. I know that we have a prophet on the earth today. I know that the Apostles are real and that they along with the prophet are the most powerful men on the earth. It is so comforting to know that. I love to see the gospel change lives. It is the greatest joy ever. I love you. The church is true!!!
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Well first things first...We were tracting on Sunday and all of the sudden i look at my watch and it said the 31st and i was like wait its already August. Football probably started this weekend. Wow time flies. It seems like it just got over. Did Asiata start or did Mack? Did Mack play and if so how did he do? Did he pick up right where he left off from? Well anyways make sure that they don't fly over to Hawaii again to celebrate and leave the practice squad to play against UNLV. They better get fired up. Are we ranked at all? Was Michigan ranked? Well i love it!! GO UTES!!!!!!!! (I will have to tell President Moffat about that one. He is a HUGE Utah fan!!!) Keep me updated on all sports.
Well on Sunday we went and heard L. Tom Perry speak in Birmingham. It was awesome!! He is so powerful. When he was just speaking normally he was just like he is in General Conference. But wow when he bore testimony he raised his voice a little and the spirit just filled the room. It was so amazing to see and hear an apostle of the Lord bear testimony of the reality of the Gospel. He is on a tour of Europe and some of the missions as well. He brought Elder Rasband with him as well and so he spoke. It was a great meeting. I loved it so much. After the meeting i went up on the stand and shook hands with Elder Rasband and told him that he had come to stake conference a couple years ago. He asked me which stake and he said that is a great great stake and he said to tell dad hi. After that Elder Perry was making his way out of the chapel and i caught him and put my arm around him and said to him Elder Perry i enjoyed your talk. It was great. Then he said are you related to the "famous Rudd" and i said yes he is my Grandpa and he said wonderful. Then he had to leave. But it was amazing to talk to an Apostle and shake his hand. The spirit just glows off of him and he is one amazing man.
Well this week was full of interesting things. Trisha was supposed to be getting interviewed for baptism on Saturday so we went and taught her on friday and reviewed the questions with her. I asked her a question and a concern came up. It was not a good one. We had to call President Moffat about it and things just didn't go to well. Our district leader came and did the interview as usual on Saturday and when it came to that question she flipped out and we told her that she had to meet with President Moffat before she could be baptized. Everything went downhill from there and she didn't want to come to church anymore and she just went crazy. So Trisha's baptism for this Saturday had to be pushed because of it. We had to go back Sunday and pretty much build our relationship back up with her. That didn't go too well. She didn't talk alot but when she did she yelled and yelled at us. We went by last night and it was alot better. She was talking to us and laughing with us so we think she has felt the spirit pretty strong and hopefully something has changed. It was pretty intense. Rosemary aka blanket lady is wierd. I don't think she realizes she needs to be taught and give things up before she is baptized. We have tried to make contact with her but no luck. Hopefully we will today. I really hope she gets baptized because it will be a great blessing in her life. Well thats about all for this week. It has been a somewhat disappointing week but the work moves on and we will try to resolve some concerns. It is great. I love it. This work is inspired of God and we have to be in tune with the spirit 100% or else its not effective. I have learned so much since i have been out here and i continue to learn and grow each day. I have learned so much about myself and just how important the gospel really is. It is amazing what missions do for people. Best time of my life. No doubt about it. I hope i am making you guys, our ward, our stake, but most importantly the Lord proud. I am working hard and working on improving every day. There is nothing greater. I love you guys and i do miss you but i love being on the Lords errand. I will forever be in debt to him. I know that we have a prophet on the earth today. I know that the Apostles are real and that they along with the prophet are the most powerful men on the earth. It is so comforting to know that. I love to see the gospel change lives. It is the greatest joy ever. I love you. The church is true!!!
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Letter - August 27, 2008
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
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 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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