Hey well sorry i apologize for this email but it will be short because the internet in the library is not doing very well and so they are shutting all the computers down.
Well this week has been a fast one. We have been busy and we are continuing to work hard and find people. It has been hard to get people to progress but we are working at it and we have the faith that the Lord will bless us. We are not really making any progress with that family from Zambia. They have a lot of questions and it seems to be the same ones over and over again. It has been really frustrating. We continue to work with them though.
The exchange went well. It was alot of fun and i got to know the new elder alot better. He is a really fun kid and has a strong testimony. I have to go on another one this week and i have the opportunity to do my first baptismal interview. I hope that i will be able to do it effectively. It will be a great experience for me. I am excited about it.
We were supposed to go to Kineton today but we can't get out there and get back in time. We will have to go another week but i will keep you posted on it.
We have Zone Conference tomorrow. Elder Kouse' (Gérald Caussé) or however you spell it is coming. He is part of the area presidency. He spoke in the last general conference. It will be a good Conference and i am excited to hear him and see what he does.
I would just like to close with my testimony of this gospel. I know with all of my heart that this is the true church of our Heavenly Father. I know that true happiness comes through it. It is the only way. I love Jesus Christ. He lives!! I know that my redeemer lives! What comfort this sweet sentence gives. I am so thankful for my time to serve him. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It is incredible. I love it with all of my heart. I testify that Joseph Smith saw two personages on that spring morning in 1820, even God the father and Jesus Christ. I love this work. I see the Lords hand in it every day and i am so greatful for all of the support from the family, ward and friends. This church is true. I testify of its reality.
Elder Sam Rudd
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Letter - January 6, 2009
Hey everyone!!! I hope you all had a great new year!!! I was very happy to hear about the utes. I will be excited to see that game. Great job Kyle!!
It is bitter cold over here. It snowed yesterday morning and actually stuck a bit. There is only a couple centimeters but everyone freaks out over here. It is pretty funny. But it really is freezing cold. There is no way to get warm unless your inside. That is one of the joys of missionary work though.
Well this week hasn't been too impressive. Yes we are still teaching the family from Zambia and they have all kinds of concerns. It is crazy. I have never met someone with so many concerns. We are working hard to resolve them though so hopefully we will. I will let you know how it goes. Well as a district leader i have to go on an exchange with the Zone Leaders once a transfer so i went on that this week. It was really good and i learned alot about what the Zone Leaders want me to report each night. I felt really good about it and i hope that i can be a better leader. Well we have just done a lot of tracting this week and it has been a really tough week. This week will hopefully be better though. I have to go on an exchange with all the missionaries in the district this transfer and so tomorrow i will be on an exchange. I just go and help the missionaries out and see how they do in their missionary work. It will be a good experience for me. I look forward to it.
I have to do my first district meeting this week as well. I have absolutely no idea how to do a district meeting so i hope it goes well. I hope that it will help the other Elders and Sisters out. I will let you know if it is a disaster or not. Haha.
We also have Zone Conference next week which i am looking forward to. I always love them and it is such a great place to learn about missionary work. I can't wait for it.
Well i don't have too much time left but i just want to tell you how great this Christmas season was. It was so wonderful to become closer to the Savior and to study about his life. I really feel so much closer to Jesus Christ now than i ever have. Missionary work is so great. I love it. I love sharing the gospel with everyone. I have so much more to learn and i will never learn it all but i will try my hardest to. Thank you for teaching me the gospel and bringing me up in it. I don't know where i would be without it. I really don't. I love it so much. It is so great to see the little miracles that take place each and every day because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
p.s. yes mom i do my own laundry
It is bitter cold over here. It snowed yesterday morning and actually stuck a bit. There is only a couple centimeters but everyone freaks out over here. It is pretty funny. But it really is freezing cold. There is no way to get warm unless your inside. That is one of the joys of missionary work though.
Well this week hasn't been too impressive. Yes we are still teaching the family from Zambia and they have all kinds of concerns. It is crazy. I have never met someone with so many concerns. We are working hard to resolve them though so hopefully we will. I will let you know how it goes. Well as a district leader i have to go on an exchange with the Zone Leaders once a transfer so i went on that this week. It was really good and i learned alot about what the Zone Leaders want me to report each night. I felt really good about it and i hope that i can be a better leader. Well we have just done a lot of tracting this week and it has been a really tough week. This week will hopefully be better though. I have to go on an exchange with all the missionaries in the district this transfer and so tomorrow i will be on an exchange. I just go and help the missionaries out and see how they do in their missionary work. It will be a good experience for me. I look forward to it.
I have to do my first district meeting this week as well. I have absolutely no idea how to do a district meeting so i hope it goes well. I hope that it will help the other Elders and Sisters out. I will let you know if it is a disaster or not. Haha.
We also have Zone Conference next week which i am looking forward to. I always love them and it is such a great place to learn about missionary work. I can't wait for it.
Well i don't have too much time left but i just want to tell you how great this Christmas season was. It was so wonderful to become closer to the Savior and to study about his life. I really feel so much closer to Jesus Christ now than i ever have. Missionary work is so great. I love it. I love sharing the gospel with everyone. I have so much more to learn and i will never learn it all but i will try my hardest to. Thank you for teaching me the gospel and bringing me up in it. I don't know where i would be without it. I really don't. I love it so much. It is so great to see the little miracles that take place each and every day because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
p.s. yes mom i do my own laundry
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Letter - December 31, 2008
Hey family happy new year!!! Well it was great talking to you on Christmas. I had a great time and i loved hearing from all of you. It was great that Bro. & Sister Hughes let us use their phone. I hope you all had a great Christmas.
Well i guess the big news this week is that i did not get transfered. I am staying in Rugby for another transfer. That will put me here for 7 1/2 months. Only one other person has stayed in Rugby that long from what i can tell. The other part of the big news was that on Saturday night i got a phone call from President Moffat and he was talking to me for a while and then he asked me if i would accept a call as a District Leader. I was a little nervous but i told him that i would do it. So i am the District Leader now. It is a lot of responsibility but i am excited for this new adventure. There are 6 elders in the district including us and 2 sisters. It will be a great experience and i think i will learn a lot from it. I have already had some challenging experiences so i will let you know how this goes.
Well there hasn't been a whole lot that has gone on since i talked to you on Chirstmas. We have just continued working and trying to find people to teach and baptize. Things are going well and i am excited about this upcoming transfer.
I was sad to see Elder Nordquist leave. Tell him hello for me and that the mission misses him. I can't wait until i can see him again when i get home.
Well i will be cheering for the Utes on Friday. I hope they can pull it off. That would be sweet if they did. Did the team down south win their bowl game? I am happy to hear about Kyle staying. I hope that he can keep that fire and that his teams will be able to perform. GO UTES!!!!!!!!
Well i really don't have a lot more. I love being out here and serving. It is so great. The gospel really is true. My testimony grows stronger each and every day. I love our Savior Jesus Christ. I really have come to know him during this Christmas season. I didn't really feel like it was christmas but i was really focused on Jesus Christ. I love him very much. I love all of you and i am so thankful for all of your support. You are great.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Well i guess the big news this week is that i did not get transfered. I am staying in Rugby for another transfer. That will put me here for 7 1/2 months. Only one other person has stayed in Rugby that long from what i can tell. The other part of the big news was that on Saturday night i got a phone call from President Moffat and he was talking to me for a while and then he asked me if i would accept a call as a District Leader. I was a little nervous but i told him that i would do it. So i am the District Leader now. It is a lot of responsibility but i am excited for this new adventure. There are 6 elders in the district including us and 2 sisters. It will be a great experience and i think i will learn a lot from it. I have already had some challenging experiences so i will let you know how this goes.
Well there hasn't been a whole lot that has gone on since i talked to you on Chirstmas. We have just continued working and trying to find people to teach and baptize. Things are going well and i am excited about this upcoming transfer.
I was sad to see Elder Nordquist leave. Tell him hello for me and that the mission misses him. I can't wait until i can see him again when i get home.
Well i will be cheering for the Utes on Friday. I hope they can pull it off. That would be sweet if they did. Did the team down south win their bowl game? I am happy to hear about Kyle staying. I hope that he can keep that fire and that his teams will be able to perform. GO UTES!!!!!!!!
Well i really don't have a lot more. I love being out here and serving. It is so great. The gospel really is true. My testimony grows stronger each and every day. I love our Savior Jesus Christ. I really have come to know him during this Christmas season. I didn't really feel like it was christmas but i was really focused on Jesus Christ. I love him very much. I love all of you and i am so thankful for all of your support. You are great.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Letter - December 16, 2008
Hey how is it going?? It was great to hear from you and see how you are all doing. Wow i can't believe it is Christmas next week. December has flown by. Well i guess i better tell you guys when to call me. President Moffat said that we need to have our families call us so we don't make the members have a huge bill. But if that is ok with you i want you to call me in between 4:45 and 5:00 my time. That would put it in between 9:45 and 10:00 Utah time. I hope that works with you. This is the number you need to call. *****. If you want to you may want to call it during the week and see if it works. The member we are calling from is very nice. She feeds us well. It is like a thanksgiving feast every time we go. It is so good. I love it.
Well this week has been a good week. It has been a great week. We have had a lot of success. I will keep it short but i just love missionary work. We were tracting on Saturday and we were going to visit this guy we had stopped earlier on in the week. He wasn't home and so we walked down the street and i felt like we should knock on these houses. We went and knocked and this African family answered and invited us in. It was so great. I was so excited. We went and taught them the Restoration and it was a great lesson. They are from Zambia and their names are Mary and Illack. To make a long story short we invited them to church and they came and they loved it. We asked them to be baptized and they said they wanted to so i am really really excited about it. I will keep you updated on them and we can talk about it on Christmas.
We have our Mission Christmas Party on friday and we have a talent show and me and Elder Wright are singing a song for it. Haha. If you have the voice mail christmas cd jingles 2, which i just think we have the first jingles, listen to song number 14. Its called tracting in a winter wonderland. It is so funny. The A.P'S kinda made us feel guilty for not being in the talent show so we decided we better do this.
Well this email is short because i will talk to you next week and i don't think i will be emailing next week either. But i am absolutely loving this experience. I learn so much each and every day. I can't wait to get out and talk to people. It is incredible. The spirit works so strong. I love the gospel and i love missionary work. I love all of you and i am so grateful for all of your examples. I will talk to you next week on Christmas Morning!!!!!
Love Elder Sam Rudd
p.s. We watched Mr Krugers Christmas last monday night with a member and it was awesome. I love it!!
Well this week has been a good week. It has been a great week. We have had a lot of success. I will keep it short but i just love missionary work. We were tracting on Saturday and we were going to visit this guy we had stopped earlier on in the week. He wasn't home and so we walked down the street and i felt like we should knock on these houses. We went and knocked and this African family answered and invited us in. It was so great. I was so excited. We went and taught them the Restoration and it was a great lesson. They are from Zambia and their names are Mary and Illack. To make a long story short we invited them to church and they came and they loved it. We asked them to be baptized and they said they wanted to so i am really really excited about it. I will keep you updated on them and we can talk about it on Christmas.
We have our Mission Christmas Party on friday and we have a talent show and me and Elder Wright are singing a song for it. Haha. If you have the voice mail christmas cd jingles 2, which i just think we have the first jingles, listen to song number 14. Its called tracting in a winter wonderland. It is so funny. The A.P'S kinda made us feel guilty for not being in the talent show so we decided we better do this.
Well this email is short because i will talk to you next week and i don't think i will be emailing next week either. But i am absolutely loving this experience. I learn so much each and every day. I can't wait to get out and talk to people. It is incredible. The spirit works so strong. I love the gospel and i love missionary work. I love all of you and i am so grateful for all of your examples. I will talk to you next week on Christmas Morning!!!!!
Love Elder Sam Rudd
p.s. We watched Mr Krugers Christmas last monday night with a member and it was awesome. I love it!!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Letter - December 9, 2008
Hey everyone!!! It was so good to hear from you. You are the best. I always love hearing from you and your experiences during the week.
Well our baptism went through on Saturday. It was so great to see the excitement of Jordan. He was so happy and ready to be baptized. He asked me if i would baptize him and so that was an honor for me. It was the first time i have baptized someone outside of the temple. It was such a good experience. His mom has decided to come back to church now and so Jordan's baptism didn't only bless his life but it blessed his whole family. It is incredible to see how the Gospel works. It totally blows my mind. It is brilliant!! (I thought i would throw that word in for ya cause i don't think i have said it to you yet.) haha. Elder Nordquist showed up to the baptism so it was good to see him again. I love him and i will miss him very much when he goes home. Other than that we didn't really have too much go on this week.
We did have Zone Conference this past week. It was a great conference. We really focused on making missionary work fun and not being so robotic. We came up with different ideas that we could do that will catch people off guard and that will be different then saying we are missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was really fun and very very useful. I love going to Zone Conference. We have our Mission Christmas Party on the 19th and i am way excited for it. It will be a blast. There will be loads of things that we do. I guess we are having a Preach My Gospel jeopardy game so that should be way fun. As you can see our mission has a lot of fun and we aren't just robots and serious people. President Moffat is an amazing person and he loves to have fun. He is always making jokes and making us laugh. It is a great experience.
I love my mission. I love serving the Lord. It is the greatest time of my life. There is no greater work. I feel the Spirit of the Lord each day. It works on people in more ways than i thought were possible. It is truly amazing. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I love it with all my heart. Jesus Christ lives and he is real. The Book of Mormon is amazing. Joseph Smith did incredible things. My mission truly means everything to me. Thank you for all of your love and support. I love you.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
p.s. GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well our baptism went through on Saturday. It was so great to see the excitement of Jordan. He was so happy and ready to be baptized. He asked me if i would baptize him and so that was an honor for me. It was the first time i have baptized someone outside of the temple. It was such a good experience. His mom has decided to come back to church now and so Jordan's baptism didn't only bless his life but it blessed his whole family. It is incredible to see how the Gospel works. It totally blows my mind. It is brilliant!! (I thought i would throw that word in for ya cause i don't think i have said it to you yet.) haha. Elder Nordquist showed up to the baptism so it was good to see him again. I love him and i will miss him very much when he goes home. Other than that we didn't really have too much go on this week.
We did have Zone Conference this past week. It was a great conference. We really focused on making missionary work fun and not being so robotic. We came up with different ideas that we could do that will catch people off guard and that will be different then saying we are missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was really fun and very very useful. I love going to Zone Conference. We have our Mission Christmas Party on the 19th and i am way excited for it. It will be a blast. There will be loads of things that we do. I guess we are having a Preach My Gospel jeopardy game so that should be way fun. As you can see our mission has a lot of fun and we aren't just robots and serious people. President Moffat is an amazing person and he loves to have fun. He is always making jokes and making us laugh. It is a great experience.
I love my mission. I love serving the Lord. It is the greatest time of my life. There is no greater work. I feel the Spirit of the Lord each day. It works on people in more ways than i thought were possible. It is truly amazing. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I love it with all my heart. Jesus Christ lives and he is real. The Book of Mormon is amazing. Joseph Smith did incredible things. My mission truly means everything to me. Thank you for all of your love and support. I love you.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
p.s. GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Letter - December 2, 2008
Well i have to start out this email by saying.....WHAT THE HECK DEBBIE????????? CONGRATULATIONS! I am so so so happy for you. You seem really happy in all of your pictures. Good thing i won't be at the wedding though. If i were there your car would be destroyed. You know how good i am at the car decorating. Well i really am sad i will miss the wedding but i couldn't be happier for you deb. I love you. Rick you better take good care of my sister. If not you have a year and 4 months to repent and to do better or else you will face the wrath of her younger brother. Just kidding Rick. Thank you for making my sister happy and i know you will take good care of her. Congrats.
Well this week has been a good week. Jordan came to church on Sunday and so he is getting baptized this Saturday. He is so excited. There really have been a few miracles that have happened in order for him to be baptized. It has been great to teach him. Even though he is only 10 years old his enthusiasm and his faith in the Lord are amazing. It will be a great day for him on Saturday. Well i had a lot of spiritual experiences this week. We taught a lot of lessons on the street and this one in particular was pretty good. We have this thing in the mission called 10/10/20. We have to talk to someone on the street within 10 mintues of leaving the flat, have 10 street contacts each day, and have 20 sit down lessons throughout the week. So we were leaving the flat and i stopped this girl right outside of the flat. I started talking to her and at first she seemed like she didn't really want to listen and then i saw the spirit work inside of her and she totally changed. It was amazing. The spirit was totally teaching her. I wasn't doing any talking. It wasn't my voice she heard but it was the spirit. It was pretty neat. We also were just knocking doors one night and we got to this one door and we didn't even say two words and the guy let us in. We went and taught him and he said he would read the Book of Mormon. We went back the next day and he had read it. He said he would come to church and learn more. I hope that he does and that he finds out that the church is true. Wow what a great work.
Well i guess my funny story for this week is we had just been knocking on doors one day and we ran into a bunch of old people. We got to this one house and this lady couldn't hear at all. I had to yell as loud as i could at her just so she could hear me. It was crazy. Then i got so used to yelling that by the next door i was yelling again except this was a younger lady. It was pretty funny.
Well we are going to Warwick Castle again today. It was snowing this morning so i hope that it is not too cold. It should be fun. We have Zone Conference on Thursday. I am really excited about it. I always love Zone Conference. Tomorrow is my 8 month mark. That means i am 1/3 of the way done. It is crazy. It has absolutely flown by. I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve. I love it with all of my heart. It is the greatest thing i have ever done. This has truly been a blessing in my life. I love you all and i am so grateful for all of your love and support. The church is so true. We are so blessed to live in a day where we have a living Prophet and 12 Apostles. Isn't it great? Well you all take care and i hope that you all stay safe. I love you.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Well this week has been a good week. Jordan came to church on Sunday and so he is getting baptized this Saturday. He is so excited. There really have been a few miracles that have happened in order for him to be baptized. It has been great to teach him. Even though he is only 10 years old his enthusiasm and his faith in the Lord are amazing. It will be a great day for him on Saturday. Well i had a lot of spiritual experiences this week. We taught a lot of lessons on the street and this one in particular was pretty good. We have this thing in the mission called 10/10/20. We have to talk to someone on the street within 10 mintues of leaving the flat, have 10 street contacts each day, and have 20 sit down lessons throughout the week. So we were leaving the flat and i stopped this girl right outside of the flat. I started talking to her and at first she seemed like she didn't really want to listen and then i saw the spirit work inside of her and she totally changed. It was amazing. The spirit was totally teaching her. I wasn't doing any talking. It wasn't my voice she heard but it was the spirit. It was pretty neat. We also were just knocking doors one night and we got to this one door and we didn't even say two words and the guy let us in. We went and taught him and he said he would read the Book of Mormon. We went back the next day and he had read it. He said he would come to church and learn more. I hope that he does and that he finds out that the church is true. Wow what a great work.
Well i guess my funny story for this week is we had just been knocking on doors one day and we ran into a bunch of old people. We got to this one house and this lady couldn't hear at all. I had to yell as loud as i could at her just so she could hear me. It was crazy. Then i got so used to yelling that by the next door i was yelling again except this was a younger lady. It was pretty funny.
Well we are going to Warwick Castle again today. It was snowing this morning so i hope that it is not too cold. It should be fun. We have Zone Conference on Thursday. I am really excited about it. I always love Zone Conference. Tomorrow is my 8 month mark. That means i am 1/3 of the way done. It is crazy. It has absolutely flown by. I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve. I love it with all of my heart. It is the greatest thing i have ever done. This has truly been a blessing in my life. I love you all and i am so grateful for all of your love and support. The church is so true. We are so blessed to live in a day where we have a living Prophet and 12 Apostles. Isn't it great? Well you all take care and i hope that you all stay safe. I love you.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Letter - November 25, 2008
Hello how is everyone doing??? I didn't hear from a lot of you this week so i hope to hear from you next week. The weeks have flown by. I can't believe it is December next week. That is crazy. Time is really flying by. I love being out here though.
GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW I was so happy to hear that they beat that team down south. We went to a members house for dinner on Sunday and i couldn't stand not knowing how the game went so i had her look up the score on the computer. You can send me the paper. When i found out the score i jumped up and just screamed. I was so happy. I just knew that i was going to miss a good season. We better go to a good BCS game and play a good team. I hope its not another Pittsburgh game. That was pathetic. No matter who we play though we will still kick some butt. I can't believe that lousy team came out and interrupted our senior night. How disrespectful. It was probably Bronco's idea in the first place. Also i guess Austin Collie didn't pray enough this year. GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Best team in the country!!!!
Well this week was a pretty good week. We have had a few little miracles happen. As you know we have been teaching Jordan and he hasn't been able to come to church yet. Well he came to church this past week and had a blast. He absolutely loved it. I asked him what his favorite part was and he said all of it. He just was walking around with a huge smile on his face. What excitement for just being 10 years old. Well the requirement for being baptized is they have to come to church twice before they are baptized and the week before their baptism. Well his baptism is scheduled for the 6th of December now and we didn't think that it was going to happen because his parents are divorced and he goes to his dad's every other weekend and this next weekend he is with his dad. I was just praying that something would happen and we went over to his house last night just to say hi and see how he was doing. While we were over there his mom told us that he wasnt going to his dad's this weekend because he wanted to come to church. I was so happy!! I couldn't stop smiling. The Lord really had blessed us. We have been working really hard to get him to church and be able to be baptized. His dad is not supportive of the church at all and so he won't take him to church while he is with him. The Lord really does work in so many ways. I love this work and this Gospel. Please keep Jordan in your prayers. He will be baptized on the 6th of December.
Also another little miracle happened at church this week. You will like this one Jeff. So we had been struggling to get people to church the past few weeks. I had been praying and praying for us to be able to get someone to church. Well we walked into church on Sunday and there was this oriental kid sitting there in Priesthood Opening Exercises. We found out that he was a non member from Korea. He is over here for school. He was trying to find the Protestant Church and he recognized the style of the building and so he walked into ours. During Sunday School i tried to teach him the Restoration. It was very tough but i could tell he understood what the spirit was teaching. That really was a miracle and blessing from the Lord. I love this work and this gospel. This work is truly an amazing work. I love it with all my heart. There really is nothing i would rather be doing. This Gospel is real!!!!
Well with Thanksgiving coming up i just want to thank all of you for your support. I cannot believe it has been a year since we were guessing where i was going. It is exactly a year today that i turned my papers in. Time really has flown by. I am so greatful for this gospel in my life. I am thankful for my family. I love you guys and i hope you have a great week.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
p.s. i got the package with the beanies and peanut butter. I love it. It is freezing cold now and the wind does not stop blowing. I don't think i have ever been so cold.
GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW I was so happy to hear that they beat that team down south. We went to a members house for dinner on Sunday and i couldn't stand not knowing how the game went so i had her look up the score on the computer. You can send me the paper. When i found out the score i jumped up and just screamed. I was so happy. I just knew that i was going to miss a good season. We better go to a good BCS game and play a good team. I hope its not another Pittsburgh game. That was pathetic. No matter who we play though we will still kick some butt. I can't believe that lousy team came out and interrupted our senior night. How disrespectful. It was probably Bronco's idea in the first place. Also i guess Austin Collie didn't pray enough this year. GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Best team in the country!!!!
Well this week was a pretty good week. We have had a few little miracles happen. As you know we have been teaching Jordan and he hasn't been able to come to church yet. Well he came to church this past week and had a blast. He absolutely loved it. I asked him what his favorite part was and he said all of it. He just was walking around with a huge smile on his face. What excitement for just being 10 years old. Well the requirement for being baptized is they have to come to church twice before they are baptized and the week before their baptism. Well his baptism is scheduled for the 6th of December now and we didn't think that it was going to happen because his parents are divorced and he goes to his dad's every other weekend and this next weekend he is with his dad. I was just praying that something would happen and we went over to his house last night just to say hi and see how he was doing. While we were over there his mom told us that he wasnt going to his dad's this weekend because he wanted to come to church. I was so happy!! I couldn't stop smiling. The Lord really had blessed us. We have been working really hard to get him to church and be able to be baptized. His dad is not supportive of the church at all and so he won't take him to church while he is with him. The Lord really does work in so many ways. I love this work and this Gospel. Please keep Jordan in your prayers. He will be baptized on the 6th of December.
Also another little miracle happened at church this week. You will like this one Jeff. So we had been struggling to get people to church the past few weeks. I had been praying and praying for us to be able to get someone to church. Well we walked into church on Sunday and there was this oriental kid sitting there in Priesthood Opening Exercises. We found out that he was a non member from Korea. He is over here for school. He was trying to find the Protestant Church and he recognized the style of the building and so he walked into ours. During Sunday School i tried to teach him the Restoration. It was very tough but i could tell he understood what the spirit was teaching. That really was a miracle and blessing from the Lord. I love this work and this gospel. This work is truly an amazing work. I love it with all my heart. There really is nothing i would rather be doing. This Gospel is real!!!!
Well with Thanksgiving coming up i just want to thank all of you for your support. I cannot believe it has been a year since we were guessing where i was going. It is exactly a year today that i turned my papers in. Time really has flown by. I am so greatful for this gospel in my life. I am thankful for my family. I love you guys and i hope you have a great week.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
p.s. i got the package with the beanies and peanut butter. I love it. It is freezing cold now and the wind does not stop blowing. I don't think i have ever been so cold.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Letter - November 19, 2008
Hey how is it going over in Utah? It sounds like everything is great and that everyone is happy. Everything is just great over here and I love every minute of serving the Lord.
Well i found out that i am not getting transferred. I am staying in Rugby with Elder Wright. I am excited to be in Rugby still. I will be here 6 months at the end of this transfer. I love it and i love all the people that i serve around. Big things are going to be happening in Rugby this transfer. I am really excited about this time of the year. What better time to share a message about our Savior Jesus Christ. Everyone is focused on him and hopefully that will make people more open to the message of the restoration of the true Gospel. I am looking forward to it very very much.
I have worn a red tie every single day this week and i told President Moffat that he should make the whole mission wear a red tie on Saturday and when the Utes win he should make all the missionaries wear red to Zone Conference. GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't forget about your number 1 fan over in England.
Well blanket lady showed up to church again this past week. I had no idea and then when we were walking into sunday school our ward mission leader pointed her out to me and there she was walking around with a blanket on her head. She is crazy. I always feel like i need to set up a return appointment with her because if i didn't then i would be rejecting her of our message. I always ask to come see her again and i just hope that she will be in. We have an appointment with her tonight so i really hope that we can teach her. I just love sharing the message of the Gospel with people. There is nothing better.
Well this last week I was able to go out tracting with Elder Nordquist. What a great missionary!!! He is such a good example for me. I love it whenever i see him because i always learn so much from him. He is a great example to the mission and i am proud to say he is from the best stake, city, and high school in the world. Only if he were in the Sego Lily Ward he would be part of the best of everything. I hope that i can have the influence on people the way he has done throughout his mission. I will miss him very much when he leaves in 6 weeks.
Well other than that it was kind of a slow moving week. No one really new that we picked up. I continue to enjoy every minute of serving the Lord. It really has been the best experience of my life. It is going by very quickly but i am working hard at being the best that i can be. I feel like i have a very specific plan for me to fulfil while i am out here. The Gospel really is so so great. I love it with all of my heart. I have learned the importance of prayer while out here. I cannot tell you how many times i pray throughout the day but it is almost always constant. I love the Lord. I love this work and i am so grateful to be out here doing it.
I am very proud of you Dan. Good job on getting your Eagle. That is a great accomplishment and it has brought a lot of satisfaction into my life. Keep being the person you are. You are an incredible young man. I love you.
I love you all. Thank you for all of your prayers and support. You have no idea how much it helps. Thank you for being the examples you are to me. I am so grateful for all of you. I love you and hope everything goes well.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Well i found out that i am not getting transferred. I am staying in Rugby with Elder Wright. I am excited to be in Rugby still. I will be here 6 months at the end of this transfer. I love it and i love all the people that i serve around. Big things are going to be happening in Rugby this transfer. I am really excited about this time of the year. What better time to share a message about our Savior Jesus Christ. Everyone is focused on him and hopefully that will make people more open to the message of the restoration of the true Gospel. I am looking forward to it very very much.
I have worn a red tie every single day this week and i told President Moffat that he should make the whole mission wear a red tie on Saturday and when the Utes win he should make all the missionaries wear red to Zone Conference. GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't forget about your number 1 fan over in England.
Well blanket lady showed up to church again this past week. I had no idea and then when we were walking into sunday school our ward mission leader pointed her out to me and there she was walking around with a blanket on her head. She is crazy. I always feel like i need to set up a return appointment with her because if i didn't then i would be rejecting her of our message. I always ask to come see her again and i just hope that she will be in. We have an appointment with her tonight so i really hope that we can teach her. I just love sharing the message of the Gospel with people. There is nothing better.
Well this last week I was able to go out tracting with Elder Nordquist. What a great missionary!!! He is such a good example for me. I love it whenever i see him because i always learn so much from him. He is a great example to the mission and i am proud to say he is from the best stake, city, and high school in the world. Only if he were in the Sego Lily Ward he would be part of the best of everything. I hope that i can have the influence on people the way he has done throughout his mission. I will miss him very much when he leaves in 6 weeks.
Well other than that it was kind of a slow moving week. No one really new that we picked up. I continue to enjoy every minute of serving the Lord. It really has been the best experience of my life. It is going by very quickly but i am working hard at being the best that i can be. I feel like i have a very specific plan for me to fulfil while i am out here. The Gospel really is so so great. I love it with all of my heart. I have learned the importance of prayer while out here. I cannot tell you how many times i pray throughout the day but it is almost always constant. I love the Lord. I love this work and i am so grateful to be out here doing it.
I am very proud of you Dan. Good job on getting your Eagle. That is a great accomplishment and it has brought a lot of satisfaction into my life. Keep being the person you are. You are an incredible young man. I love you.
I love you all. Thank you for all of your prayers and support. You have no idea how much it helps. Thank you for being the examples you are to me. I am so grateful for all of you. I love you and hope everything goes well.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Letter - November 11, 2008
Hey whats goin on? I am doing just great over here. I have a few scary but interesting stories from this past week so stay tuned. But first i have to say that i was up out of my chair reading about the Utah game. HOLY COW!!!!!! I cant believe it!!! I probably would have had a heart attack if i would have been there. WOW!!!! I love it. GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well onto my scary but interesting story. So on thursday night we were tracting. It was going pretty good and we knocked on this one lady's door and she opened the door and said she doesn't answer the door after dark. (It gets dark at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon now) But we were done with that door and we walked up on to the sidewalk. As we were doing so these kids were passing and they yelled something at us. We sarcastically said yeah and then they got up in our face and told us to give them all of our money. We weren't sure if we heard them right but we said what and then they demanded the money again. They hit us across the face a couple times and then asked for money again. They then proceeded to threaten us with a knife. One of the kids came over to me and i reached in my pocket and pulled out 8 pounds and gave it to them. They still thought we had more so they just kept hitting us and yelling at us. This whole time something was telling me not to fight back so i didn't. We could have killed the guys if we would have fought back but we decided it wasn't worth it. So the exchange went back and forth and in the end it just resulted in them getting 8 pounds. We weren't hurt so you don't have to worry about it. I am doing fine and me and Elder Wright laugh about it every night before we go to bed. We spent all day Friday in the Police Station filling out police reports. It was crazy. Everything is ok now and so we are back to doing the Lords work. It was definately a journal entry moment.
We also had interviews this week and they went pretty well. I was so happy to talk to President Moffat. He is such a great example and we all love him very much. I learn so much from him every time i talk to him.
Leysa is doing well. We haven't taught her too much because of her health but she is still loving learning about the church. She is very busy but excited to learn. Jordan is doing well. He has a baptismal date scheduled for the 6th of December so we are helping him with that. We have a new lady named Joan who is very solid and she is so excited to come to church with us this sunday. I am so excited about this work and what this area is about to become. I love it so much!!!
Well before i forget i better mention that transfers is next week so no email on tuesday. I don't know if i will be transferred or what will be going on but i will be emailing on either Wednesday or Thursday next week.
Well i have to get going because we have a busy day ahead of us. I love serving the Lord. I say that every email but i absolutely love it. It is so great. The change that the gospel brings into peoples lives is amazing. I will tell you that there is nothing else like it. There really isn't. I love it with all of my heart. My testimony has been strengthened so much. I know that the Savior lives. I know that this church is the one and only true church on the face of this earth. I love it dearly. I wish i could be a full time missionary for the rest of my life!!!
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Well onto my scary but interesting story. So on thursday night we were tracting. It was going pretty good and we knocked on this one lady's door and she opened the door and said she doesn't answer the door after dark. (It gets dark at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon now) But we were done with that door and we walked up on to the sidewalk. As we were doing so these kids were passing and they yelled something at us. We sarcastically said yeah and then they got up in our face and told us to give them all of our money. We weren't sure if we heard them right but we said what and then they demanded the money again. They hit us across the face a couple times and then asked for money again. They then proceeded to threaten us with a knife. One of the kids came over to me and i reached in my pocket and pulled out 8 pounds and gave it to them. They still thought we had more so they just kept hitting us and yelling at us. This whole time something was telling me not to fight back so i didn't. We could have killed the guys if we would have fought back but we decided it wasn't worth it. So the exchange went back and forth and in the end it just resulted in them getting 8 pounds. We weren't hurt so you don't have to worry about it. I am doing fine and me and Elder Wright laugh about it every night before we go to bed. We spent all day Friday in the Police Station filling out police reports. It was crazy. Everything is ok now and so we are back to doing the Lords work. It was definately a journal entry moment.
We also had interviews this week and they went pretty well. I was so happy to talk to President Moffat. He is such a great example and we all love him very much. I learn so much from him every time i talk to him.
Leysa is doing well. We haven't taught her too much because of her health but she is still loving learning about the church. She is very busy but excited to learn. Jordan is doing well. He has a baptismal date scheduled for the 6th of December so we are helping him with that. We have a new lady named Joan who is very solid and she is so excited to come to church with us this sunday. I am so excited about this work and what this area is about to become. I love it so much!!!
Well before i forget i better mention that transfers is next week so no email on tuesday. I don't know if i will be transferred or what will be going on but i will be emailing on either Wednesday or Thursday next week.
Well i have to get going because we have a busy day ahead of us. I love serving the Lord. I say that every email but i absolutely love it. It is so great. The change that the gospel brings into peoples lives is amazing. I will tell you that there is nothing else like it. There really isn't. I love it with all of my heart. My testimony has been strengthened so much. I know that the Savior lives. I know that this church is the one and only true church on the face of this earth. I love it dearly. I wish i could be a full time missionary for the rest of my life!!!
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Letter - November 4, 2008
Hello!!!!!!!! I feel like i start my emails the same every single week. If you have any new ideas feel free to contact me via email or via the mail. I could always use some good ideas. I am glad though that all is going well. I absolutely love you guys.
Well tomorrow we have interviews in Coventry. I am excited about it because as i have mentioned before i love learning from the leaders. Especially President Moffat. He doesn't have very much longer. It will be sad to see him leave. But the work this week has gone pretty well. We were tracting on Wednesday last week and we had a Dinner Appointment that night. Before the dinner appointment we went tracting for a little bit and we went on this street and we started knocking. It wasn't looking good. We got doors slammed in our face and then on about the 5th door this lady opened up. Her name was Leysa. (Lisa) She looked very tired but she talked to us. I started teaching her. I taught her about the Restoration and she accepted it very well. She asked a lot of questions and she said that every thing that we had said was in line with what she believed. She proceeded to tell me that she hadn't been going to church because she felt like she hadn't found the right one but that she felt like this one was the right one. It was incredible. I have never felt the spirit so strongly. I loved it. The Lord truly does prepare people. He really does. He is watching over us and looking out for us. With his help we are able to do anything. My testimony was strengthened so much from that. How great is this work!!! That was this weeks big story.
Well i sure hope Utah pulls out of that game and realizes that they need to play very well on Thursday. I hope Kyle gets them fired up. We can do it. I have confidence. We just need to play hard and keep scoring. Me and Elder Wright are having fun debating between who will get the BCS bid. Utah or Boise St. It has been fun to see the season unfold and hear about it.
I am glad Halloween was good for all of you. I missed going trick or treating with Cameron and Katie. I was thinking about how the soup was. I was wondering if mom said that she wasn't going to make it like she does every year and then ends up making it anyway. I hope everyone doesn't get too sick from all the candy that they got.
Well thank you for all of your support. I can't believe it has been 7 months. I felt like yesterday i was saying it was 6 months. Wow time is flying by. I was reading the ward newsletter you sent me a few months ago and i was reading all of the letters from the missionaries in our ward and everyone seems so much more mature and that they are growing so much. I feel like i am the same person. I feel like i am the same lazy smart alec kid i was when i left. I hope i do change and i hope that all of you still love me. My mission has changed my life. It is so amazing to see the gospel work. I know with all my heart that this is the Lords church. I know that it is the only true and living church on the face of this earth. I am so greatful for the things that i have been taught and the things that i have been able to learn. Being a missionary has changed my life for ever. I love being out here serving the Lord. Even though it has gone by fast i still look back and see what i have learned in just this short amount of time. This is a great work we are on and i love all of you. I am so grateful for all of the love and support from the great state of Utah. I feel your prayers and i am grateful for them. This gospel is so true. I love it with all of my heart.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
p.s. Happy brithday Dan!!!
Well tomorrow we have interviews in Coventry. I am excited about it because as i have mentioned before i love learning from the leaders. Especially President Moffat. He doesn't have very much longer. It will be sad to see him leave. But the work this week has gone pretty well. We were tracting on Wednesday last week and we had a Dinner Appointment that night. Before the dinner appointment we went tracting for a little bit and we went on this street and we started knocking. It wasn't looking good. We got doors slammed in our face and then on about the 5th door this lady opened up. Her name was Leysa. (Lisa) She looked very tired but she talked to us. I started teaching her. I taught her about the Restoration and she accepted it very well. She asked a lot of questions and she said that every thing that we had said was in line with what she believed. She proceeded to tell me that she hadn't been going to church because she felt like she hadn't found the right one but that she felt like this one was the right one. It was incredible. I have never felt the spirit so strongly. I loved it. The Lord truly does prepare people. He really does. He is watching over us and looking out for us. With his help we are able to do anything. My testimony was strengthened so much from that. How great is this work!!! That was this weeks big story.
Well i sure hope Utah pulls out of that game and realizes that they need to play very well on Thursday. I hope Kyle gets them fired up. We can do it. I have confidence. We just need to play hard and keep scoring. Me and Elder Wright are having fun debating between who will get the BCS bid. Utah or Boise St. It has been fun to see the season unfold and hear about it.
I am glad Halloween was good for all of you. I missed going trick or treating with Cameron and Katie. I was thinking about how the soup was. I was wondering if mom said that she wasn't going to make it like she does every year and then ends up making it anyway. I hope everyone doesn't get too sick from all the candy that they got.
Well thank you for all of your support. I can't believe it has been 7 months. I felt like yesterday i was saying it was 6 months. Wow time is flying by. I was reading the ward newsletter you sent me a few months ago and i was reading all of the letters from the missionaries in our ward and everyone seems so much more mature and that they are growing so much. I feel like i am the same person. I feel like i am the same lazy smart alec kid i was when i left. I hope i do change and i hope that all of you still love me. My mission has changed my life. It is so amazing to see the gospel work. I know with all my heart that this is the Lords church. I know that it is the only true and living church on the face of this earth. I am so greatful for the things that i have been taught and the things that i have been able to learn. Being a missionary has changed my life for ever. I love being out here serving the Lord. Even though it has gone by fast i still look back and see what i have learned in just this short amount of time. This is a great work we are on and i love all of you. I am so grateful for all of the love and support from the great state of Utah. I feel your prayers and i am grateful for them. This gospel is so true. I love it with all of my heart.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
p.s. Happy brithday Dan!!!
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