Hey there it was good to hear from you this week. I was happy to hear that Dan and Tiff were successful in their half marathon. They can count me out for next year though. There is no way that i can run a half marathon. I can barely run for 20 minutes out here. But maybe.
This will be just a quick email but i didn't get transfered and neither did Elder Bedke. So we are together for another transfer. We are happy about it because we have a few people that we are teaching and we have plans to baptize a lot this transfer.
We have found this really cool family to teach. We knocked on their door and they invited us in. It was awesome. Thier names are Priscilla and Mary. They are sisters and they just lost their dad about 3 months ago. They were really interested in the Plan of Salvation and we are going back tonight to teach them again. It was an answer to my prayers because i was praying that we would find someone who we could teach that would be normal and that would be really good in the church. I was really happy. I will let you know what happens with them.
Adrian still keeps drinking and smoking and he doesn't want to give up. We keep trying but it doesn't look like he will give it up anytime soon. He didn't come to church this week cause he was fishing with his son but he is coming again this week so we will see what happens.
We have 3 people committed to baptism for the 19th of this month. It is great. They are all about 18 years old. We just hope that they are serious about it and really want to do it. I hope that they do but you never know with the teenagers here.
I am excited to hear about the Utah game. I can't wait. I hope they have another good season. I hope Kyle can get them ready and that he can keep their heads in it. Gary Anderson will make Utah St a tough team. I think we got ripped though on our ranking. We should be a lot higher. I would think at least close to the top 10. But we will just have to go out and prove ourselves. I love it. GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well the mission is great. I love it more than anything. I wouldn't change it for the world. Time is going by very fast and i don't want it to. I wish that i could be a missionary for the rest of my life. It is the best. I love all of you and i am so thankful for each and every one of you. I love you and the gospel is true!
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Letter - August 25, 2009
Hey how is everyone? I can't believe that school is starting up again. It is crazy to think how fast time is going. It sounds like you had a good time in San Francisco so that is good.
This week has been a pretty good week. Dana and Dionne were baptized and they were really excited about it. I baptized Dionne and then on Sunday i confirmed Dana. It was my first confirmation and i felt like i did pretty well. It was the greatest feeling in the whole world. I love it when people feel the spirit and they are just excited to be baptized. The gospel is the greatest thing.
Well also at church we had Adrian. Before church he had to have a fag (cigarette) and he was smoking it kind of close to the chapel. This old lady in our ward comes up to him and tells him to put it out or leave the property. He asked why he had to and then they got into a little argument and Adrian walked off and said forget it. He walked away and then me and Elder Bedke just looked at each other and said that he will be back. Sure enough about 2 minutes later Adrian walks up. He was still a little mad but he decided to stay at church. He came in and he lasted the whole sacrament meeting. It was great. We think it was because we didn't sit by him so he couldn't talk to anyone really. I was happy about it. But Adrian is not getting baptized this week. He was supposed to but we couldn't get him to give up smoking and drinking. We have tried everything. It is tough. We just need to get him to have a desire to give it up. We will get there though.
Everything else is going pretty well right now. We have a lot of people that we are going to start teaching this week that seem pretty good so i am hoping that we can get them to progress. There is nothing that i want more.
This morning i was studying about Faith and Repentance. I was reading in Enos and i was amazed at what Enos did. He desired to have his sins forgiven and he gave everything he had to the Lord. He wrestled with God. God told Enos that it was because of his faith that he had been forgiven. If we don't have faith then we can't be forgiven of our sins. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. I know it is. I have felt it in my life so many times and the happiness and the joy that it brings to me is beyond comprehension. I know that the gospel is true. I know that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior. He really did do all that he said he did. I love him. I am so grateful for my membership in the gospel. There is nothing better in this life. Thank you for everything that you do for me. You are my greatest support. I wouldn't be here if it werent for all of you. Thank you. I love you all. I hope you have a great week.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Just to let you know it is transfer week next week so i will email on wednesday. I will be surprised if either of us get transfered so expect an email on wednesday. i love you.
This week has been a pretty good week. Dana and Dionne were baptized and they were really excited about it. I baptized Dionne and then on Sunday i confirmed Dana. It was my first confirmation and i felt like i did pretty well. It was the greatest feeling in the whole world. I love it when people feel the spirit and they are just excited to be baptized. The gospel is the greatest thing.
Well also at church we had Adrian. Before church he had to have a fag (cigarette) and he was smoking it kind of close to the chapel. This old lady in our ward comes up to him and tells him to put it out or leave the property. He asked why he had to and then they got into a little argument and Adrian walked off and said forget it. He walked away and then me and Elder Bedke just looked at each other and said that he will be back. Sure enough about 2 minutes later Adrian walks up. He was still a little mad but he decided to stay at church. He came in and he lasted the whole sacrament meeting. It was great. We think it was because we didn't sit by him so he couldn't talk to anyone really. I was happy about it. But Adrian is not getting baptized this week. He was supposed to but we couldn't get him to give up smoking and drinking. We have tried everything. It is tough. We just need to get him to have a desire to give it up. We will get there though.
Everything else is going pretty well right now. We have a lot of people that we are going to start teaching this week that seem pretty good so i am hoping that we can get them to progress. There is nothing that i want more.
This morning i was studying about Faith and Repentance. I was reading in Enos and i was amazed at what Enos did. He desired to have his sins forgiven and he gave everything he had to the Lord. He wrestled with God. God told Enos that it was because of his faith that he had been forgiven. If we don't have faith then we can't be forgiven of our sins. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. I know it is. I have felt it in my life so many times and the happiness and the joy that it brings to me is beyond comprehension. I know that the gospel is true. I know that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior. He really did do all that he said he did. I love him. I am so grateful for my membership in the gospel. There is nothing better in this life. Thank you for everything that you do for me. You are my greatest support. I wouldn't be here if it werent for all of you. Thank you. I love you all. I hope you have a great week.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Just to let you know it is transfer week next week so i will email on wednesday. I will be surprised if either of us get transfered so expect an email on wednesday. i love you.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Letter - August 18, 2009
Hey everyone! I hope that your all doing well this week. I hope that Mom and Dad and Dan are having fun in San Francisco. Howcome we never went when i was home? I always wanted to go. Well i hope that you didn't eat too much shrimp and i hope that you were able to see the stadiums of the Giants and the 49ers.
Well this week was a tough week. It was a good week but really tough. We had 29 hours of finding and we got 54 other lessons taught and handed out 24 copies of the Book of Mormon. We worked hard but it seemed like we didn't get anywhere with our new people. We were happy that we did get our people at church. It is just so frustrating when people don't keep their commitments. We talk to like 100 people a day at least on the street and a lot of them say they will come to church but then they don't come. It is tough but all we can do is just keep working our hardest and doing all that we can. We know that the Lord will bless us.
Well i guess you will want to know about Adrian. He came to church again. He lasted about 5 minutes after the sacrament so it was a little bit of an improvement from last week. But all throughout sacrament meeting he was talking loud again and just laughing. He wasn't even drunk this time. He is just naturally loud. I was trying not to laugh too hard again but i couldn't hold it in. We went earlier in the week and bought him a suit and a shirt and a tie so he could wear it to church. Also earlier in the week we were at his house and one of his friends were there and he always just cranks up his music and one time we told him that we like John Denver so he always puts it on for us and he always puts the song Starborn in Aspen. (I think thats what its called). But we were over there this week and it is just crazy over there and all of the sudden he picks up this sledge hammer that he has for metal dectecting and just bangs it on the floor. I am surprised it didn't break but it was hilarious that he just lifted this sledge hammer up and just hit it on the ground as hard as he could. He is crazy and i will continue to have stories about him so i will let you know about them. We are supposed to go metal dectecting with him sometime so he can find treasures. Its pretty funny.
Dana and Dionne are getting baptized this Saturday. They passed their interview on Saturday so i am really excited about it. Dionne has asked me to baptize her so i will be doing that. Elder Bedke is baptizing Dana and then we are switching on Sunday to comfirm them. So i will be comfirming Dana. I never have confirmed someone before so i am a little nervous. Just pray for me that i will say what needs to be said.
Well the update on my foot is that my cast is off. I am back in my normal shoes. They said that i pretty much just have to tough it out because they can't really do a whole lot with a fracture. It still is hurting and my foot is still swollen pretty bad but they said that it will go down in about 2 or 3 months. That isn't that long... Ha when they told me that i was like are you serious? They just said that i will walk on it and it will keep breaking and then heal and then rebreak and then heal and it will gradually get better each time. So i just have to keep trying it out.
Even though i have told you about Elder Bedke a bit i will tell you some more. Elder Bedke is from Oakley Idaho. His family owns a cattle ranch with 1500 cows so he is a straight up cowboy. He played football in high school and was the Quarterback for his team. He is 6' 2" and weighs about 182 pounds. He has blondish brown hair and has the most adorable eyes you have ever seen. This is only his 2nd transfer on the mission and he is doing great. We get along great and we work great together. He plays basketball and he keeps saying that he can beat me but we will see when we play each other. I told him that i will still beat him on a broken foot. I will let you know how the games go. I don't know what else you want me to tell you about him but he has a great sense of humor and we laugh all the time.
This work is true. I love it with all of my heart. Jesus is the Christ and our Savior and Redeemer. I love him more than anything. I am so grateful for his atoning sacrifice in our behalf. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that Thomas S. Monson leads this church today. Its true. My testimony is simple. I just know that it is true. I have the best family in the world and i am so grateful that i was brought up with the gospel in my life. People here are lost and when i see someone accept the gospel it is amazing. It truly is a miracle. I love it. I don't want to stop. I won't stop. I love you all. Thank you for everything.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Well this week was a tough week. It was a good week but really tough. We had 29 hours of finding and we got 54 other lessons taught and handed out 24 copies of the Book of Mormon. We worked hard but it seemed like we didn't get anywhere with our new people. We were happy that we did get our people at church. It is just so frustrating when people don't keep their commitments. We talk to like 100 people a day at least on the street and a lot of them say they will come to church but then they don't come. It is tough but all we can do is just keep working our hardest and doing all that we can. We know that the Lord will bless us.
Well i guess you will want to know about Adrian. He came to church again. He lasted about 5 minutes after the sacrament so it was a little bit of an improvement from last week. But all throughout sacrament meeting he was talking loud again and just laughing. He wasn't even drunk this time. He is just naturally loud. I was trying not to laugh too hard again but i couldn't hold it in. We went earlier in the week and bought him a suit and a shirt and a tie so he could wear it to church. Also earlier in the week we were at his house and one of his friends were there and he always just cranks up his music and one time we told him that we like John Denver so he always puts it on for us and he always puts the song Starborn in Aspen. (I think thats what its called). But we were over there this week and it is just crazy over there and all of the sudden he picks up this sledge hammer that he has for metal dectecting and just bangs it on the floor. I am surprised it didn't break but it was hilarious that he just lifted this sledge hammer up and just hit it on the ground as hard as he could. He is crazy and i will continue to have stories about him so i will let you know about them. We are supposed to go metal dectecting with him sometime so he can find treasures. Its pretty funny.
Dana and Dionne are getting baptized this Saturday. They passed their interview on Saturday so i am really excited about it. Dionne has asked me to baptize her so i will be doing that. Elder Bedke is baptizing Dana and then we are switching on Sunday to comfirm them. So i will be comfirming Dana. I never have confirmed someone before so i am a little nervous. Just pray for me that i will say what needs to be said.
Well the update on my foot is that my cast is off. I am back in my normal shoes. They said that i pretty much just have to tough it out because they can't really do a whole lot with a fracture. It still is hurting and my foot is still swollen pretty bad but they said that it will go down in about 2 or 3 months. That isn't that long... Ha when they told me that i was like are you serious? They just said that i will walk on it and it will keep breaking and then heal and then rebreak and then heal and it will gradually get better each time. So i just have to keep trying it out.
Even though i have told you about Elder Bedke a bit i will tell you some more. Elder Bedke is from Oakley Idaho. His family owns a cattle ranch with 1500 cows so he is a straight up cowboy. He played football in high school and was the Quarterback for his team. He is 6' 2" and weighs about 182 pounds. He has blondish brown hair and has the most adorable eyes you have ever seen. This is only his 2nd transfer on the mission and he is doing great. We get along great and we work great together. He plays basketball and he keeps saying that he can beat me but we will see when we play each other. I told him that i will still beat him on a broken foot. I will let you know how the games go. I don't know what else you want me to tell you about him but he has a great sense of humor and we laugh all the time.
This work is true. I love it with all of my heart. Jesus is the Christ and our Savior and Redeemer. I love him more than anything. I am so grateful for his atoning sacrifice in our behalf. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that Thomas S. Monson leads this church today. Its true. My testimony is simple. I just know that it is true. I have the best family in the world and i am so grateful that i was brought up with the gospel in my life. People here are lost and when i see someone accept the gospel it is amazing. It truly is a miracle. I love it. I don't want to stop. I won't stop. I love you all. Thank you for everything.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Letter - August 11, 2009
Hey there thanks for all of your emails. They are always great to hear. It sounds like everyone is doing well. It was a pretty exciting week this week and there are a few stories that i have to tell so get ready for them.
So on Saturday we go and we see this guy that we are working with at the moment. His name is Adrian. He wants to be baptized on the 29th of August. He is an alcoholic and is pretty much always drunk when we see him. Surprisingly though he remembers most of what we say to him. But anyways, we are teaching him on Saturday and when we get there he was having an argument with the guy who lives above him. The guy was getting mad at Adrian because he was playing his music too loud and it was disrupting him. (The walls here are like a piece of cardboard. You could hear anything through these walls.) But eventually it all calmed down and we went inside and started teaching. While we were in there all of the sudden the cops show up and they arrest Adrian right then and there. It was crazy. They didn't even say why they were arresting him or what the deal was. They just came in and did it. They didn't do anything to us but we were just left there at the house wondering what we do now and what just happened. It was pretty crazy but Adrian kept asking them what he did and they didn't say and then he asked us what he did and we just said nothing that we saw he did was wrong. But as he was getting in the police car he told us that he would see us at church on Sunday. Haha. So Sunday rolls around and we call Adrian. He is out of jail and he is coming to church with us. So we start walking to church with him and he has Elder Bedke hold his beer for him while he is smoking. We have only been walking for about 10 minutes and he starts complaining its too far so we call a member and he comes and picks us up. We told him that he will have to drink his beer fast cause he can't have it in church. But our member comes and picks us up and we just tell him that the guy is kind of drunk but he really wants to come to church so don't ask questions. So then we get to church and we have a black member in our ward and he was outside greeting people as they came in and so Adrian walks up and says "Oh is this the bouncer, haha." But we get him into church and it starts and this guy doesn't know how to be quiet. He could very well be louder than Russell. It was crazy. The opening hymn was The Lord is My Light. Adrian wanted to sing and so he did just that but you can imagine how a drunk person sings. Me and Elder Bedke have been laughing hysterically this entire time and we are both crying we are laughing so hard. So then the member of the bishopric gets up and does all of the ward business and reads a letter from the Stake Presidency. He was up there for about 5 minutes and when he sat down Adrian leaned over to us and said "Well that guy was boring. It's a good thing he sat down." So then the sacrament starts. He thought the whole time that there was wine at the church but during the sacrament his phone starts to ring. He answers it and just says "Hey im in church, i'll call you in a while." I never thought i could laugh harder. But then a member that was in front of us kept looking back and one time he told Adrian to be quiet and that was the wrong thing to say. He spoke in his normal voice and said to the member, "Whats his problem? Hey you have a mouth why don't you use it." We tried to quiet him down but it wasn't working so Elder Bedke took him out. It was like we were babysitting a little baby. It was hillarious. So we almost had a fight in church this week and it was really funny because Adrian keeps telling us that he doesn't blame the members for looking at him because he had paint on his pants and he didn't have a belt on. That was my exciting story for this week. Adrian should be at church again this week but we told him that he needs to lay off the beer. I will never forget that experience.
But on the more spiritual side we hit the standard of excellence again this week. That is two weeks in a row and i am really happy about it. We have set some pretty high goals this week for people at church and people with a baptismal date. We will have to work extremely hard to get it but i know that we can do it with the help of the Lord.
We have Dana and Dionne who are being baptized on the 22nd of the month. I am really excited about it and then we have Adrian on the 29th of August and then we have a couple more hopefully on the 5th of September. It is unbelievable what you can do with the Lord's help. I love this work more and more each day.
We have interviews this week with President Ogden. I am excited about those and i am looking forward to learning more from him. He is a great mission president and he will continue to help the EBM (England Birmingham Misison) be the EBM (Earths Best Mission). I love this work. I love the gospel. It is so true. Me and Elder Bedke talk about it every day and there is no way that it isn't true. It makes perfect sense. Its amazing. I love Jesus Christ. He is my Savior. This is his work. I love you all and i hope that you are all doing well. THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!!!
Love Elder Sam Rudd
So on Saturday we go and we see this guy that we are working with at the moment. His name is Adrian. He wants to be baptized on the 29th of August. He is an alcoholic and is pretty much always drunk when we see him. Surprisingly though he remembers most of what we say to him. But anyways, we are teaching him on Saturday and when we get there he was having an argument with the guy who lives above him. The guy was getting mad at Adrian because he was playing his music too loud and it was disrupting him. (The walls here are like a piece of cardboard. You could hear anything through these walls.) But eventually it all calmed down and we went inside and started teaching. While we were in there all of the sudden the cops show up and they arrest Adrian right then and there. It was crazy. They didn't even say why they were arresting him or what the deal was. They just came in and did it. They didn't do anything to us but we were just left there at the house wondering what we do now and what just happened. It was pretty crazy but Adrian kept asking them what he did and they didn't say and then he asked us what he did and we just said nothing that we saw he did was wrong. But as he was getting in the police car he told us that he would see us at church on Sunday. Haha. So Sunday rolls around and we call Adrian. He is out of jail and he is coming to church with us. So we start walking to church with him and he has Elder Bedke hold his beer for him while he is smoking. We have only been walking for about 10 minutes and he starts complaining its too far so we call a member and he comes and picks us up. We told him that he will have to drink his beer fast cause he can't have it in church. But our member comes and picks us up and we just tell him that the guy is kind of drunk but he really wants to come to church so don't ask questions. So then we get to church and we have a black member in our ward and he was outside greeting people as they came in and so Adrian walks up and says "Oh is this the bouncer, haha." But we get him into church and it starts and this guy doesn't know how to be quiet. He could very well be louder than Russell. It was crazy. The opening hymn was The Lord is My Light. Adrian wanted to sing and so he did just that but you can imagine how a drunk person sings. Me and Elder Bedke have been laughing hysterically this entire time and we are both crying we are laughing so hard. So then the member of the bishopric gets up and does all of the ward business and reads a letter from the Stake Presidency. He was up there for about 5 minutes and when he sat down Adrian leaned over to us and said "Well that guy was boring. It's a good thing he sat down." So then the sacrament starts. He thought the whole time that there was wine at the church but during the sacrament his phone starts to ring. He answers it and just says "Hey im in church, i'll call you in a while." I never thought i could laugh harder. But then a member that was in front of us kept looking back and one time he told Adrian to be quiet and that was the wrong thing to say. He spoke in his normal voice and said to the member, "Whats his problem? Hey you have a mouth why don't you use it." We tried to quiet him down but it wasn't working so Elder Bedke took him out. It was like we were babysitting a little baby. It was hillarious. So we almost had a fight in church this week and it was really funny because Adrian keeps telling us that he doesn't blame the members for looking at him because he had paint on his pants and he didn't have a belt on. That was my exciting story for this week. Adrian should be at church again this week but we told him that he needs to lay off the beer. I will never forget that experience.
But on the more spiritual side we hit the standard of excellence again this week. That is two weeks in a row and i am really happy about it. We have set some pretty high goals this week for people at church and people with a baptismal date. We will have to work extremely hard to get it but i know that we can do it with the help of the Lord.
We have Dana and Dionne who are being baptized on the 22nd of the month. I am really excited about it and then we have Adrian on the 29th of August and then we have a couple more hopefully on the 5th of September. It is unbelievable what you can do with the Lord's help. I love this work more and more each day.
We have interviews this week with President Ogden. I am excited about those and i am looking forward to learning more from him. He is a great mission president and he will continue to help the EBM (England Birmingham Misison) be the EBM (Earths Best Mission). I love this work. I love the gospel. It is so true. Me and Elder Bedke talk about it every day and there is no way that it isn't true. It makes perfect sense. Its amazing. I love Jesus Christ. He is my Savior. This is his work. I love you all and i hope that you are all doing well. THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!!!
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Letter - August 4, 2009
Hey there it was good to hear from you this week mom and dad. Thanks for that. My foot is doing ok. I am still in the cast and it is pretty frustrating but i live with it. Elder Bedke just keeps pushing me around in the wheelchair. I feel really bad that he has to do it to. I just hope that i don't have to have it on too much longer.
This week was pretty good though. Even though i was in a wheelchair and in a cast we hit the standard of excellence. I felt really good about it. I still can't figure out why we were blessed with it but i am glad we were. There is a lady in the ward here in Nuneaton that was baptized about 6 months ago. She has a lot of daughters and then the daughters have a couple friends that are always over at the house. We talked to them and we play basketball with them every week and the two friends dana (pronounced donna), and dionne, came to church this week and are going to get baptized on the 22nd of August. We are really excited about it and can't wait. We almost picked up two of the other kids but they flaked out in the end. We will get them though.
We are also teaching an 8 year old girl who turns 9 on August 30. Her dad is a less active member and he wanted us to teach her. We have taught her a couple times and she is getting baptized on August 29. It is a great feeling. Her name is Amy so please keep her in your prayers.
We also had Zone Conference yesterday and it was pretty good. I enjoyed it. President Ogden is really good. He knows what he is doing. The transition is going well. I don't think he will change a lot of the rules and so it will stay pretty much the same. I love President Ogden and Sister Ogden. They are great.
Well i don't have a lot of time because we have a flat inspection in 15 minutes and we have to run back to the flat in a wheelchair. It should be fun. Thank you for all that you do. You are the best. I love you all so much. The gospel is true. It is so simple. I love sharing it with others. The joy i get from doing it is unlike anything else. I love it. I know that it is true. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I love him. The church is true.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
This week was pretty good though. Even though i was in a wheelchair and in a cast we hit the standard of excellence. I felt really good about it. I still can't figure out why we were blessed with it but i am glad we were. There is a lady in the ward here in Nuneaton that was baptized about 6 months ago. She has a lot of daughters and then the daughters have a couple friends that are always over at the house. We talked to them and we play basketball with them every week and the two friends dana (pronounced donna), and dionne, came to church this week and are going to get baptized on the 22nd of August. We are really excited about it and can't wait. We almost picked up two of the other kids but they flaked out in the end. We will get them though.
We are also teaching an 8 year old girl who turns 9 on August 30. Her dad is a less active member and he wanted us to teach her. We have taught her a couple times and she is getting baptized on August 29. It is a great feeling. Her name is Amy so please keep her in your prayers.
We also had Zone Conference yesterday and it was pretty good. I enjoyed it. President Ogden is really good. He knows what he is doing. The transition is going well. I don't think he will change a lot of the rules and so it will stay pretty much the same. I love President Ogden and Sister Ogden. They are great.
Well i don't have a lot of time because we have a flat inspection in 15 minutes and we have to run back to the flat in a wheelchair. It should be fun. Thank you for all that you do. You are the best. I love you all so much. The gospel is true. It is so simple. I love sharing it with others. The joy i get from doing it is unlike anything else. I love it. I know that it is true. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I love him. The church is true.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Monday, August 3, 2009
Letter - July 28, 2009
Hey there it was great to hear from you. I am amazed that mom is playing so much golf. That is a miracle. I guess our family has been blessed while i have been on my mission. Haha. I love you mom. Well not a whole lot has happened since the last email. We have probably done about 4 or 5 hours of work since i last emailed. I guess i should explain. So on Tuesday the 15th i woke up and my foot hurt. It was kind of painful to walk on but i kept walking on it and i was going to see if it would go away at all. It didn't and it stayed there for a week. I couldn't run on it at all and it was very very painful to walk on. I didn't talk to Sister Ogden until transfers which were last wednesday and she told me to see how it was for the next couple days and then call her and talk to her more about it. So Friday morning i was walking on it and it hurt more than usual and so i went home and called Sister Ogden and she told me to go get it checked to see if i had an infection. I definately knew it wasn't an infection. My foot was swollen pretty bad and it hurt to do anything. So we went to the hospital Friday afternoon and i ended up walking out of the hospital on crutches and with a cast on my foot. They took an x-ray of my foot and they found out that i had a hairline fracture in my foot. I was laughing the whole time the doctor was explaining it to me and telling me what i would have to do. I couldn't believe that they were going to put me in a cast. So yeah now i am on crutches and i have to stay in the flat pretty much all day and can only go to set appointments. I AM BORED OUT OF MY MIND!!!! But after the hospital experience on Friday we had to go see a lady who wanted to be baptized and we taught her the law of chastity and we told her that either she or her boyfriend needed to move out. It took about an hour for me to get there and it started to rain and i can't get my cast wet so we knock on this random door and this lady answers and we ask her if we can come in for a second to get out of the rain and she said that she didn't want to talk about religion or anything and she started to shut the door. Then i said i need to cover my cast because my foot is broken and i can't get it wet. We won't say a word about our church. Then she let us in. But i am so sick of crutches. It is no fun. So that is about all that has happened this week. Nothing too exciting missionary work related. Although we did manage to do some tracting yesterday. We had a member come pick us up and then we went to the street we were going to tract and i sat on a chair on the sidewalk while Elder Bedke went and knocked doors for 2 hours. It started to rain. Pouring rain and there i was sitting on a chair with an umbrella. It was crazy. I keep thinking to myself that it is a dream but then i wake up and i still have a cast on my foot. We are getting a wheelchair though that we can push around so that will be nice. An old lady in the ward called up the red cross and got us a wheelchair. I told you that i would get old ladies to do things for me. Haha. Well i love you all and i hope that you have a great week. We won't be doing much again but hopefully we can still find people with the little amount of time we have. I know that the Lord will provide a way. I love the mission and i love the gospel. I know that Jesus Christ lives. O that reminds me of a story that happened on Sunday. We had a dinner appointment on Sunday after church. We went to the house and the member wasn't there yet but her husband was. He used to be a member but he had his name taken off the records of the church about 5 years ago. So we go in and we start talking to him. Wow what a guy. He told us about all his beliefs and how there were 18 aliens in America. Most of them were good ones but some of them were bad but they got rid of them. Also he said that he has been reincarnated 3 times and the first time he died he just was laying there and he died. The 2nd time he died he was riding an elephant and he hit a branch of a tree and fell off and was trampled to death. I asked him how he died the 2nd time and as soon as he said he had fallen off of an elephant me and Elder Bedke just busted up laughing. We couldn't help it. It was crazy. This guy was nuts. Then he said that he has seen Jesus twice. I was like "Really!? What does he look like?" So we pull out a restoration leaflet and show him a picture and he said he looked similar to the picture but he has jet black hair. We told him that he was pretty special then because all of these things have happened to him and we haven't had anything happen to us. It has just been a crazy week. But i love all of you and the gospel is true. I love it so much. You are the best family in the world. I hope to hear from you all soon.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Letter - July 22, 2009
Hey everyone how is it going? I hope you are all doing well. I am doing well and everything is going great. Well today was transfers and yes i got transfered. I didn't want to leave Lichfield. It was really hard to say goodbye to all of the members and to Elder Williams as well. I am now in a place called Nuneaton. It is about a half hour or 45 minutes away from Lichfield. It is in the same Zone as Rugby. I couldn't believe it. I wanted to go to Wales really bad. But i am excited to be here in Nuneaton. It will be a good experience. My new address is:
150 B Manor Court Road
Nuneaton
CV11 5HG
England
Write me soon. I haven't gotten mail for a really long time. Tell everyone else to write as well. My new companion is Elder Bedke. He is from Oakley, Idaho and he has only been out 1 transfer. He seems pretty cool so i will let you know how things go.
This last week in Lichfield was an alright week. We taught Mark. He is leaving for Portugal and he will be gone until the 29th of July so i had to say my goodbye's to him. It was tough. I am really sad that i won't be there for his baptism on the 1st.
We don't have a lot of time on the computer today but thank you for everything. It was really cool to have Sister Fairbanks at Church on sunday. I wasn't expecting it at all. I was happy though that she came.
That is about it for this week. I am so grateful for this mission. It is amazing. I learn so much each and every day. I love this gospel and everything about it. Jesus Christ lives. He really does. The gospel is so simple and so easy, we just make it difficult. I love serving the people of England. They are hard work but i wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I love all of you and i am thankful for all that you do. I hope to hear from you all next week. Well i love you and the gospel is true.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
150 B Manor Court Road
Nuneaton
CV11 5HG
England
Write me soon. I haven't gotten mail for a really long time. Tell everyone else to write as well. My new companion is Elder Bedke. He is from Oakley, Idaho and he has only been out 1 transfer. He seems pretty cool so i will let you know how things go.
This last week in Lichfield was an alright week. We taught Mark. He is leaving for Portugal and he will be gone until the 29th of July so i had to say my goodbye's to him. It was tough. I am really sad that i won't be there for his baptism on the 1st.
We don't have a lot of time on the computer today but thank you for everything. It was really cool to have Sister Fairbanks at Church on sunday. I wasn't expecting it at all. I was happy though that she came.
That is about it for this week. I am so grateful for this mission. It is amazing. I learn so much each and every day. I love this gospel and everything about it. Jesus Christ lives. He really does. The gospel is so simple and so easy, we just make it difficult. I love serving the people of England. They are hard work but i wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I love all of you and i am thankful for all that you do. I hope to hear from you all next week. Well i love you and the gospel is true.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Letter - July 14, 2009
Hey there thanks for the email. It was great to hear from you and i am always happy and relieved when i hear that everyone is doing well. I am so glad that you were able to meet the Moffats. They are truly amazing. I love them so much. They have changed my life forever. I miss them very much but i know that i will see them again and be able to share all of our experiences together. What Elder Ballard said is true. President and Sister Moffat truly did know how to motivate us. All of the missionaries knew what was expected of them and we are the happiest group of missionaries in the church. I don't know if i ever told you this but i know their grandson. He was in the super sport program at Dimple Dell and i found out that he was their grandson a few weeks before i left. I always talked to Sister Moffat about him and so it was great to already have a connection with them. I love the Moffats.
Well still on the topic of mission presidents, i finally was able to meet President and Sister Ogden. They are great. The interview was great and we just got to know each other a little more. President Ogden is really excited and he seems to already know what he is doing. It was interesting to find out that he grew up in Florida. He moved all around Florida and he joined the church down there in about 1961 or 1962. I told him that Grandpa was a mission president down there but he was baptized before his time. It was pretty interesting. I love President and Sister Ogden and i am not worried about the mission at all. The England Birmingham Mission is the best mission in the world and the Lord is watching out for us and blessing us more than we deserve.
Other than that we have had a pretty good week. We continue to teach Mark. He is doing great and he is looking forward to his baptism on the 1st of August. I am so excited for it but the only thing is that i might not be here for it. We will see though.
Here is a little story for you. Yesterday we were out finding and we were both in short sleeve shirts and it was a beautiful day. No clouds in the sky to begin the day. Hotter than Africa. After lunch we went out and it was still nice and still hot but there were a few clouds in the sky. Then all of the sudden this big huge gray blanket of clouds comes over the entire sky and the heavens start to open. Neither of us have rain jackets or anything. Luckily we were talking to this lady and she let us stay under her overhang until it stopped raining. As soon as it stopped raining we took off towards the church and as we were running to the church the rain picked up again and we were getting a little wet. We got to the church and went inside and about two minutes after we got in it was back to blue skies. We left the church and walked up and saw a less active and as soon as we stopped talking to her the sky was gray again and it started to rain. Except it rained even harder. It was pouring rain. Keep in mind we have no waterproof stuff at all. Just white shirts and ties. We just started running and got under a tree. That only did us good for about 5 minutes and so we ran to another tree. Same story. Then we got to another tree which treated us well. It kept us out of the rain until it stopped. Moral of the story. Always bring your rain jacket and your waterproof trousers with you. I was pretty wet. But it was fun.
Well that was all the excitement for this week. I am glad that everyone is doing well. I hope to hear from all of you next week. I hope you enjoyed the pictures. Sorry about the envelope Dad. I didn't want it to rip open so i just taped it all up. I guess it worked.
I love this work that i am doing. I love this gospel. It is the only way to true happiness. We talk to people every day that their beliefs are so close to ours but they are just missing a few things. I know that this is the Lords Kingdom on the earth. I know that Jesus is the Christ and that he is the only way back to our Father in Heaven. I testify of the power of the Atonement. Apply it in your life. As we do we are more happy. We are more obedient. We strive to do His will instead of ours. And as on Preach My Gospel pg 2 says. " As our understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ increases, our desire to share the gospel will increase." I love my Savior. He has helped me through the good times and the hard times. Joseph Smith is a true prophet. Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah. I love the Book of Mormon and all that it contains. It does contain the fulness of the gospel. I love all of you and i am so blessed to be in the service of our God.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Well still on the topic of mission presidents, i finally was able to meet President and Sister Ogden. They are great. The interview was great and we just got to know each other a little more. President Ogden is really excited and he seems to already know what he is doing. It was interesting to find out that he grew up in Florida. He moved all around Florida and he joined the church down there in about 1961 or 1962. I told him that Grandpa was a mission president down there but he was baptized before his time. It was pretty interesting. I love President and Sister Ogden and i am not worried about the mission at all. The England Birmingham Mission is the best mission in the world and the Lord is watching out for us and blessing us more than we deserve.
Other than that we have had a pretty good week. We continue to teach Mark. He is doing great and he is looking forward to his baptism on the 1st of August. I am so excited for it but the only thing is that i might not be here for it. We will see though.
Here is a little story for you. Yesterday we were out finding and we were both in short sleeve shirts and it was a beautiful day. No clouds in the sky to begin the day. Hotter than Africa. After lunch we went out and it was still nice and still hot but there were a few clouds in the sky. Then all of the sudden this big huge gray blanket of clouds comes over the entire sky and the heavens start to open. Neither of us have rain jackets or anything. Luckily we were talking to this lady and she let us stay under her overhang until it stopped raining. As soon as it stopped raining we took off towards the church and as we were running to the church the rain picked up again and we were getting a little wet. We got to the church and went inside and about two minutes after we got in it was back to blue skies. We left the church and walked up and saw a less active and as soon as we stopped talking to her the sky was gray again and it started to rain. Except it rained even harder. It was pouring rain. Keep in mind we have no waterproof stuff at all. Just white shirts and ties. We just started running and got under a tree. That only did us good for about 5 minutes and so we ran to another tree. Same story. Then we got to another tree which treated us well. It kept us out of the rain until it stopped. Moral of the story. Always bring your rain jacket and your waterproof trousers with you. I was pretty wet. But it was fun.
Well that was all the excitement for this week. I am glad that everyone is doing well. I hope to hear from all of you next week. I hope you enjoyed the pictures. Sorry about the envelope Dad. I didn't want it to rip open so i just taped it all up. I guess it worked.
I love this work that i am doing. I love this gospel. It is the only way to true happiness. We talk to people every day that their beliefs are so close to ours but they are just missing a few things. I know that this is the Lords Kingdom on the earth. I know that Jesus is the Christ and that he is the only way back to our Father in Heaven. I testify of the power of the Atonement. Apply it in your life. As we do we are more happy. We are more obedient. We strive to do His will instead of ours. And as on Preach My Gospel pg 2 says. " As our understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ increases, our desire to share the gospel will increase." I love my Savior. He has helped me through the good times and the hard times. Joseph Smith is a true prophet. Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah. I love the Book of Mormon and all that it contains. It does contain the fulness of the gospel. I love all of you and i am so blessed to be in the service of our God.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Letter - July 7, 2009
Hey there how is everything going? I am glad to hear that you had a good week at Lake Powell and everything else that went on. Tell Grandma Rudd Happy Birthday from me and that i love her. Also tell that to Grandma Lancaster as well and tell her thank you for all of the letters and postcards that i get from her.
Well this week was a good week. We have been teaching Sheelagh's son, Mark, and he has been reading the Book of Mormon and praying. He is dating one of the members in the ward and he has come to church almost every week for the past 9 or 10 months. He has never wanted the missionaries to teach him but for some reason he started wanting us to. We asked him to be baptized on August 1st and he accepted and so we are working with him and we are really excited about it all. He is a really good kid and he is already living everything in the church but he will be out of town for 2 weeks and so we can't baptize him before August. That was a bit disappointing but its alright. It will be great to have Sheelagh and Mark come into the gospel so they can support each other. Sheelaghs husband isn't interested but maybe one day he will be.
I havent met President Ogden yet but i will on Thursday. We have interviews on Thursday and i am really excited for them. President Ogden had a meeting with our Stake President on Sunday in Lichfield and so we were hoping to catch him and meet him but we missed him by about 5 minutes. Everyone who met him though said that he seemed like a great guy though so that just made me more excited to meet him. I know that he is the man who should be leading this mission at this time. I support him in whatever he does even though things will change and be different to what President Moffat did.
So i mentioned something about the so called "heat wave" that was happening. Well it only lasted for about 3 or 4 days. It is back to normal British weather. Rain, wind, cold, humid. I love seeing the reaction of the English when they get bad weather or they get something that is totally normal to me. I love it. The British are funny.
That is about all that has happened this week. Ben and Michal are doing great. Michal fasted on Saturday and Sunday and she said that it felt really good. They still continue to have a strong desire to come to church and to learn more about the church.
The church is true. I know that it is. Not a day goes by that my testimony is not strengthened in one way or another. All of the yelling and the people who just want to try and destroy the church and telling us that Joseph Smith plagerized the Book of Mormon, i love it. I love how satan just attacks our church and tries to tear it down but he can't do it. God won't let him. I love this gospel so much. It means everything to me. The time that i have been able to be on my mission has helped me grow as a person in so many different ways. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I know that Jesus Christ lives. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and it contains the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph Smith restored this church back to the earth and that he did many many things in our behalf. I am so grateful for all of you and your prayers and your support. You are the best.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
p.s. We have our own washing machine in the flat so that is how we do our washing. Then we just hang it up to dry. It is a pain but o well. I tried to get a lady to wash them but it didn't happen.
Well this week was a good week. We have been teaching Sheelagh's son, Mark, and he has been reading the Book of Mormon and praying. He is dating one of the members in the ward and he has come to church almost every week for the past 9 or 10 months. He has never wanted the missionaries to teach him but for some reason he started wanting us to. We asked him to be baptized on August 1st and he accepted and so we are working with him and we are really excited about it all. He is a really good kid and he is already living everything in the church but he will be out of town for 2 weeks and so we can't baptize him before August. That was a bit disappointing but its alright. It will be great to have Sheelagh and Mark come into the gospel so they can support each other. Sheelaghs husband isn't interested but maybe one day he will be.
I havent met President Ogden yet but i will on Thursday. We have interviews on Thursday and i am really excited for them. President Ogden had a meeting with our Stake President on Sunday in Lichfield and so we were hoping to catch him and meet him but we missed him by about 5 minutes. Everyone who met him though said that he seemed like a great guy though so that just made me more excited to meet him. I know that he is the man who should be leading this mission at this time. I support him in whatever he does even though things will change and be different to what President Moffat did.
So i mentioned something about the so called "heat wave" that was happening. Well it only lasted for about 3 or 4 days. It is back to normal British weather. Rain, wind, cold, humid. I love seeing the reaction of the English when they get bad weather or they get something that is totally normal to me. I love it. The British are funny.
That is about all that has happened this week. Ben and Michal are doing great. Michal fasted on Saturday and Sunday and she said that it felt really good. They still continue to have a strong desire to come to church and to learn more about the church.
The church is true. I know that it is. Not a day goes by that my testimony is not strengthened in one way or another. All of the yelling and the people who just want to try and destroy the church and telling us that Joseph Smith plagerized the Book of Mormon, i love it. I love how satan just attacks our church and tries to tear it down but he can't do it. God won't let him. I love this gospel so much. It means everything to me. The time that i have been able to be on my mission has helped me grow as a person in so many different ways. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I know that Jesus Christ lives. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and it contains the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph Smith restored this church back to the earth and that he did many many things in our behalf. I am so grateful for all of you and your prayers and your support. You are the best.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
p.s. We have our own washing machine in the flat so that is how we do our washing. Then we just hang it up to dry. It is a pain but o well. I tried to get a lady to wash them but it didn't happen.
Letter - June 30, 2009
Hey i hope you had a great time at Lake Powell. I heard that the Hulets have a new houseboat. I will be excited to hear about it. I hope that dan got some good skiing in and that he wakeboarded.
Well the big news of this week was that we had Zone Conference and that is where we said goodbye to President and Sister Moffat. That was no fun. That was the hardest thing that i have had to do. I don't want to see them go. I know that they have to and i know that President Ogden will be great but i will miss them greatly. There were a lot of tears shed from me thats for sure. At the end of Zone Conference we sang God Be With You Til We Meet Again. Talk about a horrible song to end on. I was already in tears by the time the song ended and then after the song President Moffat said that him and Sister Moffat wanted to say goodbye to us each individually and so we all got up and went a made a line. I was trying to stay calm but it was so hard. I never thought that the day would come when they would leave. I finally got up to them and i hugged President Moffat and then he told me a few things that really helped me and then i went and said bye to Sister Moffat. It was tough. I love them so much and my love for them goes beyond this life. I love them for eternity. I will have to admit though i think it was harder to say goodbye to them than to you guys. I'm sorry but its true. I can't wait to see them again. You will have to let me know how their talk goes and tell them that i love them. Please.
Ben and Michal are ok with everything now. They came back to church and loved it. They really regreted what they did and they said that it was just a difficult decision for them to make. They are doing well though.
We are in the middle of a "heat wave" England style. It rains all the time and can't make up its mind but it is hotter than Africa over here. Everyone told us that it was going to be a "heat wave" but they don't even understand what the meaning of that means. Even though it is very very very humid and i am soggy and moist all the time, i love it. I love preaching the gospel.
Well that is it for this week. President Ogden comes in tomorrow night at about 7 o clock. I don't think we will meet him until interviews which are next week. I am excited for that. He flies into Frankfurt, Germany today to spend a day with the Area Presidency and then he flies over here to England. I will let you know all that happens. I love all of you. I am grateful for your love and support. I am thankful for your prayers. I am thankful for this gospel and all that it blesses us with. It is true. Its as simple as that. The gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I hope to hear from you next week.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Well the big news of this week was that we had Zone Conference and that is where we said goodbye to President and Sister Moffat. That was no fun. That was the hardest thing that i have had to do. I don't want to see them go. I know that they have to and i know that President Ogden will be great but i will miss them greatly. There were a lot of tears shed from me thats for sure. At the end of Zone Conference we sang God Be With You Til We Meet Again. Talk about a horrible song to end on. I was already in tears by the time the song ended and then after the song President Moffat said that him and Sister Moffat wanted to say goodbye to us each individually and so we all got up and went a made a line. I was trying to stay calm but it was so hard. I never thought that the day would come when they would leave. I finally got up to them and i hugged President Moffat and then he told me a few things that really helped me and then i went and said bye to Sister Moffat. It was tough. I love them so much and my love for them goes beyond this life. I love them for eternity. I will have to admit though i think it was harder to say goodbye to them than to you guys. I'm sorry but its true. I can't wait to see them again. You will have to let me know how their talk goes and tell them that i love them. Please.
Ben and Michal are ok with everything now. They came back to church and loved it. They really regreted what they did and they said that it was just a difficult decision for them to make. They are doing well though.
We are in the middle of a "heat wave" England style. It rains all the time and can't make up its mind but it is hotter than Africa over here. Everyone told us that it was going to be a "heat wave" but they don't even understand what the meaning of that means. Even though it is very very very humid and i am soggy and moist all the time, i love it. I love preaching the gospel.
Well that is it for this week. President Ogden comes in tomorrow night at about 7 o clock. I don't think we will meet him until interviews which are next week. I am excited for that. He flies into Frankfurt, Germany today to spend a day with the Area Presidency and then he flies over here to England. I will let you know all that happens. I love all of you. I am grateful for your love and support. I am thankful for your prayers. I am thankful for this gospel and all that it blesses us with. It is true. Its as simple as that. The gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I hope to hear from you next week.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
