Hello how is everyone? I hope that you are all doing well and that everyone is happy and safe. Things have been pretty good here. Elder Bedke got transfered to Coventry which is in our same district and it is about a 15 minute train ride away. Its crazy. But we will end up going on an exchange sometime this transfer. I love him and i will miss serving with him. My new companion is Elder Jameson. He is from Payson, Utah. That makes every companion so far from the either Utah or Idaho. We will have good success in Nuneaton. I love Nuneaton. It is a great area.
We baptized Susan this last Saturday. She was so excited and she couldn't wait. It will be a blessing in her life. I love the gospel.
I was shocked by all of the changes in the stake. I couldn't believe it. That is awesome though. Please do send those boundaries and ward lists as soon as possible. I would love to see all that happened. Did we lose anyone or gain anyone that is a big surprise? I am excited to hear. I am sad that Bishop Hill was released but i am excited for Bishop Farrington. He will do great. Tell him i say congratulations.
This email is short because we dont have a lot of time but i love all of you and i am so grateful for all of you. The gospel is true and Jesus Christ lives. I love my mission and i love sharing the gospel. It honestly has changed my life for the better. Thank you for all of your support.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
p.s. Elder Brower just went home so he may visit you.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Letter - October 6, 2009
Hey there thanks for the emails. They always make me happy and are a highlight of my week. Keep letting me know how everything is going.
Conference was great this last weekend. I loved it. We didn't see the Sunday Afternoon session and i was a bit disappointed because i missed Elder Holland. I knew his talk was going to be a good one and then we had interviews yesterday and President Ogden told us how good it was and that he will show it to us sometime soon. But other than that i thought that it was a great conference. I loved the first session when Elder Scott and Elder Bednar spoke. They were awesome. We had a few investigators there so that was good. They loved it. I just love conference. It is the best. I don't want the next one to come because i know where i will be but i can't wait for it because i love hearing from the leaders of the church.
I am sorry but this email is another short one. We are going to Coventry again for p day. But this week was a hard fought week. We picked up two new people for baptism. They are great. I love them.
Last night we were at a members house for dinner and he is kind of struggling right now and he asked for a blessing so i gave him one. It was a great experience. And then after that we went to the hospital to visit another older member in the ward. She has pneumonia and we love to visit her because she always makes us laugh. We didn't give her a blessing then but we are going tonight to give her one. Hopefully we can help her.
Well thank you for everything. I love all of you. This gospel is true. I love it. I know it is true. Jesus Christ lives. He loves us and he suffered for us. I know that. I am so grateful for him. I am so grateful for a prophet today. He is called of God. I love him. I love this work. I never want to stop. Thank you again for all of your support.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
hey next week is transfers so we will email on wednesday or thursday depending on if one of us gets transfered.
Conference was great this last weekend. I loved it. We didn't see the Sunday Afternoon session and i was a bit disappointed because i missed Elder Holland. I knew his talk was going to be a good one and then we had interviews yesterday and President Ogden told us how good it was and that he will show it to us sometime soon. But other than that i thought that it was a great conference. I loved the first session when Elder Scott and Elder Bednar spoke. They were awesome. We had a few investigators there so that was good. They loved it. I just love conference. It is the best. I don't want the next one to come because i know where i will be but i can't wait for it because i love hearing from the leaders of the church.
I am sorry but this email is another short one. We are going to Coventry again for p day. But this week was a hard fought week. We picked up two new people for baptism. They are great. I love them.
Last night we were at a members house for dinner and he is kind of struggling right now and he asked for a blessing so i gave him one. It was a great experience. And then after that we went to the hospital to visit another older member in the ward. She has pneumonia and we love to visit her because she always makes us laugh. We didn't give her a blessing then but we are going tonight to give her one. Hopefully we can help her.
Well thank you for everything. I love all of you. This gospel is true. I love it. I know it is true. Jesus Christ lives. He loves us and he suffered for us. I know that. I am so grateful for him. I am so grateful for a prophet today. He is called of God. I love him. I love this work. I never want to stop. Thank you again for all of your support.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
hey next week is transfers so we will email on wednesday or thursday depending on if one of us gets transfered.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
6 MONTHS TO GO!!!
Sam has been gone for 18 months and only has 6 to go! We as a family are going to miss having a missionary out when he comes home! WE LOVE YOU SAM and pray for your continued safety, success and happiness!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Letter - September 29, 2009
Hey there thank you for the emails. They are great. I love them. It sounds like everything is going well. At least i hope it is. Good to hear about the Utes and their victory. I hope that they continue. That is bad news about Asiata. I wonder if he will be able to get another year of eligibility? I hope so. I would love to see him play. Hopefully with conference play starting soon they will be able to get it together and totally dominate. GO UTES!!!!!!!!
Well this week was another hard tough week. But the good news is that Margaret was baptized! She was so excited. She was really nervous but she knew that it was the right thing to do. I was so happy for her. I confirmed her on Sunday and that made me happy. She will be a great member of the church and will make a lot of friends. The ward is really excited to have her. We also had a lady named Susan who came to the baptism. I can't remember if i have told you about her or not but she has been coming to church for a while. She has a pretty interesting story of how she came in contact with the church. In the early part of this year she was trying to find a church that was close to her house that she could go to. While she was trying to figure it out she heard a voice that said you need to go to the Mormon church. So she went on the internet and found a church and she found the one in Solihul. She went to that for a while and then she stopped going because she said that the missionaries were forcing her with things. So a few months had passed and then a member in Nuneaton's ward sent an email to her by accident. The email was about a church activity. So Susan showed up to this party and then she started coming to church again in Nuneaton. She didn't want the missionaries to teach her but a couple weeks ago she said that she wanted us to teach her. So we have started to teach her and now she is going to be baptized on October 10th. It is amazing. I love it. It just goes to show that the Lord really does work in so many different ways.
This one isn't so cool but we almost got beat up this week. I almost got us into a fight. We were walking around one day and we stopped this lady on the street and we were just talking to her and then this guy came up and started barkin at us and telling us that we shouldn't force religion down people's throats. So we started talking to him and i said well come to church and then you will find out its true. Then he started gettin mad at me and then he started to walk off and Elder Bedke was saying a few things then he turned around and spit at us. After he did that i said "You will regret that you did that one day." Then he turned around and said if you say one more word ill come punch your (naughty word) nose. Then i said be my guest. After that he just turned around and walked off. It was pretty funny.
That is about all that happened this week. We have General Conference this weekend which i am excited about. It seems though that we just had conference. Time just flies by.
Dad told me to tell you about the ward. It is a good ward. Alot of WEIRD people. Some of them have completely lost their marbles. We have some good laughs. They do help us though when we need it. They feed us pretty much every night. That doesn't happen in any other ward. The food is pretty good. There isn't a lot of it. I usually leave just as hungry as when i went in. Sometimes there is some hair in the food. That just makes me almost dry heave. We have a game that first person to find a hair wins. Elder Bedke won last time. That is one game that i don't want to win. Other than that though the members a great. I love them.
Well thats it for this week. Thank you for everything. I love this work and this gospel. It is true. It is the Lord's. I know it is. My testimony is confirmed and strengthened every day. I love serving the people here. It is the best thing that i have ever done. I am grateful for all of your love and support. I love all of you and i hope that you are doing well. Have a great week. The gospel is true.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Well this week was another hard tough week. But the good news is that Margaret was baptized! She was so excited. She was really nervous but she knew that it was the right thing to do. I was so happy for her. I confirmed her on Sunday and that made me happy. She will be a great member of the church and will make a lot of friends. The ward is really excited to have her. We also had a lady named Susan who came to the baptism. I can't remember if i have told you about her or not but she has been coming to church for a while. She has a pretty interesting story of how she came in contact with the church. In the early part of this year she was trying to find a church that was close to her house that she could go to. While she was trying to figure it out she heard a voice that said you need to go to the Mormon church. So she went on the internet and found a church and she found the one in Solihul. She went to that for a while and then she stopped going because she said that the missionaries were forcing her with things. So a few months had passed and then a member in Nuneaton's ward sent an email to her by accident. The email was about a church activity. So Susan showed up to this party and then she started coming to church again in Nuneaton. She didn't want the missionaries to teach her but a couple weeks ago she said that she wanted us to teach her. So we have started to teach her and now she is going to be baptized on October 10th. It is amazing. I love it. It just goes to show that the Lord really does work in so many different ways.
This one isn't so cool but we almost got beat up this week. I almost got us into a fight. We were walking around one day and we stopped this lady on the street and we were just talking to her and then this guy came up and started barkin at us and telling us that we shouldn't force religion down people's throats. So we started talking to him and i said well come to church and then you will find out its true. Then he started gettin mad at me and then he started to walk off and Elder Bedke was saying a few things then he turned around and spit at us. After he did that i said "You will regret that you did that one day." Then he turned around and said if you say one more word ill come punch your (naughty word) nose. Then i said be my guest. After that he just turned around and walked off. It was pretty funny.
That is about all that happened this week. We have General Conference this weekend which i am excited about. It seems though that we just had conference. Time just flies by.
Dad told me to tell you about the ward. It is a good ward. Alot of WEIRD people. Some of them have completely lost their marbles. We have some good laughs. They do help us though when we need it. They feed us pretty much every night. That doesn't happen in any other ward. The food is pretty good. There isn't a lot of it. I usually leave just as hungry as when i went in. Sometimes there is some hair in the food. That just makes me almost dry heave. We have a game that first person to find a hair wins. Elder Bedke won last time. That is one game that i don't want to win. Other than that though the members a great. I love them.
Well thats it for this week. Thank you for everything. I love this work and this gospel. It is true. It is the Lord's. I know it is. My testimony is confirmed and strengthened every day. I love serving the people here. It is the best thing that i have ever done. I am grateful for all of your love and support. I love all of you and i hope that you are doing well. Have a great week. The gospel is true.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Letter - September 22, 2009
Hey there i hope that you had a good week this week. It is sad to hear that Utah lost. It sounds like we need a Quarterback change. At least we only lost by a touchdown and not 3 or 4 touchdowns. Haha. I was happy to hear that the team down south lost as well. That just makes me feel so much better.
Well this week we had Zone Conference at Gadfield Elm. It was awesome. I loved being there and seeing all of the church history sites around there. It was great. Zone Conference itself was good. There were a lot of changes made to the mission and to our focus. They are a lot different to what i have been used to and a lot of missionaries were not happy. I am going to do my best at following them and working hard at them. The changes had a lot to do with Less Actives and investigators.
Margaret is still going to get baptized on Saturday. She is so excited. She is the best little old lady i have ever met. I love her. She just takes everything in so well and then some of her old age kicks in and she forgets a few things but then when we review it with her she remembers it. Its great. Elder Bedke is going to baptize her and then i will confirm her. I am excited for her. It will be great.
Well this week was pretty good other than those things. Yesterday we went by some former investigators that we have prayed about and chosen. We went by one of them and they weren't interested. She said that the Book of Mormon is racist. Then the next one we went by didn't even live there anymore but we asked the lady that lived there if she would be interested and she said yes. She took a Book of Mormon and she said that we could come back. It was great. The Lord works in mysterious ways. That is what i love the most about the mission. You never know what the Lord has in store for you.
I am grateful to be out here. I really do love it. It is the best. There really is nothing better. When the time comes that i have to end this i will be devastated. I never want it to end. I am so thankful for Jesus Christ. He is my Savior. I know he lives. He is the only way. I love him so much. The gospel is so great. There is nothing better. I love sharing it with everyone. The Book of Mormon changes peoples lives. I have gained a stronger testimony of the Book of Mormon. There is no way that i could ever deny my testimony. I can never deny Jesus Christ. He has done too much for me and has suffered on my behalf. I love all of you so much. Your support and love mean the world to me. Thank you. This gospel is true.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Well this week we had Zone Conference at Gadfield Elm. It was awesome. I loved being there and seeing all of the church history sites around there. It was great. Zone Conference itself was good. There were a lot of changes made to the mission and to our focus. They are a lot different to what i have been used to and a lot of missionaries were not happy. I am going to do my best at following them and working hard at them. The changes had a lot to do with Less Actives and investigators.
Margaret is still going to get baptized on Saturday. She is so excited. She is the best little old lady i have ever met. I love her. She just takes everything in so well and then some of her old age kicks in and she forgets a few things but then when we review it with her she remembers it. Its great. Elder Bedke is going to baptize her and then i will confirm her. I am excited for her. It will be great.
Well this week was pretty good other than those things. Yesterday we went by some former investigators that we have prayed about and chosen. We went by one of them and they weren't interested. She said that the Book of Mormon is racist. Then the next one we went by didn't even live there anymore but we asked the lady that lived there if she would be interested and she said yes. She took a Book of Mormon and she said that we could come back. It was great. The Lord works in mysterious ways. That is what i love the most about the mission. You never know what the Lord has in store for you.
I am grateful to be out here. I really do love it. It is the best. There really is nothing better. When the time comes that i have to end this i will be devastated. I never want it to end. I am so thankful for Jesus Christ. He is my Savior. I know he lives. He is the only way. I love him so much. The gospel is so great. There is nothing better. I love sharing it with everyone. The Book of Mormon changes peoples lives. I have gained a stronger testimony of the Book of Mormon. There is no way that i could ever deny my testimony. I can never deny Jesus Christ. He has done too much for me and has suffered on my behalf. I love all of you so much. Your support and love mean the world to me. Thank you. This gospel is true.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Letter - September 15, 2009
Hey everyone!! It was good to hear from you and i hope that everything else is going well for you. It has been a good week but a tough week. I love it though. I wouldn't want it any other way.
This week was good. We continue to teach Margaret and she is the best. She can't wait to get baptized. She has already read through 2nd Nephi and she gives us something to eat everytime we go over there. It is great. She is still scheduled to be baptized on the 26th. So things are going well with her.
We are teaching a bunch of teenagers at the minute and they are really crazy. Everytime we go over to the house there are about 10 people over there and they all talk at once and they are always playing the Xbox. We are trying to get them moved out though so they can get baptized. They aren't really willing to do it so its going to be hard. We will do it though.
Susan is doing pretty good. She came to church and she is reading the Book of Mormon and praying. We just have to get her excited about being baptized. Hopefully we can get her to commit tonight.
We have Zone Conference this week. It is going to be at the Gadfield Elm Chapel again. We went there last year. It will be great. I loved it. I am just hoping that it doesn't rain while we are there. President Ogden is really excited about it so it should be good.
On Sunday night we were walking down a street and we both felt as though we should go and tract this one street. So we did. We ran into a less active member who wasn't interested in coming back to church but then we ran into another member of the church who has just recently been disfellowshipped this past summer. She is a great lady. About 27 or 28 years old. She told us that she really wants to come back to church but she just doesn't feel accepted or she doesn't feel that anyone will want her there. She was less active for a few months before she was disfellowshipped but we told her to come back to church this sunday. She is going to come with us so i am really excited about that. She knows that the church is true and she continues to read her scriptures every single day. I just hope that this can help her and that when she comes to church on sunday that she will feel loved and accpeted by the ward.
Well i hope that everyone has a good week. Congrats to Dan and Tiff for doing the triatholon. I don't know if i will join you. We will have to see. I am glad to hear that the Utes won again. They sound like they are struggling though. I hope Kyle gets them kicked into gear this week. They got a tough one against Oregon. They will win though.
I love you all and thank you for your support. The mission is the best. I love it. The church is true. I know it is. Jesus Christ lives. My testimony of him has grown so much since i have been out here. I love him. He is the only way. Thank you again for everything. You are the best.
Love, Elder Sam Rudd
This week was good. We continue to teach Margaret and she is the best. She can't wait to get baptized. She has already read through 2nd Nephi and she gives us something to eat everytime we go over there. It is great. She is still scheduled to be baptized on the 26th. So things are going well with her.
We are teaching a bunch of teenagers at the minute and they are really crazy. Everytime we go over to the house there are about 10 people over there and they all talk at once and they are always playing the Xbox. We are trying to get them moved out though so they can get baptized. They aren't really willing to do it so its going to be hard. We will do it though.
Susan is doing pretty good. She came to church and she is reading the Book of Mormon and praying. We just have to get her excited about being baptized. Hopefully we can get her to commit tonight.
We have Zone Conference this week. It is going to be at the Gadfield Elm Chapel again. We went there last year. It will be great. I loved it. I am just hoping that it doesn't rain while we are there. President Ogden is really excited about it so it should be good.
On Sunday night we were walking down a street and we both felt as though we should go and tract this one street. So we did. We ran into a less active member who wasn't interested in coming back to church but then we ran into another member of the church who has just recently been disfellowshipped this past summer. She is a great lady. About 27 or 28 years old. She told us that she really wants to come back to church but she just doesn't feel accepted or she doesn't feel that anyone will want her there. She was less active for a few months before she was disfellowshipped but we told her to come back to church this sunday. She is going to come with us so i am really excited about that. She knows that the church is true and she continues to read her scriptures every single day. I just hope that this can help her and that when she comes to church on sunday that she will feel loved and accpeted by the ward.
Well i hope that everyone has a good week. Congrats to Dan and Tiff for doing the triatholon. I don't know if i will join you. We will have to see. I am glad to hear that the Utes won again. They sound like they are struggling though. I hope Kyle gets them kicked into gear this week. They got a tough one against Oregon. They will win though.
I love you all and thank you for your support. The mission is the best. I love it. The church is true. I know it is. Jesus Christ lives. My testimony of him has grown so much since i have been out here. I love him. He is the only way. Thank you again for everything. You are the best.
Love, Elder Sam Rudd
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Letter - September 8, 2009
Hey there i hope that this week was a good one. It sounds like you had fun in St George. I am glad to hear that the Utes won. I hope to hear about 13 more of those. I am ticked off that the stupid team from down south won. They don't deserve it. Even though i am 6,000 miles away i still get so mad when i hear they win. And whats worse is i still get all the crap from missionaries. I wish President Moffat were still here to back me up. President Ogden is a fan of the other team. But we are still the conferecne champs and so that makes it all better. GO UTES!!!!!
This week was a good week. We had 5 people at church and they are all working towards baptism. We should be picking another one up for baptism this weekend as well. I LOVE IT!!! There is a lady who keeps coming to church. Her name is Susan. She was taught by the missionaries about a year ago in another area but the missionaries scared her off because she felt pushed. But she walked into church one week and told some members who she was but that she didn't want the missionaries to talk to her or anything. So the past few weeks we haven't talked to her about anything. Just the occasional hello when she gets to church. Well on Sunday the member that she is friends with came up to us and told us that Susan said she is ready to be taught and to see the missionaries. So i am really excited about it. What a blessing from the Lord.
We are teaching another lady who is about 80 years old. She is amazing. Her name is Margaret. We barely finished teaching about the restoration and she already knows that its true. I LOVE IT!!!! It is amazing. People like this are the best to teach. She is going to be baptized on the 26th of this month. This will probably go down in the record books as the oldest person i will baptize on my mission. It is great. This really is the Lords work.
We have Zone Conference next week which should be good. It always is. We are going to go bowling today as a Zone so i don't have a lot of time left. I hope i do well in bowling though. I hope i do as well as i do on the Wii.
Everything is great. The gospel is true. I love it so much. I love being a missionary. It is the best thing i have ever done. It is the hardest thing i have ever done but i wouldn't change it for the world. There are always people who ask us if we get paid for doing what we do. I say no and i wouldn't want to get paid. I love serving the Lord. His blessings are so much greater and are of so much more worth than money is. My mission has changed my life forever. I still feel like i am the same kid but i do know that my testimony has strengthened. I love all of you. Thank you for everything that you do. Jesus Christ lives! He is our Savior. I love him so much. I can't wait until the day comes when i get to see him again. This gospel is true and i wouldn't change it for anything.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
This week was a good week. We had 5 people at church and they are all working towards baptism. We should be picking another one up for baptism this weekend as well. I LOVE IT!!! There is a lady who keeps coming to church. Her name is Susan. She was taught by the missionaries about a year ago in another area but the missionaries scared her off because she felt pushed. But she walked into church one week and told some members who she was but that she didn't want the missionaries to talk to her or anything. So the past few weeks we haven't talked to her about anything. Just the occasional hello when she gets to church. Well on Sunday the member that she is friends with came up to us and told us that Susan said she is ready to be taught and to see the missionaries. So i am really excited about it. What a blessing from the Lord.
We are teaching another lady who is about 80 years old. She is amazing. Her name is Margaret. We barely finished teaching about the restoration and she already knows that its true. I LOVE IT!!!! It is amazing. People like this are the best to teach. She is going to be baptized on the 26th of this month. This will probably go down in the record books as the oldest person i will baptize on my mission. It is great. This really is the Lords work.
We have Zone Conference next week which should be good. It always is. We are going to go bowling today as a Zone so i don't have a lot of time left. I hope i do well in bowling though. I hope i do as well as i do on the Wii.
Everything is great. The gospel is true. I love it so much. I love being a missionary. It is the best thing i have ever done. It is the hardest thing i have ever done but i wouldn't change it for the world. There are always people who ask us if we get paid for doing what we do. I say no and i wouldn't want to get paid. I love serving the Lord. His blessings are so much greater and are of so much more worth than money is. My mission has changed my life forever. I still feel like i am the same kid but i do know that my testimony has strengthened. I love all of you. Thank you for everything that you do. Jesus Christ lives! He is our Savior. I love him so much. I can't wait until the day comes when i get to see him again. This gospel is true and i wouldn't change it for anything.
Love Elder Sam Rudd
Letter - September 2, 2009
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
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
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
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