Hello everyone, big sister here, sorry it looks like I missed posting this one. I am soooo sorry. Enjoy a belated letter :)
-Kortni
Feb.15th
Hello Family!! It's been another challenging week which means I've been learning a lot! The Lord is truly continuing to humble me and teach me! Sometimes we have to try not to be overwhelmed by our weaknesses but find the balance of seeing our weaknesses in order to change. I've been learning so much here on my mission.. I've started a list titled "100 Things Learned on my Mission". I'll complete it before coming home.
I about died from happiness reading GwenElise's email this week. I seriously have felt new levels of happiness here on the mission than I have ever felt in my life! It's not the same happiness that you feel when you step into Disneyland.. (even though I love that too..) it's like these deep eternal happiness that I have that is founded on the teachings of Jesus Christ. For example.. my heart wants to explode as I read how much Gwen loves being a missionary and the love that she feels for the people that she's meeting and the spirit that she feels. It's the best thing in the world! I feel so much happiness helping others come closer to Jesus Christ... so much happiness is in store for all of us from serving the Lord!
Let me tell you about a theme from this week and it's more like a theme from my mission... teaching people about the restoration of the church of Jesus Christ! I will tell a couple short stories from experiences from just this week (many many and hundreds and hundreds from my entire mission) but I'll stick to just this week :)
Sister Racial: Sister Racial is a fairly new investigator of ours that is the sister-in-law of one of our investigators that is soon to be baptized (Sister Marilyn). Sister Racial is very shy and just so sweet. She is a young mother (I think we're the same age but she has a baby so I feel like she's older than me.. story of my life here) ANYWAYS! This was a highlight of my week.. us teaching Sister Racial. She is a member of a really small church here that I forgot the name of and she loved coming to church the other Sunday with us because she said that bearing your testimony (it was the 1st sunday) and the classes are sooo different from their church where you just sit and listen to the pastor. As we taught about the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ she had a good understanding and was really listening even though there were a ton of distractions and I could see in her eyes as we taught that she felt the spirit (that is one of the best things about missionary work!!!!) We testified boldly that the church that we represent is guided by a living prophet and 12 apostles and has authority from Jesus Christ. People don't know that the churches that they attend are factors of the great apostasy where many churches arose when the church of Jesus Christ was no more. But the same church that Christ built when He was on the earth has been restored. I've found these truths to be true for myself and that's my desire for everyone that we teach!! Humility plays a HUGE part in conversion. Sister Racial's heart is so open and receptive!
Brother JollyBen: Brother JollyBen is one of my recent converts here and is such a rock. He has only gone to school up until about 3rd grade so he sometimes struggles to understand the principles that we teach but we are working with him. The famous saying here is "Dios man gihapon". It means "God is the same". The explanation is that "no matter where you go to church, if your faith is towards Jesus Christ, then the church is correct". The difficult part is to help people understand that this statement is not completely true. There is only one Jesus Christ, which means out of all the thousands (millions?) of churches on this earth.. only one should be true! As we took some extra time to really explain this to JollyBen it was like a light turning on in his head. It takes some time to fully understand these principles and that is exactly why we as missionaries continue to teach the people that have recently been baptized FOR UNDERSTANDING. Baptizing has nothing to do with adding numbers to the church. It has everything to do with the fact that it is a saving ordinance and necessary for us to return to live with our Heavenly Father again. Nearly all churches have a form of baptism. But we need to be baptized the way Christ was.. by someone holding authority to baptize :)
I about died from happiness reading GwenElise's email this week. I seriously have felt new levels of happiness here on the mission than I have ever felt in my life! It's not the same happiness that you feel when you step into Disneyland.. (even though I love that too..) it's like these deep eternal happiness that I have that is founded on the teachings of Jesus Christ. For example.. my heart wants to explode as I read how much Gwen loves being a missionary and the love that she feels for the people that she's meeting and the spirit that she feels. It's the best thing in the world! I feel so much happiness helping others come closer to Jesus Christ... so much happiness is in store for all of us from serving the Lord!
Let me tell you about a theme from this week and it's more like a theme from my mission... teaching people about the restoration of the church of Jesus Christ! I will tell a couple short stories from experiences from just this week (many many and hundreds and hundreds from my entire mission) but I'll stick to just this week :)
Sister Racial: Sister Racial is a fairly new investigator of ours that is the sister-in-law of one of our investigators that is soon to be baptized (Sister Marilyn). Sister Racial is very shy and just so sweet. She is a young mother (I think we're the same age but she has a baby so I feel like she's older than me.. story of my life here) ANYWAYS! This was a highlight of my week.. us teaching Sister Racial. She is a member of a really small church here that I forgot the name of and she loved coming to church the other Sunday with us because she said that bearing your testimony (it was the 1st sunday) and the classes are sooo different from their church where you just sit and listen to the pastor. As we taught about the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ she had a good understanding and was really listening even though there were a ton of distractions and I could see in her eyes as we taught that she felt the spirit (that is one of the best things about missionary work!!!!) We testified boldly that the church that we represent is guided by a living prophet and 12 apostles and has authority from Jesus Christ. People don't know that the churches that they attend are factors of the great apostasy where many churches arose when the church of Jesus Christ was no more. But the same church that Christ built when He was on the earth has been restored. I've found these truths to be true for myself and that's my desire for everyone that we teach!! Humility plays a HUGE part in conversion. Sister Racial's heart is so open and receptive!
Brother JollyBen: Brother JollyBen is one of my recent converts here and is such a rock. He has only gone to school up until about 3rd grade so he sometimes struggles to understand the principles that we teach but we are working with him. The famous saying here is "Dios man gihapon". It means "God is the same". The explanation is that "no matter where you go to church, if your faith is towards Jesus Christ, then the church is correct". The difficult part is to help people understand that this statement is not completely true. There is only one Jesus Christ, which means out of all the thousands (millions?) of churches on this earth.. only one should be true! As we took some extra time to really explain this to JollyBen it was like a light turning on in his head. It takes some time to fully understand these principles and that is exactly why we as missionaries continue to teach the people that have recently been baptized FOR UNDERSTANDING. Baptizing has nothing to do with adding numbers to the church. It has everything to do with the fact that it is a saving ordinance and necessary for us to return to live with our Heavenly Father again. Nearly all churches have a form of baptism. But we need to be baptized the way Christ was.. by someone holding authority to baptize :)
Well there is a long list of other stories and people that I could continue to explain but I feel like my letter is getting really boring for you all. I'm sorry I feel like I'm running out of the "exciting/crazy" stuff... this is all that's in my head.. teaching these people! But that's our calling as missionaries and I am so grateful for all that I've been learning through these teaching experiences.
My Birthday was really really great! I sent lots of pictures! I'm afraid that maybe in my next area I might not be able to send pictures.. but I'm taking advantage of pictures uploading here in 2 seconds and there are absolutely no viruses on these computers. So picture overload for now. Everyone keep sending pictures to me too! Because I just love them :)
My Birthday was really really great! I sent lots of pictures! I'm afraid that maybe in my next area I might not be able to send pictures.. but I'm taking advantage of pictures uploading here in 2 seconds and there are absolutely no viruses on these computers. So picture overload for now. Everyone keep sending pictures to me too! Because I just love them :)
The other day we were on our way home after a long day in Cabanbanan and our recent converts that walk us the long walk to the tricycle that waits for us.. they gave us sugar cane stick (tubo) and I was gnawing on this sugar cane riding past caribou and rice fields and candle lit homes at 8 o clock at night and it entered my mind how weird my life is here right now. But it's normal to me! I love this place so much and feel so so so blessed to be serving in this absolutely amazing place.
I hope you all have a wonderful week! Happy belated Valentines Day! Buy some on sale "after-valentines day" chocolate for me please! But don't send it to me just save it for when I come home :)
All my love!
Sister Judd
I hope you all have a wonderful week! Happy belated Valentines Day! Buy some on sale "after-valentines day" chocolate for me please! But don't send it to me just save it for when I come home :)
All my love!
Sister Judd
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