August 20, 2018 - Hardest thing I ever loved to do - Rochester, NY

Hello family, 

Alma 5:7 

"Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God..." 

My heart is full. He has changed my heart, and woken me up from a deep sleep. I'm grateful for his healing hands. 

He, him; is the Holy One of Isreal, Redeemer, Savior, Creator, Messiah, Lamb of God, Only Begotten, even Jesus Christ. 

Jesus Christ means; God is Help. Because of our Father in Heaven, we have help. Some one who can and will help as we call to him. He will do so "immediately". 

"I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me" 

Helaman 5:12 

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and mighty storms shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless so, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." 

I'm grateful for the foundation of the Lord's restored church. As we face trials and tribulations we will not fall, because of the restored gospel and it's purity. I know the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. I know that Joseph Smith is the Lord's prophet in these last days. Jesus Christ is my master, whom I will serve for the rest of my life. I know him, and love him and will not deny him or his truth. 

Love, 

Elder Judy 

August 13, 2018 - Not Coming Home - Rochester, NY

Great news!!! I got approved to extend my mission for one more transfer! I'll be coming home in the middle of October. even tho that's a lie it truly is the desire of my heart. 

We started the week off with a 48 hour exchange. We drove to Buffalo and I dropped off Elder Beardall and Elder Jaynes, they stayed in Buffalo for the next 2 days. I brought Elder Lawrenz back to Gates with me. It was great time! Full of miracles. We found some wonderful people. Right after we exchanged back Wednesday night, Thursday morning we exchanges again with the Rochester Spanish Elders. Elder Winward from Preston,ID came with Elder Jaynes and I. We had a great time! We received a media referral named Dominic, he had met missionaries and they read him part of the Book of Mormon and stirred in his mind. He prayed and went to mormon.org and request a book and missionaries. We met him and taught him the restoration and he connected with the first vision. After we shared it with him he cut us off holding his arm in the air "I totally just got the chills" gave us a great opportunity to testify of the spirit and it's power to bring us to truth. We then passed him off to the YSA Elders. It was so great! We saw Dominic a couple days later and he had read 500 pages of the Book of Mormon!

Being able to participate in all these exchanges has humbled me. As I have been able to help other missionaries, encourage them to do their best, the spirit of Christ is always present and very powerful. I'm grateful for the opportunity I've had to serve among "strippling warriors". 

We have worked really hard in this area and have set the vision to baptize weekly in the coming months. It has the potential and we are seeing God bring forth the elect to make that vision happen. Last night while out and about we were working hard and trying to talk to everyone but the place we were at... no one was out and no one was answering. So, we decided to go contact a referral. Turned out the referral wasn't in our area. We prayed seeking guidance from God on what we should do. We felt we should go to Sister Darlene Baker. We drove over and began talking to people in the parking lot. We were talking to this big group of wasted people. I felt as if there was someone there that needed what we had. I saw this lady walking across the parking lot and felt that I had to talk to her. She went around the corner... I felt I let God down. As we walked to Sister Baker's we saw her again!! We talked with her, she is expecting a baby in November and wants to change her life. She invited us in her apartment. We taught her and her mother about the Book of Mormon and read a passage to help them overcome their needs. The spirit was evident and they are now on date for the 15th of September! I'm grateful, God is the director behind this great work. 

Elder Bennett of the seventy spoke in our sacrament meeting! It was great! He changed my life in October of 2017. It was great to see him again. I also had the opportunity to ordain and give the priesthood to Brother Charlie Kline. Cool experience. 

Things I've learned on my mission: 

1. The worth of my soul and all souls is great in the sight of God. 

2. The gospel is essential for happiness 

3. Trusting in the Lord, takes care of the problems (Proverbs 3:5-6)

4. You can never glory too much in the Lord 

5. Obedience, it's essential (not to rationalize) 

6. Faith is an action of commitment. 

7. Faith is a power that can cause things to happen that need to happen.

8. Repentance is always a positive action. 

9. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven 

10. The Lord is constantly laboring in the world and our personal "vineyards". 

Love, 

Elder Judy 

August 6, 2018 - Baptism^ "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" - Rochester, NY

Howdy!! 

This week was defiantly one to remember!!! 

As assistants, we also have the calling to travel the mission. We go to areas of the mission that are training or have newer missionaries. While on these exchanges we set bold goals and send them to President Evans, he keeps us accountable for the goals and our work ethics! This week I had the opportunity to go back to Canandaigua! Oh my Lanta, I loved the 48 hours I spent there. It brought back so many memories. I was with Elder McCune and his trainee Elder Cowles! The three of us had a good time! We found some wonderful people and even got to go and see Deongela, a lady I previously taught! She was interested in being taught again. It was wonderful! I loved being in Canandaigua again! 

This week the 3 of us will be traveling the mission in the Buffalo Zone! Wahoooo! 

This week we participated in a Book of Mormon experiment booth at the Monroe County Fair. If there is one thing I learned this weekend it is that New York cannot plan a fair. When we signed up for the fair and we were told there would be 30,000 people to talk to. Well there was a whopping 200 at most and every single one of them had the opportunity to read a page of the Book of Mormon. It was sweet. I'll send a video to tell you all exactly what the Book of Mormon experiment is. Things to know about; it was A TON of fun. 

Brother Charlie Kline entered the waters of baptism on Saturday! It was a very spiritual meeting.... It really helped me understand the worth of souls and the perfect love God has for us all, no matter our personal challenges. I love Brother Kline, he is a huge example to me as in being a true disciple of Jesus Christ. He is a modern Peter. As Christ's church called out to him to "follow me" he dropped his "nets" immediately and fell in love with the gospel contained in the Book of Mormon. He has opened my eyes to a whole new way to look at life. I'm grateful for that. 

Friday night we were on Cloud 9... the spirit was felt and followed all night long! It was so great! We were teaching in a apartment complex parking lot. There was this lady in an upstairs unit looking out the window. Turned out Elder Beardall knew her. We started talking and she felt really overwhelmed with life. She invited us in and we taught her. She was looking out the window "pondering" on what she should do next with her life.... She had the scriptures opened on the window sill and was praying fervently to God. Humbling experience. She felt the confirmation of the spirit as she read the Book of Mormon and came to church on Sunday. She will be baptized September 8th! 

Kara from Niagara Falls, a teenager I found and taught there will be interviewed for baptism this coming week!!! So exciting!!! Her baptism is scheduled for August 18th!!! 

I'm loving the Gates/Rochester area. It's been a blessing to serve here. I love serving the Lord. I love him, but he first loved me. 

John 15:9

"9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love." 

Love, 

Elder Judy 

1. Brother Kline's baptism 

2. Book of Mormon Experiment 

3. Exchanges with Canandaigua Elders