Monday, April 14, 2014

Transfer 10 Semaine 1 4/14/14


Dear family and friends, 

The Gomilas are baptized! and what a wonderful miracle it was.:) There is no way I could possibly explain the beauty and magnitude of it all...everything was perfect. The setting in which the baptisms and confirmations took place wo welcomed the Spirit, and everyone who attended, whether they were member or non-member, could feel it. What touched me the most, however, was the interactions I saw between Josette and Léah: the smiles, hugs, and words of love. How dearly I love and admire each of them. 

During both Léah's and Josette's confirmations, Brother Morrell mentioned how the Lord is proud of their decision to be baptized, and as they are worthy, they are promised to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. He mentioned that no one is perfect and because of that they will need to again use the cleansing power of the Atonement through repentance. Although this counsel was given to the Gomila's, I know it is also applicable to us. None of us are perfect, so not only has God given us baptism, but He has also given us the ability to repent. As we repent and partake of the sacrament, we can be as clean as we were the day of our baptism. Think of that. We can be as clean now as we were the day we were baptized. What a blessing. 

Well the big news since the baptism is that I AM GETTING TRANSFERED TO MULHOUSE!!!!!!! right next to Strausbourg. Oh I am so excited! I am practically in Germany! right on the boarder.:) haha. I have always wanted to serve in this area of the mission... I have heard so many incredible things about Mulhouse. How blessed I am! 

My new companion's name is Soeur Gordon, who is actually related to Jeannie Woller!!! haha. Small, small world.:) Every single interaction I have had with Soeur Gordon has been happy and sweet, and I am so blessed for the opportunity I have to serve with her.:) I am so excited!!!

This will be my new address.:) 

Soeur Laura Lee Judd
Les Soeurs Missionnaires
35 Engel Dollfus 
68200 Mulhouse 
France 

Remember that you can make a difference, wherever you are. Find someone to help and always, always remember to smile.:) 

I love you with all of my heart! 

Soeur Laura Lee Judd


Monday, April 7, 2014

Transfer 9 Semaine 6 4/7/14


Dear family and friends, 

Wasn't General Conference incredible? I am so grateful for this opportunity we have to listen to a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson. I know, with all of my heart, that he is the prophet, called of God, in this latter day. I know that as we follow his counsel and advice, we are following the will of the Lord. Bouncing off of that, I think we should all consider reading the notes we took during the talk President Monson gave at the end of the Sunday Morning Session of Conference that is all about charity. When I first heard that that was his topic of discussion, I thought to myself, "I already know what charity is, and i know it is important! Can't the prophet talk about deeper doctrine or something more specific for me?" How wrong I was to think that! Because the prophet chose to talk about charity, it is because it is charity is something that I need to work on. We can all grow in our understanding and capacity to love as the Savior does. In addition to the comments that were given by our loving prophet about charity, I love the instruction and counsel we recieve from Moroni in the Book of Mormon regarding this subject: 

"Charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provokes, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail-But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found posessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him" (Moroni 7:45-47).

We all search to have that kind of love. I guess we could all ask ourselves the same big question: How do we get it??? The answer, too, is given to us by Moroni. He said, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, PRAY unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, that ye may be filled with this love, which he has bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ" (Moroni 7: 48). As we desire to be filled with this love, pray for it to enter into our hearts, and display our devotion to the Savior, the Lord has promised to fill us with this love. Since I have left on my mission, I have put this sccripture to the test. It has changed me. The Lord has granted unto me an increase of love, and I only wish you could see for yourself what that love has pushed me to do on my mission. I pray that this love will be ever-growing so that the Lord, through me as His servant, will show unto others the love He deeply has for them. I testify that as you do the same, as you desire to love, as you pray, and as you follow Christ, you will see a similar change in you. So let's begin by saying a prayer now-in our heart-that we will be filled with this love, "that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure (Moroni 7:48). 

In addition to General Conference, we had an exciting week! We met with the famille Gomila yesterday for the last of the missionary discussions. They are all set for their baptism on Saturday!!!:) Please continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers during this week. 

I cannot remember if I have ever told you about Luce, one of our investigators. She has been meeting with the missionaries for about a year now, but just until recently, she hasn't been progressing too quickly. When we met her this week, she proclaimed with a resounding, OUI!!!" that she had read the designed chapter in the Book of Mormon and prayed about Priesthood keys being restored. Falling perfectly into place, we then had the opportunity to teach Luce about a living prophet and apostles. She loved hearing that! I have never seen an investigator get so excited to hear that in this latter day, the Lord has given us a prophet who recieves direct revelation Him. Even better, we got to tell her that the prophet was going to be speaking to us THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND! The timing couldn't have worked out any better.:) She was overjoyed. What an example she is to me of the gratitude we should have to the Lord for again calling a prophet upon the earth. 

EASTER FINDING continues to be a success in the mission! In just the short time period since the announcement was made, there have already been 16 of the 125 baptisms we are working towards. PLEASE keep the Paris France Mission as a whole in your prayers during these next few months so that we may attain our goal before the end of June. 

Remember that you can make a difference, wherever you are. Find someone to help and always, always remember to smile.:) 

I love you with all of my heart, 

Soeur Laura Lee Judd

Transfer 9 Semaine 5 3/31/14


Family and friends, 

What a great week!!! I cannot believe it has already passed. 

Church with the family Gomila yesterday was incredible! They are progressing so so well-I cannot believe it! Soeur Gomila has already sorted out all of the logistics for the baptisimal ceremony, and I am just thrilled to see how many ward members are involved. I feel like I don't have to do anything except finish teaching one last lesson! Life for them is just great. They are wonderful!

This week my companions and I did a visit with our Bishop at a less-active's house named Nagege. I have had several occasions to teach Nadege before, and she is a SWEETHEART! Oh I love her dearly. She has an incredible testimony and faith, yet it has been hard for her to stay consistent coming to church. Thanks to Bishop Bamy, however, the message we shared about revelation through church attendance was just perfect. She already knew that church was important, yet by sharing this message and by having an additional witness from the Bishop, I think Nadege can see even more how church attendance is not made to be a bother, but rather it is a way that the Lord is able to give us even more blessings!!! One blessing, for example, is answers to our prayers, and I testify that He gives us answers to our prayers at church. During the lesson we commited Nadege to write a question that she has down on a notecard and to bring it to church. We promised, as representatives and missionaries of the Savior, that as she does her best to listen to the Holy Ghost and if she has real intent to act upon the answer to the question she recieves, that question will be answered at church. We all commited to do that for the following Sunday, and I can tell you that I recieved the answer to my question. I testify, as I did to Nadege, that this "question on a notecard" works. The Lord speaks to us. I challenge each of you to do the same thing this next Sunday. I can promise you that the Lord will respond as you are open and ready to recieve by the power of the Holy Ghost. Give it a try.:) 

Work is kicking in with the mission finding at Easter! My companions and I have been doing all sorts of contacting and porting and have been finding all sorts of people open to hear the message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is moments like this that people are more open and sensitive to the messgage of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Remember that! Think of someone who needs this message in their lives and SHARE IT! Yes that is right. DO SOME MEMBER MISSIONARY WORK!!! It is fun and it is easy. I promise you that-no matter what the outcome-you will be happier during this Easter because you shared something special to you (hint hint...the Gospel...:) haha) with someone else. Sometimes I sit and wonder how in the world I am so happy...and then I realize that it is BECAUSE I AM A MISSIONARY!!!! You can be a missionary too!!!! and feel the exact same joy I feel. I promise.:) 

Remember that you can make a difference, wherever you are. Find someone to help and always, always remember to smile.:) 

I love you with all of my heart! 

Soeur Laura Lee Judd