LAST WEEK!!! - Week 75 - 8/29/16

This is her last email.  Again, her homecoming will be September 18 at 1pm at 1475 N 50 E in Centerville.  Thank you all for your love and prayers for Sister Judkins.  Love you all!!

Aloha All :)

so update on mick and les: Mick has continued his reading and he LOVES it, he's got a love for the gospel and his spark is lighting a fire, allowing him to truly feel our Heavenly Father's love! :D it's great. Les and his wife did not do their reading assignments nor did they attend church :( last night i was able to bear my testimony to them, and we invited them again to ACT. They're a really amazing family, they'll figure it out!!

Shai, our 9 year old investigator, is AMAZING, and I'm sad i'll miss his baptism this week. He's so great tho, this week he was supposed to be out of town for auditions for Disney Channel down in Waikiki, but as he was thinking last Thursday (after our lesson with him about the Sabbath Day and his baptism), he turned to his dad and said "Dad, i don't want to do this. I want to go to church on sunday. and every sunday."

that kid is amazing. although he dropped this opportunity to be on Disney, he opened his doors to greater blessings from our Heavenly Father. & for the first time since I've been here, his dad decided to join him in opening doors & CAME TO CHURCH with Shai!! :) God is good.

This weekend we had Olomana Ward's Annual Fish Fry - it was a HUGE success! We had many members, non-members, less-actives & investigators there. TONS of food & TONS of great Hawaiian music. The spirit was so sweet looking out on everyone there :)

so the time has come.

my mission has FLOWN by. and i want you all to know that i have loved it. & the mission has changed me a lot, so get ready Utah cuz here i come... not only have i picked up on the local accent down here, but i have also learned the gospel.

i still have a lot to learn, but i know what i know, and i know the gospel is true.

i know God lives & that he sent his son, Jesus Christ to SAVE us. I know that they called a prophet to restore the truths of the gospel to the earth because they love us. i know that that prophet, Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, and I know that record is true. I know that we have a living prophet today who holds the same authority to lead and guide God's children today. I know i was called by him to preach the gospel and to represent my Savior, Jesus Christ. I love it, and I'll miss it.

I love God's children here in the islands, and it's scary to leave.

MAHALO NUI LOA to each and every one of you for you love, support, prayers & testimonies. I'm grateful to be here, and I look forward to seeing you all soon!!

This week:

Tues: booked with missionary work :D

wed: head to Honolulu, go to swap meet, head to Laie Temple for a session & then Polynesian Cultural Center after!

thurs: pearl harbor, funeral dinner, and i fly out around 9pm

I'll see you all soon, mahalo again for everything. I love this gospel & i love my savior.

Love & aloha,

Sister Judkins

-- 

"Therefore, continue your journeys and let your hearts rejoice. For behold and lo, I am with you even unto the end." D&C 100:12 

God is always there for you. 

Christ can be your best friend. 

let Them in.

aunty lupe & investigator, Jon

making beef stew (yum! - but I'm allergic..)

ANNOUNCEMENT: the first "other" Brigitte i met in my whole mission. i thought I'd never find one, but then Saturday we FOUND ONE! except she is Scottish or something and spells it Bridget

The quote is from George Q Cannon, the first lds missionary in Hawaii. 

My traditional dress I wore to my last Sunday, along with many leis I received

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Week 74 - 2nd to last week!!! 8/22/16

This is her 2nd to last letter as Brigitte flies home on September 2.  Her homecoming will be held on September 18, at 1pm.  The church address is 1475 N 50 E in Centerville.  We would love to see you all there!!

So this week was full of incredibleness. is that a word?

just two things I'd like to share in the short time I have to email...

1- We have been working with a part-member family since I first got to the Olomana Ward 7 months ago, and they have had their ups and downs in their progression in the gospel... yet they have always remained positive. Their faith is strong that God is preparing them to receive answers & that He has a perfect plan for their family. BUT THEY DON'T REGULARLY ACT ON THEIR FAITH. The husband, Les, had a baptism date for this upcoming Sunday, the 28th, but he hasn't been reading faithfully or coming to church and he hasn't received the answers we promised him.

on the other hand, we have another brother we're working with, his name is Mick. He has the same desire as Les - to find answers, to know of the truthfulness of the gospel, & to fulfill God's plan for him and his family. Mick has taken every reading assignment and been faithful, he has been very prayerful, and he has made a commitment to attend church this upcoming sunday.

we've only been working with Mick for 3 weeks, but we can see the huge difference his searching has made. He feels the companionship of the holy ghost. he feels Heavenly Father's guidance through the Book of Mormon.

today I was reading in Alma 32 and it finally hit me that in verse 38 it basically says that when we don't take care of our faith and exercise it, it's easy for us to forget it and in verse 39, "therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof" and verse 40, "ye can never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life"

SO SAD!! I've witnessed it on my mission... sometimes we don't exercise our faith, or we forget to do the little things, and then we cannot receive the blessings.

we have to act on our faith if we want to receive answers from God.

2 - we had A RESCUE WALK on Saturday. we fasted & went out walking, knocking doors all day. we had 5 sisters from the ward come out with us. Each one took an hour and half shift. Although they were nervous to come out with us, they came anyway :D & WE SAW MIRACLES HAPPEN. this is an experience i'll never forget. They all did so well, and the spirit was so strong the whole day. Members getting involved in missionary work is THE BOMB.

I'm so grateful for the gospel. it is true. I know God lives. I know He loves us, and he wants to bless us. GO OUT AND WORK FOR THOSE BLESSINGS. :)

I love you all, and wish you a fabulous week. Keep Les & Mick in your prayers please.

xoxo,

Sister Judkins

ps. if any of you would like something from Hawaii you better email me before next week Monday so I can pick it up from the swap meet next week before I head back to UT. peace n' blessins!!

pics: THE WINDWARD WARRIORS @ district meeting, me learning how to pick breadfruit and my comp cooking it, and me with Sister Vidinhar (one of our rescue sisters).

Week 73 - Brigitte will be home September 2nd!!! - 8/15/16

Brigiite will be home on September 2 and her homecoming will be held September 18 at 1pm with a meal afterward at our house.  The address for the church is 1475 N 50 E, Centerville.  YAY!!!!!!

Okay first things first my peeps!

on Saturday we played a jeopardy game at the Relief Society activity. the topic was Hawaii, of course... & since I was the tour guide of the group, I wasn't really participating in answering, more just being the support and laughing at everything going on!

anyhoo - so one of the sisters picked Hawaiian Words for 400

and the Hawaiian word that needed to be translated was, Aloha wau ia 'oe

I was like, awe, I love you.

cuz I know that's what it means.

and the groups guessed, and BOTH GOT IT WRONG.

I was the only one out of those 10 people that knew this Hawaiian saying!

I was so proud. so yeah, that is my 30 seconds of bragging rights.

anyhoo - I LOVE YOU all!

This week we worked hard and witnessed plenty miracles! We took our young investigator, Shai, and his dad for a chapel tour on Tuesday. It was such an awesome time, and we set Shai with a baptism date of September 3rd. He's such a great kid! and he came to church yesterday and was so excited to show us his book of Mormon app on his tablet. haha, he's the bomb.

Wednesday we had another district flood, and as we were going out knocking on doors, we ran into this lady named Dawn. She had been given a book of Mormon from her lds friend years ago... and never really read it. After teaching her some of the Restoration and bearing our testimonies of the book, she was determined to read it. she said she felt like it was a special book before, but since she's more familiar with the bible and didn't really know what the Book of Mormon was, she never really picked it up. she kinda teared up hearing that it is another testament of our Savior, Jesus Christ. "I can't believe I never read this testimony of my Savior, yet" :)

Thursday we had members out with us ALL DAY. it was so stellar!! members make the biggest difference when we are teaching our investigators and less-actives.

Friday we went on exchanges and I had sister Iino from Japan in our area :) one of our peeps we went to visit TOTALLY opened up to us about his family and his love for the gospel. he's got such an amazing testimony of the Book of Mormon and of the Priesthood & just everything... and my favorite part was when Sister Iino was offering the closing prayer, the spirit was SO STRONG and we were all in tears. God is so good.

Saturday we went to the Relief Society Activity where I learned that I speak more Hawaiian than some Hawaiians. ;)

it was such a neat activity, The Cultures of Christ. We had a tour all around the world and learned about the church in different countries, and the special facts about how different cultures show their appreciation for our Savior. SUPER NEAT. and I got to be one of the tour guides, so that was lots of fun :) we started in the Philippines and then hit New Zealand, America, Mexico, Hawaii (yeah, it's separate from America haha), Samoa, and ended in Tonga.

Saturday night we got a phone call from the Mission Office saying that some sisters were moving in with us, and the truck would be at our home in 20 minutes. haha, so YAY! WE HAVE VISITORS!! the sisters' apartment had a huge mold problem GROSS so yeah they'll be staying with us till it gets fixed. awesome sauce.

Sunday we had many appointments, and all of them ended up canceling :( but somehow & someway, God led us to different homes where we kept busy & were able to invite many people to Come Unto Christ.

I really enjoyed this week because I was able to study more deeply of our Savior's infinite atoning sacrifice. I bear you my witness that Jesus is the Christ. He does live. and He loves us. And because He loves us, he suffered and died for us so one day we can return to live with Him, & our Heavenly Father, and our families FOREVER.

I love this gospel.

ALOHA & have a wonderful week!

Sister Judkins

ps. sorry this email is so long! I hope it makes sense... I wrote it SO FAST!!

Week 72 - 8/8/16

Aloha :)

so this week was FULL of missionary work :)

it was awesome.

full of tough times, difficult situations, flaky appointments, awkward moments, heart-breaking things, and disappointing follow-ups... BUT also incredible opportunities, open doors, softened hearts, amazing people & LOTS OF MIRACLES.

We found ourselves put in the right place at the right time quite a lot this week.

yay :) that means we're doing something right!!

The spirit was so strong as we visited with people off the streets, and let me tell you, I KNOW this is the Lord's work. because He is here every step of the way.

oh KALEB!! (my baby bro) guess what one of the sisters made for me on exchanges!? Ramen and eggs!! i had been craving that since last year march.. made me think of you ;) it tasted almost just like yours!

One of the investigators, Victoria, LET US DO SERVICE FOR HER!! She is so stubborn, and we knew she and her family was struggling. God really softened that woman's heart. and she's incredible. God is good.

oh and at sacrament yesterday we had those same inactive families come!!! plus one of our investigators FOR THE FIRST TIME :) it was grand!!!

God is good. I know He lives.

Please continue to trust in Him and follow him!!!

xoxo,

Sister Judkins

Week 71 - 8/1/16

Aloha :)

basically this week was pretty great!

I just wanted to let you all know that MIRACLES STILL HAPPEN. & we witnessed some this week.

3 inactive families came to church, along with 3 of our investigators. there were also 3 of our investigators who committed to baptism this week. we found 3 new investigators, too... and I think that was all the three's for the week hahaha

this week we took one of our investigators, T, (yes, his name is T) out on a chapel tour!! the spirit was so strong and he was just so happy to be learning. I LOVE THAT! it's so fun to teach people who are excited to learn about the gospel. we also had a member with us who's never come out with us before and man, it was just perfect!! GOD IS GOOD!!!

I was reading this week in the book of Mormon about abinadi and alma. I just love how dedicated they were to sharing the gospel. they truly put their trust in the Lord and were such incredible missionaries. I hope we can all be the same! Be dedicated to living the gospel. trust in His covenants and rely on the Atonement. miracles truly happen when we do so.

have a wonderful week!!! :)

xoxo,

Sister Judkins

Week 69 - 7/18/16

loha everyone :)

some highlights of the week:

#1: CONGRATS TO JAYCIE AND TREVOR FOR THEIR BEAUTIFUL WEDDING. LOVE YOU BOTH :*

2) We had a district flood (LITERALLY CUZ IT RAINED THE WHOLE TIME- see pics for proof) and this guy was so nice, he came walking across the street with this big umbrella, I was all, "Oh! hi! do you live here?" (we had just knocked on the door to the house), "no, I just want to bring you this umbrella cuz it's pouring out here... You can keep it"

we were dumbfounded haha! I was thinking, "did God just send you here to us? was it really that easy??" LOL the guy was super awesome, we talked about the gospel and he told us we can have the sisters stop by again. man, how cool is that?

3) Pearl Harbor Round 9... that was pretty fun :) next time I get a t shirt, cuz if you volunteer 10 times, you're cool. :) I'm almost cool!!!!👊

4) on Wednesday we had our first ever olomana ward night visits!!! it was great, we were able to catch so many families at home, and the spirit was strong as we gathered together afterwards to discuss these families' needs. God is good :)

5) Friday we walked all day and I'm not even kidding, we were meant to walk that day!! because we met new people and were able to contact some awesome part member families. God is good!!

6) Saturday I thought was going to be an AWESOME day because you know, my sister was getting married that day... but turns out jaycie and trevor hogged all the awesomeness up in Utah ;) nah, jk, it was still an awesome day, just had a lot of people who didn't want to see us that day :P

7) we had a really spiritual experience as we met for Gospel Principles yesterday. We usually have 5-8 people in that class, but yesterday we had like 20! it's cuz the guy who spoke in sacrament shared "God's counsel about..our Daily Lives" in which he so lovingly reminded everyone to go to ALL THREE meetings at church on EVERY sunday :) so a lot of people chose to stay :) God is good. so then, with all of those hearts & faces in our class, we were able to have a discussion on service based on Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice (the biggest way we all have been served). lots of people were teary eyed during the class, and many testimonies were shared.

It's so fun to see how the Lord strengthens us. He is constantly strengthening me, and I have the incredible opportunity to witness him strengthening others around me (my companion, our ward leaders, my family, our investigators, and especially the members here). Heavenly Father knows each of us! He loves each of us! & he will help us to succeed. He is so good, and we each have some of him within.

I love you all!!! thank you for your loving support & prayers. My last transfer has officially begun, and I will be staying here in Olomana for my last six weeks. & I'm very blessed to be keeping Sister Karitea by my side. :)

have a wonderful week xoxo,

Sister Judkins

Week 68 - 7/11/16

S/O to my cute sister jaycie and her cute fiancé Trevor for their WEDDING this Saturday.

Yesterday in church we taught on Eternal Families. I was kinda emotional cuz you know, I wanna be there for you guys!!!

I know this gospel is true. and the fullness of blessings are found here. that's why I'm sharing it with EVERYONE here in Hawaii!! I love the Lord. I love His gospel.

this week we saw many miracles!! we just gotta keep our minds hearts and eyes open to those miracles.

God is good. He is there.

have a great week everyone!!

Aloha,

Sister Judkins