Week 38 - 12/14/15

Aloha All!

Time is flying. and it sucks :P but seriously, this week was so beautiful.

We were able to have a zone flood in Honokaa, which means we had the whole zone, which consists of 4 pairs of elders & 2 senior couples & us, knocking doors for two hours in our area. it was so good! God seriously led us straight to the elect. S. Alldredge and I fasted and prayed over this flood and came to the conclusion of two neighborhoods that needed to be knocked. God is so good. :)

AND THEN!! we had our ward Christmas party that night and we got so many less-actives there, it was awesome. plus, GREAT FOOD. so, yeah. my comp and I wrote a song for the ward council to sing, it's called "12 days of Honokaa" and it was super cute :) the punchline was FIVE HIGH PRIESTS SLEEPING. yeah, I know, we are funny... :)

okay, so then on sunday we had this HUGE Book of Mormon sacrament meeting that we have been preparing for for the past 7 weeks. the YSA came to our ward to share talks on the restoration of the gospel and perform some powerful musical numbers! we have been doing EVERYTHING to get people to that sacrament meeting, and we actually had so many people there that we had to open the back curtain thing (the overflow!). WOAH! it was great. after the meeting, Elder Dickamore (him and his wife serve with the ysa branch) introduced me to Ashlyn, one of our recent convert's granddaughters, and we shared our testimonies with her and gave her her very own copy of the book of Mormon! she was excited and said she will read and we invited her to be baptized and she said probably! haha she is cute. I think she is in her early 20's or so. she was lead us, and we were led to her. God is so good.

this week is going to be great, we are excited to follow up on the flood peeps and work with Ashlyn and all the other peeps we met this week! oh yeah, ps, I'M STAYING IN HONOKAA :) YAY! I love this ward, the people are amazing and yeah, it's just great fun here! plus, Christmas! whoo!

okay, the gospel is so true. our savior lives, he was born for us, he died for us, and he rose again for us. I know that because of him, everything is possible, I know he loves each and every one of you, so please keep him at the tip of your mind this Christmas season. It's all about Him, because He is all about us. go out and serve someone, and testify of the truthfulness of His gospel <3 thank you for your amazing examples and testimonies. if you have Christmas cards, send them my way (thank you Kari!! btw- the dickamores say hello!!) loves and hugs my peeps, loves and hugs <3

Aloha,

Sister Judkins

PO Box 837

Honoka'a, HI 96727

The first picture is of al the sister missionaries serving on the Big Island.  The second pic is Brigitte with her flower arrangement, complete with hand-tied bow she helped make for the ward Christmas party.  The third picture is a flower she found while out tracting.

Week 37 - 12/7/15

aloha🍍

this week was full of great things :) we were able to attend the temple which started the whole week off beautifully <3

Elder Hamula from the Seventy came for our mission tour this week, and we were able to hear from him and his wife! he had a really interesting approach to his message, which centered around us fulfilling our duty in order for miracles to occur <3 his quote, "you are depriving yourself of more miracles when you..." really hit me. because, how many things do we look at in life and say, "I can't let go of that.." or "that's too hard for me.."

his promise to us was as we are exactly obedient in the mission field, we WILL see miracles. but I want to extend that promise to all of you... as we are exactly obedient to the gospel in our lives, we WILL see miracles. and we will be of hands to help others receive their miracles.

life is good. the gospel is perfect. so share it! and smile :) I know our heavenly father is aware of each of you and he loves you so much!! keep working hard and trusting in the Lord.

Aloha,🌴

sister Judkins :)

This really nice couple from Waikoloa Ward (Kona Stake) takes us missionaries out to Hawaiian Style for breakfast every first pday of every month <3 they are too sweet! today they took 3 companionships out and we were one of the lucky ones!

aking our weeky hike up to haunani's house <3

haunani is a convert of 2 years, and she has the most incredible story. well, recently she stopped coming to church (like april of this year) due to some hardships she was facing! BUT guess what got her to come to church this week!!!! MISSIONARY WORK. we challenged her to give a book of Mormon away, and SHE DID! she found a woman on a bus who really needed to hear haunani's testimony and was interested in joining her at church, so haunani decided it was time to get back. ah, life is beautiful! god is good.

-- 

Week 36 - 12/1/15

Once upon a time there were two sister missionaries living in a small country town of Big Island Hawaii. They had such a strong desire to share the gospel and then they were given a challenge: hand out 80 copies of the Book Of Mormon as fast as they can, and of course following the spiritual promptings while doing so!

so they went, and they knocked, and they served, and they taught.

and one by one, the stack of Bom's shrunk..

the two sister missionaries saw eyes light up, hearts change, and lives turn around.. as they partook of the readings within.

& brothers and sisters, it's truly amazing, that this is what the gospel does to all of God's children. the recognition of the gospel truths lights up eyes and opens minds like none other. the spirit that works on each of us changes our hearts to align with God's plans, and living these truths continues to build on that spirit and changes each of our lives!!

I feel blessed and honored to be a part of God's army at this time, but may I suggest... we are ALL part of this army. it is our responsibility to give our brothers and sisters the gospel. So go out! share your testimony. live the gospel. serve others! & trust in the Lord. He will deliver.

It's a beautiful time of year, which opens even more doors... people are ready. and so are you!

The Hawaii Honolulu Mission is dedicating the month of December to harvesting... NEW MEMBER DECEMBER. and we can all be a part of it :)

love you all, have a wonderful week!! (sorry I don't have much time)

peace n' blessins xoxo

sister judkins

Week 34 - 11/16/15

Aloha All :)

you know those times in life where you're just so happy that you just can't help but smile? I hope you can all relate... cuz that's exactly how missionary work makes me feel. :) it's the greatest. literally every day is the same thing over and over again, wake up, run, study, track down less-actives, knock doors, visit some more less-actives, knock some more doors, eat the whole day cuz everyone wants you to get fat or something, and pray pray pray pray PRAY all day long. and it's the greatest.

yesterday in relief society we talked about missionary work, and the sister teaching asked us if we are happy being on missions. I told them all, I have never been happier in my whole life. and none of them were shocked because guess what... we all know the gospel is true. we all have experienced the joy that comes from following the gospel, we have all had spiritual experiences we cannot deny. and that's what's so incredible about missionary work and I could tell that every single one of them was familiar with that "I'm just so happy I can't help but smile" look.

so listen up, we have a huge BOOK OF MORMON CHALLENGE happening here on big island. and it is the most wonderful thing ever. this week alone we handed out 25 Book of Mormons in 5 days. God is good, people. God is good. He delivered every single one of those. He truly does know each of His children, and He led us right to open hands and thankful hearts. I'm excited to follow up on these peeps this week <3

we went to contact a former investigator this week and found her 23 year old son, Nalu. He was a nice guy, but what really struck me was the way his eyes lit up when we gave him the book of Mormon. it was like, it was familiar to him. not because he had read it or even seen it before. but because the spirit that he felt when he flipped through the pages was a familiar spirit to him.

we tracted into a lovely grandmother named Shirly, she had seen the sisters walk on the street before, and asked us why we are always so happy. I told her, because God is good. we taught her the restoration and gave her a book of Mormon. she was very excited to read it, and we promised her greater joy in her life as she came to understand the teachings found in the book and the huge blessings await her as she follows those teachings.

those are only 2 of the 25 stories I have...

I wish I had time to write them all.

but, I just want you all to know God is good. we sent a scripture out today it's 1 Nephi 11:22-23 and it reads, "And I answered him, saying: yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desireable above all things. And he spake unto me, saying: yea, and the most joyous to the soul!"

share the love guys!! strive to serve, spread the gospel, and trust in God because HE IS GOOD.

hope you all have a wonderful week!

mahalo nui loa fur alles & mucho aloha,

sister judkins

1. "this is auntie sweetie <3 she is our eternigator... and she adores the missionaries! she is the greatest :) love her so so much!!!"

2-5 Pics from a hike with the elders, including "Brig on a bridge"

Week 31, 32, & 33! 11/9/15

Sorry we have not sent an email for 2 weeks.  Brigitte had mission leadership conference back in Honolulu one week and had time for only a short family email; and the next week she received a new companion and moved and again only sent a quick personal email.  She is doing awesome!

Aloha All,

so once again I'd just like all of you to know I love being a missionary.

so much.

yesterday a member came out on visits with us for 3 hours, and she was so positive and enthusiastic the whole time and it just reminded me of 1) how much of a difference members make in missionary work and 2) that everyone has the opportunity to share the gospel and feel the joy that comes from doing so :)

on Tuesday we witnessed one of our wonderful investigators, Aaliyah, enter the waters of baptism. she is adorable. Aaliyah was ready from day one, which is cool cuz her family is less active/inactive in the church, and she has been the culprit in bringing her family back to church. one of my favorite things while teaching her is when her mom would say, "aaliyah, you gotta practice praying" and make her (in a loving way) say the opening AND the closing prayers for EVERY lesson... it's great :) anyhoo- aaliyah and her cousin, brookie were baptized together and it was beautiful and perfect. :) they giggled the whole time.

This week I got a new companion, Sister Alldredge!! she is from riverton, UT and is the oldest of 6 kids and is basically the total opposite person from me. and we love it. no joke, we've been bet frineds since day uno wakaka. plus, I'm her mother (aka trainer) and she is my first-born, so... instant bond I guess :P

we are working hard to find more people to teach and searching for the Lord's elect! this week we went in town to tract some doors, but we were approaching the first door (downstairs of a small apartment housing complex) and I felt very strongly we weren't in the right area. I told s. alldredge and she said she felt the same way. so we turned around and, after praying about it, went across the street to contact a part-member/less-active family whom we've never been able to contact cuz theyre NEVER home. Long story, short, we met that family and they are awesome!! they came to church yesterday and they want us to teach the daughter so she can be baptized!! God is good.

and it gets better -

after contacting that family, we felt good about going back to the apartment complex, this time the spirit directed us to the second floor, second door. Her name is Sidra, she is from Pakistan but has lived most her life in England! She has two adorable kids and a happy marriage... GOLDEN!!! ANDDDD she is super good friends with Chauncey - our recent convert! God is so good.

and it gets EVEN better -

we met some other awesome people on that floor, and then we knocked on what we decided was going to be our lst door... and it "just so happened" to be a less-active family from Marshall Islands! We had a way good conversation and lesson with them. Turns out, the dad helped translate the Book of Mormon into Marshallese as well as a few other church books!! Woah!! how cool is that? and the daughter, age 21, solemnly told us how she always wanted to serve a mission, but it was too late. We explained to her that she still could at her age!! absolutely!!! First she has to get back to church. so they are working on it and she has that goal :) God is great.

okay peeps sorry this email is so long, good work for those who actually read it all! ;) I am seriously touched by the tender mercies our Heavenly Father offers us. I am blown away at the miracles He sets in place. I am honored to represent my Savior as a missionary of His true church. I want you all to know that He loves you. He knows you. And, He loves to hear from you! stay strong peeps. life is good. time is short. church is true. our savior lives. God is great.

Much Aloha,

Sister Judkins

this is dareen. she is the most hard working woman I've met. always on the go, her mom, auntie sweetie is one of our investigators, and we're hoping that dareen will accept a visit from the elders (she doesn't live in our area). I LOVE HER.

this is uncle Jacob. definitely one of my all time favorite people. he's got an incredible story, which involves earthquakes, fishing in the deep blue, and turning towards Christ again and again. this Saturday he is going to the temple for a session, which he claims will be his last before his passing :| he's definitely does have a special spirit about him, and his stories are ones i'll never forget <3

Temple lovin :)

A few more pics of Brigitte and her new companion,  Sister Alldredge.   Also, she cut off about 8 inches of her hair ;)

Week 30 - 10/19/15

Aloha all :)

this week. was. AWESOME.

Charley, Chauncey, and Landon all got baptized on Saturday, it was probably the most beautiful baptism I have ever seen <3 they worked so hard to organize everything so that as many people from the ward could be involved. ah, so special. I think we had more people at the baptism than we ever have at church wakaka but, it was so good to have everyone there. the spirit was so strong, and there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

it's amazing what effect the members can have on investigators and the effect investigators can have on the ward family <3 it really brought everyone together. so cool. God is so good.

funny part of the baptism was 9 year old Landon getting slammed into the water. I guess the brother who baptized him didn't realize how light weight landon is or just didn't want to have to dunk him twice. so funny.

so also this week we were able to meet some wonderful people, do some service, climb mauna kea, hang out with our mission president...

oh yeah! president warner came out to big island this week for some baptismal interviews. while he was here he wanted to make a stop at Sister Gibson's house. Sister Gibson was baptized about two years ago in Honokaa ward, and she is just the most hilarious, down-to-earth person I've ever met. she also has the most amazing conversion story, it just so happens to be President's favorite.

So, Story Time: first off, it's POURING outside. S. Maher and I jump into President's car to go to S. Gibson's home, but problem is, sister Gibson lives up on the side of the mountain, and we usually park our car at the bottom and hike up. so we told President he would want some different shoes. we went to our home to see if there were any hanging around. there weren't. so we looked to the members we live with, the second counselor in the Stake Presidency. Well, President Loo had just got home from work and was in his driveway wearing his work coat, the conversation went like this:

Me (yelling over the sound of the pouring rain from the car): "Hi President Loo!! Do you have any work boots we could borrow?"

Loo: "Yeah, I also have another work coat. Where are you going?"

Me: "Up to Sister Gibson with President Warner!"

Loo: "Woah, I also have a work truck. Hop in!"

and that is why the Loo's are my fav because they are just so kind and caring and selfless, and President Loo took an hour out of his day to drive us up to her house (yeah, we didn't even have to hike), to visit with our fellow member, and to make sure that President Warner and "His missionaries" were kept safe. people are too kind. God is so good.

anyhoo, that story was probly pointless to yall but it took me a long time to type so I'm keeping it. #justgowithit

both president warner and president loo were so funny in the truck, president loo couldn't believe he had the mission president in his old work truck in the middle of nowhere on the island of Hawai'i and president warner was so touched by president loo's gesture and ah, they are just amazing servants of the lord, am I right?

okay so this email is getting really long. I just want you all to know that I know this gospel is true. I KNOW IT. I feel so blessed to be here serving the people of Hawaii and inviting others to come unto our Savior, Jesus Christ. It's an honor to be a missionary, and I can see the way I am changing as I watch the gospel change lives around me. Our Savior really does live, and through His atoning sacrifice, this gospel is made PERFECT. I invite you all to use the atonement everyday, to pray for opportunities to serve others, and to spiritually prepare yourself for change and for service through scripture study. I know our Heavenly Father loves you and he can use you in blessing others' lives. that is my promise to you. that you will change lives. including your own.

love you all | mahalo nui loa fur alles | xoxo

brig

ps. I love Dorito salad

pps. no one better dare tell me I'm reaching seven months soon.

Week 29 - 10/12/15

Aloha All,

this week was pretty great. we had temple cleaning one day, zone conference another, exchanges another, and the IRONMAN on Saturday! kept us super busy, but hey, busy is good!!

one of our investigators, Aunty Diane, has been meeting with the sisters for over a year now, and still has not come to church. some may say that she is not progressing, but here's what you gotta understand about Diane.. she was raised Buddhist and never learned anything about God, Jesus Christ, or the gospel. a little over a year ago was the first time she even heard about any of those things! She now studies from the Book of Mormon and reads from the pamphlets and talks we give her. and just a couple days ago, SHE PRAYED FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME! it was absolutely beautiful. & i just feel like the most blessed person ever because i was able to hear her pray. could you imagine hearing someone pray to their heavenly father for their very first time? man, it's beautiful.

i'll tell you what, family friends and strangers, GOD IS SO GOOD. and i'll tell you a couple reasons why:

- the spirit was so strong as we cleaned the temple in all white clothing on Wednesday. i was able to clean the oxen holding up the baptismal font, and that was a very cool experience! somebody told me that all the oxen are a little different, but to me they all pretty much looked the same haha. temples=god is good

- i didn't know i was so stressed, but when i was in hilo last Friday we were sent to a member's home for some service. some guy handed me a machete (spelling?) and i looked at him with wide eyes. (it was a HUGE machete). i was sent to a section in the elephant grass and was told to cut the grass down to shin height. let's just say, cutting down thick grass with a machete is exactly what i needed that day. God is good.

- President Loo from the Stake presidency was SENT TO US Wednesday night when we hurriedly prepped our car for it's Thursday morning inspection. haha too funny, he literally saved us tho, and i know god sent him. God is Good.

- i got to spend exchanges with Sister Jenkins. we thought it was fun to say, my name is sister Judkins and this is my companion, sister Jenkins. or visa versa :) she is really awesome, a wonderful missionary! God is good for sending her out here <3

- dinner @ the Derla's! They are such a strong family! They are preparing to go to the temple in January, which marks their one year since they were baptized! So awesome! & Brother Derla is a chef, so he always makes us a ton of good food! They didn't feed us Balut this time.. but next time they will :) mom, dont look it up! wakaka

- we were able to be on TV on Saturday at the iron man world championship! man, that was super cool! we also got to witness our bishop in Waimea ward compete, which was super awesome haha! he did quite well. we handed out bananas, gel, oranges and water to the bikers as they passed! i also tried to hand pass along cards to them, but they didn't seem to like that :| haha, it was a good experience tho, and dad i look forward to doing the iron man with you some day!

-we met uncle joe (one of our investigators) this week, he is usually a pretty sad man, but the spirit told me i needed to tell him about my experiences as an exchange student in Germany. his eyes just BRIGHTENED. he explained he lived in Germany for 3 years in the military, but he stayed with locals and really fell in love with the country and the people. he had so many stories to share and we spoke in german for a good part of the time. when we left his home, he had a big smile and was muttering some german words i will not put on here haha :) it was just so wonderful, God is good.

- the work is really starting to pick up, and we are constantly at a go. it is seriously the greatest thing ever. i love my mission! it has been so fun to work so hard and to see the different ways the gospel blesses lives and changes people <3

I am so excited for this upcoming week! I will be able to witness 3 of our amazing investigators enter the waters of baptism this Saturday. I feel so blessed to have been able to teach them these past couple of weeks... it really has been the BEST experience to watch them grow as they have come to love the Gospel more & more.

This Gospel is true. I love being able to share it with our brothers and sisters, and I am so grateful to have made the decision to serve a full time mission! It truly is the best! <3

love you all so much, mahalo nui loa fur alles & MUCHO ALOHA <3

Sister Judkins

She likes the ocean, right?



perfect shirt for mini fussy budget princess.  she couldn't hold still for the picture ha ha 

The following is an excerpt from Brigitte's letter to her dad that had a great message about the Ironman competition (an extreme triathalon) and the Gospel:

"I totally went to iron man on Saturday, we volunteered all morning :) it was pretty fun to hand out bananas and gel to the bikers as they flew by, and I thought of you the entire time! it was also kind of a spiritual experience to see these people dying of exhaustion and just calling out "water. water!" or "banana banana" as they came closer to us. they were relying completely on us giving it to them, and it had to be at the perfect timing or else the banana or water would drop. it was cool to hand people exactly what they needed to survive the race, and that's exactly what were doing as missionaries. we are handing out the book of Mormon, the teachings of jesus Christ, THE GOSPEL. and, people need the gospel to spiritually survive. some are getting exhausted in their lives and they are searching everywhere for something to hold on to. others are unsure if they need anything "deeper or bigger" in their lives, but once they see it or hold it, they figure out THEY NEED IT. and then there are some who avoid us completely, like the bikers who bike four feet away from us and don't talk, don't even look our way, they are set in their path, and they may or may not regret it a few miles down the road... but eventually they may think back and say "man, that would have been nice." and eventually, they realize they need an extra boost, a little more direction. at least God knows what perfect timing is in our lives, and I have come to understand that EVERYONE needs the gospel."

Here are a few pics that Brigitte sent this week.  They show Brigitte working at the Ironman, transfers, Kona zone group pic, and the cute family that will be baptized next Saturday :)