Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 15:33:26 -0800
Subject: Re: momma's letter 1/19/2015
From: dallin.judy@myldsmail.net
To: judycoldsteel@hotmail.com

Dear Family, 

   Thank you guys so much for all your prayers and thoughts that you have sent my way!! They have been so helpful and have really changed the way my investigators have reacted to my teaching!! All of you guys' faith is truly a formidable force that can influence the work out here! 

    I say that because when we were teaching a family (who have a baptism date, and have come to church for 2 weeks now) they almost all struggle with the word of wisdom, but they received WAY better than we could ever have expected! When we left the house, we just stared at each other in disbelief and just then, I had the impression that this was an answer to a prayer that wasn't said by me. Very awesome experience! 

   So as far as school, thank you SO much for the help with that! I really appreciate it Mom!! I don't know if this is too late, bit I really wanted to work for a month or two before I go to school so I can have some money in the bank and help out with the college bills. But I asked my mission president about an interview!

   And Brit??!! At the dance??? Holy moly!!!! I didn't even recognize her!!!!! She looks AWESOME!!!!! I have a guy in my ward that saw a picture of her  and asks for her email all the time! Then I proceed to tackle him and tell him to stay away hahaha!!! 

  Mom, thanks so much for the video!! I will definitely try to show it. I kinda confronted him and told him that if he doesn't want to try to gain a testimony of God's love for him, it will NEVER come. He took it really well and asked some pretty good questions after. I think he just needed someone to get in his face a little about it. He said he's improving on getting some answers. Thank you for the prayers!!!!!!! Once again, your faith is getting put to work out here and doing things that I can't do myself!!! 

  I went to the doctor and our med. coord. said that I would need surgery to get my finger thing fixed. It's just a really tiny BB sized ball in my figure, and the doctor said that it's fine. He called in like a ganglion cyst or something. It's harmless. What a relief!!! 

   Dad, I loved what you said about the article that you found!! It truly sounds like you rely on the spirit when you are teaching. I really can't wait to read it!! I was asked to give a training on using the members more effectively in our work, and it's going to be for the entire zone. So what I will be doing is calling every bishop in the stake (10) and asking them for 2 people's numbers who go out with the missionaries the most and ask them a few questions like " How could missionaries work more effectively with the members? What do missionaries do that impress you? How could they prepare you better for team ups?" Things like that. I hope it will be helpful for them. 

  Also!!! More answers to your prayers!! The family, (Carlos is the father) they have been really receptive to listening to us and a few of the children have been opening up a lot more about things that we never knew they had questions on, so that was really helpful!! Carlos is being very difficult and close minded, but that's just something that we'll have to work with. We're getting really close to dropping them. Maybe being away from the warmness of the gospel will help them realize the blessing that it is in their life. We are really hoping that we don't have to though. 

   Something that really stuck out to me this week while studying is in 1 Ne. 2:12, and v. 16. I think these verses really help us see the difference between a disciple and an weak link in the chain. When we are faced with adversity, sometimes we murmur because "we know not the God who created us." But some of us dig our feet in and figure out what God wants us to learn from our trials. I love that principle. 

   Anyways!!! I'm outta time!!! I love you guys so much!!! I LOVE my mission and I thank you all again for your prayers!!! 

-Elder Judy

   

On Mon, Jan 19, 2015 at 7:29 AM, claine Judy <judycoldsteel@hotmail.com> wrote:

Dear Elder Dallin,

In my letter about the ecclesiastical interview, I said it needed to be done this week, but it just needs to be done and submitted by your president by February 1st.  It is so important that it is on time though.  Your essay has to be submitted by Feb 1st as well but I think it would be a mistake to wait on that.  Just do the essays today if you can and email them back to me.  If you don't have time today, do them this week and then email them back.  

We didn't get a recording last week.  Did you try to send one?  I wondered if something went wrong.  I am so excited to hear about the family you have found.  That is pretty amazing that there is a whole family who is ready.  

I loved your experience about the homeless shelter.  I am so amazed at how much we are blessed.  I just hope that those people find a way to get out of that situation and are able to support themselves and their families.

Mary is having her farewell next Sunday!!!! Can you believe it is already time for her to go?  Now we will have two missionaries from our family in Texas!  I am so excited for her.  I know it is a really tough mission but I know she will do great.  Auria's farewell is March 8th.  We are planning on going to both of those.  

I already told you about Emrie's swimming lessons, but this week, she was doggy paddling across the hot tub by herself.  She just didn't want to get out!  Amazing!!  Lyndsie is LOVING her dancing.  It was so cute yesterday when Cheri and Curt and their kids came over yesterday, they all made up a dance and performed it for us.  It was so cute!   Britney had a great time at the Snowball dance this weekend.  We had the after party here at our house.  It sounded like they had a great time.  She went with a really nice boy named Trace.  They dressed up in super hero shirts.  It was a really cute theme.  Brit will probably tell you this, but she got her braces off this past Thursday!!!  She looks really cute!  

Oh, I don't want to forget, Kaylee quit her job because of the environment and is looking for a job.  We should remember to pray for her.  Her and Abe are finishing up their schooling and trying to decide what graduate program Abe wants to apply for. 

Subbing is going well for me.  When I prayed about doing this long term subbing job for Ms. Nystrom, I felt like I should do it.  Her class is really good.  There is a little girl in her class whose dad has cancer and he has been in Utah getting a bone marrow transplant.  He is a doctor here in town.  It really makes you feel blessed when you hear about things like that.  They were really excited that he would be out of the hospital for Christmas.  I think he still has to live in an apartment near the hospital so that he can get back to the hospital quickly for a while though.  I hope things go well for him.

We are doing really well but we need to pray for continued guidance.  I know it is so important the we do what the Lord would have us do as a family.  We have been so blessed and I know we will continue to be blessed as we rely on him.

In the YW lesson I was in yesterday, the teacher showed a video that went with the lesson about a boy who was driving a car and hit some ice.  One of his best friends was killed and the other one was critically injured but he (the driver) walked away unharmed.  He talked about his feelings of anger and feeling alone.  He decided to turn to the Savior.  He talked about how he prayed and wanted the answers right then, but realized that that wasn't how the Lord works.  He realized that he needed to be patient as he put his trust in the Lord that he would have the answers come.  I wondered if you could use this in your teaching.  The video would be on lds.org under the lesson topic for YW/YM for this month.  The lesson is about trusting in the Savior.

We have been praying for you and Elder Madsen as well as Carlos and the Millers.  I hope thing are going well for all of you.  When I pray for you, I feel that the Lord is hearing our prayers.

We love you and I hope you can get everything accomplished that you need to.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve.  I hope Elder Madsen can see what a wonderful opportunity and a chance of a lifetime it is to be able to serve a full time mission.  It is just so amazing that we have been so blessed.

I hope you have a great week!!

Love

momma