Looking good at Martins Cove
W/ Elder Pape & Elder Datillo
W/ E. Barker & E. Oxborrow & E. Bishop
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Email 12.19.11
Holy Buckets!
Craziest week ever. Just so you know. Holy Canoly. we probably drove atleast 3000 miles this week. It was sooooooooo long. But wow. Such a good experience it really brought in the great spirit to us and we just love it.
The Bismarck Temple is gorgeous by the way. WOW. I loved that experience being with my bretheren in the temple. I really feel like the lord could of done anything in that temple. So great. But holy buckets I was looking at the elders sitting next to me and they were new I was like is that new? I dont remember that. It has been so long. But it was sucha great experience. We had 85 Missionaries in the temple. We split up into two groups. One group did a endowment session at 5 then the other group did baptisms and then we flip flopped. I ended up doing baptizing for a while and got changed and was in charge of the confirmations for about an hour. I figure we did close to 1000 baptisms/ confirmations. It was awesome. Man, I loved it!!!
Martins Cove was great as well. We watched 17 Miracles the night before we went and it made the whole event just mean so much more to me. I loved it soooooo much. I cant wait to take you to Martins Cove on the way to the Mission. Its great.
GREATEST STORY!!
So Siobahn we have been teaching her and really starting to work with her alot and we have invited her to church and everything she came once and all was good but she invited us to her Bible Study tonight at Calvary Chapel. Basically a big ole fatty church that is a non dom. So we totally went. We had a great study everyone was really really nice. Pastor Greg is the pastor and was very welcoming and we were even able to share some out of the book of mormon about the birth of christ and every one really enjoyed it. So we get all done with the study and we are talking to a couple people and siobahn is all by herself doing something and one of the members comes up to her and says: "You may not ever bring them back here. They are a cult and dont believe in Jesus. They are sons of the devil and do not belong here." She went crazy on this dude "You do not ever speak about them like that they are the nicest men I have ever met they are so wonderful. They are the epitemy of Christians and they truly represent Jesus Christ. (Side story. The ward council got together and had enough money to really really help someone out this christmas and the ward decided that it would be siobahn so the ward bought siobahn about 500 dollars in groceries and we packaged them up and put them on her door step) She continued to freak out on this dude "They brought me 500 dollars in groceries today!!! They wear Jesus Christ on their Tag. They are true Christians. She yelled at this dude and was like I dont even want to come back here." So we missed the whole thing while we were talking to the pastor and showing him a couple of things on LDS.org and we went out to look for her to say Bye and she was outside just crying. She said sorry to us like 50 times. We were like woahhh what happened. She told us the whole story and were like dont even worry about it we are so used to that. But she was furious. So all in all our devious plan worked :) I felt really bad about her crying but we knew that it would happen. Its happened to me every single time I have gone to another church. But if they invite us we totally go :)
But wow. Life just keeps rolling on and on. The work just keeps going faster and faster. I love this church and I know that it is true.
So, I am thinking about Skype. We plan on skyping at a investigators house the Beaumonts. Our church is at 11, and its the same time here as it is there so lets plan one o'clock. That should work out. If not, I will let you know but lets plan on one. Cant wait to talk to you all.
I love you!
Love,
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Email 12.11.11
Hey There! :)
Woah crazy Transfer Week!!! Another day and another dollar. Another Crazy week ahead. We had 15 new missionaries come in on Monday. We spent basically the whole week working with all of them and helping them learn the ropes and the mission. Elder Hammond was given a New Missionary so I am now what they calla Grandpa in the mission it makes me feel really old. I dont like it. :( But super cool at the same time. We went out on transfers and took the new missionaries around and helped them get to their areas. Good news the good ole town of Wright is now back open to missionaries, Elder Oxborrow and Elder Klapp opened it up again and are living with members the Farnsworths. Super awesome! I love it! I stinkin love that town.
Oh yeah P.S. That whole deal about me being Un-Black-Dotted didnt happen. :) Super happy. President Layton wanted to get me unblackdotted but I didnt know the long process. He had to write a letter to the first presidency and they said no hahahaha! I am super excited, I do not want to drive but in the words of the first presidency they said: "Please let Elder Rudd know that he is still a good missionary and that he can still be your assistant he will just have to have a companion that is able to drive. :) Hahahaha! Good Stuff!
This week is all the Christmas Tri-Zones. So Me and Elder Pape take off for Casper tomorrow morning with the hawkes (senior couple) driving two vans. Full of the Rapid City Zone us in one van the hawkes in another. On our way own for Martins Cove. Super excited. We are there til tuesday at 1 then we load back up and come back to rapid to sleep and then wake up and head to Sioux Falls to deliver some furniture and sleep in sioux falls and then next morning about 7 am load up the sioux falls zone and then take off to Bismarck to the TEMPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH YEAH!! We get to do two sessions in bismarck. I am super excited. I literally CAN NOT WAIT!!!!!! :) I love the temple. Its been a long time. :( But yeah :)
I have definitely been super busy and things are going well. But wow. Time is flying. I am so nervous.
I have not got my package yet. I will be looking for them for sure. I will definitely skype again for sure. I am so on it. We will have the same amount of time. Excited! :)
So no more Forgotten Carols????????????????? :( Bummer! But I am looking forward to the new Traditions though Cant wait to experience them.
I stinking love being a missionary just so you know.
Rapid City is such a conservative city and I love it. There are so many Christmas Lights out on Houses and so awesome. I love it. Super awesome city.
I cant wait to see that Church news. I will check it out too :)
I love you all so much. Merry Christmas. You have something coming too :)
Love,--
Elder Michael Corey Rudd
Assistant to the President
South Dakota Rapid City Mission
Monday, December 5, 2011
Email 12.5.11
Mi Familia,
Today is going to be a hectic day so I wanted to get emails out of the way. Today is transfers and we have 14 new missionaries coming out. We have 12 elders and 2 sisters! Its going to be super hectic. We are super excited but it is all on us as Assistants to go and pick them up and go from their. So yeah :) But today we start the transfers! The Rapid City Zone Leaders drive the first loop to Wyoming and then they get back tonight late and then me and Elder Pape pick up tomorrow morning at Six Am and take off to Sioux Falls then Fargo then Bismarck then Sleep and then wake up at 6 AM and on to Spearfish, SD and then onto Gillette and then down to Casper and then we are done! Back to Rapid City! :) :) It is very long!! :(
Good ole story to tell you about a man in the ward, Bill Davies, used to own the Suns and was a very prominent man and this past week he passed away. He was the only member of his family and they had his funeral all set up at the church and everything and then the church got a call from his family and they had cremated him and held a party at the Flying J Gas Station. :) I love this Mission. :)
This week has been awesome. I got to go to Gillette and Baptize Kim Crowder and her three girls. It was awesome!! Then we picked up and traveled back to Rapid and had a baptism of Denise Rafnson it was so sweet. Then after that a family took us to a Concert at the Civic Center it was a choir and orchrestra and their rendition of Handels Messiah. It was good but was not great. It was not super loud. :( It wasnt a Forgotten Carols :( But super good.
The mission had 11 baptisms. Super Awesome! I love seeing so much success in the lords vineyard. So far we have 18 on date for this week in the mission and 20 for the next week. We hope to meet 180 baptisms for the mission since july :)
Cool story- Kassi Blue, she is 20 she is on date for the 17th of December had not told her family yet and was kinda scared to. But finally got the courage to tell her parents and they did not like it they were not happy they want her to postpone her baptism and think about it and learn more and dont rush. Kassi really really wants to get baptized though. She wants to so bad. But she respects their wishes and we are working on them, BUT! that same day she talked to them afterwards, I get a text on my phone from Mormon.org Referrals and its HER MOM!!!! She totally referred herself and requested a copy of the book of mormon, but she said do not contact me I want to learn for myself. But me and elder pape being the stubborn Elders we are we were not just going to go drop off a book of mormon and call it good. We put together basically a huge packet for her. We gathered about 12 testimonies of members and all the teaching pamphlets, family proclamation, living christ and the book of mormon with my Momma's testimony in and then went over and dropped it off. Kassi said they loved it and we along with her know we softened their heart! :) OH YEAH! WE WERE SUPER SNEAKY! :)
I love this church with all my heart. I know its true. My heavenly father loves me and he loves you. Jesus Christ lives, dont you ever forget that. The son of god has power on this earth but only if we let him. I love him and I will serve him. Christmas time is so beautiful! I love it :) So much love in the air. But do not forget why we have Christmas. Christ! I like to break it down. This is going to be super cheesy but The word Christmas..... Christ.... MAS.. in Spanish MAS means more. More Christ. We all need to have more of our savior in our Christmas celebration. Remember he was born in the city of david all for us. Even if it was just Elder Rudd on the earth I know my savior would still come down and save me, because he knows us individually. When he looks at his hands he remembers us. Remember him and love him.
Momma, Elder Drabandt is the one you were thinking of. One of my best friends in the mission. He is awesome. I love him! He was with me in Casper now he is a Zone Leader back in Casper. He is super cool. I definitely want to hang out with him a whole lot. He is awesome. :) He is from where the goonies was filmed :)
Merry Christmas
Love,
Elder Michael Corey Rudd
Assistant to the President
South Dakota Rapid City Mission
Sunday, December 4, 2011
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