May 28, 2013

Hey there Family,

Yesterday was memorial day so obviously I am emailing today.

Yesterday I went bowling for pday. I did pretty well actually. I got a 123 and a 134.

This week was pretty good. We were able to set a date with one of our investigators named Loren. He is a super shy person and I am not sure how converted he is, but we set the date far enough away that I think he will be ready by then. He had to give up medical marijuana. That was one of our main concerns with him, but when we talked about it with him it turns out that he hasn't had any for about a year. That was sweet to hear.

We also were able to have an epic lesson with an investigator named Nancy. She is part of another church and she said that she had already been baptized by her pastor. Obviously I told her about the priesthood and how she needed it for the baptism to be valid. I committed her to ask her pastor where he got his authority, because if it wasn't given to him by god, then it wasn't valid. She said that I gave her a lot to think about. I have a good feeling that she will follow through with it and I'm excited to hear her experience with her pastor.

Also, I got our car stuck in a ditch. Luckily we weren't there more than 5 minutes before someone drove by that towed us out. That was sweet. God is for sure watching out after us!

We also picked up a new investigator this week named Evette. Turns out that it is another like Kasey in my last area. She is living with her member BF and they aren't married because he is still not completely divorced yet. That should soon be resolved. We taught her the first lesson and she said that she already knew all of it. No concerns or anything. That was awesome.

Anyway, I love you

Elder Udy

May 20, 2013

Hello Family,

This week has been pretty good. I was able to meet a lot of the investigators in our teaching pool and a bunch of the less actives. Also, I went to ward council for the first time in this area. We are working with some really sweet people. This one girl Amy that we are working with has been taught twice, but none of the lessons. We saw her last night and she agreed to be baptized. That was sweet. I can't wait to see what happens when we actually start teaching the lessons next time. Also, we had the lesson at a members house and the wife of the family became like best friends almost instantly with our investigator and they live across the street from each other. Nothing better than that! We had to leave that night for curfew, but our investigator stayed at the members home even after we left. I don't know how long, but either way. That's some awesome fellowship.

Last Monday we went golfing on P day. Elder Awtry is a super good golfer. He worked at a golf course for 3 years before his mission. He said that I didn't do too bad and that I was his best student so far. We went to the driving range for a couple of hours. I gained a new respect for pro golfers.

This week we had dinner with some members and instead of giving them a message at the end we role-played with them on how to invite their friends to church. It was super funny to watch the kids do it along with the other adults. Then of course Elder Awtry and I did it to show them. It was a good time.

I also went on an exchange this week with my district leader, Elder Crockett. We did some good teaching and learned a lot from each other. He is a super good missionary. I feel like some of the seeds we plant other missionaries will reap the rewards from later.

Oh also, this week we lost our phone. When we were ending the exchange that night my companion left the phone on the car and we drove away. We went back there the next day to look for it, but it wasn't there. That same day someone from the mission office drove out to our apartment to give us a new phone with the same number. How blessed are we!

That's about it. Love, Elder Udy

People From my last area. The Chandlers (bishop)

 Bro Edson (Assistant Ward mission Leader)

 The Stuskawicks (Awesome)

April 13, 2013

Hello,

It was fun to talk with you yesterday.

Elder Awtry has been in Canby for only 6 weeks more than me so we are both pretty new to the area. We get lost a lot because neither of us have a GPS. I only have a map. This area is on the grid system mostly so it isn't too bad, but there are a lot of streets that don't go all the way through. Also, there are two of every street. The Main street is called 99E that goes through the area. On either side of it are the Avenues. There are avenues 1-16 on both sides of the main road so you have to know whether it says NW or SE Avenue. On top of that there are Courts for most streets that are dead ends. Those throw everything off.

Last week we taught two lesson, which is unusually low for this area (so I have been told). Normally there are about 7 investigator lessons a week. I can't wait to meet everyone. We were supposed to have two lesson on Mothers day, but one cancelled and the other was a no show. I hate when that happens, but nevertheless it does more often than not. Both the investigators that I have taught so far came to church on Sunday so that was sweet.

This week we are hoping to teach a ton of people. We have like 8 investigators that I haven't met yet so this should be a good week.

This area seems to have a lot more people that are relaxed and laid back then in West Linn.

Anyways, I love you.

Elder Udy

May 7, 2013

Hello Family,

I got transfered to a new area along with a new companion. I am in a place called Canby, Oregon. My new companion is Elder Awtry. He is a super cool guy and there is a ton of work going on here. Apparently this is a high teaching area. Kinda the opposite of my last area.

Elder Awtry is really into cars and photography. It's funny cause he points out all the sweet cars as we are driving. Yes, I am still the designated driver. Elder Awtry has been out for 14 months so I'm sure that I will learn a few things from him. It's going to be an exciting transfer.

Canby reminds me of one of those old town cities. We cover a huge area. There are still a lot of trees, but not nearly as many as in West Linn.

Tell Jenna thanks for the email. I loved hearing from her. 

Oh, and yes all those falls were separate falls. It was a hike that we went on that follows the riverside almost exactly. Along the way we saw all those falls. Every picture I sent was a different waterfall.

I love you all.

Elder Udy

April 29, 2013

Hey there family,

This week has been pretty great actually. We were able to teach 9 lessons this week. A bunch were to less active people, but some were to investigators. We set an official baptism date for June 2 with one of our investigators. That was sweet.

Lisa Hogan is someone that works at a care center here in West Linn. She said that she recognized me and I thought that her name sounded familiar. I had no idea where from though. Elder Lloyd and I were going to try and volunteer there once a week, but that was a bust. They needed a criminal background check and I had to pay for that to take place.

Last Pday we played tennis which was awesome. Then, we were supposed to go laser tagging with some members, but it turns out they are closed on Mondays. Instead we played kickball. Rugby is alright to play as long as you play Two-hand touch. Tackling is a no go on the mission.

On Tuesday, I had an interview with the mission president. It went super well. He told me that I had improved a ton since I came in. He said that I had a ton more confidence and that I have great potential in the mission. It was awesome. President Morby it such an amazing guy. The interview I had with him this week really lifted me up. Instead of interview it felt more like bonding time...sorta.

I also went to the temple on Friday. It was a great experience as well. We had a member drive us that had returned home from his mission two weeks ago. I didn't know him before he left obviously, but I could tell that he cherished every minute of his mission. He served in Pocatello, Idaho.

Today we had a member drive us to silver falls. It was a 7 mile hike and was super pretty. You would have loved it mom! I will send pictures.

This next picture is for you dad.

Oh, one more thing. Transfer calls are this Saturday so I might be emailing from a new area next week or maybe a new mission.

Love you all, Elder Udy

April 22, 2013

Dear Family,

Another week gone in the city of West Linn. Things are going alright here. There were some awesome things that happened during tracting this week. Saturday morning we tracted into this guy and he opened the door and we started talking to him. He told us that he had been reading the BoM and had been researching Joseph Smith and the restoration. He asked if there was a class that he could go to for more information. We told him that we teach people about it and then he asked if the class was free. Funniest thing ever. We told him to come to church the next day. He didn't come unfortunately, but hopefully something in the future will happen. It's amazing to see how the Lord is preparing people.

To answer your question, D&C 89 is the word of wisdom so that would be my guess. When we teach the word of wisdom I like to use the scripture about how your body is a temple in 1 Corinthians. Along with that we also read D&C 89.

I did hear about the Boston Marathon a lady told us all about it while we were tracting. That is way scary.

Other than that this week was pretty normal. This upcoming week is going to be super busy. We have a ton of stuff planned.

Oh I guess I should mention that we have been playing rugby on Pdays with all the other missionaries in the zone. Rugby is an interesting sport. It's fun to get out and do stuff.

Today we are going laser tagging. Also, I am going to play tennis with Elder Lloyd right after I am done writing you. Abby showed me some skills, so I hope I can remember them.

It is always raining here, but lately it has been super sunny. It's spring time here. Everyday has been like in the 70's or high 60's. Perfect weather for you mom.

I think that is it. Hope you all are well. I pray for you as well.

Love, Elder Udy

April 15, 2013

Hey Family,

Umm, well another week in West Linn has gone by. This week we picked up 4 new investigators. That was sweet! One of them was a member referral that we set a baptismal date with in the first lesson. That was cool. To our surprise though, she brought her room mate to the lesson also because she was so excited for it. How awesome is that! She is doing missionary work before she even becomes a member. One of the other investigators we found was through tracting. The last one was a former investigator that we set up an appointment with. I hope things continue to move in this direction.

This week I started wearing my pedometer. I write down how many steps I walk each day in my planner along with the miles that I walk and also the calories I burn. I am thinking about making a graph. :)

Oh. Did you guys know that there is a ton of awesome stuff in 3 Nephi? I pretty much highlighted the entire book.

We found this sweet guy named Eric. He does frisbee golfing just like I did during the summer I was home before I left. He had a huge collection of discs and gave me one of the ones he doesn't use at all. I can add it to my collection at home. :) Yes! Maybe one day I will play on a PDay.

Not really much else happened that was extremely exciting. Elder Lloyd and I are doing great. He and I are pretty opposite which is good because we can learn from each other and coordinate our strengths into the work.

Umm I think that's pretty much it for this week. Let me know if you have any questions. I think Mother's day is coming up. Right? I'm pretty sure it's in May sometime.

Love, Elder Udy