Snow and Freezing Rain

Hey dad! 

I can't believe Ryan is such a manly man! I should've known! And Kate is the cutest tiny girl in the world. I'm sad that mom feels sick but I bet she will be athletic about being ball.

We had a great week! So I'm not sure if I told you this, but last week we were in an apartment complex and we saw this guy named Timothy that we always see. He's never mean to us, just kind of not happy to see us around. Or so we thought. I was feeling really gutsy this particular hour of the day, so when we passed by him I said hey Timothy! Have you ever talked to the sister missionaries before? He said no, so I said would you like to this Wednesday? I expected him to turn us down cause he usually isn't too fond of us, but he thought about it for a minute and said yeah I think I'd like to. So we taught him this week In a members home that lives in the same complex. We taught him the restoration and he committed to be baptized. It was amazing! It strengthened my testimony of talking to everyone. Don't think for a minute that they wouldn't accept. Don't make that decision for them, let them decide cause you never know, they might be prepared! So we are really excited about him.

We also had a crazy storm this week. Snow and this little thing call freezing rain. Which is terrible. I was on an exchange in sandy and we basically got snowed in the apartment. We got cabin fever really bad so we started walking to an appointment. Right before we knocked on the door she cancelled and said she was stuck across town. So that really bit a doughnut. We started to walk back and I felt like we should knock on this door. So we did and the lady let us right in! Which never happens. Turns out her and her husband had previously taken missionary lessons and have read the Book of Mormon, doctrine and covenants, and pearl of great price. Crazy huh? The sandy sisters will start teaching them now. It was a super awesome! I better go, but I love you guys so much! 



Listening to the Promptings

Dear mom, 

I can't believe what happened to Boey! Poor little guy! Will he be healed by basketball season? I hope so! I'll be praying for him. I hope your chemo went good. I'm sad you have to go through it. It breaks my heart to think of it.

We had a pretty good week. So we had to push Scotty's baptism to this next week, which is fine with me. He's doing so great and progressing really well. I'm so proud of him and Lindsay, because their focus is primarily on the temple. That's their whole goal is to get there. I'm so excited for them and I love them very much. We taught Tina this week and she received her answer about the Book of Mormon! She knows it's true, and wants to be baptized! She is praying about the December 13th, so we will follow up on that this next week.

We had a cool experience this week. We were on our way to the church building for a meeting when we saw this guy riding his bike and wheeling a stroller behind him. He looked like he was struggling and I felt like I should turn around, but we were on our way to a meeting and I didn't want to be late. But then I remembered a story President Monson told, about how he ignored the prompting to go to the hospital to see a friend because he was in a meeting, and his friend ended passing away.  So we turned around and stopped and found out he had already been riding for almost an hour and still had awhile to go! So we offered to take the stroller and meet him where he was going. So we went down to the gas station to wait for him and while we were there we gave out two book of Mormons and found a potential investigator and then gave the guy we helped one too! It was awesome! I'm about to go on a hike right now, so I'll have to get going, but I want you to know how much I love you all! I love my mission. It's the best thing I've ever done ever. 

Love you! 

Sister Udall 



To get to the other side!

Hey Mama!

I got your package! That was the best thing that has ever happened to me! You are such a blessing! and I got an awesome letter from Grandpa and Grandma. I cried. It was beautiful and just what I needed. We had a great week! We taught a young kid and his brother this week. His brother is only 6, so we're not really teaching him, but he participates in all the lessons. This week we taught about baptism. At the end of the lesson, to review, we asked him why do we get baptized. and then he blurted out, to get to the other side! hahaha I died laughing! its really true though. In John 3:5 Christ teaches us that to enter the kingdom of God, we must be baptized. Baptism is such a blessing! missionaries don't go out and invite people to be baptized because we want there to be more Mormons. Our work is not about statistics. We baptize people so that they can have full access to the atonement. Without baptism, we cant be fully clean from our sins and "no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God." We literally get baptized so that we can get to the other side. It was a cool lesson to learn from two little boys. After the lesson their mom asked if we wanted to carve pumpkins with them. She said she had bought two just for us. well how do you turn down an offer like that? So we carved pumpkins with them too! It was great, great fun. This week seemed like it went by so fast that I hardly know what else to say. We did have a miracle with this lady we have been teaching. She had been struggling to quit smoking. She missed two baptismal dates already and she took it as a sign from God that she wasn't supposed to get baptized. So we reasoned with her. We taught her about one of my favorite things in the world: priesthood blessings. I have received many over the years from many amazing men! my dad, Guy Phelps, Bishop Bluth, President Morby, President Nally of the MTC, and many others. I am so thankful that the Priesthood authority of God is on the earth today. I know its real, and Tina is proof! she used to smoke a lot of cigarettes a day. I wont tell you how many, but its a lot. In just a couple short weeks she has cut down to less than five a day. That is unheard of. un thought of. many would say its impossible! I know that she has been strengthened and she has seen a sure sign of the power of God. If there is anything you're struggling with physically, emotionally, or mentally, get a priesthood blessing! they help! I want to say more, but I don't know what else to say. We did a lot of finding and tracting in the rain! It's gettin' wet up in here! It's a lot of fun though and I'm loving every minute of it. Mom I love you so so much! You are so strong and I know you'll be athletic about beating cancer. Cancer ain't got nothin' on you girl! I don't worry very much because I have been comforted by the knowledge that we are sealed in the temple as a family. God promised us that we could all stay together for eternity, and we promised that we would try our best every day to live worthy of that blessing. I'd say we got the good end of the deal for sure! love you mama! I love dad too! and baby boey and tiny kate! 

love, Sister Udall

A Clown answered the door!

Hey mom! 

Life is going good, thanks for asking! It's been a great week here in Gresham. Oregon forgot that it's supposed to rain every day so it was super dry the last few weeks, but don't worry, it remembered. It's been raining and windying (that one is for you cammie) all week! It's been nice, but cold. We did a ton of finding this week. We spent a few hours a day tracting in the rain which has become one of my favorite things to do. I thought people would feel bad for us and let us in, but I think it makes them see us as crazy Mormons battling the elements to drag them to our church. They can't believe we are out in it. But I have seen so many blessings as we have put our trust in The Lord and worked hard. We were tracting one neighborhood this week and no one answered. We were about to leave but I had another one of those test promptings that urged me to knock one more door. So we did.

We waited and waited. I could hear people inside so I didn't understand what the big idea was. So I peaked through this little window by the door and BAM! Clown face! Ha, the clown face then opened the door and talked to us for a minute. It was getting dark and I won't lie I was shaking in my cold, wet boots. My skirt may or may not have been a little wet too. Seriously I was scared! He had the paint and make up on, not a mask, and his teeth were sharp! But, I remembered that this clown is also a child of God and God expects me to say something to him. So we started talking and he said that the missionaries used to come by all the time and teach his mom when he was a kid. He said he always liked them and told us a few memories he had of them. We taught him a Book of Mormon and he accepted it. Then we set up a return appointment with him and his mom. Don't worry, he's normal. I guess he just wanted to scare us haha.

We had another funny experience too. During our prayer one night I got he distinct impression to visit a certain less active lady in our ward at 6:30 the next evening. So we did. We got up to the door, knock knock knocked, and she answered almost immediately! She was so happy to see us! She welcomed us right in, told us to take off our boots, and then introduced herself as Kyle's mom. We were like, who's Kyle? And then she saw the tags. Apparently 6:30 is when her son Kyle's girlfriend and her mom were going to come over, and she thought we were them. So she let us in. And at this point we were standing in her kitchen in our sock feet. I have learned on my mission that I am really good at getting into strangers kitchens. You could tell she was so mad at herself for what she had done, but we seized this opportunity to talk to her and her family. Her son plays center field on the baseball team at his high school so we talked about that for forever! And her husband told us he died on the operating table twice last week. So yeah, it was a miracle. The funniest part is that as we were leaving his girlfriend was pulling up, so it looked like he was two timing her. Ha it was so awkward but I enjoyed it thoroughly.

We had an awesome lesson with Tina this week where she committed to be baptized. We had such a great week I wish you all could be here and experience the amazing things that I get to experience. I feel like the luckiest person in the world. My mission is without a doubt the greatest thing I have ever done in my live. It surpasses any diving catch I've made in the outfield or any volleyball game I've ever won. The uniform isnt as comfortable, but I never wanna take off this tag. I love Jesus Christ so much. I hope you all know how real He is and how aware He is of your situation. I know that this is God's church and I know that Joseph Smith truly saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. Love you all so much!

 



hi mama bear!

you and the doctor are besties now huh? Ryan is so awesome. I love hearing things about him. how tall is he? if he's taller than me now I will be shocked. im proud of baby kate for making the volleyball team! she better wrap her head in pre wrap for a headband. keep the tradition alive.

Gresham is exuberant! of course I still love it here. its the promised land! this is the place moses and the children of Israel spent 40 years wandering looking for! too bad they never found it. its a gem. transfers are two weeks from now. everyone tells me that time flies by so much faster when you're training and they would be right! I feel like sister Russell just got here! we are having a great time though! this has been a pretty good week. its had some ups and some downs. i'll explain a little of both.

 so sister Russell was pretty sick this week, which resulted in both of us spending a lot of time in the apartment. president ballard said that all day every day we should be asking ourselves "what is the best thing I can be doing with my time right now?" well, I asked myself that and the answer I decided on was I needed to be finding more investigators. one problem. we were stuck in the apartment. so I looked through our cell phone and started calling everyone in there that I didn't know. I ended up teaching a few lessons over the phone and got five or six return appointments! I was so stoked! that's better than any day ive ever had tracting. we will be seeing a lot of those people this week and im really excited. especially because we had to pass of 3 progressing investigators this week. they moved out of our area so they have different missionaries now. it was bittersweet. i get really close to the people i teach and then poof! they're gone. this next week we are dedicating our time to finding new people to teach. its going to be great.

 we had our ward Halloween party this week. it was awesome because almost everyone brought their friends and neighbors! we talked to so many people and found some cool families from that as well. we had dinner with one of my favorite families this week. we ate some chicken and then they said they wanted to take us for dessert but the place was a surprise. they took us to the one and only salt and straw! if you haven't heard of it, look it up. it will save your life. they have so many different kinds of ice cream and theyre all really weird: pear and bleu cheese, Hawaiian (with real pork bits inside), honey lavender, mince meat pie, apple pie and cheddar, and many more. its weird. well they had one kind called dracula's blood pudding and i asked to sample it. the lady got me a spoonful and said it has real pigs blood in it, is that okay? i thought about it for a quick minute, and decided that since ive eaten steak medium rare, this isn't much different. so i tried it. it really wasn't bad! it was pretty good actually. so yeah, that happened. i'd love to stay and chat but i have to go have a nerf war. to answer your question mom, i desperately need new boots. mine are all ripped up . i love you forever!



All is Well!!

okay is dad lazy rafter R? or who is that? im going to trust that its dad because thats his favorite brand other than flying box. family i am excited to be emailing you today. its been a great week, but also a really weird one. we have had cancellation after cancellation. no love for the sisters! but for some reason its still been really fun. im so proud of Ryan. and as for the Round Valley St Johns thing, i know of another instance when someone was falsely accused and slandered. in John 15 the Savior warns His disciples that this may happen to them and He explains why. 

 

18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 

19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but i have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 

 

those that follow the example of Jesus Christ are often hated because of it, and i know that Round Valley folks are good people. the Savior sets the example for us of what we can do as we endure persecution in 1 Nephi 19:9

 

"wherefore the scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men."

 

Christ endured a lot of persecution, and as disciples of Christ we should expect to endure a portion of that persecution, too. But, the good news is that even though the battle between good and evil is still raging on, the winner has already been declared. we know that God's team will come off conqueror, and Round Valley already beat St Johns. all is well :)

 

its been a really great week! we went on an exchange this week so i spent all day on wednesday with sister halgran from colorado. tuesday night i got a strong impression that we need to visit melody, a former investigator. now for all you who, like me before my mission, think promptings are constant in missionary work, i am here to tell you that they are not. God usually makes us earn them. so for me, its always really exciting to get a prompting and have it work out for me. have i ever told you about the 3 different kinds of promptings?

 

i decided that there are 3. 1) homeruns. the kind that when you walk up to the door the person had actually prayed you there. or some kind of miracle results from them. 2) indirect. when you feel you need to see someone in particular, but really God just needs you to be headed that way so you can meet someone else He has in mind for you. and last, and certainly the most common in my case is 3) test promptings. you feel strongly that you need to go somewhere or see someone and no one comes to the door. those happen to me 99% of the time, and the other two kinds make up .5% each. well, i guess i was having a .5% kind of day, because i felt prompted to go, and melody burst into tears when we got there. she said she had prayed us over. she lost our number and didnt know how to find us, but her mom had just passed away and she instantly felt that she needed to speak with us. AMAZING! we were able to teach her the plan of salvation and we had the elders come over and give her a blessing. it was so great and she really started feeling better after that. the spirit was almost visible! if i can try to describe it, it was like when youre sick and you get that weird, clear, filmy goop that covers your cornea sometimes. thats basically how the room looked when we all opened our eyes.

 

 it was really funny though because afterwards she wanted a picture with all of us and while we were standing there smiling she grabbed each of the elders butts! i didnt even know it. shes like 60 something so i didnt expect it. but later elder robinson looked at me and mouthed the words "she grabbed my butt." then elder alatini said the same thing. it was hilarious. i laughed the rest of the day about that.

 

 we also had the opportunity to watch meet the mormons this week! it was awesome! i laughed, i cried, and i really felt the spirit. its an awesome movie and goes through the lives of 6 people from around the world. i encourage you to invite a friend to go with you. they'll like it! i am grateful to be a missionary in the OPM! i love it here and i love all of you! mom, youre in trouble cause you didnt update me on your breasties. but i still like you. tell cammie happy birthday! i have a really funny card coming her way. well, i love you all! work hard, pray hard!

 

sister Udall

 

Embarrassing Moment For Sister Udall

 



Mom!

 I got your letter! And insanity! I love that you told me not to lend
it to my fat friends haha.

I'm glad we smashed St. John's! Glad, but
not surprised. I knew baby Boey was the biggest stud in the whole
world. Proud of him!

This has been a good week but it will be a short
email because I'm running out of time. So, I had one of those moments
that only happen to me again this week. I was trying to be all big and
bad because I'm a trainer and I told sister Russell I didn't need the
gps and I knew where our appointment was. So we drove down there,
parked the car, said a prayer, and headed up the steps. The front gate
was locked. I didn't remember them having a front gate, but I
rationalized that it was probably open last time and I didn't notice.
So we started trying to jimmy the lock and get in there because we
knew this family and they knew we were coming. It was our dinner
appointment. Then some guy walked out of the house. I didn't recognize
him, but the first thought that came to my missionary mind was "oh
good! They invited friends for dinner! Hopefully we can teach them!"
He came and helped us with the gate and we followed him up on the
deck. He started talking to us and then he headed inside, so naturally
I followed him. I was standing in his kitchen when he said sorry
ladies but we're in the middle of dinner. I replied "that's what we're
here for!" He looked so confused so I asked if this was the bardi's
home. He said no. I continued to stand in this strangers kitchen. It
was so awkward. Haha I had no idea what to say and we were late for
our dinner by this time so we left. I'm still laughing about it though
because I know he was super creeped that I just walked right into his
house. Haha it was so great. We are going to go back though because he
seemed super open and we already got our foot in the door, pun
intended.

We had a real miracle this week though. We have this
investigator couple, kami and Kevin, who rock so hard! We taught them
the plan of salvation this week and they both told us that they
already knew it. They said they believed this all along but didn't
know there was a church for it haha. It was awesome! They both just
said it makes complete sense. I love hearing those words. They're
praying about baptism right now. I love them so much! We had other
awesome things happen, but I have no time! I love you very much!