Dudley, Emma

Happy Halloween!  We were inside tonight but it has been fun talking to family, having a mission zoom call, and eating lots of icecream! God has given me so many opportunities to grow this transfer, and I am so grateful. I am making a lot of mistakes but I am relying on Christ's atonement and allowing Him to mold me into the disciple of Jesus Christ He needs me to be.  I have found joy this week in my companions. Hermana Votaw is always kind, loving, selfless, and strong. Hermana Garcia is loyal, diligent, faithfilled, and brave. A few weeks ago, one of my companions received a priesthood blessing from our mission president, and she was promised that this trio would be dear friends not only for our missions, but for our lives. I love my companions.  We have also found joy helping prepare David for his baptism. David is a 83 year old gentleman who lives with his daughter Dolores. Dolores is a member of the Church but hasn't come to church in quite some time. In July, the m...

It's crazy to believe I've been a set-apart servant of the Lord for 9 months. They have flown by! Definitely the hardest & most joyful 9 months of my life.  This week, I was able to watch 2 of my greatest friends, Cornelio and Jeovani, be washed clean as they were baptized by restored priesthood authority and received the gift of the Holy Ghost to guide them always. Here are their stories: Cornelio is a middle aged man. He did not have a lot of hope in life. Last month, my companion and Hermana Rogers went up to him on the street (their exchange goal was to talk to everyone) and asked if he was interested in hearing a message about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! That next day, Hermana Cordova and I went back, taught him about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon, and invited him to be baptized, which he accepted!! Since then, we have seen his hope restored as he has learned of Christ, read the Book of Mormon, listened to living prophets, and visited the temple. He w...

Hola hola!! This was a semana de milagros!! -We went back to teach Paulette when we were on exchanges (I was in our area w/ Hna. Garcia y Hna. Smotzer) and we actually found her 12 year old daughter Jaydine who is so cool and so curiosidad about God! They are truly truth seekers and desperate for gospel light.  -Had a Spirit filled lesson with Olga about the gospel of Jesus Christ and she came to church on Sunday!! -Cornelio loved learning about the Plan of Salvation! We also had another lesson where He felt very anxious and Elder Wright was able to give him a blessing! Power and authority! It was amazing! Cornelio is so anxious and ready to get baptized:)) -David! Finalmente we had another lesson with him. We took him off baptismal date because he was still drinking coffee a few weeks ago. This lesson, we focused on temples and how our bodies are temples as well. His daughter, Dolores, called her sister who lives in Mexico during the lesson and her Sister basically but David on da...

Buenas tardes!! This first week of the transfer was crazy as always. Lots of meetings, adjusting, and teaching our friends in between! Hermana Votaw is honestly amazing. She is the oldest in her family from Arizona. She is one of the most selfless, kind, Christlike people I have ever met. Hermana Garcia is also so inspiring. She is 24 years old. She grew up in a Catholic family in El Paso, Texas and joined the church when she was 17. Her faith is so strong. She also is really patient with us and willing to speak Spanish and correct us all day.  I just have 8 months on the mission, and Hermana Votaw has 7 and we are training Hermana Garcia so we're a pretty young companionship but the Lord is helping us so much!  Highlights -Woke up at 4 in the morning to take Hermana Cordova to the mission home and say goodbye :'( then went back to sleeping at the Hermanas apartment til 6:30 and then I got my new companions and helped all the other Hermanas get moved in!! -Ward Talent Show! Ba...

Updates!! It's hard to believe it's been another transfer! I had the priveledge of being companions with Hermana Cordova for her last transfer in the mission. I learned so much from her dedication to our Hermanas.  I am so excited for this next transfer!! I will be comps with Hna. Votaw & Hna. Garcia. Hna. Votaw and I are trio training!! It's gonna be a party :)) Miracles this week: ♡Carlos and Noemi went to the temple! It was so sweet to watch Carlos be baptized for his grandfather and be able to baptize Hermana Cordova for her ancestors as well.  ♡We started teaching a mom and her daughter! Anell and Catherine are neighbors of a member family. We had an amazing lesson about the gospel of Jesus Christ and at the end invited them to watch general conference. Annel turned to Catherine and said "if you tell them yes, you have to wake up at 9 am Sunday to go to church. If you don't want to tell them no." And they kept their commitment! ♡Catherine, Annel, Corn...