Redondo Transfer 1 Week 6

My first transfer in Seattle is over!! It has been such a crazy transfer. It has been super hard, but super good. I have had so many unique experiences and have really felt myself grow this transfer. It went by really fast. 

 

 

This week was a pretty good end to the transfer. It was Elder Bremer's last week as a missionary. We dropped him off at the airport this morning. It is always weird to send someone off. He was excited to go home, but it really started to hit him last night and today.

 

 

We had transfers on Saturday night. Saturday was a pretty fun day. We went to Ihop for lunch because Elder Bremer wanted to, and then  we did a service project. We put a bunch of mulch in for an elderly lady for a couple hours. It was super awesome just to be able to do something different and to just be able to work. We then had drive thru messages of hope, which are always pretty fun. After drive thru messages of hope, we went over to the Dempsey's house for dart night. Dart Night is a tradition in this area. Saturday was the first time it has happened since before COVID. Every Saturday, the Dempseys (who are ward members) invite a bunch of people over, as well as the missionaries. They have a huge outdoor garage that has been turned into a huge man cave. It has 8 dartboards, a churro machine, taco bar, and gigantic soda machine. It is a pretty cool activity. Someone has even been baptized from it. One of the ward members is actually a professional dart thrower. He has taken 2nd in the world, which is pretty crazy. He was really good. Dart Night was a bunch of fun. After Dart Night, we went back to the apartment to do a Zoom Testimony meeting with the Zone. Part way through the meeting, Elder Atkin got the transfer email! There were some changes in the zone, but I will be staying in Redondo with Elder Atkin!! I am super excited! This is the first time I have ever stayed with a companion for more than one transfer, and it is the first time I have stayed in an area for more than one transfer since my first area (which I stayed in for two transfers). It should be really good. Another interesting thing about transfers was that I was called as a district leader. I will be over the Dumas Bay Hermanas and the Lakota Creek Elders. I am excited. It should be pretty fun, and definitely will be a good learning experience.

 

 

We had some other interesting experiences this week. We got bashed really bad by this guy named Brandon. I have never been bashed like that the rest of my mission. We have been meeting with him for a couple weeks. He is in his 20's, and has a degree in theology. We went to a taco place with him this week (the tacos were actually super good) and he ended up bringing his computer with a 20 page google doc on our church and just bashed us for our beliefs for an hour. We would refute his points, explain our beliefs, and bear testimony to him, but he just kept going. We finally made it out of there, but it was not fun. I don't know why people feel the need to do stuff like that. We were all pretty fried mentally, spiritually, and emotionally afterwards. We headed over to some ward member's house afterwards to return a pot, and they let us go for a walk on their private beach, which was such an amazing tender mercy. The beach is the most calming place in the world. 

 

 

Elder Bremer was such a funny guy. He was just one of a kind. He had all these unique little sayings and mannerisms. He loved Marvel and the NFL. He had the winner of every superbowl memorized, and every player in the NFL from 2013-2019. No joke. Literally all memorized. He was just a character. I loved getting to know him. We had a couple really funny Elder Bremer moments this week. SO on Tuesday or Wednesday, we were trying to contact people in our area book, and one of the names was Cinderella. We thought that was a little strange, but we just went with it. It turned out to be a Hispanic family, so Elder Bremer did the contact since he was a Spanish Elder. Part way through, one of the sons came out, and he spoke english, so Elder Bremer switched to English. Elder Bremer asked him if there was a Cinderella that lived there. The guy gave him the funniest look. Turns out that there was no Cinderella, it is just that the last elders couldn't understand her name. Elder Bremer got so embarassed. It was so funny. Another funny thing is that Elder Bremer is terrified of dogs. Yesterday, as we were leaving to go to drive thru prayers, I was locking up the door. I hear some barking, look up and see Elder Bremer hurtling past the doorway, sprinting to the car. He ran super fast and slammed the car door shut. The dog chasing him was a tiny Chihuahua. It was so funny.

 

 

Scripture of the week: Moroni 6:3

3 And none were received unto baptism save they took upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end

 

 

I studied a little bit more about baptism this week. I really focused on how we can take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. I think that by taking upon ourselves His name, we kind of take part in a little bit more of His Atonement. We obviously can't feel others sufferings, pains or sins the way he did, or have the same affect, but we can still do our best to "suffer with those that suffer'', "mourn with those who mourn" and comfort those who stand in need of comfort". Just like our Savior, our actions can have an eternal impact upon others of God's children.

 

 

I love representing the Savior in Brasil, I love my companion, I love the Gospel and Atonement of Christ, I love my family, and I love my Redeemer. I am ready and excited to work harder, learn more, and love better this week!    

 

 

Love,

Elder Warren Matthew Dudley

 

 

1-3 - The calming influence of the beach

4 - Dropping Elder Bremer off at the airport

5 - The last drive thru prayer of the transfer. Left to right: Elder Atkin, Sister Cowley, Sister Chaffetz, Elder Dudley, In front is Elder Bremer

6- The last district council of the transfer. Left to Right: Hermana Meyers, Elder Bremer, Elder Atkin, Elder Dudley, Hermana Johnson

7 - Photo of the zone. Left to Right: Elder Keil, Elder Bateman, Elder Dudley, Elder Walker, Elder Prasek, Elder Atkin (Back Row) Hermana Johnson, Hermana Meyers, Sister Reda, Sister Cowley, Sister Chaffetz, Sister Bak, Sister Lillagan (Middle) Elder Bremer (Front)

8 - Drive thru prayer crew.

9 - Federal Way zone

10 - My double bull at dart night

11 - Service Project with some of the young men and Bishop Hyun

Redondo Transfer 1 Week 5

Well, it has been another great week here in Redondo!!! Things are going really well. It is always crazy to go into the final week of a transfer. I always feel like transfers go by so quickly. I will be interested to see what happens this next transfer. I have never stayed with a companion for more than one transfer, so that'll be kind of weird if I do. I also haven't stayed in an area for more than one transfer since November. I think that I will probably stay, so that'll be good, but definitely weird.

 

 

It is so pretty here on nice days!! The sun has been out a lot lately, so that is awesome! Today is an amazing sunny day, and we can totally see Mount Rainier and the mountain range that is out on the Puget Sound. We drove up to the mission office again this morning to pick up supplies and mail. I just loved the drive. It is so amazing just to look around and see the amazing world around us. Tall trees, clear skies, blue lakes, it just doesn't get any better.

 

 

One crazy thing that happened this week is that I am now part of a trio! Elder Bremer (another missionary in our zone) is now part of our companionship. His companion had to go home last Tuesday. President called us at 2 on Tuesday and told us that we would have to drop him off at the airport and bring Elder Bremer back with us. We did that, and then went back to clean the other apartment the next day. It was pretty crazy, We had to pack all of Elder Bremer's stuff up and then deep clean. We also had to bring one of their mattresses back to our apartment. Elder Bremer isn't even going to unpack because he goes home at the end of this transfer. 

 

 

Elder Bremer is super fun to have in our companionship. He is this funny, little guy that is always cracking up. He is 5'2, so he is pretty much a foot shorter than me. He loves football and marvel, especially Spiderman. Every day at drive thru prayers, Elder Bremer brings a tiny little nerf football and throws it when there are no cars coming. It has been pretty fun, and has definitely spiced things up to have Elder Bremer with us.

 

 

We had Zone Conference this week. That is always one of my favorite things each transfer. It was actually the first time I have been to a Zone Conference in 3 transfers, so that was fun. We did it over zoom, so that wasn't quite as fun, but it was still really good.

 

 

King County entered into Phase 2 of the governor's plan. We can now teach inside people's houses upon invitation, and we can have dinner at member's houses. On Saturday, we had dinner at the Jarvis' house. Brother Jarvis is part of the Bishopric, and Sister Jarvis is a seminary teacher. It was so nice to be eating at a member's house for the first time in forever! They lived in a pretty nice neighborhood, right down close to the Sound. Inside their house, they had an observational beehive. It had a glass tunnel going from outside the house in, and two honeycomb shaped glass hives hanging on the wall. It was super cool to see all of the bees flying in and out.

 

 

This week, we knocked on all of our investigator's (called friends here) and potential friend's doors. We went through literally every one of them in the area book. Nobody is answering the door right now, but we tried to contact all of them. We were able to talk and teach a few of them, and we even have some return appointments scheduled, so that is pretty awesome. We also met some people on the streets of the apartment complexes. 

 

 

We had a meeting with President Beardall and the Stake President in Federal Way because Elder Atkin is the Zone Leader. It was a pretty good meeting. We talked a lot about the drive thru messages of hope. In our zone, we are having a lot of success with the drive thru prayers. We typically get 60+ people to stop a week. Going forward, we are really going to focus on getting return appointments from these contacts.

 

 

A couple weeks ago, I ordered the patriarchal blessings of  7 of my great grandparents. They finally came this week, so I was able to read them on lds.org. It was really neat to read their Patriarchal blessings. I really enjoyed it, and was able to feel the Spirit very strongly. I feel much more connected to them now.

 

 

Scripture of the Week: Mosiah 4:10-12, 3 Nephi 9:22

These are some of my favorite scriptures on repentance. I love how joyous the scriptures in Mosiah make repentance sound. Repentance really is a wonderful thing that we should look forward to as one of the greatest blessings of our Heavenly Father. It is one of the great signs of His love for us. We should look towards repentance with faith and gratitude for our brother, Jesus Christ. Repentance is a cause for happiness. In 3 Nephi, Christ invites us all to come to Him as little children. I feel that one reason for that is because children are both inherently happy and are a cause of happiness for others. We should rejoice as we repent and as others repent.

 

 

I love representing the Savior in Brasil, I love my companion, I love the Gospel and Atonement of Christ, I love my family, and I love my Redeemer. I am ready and excited to work harder, learn more, and love better this week!    

 

 

Love,

Elder Warren Matthew Dudley

 

 

Photo 1 - Elder Bremer in his element at drive thru prayers. He has us throw him passes every day for the 2 hours we are at drive thru prayers while we wait for cars to stop by

Photo 2 -  A glimpse of Mount Rainier. It overshadows the entire area of Seattle. It is huge!!

Photo 3 - Crazy view of the transfer board from São Paulo East. This is what it looks like after all of the American missionaries and missionaries from other countries around the world left. 

Photo 4 - The Puget Sound

Photo 5 - The trio with the Sound behind us

Photo 6 - Sister Bak, who is from Korea, drew all the missionaries in the zone. I am below Elder Atkin, who is portrayed with glasses on the right. 

Photo 7 - The trio on the road!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Redondo Transfer 1 Week 4

Hey everybody!! I hope you all had a wonderful week, because my week was awesome!!! I guess this week, I'll start from the best so you guys understand why.

 

 

1. We are out of quarantine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We still have a ton of restrictions on who we can talk to and what we can do, but we don't have to be inside anymore!! It has been great. We have just been trying to meet up with all of our friends in the area book. We can teach people as long as it is outside. While doing that this week, we ran into a guy named Ron, an old friend in the area book. He was super interested in the Book of Mormon, and seemed to actually understand what we said. He wants to go to church when we can go back. We also visited this lady named Flora. She is Samoan, and has been taught before. When we got there and started talking to her, she told us that she has been wanting to get baptized when church opens up. We told her she could get baptized now, so she is planning on the end of June!!!! 

 

 

2. We got to have 3 meetings with Elder Klebingat. He is part of the area presidency here. Elder Klebingat is German, was baptized at 18, served his mission in Colorado, was called as a mission president of the Ukraine Mission at age 42, was then called to be part of the East Europe area presidency, then this area presidency, and now, he is getting ready to go to Africa to be part of another area presidency. He is only 52. It was super awesome to hear from him. He did a mission tour of 4 missions over zoom. Elder Atkin is a Zone Leader, so we had MLC (mission leadership committee) on Wednesday. We then had the regular meeting for the mission tour on Thursday with 700 missionaries from 4 missions. Then, coincidentally, on Friday, we watched the Worldwide Missionary Devotional that Elder Klebingat gave. It was a lot of time listening to him, but I could have listened for another week. It was awesome!! I learned so much! I wrote as fast as I could. I took 16 pages of notes! He completely changed the way I think about why I am serving, how I am serving, and what I am doing. I wish I could tell you everything about it, but I would need a couple more P Days. Elder Klebingat is super fiery, bold, and straight forward. 

 

 

3. Our English Class for Brasilians is really picking up speed!! We have 35+ that live in our mission and are interested!! I am so excited for it!! I am really hopeful that we can teach some people because of it. Today, when we went to the mission office to pick up our zone's mail, we ran into Elder Schelin and Elder Stilson. Elder Schelin was at the CTM with me, and he is going to help with the English Class. We just talked for 30 minutes in Portugûes. It was so great. 

 

 

4. We did a mini exchange with Elder Keil and Elder Walker. Elder Atkin stayed at the apartment and talked with Elder Walker. Elder Walker is a brand new missionary that got here at the same time as me. I went with Elder Keil to do some contacting at a state park. Elder Keil is training Elder Walker. We contacted five or so people in the 15 minutes before we had to go again. On the drive to and there, we just talked about training. I just talked with him about what's going good, what's going bad, and tried to just help him out a little. It went pretty well. Elder Keil is a good elder. He's only been out about 6 months, and just needs a little more confidence.

 

 

I just wanted to share one thought, my favorite thing that Elder Klebingat said. Elder Klebingat spent 45 minutes talking about why we are here. He talked a lot about the premortal life and the Abrahamic Covenant. He said that the best answer to why you are serving a mission is "because I am fulfilling a covenant that I made in the premortal life to gather Israel”. He talked a lot about how we are here because we proved ourselves during the war in Heaven. We are still fighting that war today.

 

 

Scripture of the Week:

3 Nephi 27:13 Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.

 

 

Like Jesus Christ, who is speaking in this verse, we came into the world to do the will of our Father. He sent us.

 

 

I love representing the Savior in Brasil, I love my companion, I love the Gospel and Atonement of Christ, I love my family, and I love my Redeemer. I am ready and excited to work harder, learn more, and love better this week!    

 

 

Love,

Elder Warren Matthew Dudley

Photo 1 - Elder Keil and I at Dash Point State Park on our exchange

Photo 2 - List of all of the Brazilians that are interested in English class

Photo 3 - Our zone did a push up stretch goal. Elder Atkin did like a million pushups each day

Photo 4 - My Desk

Photo 5 - The majesty of the Puget Sound. This is the view from the Mitchell’s house

Redondo Beach Week 3

Hey everybody!!!! We have had another great week here in Washington. It is so, so pretty. I love being able to see the mountains and the Puget Sound. Sometimes, we can even see Mount Rainier on clear days. It is huge!!

I am definitely not used to the climate. It is June, and it feels like a Virginia October or November. It's definitely weird. No complaints, though. I like this weather for missionary work.

Here are the best things that happened this week:

8. A family in our ward gave us a ton of food for the second week in a row. We haven't had to buy food for over two weeks!! It was great!!

7. One of the Elders in our zone loves Marvel. He sent in a list in our group chat listing all of us as Avengers. It is kind of hard to explain, but if you knew Elder Bremer, you would know how funny it was. I was Vision.

6. I put up all the photos that I had of our family up on the wall above my study desk. It is such a happy spot now. I have tons of memories hanging on the wall in front of me. 

5. Elder Atkin and I bought a state park pass. We started going to Saltwater State Park a lot to study. It is so pretty!!! It goes right up to the Puget Sound. I just love being next to the water.

4. We started getting up at 5:30 and going to work out with Elder Keil and Elder Walker. They have a bench press and a ton of other work out equipment. It's pretty fun, but I have been so sore all week. 

3. We went to 2 baptisms via Zoom on Saturday. The first was Benjamin's. While I was home, Emma and I taught him with the Mount Pleasant sisters. It was so cool to see him get baptized. The second baptism was of someone that sisters in our zone taught. It was awesome because it was the first week that anyone has been baptized here!!

2. I texted with Elder Pereira (one of my companions from Brasil)  this morning. It was super fun to catch up with him. He is doing good. He was transferred to Vista Verde, one of my old areas!! He said that things are going really well now that they have smartphones. Even though they are in quarantine, the mission baptized 20 people last transfer!! Elder Pereira also told me that someone we taught in Suzano, Agatá, is going to be baptized!! I was super pumped!!!

1. So, I have been figuring out Facebook Finding. Last week, I set a baptismal date with David over text and taught him the Restoration. I then talked with him on a video chat, and referred him to the missionaries in San Bernardino, California. I am still texting with David, and he is reading the Book of Mormon every day. The missionaries there contacted him, and he is going to be baptized in July!!!

This week, our zone studied seven amazing talks together. I highly recommend them all.

- "Come What May, and Love It" by Joseph B. Wirthlin (October 2008)

-"The Fourth Missionary" by Lawrence E Corbridge

-"You Were Born to Lead; You Were Born for Glory" by Sheri Dew (BYU speech)

-"Becoming a Consecrated Missionary" by Tad R. Callister

- "Be 100 Percent Responsible" by Lynn G. Robbins (BYU Speech)

- "Aproaching the Throne of God with Confidence" by Jorg Klebengat (October 2014)

- "Spriritual Gifts" by Peggy S. Worthen (BYU speeches)

The talk by Elder Klebengat, "Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence", went really well with this last week's Come Follow Me chapters (Alma 5-7). Elder Klebengat talked a lot about how it is Satan's strategy to make us think that we are not worthy, and that we will never be worthy to enter the presence of God. He then gave us 6 things we can do to have confidence. Alma 5 poses many questions that we should be continually asking ourselves. We have no need to fear Judgement Day if we are following the great Plan of Happiness by progressing in the Gospel of Christ. Alma 7 is one of the best chapters in the Book of Mormon on the Atonement of Christ. If we are doing all we can to access the Atonement of Christ, we should have confidence. We have been redeemed by Christ. If we but do what He asks, we shoukd have a perfect trust and confidence in "He who is mighty to save".

I love representing the Savior in Washington, I love my companion, I love the Gospel and Atonement of Christ, I love my family, and I love my Redeemer. I am ready and excited to work harder, learn more, and love better this week!    

Love,

Elder Warren Matthew Dudley


Pictures:

1. Photo Wall

2-3. Pretty Sunset View of the Puget Sound

4-8 Saltwater State Park

Redondo Beach, WA Weeks 1 & 2

I'm back!!!!! 


Well, not back to where I started. But, I am serving as a missionary again, even if I am in Washington instead of Brasil. It is the same mission and call, just an exciting new assignment. I am now serving in the Washington Seattle Mission. I am pumped to be here. 


It sure has been a wild couple of months. Who would have guessed that I would spend a transfer at home? Covid-19 struck so fast that I barely knew what was happening and then I was at home. Even though I didn't plan on coming home partway through, it was super awesome to get to see my family. I really missed them so much. We had such a blast together and made some great memories. I got to go to the beach in the middle of my mission! The best part was watching a really unique General Conference.


I was set apart again by President Sloat, my Stake President, last Monday. Not many missionaries get a chance to do that twice. It was a really cool oppurtunity. I was able to really see how the Lord really does grant us His spirit in a different way as missionaries. I feel much stronger the sacred importance of what I am doing now. I am so gratedul that I get to keep serving.


So, when I got off the plane in Seattle, I went and got my luggage and found President and Sister Beardalll. They are both super nice. I really like them. I found out that my companion would be Elder Atkin. He is from Kearns, Utah. He was one of the Assistants to the President for the last 7 months. Now he is the Zone Leader of the Federal Way Zone. He has been out for 18 months. He's a really good missionary. Our area is the Redondo Ward, in Redondo Beach, Washington.  It is super cool because we border the Puget Sound. We have some beaches (not Virginia beaches, just a bit of rocky shore) and a lot of great views. It is so pretty when it is not raining. We have actually gone on a couple of runs to the beach. One beach is a 4 mile tound trip from our apartment and another is a 6 mile round trip. We have run to both.


The first week was a good week. It's been weird having to adjust to an entirely new mission culture. We have cars, apartments with luxuries (microwaves, heat, dryers, rice cookers, crockpots, a couch, and a piano to name a few), and smartphones. I think the hardest thing is not being able to do any physical proselyting. We are pretty much just finding people on Facebook. I definitely miss knocking doors, but I am grateful that the Lord has still prepared us a miraculous way to do His work. We have been having some success, too! I have been teaching several people through Facebook Messenger. We join prayer groups and religious pages and try to start conversations. There’s a  guy named David that I have already taught the entire first lesson. He downloaded the Book of Mormon, read 3 Nephi 11, and watched the entire Restoration movie. I set a baptismal date with him for two weeks from now!


We also have a Zone Facebook page that we post on. We have an ad for an English class/gospel study. The other day, this one lady responded to it. Elder Atkin noticed that she had a Brasil flag in her bio. I started messaging her in Portuguese. She's Brasilian and a less active member of the Church. She lives really close to us! She is going to start doing the online language classes with us! When she started talking with us, she posted the English ad on a page for just Brasilians in Seattle!! It was awesome!


Another thing that we do every day from 5 to 7 is drive-thru spiritual service. The Washington Governor has some pretty strict restrictions right now, so that is about all the contact we have with people. We go to the church buildings and hold signs that say things like "free prayers" or "drive thru messages of hope". We have actually been getting some pretty good results. We usually have about 5 people stop a day. It's pretty fun to get out of the apartment, be with other missionaries, and just try to talk with people. 


There is a guy named Benjamin in the Mount Pleasant Ward (my home!!!) that is going to get baptized this week. He is 19. I taught him with my sister, Emma, and the sister missionaries in our ward one time before I left. This week, he asked me to give a talk at his baptism over Zoom, so that is super cool!


I really like all of the missionaries in our zone. We do a lot of district/zone meetings and studies over Zoom. It's pretty cool. 


The other day, we were doing drive-thru prayers with Elder Keil and Elder Walker at one of the Church buildings. It was pretty cold and rainy. While we were holding the signs, some members showed up with soup, corn dogs, and hot chocolate. It was super nice. Unfortunately, we had already eaten dinner that we had picked up from other members before the drive-thru. I had already eaten two hamburgers, baked beans, and some other stuff. I didn't want to make the members feel bad by not eating at the drive-thru, so I also ate the soup and the corndog. As soon as I finished the corndog, I knew it was a mistake. I went out of sight behind a tree and threw up. It wasn't very fun. 


We have been taking around candy bars to other missionaries in our zone to boost morale. The other day we went to take candy to Elder Bremer and Elder Durant. We wanted to prank them, so we called them and told them that we had just driven past, and it looked like someone had broken into their car. They freaked out and came running down in their pajamas. They were so mad when they realized we pranked them. It was pretty funny. They were fine when they got the candy, though.


So, the craziest thing out of everything happened last  P Day. We were playing basketball with some other Elders. It was super fun. We played for about an hour, and then, on one play, Elder Atkin drove pretty hard to the basket. He went up for the shot, but came down bad. He immediatley yelled that his ankle was dislocated. We then really started freaking out when we saw blood gushing out of his shoe. Two Elders immediatley ran to call 911 and get towels to stop the bleeding. I immediatley had the prompting to give him a priesthood blessing. It was a miracle. After the blessing, the pain went completely away for him. He just lay down, and called President Beardall himself. He was completely calm the rest of the time. We ended up driving him to the hospital. I thought for sure that he had a bone sticking out in his shoe with all of the blood. I was scared that it was a mission ending injury. We got to the emergency room, and he immediately got x-rays done. I was back in the room with him. When they took his formerly white shoe off (it is now completely red), there was no bone sticking out. His ankle was very swollen, and on one side, there was a circular puncture wound. They took the x-rays, and miraculously, there was a super tiny fracture on the opposite side of the wound. They were extremely confused. All the doctor ended up doing was stitching him up and putting him in a splint. Since then, the only pain medicine he has needed is ibuprofen. He had a follow-up with an orthopedic doctor, and is now allowed to remove the splint to shower because it is basically just a super, super bad sprain. In a week, he will get a walking boot that he will wear for the next 3 months or so. It is a miracle, and definitely a testament to me of the power of priesthood blessings.


The other day, I was reading the new proclamation (The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ). I absolutely love it. It declares so simply the reason that we believe that this church is the very church that Christ established 2000 years ago. The events that happened 200 years ago in a small grove of trees have changed the past, present, and future. I am so grateful for this testament that God not only answers prayers, but that He loves us with a perfect, infinite love. He has provided a way through Jesus Christ for us to return with our families to live with Him for all eternity. All He asks is that we hear His Son. If we but hearken His voice, we will find ourselves in the midst of every blessing that our Father wishes to bestow upon us. 


I, like many of you have been striving to hear His voice. There are many great talks by the Prophet and Quorum of the Twelve on this. I especially love President Eyring''s talk "Prayers of Faith.” I have been trying to improve my prayers lately. I have had some really special experiences in which I have felt like I have heard His voice better. I would invite all of you to do one thing to pray with more faith. It could be praying more earnestly, more frequently, or removing distractions. Whatever you feel that you should do.


I also remember one of the last recorded instances that we have of Christ speaking something. He said, "Feed my Sheep". I would challenge all of you to share the new proclamation. The eternal truths that are contained in it can help put some lost sheep on the path to everlasting food and drink. 


I love you all. I love my Savior and Redeemer. I love being a missionary for Him. I love my family. I love the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.


Love, 
Elder Warren Matthew Dudley

Pictures:

1-4 - our apartment

5 - an epic stack of pancakes

6 - Puget Sound View

7-8 - view of Puget Sound

9 - hospital

10 - the apartment complex

11 - drive thru prayers

12-16 - run to Redondo Beach