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
