Totem Lake Portuguese #1 Transfer 3 Week 4

Olá!! It has been another great week here.

 

 

It was another great week here in Kirkland. Our zone is continuing to catch energy and build momentum. I truly feel like special things are happening here. Our zone council last week was absolutely incredible. We were setting our baptismal goal at the end, and the Spirit was so strong. We felt like we should set the goal as 9, and as soon as we did that, the Spirit confirmed the goal to us. Sister Callahan said a prayer to confirm the goal, and the Spirit was once again very present. It was amazing. So many miracles have happened during this last week in areas around the zone. Lots of the companionships have people on date for baptism now or have new potentials for baptism after this last week. It is so awesome to see.

 

 

We are out of quarantine! I never want to go back!

 

 

Thanksgiving was great. We got to do a lot of service and bagging leaves. We were able to bag about 50 bags of leaves, show the Light the world Video twice, and give out two Book of Mormons. While we were in quarantine, I had also made 10 pounds of mashed potatoes, so that was pretty good. We had rotisserie chicken, stuffing, and pumpkin pie to go along with the potatoes. 

 

 

I've got kind of a funny story for the first time in a while. Last December, one of the members in one of my areas in Brasil made me suco de couve, which is basically just kale juice. She put a little kale in a blender with a lot of sugar, ice, and lime juice. It was actually super good. So, I decided that I was going to replicate that. I hate vegetables, so I made sure to put lots of sugar in with the kale, just in case it was different than Iremembered. I finished making it, took a big swig, and almost died. It was so disgustingly salty! I was so confused. I thought maybe kale was different than I remembered, or perhaps I had used seaweed instead. Elder Schelin then tried it, and he told me to check and make sure I had used sugar. Well, I guess sugar looks a lot like salt when it is in tupperware.

 

 

We had another good MLC on Friday. I always love the discussions that President leads there. Itake so many notes. The other missionaries at MLC are such good missionaries! I always take so many notes. I learned so much this time, and am so excited to use the things I learned with my zone.

 

 

Rosi is going to get baptized on the 27 of December! Please pray for her! We have had so many miracles as we have taught her over the last two weeks. It has been incredible.

 

 

We had the most amazing lesson last Monday with Rosi!! We were planning on inviting her to be baptized. She has progressed so much lately. However, the Spirit completely led us. It was honestly the most Spirit led lesson I have ever had. For the last few weeks, everything that she talks about is so led by the Spirit. It is incredible. This time, she started talking about having prophets today. She asked a lot of questions about President Nelson's gratitude message (which she loved). We were able to really explain about the continuing Restoration and the process of someone becoming a prophet. At the end, we asked her what all this would change for her if she knew it were true. She said, "Well, I will have to make lots of changes in my life." She is so ready!! God doesn't just want her baptized, He wants her converted. Then, on Wednesday, we had another incredible lesson with Rosi. She read 2 Nephi 31 like we committed her to, and as soon as we switched from english to the gospel, she said, "I already know what you guys are going to ask me." She then talked about how she knew baptism is important, but that she was already baptized twice. She asked why she needs to be baptized again. We were able to explain why, and she understood it! At the end, we asked her if she would pray to know if this was the right thing to do, and if the answer were yes, to be baptized on December 27. She said yes that she would be baptized on the 27!!!

 

 

We also had a really neat experience with Billy. We asked him about what he knew about Joseph Smith. He immediately started talking about a video that he saw about polygamy. We got a little nervous, but he didn't say anything negative about it. We then asked what else he read online about Joseph Smith's story. He talked a little about the First Vision. We then taught him a quick Restoration lesson. It went really well. He understood it really well. We also explained about polygamy at the end, and he honestly gave us a better response than most members would. He talked about how we can't judge things of the past through the lens of today and how the Bible also has stuff that is hard to understand. He also asked us to send him the doctrine of what we believe in, which was super cool. The best part about it all was that the entire thing was like a super normal, natural conversation. He is awesome.

 

 

Scripture of the week: 3 Nephi 11:15

 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.

 

 

I loved representing the Savior in Brasil, I love doing the same thing 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 

 

 

Photo 1 - Love from home

Photo 2 - The decorated apartment - Christmas lights!

Photo 3-5 - Making Thanksgiving mashed potatoes

Photo 6-7 - Rosi accepted to be baptized! This was right after the video call ended

Photo 8-9 - Thanksgiving day leaf raking!

Photo 10 - The Thanksgiving Feast!!

Photo 11-12- At the Juanita Beach dock!

Photo 13 - my parent’s gratitude post

Photo 14 - Seeing Elder Atkin for the last time at MLC

Totem Lake Portuguese #1 Transfer 3 Week 3

Olá!! Well, this week has certainly been interesting. We have sadly had to continue our quarantine. Our last day is this Wednesday, though! I am so excited to leave my apartment again. It'd be great. We still have managed to stay pretty productive while in quarantine. We teach about 2 lessons on zoom a day, and we have found a lot of new people to teach on Facebook. I have 700 pending friend requests! They are all Brazilians that live in the area. Facebook finding is honestly probably the most effective way for us to find people. It is so mind numbing, though. On Sunday, I spent a straight 2 and a half hour chunk of time just facebook finding. When I finished, I thought my head was going to explode.

 

 

Our zone took off this week. Despite all 6 companionships of elders being in quarantine, the excitement level was so much better. We made some really fun videos to get the zone excited, and we started a bunch of new things. It has really changed things. This week, we hope to keep building momentum. I believe that if everyone gets behind the zone vision, we could baptize more than 9 people next month. That would set a mission record for a zone in a month, and Kirkland is one of the hardest zones to do that in!

 

 

 Rosi is literally progressing so much right now! It is incredible to see her getting so close to baptism! We gave her the Book of Mormon videos to watch this last week, along with the first chapters of the Book of Mormon. She loved the videos so much that she kept on asking for more! SHe has now read from the intro of the Book of Mormon all the way through 1 Nephi 8, watching the Book of Mormon video that goes along with each section. She loved it so much that we sent her the entire Restoration film, which she watched and loved, in addition to President Nelson's message! After watching the Restoration Film, she told us all about the parts that she loved. She especially emphasized how amazing the part where Joseph Smith receives the revelation on eternal family is. Our plan is to set a baptismal date with her this week! Please pray for her!

 

 

We had a couple interesting classes over video. The attention span of some of the people that we teach is not very good. I kind of know how the kindergarten teachers feel teaching over Zoom now. 

 

 

Rita, Liv, and Luiza have brought us food three times since we have been in quarantine. They are awesome to us. I just wish that they would progress. It is tough with english. Teaching English classes as a method to find people to teach the gospel to is really great because when you find someone that is willing to learn about the gospel, they progress so much better because you meet with them regularly. But, the flipside is that if people don't progress, it is really hard to cut them. Everyone that we teach loves us so much. It is worth it though, because between the four Portuguese companionships, we have some people with real potential. In December, we could potentially baptize multiple families.

 

 

The Kirkland and Redmond stakes got merged into one during stake conference, so that will be interesting. I am really happy that President Sowby is still the stake president. He is awesome.

 

 

 

 

Scripture of the week: Moroni 10:22

22 And if ye have no hope ye must needs be in despair; and despair cometh because of iniquity.

 

 

I loved representing the Savior in Brasil, I love doing the same thing 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 

 

 

Photo 1- Elder Schelin and I are back together!!

Photo 2 - Let the Christmas prep begin!!

Photo 3 - Rita, Liv, and Luiza made us food!!

Photo 4 - One of our new students Billy is super awesome!!

Totem Lake Portuguese #1 Transfer 3 Week 2

Another week has blown by. It was another good one. We were so super busy. We never have any time to slow down and catch our breath. Well, actually, I guess we are about to get a little chance to catch our breath. Unfortunately, we are going to have to be in quarantine for the next week because Elder Buhler got Covid-19, and we were with him the day before that happened. He is doing fine though. He is barely sick. We started our quarantine yesterday, but before that, we were having such a busy week.

 

 

On Tuesday, we had a great zone and district council. After that, President and Sister Beardall came and interviewed our zone. We didn’t have interviews until the end, so we left and came back afterwards. It went really great. It was super good to get the chance to talk with them about the zone. I learned a lot. Afterwards, they took Elder Schelin and I out to get gyros. If you have never tried gyros, they are a type of Greek food that is just the best. I loved it.

After the interviews, we had an awesome english class and lesson with Jairton and Karoline. They are from Fortaleza, and are just awesome. They are super fun to be with. We taught them the Restoration, and it went super well. They definitely have a ton of potential.

 

 

On Wednesday, we did our exchange with the assistants. I went with Elder Mitchell to their area. Their area is a super nice area. There are some absolutely amazing views. You can see Seattle and Bellevue perfectly from the top of Summerset (?) Mountain. It was so cool. It was fun to be with Elder Mitchell. He is on scholarship to play defensive tackle at BYU after his mission, so he is gigantic. He is super cool, and I learned a ton with him. While we were on our exchange, we helped one of the members in their ward move. The funny thing is, that that family just happened to have lived in my home ward, Mount Pleasant for one year. I don’t remember him because I was too little. Their name is the Harwood family. It was fun to talk with him about that.

 

 

On Thursday, we did an exchange with the Lakeview Elders. It went really well. I went with Elder Jones. He has changed so much in the last two transfers. It is so cool to see. He has a ton of desire to be completely obedient and to work hard. I was super happy to see that. We were able to find some cool new people for them to teach and we handed out a couple Book of Mormons.

 

 

On Saturday, we had yet another exchange, this time with the Chinese Elders. I went with Elder Moyer and Elder Grifin. They are both really good young missionaries. This is Elder Moyer’s 3rd transfer, and Elder Grifin’s first. We knocked a ton of doors, which was fun because it is the first time that they have done that. It was really fun to be with them and get to know them. Elder Moyer is also from Virginia, so that is cool.

 

 

Yesterday, we started our quarantine. Elder Ward and Elder Justeson were the only Portuguese Elders that didn’t have contact with Elder Buhler, so they had to run everything at church. They said it was awesome, though. They still had over 40 people, so there is no sign of anything slowing down.

 

 

Elder Schelin and I have been thinking a ton about how we can help our zone out. We believe that this zone has a ton of potential. We have planned out the best zone council ever tomorrow, and are super excited. We are going to introduce a bunch of new stuff that we are going to do. It is going to be exciting.

 

 

Scripture of the week: John 14:26

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

 

 

I loved representing the Savior in Brasil, I love representing Him in Seattle, 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

 

 

Photos 1-2 - Summerset Mountain in the Assistant’s area

Letter To President Beardall And His Response

President Beardall:

This has been a really good week. Our entire zone has gotten so excited and been so driven

this week. Everyone worked together really well to hit the stretch goal. We took some good

steps this week to become more unified.

President, thanks for everything that you taught me during my interview. It really helped. If I

am being completely honest, the previous week I had been a little distracted by all of the

rumors that we might go back to Brasil. This week, Heavenly Father blessed me with two

back-to-back experiences that taught me lessons that I will always remember and that have

completely changed my perspective. The first happened last Monday when I was talking with

my parents. I was expressing to them all of my concerns. At that point, I was really

conflicted. I was debating declining going back to Brasil if I was given the opportunity so that

I could stay here to keep the Portuguese group going. I was really worried that I would have

to make that decision because it would be really hard. My dad reminded me that it is not my

decision, and that I need to go where the Lord calls me to go. I need to trust in His plan. He

used Elder Bednar’s talk “Called to the Work” to show me that all assignments and

reassignments come through prophetic revelation. He also gave me Jacob 4:10 to read. He

then told me that it is now my responsibility to trust the Lord and work as hard as I can and

do everything I can to help this group and the people we are teaching right now so that the

Lord can work the miracle. If I get called back to Brasil, that is where the Lord needs me,

and if I don't, then the Lord needs me here. The only thing that matters is what I am doing

right now, not the future.

The second experience was my conversation with you. At that point, I had already received

confirmation that I just needed to trust in the Lord’s plan for me, but I was still concerned

about the chance of the Portuguese group collapsing should we get sent back. What I

perceived as obstacles and roadblocks was at that point weighing heavily on my mind. What

you taught me about focusing on the positive, trusting the Lord’s plan, and focusing on faith

over fear really helped.

I have total clarity of mind now because of these two experiences. The Lord reminded me

once again that He knows me perfectly. These things that He taught me through both you

and my dad were exactly what I needed to have more faith in the Lord and His perfect plan.

The only thing I am worried about now is working as diligently as I can and doing my best to

help those people that we are working with progress towards baptism. Whatever happens in

the future is in the Lord’s hands and that is how it should be.

President, thank you so much for all that you and Sister Beardall do.

Love,

Elder Dudley

----------

President Beardall’s response

Thank you for a wonderful letter and for sharing your heartfelt concerns and insights.

Learning to "trust in the Lord' sounds simple, but it is the quest of our lifetime. It is one of the

main reasons we are here in mortality--to learn to live by faith. If we can learn to truly trust in

the Lord, we can enjoy a peace that "surpatteth all understanding." It sounds like you are

experiencing wonderful progression in this regard. Carry on! We love you!

Totem Lake #1 Transfer 3 Week 1

Well, it has been another fantastic week! Time sure does pass by quickly. I’ve already been here for 6 months in the Seattle mission. It is hard to believe.

 

 

I am really excited for this transfer. It is going to be a good one. We have a really good zone. There are a lot of really young missionaries. In one of the districts, every missionary except for one has been out for less than 3 months in the field!

 

 

The beginning of this week was kind of slow. We couldn’t really leave the apartment because I was sick. I got tested for Corona, and it came back negative, but we still had to stay inside for a couple days until I got over my cough. I guess it’s not ideal to knock doors and cough on people while there is a worldwide pandemic. 

 

 

On Friday, Elder Schelin and I went to the Mission Leadership Council at the Bellevue South Stake Center. MLC is my favorite missionary meeting. THis is the first one that I have gone to since I was with Elder Atkin. It was so good! It was definitely the best one that I have ever been to.Sister Beardall talked for the first 30 or so minutes about the living Christ. After that, President Beardall just led discussions and did trainings for the next 5 hours! It was so good! I could have listened for the entire day. He talked a ton about the importance of using the Book of Mormon and using Spirit led commitments. My favorite part was a discussion that we had on our weekly zone and district councils. We are probably going to change the format and turn them into more of a zone conference type meeting. The zone leaders, district leaders, and sister training leaders will work together to provide different trainings and discussions each time. It is kind of hard to explain, but it is going to be so cool. I am really excited.

 

 

Saturday was a good day. We did an exchange with Elder Charles and Elder Koenig. Elder Charles has been out for three months and is originally assigned to France. He is training Elder Koenig, who was originally assigned to Tahiti. I went with Elder Charles. It was good to get to know him better and work with him. We stayed in their area to knock on some doors and contact old investigators. Their area is right by the Microsoft Campus. The first apartment complex we went to was right across the street from Microsoft. Every single one of the first 10 doors was an Indian household. There is such a big difference between that culture and Brazilian culture. I have never really knocked on the doors of people that have no prior belief in God. It is definitely very different.  

 

 

I had the cool chance to bless the Sacrament in English for the Totem Lake ward sacrament meeting and then I blessed the sacrament in Portuguese for the Portuguese Group sacrament meeting.  It was pretty neat. We had a really good Portuguese sacrament. There were 46 people, and they were all actual Brazilian households with the exception of the missionaries and the Bishop. We also had 5 people that we are teaching there. The speakers were awesome. Kíria and Tyler Carlton spoke. They spoke on the importance of having a living prophet and on the Restoration. It was perfect for the people that were there for the first time. 

 

 

We got to go over to my great uncle and aunt’s house for dinner. It is so crazy that I am serving in their stake. It was so fun to have dinner with them and get to talk with them. I loved it. 

 

 

 We had two pretty good lessons yesterday. We had one with Rita, Liv, and Luisa. They have kind of stopped progressing lately because of some questions and doubts. In the last couple weeks, I took the time to put together a pretty extensive google document to answer some of their concerns. We gave it to them last week. We talked about it a little bit, and the first thing that Liv asked was “How does baptism work in your church?” Now, she was not asking that with the desire to get baptized, just more so out of curiosity. It was still good though. We were able to have a good lesson on authority and apostasy. 

 

 

Our second lesson was with Gabb. She has been taught everything, and had a baptismal date for 15 days ago,but it has been over a month since we were able to meet with her. It was just good to finally have a lesson with her again. We are really hoping to get her on date for baptism again soon.

 

 

We had a really good Worldwide Missionary Devotional a few weeks ago with Bishop Waddell. He wrote 15 words that Jesus spoke in the scriptures and connected those words to missionary work. Those words are:

 

 

“Here am I, send me”

 

 

“Not my will, but thine be done”

 

 

“It is finished”

 

 

Bishop Waddell talked about how just like Jesus Christ accepted all the terms and conditions of what he would need to do with those words “here am I, send me”, we did the same thing by accepting our call. We agreed to fully devote ourselves to this cause. Obedience is not a current choice, it is the choice that we made when we signed our acceptance letter. There are many of God’s children dependent on our fulfilling the commitment and covenant that we have made, even as we depend on the Savior fulfilling the commitment He made. 

 

 

The second set of words: “not my will, but thine be done” is a reflection of the humility that the Savior had and the willingness to always submit Himself to the will of the Father. This humility and willingness to do and sacrifice whatever is necessary of us is required in missionary service. When we lack the strength we need, we must remember the promises that we have made.

 

 

The last set of words: “it is finished” was uttered when everything was completed. They are words of triumph and courage. A partial finish is not sufficient. The Savior never tapped out. He stuck with it until the end. He never wavered, but finished what He started. The Savior completed the Atoning Sacrifice, He didn’t just give it His best effort. That is also required of us as missionaries. We have to finish, not just begin or endure. We must do what we came here to do. To finish is to give all you are capable of. 

 

 

I loved representing the Savior in Brasil, I love representing Him in Seattle, 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 - I totally ripped the seat out of my pants!! I sat down backwards in a chair and it all exploded

Totem Lake Portuguese #1 Transfer 2 Week 6

Bom dia!!!!

 

 

It has been another great week and end to a transfer here in Seattle. I did not get transferred out of Kirkland, but I am going to be comps with Elder Schelin again. We are going to be Zone Leaders together. I am also going to get an apartment!! I have been in a hotel for the last 3 months, so that will be nice. I am definitely going to miss Elder Beardall, though. He has been a great companion. We made some great memories together and saw some awesome miracles. 

 

 

On Sunday, all of the Portuguese Elders fasted that we would be able to baptize some of our friends in the next couple weeks. We really need at least one baptism to happen to help all of the members get excited and commit to the branch. Please pray for those we are teaching.

 

 

At church, I got to see my great uncle and aunt Richard and Joanne! They came to our Portuguese sacrament meeting. It was so fun to get to see and talk with them.

 

 

Church was great again yesterday. There were 8 investigators there, and 46 total in attendance. It was the best fast and testimony meeting ever! The Spirit was so incredibly strong because all of the members are just so grateful to be able to do this in Portuguese. It was just amazing. I translate the meeting to english every Sunday for the Bishop of the Totem Lake ward and any one else who comes that just speaks english. Usually, one of the other elders helps me and we switch about every 15 minutes. Yesterday, I was on the stand when the meeting started, and no one came to help me! I ended up translating the entire meeting by myself. I was so tired by the end. It is definitely a mental work out. I like doing it though.

 

 

On Saturday, we helped Anna Paula move. She is someone that Elder Schelin and I started teaching. It was pretty fun because she had a bunch of Brazilian friends there helping her. They were all super funny. 

 

 

We started teaching an amazing new family this week. Their names are Jairton and Karoline. We are helping them with english. They are both super motivated to be learning, and they really like the gospel afterwards. They also are looking for a church and happen to live on the same street as our church building! They came on Sunday and loved it. Karoline cried the entire time because the Spirit was so strong. Afterwards, they told us that they will be there next Sunday! It was the best!

 

 

One of the testimonies on Sunday really touched me. They were all amazing, and pretty much all of them talked about how incredible it is to have church in Portuguese because it is so much easier to feel the Spirit. But Kíria Carlton's testimony really touched me. She has been here for 16 years, and this is the first time that she has had church in Portuguese. She said "I feel so sorry for all of you missionaries and all of the sadness that you have gone through on your missions. I am so sorry that you had to leave the places you loved. But your sadness has led to our joy. Being able to do this in Portuguese has brought us all so much happiness. Thank you". It really touched me. These past three Sundays have made it all worth it. Every sad moment in the past 7 months has been validated by these three Sundays. I am so grateful to be here. I love my Heavenly Father

 

 

Scripture of the week: Mormon 9:11

 

 

11 But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.

 

 

I love representing the Savior in Brasil and Seattle, 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 - Acaraje - a cool food from the Northeast of Brasil. It is a fried bean roll with shrimp filling

Photo 2 - prepping for winter

Photo 3 - Early morning work outs

Photo 4 - saying good bye to Elder Fullmer before he went home

Photo 5 - Richard and JoAnne came to the Portuguese Meeting!! It was cool to have my great uncle and aunt there, especially because I got to translate for them