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
