A Wedding and a Farewell

It's been a really great week. As you can see the wedding did happen and it went so well! It was absolutely wonderful. The ward members put it all together and so many people came to support them. One of the members did the ceremony and it was so sweet. Dan cried, and their kids were adorable and very well behaved. 

We had the wedding in the Relief Society room, and then while we were outside taking pictures the ward sisters brought in all the food and we had the reception in there as well. Dan sang Latisha a song before they cut the cake, and he has an amazing singing voice. As soon as he finished singing, all the ward members where commenting that he really needs to join the ward choir. They're super excited to get baptized; they were telling all their family and friends who came to come back next week for the baptism. I can't believe how fast everything is falling into place for them. A month ago they didn't have a place to live, Dan didn't have a job, and now they're settled down, and married, and about to be baptized! It's a miracle. It's a testament to me that when people are ready, God makes things happen. I'm so excited for them. They're already setting their sights on the temple, and they want to be sealed a year from now.

Other than the wedding, we've had a very interesting week. Sister Winsor and I have both had a cold. We really weren't up to doing much, but between teaching Dan and Latisha, and having a member dinner every day this week we still stayed busy. But whenever we didn't have something we needed to do, we were sleeping. And it seems to be mostly gone now. 

Which is good, because I had to give a talk in church yesterday. I talked about Heavenly Father's plan for us, and how we can see how much He loves us by this plan that He has. It was a really interesting thing to study, and it helped me to recognize all the little tender mercies that Heavenly Father has shown me throughout my mission. It's so true that God knows us individually and is actively involved in each of our lives.

We also had our last zone conference with President and Sister Holm. It was basically like a super long farewell, and then President gave us some instructions on what will happen when President Turner and his wife get here in July. We'll get to meet them within the first few days. It's really hard to see President and Sister Holm go. We all cried a lot when the time came to give them the last hug and handshake. But President stressed throughout the day that we will see each other at mission reunions or he's going to come hunt us down. I've learned so much from them, and I love them so much. But I also know that it's a blessing that I'll be able to have two mission presidents, and get to learn from two wonderful couples. This will be a hard but good change.

Wedding Plans

I don't know if I mentioned this last week or not, but a family that the elders have been teaching moved into our area last week. They have three kids and one due next month. They've been boyfriend and girlfriend for ten years, but that all ends on Saturday. Because they're getting married! And then they and their daughter are going to get baptized, probably on the 21st. That's what we're hoping for. We're really excited for them. They're very ready to be baptized, and they would have been baptized a while ago, but right as they were about to do it, their lives fell apart. But now things are all straightened out, thanks to the ward members, and they're excited to be baptized. So between the wedding on Saturday and teaching them the rest of the lessons it's going to be a very busy week. We're excited. There's nothing better than being a busy missionary. Missionaries are always busy, but there's a big difference between having productive things to do and having to find productive things to do.

Other than this family, we have a lot of very good potential investigators, but none of them have made much progress from last week. It was funny though, we got a text from one of our investigators, and he said "Just thought I'd save y'all a trip out here and let you know I wasn't at church because I had to work". It's funny that he knew because he didn't show up at church that we were just going to go over there. Our investigators know our persistent ways :)

I'm glad to hear that New York has been so much fun, and I'm excited to see the pictures. It's amazing to think that it's been over a year since I was there. I was thinking about that this morning, that a year ago today was my last day in the MTC. Missions go by too fast.

It's interesting that y'all were in the Sacred Grove and the Hill Cumorah, because we've been having some interesting conversations about Joseph Smith lately. The most recent one happened about an hour ago in the middle of Wal-Mart. Both the guys we talked to had done a lot of internet research on our church and Joseph Smith, and so I think you can guess how those conversations went. I don't know what sources they were getting their information from but they certainly weren't our church websites. People will believe the most interesting things. I'm glad that I know who the real source of truth is- our Heavenly Father. He will always help us to know what is true and what is false. I know that all the confusion about who Joseph Smith really was, and what he did, is not coming from our Heavenly Father, and if people will just sincerely pray about it, with a real desire to know the truth, then they can recognize by the power of the Holy Ghost what the truth really is.

Come to Church

You know that part of The District where the sister missionaries are working with that lady who never comes to church and one of the sisters says, "Just come to church!" That's kind of how Sister Winsor and I have felt this week. We've had a lot of good things happen this week. We stopped by to see this lady we'd met a couple weeks ago. She's been outside looking for her cat, and we told her we'd keep an eye out for him. We went back to see how they were doing and we talked with her for a while. She and her family (a husband and daughter) just moved up here from Florida and are staying with his dad. And she's been feeling like she needs to start going to a church. She was raised Catholic; her husband was raised Baptist, but neither of them want to go back to those churches. So we talked with her for a little bit about our church and testified as to what a big difference it would make in her life and we invited her to come, and she agreed. And she was really excited to come, and bring her husband and daughter. We also set up a time to go by after church and teach them a little more. That was on Wednesday.

Friday night we stopped by another family. Their son was going to be graduating the next day, so she invited us over to the party. And then we got into a really good conversation about the importance of keeping the little commandments, like prayer, scriptures study, and church attendance. She told us she really feels that their family needs to "get a solid church family" was the way she put it. Her work is the big challenge for her, because she rarely has a Sunday off. She says she's been praying to know what she can do, because she needs to help support her family, she loves her job, and she also really wants to go to church. Then her husband came out and we asked him if they'd discussed being baptized, and he said they hadn't got around to it yet, but that since she had work off till Thursday they'd talk about it. We went back to the graduation party for a bit on Saturday, it was very fun, and we invited them to church again, but since family was in town she didn't make any promises.

Then later on Saturday we went out to see this man that we'd met a week ago. He wasn't home so we went out tracting for a bit. As we were walking back to the car, he found us and told us that he saw our car and he'd been looking for us. Apparently, ever since we talked with him and prayed with him, he'd been getting lots of calls from people about job interviews. He was so excited about it, and he told us that he really felt it was because of our prayer that this was happening to him. He also said that he'd been about to read a little bit of the Book of Mormon and when he did he got the same feeling he gets when he reads the Bible, only more intense, and he can understand it better. I told him that that was the Holy Ghost telling him the book was the word of God, and he very excitedly agreed. We said another prayer with him, invited him to church (he said he'd try his best) and set up another time to meet later this week. It was a really sweet moment.

None of those people came to church, and when we went by for the appointment that afternoon no one was home, so that was a little disappointing, but's it's ok. We'll get them all to come next week. But a couple of the elder's investigators, a family with 4 kids, did come to church. And they just moved into our area so now we'll be teaching them. The husband even got up in fast and testimony meeting and bore his testimony. They're not married, but that's the only thing keeping them from being baptized. So we may be having a wedding pretty soon, hopefully.

Sister Rudy on May 29, 2014--the One Year Mark!!!

Long Week

It's been a good week, although it seemed to drag on for forever. I'm not really sure why that was, maybe because we had to spend the first couple days inside so Sister Winsor could finish recovering. But by Wednesday we were back in the swing of things, which was good, because I was starting to feel like I wasn't going to ever be able to figure out this area before Sister Winsor leaves.  Somehow I think we're only going to be together for this transfer, but she really wants us to stay companions till the end of her mission in September, just because she thinks it would be funny if I "killed" her. We'll see. We had interviews with President Holm on Thursday, and it was interesting to talk to him about Sister Winsor and I being companions again. He said he just felt we needed to be together, he's not really sure why, but that's the way it needed to be.

It's sad to think that President and Sister Holm will be leaving us so soon, I don't think any of us really know what to expect with getting a new mission president. I kind of assume that most things will stay the same while they figure out what's going on and get the hang of things but once they settle down then things may change. I'm really going to miss President and Sister Holm, though. They're absolutely amazing, and I've learned so much from them.

Camden is a great little place. As I've been able to get out as see more of it, I've really liked it, and we have a great ward. Our area, the sister's area, covers most of Kershaw county, and the top of our area is actually the mission border, because the North Carolina mission scoops down and takes some of South Carolina. The area is pretty big, and mostly country, although we have a good part of the town of Lugoff, which is pretty concentrated, a lot like Easley. 

We have a car, but we spend a lot of time walking around, because it is a big area, and we have to conserve miles. But I don't mind walking at all, I love it. Although it is humid here. I knew; I just knew that I was going to end up in the Columbia area during the summer, because it's the hottest part of the state. We're at least a little ways out, so we get a slight ocean breeze every once in a while. The ward is very friendly, and we get fed a few times a week; members mostly like to take us out to eat rather than having us over to their homes.

We have quite a few people to teach, and a lot of potential investigators. The most solid family is a family with two teenage boys who have been meeting with missionaries on and off for 15 years. 

It's crazy to me to think that it's almost been a year since I left on my mission. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. And everyone keeps telling me the last six months go by the fastest, which is not good news. I've finally gotten to the point where I'm happy to do missionary work all day long. I can't even remember what it's like to be a normal person, to not think about the gospel all day long. The thought of sitting down long enough to watch a half hour tv show, let alone a movie, just seems ridiculous. I honestly don't think I'd be able to sit still for that long, or go that long without talking.

I've gotten used to the South as well, the humidity doesn't really bother me anymore and the things people do that I found shocking at the beginning of my mission I now find endearing. But now, or at least soon, I'm going to have to start facing the reality that missions don't last forever. Watching Sister Winsor, as she starts to head into her last few months, I'm realizing how hard it's going to be to stay focused and to not start worrying about or dwelling on the future. I think I'm going to need some help with that from y'all. Because I really don't want to get trunkie and waste part of my mission thinking about being home.

I rescued a turtle that had crawled out in the middle of the road :)

Not Going to Believe This

Deja Vu Companionship

It has been an absolutely amazing week, which started off with a really unexpected surprise at transfers. Based on what was said in the blessing Brother Kunzler gave me, I was expecting to get a companion who was very different from the ones I'd had before, so as we were sitting in the chapel at the beginning of transfer meeting I couldn't help looking around, wondering who she was going to be. All my previous companions, except Sister Bell, were there, but since we got there late I didn't have a chance to say hi to them before the meeting started. There were quite a few people coming and going, so the testimonies took a little while, but then we finally got to the slideshow. President got through Charleston zone, and he hadn't said my name, and then he went to Columbia zone. President announced the Camden ward, which is where Sister Winsor is serving so she stood up, and then he said "and transferring in is Sister Katelyn Rudy." 

At first I thought he had made a mistake, but he was serious. Sister Winsor is my new companion. Of course we were both super excited so we practically ran to hug each other. Shock doesn't even begin to describe how I felt. It's still really weird. But the longer we're together and the more we talk about it, the more I know that this is a very inspired companionship. 

It's been really great to get to skip all that new companion awkwardness that you normally go through, of getting to know someone and figuring out how they do things; we've just been able to pick up where we left off.  So in that way I definitely have seen the promise in my blessing fulfilled, that we would be able to unite early and make each day count. But it's also interesting to see how much we've changed and grown. 

At Sister Rudy's first transfer, Sept. 3, 2013

Sister Winsor is still the same missionary she was before, but she's a better version of herself. And I feel like I am too. It's so obvious how much more we know and how much more confident and experienced we are. I am so excited. Because I really feel this sense of urgency about this transfer, that there are things that the Lord needs us to do. And I know that Sister Winsor and I are capable of accomplishing anything that the Lord needs to have us do.

It's also very inspired that we're together because Sister Winsor has been having some health challenges lately that are making it hard for her to work. It's really been stressing her out lately. She's such a hard working missionary that it's hard for her to take time out of proselyting to take care of herself. 

Camden is wonderful; I am already falling in love with this little town. It's super old, and has all these cool buildings and even a Revolutionary war site, where a battle was fought. Plus, all the members are super amazing, so I think I'm going to love it here.

I hope you all have a great week, I love you!  

A Day with No More Goodbyes

I've forgotten how much I don't like leaving an area. Saying goodbye to people is hard. I've felt this transfer coming for a couple weeks now, but now that it's official and I've had my last Sunday at church and had to say goodbye to some of my favorite members, it's hard. After Sister McNeece finished talking to her family, she asked Brother Kunzler for a blessing. I felt like I needed to ask for one too. It was a very comforting blessing. In it I was told that I'd accomplished everything I was sent here to do in this area. It was an incredible thing to hear, because it's so hard to know when I've done enough. There are so many things that as a missionary I'm supposed to do, sometimes it can be overwhelming and I feel like I'm not getting all the important things done. So to hear from our Heavenly Father that I've done the work He needed me to do was very comforting. It's allowing me to let go, to accept that this isn't my area anymore. 

I was also promised that the relationships I've made here will continue into the eternities. I love that we have that promise. It was a promise that I clung to a lot when Sister Rowley was leaving, because things were so good but I knew that once she left things weren't going to be the same, that we were never going to have quite the same relationship as we had at that point, that because of time and other things that would come up in our lives, we would still be sisters and still be close, but it wasn't going to be the same. I feel that way now about our investigators and the members of this wonderful ward, that things are going to change. Which is why I am so grateful to know that there will be a day with no more goodbyes, and when we will be able to continue to develop and enjoy the relationships that we have with everyone that we love. Little things may get in the way while we're on this earth, but it won't be that way in the eternities. 

Brother Kunzler also said some interesting things about my next area, that I'm going to have a companion who is very different from my last companions, personality and interests wise, and that we will be able to unite early on in our companionship so that we can make every day count. So, I'm very curious to see where I'm going and who I'll be with. 

There have been lots of good things that have happened this week. We were able to find a lot of very prepared people to teach, and I'm very excited for Sister McNeece and her new companion to help them to progress in the gospel. 

We also had something very sad happen this week. A recent convert/less active member called us on Wednesday and told us that the man that we'd been teaching the Word of Wisdom to last week had passed away. It was very unexpected and sad. And it's been really hard on her, but she has such a good perspective on it. She's turning to God for support and she knows that this was part of His plan for her and her friend. 

We had a really fun ward picnic this Friday out at our ward mission leader's house. We'd been talking about it at church for a month, and a lot of people were going to be coming. And then at 4:00, two hours before the picnic was supposed to start, it started to rain. The rain stopped at about 5:30, but it was still really cloudy. We weren't sure how many people were going to end up coming, but we actually ended up having a really good turnout, about 30 people, and most of them were recent converts or less active. Everyone ate and had a good time talking; the mission leader did a hay ride for the kids (we tagged along too). At about 8:00 the storm clouds started to get closer, you could literally see them rolling in, so everyone packed up and headed for their cars. Just as we were carrying the last of the stuff into the house, it started to rain. It was a great tender mercy from Heavenly Father, that we had that perfect window of time for the picnic. 

I loved talking to you, thanks for all your encouragement and support, it means a lot. I hope y'all have a great week, and I'll let you know where I end up! 

Word of Wisdom

The theme for this past week in Easley was the Word of Wisdom.  I can't even count how many times it ended up coming up in our lessons and conversations. It's not something that we teach very frequently, but after this last week I feel like my ability to teach it has really improved. Unfortunately, our new member is still having trouble with the Word of Wisdom.  We talked to Bishop about it on Sunday, and he said something she's said in his last interview with her had made him think that it may still be a problem for her, and that he'd talk to her about it. I love the way that Preach My Gospel tells us to handle situations like this, that we just need to treat it as an understandable, temporary setback. 

The other interesting situation with the Word of Wisdom came up when we were teaching the man that one of our recent converts takes care of. His doctor told him to drink a couple beers a day, to help with some of his health problems, something or other related to his kidneys. And so we talked a lot about that with him, about the Word of Wisdom and why the Lord gave it, and about the blessings we're promised. It's been an interesting thing to teach, because I've really learned that it's not just a temporal law, and that what it really comes down to is whether or not we trust God. Not all the things in the Word of Wisdom make sense, from a worldly standpoint. But I know, and we've been telling this to a lot of people, that God always knows what's best for us, and that if we have enough faith to be obedient, even when we don't understand why, that God is going to bless us. 

Transfer calls are this Saturday night, so I'll be able to tell you on Mother's Day if I'm leaving. In some ways I feel like I'm going to stay, but all the signs are pointing to me leaving--half our investigators have moved and we've been able to meet or re-contact some people that we've been trying to see for forever. A lot of good things are starting to happen. We met the Kunzler's neighbor, and set up a dinner and a lesson with him at the Kunzler's house. We ran into this guy we met in a parking lot a month ago, and he is so prepared for the gospel, if he'll just exercise his faith and act on our invitations to come to church. We're going to start reading the Book of Mormon with our less active member. And another investigator is back from Atlanta so we're going to keep teaching him. So there's a lot of good things happening, and I'm excited about all of them, whether or not I stay in this area. 

I'm excited to talk to you soon.  Thanks for all the prayers, have a blessed week!