Hey all

Hope you all had a Happy Easter!

So, things have been really good here.
 We are doing a lot within our district
 to help each other be motivated and talk
to more people and improve in different
areas. It has changed a lot. We set a goal
 as a district to have everyone add someone
 before the end of the week and if we all do,
we'll have a district lunch where we make a delicious
homemade meal. :) It's great! We also have a contest on
how many people we can talk to about the church during
the day. It has helped us a lot! It is really nice to have
others help you pull down the barriers that are all in our
 heads but that feel so real they prevent us in the moment
from talking to someone heavenly Father has prepared and
literally put in our path. We just have to open up our
 mouths, forget our personal feelings, and talk. :) It
has really helped me feel more in control of my situation
as a missionary and representative of Jesus Christ in Scripps Ranch.
:) I'm so grateful for our district. :) I'm really enjoying the area,
my companion is great, the people we're working with are progressing...slowly,
but we'll take it. :) The Atonement really is enabling.


this week we went and helped an elderly gentleman in our
Ward, Brother Park Larson pack up some of his things. His
 wife, Sybil passed away in September and they have so much
 stuff! Luckily they have 10 children to divide it amongst. :)
 He sold his house and is moving to Fresno. He is such a faithfilled man.
He has had incredible experiences and really taught me about what it means
 to have faith and trust in God. I know there is so much for me to learn
 and to enjoy about the gospel of Jesus Christ. :)

We invited the Patted family to be Baptized. They said yes but they will
pray about the date of May 19. :) So please pray that they will get an
 answer. Basavaraj (they're from India) is so sweet! He has been to
church before and liked it but he is holding on to a lot of his Hindu
beliefs. With the langauge barrier (just a small one) it can be difficult
 to know if they are really understanding that we are asking them to do
these things. So to be sure he got it I reinvited him 2 times after Sister
 Ah Chookoon asked the first time haha! At least it is crystal clear now!
:) he mostly things all good things are a good thing for his family and
 so I want to make sure he gets baptised because he is converted to following
 Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and not just because it is a good thing to do.

We're also teaching two boys. They are really cute but they don't want to
come to church because their mom doesn't go. :( She's super nice! She
coupons and gave us a freezer and cupboard full of food. The next week
she gave us a set of lotion, body wash, body spray, perfumes, and candles
 from Bath and Body Works. She is a giving person but is hardened towards
Heavenly Father. We just hope the boys will have the spirit work within them
 so they are ready to go to church on their own.

We are teaching Kyle again. His wife is less active but we go over a couple
 times a week for dinner and a lesson. He is really a good guy but he is stuck
 on God vs coincidence vs logic vs his mind playing tricks on him. It's sad but
 he'll get there eventually. :) Good guy.

We are still teaching Trang, our Vietnamese friend. :) She has a wonderful fellowshipper,
Sister Northcutt who just finished serving as mission president's wife in Argentina. :)
Trang is LOVING the Book of Mormon and we are trying to get her to come to Church but it
is hard because she has a busy schedule.

Happy Easter

I'm excited for Easter! It is coming quickly
and it is a wonderful time to ponder the
Atonement and the life of our Savior, Jesus
 Christ. It is an incredible thing to realized
the give of immortality he provides to each of us
 no matter who we are. Life goes on and we all get a
chance to live with our Heavenly Father again.
I'm amazed at the deep love and connection we can feel
with each other and yet He loves us more deeply than any
love we can feel. I know my Savior lives. I know I need
Him in my dark and my brightest hours. I'm grateful to know
 the commandments so I can demonstrate my Faith in and love
 for Him daily. I'm grateful for the Spirit to connect me
 to Him and my Heavenly Father while I'm away on this
imperfect Earth. I know the Savior's sacrifice was infinite,
eternal, and limitless. I know. I'm grateful for all that I
have, especially my testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
I hope you will all take the time to visit mormon.org and share with
the world yourtestimony of our Savior. The Church is hosting a campaign
 this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to help the world see we believe in
and follow Jesus Christ. Starting Friday there will be many commercials
and ads on Facebook and youtube that will
direct millions of viewers to mormon.org
 where they can read of our testimonies of
Jesus Christ and where they too will be able
 to share their feelings concerning our Savior.
 Will each of you make an effort to share your testimony
on that webpage? I know it will be a great opportunity to
 reflect on the precious truths that we have.

I love you all. I'm grateful for your love and prayers.
Keep your chins up and let your souls rest in the Savior.

Love, Sister Hudson

Peace Be Unto You

March 27th

Hey friends, family, everyone back at home!

Well, it has been a long while since I wrote anything for my Blog...sorry about that...I'm more sorry to my journal though :( I'll regret that someday I'm certain. Things in San Diego are great! I'm really going to miss the breezes here...so nice. Transfers were about a week ago and I'm staying here in Scripps Ranch with Sister Ah Chookoon. We're having a good time and working hard. We still haven't had any baptisms since Christmas but things are progressing probably in ways that I can't see. I know I'm progressing...that's definitely true. I've deepened my understanding of the Atonement, prayer, balancing priorities, enjoying the journey, seeing miracles, loving people, absorbing any and everything, living in the moment, and so much more. ;) I'm so grateful for the things I'm learning and it is an amazing thing to feel the spirit work through you to help someone else...even if that help doesn't readily lead them to change much in their lives. I'm so grateful for the the people here in this area. They are full of love and we are really trying to leave this area better than we found it. Good things are coming.

I cannot wait for General Conference, I love it so much! Last October I prayed about what questions I should ask so that I could get revelation from the Lord's Apostles, Prophet, and leaders. I wrote those questions down on a notepad and then the first speaker, Elder Scott, gets up and before he sat down I had answers to all four of my questions! It was incredible and of course the other talks gave me answers too but it was really amazing. I know that if anyone wants an answer from the spirit and is ready to act on it, they too can get answers from Heavenly Father. Obviously, we can always pray but this is an opportunity to get especially inspired guidance in our lives. I hope you will all take the challenge to think of a question and then listen diligently to the words of our leaders this weekend. :) And for you non-members that feel like they aren't speaking to you...I promise you that if you give it a chance you'll get guidance too...at the very least you'll be inspired. So please take the challenge to prepare a question and listen! It's available on lds.org and on byu tv this Saturday and Sunday.

Well, like I said, things are great. I'm really not sure what to update you on. Tomorrow we have a meeting with our mission president and he is going to train us on how to be better teachers and how to better help the people we are serving. I'm so excited. Heavenly Father takes training opportunities really seriously...the spirit is always really strong and I always leave feeling enabled and inspired. Our mission president's wife is coming out with me and my companion for 3 hours tomorrow...nerve-racking? A little bit but I know it will be an incredible learning experience and she is so wonderful I'm excited for the miracles that will come!

This week I have a deepened appreciation for our leaders. We are so lucky to have inspired men and women leading us and helping us through this time on Earth. It is an amazing thing to have the Priesthood on the Earth.

So family...did you accept the challenge to find that byu devotional from July 2011???  It's not too late to repent! haha! But seriously. "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox. Read it!

I love you all! Take care and keep praying for me and my companion Sister Ah Chookoon! :) (Ahchoo like a sneeze) and (koon like a raccoon.) Don't be intimidated by her name. lol! Please pray for us by name! That would be awesome!

Love you a lot!

Sister Hudson

I am glad they called me on a mission

I miss you all. I've got 5 minutes left and about 14 pages of notes from Zone Conference with Elder Zwick of the Seventy to share...

"I will not limit my capacity to what I think it is. I will let Heavenly Father expand my capacity. And he will." This is one of the themes of our Zone Conference and Sister Zwick made us write it down and promise it. I love the "And he will" part because we need to know that he really really will!

The Spirit is a teacher that Heavenly Father sent to Earth to dwell with each of his children if they show that they are willing to follow Jesus Christ. This teacher is a member of the Godhead and he is a force to be reckoned with. He knows what to do in every situation and can guide and counsel us in our unique situations. He is here to help us be happy, recognize absolute truth, and to prepare to return and live with our Heavenly Father again. I am so grateful for the Spirit.

Love you all!

The Atonement Covers All Pain!

Hey all!

So here is a little spiritual thought for your week. It comes from the
April 2011 General Conference talk "The Atonement Covers All Pain."


We all have little things inside of us under the surface of our skin.
The size, deepness, and severity of position all vary amidst us.
While, these things are troublesome, not all of them cause infection.
Many of them we can endure life with even though it typically brings
discomfort. Yet, life is never as full and whole while we have foreign
or unwelcome things inside us. Fortunately, there is a perfect
Surgeon. However, to remove it he must inflict MORE pain for a brief
period of time. Then he knows exactly how to reduce the pain and heal
the wound.

I know this is true. I've experienced this changing power of the
Atonement of Jesus Christ. We can turn to him in all our weakness and
not be judged or mistreated. He will care for us perfectly if we ask
and allow him to be the source of that healing. No other source or
coping mechanism will fully heal us. I love Him for all he has done
for me and for all his Brothers and Sisters. We are truly lucky to
have the opportunity to learn and to grow without suffering all the
penalties for our mistakes or the mistakes of others. Pain is
essential to growth an d the Atonement covers it all.

Love, Sister Hudson

Latest Spiritual Break Through

Here is the latest spiritual though (breakthrough) I've had.

I use to be so touched that the Savior knew how much we would
disappoint him and hurt him but that he was willing to love us anyway.
That really is amazing, but what is even more amazing is that he did
it SO THAT we could fail. SO THAT We could make mistakes. SO THAT we
could hurt others. SO THAT we could LEARN. Obviously, he doesn't
condone sin but he knew it was essential for us to receive all that
the father has. In PMG Ch6 it defines patience: "the capacity to
endure delay,
trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry, frustrated,
or anxious. It is
the ability to do God’s will and accept His timing." Patience is so
connected to charity and long-suffering. The Savior is there when we
are broken and don't even know it; when we are breaking things around

us and don't know it. He is there with love for when we are ready to
recognize our faults and change. He waits with love. I used to think
patience entailed demonstrating how much you have to repress to be
"patient" with someone else. Patience is really doing it all
cheerfully. I'm hoping I can apply that in my life more. I invite you
to do that also.

 New Years in Carls Bad

Happy New Year!

Well, my companions and I woke up New Years Eve day and decided to leave our mission and see what Carlsbad was like! We only went 10 minutes into the mission boundaries...that can't hurt right?

Well, okay, you all know me better than that. : ) It did happen but not quite like that.

We had dinner with a member Friday night and it was a really strongly flavored Salad that made me really nauseated. I felt pretty sick and when we left I told my companions I wasn't feeling well but that I would be fine. They insisted we head back to the apartment for a few minutes until I felt better. Well, it was a darn good thing that we went in because 30 minutes later I was laying in my bed crying because my stomach hurt so bad! I then moved to the bathroom floor, which miraculously become the best place to lay to feel better when you're as sick as I was. Needless to say we stayed in for the rest of the night. We woke up Saturday morning and Sister Turner said she threw up a couple times in the night. Sister Ah Chookoon was coughing all night long. We texted Sister Clayton and she had Dr. Bennett (our mission doctor) call us. He asked us to come see him to make sure none of us had pneumonia. We got his address and it was in Del Mar....not in our mission. We tried calling Pres and Sister Clayton but no one answered, so we called our Assistants and they agreed we couldn't leave the mission w/o specific permission. Well, anyway, after a stressful game of phone tag, we got permission to leave.

Fortunately, I was feeling a ton better because I'm the designated driver (I'm the only American.) We got there and the diagnosis was that Sister Ah Chookoon has Bronchitis and Sister Turner has a stomach virus...she got greener and greener the longer we were in Del Mar. The Dr. basically sent us home to rest...so we did. Talk about an interesting New Years. We went to church the next day but came home and sister Ah Chookoon had the stomach virus....then Monday we tried again and came home halfway through the day because Sister Turner was nauseated again. Wow, what a whirlwind. Luckily, our investigators are mostly out of town until later this week and we only had to cancel 2 appointments but it has been so hard for us to stay in. Our spirits were ready but our flesh was week....and I'm sure heavenly father let me be the first one to be sick so that I could empathize.