9th Transfer: Week 5 ~ Rain, Rain and More Rain.........

Sitting outside Brother Armstrong's house
in the rain. We were hungry for our food! and
 because there is no female in the home we had
to stay outside. It was fun!

So this week was okay...it's been raining all week. We had Zone Conference on Thursday which was pretty good. We got to watch Meet the Mormons! It was a pretty good movie.

We found 14 potential investigators this week, so we did a lot of finding. I was on a split with Sister Barlow on Friday, which was niceeeee. Sister Barlow is pretty chill to get along with. Sister Mundle is still doing great in training. She has learned a lot. She is now comfortable to start talking in lessons because she is becoming more confident in what she says. So I am happy for her! That is something we have been working on a lot this transfer.

We are working with Sasha towards baptism

What we have been living off this week.
Poppy Chow, Yam and Dumpling. 

and her family as well. So the work here is great. When Sister Barlow was here and we were planning out our week, she said "Wow, what in the world! You all are teaching a lot of people!" So that made me feel good inside. 

We were also able to watch the Relief Society Broadcast which was niceeee. I enjoyed Henry B. Eyrings talk. You can never go wrong with the General Authorities, they are great. 

I also got your Easter Package!! Thanks so much for it. I love the chocolate and my nude socks!! woohoo! No complaints here! My finger is completely healed. It's doing fantastic!

Found a white cow trekking to one
of our appointments:)

Today we are going to try to go to this place called the "The Great House". It's this big thing in Jamaica.The "white witch" used to live there I guess. It was like a slave house. But anyway we are going there today and I am soo excited! That is some thing to look forward to.

THANKS FOR TALKING WITH ME TODAYY MOMM!! I MISS YOUUUUUUU AND LOVE YOU VERY VERY MUCHH!! TELL THE FAMILY THAT I LOVE THEM TOOOOOO! BYYYYEEE!!!!

 -Sis Judd

 Saturday we held conference in the chapel and this was pretty much the

 turn out...us and one other sister. 3 other sisters showed up later.

 Relief Society sisters had a fun little day on Saturday!

9th Transfer: Week 4 ~ Danny's Baptism!

Danny's Baptism!

Hey Family, so sorry for not e-mailing earlier today but the Elders needed to come on first. They are going to Negril to pick up the other Elders to bring them to Montego Bay. I guess they are doing a musical number for Zone Conference this Thursday and I have to go to their practice because Sister Schwendiman is playing the piano for them so I don't have too much time. We need to meet them at the church at 4 so I am sorry about that! Every time we came to the internet shop people were on the computer... which is aggravating but oh well!

So this week has been great! We had a baptism. DANNYYY got baptized!! It was such a hilarious experience. We filled the font Saturday night (it took 4 hours for it to fill). We woke up Sunday morning, came to the church and all the water had drained out!! We even called the Elders and asked them how to clog the drain and they told us to put a plastic bag down in the hole so that's what we did and throughout the night it drained out. So we had to fill the font that morning. It only had a little bit of water so Danny literally had to get baptized on his knees.!!! What an experience that was!!! Oh goodness. Then I gave 2 prayers that Sunday...one at the baptism and one at sacrament meeting. They really kept us busy yesterday that is for sure. Then during church some lady got into the "spirit" and started shouting out and pretty much losing herself. She ended up needing a priesthood blessing. So Sunday was a very interesting day.. one to never forget.

Silly pictures with Sasha:)
Yes....Jamaican me crazzyy!

We have been working with our investigators family. They are less active and we are trying to get their help and support so Sasha can get baptized. We want her family to be there to support her in her decision. Most parents here just tell their kids what to do. They don't help them at all. So a big thing out here on the mission is to really strengthen homes and families. If we do that, then when we leave they will do scripture study, prayer and family home evenings on their own.

But this week we have really noticed Satan working hard on us. So many events popped up out of nowhere. I have never experienced that before. This week was one event after another...like with our truck not starting. There were other things like that that we had to deal with. It was insane. But we tried to laugh about it. This week has been eventful.

Brother and Sister Clark:)

You know how I told you our area reaches 20 min. out from Negril?? Well one night, as we were trying to find a potential investigator in Green Island, we ended up going to Negril by accident!! He gave us crappy directions and that area only has elders serving there. We were laughing and laughing. Oh my goodness what an adventure. I was like "oh crap, can't tell President Brown we left our area." hahahahaha. It was pretty funny though. Missionary life....full of adventures.

Danny gave us a star apple from his yard!
 My favorite fruit in Jamaica besides the mango. 

Something that I have learned on my mission is how ungrateful most people are in our country. The people here don't have much at all but they are the happiest people I have ever met in my life. 

There are so many bugs here. Flying insects fly at us at the most spiritual moments in the lesson!!! One time right before I was going to bear my testimony a spider landed on my arm!! One of those jumping spiders. Of course I freaked and rubbed it off. Goodness!

I LOVEEEEEE YOUUU and I MISSSS YOU GUYS soooo much.. I seriously do. Some days just dragggggggggggggg onnnn and I miss

YUM!

my family but I keep reminding myself I am doing the Lords work and I keep going.

BUT I LOVE YOUUU AND BE SAFE PLEASSSEEE! TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHERRR AND BE HAPPPPYYYY!!!

-Sister Judd

The sun was soooo reddddd one night!

This is Granville, the town that we walk. Notice the really steep

roads...yea...we always have to climb. NO break.

Sister Mundle braided my hair!

Sister Mundle braiding Sister Schwendiman's Hair

Found this on a wall in Jamaica. This is how much they love the

Bible. It's hard to introduce the Book of Mormon to the people.

 Sister Frey's wedding at the church!! We actually

helped out with the whole wedding, decorations and things. It was fun.

Sister Frey is a member but she married a nonmember. She prayed about

it before she got married. There is such a lack of priesthood holders

 here in Jamaica.

9th Transfer: Week 3 ~ We're Having A Baptism! or 2!

Me and Brother James! He is the oldest
man in Lucea. He is 104 years old! I just love him!

This is our proselyting area up in

the mountains. Our area is huge! It takes an hour

and 15 minutes to get to Negril.

Hey Family! Everything is going great here in Jamaica. My finger is healing so everything is good with my health.

As for the work, we are having a baptism this Sunday. Danny is getting baptized!! and possibly Sasha will be to. So we may be having 2 baptisms which is very, very exciting. We already reactivated a less active, his name is Brother Clark. He is a sweetheart. A very old man that likes to talk but his faith now is incredible. He told us " I don't have any money for a taxi, but I will be making it to church no matter what. I know the Lord will provide." I thought that was so amazing to hear from him. A very old man who can barely walk making it to church no matter 

Taking a break......I have gotten so many
ticks due to me not caring where I sit. 

what. He is amazing. He passed the sacrament at church yesterday too. It was such a great thing to see!

As we were walking down to an appointment with one of our investigators, Collette, a ton of people swarmed around us asking what we believe in. They all asked to be taught and are very interested in learning more. One guy who is around my age simply just asked for a Book of Mormon to read, because he LOVES to read. He will become a great investigator. There were about 5 that we got numbers from. We will be contacting them this week. It was kind of intimidating but I had to be strong and have the courage to open my mouth and have faith that the Lord, through the Spirit,

A little nicer picture:)

would fill my mouth with the words that they needed to hear. It was a great experience to have.

I also had a really fun idea. I told the sisters that we should do something really nice for the Elders. So I talked

to Brother Armstrong and we put some money together. He cooked them a real nice dinner and made smoothies that we took to the Elders apartment along with a sign that told the elders thanks for all the help. They have helped us out so much since we have been here. They have been so nice to us! It was supposed to be a surprise but we got lost trying to find their apartment so Brother Armstrong told them without us knowing. When we got there we noticed they had a huge dog so we said "Sister Schwendiman, you go do it." So she bravely went in there and put the sign up and the food on their doorstep. While all of this was going on the Elders were texting us saying "Be careful of the dog, Ben." "Oh, so you left Sister Schwendiman by herself" and so on. It was hilarious! I was laughing so hard. We could hear the elders laughing through the window as they watched all of this happen. It

Our investigator, Dezerine, gave us some
 sour sop. It's a fruit and is so good!

was so fun. Experiences like these can really bring our district closer together especially since we are the only ones here on Montego Bay! They were so grateful that we did that for them. They had been living off of peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches for months. No kidding. So they needed food!

In Jamaica there is always music playing outside. We were in a lesson trying to have Family Home Evening and big loud music was playing and we couldn't even hear each other. It's so crazy how it's legal. It doesn't matter what time of day or night it is.. music is always playing! I try not to dance but I sometimes break that rule. That's how Satan works I tell you! haha

There are huge leaves in Montego Bay!

Well mom, thats pretty much what has been going on over here so far. I can't wait to read all thats been going on with you!!! Love you!!

-Sis Judd

Sister Schwendiman and Sister Mundle taking pics:)

My soup that Sister Mundle made me. Its so good!!!

This is Seymour, our investigator in Lucea. He came to church yesterday! 

He built this boat with his hands! It's made out of cottonwood. 

Some Rasta man's tree house that he built. This is 

where they smoke they ganga. Oh no!

People don't know how to drive so whenever 

they get the chance they hop on vehicles. 

DOWNTOWN MONTEGO BAY! 

It has been such a blast being back in Jamaica! 

You know how we have stores and malls in the states? 

Here everything is outside. 

We can buy food from the stands, we just 

have to wash it good before we eat it. 

Moonies! This is an auto shop where they fix cars.

You are probably thinking Juici Patties? Well this place is

where all Jamaicans and missionaries go! Food is only 100 dollar for 

patties. I am not a big fan of patties though! It's just like a patty with beef 

and cheese inside. It tastes okay.

9th Transfer: Week 2 : OUCH!!!, Coconuts and Washing Clothes

Walking down a steep road in
Granville. Pretty tiring:).
 LOTS OF STEEP ROADS
 in these little towns.

HEY MOTHERRR. So I hope you are not too worried about seeing me use the card at the doctors BUT I actually had a really BAD infection on my finger. It turned GREEN and was very swollen. It hurt so bad. It kept growing and growing every day. I thought that it was an ingrown fingernail or a fungus. I went into the doctor and she put me on medication. I started to use the medication and it only got WORSE. So I went back in on Friday when the infection started to get under the nail. She had to do a "mini surgery" on my finger to get all the infection out. She was really worried about the finger so she swabbed it and took that into the lab. She cut off part of my nail, some of my skin surrounding the nail and the ingrown fingernail on the side. She didn't numb it or anything. It was SO PAINFUL but I didn't cry. I just kept thinking to myself "Joseph Smith endured more than this!". So when it was done I started to joke around with the doctor. It was painful but nonetheless everything is alright... it will take a while for my finger to heal. I have to take medication and keep a bandage around it :) This one pill is so HUGE that I can't take it. I've even cut it in half.

My poor finger! and all of the meds
 I have to take. 

President Brown asked if I cried and I told him that I didn't. My companions were like " I can't believe you handled it like that!! I would be crying so bad!". They make me laugh. But it did hurt... to where I said in a louder voice.. "are you almost done?!". It is on my right hand which I use to write which is hard but it's doing better. Sister Brown (President Brown's wife) and I had a really good laugh about my finger. She said she will try to convince President Brown to let us sister missionaries go and get a real good manicure. I just love this mission.

President Brown came to our branch yesterday for church. That went great. He kept looking at my finger and saying "Ouch!" haha. He is like a father figure.

We having washing machines but we have to buy tokens to use them. We can hang our clothes on the line outside to dry. We don't have dressers (and other needs in our apartment) however we will be getting dressers sometime soon.....maybe next week. We bought "homie" type things today to put inside our apartment so things should be good with that.

As for missionary work here in Montego Bay, yes it is adventurous but it is such a blast. I am making great memories right now. It's hard work, but WORTH IT :) I will gain a reward after serving the Lord. He is my greatest friend. We have 4 investigators with a baptismal date. Danny, Colette, Sasha, and Theo. They are great! Sasha is 9 years old and she is the cutest thing. Her parents are excited for her willingness to be baptized. Colette is working out some living arrangements before she gets baptized.. and Danny is SO GREAT! He reads the Book of Mormon every day and he reads and prays with his family. So he is excited about baptism. It is actually next Sunday that he will be baptized so pray for him! :) Theo.. he is a funny guy we are still working with him.

Danny and Donovan cut us
jelly coconuts! They are so good!!!
They are our investigators.

Oh, did I mention how much i love Mo-BAY? and the members here?! AH, they are amazing. I just love them! We are really close to this one member, his name is Brother Armstrong. He is an older guy. He acts like he is my dad all of the time. He calls me Georgia (Georgya) and he KISSED MY FINGER!!! He was hilarious. I love that guy. He feeds us and gives us water every time we are around his neck of the woods. He comes out and walks with us to our appointments at night in his town. The men get so angry at him because he is walking with the 3 of us girls. Poor Brother Armstrong!

We only have about 30 active members here in Montego Bay. It's a small branch but a little bit bigger than Ochi. The only difference is that we have a church building here but not a lot show up. It's still hot with bugs and so forth but the GOSPEL is so great and brings me such happiness that there is no time to be down with the situation. I really have been the happiest I have been in YEARSS. We don't have the best living circumstances, we walk up mountains to preach the gospel and its sooo hott. BUT its the best

Donovan cutting the coconut :)

experience of my LIFE! and I know it is because of the happiness that the gospel brings me. I have really gotten to know my Savior on a more personal level. He is so great mom. I read this morning (in personal study) the introduction and the testimonies of the witnesses. I then read Joseph Smith's account. It was the coolest thing to read!!! It really helped me to have a better understanding and actually know that this book is TRUE. The Lord is so loving to give us the Book of Mormon. I thank him every day for the tools that we have. I was thinking about this this morning. When I get back home, I want to get new Books of Mormon and read them one by one. When I am done with one Book of Mormon I will put it on my shelf and begin another. I want to do that throughout my life. President Brown gave me a great idea as well. He said that due to all of the driving he does, he listens to the Book of Mormon CD's in the car. He said that by doing that he can read the Book of Mormon in one week!! How cool is that?! I want to do a study with dad, or even with the family, by us all reading the Bible. That would be great. Talk about the knowledge we will gain!! woohoo! It's great.

You cut part of the shell off of the coconut and
use that to eat the jelly on the inside. 

The teaching and the training is going very good. Sister Mundle is so great. She wants to become the missionary that Heavenly Father sees her becoming. I JUST LOVE HER. She grew up with Sister Bailey so we are definitely making plans for after the mission for the 3 of us to get together.

This was a crazy experience this week. We were in Wendy's and we saw this homeless guy. He came up to us and said "oh, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! I went to that church every Sunday in California but I killed a man back in 19** (I don't remember the date he said ) because he murdered my sister so they brought me back to Jamaica." He was trying to get some food in Wendy's and they kept kicking him out. People were laughing and making fun of him. It was SO SAD to see...so I gave him the rest of my french fries and walked out. But other than that everything has been fine and my finger will soon be healed :)

Also.. I forgot to mention to you.. the only reason why I used my home card was because I actually lost my church card on my way to Montego Bay (from all the airports and the transition) so I had to call the office and they are ordering me a new card. I won't get that until next week so they said they will put money on Sister Schwendimans card. So hopefully we will get that today but if not I will use the home card only when necessary. Sorry about that.

LOVE YOU MOTHER AND TELL DAD THAT I LOVE HIM AS WELL! AND THE REST OF THE FAMILY! HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK! STAY SAFE, BE HEALTHY AND HAPPPPPPYYYYYYYY!!!!! I will take my meds don't worrrryy about me mom I will be fine!! LOVE YOUUU MY FAMMILLLYYY!!!

-Sis Judd

Hand washing at our apartment! woohoo!

Our washing machine,  and where we hang out things to dry!

How they wash their clothes down pon de riva.

This is how narrow the roads are here. See the edge of the cliff to my left?

 I had to wait for a while til all the cars drove passed for me to go. 

No railings... no nuttin.

A goat!! in the road. They roam around just like this. 

 They always run when we come.

 Banana spiders as we make our hike up to our appointments!

They are everywhere!