September 29, 2010 ~ Je suis arrive!

Cher tout le monde,
Yesterday was the longest day of my life! Well it was actually longer than a day haha. I was awake for a solid 30 hours! I only slept a couple hours at the most on the plane but I thought I would be ok because I heard that new missionaries usually stay at the mission home the first night and they're allowed to go to bed early. That's what I was planning on, but that didn't happen haha. President Carter and the APs met us as soon as we got off the plane. President Carter is awesome! He's super nice and is so excited about the work here. I got to drive with him to the chapel where we had dinner with all of us bleus (in French, the term for a new missionary is "blue" not "green", so I'm a "bleu" not a "vert") and all the trainers. They usually do this at the mission home but they've never had so many bleus so they had to do it at the stake center! During the drive to the stake center, President Carter told us that we would all be leaving that night (we arrived at noon) and a few would be leaving at 1:30 - not what I expected! So after the meal and interviews, President Carter announced who our trainers would be and what area we would be serving in. So here it is! My trainer is Elder Blosil (he went to Orem High) and we are serving in Nice!!! We left right after he made all the announcements and hopped on a train for Nice around 2 p.m. We stopped at Marseilles to grab some food and change trains. We ate at the Mcdonald's in the train station and talked to a few people. We talked with an older man who spoke English, but he's from France. The first thing he said was that we have four wives haha. It's amazing that even on the other side of the world this seems to be common knowledge. Then we talked to a man who we think was from Paris - he couldn't decide if he was from Paris or Germany haha. But we talked to them about the church, gave them a pass along card, and then caught our next train. We finally got to Nice close to 11 p.m. We took a little train thing similar to trax to get to close to our apartment, then we had to walk another mile or so to get there. There are some interesting people out and about at night in Nice, that's for sure. We got to our apartment around midnight and finally got to sleep around 1 in the morning! So here I am in an internet cafe in Nice. I'm super tired but I'm SO excited to be here! I love Elder Blosil! I can already tell that I'm really lucky to have him as my trainer. He speaks French 24/7, as does everyone else in France, so it looks like I'm going to be learning quickly. Everyone has told me that the work in Nice has been very successful recently. There are 8 Elders in this area which is almost unheard of in our mission. The mission as a whole has improved a ton over the last year. The President told me that in the last year, the number of missionaries serving in this mission has been cut almost in half, but baptisms have about doubled. That's so awesome! Elder Blosil told me there were about 150 missionaries when he was born (when he came to the field, which was 18 months ago) and right now there are 60 something. So that means about 25% of us are bleu right now because our shipment was so big. Elder Blosil and I are in the same apartment as Elders Dorton and Call. I'm way excited about that because four Elders in an apartment is rare and because Elder Dorton was in my district in the MTC so we're already great friends. This morning I unpacked a bit and we had our studies. I haven't been this tired in a long time haha, but I know the Lord will bless me with strength as I strive to serve Him - especially when I'm dead tired! Today is sort of a half P day, but after we get some shopping done we're going to visit some investigators and less active members. This is the real deal!!! This isn't the MTC, these are real people now - real people who need someone to help them come unto Christ and receive the Restored Gospel. That's my purpose as a missionary. Pretty amazing, isn't it? I can't believe I'm on a mission and I have this opportunity to help people find true happiness! This is definitely going to be the hardest thing I've ever done, but I have confidence in the promise made in Moroni 7:33. After being in the field for about a day, I've realized the importatnce of faith in Missionary work. Missionary work is quite intimidating, especially when you can barely understand what people are saying! But fear is the opposite of faith. Faith is a principle of action and power. It's the hope and belief that your actions will bring about the desired results. I'm going to need a lot of faith these next few months! I know I'll be afraid at times to talk to people in French, but if I don't try, do I really have faith? Do I really trust that I can do all things with the Lord? I hope I will never lose this vision or get discouraged during my training, but that I will do all I can to learn and rely on the Lord to make up for my weaknesses. And I know that He can do that. I know that it is through the Lord that we are made strong in whatever we do! I'm so stoked to jump right into the work! Like I said, we have some appointments tonight, and we're also going to Monaco to teach the Bishop's son on Friday. I'm going to Monaco! Crazy. The Bishop lives there and owns a restaurant there. Elder Blosil said we're going to eat there and that the missionaries get to eat in the VIP room haha. How awesome is that? But anyways, the Bishop's son's name is Eduardo. He's 18 and he's a member, but he's less active. He has some word of wisdom problems and doesn't go to church because he likes to party all night and then doesn't want to wake up for church. He goes to an international school and speaks English as well as French. I'm super excited to meet him and help him. Well we've got to go do some shopping now. Oh by the way, P day is Monday, so that's when you'll get e-mails. Elder Blosil said people usually send him letters through the mission office, but that takes about a week longer for us to receive. So if you want to send directly to me, here's my address:
Les Missionaires/Elders
143 boulevard de Cessole
5ème étage
Nice
06100

Je vous aime! Ciao!
-Elder Tudor

September 24, 2010

Salut! I just got my "leaving the MTC haircut" and that was quite the experience. I've never had anyone cut my hair without using scissors, neither has anyone ever used a vaccum to clean my head. It's not too bad though! I was a little worried because there was no mirror for me to see what was going on up there haha. This week has been pretty exciting because we're so close to leaving! We got to be hosts this week. It was strange hosting new missionaries because it feels like that was me only a few days ago. Both of the missionaries I hosted were from Orem, but one went to Mt. View and one went to Orem so I didn't know them. It's funny to see people get dropped off because some families don't even get out of their car to say goodbye to their son while some stand there for 15 minutes bawling. It was interesting! We also had a health meeting that to help us stay healthy in the field (and yes mom, I am healthy). That was a bizarre experience, I think we talked about diarrhea for 45 minutes of that hour. I guess that's a big concern! I can't believe the MTC is almost over. I feel like I just got here! I love this place. I love my district - I feel like they're my brothers! It's going to be hard to leave all of them. I travel with all of them except for the two that are going to Cote D'Ivoire, they leave Monday afternoon and fly straight from SLC to Paris, then to Cote D'Ivoire. It's hard to sum up my MTC experience in this limited time, but I think the main thing I've learned here is that a mission is about love. As I learn more and more about the Gospel and the Atonement and realize how it has blessed my life, I just want everyone to have it! When I think about what life would be like without this knowledge, I just feel horrible. I don't want anyone to feel that! I want them to know that Heavenly Father knows them and loves them, and that he's given us the way to find true happiness! And that way is His Son, Jesus Christ, and his Atonement and his Gospel. Now that I'm leaving to France, I pray that I will always have this desire to bring people the truth, that I will always have Faith and Confidence in the Lord, and that I will always commit my whole self to the work. Most of all, I pray that the Spirit will be with me so it can touch the hearts of the people I meet. I love all of you so much and I'm so thankful for all of your support! It means so much to me. Dieu soit avec vous!

Much love,
Elder Tudor

September 17, 2010

Bonjour tout le monde!
We got our travel plans yesterday! It's pretty close to what I guessed last week, but here's the real deal: on the 27th we leave SLC at 9:45 a.m. arrive in ATL at 3:40 p.m., leave ATL at 5:50 p.m. and arrive in Paris at 8:10 a.m. (on the 28th), leave Paris at 10:25 a.m. and arrive at Toulouse at 11:45 a.m.! Only ten days now! It's hard to imagine leaving the MTC, it hasn't real hit me yet that I'll be in France soon! So there are my travel plans.This week we taught the Plan of Salvation and the Word of Wisdom in the TRC, en Francais. My first week here I would have never thought I could teach the Plan of Salvation in French - it's hard enough in English! The gift of tongues is real. I'm starting to be able to express myself a lot better and I can find a way to say whatever I want to say almost every time. It's pretty awesome! My teacher, Frere Drean, said I'll most likely have the language basically down after 3 months in the field and definitely by 4 months. It's weird to think about that now, and I'm sure it will be even harder to believe my first couple weeks in France, but I have Faith that if I put forth the effort the Lord will help me get there. This week an Elder in our district went home. We were all in shock for a day or so, but we're glad he made the right decision. That really opened my eyes and made me realize just how lucky I am to be on a mission! My time at the MTC has taught me that the Gospel is truly for everyone. God's plan for us is perfect. I know that I won't be converting anyone in France, but the Spirit will! When people learn the Gospel, it just makes sense to them! And I know that when people learn its principles and apply them in their lives, they will feel the Spirit and the peace that it brings, and they will be able to know for themselves that it's true through their own experience. Sorry this e-mail is kind of short, I spent most of my time reading e-mails. They'll be better when I'm in the field! I love you all! The Church is true. I testify with all my heart that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, and that without Him we would be hopeless and lost, but with Him, we can have nothing but hope and peace in our lives!

Much love,
Elder Tudor

Finally a Picture!

Bryson's MTC District

September 10 ~ Salut!

Dear Everyone: Many of you have asked about my travel plans, so here you go! I actually don't have them yet, but when I got my visa in San Francisco, my visa information included my flight plans so I got to glance at them. It went something like this: On September 27th, at 9:45 a.m., I fly from SLC to Atlanta, then I fly from Atlanta to Paris, and then Paris to Toulouse. I arrive in Toulouse on the 28th at around 11 or noon, I think. I'm not sure about the layovers. I didn't look at all the times. If I'm doing my math right, they shouldn't be that long though. My district is singing the day before we leave, the 26th, at Mission Conference, so we have plenty of time to better prepare! I've been doing MTC choir, too (which sings at the Tuesday night devotionals) and that is fun. I found out that the MTC choir is singing at General Conference. I'm going to barely miss it!!! I was a little sad about that, but I'd much rather be in France doing the work!I still love learning French. It's such a cool language! It's hilarious to speak it sometimes too, my district and I love speaking in heavy accents. Something as simple as a "Bon!" just makes everyone crack up. I told you everything is funny at the MTC. I'm learning that there are a lot of similar words and phrases that if you say the wrong one, mean something totally different. For example, "la foi" means faith, and "le foi" means liver - yes, one time I said I have liver in God. There are also a lot of things we say in English that mean a totally different thing in French. You can't say "I'm finished" (that would be je suis fini, which means "I'm dead"), in French, you say "I have finished" (j'ai fini). It makes me wonder how many of these exist! They also never say "I'm hot," but they say "I have heat" instead, and I won't explain why here, but you can probably guess. I'm sure I'll make a fool out of myself in the field by saying one of these!I've been pondering a lot lately, especially about Jesus Christ and the Atonement. People often talk of the miracles Christ performed on earth, such as healing the sick and walking on water, but the greatest miracle that He performed, and the greatest miracle that will ever be performed, is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I usually don't think about the Atonement as a miracle, but it truly is the greatest miracle! To think that one man would take upon him all of our sins, sicknesses, afflictions, pains, guilt - EVERYTHING - is truly a miracle and I know I can't even begin to comprehend what He really did for us. But I do know one thing, and that is that He DID do it, and He did it for each one of us! I feel like all of us who have this knowledge have an obligation to use it in our own lives. How could we let this truly amazing act of love go to waste when it is right there before us? I can't wait to help people find the power of the Atonement for themselves and the joy it can bring to their souls!

Love you all,
Elder Tudor

September 3, 2010 ~ ca-va?

Salut! This week flew by! I can't believe It's P day already. I can't believe I'll be in France this month either. I'm enjoying the MTC though! It's basically the same thing every week, which is awesome, but there's not a lot more to say that I haven't already about it. I'm starting to get tired of the food. Eating is like a chore here haha. They feed us too much! Yet I always get back to my room at night and eat all the goodies everyone is sending me... so go figure! We taught the first lesson in French this week at the TRC, and it went really well! I can express myself better every day that I'm here. Hopefully when I get to France, it will sound like they're speaking the same language I'm learning here. We got a new teacher this week, and this is her first time teaching at the MTC (we still have Frere Drean, just not Soeur Redd anymore). Her name is Soeur Altimirano (I think?) and she just got back from her mission to Geneva. She's really good! We were all surprised how good she is because she's new, but she's doing a great job. She can't be more than 4'10", which I think makes her a legal midget. She has great French and I can tell she has a passion for the work. Everyone enjoys it! We have been working on a song as a district the last couple weeks. It's called "I Love the Lord." It's arranged by someone at BYU, and the BYU Men's choir performed it I think. It's to the text of 2 Nephi 4 and the tune of "Be Still My Soul" a cappella. It's an amazing song. We tried out yesterday to see if we could sing it in a devotional or fireside... and we made it! The lady loved us! So we'll be in a fireside or devotional before we leave. We could be performing in front of an Apostle! I'm pretty nervous though because I have a little solo. I grow to love the Gospel more and more the longer I'm here! I love the Book of Mormon, and I know that it's true. Every day I find more ways to apply it to my own life and the lives of others. I don't think anyone could read that book with real intent and claim that it is not the word of God. I know that we can come closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and feel their love for us in our lives if we read it daily! As a missionary, I am so thankful for the Book of Mormon, because it is a testimony that this is the Church of Christ and that we have a prophet on the earth today. I hope you all have a good week! I'm praying for you always. Dieu soit avec vous!

Much Love,
Elder Tudor

August 27, 2010 ~ C'est moi encore

Bonjour tout le monde! I'm still loving the MTC. Elder Holland came this week for devotional and gave an amazing talk, of course. It was very similar to the one he gave in 2002 (I think?), and tell Rob that he did the yelling thing again telling us not to go home, and never waste one second! I thought it was awesome that 8 years later he's still saying that! One of the things that he said that inpsired me the most was, "This is war!" Right then it really hit me what I am doing here. I am literally in the Lord's army. We're in the business of helping people overcome the adversary and come unto Christ! He reminded me that a mission isn't something to do half-heartedly. There are people that the Lord is preparing for me to teach, and if I'm not prepared, I'm not going to be able to it effectively! He made this analogy: which "Russel" of the 12 would you rather have heart surgery from? Nelson or Ballard? Obviously Nelson! He had 20 years of training before he actually performed a heart surgery. I'm glad Elder Holland reminded me that I need to be learning and studying at every opportunity, because I have a responsibility to those people I will teach to be prepared the best I can to help them receive the Gospel. We have "progressing investigators" here at the MTC. They're usually teachers who pick an investigator to be from their own mission, and we can go teach them every week. I love this because it helps focus my personal and companion study on their needs. As we've done this, I've found that by finding how much the Gospel of Jesus Christ can help other people, you truly can realize and appreciate how much you have been blessed by it. I testify that if we forget ourselves and focus on the needs of others, they will feel the Savior's love and we will feel His love like we never could by thinking about ourselves! I'm so thankful to have the opportunity to help others find Christ's love in their own lives and to grow closer to the Savior myself! I love the Lord and trust in him more than anything. I can see His hand in my life every day as I learn here at the MTC. I testify that He will never fail us if we put our faith and trust in him!

Much Love!

Elder Tudor