WEEK 2

Dear Mom,

This week flew by! I learn so much every day and I'm just trying to retain it all. We have officially learned everything I learned with my three years of Spanish, so now I have to study even more to make sure I still understand what is going on. I'm very grateful I took Spanish.

This week was great. We have been teaching our teachers. Haha, that sounds so funny. Our teachers pretend to be investigators that they have taught or have known in the past and we teach them discussions. Then they turn back into our teachers and tell us what we did wrong. It's kind of funny, but it is going pretty well. My companion, Hermana Leavitt, and I committed two investigators to baptism this past week! It was crazy to feel the love Heavenly Father has for these people. If I feel this good about teaching my teacher, I can't even imagine how amazing it will be to teach a real-live person. We are starting TRC tomorrow, which is a program that the MTC has come up with. We get new investigators and it is role play too, but some of the investigators are real. It kind of scares me, but I know that the Lord will help us. We will always be inadequate until do our part and then leave it all to the Lord. He knows that person and will teach them through the spirit.

I sang in the choir this week. We sang, "Hurrah for Israel." The choir director explained to us that we, as missionaries, are gathering the 10 tribes of Israel. They are everywhere and they are waiting for us and we need to find them. If we listen to the spirit, then He will guide us and direct us. John H. Groberg, the author of "The Other Side of Heaven", came and taught us about bearing our testimonies. It doesn't have to be over the pulpit on Sunday. We can bear our testimonies by:

1. What we say

2. What we do

3. What we sing

4. What we pray

5. What we write

6. Who we are

Bear your testimony through everything you do. I promise you will help someone around you. Thomas S. Monson said, "You can't measure the influence of good."

I love you!

Love,

Hermana Wood :)

WEEK 1

Dear Mommy,

I can't believe I am here at the MTC and that it has already been a week!!! It is so amazing and I am so glad that I made the decision to serve a mission. I am so excited to continue to learn and progress in the gospel and in Spanish. I live on West Campus because everyone here is learning Spanish. All we do is talk in Spanish. My teacher has never said a word in English to us, unless we ask him what a word means. It is crazy of how quickly my life has changed for the better. I am so glad that I am here! I am very glad that I took three years of Spanish. They are definitely coming in handy.

We go to three classes a day. I love when we have personal scripture and companion study. I learn so much from the scriptures, pamphlets, preach my gospel, and all the other tools they have given us here to learn from. We also go to two devotionals a week. They have both been awesome!! I sang in the choir for the Tuesday devotional. We were broadcasted to all the other MTCs across the world! We sang, "Lead Kindly Light" with the choir from the main campus and us. I also saw a tons of people that I know from Davis High! I saw Sister Linford, Seour Nelson, Elder Oldham, Sister Jordan, Elder Wilcox, Seour Watkins, Sister Southwick, Hermana Palmer, Elder Martineau, Sister Mackelprang, and lots others. It was so great to see all these amazing people that decided to serve missions! I'm so glad that all my friends are so great. I look up to all of them so much. :)

At the devotional, Sister Ellis, the wife of a seventy, gave the most amazing summary of missionary work:

Faith=Power

Obedience=Price

Love=Motive

The Spirit=Key

Christ=Reason

Joy=Reward

There you have it. Missionary work in twelve words. It was so powerful and I know there is a lot I have to do on my part to have the best experience I can, but I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for being so merciful and helping us. He let's us labor with Him, and He lets us feel the amazing reward that comes from it. That is definitely the most powerful thing I have learned here so far.

We have already started teaching people completely in Spanish. The woman we are teaching right now is named Cynthia. It was so hard and crazy! I felt so inadequate. As we got to talking to here, she told me that her grandma was sick and that she was really worried about what would happen to her. I told her in my broken Spanish that my grandpa was sick too and that it was really hard. I testified that families are eternal and she started crying. I am so grateful for the spirit to make up for what I cannot say in words. I am so grateful for my family and friends for the love and support I have already received. I know this gospel is true and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else!

Love,

Hermana Wood :)

First Letter Home

My dearest Mama,

I know exactly how Mallory feels. All they say here is 'Speak your language, speak your language!' We have to use every word we know in Spanish when we are talking. We have to ask for permission to speak in English. It's crazy and awesome. I've only been here for two full days and I have already learned to say prayers and testify in Spanish. We are teaching our first lesson this evening all in Spanish, so wish us luck! It is the most incredible feeling to be able to talk to our Padre Celestial in Spanish. Just knowing that He is the same and that you can talk to Him in any language and He will answer you with the Holy Ghost is so amazing to know.

My companion is Hermana Leavitt. I thought it was funny because I know Elder Leavitt up on Main Campus. She is the exact opposite of me. Surprise. She gets nervous and is a lot quieter than me, but she loves to get stuff done. Our studies are getting better because we are trying very hard to see each others points of view. But it's okay! I am definitely learning to love her and see her the way Heavenly Father sees her. She is from the North part of Las Vegas.

I love all food. It is so good. We are on West Campus, so we don't have as many options as there are on Main Campus, but it is good. They served halibut the first night and tilapia the next night. Pretty fancy. They also have sack lunches you can take back to your apartment with you after gym time. You have to be in missionary clothes to go into the cafeteria. But you can grab a sack lunch in your workout clothes and go home. I think they are a great inventions, but Hermana Leavitt doesn't...so we have to compromise. I'm really good at that. Haha

It's like 5-10 minutes to get to wherever you want on West Campus. It's really nice because they have this shaded area with a creek and nice grass in the middle. It is awesome to study there.

Yup, I'm all moved in! I left some stuff in my bags because I don't need it but it's all good.

Well, I don't want to complain...pero si. Those toothbrushes are killing my gums. I would love other toothbrushes that are better quality so that I can actually brush my teeth. And Hermana Leavitt needs a unicorn. Haha not really.

My p-day is on Wednesday, so I will e-mail you then. I'm really excited for that . Oh, I remembered another thing I would love a pair of long basketball shorts because tight exercise pants are sort of against the rules. But it's okay if you can't find any. The Elders have me playing volleyball during exercise time, and I'm actually doing really good. It's a ton of fun! We are super close as a district. There are 4 Hermanas and 6 Elders. I live with Hermana Sheppard and Hermana Christianson. We all get along really well and have a lot of fun. The Elders are Elder Slavens, Manning, Jackson, Bluth, Frandson, and Nord. It's awesome!

So we have a pretty great schedule:

6:15 Wake Up and Shower

7:30 Breakfast

8:00 Class/Teach

11:35 Gym Time

12:55 Lunch

1:40 Class/Teach/Personal Study

5:20 Dinner

6:05 Class/Teach

9:00 Planning

10:30 Bed

It's awesome. It really isn't all that bad. I have learned so so much already! I can already teach in Spanish! (I started this letter but I'm finishing it a different day, so I have now taught Cynthia twice. It was awesome! I'll give details in my e-mail. I have no idea how Taylor wrote me a 10 page letter.) I am beyond grateful to be here and to be la misionaria a la iglesia de Jesu Cristo de los Santos de los Ultimos dias. I am a representative of Jesus Christ and I will bring the world His truth. When we sing the Army of Helaman song, we sing "and we are now the Lord's missionaries." I loved it and I cried. I love you so much and I love everyone! I will write everyone on Wednesday.

Love,

Hermana Wood:)