Monday, October 26, 2015

Week 1

Well, I am here with my new companion, Hermana Cruz! She is from Mexico City, Mexico! She is 22 and the 2nd of 4 children. Her whole family is members and she is super obedient and excited to be here in the mission! We have worked so hard this week and little by little we are seeing the results. We were able to visit lots of menos activos this week. We also recieved about 4 references this week! That means that the members are starting to work and are sharing the gospel! I am super excited about that! One crazy way we found new investigators this week is there was a family and they needed to start their car...but it wouldn't work. They started pushing and pushing the car, but nothing happened. So we offered to help push the car, and magically it started working! :) We are going to visit them this next week. :)

I was able to study my scripture this last week and it really helped me to forget myself and go to work. I thought of a story that I heard here in the mission:

A young man went to the place that makes crosses. The kind owner recieved him warmly and asked him what he was looking for. The young man said he came because his cross was too heavy to bear and he wanted another one. They started walking among the crosses. He saw some that were very small, and other that were gigantic. As he kept walking, he didn't see one that quite fit him. As he rounded the corner, he saw the cross he wanted. It was a little beaten around the edges, medium sized, and perfect for him. He looked at the owner and said, "I found the cross I wanted!" And the owner said, "That was the cross you started with. Now, take up thy cross and follow thou me."

I love this story. Every single one of us has different trials, everyone has a different cross to bear. But every single one of us can take up our own crosses and follow Jesus Christ because He knows how our crosses feel on our backs. He knows how painful it is to put one foot in front of the other, day after day, longing to just sit down on the side of the road and call it quits. That is why the last step in the gospel of Jesus Christ is endure to the end. If Jesus had sat down on the side of the road in the garden of gethsemane, none of us would have the amazing privilige of living with our heavenly father again. We have experiences to learn and grow. I am learning a lot here in the area and I know it is for a reason. I love my mission and I wouldn't trade it for the world! My new scripture is 2 Nephi 25:26. I love you all!!

Love,
Hermana Wood :)

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Crazy Stuff

Wow, so much has changed this week. We had lots of changes. We were waiting for our leaders to call us all week, and they finally did. My companion is going to be a sister training leader and I am going to train!!!!!! I am super excited to receive a new hermana and help her become the person that Heavenly Father wants her to be. Her name is Hermana Cruz, a latina. That is all I know about her. I will meet her tomorrow. :) Wish me luck!

Since my companion left and I will find my companion tomorrow, I am with a different Hermana Cruz and Hermana Zepeda. I am in a trio for 2 days. It is really fun to teach as three and have the spirit just a little bit stronger every time. They received a message this morning that they both have to pack their bags because they are both being transferred to an area in Pergamino tomorrow morning. So after this, we are going to the house and we are going to pack everything that they have up and they are gone tomorrow. There are so many changes in the mission and we never know what will happen. But I know that this is church is directed by revelation and everything happens for a reason.

My scripture from last week I learned so much. I really was able to get to know my Heavenly Father more through His fruits. His greatest fruits are agency, His son, Jesus Christ, and our church. He loves us so much and He has given us everything we need in order to become as He is, a God, one day. He is the best. :)

My new scripture is in Matthew 16:24-25. It is amazing that that's what I feel like I am doing in my mission. He will help me every step of the way. I love my mission and everything that I am doing and learning! Thank you for all your love and prayers!! Have an amazing week!

We taught the primary this week and gave everyone name tags. So cute!
We took this picture this morning. They are the best!

Love,
Hermana Wood :)

Monday, October 12, 2015

Great Week!

We had a super normal, awesome week! We were able to teach a lot of people and I am loving every moment!

We were able to teach Martín this week! He is so smart and he really has the desire to learn more. He came to the church with information about his great-grandparents in order to do family history! and we also taught him the plan of salvation and he really understood it well. He also watched 4 of the 5 sessions of general conference in his house! He just needs to come to church on Sunday in order to progress more.

We found a couple that we are excited to teach. They are Lilia and Omar. They are in their 60`s are really open to talking to us. They let us in their house and showed us all the photos of their kids and grand kids and great grand kids. The family is the most important for them. We left them with a pamphlet to read..so hopefully they will read and we will go back to teach them. :)

We met a lot with the Flia. Llancafil this week. They are the best! We felt very inspired to make a timeline from now until 2033 in order to help them see what is really coming in the future. We put big goals, such as when their daughter is going to be baptized, when they want to get sealed in the temple, when they want to move, their 10 year anniversary, things like that. It helped them a lot to see the big picture and what they need to do NOW in order to obtain their goals. I remember when my daddy sat down with me and did the same thing for me, and I loved it because I knew what my daddy expected of me and the goals that he had for me, like when I was going to enter young women's, start dating boys, graduate from high school, everything. I am grateful for the example of my parents. :)

This week we ate lunch with members and we ate cow heart!!!!! But they didn't tell us what it was until after we ate it. But...I hate to say that it was delicious. :)

This Sunday in our ward we had a change in bishopric! Our bishop served for 7 years and now we have a new one! His name is Bishop Lescano. He is super humble and loving and I think he will be an excellent bishop here in Echesortu.

I love the mission and everything I am learning! I learned so much from my scripture this last week, Omni 1:26. I learned that they only way we can be saved, spiritually or physically, is through Jesus Christ. He loves us and knows us individually. He is there for us always, no matter what we are going through. My scripture this week is 3 Nephi 14:20. I already have it memorized... ;) We will see how the ponderizing goes.

I love you all!
Love,
Hermana Wood :)

Monday, October 5, 2015

CONFERENCE!!!!

Hermana Bushman and Hermana Zepeda came to stay with us to watch the conference. :) Good times.

Fotos from our district meeting :)

Wow, we had a great week! We are really seeing the miracles here. I will tell one highlight day from our week and then I will talk about conference. :) On Thursday, Hermana Zanni, the wife our our mission president, decided to accompany us to all our lessons that day!!! It was amazing to be with her and teach with her! We were able to teach lots of people. We taught Hortencia, the menos activa of 30 years. She really felt the spirit and she said, "Wow, who knows. You guys might just get me to come to church." Haha, it was awesome. For her, that is a ton of progress. We read 2 Ne. 31:20-21. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way we can live with Heavenly Father again. I love her!

Then we taught an investigator! Martin! He is about 30 and about a month ago, he randomly walked into the church and said he wanted to learn more. We tried and tried to find him, but we never could. On Thursday we found him! We taught him the gospel of Jesus Christ and invited him to be baptized. He said yes! We are excited for him! I hope we can keep finding him and teaching him. :)

Then we were able to teach Paula with Hermana Zanni. She is like 25 and she is coming back to church. We taught her the restoration and she started crying. Something I loved that Hermana Zanni said was, "I didn't ask if Joseph Smith was a prophet. I ask my Heavenly Father if He really showed himself to a 14 year old boy and called him to be His prophet. And God responded and said yes." It was very powerful and different from anything I have ever done. I loved it! It was an amazing day. Now for the conference. :)

Wow, I have no idea where to start. I loved it all. I was very blessed to be able to watch it all in English with the other missionaries from the states. The spirit was very strong and I received lots of answers to my prayers. I loved that all the apostles, prophet, and the other leaders were in sink. Everyone taught about the same, basic principles. Faith, repentence, baptism, the holy ghost, and enduring to the end. This is the doctrine of Jesus Christ. It is the path that Heavenly Fathe has given to us to be successful in this life. And it is all centered on the atonement of Jesus Christ.

I loved the testimonies of the three new apostles, Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevensen, and Dale G. Renlund. They were so basic and so simple. The scripture in D&C 1 really descibes them. I am so grateful for prophets, seers, and revelators today.

I think my favorite talks were by Russell M. Nelson and David G. Durrant. I learned what kind of woman I need to be in these last days. A woman that is strong and willing to stand up for what she believes in. We also learned that the largest group of investigators are the children. We need to listen to the spirit and act on the promptings. I also loved PONDERIZE. Haha, he was so proud of his new word. But it is a great idea. This week I chose Omni 1:26. I am going to ponderize it this week and I will tell you more about it next week. :)

Our other miracle this week is after the Saturday conference, we visited the Flia. Llancafil to see why they didn't come to church. We went in and started the priesthood session for them to watch and invited them to come to the sessions on Sunday. AND THEY CAME! Yay! We were so excited! Yesica and Esteban both came. I love the changed we can see in the people when they accept the gospel in their lives. It was an amazing week and amazing conference! Everyone please pray for Thomas S. Monson so that he can have the strength to keep going. He is called of God and Jesus Christ is leading our church today! I love you all!

Love,
Hermana Wood :)

We also had zone conference with Presidente Zanni. So much stuff happened this week that I completely forgot. We learned a lot about Preach my Gospel and the importance of reading it every day and focusing on our investigators. It was great!