BAPTISM!!!!!

Wow, when one thing happens, everything happens. We have done so much this week and I am so glad that I was apart of it all. I am going to start with Monday, because there is so much to write.

On Monday, we woke up at 5:00 in the morning, caught the bus, and went to Rosario!!! We were able to go to the Monument for the Flag here in Argentina! It was so beautiful and huge!! I loved it! The best part was we were able to go to the very top of the monument and look over all of Rosario. It was so beautiful! Rosario is huge! The weather was perfect because it was a little overcast, so not a lot of people were there. We were also able to look at the Parana River. I just loved the whole day. It was a much needed 'vacation' and we had so much fun. :)

On Tuesday, we heard some very sad news. Do you all remember the woman named Maria Luisa that was really sick that we were visiting before? We found out that she passed away from her sickness. :( We walked for about an hour and got to the funeral home to go to the viewing. It was veyr sad to see her like that because we honestly have grown to love her so much. :( her whole family was there and we were able to meet some of them. We weren't able to stay for very long because after that Maria had her baptism interview. It went really well and the district leader said she could get baptized on Saturday! On Wednesday, we went to the funeral of Maria Luisa. The cemetery is so different here! Almost all of the graves are above ground. Or they make little houses and put the coffins inside. It was very different. We had a nice service in the morning and then we drove to the cemetery. She was actually buried underground. It was very different from the states because they lowered her into the ground with rope and threw all the dirt on the coffin while we were all watching. It was very drastic and really hard to watch, but I know that we will be able to see her again and now she isn't suffering. My testimony of the plan of salvation grows every day.

On Saturday, we had the baptism of Maria!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) Her whole family and Pablo were able to come to her baptism! It actually went very smoothly and the spirit was very strong. I am so grateful that she made this decision to be baptized. She is setting huge example for her family that I hope they will follow. :)

On Sunday, so many amazing things happened. Maria was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and received the Holy Ghost. She honestly looked so different. She looked so content and peaceful. Everyone commented on how bright she looked and how happy. I loved to see the change. Also on Sunday, the stake president came and changed the bishopric. We have been working with this family the, Branchini family. About two months ago they started coming to church. On Sunday, Hermano Branchini got put in as the first counselor in the bishopric! and they invited us in to listen to the setting apart. It was so awesome to see how ready he was to have this calling and how excited he was to work. I love the change the gospel makes in people'e lives. Missionary work is so rewarding and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Thank you all for your love, prayers, and confidence! I love you all!!

Love,
Hermana Wood :)

And even more rain...

Selfie
Amalia gave us her cigarettes!
KID DAY! All of the other pictures are from this activity.

Well, this week has gone by pretty fast. We had a lot of progress with our investigators this week and we are working toward the baptism this Saturday! Update on Amalia! We were able to visit her this week! We had a super powerful lesson with her. She told us she believes Joseph Smith is a prophet and that is why she accepted the Word of Wisdom! We asked her to stop smoking and she gave us her cigarettes right on the spot! We gave her the program from the church to help her stop smoking and she is very excited. She hasn't stopped completely, but she is smoking a lot less and progressing really well. Yay! Maria is the one that wants to get baptized this Saturday! It is a little sad, because her husband, Pablo, isn't listening very much and isn't ready to be baptized this Saturday. But Maria wants to get baptized, sí or sí, so we are going to help her. She will have her interview today and we will go from there! Wish her luck! Pray for her!

We had a super cute activity this week! Here in Argentina, they celebrate Kid Day. But they celebrate big. We had this super huge activity where all the little kids dressed up and all the adults as well! We dressed up as princesses with wands. But by the end of the night, we had given our crowns away to some cute little girls. We had lots of less actives at the activity and Maria came with her little kids! It was adorable and every time we feel closer to the ward. It is super fun. :)

It has been raining a ton, but thankfully, nothing has happened to us. We are safe and sound. None of the members in our ward got flooded, but many many people did. It is hard to watch the people suffering, but there are so many people that are helping. I am grateful for the service they are giving and I know that they will be blessed. That was my week! Have a great one!

Love,
Hermana Wood

PS we are in Rosario right now because Hermana Christiansen and I are going to go to the Monument here in Rosario!!!! Pictures to come next week!!!

RAIN!!!!!!!!

It has rained SO much this week! I honestly can't believe how much it has rained. There are so many houses that have flooded and so many people that have had to been evacuated. Gratefully, we are doing okay. My umbrella broke, so I bought a new one today. Hermana Christiansen's umbrella got stolen, so she bought a new one too. Not a lot of people came to church on Sunday, because everyone that needs to walk to church couldn't make it through the rain. Maria and Pablo's house didn't flood, but every where around it is flooded, so they didn't come to church. But they told us they were all ready to come and really want to! I hope they can continue to progress and reach their baptism date!

We had interviews with President this week. We had them as a companionship, not individual. We talked about all the goals we have for this month and how we are going to get them. He talked to us a lot about vision, goals, and then plans. You need to start with the vision. What do you want to accomplish in general? Where do you want to get to? And then you make specific goals. How you are going to accomplish the vision. Finally, you make the plan of how you are going to accomplish the goals. It is so important to plan ahead and not just shoot and hope for the best. Heavenly Father is a God of order. He does everything for a reason. I know that this is how He wants us to plan and progress, and I'm glad I am learning this now in my mission.

Like this:
VISION
1.

GOALS
1.
2.
3.

PLANS
1A.
1B.
2A.
2B.
3A.
3B.

The other thing that is important to remember is WHY we do the things we do. For example, in Alma 43:9, it talks about the purpose for why the Nephites were fighting. I only have a book of mormon in spanish, so I'll just write it in spanish. It says, "Ahora bien, el propósito de los nefitas era proteger sus tierras y sus casas, sus esposas y sus hijos, para preservarlos de las manos de sus enemigos; y también preservar sus derechos y sus privilegios, sí, y también su libertad, para poder adorar a Dios según sus deseos." We do these things to protect our families and our freedoms from this world that is going a little crazy. We need to plan now for the future because Satan is working ever harder. I know that we need to be strong and ready to fight for the things we believe in. The gospel gives us the eternal vision necessary to progress. The prophets help us make the goals. Our personal study and prayer allows us to know the plan, the how, in order to accomplish all we need to do. Jesus is what makes it possible. We just need to keep moving forward. No matter what the problem is, we can know the answer. Heavenly Father will always answer our prayers. I know this is His work and we are just instruments in His hands. I am where I am supposed to be and everything I am learning will help me in the future. I love you all!

Love,
Hermana Wood

Good week!

Well, here's to another week! My companion was really sick for a couple days, so we weren't able to work as much as we wanted, but we still visited lots of people and they are progressing a lot!

The people that are progressing the most are Maria and Pablo. They are adorable. We talked a lot with them about the plan of salvation and why we are here on the earth. Background story. Maria has 8 siblings. Her parents and 7 of her siblings are members of the church. A year ago, her parents went to the temple in Buenos Aires and got sealed together and to 6 of her siblings. Maria and Pablo went with them to the temple. Although they couldn't go in the temple, they loved the feeling they had outside the temple. They told us they both have the goal to go to the temple and be sealed as an eternal family with their three children. It was adorable to hear them both say that. I know that families can live together forever! Maria was able to come to church with two of her kids, but Pablo couldn't because his pants weren't dry because they washed them the day before...but he promised us he will come next week. :) We had a good lesson with Mica! She told us she loves the feelings she has when we are talking with her and she is learning about the gospel. However, she said it is hard to motivate herself when we aren't there. So we are trying to help her bring the spirit into her life by reading and praying and coming to church. I hope that she will be able to find the desire and really progress! Her boyfriend, Lucas, is now coming to church all the time, so I hope he will be a good influence on her.

Honestly, we weren't able to do much else this week because my companion couldn't leave her bed. But I learned a lot this week. I read about 200 pages from the book of mormon and I read a lot of Jesus the Christ and Preach my Gospel. I know that this is the true church and it has been restored to this time just for us. I know that Jesus is my brother and my Savior. He loves me and only wants the best for me. I hope you all have a great week!

Love,
Hermana Wood