Great Week!

1. my bouncy ball bounced up on top of the closet, so I had to climb up and get it. ;)
2. Us. We ate brownies and ice cream!
Hermana Christiansen, me, Hermana Robinson, and Hermana Fairbanks
3. #lashermanasdepergamino or in english #thesistersofpergamino It is super fun!

Well, we had a pretty great week! Everyone is doing well and I am super happy to be a missionary here! Maria is doing awesome! We went and visited her and she said that she is reading the scriptures and praying every day! She said that one day her mom was feeling really sad and didn't know what to do. Maria went to her house, got out the gospel principles book and started reading about the family. Then she went back and shared it with her mom and her mom felt a lot better. She is already helping other people! She is the best. We invited Pablo to really kneel down and pray to know if the chuch is true. If he decides to do it, I know he will receive an answer. We will see if he has the desire to know. :)

We found Amalia! She is going through some really tough stuff. She is trying to redo her house and her niece moved in with three little kids and it is really hectic, so she hasn't been doing very well at stoping smoking. But we told her that she can do it! We had english classes this week and her two sons came and then they played with the other kids, so maybe if we can help her sons have the desire to come to church, she will also have the desire. We will see. :)

Finally, we found a new family this week! Their names are Cesar and Eli. They have 5 kids..i think, but all of them are grown up, except for their little girl that is like 10. They are super awesome people. But they have had a hard life. Two years ago, Cesar and their son Nahuel were driving in the car...and they got jumped. The people killed their son and Cesar lost an eye. It was VERY hard for them. They are still suffering from the loss. It is so hard to deal with things like this if you don't have the gospel. They believe very firmly that Nahauel is in a better place now...but they don't understand why they have to keep suffering during this life. We were able to talk to them a lot about the plan of salvation and the atonement of Jesus Christ. Only through Jesus they can get over this super hard trial. Jesus understands exactly how they feel and He can help them. I really hope we can keep helping them. :) Also the hermanas from centro are staying with us in our house because they got kicked out of their apartment...so we are helping them out with everything and hopefully they will be all moved in by next week! Thank you for all your love and prayers! I love you all!

Love,
Hermana Wood :)

The Atonement

Wow, I learned a lot this week. We had some awesome experiences and we had some really sad experiences. I'll start with something happy. This week, on March 3, 2015, Andres turned 65!! He lives alone, so Hermana Cerna and I made a cake and put a huge candle in the middle and went to his house and sang happy birthday to him!! He started crying and said that he had been all alone and that he was so happy that we remembered and that he loves us. It was so touching and I was so glad to be a missionary and to help him feel loved. :)

Our hunt for menos activos has once again been a success! We found a menos activo named Estela. She has been inactive for about 11 years. She has a daughter named Sheila and she has 18 years. Her mom went inactive right before she turned 8, so she was never baptized in the church. However, Estela has a super strong testimony that this is the true church and the only way we can live with our Heavenly Father again. We talked about how the gospel gives us clarity and purpose in our lives and we asked Sheila is she wants to be baptized, and she started crying and said yes!! No one has ever asked her to be baptized. She is so humble and so ready. She is so great. We are super excited!!!!!

But something really sad happened just after that. We had an appointment right after this lesson with Sheila with Jorge. They live on complete opposite sides of Cañada. We were so happy and full of the spirit when we left Sheila's house. We knew that we wouldn't make it to Jorge, so we called a taxi and payed $50 pesos to get to Jorge. We were so excited to see him. Earlier that day, we had started planning for his baptism this upcoming Saturday. We made invitations and the program and everything. I had all the faith in the world that he was going to be baptized this week. But...we got to his house and he was drunk. :( my whole world fell. I felt so sad. I couldn't believe that he had made so much progress, and then he threw it away and drank again. I felt all my faith leave me. I was so sad. When we got home, I just prayed and prayed. I wanted to know how this could happen. I was so sure that he would be able to overcome this trial and be baptized.

The next day, we had a service project for Jorge. All the members came to his house and helped cut his grass. As we were helping him, I felt such a strong love for him. I realized that my faith had all been centered in him. I had faith that he, alone, could overcome this trial. I realized that I only should have faith in my Savior, Jesus Christ. Honestly, Jorge can't overcome this trial alone. The only way he can do it is through our Savior. I learned this week I only need to have faith in Jesus Christ, and He will make all things possible. I know that the atonement is real and that Jesus Christ knows us personally. He knows how Jorge feels and how to help him overcome. He also knows how I feel, as a representative of Him, and how to help the people that have confidence in me to receive revelation from my Heavenly Father specifically for them. I have a big responsability, but I know that through my Savior, everything is possible. I love you all so much and I hope you have a great week!

Love,
Hermana Wood :)