Have Noche de Hogar!! (Family Night)

Our House

This week has gone by so fast! It goes so much faster when you have lots of activites planned and have lots of people to teach!

In this area, Hermana Christiansen and I have been focusing on having lots of Noches de Hogar! That is family night. We have had noche de hogar with active members, part member families, less actives, and investigators! I love feeling the spirit with the families and helping them progress as a family, not individually. Heavenly Father's plan is not that each of us individually makes it to the celestial kingdom...His plan is that the FAMILIES make it to the celestial kingdom, dressed with all the covenants and ordinances necessary that are only found in the temple. When you have this perspective, it makes it a lot easier to help others and love them. All you want for them is to progress. We have about 3 or 4 noches de hogar every week.

This week, we had an awesome noche de hogar with the Familia Vega. They are an active family, but they are struggling to do the little things, like praying and reading the scriptures every night. We shared 3 Nephi 4:10. It talks about how the nephites won the battles. I would write it down...but I only have my spanish scriptures, so not many people would understand it. Basically it talks about putting God before everything and you will go with the strength of God into battle. I know that the scriptures are for us and every single scripture can be applied to our lives.

We also had a noche de hogar with the Familia Fusco and the Familia Bonavita. The familia Bonavita is trying to come back to church and the familia Fusco is their friend that is helping them. This noche de hogar was super fun because we talked about how to share the gospel. Our mission president gave us the great idea to teach the members how to be missionaries! We teach them the mission lessons and help them practice. It is lots of fun and I love hearing the testimonies of all the members. It is awesome!

Then...on Saturday, Hermana Christiansen got really sick and we didn't leave all day. So...I finished the Book of Mormon..again. :) The biggest thing I learned is that miracles come through faith. There are miracles everywhere. Honestly, if a person has faith in Jesus, miracle will happen. I know that if we can have faith, the miracle will come. I have seen so many miracles here on my mission, and I know that if I can keep the faith, they will continue to come.

After church yesterday, we had a noche de hogar with the Familia Branchini. They were less active as well, but now they are coming to church. However, they have two old sons that don't live at home anymore and aren't coming to church. They were there Sunday, so we were able to have the noche de hogar with them. They also both brought their girlfriends, who aren't members. Best noche de hogar ever! We taught the restoration and both of the girlfriends accepted the invitation to be baptized! I love when God puts amazing people in our path. The cutest thing was when Hermano Branchini said to his sons, "And you can both prepare so that you will be able to baptize your girlfriends!" So cute! I hope that we can help all of them progress.

Also, this week was independence day here in Argentina! 9 de Julio! We had a super big primary activity in the stake and Carmelo, Susana, and Maria all came with all their little kids. It was so great to see them there! Everyone is doing super awesome and I love the growth that is happening here! All of the members are becoming more involved and happier to help with the Lord's work. I love being a missionary and I am super excited to see what else happens! I love you all!

Love,
Hermana Wood

Be Strong!

Happy 4th of July from Argentina!

Oh, I totally forgot what we did this morning! We went with the other hermanas and we ate waffles!!! And smoothies!!! It was absolutely delicious and lots of fun!

The Relief Society celebrated my birthday!

Susana, Estefania, and Mailen

And we 'milked' an alfajor. That means that you suck milk through the alfajor. It didn't work very well, but it was delicious.

This week we were able to work a lot and we found lots of people that we haven't seen in while! We were able to find Susana AND Carmelo! It was super great to see them. Carmelo is pretty stressed out about work and money and things like that, so he was a little distant...but I hope that we can help him. Susana is doing well! She is reading and praying every day. She always loves to listen and learn more about the gospel. They are still waiting to have more money to start the papers to get married, so it is just a waiting game. It is hard, but I know we just have to put it in the hands of the Lord and He will make everything right.

We found Amalia!! It has been forever. She was super sick, she was in bed for 15 days straight. However, that gave her a LOT of free time, and she started reading the Book of Mormon! She is about half way done. We taught her about the plan of salvation, and she loved it. Her husband passed away about 3 years ago, and she found a lot of peace to know that her husband is okay and that she will see him again. I was able to share my testimony of the plan of salvation because I know that I will see my grandpa again and that we will be a family forever. I love teaching her because she accepts everything so easily. It's like she already knew it. I love it. :)

Silvina had her baby! So we are finally going to be able to teach her this week.

And Maria. First off, we were able to talk to her and with her husband and her husband wants to be baptized as well! We are excited for them to progress bother. But..Satan works so hard. When the investigator makes the decision and truly wants to be baptized with a date and everything, he starts working. First off, we were going to have a family night with her and her cute family this week, but her little baby got a bad ear infection, so they couldn't leave. Then Sunday in the morning..her dad had two heart attacks and passed out twice. They took him really fast to the hospital and they started helping him. They think he has a clogged artery. They told us it was super scary and obviously that is the reason they didn't come to church. It is very difficult.

On a fun note, we did lots of other stuff this week! We helped paint a house! It was lots of fun. We also had divisions this week. I was with Hermana Robinson. We came to our area so that we could use the bikes...but she is about as tall as I am and she didn't reach the pedals on Hermana Christiansen's bike...so we walked. I actually felt pretty good! What a blessing! I hope that everything will keep getting better and I will be able to walk normal. That will be a great day. We also had the 4th of July! Haha, we actually had to stay in the pench in the afternoon because there was a soccer game. Argentina vs. Chile. But...Argentina lost. So..that was kind of bummer. They went into penalties and everything. Maybe some day we will beat them. ;) The relief society also had a fun activity and they celebrated all the birthdays of the people in June! So they celebrated my birthday! That was awesome!

And good luck to all my friends that are ending their mission this week! I literally can't believe it has been two years! You are all awesome!

Love,
Hermana Wood :)

Go Acevedo!

This week was super long because we were trying to help Maria get to her baptism date...but Satan was working really hard this week. Background on Maria. She is 23 years old. She offically got married in January of this year. She has three little kids and they are all from her husband. She got married so that she could get baptized, but then she didn't have time to go to church because her littlest kid was born and he had complications with his birth. But now, she has everything under control and she wants to come to church and get baptized. So we were super excited and trying to get everything ready...but her mom stepped in. It was a little interesting. Her mom is a member as well. But she said she wants Maria to more consistently go to church and have a really strong testimony before she gets baptized. Obviously, that makes sense. So we told Maria to pray about when she should get baptized. She didn't tell us the answer in time this week in order to get her interview done, but she told us she really wants to get baptized and that she is ready to do everything to get baptized. We are super grateful that she feels this desire so strong to make these covenants with God. So we were waiting for her at church...but there was a HUGE storm Sunday and she gets to church by walking. And she can't walk in the rain and thunder with her three little kids, so she wasn't able to make it to church. But we are going to visit her this week and hopefully wihin the next couple weeks she will be baptized. :)

We haven't been able to find Carmelo for a very long time because now he works all the time. Susana is a little discouraged because she can't be baptized until they get married, but Carmelo doesn't have any time. I am learning how important families really are. If you and your husband and wife aren't on the same page, no one is happy. Neither of them can progress without the other. The family and marriage is ordained of God. It is super important. :) You can pray for them both.

We have been visiting lots of people that are less active...but not because they want to be less active. There are lots of members here that are old and sick and literally can't leave their houses. It is so sad to see them suffering and being sick. Imagine someone old that is sick and times it by 5. And Argentina is about 60 years behind the united states medical wise. And most people's children here don't support their parents when they are old. It is super hard to see the people. But I really feel the love that Jesus feels for them. I know He is aware of them.

Here is just one example from this week. On Thursday, we met this woman named Maria Luisa. She has been confined to her bed for the last two years and will be until she dies. When she was younger, all she did was serve the Lord and the people around her. She is a very good person. She feels very sad to have to end her life because of the awful sickness she has that the doctors can't cure here. We were just talking to her and we told here that everything would be okay and that she was a daughter of God. And she just started crying. Without even thinking, I immediately got up from my chair and started stroking her hair. I wiped away her tears. I told her it is okay to cry. She was so grateful that we came because she told us we were sent directly from God. I loved that experience and the love I felt for this woman I have never met in my life. I love being in the Lord's hands and doing what He would do if He were here.

Fun part of the week. I was trying to ride my bike, like I always do..and I ran into a barbwire fence. I have a really nice scar now.

Love you all!
Love,
Hermana Wood

We moved!

Well...we finally moved!!! We are living in our new house! It is super big. It has two rooms, a living room, and a kitchen! Actually, I think that is really small the in the United States, but it is HUGE here! I have seen a family of 10 people live in a house with two rooms and a kitchen. So we are living really good here. It is nice. I will send a picture of the house next week.

We have had a long week, because we are trying to find new investigators. We found some awesome people!! The best people we found are Pablo and Nely. We were talking with Pablo and he said, "You know what, you guys are right. I need spiritual help in my life. When can you come back?" Haha, whenever you want us to come back! ;) So, we are going to be passing by this week. We also found this woman named Silvina and her kid Nico. Silvina is going to have a baby this week! So she said we can pass by after she has her child. We are excited to work with them. :)

We also have some exciting news! We found an old investigator named Maria. She has already come to church and she already has all the lessons. She came to church this week and the last week and she said that she wants to get baptized this Saturday! So we are probably going to have a baptism this Saturday. We are super excited for this miracle, despite everything that has happened these past couple weeks.

Also, I have been pretty sick this week. In the last 48 hours, I have slept 33 hours. I am FINALLY feeling a lot better. It was a rough time, but I know that Heavenly Father is protecting and watching out for me. And we are still seeing miracles!

Sorry, I didn't have much time to write.

Love,
Hermana Wood

11 Months!

Today I have 11 months in the mission! The time just flies. It is so crazy to think about.

Yesterday was transfers and Hermana Christiansen and I are staying together in Acevedo! That means that we are going to be in the Rosario Argentina mission! I am super excited about that and to have my same mission president. Presidente Zanni is the best and really helps us learn and grow in the way that the Lord wants us to. He cares about us and only wants the best for us. I am happy to stay here in Rosario!

First off, last P-Day, Hermana Calderon colored my hair. She dyed my hair to my natural hair color! I haven't been my natural color since like 9th grade, so it was weird to get used to, but I dyed it that way because I don't want to dye my hair anymore. So I went all natural. I actually really like it now. Everyone says I look exactly like my mom now....so you can all be the judge of that. ;)

This week with Carmelo and Susana has been very interesting. Carmelo and Susana are not from Pergamino, they are from Santa Fe. So they can't get married in Pergamino because their address is from Santa Fe. So they went to Santa Fe about 3 weeks ago and picked a day to get married, June 19th. We were super excited and everything. However....something awesome and very sad happened this week. Carmelo found a job!!!!! He works in a store that sells chicken. He has been praying and praying to find work and he finally found it! We were so excited when we found out! It was a huge answer to prayers. But...now that he has a job, he can't leave Pergamino to go to Santa Fe to get married. :( So...it is a big bummer. They can't get married for quite a while now. We are going to ask him to pray for the courage to ask his boss for a day off so that they can go to Santa Fe. It is going to take a lot of faith and courage on his part, but we know that the blessings are real and God wants them to get married. So if you could pray for him, that would be great!

We taught Carmen! We talked a lot about prayer and invited her to come to church. Her two kids are awesome, and I hope that they will be able to progress together. She is teaching her kids good things, so I think it will be good.

Amalia has been super sick for the past couple weeks, so we haven't had much contact with her. We are trying to help her, but we can't do much. We did a lot for the house! We bought mattresses, turned on the lights, and fixed the gas! I think we will be able to move Saturday! Lots of people have been helping us and it is finally all coming together! I also did tramites this last week, and they said I should be receiving my ID from Argentina within the next three months, so I am super stoked about that.

I have been reading lots of stories in the Book of Mormon lately and I have been applying them all to the mission life. For example, I read about Ammon and ths servants when they are taking care of king lamoni's sheep. The only way that the missionary (Ammon) could fight with Satan and protect the investigators (sheep) was if the members (the servants) helped by encircling the sheep. They calmed the investigators when temptations arised and they were scared. They were able to help every sheep come back to the king's pasteur. I know that the members are so important and every member needs to help in missionary work. Everyone needs to help so that every single one of our brothers and sisters can come back to Heavenly Father. I love you all! Thank you all for the amazing birthday wishes! It was a great day! I feel old now, but I guess that's okay. :) I hope my pictures works this week!

This Week

Well, since we have finally been able to leave and work, we had to spend a TON of our time buying everything for our new house. It was stressful because we had to wait in lots of lines and be adults and talk to professional people in a language that sometimes we still don't understand because we have never heard these big words before and use a lot of money. We are now really close to moving! We just need to buy mattresses and turn on the electricity, which requires lots of documents as well, but we are getting there. Obviously, I have learned a lot of patience and how to handle stress. Like my daddy told me this week, I am just preparing for the real world, so I guess it is a good thing. :)

Amid all the chaos of moving, we have been able to help people! When we visited Carmelo last week, he told us that he didn't want to keep listening, but Susana wanted to keep listening. We started praying like crazy for him and we also invited him to pray and read the book of mormon. We went back about 4 days later, and he told us that he wants to keep listening and their whole family was at church this Sunday! We are so grateful that the spirit touched his heart. I can see them as an eternal family getting sealed in the temple for time and all eternity. They are amazing and have so much potential.

We are also working with a woman named Maria Chaparro. She has three kids also and she came to church this week. We haven't had many lessons with her, but we think she is going to be baptized pretty quickly. She is super cute and loving.

I know that if I can put my faith and complete trust in my Heavenly Father, we are going to be able to get everything done and also we will be able to help these amazing people here progress and meet their goals. Heavenly Father has everything in His hands and He will help us out. I am grateful for this time to be in the mission and to learn what I need to know for the rest of my life. I love you all!

Love,
Hermana Wood

I love working...and working..and working on bikes!!

I WAS ABLE TO LEAVE MY BED ON FRIDAY AND WORK. LIKE A MISSIONARY WORKS. NO ONE CAN UNDERSTAND HOW HAPPY I AM!!!!!!! Maybe other missionaries can understand, but really, it is the best feeling in the world to be out on the street, talking to people, teaching the gospel, and loving the people. I am so grateful to be a missionary and to have this time in my life to serve Him and represent Him in all I do.

Well, Monday to Friday Hermana Christiansen and I played Uno...all day long. But we got bored of Uno, so we started playing every single card game that I know..with Uno cards. We played Mao, go fish, speed, spit, garbage, phase 10, B.S., happy slap, and Nerts. Yeah, we were quite bored. But..it was fine. We got pretty creative. And some other hermanas had the game of LIFE in their pench, so they sent it to us! I was able to play LIFE! My favorite game! I was so happy. And everything was in spanish, which made it all the much better.

Then on Friday we were able to leave and work!!! I was so happy! We went to the church and we found some bikes so that I don't have to walk. It is so fun to ride in bikes. I only almost got ran over by a bus once. So that was good. ;)

We were able to visit Susana this week. She told us that Carmelo is having some doubts about the church. We haven't been able to teach him, but Susana told us that she is never going to leave because she found the true church. :) She is so great and we are going to be working a lot with them this week. They are so great and we need to find out how to help Carmelo.

We found this new woman named Carmen! She is single and has two kids, one is 12 and the other is 8. She is super open and we are excited to work with her. It is hard to get back into the groove of working and helping our investigators progress when we haven't been able to visit them very consistently, but we are working really hard to try and help them. We are also STILL trying to move, so we are going to be doing a ton this week. Thank you all so much for your prayers and for helping me along the way. I know that this church is true and everything we have to go through is worth it. Heavenly Father has a plan for each one of us and I know that He is always watching over us. I love you all!!!

These are pictures of my shock therapy. :)