Lots of Food!

Food that we cooked! We eat everything with Mayonesa.

Our torta that looks awful but was delicious!!

I found Hermana Christiansen!!! :)

Wow, this week has been quite long. We went to Rosario two times. Once, was to practice singing for the choir, and the other was to have a special conference with Elder Avila! He is part of the seventy. Presidente and Hermana Zanni and Elder and Hermana Avila talked to us. And wow, did I learn a ton. This is the part that stuck out to me:

In 3 Nefi 17:9-10 Jesus is talking to the people in the Americas. He says that the people that aren't sick need to bring the people that are sick to Him so that He can heal them. And AFTER the non-sick people bring the sick people to Jesus, they can be with Him too. I learned that we can't be with Jesus unless we bring someone else with us. We need to help our fellow man. We need to serve and love everyone around us so that we can all be with Jesus and we can all feel His love and partake of His sacrifice for us.

I also learned in D&C 101:55-57, Heavenly Father needs His WHOLE house in order to complete His work. He doesn't just need missionaries. He needs young people, he needs mature people, he needs all the members of the church to come together and help bring to pass His work. I loved it!

After we had the conference, we went to an unlimited buffet. It was so delicious! I tried octopus for the first time, and it was so good! I also learned that an egg roll is called an empanada chino here. So funny!

Thank you all so much for all your prayers!!!! Jorge did super amazing this week! This weekend in South America was carnival. Everyone drinks and parties for about 3 days. Jorge didn't drink at all and he came to church!!! Can you believe it?? We were so happy for him and we are praying his baptism is soon! :)

Claudia and Angel are now having problems. I don't know why. They both came to church this week, but something happened and now Angel says that he isn't going to come to church again.....we are trying super hard to figure out what happened and how to help him. Please pray for them!

Valentina and Marcos are doing well! They really understood the plan of salvation this week. They progress slowly, but they are progressing. And they have a hard time going to church because they are really old, so next week we are going to focus on getting them to sacrament meeting.

Hermana Cerna loves to cook! Which is super good because it is super delicious..but bad because I think I'm going to gain like 20 pounds this transfer. ;) But it is super fun and I am learning a ton! I love it!!

I love you all!

Love,
Hermana Wood

I love being a missionary!

Saying goodbye to Hermana Matias

Hermana Cerna!

Dear Everyone,
What a week. I am now training another missionary, Hermana Cerna! But..she came pre-trained. She is so strong and she can share her testimony with everyone she meets. I am learning so much from her. I love the way she uses the Book of Mormon to answer EVERY question that people have. I am learning to trust the spirit a lot more to try and find the people that are ready here in our area. It isn't very hard to do in Cañada, but I know that we can't do anything without the help of our Heavenly Father. I love being a missionary!

Update on Jorge. We went to his house this week and he told us that he hadn't drank or smoked for a whole week!!! We were so excited for him. He was reading the Book of Mormon every day and was so excited to come to church. We went to his house Saturday night to have a lesson.....and he was drunk. :( :( We were SOO sad! My heart hurt so much. When he saw us, he started crying and went back inside his house. It was so hard. We are going to find him this week and help him. Please pray for him so that he can have the strength to resist!!!!!

Claudia is still doing amazing! She is growing so much in the gospel. She is reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning and she is now in 1 Nefi 20. She brings her scriptures to church every week and participates in the classes. She received her birth certificate in the mail this week, which means that they can go to the office and pick out a date for their wedding!!! And then she can be baptized!!! Whoo!!! We are so happy for her.

We had an interesting experience this week. We went to a menos activo. He told us about this dream that he had. He said that there was a huge crowd of people and he felt like they were all waiting for him do help them. He didn't know what it meant and he felt really frustrated. I felt in my heart and told him that the people in his dream were his ancestors waiting for him to do their work. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said (in Spanish, but I'll write it in English) "That is exactly what it means. Thank you so much. How did you know?" I love the spirit! I had absolutely no idea what his dream meant, but we felt that he needed to do his family history work. We gave him a "My Family" pamphlet and he said he will start working on it. He also came to church this week. It was amazing! I love being a missionary!

Well, I think that's it for this week. I love you all!

Love,
Hermana Wood :)

Cambios!

I have way too many stuffed animals. I love it. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Wow, this week has been full of changes. First off, we found out this week that there are only going to be 2 missionaries here in Cañada! Hermana Thornton had an emergency transfer for Santa Fe, so her mini missionary went home to Rosario. We also found out that Hermana Matias is leaving tomorrow. :( She is getting transferred to Santa Fe. I am going to be finishing the training of an hermana from Spain! No one knows how to pronounce her name, so I will tell you all next week. :) I am super sad that Hermana Matias is leaving because I love her so much! We have had some amazing experiences together. I also feel a ton of responsibility because I have all of Cañada now! And my compañera is really new...so we are going to see how this week goes. :)

We had some miracles this week. I will write about a few of them:

First, we have this amazing investigator named Jorge. He was the other hermanas' investigator, but now he is ours because they left. He came to church this week! He has been trying for a very long time to stop drinking, and now he is finally making progress! We are hoping he will be baptized 28 of February.

This Sunday was absolutely amazing. Jorge came to church, Claudia came to church, and two other investigators as well! We also had a complete menos activo family and 3 other menos activos in sacrament meeting. Andres received the priesthood and is going to pass the sacrament next week!!!!! I love to see his progress! He really is super amazing. Also, during sacrament meeting, there was a huge storm outside, and the power went out. But we kept on going and it was super funny. :) And then we got to walk all around Cañada in the rain. I loved it!

But this was the biggest miracle of all. Remember Valentina, the cute little old lady? Well, we visited her this week. Usually when we go, her husband, Marcos, gets up and goes in the other room because he doesn't want to listen. But this week, we went in and he sat down and started talking to us. He asked us a bunch of questions and then he told us something. He said that since he is old, he can't see hardly anything. He hasn't been able to read for a very long time. But this past week, he picked up the restoration pamphlet that we left for them and tried to read. And he could read it! He read the whole pamplet two times. He tried to read other things, and he couldn't see anything. He said that God was trying to talk to him and that he wants to come to church next week. We asked him if he wanted to be baptized, and he immediately said yes. Wow. This was the biggest miracle I have seen in my mission and I am so excited for him!!!! I am so grateful to be on my mission and to be in contact with such amazing people.

Oh, something else happened this week. It was raining really bad, and we were getting off the bus to go to district meeting. I slipped and fell and got banged up pretty bad. I had to go to the hospital to make sure that everything was okay. I recommend NEVER going to a hospital in Argentina. But don't worry, everything is fine and dandy now. :) I love you all! I hope you have a great week!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

LOTS OF TRAVELING

Wow, this week has been super long. We went to Rosario 3 times this week! And we also had district meeting in Carcaraña, which means we had to travel to get there as well. We also had to go the terminal when Hermana Thornton got her new companion. It's just Hermana Matias and I now. :) We waited and traveled a ton this week, but we were still able to talk to lots of people and share what we believe with people on the bus, in the taxis, and with other missionaries. There is always an opportunity to share your testimony.

Claudia is doing well! Her friend in La Pampa is going to send her her birth certificate and then they can get married! We have to wait until it gets here, but then they can get married. We are excited for them. The thing that I love most about Claudia is that she already has a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. Whenever we share a story or a scripture, she can immediately apply it to her life and how it can help her. She is super great. :)

We didn't really have much more time to visit more people in our area this week. But one of the reasons we went to Rosario was to have Zone Conference! It was amazing. I am super grateful for my leaders and the opportunity to learn and grow.

The part that hit me the most during this conference was that if we don't do the work for our ancestors, they can't progress. If we don't find their names and take them to the temple, they can't enter through the gates of baptism and make those covenants with Heavenly Father. We have a really important work to do. The works that are going to continue during the millennium are missionary work, family history, and temple work. So we better get used to working now. ;)

We also had a talent show this week in our ward! We had to plan it all, so we didn't have much time for that as well. But it went super well! We and the other missionaries made a super funny skit. We made the gold plates and everything! It was super fun. I love being a missionary!

Love,
Hermana Wood :)

Week of Changes

Wow, this week has been super crazy! There have been lots of changes, some good and some bad, but everything will work out the way Heavenly Father needs it to. :)

First off, Claudia didn't move to La Pampa!!! :) :) Angel and Claudia found a house that is super close to the capilla and they are going to stay in Cañada!! The only problem is that their house...is in the area of the other hermanas. They are still in our ward, but they live in the other area. They are going today to find all of Claudia's documents and hopefully they can get married soon. :)

Hermana Matias' ankle still hurts, but we went to Rosario and Hermana Zanni bought her inserts for her shoes so that she can have more support. She paid for everything! And then she took us out for lunch! She is the best and really loves us a lot. It was super nice of her to help Hermana Matias. :)

Hermana Rodrigues also went to Rosario for her knee...and the results weren't good. :( She has a stress fracture in her knee cap and she has to go home to get surgery. :( We are very sad because we don't want her to leave! She is a super great missionary and she will be able to come back to the mission after she heals. And since Hermana Rodrigues is going to leave....Hermana Thornton is going to be with us! We are going to be in a trio! I am going to be companions FOR REALS with Hermana Thornton AGAIN!!! What?? Haha, this never happens, especially with your trainer. We are super excited to all be together and have lots of experiences together. :) We are going to have to work in both the areas for about 2 weeks, and then we will see what happens next transfer.

I want to take some time and write about our other investigators, because we have a ton. I will write about a few of them.

The first is Martin. He has just a few problems. He smokes, drinks, is addicted to illegal drugs, gay, and a prostitute. Only a few problems. However, he is at a point in his life where he literally has nothing left. He doesn't have any money, family, or anything to live for. Last Sunday, we walked into the church and he was sitting there, waiting for church to start. Ahh! It was a miracle! We talked to him this week and told him he really can change and can have a new life. He now has a baptismal date and we are super excited to work with him. I can't wait to see the change in him. The atonement is real!!

The next investigators are a couple named Luis and Norma. They have two kids and aren't married. Norma cooks really good food and cooks bread every week. It is so delicious!!! We are going to cook with her this week. Norma really loves the gospel and wants to learn more. Luis has a harder time accepting the fact that there is only one true church. But they come to church almost every Sunday because they feel good and they love to learn. We are trying to help them receive answers that this is the only true church. Pray for them so that they can pray and receive this answer!

The next one is Valentina. She has 86 years and she is such a sweetheart. She is married to Marcos, and he is super sick right now. This week, we got to her house and she was about to leave. We asked her where she was going, and she said, "I'm going to my boyfriend's house." We were all like, "What??" She began to tell us all about this man. He has 76 years and he is super handsome and they have a secret place. We totally believed it all because she was super serious! And then after like 10 minutes, she told us that it was all a joke. Haha, is was super funny. She is super great. We have to take things slow with her, but she is learning and progressing a lot. :)

Anyway, this week has been super good! I've learned a lot and I am excited to see what this week brings! I hope everything is going well for you all! I love you!

6 MONTHS!!

Can anyone believe that I hit 6 months this week??? I can't even begin to think about it. This time is going by SO fast. I don't ever want it to end. I love being able to talk to EVERYONE about Jesus Christ and His love and sacrifice for every single one of us. I love sharing His love and I love Him. :)

This week was hard because Hermana Matias' ankle has really been hurting. :( I went on divisions with Hermana Thornton a lot this week. Honestly, I know why I am here in Cañada. Hermana Thornton and I can really work together and teach because we have already been companions. God works in very mysterious ways. And the work in Cañada hasn't stopped, despite the injuries. :)

We received some sad new this week. Claudia and Angel are moving to La Pampa (where Claudia used to live). They are moving because they are having problems getting all the documents Claudia needs to get married and they don't like the house they are living in right now. So they are going to leave Cañada de Gomez. :( :( We were very sad when she told us. But right after that, she told us, "I already know where the chapel is in La Pampa and I know where all my documents are. We are going to move, get married, go to church, and I am going to get baptized, no matter what." Wow. She is amazing. She is going to be a HUGE miracle for the missionaries there. I am so excited for her and her new life. I am glad that I got to be apart of it for a couple weeks to help her find the true gospel and happiness. :)

I love Cañada! Our other investigator that is progressing a lot is named Irma. She has a complicated life. She has 4 little kids under the age of 7. Her husband is in jail, and she had to get married to him so that they could visit. Her mother is in dire need of blood transfers and she isn't doing very well. (Just a side note...don't tell people what blood type you have. Because you shouldn't go around giving blood to people.) She has a ton of faith in Jesus Christ and is really searching for the truth. This week we were finally able to teach all about the restoration because her kids were sleeping. It really caught her attention and she is going to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. She is super great!

We are also teaching lots of menos activos because there are about 300 in the branch! Our goal is to help Cañada become a ward again. We are here to baptize, retain the people who just got baptized, and reactivate the people that aren't going to church. We need to do all of these things in order to help everyone and help this place. We are super excited and happy to be here!!

I love you all!
Love,
Hermana Wood :)

Baptism! :)

We had my first baptism this week!! Whoo! It was super stressful because we had three weddings in our branch Friday, the day before the baptism, so everyone was at the temple in Buenos Aires. A few people were still in Cañada, but it was raining like crazy, so lots couldn't make it. :( And we had divisions with the capacidadoras from Friday to Saturday, so Hermana Matias and I were trying to plan the baptism over the phone because she was in Rosario and I was in Cañada! However, despite all of this, we still had the baptism, and it was super amazing! His name is Andres. He has such a strong testimony and such a strong spirit. I know that he will continue to be such a strong member of the ward and he will help this branch grow a lot. I am super grateful to my Heavenly Father for the opportunity to be in Cañada and to be part of his baptism! The funniest part though was he forgot to close his mouth when he went under the water, so he drank a lot of water....but he made it into a joke and said, "As least I am clean on the inside too!" Haha, he is so great. :)

All of our other investigators are doing awesome! Claudia is fantastic! We taught her the word of wisdom and she has already quit smoking! She is reading the Book of Mormon every day, she comes to church every week. She just needs to get married! And then she can be baptized! She is awesome and I love teaching her because she understands. She gets it. It is awesome. :) We learned this week that she isn't from Cañada. She is from a city really far away called La Pampa. I thought about when Claudia, Hermana Matias, and I were all in heaven in the premortal world and when she left to go to the earth, we said, "Bueno, nos vemos en Cañada!" It's funny how everything works out. I know that we are all here in Cañada for a reason and it is so great to know that that reason is to help each other follow Jesus Christ and to grow together. :)

This week was super good! The other funny thing this week was I also went on divisions with Hermana Thornton! It was super weird to teach with her again, but it was so much fun! I love her!

I love you all!
Love,
Hermana Wood :)