Yay for missionary work!!

We had a super great week full of miracles! I have no idea where all these people came from, but this week we found 7 new investigators! That is amazing for this area! We are super happy and blessed for this time to be here and help these prepared people come unto Christ.

The first people we found are a couple in their 30's name Melisa and Guillermo. They are amazing! they are super open to learning more. Melisa has a 2 year old son named Francisco and Melisa and Guillermo were already planning on getting married really soon. About a year ago, they listened to the missionaries and now they are open to learning more. They are reading the book of mormon together and they weren't able to come to church this sunday because they had to go and take care of Melisa's dad because he is sick. they were sad they couldn't come and asked us for a chapter to read in the book of mormon. They are amazing! We are excited to teach them and help them become an eternal family. :)

We also found a woman named Roxana. She is open to listening to us...but not very willing to change. but her daughter, Rosario (yes, her name is Rosario) is 20 years old and she listens very attentively. She likes to learn more and we are going to help her have more friends in the church so that she can come and feel comfortable. We are excited to teach Rosario!

We found a couple other people that we talked to in the street that we are going to pass by and visit this next week. All we need is faith and patience, and everything works out the way it should.

I loved ponderizing my scripture this last week. It really tied in with the special conference we had yesterday on Sunday! Walter F. Gonzalez, the area seventy in charge of our mission, came and talked to us about how to bring the spirit much stronger in the lessons. He said we need to talk of Christ always. When we talk of Christ, the spirit is able to testify of the truth that Jesus is our Savior and He died for us. When the other people talk of christ, they will also feel the spirit. It was a very powerful conference. Presidente Zanni also asked if I could play the piano...so I did. Haha, I'm pretty sure the calling of playing the piano will always follow me..yay.

My new scripture is Alma 6:6. It is a very powerful reminder of what need to do as member of the church. I hope you all have a great week!

Love,
Hermana Wood :)

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 :)

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 :)

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 :)

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!

Blessings!

My stuffed animals kicked me out of my bed. ;)
My hair.

We had a super great week! We are learning a lot together and we are working well together. I am grateful for my companion because she is helping me become better. :)

We had lots of experiences to teach this week when we weren't expecting to. We were looking for a less active and we taught him and his friend. We ate lunch with a member and their friend was there too. We are also talking to lots of people in the street. It takes a lot of courage to stop someone in the street in a big city because everyone has lots of things to do, but I know that there are people here ready to listen...they just don't know it because they are super busy and really focused. ;)

We do have a less active family that is progressing really well! We found them last week. It is the Llancafil family. (You pronounce that Shankafill in Argentina.) They are a young couple and they have a 2 year old daughter. We taught them the importance of family prayer..and they started praying as a family. :) We invited them to church and Yesica, the wife, came to church! Now we just need to get Esteban to church. But they are great. Their testimonies are really strong, they just need the push to keep enduring to the end. :)

I loved the women's conference this week! I learned a lot about my self-worth as a daughter of a king. We are here to prepare to become Gods. One day, we will be in the position Heavenly Father is in. I know that the trials we face are difficult, but it is the only way to learn and become like Him. Like they said in the conference, "I repent every single day" and in the end, I will say, "Is that all I had to do?" Heavenly Father loves us so much.

This is also something I learned. I am a missionary. I am a representative of Jesus Christ. I am on His side. We chose in the pre-mortal world to fight with him to help save our brothers and sisters. It is our responsibilty to share the gospel with others who don't know that Jesus Christ died for them and that there is life after death. All we need to do is open our mouths and share our testimonies. I love you all!

Love,
Hermana Wood :)

Little Miracles

You will never guess what I found this week.
A STREET WITH MY LAST NAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I never thought I would see that. How cool.
This is Nalany's grandma and her cousin, Josefina. :)

I am learning to look for little miracles. It is hard sometimes...but my companion and I are doing something really fun. Every night after we plan for the next day, we sit down and shout out the miracles of the day for 3 minutes. After every miracle, we both yell, "YAY!!!!!!!!!" It actually helps a ton to see the Lord's hand in our lives every day. Our miracles have increased as we have begun to look for them. I will tell you about a few of them. :)

We found a woman named Hortencia. She is less active for 30 years. She is married and has 3 kids, and none of them are baptized. She is really nice...but she didn't really have desires to come back to church. We were talking with her in her house and out of no where, my companion said, "Hermana, have you done your family history?" She said yes. What???? She said when she was 14 years old she loved family history. She found all the way to her great grandparents. And that is without technology. We were shocked. We told her that she could come to the church during the week and do family history for free and that there are people to help her. She was shocked. She got so excited and she said, "Well, would you look at that. Maybe I will come to church." Never in my life I thought she would say that or have interest in family history. My companion was very inspired to ask her. We hope she keeps progressing!

Another miracle is we went to eat lunch with a member named Violeta. She is 35 and got baptized about 3 years ago. She lives with her mom. Her mom is not a member. She has never sat down and listened to us share a scripture (which we always do after we finish eating). But this time she sat right down and listened to us very attently. She shared with us an experience of when she and her husband were driving down the road and they ran out of gas and they were literally in the middle of nowhere. They didn't know what to do. A few minutes later, there was a car. They flagged it down and told him their problem. He said he had a little car of gas in his car he could give them. Crazy! She said this is one of the reasons she believes in God. We were so happy that she talked to us. Maybe we will be able to teach her! :)

Other little miracles happened like we ate super yummy Peruvian food and we found our phone when we thought it was lost forever. It's the little things. :) We also found out that the mission office is trying to help us move!! We found an apartment and they said they are in contact trying to rent it. yay!

Something really important that a less active taught me this week is that salvation is PERSONAL, not INDIVIDUAL. Yes, everything depends on how you act while you are here on this earth, but you can't do it individually. You need to serve others. You need to help others grow. You need to fulfill your calling. You need to visit the sick and afflicted. And that is why it is personal and not individual. :)

Keep shining bright. I love you all!

Love,
Hermana Wood :)