And it starts all over again

My bored face.

So...once upon a time...my companion fell in a hole and twisted both her ankles and we had to rest from Thursday to Sunday because she couldn't walk. So that was a fun time. I am very grateful that Heavenly Father is VERY patient and He knows that we are humans and sometimes we can't do everything we need to, but His work still moves forward, even if we can leave the house. It's amazing really.

Despite everything, we were able to visit Melisa and Guillermo! They are finally understanding the importance of only having one church that has the authority of God on the earth because, like is says in Ephesians, there is ONE lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism. Because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever and His church will not change. They are super great and they tell us they feel something inside that they can't explain when we are with them and want to keep learning more. Guillermo said the closing prayer of the lesson and asked God if this is the path they should take for their family. I am grateful for them! We weren't able to visit Carina and Gabi because my companion was hurting from her feet. But we called them and they said they are doing well and super excited for us to come back. Really, Heavenly Father prepares the people that are ready to hear the gospel.

Other than that, I have been reading and learning a lot. That is probably the best part of having to stay in home, you get to read a whole lot more. :) The scripture I ponderized this week was Helaman 10:4. I love this scripture because Heavenly Father is very proud of His son, Nephi, for everything that he did to help the work go forth. He trusts Nephi that He will never ask for anything that is contrary to His will. I want to be like Nephi and have my Heavenly Father's confidence in me.

We also had the Stake Conference here in Rosario Oeste! Francisco Viñas, the area seventy, came to our chapel and gave an amazing talk about the atonement. He said that the ONLY way we can live with Heavenly Father again is through Jesus Christ. If we don't repent, and we get to the end and pay for all of our sins, we still won't be able to live with God again because Jesus is the only one that can overcome the justice with mercy. It was very profound and I learned a lot. We also got a new stake president, and hopefully he will do a good job! The best part of all is that Cañada de Gomez is in the same stake as Echesortu, so I was able to see all the member from Cañada and I was SO happy to see them! I love them all so much!!!!

I love you all!
Love,
Hermana Wood :)

I am so tired

Zone Conference
Yesterday, I turned 16 months! And since I turn months on the 16th, it was my golden birthday month. My companion made this adorable pop-up book for me. I love it!!!

Oh my goodness, what an amazing week we have had. I am so tired, but I am so happy. I'll tell you about the highlights of the week. We had interview with Presidente Zanni this week. He helped us all feel the desire to baptize more in our mission and have more baptism this year than the year before. He is really changing our mission and I am grateful the time I have had to get to know him and feel the spirit work through him. I know that he is called of God to help us. Our mission is a little hard, but I know that this is God's work and He will work the miracles He needs. I am happy to be a part of it!

We had an amazing family night this week the whole ward! Lots of people came that we invited. Melisa and Guillermo came with their son, Francisco! They are doing amazing! They loved the activity and met lots of the members. The members received them really well, so we are grateful for that. After the family night, everyone set up chairs to watch the soccer game of Argentina vs. Brazil. So funny, I love Argentina. On Sunday, we found two women that are so amazing! They are Carina and Gabi. We found Carina the other day contacting and she invited us to come and talk to her on Sunday. When we got there, she said she invited her sister-in-law, Gabi, to listen as well. They have both had really hard lives, but they both believe in God so much and have hope that everything will be better. I loved to see the light in their eyes when we said that the same church that Jesus Christ established is here on the earth today. That there are prophets and priesthood and miracles and that they can be baptized by someone who holds the power of God. They both accepted to be baptized and we are so excited to work with them. I know that God put them in our path and we can help them make these changes in their lives.

And yesterday, we had a SUPER special p-day! Our zone went to the mission home and we played games all day. We played vollyball, basketball, lightning, 4 square, soccer, tug-of-war, egg toss, relay races, double dutch, and so much more. It was so fun. I am so tired. We also watched Meet the Mormons. It was such a fun day! I am glad we could take part!

I hope you have a great week!

Love,
Hermana Wood :)

We Moved

My mates. :)
My companion........ :)
We moved...again!
Our new house!!!! :)
I still fit in my jeans! That is a big accomplishment. ;)

Well, this week was full of surprises! We weren't able to work as much as we wanted because we moved!!!!!!!!!!! Finally!!!!!! Haha, this is the second time in my mission that I have stayed in the same area, but we have changed houses. I guess I'm an expert now. ;) But our new house is so much better! In our old house, we didn't have windows.......but now we have a balcony and another window so that the air flows throughout the whole house. And just in time, because things are heating up here and it is really hot. So we are super glad we moved. :)

However.........we have had a few problems in our new house. The things that heats up the water (I don't know what it is called in english) started leaking, so we had to find a huge bucket to put underneath so that could actually leave and teach people. We have also had some problems paying all the things and that takes some time. But now, everything is set and we are ready to keep working!

Melisa and Guillermo are doing awesome! They are reading the Book of Mormon together and praying to know if it is true. One day they were reading outside and a random guy came up and started pointing at the book and said, "Stars, stars, stars, stars..." Haha, they didn't know if that was their answer or no..but it was pretty funny. :) They both came to church on Sunday! They really liked the sacrament meeting and felt really comfortable. The ward helped a ton and really helped them feel welcome, and we were really grateful for that. They are awesome! :)

We need to find all of our other investigators this next week, but they are all super great. I am loving this area and I am learning a lot from my new companion! I am learning to be humble, patient, trustworthy, loving, non-judgemental, and willing to do anything in order to help her feel good. I am super grateful for the mission and everything I have learned and all the experiences my Heavenly Father has given me!

I loved ponderizing Alma 6:6 this week because I feel like our ward is finally putting into practice what this scripture says. they are praying for our investigators and trying to help them come closer to Christ. As members, we should always try and share the gospel, no matter the circumstance. This week I am going to study D&C 130:2. It is a very beautiful scripture.

I love you all!!!! Have an amazing week!

Love,
Hermana Wood :)

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 :)