BAPTISM!!!!!

Wow, when one thing happens, everything happens. We have done so much this week and I am so glad that I was apart of it all. I am going to start with Monday, because there is so much to write.

On Monday, we woke up at 5:00 in the morning, caught the bus, and went to Rosario!!! We were able to go to the Monument for the Flag here in Argentina! It was so beautiful and huge!! I loved it! The best part was we were able to go to the very top of the monument and look over all of Rosario. It was so beautiful! Rosario is huge! The weather was perfect because it was a little overcast, so not a lot of people were there. We were also able to look at the Parana River. I just loved the whole day. It was a much needed 'vacation' and we had so much fun. :)

On Tuesday, we heard some very sad news. Do you all remember the woman named Maria Luisa that was really sick that we were visiting before? We found out that she passed away from her sickness. :( We walked for about an hour and got to the funeral home to go to the viewing. It was veyr sad to see her like that because we honestly have grown to love her so much. :( her whole family was there and we were able to meet some of them. We weren't able to stay for very long because after that Maria had her baptism interview. It went really well and the district leader said she could get baptized on Saturday! On Wednesday, we went to the funeral of Maria Luisa. The cemetery is so different here! Almost all of the graves are above ground. Or they make little houses and put the coffins inside. It was very different. We had a nice service in the morning and then we drove to the cemetery. She was actually buried underground. It was very different from the states because they lowered her into the ground with rope and threw all the dirt on the coffin while we were all watching. It was very drastic and really hard to watch, but I know that we will be able to see her again and now she isn't suffering. My testimony of the plan of salvation grows every day.

On Saturday, we had the baptism of Maria!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) Her whole family and Pablo were able to come to her baptism! It actually went very smoothly and the spirit was very strong. I am so grateful that she made this decision to be baptized. She is setting huge example for her family that I hope they will follow. :)

On Sunday, so many amazing things happened. Maria was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and received the Holy Ghost. She honestly looked so different. She looked so content and peaceful. Everyone commented on how bright she looked and how happy. I loved to see the change. Also on Sunday, the stake president came and changed the bishopric. We have been working with this family the, Branchini family. About two months ago they started coming to church. On Sunday, Hermano Branchini got put in as the first counselor in the bishopric! and they invited us in to listen to the setting apart. It was so awesome to see how ready he was to have this calling and how excited he was to work. I love the change the gospel makes in people'e lives. Missionary work is so rewarding and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Thank you all for your love, prayers, and confidence! I love you all!!

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