I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, this week will be absolutely unforgettable! We had so many amazing, beautiful, scary, blessed experiences this week. I am going to try and write them all down and I hope you can all feel how great this week was. :)

On Tuesday, I was super sick, so we couldn't leave our house for two days. It was super stressful because we had so much to do.

When we could finally leave, I'm pretty sure we went to every store in Cañada to find the things we needed for the wedding. We found the dress, flowers, decorations, food, everything. It was all going well.

Friday morning at 10:00, we went to the registro civil and Claudia and Angel were married! It was so great and they were so happy! This actually went all according to plan. ;)

Saturday, we started decorating the gym in the church for the reception that night. We were decorating and decorating, and then Presidente Gimenez told us that we had to open up more doors so that we could have more space because everyone dances here for the weddings. So we had to take all of the decorations down,. open the doors, and then redecorate everything. We only bought decorations for the small space, so we have to make more decorations and spread everything out. The party also was a surprise for Claudia, so all the members showed up early and we shouted surprise at them!!! Claudia was so happy and they both felt so loved and happy. Everyone danced the night away and we also did Karaoke. It was great and the members also feel much closer, which is great.

Now the story of Sheila this week. Satan worked so hard on her. We felt so bad. Estela, her mom, was going to go this week with a friend to Cordoba to go the temple open house! She was super excited and ready to go. They went to buy tickets. The friend got a ticket to go, but Estela didn't. :( She was very sad and didn't understand why she wasn't able to go to the temple open house.

Since she didn't go, Hermana Cerna and I went to visit her at her house. We helped her feel better about the situation, and then we walked to our house at 9:30 at night. They live about 3 blocks from our house. About 30 minutes later, Estela called us and told us she was at the police station with Sheila. About 5 minutes after we left, Sheila was coming home from work and two men tried to rob her and her backpack. She started yelling and the neighbors came out and nothing happened. But they went to the police station to report it. Sheila was really shaken up and was really sad. But we called her and told her that after her baptism, everything will be okay.

We had the baptisms at 8:00 in the morning Sunday! Sheila got there on time and changed into her baptism clothes. when she came out, there was a huge surprise! All of her uncles, aunts, and her dad came from Rosario to be at her baptism! She was sooo happy! It was great to see. Claudia didn't get there until about 7:55, so we were super worried, but she got there and they were both baptized into the church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. It was so great and peaceful and beautiful.

Oh, another thing. I had to give a talk in the baptism. I thought I had to talk about baptism....but when Hermano Merindol announced the talks, he said I was going to talk about the the Holy Ghost. And the other hermana prepared a talk about baptism! so in about 5 minutes I preprared a talk on the Holy Ghost.

It was a super awesome, crazy week! I am so glad that everyone turned out well and that Claudia and Sheila are officially baptized! I love being a missionary1 thank you so much for your love, support, and prayers. They are really felt here. I love you all!!!

Love,
Hermana Wood :)

Vamos a tener bautismos :)

This week has been a little crazy, but super awesome and packed with great experiences!!! On Monday, we went to the dentist here in Argentina and she took out her tooth in 5 minutes! It was super fast and simple. When they finished, Hermana Cerna felt so good and thought that she would be ready to leave the next day. Haha.........nope. The anasthesia went away, and she couldn't move her mouth. So we called some hermanas here in our rama and they were able to help us out! One hermana came to our house and stayed with Hermana Cerna and another went out with me to be a missionary for a day! We had a lot of success and the members learned a lot and loved talking to people and sharing their testimonies. It was super great for them and for me so that I didn't have to stay in the house ALL day long. ;)

Our mission is focusing a lot on the family. How we can support the family and when we are finding people to teach, we need to focus on finding complete families: a mom, a dad, and kids so that they can all be baptized and make these big changes as a family, not as individuals. It is very rewarding to see the people that God puts in our path to find these families that are prepared and ready to be eternal families.

We found 3 complete families this week! We are hoping that they will all continue to progress and I will tell more about them this next week.

The best thing this week is Sheila and Claudia both passed their interviews to be baptized!!! They are getting baptized! Vamos a tener bautismos!!! We are so super excited for them to make these first covenants with our Heavenly Father. Please pray for them this week that all will go according to plan. We know that it probably won't...because that never happens, especially in the mission, be we know that everything will be exactly the way Heavenly Father wants it to be. :)

I love you all!
Hermana Wood

CONFERENCE!

Wow, this week had its ups and downs, but we ended so great because we were able to watch conference! We had lots of investigators and menos activos come, and they all loved listening to the apóstoles and the words they had to say. One thing that I love here is that on Sunday, everyone goes to the church to watch conference. It was special and the spirit is a lot stronger because there aren't distractions, you are in nice clothes, and you are completely focused on what the people are saying. I really liked it. :)

I loved the talk by Wilford W. Andersen about dancing and how it is very important to listen to the music. Anyone can learn to dance, but if you can't hear the music, it is very awkward and you will stop eventually. Some dance just because the people around them are dancing. It is crucial to teach your kids to listen for the music for themselves so that they can feel the rhythm and have the desire to keep dancing. I loved the analogy to the gospel. We have to listen to the spirit and be able to receive answers for ourselves so that we can progress and obtain all the blessings God has for us. I also loved the talk by Boyd K. Packer. But it got cut off in the middle, so if you could send me his talk, I would love that!

The work here is still moving forward! This last week we found two complete families to visit this week. I am excited to help them become eternal families! I love you all and I hope you enjoyed conference!

Love,
Hermana Wood

Gotta love cambios

Wow, so many things changed this week! We have had so much success and I am so grateful for these next couple weeks to keep progressing and growing and learning the things that Heavenly Father has in store for me!

First off, we found out that Claudia was able to go to the registro civil and she was able to pick a date for her and Angel to get MARRIED!!! They are getting married April 24!!!!!!!!!! And she is going to be baptized April 25!!!!!!!!! We were so excited and I am can't believe she is finally going to get married and be baptized! She is so amazing and I love her so much!!

We also learned this week that.....Claudia doesn't live in our area. :( She lives in the area of the other hermanas, so Hermana Cerna and I aren't going to be teaching her anymore. :( It is sad because I have been through so much with her and we have grown so much together. But I feel very blessed because I will still be here in Cañada to watch her take these huge steps in her life! :) Jorge also doesn't live in our area, so they are going to be passing for him as well. He is doing good. :)

The one thing Cañada lacks is young people, especially in church on Sunday. Usually the primary has the same 3 kids every week, 2 young women, and 2 young men. They suffer because sometimes they feel alone and church isn't very fun. So we have all been focusing on finding kids and young people to bring to church, and it has been very rewarding. :)

First, we found Sheila. She is still doing awesome! She is praying every day and starting to read the book of mormon. She loves the classes and is applying everything she is learning. I love to teach her because she is so ready to be taught. She is super busy because she is working and studying, but she always finds time for us.

We also found three siblings this week: Aylen (12), Cintia (10), and Eduardo (9). They are the sobrinos of Jorge! And they are so amazing! We taught them about prayer and Eduardo said, "Oh, prayer is a dialogue with God." Haha, right? He is so great and they all understand. We were worried that their mom wouldn't let us teach them, but she was all for it. It was a miracle! We brought them to a family home evening and to church this week! They absolutely loved it and they told us flat out that they want to be baptized. We are so grateful for these great kids that are prepared. You never know who is ready to hear the gospel. :)

The other kid that we found is named Valentina. She is 9 years old. We were teaching her grandma, Marta, and Valentina was just sitting there listening. We asked Marta if she wanted to be baptized, and Valentina asked us if she could be baptized too! We said yes! I love kids and their amazingly strong spirits. I am so excited to teach them. :)

All of this ties in with the general woman's conference that was this week! It was so powerful about families. I know that it will be a lot of work to have a family, but I know that if the family is centered on Jesus, it will succeed. I am really excited to keep working and teaching people. I love this gospel!

Love,
Hermana Wood

P.S. I finally dyed my hair. I am BLOND. But really, super blond, I love it. :) Pictures to come!