December 11, 2018

HOLY is it really my last email!!! I remember sitting in St. John's writing my first email and just feeling so nervous and excited for the next 18 months. I am so so grateful that I was called to serve a mission, it has broken me down and built me up stronger. Before my mission I had a testimony of the gospel, of the plan of salvation, of the prophet joseph smith and the book of mormon. But that testimony wasn't going anywhere. I was very idle and very complacent with my conversion. I have learned though from reading alma 32 hundreds of times (either with members, people we're teaching, in a conference, or on my own) that we CAN NOT settle when it comes to our own conversion. WE need to be continually strengthening our roots. It is not good enough to just know the seed is good because of a little sprout, or to know the gospel is good because we've felt the spirit a couple times in church before. We are all going to continue to face challenges in our lives that will try to uproot us and so the only solution is to grow deeper roots. and we all know how to do that:) it's the sunday school answers that will forever be the right answers. I hope that all of us, even if we are busy or don't have the motivation, or don't see the results yet, can keep watering and nourishing our faith.  To have faith is something that we get to choose to do:) and I choose to have faith. I choose to believe in a loving Heavenly Father. I choose to believe in a modern prophet and apostles and  modern day revelation. I will forever be indebted to my Heavenly Father for everything He has blessed me with especially for my parents who raised me and choose to have faith too. I am just so in awe of everything I have come to realize over the past 18 months. One of the most amazing parts of serving here in nova scotia has been hearing the testimonies of the members! Their conversion stories are amazing!! I wish I could share them all with you!! last week we brought brother and sister fraser to our lesson with glen and brother fraser told glen about how it was the day of his baptism and he still hadn't received his answer yet! but the missionaires had promised him that by the day of his baptism he would receive a witness of the truth:) and sure enough during sacrament meeting during one of the testimonies the spirit came into his heart and told him it was all true. My favourite part of that story is that brother fraser wasn't about to call his baptism off! he had so much faith in the promise from the missionaries which really was a promise from God, I hope to have that must trust in Heavenly Father. 

Well I have to go and finish packing haha we leave bridgewater in the morning and will be staying in halifax till friday! the members keep giving us gifts haha so hopefully everything will fit!! I am just so so blessed!!! thank you for all of the prayers and all of the encouragement!!! I have truly loved this mission that I have been able to serve for God!

love sister wood

December 4, 2018

I was so sad to hear about scott nelson this week. I'm so grateful that in times where we feel helpless we are able to fast and pray. We taught bayne a lesson about fasting last which was really perfect for him because his brother in law had just gone to the hospital after bayne had found him passed out inside his house. A scary experience but also an opportunity to put our faith and trust in the Lord. In one of the testimonies on fast sunday brother edmonds talked about when we fast we are strengthening our spiritual muscle, and we are also strengthening our ability to choose right. usually when we are hungry we just go and grad something to eat, but when we fast we put off that natural reaction and choose something that is better. Our greater purpose is what motivates us. When we are able to master this it prepares us for future dilemmas in life where we need to push away the temptations and let God's greater purpose motivate us. 

This past week we were able to teach glen. He was taught by missionaries about 20 years ago. They helped him to quit smoking but at the time he just couldn't commit to baptism. God placed him in our path though and so hopefully this time he is ready! we are teaching him again tonight:). We also got to meet this older man named roger. It seems like whenever we have a night when we feel like chickens with our heads cut off God leads us to someone cool haha. We were in mahone bay walking and for whatever reason we just couldn't find this road we were going to go to. We stopped and tried pulling up the map on our phone again and realized that we had walked past it. Before we started walking again though we thought that maybe this was God leading our feet and so we knocked on the house that we were closest too. There we met roger:) He has been having a hard time lately. He found out in the spring that he has cancer and so a message of hope is really what he's needing!!

I can't believe I'll only be sending one more email after this one! I have been so blessed and my testimony of chirst and the scriptures has grown so much!

love sister wood 

November 27, 2018

"Being a humble seeker of happiness"

I read that in alma 27:18 this past week and it has just stuck with me all week. That's what I desire to be, a humble seeker of happiness:) finding joy in the small things of life. Being willing to push aside some of my own wants and seeking what God want's instead. I know it's easier said than done but this will be my lifelong quest. Just everything that I read in the scriptures was so good this week! It's funny how our personal studies can go from being in a lull too being so good so quickly! We just have to be patient and consistent in those "lull" moments. I will just bullet point some of my favourite things:

- aaron and the other sons of mosiah were just as diligent and faithful as ammon but their immediate results were not the same. they didn't lose their zeal for the work though (like I do a lot of the time). As soon as they were let out of prison they "went forth again to declare the word" (alma 21:15). this especailly applies to missionaries but it can apply to all of us. When we don't see the results that we feel like we deserve to be getting or that other people are getting, don't quit and don't get discouraged! God more often then not will push us to the edge of our faith (the games more interesting when all of the miracles happen in the forth quarter anyway;)

- we can humble ourselves by not judging others for the things they do or don't do. "true believers see colleagues as colleagues, not competitors"

- there was a really good talk on sunday by elder smith who is in the mission presidency. He said some really good things that I am just going to paraphrase. "we are a light to the world to bring glory to God, not to ourselves.... this world is getting increasingly darker and so no matter how dim you feel you light is, a star is a star and is a beacon of hope to a dark and hopeless world... to invite others to come to our homes as a missionary opportunity we don't need to wait until the perfect time, till we have the new dining room set or until the house is perfectly clean, remember we are not doing it to bring glory to ourselves, it is for God!

There are so many other things but that is all I have time for!! pray for bayne! he was the elders investigator that we are working with now. He feels like he has a lot of different road blocks but he is so ready for baptism!!

love sister wood

Thursday, November 22, 2018

I'm probably just going to be starting these last 4 emails with I'M FREAKING OUT because that is what I am doing everyday haha! 

wow what a week! so we found out yesterday that sister edwards and I are staying in bridgewater together for my last 3 weeks and then she will be going to halifax to be in a trio for the rest of the transfer and then she will be coming back to bridgewater and training!!  so that's exciting! I 'm so happy that I get to stay here! they are taking elders out of bridgewater and so we will be working with the people the elders are teaching. they are teaching one man named bayne right now and they have been working with him for awhile. We had a FHE with them and some different members on monday and bayne is just so ready to be baptized but he just needs the courage to take that step!! He is such a sweet man and has been through so much. he made this comment about how strong he felt the spirit at our last FHE (We had watched president nelson bearing his testimony in Jerusalem) and all four of us missionaries just had smiles up to our ears. Theresa was at Fhe too. We've taught her three time this past week but she is leaving back to halifax on thursday. She has so many different obstacles to overcome but she knows that she can find stability in the gospel. 

I don't have enough time to say all that I want to say but this week was hard each day that we didnt' hear from mary and vienna I found myself getting more and more sad. Long story short, we still haven't heard from them but I am feeling much better now. I have a stronger testimony of fasting and the importance of personal scripture study. I know that God pushes us to the edge of our faith becasue that is where the growing happens. and just like joseph smith before he had the first vision, we too in life experience the bad before the good. And often when things are at their worst it is because something so amazing is just around the corner. Satan wants to discourage us from enduring and continuing to press forwards. But we NEED to "press forward with a perfect brightness of hope!" and that is called patience. Patience is not just enduring but it is facing delay, opposition, or trouble with hope! and hope is having confidence that all things will work together for God's good (which is our good because God has our best intentions in mind). Like moses when he parted the red sea, before it parted he first had to show his faith and commitment by stepping into the water before it parted. WE too have to show God our commitment before we can witness the miracles in our lives! the miracle that I witnessed today I think from my commitment to have more hope is we got a media referral, his name is scott and we are meeting with him tonight!! 

Love sister wood!!

another fav part of the week is a member who we thougtht was dead came up and talked to us in dairy queen, that was not expected. WE are happy she's alive:)

November 13, 2018

It was a great week! A few downsides were that we didn't get to meet with Mary and  Vienna but we are really hoping that we will hear back from them today. Last night we had family home evening with the Normans who are one of the ward missionary companions in the ward. The elders had Bayne there, who they are teaching and who we will be teaching after there are no more Elders here in Bridgewater, so that was awesome.we did a lesson about prophets and the spirit was so strong  I just know  that President Nelson is the living Prophet today  and I am so so grateful  for that . Also Theresa was there! Theresa came to church on Sunday with the Normans she is Sister Norman's niece. We are teaching her tomorrow and are super excited. a long time ago and she left in BC she read the Book of Mormon and said that she'll never forget that feeling, she didn't pursue it at the time but now she wants to! 

Last week we had exchanges in Halifax and we got to do a booth downtown haha that's always crazy. sister Barlow and I were contacting together and we met a lot of cool people but I think the coolest person was Aria. we introduced ourselves and told her we were doing a booth about the Book of Mormon and she was like oh cool I'm reading that book right now! We were like what!?! So after us freaking out we asked her more about where she got it from. she said her uncle had given it to her and told her to read it he is just very into religion. I will have to follow up on some more to see if they have been able to meet with her again yet :-) and I tried to meet up with ximena who I taught in Dartmouth but the lesson ended up falling through but I will not give up on her! I know that she can be baptized! We then got to teach Bobby who is in Halifax right now. She is pregnant and due any day. Something cool that we talked about is guilt. often times when we think of guilt we just think of the negatives of it but we got to talking about how guilt is a good thing because when we feel guilt that means we want to repent and we want to change. That means we expect more of ourselves and that we are not desensitized to the spirit. And so I'm grateful that I can feel guilt and that I can always be improving. 

So exchanges were on Wednesday and then on Thursday we had the new missionary conference which was awesome! The best part was getting to do a session at the temple and guess who is at that Temple session... alayna! I got to sit beside her in the temple and that was just one of the best moments of my mission and probably of my life! I remember sitting beside her on her couch in her living room meeting her for the first time and her telling us that she didn't want to pray and didn't feel like reading the scriptures. to go from that two sitting beside her in the temple just filled my heart with too much joy I couldn't hold back the tears. Another lesson that I relearned this week is that God will magnify our best efforts to do what we know is right. There were two occasions this past week where, because we talked with everyone, we were led to opportunities to serve. I know that if we do what we know is right God will lead us to where he needs us to be :-)

We are starting to teach all the members a lesson to introduce light the world this year! I am so stinking excited for light the world and Christmas!

 Love you all and have an amazing week! love sister wood

November 6, 2019

In my journal for the past week and a half, I have been focusing on how I saw God's kindness that day and it has blessed me so much to do this! This past saturday there was a crazy wind/rain storm and the member that we were planning on going to see and see had to cancel because their power was out. so we were out knocking 6-9 haha but just at 7:40 when we would've had to leave to drive to the members house we met frank and gene! We were able to give them a book of mormon and are going back this week to teach them!:D That was just one of the miracles that I noticed this week because I took the time to ponder how I saw God's hand in my life that day. I know that the scriptures tell us to ponder for a reason:) 3 nephi 17:3 "..ponder upon the things which I have said... that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow...". Pondering helps us to face the next's days battles with joy and understanding! At zone conference on friday we were reminded of the importance of the book of mormon. Everything that we share a missionaries and everything we do rests on and comes back to whether or not the book of mormon is true. so.. Is it True? is it true to you? to help bear stronger testimony of the book of mormon, before we get out of the car we have been flipping to a random, favourite scripture and spend a couple minutes talking about it and then continue to talk about it as we walk. One of my favourites lately was jacob 6:5. part of it says "come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as He cleaveth unto you."I love that, I want to have full purpose of heart, and I want my actions to say that I cleave to God. He is our partner in this life, he didn't leave us here alone.  My sister sent me a quote this week that also talks about this:)  

 Elder Klebingat  “accept trials, setbacks, and “surprises” as part of your mortal experience. Remember that you are here to be proved and tested, “to see if [you] will do all things whatsoever the Lord [your] God shall command [you]” (Abraham 3:25)--and may I just add, “under all circumstances.” Millions of your brothers and sisters have been or are being thus tested, so why would you be exempt? Some trials come through your own disobedience or negligence. Other trials come because of the negligence of others or simply because this is a fallen world. When these trials come, the adversary’s minions begin broadcasting that you did something wrong, that this is a punishment, a sign that Heavenly Father does not love you. Ignore that! Instead, try to force a smile, gaze heavenward, and say, “I understand, Lord. I know what this is. A time to prove myself, isn’t it?” Then partner with Him to endure well to the end. Spiritual confidence increases when you accept that “often trials and tribulations are allowed to come into [your life] because of what [you] are doing right”
We are given so many opportunities to prove ourself! and it doesn't matter how many we have messed up in the past because as long as we are willing try, God is willing to forgive. 

Something supper cool that happened is steven in dartmouth got baptized in dartmouth on saturday!! sister cartwright and I first talked to steven at the bus stop right across the road from our appartment. He told us that he was a member of the church and was baptized in new jersey. Long story short, after looking for his records and asking him more questions we found out that he had been baptized but it wasn't into the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and so ever since i left dartmouth they have been teaching him and he finally get baptized!! All of our contacting at that bus stop paid off!!! ( haha we had a lot of interesting times there, only got yelled at once though:)).

WE have exchanges in halifax this week and also the new missionary conference (which we get to go to the temple for!!). I messaged ximena and i will get to see her tomorrow too! she stopped meeting with the sisters for a bit but I just know that she can be baptized !!!! 

have an amazing week!!

love sister wood

October 30, 2018

The weeks are flying by!

This email is probably just going to be all over the place so sorry about that in advance. I just love the members here so much they are so enthusiastic about the gospel and so willing to help us with teaching people and to let us come teach them in their homes. Sister beck is just one of my favorite people ever! She's always pumping us up :-). So lots of things have been happening with Mary in Vienna, it's crazy how many obstacles pop up when someone is on the path to making their first Covenant with God. Mary had been really sick the past few weeks and just wasn't even able to call us back but sister back finally got ahold of her and was able to ask her if she wanted a priesthood blessing and she said yes so Thursday we are able to go over Mary got a priesthood blessing. The next morning she texted us first thing and said that she is feeling so much better! Miracles! So then we got to teach them lots and on Saturday we got to teach them about tithing which is always the nail biting lesson haha 10 minutes before the lesson sister Beck said that she wasn't going to be able to make it and so we were freaking out a bit. But the lesson went awesome, Mary said that she feels guilty that she hasn't been paying tithing haha the explained that she doesn't need to pay tithing or fast offerings till after she's baptized. That night they were so excited to come to church and Vienna was telling us all about this new skirt that she had :-). So the next morning at church we are waiting by the doors for them but nine world around and then 9:05 and then 9:10 and they still work there we were so confused. They didn't get back to us till Monday and they told us how Mary's mother-in-law who lives 40 minutes away had fallen in the night and they have to drive out to help her. And so they're having to drive out there a lot and we aren't able to meet with them but we know that God will provide a way for us to teach them the lessons that they need to before November 17th!

 I had a cool experience hurting the scriptures this past week I was reading in second Nephi about the prophecy of the Book of Mormon being delivered to someone who has much learning and them saying I cannot read a sealed book. I felt doubt come into my mind but I wanted to know that this was a true prophecy and not just something written by a man I remembered moroni's promise. I prayed and asked for another witness that these things were true and as soon as I prayed I recognized something in the chapter heading. It said to compare the chapter to Isaiah 29...another witness haha. It was such a simple thing but it just meant so much to me in that moment and really helped me as weed later on went to teach Kate ( that Mom that we had met in the past) about moroni's promise. We really focused on how when we read we need to have faith that these things are true and push out doubt and that's when we will receive a witness of the truth.

 I know that the Book of Mormon was really written by the people of ancient America and translated for us by a prophet of God. I know that reading it brings out of power into our life and a greater determination to do what's right and to do what's necessary to keep our family strong. I love it so much!

Love sister wood