October 27, 2014 (Pictures)

PUMPKINS!

Carving Pumpkins! (:

A member took us out to get some hot chocolate!

October 27, 2014 (Perfect Way to End a Transfer!)

Hey Fam!

     So it was a busy week making sure we got everything ready for Isaiah's and Rosie's baptism! We still had quite a bit we needed to teach Isaiah, but we were able to get through all of the lessons! We were both a little worried that we wouldn't be able to get through everything or that he wouldn't fully understand what we were teaching him, but when we went over the baptismal interview questions he knew and understood so much! It was so neat to see that God really did prepare Isaiah and that the real teacher in all of our lessons was really the Holy Ghost. I am so grateful that he has a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that he was ready to take this first step towards our Heavenly Father! The baptism went really well! Our Bishop really likes to have baptisms right after church is over so that everyone in the Ward can be there to support whoever is getting baptized. So basically our entire Ward was there and then some other people who were not members! Isaiah's whole family was able to make it! It was so great! It was really cool to watch Isaiah's parents. They were watching everything that was going on so intently. While we were waiting for Isaiah and Rosie to get changed we put in the Restoration DVD and watched through the 1st vision. You could tell that the spirit was really working on Isaiah's parents. We talked with Isaiah's dad after the baptism was over and he told us that he felt something different. Something that he had never felt before. We asked him if we could come and teach the rest of the family and he agreed!!! It has been so neat for me to see that by the example of a 13 year old boy, a whole family can embrace the Gospel! (:

     

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The other person that was baptized was a little girl named Rosie and we have been working with her family because they have been Less Active for a while. They have been coming back to church for the last 4-5 Sundays and the mom really wanted her older daughter to be baptized. So we got the opportunity to work with her as well!! Their family is from Samoa! So stinkin cool! Rosie is soooo adorable! I just love their family so much!

     So all in all it really turned out to be a great week!! The week leading up to a baptism is always crazy. It is definitely just satan...No worries though, we won!!! (: I just love being able to help my brothers and sisters follow the example of Jesus Christ. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. I am serious. Times like this make up for every single hard time. (:

     Sister Rigby is getting transferred and so I will be getting a new companion tomorrow! Transfers are always a little intense! haha I will let you know all about it next week! I am glad that things are going good back home! Thanks for all the letters and love! haha YOUS ARE THE BEST EVER!!!

LOVE YOUS TO THE MOON AND BACK!! WE GOT THIS!! 

Love, Sister Woodland

October 20, 2014 (Pictures)

This is me and a member named Sister Jean-Louise and her mom! They are from Haiti! 

Me and my sister training leader! (:

This is the grossest picture ever, but I was so excited to receive the Halloween package!!! Don't judge! 

So... these pictures are super funny... no one came and cleaned the church on Saturday so one of the Bishopric members when to get a vacuum to clean it up and it all back fired on him and just made more of a mess... How many church members does it take to clean the foyer of the church?? (;

October 20, 2014 (In Full Swing)

Hey Fam!

     So I am glad that Dad is okay and that things are going well back at home! Sounds like you guys are pretty busy! It has been kinda weird to not be home for the Fall... haha One of our members asked me the other day... "How much longer do you have on your mission?" I went to answer him and told him 8 months! AAAHHH. Can you even believe that I only have 8 months left?! It kinda shocked me when I actually said it out loud. So crazy that I have been out for over 10 months now! Things are a little crazy over here! We have been sooooooo busy with teaching so many people right now! Which is SO great! (: I love being that busy teaching people! We are getting our 13 year old investigator, Isaiah, ready to be baptized this upcoming Sunday! Everything is lookin good and he is super excited to be baptized! We were really focusing this week on making sure that he received an answer for himself that the Book of Mormon is true. We invited him to pray about it and we followed up with him on Tuesday and he had not prayed. So we taught him just about the Book of Mormon again and really emphasized the importance of it. We invited him to pray that night and ask God if the Book of Mormon is true again and that we would call him the next day to see how it went! We called him on Thursday and he told us that he received an answer and that when he prayed he felt good and that feeling just increased. He said I just KNOW it is true! It was so amazing! We were praying so hard that he would receive an answer. AND HE DID! (: I was so excited for him!! So we are going to be teaching Isaiah a lot this week to get him prepared for his baptism.

     We are also working with a mother and her two daughters right now. They are super awesome! They have been struggling though and we have really been trying to figure out what their concerns have been. They have been invited to be baptized and both times they were very hesitant and they didn't want to commit to an actual date until they really KNEW. Which is something we completely understand, but the mom had been telling us that everything she has learned so far just seems right. She said it all just makes sense. So it has been really hard to get her to understand that that is the Holy Ghost letting her know that what she is learning is true. She FINALLY told us one of her concerns this week. She said that it has been a little hard for her to get used to how our church works. She was raised Pentecostal and has been used to having a Preacher stand up in front and teach with a ton of enthusiasm and to be really involved. She used the analogy of the children's story "Jack and Jill". She said it would be a little different for you to be told one day that Jack and Jill didn't go up the hill to get water, but that they went and got juice. And that is where she is right now. She has been raised all her life in another church and now she is learning different things. She also said that she has been baptized three times and none of those times were her decisions and that she just want to really be sure of this one because it will finally be her decision. So we were soooooo grateful that she was finally honest with us so now we can teach her according to her needs and concerns and now we will be able to resolve them and help her and her girls receive the answer that they are so desperately looking for!

     Those are the people that we are working the most with right now! We are also trying to get into all of our members’ homes and give them the "Gratitude Journal". We just really want to let the Ward members know that we love them and appreciate them so much! This Ward really needs that right now! This Ward has been really blessed with some incredible members that have recently moved in and they are seriously helping to keep things running smoothly here! I am so grateful for them! We got to go help out the Baldwin's this week move into their rental home! It was fun to go help clean the home and move things in! It is so good to be able to just do some service each week! 

     On a random note... People here have the weirdest Halloween decorations... It is a little creepy... haha I think some of these people take Halloween a little too seriously! I have realized though since I have been out here on the East Coast that people either go ALL OUT for different Holidays or they don't do anything. There really is no in between... 

THANKS FOR THE PACKAGES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously you guys are the best EVER. I was sooo stinkin excited to get all of that cute Halloween stuff! And all of the soaps and hand sanitizers from Bath and Body Works! It was seriously the perfect timing for each of those packages! I have the greatest family EVER! I seriously do feel so blessed for all you do for me! So thanks again! I hope that you guys have a great week! 

LOVE YOUS TO THE MOON & BACK!! WE GOT THIS!

Love, Sister Woodland

P.S. I have started doing a journal on my camera about my day and when the SD card is all filled up I am going to send it home so you guys and watch it and laugh and how crazy I am! (: I think it will be a cool way to remember my mission!