Sister Amy Woodland

November 24, 2014 (Pictures)

Sister Hindman and I!

Knocking on some doors! (:

November 24, 2014 (Bed bugs and roaches...)

Hey Fam!

So this week has been so crazy! Just when I thought I was in the clear from ever getting bed bugs again... We woke up Wednesday morning and I went out to our living room to start exercising and all of a sudden I hear Sister Hindman say, "Sister Woodland, could you get a tissue... there is a bug by my bed." So I got a tissue and went to see what kind of bug it was... and wouldn't ya know it was a bed bug!!!!! I HATE THOSE BUGS SO MUCH. Seriously. I just can't seem to catch a break with them... I guess the only good thing from having bed bugs multiple times is that you start to get good at knowing how to deal with them! haha So I quickly stripped our beds and we threw our blankets and sheets into the washer and dryer and we sprayed EVERYTHING DOWN. We actually never found another bed bug. So that was a good thing! We only ever found that one. But I still sprayed seriously everything down and we washed everything! It is all good now. We haven't seen another one since so I am hoping that they have all either died or we really only had that one bed bug! Then we were over to a Less Actives house and she is being evicted from her apartment and we offered to help her. We had just decided to try this lady because all it said on our Ward List was that she is Less Active. So we decided to stop by and get to know her more. She said that she would love the help moving and so we brought her some boxes on Saturday night. When we went into her apartment things were everywhere. We just stood there....probably with really shocked faces... haha But as we were talking with her and her sister I kept noticing these bugs crawling on the walls and ceiling. I didn't know what they were until she killed one with her shoe. I asked her what kind of bug that was, she acted like I was dumb or something. haha She said, “Have you never seen a roach before?" hahahahaha I was like.... uuuuhhhhh nope! hahaha THEY WERE EVERYWHERE. Oh my goodness sakes. I had to do everything within my power to not completely flip out right then and there. I AM SO OVER THESE BUGS. I never thought that I would ever have to deal with bed bugs and roaches before. haha I feel like I am serving out of the United States sometimes! But I don't think we have cockroaches in our apartment. After we left the less actives apartment we checked ourselves to make sure we didn't have any bugs on us! So hopefully we are good there.... I don't think I could deal with cockroaches too. hahahahaha

It has definitely been an eventful week! Even though it was not exactly what we were expecting we still saw some really cool miracles! We had an appointment on Wednesday with a former investigator and we were a little bit nervous at first in the lesson. We thought that he was going to just argue with us at first, but as we listened to him and continued on with the lesson and it actually went really well! I know that the only way we were able to answer his questions and help him understand the Book of Mormon more was because the spirit was there! It was so amazing. After we had finished teaching him we got into our car and just screamed! haha We both couldn't even believe what came out of our mouths. The spirit definitely filled our mouths with the words that this man needed to hear at that time. It was definitely a testimony builder to me, that if we are prepared the Lord with help out with the rest. We just have to trust that He will. We are also teaching a lady right now named Jackie. Jackie is so amazing. She is from Haiti! Her brother is our Ward Clerk. One of the members who is really good friends with her told us that someone had tried to tell Jackie that our church is wrong and that she should go to a different church, but Jackie told them NO!!! She said to that person that she knows this church is true. I was SO stinkin happy! We have been trying to help her find out for herself if the church is true and we haven't been sure if she really has known. But that was an answer to our prayers knowing that she really does know that this is exactly where she needs to be. She was able to get a priesthood blessing yesterday from the elders and it was so powerful! She has been going through a lot with her family and different things and the blessing addressed all of that. When the blessing was over she had the biggest smile on her face and you could tell that she could feel God's love for her. She wants to be baptized in January! So that is what we are going to be planning for! She is so incredible! We are still working on finding more people to teach, but I know that the Lord will continue to bless us with those who are prepared as long as we our doing our part to find them! (:

Isaiah is doing good! We are teaching him his new member lessons right now and they are going well. You can tell that he really loves the gospel! It has been fun for me to get to know him and to help his testimony grow! We will hopefully get his membership record soon so we can get him to the Temple to do baptisms for the dead. Also, we are getting things ready so that he can receive the Aaronic Priesthood! I got a voicemail this week from Elizabeth!!! She is doing SO awesome! She is just so amazing. She seriously amazes me every time I hear from her. She is doing really well and she gets to speak in Sacrament meeting soon! She is loving her calling as primary pianist and she got to help out with the Primary Program for their ward! She is also been assigned women to visit teach! And she is just loving it all! I feel so blessed to be apart both Isaiah's and Elizabeth's conversion processes! They both are seriously the best!!

I am doing so great! I am feeling TONS better and things are going great over here! I am glad things are going well back home! I will be keeping mom in my prayers for this Wednesday. I know things are going to be just fine! (: WE HAVE TOTALLY GOT THIS! <3 I hope that things go great this week for everyone! I think it is so great that everyone decided to stay at home and be with Mom for Thanksgiving! I mean seriously. We have the greatest family. Take good care of Mom for me! (:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

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

Love, Sister Woodland

P.S. We get to play some football in our Zones "Turkey Bowl" on Thursday at 9 am and then at 3 pm we are going over to a member’s home for Thanksgiving. There will be like 3 or 4 families in the ward there and then us and the elders! So it should be lots of fun! (:

November 17, 2014 (Havin some fun in New York!)

Hey fam!

So first things first... Our mission president has come down with some new rules and we are not allowed to email back and forth with anyone. :( So that is a bummer, but I know that it is all for a good reason. SO ya'll are just going to have to send some more letters with more detail about what all is going on in your lives. (: Next thing, I WILL HAVE BEEN OUT FOR 11 MONTHS TOMORROW. This is nuts. Anyway, let's not talk too much about that one... That is so crazy that it snowed in Utah. Well actually it isn't that crazy, but I AM SO EXCITED FOR THE SNOW. haha So I guess what I am trying to say is that I am a little jealous! I am ready for the winter! I know I won't like it after a couple of months, but I am ready for it now! (: It is definitely getting extremely cold here though. I am starting to remember just how bitter the humid cold is. I have now been here to see all of the different seasons so that is crazy... I am glad things are going well back home! As for what I want for Christmas... I still don't really know... haha Um.... I would like a new CTR ring. Maybe a new dress or something... I LOVED that blue striped dress that you got me for my birthday! It is super comfy so maybe something else like that. Surprise me! (:

It was a crazy week this week! I think I had a "mid-mission crisis"... Is that possible? hahahaha I have kind of felt like I was stuck in a rut, just going through the motions as a missionary for a while. I think I was just doing things because I knew that I "had" to do them, not because I "wanted" to do them. So this week I have been really trying to figure out how to get that desire back. Thank goodness for the Lord's hand in all things! For the first time in a long time I FINALLY found it. I realized that I wasn't truly enjoying being here. It was more like I was forcing myself to be happy and not really enjoying the small and simple things. So props to you Mom on that spiritual thought and scripture! Because that is exactly what has helped me to really love being a missionary again and not to just "go through the motions". We can always find something in our lives to be unhappy about or that discourages us, but when we can look beyond all of that and just be in the here and now we will always find joy! When I woke up on Saturday morning I decided that for the rest of my mission I was going to find JOY in every aspect of missionary work. No matter what. And I did. When we went out that day I talked to people on the street, not because President Taggart has asked us to, not because I want impress any missionary, but because I want to share the gospel with my brothers and sisters. I want to do what the Savior has asked me to do. And I was so much happier!! It was so crazy! After the day was over and we went back to our apartment both Sister Hindman and I were so happy! We saw so much success because we know that we did everything that the Savior would have done that day. We found "Joy in the Journey". So yes. As a missionary you can still get stuck in ruts... hahaha SHOOT. It is a good thing though that because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ we can always get out of those stinkin things! (: WHAT A RELIEF. We saw some really cool miracles this week and we found 2 new investigators!! We are working a lot with calling and contacting former investigators and we are getting a lot of appointments from that. We are meeting some really incredible people. I think for the first time in my entire mission I have actually liked going out and knocking on doors... haha Things are definitely starting to pick up here and I am so excited to be in this area with Sister Hindman! There is just so much to do in this area and so little time! Sister Hindman and I were talking the other day and we both agreed we could stay in this area until the end of our missions... That probably won't happen... But I am just so grateful to be here serving a mission! I just stinking love it! (:

S. Hindman and I knocking apartments... we were trying to figure out how to get in... (gotta hate when the outside door is locked) haha

Well greatest family in the whole wide world! Thanks for being the best EVER. I seriously just am so grateful for all ya'll! Couldn't do this without you! I hope that you have a great week! Keep sharing the gospel! (:

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

Love, Sister Woodland

November 10, 2014 (SERVICE.)

Hi. (:

So this week has been super great, but I feel like it has been a little bit of an off week! I guess you have to have some of those every now and then! We were planning on Thursday and we felt like we needed to drop most of the investigators that we had. They just aren't progressing and they have been investigators for quite some time. So we are going to be doing a whole lot of finding and increasing our teaching pool right now! We definitely have a lot of work cut out for us! But I am totally ready for it! (: I FINALLY feel like I am getting my energy back! It has been a weird few weeks! Ever since I got a cold I just haven't been able to get back to normal! I have just been so tired all of the time. So the mission doctor wanted me to go in somewhere to make sure things were okay. The doctor was really awesome and super thorough! I had an EKG done and it was normal and then they took some blood to be tested. He had me also go in and get a chest x-ray and a sinus x-ray. I kinda felt like a lab rat... haha We were at the doctors quite a bit this week! But the chest x-ray was normal and the blood work came back normal as well. The sinus x-ray showed that I had a lot of inflammation so he put me on some antibiotics for the next two weeks! I seriously am so over sinus infections! I seem to get them allllllll of the time! It is all good though! I feel like slowly but surely I am getting more and more energy!

We were able to do a ton of service this week! That was basically all we did on Wednesday! We went over to a members in the morning and helped her rake her leaves! She has a HUGE yard! Also, there are like a bajillion trees here so there were like 50 times a bajillion leaves! hahaha It was fun though! We then got to go over to a Less Actives home and help them clean. They are hoarders and have had a lot of financial troubles and so they have to move out of their home. So we are helping them throw things away and clean things up. I think there are a lot of hoarders on the east coast. Or at least I have helped a lot of them so far on my mission. I'll probably come home and become a hoarder...(; On Wednesday night we got to help a family move in! They moved here from Arizona and they are so great! I am excited that they are here. This ward really needs strong families! They are definitely going to be a blessing for this ward! I think the wife was a little bit in shock coming from the west coast to the east coast though! It reminded me of how in shock I was when I first got out here! But I have come to love the east coast SO much! It will always hold such a special place in my heart! Serving is probably one of my favorite things! I think that is one of the biggest reasons I love being a missionary so much! I just love being able to serve those around me 24/7! There really is no better feeling! (:

So I was supposed to teach Young Women's yesterday, but it got changed and so I am teaching them next week. The lesson that I was asked to teach on is "Why is work an important gospel principle". I think I am really the one that needed to hear this lesson. IT IS SO GOOD. There is a talk by President Uchtdorf titled "Two Principles for Any Economy" and he talks about the principle of work. He says" How I admire men, women, and children who know how to work! How the Lord loves the laborer! He said, 'In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,' and ' The laborer is worthy of his hire.' He also gave a promise: 'Thrust in your sickle with all your soul, and your sins are forgiven you.' Those who are unafraid to roll up their sleeves and lose themselves in the pursuit of worthwhile goals are a blessing to their families, communities, nations, and to the Church." The Lord expects us to work. He wants us to do our part so that He can do His! He then goes on to say, "When our wagon gets stuck in the mud, God is much more likely to assist the man who gets out to push than the man who merely raises his voice in prayer-- no matter how eloquent the oration. President Thomas S. Monson put it this way: 'It is not enough to want to make the effort and to say we'll make the effort,... It's in the doing, not just the thinking, that we accomplish our goals. If we constantly put our goals off, we will never see them fulfilled.'" I definitely know that I need to be better at this! I am so grateful I was able to prepare for this lesson!

Well Family! I just stinkin love you all SO much! I will be keeping Mom in my prayers especially on the 26th! I know that things will be just fine! (: I know that the Lord is watching over all of you! (: Thanks for everything yous do for me! I hope that you have a great week this week!

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

Love, Sister Woodland

November 3, 2014 (Pictures)

Pictures with Sister page!

Pics with random missionaries at transfer conference! (:

MISSIONARIES!

November 3, 2014 (HERE WE GO!)

FAMILY!

I am glad that everyone had a great Halloween! That is a bummer that you didn't have too many people come around this year... I feel like it just gets slower and slower each year. Shoot! Halloween was good here! We had to be inside our apartment by 6 pm on October

30th and 31st. It was fun to just hang out inside and watch some movies. We got to watch Ephraim's Rescue and 17 Miracles! THEY ARE SO GOOD. So it was definitely a different Halloween, but it was still a lot of fun! I am now companions with Sister Hindman. We were in the MTC together and we also served around each other our first 2 transfers in the mission! So it has been fun to be serving around each other again as companions! She is super awesome! I am still trying to figure this area out... I have only been here for 1 transfer and now I am leading the area... haha but I think things are coming together! Hopefully... haha there is so much work to do in this area! So I am so excited to really get to work and to work hard! This last week was a little slower just because of everything going on and having to be inside so early, but we have a lot to do this upcoming week! Isaiah was able to receive the Gift of The Holy Ghost yesterday! He is so great! I am so excited to start teaching his family! We were supposed to teach them on Saturday, but they had to cancel last minute! Part of me feels like the children will all be baptized before the parents. Who knows. I am just so grateful that they have the desire to learn and to come closer to Jesus Christ! We are also teaching a lady right now named Jackie! She is from Haiti and she is awesome! She had been taught by missionaries a while ago, but something happened and she backed out. She had a baptismal date set and everything. She told us that she is ready now though. At our first lesson with her she said that wants to be able to go inside the Temple! I was super excited. I told her, "THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT FOR YOU TOO!" We invited her to be baptized, but she was a little hesitant. So we are working right now on figuring out what is holding her back! She comes to church every Sunday though! He brother is actually our Ward Clerk! We also have been working with a mom and her two daughters, but we can't seem to get a hold of them and they don't return our calls. So we are going to just stop by sometime this week! They are such a great family and I hope that we will still be able to meet with them! We have a lot of work now to do with increasing our teaching pool! There are so many people here that are ready to hear about the restored gospel. We just gotta go out and find them! (: So I am excited to do some finding activities this week! It is always good to just knock on some doors sometimes! (:

I have been really focusing this last week and a half on strengthening my relationship with my Savior. I was reading in Alma 31:31-34 and in verse 31 it says, "O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people." I loved that verse so much. I know that recently I have really been able to find comfort for my soul in Christ. And there really is no better place to find that comfort. It reminds me of the picture with the Savior standing at the door and there is no door knob on His side. We have to make the decision to let the Savior into our own lives. He is ALWAYS there, but we need to make that decisions to open up that door and let him in. I have really found a lot of comfort in that. There have been moments recently where I have been able to feel the Savior wrap His arms around me and carry me through the hard times. I am so thankful for Him. I have been able to realize now more than I ever have before that our Savior lives. I know that he loves me because I have been able to feel that love so powerfully. I know that no matter what happens in life, Jesus Christ is always right there beside us ready to help. We just have to let him. (:

Sorry for the short email! Thanks for all your love and support! I am so grateful for each of you! I hope that you have a great week! (: BEST. FAMILY. EVER.

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

Love, Sister Woodland