Just a good week!

So this week flew by super fast! I´m loving, LOVING Guarabira. It has everything--amazing people to teach, beautiful hills, a big town square filled with trees and Christmas lights, and tons and tons of Açai and Guaraná! Í have to admit that my companion and I are a little addicted to acai! I wish you guys could try it, but this is just no way to take it back with me! Don´t worry though, it will definitely be a food present in the Celestial Kingdom. This last week we worked super hard and met a lot of really cool people, but unfortunately very few of them went to church yesterday. Truly the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak describes these people. They are just so wonderful, but when it comes down to going to church they just give excuses! This past week we watched the Joseph Smith movie with an investigator and recent convert and I just forgot how much I love that movie! When they briefly showed the first missionaries going to Europe and teaching I felt super proud to be a missionary! That movie really was awesome though and helped me feel the Spirit and gain a stronger testimony about the Prophet Joseph Smith. What a hard life he had! How grateful I am that he never gave up, but endured to the end, restored Christ´s gospel, and therefore blessed the lives of millions and millions of people. After the movie/lesson we exited the tiny house and started walking through the neighborhood on the cobblestoned street I just thinking about how cool it was that I am preaching the same gospel that Joseph Smith restored and the same gospel that the Savior taught to the people in Jerusalem. It is just the coolest thing ever to preach the gospel...to carry the good news of the gospel. And even more of a blessing to preach to the Brazilian people! At times I think it will be the weirdest thing to return home. I´m used to small houses painted all sorts of wild colors, cobblestoned trees, palm trees, loud Brazilian music blasting from the houses, burning hot sun, beans and rice, etc. The U.S. will be a huge shock and I getting super nervous about going back home in April. Luckily I still have a few months to get used to the fact that I have to go home. Well yesterday I gave a talk and so did my district leader Elder Siqueira! We must have done a pretty good job because everyone complimented us afterwards. I talked about one of the biggest mistakes I made in my life---to wait until my mission to be a missionary. All my life I thought, wow I can't wait to be a missionary. What I didn't realized is that you can be a missionary at any point in your life! I told the branch that at the beginning of my mission I just started to think about the hundreds and thousands of people I talked to in my life and how I rarely shared the gospel. After almost 15 months on the mission I think the Lord is finally forgiving me for all the opportunities I had to share the gospel and didn't. I think this is one of the biggest mistakes we as members make. We think that giving a reference to the missionaries every 6 months makes us a member missionary. If I come back and am this type of member missionary I hope the Lord strikes me down on the spot! Anyway, well I hope you all are doing great! Have a wonderful week and Merry Christmas to you all!

Short, but sweet ☺

Well these first few days in Guarabira have been fun! I was a little lost in the beginning because there are a million little streets and alleys that you can go down. Luckily I have my companion so we don't get lost too much. Guarabira reminds me a lot of Italian towns, just less cute and pictuesque. It is extremely hilly and I´ve been loving it. It is like being on a stair-stepper all day. This past week we taught a lot of people in a neighborhood near the chapel that is being built. They are a little bit poorer than the rest of the people here and therefore are more humble as well. We have been having a lot of sucess with them and baptized a young woman yesterday who is just super cute! We brought 4 people to church yesterday and one of them loved the testimonies of the members so much that she unexpectedly jumped up and bore her own. She is such a cutie! She wants to get baptized, but she has to go to church 6 more times before she can be! So sometime in January! While the chapel is being built the branch is meeting in a house in the downtown. The sacrament meeting is held in a pavilion type of thing behind the house and it was just the coolest thing every to see it filled with stallwart Latter-day Saints. The testimony meeting was definitely one of the best I´ve witnessed on the mission and maybe in my life. The Spirit was extremely strong and just got stronger and stronger with each members testimony. I´m super excited to work with these wonderful members! The end of my mission will be the best I´m thinking! Well I hope you all are doing great and enjoying the cold weather. It is hot and steamy down here! Have a great week!

Love, Sister Wood

P.S. I found this super cool quote by Elder Christofferson this past week in my studies:

``Some see only sacrifice and limitations in obedience to the commandments of the new and everlasting covenant, but those who live the experience--who give themselves freely and unreservedly to the covenant life--find greater liberty and fulfillment. When we truly understand, we seek more commandments, not fewer. Each new law or commandment we learn and live is like one more rung or step on a ladder that enables us to climb higher and higher and higher. Truly, the gospel life is the good life.``

All I can say is AMEN!

Guarabira!

Well after 8 months in Tibiri I got transferred to Guarabira! I was super shocked on Monday when I found out I would be transferred. President H didn´t feel good about me staying there in Tibiri with my woman stalker wandering the streets. Speaking of which Sister G and I had a few run ins with my stalker this week. The scariest happened Monday night when we were walking in the street at night and kept hearing someone hissing at us. This is pretty normal so we just ignored it thinking it was a retarded drunk guy, but then Sister G turned around and saw ANA about 10 feet behind us! I got super nervous because she was SUPER CREEPY. I instantly yelled~~`` Ana, não fala comigo!`` (Ana, don´t talk to me) and then we took off running because she kept getting closer. We ditched our coconut that we were drinking the water from and booked it out of there. Needless to say I´m glad I left Tibiri. I won't have to ever see her again!

At the same time though leaving Tibiri was super sad. I really really loved the people there and pretty much spent a lot of yesterday giving hugs and crying. There are some really special people in that city that I will miss. Since Sister H is going home tomorrow her ward had a big going away party and invited us as well. I feel like a part of that ward as well because we live in the other ward´s boundaries and all our neighbors are members. It turned out to be a joint-goodbye party after everyone found out I was going as well. We all ended up eating dinner together and one of the members made a HUGE cake that was pretty darn delicious. Afterwards the young men and women said they wanted to say goodbye to us Brazilian style. They sat all four of us down and attacked us with green paint on our faces. Then they threw bags of flour on us! It was so much fun. I couldnt stop laughing. I looked at Sister G and just cracked up so much because she looked so ridiculous but then I realized I looked super ridiculous as well. They wanted to crack an egg on our heads, but luckily they had pity on us! It was a wonderful night though and Sister H and I definitely felt the love. The next day two irmãs did my hair and nails. I just couldn't stand the thought of heading to a new area without my nails being done. I´ve become very nail conscious here in Brazil, but don't worry I don´t go to the salon, I´ve learned how to do my own! Anyway yesterday was just a ton of food and goodbyes. The members gave me many presents and were just super hard to say goodbye to.

THe hardest goodbye of this past week was Sister H. She´s going home to Utah tomorrow and she is just the coolest person ever. I had the privilege of living with her for 7 months on the mission and she and I just had so much fun together. We also passed through a couple of horrible things together and that made us super close. Today was technically her last full day in Brazil and luckily I got to spend it with her. We went to the mission office for her final interview and then went out to eat. We found a sushi place and I just about died! It looked super expensive and I was a little nervous that it would be way out of our missionary budget, but it was sooo cheap and AMAZING. It was a couple blocks from the beach and therefore was loaded down with fresh fish! Sister H and I did the sushi rodizio buffett and we just about died of happiness when we saw it. It was the most beautiful sushi I have ever seen and they had a ridiculous amount of selection. We piled up on sushi and just kept saying how amazingly wonderful it was to eat something besides beans and rice. I honestly felt like I was in heaven. Anyway we chatted it up during lunch and afterwards went to the zoo in João Pessoa which has to be the lowest budget zoo I´ve ever seen. When we first ended they just had like a pen for an ostrich. We took a picture of it and kept walking and walking and walking trying to find other pens. We walked a good 30 minutes before we found the crocodile pen and we actually thought they were fake because they didn't even move. After taking a few pictures of them one of them moved his mouth. It is amazing how still they can be though---ridiculous! Speaking of aligators I saw one when I was coming to Guarabira on the bus. It was sunning itself on the side of the river. I decided that I would avoid all rivers for the rest of my mission. After the zoo, Sister H and I went to the bus station. Saying goodbye to her was way hard, but I didnt cry! I really hope to see her in 4 months. She is just one of my favorite people! One day I hope you guys will meet her!

Guarabira seems to be pretty cool. It is a branch and we meet in a house, but they are building a beautiful chapel and will dedicate it in January I think! I´m hoping I´ll be here for the dedication and open house! I love a big party! Guarabira also is known as the area in the mission that has the most hills....and I have to agree...it has a ridiculous amount of steep hills. We are here with two other elders (one who is supposed to be one of the funniest elders on the mission), so that should be fun. We´ll be eating lunch with them everyday and helping each other out with the missionary work. I´m super happy about the transfer. I´m companions with Sister Vênia from Brasilia. This is here second transfer and she seems pretty cool. She is a super hard worker as well! Mom, I´m glad you included some things for my companion in the Christmas package because she won't even be receiving one. It looks like you guys are having a lot of cold weather up there. Down here it is the opposite of course. HOTTER THAN EVER! It is ok though, I prefer the heat to the cold. We are keeping cold down here with our agua de coco and açai! I can't believe I´ll be home in four months....super weird! Keep on doing your best and leave the rest up to the Lord! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!! Until Monday

Feliz dia das gracas

Things are going great down here. This week was full of tons of work, but with very little results unfortunately. We met and taught a ton of new people, but we only had 2 investigators in church yesterday and very few of our investigators are keeping commitments. I just keep telling myself to keep working hard and the results will come with time. The Lord is the Lord of the harvest and the success comes in His time, not ours. Sister G and I are better than ever though. This is our third transfer together and I´m starting to dread being separated from her. We just have so much fun talking in the street to each other and to other people. Since we´ve been practicing our Spanish recently and at times we start saying things in Spanish and not Portuguese. Luckily people are very forgiving of our langauge capabilities. I´ve definitely decided though that I´m going to be fluent in Spanish when I get back. It is such a ridiculously easy language now that I´ve learned Portuguese. I´ll just have to deal with all the Spanish jokes from my fellow mission buds. Spanish down here is not looked on as a pretty langauge, but it is useful so I´m willing to learn it. My best mission bud, Sister H, is going home in 9 days to Utah and I´m NOT happy about it! We´ve lived together for 7 months and it is just going to be hard to see her go home. The weather down here is heating up big time. The sun has reached the point where you can feel the burn as soon as you step into it. However I continue to count my blessings that I´m in an endless summer....it would be so much worse to preach the gospel in snow! So this past week I woke up and put my foot on the floor to find I had what appeared to be a small splinter-like thing on the bottom of my foot. Knowing that I couldn't walk in the street all day with a splinter I decided to soak my foot immediately and take it out. After soaking my foot I took a small pair of scissors to the bottom of my foot where the area was swollen and puffy. After cutting a few little holes I picked up my tweezer to remove the splinter and the ``white puss`` that was near it. Well it turns out the splinter and the puss were none other than a tiny worm rolled up under my skin. With one move of the tweezers he came completely out, rolled up in a ball. I would of been so grossed out if it wasn't so cool! It definitely is super super gross and a proof that I´m living in a 3rd world country, but at the same time how many people can say they found a worm growing under their foot? Ahh the wonderful mission stories! Anyway I´m worm-free now so don´t worry. I´m pretty sure I´ll pick up another one before I leave because there really isn't anything I can do to prevent it. I already use shoes all the time and wash my feet several times a day so let's just pray that I don't get another one! Besides that though the week was pretty normal. Our water went out again a few times (I really don't know how these people live without running water for a few days every week!) and our energy went out as well, but not for very long. I was a little ready to go back home this week when I was sitting on my mattress on the floor, studying and a mouse ran in and hid in the dresser on the side of my bed and refused to come out. I decided to go to bed and prayed that I wouldn't have anything attack me during the night. I woke up and was fine, just had a huge cockroach on the side of my bed. BUT I´m very grateful that Heavenly Father sent me to a mission like this one. I needed to be humbled. I needed to just realize all the blessings I had before the mission....and I needed to realize poor people are just as happy as rich people. Last night we were visiting one of our recent converts and she said she just felt so grateful for the things she has and felt so bad for the people in Africa. While she was saying this I was just in amazement. She lives in a house that only recently has a new concrete floor and the walls are clay bricks pieced together with concrete....it is an extremely poor living situation and I was just in awe that she felt so blessed. I can definitely learn to be more grateful for the things I have. As we talked with her we watched her dog, cat, and monkey all eat together on the same plate...beans and rice of course. somethings you can only see in Brazil! Well I hope you all are great and that you have a wonderful thanksgiving! Read President Monson´s talk from conference about gratitude....it is awesome! Speaking of being grateful I would like to say very fast a few things I´m grateful for! I´m grateful for being a missionary! I´m grateful that I´m serving in João Pessoa, Brazil with these amazing people. I´m grateful for a wonderful companion and for a wonderful mission president! I´m grateful that the members feed us everyday and I´m very grateful I haven´t gotten dengue fever! I´m grateful for a living prophet and for general conference talks that inspire and motab choir music that edifies. I´m grateful for my Savior and for his obedience to His Father and His love for us. Finally, I´m grateful for you all, my special family and for the temple sealing we have. Happy THanksgiving to all! Eat some turkey and stuffing for me!!!! LOVE YOU ALL!!!

A proposal

BOA TARDE !!!!

Well I have an announcement to make. Yesterday, I was proposed to...like honestly proposed to...in front of the church with people passing by. The twist is, it wasn’t a guy who proposed to me, it was a woman..our ex-investigator of 4 months to be exact. We only taught her the first 2 lessons before we realize she wasn’t really all there mentally and decided to stop teaching here. However because of her `love’ for me she has been coming to church every Sunday for the last few months. Although we thought that she had lesbian tendencies we didn’t find out for certain until last night when she told Sister G to leave, and for me to take her hands because she wanted to marry me. After refusing to give her my hands and telling Sister G to stand her ground, this woman yelled--`I want to marry you` (for the whole street to hear) and then ran off. The entire ordeal lasted about 10 minutes and afterwards I was so shocked that I called President H. After talking to him for a little bit, I felt a little bit better. I have to say I was expecting for my first real proposal to actually come from someone I loved or that was at least a man. My future husband will just have to accept the fact that a Brazilian woman beat him to the punch.it’s okay though. I was a little freaked out last night because she knows where we live and always shows up in weird places, but things will work out alright. The President told me to completely avoid her, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do!
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Other than my proposal this past week was great! Yesterday, President and Sister H got all the sisters together for a Sisters P-day! We all met at the lighthouse, Cabo Branco, at 8:30 where we took a few photos and ate breakfast. Sister H is such a dear and made us all Cinnamon Rolls! They were delicious and it was just heavenly eating them! Afterwards we all sat on blankets under the trees, overlooking the ocean and had a lesson in the scriptures from Sister H. She talked a lot about the symbolism behind the word `east`` because we were sitting on the piece of land that sits out the farthest east in the Americas. IT was a really cool message and after singing a hymn, we were allowed to take photos and explore a little bit. It was so much fun! We ended up taking a lot of photos and we ran into some African scientists who quickly became our friends. They spoke a little Portuguese but spoke more English and French than anything. I talked to them a little in French, with my very limited vocabulary and they got super excited! It was so much fun talking with them in such a beautiful place! After taking pictures at a few beautiful places and buying an agua de coco, we headed off to lunch at PIZZA HUT!! Ok ok I know that Pizza Hut doesn’t seem like such a treat for you guys up there in the U.S.A, but for me who has been eating beans, rice, and chicken for 14 straight months....it was a piece of heaven. When we got there they started bringing the pizzas out and then they brought out BBQ wings!!! What a tender mercy. I felt like I was back in Georgia at a BBQ restaurant! Luckily a lot of the Brazilians thought the BBQ sauce was weird and gave their wings to us Americans! It honestly was such a blessing to have been able to eat at Pizza Hut! Afterwards Sister H let us pick up a few groceries and then we headed off to the President’s house for a testimony meeting, pedicure, and Acai! It was so wonderful to hear the testimonies of the other sister and of course, I bore mine. It turned out to be the perfect day. I even got a haircut. Sister Gordan knows how to cut hair and since my last two haircuts were ridiculous, she fixed a lot of the damage that had been done. At the end of the day, I just felt so lucky to be serving in a mission as beautiful as Joao Pessoa, Brazil. Honestly, this mission is richly blessed with beautiful scenery, kind people, and an amazing Mission President whose life is literally an angel! I’ll be really sad to leave here in April. What a blessing my mission has been in my life!

Well, I don’t have much time left on the internet, so I just wanted to share with you guys one last thing. I’ve been listening to general conference talks a lot and yesterday and today I listened to Elder Scott’s. One of the things he said that really hit me was this--``We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become.`` I have found that to be so true. I am making goals to be the person I want to become everyday. Down here so many people give us the whole---I’ll do it tomorrow-- excuse, but we know this life is short and one day our tomorrows will run out. Remember to always BE, everyday, what you want to become. Don’t put off anything for tomorrow. Thank you all for the support, advice, and love that you send. It is greatly appreciated. At times the weekly emails from you all are the things that lift me up the most. Have a wonderful week. I love you all!

com amor, Sister wood

Testimony!!!

Óla! Well this week flew by so fast ! Things are going well down here. After Sister H recovered from food poisoning she got sick again. She is highly alergic to Cajú and someone made her Cajú juice this past week for lunch. Just as she was finishing off the big glass of juice the irmã said she hoped the cajú juice wasnt too weak. Sister H said her eyes just got big and she started praying that nothing would happen. When she got home after lunch she told me what happened and because were on our way out to lunch, I told her to call me if she started to feel bad. Well at the end of our lunch we got a phone call from her asking us to run to the pharmacy and buy anti- alergy medicine. Luckily you can buy just about anything you want over the counter here and we bought some powerful stuff and then raced off to our house. When we arrived home we found Sister H sitting on the hammock with the face and lips the size of a watermelon....ok ok..it wasnt like the actual size of a watermelon, but it sure was dang big. On top of the ridiculous swelling she also was beet red and covered in splotches. She took a lot of medicine and after a day was back to normal. We were really happy that the juice wasn't super strong because the last 2 times this happened Sister H almost died in the hospital. Sister H said that it was just poetic that she would have another alergic attack before she ended her mission. Besides the random sickness here and there in our house we are all doing great! About the parasite....I don't even know for sure if I have one, but they will give me worm medicine at the end of my mission so dont worry...I´m GREAT! I did get bit by a dog this week, but thankfully I pulled my hand away as he bit me and it didnt break the skin. I just have a nice purplish-black bruise on my hand that will soon go away. It definitely got my heart pumping though. This week we worked way hard and marked another baptism for the end of the month. The best thing about this week was definitely the Spirit. We made it a goal to just start talking and keep talking with our investigators until the Spirit told us what to say. At time the conversation got long, but it was an awesome experience. Some of the best lessons I´ve given on the mission were this week. It really helped me to know what it means (more than ever) to be an instrument in the Lords hands. Several times when I was teaching with the Spirit this week, the Spirit was teaching me as well. It is just the coolest experience ever to be edified when you are edifying someone else...all made possible by the Spirit. Our teaching just really reached a new level and it has made me very excited. It has completely changed the way we work and I know it is effecting other people as well. Last night I stopped to talk with a man and his family in the street. Turns out they were strong member of the Assembleia de Deus and just wanted to Bible Bash, but I resisted the urge to smack them over the head with the scriptures and started bearing my testimony to them. As soon as I started bearing my testimony you could see the hostility leaving their eyes. By the time I was done talking they talked about how they always thought our church was cool and even invited us to come by and visit them. Honestly, no one can argue with a testimony. This week I read an article by Elder Ballard that talks about testimonies. He said when a person is truly converted he or she can not resist the urge to not bear their testimony. I´ve thought a lot about that this week and have started to apply it a lot more in the work. Yesterday was fast Sunday of course and I bore my testimony....afterwards 3 of my recent baptisms bore testimony. ...the gospel is a marvelous thing , the Atonement is a marvelous thing, change is possible, the Atonement works.... I was thinking yesterday of a way to explain how I feel when I see people I taught bearing powerful testimonies and i figured that mom and dad must feel like that way when they see us kids bear testimony. It is a feeling that overpasses almost all other happiness. Anyway after our testimony meeting was over several of the members came up to me and told me that when I leave I will be deeply missed. Some of the members thought I had been transferred because I wasnt in church last week (recovering from night in the hospital) and were so happy when they saw I was still here in Tibiri. I will deeply miss the people here in Tibiri when I go home. I was thinking about my return home during church yesterday and about how much I will cry when the stake president asks me to take off my missionary tag. I´ll definitely need a few boxes of kleenex....but after thinking about that I realized that if I serve a worthy mission I won't need the tag anymore (until i serve a mission with my husband at least)...I wont have to point to my tag and tell people I represent Jesus Christ, they will see it in my countenance. I´m really happy that I made the decision to be a missionary and that I´m making the decision now that I will always be one. The joy that comes from the things of this world is just pitiful in comparison to the joy that comes from sharing the gospel. I´m very grateful that I had this time to discover that. Anyway after our ward was over we went to the afternoon ward with our investigator Cintia who will be baptized at the end of the month. We sat on the back row and as the meeting went on and the people started to bear their testimonies I started to have a desire to bear mine. The room was full of people that I have gotten to know and love in these past 8 months....even though they arent in my ward, you know how i am...I talk A LOT to EVERYONE! Well the Spirit just started bugging me to bear my testimony and I finally got up and did it. I first asked the ward to forgive me for taking their time to bear my testimony and then I just started talking about how much i have grown to love them so much during my time here and that they were my very dearest of friends...then I told them I just had a big desire to give them the best present one friend could give to another...bearing pure testimony. After that the Spirit pretty much took over and I honestly have to say it was one of the purest and best testimonies I have given. After I ended my testimony the bishop bore his and said after Sister H leaves he´ll just tell the President to put me into their ward. He also told me how much the ward loved me. It feels good to be loved! WEll I have to go now. I hope you are all well and going great. Never be afraid to bear your testimonies!!! I LOVE YÁLL!!!!! Tchau

The crazy life of a missionary...

Well this week was....interesting. After a super spiritual day with Elder Bednar last Monday things just kind of got a little crazier. Tuesday Sister G and I did splits because I had to stay with Sister H's newbie in her area while Sister H was in a training meeting in Joao Pessoa. So I stayed with Sister Arruda in the area Municipius and Sister G stayed with Sister Oliveira whose companion, Sister Pozete also went to this meeting for people who are leaders and are training newbies. While I stayed in Municipius, Sister G in Tibiri had quite an experience....they ended up being 5 feet away from a man when he was murdered. They were walking on the main street in Tibri at 3:00 in the afternoon when they heard a huge blast near them. They covered their ears and kept walking, but soon turned around to see what had happened. Thats when they saw a man with a gun run away and another man (who they had JUST passed) lying dead on the ground with two gunshot wounds to his head. They ended up waiting there until the police came but were told since they don't live here they can''t be witnesses in court. The man who ran off has yet to be found unfortunately. He was an ex-prisoner who killed this other guy because of drugs. Honestly all the violence down here is linked with drugs. It is extremely rare for an innocent person to be killed...so don't worry! I´m just so glad my dear companion didn't get hurt. Just another testimony that the Lord protects his missionaries! After that incident the week went pretty smoothly. We marked 3 baptisms and worked super hard. I definitely was extremely exhausted every night and slept really well this week.

Mother's note: The next part of the email was rated "D" for disgusting so I will skip to the ending:

Sister H got really sick from eating tapioca from a street vendor and at about 11pm Saturday night I called up President Hall and asked permission to take her to the hospital. After talking about her situation he let us go and we raced off to the nearest `hospital`´. When we got there they put Sister H on IV fluids. It was quite a night for Sister H.... I just wanted to cry looking at her. She was in soo much pain and everything was violently leaving her body. We ended staying there for the entire night and we didn't sleep at all. At about 5:00 am she felt well enough to go home. After arriving home at 5:30 we slept for a long long time. Unfortunately because of spending the entire night in a hospital without sleep my cold got a lot worse, but I ended up sleeping it mostly off yesterday. Sister H is doing a lot better today. It is funny that I took her to the hospital for the same thing she took me to the hospital for 5 months ago. Anyway I will have so many ridiculous stories to tell you guys when I get back. Living an extremely poor life is very ridiculous, but fun. We decided that poor people have a lot more fun and interesting experiences than rich people. Rich people´s lives are so normal...for them to have fun usually means them getting into trouble....anyway. I´m content to be poor for the rest of my life. It is so much more interesting. Well things are getting back to normal now (i hope!) and I´m ready for another week full of hard work! I´ve been listening a lot to the conference talks on my ipod and you guys just have to read the priesthood talks....They are AWESOME. Honestly after listening to all President Monson´s talks during conference (Priesthood, Relief Society, and normal sunday session) I just have such a stronger testimony that he is a prophet of God, called to guide and direct our lives in these last days! I hope you all are doing well and enjoying the cold weather! HAVE A GREAT WEEK

Visited by an apostle and a parasite!

So this week was pretty good. Sister G and I have been teaching like crazy and having a lot of success. We worked pretty hard this week and a few days ago I started getting dizzy spells. I thought it was because of the heat, but after talking with a few people I think it is because I have a parasite. We´ve been drinking tap water recently just because it is free, but it turned out to not be such a great thing.... The temperature has been getting pretty hot recently and it has definitely been a lot harder to walk in the streets with the hot sun baking our skin. Unfortunately the weather will just continue to get hotter until the end of the year. So yesterday in our meeting with the bishop I receive some great news....four of my recent converts are signed up to go to the temple this next month. Isn't that just the coolest thing? Also we had several investigators who went to a fireside that Elder Bednar held. They ended up enjoying it quite a bit and we are going to mark their baptisms for this week hopefully. Well I can't believe I´m going to stay another transfer in Tibiri, but at least all the ward members are happy. Several members are wanting to make us dinner in celebration of me staying and the bishop´s wife just wants me to move here after I finish my mission. So today we got to listen to Elder Bednar and his wonderful wife. It was a great experience. He pretty much talked the entire time about how we can become good teachers. He opened the meeting up to comments and questions and I was able to make a comment about a talk he gave a few years ago--Ask in Faith. After the meeting was over President and Sister Hall took the Bednars to the airport. When they returned they told me that Elder Bednar had really enjoyed the comment I made...which of course made me happy. It was so nice to be in the presence of an apostle and to learn from him. With out a doubt he is an apostle of the Lord and a special witness of our Savior. The Spirit was extremely strong in our meeting and I continue to feel it until now. He talked a lot about the importance of acting and not being acted upon. Many people wait for things to happen in their lives, but this is the opposite of faith. When I person has true faith he always acts. We show our faith by acting and not by being acted upon. This is a principle that I am trying to apply in my life during the mission and afterwards as well. After Elder Bednar left all the missionaries ate lunch and chatted. The entire mission was there for the conference which has not happened since last Christmas. It was wonderful to see everyone again. I really have made so many wonderful, lifelong friends on this mission. Sister H and Sister De Oliveira have made such an impact in my life and their friendship has been one of the biggest tender mercies I´ve received on the mission. When all three of us got together we just started talking a million miles a minute and giving hugs. I think I must have given Sister De Oliveira at least 100 hugs today alone. I just hope you guys get to meet these wonderful girls sometday! Well you guys know how I love to talk and today I was on full `´mouth of the south`` mode. I talked and chatted and laughed and cried until our motorist picked us up to go home. I´m so grateful for the missionaries in this mission! They are all so great! After the conference our motorist took us to get Açai (AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING) and took the road home that goes by the beach. IT was wonderful to see the rolling waves and beautiful palm trees. Honestly my mission is so pretty! Well I have to go now. You guys should totally read the priesthood session talks. I put them on my ipod last week and have listened to Pres. Utchdorfs and Pres. Monsons talks about 4 or 5 times and still haven't gotten sick of them. Honestly conference is the best thing since sliced bread. Well I love you guys. Have a great Week!

Still here, still faithful...

So just to put your minds at ease, I didn't die last week and I wasn't transferred. I´m staying here in Tibiri until Dec 2nd! Waahooo! I´m so happy I stayed and luckily the members are as well. 8 months in one area!!! Crazy huh? But luckily I´m super happy. I´m going to stay with Sister G and Sister H and another new sister, Sister Arruda who Sister H is training. She seems so cool and I´m ready for another transfer full of hard work and fun! These past weeks have been pretty great. Tons of crazy things happened, but I think it is best that I save these stories until after the mission. Things are going great though. Lindenberg will most likely start his mission papers in 2 months and I´m thinking that it will be so crazy to have someone I baptized on a mission! Elizabeth was confirmed and bore her testimony the same day. It was a simple but amazing testimony and it was so awesome to hear. It is amazing the change that can happen and the testimony a person can gain in a matter of a few weeks. She talked with the bishop this last week to receive her temple recommend to do baptisms so she´ll be headed to the Recife temple in 3 weeks. Sweet huh??! As I was sitting in church this Sunday I was very satisfied with my work here in Tibiri. My baptisms are passing the sacrament, giving prayers, bearing testimonies, baptizing others, being ushers, teaching classes, doing visiting teaching, preparing for missions, etc. I´m very happy to have been able to see all the progress during these 8 months. It definitely is a blessing! As I´ve said a thousand times, the mission is the best decision I´ve ever made. I´m glad I´ve been able to be an instrument in the Lords hands to help change some peoples lives. It is a good feeling. I can't believe I´ll be home in 5 months...so weird. It will be so weird to go to a house that doesn't have a concrete wall around it, it will be so weird to see grass yards, it will be so weird to knock on a door instead of clap, and it will be so weird to eat something besides beans and rice....but I´ll get used to it. THe U.S. will be a huge shock to me, but it will be good to return home in April! I´m doing great though. Happy and ready to work harder than ever this transfer! Elder Bednar will visit our mission this next Monday, so that will be cool. I´m really excited to see an apostle close up. I took their visits for granted when I was at BYU. I´m sure Elder Bednar will whip us into shape and inspire us to be better than we are! I´ll be sure to write you guys all about it next week. I love you all and hope you guys are doing well. Always remember the importance of scripture study and prayer!

Well wasn't conference just the best?!!!! When President Monson got up to say the closing remarks I couldn't believe that conference was already over! It flew by and was just what I´ve been needing to give me more incentive to be my best! We got to see the Relief Society session in Portuguese and I LOVED President Monson´s talk. Honestly, as women, judging is one of our biggest faults! I love that President Monson spoke very directly and sternly, but with love. After the Relief Society session was over a man in the stake came up and asked us if we wanted to watch the rest of the sessions in English. Sister Garrett and I about died of happiness. It is still a little hard for her to understand everything in Portuguese and I definitely jumped at the chance to hear a little of my native tongue. So it was a tender mercy really when we watch the other four sessions in English. I honestly started to cry when I saw temple square and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and heard the talks in English. I got a little homesick, but I got over it quickly. After all the inspiring words of conference, I´m ready to refocus on my mission and give everything I have to these last 6 months. Don't be surprised if I arrive barely breathing and extremely sunburned and mosquito bitten when I get home..after a few months I´ll recover! Life will be so different when I return...so different than my life here. I was thinking about it the other day when I woke up with mosquitos buzzing around my head and fresh blood on my sheets from the constant battle with the mosquitos. I think I´ll just leave everything here when I come home. All my sheets are covered with blood from the mosquitos, my clothes are slowly gathering permanent mold, my shoes are cover with dirt that will take several days and a scrub brush to clean, but I´m happy....extremely happy. I know the Lord will provide for me after my mission. This week turned out to be pretty great. We had a double baptism with the other sisters and it went really well. We sang `´ Eu Sei Que Vive Meu Senhor`´ ( I Know That My Redeemer Lives) and it turned out to be so beautiful! Elizabeth was SO excited to be baptized and was just beaming the entire night. So I´ve officially decided that I was sent to the perfect mission for me. In the intermission of conference they had a few shots of Brazil and everyone was dancing and carrying on....that´s definitely BRazil! I think the Lord knew I needed a mission with people like me-- people who like to have fun and who really know how to enjoy life. I love this place! I´m going to ask President Hall to let me stay in Tibiri one more transfer (that would be 8 months here!)....I hope he lets me. The people here are like my familiy and I just don't want to say goodbye yet! Anyway more about conference....Wasn't it just the greatest ever?? That talk by Elder Holland made me feel sooo guilty and I definitely made of a lot of goals to change my ways. President Utchdorf´s talk was.....wow...and Elder Christoffersons talk....LOVE iT. President Monson´s talk about gratitude made me really rethink how I need to better my prayers and my life....anyway conference was amazing, amazing, amazing, and answered every question I had. I hope all you guys got to see at least a couple sessions of it! Well the weather is heating up A LOT down here....and we are still just in the spring. dang it. pretty soon it will be like a literal frying pan. I´m really happy I have a sunny mission though. It would be difficult to get up at 6:30 in the morning if it was cold! So I´ve been trying to work on my language skills and recently started reading `´Le Livre de Mormon´´ and `´Das Buch Mormon`´...(French and German). I´m was getting close to reading 2 Nefi in French a few weeks ago and decided since I was understanding a lot of it I would begin reading in German. Well today I began the German and it will be a long, hard, bumpy road until I finish it. German is way harder for me to learn than French, Spanish, or Italian. I read a few verses in an Italian Bible the other day and understood 90%! It is great how all the romance languages are so interlinked. Don't worry though I´´m not going crazy with languages....just trying to see what other languages I would like to learn. A guy in the CTM (who also works in the U.S. embassy in Brazil)knew 7 languages and said it is best to learn several languages at the same time....not to focus on one and perfect it before moving on to another. Anyway in the little spare time I have, I~m trying to expand my language abilities. Well I hope you guys are all doing great! I pray for you guys always and know that the Lord is taking care of you all! I would give you all the same counsel that President Monson gave....when the conference talks are available,,, read them, and reread them....set goals and do everything you can to reach them. I love you all!! Até próximo semana!

September 27, 2010

Well this is going to be REALLY fast because there is a new internet guy who is really mean and is kicking me off! My week was really good though. I ate chicken intestines and cow tongue for lunch...i didnt really like it, but whatever. Elizabete wasn't baptized yesterday because 1/2 the city was without water....That whole lack of water problem happens a lot here in the northeast. BUT elizabete will be baptized tomorrow. que gloria! Welll I´m officially being kicked off. I´m doing well though and love you all! Thanks for the emails and enjoy conference this weekend!

What goes down, always comes back up...

Oi Familia!

Well this week was better. Last week I was really down and out. When your body gets tired and out and the mosquitos are biting and the sun is burning...it is easy to get a little down. BUT this week went well. We arrived in the house of one of our investigators this week and before we said anything she asked to be baptized.....why can't everyone be this easy to baptize? She had a dream after we taught here the first lesson that she was going to church with her neighbor and arrived at the chapel here in Tibiri and told her neighbor she was a Latter-day Saint. Cool huh? She came to church so beautiful in modest clothes (EXTREMELY RARE) and immediately was fellowshipped. Severina helped her learn how to sing the hymns, the bishop welcomed her with open arms, the young women immediately crowded around here to help her feel at home, and even Leandro and Leandro (two of our recent baptisms) took down here phone number so that they could invite her to activities. She is very excited for her baptism this next Sunday and we are too. She will most likely be baptized with another awesome girl! We ended up having a bunch of investigators in the church as well, so that was nice. This week we had a conference with Elder Godoy (1st counselor in the area presidency of Brasil) and it was AWESOME! He has so much energy and spunk! He talked about a lot of cool things but the thing that really stood out to me was a story he told or actually an analogy. He drew a picture of a tree trunk that had been cut so that you could see all the rings on the trunk, or the years of the tree´s life. Some rings were darker than others and some rings you could tell had been damaged. He went on to talk about how one of these dark rings happen because a forest fire struck the forest that year and another ring showed that insects had invaded the forest that year. Through all these events the tree lived on until it was cut...and you could see its history perfectly....everything it passed through. He related this to our lives and said we are a little different than the tree. He said as we go through our lives it is almost inevitable to escape without a mark or blemish from sin...they just happen. We are imperfect and as the years and years of our lives go on, like the tree we acquire these marks....and then we are cut (aka die) and stand in front of our Maker....where He doesn't even need to ask us a single question...he just looks at our trunk (body) and our lives are completely laid out in front of Him....but the good thing is, unlike the tree these marks can be erased. The damage or mistakes can be completely erased in a way that we can stand before Heavenly Father without a single mark. He continued to talk about that this is possible because of Christ, this is the gift he gave us. That despite how many marks we have, we can stand pure and clean in front of God because of the atonement. I loved this analogy because it made me remember a time when we were all together at chimney rock. We were all walking down the trail when Dad stopped us at an old tree trunk and talked about the life of a tree. Ahhh what great memories we all have together! I cant wait to have more when I come back in 6 months!! Ahhh can you believe this week marks 1 year!! Goodness time flys!! Well I gotta go preach the gospel and baptize the folks aqui em Tibiri. Espero que vocês estâo bem! Te amo de mais!

September 13, 2010

Oi Familia!
This email is going to be extremely lame, but I´m just not with the highest of spirits today and think it is better to say nothing than to murmur. Dont worry I´m good though and I love you guys so much. This week will be better. Elder Godoy will be at our zone conference this Thursday and I will probably get my package so I´m getting excited about that. I pray for you guys always and love you.

Staying put for now☺

So guess what?!!! I stayed in Tibiri. Yep I will have officially 5 transfers (7 months) in this area! WHOOOO. I was actually really happy I stayed. The thought of packing all my things up was just tooooo scary. I stayed with Sister G which I´m content about. I kind of miss having Brazilean companions, but President knows best. This past week and a half flew by and there really isn't that much to report. I´m really tired today. We spent the morning in João Pessoa looking for a dress for Sister G. Sister H stayed as well which means I´m happy about life. We are two peas in a pod and she wants me to date her brother when I get back. Since she goes home to Utah in December I told her she can be my ``João Batista`` and prepare the way for my dating life. Things are going well though. The temperature is starting to heat up and soon summer will be in full swing....which 100-110 degree weather for a few months. Yeah I´m excited about that. I feel like Tibiri is my home though...I know so many people here and could walk these streets with my eyes closed. I love the members, but stress about them a lot....taking care of the Lord's flock really can wear down on you. BUT I´m excited for 6 more weeks in Tibiri and know there is a reason I´m staying here. Until next Monday!
LOVE YOU ALL!
Love sister wood

The font runneth o'er!

So this week FLEW by. I almost don't believe today is pday... again! This week was full of tons of great and funny experiences, but this computer keyboard is very retarded and I will just write the highlights! Yesterday we had stake conference and a member of the area seventy was there. His talk was so amazing and it talked about the importance of prayer. He explained many concepts about prayer that I had never thought about before and I felt extremely edified in the end. It was so nice to have stake conference and see everyone I know and love. It was impossible to talk to everyone I knew, so I ended up giving a lot of hugs and kisses on the cheeks. I think it might be hard for me to break the whole kiss-on-the-cheek habit when I go back home...but I´m pretty sure the single guys won't mind it. Anyway during the conference Lindenberg and Senhor José received the Melchizedek Priesthood! I was so so so proud of them. I wanted to jump up and clap and shout for joy when they were told to stand up and be recognized. I practiced self-control though and just sat in my chair with an ear-to-ear grin of happiness and tears in my eyes. It really is just wonderful to see someone go from....well what they were...and be baptized, confirmed, receive the Aaronic priesthood, receive a calling, and receive the Melchizedek priesthood....next step....THE TEMPLE NEXT MONTH!!! WOOOOO!!! Honestly it was wonderful to see the fruits of our labors! The day just kept getting better after the conference. Rafaela and Leandro were baptized last night and it was sooooooooo awesome. I wish you guys could have been there. At least 40 members arrived for the baptism, I made 2 cakes, Sister G and I prepared a special musical number, it was perfect!!!! (except for the fact I left the water running in the baptismal font and it flooded the chapel a little bit :) ....ha ha what can I say...I´m still Ariel, even in Brazil. But dont worry it got cleaned up fast! ) But honestly the baptismal service was awesome! Another cool thing...Leo (another Leandro--pec knows him!) who we baptized recently performed HIS first baptisms...yep he baptized his friends, Rafaela and Leandro. It was so cool to see someone Itaught that was baptized, baptizing others. Talk about awesome. Anyway things are going great. I´m happy and very much in love with Brazil. Obviously there are some things that I miss about the U.S., but leaving Brazil in 7 months will break my heart. I´ve gotten so attached to this place. Yesterday we were walking to Marcos Mouro ( an extremely poor area) and we went the back way. As usual, we greeted people along the way. We passed by a woman with 4 little children and when I passed by and said ``boa tarde` they started talking about my hair. Eventually one of the little boys (4 or 5 years old) yelled --`` druga, eu quero ficar com da gallega`` (dang it, well I want to stay with the blonde)....after saying this he ran up behind me and grabbed my arm and just started talking and talking and talking. The others soon followed after us. It was so cute walking to Marcos Moura on the tiny dirt path, in the midst of banana and coconut trees, talking to the cutest Brazilean kids ever. I´ve been very used to my life here and the people of Tibiri are used to me as well. A man this past week told me that Tibiri never would be the same when I left. What a compliment....I hope I´ve made my mark here. I feel like I know everyone...from the men who play games in the plaza, to the woman who sells batata frita, to the politicians, to the school teachers, to the boys who break dance next to the Catholic church, etc. I will miss this place so much. I don't know if I´ll be transferred or not next week, but I hope I stay here! Anyway, the Lord knows best where I need to go!

Time just flies...

THis week FLEWWWWWWWW by! Last Tuesday and Wednesday Sister Garrett and I went to João Pessoa for a training. All the zone leaders, district leaders, and trainers were there for two whole days of intense training. Sister Garrett and I were the only sisters there, but it turned out to be fun anyway! The training focus a lot on learning how to teach people, not just lessons. They talked a lot about different technics we should be using and then we just ended up practicing a lot. Like I said it was fun, but I missed my area and my investigators. I find it a little annoying to sit in an air-conditioned room for two days. My body isn't used to air conditioner and I just end up getting the worst headaches at these types of meetings. Honestly I think my body is just getting adjusted to a more humble way of living. When Sister Garrett and I slept at the Presidents house at the beginning of the transfer it took me a week and a half before I could sleep comfortably again. The bed at the President's house was an excellent mattress, but I´m so used to sleeping on a half-sunken mattress on wooden slabs that it just threw me out of wack. I´ve also gotten used to the hot weather. When the temperature dips below 75 degrees I pull out my jacket, wrap myself in whatever blanket in closest, and drink cevada (a barley drink that looks a lot like coffee). Honestly I think I might die when I return home. I´m hoping the weather will already be warm in Georgia when I get back! After the first day of training we went to Mangabeira (sister de oliveira´s area) to try out the things we learned...and it was awesome! I honestly felt like I had learned so much in the training and was ready to apply my new-found knowledge. We taught a lesson with Sister De Oliveira and Sister Gonzalez and it was just so so great. They made me teach the first half of the lesson and as soon as I started it was like I was just an instrument for the Spirit. I don't remember anything I said. I just remember that I was being taught at the same time I was teaching these people. Sister De Oliveira sat there with a face full of surprise and afterwards she just kept telling me she never heard a lesson taught so well! She told me I taught great when we were companions, but that night was just a whole other level! It was so cool to put the things I learned in practice and to be an instrument for the Spirit. After the night was over we stayed at Sister De Oliveira´s house and she and I just talked and talked and ate and talked and did our nails and talked and talked and talked. It was so great to see her. I just hope you guys get to meet her one day! She is just one of the coolest people ever and one of my best friends. THe only thing sad about the night was that Sister H wasn't with us....we are the 3 musketeers! At least I think you guys will get the chance to meet Sister H one day! She is just as cool and awesome as Sister De Oliveira...only difference is that she´s American! Goodness I´m writing way too much! Time is slipping away! Anyway...things are great. a recent baptism of mine got called to be a counselor in the Primary and a guy we baptized a few weeks ago received the aaronic priesthood. Everyone is doing great!

Sweet dreams

Well this week was normal for the most part! It was filled with tons of work, long hot days, and a ridiculous amount of walking, but it was fabulous! Hmm...where to start... we taught a lot of cool and interesting people this week. We met a missionary for the Baptist Church and he asked us to come to his house for a Bible Study. We accepted and when we arrived it was very apparent that he just wanted to prove our religion was false, but he was nice about it. He wanted to know about what we believed and since I knew he wouldnt go to church with us ( he really was just looking for dirt on us), I told him about why our religion was so awesome. I talked about eternal marriage, baptisms for the dead, the spirit world, the pre-existence. It was a really great experience though because I just gained a stronger testimony of how perfect the gospel is and how merciful Heavenly Father is with His children. For instance, a lot of religions believe if you aren't baptized in this life you don't have another chance, that you can't repent after this life and that we are all just going to be sisters and brothers, not husbands, wives, children, siblings,etc Goodness when I was talking about the spirit world and baptisms for the dead I realized that Gods plan literally is perfect. He has made it so easy for us to return to him...he gives us so many chances! Anyway, we left the guy's house on good terms.

So yesterday I found out that one of my converts is going to receive the Melchizedek.Priesthood in the stake conference in two weeks! I was so excited when I heard about his progress! Yay for converts that say firm in the church!

These past few weeks have been weeks of lots of politics. They are having some elections down here which means that every stereo system or amp that can be found is hooked to the top of a car or truck to blast propaganda to the good people of TIbiri. It has gotten to be a little annoying walking in the street with all this constant noise, but very funny at the same time. The politicians here use a lot of funny jiggles to pitch their platform. Well this last week we were in the square at the end of the night with the other sisters heading to an appointment together when one of these politicians came by with a parade of at least 10 cars honking and blaring music. People were hanging out of every car window and streaming and throwing confetti. It was quite the party. It was just such a ridiculous sight that I started laughing my head...well the politician saw us 4 missionaries and jumped out of the back of a truck and ran up to us talking about his platform. As soon as he arrived so did the cameras. He talked about all the things he would change and then asked us if we were from here....I was like....ahh no. It was hard to keep from laughing just because of the situation. Fireworks were going off over our heads, the ridiculous political jingles were playing in the background, and the paparazzi were in full force. He took a lot of photos with us so who knows if my face is in the local paper.

So the spiritual experience of the week has to do with our beloved investigator Rafaela. The first time we taught in her house we actually taught her parents not her. During the lesson the spirit was extremely strong and so we thought that Rafaela´s parents would turn out to be awesome investigators. After several follow-up visits the realization that they werent interested was very apparent and we were confused why we felt the spirit so strong in that house. Thats when we met their daughter Rafaela. Shes 20 years old and a complete doll. We´ve been teaching her for the past few weeks and marked her baptism for a week and a half ago. Unfortunately she missed her baptism because of work. She works on Sunday and can only go to church if she gets off early. We got a little frustrated because of this situation, but we didnt lose hope! This past week we met with her and she told us that she wouldn't be able to go to church this Sunday. We ended up getting a little sad about the situation, but continued to pray for things to work out. Yesterday we were sitting in the church when who should arrive but Rafaela! She told us she told her boss that she would be leaving work early every Sunday in order to go to church and that she had an experience and wanted to be baptized. Turns out she had a dream after we left her house last week and in the dream she heard a voice saying---Just follow, just follow. She awoke and according to the feelings she had she knew she had to be baptized. It was an amazing thing to hear and I started to tear up because of how thankful I was in that moment. I realized that the Lord really is preparing people for us and he is doing His part in this great work. It was just such a humbling experience to realize that the Lord can work with sometime so simple and weak as me. It really is one of the coolest things about the missionary work....the Lord uses the weak things of this earth to bring about the eternal salvation of His children. This week Rafaela will be baptized along with 2 others equally wonderful and precious investigators. ´

the work continues...

So this will be fast! This week was great! We marked 4 baptisms in 2 days so I was really proud of myself. I'm enjoying this area still and would be content staying here a few more transfers. The work gets to be difficult at times and the ward too, but the Lord keeps translating all the perfect people and I'm getting used to being left with the leftovers. No, but honestly I'm loving the people. They make me want to pull out my hair at times, but I still love them so much. This last week was full of ton of great experiences that I had time to write in the journal but not in the email. Sorry :(. Ok ok, I'll just write one experience really fast. We are teaching a young man with special needs. He is autistic. Slow down, slow down... I know what your thinking. I haven't gotten so desperate to baptize people that I'm throwing special needs people in the water! His mom and the bishop wanted him to be baptized, because he wants to pass the sacrament...and he can't pass the sacrament without the priesthood and cant get the priesthood until he is baptized. Anyway I learned a lot of new things about the official church manual that I never knew about. BUt anyway we taught him the plan of salvation this past week and during the lesson I just started feeling the spirit extremely strong. I honestly felt the love that God has for him. When I started talking about the Kingdoms of Glory and more specifically the Celestial Kingdom I started to get really choked up. This young man just got so excited about living with God and I just kept thinking about how innocent he is in God's eyes. As I talked about the Celestial Kingdom I told him that is it a special place where God lives and where we can live with our families forever in happiness. ..then I bore my testimony to him....telling him that I knew 100% that he would go there. It was an awesome experience teaching someone who is so pure, so innocent that you already know his exaltation is guaranteed. It really was awesome to teach him and I just left his house feeling how much God loves his Children,, how precious they are in his sight. Anyway...I'm out of time unfortunately, but I'm doing great. We are working hard and the sun has stopped burning my flesh! I love you guys so much! Have an awesome week!
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love, sister wood
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Well these first few days haven't been too bad. I feel a little bit like a full time mom or babysitter, but it is going well. Luckily Sister G is really cool and speaks Portuguese well for an American new to the field. We´ve been working really hard, but having few results which is extremely frustrating. I feel like everything, literally EVERYTHING depends on me. The pressure is extremely present and I lost 6 pounds this week from stress and stomach problems. But don´t worry about me. I´ll get the hang of things soon and everything will turn out alright. The mission is just a life of Ups and Downs. I´m getting used the constant changes and the constant trials that come. This past week I was feeling a little down and out when Sister H shared a really cool scripture with me in D&C 138:13 that talks about the righteous in the spirit world. The righteous were those who ``....had offered sacrifice in the similitude of the great sacrifice of the Son of God, and had suffered tribulation in their Redeemer’s name.`` Sister H talked to me a lot about that is why our lives are so hard. We are expected to offer great sacrifices in our lives in order to be worthy to be counted with the righteous. When I look back on my mission I´m pretty sure I´m going to think of it as the hardest and best time of my life. I definitely feel like I have suffered a ton during my time here, but I´ve also had some of the best experiences in my life...experiences that have honestly shaped and molded me into a better person. Anyway things are going well. I´m happy and safe, so no need to worry. Thanks for everything you guys do to encourage me to be a better missionary and person. You guys honestly are my angels and words can't express how much you mean to me.! Have a wonderful week.

Treinadora

Ok Ok, so this week I got a huge shock. I received a call Monday morning from one of the assistents telling me that I had been called to train a new American sister who arrived Tuesday! Imagine my surprise! I´ve only been senior companion for 1 transfer and now I was called to train an American! I about died of anxiety. Americans always get trained by Brazileans, and Brazileans by Americans...the only case I know of is when I was trained by Sister Young. Anyway, I got so nervous because usually the Americans arrive from the CTM not speaking alot of English. So yesterday I arrived in the mission office at 9am to be trained with the other trainers by President and Sister Hall. 7 or 8 elders were there to be trained as well and I was so happy to see that almost all of them were my good friends from other areas in the mission. The training was amazing. The Halls are the coolest people ever. It is such an awesome experience just being close to them. They immediately bring the Spirit into any meeting they attend. After the training I ate lunch in the Presidents house with Sister Hall and her daughter. They were my companions for the day! Neat huh?! After lunch we picked up President Hall and his assistents and went to the airport. It was so cool to see my new companion coming out of the plane! She looked so excited and I couldn't wait to meet her face-to-face. When we met all the missionaries we all took a picture together and then went back to the mission office for another meeting. This meeting was really awesome and during the meeting President Hall did something really cool that made me feel good about myself. He told the new missionaries to look at their companions...and then he said---These are the best missionaries in this mission. I chose the best missionaries in this mission to train you guys, learn from them and follow their examples. I felt so humble when he said that. President Hall told me many times this week that he trusts me a lot and everytime he says that I feel the desire more and more to never lose that trust. Anyway about my new companion! Her name is Sister G and she is super cool. Shes from San Jose, California--. She went to BYU for 3 years and studied journalism. She is such a cutie and way excited to start working. This transfer will be awesome. I´m still here in Tibiri---so I´ll officially have at least 6 months here after this transfer---but I´m excited. I wanted to stay. I love this area and the people. It is a great area to train. The only sad thing that happened this week was saying goodbye to Sister De Oliveira. When she packed up her backs I started crying. I really loved being her companion. I hope one day you can meet her. She is just one of the coolest people ever. She was transfered for an area on the other side of the city so I´ll get to see her in zone meetings and conferences. goodness I forgot to finish about what happened yesterday. All of us missionaries ate dinner in the mission home and it was just awesome. The mission home is soooooo beautiful. It is on the 9th floor of a super nice apartment building and has views of the ocean. During dinner I had so much fun talking to all the missionaries. It is rare that we all get together so I was running my mouth the entire night. I´m going to miss these people so much after the mission! Sister G and I spent the night in the Presidents house and left this morning for our area. It is weird. I only spent 1 day in Joao Pessoa, but I missed Tibiri a lot. I think I will stay here a long time. Anyway things are going great. Pray that I´ll be a good trainer...honestly pray hard. I´m still a little scared. well I hope you guys dont die in the heat up there. it is cold down here...like 70 degrees....which honestly is cold for us. I got used to the steaming hot weather and now that it is 70 degrees with an ocean breeze I´m using a sweater at times. Stay cool up there and continue to help the missionaries. Tell people to write me! Until monday!!!! LOVE YOU!!
love, sister wood

July 19, 2010

Well this week was...I dont know...normal I guess. Not much to report. The work went well all week. Last P-day we spent the day in Joao Pessoa with Sister Hall. She is such a sweetheart! Returning to Tibiri was a little hard after the splendid day we all had together. Tuesday started out normal, but turned out to be a day full of laughter. Sister H decided to dye her hair blonde during the time we have for lunch. She chose the best salon possible, but lets just say things didnt turn out that great. SIster De Oliveira and I were resting after eating lunch when Sister H and Sister Machado walked in. Goodness what a sight! The lady dyed her hair ORANGE. I´m not joking. When we saw her we almost had a heart attack. literally. Luckily Sister H knows how to handle difficult situation like these and didn't freak out. We returned to the salon, but the woman refused to fix her hair for free. We went to every salon in Tibiri, but no one would dye her hair on the same day because there was a risk that her hair would fall out. We ended up buying hair dye in a box and dying her hair at home. Before Sister De Oliveira started to dye Sister H hair, we all prayed very fervently that her hair wouldn't fall out and that she wouldn't be bald. ..and luckily the prayer worked! Her hair is kind of destroyed now because of all the chemicals, but at least it looks normal. We were very grateful that her hair returned to a normal color because on Wednesday we had interviews with President Hall. Imagine what would have happened if she had arrived in the mission office with orange hair. Goodness....but honestly it was hilarious...but just made me that much surer of the fact that I never want to dye my hair. So this week we had another close miss. We were teaching a young man that lives in an area of Tibiri that doesnt have a lot of lights.....in reality it is almost completely dark after 5:30pm. When we left his house we started walking towards the dark street that we always walk in to get to another part of the city. When we started walking towards the opening of the street, the Spirit told us to turn around and go the other way. We listened of course, because we´ve had a lot of close calls recently. The next day when we returned to the house of this young man his mother was so happy to see that we were okay. She told us that 5 minutes after we left her house she heard gun shots. Turns out that 5 minutes after leaving her house a gang of drug dealers showed up on motorcyles and murdered a man in the same street the Spirit told us not to enter. If we hadn't heeded the whisperings of the Spirit, we might have been in the middle of the street when this all happened. I´m very VERY grateful for the promptings of the Spirit. Honestly the Spirit is everything in the life of a missionary! Unfortunately a lot of people here end up being murdered. It is kind of an area/state/ country without law. Another interesting thing happened this week in the house of Leo, our investigator. I found out his dad´s profession is to assassinate people. His dad kidnapped a gringo a few years ago and ended up murdering him....BUT luckily he doesn't live with his dad. He only sees his dad once every month or so! Que bom eh?! Hmm....what else happened...this week. OH Sister De Oliveira and I were walking in the street when we passed by a man and his wife fighting in the street. the Man threw a T.V. out the door and yelled a lot of things I didn't understand and when he saw us laughing at him he called us jehovah witness prostitutes. It was very amusing. Well. the mission is great. My mission president is awesome. My interview with him had me feeling the Spirit immediately. Honestly he is called of God to lead this mission! This week will mark 10 months on the mission. It is all passing by so fast. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity I have to serve a mission. Because of this mission I know more than ever that the church is true. that we have a living prophet on the earth today, and that God hears and answers our prayers. Stay faithful, happy, and enjoy the weather up there in the States!

A busy and happy missionary ☺

THis week was great...as always right?! The beginning of the week was a little difficult because I ended up working two areas. Sister Hayes and Sister De Oliveira were sick and I ended up teaching with Sister Marchado for 2 days. She has 3 weeks on the mission, but teaches well so it turned out to be great! In celebration of World Cup, last monday us 4 missionaries played soccer with some members and investigators. It turned out to be awesome! I actually played really well and now have a little bit of a reputation as a soccer player! It was great though because our baptism for this week, Lidiane, played with us and brought her brother Lindenberg and 2 cousins. She ended up making a goal even! Lidiane was baptized Saturday night and it turned out to be a wonderful service. We baptized her brother 3 months ago and he is preparing for a mission! He cant go until next year, but is going to start accompanying us on our lessons along with Lidiane! Another recent baptism, Severina, is just a dear and is progressing rapidly in the church. She just shows up at church every Sunday and automatically looks for a way she can help. I really have fallen in love with this area.. Who would have thought?! Oh Severina showed us how to make truffles this past week! So I have officially learned how to make truffles that look chique de mais or professional! I made mint chocolate truffles and gave them to the bishop, president and sister hall, and many other people. Everyone who has eaten them has LOVED them! I´m really picking up some amazing good recipes that I´m excited to make for you all when I return. So as you know I´ve been working on spanish recently. I´m officially reading El Libro de Mormon everyday and understanding 95%. I have progressed a lot with spanish because it is extremely similiar to Portuguese. I hope to be semi-fluent when I return to the U.S. hmmm....what else can I say?! Oh today we spent the morning and early afternoon with Sister Hall. We helped her organize some things and afterwards we all made empadinhas together---a type of dessert that I cant wait to make for you guys! She also gave us all lunch! It was great! Afterwards we met up with Elder Engh and Elder Oliveira to eat açai .Elder Engh was in my district in the CTM and is like my brother! I was so happy that President Hall let all of us eat açai together! Afterwards I bought some fabric to make 2 dresses. The rainy season has been a little hard on my clothes. THe major part of the clothes I brought on the mission have been ruined by mold or random stains. When it isnt raining it is sunny and windy and the wind throws sand and dirt on your clothes. I´ve been using the same 4 outfits for the past month or so, but recently have been buying fabric to make new clothes. A lady in my area makes dresses for 15 reais...about 8 dollars. . I´m doing well though. We have a couple baptisms for this week and they are all awesome! Well got to go! Have a great week and know that I pray constantly for all of you. I love you all so much!

Com amor,
sister wood

p.s. continue to help out the missionaries in any way possible and tell people to write me letters!!!!

Well, I´m already breaking my promise to right long, edifying emails, but this week President Hall wanted us to write him an email telling him about ourselves. My email to him used up a lot of the time! BUT I´m doing great! This week was awesome. We taught a lot of really cool people and were protected from harm AGAIN! Sister De Oliveira and I were walking home this past week in a street that was really dark when three men started to walk towards us. No one else was in the street and it really was very, very dark. When started walking towards us I KNEW they were with the intent to rob us, but at same moment I felt an energy shoot through my body that I can’t explain....I felt that yes they wanted to rob us, but that the Lord was with. I honestly felt Him protecting us. When they started to surround us and one of them pulled something out of his pocket (couldn’t tell if it was a knife or not...it was too dark) I still didn’t get scared. I somehow knew they wouldn’t succeed in robbing us. When the men were within 3 feet of us, they all of a sudden decided to leave us alone. They didn’t say anything....just walked away. As soon as they left Sister De Oliveira asked me---``Wow. Did you feel that? The Lord just protected us big time.``It was an interesting experience and another testimony to me that the Lord protects his servants. Yesterday was an awesome Sunday. One of my recent baptisms passed the sacrament for the first time. He showed up at church in his white shirt and tie and got so excited for the opportunity to pass the sacrament. He did such a great job and I was so proud of him! I got even prouder when he bore his testimony afterwards. It is one of the best things in the world to see the people you baptized bear testimony about the church, the Book of Mormon, and Joseph Smith! We have a few baptisms for the next week, one of which is Elenilson. We came to his house with the intent to teach his mom. We ended up teaching his mom, him, and his 2 brothers. During the lesson I realized he was paying a lot of attention to our message. When I talked about the First Vision I looked at him and it was as if his eyes were being opened. He got so excited. He spent this past week talking to his friends about the gospel. After our first visit we told him we would pass by the next day at 6:30 to talk with him again. When we arrived at his house at 6:30pm his mom told us he woke up at 7:00 am and ran into the kitchen so worried that he had missed our visit. We laughed and told him we don't even wake up until 6:30 am and don't leave the house until 10:00! It was so cute to see who worried he was! He really is an elect! Anyway. things are going great. I have a new mission president--President and Sister Hall. THEY ARE WONDERFUL! There aren’t words to explain how great they are. They´ve only been here a few days and I already LOVE THEM! Well anyway have a great week. Love you all, Sister Wood

Ok I´m officially repenting. I´ve decided to start writng longer emails because so many things happen that I know you guys would like to hear. We had another great week in Tibiri. Sister De Oliveira and I worked at our maximum this week and it was wonderful. We met so many wonderful people and had so many spiritual experiences. Yesterday was an awesome day...we really saw the fruits of our labors! Five less active people that we are working with showed up at church and it was so great! 3 of 5 of these people had served missions and one had been a counselor in the bishopric many years ago before going less active. I wanted to cry from happiness when I saw them all show up! Also to add to the joy and happiness we had two baptisms--one a man named Leandro and the other a woman named Severina. I´ve been working with Severina since I arrived in the area and really wanted to see her baptized. Her daughter, Tercia, is a strong and faithful member of the ward and was taught by guess who?! Patricia, who is the daughter of Andreilton who we baptized in Potengi! Small world huh?! Anyway the baptism was just wonderful! I wish you all could have been there to witness it! The Spirit was extremely strong during the meeting. Tercia and another member of the ward did a special musical number and sang a song that actually was a testimony at the same time. It repeats the words, ``I know God lives, I know he loves me, I know he listens to me when I pray`, many times and it is just absolutely beautiful. They got so choked up while singing, but it you could really see how much they knew the words of the song were facts. Everyone was crying, including all Severina´s nonmember friends who were present and now want to be taught! Yay! Severina´s daughter was just glowing with happiness. Imagine how many years Tercia waited and how many prayers she said to see her mom be baptized. During the meeting I got a little teared up and I just kept thinking---This is why you left everything and everyone in the U.S.....to have moments like these. I can´t explain the joy the comes when you see someone repent...I just think about the joy God has when we repent....now I can see why he does everything in His power to call us to repentence. Anyway the missionary work brings an undescribable joy. At times I feel like my heart will literally burst because of the joy I feel. During the baptisms I also felt a great sense of humility and gratitude. How grateful I am that God gave me this time to serve a mission. How grateful I am that he calls and qualifies the weak and simple things of this earth. Another great experience this week was with Leo, Lindenberg´s cousin (a man we baptized recently). Since I´ve been here I´ve always talked with, laughed with, and teased Leo. We never really taught him because he never showed interest in the church and smokes, drinks every once in a while, swears, etc... A few weeks ago he ran up to us in the street and said he was trying to stop smoking. Since then we´ve been checking his progress, but honestly never thought he would take an interest in the church....BUT this past week we were teaching his cousin Lidianne and he sat in on the lesson. We talked about repentence and the power of the Atonement. As we talked, to our GREAT surprise, Leo´s eyes started to fill up with tears. I was extremely surprised. Here in front of me was a young man who I knew as the guy who swears, smokes, is vulgar, but somehow he had changed over these past 2-3 months so gradually that I hadn't paid attention. When he heard about the atonement and that repentence is possible it was like a heavy weight was lifted off of him. I think he realized hope exists, and that repentance is possible. After the lesson he said he wanted to go to church with us and wanted us to mark a part in the Book of Mormon for him to read. We marked Mosiah 28 about Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah. He is really excited to read and I hope he will continue to change his life for the better.

So this past week marked 9 months on the mission or my 1/2 way point and I started realizing how fast this mission is passing by. I started to fell sick when I thought about the fact I have only 9 more months to serve the Lord 100%. It was a horrible feeling. Don't get me wrong. I love you guys but I will miss the mission so much. I am forever changed because of this mission and President and Sister Fernandes. This past week was their last zone conference and I definitely wasn't ready to say goodbye to them. My new mission president, President Hall, will arrive this Thursday! I´m excited to get to know him and his wonderful wife!

Well thanks again for all the great emails and support. I love you guys so much! Stay strong and always to looking for ways to build your testimony!
Have a great week!

Oi! Well today we had transfers and guess what?! I stayed in Tibiri again, but with a new companion---Sister de Oliveira!! We´ve been living in the same house for the past 3 months and have grown to be great friends....no...awesome, AMAZING friends! When we heard that we would be companions we just started to jump up and down and screamed at the tops of our lungs for happiness! I also was called to be senior...the only difference is that I walk with the cell phone...BUT I am super excited that I stayed in Tibiri. I really love this area and I know Sister de Oliveira and I will continue to help the church grow here. So this last week was good. We baptized a young man, Janielson, on Sunday and it had to have been one of the most stressful/ hilarious batismal services that I´ve seen in my life. He was baptized at least 10 times (not kidding) and at one point we thought that he would just get sick of being dunked in the water and give up, but eventually all his limbs stayed in the water at the same time and he was baptized! Whooo hoo! He was so happy after the baptism and said the closing prayer which turned out to be an absolutely beautiful, humbling prayer. He changed so much during this past month and he loves to talk about the things he will do on his mission. I still can't believe that I´m a missionary...helping people come to Christ and change their lives. It really is a humbling experience being an instrument in the Lord´s hands, but it is absolutely wonderful. This past week we also had many sucesses with inactive members, but I will just share one. We´ve been working a lot with a man who´s been inactive for 4 or 5 years. When he left the church he was a counselor in the bishopric. Luckily when he left the rest of his family stayed in the church, but since that time he hasn't returned to set one foot inside the church....until this past Saturday! We had an activity in the church and he ended up coming! When I saw him entering the church I just got so happy! He really is making great progress and soon we will get him to go to church on Sunday. Well I don't know if you guys know that World Cup is going on right now..but it is and I´m telling you Brazil is the place to be during World Cup! The people down here are crazy, no INSANE about soccer. Yesterday Brazil played against South Korea and the streets were vacant during the game. Businesses shut down, schools shut down, everything was closed! To help the missionaries avoid the temptation to watch the game, President scheduled our zone meeting 3:00pm yesterday. When we showed up for the meeting all the elders and sisters were anxious and many prayers were said for Brazil to win. During the meeting we heard tons of fireworks when Brazil scored and people screaming. Honestly soccer is more than a religion down here. It sounds like you all are doing great. I love reading your emails every week. They bring me so much joy! This next week I will have 9 months on the mission. Can you believe it? I´m half way done?! It feels so weird...time is passing by too fast. I really love it here so much and feel like I´m at home. I think it will be difficult to return home in 9 months and return to normal life. Anyway, Have a wonderful week and know that I am praying for you all! LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU!

Love, Sister Ariel Wood

Old pictures from the CTM

These are from the CTM posted by Luciana Fonseca Fiallo.

A new direction

This week was great! We had conference this week and it helped me out so much. Before conference started I was just a little put-out that I didn't know why I wasn't baptizing in this area. In my mind I had done everything to help the work progress, but during conference I was humbled. Everyday I pray to do the Lord's will in my area, but I realized during conference I wasn't doing His will. The Lord didn't send me to Tibiri to baptize a lot of people, but to strengthen the ward and the members. When I was called to work in Tibiri, President Fernandez told me that my purpose there was to help the members get excited about the work. Since I arrived there I just tried to baptize, baptize, baptize. During the conference I felt the impression many times that right now wasn't my time to baptize, but to help out the ward. After receiving these impressions my companion and I decided to change how we were working .Now we are working more with less active members and recent converts. Things are definitely doing better and I know that the Lord will bless our efforts here in Tibiri. Até próximo semana!Love, sister wood

"Endure to the end"

Well this week was...good for my spiritual growth. In reality I spent many nights crying and praying and just asking for the strength to get through the next day. This area is trying to kill me, but it won't suceed. I know I'm here for a purpose and I think I will remain here for some time. Things will get better, it just is difficult at times to work with everything you have and no see the results. I worked in the torrential rain, I worked in the burning sun, I worked with the hundreds (literally) of mosquito bites I have on my body, and I worked with a horrible flu that is still lingering and it appears that all my work has been in vain....but honestly I know that isn't true. The Lord is just trying my faith and trying to help me be a better person...this is something that He always will do. He will stretch us, mold us, pound us, shape us until we are the people He wants us to be. Yesterday after lunch I shared a thought with the irmã about Joseph Smith´s experience in liberty jail. I read the first part of D&C 121 for her and talked about the brutal and at the same time wonderful fact that the Lord will always gives us these hard times. An apostle (I forget who) said in conference a few years ago, `God in his wisdom shields no one from hardships´. After reading these verses for this irmã I talked about the Lord's response...Joseph..peace be unto thy soul, thine afflictions shall be but for a small moment and if thou endure it well God shalt exalt thee on high. When I read this scripture comfort came immediately to my soul...I felt the Lord saying to me Ariel, or Sister wood, have peace these things will pass, just endure them well. I'm trying my best not only to endure, but to endure these trials well. I know the Lord has not left me alone in this area, He never leaves us alone...He just gives us the things we need to be a better, holier people. are all continuing to do well Have the best week ever.

"Parent Trap III"

This week’s letter is going to be short. We spent all day in João Pessoa being interviewed by the president and receiving a training about lots of mission related stuff. Anyway I wasn’t so happy about spending our pday at the mission office, but such is life. Today is also my companion’s birthday. After emailing fast we are going to eat pizza with the other sisters we live with. This week was pretty good. Our spirits were high and we worked hard. Last Monday night we received word that a man we baptized was shot accidently by his friend. Luckily it was just in the arm. He was in the hospital for a couple days, but now he is back in his house recovering. Yesterday he took off the bandages and we got to see the wound. It was awesome!!! The bullet passed completely through his arm leaving an entrance and exit wound. The good thing about this is that he now has a stronger disposition to go to church regularly. Sister Nascimento and I live in a house with 2 other sisters--Sister Burton and Sister de Oliveira, and it is just the most fun thing ever. Seriously every night is just crazy because Sisters Burton and Nascimento are going home next week. We have already had a water balloon fight in the house and a water fight with buckets. Last night Sisters Burton and de Oliveira surprise attacked us with mousse in the face. Luckily they made a huge bucket of it and we had an all out war. Goodness the aftermath was horrible though because the mousse had egg whites in it and it hardened in our hair and clothes and on the floor of our house and everywhere....but it was soooo fun! Unfortunately we didn’t realize that out house was without water ( which happens a lot here) and we had to take a bath on the side of our house with buckets. We just about died laughing as we helped each other wash the mousse out of our hair. This morning, when we woke up and opened the back door a big mouse ran in and hid in the room that holds our suitcases are. After fighting for a few minutes about who would take care of the mouse...Sister de Oliveira and I finally volunteered and entered the room. We closed the door and Sister de Oliveira scared the mouse out from under the dresser and I started whacking away at the mouse...but I’m a horrible shot. (luckily Sister Burton filmed this all from the window) I kept hitting thin air or the floor next to the mouse...and every time I swung the broom stick for some reason we screamed. Honestly we were very much ´´girls´´ screaming and jumping on top of anything that was close and let us escape the mouse. Finally I killed it and afterwards we buried it in the backyard. The funeral was very sweet, few people attended, but tears were shed. Hopefully the mice will avoid our house in the future! So this past week Sister Nascimento and I were walking in the street at night and when we turned the corner a girl yelled ´´Sisters!!!´´. We didn’t recognize her, but started talking to her and she said she was a returned missionary who was inactive. She returned home 2 years ago and because of lack of friends in the church and other wrong choices she left the church. As she talked to us she started to relate all the problems that had happened to her since she left the church. She also said she was fervently praying for help in her life while walking in the street and we all of a sudden appeared out of nowhere. We talked to her for a long time and she has a lot of doubts about returning to the church. She really wants to return to the church, but thinks everyone will judge her and she is also very ashamed of how her life has turned out. She talked about how things were hard for her when she was going to church, but said it was the only time in her life that she was actually happy. She talked about since she left, that she only feels an emptiness that won’t go away. She tried to find happiness in many things--drugs, alcohol, men, etc, but she said her life is nothing but loneliness and unhappiness because of her decisions. We talked to her a lot about repentance and committed her to go to church this next week. She promised she would. Talking to her was really an awesome experience. While we were talking I felt very strongly the love and concern that God has for her. As we said our goodbyes and started walking home Sister Nascimento and I just started tearing up because of the testimony we gained about the love of God for his lost sheep. The scripture in Alma came clearly to my mind: “Now my beloved brethren we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in, yea he numbereth his people and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth.” I have a very strong testimony of this scripture. Every day we meet people who are ´lost´ spiritually and it is just the most humbling experience ever to meet these people and talk to them. Gotta go. Time is up! Love you, Ariel

How was your week? Mine was difficult, but I got through it. This week was only a little bit of a disaster because our baptisms fell through and we had to cut a lot of people from our teaching group who weren't progressing. Also the weather has been a little difficult this week-- the beginning of the week it was hot and I received a nice sunburn and at the end of the week it was nothing but pouring down rain. Because I don't have an umbrella I got completely soaked one night and was actually a little cold for the first time on my mission. I was walking in a 1ft-deep river aka the street, and the thought came to my mind...wow I really wish I had a sweater..but after a few seconds I just started laughing because the thought of using a sweater here is just ridiculous. It was really fun to try and walk in the flooded streets though...luckily the majority of the streets empty fast after the rain stops. The rain will stay for the next couple months so I think today I will buy an umbrella. Well this past week I saw my first living tarantula in the wild and unfortunately I saw it in a house. I was teaching about the Plan of Salvation when all of a sudden I saw a ridiculously HUGE spider running on the floor behind our investigator. As soon as I saw it I screamed nossa!!!!` (the equilivent of oh my goodness) and scared everyone in the room. When our investigator saw it he jumped from his chair and smashed the tarantula with his shoe. Goodness it was quite an interesting thing to witness, but now I'm nervous that we will find one in our house! Unfortunately there are a lot of big spiders in this area and scorpions, but I have yet to see a scorpion.
Anyway things are going well. The mission really can be extremely difficult at times and physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting, but it is also the most rewarding experience of my life. Many times this past week I just wanted to sit down and cry and give up, but I refuse to be a quitter. When times get tough a person really has to make the choice to give up or go on. If the person gives up one time it will be easier to give up the next time and the next time and so becomes the pattern of their life. The opposite is also true. If a person endures one difficulty they know that when the next hardship comes they can endure also and a pattern of endurance is set. I think this is one of the best lessons I'm learning on my mission---to not give up. When I have a difficult day thoughts always come to my head like --What are you doing here? Do you really think you can make a difference? Your life would be so much easier if you just went home....etc. Luckily I'm developing a "never give up" attitude. Many times this week I thought I just couldn't take anymore--when you are standing in the torrential rain, soaking wet and everyone is shutting the door in your face it is easy to have these feelings---but honestly giving up will get a person only one place---nowhere! Though it seemed almost impossible at times to go on this past week the point is that it was possible. Yesterday I was sitting in sacrament meeting a little discouraged when the words "You havent failed until youve stopped trying" entered my mind. It really is true. We really never have failed in our lives, in our missions, etc until we give up and choose not to endure to the end. Unfortunately I talk with people everyday who have given up on life. We are teaching a family that have a lot of problems with addictions---smoking, alcohol, crack. Many of these problems came because they thought their lives were too difficult to deal with and so they just gave up. They gave up in school, in work, they stopped going to church and now they are suffering from their actions. It is so sad to meet people who have developed this "give up" attitude and have slowly, over the course of their life, become subject to the temptations of Satan. Anyway the point of this email is just never give up...it leads to only one place. The only option, though at times it appears difficult and impossible, is to press on. Nefi says it better than me in 2 Nephi 31:20 --- Wherefore ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. WHerefore, if ye press forward, feasting upon the words of Christ, and endure to the end, behold thus saith the Father, ye shall have eternal life.?
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Oh below is the email address of my companion. This next monday is her birthday and she only receives emails from one friend. She is the only member of the church in her family and her family didn't agree with her decision to serve a mission. If you all could please send a short email to her wishing her a happy birthday that would be wonderful. She understands English and her name is Sister Nascimento. She is an awesome companion and I really want her to open her email this next week and have some emails wishing her a happy birthday.. Thanks.
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Love you!
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sister wood
mailto:sisterdaiananascimento@myldsmail.net

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