Hey y’all! Another week, another email. They just seem to be getting faster and faster. The next time I email it will be Christmas! And that means I get to video chat with my family! ha-ha But I think someone is a lot more excited than I am for that (@mom) ;)
Monday we went to Jennings to meet with C* and sent emails for a minute then went and played some ball. But we don’t have a gym in our building so we went to a street ball court and balled up with some local Jennings boys. We played against them twice and won both times! Elder Anderson my new DL is super good at basketball. He played for his school in Panguitch, Utah. So we wouldn’t have won without him, but I am gonna say this, I’ve never had better plays in my life. Haha I guess practicing against my little brother helped a lot ;) but I had some pretty good shots and stuff so I felt pretty good about winning ;)
Tuesday was super good! We drove out to Elton and Kinder which are at the top of our area boundaries. We tried less actives and some former investigators. We met this guy named P*. He seemed super prepared. He was super, super nice and he let us right into his house and started to try and feed us a ton of food and told us if we ever needed anything that his house is open to us even if he isn’t home! We didn’t have time to teach him a lesson right then but we are going back this week to teach him!
Wednesday started off slow because we were just trying formers and stuff. But then we went and got some fries and a frosty at Wendy’s and while we were parked in the lot a guy came and knocked on our window. So we started to talk to him. He told us about how he was on his way from Houston to New Orleans and they had stopped at a gas station earlier and his wife had left the car unlocked and some guy tried to break their window but then realized it was unlocked and stole their purse which had all their credit cards and money and everything in it. He showed us the dent in his window from the guy trying to break in. Anyways, he was in a rush and all he needed was 20 bucks for gas to get to New Orleans. So we talked for a bit and gave him the money. He knew a little about Mormons and he was super grateful for all we do. He asked how many times we get slammed doors... haha :p He was super interested in family history so we gave him a card with the website and information on it and then he insisted several times we put our address so he could pay us back. We said we didn’t want or need him to but he insisted. And with some people down here if you don’t let them pay you back they take offense to it. Anyways, right before he left we asked him for his name. He turned and said "oh, I’m Tim. Tim McGraw"
Thursday was kinda hard, lots of rejection. But then that night we had a lesson with J* and J*. That went okay. J* doesn’t believe there is only one true church and that baptism is important. But J* is doing well! She understood everything we talked about and she seems a lot more interested than J*. But after our lesson they offered us some southern chili so we ate and talked to J*. We started talking about music and she listens to Queen and MJ and Prince and stuff! She is gonna get baptized now cause she is obviously on the right track. ;)
Friday we had district council and training. Then we started our exchange with our ZL Elder Storey.
Saturday we biked around Welsh and met some Pentecostal people. We came back later and read them the Articles of Faith and explained what we believe in. They really liked having us over and they learned some stuff so it was good I guess.
Sunday we had 61 in Sacrament Meeting! Which is a lot better than last week’s 40 something. Lots of less actives we have been contacting came so that was super good. It was a super good meeting as well. I felt as though one of the speakers was talking right to me. He said "It doesn’t matter where you get called, Houston or Jennings. It doesn’t matter how much you get fed. It doesn’t matter how many real investigators or even real lessons you get. All that matters in missionary work is how much you come to love the people." So, I can’t think of very many others in the congregation that needed to hear that except me. So that was pretty cool. That night we had a lesson with some people who drove up here to be taught by me and Elder Kent. It was really, really good actually. It was probably the best lesson of my entire mission. They actually wanted to be taught and they listened and understood what we were saying! How crazy is that?! :p But that was super good. Elder Kent and I worked really well together and we learned a ton! So it was an overall good time.
Anyways, that was my week! I miss and love you all! I really hope your Christmas week goes great and you remember to show and spread the Light of Christ! Take time to show those people that truly matter to you, that you care about them.
Also, there is so much to learn in this life! And it is all in the scriptures! If you are not studying every single day in the Book of Mormon then how could you ever expect to become better and learn more? I would very strongly encourage all of you who are not reading every day, to do so. Prove to your Heavenly Father that what he has given you is important. If you read with your family then you will see a difference in your lives. To all you head of the households, it is your responsibility to make sure family study and council is happening every single day. It is a first priority, not a last. You will all be blessed as you strive to do this thing which Heavenly Father has asked of us!
I love you all! Have a great week!
-Elder Wood
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Monday, December 11, 2017
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-CHANGES!
Hey everyone! I hope your Christmas season is going well and everyone is feeling Christ's love for them!
My week this last week has been good! Lots of things are changing so that's really great!
Monday we got Elder Jones ready to leave. He was super excited to be leaving. He had kinda given up hope for this area so it will be good to get some new, fresh missionaries in this area.
Tuesday was transfer day! That’s also when I sent my last email. We woke up at 5:00 to go meet some missionaries in Beaumont at IHOP to have breakfast. The Beaumont ZL's, the Orange ZL's, and the missionaries from Fred all came and we all got breakfast before we headed out to transfers.
My new comp is Elder Kent. He is from Lewiston, Utah, and he went to Sky View! He and I are getting along super well so far. We also have two more missionaries out in Jennings now, Elder Anderson and his greenie Elder Howard.
Wednesday we met with the other Jennings Elders and made plans for how we are going to work most effective in this branch. I’m super excited and we are expecting miracles! We had mutual that night and they had us missionaries teach the young men what we wish we knew before our missions. It went super well. We had two investigators there that thought it was super interesting and they both committed to read the Book of Mormon and pray to ask if it is true. I talked about how I wish that I understood that as a missionary, it’s not your own ability that will convert people, but it’s God's power that works through you. Even if you think you don’t know enough or aren't good at talking to people, it doesn’t matter. If you are willing and show faith in God then he will make it possible.
Also, a miracle happened today! We were at the church planning and such and when we pulled into the parking lot there was a car parked and there was a guy in it. So, we went and talked to the guy and he told us he was a member of the church but he was just driving through for his selling business and he was just eating lunch. He was very kind and offered us some of his lunch but we declined because he didn’t have that much and we didn’t want to take it from him. He then later walked into the building and handed us 50 bucks for the four of us for food! Haha That may not sound like a miracle to some of you, but when you are in an area where you don’t get fed like at all and you only have a little amount of money to pay for every meal plus laundry and cleaning stuff, 50 bucks can go a long way.
Thursday we spent a lot of time re-assigning all the investigators in the area book that are now in the other Jennings Elders’ area. It took a while because we had a few hundred old investigators and you have to send each one over individually. Also, it had been raining for the past like three days straight and the temperature was dropping more and more each day, and our heater is broken... Haha I think one night it got down to 52 degrees inside our apartment. Which isn't terrible but it’s definitely not comfortable to live in... Elder Kent and I turned on all the stove tops and stood over them like a fire to keep warm :p
Friday was a snow day! We woke up and there was about 2 inches of snow on the ground! P* called us and told us very sternly that he didn't want us driving anywhere! Haha Oh man, it’s so funny to see how everyone like shuts down and they don’t know what to do with snow. But it was super cool to watch some little kids experience snow for the first time. We also met this guy while we were trying to contact less actives and he told us he wasn't even aware that there were Mormons in the area! So hopefully we can get him and his non-member family to come to church.
Saturday we went early morning to help set up for our Branch Christmas party! It was pretty fun! In between setting up and the actual party we went down to Lake Arthur and tried all the members there. After that we had the party and it was super fun! None of the less actives that we or the other Jennings Elders invited came but it was still fun. They had a nativity done by the Primary and they had a real life Santa come! E* told me she could tell it was the real Santa because his beard didn’t look funny ;p
Sunday we only had 34 in Sacrament Meeting. After church we went to the V.A. home and gave a member there the sacrament. He was super grateful and you could tell he felt so much better after. We were planning to go to Morse to help Brother H* learn how to track his stuff for his trucking job online because his company is switching to online stuff instead of paper and he asked for help, but he called us when we were on our way and said he had figured it out. So Elder Kent and I drove up to the top of our mission area and tried contacting people in Elton. That night we drove to Sulphur to have to dinner with President Young from the stake presidency. We and the Lake Charles district go every second Sunday of the month to discuss what we need help with in our areas and what is going well. It’s fun plus Sister Young is an amazing Cajun cook! We had gumbo and it was super good! I keep thinking I need to pick up a few recipes so I can give some to my brother Josh when I get back. I think he'd like that ;)
Anyways, I hope all is going well for all of you and I miss you all! I hope you have an amazing Christmas and remember to share the light of Christ with everyone around you. Even the littlest things can make a big difference!
Love,
Elder Wood
My week this last week has been good! Lots of things are changing so that's really great!
Monday we got Elder Jones ready to leave. He was super excited to be leaving. He had kinda given up hope for this area so it will be good to get some new, fresh missionaries in this area.
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| My first day with Elder Kent |
My new comp is Elder Kent. He is from Lewiston, Utah, and he went to Sky View! He and I are getting along super well so far. We also have two more missionaries out in Jennings now, Elder Anderson and his greenie Elder Howard.
Wednesday we met with the other Jennings Elders and made plans for how we are going to work most effective in this branch. I’m super excited and we are expecting miracles! We had mutual that night and they had us missionaries teach the young men what we wish we knew before our missions. It went super well. We had two investigators there that thought it was super interesting and they both committed to read the Book of Mormon and pray to ask if it is true. I talked about how I wish that I understood that as a missionary, it’s not your own ability that will convert people, but it’s God's power that works through you. Even if you think you don’t know enough or aren't good at talking to people, it doesn’t matter. If you are willing and show faith in God then he will make it possible.
Also, a miracle happened today! We were at the church planning and such and when we pulled into the parking lot there was a car parked and there was a guy in it. So, we went and talked to the guy and he told us he was a member of the church but he was just driving through for his selling business and he was just eating lunch. He was very kind and offered us some of his lunch but we declined because he didn’t have that much and we didn’t want to take it from him. He then later walked into the building and handed us 50 bucks for the four of us for food! Haha That may not sound like a miracle to some of you, but when you are in an area where you don’t get fed like at all and you only have a little amount of money to pay for every meal plus laundry and cleaning stuff, 50 bucks can go a long way.
Thursday we spent a lot of time re-assigning all the investigators in the area book that are now in the other Jennings Elders’ area. It took a while because we had a few hundred old investigators and you have to send each one over individually. Also, it had been raining for the past like three days straight and the temperature was dropping more and more each day, and our heater is broken... Haha I think one night it got down to 52 degrees inside our apartment. Which isn't terrible but it’s definitely not comfortable to live in... Elder Kent and I turned on all the stove tops and stood over them like a fire to keep warm :p
Friday was a snow day! We woke up and there was about 2 inches of snow on the ground! P* called us and told us very sternly that he didn't want us driving anywhere! Haha Oh man, it’s so funny to see how everyone like shuts down and they don’t know what to do with snow. But it was super cool to watch some little kids experience snow for the first time. We also met this guy while we were trying to contact less actives and he told us he wasn't even aware that there were Mormons in the area! So hopefully we can get him and his non-member family to come to church.
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| SNOW!! |
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| Helping decorate table centerpieces for the Christmas party |
Anyways, I hope all is going well for all of you and I miss you all! I hope you have an amazing Christmas and remember to share the light of Christ with everyone around you. Even the littlest things can make a big difference!
Love,
Elder Wood
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| A salamander we found in the baptismal font. At least we got something in the font! :) |
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| E* in her Christmas sweater |
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Transfers!
Hey friends and family!
First off, since transfers were today instead of yesterday, they had us have our P-day today. So that's why the letter is a day later than usual.
Anyways, not much really happened this week. It was kinda slow until the end of the week. Monday-Thursday were mostly uneventful. Except for the fact that Elder Jones thought it would be a good idea to paint our wooden table white... haha He got about a third of the way done till he realized it was going to look super, super bad. So we then scraped off all the paint and now part of our table has random white specks everywhere. :p
Friday was the first day of December! Which means #lighttheworld! We had district meeting in Lake Charles and then that night for our Light the World we went to the Welsh semi-finals football game to meet with some of our investigators there. And we actually came across a former investigator from before I was even here! We offered her our chairs but she kindly declined. So much for freely giving...
On Saturday we took down some food orders to one of Brother T*'s friends in Crowley. We gave her the food and stuff and then offered a lesson. She accepted! haha This is the first real lesson I've been able to teach for quite some time... She was very kind to us and loved hearing what we had to say. The only thing was that she takes care of her daughter’s children and they have a little 2 year old boy. He has a full head of curly blond hair and blue eyes. He also has more energy than I’ve ever seen in one child and has absolutely zero fear with strangers. The second we walked in he was on us. I could tell Elder Jones was kinda stressed trying to teach a lesson with this kid going a million miles an hour around us so I tried to take most the heat from him. ;p He was jumping all around the couches, throwing balls to play catch, trying every second to steal our Book of Mormons to color on and our tablets to play games on. He even at one point came over to me and licked me right on the cheek! haha R* was super embarrassed but I’m used to kids so I just thought it was funny and cute. He then tried to make it better for licking me by giving me kisses on both my checks. haha He especially liked my watch because when you push a button on the side it glows up! haha He thought it was magic. We still had a good lesson what we said seemed to really stick. She said she would read the Book of Mormon and wanted us to come back! When it was time to go, the little boy was heartbroken... I tried to say a closing prayer and he kept interrupting me asking if I had to leave. Then when we stood up to go he ran in front of their door and demanded "You ain’t goin' no-where!" Haha We promised we would be back and had to leave. That night, we met up with the former Elder Wood-- now P*Wood. He left the same day I got to the mission. I've heard a lot about him but I hadn’t met him until then. He and his parents were driving through to see everyone from his mission and attend some sealings for his converts. We had dinner at Subway and he seemed like a super nice guy. Elder Jones knew him super well while he was still on the mission.
Sunday!!! The highlight of the week!!!! WE HAD THREE INVESTIGATORS AT CHURCH!!! haha We actually had people come! It was a good way to end Elder Jones' time here in Jennings. J*, J* and C* all came! I sure hope they keep having a desire to build their faith in Christ. After church we had dinner with Sister M* and that was super good! She cooked goose! Bullets still in it included! haha I kinda felt like I was on that one movie, Second Hand Lions.
So for transfers, Elder Jones is heading to Williamson 3rd which is Vidor and I’m staying here in Jennings! My new companion is Elder Kent. He was a Zone Leader from Beaumont. It should be super good. They are also opening up another area in Jennings finally! Elder Andersen who used to be the Zone Leader is stepping down to District Leader and he is training there. Which means we four in Jennings are now a district. So we won’t be going to Lake Charles anymore. But it will be really good to get more missionaries out here just because before Elder Jones and I just had so much to cover. So many people and so little time or miles. It will be good but I’m a little sad because the T* family live in the other Jennings area. But I will still see them on Sundays so hopefully it'll work out still!
Anyways, that's pretty much all for my week! Although, I was reading the story of Jesus' sacrifice and the events that happened right before and after and I noticed something I hadn't noticed before. There was a man named Barabbas who was a murderer and thief who was imprisoned also when the people presented Jesus to Pilate to be crucified. Now as tradition Pilate was to release one prisoner free of debt on the feast. And the two candidates were Jesus the Christ and Barabbas the Murderer. Pilate at first thought this was absolutely ridiculous. He said, "Behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him. Therefore, I will chastise him and release him." But when he asked the people who they would have, they all cheered "Give us Barabbas." Pilate a second time tried to reason, but they all again said they wanted Barabbas to be freed. He then, even a third time, told the people that Jesus had done no wrong. He had no reason to be put to death. But the people still all cheered for Barabbas. So, Pilate let them do as they all pleased. Now, I think of this story but I see it from a little different perspective. Think of it as instead of us being Pilate trying to save Jesus and stand up for him, we are instead, Barabbas. For are we all not sinners? Have we all not gone about this life doing all manner of wrong and causing all kinds of pain? And then finally we are caught in our sins and put on death's row. Because that is what we deserve. We have sinned and with no Savior we deserve to be destroyed. But, then there is Jesus. He is there. And he willingly takes the blame for us. He is the one who paid for our sins. The people of the world cheer with loud voices saying we are the ones who deserve punishment for our sins. But there stands Jesus not saying a word to defend himself against the people because he understands. He understands that this must be done so that all of us can have a chance. Now, we can tell ourselves we aren't worth it. We can say that we have gone too far. We, like Barabbas, are known sinners and have done so much wrong that we feel we are not worth saving. All of those feelings, all of those thoughts are complete and utter lies from the enemy. See Jesus didn't hate Barabbas for the people choosing a murderer over the son of God. But Jesus loved Barabbas. Jesus loves all of us. And his atonement reaches out to all of us. And if you think it’s too late for you, you’re wrong. Even when your time is up and you are about to be crucified for your sins, Jesus stands next to you and takes your sins upon himself. All you have to do is use his atonement and repent. Come unto Him and change your life for the better. Jesus has already payed the price. All that is left is for you to choose to use it.
Anyways, I love and miss you all! I hope this week has gone by wonderfully for all of you and I hope as this Christmas season rolls along that you will take time to realize how blessed you all are! Don’t forget to #lighttheworld! You can go to lds.org or mormon.org to see ideas on how to get started!
Until next week!
Love,
Elder Wood
First off, since transfers were today instead of yesterday, they had us have our P-day today. So that's why the letter is a day later than usual.
Anyways, not much really happened this week. It was kinda slow until the end of the week. Monday-Thursday were mostly uneventful. Except for the fact that Elder Jones thought it would be a good idea to paint our wooden table white... haha He got about a third of the way done till he realized it was going to look super, super bad. So we then scraped off all the paint and now part of our table has random white specks everywhere. :p
Friday was the first day of December! Which means #lighttheworld! We had district meeting in Lake Charles and then that night for our Light the World we went to the Welsh semi-finals football game to meet with some of our investigators there. And we actually came across a former investigator from before I was even here! We offered her our chairs but she kindly declined. So much for freely giving...
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| Watching the game |
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| Marching band at the football game in Welsh, LA |
Sunday!!! The highlight of the week!!!! WE HAD THREE INVESTIGATORS AT CHURCH!!! haha We actually had people come! It was a good way to end Elder Jones' time here in Jennings. J*, J* and C* all came! I sure hope they keep having a desire to build their faith in Christ. After church we had dinner with Sister M* and that was super good! She cooked goose! Bullets still in it included! haha I kinda felt like I was on that one movie, Second Hand Lions.
So for transfers, Elder Jones is heading to Williamson 3rd which is Vidor and I’m staying here in Jennings! My new companion is Elder Kent. He was a Zone Leader from Beaumont. It should be super good. They are also opening up another area in Jennings finally! Elder Andersen who used to be the Zone Leader is stepping down to District Leader and he is training there. Which means we four in Jennings are now a district. So we won’t be going to Lake Charles anymore. But it will be really good to get more missionaries out here just because before Elder Jones and I just had so much to cover. So many people and so little time or miles. It will be good but I’m a little sad because the T* family live in the other Jennings area. But I will still see them on Sundays so hopefully it'll work out still!
Anyways, that's pretty much all for my week! Although, I was reading the story of Jesus' sacrifice and the events that happened right before and after and I noticed something I hadn't noticed before. There was a man named Barabbas who was a murderer and thief who was imprisoned also when the people presented Jesus to Pilate to be crucified. Now as tradition Pilate was to release one prisoner free of debt on the feast. And the two candidates were Jesus the Christ and Barabbas the Murderer. Pilate at first thought this was absolutely ridiculous. He said, "Behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him. Therefore, I will chastise him and release him." But when he asked the people who they would have, they all cheered "Give us Barabbas." Pilate a second time tried to reason, but they all again said they wanted Barabbas to be freed. He then, even a third time, told the people that Jesus had done no wrong. He had no reason to be put to death. But the people still all cheered for Barabbas. So, Pilate let them do as they all pleased. Now, I think of this story but I see it from a little different perspective. Think of it as instead of us being Pilate trying to save Jesus and stand up for him, we are instead, Barabbas. For are we all not sinners? Have we all not gone about this life doing all manner of wrong and causing all kinds of pain? And then finally we are caught in our sins and put on death's row. Because that is what we deserve. We have sinned and with no Savior we deserve to be destroyed. But, then there is Jesus. He is there. And he willingly takes the blame for us. He is the one who paid for our sins. The people of the world cheer with loud voices saying we are the ones who deserve punishment for our sins. But there stands Jesus not saying a word to defend himself against the people because he understands. He understands that this must be done so that all of us can have a chance. Now, we can tell ourselves we aren't worth it. We can say that we have gone too far. We, like Barabbas, are known sinners and have done so much wrong that we feel we are not worth saving. All of those feelings, all of those thoughts are complete and utter lies from the enemy. See Jesus didn't hate Barabbas for the people choosing a murderer over the son of God. But Jesus loved Barabbas. Jesus loves all of us. And his atonement reaches out to all of us. And if you think it’s too late for you, you’re wrong. Even when your time is up and you are about to be crucified for your sins, Jesus stands next to you and takes your sins upon himself. All you have to do is use his atonement and repent. Come unto Him and change your life for the better. Jesus has already payed the price. All that is left is for you to choose to use it.
Anyways, I love and miss you all! I hope this week has gone by wonderfully for all of you and I hope as this Christmas season rolls along that you will take time to realize how blessed you all are! Don’t forget to #lighttheworld! You can go to lds.org or mormon.org to see ideas on how to get started!
Until next week!
Love,
Elder Wood
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| Cool Sunset |
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| Christmas lights on the street by our apartment |
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