Dear Family,
Well, to start off, I am greatly pleased by my newly given title and if possible would like it placed on all of the letters addressed to me. Elder Roland Wood, a mature, sober, manly warrior-servant of the Lord. Just kidding about that, but I might be writing that in the signatures to my journal entries now.
The news came in for transfers this past Saturday and I will be spending another six weeks here at least with Elder Arens. In fact, our entire zone, except for one Elder, is staying entirely the same. And, weirdly enough, the Elder that is leaving, is going to the place which I just came from. he's going to Donna and my previous companion, Elder Raynor, is coming up to be in Edinburg Central, the area beneath mine. Weird coincidences going on with the movement of Elders, but it's an inspired process, so I'm sure it's what needs to happen.
Not too much in the way of news happened this last week besides the transfers. We have been working hard all week to try and help our investigators continue to learn and progress in the gospel. So far we haven't had too much luck, except with one of our investigators, Alex. I believe that I wrote about her a little bit last week, as well as reporting on the experience that we had praying with her about Joseph Smith. The only news that has really changed with her is that she followed up on her commitment to read 3 Nephi 11 in the Book of Mormon and prayed about it. When discussing with her how she felt about the book, she told us she felt it was true, and that she understands that if the book is true, this is God's Church once again upon the earth. We have started to teach her the commandments and everything seems to be going well so far. she also came to Church this past Sunday and is on track to being baptized in the coming weeks.
One thing that I have been thinking about recently that maybe Mom could help me with would be getting my line of authority card/printout. We often talk to people about how the authority of the Priesthood is real and isn't some mystical power that someone just takes to themselves on their own. I think that it might be nice for me to be able to show an example to someone of exactly how this authority is passed down and how ultimately it comes from the hands of the Savior. The Spanish Elder's Quorum actually talked about getting these cards for the Priesthood members a few Sundays ago. Apparently it is something about needing a few specific dates and then going to the Bishop and asking him. It would be great If I could get a copy of my line of Priesthood authority.
I hope everyone is continuing to have a great week and that everything is going well. For all the new babies and babies on the way, I hope and pray that everyone can stay healthy and that the Lord continues to provide as He has been doing. Good luck to everyone this week in work and all other endeavors you have. Don't forget to pray!
Love,
Elder Wood
February 28, 2011
February 21, 2011
14 February, 2011, email from Edinburg, TX
Dear Family,
This week as been a great week here in South Texas! I'm still here in Edinburg North, but we will be finding out about transfers this Saturday. I think that most likely I will stay here in the far North of the valley, but my companion, Elder Arens is convinced that he's out this transfer. He has apparently never stayed with a companion more than one transfer, other than his trainer which he had for two. So, if history continues to repeat itself, I will have a new companion here in just a short time. We didn't have any baptisms this past week, but our three baptisms from a few weeks ago finally received the Holy Ghost after being delayed a week due to Stake Conference. All in all this past Sunday, seven people were confirmed in Sacrament meeting, which took up a good twenty five minutes of the meeting. It was a great site, nevertheless.
We are currently teaching a few families here. We are still continuing to teach the Cubriel family. They were unfortunately unable to make it to church because the mother was sick and the father was competing in a charity golf tournament for the nearby college. Other than that, we are also teaching the Castillo family, a Spanish speaking husband, wife, daughter and aunt, who are progressing well, but have a few fears about being baptized that we are trying to resolve.
The real shining light of the people that we are working with right now is the Carrion family. They are a part member family here where the mother and father are active, but they have an inactive son and non-member daughter-in-law that also live with them. Last night we had an amazing lesson with them. The prior time we had met, we discussed how that only through the priesthood, J.C. (the Carrion's son) and his wife, Alex, would be able to be together with their newborn son in the eternities. Last night, we discussed the restoration of that priesthood. A very powerful testimony was given by Alex's mother-in-law and the Spirit was strongly present. However, the real force of the Spirit came when we invited Alex to get down with us on our knees and to ask God if Joseph Smith was a prophet, if this was His church, and that the priesthood authority to seal was again on the earth.
She offered a very simple, sincere prayer and directly asked her questions to God. After she ended her prayer we spent a good two and a half minutes just kneeling and listening to the Spirit. When I opened my eyes and looked up to see how Alex was feeling, she had her head still bowed down and eyes closed, but her face was covered with a steady stream of flowing tears. We asked her what she believed was the answer to her prayers, and she said that she believed that God was telling her that this was His church, and that Joseph Smith was His prophet. We invited her to be baptized and start a path towards receiving the blessings that the Lord had for her and she accepted.
Right now, as long as she remembers how she felt, and her husband J.C. is willing to support her in coming to church, she should soon be prepared to be baptized.
I am eternally grateful for the fact that God is aware of all of us. God was not busy, preoccupied or apathetic when we kneeled down and sincerely asked if these things were true. To the contrary, I know that God had his gaze upon us, and that he sent the Spirit to Alex and to us in heavenly answer to our prayer. I, and hopefully no one else, will ever forget that God focuses on individuals. If one person is willing to get down and to ask with a sincere heart, having real intent, God will answer and help that person to know the truth of all things.
I am ecstatic over the news of JoAnn and Nathan. It's another evidence of the personal support and care that the Lord can give us. Another Wood cousin being added to the group is fantastic news. I'm sure that everything will go well and that the baby will be a small one with a very accommodating head size. I'm also grateful that the Lord continues to provide support to Mel as the baby continues to grow. The hand of the Lord is there and is working to support her, of that I have no doubt.
Well, I only have a few minutes left to write, and I haven't even had a chance to wish everyone a happy Valentine's day. I hope that everybody gets a chance to spend some time with their loved ones and think of how much they mean to you. The Gospel of Jesus Christ was made to bring people together, and to offer us the chance to be with the ones that we love forever in the presence of our Creator. So, I hope everyone has a great day and has the opportunity to express the love that they hold for others. As for me, you know that I love you all and greatly appreciate the support that you give. I hope that I can continue to work hard and to show my love for the Lord through the work of the ministry. I hope everyone has a great Valentine's day and also a fantastic week!
Con mucho carino,
Elder Wood
This week as been a great week here in South Texas! I'm still here in Edinburg North, but we will be finding out about transfers this Saturday. I think that most likely I will stay here in the far North of the valley, but my companion, Elder Arens is convinced that he's out this transfer. He has apparently never stayed with a companion more than one transfer, other than his trainer which he had for two. So, if history continues to repeat itself, I will have a new companion here in just a short time. We didn't have any baptisms this past week, but our three baptisms from a few weeks ago finally received the Holy Ghost after being delayed a week due to Stake Conference. All in all this past Sunday, seven people were confirmed in Sacrament meeting, which took up a good twenty five minutes of the meeting. It was a great site, nevertheless.
We are currently teaching a few families here. We are still continuing to teach the Cubriel family. They were unfortunately unable to make it to church because the mother was sick and the father was competing in a charity golf tournament for the nearby college. Other than that, we are also teaching the Castillo family, a Spanish speaking husband, wife, daughter and aunt, who are progressing well, but have a few fears about being baptized that we are trying to resolve.
The real shining light of the people that we are working with right now is the Carrion family. They are a part member family here where the mother and father are active, but they have an inactive son and non-member daughter-in-law that also live with them. Last night we had an amazing lesson with them. The prior time we had met, we discussed how that only through the priesthood, J.C. (the Carrion's son) and his wife, Alex, would be able to be together with their newborn son in the eternities. Last night, we discussed the restoration of that priesthood. A very powerful testimony was given by Alex's mother-in-law and the Spirit was strongly present. However, the real force of the Spirit came when we invited Alex to get down with us on our knees and to ask God if Joseph Smith was a prophet, if this was His church, and that the priesthood authority to seal was again on the earth.
She offered a very simple, sincere prayer and directly asked her questions to God. After she ended her prayer we spent a good two and a half minutes just kneeling and listening to the Spirit. When I opened my eyes and looked up to see how Alex was feeling, she had her head still bowed down and eyes closed, but her face was covered with a steady stream of flowing tears. We asked her what she believed was the answer to her prayers, and she said that she believed that God was telling her that this was His church, and that Joseph Smith was His prophet. We invited her to be baptized and start a path towards receiving the blessings that the Lord had for her and she accepted.
Right now, as long as she remembers how she felt, and her husband J.C. is willing to support her in coming to church, she should soon be prepared to be baptized.
I am eternally grateful for the fact that God is aware of all of us. God was not busy, preoccupied or apathetic when we kneeled down and sincerely asked if these things were true. To the contrary, I know that God had his gaze upon us, and that he sent the Spirit to Alex and to us in heavenly answer to our prayer. I, and hopefully no one else, will ever forget that God focuses on individuals. If one person is willing to get down and to ask with a sincere heart, having real intent, God will answer and help that person to know the truth of all things.
I am ecstatic over the news of JoAnn and Nathan. It's another evidence of the personal support and care that the Lord can give us. Another Wood cousin being added to the group is fantastic news. I'm sure that everything will go well and that the baby will be a small one with a very accommodating head size. I'm also grateful that the Lord continues to provide support to Mel as the baby continues to grow. The hand of the Lord is there and is working to support her, of that I have no doubt.
Well, I only have a few minutes left to write, and I haven't even had a chance to wish everyone a happy Valentine's day. I hope that everybody gets a chance to spend some time with their loved ones and think of how much they mean to you. The Gospel of Jesus Christ was made to bring people together, and to offer us the chance to be with the ones that we love forever in the presence of our Creator. So, I hope everyone has a great day and has the opportunity to express the love that they hold for others. As for me, you know that I love you all and greatly appreciate the support that you give. I hope that I can continue to work hard and to show my love for the Lord through the work of the ministry. I hope everyone has a great Valentine's day and also a fantastic week!
Con mucho carino,
Elder Wood
February 7, 2011, Post from Edinburg, TX
Dear Family,
Another week has come and gone here in the mission field. Although this last week wasn't too exciting, we did have a few instances that I guess are worth relating to the rest of you. The week started off pretty slow. We were just working to do our best to find some new investigators and to also re-establish contact with a few of the investigators that we had with baptismal dates, who had since dropped off. Not too many fruits came off of trying to find our old investigators, but we did have a bit of success finding new investigators. Out contacting in our area we ran into a man, Brother Cubriel, who we now have been teaching a fair amount. He is a former pro-golfer who is in his 40s or 50s. We've taught him twice so far and he seems to be progressing fairly well, but tonight will be the real test. Tonight is the first night that we are going to teach him together with his family, a wife and two daughters. We'll see how they accept the message we have to bring. I have high hopes for the family, and soon I'm sure they will be progressing well together.
This last Sunday was our Stake Conference meeting here in Texas, which was done as a broadcast from SLC to all of the stakes in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. The speakers were Elder Jensen from the Seventy, Sister Dibs from the YW general presidency, Elder M. Russel Ballard and President Monson. All of the talks that they gave were great, but I think my favorites would go to Elder Ballard and President Monson. Elder Ballard spoke on the Gospel of Christ, which was a great talk and an even better opportunity to listen and to learn how an Apostle teaches it. As a missonary, I teach the Gospel of Christ at least ten or more times a week, so it was a great opportunity to learn from the way that Elder Ballard presents and teaches it. President Monson spoke on working with less active and inactive members and doing our part to come "to the rescue!" Most of the wards here in South Texas struggle with overwhelming numbers of less actives, which sometimes shakes the ward member's confidence in the converts that we bring in. President Monson's talk just got me thinking about what I could do as a missionary to make sure that my converts are solid in the Gospel and what I could do to help bring back some of the lost sheep.
Yesterday was kind of a rough day to work since the Super Bowl was on. For the stake conference sessions, there was one session in English at 10 and another session in Spanish at 1. Something I thought was funny was tht many of the Spanish members that don't speak English well (or not at all), showed up to the English session of conference because they wanted to be able to get back early and start preparing their Super Bowl parties. I guess the important part is that they came, but it was a funny coincidence that the English session was full and there were many fewer members in the Spanish session, though it is normally the other way around.
I'm glad that Sarah and Ben were able to get some help with baby Dot. I'm sure that they're already amazing parents. I hope Mel is continuing to do well and that the baby continues to grow and get stronger. I'm grateful for the letters I've received from everybody in the past couple of weeks and I'm doing what I can to get through and respond to them. Everyone should be getting their letters soon. Keep on working hard everyone and don't forget who we're serving as we keep the commandments and fulfill our callings.
Love,
Elder Wood
Another week has come and gone here in the mission field. Although this last week wasn't too exciting, we did have a few instances that I guess are worth relating to the rest of you. The week started off pretty slow. We were just working to do our best to find some new investigators and to also re-establish contact with a few of the investigators that we had with baptismal dates, who had since dropped off. Not too many fruits came off of trying to find our old investigators, but we did have a bit of success finding new investigators. Out contacting in our area we ran into a man, Brother Cubriel, who we now have been teaching a fair amount. He is a former pro-golfer who is in his 40s or 50s. We've taught him twice so far and he seems to be progressing fairly well, but tonight will be the real test. Tonight is the first night that we are going to teach him together with his family, a wife and two daughters. We'll see how they accept the message we have to bring. I have high hopes for the family, and soon I'm sure they will be progressing well together.
This last Sunday was our Stake Conference meeting here in Texas, which was done as a broadcast from SLC to all of the stakes in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. The speakers were Elder Jensen from the Seventy, Sister Dibs from the YW general presidency, Elder M. Russel Ballard and President Monson. All of the talks that they gave were great, but I think my favorites would go to Elder Ballard and President Monson. Elder Ballard spoke on the Gospel of Christ, which was a great talk and an even better opportunity to listen and to learn how an Apostle teaches it. As a missonary, I teach the Gospel of Christ at least ten or more times a week, so it was a great opportunity to learn from the way that Elder Ballard presents and teaches it. President Monson spoke on working with less active and inactive members and doing our part to come "to the rescue!" Most of the wards here in South Texas struggle with overwhelming numbers of less actives, which sometimes shakes the ward member's confidence in the converts that we bring in. President Monson's talk just got me thinking about what I could do as a missionary to make sure that my converts are solid in the Gospel and what I could do to help bring back some of the lost sheep.
Yesterday was kind of a rough day to work since the Super Bowl was on. For the stake conference sessions, there was one session in English at 10 and another session in Spanish at 1. Something I thought was funny was tht many of the Spanish members that don't speak English well (or not at all), showed up to the English session of conference because they wanted to be able to get back early and start preparing their Super Bowl parties. I guess the important part is that they came, but it was a funny coincidence that the English session was full and there were many fewer members in the Spanish session, though it is normally the other way around.
I'm glad that Sarah and Ben were able to get some help with baby Dot. I'm sure that they're already amazing parents. I hope Mel is continuing to do well and that the baby continues to grow and get stronger. I'm grateful for the letters I've received from everybody in the past couple of weeks and I'm doing what I can to get through and respond to them. Everyone should be getting their letters soon. Keep on working hard everyone and don't forget who we're serving as we keep the commandments and fulfill our callings.
Love,
Elder Wood
February 7, 2011
Jan. 31, email from Edinburg, TX
Dear Family,
This past week turns out to be a great week for everyone! I was ecstatic to hear about the news of baby Dot, and that everything turned out all right. She will be another great addition to the family and the Wood/Chan clans. I'm grateful for the help and support that the Lord is currently putting into our family and for the many blessings we have received. In mission news, my companion and I had three baptisms, yesterday. Juana Maria, a fifty something year old woman, her daughter (Katy, 11) and her grand daughter (Yuliana, 8) were baptized. The zone leaders, who live in the same house that I do, also had two baptisms, making five people baptized. And, surprisingly enough, each person being baptized had selected a different person to baptize them, so we had ten people in white! Unfortunately, I forgot the cord for my camera today, but pictures will follow next week.
In news of the Texas McAllen mission, this last month was historic as well. With the effort put in by the missionaries here and the help of the Lord, 114 people were baptized in the month of January. This is the highest number of people being baptized in a single month in the history of the entire mission. (The next highest was just a few short of 100.) So, it was a great week for the mission and it puts us right on track for the goal that President Trayner set of 1200 baptisms for the year of 2011. This past Sunday was also a great day for our companionship when we had nine investigators attend church, another high so far for my mission. God has seen fit to bless us here in South Texas, and I hope that the other missionaries and I will be able to remain humble to continue inviting the hand of the Lord in our work.
Juana Maria and her family were an interesting group to teach, though we hadn't known them for too long a time. Juana Maria had been an investigator of Elder Arens and Elder Payne (the elder who was here before me). She had progressed very well up until the point that I got here. When I arrived we had a horrible time trying to get in contact wit her, and we could never find her home. We were starting to lose hope. However, we finally committed to one last try after about a week and a half of trying and we were able to catch her home. After talking a bit, we discovered that she still wanted to be baptized, but had just been working like crazy because her family is desperately poor. She had mostly been taught everything at that point, but then she introduced us to her daughter and grand daughter who we then started to teach. Luckily they had both been to church with her the past two times they went, so they were all able to be baptized on the same date.
Juana Maria's grandfather was a member of the church, and when she was little he would read parts of the Book of Mormon to her as she went to sleep. This was a big step in her conversion. She has a great testimony of the church and is committed to being a solid, consistent member and to paying her tithing to receive more of the Lord's help.
Teaching Katy and Yuliana was an interesting experience because we only had about a week to teach them all that they needed to know in order to be baptized. So basically, we had two big lessons that contained all that they needed to know and used all the pictures, hand signals and pneumonics we could to help them learn. Everything turned out fine and they were able to learn the history of the church and all the commandments. However, Yuliana did have a bit of a freak-out before her baptism. She is an eight year old girl who stresses over school a lot and always has to win at whatever she's doing. So, she felt like the baptismal interview was going to be like a test or exam and was terrified that she was going to fail. However, after some talking and reassuring, she had her interview and left with a smile.
The Lord has helped the Texas McAllen mission and my family greatly this week, and has seen fit to pour out blessings upon us. I'm grateful for the help that He has given and the opportunity that I have to be an instrument in His hands. I hope everyone continues to do well and keeps being prospered by the Lord. I know He lives and that He is doing everything He can to help and protect our family. Just remember to continue having faith and allow God to keep working miracles!
Love,
Elder Wood
This past week turns out to be a great week for everyone! I was ecstatic to hear about the news of baby Dot, and that everything turned out all right. She will be another great addition to the family and the Wood/Chan clans. I'm grateful for the help and support that the Lord is currently putting into our family and for the many blessings we have received. In mission news, my companion and I had three baptisms, yesterday. Juana Maria, a fifty something year old woman, her daughter (Katy, 11) and her grand daughter (Yuliana, 8) were baptized. The zone leaders, who live in the same house that I do, also had two baptisms, making five people baptized. And, surprisingly enough, each person being baptized had selected a different person to baptize them, so we had ten people in white! Unfortunately, I forgot the cord for my camera today, but pictures will follow next week.
In news of the Texas McAllen mission, this last month was historic as well. With the effort put in by the missionaries here and the help of the Lord, 114 people were baptized in the month of January. This is the highest number of people being baptized in a single month in the history of the entire mission. (The next highest was just a few short of 100.) So, it was a great week for the mission and it puts us right on track for the goal that President Trayner set of 1200 baptisms for the year of 2011. This past Sunday was also a great day for our companionship when we had nine investigators attend church, another high so far for my mission. God has seen fit to bless us here in South Texas, and I hope that the other missionaries and I will be able to remain humble to continue inviting the hand of the Lord in our work.
Juana Maria and her family were an interesting group to teach, though we hadn't known them for too long a time. Juana Maria had been an investigator of Elder Arens and Elder Payne (the elder who was here before me). She had progressed very well up until the point that I got here. When I arrived we had a horrible time trying to get in contact wit her, and we could never find her home. We were starting to lose hope. However, we finally committed to one last try after about a week and a half of trying and we were able to catch her home. After talking a bit, we discovered that she still wanted to be baptized, but had just been working like crazy because her family is desperately poor. She had mostly been taught everything at that point, but then she introduced us to her daughter and grand daughter who we then started to teach. Luckily they had both been to church with her the past two times they went, so they were all able to be baptized on the same date.
Juana Maria's grandfather was a member of the church, and when she was little he would read parts of the Book of Mormon to her as she went to sleep. This was a big step in her conversion. She has a great testimony of the church and is committed to being a solid, consistent member and to paying her tithing to receive more of the Lord's help.
Teaching Katy and Yuliana was an interesting experience because we only had about a week to teach them all that they needed to know in order to be baptized. So basically, we had two big lessons that contained all that they needed to know and used all the pictures, hand signals and pneumonics we could to help them learn. Everything turned out fine and they were able to learn the history of the church and all the commandments. However, Yuliana did have a bit of a freak-out before her baptism. She is an eight year old girl who stresses over school a lot and always has to win at whatever she's doing. So, she felt like the baptismal interview was going to be like a test or exam and was terrified that she was going to fail. However, after some talking and reassuring, she had her interview and left with a smile.
The Lord has helped the Texas McAllen mission and my family greatly this week, and has seen fit to pour out blessings upon us. I'm grateful for the help that He has given and the opportunity that I have to be an instrument in His hands. I hope everyone continues to do well and keeps being prospered by the Lord. I know He lives and that He is doing everything He can to help and protect our family. Just remember to continue having faith and allow God to keep working miracles!
Love,
Elder Wood
January 24, 2011, email from Edinburg, TX
Dear Family,
This week has been an interesting period of time. I only have a few stories from this week that are worth telling, but they're pretty good, so I hope you'll enjoy them. At the beginning of my transfer here in Edinburg, my companion was continuously looking for an investigator that they had been teaching, but all of our efforts were to no avail. I had never met her, and we had been swinging by her house every day for about a week and a half, so I was beginning to lose hope.
However, after probably stopping by her house about 20 times, we finally found her home for just a few minutes. We were able to talk with her and sort out what had been going on and if she still wanted to be baptized. She said yes, and should now be getting baptized this Sunday. She is halfway through Alma in her personal reading in the Book of Mormon and has read every pamphlet a missionary can give. She is doing well and this next week we will spend teaching her daughter who has been coming with her to church, but is currently unsure about being baptized. Hopefully we will help her to be ready by this Sunday as well, so that she and her mother can both be baptized on the same date. This was a lesson in faith for me because after stopping by so many times I really didn't see the point anymore. But my companion knew her and never lost hope. And look what happened!
The other story I have from this week involves a lesson we had with a recent convert's brother, David. David is a pronounced atheist who doesn't believe in God because he has never really felt the Spirit and can't understand what the beginning of any of this was or where things came from. I explained to him that for me, that is exactly what faith is. As a 20 year old man, I don't know a lot of things, but something that I have learned is that as humankind, we know the beginning of nothing. Everything can be broken down to a smaller and smaller point, until something just has to have "been". For me, faith is not knowing where something begins, but believing in it anyway. As Latter-Day Saints, we know of the principle of exaltation, which helps to put our progression and the origin of God into one eternal round. I don't know where God's God is, or where the first began, that is where my faith comes in. I do not know the beginning of all things, but I know that God exists and that the words of His holy prophets are true, and so I have faith that it is a true principle. (This sounds way more jumbled than when I was speaking to him, probably because when I was speaking with him it was more guided by the Spirit.) Anyway, the really miraculous part of this is when I was speaking with him in English, his mother, who only speaks Spanish, just started crying out of no where as I was testifying to David of God's existence. After the lesson she came to me and said, "I don't know what you said to my sons, but I have a feeling that you did a lot to help them and I'm very grateful." Very few times have I felt myself being carried in my speech by the Spirit, but during this time I know that I was. I have a firm testimony that the Lord does guide this work, and not just by directing you where to go and what to do, but he literally puts His words into your mouth so that you can bring His children unto Him.
I'm low on time, but I just hope everybody knows how grateful i am for your support and prayers as a missionary. I hope everyone continues to do well in the family and that everything goes well with those in our family who are carrying children. I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Love,
Elder wood
This week has been an interesting period of time. I only have a few stories from this week that are worth telling, but they're pretty good, so I hope you'll enjoy them. At the beginning of my transfer here in Edinburg, my companion was continuously looking for an investigator that they had been teaching, but all of our efforts were to no avail. I had never met her, and we had been swinging by her house every day for about a week and a half, so I was beginning to lose hope.
However, after probably stopping by her house about 20 times, we finally found her home for just a few minutes. We were able to talk with her and sort out what had been going on and if she still wanted to be baptized. She said yes, and should now be getting baptized this Sunday. She is halfway through Alma in her personal reading in the Book of Mormon and has read every pamphlet a missionary can give. She is doing well and this next week we will spend teaching her daughter who has been coming with her to church, but is currently unsure about being baptized. Hopefully we will help her to be ready by this Sunday as well, so that she and her mother can both be baptized on the same date. This was a lesson in faith for me because after stopping by so many times I really didn't see the point anymore. But my companion knew her and never lost hope. And look what happened!
The other story I have from this week involves a lesson we had with a recent convert's brother, David. David is a pronounced atheist who doesn't believe in God because he has never really felt the Spirit and can't understand what the beginning of any of this was or where things came from. I explained to him that for me, that is exactly what faith is. As a 20 year old man, I don't know a lot of things, but something that I have learned is that as humankind, we know the beginning of nothing. Everything can be broken down to a smaller and smaller point, until something just has to have "been". For me, faith is not knowing where something begins, but believing in it anyway. As Latter-Day Saints, we know of the principle of exaltation, which helps to put our progression and the origin of God into one eternal round. I don't know where God's God is, or where the first began, that is where my faith comes in. I do not know the beginning of all things, but I know that God exists and that the words of His holy prophets are true, and so I have faith that it is a true principle. (This sounds way more jumbled than when I was speaking to him, probably because when I was speaking with him it was more guided by the Spirit.) Anyway, the really miraculous part of this is when I was speaking with him in English, his mother, who only speaks Spanish, just started crying out of no where as I was testifying to David of God's existence. After the lesson she came to me and said, "I don't know what you said to my sons, but I have a feeling that you did a lot to help them and I'm very grateful." Very few times have I felt myself being carried in my speech by the Spirit, but during this time I know that I was. I have a firm testimony that the Lord does guide this work, and not just by directing you where to go and what to do, but he literally puts His words into your mouth so that you can bring His children unto Him.
I'm low on time, but I just hope everybody knows how grateful i am for your support and prayers as a missionary. I hope everyone continues to do well in the family and that everything goes well with those in our family who are carrying children. I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Love,
Elder wood
January 17, 2001 Email from Edinburg, TX
Dear Family,
This week has been a pretty interesting week out here in Edinburg. This is the first area for me after leaving the area where I was "born" in the mission. It's a different experience to leave an area that you've been in for so long and to have to start off with new streets, new members and new investigators.
The biggest struggle for this area, I believe, is that we are so far out of the way. Our area is at the very northern tip of Edinburg and most of the little pueblitos are so far apart that it's a considerable mile/gas drain on the car to just go try and visit someone off the cuff. The distance of our area from most of the members in the ward is making having members present at lessons a little hard for us. And it didn't help that my companion has only been here six weeks and I had just arrived. I spent Sunday getting to know a lot of the members better so that I could call them and not just be some no-name missionary asking them to drive 25 miles to help us. Hopefully we'll see some fruit from those labors during this week as we call members to see if they can come out with us.
My new companion is Elder Arens, who comes from Arizona. He's been out in th emission just under a year and is a good hard-working elder. The area that we work in is probably about 80% Spanish, which is nice because I'm getting a lot of practice with the language. A few days ago I had a day where I didn't speak any English during the day to my companion or anyone that could speak Spanish. It may not seem that fantastic of a story for some of the missionaries in foreign countries, *cough* Peru *cough*, but it took quite a bit of effort when you have another gringo missionary and most people will get what you're saying if you speak in English. Elder Arens has good Spanish, but I've found myself translating for him a few times during the lessons. Hopefully, soon we'll be able to have some good studies together and get him rolling his erres.
Not too much this week has happened in the way of investigators, just a couple of good lessons and a couple sessions of damage control with some baptismal dates and impatient parents that want them to decide if they're going to go through with it or not, already. Anyway, the work is going well here and I'm excited to start doing my part to help the work of the Lord in the northern part of Edinburg, Texas.
By the way, my new address is:
Elder Roland David Spencer Wood
1313 Denver Street
Edinburg, Texas 78541
I was very happy to receive a lot of email fromthe family this week. It was great to hear from all of you and I hope that even though I didn't have the time to respond, I'll be graced with more updates on how the family is doing!
Love and best wishes,
Elder Wood
This week has been a pretty interesting week out here in Edinburg. This is the first area for me after leaving the area where I was "born" in the mission. It's a different experience to leave an area that you've been in for so long and to have to start off with new streets, new members and new investigators.
The biggest struggle for this area, I believe, is that we are so far out of the way. Our area is at the very northern tip of Edinburg and most of the little pueblitos are so far apart that it's a considerable mile/gas drain on the car to just go try and visit someone off the cuff. The distance of our area from most of the members in the ward is making having members present at lessons a little hard for us. And it didn't help that my companion has only been here six weeks and I had just arrived. I spent Sunday getting to know a lot of the members better so that I could call them and not just be some no-name missionary asking them to drive 25 miles to help us. Hopefully we'll see some fruit from those labors during this week as we call members to see if they can come out with us.
My new companion is Elder Arens, who comes from Arizona. He's been out in th emission just under a year and is a good hard-working elder. The area that we work in is probably about 80% Spanish, which is nice because I'm getting a lot of practice with the language. A few days ago I had a day where I didn't speak any English during the day to my companion or anyone that could speak Spanish. It may not seem that fantastic of a story for some of the missionaries in foreign countries, *cough* Peru *cough*, but it took quite a bit of effort when you have another gringo missionary and most people will get what you're saying if you speak in English. Elder Arens has good Spanish, but I've found myself translating for him a few times during the lessons. Hopefully, soon we'll be able to have some good studies together and get him rolling his erres.
Not too much this week has happened in the way of investigators, just a couple of good lessons and a couple sessions of damage control with some baptismal dates and impatient parents that want them to decide if they're going to go through with it or not, already. Anyway, the work is going well here and I'm excited to start doing my part to help the work of the Lord in the northern part of Edinburg, Texas.
By the way, my new address is:
Elder Roland David Spencer Wood
1313 Denver Street
Edinburg, Texas 78541
I was very happy to receive a lot of email fromthe family this week. It was great to hear from all of you and I hope that even though I didn't have the time to respond, I'll be graced with more updates on how the family is doing!
Love and best wishes,
Elder Wood
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