Finding Joy in the Work

Hey Yall! This week has been great!  We were super busy with lots of appointments and service projects.  A lot of our appointments fell through, but the Lord is just teaching Sister Richins and I to rely on him.   Tuesday we had a great lesson with Liz about the Plan of Salvation.  Liz has such strong faith and testimony.  She gets the gospel. It makes me so happy to see how much she has progressed, and to see her continued growth.  She has been doing family history and LOVES it!!!  She is just doing so great.  She was sick this week though, so she was not able to attend church.  Later Tuesday night, we had a great lesson with Lauren. Her husband is a less active member, and she is investigating.  We read and discussed Mosiah 18, which talks about our baptismal covenants.  She eventually wants to be baptized, but it will just be a slower process for her.  But it will all work out in the lords timing.  Heavenly Father is teaching me how important it is to rely on him.  I am so grateful for that, but it is always hard to put all your trust in the lord.  But that is what gives us the most success in this life, is when we are willing to give up our will and and align our will with His.   Wednesday was a great day.  We had the chance to help paint some bedrooms for a sister in the ward who is having a lot of medical complications.  That was fun to paint.  We had an amazing lesson with ariel.  We made a big break through with her i think.  She is just really struggling with the loss of her mother.  She hasn't fully mourned that loss, and i dont know that anyone ever could.  But she is doing alright and has a lot of support from her man, which makes all the difference. Sadly she did not attend church, but she will come around.   Thursday was a long day.  We always weekly plan on thursdays.  That is always quite the process, especially for me, i may or may not have a slight case of OCD.  But hey it gets the job done.  Organization really helps me to be on the ball.  So that is one thing I hope i am able to continue applying the rest of my life.  We had fun serving ice cream at the nursing home.  you never know what is going to happen there.  Its just loads of fun.   Friday was yet another fun filled, busy day.  Most of our appointments feel through.  But hey, it is all good.  We had a good appointment with Terra.  She is investigating, and her husband is a less active member.  Their little girl just turned one this week.  So that was fun to help them celebrate!  It is weird to think that i have nephew's about her age, that i have never even met!   Soon! but not soon enough lol  Saturday was just probably my favorite day ever!  We made breakfast at the Kelly's and helped them install a washer and dryer. Brother Kelly just randomly appeared in the kitchen with a comb and clippers.  He asked me to cut his hair.  Haha that was an adventure.  They treat us like family!  He even told us that we are like his daughters lol.  We are going to start calling them mom and dad Kelly!  They are just so great.  We later had a lesson with Robert Ballard, who we picked up last week.  He is just looking for peace in life, and some stability.  So we are excited to see where his curiosity and desire takes him.  we are just praying that his heart continues to be softened and that he will have the ability to feel and recognize the spirit.   Sunday is always needed.  This week i was so looking forward to partaking the sacrament.  During the Sacrament i love to reflect on the things i did during the week and then ask what i can do to be better.  This week the scripture Alma 7: 22-24 came to mind.   22 And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God, that ye may walk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received.  23 And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.  24 And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works. I just love that Heavenly Father answers our prayers.  He knows us, and he knows what we need.  We are never alone.  Contrary to popular belief, we do not have to endure life's trials and hardships alone. We have a loving Heavenly father who sent his son  Jesus Christ to help us.  Life never gets easy, but anything and everything is possible through Christ.   I hope yall have a blessed week!   Much Love, Sister Melissa Jean Wood 5 Attachments Click here to Reply, Reply to all, or Forward 0.64 GB (4%) of 15 GB used Manage Terms - Privacy Last account activity: 4 days ago Details

Week 1...Transfer 8

Hey Y'all! Hope y'all have had a fabulous week!  This week has been an awesome week here in Bonifay.  We have received lots of blessings for sure.  MONDAY was a great day!  p days are always exciting.  We had a very productive p day too!  We got everything cleaned and re-arranged so the apartment felt more homie. I also got to hear from my family, so that was awesome!  I always love hearing from my fam fam!  TUESDAY was crazy.  We had to drive up to Panama City for Zone training.  It was a really good meeting.  We talked a lot about taking our missionary work to the next leve. and becoming more consecrated missionaries.  So that was just what I needed :)  After Zone training, we stayed with the Calloway Sisters for exchanges.  I always love exchanges.  I got to be with Sister Kinghorn again!  We had a great time!  We got to see so many people.  We had dinner at the Bishop's house in calloway.  They are such a cute family. They have 6 kids.  It was crazy, but I just love big families like that because they help me remember my own.  WEDNESDAY was great.  We finished off the exchange with a bang.  Sister Kinghorn and I got two new investigators for them so they are pretty excited about that. We drove back to good ol Bonifay and had a great lesson with Steve, a less active brother, and got everything situated for the rest of the week.  It was kind of a slower evening, because our dinner appointment cancelled, but we were able to have ward coordination with our ward mission leader so that was really nice.  I love that family!  THURSDAY was another great day. It was our weekly planning day. We are getting the hang of planning thank goodness haha.  We had a great lesson with Liz as well.  She is so into her family history!  Its awesome and makes me so happy!  We were also able to serve ice cream at the nursing home.  That is always the highlight of my day on Thursdays.  We also got to have a lesson with ariel!!  She even prayed at the end of our lesson!  It was awesome.  She is making progress.  FRIDAY we got to see a former investigator, Theresa.  She is just an amazing woman. We have a returna appointment with her this week that we are super excited for.  We also had great lessons with Marlena, and Tammy.  Two very amazing women.  We had dinner with the Snaidmans as well.  They are super great.  We get to help them paint their house on Wednesday! I'm pretty excited! SATURDAY was another great day in Bonifay!  We started off the day with Breakfast at the Kelly's.  Later on we went to the nursing home to serve ice cream, and then we took Tammy with us to go contact some potential investigators. She must be our lucky charm or something because everyone we saw is now investigating.  So we are seeing a lot of potential for these next five weeks.  We are really excited.  SUNDAY was awesome.  Our newest investigator, Robert, wanted a Book of Mormon So we stopped by his house after church and explained the Book of Mormon to him.  So by Saturday, he should have read up about the plan of salvation. We are super stoked.  We also had an awesome lesson with another investigator, Tina.  She is just so solid.  She is all about learing as much as she can.  We had a great dinner with Tammy,she made tacos for us!!  We even got to make cookies afterwards.   They were yummy.  This week was overall great.  Long at times, but we saw a lot of success. Sister Richins and I are seeing the blessings from trying our best to be exactly obedient. The people we got to meet this week are just amazing.  They all have situations in life that the Gospel could really help them.    Yall have a blessed week!  Love Sister Melissa Jean Wood 6 Attachments Click here to Reply, Reply to all, or Forward 0.63 GB (4%) of 15 GB used Manage Terms - Privacy Last account activity: 11 minutes ago Details

The Adventure Begins

Hey Y'all! 

This week was just crazy!  We had to drive to Tallahassee on Tuesday night so we could be there the next morning to pick up the new trainee.  Well we did not account for the time zone change, so we were an hour late arriving to Tallahassee.  But it all worked out.  I spent the night on FSU Camps with another Sister who was going to be training.  We had an entire apartment to ourselves.  So that was nice.  We got up on Wednesday and headed to the Church to attend our training meeting.  There were 14 of us there, so it wasn't a huge group of incoming missionaries, but big enough. Once we received some guidance from President Smith, we headed into the Chapel to get assigned to our new companions. 

My new companion is Sister Richins.  She is from Mesa Arizona.  She is the 4th out of 5 Children, and is the first to serve a mission in her family.  She is just awesome. I said my goodbyes to Sister Porter.  She will be missed for sure.  Sister Richins and I then grabbed some lunch at Wendy's before heading back to Bonifay. 

Side Note... Before we left for Tallahassee, we set off a bug bomb in hopes to get rid of our roach problem....  When Sister Richins and I came back to the apartment, it stunk... so we had to air it out for a while.  So while it was airing out, we drove to the big town of Chipley and got some things at Walmart. 

We were able to see everyone that we planned to see on Wednesday afternoon and evening.  That was super awesome, because that doesn't happen very often.  So it was good for Sister Richins to see some success right off the bat. 

Thursday was the beloved weekly planning.  I'm sure Sister Richins was just dying inside.  I am so OCD when it comes to planning haha.  I even go as far as color coding things.  But Proper planning prevents poor performance. When we show the lord we are doing our part, he blesses us with people to teach. 

We had a few appointments cancel, but it all turned out alright.  We attended the Addiction Recovery Class.  That is such an amazing program.  It is so centered on the Atonement.  I feel myself getting closer to the Savior by just being there. 

Friday was an alright day. Sister Richins is just trying to get into the flow of things.  But we were able to see a lot of people on Friday as well.  We saw our Investigator, Terra, who is all for baptism.  Her husband is a less active member, so she knows a lot about the church just from talking to him about it.  She really wants to be sealed to her husband and their 1 year old daughter.  So that is an awesome goal for her to have.  Hopefully we will be setting a Baptismal Date with her this week. 

Saturday was Awesome.  We went to Brother and Sister Kelly's house for breakfast, and helped them in their garden.  I love gardening now.  haha who would have thought that the mission would have changed my feelings about weeding and gardening haha.

Sunday was great.  We attended church and got Sister Richins introduced to most of the ward members.  Some members invited us over for lunch right after church, so that was nice.  The Bowen family takes up the majority of the ward pretty much haha.  So she got to meet most everyone yesterday. 

Sister Richins is awesome.  Good things are going to happen in Bonifay!  I can just feel it in my bones haha

I am so grateful for the knowledge we have of the Gospel and the Plan of Salvation.  I know that our Heavenly Father knows each of us individually.  He knows our hopes and desires.  I know that I have been paired with Sister Richins for a very specific reason.  I cannot wait to see what is in store for the town of Bonifay, and us as individual missionaries. 

Have a blessed week y'all! 

Love,

Sister Melissa Jean  Wood 

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New Beginnings

Hey Y'all!  

This week has been pretty awesome!!!  Sister Porter and I have been in a trio with Sister Evans. We are all in the same district, but Sister Evan's Companion finished her mission and went home.  Since this transfer was made into a 7 week transfer, it meant that Sister Evans was going to be Companion-less for a week.  So she joined us in Bonifay.  It has been an absolute BLAST!  I love trio life!  Sadly it is only lasting for a week.  Sister Porter is getting transferred to Jay Florida, and Sister Evans is remaining in Greenhead.  I am staying in Bonifay and will be joined with a brand new missionary!  I am so excited and feel very privileged to have the opportunity to train again. 

So this week was General Conference. I always love hearing from our dear prophet and apostles.  We are so blessed to have  the Gospel of Jesus Christ restored on the earth today with a living Prophet!  I know that he is chosen by the lord to lead and guide us. All of the messages in conference were wonderful.  I know that the speakers are truly inspired to speak on their specific topics.  The spirit definitely bore a special witness that what was shared in conference was true on completely inspired.  

This week was just awesome. We had really good lessons with all that we saw this week.  I absolutely love the people here in Bonifay.  I certainly am going to miss my dear sister porter though! The people in Bonifay will miss her like crazy! She is going to do great things in Jay.  

We had an awesome lesson on the Restoration with a Part Member family.  It was neat to see the spirit working within them.  They are such a sweet family.  

We also celebrated Sister Porter's 20th Birthday!  we went to waffle house for breakfast and had a good hong kong buffet dinner as well :)  Good times.  

We also had a very spiritual lesson with our recent convert, Mikayla.  She is just filled with the spirit!  We discussed the Plan of Salvation and how our families can be together forever.  That was a sweet moment when the spirit prompted us to promise her that if she continues to keep her covenants and live as an example, that her family will later become one with her in the church.   It was a beautiful moment.  

I just love being a missionary.  I am just so grateful that i have been given the opportunity to help others come unto Christ.  Its truly a privilege.  

Love y'all!  Have a blessed week!

Sister Melissa Jean Wood 

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