Sweet Home Alabama!

Hey Y'all! 

I hope yall have had a wonderful week!  Things her are just great!  I can't believe that i am now serving in Dothan! Its such a wonderful place.  Everyone here is just so gung ho on missionary work.  I am serving in the Dothan 1st ward with Sister Rindlisbacher.  She is from Rexburg Idaho, and has been out 1 transfer longer than me.  So we are both pretty much on the down hill slope.  All is well though. 

This week has been crazy though. Buckle up, its going to be a crazy ride!  

MONDAY was insane, somehow, i fit all of my stuff in my three suitcases.  That was seriously a miracle.  But i got it all packed up and everything fit!!!  We had an awesome dinner with some members at the church for FHE.  It was so fun. Sad too, because it was my last time with them in Bonifay.  

TUESDAY was great.  I attended my last district meeting in Bonifay.  The Zone leaders came and we had a grand ole time.  We went out to lunch as a district to the best mexican place ever!!  Good times. Then we said some goodbyes to some of my favorite people!  That was sad.  Sister Richins and i had to drive to the Greenhead sister's house so that sister richins and sister stradinger could drive to tallahassee since they are both training new missionaries.  So i spent the night in greenhead with sister evans.  we had to clean the house and get all of her stuff packed up, because they are closing that area for sisters.  so that was an adventure.  

WEDNESDAY was just great. We woke up and headed to transfer spots so that sister evans could get to her next destination in Jay.  So i was in a trio for about 5 hours with sister lehman and sister dyer.  I got to see sister owens after like nine months!!! It was the greatest thing ever!  She is doing well! she only has two transfers left, which means i have four... YIKES!  Well awkward moment... so i met up with my new companion, Sister Rindlisbacher, and we transferred all of my stuff from one car to the other.  Well someone put sister dyer's backpack in the car with my stuff.  and what is super awkward about that is that she was going home the next day.  this back pack had her wallet, so that was super important for her to have.  So we had to make the treck back to transfer spots, which made three times for me that day.  So that was just awkward.  but we got everything figured out, so its all good.  

THURSDAY was good.  we weekly planned, and of course, being new to the area, i had no idea who any of these people were.  But i will get the hang of things quickly. 

The rest of the week is pretty much a blur.. Sorry, i will be better next week with the daily activities :)  We had some good dinners with members.  So all is well here in the great land of Dothan!

 So we have six sets of sisters in the Dothan Zone.  Some are in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.  So when we go on exchanges with them i might get to go to Georgia!!! :) It is going to be one busy transfer!  Thank goodness!  Seven week transfers just might be the death of me.  But its gonna fly by.  Our new mission President arrives today.  That is going to be interesting to see how things will change.  I get to meet him next week at a zone conference, and a misison leadership conference.  So its going to be great!  

I dont have any super awesome stories, so this is kind of a lame email.... sorry.  But just know that the church is true.  Heavenly father and Jesus Christ live.  They love us all! and they have plans for all of us!  

Yall have a blessed week!!! 

Sister Wood 

5 Attachments

Farewell to Bonifay

Hey Y'all!  Hope yall had a great week, and all you fathers had a fabulous Father's day. 

This week was a bit crazy.  Probably one of the longest weeks on the mish so far.  But lots of good things are happening in Bonifay. 

It has rained here pretty much all week.  Its nothing like Utah weather... when it rains in florida, it rains!!  Thunderstorms are amazing here. 

Well Monday was just another pday.  Same ol stuff. We had dinner with some members, the Bowens. They are just super great people.  We tried to see some people after dinner, but did not have any success. 

Tuesday we had a great District meeting.  We talked about the importance of Missionary work.  To say the least, Missionary work is the greatest work we can be involved in.  We later saw one of our newer investigators, Joann.  She is just the neatest person you could ever meet.  She has gone through so many things in her life.  One of them is her son getting kidnapped when he was three, and then they reunited about a year ago or so, and he is now 43, so that is pretty amazing.  I'm telling ya, these people in Bonifay are so awesome!  We had a nice visit with miss liz.  She is just so awesome.  Now if only we could get her to come to church.  We had an amazing lesson with Lauren.  She is going to be praying about a baptismal date!!! So exciting.  I don't know that she will get baptized before the baby comes though.  She has about five weeks left until she pops.  Too bad I wont be here to see their new baby. :/

Wednesday we did the usual pizza at the thrift store.  Not a whole lot of success in the lessons though.  We had a great dinner with the Driscolls, Steve, and Tammy.  It was awesome.  People here are just my favorite. 

Thursday we had our regular weekly planning session, and served ice cream at the nursing home.  Good times.  We also had a great dinner with Pam Dorsey, and then went to a relief society activity. 

Friday a ton of our appointments fell through.  But it was all okay.  We got to have lane (return missionary) come out with us and teach. So that was super great.  We later had dinner with the Evans.  They are just the sweetest people you will ever meet!  Good thing they are coming to Utah next year to visit lane's mission!  So that will be great to see them again. 

Saturday my mission life changed.  President Smith called, and asked if I would be willing to serve as a Sister Training Leader.  Of course I accepted, because I know that call comes from the Lord.  But holy moly! I am excited to have the opportunity to learn and grow, and help other sister missionaries.  Sister Richins found out she is going to be training a greenie!!  How awesome is that?!  After her first 12 weeks, she gets to do another 12 weeks with a newby!  That sounds real familiar haha.  We had a bit more success seeing people today.  I was pretty much saying goodbye to people at this point.  Because I knew I was getting transferred, but I didn't know where I was going yet.  We had dinner at brother and sister Henderson's.  They made café rio for us!  It was fabulous! 

Sunday was just wonderful!  We had a great sacrament meeting. After church one of the primary girls in the ward was getting baptized.  Her mom did not know there needed to be a program or anyting, so it was all just crazy.  I ended up conducting the meeting somehow...  that was odd.  But it all worked out.  She has been looking forward to her baptism since I got here in January.   We later had lunch with brother and sister leavins.  Her house is just the cutest thing you have ever seen.  All vintage, and shabby chic like, ( if you know me and my mom, you would understand) We visited some people and I got to say some more goodbyes.  We had dinner with tammy!  Good times. 

Later in the evening, after planning, we got the phone call.  I found out that I am headed to Dothan Alabama.  I am super excited!  I get to serve in LA!  haha ( Lower Alabama)  My new companion is going to be Sister Rindlesbacher.  She has been an STL for quite a while, and has been out a transfer longer than me.  So this will just be an adventure!  :)  I'm super excited for Sister Richins to train though.  She is going to do a great job. 

One thing I have learned here in Bonifay is how much our Heavenly Father loves us.  He knows us completely.  He sees us with our divine potential, not how we are right now.  He is anxiously waiting to hear and answer our prayers.  I have grown closer to my Heavenly Father while being here in Bonifay.  I am so grateful that I have had the experiences I have had here.  It has done nothing but strengthen my testimony, and change my nature. 

I know that our Heavenly Father loves us so much, that he wanted to provide us with everything we needed to be successful in this life.  Part of that, is the blessing of having an earthly father.  I am so grateful for my father and all he has done for me.  I know that I wouldn't be the person I am, nor be on a mission, without my father.  I am truly blessed to have him as my daddy!  Thank you daddy for all you have taught me through word and example.  I am eternally grateful for you and for all the wonderful things you have done, and taught our family.

I sure love yall!  I hope yall have a blessed week!  I am off to pack my life away haha Too bad I only have two suitcases... #struggle

Sister Wood 

5 Attachments

Click here to Reply, Reply to all, or Forward

Hey y'all!  I hope yall are doing well.  This week has been a great one.  Bonifay is a wonderful place, with even more wonderful people.

 

This week was busy.  We had a farewell zone conference with President and Sister Smith, since they are going home this transfer.  That was really fun.  I am so grateful to them and for their service.  I have learned so many things from them.  They are prime examples of daily discipleship.  As we strive to be disciples of Christ daily, our lives will be greatly blessed.  President Smith gave us one last bit of instruction and advice.  He told us that if we want to have lasting happiness in our lives, we must keep the commandments, and follow the prophet.  I could not agree more.  Doing both of those things will allow Heavenly Father to bless us more that we can comprehend. 

After the Zone conference, Sister Richins and I had exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders.  I headed out to Callaway with sister graham, and sister Richins when back to Bonifay with sister Kinghorn.  We always have a purpose for the exchange.  My purpose this time around, was to gain greater faith and trust in the Savior. I didn't gain it right off, but I learned over the exchange and the remainder of the week how we can gain greater faith and trust in the savior.  That is through prayer.

There have been times on my mission where I have felt completely alone.  I have had absolutely no one to talk to.  Yes, I have companions, and mission leaders, but that is completely different than being able to talk to a parent, sibling, or close friend.  So in these times of great desperation, loneliness, and fear, I have been able to experience what true, sincere prayer is. Having a moment to speak with our Father in Heaven, is the greatest thing we could ever do.  It is something I definitely take for granted.  I find myself saying rote, and insincere prayers.  It becomes a habit, rather than an opportunity.  "As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7:7–11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings." (Bible Dictionary) It is through sincere, devoted prayer that we are blessed.  How wonderful it is to know that we can commune with our creator, even our Father in Heaven. 

This week we were able to teach our investigator, Robert, the plan of salvation.  We talked about how God's entire plan is centered on the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  This plan is a plan of perfection.  One that makes it possible to be linked to our families throughout all eternity.  When I teach the plan of salvation, or study it, I am overwhelmed with gratitude to our Heavenly Father for creating such a beautiful plan.  All he wants for us is to be happy.  How happy we will be when we are able to have immortality and eternal life with our Heavenly Father , and Savior. Heavenly Father expects us to do our best in keeping the commandments, and preparing ourselves to live with him again someday.   But it is only possible through the Son of God. 

Something my mission has taught me is that my best is not the best if I don't have the lord.  So therefore, I cant do anything without the lords help.  That goes for all of us.  We all need the strengthening and enabling power of the atonement in our daily lives.  Without it, life would seem hopeless, we would be helpless, and everyone would be lost. 

But I know that we don't have to be lost.  Christ has his arms outstretched towards us.  All we have to do is come unto him.  He will strengthen us, help us, and cause us to stand, for we can be  held up by his omnipotent hand. 

My testimony is simple.  I know that Christ lives.  I know that he loves us.  I know he knows our trials, for he suffered them before we have.  We don't have to care for the scars of sin, because the atonement of Christ bears no scars.  It is infinite.  What a wonderful thing it is to know that we have a savior who has taken upon himself the sicknesses and the pains of the world.  He suffered willingly and did so one by one, person by person.  Our faith and trust in Jesus Christ can be strengthened as we lean of him, listen to his words, and walk in his ways. 

As a missionary, I have had the opportunity to see people change their lives as they have come unto Christ.  Its amazing to see the light within them grow brighter and brighter.  Sunday we had seven of the people we are working with attend church.  My heart was so full.  I saw one of them pay her tithing.  The joy I felt was so great.  I have loved seeing the people in Bonifay change and become changed through Christ.  It is truly amazing. 

I hope yall have a great week!  Know that yall are in my thoughts and prayers. :)

Have a blessed week!

Sister Wood 

5 Attachments

Click here to Reply, Reply to all, or Forward

0.6 GB (3%) of 15 GB used

Manage

Terms - Privacy

Last account activity: 6 days ago

Details

Hey Y'all! Sure hope yall had a great week!  Mine was very great!  Loaded with lows, highs, funnies, and tons of tender mercies.  Its been pretty dag-gone awesome!  It has been pretty stormy here lately.  It was super hot at the beginning of the week, then it just started to storm.  Apparently, we have a tropical storm headed our way today. So that will be all sorts of fun.  Missionaries know nothing about the weather because we can't watch the news lol. Any who, all is well here in Bonifay.  I have decided to switch up my weekly emails for the time being.  Hope yall enjoy :)  Low:  Every night, Sister Richins and I talk about our High and Low of the day. I always like to start off with the low, because then you can end on a positive note :)  My low for the week is  that we have not been able to get in contact with Tina.  We were told by one of her neighbors that she is just using the church to get financial assistance.  So that just made me sad to hear that people have full intention of doing that. It also made me sad that people are just so open to air out someone else's dirty laundry.  Oh small towns... gotta love them. Also, none of our investigators came to church.  Sometimes I just wish I could help people use their agency better... :)  but that wouldn't do much good haha.  High: This week we had a great lesson with our investigator Lauren.  She just needs to be baptized... :)  But we taught her about the role of the Holy Ghost.  We talked about the difference between the power of the Holy Ghost and the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  She is very in tune with the spirit, and it is always there in our lessons with her.  The only thing that is different for her is the priesthood authority, and living prophets and apostles.  So we committed her to pray to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet.  If we know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, then we know that it is by the authority and power of God that he translated the Book of Mormon. Then we come to know that the Book of Mormon is a book of holy scripture that simply testifies of Christ.  I love how everything in the Gospel just connects and flows so smoothly.  It is PERFECT!  It just makes me so happy! :) Another high of the week was being in two places at once!  Tammy took us to the Florida/Alabama Line on P-Day.  It was awesome!  :)  America is BEAUTIFUL! Funnies: I can't even type this without literally laughing out loud!  hahaha So, Saturday we were back at the apartment for lunch. I was upstairs in the office, and Sister Richins was downstairs in the kitchen making her lunch.  I had this brilliant idea to crouch behind the half wall we have by the stairs and scare Sister Richins.  So my idea becomes a reality.  I hurry over to the wall and get on my hands and knees to remain out of sight.  Sister Richins totally thinks I'm in the office at my desk at this point.  She starts coming up the stairs with her PB&J and her glass of chocolate milk.  Ready to make herself comfortable at her desk to have a peaceful lunch.  Well, when she reached the top of the stairs, I smacked my hand down on the floor, and screamed.  Well lets just say the chocolate milk all over the floor proves a successful scare tactic! :)  I about died of laughter!  I was literally rolling on the floor. It was great!  Sister Richins didn't speak a word to me for about ten minutes.  Haha that poor child has to put up with me :)  I cleaned up the spilled milk, still about ready to die from laughing! Tender Mercies: Sister Richins and I had an experience that just made us really appreciate the power of the priesthood and the gift of the holy ghost SO MUCH!  I know without a doubt that our Heavenly Father is aware of all of His children.  He loves each of us so much that he has provided a way that a portion of his power can be on the earth today.  I am so grateful to those men who hold the priesthood and take on the responsibilities that come along with it.  It is through that priesthood power that we are able to receive saving ordinances such as baptism, and the gift of the holy ghost.  I am so grateful for the gift of the holy ghost and that it can be our constant companion. It not only comforts and guides us, but it keeps us safe.  The gift of the Holy Ghost is one of the greatest gifts our Heavenly Father has given us.  I am just feeling so so grateful.  Ponderize: Recently, I have felt impressed to begin my ponderizing efforts each week.  When Devin G. Durrant gave the conference address, "My Heart Pondereth Them Continually" last October, I picked a verse to Ponderize each week.  Somehow, I just stopped doing it, but I'm back at it!  So I was pondering over some things during the passing of the sacrament on Sunday.  The spirit kept whispering the word "trust" to me.  So I began to look in the scriptures for verses that talked about trusting in the Lord.  This morning in my studies, I came across Mosiah 4:6-7 "I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life, I mean the life of the mortal body—I say, that this is the man who receiveth salvation, through the atonement which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all mankind, which ever were since the fall of Adam, or who are, or who ever shall be, even unto the end of the world." I just loved those verses so much.  It is so true that when we come to know how great God truly is to His children, we are able to put our full trust in him.  Our will becomes His will, which brings salvation; Salvation that is only made possible through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.  I am so grateful to know that we have a loving father in heaven.  I know he loves all of His children.  I have felt small amounts of that love as I have taught people about his perfect plan of happiness that is centered on the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  I know that Christ lives. I know that we can do all things through Him.  I hope yall have a great week and make the time to pray and ponder about the scriptures.  We commune with Heaven through prayer, and Heaven communes with us through holy scripture.  Have a blessed week! :) Love, Sister Melissa Jean Wood  6 Attachments Click here to Reply, Reply to all, or Forward 0.6 GB (3%) of 15 GB used Manage Terms - Privacy Last account activity: 2 hours ago Details

s

Faith, Hope, Charity and Love

Hey Y'all! 

I hope y'all are having a great memorial day today!  I sure am missing my family today and the great traditions we have of visiting the graves of our loved ones that have passed on and reminiscing on old times over a delicious lunch at the Rainbow Garden.  I will be thinking of y'all today :)  Eat some muffins for me :)  

This week has been quite the week. It was long, but I learned so many great lessons. 

MONDAY was just a regular ole p-day in Bonifay.  We didn't do too much.  But we were able to go out on a visit with some sisters in the ward and join them I their visiting teaching.  It was awesome.  The sister we met, sister Hyatt, is the sweetest lady ever.  I wish she didn't live clear out in the boonies, or else we would be seeing her more often. Our dinner appointment had to cancel, but the Ard's were sweet enough to have us over for dinner. 

TUESDAY was awesome.  We had a wonderful district meeting. I received a blessing right afterwards.  I have gained such a special testimony of God's Love through receiving priesthood blessings.  I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood that has been restored to this earth to make all sorts of blessings possible.  We then ate lunch as a district at a little restaurant here in Bonifay.  A member happened to be there and was kind enough to pay for mine and Sister Richins lunch.  #blessingsfromabove  Our day pretty much seemed to fall apart after that.   All our plans pretty much fell through. but believe it or not, those end up being the best kinds of days.  We were able to see our investigator, Tina.  She is doing well.  She understands the simplicity of the Gospel.  We just need to find a way to get her to church :)  We then had the greatest experience I think that has happened my entire mission.  We ended up seeing Robert, another investigator.  We had to move him up to earlier in the day so we could see him still and account for the changes that had taken place in our schedule.  So we show up, and he is just not himself.  We sit down on his front porch, and he proceeds to tell us that he no longer wants to meet with us.  At this point, I have died a little inside.  The gospel will bless his life so much, but only if he will let it.  So we bore our testimonies to him and asked of we could at least finish teaching him the Restoration.  He wasn't going to have it.  He said he was just comfortable where he is at in his church right now, and if he is interested at a later point, he would call us.  Well the Spirit directed me to ask him to pray to know if we should continue meeting with him.  He wasn't going to have that either.  So at this point, it is time for us to leave.  So we thanked him for his honesty and willingness to meet with us as much as he has. And told him that we hope he is open to visiting with other missionaries down the road if they happen to cross paths.  It was clearly time for us to leave, but the spirit told us to just hang in there for a minute.   So we awkwardly sat on his front porch in silence for about 45 seconds.  Then all of a sudden, the spirit just took over.  we could literally feel it enter all of us.  It was amazing.  Then all of a sudden, Robert raises his finger.  He said " Ill tell you what, we can meet once a week, and yall can finish teaching me whatever it is yall have to teach, I will pray about it, and we will go from there."  I cannot describe the amount of joy that I felt when he said that.  We set a return appointment, and HE PRAYED!!  That was the most powerful prayer that I have ever heard uttered from the mouth of an investigator.  I asked him how he felt after saying that prayer, and he said he felt different.  So the spirit is just working real hard on our dear Robert.  I just want so badly for him to embrace the Gospel. 

WEDNESDAY we had the chance to go to panama city for interviews with President Smith.  This will be the last interview we have with him, because he and his wife finish their mission at the end of this transfer.  They will be missed.  I am excited to see the new things that come with our new President and Sister Smith.  They were a bit behind on interviews, so we got to chat with Sister Smith for a good while.  It was awesome!  Her and I were wearing matching sweaters, so we just had to take a picture :)  It was super!   After interviews we grabbed lunch, and waited for our ride to be done with their interviews. In the mean time, I started to get a really bad headache that led me to get super nauseated.  So the drive home was not fun....  Nor was getting lost.  Yup we got lost on the way home.  Haha oh dear.  Never a dull moment.  When we got back to Bonifay, it was about 7 PM so we had a dinner, and worked on some 12 week training. 

THURSDAY was great!  We had weekly planning, and it went really well! Sister Richins is finally getting the hang of things and confident in herself as a missionary :)  I'm a proud momma.  Only because she hasn't really learned these things from me, she has learned them from the spirit through me.  That is the ultimate goal.  We saw some less active members, and served ice cream at the nursing home.  We had a good dinner at a members home as well.  It was overall a great day. 

FRIDAY we were finally able to see our dear Liz.  We also got to see her mother Betty.  They are both recent converts, but they have not been coming to church lately. So we had a great lesson on the Sabbath day.  What was awesome though was that their visiting teachers showed up while we were there, and told them that they were being missed at church.  They offered to give them a ride this sunday.  It was AWESOME!  I love it when people do their visiting teaching.  It is such an inspired program.  We had a great lesson with Robert.  We watched the Restoration video.  He totally gets it.  He even prayed at the end of the lesson.  I just pray that he continues to pray and seek answers to his questions through diligent study and prayer.  Afterwards, we went out to Mexican with Tammy, to celebrate my one year mark as a missionary.  That is so weird. A whole year come and gone.... 

SATURDAY was great as well.  We started off seeing some less actives, then we went to the church to work on some family History with Liz and Tammy.  I love how much they love to do family history.  It is such a great work to be involved in.  The spirit of Elijah is so real.  Missionary work is not just taking place on this side of the veil.  It is happening in the spirit world as well.  We had dinner with another tammy, and we were able to meet a new less active, Sister Bloomfeild, that just moved into the ward. 

SUNDAY was wonderful.  We had a great sacrament meeting, and a pot luck afterwards.  The third hour was combined, and we had a great lesson on family history work.  Family history is so important.  That is how we can all be missionaries.  We are finding and helping those people come unto Christ who cannot do it for themselves.  It is such a great work that we can all be part of.   Sister Bloomfeild came to church and stayed all the way to the potluck and joined us in feasting on yummy food.  We spent the afternoon with Tammy visiting potentials, and investigators.  She is such a trooper to come out and do missionary work with us :) 

This week I have been reflecting on what I have learned and how I have changed in the last year.  Serving a mission has proven to be the best thing I could ever do for myself.  I have learned so much about our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  I have learned how important it is to strengthen my faith, have hope, and pray for charity and love for those I work with and serve around. 

I have learned that Heavenly Father knows us fully and completely.  He knows who we were born to be. All we have to do is ask him, and be willing to be shaped and molded into that person.  I am so grateful that I have had the chance to serve a mission.  I absolutely love the people here.  I know with every fiber of my being that this gospel is true. It is God's perfect plan for the happiness of his children.  I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to share this wonderous plan with his children here in the FTM.  I wouldn't change this experience for the world. 

If the thoughts of serving a mission have crossed your mind, that is not a coincidence.  Take the time to really think about it. But most importantly, Fast and pray about serving a mission.  It is the best thing you could ever do for yourself.  But it is the best way you can express your love for our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ.  I know they live.  I know they love us.  I know that the Gospel changes lives, because it has changed mine. 

Love yall!

Have a blessed week!

Sister Wood