Miracles of the Mission

Hey Y'all!​

This week has been another fabulous week.  There really are not enough words to describe how fabulous it really was.  

MONDAY was pretty great.  we had a great p-day. Very productive.  Also, a member of the ward wanted me to give her three boys a hair cut.  She fed us dinner, and after dinner I worked my magic with the hair clippers they had.  It was strange, because I hadn't done that in a really long time haha YIKES. But those boys sure looked handsome afterwards. :)  We even got to have smores for dessert!  Gotta love those smores :) 

TUESDAY we had Zone training.  It went really well. Sister Rinds and I lucked out, we did't have to train. So that was a blessing. But we did get the privilege of ordering 14 pizzas for all the missionaries.  So we picked up 14 hungry howie pizzas.  It turned out pretty fantastic!  Thank goodness everyone brought money, or else they would just have to starve! haha  After Zone training, we went on exchanges with the Geneva sisters, Sister Shank, and Sister Chase.  We all stayed here in Dothan for this exchange, since they were already here for zone training.  It was a lot of fun.  I love getting to know all the sisters in the zone on a personal level on exchanges.  Its a blast.  Sister Shank is such a sweet sister.  She was baptized when she was 14 and has wanted to go on a mission since then. So she is just paying it forward!  

WEDNESDAY was busy.  Sister Shank and I went on a hunt for less active members that morning.  I met a daughter of a member i knew in Bonifay.  So that was pretty nifty.  We had a great lunch, and made a microwave volcano cake. It was pretty great.  I had the famous Taco Salad for lunch :) Just so i could have a taste of Pineview haha. It definitely not as good as grandma's but it still hit the spot :) Later that evening, we had an appointment with a referral, Shane.  He actually grew up in the church, but wasn't super active. Turns out, he became atheist for quite a while. He has a cute little family now, and they want to have the same beliefs in their faith. So they have been looking for a church to go to.  He and his wife are open to taking all the discussions. We talked about the Book of Mormon with them, and his wife was really interested.  Shane, well, he is very logical. So it is going to take some mighty prayers to soften his heart. But we are really excited to teach them the gospel!! :) BLESSINGS!

THURSDAY We did our best with the usual session of weekly planning.  Our appointment with a referral from president smith fell through. So that was awkward.  But we were able to contact another referral from the bishop in second ward.  Her name is Sabrina. She is super nice. She is currently staying in a hotel because her house flooded.  So she has been staying in the hotel for about three months.  Mad respect. After our lesson with Sabrina, we made our 2 hour trek to Tallahassee.  We began our exchanges with Sister Haught, and Sister Hannig.  

FRIDAY i spent the day with Sister Hanning on Tallahassee Community College Campus.  That was a whole new world of missionary work for me. But it was so much fun.  We taught someone right on the spot, and got a return appointment. It was super awesome.  One of Sister Hannig, and Sister Haught's investigators got approved for baptism, so that was also super exciting.  

We finished up the exchange, and drove back to Dothan.  Road trips are great!  Christian music all the way!  

SATURDAY was a great day as well.  We visited a cute little less active family, the Gray's.  The cutest thing is that one of their daughters is named Meredith. We later had a super powerful lesson with Lee about the Book of Mormon.  We just talked about how the Book of Mormon is the Keystone of our religion for a few reasons.  He has read through more than 1/3 of the Book of Mormon.  He is loving every minute of it.  Also, he committed to be baptized. So that is happening.  Sister Jenkins and Sister Call are going to have so much fun teaching this prepared individual.  Lee gave us another card that was just super sweet.  He told us that he wants to stay in contact with us, and that he considers us family now :) So that made our day.  When we finished up with his lesson, we had a referral who wanted a bible. So we went to contact her and give her a bible.  Whenever we give out bibles, we always give a Book of Mormon as well. She was super receptive and we will be seeing her this week sometime. So that made six new investigators this week.  We certainly have been blessed this week. 

SUNDAY was a great day.  I absolutely love Sundays!!!! We had a great dinner at a member's house.  Taco's YUMMY!  We also got to visit with one of our Family History investigators.  She pretty much told us that she wants to start learning about the gospel again. She told us that she feels like something is missing from her life. She knows that it is the gospel.  So she is just ready to buckle down and learn all that she can about the gospel.  She told us that she will be mormon one day.  She knows its true!  So yet another blessing this week! :)  

This week has just been full of blessings and tender mercies.  I am just so grateful that i am here doing the Lord's work.  There is nothing greater than having the opportunity to see people change their lives as they follow the example of Jesus Christ.  I know he lives.  I know that if we lose our lives in his service, we will be blessed beyond our greatest imagination.  Life in the mission is just wonderful.  Miracles have not ceased ! They happen every day! :)  

Love you all! Have a blessed week! 

Sister Wood 

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Hope y'all have had a fabulous week!  Things are going pretty well here in Sweet Home Alabama.  This week was another crazy busy week full of adventure. Never a dull moment on the Mission!  Thought i would switch things up this week, so i will just tell about the pictures :)  Hope y'all enjoy! 

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​ The first attachment is a picture of the sweetest old man you will ever meet.  His name is Lee.  He was a Head Quarter referral, but not really. He does some charity work with a member in the Dothan 2 Ward.  She was talking to him about baptisms for the dead.  He was super interested in learning more about it.  So he got onto mormon.org and requested a Book of Mormon.  So last week we were able to contact him.  We taught him the doctrine of family history. We were also able to give him a Book of Mormon.  He agreed with everything we said in that lesson, and felt very enlightened.  We set up a return appointment to teach him the Restoration and an introduction to the Book of Mormon.  We met with him on Tuesday, and he walks in with these little gift bags and cards.  We were just so taken a back.  So he made us open them, and the card was super sweet, and signed by lee.  Then we open the gift bags, and pull out these beautiful crosses.  Not gonna lie, i think they are pretty fancy haha.  it is one of my favorite scriptures.:)  Its like he knew we would just love these.  We had a great lesson with Lee.  The spirit was just so strong.  When we shared the first vision with him, he got chills.  It was very powerful.  We committed him to read and pray about the Book of Mormon.  He said he would.  He even came to church on Sunday.  He loved it.  Everyone in the ward was super welcoming and loving.  It was awesome.  Then we found out that he doesn't actually live in the first ward boundaries.  So now we get to pass this golden investigator off to the second ward missionaries.  Its going to be a sad day for sure.  But we know Lee will go on to do great things.  He already loves the gospel and the Book of Mormon. He told us on Sunday that he has already read through 1/3 of the Book.  So he is just perfect. The other missionaries will have such a fun time teaching him.  He will be dressed in white before we know it! :)

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This is a picture of Sister Mitchell.  She is super awesome.  She gave us a ride up to Troy for our exchanges this week.  It was awesome.  Before we exchanged, we hadn't had dinner yet, so she took us to Chick-Fil-A.  It just happened to be "Cow Day"  So if you dress up as a cow, you get a free entree.  So she just happened to have cow masks that we could use.  It was awesome. So here we are, Missionaries, and sister Mitchell, walking into Chick fil a with these cow masks on.  haha it was great.  I will never forget it haha.  By the way, if you have never had a cookie from chick fil a, get one.... they are to die for.  Just saying. :)  

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Here is a picture of Sister Mitchell, Sister Adams, and me.  Sister Adams came to Dothan for the exchange, and we had a blast.  Sister Adams is just a few weeks old in the mission, but she has the sweetest testimony.  She has such a desire to do good.  She is super obedient, and she will reap the blessings for that i am sure.  The purpose for her exchange was Charity.  It was the coolest thing, because the entire exchange, we had ample opportunity to experience charity for others.  I definitely gained a lot of Charity for sister Adams.  It was the best feeling ever.  Just to get a glimpse of how much Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ love her.  It was such a good exchange.  I learned a lot from sister Adams, and was so grateful that she chose charity for her exchange purpose.

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​ Here is another sweet child of god.  Sister Linton.  She is pretty much our adopted grandma!  she has us call her gigi.  She is moving to Chicago at the end of the month to go live with her son.  So last week we went to her house for dinner, and helped her pack.  She is just the sweetest person.  I sure am going to miss her!  She will change the lives of those in Chicago! i just know it.  

This week we also had interviews with President Smith.  It was great to have a moment to talk to him, and for him to get to know all the missionaries.  He is just an all around good guy.  I also got the chance to visit with Sister Smith for a moment.  She is a sweetheart for sure.  I learn so much from just talking to her.  

They have a blog for the mission. If you haven't checked it out, do, it is awesome. 

pressingforwardintheftm.wordpress.com

Sunday was a great day, as always.  We had a great lesson in Gospel Principles on Sacrifice.  It certainly made me do a lot of thinking.  Brother Kelly talked about how our willingness to repent relates to the amount of our recognition.  I had never really made that connection before, but it makes so much sense... to me at least.  It was awesome.  I have some better direction of things that i can do better to be more willing and ready to improve for the Lord.  All the Lord asks of us is for us to align our will with his, which includes dedicating all our time, energy and talents.  That isn't much seeing as we get all of those things from him in the first place.  

Sacrificing things for the Lord isn't really a sacrifice in the end.  We are blessed so much for the things we give up to serve the Lord and do his will. 

Well folks those are pretty much the highlights of the week.  I sure love yall!  Have a blessed week! and remember, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Be blessed! 

Love , 

Sister Melissa Jean Wood 

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Hey Y'all! 

This week was just all sorts of busy.  We have been busy all week. Which is super good.  Living the missionary dream.  Its been wonderful.  

MONDAY was an interesting day.  I have always LOVED the fourth of July.  But for some reason, Dothan wasn't being all that festive, or even patriotic for that matter. So that just made for a strange day.  We changed our proselyting hours to the morning rather than the evening.  We did some family history with an investigator at a members house. Went super well.  We went to Walmart to get some shopping done while it was storming outside.  well all of a sudden we hear a huge clap of thunder, and the power goes out in the store.  So basically, Walmart got struck by lightning, while we were in the building. Then we had a cook out with an awesome member, and all the missionaries in the district. It was a blast.  Our air conditioner had been broken all weekend, so we couldn't even do laundry or clean the apartment, because it was literally over 100 degrees in there.  But its all good.  

TUESDAY was just wonderful.  We had a zone conference.  We got to meet the new Mission president, President and Sister Smith.  They are the sweetest humans to walk the face of the earth.  They are both converts to the church, and have the cutest family and lots of grand babies.  We get a feel for who they are and their personalities.  It was good to get the chance to be around them.  We had panda express after zone conference.    We later had some good lessons with some less active members.  We had dinner with sister Youngblood.  We taught our investigator, Diquan.  He is so PREPARED!!  All the questions he was asking i was just thinking " gospel of Jesus Christ would answer that one, restoration, plan of salvation..." every time he asked a question.  It was awesome!!  So Sister Rinds and i were just freaking out.  it was pretty awesome.   

WEDNESDAY was just another great day.  We had Mission Leadership Conference.  Its a meeting where all the zone leaders and sister training leaders meet together with president and sister smith and the assistants.  It was a really good meeting.  The first time i experienced anything like that.  But its great to have the opportunity to learn from all the leadership in the mission, and then take it back into our individual zones.  It was fun to spend some more time with President and Sister Smith.  They are just so sweet, and  have powerful testimonies.   Already love them to death!  

THURSDAY was quite the day.  Sometimes i feel like there is not enough time in the day to get everything done that needs to be done.  We called all the sisters in the zone to see how their past week was.  Everyone is doing well.  thank goodness.  We attempted to weekly plan.  We got most of it done, but not all.  The struggle bus was full today.  We had a great time doing family history with a less active member.  She reserved a ton of names to take to the temple.  Now we just have to get her back to church so she can take them to the temple herself.  We did some more family history with an investigator.  The relief society president came to help us.  She was working on some of her family history, and i noticed she was working on the jorgensen line.  I told her i had jorgensen's in my family. So we pulled up my family tree, and found out that we are related!!  We are both descendants of Hans Jorgensen.  So that was a small world moment!  It was awesome. The investigator we did family history with took us out to dinner.  That was fun to have to chance to get to know her a bit more.  We had another lesson with Diquan.  We taught him the restoration.  It went super well.  He really opened up to us, and told us that he has two little kiddos.  They are the cutest tiny humans i have ever seen.  Like his daughter is 3 and she is already more gorgeous than beyonce!!  No joke!  i wish i had pictures.  

FRIDAY the day was full of family history.  I have grown such a love for family history.  I wish i had more time to do more of mine own.  Miracles come from family history.  We had dinner that evening with sister youngblood.  Then we headed out to do exchanges with the Eufala sisters.   I went to Eufalla with sister perrett, and sister rinds stayed in dothan with sister olson.  The Eufala sisters live above a warehouse.  Its nothing you would ever expect to ever be an apartment.  But its pretty cool.  Just super weird. Fun memories for them though!!

SATURDAY  was a great day in Eufalla.  Sister Perrett and Sister Olson are rocking it out there.  We walked everywhere.  In the heat and humidity. But it was awesome because we just talked to a ton of people.  It was so much fun.  We volunteered at this beautiful Mansion that was hosting a wedding that evening. So we set up chairs for the ceremony.  It was fun.  We later had a super awesome lesson with the cutest family around.  They just need to be baptized... thats all :)  The Eufala sisters are going to have a ton of fun teaching them.  We had some dinner, and did the exchange report, and headed back to exchange back.  

SUNDAY was another day that just flew right on by.  Church was great.  We had a super good ward council as well.  We were told a story about these two young men at youth conference that was so touching.  One of them has been really struggling to know if he should serve a mission or not.  He had a lot good experience at youth conference, and the spirit really inspired him to decide to serve a mission.  It was a super touching story, and even made me cry.  But that doesn't take much haha just ask my fam fam.  

Well ladies and gents, this work is the greatest work of all.  Its not just for full time missionaries, its for everyone.  Every member a missionary.  I know this gospel is one that has been restored to its fullness by the prophet Joseph smith.  This is the church of Jesus Christ.  He leads and guides this church through a modern day prophet.  

Yall have a blessed week!  Love ya!

Sister Wood 

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Hey Y'all!!!

So this week has been super busy!  It has been pretty great though! Good things are happening here in Dothan! 

MONDAY was my 13 month mark on the mish.  I seriously don't have any idea what im going to do with my life. But that is a-okay!  I am doing my best to "be where i am, doing my best!"  We had a pretty great preparation day.  We had a great dinner with some members in the ward, the Gill's.  They are pretty awesome!  Their house is beautiful!  We then went to contact a headquarter referral.  Brenda is awesome!  We also got to meet her friend, Jerri. They both were very interested in the Book of Mormon. We were able to set up a return appointment with them to teach them the Restoration!  We were pretty stoked! :) 

TUESDAY was pretty great.  We had our first district meeting of the transfer.  We were able to introduce ourselves, since a bunch of us are new.  We have a district of six sisters, and four elders.  So its a pretty large district, full of awesome! We set some district goals for the transfer, and we are all just so excited to work hard and have fun doing it.  We all went to lunch together after district meeting.  Mexican food always hits the spot.  We saw a less active sister after lunch.  Donna. She is just awesome.  She has such a solid testimony!  She just needs to come to church.... along with everyone in the world.... that's all.. :)  We had another great lesson with a less active sister.  Hopefully she will be coming to church on sunday.  We did some family history with a new investigator.  That was awesome!  We had a great dinner with some members of the ward, the Hughes'.  We ended the evening with a lesson with another less active sister.  She is just the sweetest old lady you could meet.   She refuses to pray sadly.  But we will get her back on track soon enough :) 

WEDNESDAY was another great day.  We went over part of the ward roster with the elders.  We later had a great lesson on the gospel of Jesus Christ with another less active sister, Sister Ney.  She is just the craftiest person ever!  she is too legit!  We had a great time visiting and getting to know another less active sister, sister Hughes.  She is a hoot.  She legit told her grand kids to "go play in the road" haha i about died of laughter!!  good times here in Dothan! 

THURSDAY was just a regular Thursday.  Weekly planning and all.  Because sister Rinds and I are the STL's in the Dothan Zone, we get to call all the sisters in the zone Thursday mornings and see how they are doing.  They are doing pretty great so far.  All of the sisters in the zone are training new sisters.  So we can just say that stress levels are pretty high.  All is well though.  Weekly planning was a struggle.  We legit got cabin fever.  So we decided to take a break and go do some work.  We ended up seeing a less active sister that is super hard to get a hold of.  She had like a million moth balls in her house.... and if anyone knows what that is... you know how badly that smells.  Its a fumigant that is used to get rid of bugs.  She told us that she was having a hard time breathing a few days prior, and thought she was going to die.  We now know why, because she had way too many moth balls set out.  So we can just say... we didn't have any bugs next to us for a while... haha  #blessingsindisguise  We later had a great dinner with Sister Youngblood.  She absolutely loves the missionaries.  Feeds the Elders and the sisters every week!  

FRIDAY was a great day as well!  The miracle of this day was that we got to contact a sister that was listed as a Do Not Contact.  She is super sweet, and let us right in.  The spirit in that lesson was unreal.  Heavenly Father is just so aware of this sister.  I love when things like this happen.  I always love when we are able to feel a portion of the love that our Heavenly Father has for all of his children.  Pretty much all of our appointments fell through the rest of the day.  Sister Rinds and i then headed out for our exchanges with the Bainbridge Georgia Sisters.  Yep, that is right.. i have been in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama!!! haha i was pretty excited about that.  I returned to Dothan with the newest sister, sister anderson.  Sister rinds went to georgia with sister stradinger. 

SATURDAY was just all sorts of interesting.  Sister Anderson and I had a great lesson with Sister Ponder (returning member).  We had a great discussion about faith.  She has a massive amount of faith.  I love being a missionary and having the chance to learn and grow from the people we serve.  It is truly amazing!  We tried seeing one of our investigators that we have not been able to see lately.  She of course, was not home.  Sister Anderson and i went back to the apartment to grab some lunch... and we discovered that our air conditioner is broken... so that is sufficiently awkward.  It was all good though becuase we arent in the apartment all day. So we headed out to do some family history with a couple investigators.  Then we had a great lesson with some less active sisters.  Her name is Jean.  And of course i just loved her automatically, because we share the same name :)  We had a great dinner with an awesome member, Dawanda.  She even drove Sister Anderson and I back to the exchange spot.  The cool thing about being a Sister Trainer Leader, is that we get to learn from the other sisters too.  This exchange i was reminded of  how important it is to have FLOW (faith, love, obedience, and work) as a missionary. It was a great exchange, minus the fact that i was called "sister Wall"  most of the exchange.... #awkward.  :)  Sister Rinds and i got back to the apartment... and it was over 90 degrees in the apartment.  so we ended up spending the night with the other sisters in our complex.  Thank goodness they are here!!! we would have roasted!  YIKES!

SUNDAY, church was great!  We had a ton of people come to church this Sunday.  #blessings!  We had lunch with Bishop Bateman and his family.  When we got there, they informed us that one of the elders in our district got in a bike accident.  He broke his collar bone pretty darn bad.  So we are just waiting to see if he is getting sent home to get surgery or not.  Keep Elder Olson in yall's prayers pretty please!  Thanks :)  We had an awesome lesson with our investigator Millie!  She is just on fire.  She is all about the book of mormon!  we asked her to pray to know if it was true at the end of the lesson. she did, and totally felt the spirit!  She just lit right up after that prayer!  It is so amazing to see the change in people when the spirit works on them! LOVE IT!!! Best thing in the world!!  

Well yall, this week has been a busy one at that!  its been an adventure all around!  I know that this gospel is what brings lasting happiness and peace into our lives.  This week i have been focusing my studies on the process of conversion.  I have learned that the more we lose ourselves in the service of others, the more converted we will become to the gospel.  "when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren."  This gospel is designed to strengthen us most when we are turning outward like the savior would.  "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child,submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."  I love this gospel with all of my heart!  I know that Christ lives, and I know that he knows each of us.  I have felt a small amount of the love that he has for all of Heavenly Father's Children.  It is the most amazing feeling in the world to feel such pure love.  

I sure love and miss yall!  Hope yall have a blessed week!  

Sister Wood 

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