Monday Message: September 14, 2015

 Well i have to apologize for the shortness of this email. I just realized that i took all the time replying to others and saying goodbye that i forgot i hadnt sent this email yet. But I will be coming home next week and then i will be able to talk to all those that want to see me. I hope to see all that want to come at my Homecoming talk on the 27th of Sept. Other than that my week was fast and i just hope that this last week will be full of miracles and happy goodbyes. 
We had our Zone conference this week with Elder Hugo E Martinez of the seventy and it was so amazing i hope to talk about it in person and tell the stories when i have more time to talk about it! Well Have a great week and Be safe and Happy!

Love 

Elder Woodruff!

Monday Message: September 7, 2015

Wow it finally has hit me this past week how close things are actually coming to a close. When i look at it we have a lot of investigators who are finally planning on getting married and they are coming up with dates for the end of the month and the coming months and it makes me sad because i realize i wont see them get married. but hey at least they are making the steps ha. Plus the fact that Elder Hunsaker loves to tell people how long they get to see me till i leave and to most it is like " You only get to see Elder Woodruff 2 -3 more times before he leaves" The upside is they all plan on feeding me before i leave so i am happy ha!

 This week has been really good. we have finally got some support from the members and we recieved a numorous amount of Referrals from them and the come to the lessons that are planned so it is a huge help to us. We are seeing the progress of the investigators because of it and i Know elder Hunsaker will be able to see a lot of the rewards from this final push with them. I am loving this last transfer and at times i wish i would have got two transfers with Elder Hunsaker because of how well we get a long!

 This week we have my last zone conference on friday and then a district conference on Saturday and Sunday! So you can say that this week is already almost over for us because of how busy we are going to be and next week is about the same so who knows maybe the last two weeks will actually fly by and not drag? I hope that i will just be able to hold my focus and not get lost in all the day dreams. They seem to be creeping in at night now and it is so hard to fall asleep. 

I hope all is well with you and that you have a safe week. I love you! 

Love

Elder Woodruff!

Monday Message: August 31, 2015

Well this week has been better toward the end of the week. We had the baptism of sister Ramchand and her son. Brother Ramchand was able to do the performance of the baptism as well which was really cool to see. The spirit was so strong and we had some what of a decent turn out of members to support them! 

The way we found sister ramchand was interesting she had been coming to church for a few weeks and then we found out that her and Bro ramchand finally got married. They had been living together for quite some time which prevented her from being baptized. But we went by a few times and she always told us she didnt want to feel rushed into it so we backed off. But when elder hunsaker came we went by and talked about prophets and she actually asked us what she needed to do to be baptized so we told her and she was baptized.

This week i dont want to focus to much on the sickness but i failed to mention that on top of the dengue fever i also had strep throat and have been on pills for that! Even though i am feeling much better this week the doctor told me there is a fine line between over doing it and not doing enough for it. She said to get some sleep and slowly work back to the 8 hours a night and to excersize but i should know the limit of my body. Other than that i am just tired and the joints are a little week but i am getting healthier.

This coming week i am hoping to get a lot more done. We really have to focus on finding new investigators because all the recent ones we have had are now members. But we have been recieving a lot of referrals lately and they are all from the members which means we will be able to use those members in the teaching process! i cant wait to see what happens.

Elder Hunsaker now knows the area well enough that he is able to lead it out and that means that he knows the people and what they need. I of course still am helping and doing the teaching with him but i am not as nervous to leave him here. I know that the area is in good hands and he will do a great job when i leave. Just a few short weeks left for me which include a zone conference with president egbert and then my exit interview and that will go by quick. I am looking forward to it and cant wait to see you. I LOVE YOU!

 Have a great week and be safe!

Love 

Elder Woodruff

Tuesday Message: August 25, 2015

He wasn't able to email until Tuesday this week. Now we know why...crazy kid can't keep himself out of the hospital! But good news is...only ONE MORE MONTH!!

Well once again i am back and the topic of the week is more hospital visits! i think if i get enough out of the way here then when i come home i wont have to go to the hospital for 30 years! This week came out with the illness of Dengue Fever. It is spread by mosquitos (Which are everywhere here) and causes Muscle aches and pains and Fevers. the worst is the pain though the doctor gave me some pain relievers and i am doing better but still weak. They told me to drink more liquid because you can loose most of your body liquid through sweat and also the constant use of the bathroom which it also causes. I just feel bad for Elder Hunsaker who is having to stay at home with me and play caregiver haha! but he is doing a great job he is very caring and humble about it. 

We did however have 3 baptisms this week of the young men. And elder hunsaker got the opportunity to baptize one of them and i was privilaged to do the other two. We are very happy for them and they will be recieving the priesthood this coming week. We are also hoping for the baptism of a part member family named the ramchand family the father has been a member for 15 years and the mom wants to be baptized with the 8 year old son. We are doing great together and he is really helping me to see joy in the work even through my trials and illnesses. we are always laughing and love to crack joke i love the kid! 

Well i am short on time this week but i hope to feel better next week and get more to email. Have a great safe week! LOVE YA! 

Love 
Elder Woodruff!

Monday Message: August 17, 2015

Well this week has been pretty interesting. I got my new Greenie this week on wednesday and his name is Elder Hunsaker. He is from Mccammon, Idaho. He is the youngest of 8 kids and has a nephew that is older than him on a mission. He is very humble and is ready to work hard but he has a pretty goofy side to him. I have laughed so much already and i know that there is much more to come in the coming weeks and i know that i am going to enjoy this transfer.

  Well on thursday we started off the transfer with one of the best days that i have had in this area. We had Sister Ramchand set her baptism date for the 29th of august. This was a surprize due to the fact that everytime we talked about baptism she pushed us away, but she has had a change of heart and set the date herself! Then we met two boys who also commited to a soft baptismal invitation and we will be working on a date with them. Then the 4 boys who were suppose to be baptized this past week will be getting baptized on Wednesday. So you could say in one day we had 5 dates placed and 2 coming what a success! 

Much better than the next day when i found myself in the Hospital getting blood test to see how my throat was doing! I started to get a pain along with pressure a day after i got bit by a centepede. and i thought it was from the bite but it turns out that it was something like Floringitis??? idk what really but it was swollen and inflamed. i was told to stay away spices and also food or drinks that were to hot or to cold and also i have pills that i have to take for 30 days. Kind of another count down for me cause when they finish i have about 10 days left ha! #nottrunky!

Also i had a bad cooking day yesterday because i fell asleep cooking chicken in tomato sauce and burnt the sauce right out! so i ended up with only pasta:( 

 I am excited for this transfer and i know that Elder Hunsaker will help me to make sure that i have a great and successfull transfer. We also got surprized by President Egbert at church. he didnt tell anyone he was coming and just showed up! i am glad that we are Obedient and i was happy to see him. He is taking the zone out to lunch today and we will get to talk to him! i am excited and he is a great man!

I hope that all is well and that you have a great week! be happy and safe! I LOVE YOU!!

Love

Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: August 10, 2015 LAST TRANSFER!

 Well this week I am happy, Nervous, and also sad all at once. I found out this week that I will be getting a new companion for my last transfer which is really nice. But i found out that my new companion will be a trainie so coming right from the MTC which makes me nervous. It will keep me on my game though because i dont want to ruin his mission right before i come home off of mine. That is the scary part about it. I am excited though to see how things work out and it will be a great last transfer. 

The thing that makes me sad to say is that in the last week we have had 3 people die in Belle Dam which is the street that we live in. This brings the count to 5 people that have died since i have been living there. The thing about it is i have talked to the 3 people personally and two of them have family that are members of the church. The first one is our neighbor across the street. She was an older woman who had high sugar and she passed away. The next two came on saturday and sunday. Saturday morning we had a scary thing happen at the front of the dam (we live at the back) but a wooden house caught fire and within five minutes the whole house was on fire. There was a lady who was 90 that was trapped inside and was killed. The thing with the fire is it also blew up 2 vehicles that were near by causing the flames to catch the business next door on fire and that building was also gone in minutes. The owner of the business lost what is estimated 18 million Guyana dollars Apx. 900,000 Us dollars. They put the flames out just before they reached a gas tank that is like what the farmers at home use on there farms. That would have been even worse. And the last came yesterday with the Beharry's uncle who died yesterday afternoon. They say that he had been sick before and that he drank to much Rum in his life that it hardened his liver and insides and he passed away because of that. I dont know how to feel because we had talked to him last week and he said he really wanted to change his life and start coming to church!

 I am so grateful that i know about the Plan of Salvation and how it works. I just wish that we could get through to more people to teach them about it. It would make the pain of death melt away through the feeling of peace we get from the great plan. I know it is true and that families can be and see each other again! Its just heartbreaking to me to know that not everyone knows or even believe that. 

I have finally reached the last 6 weeks and it is all down hill. I hope to hear from you and if not i will see you soon ha. I love you have a great week!

Love 

Elder Woodruff!

Monday Message: August 3, 2015

 Wow you know those days when everything that people do make you upset in one way or another? Well today is one of those days! I have been trying to just avoid all the situations that would bother me and i think i have done pretty good. But i am sorry if my email is a little shorter than usual. It is just really hot where i am and i have a headache and just am tired and ready to sleep. So i will try to tell you some details about the week but to start off there wasnt much. It actually caught me off guard that it was already monday again. our week was full of getting the apartment cleaned and inspected and also Things fixxed on it like our door that wasnt locking!

 We did a service project on friday with our Branch President. the youth were suppose to come but no one did so it was us and him. We were power washing the concrete of the church so now it actually looks like concrete nice and clean instead of the black sludge that was on it! We started it at 10 am and got done well half way done by 6 pm and then they came back on saturday and did a little more. 

We also went to the funeral of a Recent converts Mother who passed away a few weeks ago. Elder Alitasi and I actually were able to give her a blessing on a sunday and she passed away the tuesday after. It was a good experience and spiritual as well because she had her eyes open after the blessing and they said that was the first time in a couple days they were open. The funeral was nice but kind of out there because it isnt our church or the way we normally do a funeral but it was a good tribute to her! 

 Other than than not much went on! this is the last week of the transfer and we will see what happens for the final one to come! I hope that you have a great week and i cant wait for next week.I love you. 

Love

Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: July 27, 2015

Well this week seems to have flown by. We had a lot of the same rain that has been happening lately and at times it became pretty distructive. can you imagine how unmotivated you can feel when you wake up in the morning to pouring rain just to know that you have to go out and walk in it all day long? 

 But we still saw some successes this week. we had brother narine come teaching the boys who are preparing for baptism and it went really well. then we went over to the beharry family to help sarah with institute homework and boy that really motivated me not to miss any days cause that make up work is really hard now. But we had a great discussion about the questions and i really could feel the spirit so strongly! I just remember that i never had any conversation about the gospel that felt that good as the one we had last night i didnt want to leave i just wanted to stay and keep working on it but the time ran out and we had to get home. Who would have thought that little old Nate woodruff would be sitting in a strangers living room thousands of miles away from home and be able to teach them about something that he thought he knew very little about! you could say that that is a life changing feeling. I came home and looked at myself in the mirror and i didnt see me i saw someone who looks like me but feels so much different than before

I guess i didnt realize it untill now but im not the normal me as when i left. i was reading about the plan for RMS and i read when it says some parents want there son or daughter to come home and get back to the NORMAL them as fast as possible but it says that if we were NORMAL before our missions we should be ABNORMAL the rest of our lives. What is the point of a mission if we come home and do the same little mistakes and things we did before we left. The mission isnt just to help others it is to help us as well. I can go out and help people change but that isnt me its the spirit but they change themself what i am really doing out here is changing ME and it just so happens that others are changed along the way!. 

Wow i bet that caught you off guard cause it did me! But that was my week. I hope this week gets even better and i hope you have a safe week. I Love You!!

Love 

Elder Nathanial Woodruff

Monday Message: July 20, 2015

This week has been better than others. We had a tough week in lessons with investigators though for some reason this is the week that they all had something planned and they couldnt make time to meet with us. but this coming week will be much better. Some days are hard because i have brother boyce that doesnt really want to do things and he gets upset when i make him come with me to get it done. But we are working on it. He really wants to start his papers but when i told him that i was asked to help him read for thirty minutes a day and also encouraged him to read the book of mormon in personal study he said that he cant sit for that long so he didnt want to put the effort in. I dont know what to do because he got mad when i told him it was the requirements and he just pushed it aside. What more can i do?

I have been asked to tell more details about my week, but to be honest it is just not to eventful. I guess the most interesting thing was the crazy storm that we had this past week. It was so hot and all of us were complaining about it and out of no where this storm hit hard and the rain drops that were hitting the windshield were about 4-5 inches in diameter round and it hit hard. then on top of it there was thunder and lightning. a lightning bolt hit about 1/2 mile from our house and as soon as it hit the power surged and went out. so imagine us sitting in a persons house in the dark yelling as loud as we can the Plan of Salvation and trying to have the spirit. Funny image huh. But then we had to walk about a mile home in the rain with no street lights in the dark. just to get home and have it all stop instantly????? What the crap is up with that? the lights came back on but that nights sleep was horrible because all we have is two fans and no a/c and the power cut off twice again that night so it got so hot and the mosquitos were a killer. 

But like i said that is the crazy part of the week. I also met President Egbert this week and he is a really cool guy. And his wife is really sweet as well. Like i said before though i will always have a special place in my heart for President and sister Mehr. and they are my first mission pres and even though i dont have to long with pres egbert i still respect and honor him and love him even though he wont meet me and get to know me as much as i would like. It will be a great last 2 months here in Guyana but to be honest i am ready to be home!

Love 
Elder Woodruff

ps Have a safe week I love you!!

#9weeksleft #2months haha!

Monday Message: July 13, 2015

  Well i am happy to say that the week went by a little bit better. Atleast we talked this week but my companion still doesnt really want to co operate all that much with me. Something that i have always said is that i am not here to baby sit anyone and if your not going to do something im not a babysitter to do it for you. I will do my dishes but you better do yours and i will clean but you better help. Also i am not here to be bossed around. I am happy to work and joke around and have fun when the time is right but dont drag your feet when we are suppose to be somewhere no matter if you want to go there or not. I have my faults to but we all have to work on them. That is my mindset right now. You give and take but it has to be equal on both sides.

  Ok well now that i got that off my chest i can get it behind me and tell you how the week went work wise. Im sorry that i had to vent a little.

  So this week we started to work with a great family. The fathers name is Rakish and the mom is Nafesa. They arent married and rakish leaves for the interior (Bush)  this week so we wont be able to baptise them soon but the 3 sons are all baptismal age and happy to learn and be baptised. We also went by on a day that a lot of family was there and met 2 more boys who are cousins to them that want to get baptised for the 15th of August. we are seeing a lot of success start to come and the members are catching the flame right now as well it is great! i am liking it so much!

  We are hoping to see even more success this week as well just have to work hard and the lord is doing the rest. This is such a great work and the more i think and reflect back on it i am truly sad that i have to leave it all behind. Yes dont get me wrong i am happy to come home but this has become my life and to leave it is hard and sadening. I get emotional having to work on my return with honor questionaire and dont want it to end but the same time want it to. Idk what to think. 

We meet with President Egbert this friday and have interviews so i am excited to meet him. even though President Mehr will always have a special place in my heart. i know that i must give President Egbert the same respect and love. 

Well I hope that you have a great week and pray that the lord will bless us all to get through our trials. have a safe week! 

Love 

Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: July 7, 2015

Well some good news out of this week is that i just checked my email and i got one from the mission office with my return questionnaire and it asks me what airport and all the questions that i have had on my mission! i have to fill it out and send it in by the 20th of july! It tells me that i will be home on the 23rd of September so if all things work out i would be home just in time to see Tristin leave! That would be a great present for me i really hope that it all works!

  Other than that my week has been honestly one of the roughest ones yet. I was so happy up untill about thursday and my temp comp got here and he just hates me to be blunt. He doesnt want to be in the area and he doesnt want to be with me! He tells other people that he doesnt want to work with me and that i make him not like the area! to be honest i dont know what i did to him. Maybe cause i didnt let him talk to me the way he did when he first got there and i stood up for myself. The first words he said was him Telling me what to do! and for those who know me well i dont do good with that! if you talk to me nicely i will respond and we will be good but once you say what i have to do and how to do it to suit you in a bossy way then we got wrong! I guess that is one thing that i havent been able to change but im working! we will see what will happen!

  On a better note i have seen many small miracles come throughout the week as i strived to forget myself and how utterly exhausted i am and seek for those in need. We have had some people show up at church and also just stop us on the road and ask for us to come by. They seem prepared and i know that the lord is placing them in my path so that i can help them! We also have plenty of people prepairing to be baptized and hopefully we will see that soon!

I hope that all is well with you and that i hear from you soon! have a great week and please be safe in all that you do! I love you!

Love 

Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: June 29, 2015

  Well first off i just want to thank you all for the Love and Birthday wishes. It always feels good to know that i am loved and that you still remember that i exist haha! I dont know if i have gotten so many emails in about a year that i did todayy and it sure feels good! 

 

 Well this week has been full of new things as well as interesting experiences for me. I didnt get a companion as of yet so i have been in a trio with the vreed-en-hoop missionaries for a week. All i can say is a trio is hard and then plus we have been trying to cover two of the biggest areas and it is difficult. But we have got a long and it is more of a stretch and its making us grow and work hard. 

  A cool experience this week happened as we were working in tuchen in their area and we were contacting houses when we came to a house and the only reason we stoopped is that they had a car to drive so they would be able to come to church. when the girl came out she was dressed in indian clothes and the first thought came to my mind was oh great hindu. but she actually had a belief in Jesus Christ and was really interested with what we had to say. She jumped for the Book of Mormon and was so ready to read it she said she would finish it that night. Then we asked who we could go see and she took us straight to her sister who then stole her Book of Mormon and said she would read it better. so we gave her one as well and her boyfriend had met the missionaries a few years back and was so happy to see us and wanted us to come back. It was really a miracle in the making because the area is starting to grow and they are so happy to learn i hope to hear how they do. im just sad that they arent in my area!

  Other than that i had a good week and should get a comp tomorrow so that will be good i should have a good week full of work and hopefully i will be able to find some new people and work closer with the branch and the members so that they will finally trust the missionaries again. all is well here in Guyana and even though it still rains it is good. You should have seen the storm we had yesterday it rained and blew so hard that our neighbors roof blew off the top of there house and it was a freak storm. 

  Well i hope that you have a great week. I love you and will talk to you again next week. 

Love

Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: June 22, 2015

Well it was a false alarm about getting transferred i am actually going to stay here in La Grange and I will be serving with a Temporary Companion! That means that it is usually just a Guyanese priesthood holder who takes the time to work with the missionaries. I will have him for the next 7 weeks and we will just have to see what happens. I have heard that it is a lot like training a new missionary and we just have to see!

  Well this week has been full of meetings and getting prepared for a new transfer. Other than that i have just been following elder pollard to the people that he has and wants to say goodbyes too. He is leaving and going to Barbados! We will see what happens to this area. Pres Mehr talked to me a lot about working with the members and seeing if we can resolve all the rumors. 

  I had a great time at Zone Conference this Week and i learned so much. President Mehr is such an amazing teacher as well as Sister Mehr. They teach by the spirit and it brings the spirit into the room. He taught some things that just blew my mind and then in my interview he simplified it into my understanding. He also taught me how i can better improve my studies and i am working to really better my studies and he promised that it would be a huge help for rest of my life! i cant wait to come home and study so much more because of the resources that will be available to me. 

 This coming week is going to be a lot of finding and searching for new people and then trying to work with our members. also we are looking for a new apartment that is easier to travel to and from because right now we are a 20 minute walk to the main road and that takes up so much of our time at night and in the morning to get appointments on time!

  Well i am getting closer and closer to coming home haha. I just want to say that i still look forward to pictures every week and they are the things that help me through! i know that it is easier to send e mails and photos attached that way but i still havent got a whole lot lately and to those that think others will fill in for them i have one thing to say!! but you know how they say "a picture is worth a thousand words so i will let this picture do the talking!!!!

I love you and hope that you have a great week. Next week tuesday i will no longer be a child haha finally! out of the teens and into the enties ha! be safe and i cant wait to talk to you next week. I love you!!

Love 
Elder Nathanial Woodruff

Monday Message: June 15, 2015

Well I just got some crazy news that i will probably be getting transferred out of the country next week. I guess it caught me off guard cause i dont know what to think about it. I am happy and sad if it comes true because i love Guyana but i have had a real struggle in this area that i am in right now. So we will see what is going to happen at the up coming zone conference on wednesday! This will be the last zone conference for president and sister mehr and then they will be home! 

 I cant believe how fast things are going. it is down to the last 2 transfers and yes i am trunky But i am still trying my best to work hard and finish strong. Other than that this week was a bumm week. Thursday Elder Pollard was sick and we didnt go out at all. that was the hardest day for me because all i did was sit and stare at the wall most of the day. then when i tried to sleep it just felt like i wasnt doing what i am suppose to and i felt like i needed to do more but i couldnt because i cant go by myself. 

Well sorry that things seem to get shorter and shorter but you can just say that this area has drained me and not much really happens. I will talk to you next week and have more to say i hope! have a great week and i love you!! be safe and pray always!

Love

Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: June 8, 2015

Well this week was another one full of the same old same old. Trying to get the lessons and see all the investigators, but it seems like all the people we see are just slowly fading away and we haven't had much success at finding new ones. The pool get shallower and shallower ever time!

  

  Also there has been some joys and i hope that i don't seem like i am having a horrible time because i am loving my mission. I think of it sometimes and how i will be sad when i have to leave the Caribbean culture. If i could have my way i would live here all the time but i know that i want to be with my family. And have the option to get things easily that we do in the states. I hope that i can come back here and do the things that we just don't have the time for on the mission!

  I talked to Pres Mehr this week and I may be seeing a new area one last time before i come home but im not to sure yet. I get to see him at the last zone conference for him next week Wednesday and we will then say good bye and i will have a new president for the last 3 months. I really try not to get trunky and think about home but every time that i don't think about it one of the other missionaries brings it up. It is coming to an end though and i am stuck with emotions ha!

  I do have to say that this last fast sunday has been one of the hardest of my whole life. I guess probably because i didnt prepare very well. i drank a lot of water but all i had to start it was a tuna fish sandwich and that was a mistake. I woke up sunday morning and thought i was just going to wither away and die! i was so week all day long but i am happy to say that i made it the whole time and it was a success. I have really felt a lot different since then and i have an added strength on my side.

 I hope that you have a great week and i am taking the challenge to work even harder than before. I hope that i hear from you again. I love you!! be safe and happy!

Love 

Elder Nathanial Woodruff!

Monday Message: June 1, 2015

Wow is all i can say!! I didnt mean to scare you this week momma i guess i forgot that you see the emails ha. ooops. Well the threat wasnt as bad as you really think. The Guy just said that if his Girlfriend didnt come home he wouldnt be afraid to have to go to prison for what happened to us as missionaries. He thought that because we had been teaching her and getting her back to church that liked us and we were telling her to leave. In reality we just wanted her to be safe and that she would be able to get out of the danger as well. We had safety though and we even spent a couple of nights with knives haha no worries though we good now! 

   

  Other than that the week was super long ha. not much people were able to meet with us because it has been raining so much here. If you think that the weather there has been crazy it rained so much that the trenches over filled and some of the houses flooded out in the bottoms. so yes we got wet and it doesnt help that my shoes have holes in the bottoms so i have to be careful where i step but usually by the end of the day my feet are soaked because we are in guyana and everywhere you go there is puddles and trenches haha. Even up to this morning i fell off my bike into a flooded yard and my feet got so wet!!

  This next week we are hoping for a better week. We really need to find new people to teach but the stresses are hard to overcome some times. I am working to get back the drive and the desire to work hard and i think that the new transfer will also help Sometimes i think that me Comp is to relaxed in the area and so he gets slow and not happyt to find people. I am going to change that this week though and we we see how it goes. 

  I hope that you have a great week and that you pay attention on the road because you have a new driver on the road this week. Also many more dates coming up so pay attention haha. I love you!!! Be safe and i will do my best as well! 

Love 

Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: May 25, 2015

Wow it is here!! I dont think that it feels like it should be this late in my mission already! i have been talking to some of the other missionaries and they all ask how it feels i just told them that i hit 18 months so fast but to be honest the last 2 months have been so long and i am exhausted! The area here is good but it is slow and we have been you could say banished from seeing 2 of our member families because the husbands/ boyfriends dont like us and think that we are trying to get their families to leave them! I dont want that to happen and they even have threatened to beat them and us if we go back! I stay far away now but it is just sad that they are like that! 

I have been studying alot in the Scriptures about our hearts and we see a lot of the time that People harden their hearts against the gospel and it causes them to be contentious and angry but All i have been doing is praying for them and hoping that they will have a change of heart and have it softened. What more can we do? The Scriptures have really become my favorite thing to read and to think about. I use to just think that it talked about the old days and that it was good stories to be reading but i have come to see how much it really talks about our day today and the same way people use to act then is how they act now!

 I am now half way about through the bible and hope to have it completed in the coming weeks and it is really interesting to see the stories of paul and how his missionary work was. I hope that we all can learn from him and his diligent efforts!

 

we had a great day on saturday with the baptism of Christopher Takeman. We had a really good turn out with the youth there to support him and he is beginning to gain more and more friends we are working to get him the priesthood this coming sunday and then to help him to learn to pass the sacrament. I am really happy for him and know that he can become a great priesthood holder in the branch! 

Other than that it has been a normal week. We have 4 left in this transfer already and then we will see what happens for the big split coming up! I will probably stay here but who knows i could leave and go somewhere else for my last two we will see haha!  I hope you are safe and happy! I love you so much!

Love

Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: May 18, 2015

Wow all i can say once again is that i am glad that this week has come to an end! I dont know what caused it to be but this week was rough and long for me! and it was even a short week because we emailed last tuesday! 

I am doing and feeling much better! And i am still trying my best to eat good foods! but as a missionary we all know that is a hard thing to do! then add the fact i am in Guyana and there isnt much here that i can get let alone know how to cook it. All i know is rice and chicken and i am so sick of eating that. i think i could go my whole life never eating rice again hah!

but ya other than that the week was super slow and not much happening but we do plan to have a baptism this weekend of a young boy named christopher! i will let you all know about it next week! i love you and have a great week!

love 

Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: May 12, 2015

Well you can say that this week has been pretty interesting on my side of things here in Guyana! For those of you who dont know by now i got sick on sunday but you dont need to worry anymore it was just a bug i guess and the habits of missionaries only eating once a day isnt very good! it cause my stomache to react in the way that made the pain that i was in! but they gave me some Antibiotics and said to watch and things should get better!

We also had a fun run in with a snake in our apartment the other night. we had come home to grab something and i opened the door and to my surprize it was there but it couldnt really get any grip on our floor so it was really slow! i took a video of me chopping it with a knife. but boy that really gets your blood pumping fast haha!

Other than that it was a pretty long but good week and i loved the skype call that i got to have with the family even though the connection wasnt the best but we had a good talk and laugh and i love my family so much. i will see them and you all in 4 and 1/2 months and that is coming soon! I LOVE YOU!! have a great week! be safe

Love

Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: May 4, 2015

Wow can you believe that mothers day is already here? This is the last skype that i will have here and i get to see you all in person again! i was just thinking and i reallized something ( now im not trunky but this is what i found out!) i have 20 weeks left and about 145 or so days left! wow that is so crazy! 

 

 Other than that on a more missionary note we had a slower week! I dont know what it is here i think the heat but it makes me so sick. i get a fever and runny nose so bad that i sneeze and my eyes cloud over and its only when i am in the sun! but i have to push through i found out that theraflu really helps so i carry that with my around when i go! 

The thing for this week that proves that i am in Guyana is that our washing machine broke about a week and a half ago so to do the laundry we have turned to doing little by little each day by hand an brush! and can you believe that my whites are still white haha! i even did some of my own sewing by hand this week and it looks good and sturdy! I guess i did learn from all that time i sat at Moms feet and watched her sew!!!

  This week we also started to teach this wonderful young family. Ravi & Nadira who have a little 2 year old that turns 3 on the 23rd of july! i found ellerie a boyfriend haha jk:) but they are so sweet and really accepting they are working on getting married so that they can be baptized on the 23 of May! we hope to help them with that Nadira finally got all of her papers so they should be able to do it now! 

We also have a few more on their way toward baptism and they are looking to be really promising i just hope that we will be able to help them!

 I also found out this week that Lyn Tyson the lady i was teaching in Barbados was baptized this last saturday and i was so happy for her! they say she is doing great and really grasping the gospel and all that she needs to do! wow miracles are happening here in the west indies and i am so greatful that i get to be apart of it! 

I hope that you have a wonderful week and i will talk to you next week im not sure if it will be monday yet because it is election day in guyana and i heard it is pretty crazy so we will see. i will let you know throughout the week! I love you!

Love 

Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: April 27, 2015

He sounded great today! It's crazy that we only have 5 months left until he will be home!

Wow this has snuck up on me really fast. But it is great. We had a really good week this week in the fact that we had the Baptisms of both Adiol and K-zia Shepard. And i was able to do the ordinance for both of them. We did K-Zia's on Wednesday and boy was that an adventure! i was in the water for 30minutes because she was afraid to go under and that water was so cold! Then on saturday was her older sisters turn and she went a lot faster which was good and i am happy to see the step they have taken!

This week also has been funny to see how we were able to make it by washing clothes down the road by a members house because another missionary came over and plugged the washing machine into the 240 Volts and blew that motor to haha! wow missionary life for us! That is just what happens over the river haha!

The other thing for the week was that i had Flat Mallori with me to take around and play to see life in Guyana and i had a fun time taking her out with me! We sure went on an adventure.She has been in La Grange Guyana for the last week or so and she spent time with me. We did a lot of missionary work and tons of walking i think her shoes are worn like mine!  but she also got to spend time playing with the other kids here! She also witnessed the baptism of a 9 year old girl and then took cover from the pouring rain.! She met a Friend named Serena Beharry and traveled through the country and down dirt roads, Crossing many bridges and trenches( some clean and some dirty). then she saw the goats in our back yard! all that work tired her out so she had to take a break and rest in the hammock. and boy you should see the size of the insects she had to deal with here! some of them even bigger than the turtles she saw. She also met the shepards and played some hop scotch with them and met their turtle. She even became true guyanese and fell into a trench luckily this one was full of grass so she stayed dry! and the last stop for her was taking a boat over the river to get to georgetown because the bridge takes to long! that was a full adventure and i had a lot of fun with her!

The last thing i want to talk about today is a couple of weeks back i talked about cleaning a ladies garden spot and left it at that but i should tell you the result! So we Got it all cleaned and then the next time she went back she saw it. But when she asked if it was us we said no, but then she was worried that someone took the ground from her and some of the missionaries accidentally took out some of her plants and she was sad! i felt so bad and we eventually told her it was us and appologized for the plants and ask if we could repay her and her face just lit up and she was so happy we did that for her she didnt even care about the plants anymore she just thanked us so much and we did so much for her and she said she loved us forever for that! it made me so happy the feeling i got for doing it i have a huge testimony of service now i love it!!

I hope that you have a great week as well. I cant wait for next week! I love you!

Love

Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: April 20, 2015

He said he was doing good today except he is sick again. Said he had a runny nose so I  told him to shove some toilet paper up there and his response was that he needed a tampon to get it stopped! Funny kid! This Saturday will mark 19 months down with only 5 to go! He will be home before we know it!

Well this week has both been fast and slow. The first half went so fast i didnt even realize it but the last part drug on. I got a small cold that hit me last night and then today it is still there! but other than that we had a great week!

So this week has been good in teaching two of our investigators their names are Abiola and Kazia. they are from a partmember family named the Shepards and they are doing great. They are preparing themselves to be baptized this week on wednesday the 22nd. I am so happy and excited to see them make this step. Elder Pollard and I have been working on our unity in teaching as well and we even had Elder Christensen with us this week and we have made a commitment to use at least 1 scripture each in the lessons that we teach. It truly helps in the lessons and the way that the investigator feels and gets things out of the lesson!

So my funny daryl moment for the week happened on wednesday. So the current here is a little different some times the wall plugs are 120 volts and sometimes they are 240 volts. And good old me coming from barbados where everything is 120 didnt think to check and we had just bought a new fan that cost us $10,500. for you in us that is about 55 dollars. and i got home and was so happy to finally have a new fan plugged it into the wall. it started so fast and me and elder pollard were confused and it ran for about five minutes and shut off. we thought it was jsut a black out because that happens often here. but then we smelt something burnignb and low and behold it was the bran new fan! it had burnt up. i guess it couldnt handle the double power haha. so we ended up getting a 240 volt fan that only cost $6000 this time.

So that was basically my week. i hope you had a great week! i love you! have a good week. ps i hit 19 months this saturday! wow!

Love

Elder Woodruff!

Monday Message: April 13, 2015

So I have totally been slacking on this blog. I wanted it to be more than just copying and pasting his emails so this is my attempt to do better!

While talking back and forth yesterday I asked about his new companion,  Elder Pollard. He said they get along fine. They tend to keep to themselves and stay out of the way of each other which is probably a nice change from the last companion. He said he was able to go and visit the Kirton's for a little bit which he loved because he said it's the closest thing to family there. I'm glad they take such good care of him and love him like we do! I haven't taken any pictures off Dropbox yet but will do that later this week. Until then here is the email.

Wow well this week has been such a busy one. I arrived in guyana on wednesday at around 3 pm. then went to the office and then to my area which is over the river. You would think that it would be a city but it reminds me a lot of New Amsterdam. It is spread out pretty far but it is a nice area. I love it already and i love the people. I have got to meet a few of them and the Branch is a decent size! We have a huge chapel though. i honestly think it is bigger than the one back at home! i will get a picture and show you! 

The thing of the week is that elder pollard actually grew up in guyana so his parents then moved to tortola. but his brother lives in georgetown. so he had a baby and his whole family got the permission of pres mehr. and came to our branch and elder pollard got to bless the baby. it was cool but also weird to know that he was able to see his family. they were really sweet and had to take a picture with me because i was the prophets relative haha.

other than that my week was normal as usual i stopped by the Kirton family to say hi today and that was the best ever. Sorry it is short this week. hope that you have a great week> i love you!

Love 

Elder Woodruff!

Monday Message: April 7, 2015

Wow can you believe it has been another transfer already, because I cant. this has really flew by and now I only have 4 of them left. I will be transferred tomorrow to Guyana back to my homeland ha. Only this time I will be in the Georgetown area in a place called La Grange. I do have to say that I have Truly Loved every minute (thick and thin) here in Barbados and I am really sad I have to leave. I will be honest I almost was crying when I found out and since them I have cried at least once ha. DONT JUDGE! I guess when I told president Mehr that I would go back at anytime he took it in to thought quickly and Im headed back!! I know I will love it there because I love Guyana so much!

  So this story that I am going to tell you next may scare you and make my momma really worry but you don't need to because I am fine. It is something that I laugh at now even though for a time I was hyped up on adrenaline!

  So on Tuesday night we were walking home on a road that we walk all the time but we were running a little bit late because of the buses. So I had started to make phone calls to the other missionaries when we heard a loud "POP POP" then elder ort asked if it was gun shots but it didn't register to me that it was so I kept walking and then another "POP POP PPPPOP POP" came and yup it was gun shots. elder ort took off running and I waited a second then all of the sudden a young man came running around the corner running for his life. You could just see it In his eyes. So then I started to run but I quickly realized that I was behind this kid running and if someone was shooting at him I didn't want to be behind him so I cut off to the right and elder ort was on the left hiding. We waited a few minutes and met back on the road and then a really suspicious man walked between us and he was definitely holding something hiding in his hands and later people described him as the shooter. we were definitely watched over. We quickly said a prayer and went home back the way it had happened. but it was fine. When it was passed over we asked what happened and the man was mad at a boy and shot him in the Foot. Can you just say I love my mission and all the fun exciting experiences I get to see!

( MOM DONT BE SCARED OK HA:) )

 Conference was by far my favorite. I truly felt like many of the talks were very personal to me and it really answered many of my prayers! Even though half of them also made me way to trunky with all this marriage talk but they still had good insights for my mission as well. I have never felt like something was so directed towards me yet! I love the prophet and all the leaders of the church. Next conference I will be at home to watch in my pj's finally haha! Cant wait.

Well that was my eventful week hope you enjoyed it with me I love it. I LOVE YOU! hope to hear from you soon and have a great and safe week!

Love

Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: March 30, 2015

So this week I guess I will try to fill you in a little bit more on the week because of some complaints I have received! :) haha. It is finally come and gone for my first 18 months and the funnest thing I get to do now is point out all of the planes that go by and yell 6 MONTHS BABY!! haha I love it. I hope I don't make anyone mad when I do it though. I am one of the older missionaries here in Barbados right now but I still feel like the youngest it is so weird.

  So this week was an interesting one. we had a little run in with a members son and he was not happy with us at all for some reason. we don't know why but he just started yelling and as we tried to shake his hand and just talk with him. he told us he was going to call the police and charge us. So who knows what came over him. We tried not to get upset but sometimes it gets out of our grasp. but we are ok and no harm done. I have never had someone so mad at me before though and it was definitely a first for me.

  We also have a cool story about a boy named Khalil. he was baptized almost 1 year now and he is back and forth between activity. but lately we have really been working with him and I have seen a huge change in him. Even his non member family see the change and his mom wants to come to church to see what is making him change. We hope to start to teach her as well. He comes out teaching with us most days now and he participates. last night he told a man that was praising us for how young we were and he said ya and im only 14 and love to share the gospel. he is the best. He has also accepted a challenge to read the BOM by next Tuesday and we promised to buy him lunch. he started to read immediately!

Other than that my week was plain. i still have the cold a little bit and it has been pretty tough to get over. But i am good and happy and trying my  best to stay healthy haha! if that is even possible. Also this week is the week that we get transfer calls and we are 99.9 % sure that Elder Ort is leaving to suriname so i am trying to see and guess who my new companion is going to be haha. We will see what happens in a week and what happens in preperation for the mission split. 
Well that was the week haha. sorry it was slow but i hope that you have a great week and i hope to hear from you soon! I love you!

Love

Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: March 23, 2015

Wow I cant believe it is already here. It has come so fast and yet not really haha. This week seemed to just drag on because I ended up getting sick with a head cold and it doesn't seem to want to leave. I have had it for about 6 days and it doesn't want to let me go! But it isn't as bad now so I should be able to have a great week. Now my only stress is having to decide what to teach tomorrow and how I can help my missionaries. We have had a small adjustment to the companionships. we got a missionary from blackrock and sent one there. Just a mini transfer you could say!

 We had a fun little excursion today and took a road trip to the top of the island to the wildlife reserve. it was fun we were able to see some snakes, alligators(nothing different then Guyana ha), deer (not like ours at all),turtles, and monkeys haha! I have been driving here for a couple of weeks and now we have the old truck which is a stick shift. it is the best thing to drive after the fact that you use your left hand to shift and the right to put the blinkers on. plus the fact that you are on the left side of the road. it is so fun though and I get excited anytime I get in the car.

 I don't think much more has really happened. sorry I think missionary life repeats itself a lot so not very many new things happen in my day to day life. I wake up and get dressed to go and sweat all day long. then come home and shower and call five different people then go to bed haha. But I love my job. and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am sad that it is going by so fast but also happy and excited to go and start the next stage of my life. I want to go to school really bad but also I just miss being in the states sometimes. And I really miss hunting so much and cant wait for that. I hope that you have a great week and I cant wait for next week. I love you!!

Love
Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: March 16, 2015

This week has been much better. We had a lot of meetings and not a lot
of time to get the work done but i definately learned a lot. Also
coming up tomorrow we have another skype zone conference with elder
Cornish of the area presidency. he is in trinidad and will be talking
to us tomorrow. So guess what that means? No teaching district meeting
for me ha. I havent had to teach for over 2 weeks now sometimes i
forget what it is like. But next week i am expected to teach a great
lesson i guess.
  This week has also been one that really tests me on how well i can
help others solve their problems because the Six Roads Missionaries
have been getting into a lot of fights and i am trying to help them
but nothing seems to work. who knew that doing the Lords work could be
so difficult sometimes but then i just think that that is satans tool
to get us to give up and quite. But if i can help it no body will quit
this work and i just hope that we can solve the situation before it
gets that far.
The best part of my week so far has had to be talking with the christ
church sisters and seeing all the success that they have been having.
they are working so hard and the are two of the most diligent
missionaries that i know. While they were walking to church yesterday
they had a caravan following them of investigators. They had 3
investigators at church and should have had 4 but the doctor told him
he couldnt go with his bad foot. For us we had Lyn come to church and
it was great she really enjoyed it and this is the 2nd time for her.
She is getting closer and closer to knowing for herself.
  OH and the funniest story of the week is the other night we went to
bed at 12 because we were on the phone with the two elders who were
fighting and so i was dead tired. then the phone started to go off in
the morning. Thinking that it was the alarm and that it started to
ring really early i looked at the phone and it was little 8 year old
nicholai calling at 5:30 AM to tell us he was ready for church and
that he was having his grandma take him! Now at this time i was mad
cause i didnt know it was him and i wanted to know who in the right
mind would call so early. but i then realized that he was so excited
for church and that made me so happy. I wish the Gospel would have
that effect on everybody that we teach. he and his grandma are
hopefully prepairing for the 11th of april. I love how the Gospel
works and is able to change the life of others even to the point of
calling the missionaries at 5:30 just to say that.
I hope that you have a great week and please be safe. I love you so
much and Hope all the best for you. i pray everyday for you and hope
you do the same for me! Love you!
Love
Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: March 2, 2015

Well this week has definately been a long one? i dont really know why but the past two weeks i havent sleep at all! i lay awake at night and dont get to sleep. But i guess it is because i have had so much things on my mind. Elder Ort tells me that i worry to much about the other missionaries and i should let them solve their own problems but i feel like i cant just leave them! Also we had stress over the whole car situation because we desperately needed this car in our branch and what happens the day we get it? in 24 hours the sisters had crashed it into the back of a truck. No one was hurt but or hopes of a car to help the areas are dashed! Lets just say that i had to really hold my tongue and talk to the sister nicely because she already felt really bad. And for how upset i got i think i held it in and handled it really well. Dont get me wrong i think the sister missionaries are great because they do so much more than us elders could anyways but it really put us in this jam this time! 

So i have had a hard time really deciding what to teach on tomorrow and it is going to be so nerve racking teaching 11 missionaries i am only used to 5 ha. But i hope that i will jsut be able to teach with no problem. i pray really hard for it to come easy but it is so difficult. 

Oh and the funny story for the week. I have now been out of Guyana for almost 3 months and that is where you would think that you would get the most sick. Guess again in barbados i have been sick the most ever on my mission and now tomorrow i have to go to the clinic because i have a huge spot on my thumb that is infected and looks like a huge scab but it hurts like no other! The senior couple thought it was a fungus but it got worse so now i have to go to the doctor! sorry if that grosses you out but i just had to tell you about it. this is the reason that i want to go back to Guyana!

I sent pictures home this week so hopefully they will be updated to the blog. i got my hair platted and it looks so cute hahaha. by the way i dont know how the girls here can handle that in their hair it hurts so bad i was almost crying!

but basiccally that was my week and hopefully this week is better! i hope you have a great week! please be safe and i will email either next tuesday or wednesday! I love you!

Love

Elder Woodruff!

Monday Message: February 23, 2015

What a week of total caos! Most missionaries can probably back me up
on the saying that transfer week is so crazy and sometimes stressful.
It use to never be this bad for me but now i have to still worry about
everyone elses area i have to make sure it is still getting worked and
that mine still is doing good it is so crazy!
We did get our transfer call on saturday and Elder Ort is staying with
me for another six weeks! Elder Barlow is being transfered to my
starting area in st maarten and i am pretty jealous ha. I was showing
him pictures of the people and it made me miss them so much! I still
am amazed that i was able and still am able to love people and get to
know them so fast! i am sure not the same Shy Elder Woodruff that
entered the MTC 17 months ago. I love talking to people and it is so
fun. I make it my goal everyday to get people to laugh and loosen
up.This world is full of people who are so busy they dont see the sun
shine or they dont realize the little things in our lives. it always
reminds me of president uctdorfs talk about the "Forget me Not".
In my transfer call however i was told that they are going to combine
the Christ Church and Oistens Districts and now i am the District
leader over 11 Missionaries instead of just 5. I will be on the phone
for ages now at night haha! And also i will have to go on a lot more
Trade offs with the missionaries. But the good side of everything is
that i will be getting a car to drive and it will make is so much
easier to get around from the different areas!
Other than that it has been a crazy week just getting everyone where
they need to be and getting the areas ready for the new missionaries
coming in and also i believe that this week will be pretty hectic as
well.
I do have to say that Barbados is beginning to grow on me and that
this new change of the missionaries will help pick it up and give it
the energy to do the work. i am excited to be the District Leader and
to see how well we can prepare the Island for the upcoming mission
split that happens in 5 months. It is such a beautiful island and even
though the people can be difficult at times there is still many that
are so nice and sweet to us! i love it here and i need to keep that
attitude because i will probably have two more transfers here. I
expect to stay here for at least 6 months because after this when
elder orts visa to suriname comes in he will leave and i will stay!
Well have a fun week and stay warm!!! I love you and please be safe! i
will talk to you next week!
Love
Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: February 16, 2015

Wow that is all i can say this week!! Who knew that when you have been
out almost 17 months you could get so homesick? My struggle this week
was all focused on School. I was told that i probably need to start
thinking about it and decide what to do. I am so stressed and i dont
even know why? it isnt even stress from companions or the work this
time it is all something that doesnt even matter to me right now but
it still sucks!
The work is great here and we are seeing a lot of success in little
ways. Nothing to the point of Baptisms yet but we are seeing people
truly change. we have a lady named cheryl and she told us last night
that she knows there needs to be a prophet and that our lessons havent
been in vain with her. the best part is her mother is a member and
that is already a huge support.
Barbados is such a great island even though it has its difficulties. I
truly love the people and know that as soon as i leave them behind i
will always have a special place in my heart. The funny thing though
is lately we have been meeting a lot of Guyanese people and that makes
me the most homesick than anything because all i do is talk to them
about guyana. I sure do love and Miss that place. im not sure how
Elder Ort likes when i talk to them because sometimes we get carried
away and i have to remember time schedules haha. I love that kid so
much and we are doing great things together. It did get off to a rough
start but i have realized we both go through some of the same
struggles and thought processes.
I hope that this week can be a great week for us and we can get the
work done that is needed. I hope that you have a great week and i will
talk to you next week. I Love you!!!! oh and yes i finally sent some
pictures home so you can see them! I LOVE YOU!!!
Love
Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: February 9, 2015

Wow can you believe the week is already over? it went by pretty fast.
i dont really remember what went on this week. all the weeks are
starting to run together. HA the joke for the week is that i am
starting to feel the pains of an old body because i am becoming an old
man!!!
Everyone always asks me how long i have left and it gets less and less
everytime. but i always feel bad when i answer and then they ask elder
ort and he has to say 21 months ha. ii remember when i was at that
stage! it sucks so badly. we are doing better together and we get
along. The only thing is i still feel like our lessons are missing
something and it is the quiet and sacredness of the message. he talks
kind of loud with all the people and forcefully. i went on a trade off
with elder harding and had a great and stress free day because we were
able to talk quietly and calm. it relieves so much of the stress
because people are willing to listen.I do love elder ort though so
dont get me wrong we are having great success and he is a good
missionary.

At times i feel like all i have to do is make it through the next
transfer and things will be great but then i caught myself. and i
realized that that is what makes it hard. It makes me wish my mission
away and i dont want that i want to enjoy every moment i get here. We
are finding so many new people and they are great but the hardest part
is getting them completely interested. I have learned so much and i
just realized how i have gotten over my awkward shyness from home. i
just remember how i wasnt ever able to go up and talk to anyone and i
was scared to talk. now i talk to everyone. and i dont even care if i
get embarrassed because they dont even know me haha. I can talk to
anyone about anything now and the great part is no matter what you can
link it back to our message!
Just the other day we talked to a guy who had a pet monkey on his
shoulder and all we talked about for the first 15 minutes was his
monkey and yet it still turned into a gospel discussion and he even
invited us back. i just hope he will turn into a solid investigator
and then progress. i think that is the hardest part i have is to put
my faith in people and see them progress and not just judge them
before i give them a chance.
other than that the week was full of stress and success you can say
ahha. but i just hope that your week was great and that next week will
be even better. I pray for you and hope that you do the same! i love
you so much.
Love
Elder Nathanial Woodruff!

Monday Message: February 2, 2015

So this week has been a long and trunky one. But then again it was somewhat fast because i ended up sleeping through most of it.

This week i had the visit from patti and her friends and i loved it. even though she came up and embarrassed me by giving my a huge hug and yelling Nate at the top of her lungs. In the middle of a square might i add! haha it was so nice to get things from home though! After that i had to catch a bus back and teach District meeting which was pretty good.

But that is where the Week went bad starting on wednesday morning. Elder Ort got a phone call from home that said one of his good friends passed away. And we know that is never a welcomed or happy thing for anyone especially a missionary. And to add to it I woke up with a little cold. We then went to shadow the sisters for a little bit of the day but ended up coming home at lunch and i spent a lot of time at home over the next 3 days.

On thursday i spent the morning asleep and then tried to go out but it hit even harder and sent me home early to take some niquil and go to bed. As for friday i stayed in my bed and near the toilet all day long. I think that my cold was actually the flu and it hit me the hardest out of all the other missionaries that had it. I still have it today and it has come back with all the aches and pains this time! I havent been so sick for a long time and almost never on my mission. I mean i have had a little cold here and there but was always able to work through it but this one made me bed ridden for a bit. it was the worst thing in the whole world. i didnt even have time to prepair any lesson for District meeting or anything because i just slept the whole time!I am doing a little better and i know that through out the week i will return to normal.

I just want to thank you so much for all the prayers and love you send my way. it is much needed each and everyday. I will say missionary work is not easy but it is so worth it. Wilford Woodruff once said on the topic of Obedience "Obedience Is never an easy task, but it is worth it". I just want you to know that i love this gospel and all that it teaches us. it is so important to accept it but yet nnot many do and it breaks my heart. at times me and Elder Ort catch our selves getting mad at people for not accepting and we wish they would just realize how much they need it in their lives. But in reality that is why we all have Agency. But we just pray and hope they accept soon. I love you and hope that you have a great week. Please be safe. I LOVE YOU!!!

Love

Elder Nathanial Woodruff!

PS less than 8 months haha not trunky at all:) love ya!

Monday Message: January 26, 2015

Well this week has been so long but it is over and that is good now i get to start a new week fresh. This District leader and trainer thing is a killer. i never get time to myself at night to unwind and relax and now i have to not only worry about my area and investigators but all the other ones as well. But it is fun and rewarding. The hardest thing was having the two sisters call on two different occasions and both of them were crying. I ended up having to talk to them and calm them down. Wow i just realized i havent had to talk to a girl who was crying for 16 months! I forgot how to help them. Honestly it was awkward because all i can tell them to do is take a break and read the scriptures and pray untill they feel better. 

Other than that the week was good. we ended up having a surprise baptism. His name is Nikko Harewood and he has been coming to church with his grandma and aunt for a while. his grandma had her papers removed and was working to get back into the church so when she was getting baptized on saturday nikko told us on tuesday he wanted to be baptized with her. So we worked hard and taught him about 7 lessons in 2 days and prepared him. Then he had his interview and passed sso he was able to be baptized on saturday with his grandma!

So elder ort and i are doing a lot better. We talked and i just was scared and stressed about my new assignments and didnt give him a chance when we first met. We are trying hard to make things work and i think it is going well. We do a small companionship inventory at nights to see how both of us can improve and get better. I hope he feels the same way. we are already seeing success together and are excited to see all the potential success. We are doing well.

Oh and by the way i think that my first District meeting was a success. i taught about prayer with faith and how to take the message "to" the gators heart and not just "near". As for tomorrows i think i plan on talking about the things we can control and to forget about the things we cant. Also i will talk about using the scriptures and comp. unity. so hopefully it will go well. I run out of time when i go to prepare there is just to many things that i end up studying but all is well. i like my job and responsibility. 

But i hope to be able to send things home with that lady tomorrow so be looking for it. i think you will like it and it is going to make you happy and surprised haha. i hope that you have a great week and i pray that this week goes by faster than last. oh and ps My seahawks are going to win the superbowl and that is going to be great. and no im not a bandwagon i just choose to follow the best team haha. jk i dont even like NFL that much its all in the NCAA in which my Ducks lost this year:( Better luck next year! 

Well have a great week and i love you!!

Love

Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: January 19, 2015

Well i can honestly say What a week. i feel totally exhaughsted and it is the start of yet another week. I have to say training a new missionary isnt a walk in the park especially when both have pride in them. As you know i dont do well when someone thinks they are better than me. if you can show me i will accept but to talk and act it makes me upset. I try to be calm and dont make a big scene but then i look bad when i stay quiet i need some help!

We had a good week of work but we just havent found the unity side of things. He got upset when i talk to elder barlow because we know each other so well and he feels left out i think. i guess i will have to work harder at including him in things. but i need to help him understand that we must work together or people wont listen. he cut me off in teaching and then went on total tangents. but it will work. i hope that it will click soon!

Tomorrow is my first District meeting that i am going to teach and i am praying that it will go as planned. i have a good topic i feel and hope the district will take it into their hearts! It is so weird having to call every night and actually having to care for the other companionships and be responsible for them and their questions but it is nice even though i have to write in my journal in the mornings now. i honestly get no time to my self at night now!

Other than that my week was plain and hopefully this week will go better. i dont want to get pushed around and walked all over so i have to take control and show the leadership. things will get better! i hope that you have a great week and please be safe in the weather! I love you!!!

Love 

Elder Nathanial Woodruff!

Monday Message: January 12, 2015

Well what a week. it has been good but also long. we spent some time
with elder free this week in the hospital. he has a heart problem and
may need a pacemaker so he is off to trinidad to have test. so that
took up a lot of our week. other than that we had a pretty successful
week. just having a hard time getting our investigators to make the
commitment of coming to church!

So this week was our transfer calls and i am staying here in Christ
Church. I have been Called to Train and also be the District leader of
the district here in Christ Church. I have been freaking out a little
inside but i am ok. i know that i have a lot of help both from home
and also here in the other missionaries! I just hope that i can live
up to the standard that has been set and that i can set a great
example for the new missionaries and the district.

Does anyone have advice for me or things that can help me teach other
missionaries better? i would love any help!

Sorry my email isnt long more letters are going to come and be
detailed but i have little time to email. i hope you have a great
week! love your friend
Love
Elder Woodruff!

Monday Message: January 5, 2015

Happy New Year! i hope that you had a great party and that you are all safe and well rested from that night. I probably didnt celebrate like you but i did get to see the fireworks when they woke us up at 12. It has been a great and yet trying 2014, but we made it together and we all have a bright 2015 to look forward to. 

I hope that you are still keeping your resolutions that you have made and i am keeping mine which is to read all the standard works in the next 9 months. i am excited to see what i have to look forward to and all that i can learn! This week has been a good one especially because i recieved such a wonderful package that had the love of my life in it, Baseball mitts and balls!!!! i was so happy and we have played so much that the lacing on one is already broken haha!

This week has been good for Elder Barlow and I. we met many new and wonderful people and are excited to go back and see them again. One in particular was someone we met just last night. his name is Joshua and we met him by just contacting a street and we saw him inside. He came out and we shared about the Book of Mormon and he had the golden question of How can we Know? I dont know much of what happened after that but I felt Impressed to talk about Joseph Smith and It clicked for him. He said we could come back and he wanted to hear more. And the best part is that he is married and have two amazing kids. This is the family that can help the kingdom i can just feel it. I would say that he is my faith builder for the week and i just want to see him and his family accept and embrace the Gospel that i KNOW will bless their lives!

So this week is the week for transfers and we got news that they are putting 2 more elders here in christ church so we will be in a 4 man. which means i may be meeting 3 different elders because i think elder barlow will be leaving! but we will just see this week! crazy how fast the time flies. i also tried to send pictures but it didnt want to work today so maybe next week! 

I hope that you have a great week and that all is well. Please be safe and Remember that i Love you!!

Love 

Elder Nathanial Woodruff