Pictures from St. Maarten

Christmas Day marked 3 months

Christmas Dinner

They wear their "magic suits" on the last Sunday of transfers

They hiked up the highest peak...Pic Paradise

Showing off his BYU shirt to Dad

Monday Message: December 30, 2013

so this week was so much better. especially because of christmas and the skype call. it made me so happy to see my family and sierra. i loved it so much! even though hangingup was probably the sencond hardest thing i have had to do in my life. the first being saying goodbye the first time! but after that the week has been pretty good. we had an opportunity to give two priesthood blessing this week! one of our investigators asked if we could give his cousin one because she was having a major ear ache and then the second was a part member family whose 7 month old daughter was really sick and they asked if we could bless her so i got to perform the blessing and i had no idea what i said but i know that the holy ghost told me what to say and by the next day they said that she seemed to be back to normal. it was a real testimony builder and i am so happy to have had that experience! so something that i learned this week is that i get so stressed out when i try to control the things that are really out of my reach. but i am learning that if i change my mindset and focus on the things i can control that the rest will be taken care of and fall into place how they are suppose to! the Lord is so powerful and he will give us the desires of our hearts and that he will help me in my life and everything will work out how they should! so i have a great story to tell! i found out that me and Elder Telga have magic suits. we made a new tradition and on the last sunday of the transfer we wear our suits to church! so since this week is that week we wore them and a miracle happened we had 5 investigators come to church and 2 of them have a baptismal date that is coming up in this transfer. it was so great to see and the work is starting to really pick up again. i love it here and am so glad that me and Elder Telga get to stay another transfer together! we are also getting another companion for a little who is waiting for a visa to go to the nethert\lands he is from suriname so that means that we will have 3 missionaries in our appartment! wish us luck! haha so this morning i did the worst and funnest thing so far on my mission! we woke up at 5 am and climbed the highest peak on the island. pic paridise! it is 424 meters above sea level which is still lower than where we live in utah but it was great you can see the whole island and the surrounding islands and as a zone we took pictures and got to watch the amazing west indies sunrise come over the horizon it was so beautiful! there is only 7 other people i wouldve wished could have been there and that is my family and sierra! but someday soon i will bring them back to this island and show them the beauties that i get to see everyday! i love you so much and am so greatful for all the support that i get from you! i love you so much and hope to hear from you soon! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!

love your Elder 

Elder Woodruff!

PS pictures are on drop box!  I LOVE YOU!!!

Christmas Eve Message

So this week has been eh normal and a little tough but guess what I made it! And it’s a new week for a new effort at always improving and planting the seeds! So its crazy how many lds people we have met in the past week and they always want to take pictures of us. We even met some from tooele and when I told them I was from bear river they said “ouch:” then I had to say im sorry you have to support that aweful color purple! Haha and we all laughed! Then Tuesday we met a lady named una and she is 7 day Adventist and she was pretty accepting and we will continue to teach her but she is going to france for a month so we will have to wait. It seems like that happens a lot when you get someone to teach they leave the island!!  So Wednesday was so crazy with people there was 9 cruise ships and thousands of tourist! But we did find a lady named Britney and I guess when I shared my testimony she felt the spirit because she started to cry and was a really spiritual moment I don’t think I have ever had one that strong it was so crazy I loved that feeling! So even though this week has been rough and a week that I never want again. I know that I have learned a lot from it and have been able to grow more and more from it! I think it was just a hard week because of the season and tomorrow will make everything so much better but thank you for all of your support and everything that you have ever done for me. I promise to do my best and always strive to get better each and everyday! I know this is where I am suppose to be and I love it here! I love you so much and hope that you have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!! i love you

love your Elder 

Elder Woodruff 

Monday Message: December 16, 2013

This week was a good week! It wasn’t the best for the numbers side of our work but when we got a lesson it was amazing! We have a lot of great people and they are starting to fall in love with the gospel and to follow what god asks of them it is so good to see! But I will start with Tuesday and with what a hard day it was for us to have a lesson. EVERYTHING that we had planned fell through and we spent the whole day just searching and we got no where it was really different to go the day with out getting anywhere! We did have two small lessons but nothing that was anything special! But the work is getting better. On Thursday we saw a lady named bernedette and she is someone we have been teaching for a while now and before she wasn’t really to interested and she told us that she would go to any church that she could get a ride to. She only gets 1 Sunday off a month though. But the other night she told us that she knew the Book of Mormon was true but wasn’t quite sure it joseph smith was a prophet and we told her that if she knew the BOM was true than she already had a testimony that he was a prophet and when she realized that she lit up and had a huge smile on her face and said that she guessed she did have that feeling as well. She told us that on her Sunday off she was coming to our church and nothing would stop her. It was so great and I know that was the work of God and the Holy Ghost! So on Friday we have a crazy day we waited at the airport for the sisters and elder laufatte for 3 hours and then when they got back there bags got lost it was such a weird night and I feel bad for them but I guess that is the joys of this mission! Then Saturday I had a great experience and I met a guy with my same name it was weird to say “hey nate” haha but it was good we helped him paint while we taught him the message of the restoration. It was great but there was also a weird experience that I wont soon forget. As we were painting we saw this cat running full speed and it ran right past us so we watched it! And as soon as it got past us it took a left right into the road and just in time for a passing truck to hit it and it was not a pretty sight!!! It was kind of sad and a really weird feeling at the same time! I guess that was its 9^th life haha! I don’t even know how to explain it!! But this week has been quite the interesting week and I realized this week that I am truly blessed! I mean not very many people get to say they get to serve the lord full time and live on such beautiful islands at the same time. I love it here and know that this is where I am suppose to be and as long as I trust the lord and lean not unto my own understanding he will guide me and keep everything in order for me back at home and that there is no worries! I am really greatful for this opportunity and I love it!!! Thanks for all you do for me and the support that you give me! I love you! you dont know how much you mean to me and i can never say i love you enough! and i will never be able to express all the love i have for you!! i love you so much!!!

                Love

                Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: December 9, 2013

This week has been a much better week! We got the truck that the wrights left so now we don’t have to walk as much which is good and bad! But this Tuesday was rough because I got really sick and just felt miserable in all of our lessons but I survived the day and now everything is much better! Even though this week we had a couple of lessons that were only in creole so I just sat there! I hate those kind of lessons and that is when I wish I could be able to learn the language but it is so hard that I kind of gave up but maybe one day it will be easier for me! But this week was much better it was like there was this comforting peace that I felt and I knew this is the lords errand and that everything will be taken care of and I don’t need to worry I love it here! We had a lot of great lessons this week and great investigators that we hope can continue to progress I just hope and pray that they do! I hope next week will be this good as well! So we started to work out to music in the morning and you should see us it is so fun and I actually enjoy it but ya maybe I will record it some day if you are lucky haha!  So the crazy story for the week is that we got told that you only ever see two young men walking around so that means we have to be homosexuals! Crazy people we took like fifteen minutes explaining we weren’t gay and I told him like 10 times that I had the most beautiful girl in the world at home waiting for me!! Crazy! But I told him the truth! The most amazing, and beautiful girl is at home waiting and I cant wait to be back with her again! I love her!!  I love you so much and thank you for your support I hope to hear back soon and pray that you have a great week!! I LOVE YOU!!! I LOVE YOU!!! I LOVE YOU!!! I LOVE YOU!!! I LOVE YOU!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

                Love

                                Elder Woodruff

Ps I love you so much!!

Week 7

Wow what a week! It has been one tough one If I can even say that. I don’t know if I could have gone any lower than I did! But this week is looking up! I know that the lord answers prayers and fasts! So I also know that god guides us to people we need to meet this week he had us have our backups fall through and he led us to shannella and I know because she had so many questions that we answered and we didn’t even plan to see her that was such a testimony and trust builder! But also this week we found out Phenier who is suppose to be baptized on the 14^th suddenly left the island and went to Haiti and we don’t know why or when he will come back! I hope soon! He was really progressing and he wanted to be baptized! I don’t know what is wrong but we seem to get so close to helping people get baptized and something happens! I am striving so hard to be exactly obedient and I know that it will start to receive the blessings from that. But I hope that I can help people more and that I wont get so down on myself!  So I met a man who didn’t believe in god! That was a first and it is so crazy how people can say that but we tried to teach him and he declined. Its hard sometimes but all we can do is invite and hope they accept! Then we had the opportunity to go and give sister hanley (90 year old member) a blessing and I know that god hears us and is there it was so amazing to feel the spirit! I have gained a testimony of the BOM and I know it is true it is a great book and I challenge you to Read It! So this week I got told I looked like a 14 year old crazy people ugh hahaJ  so I am also becoming an islander because at night I get cold now! I never thought I would say that I could get cold but I do I cant imagine what will happen when I get home I will Freeze!!!! But this week I also found out that I don’t really want to go to SUU anymore! I have realized that I want to be closer to the things and the people that I love! And even though it is only 5 hours I want to be with the people I love!!! I love you so much and I have found out that before I go to bed is the best time to think about you! I truly know that we will be together soon and that this 22 months will be faster than I know it. I am not wishing away my days I promise to do my best and be obedient and I will see you soon. I love you!! Have a great week and I will talk to you soon! I love you!!! I love you!!! I love you!!! I love you!!! I love you!!!

                Love your elder

                                Elder Woodruff