Monday Message: October 27, 2014

So this week has been a long week. Both Elder Mitchell and myself have been sick and dont have any idea what it is! we are also left without a phone at the moment because ours broke yesterday afternoon! We worked as hard as we could this week but we were so tired and sick that things didnt feel as good as they could have been. Even though we were sick i believe that we had a good week and it ended up better than we had expected it to be! I still love it here in New Amsterdam and the people are so amazing! The struggle that we are having though is our church attendance. many of the members have been offended in the past couple of weeks over different callings! Things that can be resolved though. It will just take effort and their cooperation in listening and understanding the Gospel and the reason we have callings in the church! We know that God is a God of Order and so we have callings, President Kirton understands that so he has been filling up all the callings in the branch but the members havent quite understood that and got Offended when they were released! I believe things will pick up soon and we will begin to see the members come back and the attendance increase! i just want to see it like it was when i got here in june with 70 + members again! it has so much potential here we just have to find out how to bring it out and help the branch become self reliant on the things that run the church organization!

So other than that this week has been ok. i got an email back from pres. Mehr about shivanie being baptized he said not to worry about it to much it was a small mistake! and just to help the family understand about moromni 8 and how she can be rebaptized in a year when she is 8 years old! he was really helpful about it and made me feel a lot better about the situation. it relieved a lot of stress from my shoulders! 

I hope that this week goes a lot better and that things will begin to speed up again! i am thankful for all of the support! oh and thanks for all the hunting pictures! they made me trunky but also happy to see all the fun pictures there was! i love you so much!

Love

Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: October 20, 2014

So this week has been a decent week! We had a lot of road blocks in the way though! and many things that could have worked out a little differently but that is just how it had to happen! I am working really hard to build back up the area to how it was. Its not as easy as i thought though i am working as hard as possible to be A+ obedient and i just hope that i will be able to be the example to Elder Mitchell as well! I believe if we can do that the area will grow and prosper once again just like the Book of Mormon Promises us! If we keep the commandments we will prosper and i know that the white handbook is commandments that i must live right now for the two years! I am upset and feel horrible about a huge mistake that i made this transfer that is a disgrace before God and i know i should have been more careful! but i made the mistake when i Baptized Shivanie Herecharran and i didnt look at the birthday and it didnt even cross my mind to check it. turns out that she was born in 2007 which means she is only 7 years old! I have had this weight on my shoulder ever since i found out and i cant get rid of it! i feel like i have not only disappointed everyone here but also the Lord! i have prayed so hard to gain a forgiveness but i dont know what to do! i know it is not a good thing that i allowed to happen! What should i do?
So i want to tell you what i have learned about and from the Book of Mormon. This past couple of transfers that i have been reading it again i have gotten so much out of it. i also cant wait to read it from the beginning again this transfer. The Book of Mormon is a powerful tool. just like we are taught. lately i have seen so many people begin to change as the read it, it also is so powerful that if we can only get the people to read it it solves all the contention and bible bashing that people come at us with! i even have had the chance lately to see how it will work with one of our investigators who is from nigeria! he told us it would be great if we could get it in his language IGBO. i thought to my self we will never find it but it turns out that the church has that language i cant wait to get it to him because i know that his life will change because of this book! i have also seen such a big change in my life. i have found so much comfort from the words in alma about the Plan of Salvation as well as the many parts that we can see the christlike attributes! i love to study about how christ was and is! i cant lie the Book of Mormon is great at chastising you as well. i have found many things that i must work on in my life because of the way i feel reading the Book. as well as the faults it points out to me, but my attention is always brought back to what moroni said in moroni 10:32 that we can come unto christ and be perfected in him. we will never be perfect before but only through christ can we be perfected! I have found the way to find true happiness in this life and what i must do to reach it! its not in the world in money or fame or power ,but it is in Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. Eternal Life is promised to those who follow christ and keep his commandments. He is on our side, but so many people are left out because they havent learned about the Book of Mormon. That is my Job and i want to fill it to the best that i can! That is why i am here because of the Book of Mormon and that is What i want to share with others! This book changes lives it has mine and i know many others! i love this book!
I will be in guyana for another 6 weeks which will bring me close to 6 months in the country! crazy huh! i will be close to christmas as well. things are coming up fast i hit the 13 months this week and keep going from there! i hope things can be good this transfer and that we see success once again! i love you so much and hope that you have a great week! till next week
Love
Elder Woodruff!

Monday Message: October 13, 2014

So this week has been a good, but long week! it started off really well and we had some great success. then in the middle of the week it slowed down and i think it picked back up again! I dont really want to admit it but i think i let myself fall into the hump day slump haha! i have caught my self though and realize that the work isnt as fun or easy in that matter if things are going slow at the apartment! it has been hard to wake up and excersize when no one is pushing you and they want to sleep all the time. i need a work out partner to be pushed. and because of that i feel that my studies havent been what they use to be but i am working hard and bringing them back to what they were and even better! so i will get out of this slump and have the joy once again!

So yesterday we had a good experience and an experience that really had to test my patience! So at church we are really working hard for Real Growth in the branch and have been working with a lot of Less Actives and they all were doing really good and we did all we could to get them excited for church and thought they were coming and none came! we also did the same with our progressing investigators and still nothing! i was so upset we only had 43 people attend yesterday! That is no where close to the 100 that pres. kirton has set for the branch! we are working so hard with him to get that but it is struggling right now! But we have faith and i believe it will reach that goal! The other struggle is that we tried to have a meeting with the leaders of the branch to set up a branch mission plan and put it into play, but everytime we tried they turned it on us as missionaries saying that we havent done our part to allow them to do their! im sorry to say but maybe i wasnt in the best mood and it made me upset to see them blame it on us that the less actives werent coming. and also that they werent fellowshipping because we didnt introduce them! i think i held it in and we worked it out the best we could without being overbearing. and took the blame but the hour that we were there we only got to goals and the members were talking bad behind the others backs so we just stopped the meeting and we as missionaries plan to work with president kirton on the goals and actions and then present it to them at the branch counsel! But on a spiritual note! we had a great experience last night as well. we finished a lesson a half hour early and had no where to go but we felt impressed to stop by Pres. kirtons home and when we got there he sent us to the bhola family and said his wife and daughter were already there but they needed our help. When we got there we found out that there had been an argument between the parents and one of the daughters who is seventeen! it was over texting and talking on the phone to much to a boy from georgetown and she wasnt getting anything done!( Sounds like me back in the day huh!) It went to the point that this girl felt all alone and didnt want to be apart of this world anymore. When we got there Sis. kirton was talking to both and asked if we could help. but of course we are only 19 and 20 and have no idea what it is like to be a parent but we do know what it is like to be a teenager. All that we could do and that we were impressed to do was say a prayer, and then we sang "I am a child of God". That brought the spirit so much and tears to my eyes. our main goal was to help the daughter know that our Heavenly Father loves her and the he parents were trying to help. we also took what sis kirton was saying and helped the mother know how the youth feel. i believe that it was a starting point for them to solve the problem and i am so grateful that the spirit lead me there to experience that opportunity!

So that is my crazy day yesterday! also we met a man from nigeria this week and he is awesome i have pictures that i am sending home he is the black man in the white shirt with us! his accent is awesome and his name is Chideny but we call him Chidi( Like Chidi Chidi Bang Bang haha!) we are teaching him and really see potential with him! he is a catholic but super smart he is a science lecturure in the college here! so smart! I hope that your week goes great and that you have a safe week as well! hope to hear back from you soon! i love you!!!

Love

Elder Woodruff!

Monday Message: October 6, 2014

Well One more conference down on my mission only one left how crazy is that? seems like they are coming faster and faster each time. just know the next one will be here and then only 5 months after that haha! sorry had a small trunky moment there! but on the serious note i hope  that you really listened to conference and all of the wonderful talks that were spoken! i know that they were answers to my prayers and questions which really gave me strength. i love our prophet and apostles they are truly called of God!

So this week was a slow week for elder mitchell and myself it felt like we couldnt get anything going and nobody had the time to meet with us. but we still pushed and we will for sure be doing more this week. I never want a week like this one again! We are still focussing a lot on the real growth of the branch but we still want to see a lot of investigators so it is just trying to find the balance between the two! I just hope that i can be a true example and leader to help this area progress and to be a blessing not a burden!

So something that i thought was really cool that i have learned recently is found in D&C 50:24. Do you remember the Saying "focus on the next 200 ft". As i read that i just thought instantly about baseball and all the mental training that we did! it applies really well! in a car at night we only see roughly 200 ft ahead of us but when we reach that 200 ft there is a next 200 ft all the way until the "perfect day" or in other words the sun comes up and we have the whole road visible infront of us! the same with the gospel, we gain more and more light as we continue in God. But if we stop we lose light and will never gain the next "200 ft" or more light! untill that perfect day which is the day that our Savior and Redeemer will come and reign personally upon the earth! I am truly grateful for baseball and football and all the things that i learned at controling what i can control. the mental game is as much of a part of a mission as it is in sports and i am so happy i was able to gain some of the mental training before and i continue to work on it still out here in the mission field!

That was basically my week hopefully a better working week for me but it is still good! im on the down hill slope still working hard! i love you and hope you have a great week!
Love your Elder
Elder Woodruff

Monday Message: September 29, 2014

So it is done! i am finally on the down hill slope of the best to years FOR my life! i am happy and sad that this year has gone the way it has! it is different to think a year ago i wasnt at home any more i was on my mission! Crazy! 

So this week we had zone conference and we woke up at 3:30 then I went to suriname on the 25th and woke up at 3 after falling asleep at 12 so only 3 hours of sleep! can you say tired? i am so drained but it was a good thing to do on the year mark ha! i love it here in guyana and i am so greatful to be on my mission! I have made the most of it i hope and there is much more to come! 

So right now in the branch we are focusing a lot on the Recent converts and less active members so that the branch can raise the attendance and have real growth. so we are really working with the members for this project! the members are the most important thing to the work and we are seeing that right now! 

I am sorry this e mail is so short i just ran out of time. but one thing that i want to get across this week that i have learned is that God has total control of our lives and he places us in places to not only help us in trials but also to be an example and help to others! He knows us and our situations so never forget to turn to him Alma 37:37. also i love the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 6:36. he is in control of my life and i pray that he is in yours as well! i love you so much and have a great week! i will talk to you more next week! 

Love Elder Woodruff