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