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