Week 47--The week that fell from Heaven!!

Hello!!!!

Well, well, well, it's been another amazing week!!! This was one of those weeks where we worked super, super hard, exceeded our goals, and everyone fed us so we didn't have any time to eat lunch at the apartment or take a nap. #tiredsistas!!! Seriously. I keep falling asleep during the church service at Evergreen, where we volunteer. :P 

Paige and Andy gave us a referral for their neighbors, Feron and Tina. It was so strange. Tina was interested but almost never is it the case that the boyfriend is also interested!! They were both excited about the Book of Mormon and wanted to know which bookstore they could purchase one at, haha! Tina has fibromyalgia (which I used to have) really bad, so there's a connection there. They are really neat and we are looking forward to meeting with them again soon. 

We had a funny experience with media referrals! So we had this referral to deliver a Bible to this guy named Loren. It was funny because he has met Sister Peel before (but she of course didn't remember him. We never expect to see these people again!). We asked him why he wanted one and he's joining a motorcyle ministry! I thought that was awesome. :P Well, the elders also had a media referal except this referal called us instead! We had no idea how they got our number. THe elders were SO MAD. They were like: "you're stealing our referrals!"  and we were like: "but he called us! We didn't do it." Bahaha. Silly elders. Well, come to find out, their referral was at the same address as our referral, Loren because they are friends. So we delivered Bibles (and Books of Mormon of course ;)) to both of them. :P 

When President Cutler was in Oshkosh for interviews he also had the opportunity to meet with Paige. It was so great, actually!!! She had a great experience with him and even got a Sister Cutler cookie. For those of you who haven't experienced one of these, it is a divine specimen from heaven! They are the BEST cookies in the world and we each get one at interviews, plus a talk. He was really impressed with her and said it is so great when people like her join the church!!! #goldeninvestigator. She and Andy are on fire! They both said they want to go tracting with us (but Paige won't answer any questions... yet, haha!). I'm so excited for that!!!! I don't ever want to be transferred. Oh and I found out SIster Cutler loves Harry Potter! She was there for interviews as well. :) 

This leads me in to my interview with President Cutler. It was amazing!!!!!! And it's always too short. All I can say is that he kept saying over and over again how much I've changed and transformed since our last interview! That was 2 transfers ago, when I first got to Oshkosh. Let me just tell you, I felt this happy: :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. It totally made my week. He said he's super, super pleased with the work I'm doing and that he loves seeing how much my faith has grown. He said it is "the hand of God at work!!!!!" Haha and he asked Sister Peel how she's seen me change and she said: "Well, she says I've toughened her up. And she's softened me up." Haha! He laughed, apparently. XD I love Sister Peel, she's great. It seems surreal to me because I haven't really noticed it too much. Ah well. My mission is going by too quickly!!! I'm 11 months old today!!! The only downside is, I'm pretty sure I'm getting transferred! :( 

Some more great news! Brienne, who is a friend of one of the Wastarts, wants to meet with us!!! She has been meeting with the YSA sisters but she said she feels more comfortable with us (she has met Sister Wilson and me before). It was kind of a dramatic issue but ultimately she will now be meeting with both of us! So excited. :) We got to go over and answer some of her great questions about the Plan of Salvation. She is way fun to teach! 

Oh, and now for the funny story. I can now officially say that I've been punched on my mission. That's right! I'm like one of the Milwaukee sisters now. :P So there I was, at the church. It was after mutual (the weekly activity night for teens in the church) and I was playing around with Ashley Robertson, an 18 year old convert of just over a year. She has been out teaching with us on numerous occasions. Well, someone had brought one of those foamy things that boxers punch and I held it up and put my arm through it, just checking it out. Well, next thing I know Ashley punches it and it flies back and smacks me in the nose. Then blood starts flowing everywhere! It didn't hurt really, it just bleed a whole lot including on my name tag and clothes! It was worse than any nose bleed I've ever seen! Mostly, it was just embarrassing. It was totally an accident, though. Then Paige and Brother Kakuschke walked by and it was extra embarrassing! XD Haha,there is an embarrassing moment with each companion!!! 

We had the best relief society activity this week. We played volleyball!!! And, let's just say that the women (and men) of Wisconsin aren't the smallest people in the world. And there are lots of elderly ladies in our ward! So it was hilarious!!!! Totally fun. We played with a giant princess volleyball and all the ladies got super into it and did some pretty epic dives and saves. It was super funny!!!!! XD 

I love when the cornbread lady has us over. We had a great time over there again this week. She feeds us really good and fancy things (like delicious Wisconsin milk)! And, we were doing some tracting over on her street and we met this awesome lady!!! She is super sweet. :) She also has 5 kids that will beef up the primary. :P When we did the survey with her she started out saying she wouldn't read another book of scripture that isn't the Bible. But after we taught her the Restoration (the Spirit was so strong! Sister Peel and I teach well together!) she said she'd give it a try and prayed with us, right then and there and asked if the Book of Mormon is true! Ahh it was so great. We are going back over there with the cornbread lady today. :) 

Let's see... Emilie Kakuscke is leaving on her mission this week so we got to go to her open house. I'm now officially watching over her cello for her ;) I know, such a sacrifice on my part. I was also going to mention something else that's going on but I forgot what that is.  Just now that Oshkosh is on fire and I love it here!

Also, we were each asked to discuss in District Meeting this week how Gospel study has influenced us. I thought that was a very interesting question! I think Sister Peel said it best: "Well duh. How hasn't gospel study influenced me?" Haha! It's very true. I think about how much my testimony has grown on my mission. It's influenced not only that, but also my faith, my confidence, the way I see the world! I've learned to love the scriptures, to study and ponder them deeply and how to have a spiritual feast every morning, which is something I will always treasure. I have come to see in my own life that as Elder Packer said "true doctrine understood changes attitudes and behavior." It's exciting because there's always so much to learn!! And not enough time to learn it all. I also liked what Sister Cutler said: that studying the Gospel takes the teachings of the gospel from your mind to your heart. I couldn't agree more! It has become so much more real to me. I used to think of repentance, the gospel of Jesus Christ, as something you do when you sin and make a mistake. Now I've realized that it is much more than that. It is a way of life! 

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Woods 

Week 46

Hello, Everyone!!!!

Ahh, much excitement has happened this week so I'm just going to dive right in!

Oh, and as the subject of this email says, Wisconsin has reached an entire 22 degrees! It's been in the 30s and 40s. Hotness!

First I'll start off by mentioning that one of the Elders butt-dialed the police last week while we were helping the Vazquez family move. Hilarious!!! Apparently they showed up before we got there. And it happened again this week! (There is a button on our phones that calls 911 instantly). The funniest part is that it keeps happening but they haven't yet shared a pass-along card with the cops. Haha, I guess they need to keep coming back! :P

We donated a HUGE amount of bubbly water to the Salvation Army. Three big boxes of it. The captain lady was so excited, I thought she might wet herself. :P Haha. For those of you who don't know this story, some family members have innocently sent me tons of sparkling water in the past, but I haven't been able to drink any because it contains green tea which is against the Word of Wisdom. So, we decided to put it to good use. :)

At the Salvation Army this week I was invited to do something I've never done before in my entire life: cut up whole chickens!! That's right, with a big butcher's knife and everything. It was quite messy! Lots of blood and the knife wasn't super sharp so I had to clang it down on the table lots to break the bones apart. Oh, and of course I did this in a skirt! ;) I didn't mind it too much, actually. It was kind of exciting. :P We were making fried chicken. I think Sister Peel was glad she chose to do the breading part. 

So there I was. Serving food at the Salvation Army, like I do every week. It makes me feel like a lunch lady. :) Then this guy, Jacob, had talked to me a few weeks ago. He was asking us all these questions about what our missions are like, what we believe, what I was doing before my mission, etc. He also had asked some questions about what Bible we use. I explained about the Book of Mormon and he said he already had a copy. It was a good conversation. It seemed like he was interested in the Gospel. Now there I was serving him his food on the tray and I asked him if there was anything else he wanted (food-wise!). Then he says: "No. But I'll take your number!" Ahhhh! I told him I could but it would be on a pass-along card and he should call if he's interested in learning more. He didn't seem as excited about that. :P I told Sister Peel: "And I was thinking he wanted to learn about the Gospel!!! Dx" Bahaha. It's funny to me how this happens to missionaries! And not really at any other time in my life. Go figure!

We had lots of fun playing chair soccer with the Elders in the morning at the church this week. We've started a new tradition where we go to the gym together in the  morning while seminary is going on.  It got a little crazy! But so much fun!!! The seminary kids came in to join us (perhaps because we were getting a little boisterous) AND we were invited in to have breakfast with them!!! AND to make it even better, it was breakfast casserole!!! I died. xD 

We also had a fun time going on secret missions for Sister Moffitt who got released from the hospital last week.  She's got a breathing tube and is pretty homebound so no more gigs for a while. But anyway, she had us go and retrieve some medicine she had left behind, with her birthday, of course, so they would know we aren't just spies (though we felt like it!) stealing medicine. Then she had us go grocery shopping for her. It was pretty adventurous! :) We love her. The Wintry Day is her favorite so I told her I would wait until I could play it with her. 

Ahhh and this week I tossed the phone to Sister Peel and it landed in some hummus. Then... she licked it!!!!!!!! Ahhh I died! For those of you who know me you can imagine this was hard for me !!! (don't put this in my blog,okay? :PP)

I really like Sister Peel. We make a great team! 

One more funny story then I'll go into the powerhouse part of our week! :) (You might also edit this story out of here?) 

We were at the Bishop's house having a Missionary Moment! That's right. This was the premiere week. So they had invited over a less-active older couple who loved to talk on and on and on about the military (that's very common for old people in Wisconsin. Actually, going on and on and on is common for ANYONE in Wisconsin!! No wonder they sent me here. I don't love to talk. :P) and they ended up staying from 6 until 10:30!!!! We, thankfully, escaped much sooner than that, after we shared a good message about the importance of the "small and simple things" (i.e. scripture study, prayer and church attendance.) As a whole the evening went really well and this couple had been thinking about returning to church!! So this was very helpful. 

So for dessert we had brownies with pretzels, chocolate chips and hard carmel on top. A very rich dessert! So the carmel was pretty tough and I had tried and tried to cut it with my fork (as my mother has insisted that good young ladies SHOULD do). Well, everyone noticed that after 3 minutes of failed attempts I had not yet succeeded. So they were staring at me, expecting me to do something about it. So I stuffed the giant piece of carmel in my mouth!!! Bahahaha. The bishop's wife thought it was pretty funny. She said: "Good for you!!!xD" Needless to say it was the best bite ever, and it even took my Lacey-sized mouth up for a challenge.

In short, Paige is doing very well and so is her husband! They actually had a freaky experience this past week. The adversary likes to work extra hard on people right before their baptisms and that's what happened here. There was a very awful, horrible feeling in their home. Paige called it a demon. But it was causing lots of contention and bad feelings in their home, causing them to not want to go to church. Nevertheless, they persisted through it and went to church anyway and sought out a priesthood blessing and a prayer to cast it out from Brother Thompson (Paige's father-in-law). After that, they said it was gone! Freaky. It was a neat experience for both of them. They both were able to see the power of the priesthood in action! It caused Andy to want to work towards obtaining the Melchizedek priesthood. It was really neat for us to be able to hear about this and to be able to show Paige that opposition always comes before great things! We showed her what happened to Joseph Smith specifically, how he also faced darkness and the adversary before Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared. Cool! :) They are both on fire and gave us a really great referral!!!!! 

We had a powerhouse lesson with Vere this week. That's the best way to sum it up. We were planning on going in there and being bold by helping him understand that he needs to pray and ask God if the Book of Mormon is true if our lessons and discussions are to go any further. It can be very difficult to be super bold. It's scary, it's uncomfortable. It doesn't matter! I went in there, and the Spirit completely took over. I have never had such a powerful lesson, nor have I ever been so bold with an investigator. We explained to him exactly what it would mean for him if he were to ask God this all-important and life-changing question. He would need to follow the answer he receives completely and change any habits or lifestyle choices, anything to follow the direction he recieves. We told him he would need to be baptized into Christ's church. At first he was hesitant, wasn't really interested in "converting" just "going through the book." His Anglican traditions are what he grew up with and are very important to him. We spoke things, ideas came in our minds that we had never thought of. We told him that these truths helped prepare him to receive the restored Gospel. Sister Peel was super bold, too! The Spirit was so strong! We read 2 Nephi 32 with him (it was funny he was like: " I see what's going on here. This relates to me!") Haha. Coincidence? I think not. :) Anyway, we talked with him about what it means to "feast" on the words of Christ, and especially about how the devil teaches us not to pray (verse 8).  We asked him why the devil wouldn't want him to pray about the Book of Mormon. In the end, we all kneeled down to pray and after he had finished, the spirit was strong! He looked taken aback, surprised by it. I really, really, truly hope he will be persistent and will receive his answer! If not, then perhaps I wrote all this for nothing. I know he will get an answer if he is persistent. I hope he will have the faith and persistence to follow it once the answer does come.  (For those of you who might have no idea what I'm talking about, there is a specific promise to anyone who reads the Book of Mormon. It's found in Moroni 10:3-5. It basically says that anyone can read the Book of Mormon and if they will ask God if it's true, with a sincere desire to know, they can receive an answer by the power of the Holy Ghost that it is true. This is the task we are encouraged to do in order to gain a testimony that our church is true before one joins.) No matter what happens, this was a cherished experience for me! If you feel inclined to pray for him, please do! :)

Other than that, we helped a family move this weekend and had fun visiting some people that live out in Princeton (really far away from Oshkosh.) I really love the ward members here in Oshkosh! I don't ever want to leave. 

I know that this work is true!!! 

Love you all!!!

Sister Woods

Wacky Wisconsin Weather -- Week 45

Hello!!!!

It's been a strange week!! Why you might wonder!! Allow me to explain. Long email coming up! And it might be a bit more introspective than usual. In fact, it will be! :)

As you can see from the picture, we went bowling with the Elders! In our skirts! It was way fun. Although the elders did not, of course. :P It was one of the best p-days yet. I actually did pretty well and got 4 strikes! 

Shoutout, thanks to Ashley for the Korean Christmas presents!!! I really like them. :) 

I have officially recovered from a cold! In less than a week! Or maybe I haven't, but I'm ignoring it. :) Zycam is an amazing thing, in case you wondered. 

We had a really, really great zone training on Tuesday. It was actually followed by an exchange! We, the Sister Training Leaders, and the Fond du Lac sisters went to get mexican food first. It was my first time doing an afternoon exchange and espeicially so early on in the transfer! But it was good. We went to West Bend. We got to play volleyball and help a cute old lady move her furniture around, including all her electronics.  It was actually a very strange exchange and it was quick. That was the day it was the coldest! It was -20 with windchill. Sister Morales said: " I don't get what everyone is FREAKING out about. It's 1 degree!" Haha. 

The sad news is we got dropped by 3 investigators this week. Amanda, Carin, and Dan and Erin. That's never fun. But you know what? It's sad. But it's also okay. Seeds have been planted and life goes on.  We still have enough people to see that we don't have to tract in -10 degree weather so that's always a great thing!

We also didn't do our singing/violin and cello playing ordeal in sacrament this week because SIster Moffitt is sick again!! Oh no! :( She wants me to play her favorite, often overlooked hymn, hymn 37: "The Wintry Day Descending at Its Close!" It didn't work out this week but perhaps in the near future! 

I want to talk about the experience I've had at zone training and New Year's goals and such, but first, I want to interject and mention the experience we've had helping the Vazquez family move this week. Tons of people arrived from the ward and it was a very quick and efficient move. ( I think I was sent to Oshkosh to work with this family for a specific purpose. The Lord must have wanted to teach me to have greater patience and skill in dealing with children! Especially challenging ones. I was able to prevent the whining by playing catch with them. It's become  a fun new tradition after lessons. :) )  They have a great new house and I'm excited for them. HOWEVER. There is a big no pants problem going on over there! Every time, and I mean EVERY time, we go over, we or the elders,someone isn't wearing any clothes! Scandalous!!! It's happened with every member of that family except the Mom (there are 5 kids).  They are either stark naked (#birthdaysuit) or they are only wearing a blanket. Well, this last week, SIster Peel and I were told to close our eyes for just a sec while Brother Vazquez put on pants. xD Bahahahahahah.

I've also been requested to talk more about the people we are working with. Well there's this one lady (who frustrated previous elders so much that they tore up her teaching record) who was baptized a year and a half ago and was never confirmed. No one knows why! She just wouldn't go back to church to get confirmed. So, long story short, it's been too long and she has to be baptized again! She is infamous for cancelling appointments at the last minute and texting us in all capital letters if we don't respond within 3 minutes of her text. She is quite the character and we will get the privilege of working with her from now on! :P 

We also gave the "Blueprint to Christ's Church" talk to a biblical scholar!! Haha. I wonder what she will say! Her name is Kathleen and she is really nice. She is writing a book about how women invented Christianity. We always learn a whole lot when we go over there, especially about women in the Bible. She has a Ph.d. in the New Testament! She can't believe there are girl mormon missionaries so she likes talking with us. We are like collectibles! :P 

We are doing lots of "on the side" projects, like teaching the lessons to a family that might be getting a divorce soon. The little girls are so cute, but they are quite understandably shaken up about the whole thing. They have lots of spiritual questions and are in need of an extra boost of faith. So we have a new weekly routine of going over there and having dinner and a lesson. This is the lady that makes the yummy cornbread!! :) 

Oh, someone is feeding us spaghetti this week and Sister Peel told me she doesn't really care for spaghetti. Well, the last time she said that about lasagna we were fed a giant mountain of it! So, I'm predicting we will have a whole bunch of it this week!! xD #snowflake (that means please eat this, comp, so I don't have to!)

Okay, enough stalling. Now I'll relate the amazing zone training experience we had. So, as you might expect, setting new year's goals is something highly encouraged amongst missionaries. So we were each instructed to choose a Christlike attribute we want to develop this year and make specific plans for doing so. I did choose one, in case you wondered, and it is charity (which, for those who may not be familiar with the way Mormons think of this term, is the highest and strongest kind of love. It is not merely affection, but the love that Christ has for each of us. It can be a difficult attribute to attain. It is a gift that can be given to us if we seek for it.). This is something I have been able to increase in on my mission, but I want it to be a more prominent feature in my life. Anyway, I particularly enjoyed this meeting because each of us had the opportunity to share how our natures and desires have changed because of our study of the Book of Mormon that we did before Christmas. It was so neat to share my own (I've been able to develop a greater sense of hope and internalize the reality of the enabling power of the Atonement, which has helped me to feel confident doing hard things. It has done wonders for me!! :)) and hear the experiences of the other missionaries as well as to observe the commonality we all had, which is that our conversion and testimonies have deepened. We have internalized the atonement and allowed it to change who we are. One missionary in particular said that the Book of Mormon has helped him to prioritize what really matters in life and what doesn't. I really like that and I know it is true! I'm really grateful my mission has taught me to study the Book of Mormon for a specific purpose. It is a practice I've greatly enjoyed and will continue to do throughout my life. I know that it's true that true doctrine understood changes our attitudes and behaviors.

I've made it my goal to read the Book of Mormon 5 times this year (since it's 2015) with a specific purpose each time. Currently, I'm looking for examples of faith and charity. It has been really great so far! (Who knows, maybe one day I will attempt to be amazing like Kyle and read it 13 times in a year like he did in 2012! :P. Haha. Baby steps. :)) It's amazing how much there is to learn each time I read it! 

I was also able to set some other goals that are very meaningful and have kept me extra busy ever since! But I'm enjoying it so much. One of those is completing the standard works and mission library before my mission is over, which should definitely occur. 

I could go on and on about the things we discussed and learned in this meeting (the importance of having "sacred studies," allowing the Spirit to guide us in which finding tools we use, and developing eyes to see the vision the Lord has for these people) but I fear this email is getting much too long already! Let's suffice it to say that I was inspired. And I recommitted for the hundredth time, probably, to be better, to give my mission my all, and to work my hardest. So far so good. I've never been more tired on my mission!! When I'm not working I'm studying. There is so much to learn and so little time. 

I have also been able to see  that my current companion and I were placed together for a specific reason! Perhaps more than one. I've started to notice that I've become more assertive, more firm in my convictions and ideas because of her! And that is neat to me because that is an aspect of my personality I have wanted to develop more. I am in turn able to help her be a sweeter and softer comp. We have learned much about each other's personalities, especially about our own, and we are good friends! :)  It's amazing to me that these experiences of a mission are helping me become who I really am (if that makes any sense!).

Here's something I observed in my studies this week. Turn to 1 Nephi 17:13, which reads: "And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments." I like that this is a conditional statement. I imagined God saying this to me. God can do so much for us, He can make more out of us that we ever could on our own. Yet, He will never force Himself upon us. We must invite Him into our lives by the way we live. I also love 1 Nephi 20:10. If you are going through a challenging time right now, this is for you! 

This email has become much too long!

Love you all, and have a great week!!!!

Love,

Sister Lacey Woods

Yoho, It's 3 Below!! (Week 44)

Hello Everyone!!!

Oh my goodness it is FREEZING. It is 3 below, the coldest I've ever seen, and I haven't even seen the worst of it. January just started after all! It is the weirdest sensation to breathe in through your nose and have your nose hairs freeze. Needless to say I am grateful for my giant coat. It has been a great week! 

Actually, it has been a very awkward week! Very funkward. Allow me to explain. :) 

First I have to inform you all about the most amazing lake in all of Wisconsin. Actually, this one is found in Minnesota I believe. Lake Winnebagosh!! Say it and it will make your day better, trust me. 

So there we were. We were at a dinner appointment at the Osmers'. We were talking about what Adam and Eve did for 900 years and Brother Osmer said: "They had children!!" Bahahaha. 

Also, we had a very successful week. As i've mentioned before we are starting something called missionary moments this year. So, we have been going around telling the members about it and trying to get them to sign up for a specific day of the month on our calendar. Well, we have 4 people signed up so far!!! :D I'm so excited, it will be so great! 

We are also teaching SIster Hoffman's daughter the lessons again. She was baptized when she was 10 and their family went less-active shortly thereafter so she doesn't remember anything. She has had a rough past few years being involved in drug addiction and alcohol. But she's ready to get to a better place and has been coming to church with her mom. She's so cool! Her mom, SIster Hoffman, is one of my favorites. She is pretty much the world's best fellowshipper and takes everyone under her wing. She is actually going through the temple for the first time pretty soon and getting her patriarchal blessing. We are hoping we will be able to attend one of those with her! (for those who might be unfamiliar with what these terms mean see lds.org. :)) 

Well, her daughter has a friend named Sam who we met and is really interested in hearing the lessons. SIster Hoffman told us this week that she heard Sam say "I could totally do this Mormon thing. I would totally give up pants!!! I could SO be a Mormon! " Bahahahahahahaha! Apparently she thinks that Mormons don't wear pants because Sister Peel and I don't. :)

By the way, Sister Peel told me that her brother, Orange, has a girl that he knows named Clementine. Think about it; a perfect match!!! I'm pretty sure this marriage is prearranged already. Clementine and Orange Peel! Perfect.

So back to the awkwardness of this week. A few weeks ago, out of the blue, one of our potential investigators, Jerry, called us and told us he wanted us to come over. We were like "um, okay!" So we did. And he was about to go to a church function so we couldn't stay but he told us to come back again and talk to him. So we did this week (we saw him walk across the street and he later told us he was too sick to talk.) So we stopped by again and this time he adjusted his hearty monitor and we started talking to him and he was like "Sorry I've gotta go to the bathroom. Diarrhea." And he left! Ahhhhh so much awkwardness! We died laughing it was crazy. We still have no idea why he wants us to come over but I'm dying to know. 

Then that same day, the awkward day, some people were yelling outside this house we had previously tracted "GIVE ME A BIBLE! I WANT A BIBLE!!!" I turned to Sister Peel and said: "this is why we need the members. So we don't have to follow up with crazies! :P" As soon as we acknowledged them they immediately got quiet. So funny! Haha, don't tempt us, we WILL give you one! :P 

We have this awesome lady named Marcy. I believe I've mentioned her before. 

This is the lady who keeps telling us "I still want to join. Don't give up on me!" She's said this twice now. Well we had an appointment with her at the church (coincidentally the same time as MLC) and she didn't show up! It was heartbreaking. Don't you know what you are doing to our hearts, Marcy? :P Haha.

I got to play for the elderly again at Evergreen at their church service. I totally winged it. There was a 15 year old girl who is amazing at the piano and she sightread the piano part to some cello music I've never played before and we performed it! Haha. And of course I sightread the hymns during the service.That was the most I've ever winged it, haha. Well, it made the people really happy and they enjoyed it so that was good. :) 

And this week we are performing another piece in church! Only this time it is starring Sister Peel!! That's right. It's her solo debut, her first time signing in public. Sister Moffitt and I will be playing as well, along with the stake president's wife on the piano. It should be fun!

And it looks like it's time to go now!! 

 :)

Love you all!!!

Sister Woods

Week 43

Hello, Everyone!

First of all, happy birthday to a certain Kent Woods!!! I hope it's a great day for you. :D 

So here's what happened this week!

On Christmas Eve we made a whole bunch of no-bake cookies and delivered them to lots of people. Actually, Sister Peel did (they rock!) and I made the cards. That seemed to be a much better use of time than tracting! #goawayitschristmas. Plus, the comp hasn't been feeling well. :(

Christmas was great!!! We were so tired that we opened all our presents in our beds, haha. Then we were invited to Bishop's house for a breakfast of belgian waffles, fruit and eggs. Oh, and homemade carmels but shhhh... I don't talk about those. :) There should be some pictures of facebook. Don't worry, I didn't put them there! :P

We did quite a few hours worth of caroling over at Evergreen.  I brought the cello with me and I played while SIster Peel and the elders sang. :D It was really fun! We traveled around to each of the little households and played for them. The old people were so cute! They were like "I know this song!"  Sister Peel is actually a really great singer. The elders are... not so much! :P And it's totally alright. But it was pretty funny: to mix things up a bit I played the alto line and the elders looked at Sister Peel, singing the melody, horrified that she was singing the wrong notes. Haha!! 

Then we went to the Kakuschkes and had skyping and dinner. The Jages were there as well and it was definitely a full house! It was so lovely to talk to my family!! :) Then we played board games! That kind of reminded me of being at home with my own family because that's just what we would have done! Except it wasn't Summoner Wars. 

It was definitely an amazing day!! 

BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER. My awesome Mom made me a blanket. #win. 

Oh and we have SO MANY LEFTOVERS. Also, I made breakfast casserole. :D 

The day after Christmas I turned 10 months old! Ahh I'm too old.

 So we were driving on a super sketchy back road and we hit a deer! It's the first time I've ever seen that happen. Luckily tee-wee was keeping us in  check and we weren't going too fast. We just broke its leg. :( It was probably Bambi's mom or something and we are in trouble. Luckily the car isn't very damaged. Just a lil' fur in the hood. #allgoodinthehood. :) 

Oh, and I got to play the piano guys arrangement " O Come O Come Emanuel" in sacrament meeting with Jared (who is going back to BYU Idaho next week :(). THis has been my Christmas piece for a few years in a row now. There was a video recorded that might be on facebook? :P It was super fun! Jared only had the music for a few days and we only rehearsed it twice but it turned out great. There were lots of very nice comments made. One lady in particular said she kept getting the chills. I was a bit concerned for her, haha, but I guess that means she liked it! :P One guy invited me to come play at his poetry reading club. That sounds like fun! :) I've also been asked by the nice pastor lady to play at the Sunday services at Evergreen this next Sunday. Yay, more gigs! :)

Oh, and we had another SCANLANOUS meeting at the Scanlons. #TMI. What I mean is It's one of those (frequent) times where people tell you a bunch of things you definitely didn't need to know about! It was pretty hilarious. The best and only thing to do is just smile and nod, I suppose! I love that family. :) Scandalous!

We are sad for Rachel, who is paralyzed and whose husband won't give her the necessary help to come to church. She is so sad about it!!! We keep praying for his heart to soften so she can pursue this. 

Paige is doing great!! She keeps telling us "I'm ready!!!" Did I tell you she set her own baptism date at the end of January? Ha. She is funny like that. But I'm sure glad I wasn't transferred so I will get to be here for her baptism. :D I'm pretty sure I don't ever want to leave this place!!! 

I'm learning so much I can't even describe it. No time and no room. :) 

Ahhh!

Love you all and hope you have a happy New Year!!!!

P.S. here is a smilie scripture: 2 Chronicles 5:12 :) 

P.S.S I love 2 Nephi 25:25-26.  I actually read verse 25 a bit differently this time: "we are made alive because of our faith in Christ." That is definitely true!!! :))

Love,

Sister Lacey Woods