Team Woods Unite!

Hey family and friends! happy late mothers day to all my favorite moms out there! It was soooo much fun talking to my family yesterday :) I cant believe that was the LAST time. I feel like I have been here for ever, but I haven't felt the time go by at all! I have enjoyed every bit of my mission so far and I am bummed that I have such short time left. Just gotta live it up! 

Yesterday was crazy... apart from being in the ward choir, walking an hour under the blazing sun to eat lunch...forgetting the phone and having to walk back another hour..we get to our house and it was flooding!!! We accidentally left the shower faucet thing on (we had to use buckets of water in the morning cause there wasn't running water) and there was water EVERYWHERE. then we got to go home and let all the stress out by talking to the fam. Everyone looks so old, but other than that everything's normal.

Im still the happy Jazzie that Ive always been. But now I feel like I am Jazzie 2.0 haha. I am learning and getting better every single day. We changed our attitudes about the area and we are finally seeing progress. There are people who are prepared in every area..we just need to find them. Another thing Ive learned it that we need to always have an attitude of gratitude. I could be really sad that we live in a poor area..but i am happier than ever because we are so blessed. One day I swear Im gonna come back here and help these people. 

I am also reading Jesus the Christ and it is my new obsession. I am learning so much! I have grown to love the scriptures instead of thinking of it as an obligation. If you have the scrips, read em! and if not...get them. 

I love you all! Thank you for everything, have a great week! 

hermana Woods :)

Mother's Day

Mother's Day! We laughed and laughed and laughed! She is just as funny as ever. She is doing amazing. She was so touched when we told her that you said hi! She is happy, happy, happy. Her sweet companions, all Latinas, love her and call her mom. She is so cute with her companions and fun. It is a joy for them to be working together. She brings light and the gospel to many every day. She takes a shower by sitting on a bucket and pouring water over her head. She teaches people by sitting on buckets in their homes. She is living in severe poverty and learning so many great qualities and life lessons. She is using every talent she ever even sort of developed like the piano and next week she is performing the flute for a talent show! She hasn't picked up a flute since 8th grade. She is also performing a solo in Spanish for the mayor and city council. She sang a bit and it was beautiful. She is not homesick one bit, she has learned her worth, she loves her scriptures and the Lord. What a blessing this mission has been for her! Don't you worry, she is still the same Jazzie, just on an upgraded model!
We Love Her!!!!!

Talked to 100 People!

hey team! Sorry I didnt write last week... Its just because time is going by way fast and I feel like it is always pday haha and I just didnt really feel like writing..but here I am and things are going really well! Its really interesting how that works..some days just suck and are so hard and when I am just about to scream and give up. I say a prayer. God listens. Then we see miracles. Its that simple!

We met so many great people this week. We talked to 100 people and out of them I feel like 5 people will get baptized, but thats how it always is I think. We met 2 little twin boys and their mom and they are so great! They already have testimonies of everything and we only taught them twice, and they went to church. Then we have Leslie who has been needing to get married for 3 months and her husband finally changed his mind and they are getting married and baptized the end of this month woo hoo! We had a family night there on monday, roasted marshmellows and she told us the news! 

We had a general authority come last week, Elder Ochoa hes from the 70 and it  was so great.  he brought such a great spirit there and we learned so much. We are really working on finding the chosen people who are ready to change. our mission is getting a lot better and I love being with hermana Martinez. She is learning really quickly! 

We did divisions this week and I went with Hermana Young, shes one of my favorite gringas! It started pouring rain out of no where so its back to walking through rivers and its awesome! I am also doing insanity so thats killing me but I love it. Oh yeah, and I am practicing playing the flute for a performance that we are doing with the stake..so thats just hilarious cause I havent played that thing since 8th grade...

hmm what else? well yesterday was sunday and we forgot to buy food...so we literally ate just eggs and wheat bread for lunch and dinner...maybe thats why I am getting skinnier haha gotta love honduras. I love this mission!!! happy jazzie. happy mission life. Have a great week! and MOM and family I will see you on sunday. Happy mothers day to all my favorite ladies! 

Love, Hermana Woods

April 27, 2015 Skinnypants

Date: April 27, 2015 at 3:00:23 PM MST

Subject: Re: Great Week!

Dear Family, Jazzie only wanted to write to me and Todd this week. We have challenged each other to go off soda and caffine. She is way ahead of me by about two months. But we are both feeling great! This is the last part of her letter that she wrote. 

okay I love you! also Im Jazzie skinny pants wooh hoo! I HAVE GONE MORE THAN 2 months without coke...thats a huge victory!!! im gonna go by a blender and some protein. I cant wait to go to the temple with you wooh hoo. If you loved me before, youll love me even ,more when I see you in 5 months wooh hoo!!!! xoxoxoxoxo

April 20 On to the next adventure!

Date: April 20, 2015 at 3:51:57 PM MST

Subject: On to the next adventure!

From

Hey team, so here´s the update..my comp left and now Im training again wooh hoo! My comp is Hermana Martinez from Guatemala, she is so tiny that people always ask her if she´s 13..15 if they´re being generous..but shes 21 haha also it doesnt help that I am super tall. The people here have no problem telling me that I´m a giant either haha but I just tell them that I am super normal!

Things are going really well though. It really amazes me that I get more happy every single week! I really hope that its like that when I get back to the real world. We are opening the area and so we don´t really have a ton to work with right now, but we will this week. We are putting on a performance for the city at the end of May and we started practices yesterday, all the missionaries from my zone are participating, its gonna be sweet! Im the soloist..but Im a little nervous cause I have to memorize the song in spanish and Its reallyyy high, and hard but Im excited! 

News of the week....I ate cow tongue. and it was gross! The little girl next to me quietly whispers to me that it was cow tongue and I just pictured a big ol cow mooing with his tongue all slobbery...not a good picture. So needless to say, I said thanks but no thanks hhaa. On another note, I am teaching the people here how to make tortillas because they have no idea. Everyone still is in shock at the singing gringa who can make tortillas.

I love being a missionary!! We will have a great week again this week, I know it. Thank you for all the love and support. I hope all his well with everyone :) sorry there are no pics today, Ill get on that next week! adios!

Hermana Woods!

April 13, 2015 Better Days

hey team, this week was way better than the last one! And it went by soooo fast that I don't even know what to say haha but all is well! My comp and I are having a lot of fun, even though I think that she will have transfers this week and I will have my 8th companion..I am always changing comps but its great to get to meet new people! so far I have had companions from Arizona, Bolivia, Panama, Mexico, Honduras, Peru and Guatemala. Kinda cool, huh? I love all my companions, they have been so great! Ill keep you posted with who my next one is, next week! But I think that I will be staying in this area. 

I am in Danli and in the middle of the mountains. Its not too hot and its not too cold. There is a lot of poverty here though, so very sad but living right in the middle of it I think that I get used to it. Its the way of life for the people here. And the only way I can help is spiritually, which I think is the best way. Also there are two giant mountains with Crosses at the top so its not too hard to know where I am. My area is pretty small, but its rough because its only mountains and stairs! Its such a different world from the south and the city. But the missionary work is all the same! There are good days, really bad days, and awesome days. I feel like its just like real life too. Thats why I just try to always look at the positive side of things, smile and keep on keepin on! 

the only other things that happened this week are that my comp had a birthday! I made her breakfast honduras style...eggs, beans, tortillas, plateno which is kinda like banana and hot chocolate..yum haha I am so over the food here but only 6 months left then I will be back in the good ol USA..wishing that I was still in Honduras with my little best friends here. 

Life is good, the mission is great and I am happy! Thank you for all your support and if you are reading this, for keeping up with your favorite missionary girl :) here's to another week of miracles! Until next time

From Michelle: These dresses Jazzie and her companion and the kids are wearing are from a school project my friends daughter did at her high school global studies. We helped her make and sent over 50 dresses to Jazzie in Honduras for her to give out to the struggling families there.

Hermana Woods

1 YEAR OUT

Hey family and friends, I am here to announce that I have officially left the good ol´South, Choluteca and hit the mountains! I am now in Danli and its a mix of the city and the south region. Its just like my first area! Just besides that fact that this area is a lot more poor, and its more city like. Our mission has 3 regions and they are all so different from each other. This week was full of so many challenges, but in the midst of them, I got to go to the temple, meet another amazing comp and listen to our beloved Prophet and leaders to be spiritually filled for the next 6 months. I LOVED general conference! And I am sure that everyone who watched it felt the same. 

SO this week I hit my year mark! Wooh hoo!! well...I spent the entire day sleeping because I got really reallyyyy sick. But the cute hermanas here brought me a cupcake and it made everything better! Its been a year full of many things:

A year being Hermana Woods, Boots, and Goods

A year full of drinking out of bags of water

A year full of washing my clothes by hand

A year full of speaking, praying, and singing in only spanish

A year full of making best friends

A year full of helping seeing lives change

A year of only communicating with my family and friends via email

A year without technology, music and iphone apps

A year with studying the Bible and the Book of Mormon daily

A year getting to know my Heavenly Father

A year representing our Savior Jesus Christ.

It has really been the best year of my life! I have so many more experiences ahead of me in these last 6 months. These next few will be full of challenges, but I am ready to take them head on! I have the worlds best support team. I have Jesus Christ by my side. What else do I need? I love it here and I wish everyone could have an experience like this! 

Thank you for all the love and support, here´s to a better week and more  miracles! Until next time :)

Hermana Woods!

heres pics of a giant nametag that I found. A pic of us at conference with my mom Hermana Rodriguez, she goes home next week and we are sooo sad about it!