New Comp and a GREAT BIRTHDAY

Hey everyone!! Thank you soo much for the birthday wishes and love. It was a great day! Well actually a really normal day..but all is well. We ate about 6 different times that day and we couldn't work the next day cause it made me sick haha so don't worry, I got well taken care of! We didn't have a baptism though..it fell through and I am still very sad about it. Satan just gets people sometimes...but we still have hope!

So changes were this week and I am staying in my area yay!! I LOVE my new comp...I always do but this one is really special. We were in the same zone when she started the mission. Her name is Hermana Mamani, from Peru. Up until now, every comp I've had has been from a different country, cool huh? We were sitting next to each other when they announced us as comps and we jumped up so excited! also...she's from a tiny town so she only eats fruit and get mad when I eat chocolate and coke..so the diet has officially begun! wooh hoo!

Today we had to take a surprise trip to the city...so I'm in Tegus right now and we have to go to take a 3 hour bus ride back to the south. My comp is getting glasses...not a fun Pday but thats okay! We are learning a lot and meeting tonssss of people now.

Also my ward mission leader (my BFF) he's a grandpa but we are seriously besties..anyway him and his wife surprised me with a chocolate cake on my birthday so I was the happiest girl ever! They don't have chocolate cake here...just 3 milk cake haha. Thank you for the love and support, I felt it this week. Have a great one!! 

Love, Hermana Woods! :)

Happy Birthday Jazzie!!!

Hey family and friends! Guess who is the birthday girl this week...Hermanaa Woods, sopresa!! haha I cant believe that I will be 20..I feel so old! I have done a lot of thinking this week and I am learning so much. I feel like I have hit my peak as a missionary. I now take things more seriously, love the people even more and hope I teach as Christ himself would want me to.

I was looking at my shoes this week that I have used for 9 months basically everyday and they are really worn out. So much so that it hurts every time I wear them, and at first that bothered me but now I am glad that it does. Any normal person would just look at them and think they're a worn out pair of shoes, but they are more than that to me. Because I have done so many things in these pair of not so cute missionary shoes... I have seen miracles, watched lives change, cried from feeling for these people, walked to many doors who have rejected us and even broken my foot in these shoes. I am so thankful for all that I have gone through so far and what I have ahead of me still.

This mission is full of amazing experiences! This week a sweet lady in our ward passed away. I was asked to give a talk at the funeral..I am not sure why they picked me, I honestly didn't know the lady, but I was honored to be a part of this day. I talked about the Plan of Salvation and how much God really does love us. I felt the spirit so strongly as I shared this message of happiness to a room full of people with tear filled eyes. I cried for these people as well because I genuinely feel a deep love for them. I finished my talk with a hymn by singing I need thee Every Hour and Lead Kindly Light and I felt the spirit so strongly. I know where that sweet hermana is and that she is better off where she is now. And that families really are together forever!

I love this gospel so much and I love being a missionary even more! This week we have changes again..so we will see what happens. Have a great week!and eat some birthday cake for me because good cake and ice cream don't exist here haha Love you all tons.

Hermana Woods :)

pics: my rockin sister shoes! and my daughters and I at the beach! we went there today and played volleyball, so fun!!

Damas et Caballeres

Hey friends and family! I seriously feel like I just blinked and now its Pday again...I am just confused as to what happened with the week. But all good things! Oh yeah, I know...we went to the temple this week! We took the 4  hour trip to the city to go and it was so great. It was so nice to feel the peace and love that is there. Its also great cause we take an 8 hour road trip with a bus full of missionaries, so its good bonding time.

This week I wanna talk about 2 girls who are way special, and really a miracle! There is a mom and a daughter, Herlinda and Neidy. Neidy is 16 and we've been teaching them for 2 weeks and she already wants to serve a misión! We seriously love them so much and its great teaching a mom and daughter who are so close, just how I am with my mom. I really do have more family here, who knew?

Also I went to visit Bessy and her family today beacause I just missed them so much. They live in the área over, but I went to surprise them and they were so excited! It wasn't the same cause I didn't have my Hermana Torres with me, but it was still fun. Bessy is having twins!! I told her to name one Jasmine and the other Woods hahah that would be sweet, huh? I love that family!!

Changes are next week and I will have a new comp...again! mine is going to El Salvador for her real misión. We will see what happens with this new transfer, Im feelin that it will be a good one. I LOVE being a missionary, there is seriously nothing better. Thank you for being my friends! have a great week :)

hermana Woods!

classy 5 star bathroom...road trip style. Thats how we wash our hands and flush the toilets haha I just had to share. Then pics of the temple and my favorite family!

Senora Santa

Heyy Team! I seriously can NOT believe that its adios 2014 and hollaaaa 2015. and I have news this missionary girl will be home this year haha yay! But dont worry...Im still not baggy to be home yet. There are still lives to brighten, hearts to touch and souls to save. Speaking of which I have a great story to tell this week!! well with what happened in the past 4 days. miracles still exist!!

So we are opening this area and we had to start from scratch on everythinggg except these 2 sweet, awesome kids named Montserath..Monse for short and Dustin. Monse just turned 13 and Dustin is 10. There are what we say pilas! Which is super awesome investigators who just love the gospel and understand everything. The first time I met Monse, I feel in love. This girl has a heart like I have never seen before. They live in one room and don have anything except eachother. There is a lack of love from the single mom but this girl has it all.

The thing is, is that these kids still faithfully believe in santa clause (WARNING if you are reading this and have little kids that believe...stop reading it to them haha) She wrote a letter to him and put it under her bed..and I said well of course you havent ever gotten a present cause Santa doesnt KNOW by magic where your letter is if there isnt a plate of cookies...you have to send it in the mail! So she gave me her letter and we mailed it...to my scrap book that I will keep forever. All she asked for this christmas was for peace and love in her home, that the kids without presents would get them, world peace and that the people without homes would have homes for that day....how sweet is that!

So we decided to be santa secretly and it was such a joy to see the looks on their face! I have never loved giving a gift more than this night that we had with them. They were overjoyed and I am so happy that they still have the christmas spirit with them! Then they gave a present to Jesus Christ as well. They were baptized two days later!!

This baptism was so special! Monse went first and then wanted to see her little brother so she comes running in and slips and falls and we all die laughing...but she says...it doesnt hurt, I dont feel a thing cause God helped me! then she stood there getting the whole chapel wet and we watched her brother. They really are the sweetest kids and I am so luck to have met them!

Sorry to write a novel today..but some miracles are just worth sharing! I love this work. happy new year and happy 9 months and half way mark to this girl!! love you all tons. 

hermana Woods! aka Señora Santa

Merry Christmas 2014

Merrryyyy Christmas to my favorite family and friends!! Happy Navidad today! I hope that everyone has a great day and spends it with their families. I got to talk to mine and it was so much fun! Now I get to help other people's families down here and thats just as fun. People celebrate Christmas here on the 24th so we already celebrated it.  But today  we are gonna have a christmas party with just our zone, so that'll be fun. 

I really have learned so much while i've been out here and a ton about our Savior Jesus Christ and his importance. If we want success in this life we need to go back to the basics, learn from the scriptures and follow his foot steps. Its easy to say but sometimes hard to do, but if we try our best, God will make up for the rest.

I love being a missionary!! I  love the mission so much. I cant believe that its christmas though... i STILL and will forever feel like we are int he heat of summer..but its okay cause it makes me less homesick. I hope everyone has a great day today though, and we'll see ya next Christmas!

So the traditions here for navidad are to eat tamales, pig and torejas which is like bread soaked in eggs with milk on top..sounds gross but its not that bad. The saddest thing is that everyone here in the south decided to buy a whole pig and eat that for christmas...so I had a pig friend for about 2 weeks and then it ended up on my plate last night, very sad! Not to mention...I was looking into a pot and SURPRISE!!! the pigs head was sitting there...I literally cried. everyone laughed but it was not all that funny to me! The other tradition is everyone and their mothers shoots off firreworks so from 12-1 we were listening to them. happy 4th of july??

I love you all so much, thank you for always writing me, it seriously means so much! go team woods!! have a great day and set some goals for the new year! Until next week :)

Hermana Woods!

pics: we made matching dresses for christmas and won best dressed at the christmas party..wel not really but at least I think so haha my comp hermana Pinel! then christmas night hangin out with my girls.

Dec 1, 2014 Doing Great

hey mom I love you so much! This week was honestly the week that changed my mission. I learned so much and most of all I learned that god is a god of miracles. We had two baptismal services this week and I have never prayed for anything harder in my life. Ill explain it in the group email cause I dont have a lot of time. Glad to hear everything is normal, happy december!! only 24 days and I get to talk to you...and I will cry. I made a voice recording for the family to explain what happened this week. I Love being a missionary. I love my comp more than ever too. She has seriously taught me and she told me that I changed this week for the better. And now I dont just teach to teach but through the spirit I say the things that the people need to hear. I know that Im supposed to be here right now and that Im not juist your average missionary. In the most humble way Ive learned this week that I have a lot of potential and that I have the ability to bring this light to other people. I love being a missionary!!! i love you :) Maybe like 50 should be good. or 100 cause I wanna buy some new shoes or if you wanna send me clarks for my birthday that would be perfect! thanks for everything. have fun in florida...remember when we went the three of us...8 years ago what the heck?! Im growing up :) but I love it. have a great week xoxoxo love Jazziegirl

Nov. 24, 2014 Thanksgiving

Hey family and friends, how are you all doin? I am alive, yay!! I didnt write last week because I was really sick but I am better now and back to work. This was a good week..well we are slowly getting back into the work but we are going to have baptisms this week yay! Glenda is getting baptized on Tuesday and we should have a few others on saturday. I love missionary work!

I dont really have anything super funny this week...except for that every family always watches the news called HCH and CholuVision...and since they're always giving sad news I always pretend to be the news girl and give good news. I have a voice and everything, and its in spanish which is even funnier. My comp calls me choluvision...haha and the people call me Goods still.

yesterday Hermana Torres cooked tacos and we had real mexican food...it was so great!! SHe studied cooking in new york for a year so you can imagine how great it was. Normally we just eat tortillas, beans and salty eggs..and weird chicken. So I was real happy yesterday!

We went to the river again this week to help our friends wash their clothes..well we just made sure they were safe and I got eaten by ants again. This area is sooo sweet! We live at the foot of really pretty mountains. and its a really rural area..animals every where. The people are so humble and its sooo hot here! It's hotter than Arizona...but all is well!

Im really happy here :) I love the mission! Im almost half way done its crazy...but I gotta get off cause we're writing in the stake center and allll the elders and hermanas are in this small room and we are about to watch frozen...in english yay!!! Happy Jazzie :) love and miss you tons! have a great week and happy thanksgiving!

hermana Woods!