Well here is the plan for the next couple of days. Tomorrow, we drive up to the mission office and then head up to Kirtland for the afternoon. We get to go through there one more time and go to the School of the Prophets. Following that, we head to the mission home and have dinner there and I don't know what else, but then the departing interviews happen then. We spend the night in the mission home and then head to the airport after breakfast Thursday morning. President and Sister Brown are going to be around until the 29th of June and they fly home. They get to spend the last week moving stuff out of the mission home and getting things ready for themselves to go. Their homecoming talk is going to be on July 15th and I'm planning on going to that. As for transfers, Elder Luckett is staying as expected and he is going to be companions with the other missionary in Medina. Because of the shortage of missionaries coming out, they are combining the areas so they are just going to be companions. They will have the whole ward to themselves, and everything will move forward. We kind of expected it to happen so it was too much of a surprise, but they also told us that our apartment was also going to be closed. So we have to get everything cleaned and moved out to the other elders apartment before tonight, so we spent some time doing that yesterday because it has taken a lot of time.
This last week went by really quickly and it doesn't even feel like any time went by. I thought it might feel like a long time, but it flew by, just like the last two years. Did some service and had exchanges with our zone leaders and help them find a couple of new people to teach. We were walking around and talked with a lot of people and one of them told us to come back the next day and so we did. We were able to teach her and talk to her about the Book of Mormon and about the church. She is a super cool lady and like to talk, but was really interested in reading the book of Mormon. It was a good day all around and we were invited to go to Institute that night and fellowship with the young single adults, and there were a couple of people from Youngstown there that I got to see and fellowship with the young single adults, and there were a couple of people from Youngstown there that I got to see again. But that's about it for my last email to ya, I'll see you in a couple of days! It's been two years and it's time to go. I've had the time of my life and I know the OCM was the place for me. The mission's now just a memory. Ohio is a great place, and lots of good things have happened here.
Love, Elder Woodward
.
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Friday, June 15, 2018
Medina, Ohio - June 13, 2018
Another week gone in what seems like the blink of an eye! It's crazy how fast time goes by out here, and every week comes and goes and it's hard to remember what we did each day. But I do remember that last week was a good week for us here in the good old land of Medina! Thursday we had a meeting with our zone and a member of the mission presidency on some specific things the stake leaders would like us to do to help them know more about the people we are teaching and different members in the ward, and that's mostly the reason why we got the technology that we have. Makes things easier if it's used correctly. Afterwards, we were driving home and made a spur of the moment decision to treat ourselves to Buffalo Wild Wings. Never a bad decision I might add. We had some time before we were going on exchanges with the district leader, so we got our stuff together and headed over there. They only live about 5 minutes away so not a super long trip. Had a good day with that, and after dinner Elder SopeƱa and I were helping at a member's house dig in their backyard to do some work for them, and that was some hard work because the ground was so hard. You use a pick axe to loosen up the dirt and then shovel it into the wheelbarrow, but you can use the pick axe for too long because then the dirt gets loosened up and there's too much dirt for it to be effective. It was a fun time though. Friday was the end of the exchanges and it was a slower afternoon, but we ended it with some super amazing ice cream. Can't go wrong with ice cream. Had our Book of Mormon Study at the church with people from the ward and anyone we are teaching can come, so there were a few people at that this last week.
Saturday was the day we were looking forward to because we found a bunch of people that all told us to come back on Saturday. We had the potential to find 7 new people to teach, but like most of the time in missionary work, that didn't work out perfectly. There was one guy that we talked with for a long time on Monday, gave him a Book of Mormon and when we went back, he said he had read quite a bit of it and learned a lot of new things. We talked for a while again and were able to teach him a little bit more and talk about church, and he said he wanted to come to it this upcoming Sunday. So hopefully he is there. Most of the other people didn't answer or were busy, and there was another person that said for us to come back on Sunday instead. We went back and she let us right in and so we were able to talk to her for a little bit and she said she would want to come to church too this Sunday, so we might have two people at church this week! That would be a blessing for us if it happens. It was a good end to last week.
Like I mentioned last week, we have quite a few service opportunities this week. One of them was on Monday and it is at the local Salvation Army, and every weekday through the summer starting on Monday, they are having free lunch for anyone between 0 and 18. So they needed a few volunteers and we were able to go and help since we volunteer there quite often. It just started so it was a little bit of a slower day, but we were able to help grill some crazy good grilled cheese and made hot dogs and other random stuff to go along with them. Sadly I won't be able to help there a ton, but it was good being able to be there and helping out others that are in need, helps you to remember what we have that we take for granted. And then yesterday, we got to help a member in our area do some yard work. Her husband was the one that passed away a few weeks ago that the funeral was last week, and she is a super great lady. We had dinner there and then she had a bunch of big rocks about the size of a soccer ball delivered to her house and we were able to move them from her driveway to one of the planters in her backyard to make a border around it. It was more work than we thought it was going to be because the wheel barrow had a flat tire, so it was a lot of back and forth trips, but we had a blast. Her 8 year old great-grandson was there and he really wanted to help us, so he was what kept it fun. He would get a rock that he could carry, and then we would get one rock for both hands, and then he wanted to race back and forth to see who could get places faster, so we were just running back and forth carrying a bunch of extra weight. It was a good workout and we were exhausted after, but it was fun and it kept him busy too. We took a little break to play some basketball with no hoop (don't ask, we just had fun) and then finished the project. He's a super cool kid and loves the missionaries, comes to church every week with his great grandma and is so funny. Good to be around him, and he even asked if he could wear my nametag, so I let him. And it wasn't super hot, wasn't raining, just perfect to be doing that kind of work.
It's almost to the end of my time here, gotta save some stuff to write about next week, so I'll save some more for then! One more week and I will be getting my last tour through Kirtland as a missionary and seeing old companions again, and then flying home! Can't believe it's already that time!
Love,
Elder Woodward
Saturday was the day we were looking forward to because we found a bunch of people that all told us to come back on Saturday. We had the potential to find 7 new people to teach, but like most of the time in missionary work, that didn't work out perfectly. There was one guy that we talked with for a long time on Monday, gave him a Book of Mormon and when we went back, he said he had read quite a bit of it and learned a lot of new things. We talked for a while again and were able to teach him a little bit more and talk about church, and he said he wanted to come to it this upcoming Sunday. So hopefully he is there. Most of the other people didn't answer or were busy, and there was another person that said for us to come back on Sunday instead. We went back and she let us right in and so we were able to talk to her for a little bit and she said she would want to come to church too this Sunday, so we might have two people at church this week! That would be a blessing for us if it happens. It was a good end to last week.
Like I mentioned last week, we have quite a few service opportunities this week. One of them was on Monday and it is at the local Salvation Army, and every weekday through the summer starting on Monday, they are having free lunch for anyone between 0 and 18. So they needed a few volunteers and we were able to go and help since we volunteer there quite often. It just started so it was a little bit of a slower day, but we were able to help grill some crazy good grilled cheese and made hot dogs and other random stuff to go along with them. Sadly I won't be able to help there a ton, but it was good being able to be there and helping out others that are in need, helps you to remember what we have that we take for granted. And then yesterday, we got to help a member in our area do some yard work. Her husband was the one that passed away a few weeks ago that the funeral was last week, and she is a super great lady. We had dinner there and then she had a bunch of big rocks about the size of a soccer ball delivered to her house and we were able to move them from her driveway to one of the planters in her backyard to make a border around it. It was more work than we thought it was going to be because the wheel barrow had a flat tire, so it was a lot of back and forth trips, but we had a blast. Her 8 year old great-grandson was there and he really wanted to help us, so he was what kept it fun. He would get a rock that he could carry, and then we would get one rock for both hands, and then he wanted to race back and forth to see who could get places faster, so we were just running back and forth carrying a bunch of extra weight. It was a good workout and we were exhausted after, but it was fun and it kept him busy too. We took a little break to play some basketball with no hoop (don't ask, we just had fun) and then finished the project. He's a super cool kid and loves the missionaries, comes to church every week with his great grandma and is so funny. Good to be around him, and he even asked if he could wear my nametag, so I let him. And it wasn't super hot, wasn't raining, just perfect to be doing that kind of work.
It's almost to the end of my time here, gotta save some stuff to write about next week, so I'll save some more for then! One more week and I will be getting my last tour through Kirtland as a missionary and seeing old companions again, and then flying home! Can't believe it's already that time!
Love,
Elder Woodward
Thursday, June 7, 2018
Medina, Ohio - June 6, 2018
Well another week has come and gone and not exactly sure what happened. It was a good week though. After the nice warm last week, it cooled down and it's not very warm right now, but it's warming up again in the next few days. It rained a bunch like normal at this time of year in Ohio, and life is good. We've been doing service and staying busy, knocking on people's doors, and we have a bunch of appointments set up for Saturday, so pray that they work out for us!
There was a member from the ward that passed away a week ago and his funeral was on Monday. We went to it and we were able to talk with some of their family members that weren't members of the church and they had a bunch of questions about the church. We were able to sit with them at lunch and talk to then and answer their questions and they said they want to learn more. They don't live in our area, but it's a good thing that we were there at the funeral and were able to talk with them.
We have a lot of things coming up the rest of this week and next week with exchanges and service projects that will make these last few days fly by. Still talking with Frank on the phone and he's doing well, life is good out here. Two more weeks!
Love,
Elder Woodward
Friday, June 1, 2018
Medina, Ohio - May 30, 2018
You know how everyone says "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite"? Well growing up, I always just thought that bed bugs were a fake thing that people talked about. Lo and behold, they are not fake, but they actually do exist. And they come out in full force in the summer here in Ohio. They just don't live out in Utah because it's too dry out there and they need humidity. They really are nasty little creatures that are super hard to see, hide in your bed, then at night come out, suck your blood, leave marks all over you, and then lay like a million eggs for more to continue on. They sneak through outlets in apartment buildings to get to adjoining apartments, just things you don't really want to mess with. Or let into your house. So, over the weekend, we were meeting with someone and part way through our lesson, I looked down at my pants and saw a little bit crawling on me and it kind of looked like a bed bug, so I flicked it off and kind of freaked out a little bit. A few minutes later, there was another bug crawling on me, and one that was crawling up my leg and was on the top of my socks. Luckily, Elder Luckett is a master with bed bugs because he has had them a few times on his mission, and he knew exactly what they were. So then after we left, we made sure to go and change and put our clothes in the dryer and give a thorough inspection of our clothes and shoes and there was a little stow away on my shoes try ing to find a new home. We got it all taken care of and haven't got them, so I think we are all good. But it was scary when it happened because they don't go away.
But other than that, we had a pretty good week. Interviews last week with President and Sister Brown at the mission home and it was really sad because it is the last time that most missionaries will get to see them before they go home. If they aren't getting transferred then it is the last time for them, so it was sad for just about everyone. Luckily they will still be here when I leave, so it wasn't super sad for me, just everyone else. We got an updated map of the surrounding missions so you can see what will happen with the changes. After that, we went on exchanges and I was with the district leader and we had a good time. Did a lot of work, and at the end there is a guy that they have been talking to that completely redid a 1971 Monte Carlo and he gave us a ride in it around town and it was so cool! Had about 450 horsepower and he did a couple of burnouts, and it was way cool.
It rained a bunch last week and then jumped up to the 90s on Monday and yesterday making a very warm memorial day and I think it set a record for temperature in May. Kind of crazy to go from winter to full blown summer so fast, but that's how it is out here. Only a few weeks of spring. There was a family that invited us to their memorial day party on Monday that we went to and there were a ton of people there but they had a ton of food.
Our investigator Stephen moved out of the blue so we don't know where he is or what he's doing, so it's kind of a bummer because he was super cool, and the holiday weekend kind of messes up a lot of things, so we weren't able to see a ton of people, but still had a good week out here. Life is good, just like always.
See ya in three weeks!
But other than that, we had a pretty good week. Interviews last week with President and Sister Brown at the mission home and it was really sad because it is the last time that most missionaries will get to see them before they go home. If they aren't getting transferred then it is the last time for them, so it was sad for just about everyone. Luckily they will still be here when I leave, so it wasn't super sad for me, just everyone else. We got an updated map of the surrounding missions so you can see what will happen with the changes. After that, we went on exchanges and I was with the district leader and we had a good time. Did a lot of work, and at the end there is a guy that they have been talking to that completely redid a 1971 Monte Carlo and he gave us a ride in it around town and it was so cool! Had about 450 horsepower and he did a couple of burnouts, and it was way cool.
It rained a bunch last week and then jumped up to the 90s on Monday and yesterday making a very warm memorial day and I think it set a record for temperature in May. Kind of crazy to go from winter to full blown summer so fast, but that's how it is out here. Only a few weeks of spring. There was a family that invited us to their memorial day party on Monday that we went to and there were a ton of people there but they had a ton of food.
Our investigator Stephen moved out of the blue so we don't know where he is or what he's doing, so it's kind of a bummer because he was super cool, and the holiday weekend kind of messes up a lot of things, so we weren't able to see a ton of people, but still had a good week out here. Life is good, just like always.
See ya in three weeks!
Elder Woodward
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Medina, Ohio - May 23, 2018
This week has been so good, but it feels like it has gone on forever! But it's always good being here in Ohio. Transfers happened last week and like I said last week my new companion is Elder Luckett. He is from Grand Junction, Colorado and has four younger sisters, been out 16 months now. He is a super funny guy so we have been having a lot of laughs. He also plays the piano and was in the marching bad in his school, so he's played a few instruments in his time. It's also been good because his first area was Tiffin so we spent quite some time talking about that area and all the people that are there. Brought back a lot of good memories, still wishing that I got to finish off there, but Medina is good.
As soon as everyone got figured out what was happening with the mission splitting, they decided they were going to change it all up. So instead of the Toledo stake going to the Cincinnati mission and Youngstown going to Pittsburgh, now the Toledo and Cleveland Stake will join with the Michigan Detorit Mission and the Akron, Kirtland, and Youngstown Stakes are going to join with the Columbus mission. Not what was expected a little while ago, but that's what it's going to be now.
We had our mission conference on Monday with Elder Snow that I mentioned last week, and it was really good. He talked about a lot of different things, and it was all really good and insightful. Also saw a lot of other missionaries that it will be the last time I see them out here, so it was kind if sad at the same time.
The good news for this last week though is that we found 3 new investigators! One of them was a referral we got a couple of weeks ago that we called and texted and knocked on her door and left a card but apparently she didn't get any of the messages, so she said she was kind of giving up on us. But we were able to catch her at home one day and we talked with her for a little bit about the Book of Mormon. Then there was a former investigator that we went to see and he is really open and wants to come to church, but we also taught his new roommate who just moved on 4 days before we went to their house. He's a younger guy that said he wants to find a church and was really open to what we said. So things got a little bit better this last week.
Life is good, random storms come out of nowhere and soak us and then disappear, but that's how Ohio is! Such a good place. Doing some service for some people, having a good time, loving life. Interviews tomorrow and exchanges, then life like normal for another week! Gonna be good and gonna be warm! That's about it for this week, talk to you next week!
Love,
Elder Woodward
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Medina, Ohio - May 15, 2018
Well another week has come and gone and it's the week of transfers. So I'll start off with the news for you. For my last transfer, Elder Sargent is going to be leaving and I'm going to be getting a new companion. Elder Sargent is heading out to Toledo and my new companion is Elder Luckett. Don't know much about him, but I do know that he came out last February, the same time that Elder Weekes did when I trained for the first time. So he's been out for a few months past a year. And he will be my last companion, so it's pretty crazy. I'll be staying here in Medina for that time unless something crazy comes up and I move for a short time.
I can't remember if I told you about us going to play tennis last week, but for a district activity we went and had a good time out in the sun playing tennis and got sunburned, but it was good. This week just went by really fast and it doesn't even feel like it's been a week, and this transfer has honestly felt more like just an exchange with Elder Sargent. It's been crazy. We had a few things to do and exchanges with our district leader on Friday, so that also might be a reason why the week went by quick. We had a big service project come up for us that is going to take quite some time. There were some members that decided to cut down all the trees in their backyard and needed some help cleaning up, so we helped them a little bit. It seemed like we did a lot, but then every time we turned around and saw how much more we had to do, it felt like we had done nothing. So there's a lot of work to do.
There's a district picture of us from yesterday for ya. Also, we are having a mission conference this next Monday and Elder Snow of the Seventy and his wife will be coming to visit us out here. So that's happening on Monday up at the mission office, and then on Thursday next week we are having interviews with President Brown, and since this is the last transfer of them being here, they are doing all the interviews at the mission home. This is going to be most missionaries last interview with them, but I'm in the lucky group that gets to have two more interviews with them. Something kind of special they are doing so everyone can have one last interview at the mission home I think. That's really about all I got for you guys, so ya. Have a good week!
Love,
I can't remember if I told you about us going to play tennis last week, but for a district activity we went and had a good time out in the sun playing tennis and got sunburned, but it was good. This week just went by really fast and it doesn't even feel like it's been a week, and this transfer has honestly felt more like just an exchange with Elder Sargent. It's been crazy. We had a few things to do and exchanges with our district leader on Friday, so that also might be a reason why the week went by quick. We had a big service project come up for us that is going to take quite some time. There were some members that decided to cut down all the trees in their backyard and needed some help cleaning up, so we helped them a little bit. It seemed like we did a lot, but then every time we turned around and saw how much more we had to do, it felt like we had done nothing. So there's a lot of work to do.
There's a district picture of us from yesterday for ya. Also, we are having a mission conference this next Monday and Elder Snow of the Seventy and his wife will be coming to visit us out here. So that's happening on Monday up at the mission office, and then on Thursday next week we are having interviews with President Brown, and since this is the last transfer of them being here, they are doing all the interviews at the mission home. This is going to be most missionaries last interview with them, but I'm in the lucky group that gets to have two more interviews with them. Something kind of special they are doing so everyone can have one last interview at the mission home I think. That's really about all I got for you guys, so ya. Have a good week!
Love,
Elder Woodward
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Medina, Ohio - May 9, 2018
Well this week was good, just like every other week it seems. Went by quick and doesn't feel like it's Wednesday already. For this Sunday, we are planning on calling at or around 5:30 or 6pm. Hopefully that works out for you guys. So 3:30 to 4 ish your time. I'm guessing you can get it all figured out with the other children elsewhere in the United States so it's easy to call, right? Ok, that'd be fantastic.
So on to this week, last week we had zone conference on Thursday which was really good. It was kind of a spiritual smack in the face with some of the stuff that was talked about, but just like always it's good to see President and Sister Brown. Even though it's close to the end, there was still a lot of good things that we learned. We got back a little late in the evening, so we didn't have much time before we were driving out to our zone leaders to go on exchanges which was good. They had some ghetto areas that we were in and it reminded me of Youngstown so much. Such a good place out there. It was a little weird though because I've got use to Medina and I felt really out of place there, but got use to it.
Saturday we got to do a little service project for a member here and we were able to do some landscaping for her. Covered up some grass and then dug some holes which I've decided I've become pretty good at because we do it so much, then planted some bushes and put mulch around it all. The member took some pictures so I'm gonna send them to you too. And some pictures from exchanges and a good looking sunset. Did more service for some other members weeding and mowing their lawn yesterday. It's been a week of service, and we got some more calls yesterday for more service opportunities coming up in the future.
We're still talking with Frank who we took to Kirtland three times a week and he is doing well, living the Word of Wisdom, so he's awesome. I've had some allergies the last few days since Saturday so it's been interesting and I always feel sick, but I think it's getting better? Not quite sure though. Sore throat, stuffed nose, all that good allergies stuff. Or it's a cold cuz I also have a cough, but I don't know. We'll see if I get better or not. Also, next week is transfers and Elder Sargent is probably going to be leaving. Going to be emailing on Tuesday with the transfer news, so keep that in mind! 6 more weeks.
Love,
Elder Woodward
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Medina, Ohio - May 2, 2018
Well it has been a great week for us out here this last week. It's finally warmed up for sure after one last cold day (not sure if it's going to last), we had exchanges, and we got to go up to Kirtland with Frank! Since we emailed on Thursday, I guess I'll start with Friday and fill you in on what happened since then.
So we had exchanges on Friday with our district leader and it was a good time. It was nice outside and there was a lady that was moving out of our ward that we got to go and help in the morning, and then we treated ourselves to 5 guys afterwards. There weren't a ton of people there to help her move, but she just had a small apartment so there was the perfect number of people there with her and the four of us and her two sons that came from Utah and a member in the ward. Didn't take a super long time, and we got loaded up with food at the end of it from her freezer. Afterwards, we went to a nursing home and helped to scoop ice cream for the people living there. Every Friday, they give everyone ice cream, so we walk around throughout the halls and scoop it for them and old people are so great! I love them haha. Then in the evening, we started a Book of Mormon Study class at the church for anyone to come to and it had a slow start, but we're doing it every week so hopefully it gets rolling! There were a few people there and we were able to read the Book of Mormon and talk about it and ask questions and all learn from one another. It was a pretty good day.
But it was nothing compared to Saturday! It was supposed to be raining on Saturday and many prayers were said so that it didn't rain, and it didn't rain! It was just a bit chilly, but we took it over the rain. We also got to meet Frank for the first time (normally we just call him on the phone to have our lessons because he drives semi truck all over the place) and he is sooooo funny! We got to spend a day with him and he is full if so many good stories. We drove up to the Johnson Farm first for the spring festival, but it wasn't very spring like weather so not a ton of people were there. But we were there and that's what mattered! Since it was a spring festival, they did something a little different for the tour of the Johnson Farm. Instead of the sisters taking us through and describing the events that happened there, they had people dressed up as John and Elsa Johnson and some of their kids as well as Joseph Smith and they were telling their stories and the experiences that occurred there. It was an experience that not many people get, and the people we were there with really enjoyed it. We even went on the hay ride they had and almost froze, but got to go around on some the land they have out there. From there we hopped on up to Kirtland and almost made it to the temple for a tour, but they closed 5 minutes before we got there, so we went down to the visitor center and got a tour there. We were the only people there at the time, so our tour was not rushed at all. Normally there's a little rushing to it because there's another group not far behind you, but we had a lot more time than normal. My favorite part of the whole day was when we were in the School of the Prophets in the upstairs of the Newell K Whitney Store and since there was no one behind us, we just got to sit there. I don't know how long we were in there but, it wasn't long enough. We were talking about so many different things in there and the spirit there was so strong. Knowing of the significance in that room and then sitting there really was amazing. We were up in Kirtland for quite some time, but once again, it was a great time and good experience. Then we ended the night at Buffalo Wild wings, so a great way to end the day off, followed by church the next day.
Other than that, it's missionary work as usual. We just had a really really good weekend. We didn't have district meeting on Monday because it's already time for zone conference again, and that's tomorrow. Then we have exchanges with our zone leaders on Friday, so it's gonna be another good weekend.
The birthday was good. Thanks for all the birthday wishes! We just had a normal day of missionary work ahead of us, helped do some service at a members house, enjoyed the warm weather and got a little bit of sun. It was a good day, and we had bean burritos at a members house. But ya, it was a good day. Thanks again! Here's some pictures of our trip to Kirtland.
Love,
So we had exchanges on Friday with our district leader and it was a good time. It was nice outside and there was a lady that was moving out of our ward that we got to go and help in the morning, and then we treated ourselves to 5 guys afterwards. There weren't a ton of people there to help her move, but she just had a small apartment so there was the perfect number of people there with her and the four of us and her two sons that came from Utah and a member in the ward. Didn't take a super long time, and we got loaded up with food at the end of it from her freezer. Afterwards, we went to a nursing home and helped to scoop ice cream for the people living there. Every Friday, they give everyone ice cream, so we walk around throughout the halls and scoop it for them and old people are so great! I love them haha. Then in the evening, we started a Book of Mormon Study class at the church for anyone to come to and it had a slow start, but we're doing it every week so hopefully it gets rolling! There were a few people there and we were able to read the Book of Mormon and talk about it and ask questions and all learn from one another. It was a pretty good day.
But it was nothing compared to Saturday! It was supposed to be raining on Saturday and many prayers were said so that it didn't rain, and it didn't rain! It was just a bit chilly, but we took it over the rain. We also got to meet Frank for the first time (normally we just call him on the phone to have our lessons because he drives semi truck all over the place) and he is sooooo funny! We got to spend a day with him and he is full if so many good stories. We drove up to the Johnson Farm first for the spring festival, but it wasn't very spring like weather so not a ton of people were there. But we were there and that's what mattered! Since it was a spring festival, they did something a little different for the tour of the Johnson Farm. Instead of the sisters taking us through and describing the events that happened there, they had people dressed up as John and Elsa Johnson and some of their kids as well as Joseph Smith and they were telling their stories and the experiences that occurred there. It was an experience that not many people get, and the people we were there with really enjoyed it. We even went on the hay ride they had and almost froze, but got to go around on some the land they have out there. From there we hopped on up to Kirtland and almost made it to the temple for a tour, but they closed 5 minutes before we got there, so we went down to the visitor center and got a tour there. We were the only people there at the time, so our tour was not rushed at all. Normally there's a little rushing to it because there's another group not far behind you, but we had a lot more time than normal. My favorite part of the whole day was when we were in the School of the Prophets in the upstairs of the Newell K Whitney Store and since there was no one behind us, we just got to sit there. I don't know how long we were in there but, it wasn't long enough. We were talking about so many different things in there and the spirit there was so strong. Knowing of the significance in that room and then sitting there really was amazing. We were up in Kirtland for quite some time, but once again, it was a great time and good experience. Then we ended the night at Buffalo Wild wings, so a great way to end the day off, followed by church the next day.
Other than that, it's missionary work as usual. We just had a really really good weekend. We didn't have district meeting on Monday because it's already time for zone conference again, and that's tomorrow. Then we have exchanges with our zone leaders on Friday, so it's gonna be another good weekend.
The birthday was good. Thanks for all the birthday wishes! We just had a normal day of missionary work ahead of us, helped do some service at a members house, enjoyed the warm weather and got a little bit of sun. It was a good day, and we had bean burritos at a members house. But ya, it was a good day. Thanks again! Here's some pictures of our trip to Kirtland.
Love,
Elder Woodward
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Medina, Ohio - April 26, 2018
Another week has come and gone and time is going by way to quick out here. Life is going good, it's starting to warm up, flowers are appearing out of nowhere, the trees are starting to get leaves, life is good. So far it's been a pretty good week, but gonna start out with the news for this week. On Sunday night, we got a call from President Brown which was random because he normally doesn't call unless we've done something wrong or someone died, but I knew we didn't do anything wrong and I was hoping that nobody died. But it wasn't either of those. Due to all the changes that are going on with the missions out here, he was calling to tell me that they are having to move transfers around to make it easier for everyone, so instead of my release date being June 28th like originally planned, it is being pushed a week earlier so I'll be coming home on June 21st instead. So out of nowhere, an extra week was gone. That's what the letter that is being sent to you is about, not sure if you have it or not yet, but that's what it's talking about. So hopefully you didn't have plans for that day or else your gonna have to cancel them or leave me sitting at the airport. Hopefully it doesn't mess too many things up.
Our investigator Harold dropped us last week so that was kind of a bummer, but we are for sure going to Kirtland this weekend and it's going to be so good! I'll save more details for next week so I have some stuff to write about, but we have been looking forward to it for a while. Oh, we are going with someone else we are teaching, Frank. I don't know if I told you about him or not, but it's going to be good. He drives semi truck so we call him and have lessons with him, but we actually get to meet him this weekend and go to the Johnson Farm and Kirtland. Gonna be a good weekend.
And we just got done with visiting the temple, something we get to do every April and October. Not sure what will happen when the missions change, but that's how it is for us. We can do that for personal worship every 6 months, and if we go with people we are teaching then we can go once a quarter, and that's for the entire mission. Makes it nice to be able to go every once in a while.
We've also been doing a bit of service either for members or the Salvation Army here in town and that's always fun. Raking leaves, starting to mow lawns, and the whatever the Salvation Army needs us to do. Gives us a nice change of pace when we do that, and it's a good way to find people to teach and bless others lives. We've been knocking on people's doors, having lots of dinners with members, talking with lots of people, and just doing missionary work! Life is fantastic out here! In case you forgot, here's my address again: 504 N State Rd #7, Medina Ohio 44256. Always looking for mail :)
I'll send pictures next week
Love,
Elder Woodward
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Medina, Ohio - April 18, 2018
It's been another good week out here in Ohio and the work is moving along! The weather has been all over the place, but from what it sounds like it's been that way everywhere, so not too surprising. But the few good days we had out here gave everyone hope that we aren't going to be eternally in winter! We had a nice couple of days and were able to do some service for a member out here that needed some help cleaning up her yard, so since it was 70 degrees at 10 in the morning we got to rake up leaves and sticks and enjoyed the sun.
And then the weekend hit. Saturday it wasn't super nice but not super bad and then Sunday it was raining. All. Day. Long. Not a ton of fun, but it was still good because being a missionary is always good. Needless to say, we were soaked by the end of the day, and when it finally stopped raining we got to visit with someone. We also found this super cool park that we went to and talked with some people there on Saturday before the rain started, and got some pictures there too.
We've been doing a lot of finding, but haven't found much. But we are doing it anyway and having a good time talking with lots of people and hearing different peoples stories. We've been having a few lessons here and there, but not like before. It's good though! I love this area and all the people here.
We get to go to the temple next week, so we won't be emailing until Thursday because that's the day we are going to the temple, so don't be alarmed if you don't get an email next week on Wednesday. Also, we are planning a trip to Kirtland with one of our investigators and that's going to be happening next Saturday the 28th, and that's something Elder Sargent and I really wanted to get to this transfer, and it's happening! Such a good place. There's really not much to report on besides that. Working on getting the area going and it's not going to be a short turn around, so bear with me on the shorter emails for the time being.
Love,
And then the weekend hit. Saturday it wasn't super nice but not super bad and then Sunday it was raining. All. Day. Long. Not a ton of fun, but it was still good because being a missionary is always good. Needless to say, we were soaked by the end of the day, and when it finally stopped raining we got to visit with someone. We also found this super cool park that we went to and talked with some people there on Saturday before the rain started, and got some pictures there too.
We've been doing a lot of finding, but haven't found much. But we are doing it anyway and having a good time talking with lots of people and hearing different peoples stories. We've been having a few lessons here and there, but not like before. It's good though! I love this area and all the people here.
We get to go to the temple next week, so we won't be emailing until Thursday because that's the day we are going to the temple, so don't be alarmed if you don't get an email next week on Wednesday. Also, we are planning a trip to Kirtland with one of our investigators and that's going to be happening next Saturday the 28th, and that's something Elder Sargent and I really wanted to get to this transfer, and it's happening! Such a good place. There's really not much to report on besides that. Working on getting the area going and it's not going to be a short turn around, so bear with me on the shorter emails for the time being.
Love,
Elder Woodward
PS just threw a cool little picture I found on Lds.org that show my mission is the coolest
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Medina, Ohio - April 11, 2018
Greetings from my last area in Ohio! Life is good out here, just like always. Got everything packed up my last days in Youngstown and all was good for transfers, except the 40 mile an hour winds all day! It was a crazy day and the wind almost blew me over a couple of times. Don't know where it came from, but it lasted most of the day so it felt about 18 degrees when we were out at night. Always a ton of fun. But hey, later this week it's supposed to be up to 75 degrees! We won't talk about what's going to happen after that, but the weather in Ohio is crazy. I'll leave it at that.
So on to my new companion. His name is Elder Sargent (Like I said last week) and he is from Tooele, Utah. He is the oldest of 4 kids, one younger brother and two younger sisters. He definitely wants to be in the Columbus mission, but he will probably leaving after this transfer because he has already been in the area for two transfers, so he could go anywhere and be in any mission, or he could stay for a while. This transfers gonna go by fast. This area is so much different from Youngstown in every single way. You got tons of pictures of abandoned houses when I was there, and in the week I've been here, I haven't seen a single abandoned house. It's a much nicer area with nicer neighborhoods all around, so it makes missionary work a little more difficult. The ward is pretty big. It's the biggest ward I've been in, and in the words of Elder Sargent and some of the members here, it's the most Utah-like ward out here. It was kind of weird going from Youngstown to here just because it is so different. I loved Youngstown and miss it, but this is a good area too. Getting me ready for Utah again because this area reminds me a lot of Utah. There's one other set of elders in the ward and we both have our own car, so that makes things nice. They used to have to share a car but since areas are getting closed down, cars are becoming available for other areas so they gave both sets their own car. There is a ward organist, so I don't have to play the piano or organ at all, and then there is a young man who can play. They don't know that I know how to play get, but eventually I'm sure they'll find out. We get fed here pretty much every night, so hopefully I don't gain too much weight before I go home. It's a nice area here, but a lot tougher than Youngstown.
We have a few people that we are working with that are moving forward. One guys who we are working with is Harold and he met with missionaries in Canton when he lived there and wanted to be baptized but had some problems with smoking and couldn't kick it. Then he had a heart attack, had to have triple bypass open heart surgery and realized that smoking was killing him, so he has quit and hasn't smoked since. He is in a nursing home right next to our apartment, so we are able to go and see him often and help him out. He is actually leaving the nursing home this weekend and will be living with his sister until he can find his own place to live. And then there's another guy that was excommunicated but is working on coming back and is close to getting baptized again that is super awesome.
Medina is a slower area, but we are working hard. We've been doing a lot of tracting and found some potentials, but nothing yet. The area is slowly picking up and it's gonna be good. Gonna have a good time here and lots of work to do. We had interviews and a special training meeting with President and Sister Brown yesterday and they are soo good. Pretty much everything I thought I knew about planning needs to be thrown out the window and gotta relearn everything. It's going to be good and really move the work forward, but going to take some more adjusting to. They have a lot on their plates with everything going on, even more than normal, but they are the best people ever! Gotta love them.
Things are good. Life is great. Love it all.
So on to my new companion. His name is Elder Sargent (Like I said last week) and he is from Tooele, Utah. He is the oldest of 4 kids, one younger brother and two younger sisters. He definitely wants to be in the Columbus mission, but he will probably leaving after this transfer because he has already been in the area for two transfers, so he could go anywhere and be in any mission, or he could stay for a while. This transfers gonna go by fast. This area is so much different from Youngstown in every single way. You got tons of pictures of abandoned houses when I was there, and in the week I've been here, I haven't seen a single abandoned house. It's a much nicer area with nicer neighborhoods all around, so it makes missionary work a little more difficult. The ward is pretty big. It's the biggest ward I've been in, and in the words of Elder Sargent and some of the members here, it's the most Utah-like ward out here. It was kind of weird going from Youngstown to here just because it is so different. I loved Youngstown and miss it, but this is a good area too. Getting me ready for Utah again because this area reminds me a lot of Utah. There's one other set of elders in the ward and we both have our own car, so that makes things nice. They used to have to share a car but since areas are getting closed down, cars are becoming available for other areas so they gave both sets their own car. There is a ward organist, so I don't have to play the piano or organ at all, and then there is a young man who can play. They don't know that I know how to play get, but eventually I'm sure they'll find out. We get fed here pretty much every night, so hopefully I don't gain too much weight before I go home. It's a nice area here, but a lot tougher than Youngstown.
We have a few people that we are working with that are moving forward. One guys who we are working with is Harold and he met with missionaries in Canton when he lived there and wanted to be baptized but had some problems with smoking and couldn't kick it. Then he had a heart attack, had to have triple bypass open heart surgery and realized that smoking was killing him, so he has quit and hasn't smoked since. He is in a nursing home right next to our apartment, so we are able to go and see him often and help him out. He is actually leaving the nursing home this weekend and will be living with his sister until he can find his own place to live. And then there's another guy that was excommunicated but is working on coming back and is close to getting baptized again that is super awesome.
Medina is a slower area, but we are working hard. We've been doing a lot of tracting and found some potentials, but nothing yet. The area is slowly picking up and it's gonna be good. Gonna have a good time here and lots of work to do. We had interviews and a special training meeting with President and Sister Brown yesterday and they are soo good. Pretty much everything I thought I knew about planning needs to be thrown out the window and gotta relearn everything. It's going to be good and really move the work forward, but going to take some more adjusting to. They have a lot on their plates with everything going on, even more than normal, but they are the best people ever! Gotta love them.
Things are good. Life is great. Love it all.
Love, Elder Woodward
Oh almost forgot, my new address is 504 N State Rd Apt. 7, Medina Ohio 44256
So if you want to send me anything, now you can š
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
Youngstown, Ohio - April 3, 2018
Another week has come and gone here in Youngstown and there's lots of news. As you probably guessed by the subject line, I am getting transferred this week, leaving not only the Youngstown ward, but also the Youngstown Stake! Been in the same stake for 11 months and now moving on. My next area is going to be the West side of the Medina Ward in the Akron Stake, and my new companion is going to be Elder Sargent. He was the district leader out here when I first came to Youngstown, so we have been on a couple of exchanges and been around each before. He has been out a little over a year (for reals, he hit his year mark last month so really just over a year) and I know he is from Tooele Utah. Can't remember too much else about him, but that's some of the big news. Also, but news for Elder Schwartz, the sisters in our ward are being moved out (more on that later), so him and his new companion will have the whole ward as their area. It's going to be fun for him to have a massive area that he mostly knows nothing about. It'll be fun for him, but also good for me. I'm excited.
So to answer your question about missionaries coming to this mission, they actually aren't sending anymore missionaries to the Ohio Cleveland Mission because it's getting shut down. The transfer in February was the last real transfer we had, and the only missionaries coming to the mission were the Sisters going to Kirtland that already had their mission calls before the announcement was made. There is one sister coming out this transfer (today) and then one during the transfer in May, and other than that, no more elders or sisters coming here. So that is why the sisters in our ward are getting moved out because there are still missionaries going home, but none coming out, so they have to do some readjusting. And now that it's getting close to the change, missionaries are kind of starting to figure out what mission they are going to end up in as they move around. Most missionaries want to end up in the Columbus mission because it will still have Cleveland and also because it will have Kirtland. I don't think I've heard a missionary say they wanted to be in Pittsburgh or Cincinnati, pretty much always Columbus. If I was out for any longer, I would want to be in the Columbus mission.
But holy cow General Conference was SOOOOOO good! It was an amazing conference, and it was even better because I'm still out here in Ohio! (PS did you all hear Elder Cook talking about Kirtland? That's right, pretty cool place) But the sad part is that it was my last conference on my mission. But conference is always great. The changes were all so cool, and the announcements of the new temples were awesome. I think the most surprising was Layton, and when he started to say Richmond Virginia, I thought he was going to say Utah and then I just would have died laughing. But he didn't. Okay, India and Russia were definitely bigger shocks than Layton, but still. 19 temples in Utah. Kind of ridiculous. President Nelsons talk in the Priesthood Session was super good, kind of roasted everyone, but still so good. One thing that I noticed was the emphasis they are putting on the youth. With Sister Oscarson's talk on how to use the young women more in the ward's and allowing them to be ministering companions, and then Brother Holmes in the Priesthood Session about using the Young men more. Both of those talks, along with the ministering announcement and the statement that Ministering is to help the Bishopric focus more on the needs of the ward, and then the youth were specifically mentioned. That's what stood out to me. But it was all so good! We watched it all at different members houses or at the church, but we did get to watch it all.
This last week went by really fast though, mostly because General Conference took up the weekend. We had exchanges up in Ashtabula and that was a good time, got completely soaked up there out knocking on doors in the pouring rain. Always a good time. Sunday was kind of an interesting day, not gonna lie. We weren't sure if I was leaving and we knew we would find out Sunday night because President Brown would call to release me from being a zone leader. I guess he just really likes calling me late because it wasn't until about 9:50 that he decided to call. So it got to the point that I thought I was staying, and then as soon as I decided that, President called. Must think he's funny or something. JK I love President Brown. Then I just had to wait until Monday to find out where I was going. So yesterday wad a stressful day as well. But it's all good, now I just have to pack and hope and pray everything fits. Not quite sure how much stuff I've collected in this area, but it'll be good. I'll smash it in there if I need to.
Got some pics with some people before I left, and those two are two of my favorite people in this ward. Gonna miss this place but it's the last transfer that I'm moving! I will probably be with Elder Sargent for only one transfer and then I'll get a new companion, but I don't know yet. We will find out. Saw some people, taught some lessons, found some new investigators, sad to be leaving Youngstown. It's been a good place.
Thanks for everything!
Love Elder Woodward
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Youngstown, Ohio - March 28, 2018
Well this last week was another week out here in Youngstown! It ended up being another good week so I was happy for it. We had zone conference last Friday and everyone else in our zone got their phones on that day and everyone was pretty excited. I would have been excited to if I didn't have my phone yet, but too late for that. For the most part, we just got to walk around and help all the other missionaries and answer questions they had about how to do different things on the phones and planning apps. It was a ton of fun like it is every zone conference. Kind of a repeat of MLC but it never hurts to hear something again.
Thursday we had a really good day though. We were on exchanges with Lisbon and the elder that I was with and I had an amazing day. We saw a few people earlier in the day and we were able to see one of our investigators named Paula. She was a referral from a couple of weeks ago and when we went back she had read some of the Book of Mormon and liked what she read. I asked her if she had prayed about it and she said that she had and that she knew it was true. She is such a nice lady that has been doing well, so we are going to keep seeing her. Then later that day, when out tracting, we found 4 new people to teach in one day. Gave a book of Mormon to one guy, then taught his next door neighbor, then taught his next door neighbor, then we needed to go back to our car to get more copies of the Book of Mormon, and then two houses later we found two more people teach. It was just a blessed street to be knocking doors on. Had some more good lessons and all is well with them.
The rest of the week ended up just flying by and I'm not really sure what else happened. We had more exchanges and found more people to teach, so that's always good. Transfers are next week and I think I'm leaving, hoping I go back to Tiffin but not sure what's going to happen. I'll let you know next week when we email!
Love,
Thursday we had a really good day though. We were on exchanges with Lisbon and the elder that I was with and I had an amazing day. We saw a few people earlier in the day and we were able to see one of our investigators named Paula. She was a referral from a couple of weeks ago and when we went back she had read some of the Book of Mormon and liked what she read. I asked her if she had prayed about it and she said that she had and that she knew it was true. She is such a nice lady that has been doing well, so we are going to keep seeing her. Then later that day, when out tracting, we found 4 new people to teach in one day. Gave a book of Mormon to one guy, then taught his next door neighbor, then taught his next door neighbor, then we needed to go back to our car to get more copies of the Book of Mormon, and then two houses later we found two more people teach. It was just a blessed street to be knocking doors on. Had some more good lessons and all is well with them.
The rest of the week ended up just flying by and I'm not really sure what else happened. We had more exchanges and found more people to teach, so that's always good. Transfers are next week and I think I'm leaving, hoping I go back to Tiffin but not sure what's going to happen. I'll let you know next week when we email!
Love,
Elder Woodward
PS got one picture with three abandoned houses in it on exchanges Monday. Gotta love it!
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Youngstown, Ohio - March 21, 2018
Well hello there! Life is going well for us out here in Youngstown. Just a couple of more weeks before transfers and who knows what's going to happen. We'll see what happens. Time is flying by now.
Speaking of time flying by, yesterday, March 20th, was my last triple digit day. I had 100 days left in Ohio yesterday, so today is day 99 remaining. Not that I'm counting, I just knew when it was. But Elder Schwartz decided that he wanted to celebrate me only having 100 days left, so we walked into Burger King and he bought 100 chicken nuggets. I have never seen so many chicken nuggets, and we just have a big bag in our fridge haha. He walked up to the counter to order and said, "This is going to sound really weird, but I need 10 10-piece nuggets" and the lady at the counter (who happens to be an investigator for some other missionaries) gave him a weird look and said "10 10-piece nuggets?" Needless to say, we got some extremely weird looks, but it was super funny. I got some pictures of them all, so you should be able to see them. Also, got a couple of pictures with some more abandoned houses here in Youngstown. Always a good day when you snag a few pics with empty houses.
Also included in the pictures is our mission picture with Elder Christofferson and Elder Nielson when they came and visited on Saturday. It's not a very good quality picture, but if you look close enough and you remember what I look like, I am sitting on the very front row, far right, second from the end in my blue suit. So now you know where to look in case you couldn't find me before. And this time, we all got to shake both of their hands and it was sooooo good. In all reality, it was kind of sad because it was the last time that our mission was all going to be together in the same place at the same time, and we sang our mission song for the very last time as a whole mission. That was probably the saddest part because President and Sister Brown were up on the stand crying and just about everyone else there was tearing up. But we aren't really sure why we got to have a little meeting with Elder Christofferson, but he said that it is Heavenly Father's way of giving a benedictory prayer to our mission or something like that. So it was super cool to all be there. Really, Elder Christofferson was coming for the different leaders in the stake because they had meetings after our meeting was finished and then he met with the youth in all five stakes in our mission, we just got a little bonus first thing in the morning and got to meet with him. The Spirit was so strong there, especially as we were singing the mission song together. But it was a good day all around and there was a lot of good things that we learned.
We actually had a pretty packed week and were able to teach some super good lessons. We found a new lady to teach who's name is Sereice. She let us right in and we were able to teach her, and she has been reading the Book of Mormon and loving it! She said that we were sent by God to help her get back into church. And she has three awesome kids that are the best thing ever. Exchanges are always happening and those are super good as well. Life is just so good. Zone conference is later this week and the rest of our zone is going to be getting their phones, so it's pretty exciting. All the missionaries are excited to get their phones so it'll be good.
Enjoy the pics
Love, Elder Woodward
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