Week 13 - Bell Ville- Sept 29 2014

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT PACKER!!!! I hope all is well and that you are enjoying life in the Singles Ward.  Also I hope you are making a lot of half court shots at FHE!  I am grateful for your example in the Church and for your testimony.  Keep it up! I just wanted to send a quick note and let you know that you were in my mind this past week for your birthday.  What did you do to celebrate 24 years?

Have a great week Matt, 

Hermana Silly Katelyn the Cutie Girl Woolley :)

ps, I think their might be one picture in Dropbox for this week.  I tried to send videos, but they are creazy big so I cant send them.

Si, as if you couldnt tell from my last letter, this week was a bit of a struggle.  I have never been one for change and with this change, it kind of threw me for a loop.  But I am so grateful for Hermana Vela.  She truly trusts so much in me.  At first I was a little bit stressed because she works differently than Hna Gonzalez.  She later expressed to me her feelings for me and her appreciation and love.  She told me that she had forgotten that I was a brand new missionary and for this had been a little tough on me in demading a lot. Later she congratulated me for how I am working.  She said she had forgotten I was still a newbie because of the dedication I have for the work.  This really solidified our relationship and now I feel a lot more confident in our power of working together.  Things were slow at first, but I am sure the miracles will come.  I am excited to see all that we can do together.

This week I dont have a lot of stories to tell because we had a lot of lessons fall through and a lot of time simply walking in the streets. But not to fear, we sang as we walked and walked and walked and walked..... and walked.  She is trying to learn english so we sing Called to Serve in English in the streets.  Sorry, but I think that I will never be able to sing that song again in English. IT IS SOOOOOOO Much better in Spanish.  Im telling you.  Lo Mejor!..  Pero ni importa.  

Hermana Vela is 22 yrs old.  She is from Peru.  She just finished training my friend from the MTC Sister Julia Morris.  She has almost one yr in the mission.  We are having a lot of fun together, and we eat alot!!! ITS THE BEST!  There is not a lot more to tell about her.... Her parents are converts.  She is the oldest of 2 girls, and her younger sister is starting her mission papers right now.  

Are you listening to the conference talks like I challenged you?

Lo siento, this letter is poopey! But I want to share a spiritual message too, por supuesto!  This week we have been working with Virginia, but her daughter was really sick.  Every single day this week has been a different climate with crazy rains, and wicked heat, entonces, many people are getting sick.  anyways, we have been working with some teenage girls in helping them feel the love of the Lord.  They are investigators named A* and L*.  Pray for them.  They need all the help that they can get!  They literally are not doing anything with their lives right now, (15 and 16 yrs old).  NO school. No jobs.  and they never leave their house.  They really are waht you call "wild child".  They cant feel the love of God in their lives, so this week I was working hard to study for them.

I was overwhelmed with God love as I read John 17:23, D&C 93:1-3, and Alma 34:32.  We can gain a unshakable testimony of Jesus, and God (by actually seeing them), if we do the things in the Scrpitcuee in D&C. Keep the Faith and know god loves us in all things.  

I love you all, those in ut county, and San Jose too :) and all across the country.

You rock my socks off and I let them dangle and shake- fross tyler.

Love you, 

Hermana Woolley 

Week 12 - Bell Ville - September 22, 2014

dear fam

I am pretty sad because I think I just deleted some of my pictures on accident, but I will look for them again later..... not to worry!

Anyways, I wanted to ask you if it is better to have my camera take pictures in hd, or size small 4:3.... let me know

No, I dont receive letters from any of my friends.  And I havent heard from cameron.  

Also Thanks for all the photos! I would be lying if I said I didnt cry a little while looking at them :)  

I ate the most disgusting thing yet so far, and it literally made hna gonzalez throw up.  Im a champ.  I know.  I am not excited for the 14 more months of mondongo.  the smell could kill anything that has nose hairs.  disgusting.  

Dad, I am right with you.. sometimes this mission thing just flies by, but for some reason today it feels like I have been gone forever and it is going really slow.  Maybe it is because this past week has been hard for some reason.  I cant really pin point what it is, but I have felt weird inside all week.  

It stated with traveling and leaving my area while my compi was in Chile. Then we had one good day of missionary work, then she was off again for transfers.  If you didn´t understand the word awkward before now, let me explain it to you = transfers as a missionary.  HAHAHa but seriously. Suddenly, a new person you have never met is thrown at you and then you are forced to live together and spend everysecond together after.  It is so strange and I just feel awkward all over! hahah

My new companion is Hermana Vela.  She is from Lima Peru! Go figure!  She has 11 months in the mission and her first area was Bell Ville.  It is really weird that she has been called back to the exact same area again. y bueno.  This morning I woke up super early to go to Cordoba to pick her up, and drop off Gonzalez as the new sister trainer leader in Cordoba.  We left at 3 am, drove 4 hours in a bus.  Got there, picked up my comp, to drive back 5 hours on a bus again.  It has been a long day and I don´t really feel like myself so sorry if this letter is lame.  I am embarrassed for myself that my thoughts are so jumbled! 

But not to fear! I did have one good day of work that I would love to tell you about! Funny enough, we had an experience that reminded me of Tyler on his mission.  

In the morning during our studies, we watched the district to finish up my training.  As we were watching it, I was filled with the spirit and I remembered all the moments I had before the mission when I watched the journey of these missionaries. I remember watching them with tyler before he left.  I remember watching them in bed before recieving my call.  I remember watching them at night while you were in peru when I couldnt sleep from the fear of leaving you all at home.  It all came flooding back.  Even though I had a crumby week, Watching those videos again, I was reminded of why I am here.   I want to serve Christ and to give all I can.  When I do this, I know the time will fly by, and I will experience all the blessings of this gospel.

That was tender mercy #1. #2.  we went out to find people to teach becasue right now we don´t have a great big pool of investigators.  We came across a single mother (daughter 3 yrs old) who we had contacted before and pushed us away.  But, this time, something was diffferent.  She invited us in.  As we sat with her in her house and helped her clean up spilled sugar on the floor, she told us how she had prayed to God in the Church that morning for a sign.  Earlier in the week she had contemplated suicide.  Her life is an awful story.  That morning she prayed for an answer from God, and us, his missionaries had the prompting to knock her door again.  She cried as she felt the personal love from God.  That is why she let us in.  Next, we read to her a scripture.  D and C 6 33.  As she was reading the scripture, she began to cry again.  The words she read, she later told us, was the words she had put on her facebook status the night before.  In that moment, I was so humbled to be led by the spirit to Gods chosen who was in desperate need of help and love and kindness.  We have another meeting with her tomorrow.  Her name is Virginia.  Please pray for her.  As we walked away from the appt, I felt like I was living in a movie. I felt like I was living inside the District.  

I dont have much more to say.  Thanks for all the letters! I love to read your words and personality each week.  You are the greatest family in the whole wide world and I thank my Father in Heaven every night to have been blessed with the most elect, funny, kind, accepting, loving, and righteous family in Utah County :) haha joke.  But really.  I love you guys.  True. Dat.

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Woolley

Week 11 - Bell Ville September 15, 2014

Sorry family... but sometimes having to write all of the week in less than 40 minutes is a bit of a chore, but I hope it all comes out well and you enjoy reading my scrambled thoughts.  First off..... Look in dropbox, I left you a surprise!  I think from now on I will put pictures in there each week because it loads much faster, and it is much more secure.

but... I´M ALMOST NORMAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (remember when I said that because I was underweight... oh the good days)  No but really.  I can´t believe that this week I finish my training.  In 1 week, I will be a normal regular trained missionary with a normal companion in a normal area.  All normal.  I guess that is the norm after about 4 months in the mish.  I´m excited and anxious to have a new companion and to have all the knowledge of the area, but ready for the new challenge.

It was a bit of a strange week.  Right now I am not with my companion... She is in CHile. Ya, the country!  something happened with the leagal work of many of the missionaries in Argentina so 60 missionaries from all the missions in Argentina went in a 14 hr bus ride to leave the country.  ..  so that left me here alone!!!  I didnt have a companion for about 7 hours yesterday, so I just sat in the house of a member and did nothing.  It was too weird.  I cant imagine being home alone. Im scared.  Tyler, now I understand!  But, because I had permission and a lot of time, I took advantage of an opportunity and slept siesta!!!!!! best thing ever... except for the fact that I felt like a pecadora (sinner) the whole time.  oh well. Now all is well and 2 hermanas are living with me from Leones :)  They are from argentina and Spain, and it is fun to have a little bit of a change for a while. Also, the work is now slower because we spent a few days in cordoba to get all the paperwork worked out for Hna G to leave to Chile.

This week, I had a lot of moments to think of you back home.  Maybe because I literally just sat in a house to think to myself and realize I was basically alone!!! But, I heard More than words on the radio, I heard megan sackett sing a song on the lds website, I saw a pic of sam hill on lds.org, I was reading the liahona and saw Mella, AND! I saw a shot of our neighborhood in a movie.  remember when they were filming a disney movie in the smiths home? Ya, some members were watching that when we got there.  It was so weird to see the house that I looked at everyday, but in reality I am half way a round the world..... also, I had some crazy dreams of being in our basement watching movies together, and the micheal jackson earth song. It reminded me of the time when dad was dancing super enthuisiacstically to try to make us laugh and he was on the ground and all. Linds Chandler will remember that.  The whole thing was weird, y bueno.  What can you do?

I want to share with you the same quote that I wrote to my president.  it says  

"Weaknesses become strengths, challenges become opportunites, trials become triumphs and adversity becomes an adventure in the service of the Lord" M Russell Ballard

true. dat.  I love this so much.  When we truly give ourselves to the lord, we have the strength to overcome all and to enjoy the journey.  I am loving serving the Lord.  I hope that you are doing all you can to serve him too.  The blessings are immeasurable and there are things available that you had never imagined.  This is the truth and we can live it every day.  

You also keep mentioning football! Do you know what else that means? GENERAL CONFERENCE SEASON! I love conference.  I have a challenge for you back at home.  Please try to listen to the last conference we had last april.  At least the 12 before the next coming conference.  There is so much power in their voices, and I admit it, I have cried listening to it. Every morning I listen to a talk. It really has motivated me to continue working.  Food for thought.

 NOw to explain some of the pictures...

Radio--- WE SPOKE ON THE RADIO!!!!! how cool is that.  I was so terrified. I thought  I was going to mess up.  A convert invited us to go meet with a reference, and it ended up being a radio station, and right then and there he invited us to speak on air with him.  Hna G was so proud of me and she said that I understood the questions we were asked in our 10 minute interview, and that I responded perfectly. What a relief. We invited the whole city to attend church with us on sunday! :) It was so cool.  ThEN; a few days later, in the Kodak shop, the owner said that he recognized our names on our name tags because he heard us on the radio! WE ARE FAMOUS! hahahaha a moment I will never forget!

also, we made tacos 3x this week because the members wanted to taste some mexican food.  They all thought it was so spicy when in reality it wasnt spicy at all.  They wouldnt eat any more.  It was so funny.

Yes, thanks for all the prayers on behalf of c*.  He was baptized and he is so happy. He thanked us so many times, and I have never felt so appreciated or loved in such a tender moment.  It was so powerful.  He is going to stay strong.  I just know it. ...  We need him as a preisthood holder too. 

I am so happy to be here! I hope you know that. I laugh every day and thank God for the blessings and experiences I am having.  Before the mish there were countless things that I hated about the mission life.... dad, I bet you remember--- waking up early, talking to strangers-in another lanuage, having serious conversations, living with someone else, being away from my family, walking all day, being independent, no tv,  or swimming,  or NAPS, weird foods, no friends (joey, and the gang, oh and those from high school too haha) and I am sure there were more.  BUt here I am.  Doing all the things I thought I couldn´t do--- And I AM LOVING IT!  God really is so loving. He is merciful, perfect and kind.  He is a god a miracles.  I know he lives and I love him.  That is why I am serving.  I am so happy, and honoered to be privleged with this sacred opportunity to let my life change, and watch others change with the knowledge, peace, comfort, hope, joy, and security that the Gospel of Jesus Christ offers to all.  

That is all for now.  Next week I´ll give you the deets on my new comp! SO CRAZY! Tell kristen to write me that littel twerp. and I want all the dirty deets from tyler and this ashling girl.  Also, ALLISON! I AM SO EXCITED TO HAVE A PEYTON NEPHEW! Love you all.

Con mucho amor, 

Hermana Woolley

Also, accept my friends on facebook.... there are converts and members that want to know me a bit more!

also, look again at dropbox.  There should be more.

Spider web with eggs

radio

BK baby

Bidet baby

Spicy mexican food

My temp companions

Training completed - check

Week 10 Bell Ville - September 8, 2014

Basically... don´t fear! FAMILY! I AM THE PERFECT CHILD AND ALWAYS WILL BE! Not only do I read your letters entirely each week (better than skimming...), I probably read each one about 3 times each week.... and I always cry too.  Gosh I love you so much and my favorite is when I can read letters from you and imagine you saying what you wrote.  It just brings the tears right our of me gosh dang it!  NO pero en seirio... gracias a ful por cada correo! Te amo mucho mi familia! (But seriously...thanks for every letter! I love you so much my family)

This week was, as always, another week of miracles.  I am thinking that I will stop calling this my mission, but rather my 18 month long miracle.  God is so real and it is so humbling to watch his hand in the details of the life of a 19 yr old gringa in the middle of nowhere teaching handfuls of people without teeth in broken castellano....  Wow. Me conoce Dios. Yo lo sé.  Un milagro. (Heavenly Father knows me.  I know it.  A miracle.)

First off, C* was baptized!!!! WOOOOO HOOOOO! She was so excited and it was so exciting because she invited many of her friends, and some of them even cried during the services.  I love baptism days because the spirit is bound to be there and testify to all in attendence.  Right after C* was baptized, she just stared at the wall and said "wow..." then started to hug Bro Franco in the font.  Hermana González and I were crying, and so were they.  It was such a tender moment. I really love C* with all my heart even though she calls me her little baby who drinks milk and sounds like I speak Russian! haha (apes, I need your help on that one!)  I am so proud of her, and yesterday in the testimony meeting, she bore her testimony with a pow!!! I was crying once again.  She is one I will always stay in contact with after the 18 month miracle is up...

Saturday truly was such a great day.  It was like Christmas! We woke up super early (like usual... haha), it was super bright outside, yet freezing cold, and we had an AMAZING almuerzo with sweet L+ (a sweet old lady who reminds me of Rozz from Monsters Inc.) To add the the Christmas spirit of the day, when we arrived for lunch, the weather channel was on, and it was playing "All I want for Christmas is you" by Miriah herself!  It was so funny because she had no idea it was a Christmas song, and apparently the news station didn´t know either.  It is September from crying out loud! We ate a delicious mushroom chicken which tasted just like a meal from home.  I was stuffed after eating so much, just like the holidays.  To finish the special day, we had a baptism.  It was like the perfect last gift under the tree.  I truly was so happy all the day long, and like that one day at college, the littlest things can make me so happy (even if it is free hot chocolate in a Y mug screaming and reeking FRESHMAN!).  A great day, holiday for the season haha.

Also this week, I ate,......... drumrollll.............. cow stomach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   The weird thing is that it was SOOO tasty and I had no idea.  I had 2 or 3 servings even I think. As we were leaving the house, Hna G said to me, "Do you want to know what we just ate or not?"  Mondongo.  hahahaha.  First challenge complete! and my stomach is doing just fine! Let the 18 month miracle continue!

C+ will be baptized this week!!! We are so excited for him.  He has not smoked in 5 days, and I know he has the strength to continue on for the rest of forever!  Tonight he has his interview.  Please pray for him, tonight, and the rest of the week so that the baptism plans will work out as planned for this saturday.  He is so excited, and I am too. He was touched to know that he was an example to me of true faith in following the commandments, and he is working hard to become a worthy sacerdote (what is it called in English... I already forgot... so embarrassing!)  Anyway, all is well with him! One night as we were teaching him, the rain was LOCOOOOOO.   We did not want to run home in the rain so I said a little prayer in my heart.  As we finished the lesson, I no longer heard the rain on his tin roof.  We were able to walk home with out one drop of rain.  I may have even hummed "there is sunshine in my soul today"  Right when we got to our pension, the storm ragged again.  The little things really make the difference to me.  We are so protected as missionaries it is unreal.

It is really difficult to be my height here in argentina.  Everything is much shorter and every day I truly become like Luigi (our sister photo) and dodge all the bricks and trees.  Hna G laughs everytime that I whistle the Mario theme song as I sway my head back and forth to avoid getting a girly bow in my head like Tyler.  Also, this week, I fell while I was walking.  SO embarrassing.  I was looking at a sign (which naturally said torta [cake]... My favorite).  It distracted me, I didnt see the curb, and fell straight on my face. I was trying to act cool so I quickly did a push up to get off the ground.  Later that  night we laughed so hard because Hna G said it was all in slow motion, and I acted like all was fine.  Later when I told her it was because of a Torta sign, she hasnt stopped teasing me.  too funny for my bunny.

Also, we had intercambios (interchanges) this week.  Sorry,,,, I was supposed to work with Karina Hill, and I was so excited to send you a surprise photo, but things changed around.  But yes, she is my sister training leader so I should be working with her next transfer.  Looks like I will be stayign here another transfer at least, but we still dont know for sure.  Transfers are the22 of sept.  The 21 is when the presidency will come to our rama to see if we qualify to become a stake in october.  Keep your fingers crossed, and pray for continued miracles.  we had 82 in the chapel this last week.  We are excited for the continual growth.

I love you all too much to describe.  It was a great week and I cant wait to hear from you again in just 6 short days!

con mucho amor,

Hermana Woolley

Week 9, Bell Ville - Sept 1,2014

Hola querido familia!

Another week comes and goes so quickly. 

First I think you should know that there are miracles happening here in Bell Ville! We have two baptisms lined up for the coming two weeks and we are finding the chosen ones!

First, please keep C* y C*s in your prayers as they are preparing for their days of covenants. 

C* is so so so great.  For real.  She is a mother of three and has such a strong testimony.  She is an old investigator from 3 years ago, but was never baptized because her boyfriend did not want to get married.  Now, they are separated, and she is able to do what she has been dreaming of for the past three years--- get baptized!!  I almost feel guilty how easy it has been to teach her.  After we heard the news of her separation, we went over to give her comfort, and then and there she accepted a fecha (baptismal date)!  She has already been to the BA temple with the Branch and is so excited to continue on with her family´s work in the sacred walls of the temple.  She had her interview this past Saturday and after, E. Mayne (DL) said that is was the most spiritual interview he has ever conducted.  She is so ready and it is such a privledge to watch people change their lives completely for Christ.  It is also a comfort because it reminds me of all I am doing to show my love for Christ as well.  It is an honor and I am grateful every day.

Next, we have C*s.

He is the one who in the Noche de Hogar [family home evening] last week did not have a referral for us, but her said that he would love to be taught!  We have had many lessons with him, and everytime he talks, we can feel that this is really what he wants.  He has a family- gf and daughter.  He had plans to get married.  Right now they are not living together.  We explained the law of chastity and he agreed to call her after our lesson to ask if he should get baptized first, or married.  She lives about 3 hours away.  The next day, he came to the baptism we had last saturday for the other elders.  He was so excited to tell us the news.  He will be getting babtized first, and has plans to be married by the end of the year.  He wants to raise his family in happiness and he feels somethign else with the spirit.  He is living with his sister and her family (RS President) and they are a huge help too.  It is so cute to see how excited his neice is about his upcoming baptism.  At the baptism, he told us "mañana, voy a la iglesia, y me bautizaré el 13 de septiembre" [tomorrow I am going to church and I will be baptized on Sept 13] All of this was before we shook hands or said hola no nada!!! He is so excited and we are too. 

Some other good news.  Bell Ville is being made into a stake!!  It will be in Oct.  I am not quite sure if it is a secret or not, but that is why I am singing in the choir right now.  To prepare for that day with the mission pres and other authorities.  Also, the Bell Ville Coro has been invited to sing at the temple dedication.  I am not sure if I can sing with them because I doubt I will still be here at that point.  We will see how things will work out.  But, the District President was talking with Pres. Alliaud and asked for the best missionaries in the mission while Bell Ville is preparing to be a stake.  President A said that we are his pearls and that he has stocked BV with the best he has.  What a blessing.  I know I am here in BV for a reason, but it feels comforting to know that my leader recognizes all the hard work I am giving and the devotion I have to the work as well.  I am humbled to be apart of this explosive mass of miracles as the work continues 10 fold.  It is blessing my life and increasing my testimony.

Follow up on Javier (flimsy LdM [BofM])  He is a drunk man, and he lives in a dangerous part of town, so we cant visit him.  We are sad, but he will have his chance again to hear the gospel.  When we went to visit him, he was not home.

Follow up on Alicia (love pres monson) She works ALL the time and is impossible to set up an appointment.  We are still trying to get things worked out, but like mom said, we need to contact almost 7 times before we have success.  Right now we cant see the fruits, but they will have their time I know it.

I love it here.  I am being changed everyday and it is not a scary thing.  Before the mission I was scared of becoming someone new, but this is who I want to be.  I love you all and dad, to love another person is to see the face of god.  Tomorrow comes! 

con mucho amor,

Hermana Woolley

bueno,  I want a pic of my baptism. recipe of banana bread and spaghetti and cheese.

look up the mormon message sunday will come by wirthlin (not sure the name, i watched it in spanish - El domingo llegará)

I want an update on rachel stratton. I had a super sad dream about her and now am worried.  send my love!

Tyler, sorry for being rude and saying your mission was boring. Now i understand why you loved to talk about it soooo much.  it is the bomb.com. love you, please forgive me and feel free to listen to my lectures for hours when i return home.

 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL!!!!! in argentina freak ya... saving lives and bringing salvation one piece of trash at a time

from a noche de hogar (family home evening) . yo oro cuando..... (I pray when . . . .)

this is n#.  she has 19 yrs and has two children.  she is a recent convert and I love her with all my might even though she speaks 300 million miles a minute and mumbles her words.  I know we would be great friends in the real world, because mumbling is my favorite hobby.  I love all the people here!  (Picture says "I pray when I need to repent")