Week 92 (02/25/2013) - New companion and upcoming sealing!

Hey family!

How are you guys all doing today? I love you all!

So, this week has been an awesome week! I got a new companion this last week! He is a new elder so I am his first companion and I am training again! His name is Elder Silva, he is from Quito, Ecuador in South America! He is awesome! He loves to work and was baptized just 2 years ago! Can you guys imagine that? He was baptized right before I started my mission and he is on his mission now! He's awesome though! I love working with him and he is excited to work and is full of faith! This last week we had a lot of new people come to church! The members are working a lot here and it is helping us to get a lot of new investigators that are really positive! I love it!

We are working hard with the Familia Parada Ortiz! On Saturday, the dad said that he wouldn't be able to go to church yesterday but he promised us that he would go next week! He has never been, but he always told us that he wasn't sure if he wanted to go or not! But now he promised us! Everyone pray for him to help him go this next week! I am excited for them I hope that they are able to be baptized in the next month or so!

My companion is awesome though! I will be training him and the training program lasts 12 weeks so I will be with him here in Gotera until the end of my mission! I will only have 3 areas???? Crazy! That's awesome!

So, guess what guys?! The Familia Chicas will be sealed in the temple soon!!! WOOOO my recommend expires at the end of February so I came to San Salvador (4 hours away) to have it renewed so that 1) I'm never without a current recommend and 2) so that I can go next month to the sealing! It's going to be so cool! I haven't heard the exact date yet, but the elders that are serving there told me that in March they are planning to be sealed! Yay!

Anyway family, that's about it! I love it here! I am happy and we are working hard here! Thank you all so much for all your letters and love! I love hearing from each of you and can't wait to see you all soon! I love you all so much!!!

Love,
Braden

Week 91 (02/18/13) - Baptism and the new house

Baptism of Lennyz Parada Ortiz

Elder Woodfield's current Zone

A picture of a semi-truck we saw the other day coming down the road! That is a normal sight here! They love putting lights on their cars! haha it's funny!!!

Hey family!!!

Hey everyone! How is good old Utah right now? Is it pretty snowy still?? Wow, its already going towards the end of February - time is flying! Winter is almost over, right? I don't even remember when it gets warm again...March? April? I just remember that on my birthday, I can normally wear shorts, right? Cool, though! Well, time is flying! It's crazy! Here is the exact same! It's been slightly windy lately, which is nice! But it is always hot! There are changes this week, so we might have changes! I am hoping for changes, but at the same time, I just want what the Lord wants! It will be good either way! More than likely if I am changed, this change will be my last area! And if I don't change I will probably stay here till the end of my mission! We should see though!

This week was great! We had a baptism for the Familia Parada Ortiz! The daughter Lennyz (pronounced lenis) was baptized this last week! She has been progressing well and wants to go on a mission next year. But her Mom and Dad and Brothers and Sisters are progressing a little slower. Several want to be baptized, they are just working through several problems and still have to wait a little bit! But it is good! They are really, really happy that she was baptized and they are working their way there as well!

So, also this week as I mentioned last Monday, we changed houses! I love the new house! We are living about 5 minutes away from where we used to live but the new house is so much more private and it is was painted just before we moved in so it looks almost like a new house! It's nice! haha

That's about all the new stuff for this week! We have been working a lot and just having fun! It's been an awesome change and I love missionary work! I love it here!!!

I love you all and hope that everyone is happy at home! It's going well here! Love it!

Love you all!!!

Love,
Braden

Week 90 (02/11/13) - Baptism of Hermano Julio Rivas

Hey family! 

How is everyone doing today? I love you all! Thanks for the emails this week! I love hearing from or about each of you! It's the best to get emails and hear how much snow we have gotten this year! It sounds like it has been the best snow year in several years!

So anyway, this week we had a baptism!! We are still waiting for the City Hall to let us know of the date for the Abrego Familia's wedding! But Hermano Julio Rivas was baptized! I got to baptize and confirm him! I love the picture that I attached. We are so happy and he looks almost mad! haha...he wanted to be baptized but he was sooooo nervous! He got there on time and was almost hiding in the corner! He said that he wanted to be baptized with no one there! haha but kind of bad luck for him, right before the baptism, the Relief Society and the Primary had an activity, so everyone was there! There were more people than normal at the baptism! haha but as he went under the water and came up, he had the hugest smile on his face! We went to the bathroom to change and I could tell that all the nerves were gone and he just felt peaceful! I am so happy for him! He is a lot happier now that the baptism is over and he is really excited!!

Anyway, so there are some pictures but this morning we changed houses! Our old house had some issues with the neighbors, they could see into our house! haha but this new house is a lot better! We are living above the house of a member in the second floor and it is really nice! There are some pictures attached of all our stuff piled up in the new house! I love it there! It will be a lot more comfortable and private now! I am happy about the move.

Good news! There is now a pizza place here in Gotera! Before there wasn't one! haha

Anyway, apart from that, I just want to let you all know how much I love you! I can't wait to be able to talk to each of you soon! I have so much I want to tell you all but it is so hard to get all my thoughts written down sometimes! But just know that all my memories and thoughts are in my mind and I will talk to you all really soon! Time flies!

I love you all! Thank you so much for the emails and the love this week! I can't wait to read all your responses for next week!!!

Love,
Braden

P.S. That is so cool that Dale is a Bishop and that Barry and Sharon were called as Mission Presidents! I am so excited for them! Tell me where Barry and Sharon are called to serve in!

I love you all!

Week 89 (02/05/2013) - Multizone and upcoming baptisms!

Hey Everyone!

How is everyone doing today? I love you all! Thanks for all that you do for me and for your love! We have had a great week here! We should be having a couple of baptisms in the next couple weeks! One this Saturday, Hno. Julio Rivas and then, the Familia Abrego got their papers in this last week! They should be getting married and baptized in the next couple of weeks as well! YAY! I love missionary work. It's great!

Sorry I didn't write yesterday! I completely forgot that I had to write you guys about that last Monday! But yesterday we had a Multizone in the morning with President and another zone! There were 48 missionaries there and it was great! We learned a lot about the need for obedience and how obedience leads us to faith! They talked about how as we are obedient, even if we don't know why we need to be obedient,  but we have a desire to gain faith and we love God, that through our obedience we can recieve the blessings of faith and belief. I realized how important obedience is! There are so many little things that require our personal obedience! As we work hard to be obedient to love God we can understand the principle! I will have to send you guys the talk! It's short but it is really good! Isn't it better to be obedient and to be going against the "norms" of the world than to be disobedient and have a destructive affect on our faith and on the blessings that God has for us? I love the gospel! I know that God is ready to bless us but that he needs us to do what he says! Leaving things behind and bettering ourselves everyday!

Also, this last week we have been working hard! I have started reading through Doctrine and Covenants this week! It is so cool! I love how much it talks about missionary work and the start of the church! The church is perfect! So many people want to destroy it and will do anything to take it down but God won't let it happen. We must truly look for a testimony of the Spirit and not of the world! I love the Gospel!

Love you all! I hope that everyone is happy and well! Keep reading the scriptures everyday! I love you all!

Love you,
Braden

Week 88 (01/28/2013) - A simple, good missionary week

Hola Familia!

Como estan?!

Hey guys! How is everyone doing? I love you all so much! I am so hot right now! It's almost the hottest time of year! haha I wish it was snowing here!! Haha but anyway, enough about weather haha I always talk about weather! How is everyone doing today? I love you all!

This week has been so good! We have been working so hard with all of our investigators! We are getting close to having a baptismal date with the Familia Parada Ortiz! They are awesome people but the dad is a little bit hard to get to church! But we are going along with them! Julio has a baptismal date for the 9th and Hector Miguel has a pretty sure date for the 16th! We hope that all goes well with all of them! Keep praying for each of them!

So, yesterday our new Branch President wanted to go and learn where the members lived! So after church, we went with him for like 4 hours visiting a ton of people! Our Branch president is so cool! He is so nice, so humble, and extremely intelligent! He is a doctor but not just a normal doctor, some kind of specialist that I don't know what it is exactly but he is really, really smart! haha He is so loving and hard working! The branch is going to grow soooo fast with him constantly here instead of missionaries that change every 6 months! They are already responding really well to the new branch presidency! I'ts awesome!

So, it has been really quite nice to not have any other responsibilities other than being a normal missionary! It's awesome! We study a lot and have so much time to focus about each of our investigators! I feel focused and happy! I love it here! I have been learning a lot this week about a lot of different topics! We study a lot for our investigators and it helps us to grow too! I have a new favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon! It's 2 Nephi 4 - I love it! Nephi talks about how he just feels so laden down having so many follies and faults and he prays to let God help him! I love one of the verses (not sure what it says exactly in English because Spanish is a little different) but in verse 19 says, "I know who I put my trust in." I like that a lot! If we truly put our trust in the Lord and trust that we need him, and know that we are so imperfect but he still loves us, we can have the happiness that he talks about too! I love it!

Anyway, I have had an awesome week! I hope that all of your weeks have been just as good! Stay happy! Never forget how much I love you all! Stay close, remember to read your scriptures, and pray everyday! Without it, you cannot become all that God wants us to become!

I love you all!!!

Love,

Braden

Week 87 (01/21/13) - Released as Branch President - lots of changes!

Hey family!

How is everyone doing today? I miss and love you all!! It sounds like winter is pretty exciting up there in Utah! I love seeing pictures and hearing how everyone is doing! It sounds like it has been a really good winter with a lot of snow and cold weather! We have had a lot of fun stuff happen here! I love it!

So, this week we had a big change! They released me as Branch President! Sorry I didn't tell you all about it sooner! I knew I was going to be released yesterday, but I was told it was confidencial haha so I couldn't tell anyone! But yeah! Yesterday, I was released and they put in Presidente Ricardo Hernandez as President of the Rama! Everyone was so happy! It was so cool! So, this last week we have been doing a lot to prepare for the change! I wanted to leave the branch in a good state to be able to help the new Branch President! We have been cleaning the chapel, making lists of the organizations in the branch, sending emails to inform President Glazier of the changes and ordinations that needed to be done, making phone lists for the new branch presidency...lots of stuff! And then Sunday morning, President Glazier came to the branch and he did a bunch of interviews! We had Sacrament Meeting and he presented them, and me and my companion and our one counselor (he was also released), went and sat in the audience! It was fun! Then afterward, President had a bunch more interviews with members and he talked to the youth about missionary service! It was kind of funny because he was talking about how to serve a mission, you need to have a soft heart and a desire to learn, and then he said, "Come here, Elder Woodfield." So, I went and stood by him and (you have to know that what I'm about write is something normal that President does to leave a lasting affect in his lessons haha)... but I went and stood by him and he said, "Elder Woodfield has a soft heart and he isn't an example of someone that needs to do this, but to serve a mission..." He smacked me on the chest by the heart. "You need... *smack* to, *smack* soften, *smack* your, *smack* heart..." *smack* He hit me right in front of all the youth! haha it was funny! It wasn't necessarily to "hit" me, but to make the point that you need to soften your heart! haha president is really funny sometimes! When he did that, all the youth like freaked out! They thought that he was really hurting me (which it didn't really hurt) but they definitely got the point! They were all really excited and want to serve missions! It was a good lesson! haha

Then after church, he set apart the new Branch Presidency and gave a few members the Melchizedek Priesthood! He even interviewed and passed Hermano Miguel Angel for the Melchizedek Priesthood! He will be getting it in 2 weeks! It's going to be sweet! I love that guy! He is so awesome!!!

But anyway, it was a week full of lots of exciting events! It's exciting to be a normal missionary for a bit! Everyone thinks that I will be getting changed at the end of February now that I'm not the Branch President so, we'll see!

Also, this week my companion and I got really sick! I woke up in the middle of the night and was throwing up and then we were in the bathroom allllllll dayyyyyyy long! haha it stunk! We got sick Thursday night, Friday morning, and we didn't leave the house until like 6 o'clock Friday night! It stunk! But we are doing a lot better now! We think that we ate somethimg that was bad! haha but we are doing well ;)

Anyway, I love you all! I hope that you are all doing well! Stay happy everyone!

Love,
Braden

Week 86 (01/14/12) - Familias and heat

How are you guys?! I love you all!

Sorry I'm writing so late today! We got here and then all the missionaries wanted to go and celebrate a birthday, so we went and ate at this one place called Buffalo Wild Wings! It was really good! It was like a nice version of Wingers! I ate chicken strips with spicy sauce and really good french fries! I loved it!

So, I am so jealous of all of you! You guys get to hang out in the cold! It has been EXTREMELY hot lately! Like over 110 some days with a bunch of humidity! Crazy how different the temperatures are! Anyway, all has been going great out here! So, as you have all noticed Elder Fitzgerald and I have been together for about 3 months now! And guess what?! Today they told us we will be together another change! That will be so cool! I love working with Elder Fitzgerald! We will defenitely be hanging out after our missions! I love it.

Anyway, this week has been really good! We have been working hard to get the Familia Abrego their paper! I hate papers haha...but it's in the process still! Then, we have Miguel Angel's son that is progressing well! He should be ready by the end of the month! Then you have Julio Alvarez, he's awesome! I don't know if i have mentioned him before! He is an investigator that we found a long time ago but then just disappeared  We never could find him in his house! But one day, we were passing by and there he was! So we started teaching him again and he is really positive! He has a lot of desire to learn and come closer to Christ! I love them! But then we also have the Familia Parada Ortiz! They are awesome! They were a reference from a member! They have a cool story!

The mom, Maria, told us the other day that for some months she has been trying to put her life in order and put Christ more firmly in it. She has been reading a lot of the Bible, but she didn't know exactly what to do! Then she said that one day she prayed and prayed and asked God to send her someone to help her and her family, (her daughters were really rebellious  and she said that she dreamed that night that 3 guys would come to her house...the next day Guillermo (a member in our branch) took us to meet them and my Companion, Guillermo and I all went to the house! We walked up and taught them and they accepted us! Ever since then, they have been progressing a lot! The only little problem is the Dad. He really likes what we teach he is just a bit shy and hasn't gone to church yet! Make sure you all pray for him to help him come to church! I love that family! They are so cool!

Anyway, I love my mission! I love all of you! Thank you all so much for emailing me and sending me letters! I love getting letters! You guys are all the best!

Love,
Braden