Exciting News -4 investigators!

This week we´ve been really blessed. I´ve had more energy and been able to work better and Hna Ancalle and I are getting along great. We have 4 new investigators and that is AWESOME, not something that happens every week. One of which I am completely convinced is going to get baptized. I felt the same way with Karina in the first visit as I do with this woman, named Santi. So I´m very excited for our cita with her tonight. The intial contact was to teach her kids english and thats what we´re doing tonight. But when we passed by the other day she asked us about what we do as missionaries and we talked lots about families and religion. I¨m excited. :)

This week in my studies I´ve been reading where Alma and Amulek are teaching to the wicked city and they had to watch all those women and children be burned. I was thinking about Amulek, and he either watched his wife and children be burned or was completely rejected by them. Both are terrible options.  And I had the question-How could he possibly do that? Family is so important to me, especially now that I´m so far from home and understand the gospel better. How did he have the strength to do it? 

The answer is clear to me. He KNEW this gospel is true. He had prayed and studied and pondered. He had listened to Alma the prophet and had worked to grow his faith until it was unshakable. And he knew that this gospel is the only path to happiness, and that no matter what happens in this life, if we are faithful until the end, we will be happier than we can imagine. 

I think all those pioneers who lost family, and all those martyrs knew this too. And I´m working hard so that my testimony and conversion is at the same level. That no matter what happens, no matter how many times I´m rejected or how many days I have to walk around searching for people, I will KNOW this gospel is true. 

So, the question is, where is your level of conversion? Could you do what Amulek did? It gives us lots to ponder, doesn´t it? 

Love you all lots!!! Its a more profound email than normally, but its where my thoughts have been the last few days. 

Email hugs and loves, 

Hna Woolley

p.s.

part of Kelsey's letter to family about her birthday:
i´ve alreayd worn the skirt like 3 times, just cause its new. and super fresquita. ask dad what that means, i can´t remember the word in english. fresh? good for summer. we ate a peru oatmeal thing for breakfast. i was going to to french toast (no milk for pancakes) but she´d made that while i was in the shower and couldnt´say no.we were going to eat with members but they canceled on us so we ate cupcakes, i had a red velvet and hna Ancalle dark chocolate and we each ate a half. lunch was normal food. went to a baby shower that night and got to know an investigator better. nothing much. loved the gifts :) 

Last week's blog post that I forgot to post.

I have a surprise. Transfers! Hna Rocha is leaving after only 1 transfer together. We both had the feeling she might leave and we were both jumpy Friday night with the phone. But the Elders in our district called in the night saying that President had called everyone and where Elder Hampel is going. So we went to bed with peaceful minds.

The next morning we were the first people President called. She´s going to Elche with all the palm trees in a trio to end the mission of someone, and my new companion is Hna Ancalle. My third native companion from Peru. I have no idea what is up with Peru, but there´s something going on there. And three native comps!! Thats a lot in our mission. I honestly struggle to speak straight english now (we have a friend who only speaks english, not spanish) I can only speak spanglish or spanish. Such a great thing!! At least i can still write in english, somehow its different. Also.... my new comp is 35 years old. So that will be a very different experience. I met her once back in Sevilla.

This week I learned something really cool in my personal study. I was reading in Mosiah sobre Alma and King Noah and the kingdom. When Alma and those of the church left, both groups were enslaved by the Laminates.

Basically the same thing happened to them both, terrible burdens and trials. BUT, because Alma and his people were trying to be righteous and obey the Lord, he lifted their burdens quicker. It says in the scriptures that the Lord was slow to hear the prayers of the people of Noah because of their iniquity. And the ppl of Noah tried to fight and many people died and they suffered more. When you really pay attention, theres a huge difference in how the situation was for the two groups.

Lesson learned? Obedience to the Lord really does change our lives. We will still have big problems, but the Lord can bless us and help us more. And we have that foundation of faith that He will come and help us, and I think that makes all the difference.

Ok, I´ve been waiting to share that all week. Was an eye opener for me. Love you all lots!!!! Wish me luck with this week, hopefully I know the area well enough. We´re going to see miracles, I know it.
Loves,

Hermana Woolley

Bus rides

This week I have gone to Ciudad Real ( the centeral city, about 1 hr bus ride away) 4 times in less than 7 days. Talk about losing work time! But it was all for a good cause.

1. A doctor apointment where they told me to come back another day for a different apointment

2. Zone conference with lots of misionaries. The missionary couple made us tacos and I got to blow candles out on a yummy brownie cake with the others with August birthdays.

3. Specialized training and interviews with the mision President. He is an amazing man who really has the light of Christ in him. He sacrificed a lot to come see us, and I think every single one of us really needed him and his wife that day. I really gained a testimony of how much the Lord watches out for us this day.

4. Having my blood taken out so the doctors can see whats going on with my crazy body. I´ll find out hte results next week.

It´s been a crazy week. And now I am very poor. And very grateful for my Savior and all that He has done for me. I´ve grown so much closer to Him through this trial and learned how to really trust Him and turn over my burdens. I know its only through His power that I´ve been able to keep going these last few weeks and do what He needs me to do. This gospel really is life-changing, when we let it. I´ve never been so grateful for the knowledge and faith I have.

Thanks for all your prayers and love and support. And no need to freak out! Everything is getting worked out, I have lots of people helping me. My battery is low but I'm staying very close to the Lord and its helping a lot. We´re going to see miracles and already have. Love you lots!!!
Got the pkg, thanks a bunch!!Email hugs and lots of love,

Hermana Woolley

Trials, blessings and learning

Honestly... I´m not sure what to share this week. Life is pretty much life. Trials, blessings, learning. Not nececcarially in that order. If theres one thing i´m learning out here it´s how to rely on the Lord. Thinking about the relationship I had with him before my mission and now-- the difference is so obvious. Heavenly Father truly has become the person I trust with every secret, every hope, every question, everything. I think its something every missionary has to learn, because we´re out here alone with only our comp and the Lord.

And even though its been difficult, I´m grateful. This last week with all the trials that have been piling up, I´ve really tried to look for what I´m supposed to learn. And praying for help to be positivie. And its amazing the difference its made. Those days when I forgot to pray for positivity in the morning were so different from the days when I did ask.

The mom that works sundays is a member. It´s a family of less actives. And I think the mom would be active if she could be. I´ve been fasting every sunday since I came to Valdepeñas for specific people or the area. We need all the help we can get, and it finally occured to me that I could fast more for help. But not this week, Hna Rocha got mad at me because we don´t know why my hair is falling out, and if its a lack of nutrients fasting will make things worse. She has a point, so I broke my fast. She knows hair, she´s a trained hair cutter (how do you call it?) and we´ve been putting aloe vera on my scalp when I sleep every couple days. She says it should help, she did it for her mom. We´ll see. (Kelsey has been losing hair and her mom is quite freaked out as I am sure it is her thyroid and she needs to go to a dr quick not sometime soon!)

And I´m learning that a little bit down the road, I´ll only remember what I learned and the good parts, not how hard it was. If I do things right and do my best. Cool, right?

I love you all a lot. Remember to talk to your Father Above. I promise that He really does want to hear from you, no matter how small or big the problem or happy moment. Share it! He wants to hear.

Loves,

Hermana Woolley

Remember how I said we have lots of adventures here in Valdepeñas? Yesterday was probably one of the most interesting days of my mission.

We didn´t have any solid citas so we were basically walking around. Which by the way, is the worst Sunday night, because you´re starting to think about pday a little and talking to family, and your tired after a week of hard work, etc.

So we´re walking around, and run into this dog that dosen´t have a collar and has long hair still, aka no owner. So we stop and give it some water... and it starts to follow us. It´s this little mutt with red hair, kind of cute but with a terrible underbite.

The dog (Hna Rocha named it Garfield for its red fur) followed us for 45 minutes. It was hillarious, because it would try to act like it wasn´t following us, it would walk on the other side of the street and stop to sniff things, etc, but it was totally following us all across town.

 We have one investigator who I am positive will be baptized. He is named Alejandro and is the partner of a less active. his daughter was baptized earlier this year, but he can´t be until him and less active get married. she´s waiting on papers to be legal here. so its honestly just a waiting game. he hasn´t accepted a fecha to be baptized, but only because we haven´t invited him yet. but i think the next time we see him we will invite him to be baptized.

Besides him, we have a bunch of people we see every once in a while.Tthey´re all good, but all really busy. so we´re trying to set up solid times we visit every week , like every tues and thurs at 6 or something. hopefully it will make things easier.

also have a new convert 14 yr old girl Lucia. we´re working with her a lot and trying to include her friends, going to make snickerdoodles this week in the church with them.

A less active family too, from colombia. one girl came to church yesterday with us! her sister is living w her boyfriend who dosen´t like the church, but she has us over sometimes and come to church sometimes. shés going to have to chose church or him eventually, really sad situation. mom would come but has to work sundays and shes the only one working so can´t not work, really sad. comes when she can.

besides them, not much else. Lots of futures!

Tri-zone Conference

Well... this week was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our area is still the same, no miracles there. But we had a Tri-zone conference with the zones of La Mancha (mine), Granada and Málaga. So I was able to see a BUNCH of missionaries I haven´t seen in a long time. Hermana Roan for the first time since I left Granada, Hna Bangerter, Elders from my old districts, lots and lots of people. It was so great to see everyone.

And I learned a lot. Things I´d learned before but needed a brushing up on, and new tips and tricks for planning better. All of what we learned is going to help us out here a ton. We need help, and I wasn´t sure what else to do to help our area. And every single talk applied to us, how we can plan better and having the vision of ¨two times in white´´. We´re here to do more than just baptize someone and then cut them lose. Its our job too to help them work towards the goal of the temple so they can recieve all the blessings Heavenly Father has in store for them. This conference really helped me refocus, its amazing how it was exactly what I needed. The Lord really knows what He´s doing in choosing His leaders :).

Hna Rocha and I are learning lots together. And gaining lots of muscles, as we´ve been doing lots of walking and we go running in the mornings too. Thus, very tired. We´re having a very chill p-day today I think.

Love you all so much. Remember, missionary work isn´t just for missionarys. And its more than just handing someone a Book of Mormon and then handing over the name to the missionaries. Christ never did that. He loved them, and helped them, and shared what He loved with everyone. Christ converted people through his love and example, not by saying ¨if you would like to know more about my gospel, here´s this phone number.´´ I read a talk on this during the week and it had a big impact on me. The natural result of becoming more like Christ is to do more missionary work. Think about it, it makes a lot of sense.

Love you all!! Have a super week,

Hermana Woolley

Hobo

Well, we have 30 minutes of email time today instead of 1.5 hrs. long story and don´t have much time. but, this 4th of july was one of a kind. started off really great with us going to ciudad real for district meeting. there´s a married couple in our district so they made a american feast for us and the other district taht meet there. GIANT hamburgers, watermelon, potatoe salad, yum!!!!! all was well and happy, until we tried to go home.

the bus we were supposed to take home to go to the ward activity and support the branch didn´t have enough seats for the 4 of us. so we had to miss it, even though we were there in time. so we waited in the bus station solving riddles and playing games until the next bus came. and then we got off in the pueblo that the branch president had told us to get off in to go to the activity... and no one answered their phones. when someone finally answered they told us that someone would come pick us up (it was the last bus of the night. so we were stranded without help). i have never felt so much like a hobo in my life. we had a suitcase with BOM and other missionary stuff we´d picked up and we were basically sitting on the curb for 2 hours. we made bets to see when we´d make it home-- elders won. we´re making them cookies. we made it home just in time to not be late getting in, but without having done any work all day. the story deserves a better telling but im low on time.

moral of the story: be REALLY early for all buses and always carry uno cards.

love you all lots!!

hermana woolley