Michael on a Mission

12:06 pm - no more e-mail

01:52 pm - Permanant Address!

Dear friends, 

Here is the address for the mission office. All mail sent here will be forwarded to me.

01:23 pm - I moved again

I've been living in Worcester for a while.

12:13 pm - Relocation. Assignment #2

Dear happy friends who do not write me letters,

I have moved. After 8 months, I have left my home of Brockton and have settled in the Brazlian-populated city of Framingham. It was a bit sad to leave the city and the people that I spent so much time with, but such is the life of a missionary. Besides, I am in a fantastic area right now with a wonderful companion. We get fed absurd amounts of Brazilian food and enjoy working together. Things are looking up.

We ate at a fancy-shmancy Korean restaurant on Saturday :D

Expect a picture in the near future (next week).


much love,

     Elder Wood

02:30 pm - Elder, Teacher, Confectionist

I made a large cake. Does anyone know what building it is? I'll send a free gift to the winner! 

Though I must warn you, the only gifts I have are similar to what homz received in the mail...

<3
Elder Wood

12:25 pm - videos!

turtle

shark

Adam and Eve

Life is exciting!

05:30 pm - Paramedics are nice people

My Brother-in-law helped save a 500lb woman that was stuck in her car after getting into an accident. How cool is that?

Also, my sister is pregnant. :o

12:35 pm - So, this is what humidity feels like.

Oh, whoops.

I hit the back button on the browser and lost everything I wrote. I better make this short.

I'm still in Brockton, suffering from humid heat! I'm not used to this; I'm from the desert! This summer should be interesting... and miserable.

Missionary work continues well. I'm really enjoying it and am working hard.

I get to call my family on Mother's day this Sunday! This will be special - I only get to talk to them twice a year.

I recognize the writing here is boring. I'll try to write a story next time. Well, I was writing one and it got deleted. It's hard, you know. I only have an hour or so to e-mail my family and anyone else and to write here!

I hope everyone is well and enjoying the outside world. How is Spiderman 3?

04:08 pm - Now I understand the Theory of Relativity.

Dear Everyone,

How is the world? I haven't heard from anyone in a while.

Mission life continues swimmingly. Ha, too bad we can't swim. 

Can you believe it? I've already been out for over seven months! Despite this, however, I still feel like a very new Elder.
Perhaps this is because I'm still in my first area. I've been working in Brockton for the past five months, and thus I can remember all of the naive things I did when I first came out as if they happened yesterday. 

I have a feeling I might be transferred to a different area soon. Who knows? I won't find out for another two weeks, just two days before I would have to move. They always keep us on our toes!

The work here in Brockton is progressing at an unbelievable rate. There seems to be an infinite number of people who are ready to accept the message of the restored gospel, and we continue to find them every day. We've also been bringing many people into the church; recently, there have been baptisms every week. The outpouring of the Lord's blessings is easily seen here. 


As far as me, personally...
I'm enjoying the mission. It's not necessarily the outward results of the work that cause it, but doing it itself and recognizing the Lord's hand. I can scarcely describe the joy of teaching a lesson and feeling the Spirit work through me and my companion as we testify of Christ and His church.

Okay, I have to go.

Elder Wood

01:29 pm - Eggs + Bunny + Jesus = Holiday???

Dear Everyone,

I am still alive. Happy Easter.

General Conference was last week! It was great to hear from the living prophet and apostles.

Enjoy the sugar, but with temperance! Kiss your mother, brush your teeth, and remember Jesus!

<3

Elder Wood

09:47 am - .

Work is incredible. Through the help of members and divine help from above, we have been baptizing people every week! Here is a typical pattern.

1. Members bring their friends to church
2. We meet people at church and teach them in class. They like church and we schedule an appointment to teach them.
3. We teach them in their own homes, often with the people who brought them to church. We teach about the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and give them commitments to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know that the things we taught are true.
4. If they fulfill the assignment and prayed with faith and sincerity and real intent, they receive an answer to their prayers and know for themselves that these things are true.
5. We continue to teach and they continue to attend church. If they are keeping their commitments and are willing to obey the commandments, we baptize them and confer the gift of the Holy Ghost*. They are then members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
6. We continue to visit them and help them learn and grow in the Gospel. We recognize that this is a big change, but do everything we can to help them feel loved and strengthen their testimonies.

I really love the people we teach. These are good people; they are not stupid or deceived like some people would like to believe. They are honest seekers of truth who really want to follow Christ! I learn so much from them and am grateful for the opportunity to know them.

Perhaps next time I will write a brief entry about our message; what exactly we believe and what we teach people. Wouldn't it be good to know why people are joining this church?


*This is done by restored Priesthood Authority. We believe that this Authority was lost with the death of the Apostles but was erstored through a living prophet, called of God.  

12:25 pm - erm, confusion

Sorry, I don't have time to specify this story. Here is a clip from an e-mail I wrote to my family. It will be confusing, I think.

well, a little specification. It was a divorce for a couple who were only married so the man and his real wife could become legal (the fake wife is a citizen). Confused? The couple getting the papers is a member of the church here so they asked us to help.

Last Monday we went to translate for a ward member in court. I had never been to court before and I had never even translated, so it was just a little frightenening for me! Actually, I was pretty calm most of the day. That is, until we entered the court building. Then the intensity of the place robbed me of all confidence.

I realized how serious court was when we entered and had to go through airport-like security. As I went through the security check and walked through the enormous court house, scenes from court movies, courtTV and daytime television flashed through my head. I wondered how my experience would compare to those.

It was surprising how stressful that place felt! I was just there to translate, yet I could feel the sorrow and worries and despair emanating from the people around me, waiting for their turn to plead their case.

It was cool! I had to swear in and give my name "for the record" and all those other formalities. I don't understand them, but I can tell you they're real! Because the man could understand some English, I only had to translate the questions the judge asked him directly, or whenever he didn't understand something. I was so glad I didn't have to translate every word.

Everything went through and the fake spouses are divorced. Hooray!




Here is a picture of a family that was baptized recently. I'm in the upper-left corner, and my companion is in the upper-right.
The woman on the left is the mother. She was baptized about three months ago with her husband (in the white jump-suit). The boy on the left was baptized two weeks ago, and the two girls in white were baptized yesterday by their father. The girl in the back row by us is also part of their family, though she still doesn't want to be baptized. The girl on the bottom right is not a member of this family.

12:32 pm - pcitures

This is a common house here in Brockton. Notice the painted foundation - that's the work of a Cape Verdian.

02:17 pm - Questions? Comments? High Fives?

Hello everyone. How is life? Does anyone have any direct questions about what I do or what life is like? I would be happy to answer. 

The work is exploding here and I am so grateful to be a part of it. Sure, most people don't have interest, but it's wonderful to see how many people do.

I could write more about my experiences, but they would probably be deeply religious and controversial. That's not really the point I want to get across here. Let's just say that we are finding many people with deep interest in the church. We even had a baptism yesterday.

If you want to know more what I - me and this church - are about, check out www.mormon.org. If you want to learn more, maybe someday you'll hear from an Elder like me! 




As far as general experiences... hmmm.. We finally have more toilet paper! Woo hoo! Now I only have one dollar to my name.

<3 - Elder Wood

04:03 pm - Sweet is the work

Thank you, homz for that clarification. I should be more careful when speaking about such controversial subjects!

Life is going great! I have a new companion now - he's from Brasil and is an amazing missionary. I've enjoyed the little time I've spent with him and am looking forward to serving with him more. I think we will do good work together.

Valentine's day came and went with a nasty ice storm. The roads were terrible, along with the lack of letters. 

I am alive. That is all I can say now. It's time to go back to work. Luckily, I enjoy it! Seriously!

04:56 pm - Another thing to take off my to-do list!

DEAR HOMZ - Eu vou mandar um pacote para voce hoje!

I hope you can understand that. HAOHahahah


Concerning the ORGAN - One of the church members here bought a new piano and gave us the old organ that was replaced. Sweet! This morning I woke up the other Elders by cranking up the volume and playing the beginning measures from Phantom of the Opera (the chromatic scales up and down with minor chords of doom). I also cackeled devilishly. Actually no, that would be a little overbearing. 

I hate "bible bashing" with people. It's a waste of time and does no good. This week we were forced into a situation with some Cape Verdian Seventh Day Adventists. I just sat back, but oooohh... . I'm just glad we have the Book of Mormon and prophets to avoid the chaos of the christian world.

We have a number of progressing investigators and some upcoming baptismal dates! It's always wonderful to see such results from our labors.

My companion ends his mission this week, so I will be getting a new one. I wonder who it will be! 

SNOW is supposed to be coming this week; perhaps a foot on Valentine's day. I hope My companion's flight isn't canceled! 

Yes, I know this was scattered, but so am I. Love me anyways, like I love you <3

- Elder Wood

Broke-town, MA

04:27 pm

Sorry, I don't have time to make a complete entry. I just stopped by to tell you that I am alive and well and COLD.

Oh, and I acquired an organ. It has a blown-out speaker, but we snipped the wire. Good thing it's like those great organs that still functions after a part of it dies!

Peace be unto you hooligans. <3

Elder Wood

01:56 pm - My thoughts evade me

Hello, friends! I am still alive here in Brockton, MA! It's cold, but it will take a lot more than a cold front to stop me from doing this work. Shoot, I went tracting (knocking doors) yesterday for an hour until the sun set. We never tract after the sun sets though, because it is kind of dangerous around here - I sleep to the sound of ambulances at night. 

I heard that the Patriots lost last night. I didn't watch the game (we don't even have a TV or radio), but I could make a pretty good inference upon hearing the colorful stream of vulgarities coming from our neighbors' apartment. I guess I should cheer them up with the message of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, gotta go!

Tchau~

<3

Elder Wood

06:59 pm - rgasd no toiem

Bem, Tenho que correr. Eu amo todo de vos. Tchau!

PS - Homz, you are my hero of the week. Thanks for the letter! I will send a return letter shortly.




I had rice last night...

...and it was DELICIOUS.

01:45 pm - Novo Ano

So, it's 2007? What? Where have I been the last three months?! Oh, yeah...

Just Kidding! Life is great, although there has been a sginificant drop in the amount of letters I've received after Christmas. I guess my family decided that talking on the phone counted as letters for the next three weeks or something.

The end of the year passed without significance here. To protect us from all those crazy people, we had to be home by 6:00 PM on New Year's Eve. We came home, ate, and spent the night playing Settlers with the other Elders in the apartment. The day before I bought the Cities and Knights expansion, so...

Missionary work has been amazing lately! Last week we started teaching thirteen new people, three of which were just random contacts on the street. It seems like there really is a greater power helping us with our work.

I love beans and rice. I simply cannot get enough of it. I eat it every day, and yet I never tire of it. I am what you call, "addicted." It could be worse though; my companion has actual cravings for McDonalds.

I hope everyone had a swell holiday season. Now go make a goal to lose those extra pounds (and then give up)!