Mustang, Oklahoma -May 19, 2014

Hey!

Well things are going good with the missionary work.  There hasn't been a whole lot that has happened for Elder Faulkner and I this past week.  Probably the most exciting event was our trip to the ER on Friday for Elder Faulkner.  Thursday morning Elder Faulkner woke up not feeling very well, so we didn't get to go out and work at all on Thursday, then by Friday morning he wasn't feeling any better, so we got to make a trip to the ER to get him all taken care of.  He is doing a lot better now so we should be able to get out and do some more work this week.  So because of Elder Faulkner getting sick we weren't able to do any work on Thursday, Friday or Saturday.  That put a real damper on our week, but oh well that is life sometimes.  

We were able to get out and have short visits with a couple of our investigators at the beginning of last week.  We weren't able to have any lessons though and we didn't get any new investigators either.  So overall last week was a rough one.  It has been really hard over the past couple of weeks because we haven't been having a whole lot of success with finding new investigators or really even teaching anyone.  There just isn't a whole lot that is happening for us right now.  I don't know what it is, but is seems like no matter what we try or what we do things are just steadily going downhill for us.  Hopefully we will start to see some changes happen this next week or it will be another tough one.  

Lois is still doing really well.  She has still been coming to church every week since she got baptized and she is fitting into the ward very well.  She is getting a lot of good support from everyone in the ward.  She is defiantly enjoying everything that she has been getting to do.  

Well I think that is about all for this week.  There isn't too much of an update on things that have happened.  We are looking forward to another week and for goo things to start happening.  Thank you for everything!

Love Elder Woodward

Mustang, Oklahoma -May 12, 2014

Well it was great to get to talk to all of you yesterday!  There has been quite a bit change over the past 19 months.  One thing has remained constant though.  Zander still wants to do nothing but play my PSP.  

So there isn't much of an update this week since I told you pretty much everything that has been happening recently.  I am still alive, which is a good thing.  Life has stayed pretty much the same for me out here.  The work is going great though!  We are defiantly keeping busy.  

Well I think that is about all.  I love all of you! Even if you are a pain.  

Love Elder Woodward

Mustang, Oklahoma -May 5, 2014

Hey everyone!

It is good to hear that things are going well at home.  There is always something to keep the Woodward family busy and occupied.  I can't believe that you let Gislene have that much Wasabi on her food.  I bet that her reaction to tasting the wasabi was priceless.  I really would have liked to see that.  Back when I was in Wichita Falls with Elder Kahawaii, the bishop's family has some sushi at their house with wasabi and he thought it would be a good idea to put an entire spoonful of wasabi on top of a piece of sushi.  Oh boy that was a really funny day!  I am sure Gislene's reaction was really funny though.  You should get a bunch of wasabi sauce and tell all of the kids that it is ice cream then give them all a bunch.  That would be fun.  

Things this past week have been pretty good.  They weren't always the best, but we made it through and are looking forward to another great week!  There hasn't been a whole lot of change from last week.  Our investigator, Jeff, hasn't made a whole lot of progress.  He is still having a big holdup with how the priesthood was restored to Joseph Smith.  His concern is mostly with Peter, James, and John being resurrected beings, and he wants to know why Christ didn't just come to restore the priesthood himself.  So I have just been lost on how to help him overcome these concerns.  At least he hasn't brought up anything about women not being able to hold the priesthood.  That would make things a lot of fun.  

Other then Jeff we were able to go see one other investigator this past week.  Her name is Tammy.  Elder Faulkner and I are really excited to get to start working with her.  Elder Faulkner and Elder Gunderson found her one day when I was on an exchange, so all that I had to go off of was what Elder Faulkner had told me.  We went over on Thursday evening and sat outside with her.  She had read through the Restoration pamphlet that we had left with her a couple of days before so she had some questions for us about what she read.  She had gotten a couple of misconceptions about what she had read, so we cleared those up for her.  One of the things that she thought after she read through the pamphlet was that the Book of Mormon replaced the Bible, so we explained that it didn't replace the bible or anything like that.  She told us that the Book of Mormon wasn't meant to replace the Bible made so much more sense to her and that she would really like to read the Book of Mormon, so we left her with a copy.  We will defiantly be going over to see her later on this week.

I am doing really well.  I am still trying to get a long with Elder Garner, but that is just how things go I guess.  I am still alive and well though.  Missionary work is great!  I love every minute of it!  

I will just send a separate email to try and figure everything out with Skype for Mothers Day.  You can defiantly tell that I have been on my mission for a while since I have no idea how to use any of that stuff.  I never had any interest in Skype when I was home, so I am even more lost now.  Go a head and laugh at me if you feel the need to.  

So thank you for everything that you guys do for me!  I love all of you and can't wait to talk to you all this Sunday!  It should be a really good day!  Thank you again!

Love Elder Woodward

Mustang, Oklahoma -April 28, 2014

Hey!

For the most part life has been treating me pretty well.  I have been managing to deal with life and all of the good things that come with it.  I have also been having to deal with all of the crap that comes with life as well.  We found out last night all about transfers and what will be happening for the next six weeks of my life.  There really isn't much to tell you about since nothing is changing at all.  Yep that means that I will be here in Mustang for another six weeks with Elder Faulkner, Elder Bolan, and Elder Garner.  In case you couldn't tell I was really hoping something would be changing with this transfer.  

So now onto something that is actually good news.  Lois got baptized on Saturday!  Everything fell into place just like the pieces of a puzzle.  We finished teaching her all of the commandments last Thursday.  We finished all of the lessons just in time for her to be interviewed for her baptism on Friday evening, then she was baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday.  We had already known for a while that she wanted Brother Ridley to baptize her, and that she wanted the four missionaries in our ward to stand in the circle when she was confirmed.  I wasn't really sure who would be doing the confirmation, but I thought it would just be Brother Ridley as well since he was baptizing her.  So on Tuesday evening we had a lesson with her and we were starting to figure out everything for the baptism.  I don't know exactly at which point it came up, but Sister Ridley asked me if I knew Lois wanted me to be the one who confirmed her.  I was so shocked that she wanted me to be the one who confirmed her.  It was a really humbling experience for her to have asked me to do this.  So yesterday I got to confirm Lois a member of the church.  It was a really cool experience.  The baptism on Saturday went really well.  We had 12 missionaries there to support her, which I thought was really cool because I got to see how many missionaries she had touched over the past couple of years.  She was so ready to be baptized though.  I don't think there was anything that would have stopped her from showing up to her baptism.  

So this past week I got to go on exchanges with a couple of exchanges with other missionaries.  Last Wednesday I went with Elder Hightower to Mustang 2nd ward and got to spend the day on my bike.  I was really glad that I had started to use my bike again before I went on that exchange or I think I probably would have died.  We had a pretty good day biking all over Mustang talking with people.  On Wednesday evening we went to help with their mutual activity which was a highway cleanup, so for the rest of the night we got to walk down the highway and pick up garbage.  It was actually pretty fun.  You would be surprised at all the random stuff you find that isn't trash.  I ended up being a good night and we got a lot of trash picked up.  The other exchange that I got to go on was with one of the Zone leaders.  Since I am the DL and I taught Lois I couldn't do her baptismal interview, so Elder Peterson came out here with me for the day.  We spent the day out on bikes since it wasn't our day to use the car.  The worst part about biking in Oklahoma is the wind.  There may not be hills to bike up, but there is wind to bike against which in some cases is worse then a hill.  But we ended up having a good day and getting a lot done.  We found a new potential investigator who we are going to go and see this evening.  So there are a lot of exciting things happening right now.  That is one reason that I am excited to get to stay for another transfer.  

Well that is all for this week.  I guess I will get to call home in a couple of weeks for Mothers Day.  Actually this time we are allowed to Skype home, so that is probably what I will end up doing.  So in a sense I will see you in a couple of weeks as well.  Thank you all for everything that you do for me!  I love you all! 

Love Elder Woodward

Mustang, Oklahoma -April 21, 2014

Hey!

Well things sure have been going well for us this past week.  We had seven long days to get out and work and we managed to get a lot done in that time.  It sounds like everything has been going a lot better at home over the past couple of weeks.  It must be really nice to have some peace and quiet.  Of course there is always something to say and do with soccer.  The is the basis and one of the fundamental units of living in the Woodward family.  Everything else revolves around soccer.  Maybe what Dad can start to do is take the power cord to the tv and not give it back until everyone practices soccer for and hour a day.  That would probably help Zander improve his soccer skills.  And if any of the kids come and tell you that is a bad idea to take the cord away, you can blame it on me.  There isn't a whole lot that they could do to me right now.  

This past week turned out to be a pretty good one for Elder Faulkner and me.  We were really excited about last week and how everything went.  Lois is still doing really well.  She was at church yesterday and we were able to have three lessons with her last week to help her get ready for her baptism.  We talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the word of wisdom. the law of chastity, and tithing and fast offerings.  It sounds like we gave her a lot of new stuff to learn and think about, but it wasn't as bad as it sounds because Lois had already taken all of those pamphlets from work and read through all of them, so we really just went through and reviewed them to make sure she didn't have any questions.  She didn't have any questions or concerns with any of these things so it was really easy for her to commit to do all of these commandments.  She came to church yesterday as well and enjoyed the Easter Sunday.  Things are starting to get into full swing as we continue to prepare for her baptism this coming weekend.  Lois is still really excited for this weekend and can't wait for Saturday.  It is really weird to think that it has been over three weeks since we first started to teach her, and now we are almost to her baptism.  Today while we were at the laundromat we talked to Lois about the baptismal program and about who she would like to do everything.  So next week we will have a lot of exciting news to tell you about.  And yes Mom, I will be sure to send you a picture of everyone at the baptism since you have been eagerly awaiting more pictures.

So even though we were able to meet with Lois so much this past week we were still able to go and visit a lot of other people.  We had another lesson with Jeff.  We were able to talk to him a lot more about the priesthood and help him understand the importance of the priesthood.  We haven't been able to see him at church yet because he leaves town every weekend to go visit his family. So he is never here on Sunday and that makes it hard.  He is really close to knowing that the church is true.  So we are going to keep working with him to help him get ready to be baptized as soon as he starts coming to church.

Things are still going really well for me.  I am still alive and surviving out here in Oklahoma.  I got the Easter package that you had sent out for me.  I have no idea what I am supposed to do with all of that candy though.  I guess at some point I will have it all gone.  Thank you so much for the package though.  It was very much appreciated!  I will let you know if there is anything else that I need here in the future.  Thank you again for everything!  You guys are great!  

Love Elder Woodward

Mustang, Oklahoma -April 14, 2014

Hey!

So as far as things went this past week for missionary work here in Mustang, overall things went well.  About halfway through the week we found out that our investigator Louis did end up watching a some of General Conference last week so we were able to pick her baptismal date back up for April 26th.  Elder Faulkner and I were both really excited about that!  So then this past week we were able to have another lesson with Louis and teach her about the Plan of Salvation.  She was at her house ready for the lesson by the time we got there and she enjoyed the entire lesson.  She has been really prepared to get baptized.  So as you may have figured out by now, I wouldn't have told you that we were able to continue planning for her to be baptized on the 26th unless she came to church yesterday.  So yes Louis was able to make it to church for Fast and Testimony meeting.  It was really exciting to see her there and to not have to worry about rescheduling her baptismal date.  So that was our miracle for the week.

Another cool thing that happened for us this past week took place last night.  It was a really windy day and so Elder Faulkner and I weren't really in the mood to ride our bikes into 30- 40 mph winds, so we decided to walk to get over to our area.  As we were walking past a Pentecostal church I happened to see out of the corner of my eye that someone was waving at us.  So I looked over to see who it was and it was one of our potential investigators, Kristen.  We waved back and then went over to talk to her.  We found out that the church we were walking past happened to be the church she went to, so she invited us to come in and meet her Pastor.  At first I was a little worried about what would happen, but we went in and met her Pastor.  He was actually a really nice guy.  He invited us to come to church with them sometime and asked us for our number so that he could meet us sometime.  So it turned out to be a pretty cool way that we were able to contact Kristen and talk to her again.

So something new that I learned this past week.  If you happen to get sunscreen on your white dress shirt, when it comes time to wash it it will come out with an ugly yellowish-green stain.  Hopefully it won't be too hard to get the new coloring out of them.  

Thank you for everything!  I am really looking forward to this Easter package!  Thank you so much for all of your prayers!  I love you guys!

Love Elder Cameron Woodward

Mustang, Oklahoma -April 7, 2014

Hello!

For the record I would like to let everyone know that I am NOT a slacker.  I clearly remember that I told you about Elder Bolan when I called home on Christmas day.  So don't be calling me a slacker because you forgot that I already told you that I was with Elder Bolan.  I also was not even aware that we were supposed to be guessing who was writing the emails. So to re-emphasize what was said in conference yesterday by Elder Ballard and the things that he learned from his mission, and to share something I have learned, it is VERY important to be clear and simple when you are inviting someone to do something.  For example, when you are telling your son to guess who has been writing the emails.  So you need to be sure from now on that your invitations are clear and direct.  And yes I will be following up with you next week to see how you are doing.  In answer to your question, I'm going to say that it was dad. 

So now for things that have happened here in Oklahoma from the date of March 31st to April 6.  For starters Elder Faulkner and I have managed to keep our running streak of having 0 investigators at sacrament meeting.  After much review, we have now been able to more accurately convey the true running total.  It has now been more then 21 weeks since our area has had an investigator at sacrament meeting.  It is getting really frustrating that no one will come to sacrament.  Enough of that though.

This past week was a really slow one for us over here in our area.  We did have a bright spark of hope come to us this week as we were finally able to get a new investigator this week.  Her name is Louis.  So Louis works at the laundromat where we do our laundry every week.  A member of our ward also happens to own this laundromat, so Louis has had a lot of contact with missionaries for the four years she has worked there, and has also had a lot of contact with members of the church.  This past week was when she decided that she wanted to join the church and take the missionary discussions.  So on Friday after our District Meeting we went over with Sister Ridley (she owns the Laundromat) and started teaching Louis.  We had a really good lesson with her and we even committed her to be baptized.  Unfortunately though because of the excitement that we had, we wanted to commit her to be baptized before this transfer was over, so we set the date for April 26th, so she would have had to watch a session of conference and come to church every week before she could get baptized.  The unfortunate part came because as far as we are aware, she didn't watch any of conference.  So we now have to reschedule her baptismal date for another day.  It was still really good to have been able to start teaching Louis and help her prepare to get baptized.  

I really enjoyed conference this time!  There was so much that was talked about and so many good talks.  I don't know which one was my favorite.  They were all just so good!  Who would have ever thought that I would enjoy sitting and watching 10 hours of tv.  It was great though!

Well that is about all for me this week.  I hope that you all have a good week!  

Love Elder Woodward