Week 44 (10/25/10) Email to Mom

Hey Mom! I'm happy about the new companion thing too. This next six weeks are going to be great. I have had my share of tough ones. Elder Spencer and I get along great. Zero disagreements. We work hard and have a good time doing it. I love it. We were able to talk with Marisol's 'husband', Romai, on Saturday and it went great! We were praying for a miracle and I did a 12 hour fast beforehand. Marisol had said he wouldn't be too open to the idea. He was great. Just like her. He said he is happy but recognizes that he needs to make God a part of his life to be happier. He said he thinks God sent us to him. Boy did he! He wanted us to come back and we're going back on Thursday. I think they will be getting married and then baptized. Just a matter of time. I hope I'll still be here. Anyway all is well here. I don't have much time left so I better get going. I have an early Christmas request. Elder Spencer said he played a fun card game called BANG. Just let me know what Santa thinks.:) Well I love you Mom. Thanks a TON for everything!

Love, Matt

Week 43 (10/20/10) Email to family

Hey everybody!

Good news here from El Jagüel! I received Elder Spencer into El Jagüel and he is the district leader. Elder Spencer and I have the same amount of time and we already knew each other and we're buds so I'm stoked. This transfer is going to be a lot better. I was hoping to be senior comp but Elder Spencer and I are going to work good together. We're going to tear it up! Basically we're both senior comps. Elder Maxfield got transferred out of El Cruce after 6 months there and got moved to the area right above mine and now we're in the same district. I'm excited because this transfer is going to be awesome.

     Marisol is still doing great. She is cruising in the Book of Mormon. She says she really feels the peace and spiritual strength that comes from reading it. Its like food for the spirit. She said she noticed it the most when she didn't read on Sunday, the difference she felt. She couldn't come to church on Sunday but she came to an activity on Saturday. We talked with her this week about the importance of marriage and she and her marido are going to talk about it. He sounds like a really good guy and I think we're going to get to meet him on Saturday night. He's from Bolivia as well. Marisol was born in Potosí. I don't know if you remember which city that was Mom but that was the city with really high altitude where we went to the caves and the coin press museum and where I had to pee worse than I have have ever had to pee. Whenever I meet Bolivians I feel an extra amount of love for them. Bolivians are pretty discriminated against here and that makes me sad. Her son David is always happy to see us. I think he's going to draw me a picture of Spiderman haha. Pablo's still doing good, we've got an appointment with him today. Adelina, one of the references from the Gutiérrez family that I talked about last week is doing really good. We have to take it a little bit slower with her because she is from Paraguay so her first language is Guaraní, but she really likes it and came to church this week with her 6-year old daughter.

      That's about all I've got for this week. I love you guys and I hope everything is well. I'm happy with where I'm at and what I'm doing. I know this is the Lord's work. This is the true church of God and He loves each one of you. As do I. Until next week. Chau chau.

Love, Elder Woodside

Week 43 (10/11/10) Email to Family

Elder Woodside's Top 10 of Transfer 6 Week 5

10. The Princess and the Frog

For our zone activity today we watched a movie and played some futbol. Movies were recently added to the approved P-Day activities. The movie was actually better than I thought, though I think any child that watches it will be afraid of the dark. I liked the part when the alligator gets on the boat and starts wailing on his trumpet.

9. Capital Federal

It was good last week being in the capital. It's like a whole different world than the area my mission covers. We went the cemetary where famous Argentine people are buried, then we went to some weird art museums and we almost got to meet Bon Jovi. It was good to do something on P-Day with other missionaries. Doesn't happen much with Elder Gonzales.

8. Cañuelas

After district meeting on Thursday we had to go to Cañuelas for some baptismal interviews. Cañuelas is a beautiful place. It reminded me a lot of Illinois. It was like an hour and a half travel in train and colectivo to get there. Lots of farms and stuff like that with a big blue sky. I felt like I was on vacation.

7. References from Gutierrez

A family in the ward gave us a few references and we had some good lessons with them. We went one night to talk with one and then the next night we went and met the other. Adelina and Eugenio from Paraguay. Its all about the members and their help.

6. Pablo's Turno in the Registro Civil

Pablo got a date for his marriage! This really should be ranked higher but he had his wife do it-she doesn't really want anything to do with us-and she put the date for January 7. That's so far away! I think Pablo was kind of bummed. He's come to church 5 times and is doing well with his reading. He's ready for his baptism, but now he's just got to wait.

5. Marisol and Conference

Marisol is a Bolivian lady that I found with Elder Miles not this week but the week before. She is a great lady-very humble. She told us she wouldn't be able to come to conference on Saturday but that she would come on Sunday. We looked for her on Sunday but we didn't see her. When we talked with her this Tuesday she said she came to the Saturday afternoon session. Woohoo! She really liked it.

4. The Home Stretch

This is the last P-Day of this transfer. You know what that means! This week is going to be a long one though because it will go until next Wednesday. I won't be writing again until the 20th of October. I'm on the home stretch. Almost there! The next time I write to you guys I'll have a different companion and I'm hoping that I'll be senior comp. I'll be staying here in El Jagüel for one more for sure.

3. Marisol and The Book of Mormon

Marisol is doing great with her lectura in the Book of Mormon. When Elder Miles and I found her, we left her 3 Nephi chapter 11 to read and when we met with her on Tuesday she had read the chapter, then started at the front cover and read til the testimony of Joseph Smith. She has now read Alma 32 and as of Saturday she was in 1 Nephi 4. She really likes it. The Book of Mormon is an amazing book. It really comes from God.

2. Marisol's Baptismal Date

Marisol. Again. She says she doesn't think she has much faith but faith is a principle of action and I know I'm seeing it. She is doing great with her reading and she came to conference. We set a baptismal date with her on Tuesday for November 6. She has desires and she is excited. Her only obstacles are that she works on Sundays from 6:00 am to 5:00pm in the feria(its like an open flea market basically) and that she isn't married to the man she lives with. I don't think either of them will be hard fixes we just have to help her taking it one step at a time. She has 4 kids, 2 of which live in Salta(Northwest corner of Argentina) 1 lives here in Jagüel with a family member and her 6 year old David lives with her. He's a cute little kid. He loves spiderman and he's afraid of girls. He's a happy little kid.

1. My MOM! HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Happy Mother's Day Mom! Mother's Day in Argentina is this coming Sunday so I just want to thank you Mom for all that you do for me. I know I wouldn't be where I am without you. You have always been a good example to me and I want to thank you for that. Thanks for putting up with me all these years and for being by biggest support out here. I really appreciate it! I love you!

Well that's the top 10 for this week. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope everything is going well for each one of you. You are all important to me and I appreciate you guys. That's all for this week. Hasta luego. Chau chau.

Love, Elder Woodside

Week 42 (10/5/10) Email to Family

Saludos del capital!

This week we switched P-Day to Tuesday so we could come to visit capital with our district. This morning we went to the Recoleta which is a big cemetary with famous dead people. My favorite part was the stain glass windows in the sepulturas. We saw lots of American people there that don't speak Spanish. Stupid Americans. Anyway is was like a giant laborinth. I was half expecting Indiana Jones to pop out of one of the tombs with a bunch of zombies and maybe a few glass aliens chasing him. It got boring fairly quickly and now we're doing ciber before we head to the museum. Elder Coats is in my district again. He was in my very first district with Elder Sobre and he has been in the same zone with me all along the way so far. The transfer is almost on the home stretch with one more P-Day and 15 more days. The longer I have been here in Argentina, the more my desires to eat meat has diminished. If I could go back to my childhood I would do as Dad always told me and eat every carrot and pea on my plate. I miss vegetables! This week was a little different. There were leadership meetings in Adrogue in the morning of Tuesday-Friday so I had the opportunity to work with Elder Miles from Henderson/Las Vegas from 8:30-4:30 those four days. This is his first transfer and he speaks like a champ. I enjoyed working with him. Then Saturday and Sunday we had conference! I really liked the talk by Elder Uchtdorf on Saturday Morning and the talks by Elder Oaks and Bednar. We were late for Saturday Morning but I heard Holland's talk was good. Pablo went to conference with Dario, the young mens president here in El Jagüel, on Sunday and he should be taking out a turn in the registro civil to get married in November or December. Isabel and Lucas didn't come to conference. Isabel's oldest daughter recently moved in with them and she is reaking havoc, causing all kinds of problems and saying bad stuff about us. News from El Cruce is that Gabriel got a really good job through a member of the stake and he's doing great. Elder Maxfield only has 4 transfers left. That's about all I have for this week. I love you all. I know that God has an amazing plan for us here on earth. I know that he loves each and every one of you and wants you to be happy. So be happy! Hasta la proxima semana quédensen sedientos amigos!

Con amor, Matt