Pictures...finally!!

Here are the pics that Suz sent this morning. There were no captions, so just enjoy the beautiful scenery where Suz is currently serving.

Choose the Right!

Dear Family,

This week has been challenging in different ways. We had a good start to the week, but about Wednesday, Sis. Väätti got sick, and we were not able to go out very much and work a ton the rest of the week. We did the things we could, and worked when we could, but it was difficult to be stuck in the apartment. It's amazing to me that I felt so bad when we were not out talking with people and helping them to come closer to Christ. I know that sometimes I have been discouraged about the work, but I have a whole new appreciation for being out, talking to people, knocking lots of doors, and spending all the time I can helping others to come unto Christ.
So, because this week in the work was a little slower, I don't have as much to say about things in that way. There was some other really cool things that happened this week that I will fill everybody in about in this email.

Even though we were not out so much, we still met people who wanted to know more about the gospel. Last Thursday, we were contacting in town, and we met this guy in his mid-twenties from Lithuania. He was really cool, and was very interested in what we believe. When we told him that there is a prophet on the earth to lead and guide the people on the earth as to God's will, he agreed that it made sense that the Lord would have a prophet for today. We will meet with him this week. We also met another man yesterday who willingly accepted a Book of Mormon, and I hope that he actually reads it.

We are planning to meet with all of our investigators this week, because we did not have the opportunity to meet with hardly any of them this last week. In large part because on Friday and Saturday, we celebrated the 2nd most important holiday in the Swedish culture. It is called Midsommarafton and Midsommar. It's exactly what it sounds like. The Midsommarafton is the day right before Midsommar...which is the day that is exactly in the middle of the summer here. It is also the day when the sun is out the longest and the days are the longest.

In celebration of that, we went out of Norrköping to this beautiful campsite where they had the traditional festivities of Midsommarafton. What's interesting is that they actually celebrate more on the day before the holiday than on the actual day. Then, everybody recovers from all the crazy partying they did the day before. Not such a bad idea. :) So, here's some of the things they do. They have a May Pole like pole up covered with fresh greenery and flowers. We also watched some traditional Swedish folk dancing and what was so fun about that is that the Mission Leader and his wife dance with the group, so we watched them which was really fun. We then had ficka...which is like the fancy way of saying a snack....with fancier things to eat, etc. It was a beautiful day out. My favorite part of the fest we went to is that after the fold dancing, they invite everybody who wants to come and dance around the pole to come, and everybody holds hands and they have several fun songs and everybody dances and sings, and it was super fun. I didn't have a clue about most all of the lyrics, but I just hummed the melody and had a blast dancing with everybody.

It was wonderful. Then we had dinner with the Jonsson family in our ward and they were the ones who invited us to all the activities with them that day. We then did what we could around our apartment and went to bed. Saturday was also not a great day for missionary work. We did our weekly planning, to get ready for this week, and we then had some awesome people from the ward come and take away some really old furniture from our apt. and leave us with better newer desks to use for studying and everything else. When we had arranged and organized our furniture really well, and taken care of all else we needed to, we went out and knocked doors. There were a few people home, but not too many. We still met this really nice lady who accepted the Book of Mormon, and I know that if she reads it and really ponders what it says in her heart that she can receive evidence through the Holy Ghost that it is also the word of God. Honestly, when I think about all the people that are in the world, every person who accepts to know more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ can come closer to God and to His Beloved Son. It will never cease to amaze me.

Yesterday, we came to church...and it was a crazy Sunday. First of all...I forgot to mention that they called me and Sis. Väätti on Friday to be part of Sacrament Meeting. Sis. Väätti was asked to speak, and I was asked to sing. I sang O Store Gud, and Sis. V talked about setting goals and achieving them. Everything went really well. Then, we were also asked to give the Primary lesson this week. We talked about repentance, and we made a path of footprints that lead to our Heavenly Father. Then we talked about the footprints we make that can take us off the path. It was wonderful to talk with the little kids here about how we can get back on the path if we repent. I hope that all of us take the time to remember the importance of repentance, and always trying to stay on the path that leads to our Heavenly Father. It is an incredible blessing that because of the Savior Jesus Christ, we can repent of our sins, and be clean through His Atoning Sacrifice for us. I am realizing the beauty and reality of that more everyday.
The last part of this will be more of an update on Sweden. The weather is finally starting to look like Summer....to me anyways. The last three weeks, it has rained A LOT. There has been tons of cloudy days, and not a ton of sunshine. The last few days however have been wonderful. It's been maybe 50 F or cooler on the bad days and it's probably 70 F out or a little warmer when the sun in shining. Even though it has rained a lot, it's ok, because that is how this country is SO green. The flowers are in bloom, the forests are a deep green, and it's just beautiful here. I am going to email some pictures today, so hopefully everybody will get a chance to see at least a little bit of where I am. Other than that, I love the people here. I am learning the culture. We always take our shoes off when we go in any house. It doesn't matter who it is. We always keep the bathroom door shut...which I don't think is such a bad idea...hahaha. I will continue to fill you in about other cultural things I learn here as well.

Please take care of yourselves. I am happy, healthy and doing well here. The work of the Lord will continue to go forward, and I feel honored that He has seen fit to even let me try and come here to Sweden. I know He is capable of doing it on His own. With all my imperfections, and faults, I am learning and trying to be molded by the Lord, so I can have the Spirit with me to help others come unto Christ. I love you all, I pray for you, and I am grateful that I have such a wonderful family and friends who I know support me in my calling as a missionary. Remember to always strive to become better. Do the little things, pray, scripture study, family home evening, I know they can strengthen all of us as we do them to show our devotion to the Savior and the teachings of the Prophets and Apostles.

Love,
Sister Suzanne Wood

P.S. Swedish word of the week is SPEGEL....kind of interesting, it's a mirror in english. I don't know why I picked this one...maybe because I think it sounds kind of fun. I must look at myself in the spegel??? That can't be right...hehe. If you have any requests of words you would like to know in Swedish...let me know. Have a fatastic week!!

Pics So Far...

These pics are courtesy of the mission blog: theblueandyellow.blogspot.com.
Hopefully Suz will email some more soon.

Comps Sister Vaatti and Sister Wood point to Norrkoping

The new missionaries at the Stockholm Sweden Temple

Onward Christian Soldiers

Kära Familj och Vänner,

I really can't tell you how fast this week has gone. I say that every week...I know, but really, time is flying by before my eyes. I realize already that my mission here in Sweden will pass quickly and I want to try to make the best of the time I have here, so I can know that I did what I could with the time I had. I have had a great week. We have had ups, and downs, but the ups have outweighed the downs, and I am doing really well. Some of you know it was my birthday yesterday....I'm officially old. Well, not really, but it's been fun to joke around seeing as though I really am one of the oldest missionaries here in Sweden. I'll start from the beginning of the week, and make my way to Min Födelsedag!!! Ok, let the journey begin.

Well, last Sunday night, we had met a man named Roger who was really open to the gospel. We also met a young man named Sebastian who was receptive also. It was so amazing to me. When we knocked on the door with Sebastian, he opened the door, and as we started to chat, I could feel the Spirit really strong and so could Sis. Väätti. It was amazing, because so often the Spirit is not there...not because we don't testify, but because the people we are speaking to are not receptive, or ready to hear the Spirit's promptings. We will hopefully meet with Sebastian next week.

With Roger, we got his number, and left him with a Book of Mormon. We always wait two days before we call people to make appointments with them, so that they don't feel like we are pushy. When we called him on Thursday and asked when we could meet, he said, "Well tomorrow would be ok with me." That's the first time that we have had somebody else volunteer to meet us so quickly. It was awesome. Then, when we taught him, he was receptive, and wanted to know how the read the Book of Mormon, and we will be meeting him again this Wed.

I am learning, as I am sure I will learn throughout my whole mission, that the miracles will never cease as long as the work doesn't cease. We met two interested people in the same building on a random Monday evening when we had had a dinner cancellation. The Lord knows much better than we do. I am becoming content with the small view I have of the big picture, because I am becoming more trusting in the artist. The Lord knows all, and it is so refreshing to remember that. I don't need to worry as long as I am worthy of the guidance of the Spirit.

We had a couple of slower days after that. We did a lot of tracting, and have been trying to get a hold of some of the less-active members in the ward to visit them. We did our weekly planning, and spent lots of time deciding what we really feel like we need to focus on and where we need to be during this week to find those that are ready and willing to accept the gospel.

To update on some of our other investigators, here's the scoop:
Segen, who is the girl from Eritrea, has had a tragedy happen to her. Her dad, and the rest of her family are in Eritrea, and her dad passed away last week. We were able to go, and teach her the Plan of Salvation, which was so wonderful. She was so glad that she can see her dad again. That was an awesome lesson. There are parts of the plan she has questions about, but we will meet her this week, and hopefully she will have given thought to what we said, and we will see if she is ready to hear about the Principles and Ordinances of the Gospel. She is awesome, and is sincerely trying to know what path she should take in her life.

Harri, Kai, Lisa, and a couple of others we couldn't meet with this week. It's obvious that even though people feel the Spirit, and they have a desire to know more, that Satan is working just as hard on the other side to keep them busy and push the importance of this true gospel down on their list of things to do. I hope we can meet with them all this week.

Now, for the events leading to my birthday, and my birthday. On Saturday, we decided to go out tracting in the same part of the city that Roger is from. There, we got 4 Try Agains for this week, and we talked with many people about the gospel. It was awesome. We then went to the other side of town to drop off a Book of Mormon to Lisa, the student we had met previously, and she wasn't there. Bummer. But, it was all good, because we decided that we would have a little birthday treat and eat pizza somewhere for my birthday. I tried for the first time a ham, banana and curry pizza. I know it may sound bizarre, but really, it was delicious. Here, they have really thin crust pizzas, and obviously put some different ingredients on them. It was really good. You will all have to try that sometime.

Then yesterday was AWESOME!

We first had Stake Conference. But this was not just an ordinary stake conference. It was broadcast from Salt Lake to all of Scandinavia. I am sure you can probably guess, but the Prophet was present and spoke the last half of the conference. It was amazing!!! Not only the prophet, but Elder Christofferson, Sister Dibb from The YW Pres. and Marlin K. Jensen from the 70. The meeting was incredible. President Monson's remarks were all focused around the "Lost Batallion." Those people who are inactive, are in need, are widows, are in the church, are not in the church, are struggling in any way. He compared us to those in a life raft going to rescue those who are need. It really hit me that I get the opportunity right now to help all the people here in Sweden. The interesting thing to me is that it really doesn't matter who they are. One thing Pres. Monson said is something to the effect of, "The widow is somebody's mother, the boys are somebody's sons." That really is true. All people have families here on earth, and just as importantly we are all part of the same spiritual family. The conference was very good. We can all learn from the Prophets counsel to help those in need.

After Stake Conference, we had dinner at the Åström Home. It was Sis. Åström's birthday also yesterday, so they invited us to join in their celebrations. It was wonderful. There are 3-4 related families in the ward that all came to the party. They had a nice meal, then, to my definite surprise, they all started getting out presents for me. I was really surprised. I had felt good that we just has somewhere to be for my birthday, let alone having a bunch of presents. They gave me tights, lotion, and some really fun accessories. It was wonderful. I am so blessed to be here, where even though I could not be with all of you, that I was still well taken care of on my birthday.

Even more fun than the song, and the gifts was what happened later yesterday evening. We had decided that we wanted to go out to an area in Norrköping that has not been tracted....to our knowledge at all. We were a little disappointed when we got out to the area Fyrby, and it was a little higher class, with good sized homes, and NO apartment buildings. I know that may not seem like a big deal, but by stereo-type, big housed areas are "harder" to tract in because people don't "need" the gospel. Well, we wanted to check it out anyway. So Sis. Väätti and I headed down a random street and just started to knock the doors. Well, to our astonishment, the first door we knocked was a really nice lady named Roija, who said she had faith in God, and wouldn't we come in. That was a miracle in and of itself. But, it gets better. So, we came in, and she was kind of doing some other things and her husband Habib came in the room and sat down and started to chat with us. It finally came out that we are Mormoner, and the wife came in, sat down, and said, "Well, I just thought that you were helping others to increase their faith, but don't think that I will be converted to your church. I have my own faith in God." With that, we kept chatting, and started to talk about the Restoration of the Gospel. They were open to listen, but had many questions about what we had said. As we chatted, the wife started to have some very good questions about the Restoration, about the meaning of life, what happens after death, and so forth. We brought up the Book of Mormon, and were talking about it's relevance to us, and that it answers all the question of the soul we have. She first said she wouldn't read it, then as we told her it could answer all of her questions, she picked it up, and started to read a chapter from Alma. About an hour had gone by, and we were having a really great discussion and laughing about different things, and then down the stairs came their two children. They started to chat with us, and we started to clear up their misunderstandings about the church. We were at their house for like 2 hours yesterday evening. We answered questions, invited them to read the Book of Mormon, and told of the promise in Moroni 10:3-5, and really had a great chat with them. Not to mention we will be meeting with them again Sunday after next. So moral of the story is that as unlikely as it may be, it doesn't matter where, or what the house, or building looks like, or what the names sound like, or what the people look like, there are people who really do want to know the truth. It was awesome!!! We even gave out another Book of Mormon in the same area last night.

We have been truly blessed. I am happy. I am healthy. My body continues to allow me to do this work. I am learning how to learn balance now, so that I will be able to continue to help those here in Sweden come closer to the Savior. I appreciate all the birthday wishes. I hope all of you are doing well. Please know that I pray for you, and think of you and hope that all of you are healthy and happy.

One thing I want to let everybody know is that there is a blog for the mission. If you go to theblueandyellow.blogspot.com, you can see pictures of the missionaries, and what is happening here in the mission in Sweden. My picture is there with my companion...since I haven't been able to send pictures yet. Check it out if you want to.

I will look forward to hearing from all of you next week. Thank you for your support and encouragement. I know the Lord will bless you as you are faithful to Him, and the covenants you have made with Him. Continue to live your lives close to the Savior.

Love,
Sister Suzanne Wood

P.S. Here's the Swedish word of the day:
ETT PARAPLY, or in english....an umbrella. Let me just say, that I can again hear all of your attempts to say it in English, and I am laughing. This has become one of my favorite Swedish words because it is fun to say, and I use it a lot. The weather has been a little less than desirable here...lots of rain, but that's why it's so beautiful and green. I hope you all have a great week.

Go Forth with Faith! (Monday, June 8)

Dear Family and Friends,

I've decided the best way for me to title my emails is with a title of one of the wonderful hymns of the church. You all know how much I LOVE music, and I often hum a hymn as we are walking, after somebody turns us away, in our apartment. It is truly a blessing to have such wonderful praises we can sing to the Lord, and they all teach such wonderful messages about the gospel. I am still singing by the way. In the next couple of weeks Sis. Väätti and I are going to try and have some kind of concert. I will sing and we will invite all the ward members and then have them invite their friends. It would be a great way to meet people and it would be SO fun for me to get to sing. I will let you know more about that as it comes to pass.

I have had a good week this week. It flew by. We were in Stockholm both Tuesday and Wednesday and had a really nice time there. On Tuesday, we went to the temple, where I felt the Spirit in great abundance, and really helped me to process some of what has happened on the mission. We then stayed at some other Sisters apartment in Södertälje, about an hour away from Stockholm. We ate pizza together and had a great time. The next morning, we left for Stockholm for our Zone Conference. It was awesome. It is so nice to get together with the other missionaries that are in the Zone, and here their successes and learn together ways we can improve ourselves out here in Sweden. We talked about the Holy Ghost and it's importance and the importance of teaching investigators how important it is to us. What a blessing it is to know that I can have the CONSTANT companionship of the Spirit of God as long as I am worthy. I never need to fear, or feel doubt when I am living according to the commandments. How awesome is that?? I am learning to listen to the Spirit in all I do. I continue to seek the guidance all the time so that we can be where we need to be, when we need to be, and find those who are prepared for the gospel.

After Wed., we came home, and have had several appts. the rest of the week. We have had more appts. with members in the ward this week to eat dinner and that has been really good. It is helping our relationships with the ward so much, to get together with individual families and get to know them, and share a message about the gospel with them. We haven't had anybody from the ward give us any names yet, but we will continue to show them that they can trust us, and as that happens, I know the Lord will bless them to know who is ready to hear the gospel.

We also had some disappointments this week. It's been surprisingly ok though. I am realizing that as long as I do all I can, I don't need to feel like I've done something wrong that somebody didn't keep a commitment. I know I have written about Harri, a really cool Swedish man we have taught a couple times. Well, he was supposed to go to dinner with us at a members house, and then cancelled and said he didn't want to re-schedule because he doesn't like to disappoint people. That was pretty sad. Then, we met with another really cool Swedish man named Kaj, who was a previous investigator. We met with him at the Mission Leaders home and had an awesome conversation. He said he really wanted to come to church, but then didn't show up yesterday. We are trying to think of ways we can help people keep their commitments, but we can only do so much, and it's still their choice. We had also been teaching Violetta the last few weeks. We taught her the Plan of Salvation yesterday, and she didn't accept it. Her heart and mind are not open to accepting anything other than her perceptions of things. It was very sad to us, but we won't be meeting with her anymore, unless she has a "message from God" that it's right. More often than not, our promptings from the Spirit will be small, still, and brought to pass in very simple ways. I think Violetta was looking for a sign. I will continue to pray that her heart is opened and that she will realize that the things we have taught her are the truth.
Well, along with all the disappointments, are wonderful experiences too. We have had many teachings this week. We will see if any of them will become investigators. We had to appointments with less active members in the ward who really need our support and the Spirit present in their lives. We have had many opportunities to offer the gospel to people here in Norrköping. We have given away many copies of the Book of Mormon...and the most I guess you could say exciting thing about all the little successes we have throughout the week is that I have and will have NO idea what will come to pass later with all the Book of Mormons we gave away, or the people that will meet missionaries later. So, I will continue to go forth with faith and know that no effort here is wasted...something I have to remind myself everyday.

We went down to Linköping the other day, where our District Leader is, and we had a really cool experience with them. Three of their branch members were called on a three hour mission. So, we all went out around town and gave people a survey of questions to see if they would accept the gospel. It was fascinating to see that many people would stop and answer our questions. We found one man who wanted to know more from the missionaries and gave away two Book of Mormons. Really cool! Plus, the other members found like ten other people who wanted to know more from the missionaries, and got to have the experience of missionary work. We are going to do that in our ward as well. Sis. Väätti and I have used the survey here in Norrköping as well, and it is a really great contacting tool. People are more willing to do that, and even though they might not be interested, at the very least they are given the opportunity to think about really important things like their family, and the meaning of life. It's awesome!

I know I said I was becoming a vegetarian...but don't worry. I am still a meat eater. We went to the Bishops house yesterday and his wife had made chicken....really good. So don't worry, but I am eating a lot more vegetables and fruits and I have felt really good this week.

As for my back. It's doing better. I have had less pain this week, and it continues to be manageable. I appreciate all the prayers that all of you are offering in my behalf, and I know the Lord is answering all of them. I continue to be cautious, and sensible with what I carry around, but my back is fine. There is no cause to worry. I know the Lord with provide for me, and that my health will continue to get better as I serve Him with all my might.

I will send pictures soon. I know mom sent me the cord for my camera to the computer, so then I can load pictures and send them. I am sure...well maybe you want to see a picture of me with my companion, and some of the pictures I have taken around Norrköping.

Thank you all for your support. I have felt your prayers, and your guidance, and love for me. I am so glad that all seems to be good, for all of you. Continue to be well. Continue to take care of yourselves. Remember to take care of yourselves not only physically, but spiritually as well. That balance is something I am realizing is SO important in life. One without the other is not inaccordance with the knowledge we have from the gospel. Having our bodies and Spirits working in harmony is really important.

I continue to learn so much every day. I treasure my scripture study every day, and can't write how much I have learned, and how much I love the scriptures. Prayers are answered. Fasting works. I know that these simple things are what keep us close to our Heavenly Father so we can do His will. I am happy. We laugh all the time here. I continue to look for the good in all situations, and although not everything can be seen through rose colored glasses, I continue to go forward, and I know the Lord will provide the miracles as I show Him my willingness to work hard.

I love all of you, I pray for you, I think of you often. I know that the Lord is taking care of those I love as I serve Him. Take care of yourselves. Stay strong in your faith. Remember what the Savior has done for each of us, that wonderful and necessary gift for us to return to live with our Father. This church is true. I have no doubt.

Love,
Sister Suzanne Wood

I will have a Swedish word for the week from now on...kind of a little fun. I would love to hear you all try to pronounce some of these things...I would have a real laugh I'm sure.
This weeks word: KAKA....which in English sounds a little bad...like a word you would tell your kids in place of another word for a less than pleasant substance...but in Swedish, it can be either a cookie or cake....ironic that they are so opposite. So here we have KLADKAKA, SMÅKAKA, and all other wonderful varieties of KAKA.... I can hear you all laughing about that.

Oh by the way, Swedish is coming still. Some days I have no clue what anybody is saying, and I can't think of what I am trying to say, BUT for the very most part, I am understanding better, and I can more readily think of my responses in Swedish. The Gift of Tongues is real. I have seen it work in my life here in Sweden. It's incredible how the Lord blesses us as we fulfill His purpose!

Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel! (Monday, June 1)

Kära Familj o Vänner,

This week has been a hard working week, that just in the nick of time showed some success. Much of the week has been a trial of my faith, and willingness to keep going even when it has appeared that there has been no success. Let me start from the beginning. So, because we don't have very many investigators, we spend a lot of time out contacting and tracting. I actually don't mind that...with the acception that hours of either really upset my back. ;) Other than that, no big deal. It gets a little more difficult when you have knocked hundreds of doors and talked with many people and none of them accept the message, or want to hear anymore. So for the very most part of this last week, we would go home every night feeling as though we had not accomplished much.

THEN, it was on Thursday or Friday, we went to the University here to contact. We were just wandering around looking for people to talk to, and there in the space of about an hour we found two really cool girls who listened to our message, and both said that they would like to know more about the church, and to know who God is, etc. AWESOME. We have met with Segeney once, and we will meet with Lisa on Friday. THEN, the next day we were contacting in the city, and met a younger kille (man in his 20's) who I almost didn't talk to. He was walking really fast, and I almost didn't say anything to him....but I opened my mouth and little did I know that he doesn't have a specific religion but he believes strongly in God and Jesus Christ, and when we were telling him about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ back to the earth, he was really interested. So, the sad thing is, he is going to London for the summer....but either the missionaries there will teach him, or when he comes back I will. :)

So, the point of all the little successes is that, I am realizing that as many people as I talk to, as many as I give a pamphlet to, as many as I give a Book of Mormon to, I am helping. It may not be them, right now, but one of their kids, or grandkids, or friends will read and be interested. No work I do is a waste. I always have reminded myself, and feel a lot more confident in the fact that I know that people aren't rejecting me. I don't take the rejections we get personally because they are rejecting the truth...not me. I am learning to be confident, even with my ridiculous Swedish...by the way...I am learning a lot...everyday. My trainer helps me to have more correct grammer, and say things in better ways so people can understand me.

We also met with Harri again on Tuesday. He came to us with 3 pages full of legitimate gospel questions. It was awesome! We spent almost two hours answering his questions and helping to understand everything from the nature of God, to the Priesthood, and other questions he had. The Spirit was there, and it was obvious that he understood and accepted the answers found in the scriptures and in the doctrine.

We have a crazy week this week. Tomorrow, we will travel to Nyköping to do a school teach. That will be really cool...we think it's kind of a high school kind of set up and we will go and basically teach them the basics of the church and then answer their questions. We then will travel straight up to Stockholm, where we will go to the temple tomorrow evening. It is Sister Väätti's last chance to go before she returns home in July. That will be great! Then, we will stay in either Stockholm or Södertälje tomorrow night, and then have Zone Conference in Stockholm the following morning. We will then return back here, and we have 10 teaching appts. already set up for this week. So, we will continue to pray that everybody sticks with their commitments to meet up. I have faith that they will.

I get along with Sister Väätti very well. We are having a lot of fun together and we work hard. One challenge we have is that for her, it is the end of her mission and her body is sore all the time, and she doesn't sleep very well, etc... and then there's me...who has been broken since before I got here. We do as much as we can...and sometimes we joke about being the old ladies out on the mission. I remain positive and try to help her when it gets hard. I eat very little meat these days, and it's not too bad. We eat lots of beans, and soy and other stuff. We eat cheese like nobody's business!!! The cheese here is SO good. We have decided we have to stop eating the cheese. We will NOT be buying any cheese this week. HAHAHA.... I guess if that's the worse thing we eat, that's not too bad. I have not tried anything crazy to eat yet. When we go to members' homes, because Sis. V is a vegetarian, we have pretty basic meals. The food here is good though! The chocolate is REALLY GOOD! I will send some home one day...it's just really good. (Totally Random)

Other than that, I am doing well. My back remains stable after a couple of weeks. It does get really sore when we have been walking with backpacks for many hours. I have been able to take a muscle relaxer at night after those really bad days and feel almost completely better the next day. I know the Lord is blessing me to be able to do this work. I had a really cool experience the other day that has really helped me to be confident that I can serve my entire mission.

We were exercising the other morning, and I often ponder as we go. I was thinking about my back and the soreness I feel and that I have been afraid it would get worse and that I maybe would not be able to complete my mission because of it. Well, as I walked I had a prayer in my heart about that, and the very much used scripture came to my mind...1 Nephi 3:7...I will go and do the thing the Lord commands, and He WILL prepare a way for me to do the thing which He has commanded. As I thought of that scripture and all the events that led to my coming on a mission, and all the confirmations I had that this was what the Lord wanted me to do, I have realized that because I am doing His will, He will provide a way for me to complete my mission....bad back and all. I feel comfort and peace in knowing that Heavenly Father knows me, and knows my needs and will provide for me. I know my mission will physically not be easy for me, but I will be able to complete it.

I am so grateful for all of your support to me. Thanks for the letters. Thanks for the advice. Keep it coming...I need every bit of it. I love to know how all of you are doing. I pray for all of you daily. I miss you, I love you, and I know that this is the Lord's work. He is providing for me, and He will provide for you in whatever needs you may have.

Take care of yourselves. Pray for missionary experiences...that you can help somebody come closer to Heavenly Father.

Love you all,
Sister Suzanne Wood