A Great and Marvelous Work!!

Min Käre Familj,

I can't believe it's already been a week since I wrote my last email. Time is definitely going. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the emails. It has made my day, my week, to know what is going on at home, and to have your words of encouragement. I look forward to hearing from all of you every week. The work of the Lord is moving forward here in Sweden. I won't lie and say the it isn't hard. Some days it's really hard to be motivated to have 99% of the people in Sweden say, "Inte Intereserad..." BUT, the work is moving, and we will find those who are prepared and teach them with the Spirit so they can be converted by Him.

This week has been really good. We continued to try and get a hold of the investigators the Elders before us had, but to no avail. It's interesting how people so easily put aside God, and the importance of Him in their lives. Anyway, so we have been tracting a lot this week, and calling past investigators to find those who are ready for the gospel. We have also made appts. with several less active members in the ward here, that we hope we can show our love to, and also help them to feel the Spirit so they can again have the desire to come to church and receive all the blessings the Lord has promised them if they will follow Him.

We did have a really cool experience this week. We were tracting in an area called Marielund. This area of town has many apartment buildings, and has many Muslim people. I guess you could say it is a lower-class area of Norrköping. So we were knocking, and we had gone through an entire building of names with not one person who was even willing to listen at all. Well, as we were going to leave the building, there was one more door left on the right side of us. We saw that the name was Svensk, so we thought, well let's give it a try. To our astonishment, a man came to the door, and he listened. He listened intently, and it was obvious that as we testified that the things we told him about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that he could feel the Spirit. He would describe it to us, he said he felt nervous, but in a good way, and that the feelings he was feeling just then, were "heftigt" or "awesome." Since we met Harri, we have taught him the 1st lesson, and he has had many good questions, and sincerely wants to know the truth and we had our Ward Mission Leader and his wife with us at the teach, and their testimonies added so much to the lesson. We will teach him again this week and hope that he will be able to come to church. If you remember, pray for him, that he will continue to have the desire to read, and pray and to earnestly seek the truth.

We have also taught Violetta again, she is really our only other "progressing investigator" right now. We have finding to do, but anyway...the lesson with her went well. It's really sad, she doesn't feel anything when she reads the Book of Mormon. We focused on faith in the lesson, and how we have to have a desire to learn and once we let that faith in and plant the seed...as in Alma 32, that it can then begin to grow and take place within us. She understood, and I think she has a desire to know, but her past perceptions of God, or her un-belief that there is a God, it making it harder for her to accept that the Book of Mormon is His word. Pray for her also.

Other than that, this area of Sweden is beautiful! There are places we have gone to tract that are right next to a lake, and all of Norrköping has a river running through it. It's just gorgeous. It is also very clean here. The roads and everything are well taken care of, and it's nice to be in such a clean place.

The other night, we went to a ritzy part of town, or a little outside of the city to tract. On our way, the weather was wonderful, and we were ready to go. Then, we got off the bus, and it started to downpour. So, there we were, with only one umbrella, in the rain, and we went and knocked as many doors as we could with the time we had. We didn't find anybody who was interested, but one thing occured to me. At some doors, when people would be rude, I would be a little discouraged when we would walk away, but then as we went on, I realized that for all the doors that would say no, I would find someone, sometime who would listen. I look at tracting now as an opportunity to pull the weeds, so I can see the flowers....oh what a cheesy analogy....but it works anyway. Hahaha.

We will continue to look here, and we will find more who are prepared to receive the fulness of the gospel. I know that to be true. My testimony grows every time I testify, and I know that my work here, no matter how fruitful is not in vain, but that I will bless the lives of all the people I come in contact with, no matter when that may be.

Ok, now for some more practical information about things here. We walk or take the busses here wherever we go. We live in a part of town called Hageby. We are right next to a grocery store and some other shops. It is very convenient. Our apartment is nice, but it is obvious that there have not been any sisters in that apartment for 14 years. Did I mention that before??? We are the first sisters to come into this area for like 15 years!!! Crazy business I tell you...So for the first week, I slept with some sketched artwork done by an Elder of Donatello, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle....Elders I tell you. Hehehe.

My bed is pretty comfortable, nothing to complain about there. I think that I could have come on my mission with no back problems, and still have soreness every night. We carry our back-packs around with us everywhere we go with books and pamphlets, but we both try to keep them relatively light. My back is ok. The Lord has truly blessed me to be able to be here and do this work. We have the same table to eat and study at. Pretty funny. I will send some pictures of our apartment home next week. Steph said to compare it to a room in mom and dad's house....lets see....our entire apartment is probably the size of the living room. or maybe just a little bigger. We do have a bathroom...with a door, and the kitchen is seperated a little bit, but other than that, it's just one big room. It's comfortable, and we are glad every night that we have a place to lay our heads.

I think I've gone on for some time here now....I think I'm becoming a vegetarian. I eat very little meat since my companion is a vegetarian. But, I'm pretty sure that as I hear about you all having BBQ's during the summer months, and Grandma's roast, etc...that I will still be ok to eat meat. Sister Väätti and I get along really well. We laugh a lot. It is amazing to me how the most simple things make us laugh, and it is good. We need to stay positive with all the negativity that surrounds us.

I know that church is true. I know that what I help people to learn is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that I have come closer to Him on my mission that I have ever been before in my life. I think of Him in all I do and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve Him. You are all in my prayers. I think of you often and love you all. I will try to write some letters today in response to emails, and just know that if I don't reply right away, that I will reply, and that I appreciate very much your emails. I will say that I would love to get a written letter sometime...no pressure, but it's fun to have that kind of thing now and again.

I love you all. Please take care of yourselves, and know that I am doing well. I am happy, healthy, and trying to be of service to the people here in Sweden. Never forget how blessed you are to have the Gospel in your lives, and to have the knowledge that God lives, and His son lives, and they love you!

Love,
Sister Suzanne Wood

By the way, if you have any other questions you want to know about the area, or the people, or anything, ask me, and I will include answers in my next email....it seems like when I sit down to write, I forget most of what I was going to say.

Sweden!!!

Min Kära Familj!!!

I am so excited about being here in Sweden. There has been tons that has happened in the last week, that is just crazy. Time is going by so quickly. I'll have been here for a week tomorrow. Wow! I am 8 hours ahead of you and it will be next week before I get an email because you didn't know what day my P-Day was. It is Mondays. So please write me an email, or send me a letter soon so I can hear from you. I miss you all. It's hard to be away, but so good to be here.

Where to begin. Well, after I talked to all of you last week from the Airport in Atlanta, I got on the plane and came the 10 hours away to Stockholm. There, we were picked up by Pres. and Sister Anderson, and the AP's, etc...to help us get all of our things to the Mission Home. Over the next couple of days, we got ourselves aquainted with the Andersons, took care of our Swedish "social security" number...which does NOT mean secure here...everybody knows it...and some other things we needed to learn for the remainder of our mission. We then had some training last Thursday morning and in came Pres. with letters for each of us as to where we would be serving in Sweden, who our trainers would be and District Leaders, etc.

So when I got my letter, I opened it up, and now, I am serving in the Norrköping Ward, in the South Stockholm Stake. I am about an hour and a half away from Stockholm. You should check it out on a map, or google it or something. Oh, by the way, as you can all see, I am using a gmail.com account. Please have all my friends and all the fam. write me on this account. In Sweden they can't always access the myldsmail.net, so they have asked us to create a mission gmail.com account. Anyway....back to all this excitement.

So, I was excited to hear about where I am serving. It is beautiful here. It's incredibly green, and not so warm, but not really super cold either. We usually wear our sweaters because the wind blows almost everyday. Other than that, it's beautiful. I haven't had bad jet lag either...I don't think anyway. I can't tell if it's jet lag, or just extreme exhaustion everyday....probably a little bit of both.

Oh yeah, my companion!!! Syster Väätti is my companion. My trainer...she is awesome. She is from Finland, and this is the last transfer of her mission. She speaks very good Swedish, and pretty good English as well...not to mention the crazy Finnish she will pull out when we meet anybody who speaks Finnish. She is going home in July, and she likes to paint and draw. Before her mission she was going into nursing. She was converted to the church 4 years ago, so whenever we talk with people, she has a really awesome background for people who don't have faith in God, or don't believe in Him...because she was there too.

We got to Norrköping on Thursday late afternoon, early evening, and got ourselves situated in our apartment. It's basically one big room with a kitchen off of it, and a bathroom. We have desks to study/eat at, and beds to sleep in...what more does anybody need??? So on Thursday, we got settled, then of Friday, we did our weekly planning session....which takes FOREVER when it is a new area for both of us...Did I mention that?? Norrköping has been an area with Elders for YEARS!! We are "white washing" the area as sisters, so we had no idea what to expect from this place, or the ward, or any of it. So we started to go through the Area Book, and spent lots of time on Friday figuring out where to tract, who to contact, and getting our bearings in this very new place.

Then Saturday, it was off to work. We were supposed to teach an investigator from the Elders who had been here before us, but he canceled, then we had a couple of other teaches fall through, so we hit the road. We study every morning, and right now we take an hour for personal study, an hour for companion study and and an hour and a half for language study...that would be for my benefit. I still have much to learn about the Swedish language. After that, we went out tracting, we called (well Syster Väätti called...I'm still not quite ready to talk to people on the phone) and we contacted in the city. It's quite the experience trying to understand what anybody is saying to me. Let alone for me to know what to respond. I am giving it an honest effort, and I have started being the initial contact at the door, and talking to people on the street. We met a couple of really cool people in Marielund...one of our tracting areas. One or two want us to call them and come to teach them. It's true that the Lord has prepared people everywhere to be taught the gospel.

Then yesterday, we went to church for the first time. It was funny, we were excited to go, so we could meet some "people who like us" as Sister Väätti said yesterday morning. The ward has about 30 active members, and a list of about 70. We have some work ahead of us, and we'll see if we can help some of the less active members come to church. We also have a lot of work to do with the active members in the ward, to have them help us with the missionary work in the area. So all of them were really nice, we introduced ourselves in Sacrament Meeting and I was a little nervous, but it went ok. After the first meeting, the Bishop's wife came up to me and told me that my Swedish was really good, having only been in the country for a few days, then she told me that she served her mission in Scotland, and that she saw a lot of her in me. That was cool...her very next sentence was, "I won't speak English with you, because then you won't learn." I thanked her and told her I didn't want to speak English. Other than that, I was so exhausted last night after trying to understand all the Swedish at church.

After that, we went tracting close to where we live and met a man named Niko, who told us we could call him and set up an appt. The cool thing about that, is that I was the one who talked to him. I was all over the place, because when he didn't shut the door in my face, I didn't know what to say to him...haha. Anyway, we also taught a woman named Violetta yesterday. She was taught once before by the Elders before us, and she has some interesting views of God, and we'll see what happens there. I was able to teach some and bear my testimony in Swedish, and it all came out pretty well. I honestly do understand that I have SO much more to learn, but it is refreshing to me and I don't feel completely overwhelmed by the language. I have been incredibly blessed to pick it up rather quickly and continue to learn everyday. So, we will meet Violetta next Sunday again. She said she has read some in the Book of Mormon, and that she has prayed, but that she didn't feel anything when she prayed. We can only pray that she will be sincere about receiving an answer, and that when we visit with her next Sunday, that she will be receptive to the Spirit while we teach.

It's nice to have a P-Day today, we desperately need food. We went on Thursday Evening, and picked up a few things, but not enough to last very long, so we will go food shopping here in a little bit, and write some letters, and do laundry, and just try and re-group for the week. Oh, by the way, Sister Väätti is vegetarian...so that is super cool and interesting. I had Soy marinara pasta the other day, and I'm willing to try other things too. We go out every morning and exercise, and I'm trying to make decent eating choices. We have a couple appts. at members houses set up for this week, so that will be fun, since I haven't really had "official" Swedish food yet.

That I think is all for right now. I am excited to hear about the happenings at home. If you could all make sure that you either write me an email, or a letter on Sundays, I can get them during my P-day...I guess it has to be early on Sunday, so it for sure gets to me before I check my email. Anyway, I hope all is well at home. I hope you are all healthy and happy. Know that I love you, and I know that this church is true. I am excited to start to see the changes that can and will happen in peoples lives as they choose to follow their Heavenly Father and His plan for them. Remember that I pray for you everyday, and hope that you are doing well.

By the way, my back has been a little sore, probably from all the travel on trains...lifting my 150 lbs. of luggage, etc. Please keep my health in your prayers. It's nothing to worry over, I'm doing very well, I just don't want it to become a problem. I love you all and miss you!!

Love,
Sister Suzanne Wood

I leave for Sweden in FIVE days!!! (Wed., May 6)

Dear Family,
I can't even believe that I am packing my bags to leave for Sweden. I have flight plans, and more stuff than I came with (20 lbs. of books, etc.) and I am leaving the MTC. I am so excited to get there and teach the people that news that God loves them and has a plan for them to return to him.

This week has been very eventful. There have been many things that have happened, so I will try to remember everything to fill you all in.

First of all, last Thursday we got our flight plans, that was very exciting for our district. We are flying out of Salt Lake to Atlanta and then straight to Stockholm from Atlanta. We then will have a two-night stay in the mission home there to get ourselves a little grounded before we take off into the field. Mom, I will write you a letter with more details so you know when I will call. It will be sometime in the late afternoon, early evening.

That same day, Sister Coleman and I got invitations to perfrom at Mission Conference for the entire MTC this last Sunday. They asked Sis. Coleman to sing, "Be Still My Soul" and I played for her. It was wonderful. She has an amazing voice and I'm glad she got the opportunity to sing. I am not sure that I will have the chance to sing before we leave, but getting to perform at all was a wonderful opportunity. I played pretty well. :)

Also on Thursday of last week, as mom you know, I ended up taking a filed trip out of the MTC for a blood spot on my eye. It was only a broken blood vessel that had somehow come through so it was very gross to look at. It made me nrevous, but all is well. It has cleared up for the very most part and is really nothing to worry about.

We also did our last TRC visit in Monday teaching about the Plan of Salvation and the Law of Tithing in Swedish. It went very well. I am still learning the language and will continue to learn my whole mission. I feel comfortable with the very basics of the language and realize that I have tons more rules and practice, and prayers to give about learning the language. I know that it is only through the Holy Ghost that I have learned as much as I have. I know that I can learn this language to teach the people, as I am obedient and reliant on the Lord.

Then, last night, we had the opportunity to hear from Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve. He gave a fantastic talk on the importance of desire in this work. It was just what I needed to boost me up one more time before we go into Sweden. He said at least a couple times, "If you have desire in your hearts to find, teach, and baptize people, you will see miracles happen no matter where you serve your mission." He also bestowed an Apostalic blessing upon us and that was SO cool. I have been so blessed to hear from 3 apostles while I have been here at the MTC. I have been so spiritually fed every week, and I am so ready to serve the people of Sweden.

My time here has been great. I am grateful for the lessons I've learned, the language, the spiritual upliftment that happens every day, the comfort from the Holy Ghost that I receive on a daily basis, and all the other wonderful things that come from serving a mission for the Lord.
Mom, I did get both of the packages you sent this last week. Everything is perfect. The shirts, skirts, watch, shade shirts, nylons....on and on are all just exactly what I need. I feel completely prepared to go, and thank you so much for taking care of those things for me. I appreciate it SO much!

Melissa, thanks for the care package. It was so good to hear from you and the kids. The cookies were DELICIOUS!! I shared with the other sisters in my branch and we all enjoyed them. You are so thoughtful, and thanks for all you do.

From here on out, emailing me is going to be the best way to communicate with me. I would love to get emails from anybody who has time to send me a little note. I just need to have the mailing address on it so I can reply. I can receive emails from everybody and that is allowed, but I can only reply to family over email, so friends...put your addresses on the bottom of the email so I can write you back...because I will write back and want to.

Mom, I will write you a little email later today with the specific time I will call from the airport, so everybody can be around. I'd love to chat with everybody. I forgot my flight plans in my room, so I will write a quick note on my way to the temple.

I love and miss you all very much. It was SO nice to see pictures of Taylor's graduation and all of you look healthy and happy and I am so very glad. Tay, you look great buddy! Take care of yourself. I miss you and want all of you to know that one of the things I have come to the best realization of is that God loves all of his children. He loves you and wants you all to be happy, and to be obedient to Him so He can bless you. I know the scriptures better, I know Swedish better...obviously then when I first came, but most of all and most importantly of all I know my Savior better. I know He cares for you, and that He wants us to return to live with Him.

Take care of yourselves! I'm glad to hear about Paul and Kristen's house, and that Greg Brown is the new bishop. He is awesome. I'm glad all is well at home. I'll talk to you all later this week!

Love,
Sister Suzanne Wood

MTC Pictures

Sisters Coleman-MTC companion


Pictures of the Elders and Sisters in Suz's district and branch



Living quarters at the MTC

I get flight plans tomorrow!!!

Dear Family,

I can't believe I have been in the MTC for seven weeks. The time is going by so fast. We get our flight plans tomorrow. It's just absolutely crazy! We will fly to Sweden not this Monday, but the following Monday. We think we will leave sometime in the morning, but I will let you know for sure in my email next week.

This week has been challenging for me. I think I have just been a little homesick, and overwhelmed by the responsibility of being a missionary. It's kind of surreal that I am actually here, and that I am leaving the country in a week to preach the gospel in a foreign land. I am so excited though, and the Lord really has helped me through this week.

We have had some AWESOME Relief Society meetings the last couple weeks that I want to share with you guys. Two weeks ago, Sheri Dew came and taught all the sisters at the MTC for Relief Society. She talked about how important we are in God's plan. She stressed that Satan knows how absolutely necessary we are in the work going forward, and he also knows how to make us doubt ourselves and feel down. It was awesome to hear her speak, and then we were able to meet her after the meeting.

Then, this last Sunday, we heard from Sister Mary N. Cook, Counselor in the General YW Presidency. She talked all about virtue and that we need to all be virtuous. She brought all of us the new pamphlet that has the experiences to complete in order to fulfill the value of Virtue. I am going to start completing the Virtue experiences, and if you can...Mom, Steph, Melissa, and any other sisters who read this, I invite you to locate the new pamphlet from the church and do it with me. The world is less virtuous every day, and we can all improve our virtue. I would love to do it with all of you!!!!

I am spiritually uplifted every day here at the MTC. The other day we watched the Restoration Video the church has put out, and it was wonderful. I have a strong testimony of Joseph Smith, and without the truthfulness of him, and what he did, our church would cease to be the true church of Christ on the earth. I have thought about that a lot this week. We all need to have an unwavering testimony in the Restorartion through Joseph Smith.

Mom, thank you so much for the letter. I haven't been hearing much from anybody the last couple weeks. I know you are all very busy, and it's ok. I didn't know just how much I needed letters until I didn't get any for several days. It's just nice to know how everybody is doing, and have some connection with the outside world.

I haven't received the package today, but I think I will probably receive it today. Thank you in advance Mom, and Steph...and whoever else might have helped put it together for me. The only things I would want from my closet are my bergundy/pink short sleeve shirt that has the gather in the front, and my black and white print travel knit skirt with the flower print. I think they would both be good summer things, and I will have room for them in my suitcase. Other than that, we are going to start thinking about getting ourselves organized to pack everything up. Sis. Coleman might have to send some things home. She has MANY things. :)

I am so glad that everything in San Diego went well. It sounds like it was a great weekend. I'm sorry Steph and Liza were sick when they got to Cedar. I hope everybody is in good health now. I miss you all, and love you so much. I am grateful to all of you for your examples and willingness to teach me...no matter how long it has taken me to learn.

As far as my language skills go, I'm doing pretty well. Sis. Coleman and I taught the 2nd Lesson (Plan of Salvation) in Swedish on Monday and the TRC (The Teaching Resource Center) where we teach pretend investigators every week to practice teaching and the language. It went very well. We are starting to feel pretty good about our language skills. I know I still have a ton to learn, and that when I actually get into Sweden I will have no idea what language they are speaking, but I have learned an incredible amount and feel ok about how I am doing.

Then, yesterday, we taught one of our teachers in Swedish, and when Sis. Coleman and I had finished, he told us we were doing very well with Swedish. He told us we were starting to pick up some of the smaller more picky grammer principles and use them when we speak. He said that is a very good sign. Of course, he also told us we have a lot to learn. But it was a much needed confidence boost for us.

Other than that, I think I am about ready to leave the MTC. The food is now old, and we are just getting excited about leaving here and starting to teach "real people."

I know this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth. I know that God loves us, and wants us to be happy. I love you, and pray for all of you daily.

Love,
Sister Suzanne (Suzanny Bananny, Aunt Nanny, Suz, Suzy-Q, etc.,) Wood

6 weeks done!! (Wed., April 22)

Dear Family,

I can't believe that I have been here for a month and a half. We get our flight plans to Sweden in a week. The time really is going by quickly. I'm sure I'm not learning near enough, and that I will be completely confused when I hear "Swedish" as compared to my "MTC Swedish."

I am still learning the language pretty well. I can't even explain how much the Lord is helping me to learn the language. The gift of tongues is an incredible gift that can only be given through the Holy Ghost. I know that I am nothing without the Lord and His guidance. I still have much to learn, and I am starting to feel the pressure of the fact that I only have a couple more weeks to prepare myself for Sweden.

We have had excellent firesides this week, and I feel the Spirit strongly everyday. Last week, Sister Coleman and I both auditioned to do special musical numbers at one of the firesides, or Relief Society meeting, or something else. We haven't heard yet when or if either of us will sing, but I will let you know when I have a chance. I sang Consider the Lilies, and Sis. Coleman sang Be Still My Soul. It's so awesome that we can accompany each other.

This week, I have really been trying to realize the promptings of the Spirit. It has been something that has been on my mind a lot the last several weeks, because it is SO important to have the Spirit in finding people to teach, in teaching them, and I know that without the Spirit, they will not be converted. So, I have been studying about the Spirit, and I am learning to realize it's promptings. I am so grateful fo the Holy Ghost. Now that I am learning to listen, I realize that it promts me regularly...to give me comfort, direction, and a confirmation of the truthfulness of the gospel.

I love you all so very much. I miss you, and I am sad that I couldn't be with all of you in San Diego. Please know that I am healthy. I am enjoying myself here. I have such a great purpose, and I am trying to learn and grow so that I can accomplish the things the Lord has in store for me. Take care of yourselves. Stay close to eachother and to the gospel. I can promise you that it will continue to bless your lives as you live in obedience to its teachings.

I will check my email again later on today before I go to the temple. If any of you have time, email me sometime today and I will be able to write you tonight. Or, you can DearElder.com so I will get it tomorrow.

Dad, will you add one person to my list to send my email to? susie.bird@nebo.edu. It's my good friend Susie who I taught with at Brookside. Thanks! I love you!

I love you all so much, and miss you. You are in my prayers daily. I worry about you, and I am so grateful to you.

Love,
Sister Suzanne Wood

5 Weeks Down!!

Dear family, (and friends)

This week has been another great time at the MTC. I have been thinking about what I could write to all of you about my week that would be fun or cool to hear.

The thing that is first and foremost on my mind right now is that we had the opportunity to hear an apostle speak to us last night. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland from the quorum of the 12 was here. His message was bold, and straightforward, but full of love. I can tell all of you that I know he is an apostle of Christ. His main message was to work as hard as we can, and to understand just a little fraction of what we are doing on our missions. I wrote tons of notes, and felt the Spirit so strongly throughout the meeting. I am so grateful for experiences like that one that have strengthened my testimony SO much.

I can't believe how quickly this week has flown by. On Monday, Sister Coleman and I taught the 1st lesson in Swedish together at the TRC...which is where there are volunteers who speak the language who we practice on once a week. Our lesson went pretty well. I am feeling much better about the language. I still have a lot to learn, and realize that I will get into Sweden and wonder what language they taught me in the MTC...but I am feeling more confident and my vocabulary is growing and we are trying to speak the language as much as possible.

Mom, I got the package!! Thank you so much for the treats, and for the card. My flip-flops are much appreciated. You are wonderful...thank you again.

I appreciate all the letters of support and encouragement. I know all of you are busy, and I know it is probably hard to find the time to write, but I am always so thankful when I get to hear from any of you. I like to know what's going on in your lives, and to still be "in the loop" without actually being there.

Have Taylor read this part:

Taylor,
I am so proud of your decision to serve in the Marine Corps. I know you will be a vital asset to the nation in these hard times. I love you and will always be so glad you are my little brother. Continue to take care of yourself. Be good to Jenny. Always know that you have a big sister who misses you and loves you. I wish I could be at your graduation!!! I know you have changed a lot, and I am so glad that you are having these wonderful experiences. I know you will be successful in this choice you have made. Love you!!!

Sister Coleman has not been feeling well the last couple days, so we are trying to get her feeling better. I continue to have good health here at the MTC. I have been so incredibly blessed to not have trouble with my back. My body is sick of sitting all the time....but I know that my entire district feels that way.

Everyday, our chalkboard in our classroom is filled....two, or three times over with new nouns, verbs, and other things. I feel like my head is going to not take any more sometimes, but then I learn something new, and can use it in my conversation. The Spirit is helping me continuously as I seek it's help in my learning the language.

I feel like I bear my testimony every week....and that makes up the entirety of my letter to all of you. I want to tell you just a couple of funny things that have happened since I've been here, so you know that I am having a good time...as well as growing incredible amounts spiritually. (Please keep in mind I am not a very good story teller.)

So a week ago, Sis. Coleman and I were walking back from dinner to go to class. We were coming in the door, and Sis. Coleman opened it, started to walk through, and totally hit herself in the head with the door. Don't worry, she wasn't badly injured, but it made for some pretty great laughs.

This one is not really a story, but my Zone Leader, Elder Argyle is one funny guy. He's huge!! He's probably 6' 3" and 300 lbs. He is usually sweating and has a fan that has to be blowing on him constantly. Sometimes boys smell...and on lucky occasions, he stands up, and the fan blows some less than pleasant smells in my direction. I have to giggle. He is awesome, but stinky at times.

Ok, last funny thing about the MTC. I will try my best to have this not come off offensively...or grossly. Since the day I got here, I have eaten three times a day in the cafeteria here at the MTC...at first Sis. Coleman and I didn't notice anything, but the longer we have been here, we are starting to realize that we think they have something in the food. Hehehe, something that gives us "flatulence" or "gas" or whatever you want to call it. I know it may sound gross, but it has become a very funny thing to us. It's pretty much expected now. I wonder what it is they put in the food...if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

Now that I've had my silly moment, I will let you all know that I am loving this work. This is single-handedly the hardest thing I have done in my life. The schedule is rigorous, the rules are many, and I am pretty much always tired, but I would not trade any of it. I have a work to do, I love it. I am getting so excited to go into Sweden and teach the people there.
I can't believe I have already been here for 5 weeks. Time is flying by. Before you all know it, I will be back, and awkward as ever. :)

I know this gospel is true. I know that God has called a prophet and apostles for us to learn from today. I know that as we feast upon the words of Christ, we will know Him better, and feel of His love for us. I know that trials are for our good, and that they help us to grow. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that it is the answer to any questions we may have about this life.

I am so grateful for the examples you have all been to me. I love you, and will forever be indebted to your kindness and love.

Mom and dad....Bryan, Derek, Stephanie, Taylor, Melissa, Richard, grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews...I love you all SO much. I miss you, and please know that you are in my prayers and that I think of you often. I hope you are all doing well. I wish I was in San Diego with you. Please send me pictures and know that I am there in presence!!!

Friends, take care of yourselves!!! Make decisions that will help you to be closer to your Heavenly Father. Stay close to Christ and follow the commandments. Pray in every decision to know that you are doing the BEST thing you can. I love you all, and miss you.

Love,
Sister Suzanne Wood