SMILE

Hello everyone! Happy almost Halloween, can you believe it!? I can't.

I know I say it every week but miracles are everywhere! Holy cow this week was fantastic.

First off, Gary is getting baptized this Saturday (yes on Halloween) and cannot wait! He told everyone in church yesterday "in 6 days I will be a member of this church" :D We're getting him to the temple soon after to do baptisms and he and Sharen are just on cloud 9! ME TOO! Tonight they want to take us to Family Home Evening (we go every week to a members' home for it) but we have a lesson right before and Gary wants to join. Not even baptized and he's helping us with a lesson.. okay!

Then there's Miss Inge. OH MY she's just stellar. We took her on a temple tour on Saturday and YOU GUYS SHE JUST LOVED IT. She saw the front door of the temple (not the main entrance we go in) and just gasped and took a picture of us in front of it. I asked if she wanted to touch the temple and she said "Will I get shocked" We laughed and assured her she could most definitely touched it and she did so reverently and with a smile on her face. We asked her if she believes it's true and she emphatically answered yes and wants to be sealed to her husband who has passed. The gospel is so amazing! She stayed all three hours of church yesterday too :)

This week we found some amazing new people who are interested in the gospel as well. There was a woman we met a couple of months ago that we planned on popping in on Saturday night and when we did she and her husband were home. We got to teach them a little and they want us to teach their teenage daughters! 

Also last night we found an adorable family who seem really prepared. Let's pray they progress!

Okay one more thought. We FINALLY got in with this Inactive couple who's daughter hasn't been baptized (she's 18). We saw them Saturday and she wants to learn to see if baptism is something she can be serious about! Annnnd her boyfriend who's name is Tiger haha wants to learn too!!!! Side note: They have three gorgeous horses and dogs and cats and I was basically in heaven over there yes.
They all came to church yesterday and it was glorious. Speaking of church, we had the Primary Program yesterday so it was PACKED and the Spirit was SO strong. I just loved it and really needed that. An adorable little girl sang "I Know My Savior Loves Me" and that one just touched me so much. <33 He really does love each of us unconditionally!

All in all this area is fantastic and booming and I'm so grateful to be serving here. My baby, Sister Rytting, is doing wonderfully and we're working super hard, the Lord is definitely blessing us. The members are amazing and we're just so happy! :D How could we not be happy!? We're sharing the true Gospel of Jesus Christ with our brothers and sisters and I just love the light that comes into these people's eyes as they discover the truth.

This gospel is true and I love it with my whole heart. Last week my "Ponderize" verse was 2 Nephi 32:9 about praying always. Turn to the Lord and He will lead you, guide you, and lift you up <3 also just my favorite line from the song I mentioned above

   "I will follow faithfully... My heart I'll give to Him, I know that my Savior love me"

Thank you for everything ya'll do. I love each of you! Have a wonderful week and don't forget to smile and pray!

Sister Woolley

Pictures:

Inge at the templeeee

Sister Rytting and I accidentally matched (we must be companions) 

"I'm ready to be a Mormon"

Hello family and friends!

We had quite the fantastic week! I'm just loving this area and these people so much :)

First off: Gary and Sharen!!!!! I'm just overjoyed and all smiles when I think about them. Last Monday night they didn't come to FHE because Gary was tired from work and they wanted to finish watching General Conference (fine with me!). Well on Tuesday we had a lesson with them. Gary tells us how he's already in Jacob of the Book of Mormon and then proceeds to tell us how, when he was watching President Monson speak, the Spirit testified to him that this is the true church. He cried and hugged Sharen and told her that he wants to be baptized on November 7th. When he told us we cried and probably had the biggest smiles on our faces :) I'M SO HAPPY FOR THEM. Sharen is SO excited. She said everyone knew before he did that he would be baptized :) He's just so prepared. They can't wait to go to the temple next year to be sealed together for all eternity. I'm SO blessed to work with them. Heavenly Father is so sweet to allow me to be here at this time to meet them and see the gospel change their lives.

We met some awesome new investigators this week. We popped by a family who were taught over a year ago and they STILL had the Book of Mormon on their table and said they read from it every so often. We're hoping to work a lot with the 18 year old girl :) Also, their house is LEGIT. It's in the backwoods and it's basically a fancy log cabin. You walk in and there are taxidermy animals EVERYWHERE (the husband makes guns and hunts). Literally a 6 foot 'gator chillin' on a beam near the ceiling. Okay, cool. And we sat on real life bear skin and cow hide.

Remember Leroy? Still not baptized BUT the other day we had an unexpected super spiritual lesson where his member friend asked him really what's up that's keeping him from being baptized and he totally felt the Spirit. We cried and told him he knows it's true and one day he will be sealed to his wife who has passed on and his great grand daughter who wants so badly for him to be baptized. When that day comes, the church will be PACKED with so many people who've helped him come this far.

We had Zone Training Meeting on Thursday which was just AMAZING. Mini General Conference over here. Our Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders are just awesome. Afterwards we got to have lunch with the sisters which ended by one of the sisters' car breaking down in which we ran over to dunkin' donuts to have two employees jump start it :) My dear MTC comp Sister Guynn was the driver. So happy she's staying in the zone!

On Saturday we got to do some service for one of my favorite members :) Killed ant hills and tore down spanish moss from the grapefruit tree it was so fun! And two referrals she gave us were there so we finally got to meet them. 

That same day we spent some time at one of the town squares to find new investigators. It was quite fun!

Things are going just wonderfully. I'm "Ponderizing" Alma 5:60 this week. I love this gospel and my Savior Jesus Christ and am honored to wear his name and serve him every second of every day. I love you all! Thank you for the support and love. Keep on keeping on!

Sister Woolley

Fall is here!

Hello beautiful family and friends!

Say hello to transfer #7! Stayin' here in beautiful Belleview with my baby, Sister Rytting. The weather has gotten really cool and everyone has out Halloween decorations :) Fall is hereee.

We finally got Seaford on date for baptism! Woo! He's progressing pretty well. He loved Conference this weekend as well, who wouldn't? :)

Sharen and Gary, our part member couple, are on fire too! Eek, I just love them. We saw them twice last week, and Gary is praying about the date we extended for baptism. We'll see them tomorrow to solidify it. yay! Sharen is just darling. They watched conference together this weekend and she was telling us how it makes her want to be more diligent in her Book of Mormon study. I am so excited for their near future because not too far down the road they will be able to be sealed in the temple. ahhh yes happiness <3 Side note, they had us for dinner too and are such a joy to be around.

We did finally see Jimmy again this week! He's moving up to Michigan to be near his ill mother... hoping to refer him to those missionaries. His story didn't end the way we had envisioned, but the experiences we had with him have definitely shaped my testimony and influenced me for the better and I know they changed his life in a significant way.

Okay so we have this new part member family who recently moved from a neighboring ward into our area. The husband wants to get back to church and supposedly the wife wants to learn more. So on Friday night our Ward Mission Leader's wife drove us all the way out to the boonies to see them and they are SUCH an adorable family. I'm so used to working with older people out here basically my whole mission... it was so fun to have kiddos running around and laughing :) They did not make it to church, but we have high hopes for them!

Before General Conference yesterday we popped by a less active and had a really cool experience! Her, supposedly, atheist friend was with us and we invited him to church and in response he shyly nodded his head and said next week they'd be there. She was shocked. We were shocked. They've had rough lives, but are so sweet. I really hope they will be there.

Okay, GENERAL CONFERENCE. Can you say amazing? need I say more? It was just fantastic! It answered all of my questions and things I've been worrying/think about for a few weeks now! I loved Elder Holland's talk about motherhood on Saturday and it made me think about my own Mother whom I'm so grateful for. Shoutout to you Mom! I love you <3 It was so inspiring. And about the way we need to stand as lights for the world. From what we know is happening in the world, it's not getting better, and to think that we, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we have the responsibility and sacred duty to bring others to this message of peace! It's awesome. Please please always share the gospel. Why only keep it for yourself? I know that President Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet of God. Anyone who watched him speak yesterday cannot deny it. The way the Spirit lifted him to speak with boldness and love and as he finished we see the weight of the world on his shoulders. The Lord is with him and he is inspired. I love this gospel and I know it's true.

Thank you for everything! Ya'll are amazing. Keep the notes coming! 

Sister Woolley

Picture: similar to last week's district picture.. but we had to take more this time haha.