Sunday, August 23, 2009

Update On Sean --- Final Posting ---













Sean returned home on June 16th. The doctors in Mexico felt that he needed to have surgery on the herniated disc in his back. We were all thrilled to greet him at the airport. He was in quite a bit of pain but managed big smiles and hugs for everyone...as you can see from the photos above.

We were able to get him in quickly to see a back specialist. The specialist felt that Sean would probably need surgery but wanted to have him get cortisone shots in his back first...to see if the disc's swelling could be relieved and not have to have surgery. The doctors felt that even if the swelling got under control, it could be easily aggravated again if he were to return to the mission-field. With this in mind, Sean decided not to return to the field and was given an honorable release by his Stake President...President Roberts.

As of today, August 23nd, Sean has been doing really well. He got the cortisone shots and they have helped a lot. He has not had to have the surgery up to this point and his back, though sometimes sore, is doing really well. He is also going to physical therapy twice a week to strengthen his back muscles. Sean is going to start working with his dad this coming week, doing medical recruiting. Sean has a great positive attitude and is moving forward with his life.

Thanks again for all of your support of Sean while he served his mission for the Lord.

CONGRATULATIONS Sean on a great mission...you affected the lives of many many people.

Mike, Donna, & Family





Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Information on Sean...June 10, 2009

Sean has been in Merida for a few days having his back evaulated. Several weeks ago we had the opportunity to talk to Sean on Mother's Day. He mentioned that his back had been bothering him a lot. A couple of weeks ago his right leg began having pain as well.

Over the past few days, Sean has had xrays, a nerve test, and an MRI. The MRI showed a badly herniated disc that the doctors determined may need surgery. Since surgery is not performed within the mission-field, Sean will need to come home and have further evaluations to see if surgery is needed, and if so, he will have it here. The good news is that a lot of people have herniated discs and are able to rest and return to good health. We are praying that this will be the case with Sean.

We spoke with the Mission Office last night and Sean will be flying back, probably this coming Tuesday. We will update this site as we receive more information.

Thanks everyone for your support of Sean.

Mike & Donna

Monday, June 1, 2009

Sean's E-Mail....June 1, 2009

Hey Everyone,


Sorry that I didn't write to you all sooner but I am in Merida right now because we will be having our Zone Conference tomorrow. I don't have much time to write because we are in the offices of the mission and its almost 10:00 PM.


I just wanted to tell you all that I love you and that the things are going good in Tizimin. We are going to have the baptism this Saturday....it is the boy that was going to get baptized last Saturday. He is ready to go and is excited.


I wish I could write more but we are getting ready to go to the house to sleep. I love you all and everything is going great. I hope that you have a great week and that you are all happy. Keep the commandments and watch the blessings come


I know that it's true, I have lived it. I love you all, thanks for the letters this week.


Love,

Sean


Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Sean's E-Mail & Pics....May 25, 2009








Hey Everyone,


Well another week gone by here in Tizimin. Things are picking up a little bit. We should be having a baptism this Saturday. We are still trying to get to know all of the members here. This Ward is not really very stable. It has over 200 inactive families. We are having trouble figuring out where to start. The Ward does not really help us out very much.


My companion and I gave talks in Sacrament meeting this week. We both kinda laid-into the members in a loving way of course, haha. We have made a plan that we are going to start doing this week. Hopefully we will be able to help the less active families and find new people to teach at the same time. We will see how it goes. We just have to put our trust in the Lord and work our hardest. We will be blessed.


I am glad to hear that everyone is doing good with work and is staying busy. I am always a little concerned about that whole thing. I'm glad that everyone has work.


I know that this letter is short but I don't really have much more to write about this week. Thanks so much for the letters that you all sent me this week. I love you all very much and I know that the Church is true, Jesus is the Christ and it is only through Him that we can return to live with God again.


Have a wonderfull week.


Love,

Sean

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Hey Sean!

Just a few pictures of what I've been doing lately -Brooke


Playing with Aleah, Cory, Kelli and mom at that park!


dying my hair brown...


Going to a friends farewell dinner...


Going to baseball games with friends...this is my new friend Lauren. She just joined the church, see I'm doing my missionary duty too, Sean!! :)



Monday, May 18, 2009

Sean's E-Mail....May 18, 2009

Hey Everyone,


Well, the first week has gone by here in my new area. I have to say that this week was pretty hard for me. We came in not knowing anyone, not knowing the area and having zero investigators. This week was really long because we didn't teach very much. We have gotten to know some of the members and we got a list this week of the less active members also. We will be doing a lot of work with the less active members to get us started. We will be looking to find new investigators through the less active families. We knocked on doors for a little bit this week but I quickly remembered why we don't knock on doors, it is not effective at all.


We will be working a lot with the members. The Ward here has in the lists about 700 members and the ward has an attendance of 40 or 50. We have a lot of work to do with reactivation. My companion is pretty interesting, he is a nerd but it's all good. We get along pretty well. Our area is huge, we got hooked up this week with some bikes, we did a lot of riding this last week. It is pretty hot though, riding in the sun. The house that we live in is pretty big....two bedrooms, a living room and a little study area, kitchen and bathroom. There are a lot of cockroaches in the house though. Well not a lot but we kill one or two every day.


As for the package goes dad, I can always use new ties, my socks are doing fine. If you do get some ties, I like the polyester ties (thick).


Thanks a lot for everything. I love you all and hope that you are all happy. Keep the commandments and always have in mind that we are preparing here to live in the Celestial Kingdom, not the Terrestrial or Telestial, so live a celestial life and enjoy the celestial happiness NOW.


Love,
Sean

Sean's E-Mail....May 12, 2009

Hey Everyone,


It is really weird to say that I have been out for a year already. The time has gone by so so fast. I can only imagine how fast the second year will go by. I am not looking forward to that, but at the same time I am kinda wishing it to slow down a bit. I know that won't happen though.


I dont really have too much to write about because I talked to you all on the phone yesterday. I think this letter will be more for all the people that I didn't get to talk to. This last week was really good. We were working a lot with the investigators set up to get baptized this week. It should be really good for the new missionary that comes into that area. I finally left Cancun and am now in a little city named Tizimin. I also went to Merida yesterday to pick up my ¨kid¨ (new companion). In the last interviews, my Mission President told me that I would be getting an American companion, but when I got to the offices, I found out that I was going to be getting one of the new Mexican Elders. I was a little dissappointed but at the same time a little glad. These last two weeks of speaking nothing but English have taken a tole on my Spanish skills. I am glad that I will be getting back into the habbit of speaking Spanish.


So everyone that I have talked to has told me that Tizimin is a really hard area to baptize in. We will see how that goes. I am a firm believer that we only put our own limits on what we can and can't do. Its all about the faith and good works that make anything possible.


My new companion's name is Elder Fuentez, he is from the state of Morelos. He is a pretty cool missionary from what I can tell. He has been a member his whole life and knows the scriptures really well. I am pretty excited to teach with him and help him learn the "ropes". I had to get up at 3:30 Monday morning to go get him from Merida. We were there with the new Elders and the President untill about 8PM and then we got on our bus and came to Tizimin. We have just been trying to get to know some of the members and stuff today. We have a lot of work to do here because there were not very many investigators waiting for us here. But we are ready to work hard and have success.


I know that the church is true and I know that the Lord will help us in His work. I know that we could baptize this whole town if we just have the faith and work hard. I love you all very much and I hope that you are all happy and being good. I will send a picture of my new companion with this e-mail and maybe some other random ones.


I love you and have a great week!
Elder Sean Wood