Called to Serve

Update On Sean --- Final Posting ---

2009-08-23T00:44:00.000-07:00

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

Information on Sean...June 10, 2009

2009-06-10T23:59:00.000-07:00

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

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

2009-06-01T23:11:00.000-07:00

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

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

2009-05-27T14:54:00.000-07:00

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

Hey Sean!

2009-05-24T19:54:00.001-07:00

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!! :)

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

2009-05-18T22:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-18T22:23:00.000-07:00

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

Sean's E-Mail....May 4, 2009

2009-05-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

Well here I am again another week gone by. I can't believe that I will be going over the hump here in a week or so.

This week was really good. We had a baptism and we have put a lot of baptismal dates for this month. We have at least 10 people that will be getting baptized this month here in this area. The Lord really is blessing us and we are really enjoying the work. My companion Elder Juhasz is a really cool Elder from Idaho. We get along really good and like to joke around a lot. I have to say that it is a little more fun having an American companion. He is just easier to connect with than the other companions I have had. We are teaching a family of 6 right now that are really interested in the church. They have come to church once and come to two baptisms. They are really progressing good. They have a baptismal date set for the 17th. We are really excited for them. They are not married but they are going to get married in a week or so.

Well I'm sorry that I don't really have much to write about this week and I can't check my Gmail because its not working for some reason. Hopefully it will start working again before I get off so I can check my mail.

I hope you are all doing well and are all happy.

We don't know when the new missionaries will get here but it will probably be this week sometime. We will see what happens.

Love You All,

Elder Sean Wood

Sean's E-Mail....April 27, 2009

2009-04-29T23:37:00.000-07:00

*** First, Sean is fully informed on the Swine Flu problem in Mexico. His Mission President and Mission doctors have also been contacted by the Missionary Department of the Church. As of Tuesday, April 28th, no missionaries in Mexico had been diagnosed with the Swine Flu. Further, all missionaries in Mexico have been given specific instructions on how to protect themselves from exposure to the flu.

Sean's E-Mail:

Hey Everyone,

Well first off before I forget to tell you dad, I won't be able to do a video call. I will just be able to call you like normal. I will let you know the week before what time and stuff I will be calling. It will probably be in the evening that Sunday.

This week was a pretty interesting week. It was a normal week like any other week until Thursday night when the other elders came over to our house at like 10:30PM. They told us that the zone leaders wanted to talk to us. So we called them and they told us that we had transfers. They told me that I was going to be getting transferred out of my area and I would be going to another area in Cancun to wait for my "kid" to get here. Ya, I will be training again this next transfer. I am only here in Cancun for one more week and then I will be going to Merida to pick up my new companion and then we will be going to Tizimin. Tizimin is a little town that's between Cancun and Merida. I am excited to see another area of the mission. The even cooler thing is that its really close to the ruins of Chitzenitza. So I will probably be going to visit there one of these Mondays.

We had interviews this week and president told me that I will be training an American Elder. I am pretty excited about that. So ya, this week has been pretty interesting and different but really good. We will be having a baptism this week in the area that I am in right now.

I just want you all to know that I know that the church is true! There is no doubt in my mind about that. I know that if we pray and read EVERY DAY, we will have the spirit with us to guide us to help us make good decisions. Read the Book of Mormon. If we are not reading it everyday we are not growing spiritually. If we are not growing spiritually we are falling spiritually. There is no way we can grow spiritually if we are not studying the Book of Mormon. I love that book. It really has changed my life and how I look at the world.

I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week! I probably won't write again till next Tuesday because I will be in Merida on Monday. So don't freak out if I don't write on Monday.

Love,

Elder Sean Wood

Sean's E-mail....April 20, 2009

2009-04-23T01:06:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Wow I can't believe that this week is already over.

This week was really busy for us. We had a baptism this Thursday and also one on Saturday. The family that got baptized on Thursday is a married couple and the sister of the lady that got baptized. They are really awesome. The husband got ordained as a Priest this Sunday and as I was leaving the church, I saw them in one of the classrooms paying their tithing. It was really special for me to see how strong they are. The baptism that we had on Saturday was the daughter of a part member family. It was a good baptism. I got the opportunity to baptize her and also the husband of the family that got baptized.

We have been really blessed with a lot of people to teach and baptize. We are now focusing more in looking for new investigators. We found a few this week that we can work with. We are hoping to have 2 more baptisms with the group of people that we are teaching right now, one this coming week and another the week after that.

Things are going really good with my companion. He is a little different but he is cool. We get along good. The weather here is still hot, as usual. It is always hot here. I have gotten used to it.

I don't really feel like I am training, I mean I don't really feel like it's much different from having a normal companion. He is learning as he goes and is learning really well. Well, in two weeks we have transfers. The Zone Leader was talking to me the other day and told me that if not in this transfer, then the next transfer, I will be made a District Leader. I was pretty surprised to hear that. I hope that if I do get called to be a District Leader that I will be able to fulfill the calling.

Thanks so much for all of the pictures and for writing me this week. I can really see the Lord blessing our family when we are obedient and do his will. I was studying a bit in the book of James this week. It talks a lot about faith and works. I know that this is true. Our faith is nothing without good works.

I love this gospel and I love being a missionary. I was talking to one of the other Elders the other day and I told him how excited I will be when it comes time to go home, but at the same time how sad it will be to leave the mission.

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!!

Love,

Elder Sean Wood

Sean's E-mail.....April 13, 2009

2009-04-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Well another week come and gone. The weeks really just seem to fly by. I can't believe that I will be talking to you all in just a few weeks. I am glad to hear that all is going well and that you all had a good Easter weekend.

Yesterday we had our big baptismal program, it was really cool. Elder Mickelson, the area authority of Mexico, came and talked to us. He talked during the baptismal service and then talked to all the missionaries after the service. It was really good. We had two people that got baptized from our area. We were hoping to have 5 but 3 of them changed the day to this week. This coming week we are hoping to have 6 baptisms. We are excited about that. We have our work cut out for us this week. The time goes by fast when we are busy all day.

Our Mission President challenged us this week to start reading the Book of Mormon again and read it as a mission. I am excited to start over and find some new things this time that I read it. I have such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. I am blown away when some people have the Book of Mormon in their hands and they don't realize how much worth it has. I have realized that a lot of members of the church are the same way. They think that they don't have to read the Book of Mormon because they have read it once or twice. We will always find something new in the Book of Mormon when we read it because our lives are constantly changing and we find new things that apply to our lives in this moment. We are SO SO blessed to have to Book of Mormon as a part of our lives. So why do we not read it like we should? I challenge you all, no matter what your situation is right now, to pick up the Book of Mormon and read the most valuable thing that we have in this life. The Book of Mormon is powerful and it can change lives. It has changed my life 100%. I used to take it for granted. Here in the mission I have realized the real power it can have in our lives. It's simple, read it and watch how your life will change.

We were teaching a lesson this week to one of our investigators and we challenged him to get baptized this week. He told us that he didn't think he was ready. He told us that he needed more time to change some bad habits that he has. I got the feeling that I should read Ether 12:27 with him. We read it and he just sat back and said ¨wow you're right, I will get baptized this week.¨ I felt the spirit so strong at this moment and was so grateful that the Lord could use me to help our investigator progress.

I love you all and I know with all my heard that the Book of Mormon is true. It has the gospel in the fullness. I hope you all have a great week, and if you are not reading the Book of Mormon like you should be, I challenge you to start.

Love,

Sean

Sean's E-Mail....April 6, 2009

2009-04-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

I'm sorry that this is going to be really short but the computer that I am on is really bad and it's being stupid.

Wow, this week was such a great week! Conference was really really good , even though I only got to watch 4 of the 5 sessions. I think that my favorite talk from conference was the Sunday talk from Elder Holland. His talk about the atonement was amazing! We had 5 new investigators that came and watched conference this week in the church, they all said it was really wonderfull.

We have 8 people that we are hoping to get baptized this week in the baptismal service of 50 or more. We are really excited.

The time with my new companion is really good. He is learning a lot and I can really feel his spirit when we teach. He is a good Elder.

I want you all to know that I love you and I think about you all the time. I know that the Church is true and everything that we heard this weekend was from the mouths of the living prophets of our days. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. I love Him.

Thanks for all of your letters and support. Have a wonderful week!!

Love,

Elder Sean Wood

GO HEELS !!!!!!!

Sean's E-Mail.....Mar. 31, 2009

2009-04-06T00:20:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Well another week come and gone. The weeks just seem to fly by so fast. We are working really hard and trying to find as many people as we can for our baptism this coming month. I am really excited about the baptism, it is going to be really cool. I can really see how the Lord prepares the way for His children to receive the gospel. I have also learned a lot about how my own faith and obedience is helping a lot of people receive the gospel through me. We have put a goal for 10 baptisms this month and the Lord really is preparing the way and putting people into our paths to complete that goal. We received 11 references this last week from the ward members. It is now up to us to teach these people that the Lord has put in our paths and help them come unto Christ.

My new companion's name is Elder Esparza, he is from Acapulco, Mexico. We did meet with the mission president this last Monday while we were in Merida, we took the bus to get there. We left Cancun at 6 in the morning on a 4 hour trip by bus to Merida, we were there until like 7pm and then we got back on the bus and came home. We were in the bus for a really long time. It was good though, I got to know my companion a little bit better. He has only been a member of the church for 2 years. He is really excited to be here and to teach the people.

I learned a lot about the power of prayer this week. How it is that, when we pray, we need to really talk to God and not just say the same things over and over again. I was reading a lot about how to recognize the spirit through prayer and how to receive answers.

I hope that everything is going good for everyone there. Sorry that this letter is short, I will send a few pictures. I love you all and thank you so much for the letters and the support. You are always in my prayers and thoughts. Remember that the work will never stop, we are always missionaries. This whole life is about missionary work. The whole church is centered on missionary work. Don't ever stop doing the work.

Love,

Elder Sean Wood

Sean's e-mail Mar. 24,

2009-03-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Hey there everyone. Well first off, we had transfers yesterday that's why I couldn't write. I didnt get transferred from my area but I had to go to Merida to pick up my ¨kid¨. I am going to be training a new missionary. I am really excited to have the opportunity to train. I am still in Cancun and I am really excited about that.

There is a lot of work to be done here and we are planning a big baptismal service for the 13th of April, all of the missionaries in Cancun are putting their baptismal dates for the 13th and we are going to have 50 baptisms in one baptismal service. It is going to be really sweet.

I have been studying a lot this week about faith and how we really can do anything if we have the faith. Every miracle or wonder that anyone has ever done or experienced in this world was because of their exceeding faith. I have really changed my whole perspective on my mission. Before, there were always limits in my mind or I thought that if we baptize 2 or 3 we are good. There really is NO limit to the miracles that we can do here in this life. In the Book of Mormon it tells of Nephi and the change that he put into the hearts of the Lamanites and that 8000 were baptized unto repentance. This next month we have set a goal of at least 10 baptisms. We will be putting all of our faith in the Lord and we will be working like everything depends on us. I know that the Lord will help us reach this goal as long as we have the faith and the good works to fulfill the promise that he has given to us. Whatever we ask, that is just, it will be given us if we ask with faith. I know that the church is true and that through faith we can do ANYTHING.

I love you all and thank you for all of your letters this week, sorry that I don't have time to write back to all of them. I pray for you all everyday. Have a great week and be good.

Love
Elder Wood

Sean's E-mail & Pics....Mar. 17, 2009

2009-03-17T23:21:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Wow I can't believe that I have been out for 10 months already. The time really seems to be flying by. I really enjoyed all of the letters this last week that you all sent.

This week was a pretty good week. We had a baptism on Saturday morning. His name is Alberto and he is 23. His wife is a member and he wasn't. We found him in the list of old investigators. We went and visited him one day and he told us that he really wants to get baptized. We worked with him for a few days and he got baptized. I had the opportunity to baptize him. It was really cool.

Dad, to answer your question, I have not heard anything or seen anything or even felt like I have been in danger at all here. I think that a lot of the drug stuff happens at night and we are in the house by 9 so its not a big deal. Dont worry, nothing is going to happen to me. I am on the Lords errand and He will not let anything happen to me as long as I am obedient and faithful.

Other than the baptism that we had this week, nothing much new is going on. We had Stake Conference this Sunday and we got to listen to Elder Eyring talk. I realized that one of the big problems with the members here is tithing. The whole conference was based around paying tithing. It was a really good conference.

We have transfers this coming Monday. I think that I will be getting a new companion but I am really not sure. Me and my companion have been together for 4 and a half months so I think that one of us will be getting moved this change. I hope that I don't leave my area. My area is really good and the Ward is really cooperative with the missionaries. They do a lot for us. We NEVER go hungry!

I know really without a doubt that the Church is true and that we are guided by a true and living prophet today. I know that he receives revelation directly from God. It is weird to see how everything just makes sense when we study and put into practice the things that we study.

Study the scriptures and you really will be given the bigger portion of the word of God. I love you all and hope that you have a GREAT week. Thanks again for all the support. I am sending a picture of the last baptism that we had.

Love,

Sean

Sean's E-Mail....Mar. 9, 2009

2009-03-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

Well, as I always say, another week come and gone. Yes I am still here in Cancun. We will be having transfers in two weeks. I don't think that I will be getting transferred out of my area but I do think that my companion will probably get transferred to another area.

This week was really good, we had Zone Conference and it was all focused on having unity with our companions. I really learned a lot this week about how having unity can help us work better and with more of the spirit. We had a really good week. We had a baptism on Saturday of an 11 year old girl. All of her family are members but her dad could not baptize her. We planned a really good lesson for her and I know that she felt the spirit and knew what she needed to do. She made the decision and we baptized her this week.

I am so blessed to be in this area. Our district is the best district in the whole mission, numbers-wise. I know that the numbers really don't mean anything, but it's pretty cool to be a part of that. We are really working hard and the Lord is blessing us a lot. I have a strong testimony that when we are obedient to the commandments of the Lord we are blessed. I can not express the joy that I feel knowing, without a doubt, that the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth. Everything that we need to know to return to live with God and Jesus Christ is written in the scriptures and it is being revealed to living prophets today. I know without a doubt that Thomas S. Monson is a living prophet today, that he receives revelation directly from God and he teaches us what we need to do to return to live with God again.

Live the Gospel of Christ and I promise you that you will be blessed with more than you can imagine in this life and the life to come. I'm not talking about being blessed with things of this world. I am talking about being blessed with such a joy in your soul that you can't explain it. The true happiness in this life is found when we learn to put into practice the Gospel in our lives. If you have not found this true happiness in your life, or you feel like there is something more to this life, I challenge you to pray with all of your might to God to receive the Gospel in your lives. Read the Book of Mormon, it really is another testament of Jesus Christ and really does have the gospel of Christ in the Fullness. I know that if you read in this book, and really pray to know that it is true, you WILL receive an answer to your desires. I say desires because anyone can pray, but when you pray with a true desire to know, that is when you will receive your answer.

I love you all and pray for you everyday. Be safe and find the happiness in this life that you never have imagined before.

Love,

Sean

Happy P-Day From Mom...3/9/09

2009-03-09T08:52:00.000-07:00

Picture From Sean....March 2, 2009

2009-03-02T23:57:00.000-08:00

Sean's E-Mail....March 2, 2009

2009-03-02T23:54:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Well first off, Dad don't worry, I just had a cold and I bought some medicine from Walmart, the mission pays for the medicine we buy if we need it. The mission also has a doctor that all the missionaries talk to if they are sick. The mission also pays for that. I am fine now. I am feeling a lot better. Trust me if I was really sick I would tell you.

Things are going good, we had a better week this week. We found a family that is not married and the husband is not a member. The other missionaries that were here were teaching her before and they dropped them because they were not married and had some complications getting them married. We found them one day while contacting former investigators. They told us their story and we told them we would see what we could do. We know a person that works in the place where they marry people and the couple went and talked to her. The lady said that they could get married. So hopefully this week they will get married and her husband will get baptized this week or the next. We are pretty excited for that. Other than that we have just been working hard to find new investigators. The other elders that are living with us will be moving out this week and I think that things will be a lot better between me and Elder Martinez.

I'm glad that you got my letter mom.

I don't need any new shoes or anything, my shoes will hold up through my whole mission I'm sure. I am still wearing the first pair and the other 2 are still pretty much brand new.

I just want to tell you all that I know that the church is the only true church of God that has all the authority and Keys of the Priesthood. I know that through Jesus Christ we can overcome the two deaths that keep us from returning to live with God again. I know that families can be together forever and that we have a living Prophet on the earth today.

I love you all and thanks so much for all the letters. Have a great week. I am sending a picture with this letter to show you that I have gained a little weight....ha ha.

Love,

Sean

Brooke's weekend in Oceanside, CA!

2009-02-22T23:16:00.001-08:00

I told Sean I would post some of my pictures from last weekend when I went to Oceanside with some friends...here they are!

The view from the condo we stayed in!

Myra, me and Mindy (my roommates)

Myra, Stephanie, me, Mindy and Natalie

After a morning walk on the beach!! Love it!!

Sean's E-Mail....Feb. 16, 2009

2009-02-16T22:42:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Wow, a lot of questions about my new area. My new area is really good, I like it a lot better than my last area. There are a lot more families and houses in this area. We didn't really open a new area, it had Sister missionaries here before but they took them out and put 4 Elders in the area. We are living with 2 other Elders in our house, which is pretty fun and at the same time it is kinda distracting, especially because there are 3 Hispanics and me. So a lot of the time it's them and me solo, but it's all good.

The areas are not that big here because there are a lot of missionaries here in Cancun and a lot of work to do. Cancun is growing fast. They are going to be opening a 4th Stake in Cancun by the end of this year. My new area is not by the beach at all, it's like 10 miles in from the beach. The people in the Ward are really nice. The Ward is really big and all the callings in the Ward are filled. It is really nice to have a Ward that is really excited about missionary work and supports us when we need it. We have a lot of work to do here. The whole area is houses, there are thousands of houses and families.

We found a few new people this week and had 3 new investigators at Church. Two of them are a family that are really interested in the Church and learning more, they participated a lot in the classes. I am really excited for them. Other than that we have just been getting to know the area and the members.

We are working hard, I have to admit that I had a few down moments this week and got really frustrated with my companion one day. But with the Lord's help, and a lot of patience, I was able to get through it all fine.

I used some of the money that you gave me for Christmas to buy the game Monopoly. We play almost every night, after we plan for the next day. There are some perks to having 4 missionaries in 1 house.

Sorry to hear that Cory and family are not feeling good, I will make sure to pray for you this week. Thanks for all the letters that you sent this week and I will try and get some more pictures sent off this next week. Hope that this week is a good one for everyone and everyone is happy.

The Church is true and Joseph Smith really was a prophet of God. Have a great day! Sorry if I didn't answer all of your questions.

Love,

Sean

Pictures From Sean...Feb. 9, 2009

2009-02-09T10:26:00.001-08:00

Sean's E-mail...Feb. 9, 2009

2009-02-09T10:21:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

I got transferred for the first time today. It will take me a whole 15 minutes to get to my new house, haha. I got transferred into another area here in Cancun, into a different Stake. My companion also got transferred. He got transferred with me to our new area, yeah, we are still companions, weird huh?

It's all good though because we will be opening up an area and we will have a lot of work to do there. We will probably only be together for one more transfer before he or I get transferred. This week went by really fast, this whole change went by really fast. I like how they do 6 week transfers, the months just seem to fly by, before you know it 2 transfers have come and gone and 3 months have gone by. It is weird to think that I have almost been out for a year. It doesn't feel like it. I am really excited to get into our new area and start working hard.

This week we had another baptism, we baptized the older sister of the girl we baptized last weekend. I had the opportunity to baptize her. It was a really cool experience for me, my first baptism. It was really good to see her and her sister at Church this Sunday, participating and having fun. They looked really happy. That is basically what we were doing this week, preparing her for her baptism and teaching some other investigators. We are leaving quite a bit of work for the other Elders that come into the area.

I am sending some pictures with this e-mail. Some are pictures of my area right now and some are of the baptism that we had this week.

I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church that has the authority of Christ, the Priesthood. It is the same authority that he gave to his apostles when he organized his church here on the earth during His mortal ministry.

I love you all very much and thanks for all of your prayers. I also pray for you all everyday. Be happy in everything that you do!

Love,

Elder Wood

Mike & Donnas Vegas Visit & Grace's 1st BDay Pics

2009-02-08T21:45:00.001-08:00

Sean's e-mail Feb. 2, 2009

2009-02-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Well as I always say, another week gone by. The weeks really seem to just fly by.

This week was a pretty good week. We had a baptism of a 9 year old girl in our Ward who's mom is inactive but her daughter goes to church every week. We were eating at her grandma's house this Sunday and she asked us when we were going to plan her baptism. We told her, why not this Friday. She said, yeah that's fine, so we taught her a couple times in the week and baptized her on Friday. My companion baptized her and I confirmed her in Church yesterday. We also have a lot of other good references from this lady in our Ward so we are going to be working hard to get them as investigators before this week is over.

We have transfers next Monday and I want to leave the area with investigators. We are going to be working really hard this week to have at least 15 people that we are teaching, so that when the new Elder or Elders come, they can complete the goal that we set for this month.

This week I started reading Doctrine & Covenants and it is amazing. My testimony has really grown about how significant we really are in the work of the Lord. We have a really big responsibility to share the gospel with those who are not members. I and my companion have been talking a lot this week about ¨deep doctrine¨. I know I should be focused more on the lessons and the basics but it is fun to talk about those kind of things. My testimony has grown about Joseph Smith in reading Doctrine and Covenents. I know that he really was a Prophet of God and that he was prepared from the beginning of time to be the Prophet to restore the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that this Church is the same church that Christ organized when he was here on the Earth....I know without a doubt in my mind.

I hope that everything is going good for all of you and that you are all safe. I love you all and I know that the Lord is protecting you and blessing you. Have a great week. I will probably be getting transferred this next Monday so if I don't write Monday, I will write Tuesday. I love you all and pray for you everyday. I will send a picture of the baptism we had this week with my next letter.

Love,
Sean

Sean's E-Mail January 26, 2009

2009-01-31T18:37:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Well another week has come and gone, the time goes by really fast. We have been working really hard this week to find new investigators. We have a baptism set up for this Friday, and then 2 more for the next weekend hopefully, if the investigators come to church this week.

We will be having transfers in two weeks from today. I am pretty sure I will be getting transferred this time. I am really excited to know another area and new people. I'm not going to lie, I am pretty excited to get a new companion. I like my companion but he doesn't have much drive to work hard. These next two weeks we will be working hard to find people to baptize after I get transferred.

This week was pretty slow. I have been doing a lot of studying on faith and how to have more faith in Jesus Christ. I made a binder with different sections for the attributes of Christ. I then printed off a bunch of talks from the internet on the subjects and put them into their sections. It is good to be able to open up the binder on a subject and read a talk or two on faith or any one of the attributes.

Well I don't really know what else to write. Nothing really big happened this week and we are just working and trying to keep the work going. I love you all and thank you so much for the letters that you sent me. I'm sorry if I didn't answer all of your questions. The church is true and remember to always put your trust in the Lord.

Love,

Sean

Sean's E-mail....January 19, 2009

2009-01-24T15:57:00.000-08:00

Hey Family and Friends,

I don't have much time to write this week because I wrote a couple of other people and was reading for a little while. I just want to say thanks for all the letters and everything that you guys send me every week. I love reading and getting them. I am glad to hear that everyone is doing good.

Things here are going really good we are going to start working really hard this week to fill our tank of investigators. We are running a little dry, mostly because of laziness. But this week we had our baptism and it was really good. We have now had 3 baptisms in the family that he is from....two dads and a son. They are really good people. We don't have transfers until the 8th of February. Who knows if I will get transfered or not but it doesn't really matter, I really like this area and I know it really well. The members here are really good too.

I love you all very much and I will make more time to write next week. Brooke, to answer some of your questions from last week.....I am not training yet, my companion is Mexican, and I'm far from being fluent in Spanish but its coming along haha.

I love you all and pray for your safety every day. Pray for what you want in rightousness and it will be given to you if you have the faith. I will make sure to share some of my studies next week. Stay firm!

Love,

Elder Wood

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

2009-01-12T17:17:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,

First off I just want to say thanks for all of the letters that you all sent to me this week. I love getting and reading the letters from everyone.

This week was a really tough week. Well I should say that it was a week for a lot of growth. I had been feeling a little bad at times but I realized more this week how much I need the Savior with me all the time. I can't afford to let Satan get into my head about certain things. I started reading Jesus the Christ this week and I am having a hard time putting the book down to work....ha ha....but my testimony has really grown. I have learned a lot about the Plan that God has made for us and a lot of the details of that plan. I really have learned how to have more faith in Christ.

We are going to have a baptism this Wednesday, the dad of one of the Kids that we baptized a couple of months ago. I am really excited for this new year to get going and really start working with all my Heart, mind and strength. I know that the Lord has His hand in everything. We are SO SO blessed to have the knowledge that we have of the Plan of Salvation.

I really don't have much to share this week, except that it was a really tough and a really GOOD week at the same time. I know that the Church is true and that we really can return to live with God again after this life. I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Christ and that it contains ALL of His gospel.

I love you all very much and I hope that this week is good for you all. Stay close to Christ at all times and you will always be blessed.

I love you all very much!!

Love,

Elder Wood

16" Of Snow On Mike & Donna's Back Deck...Donna Is LOVING It...!!!

2009-01-08T00:30:00.000-08:00

Sean's E-Mail...Jan. 5, 2009

2009-01-05T22:47:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Wow I can't believe that it is 2009 already. The time is going by really fast.

We had zone conference today and it was really really good. I love listening to President Cardenas talk. He talks with such clarity and is very direct. I got the Christmas package with all the stuff in it. I was so happy to get the pictures of Brent and Cory's families. The Kids are getting so big. It is amazing how fast that they grow when you are not there seeing it happen. Alleah looks so different from when I left. It is weird to think that they will be talking before I get home, and they will have no clue who I am....ha ha. Thanks so much for everything that you all sent to us and for the presents for Elder Martinez, he says to say that he really likes them and is really grateful for them.

This week was a little different because not many people were here in their houses because it was New Years and a lot of people are on vacation. The people here start partying around 11 and just drink all night until about 6 or 7 in the morning and then sleep all day the next day. So Thursday for us was really dead. It was interesting. But no we didn't really do anything for new years, we just went home and went to bed at 10:30 as usual.

I don't really have much to report this week because it was a pretty slow week. But I have been thinking about certain things this week. I have been studying about FAITH this week and how it is that faith is the first thing that we must have to obtain a testimony of something. Well, first we have to obtain a knowledge of some principle or doctrine and then comes the test of our faith. Then after the test of our faith we receive a testimony. Then to really have the "knowledge", we live what we have learned. I have learned that there is a difference in between having a knowledge of something and really living what you know to be true. That is the whole foundation of our Church and all that we do in this life, the relationship that we have with our Heavenly Father. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Like it says in Ether, we bring our weakness to the Lord he will make them strong. I have a lot of things that I need to do better this year, the only full year of my mission. It also says in Preach My Gospel that we must have goals, if we don't have goals we are not working for anything and we are just trying, no doing. I have learned with enough faith we can do anything we can complete any goal that we have. I am still learning how to have more faith and rely on the Savior more to help me. It says also in the Book of Mormon that for the exceeding faith that the brother of Jared had, he was able so see Jesus Christ. Just like him, we can have many miracles in our lives if we just have the faith that they will come to pass.

I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and living church on the face of the Earth. I know that the Plan of Salvation is perfect, and thanks to Jesus Christ we can overcome the spiritual and physical deaths that impede us from returning to live with God again. IF we put our all of our Faith in him and do works of righteousness here in this life.

I love you all very much and I hope in this new year you all set goals for your lives and put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and he will bless you until you complete that Goal. There is no limit to what we can accomplish, so put all that you have in the hands of the Lord and watch the blessings come into your lives. I hope that this year is as good for all of you as I know it is going to be for me.

I love everyone of you with all my heart!

HAPPY NEW YEAR...!!!

Love,

Elder Wood

Solid Ice On Mike & Donna's Driveway

2009-01-04T23:11:00.000-08:00

Brooke's New Years

2009-01-04T19:33:00.001-08:00

I spent New Years with my favorite girls. We went to a few parties and ended up at a church dance for midnight. It was a fun night!

Natalee, Stephanie, Mindy, Myra, me and Jaron

Me and Cassidy

Natalee, Myra and me

Christmas Pictures From Sean

2009-01-01T13:52:00.000-08:00

Sean's Chrismas E-mail

2009-01-01T13:51:00.000-08:00

Hey Family and Everyone,

Well we had transfers yesterday, and you will never guess where I am now. Well its not that hard, I am still in Cancun, I didn't get transferred....ha ha. I am excited that I didn't get transferred though because we are going to have a really good change. We have a lot of people that we are working with to get baptized this month.

I had a pretty interesting experience yesterday in Church. We got there about 5 min before Church started and this American lady came up to me and introduced herself to me and told me that sje and her family were here on vacation. She then told me that they invited the person that drove them from their hotel to the Church to come in with them. They introduced me to this guy, and come to find out, he lives in our area and has a family. Half way through the Sacrament meeting the American lady asked me if I had a pen and paper that she could use. She took my planner and my pen and wrote down her name and address because she wants to know what happens with this guy. She writes her name down and I read it " Sister Nancy P. Marriott". She and her husband are the owners of the Marriott Hotels.

I then told her that we had a problem because the worker that she brought with her works on Sundays and would not be able to come to Church. She told me not to worry about it because she had already taken care of changing his schedule. I am really grateful with the Lord for putting people in our path who are ready to hear the Gospel. The guy (Jonathan) really liked the service and said that he is really interested in the Church. We will see what happens but we are going to work really hard with him this week to get them to come to Church again.

The Lord really works in mysterious ways! Well it was really good to talk to you all this week and hear all of your voices. I am glad that everyone is doing good and everything is good there. I am not to jealous that we dont have 10 inches of snow here. I hope you all have a fun and safe New Years Day!

I love you all very much and I pray for you everyday.

Love,

Sean

These are a bunch of pictures from Christmas at the Bevan house, a family in our ward that had all the missionaries over for dinner. And there are some of us at some of the members houses on the 24th. Then there are some of the transfers that we had today.

Christmas Day Family Pics

2008-12-29T00:13:00.001-08:00

Weekly letter!

2008-12-22T11:30:00.001-08:00

Hello Everyone,

I am not going to write very much because I am going to be talking to you on Thursday. Speaking of which I will not be able to talk at 3PM my time. We have a lunch party thing at 3 with the whole District. I will have time to call from the house of our Bishop at 7 my time so that will be 6 your time. I hope that works for everyone. I am really excited to talk to you all and hear what is going on there.

This week was really good, we had a family of 6 at Church for the first time and we have some other people that we will hopefully be baptising this week. milagros del cambio. Well I can explain everything to you this week when we talk but what I will do is just call you guys at 7 my time (6 your time) and give you the number that you can call. Then we can talk from there.

This week I think is going to go by really fast. We have a lot to get done. I might be getting transfered this coming Monday too, but we are not sure yet. They just told us that there is going to be a lot of transfers in the whole mission so we will see what happens.

Well I love you all very much and I will talk to you on Thursday.

Love,Sean

Snow in Vegas!

2008-12-22T07:13:00.001-08:00

Can you believe this? My first winter in Vegas and it snows. I guess it hasen't snowed here for like 10 years. Just my luck! There were some places in the city that got up to 8 inches in one day. You can imagine the craziness it caused with the roads and everything. The first picture is of my friends house, I couldn't get any of mine before I got home and the rain melted it all, but I got about 1/2 an inch at my house. What a wierd week!

Weekly letter

2008-12-15T23:34:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Well another week gone by here in Cancun, Mexico. I sometimes think about how crazy it is to be in Cancun spreading the Gospel. It is crazy also to think that I have been out for 7 months, time really does fly by. I am still in my first area here in Cancun central. We will be having changes (transfers) in two weeks. I dont think that I will be getting changed this change but who knows. I was thinking about how I don't really want to get changed, I really have come to love the members here in the Ward and I have grown to love this area. It is really big compared to a lot of the other areas in the mission but I look at that now as a blessing. We have so many people that we can teach. I am grateful to God that he has put his trust in me to be here in this area with his children that so badly need the gospel.

I dont have much time to write but I just wanted to say a couple of things about what happend this week and what I was studying this week. We had a multi-zone conference this week where one of the 70s came and spoke to us. It was really cool, he is a way funny guy. I dont remember his name right now, sorry. I really learned a lot about the work and the responsibility we have as missionaries. I also learned a lot about the power of prayer, but prayer only has power to work if we really have faith that what we are praying for will happen. We also had interviews with the Mission President today, he had his family with him and all of his sons that served missions and his daughters that served missions too, they all talked to us a little bit about having success in the work that we are doing. It was a really good meeting.

This week I was studying in Alma Chapters 48-60ish. These are known as the "war chapters" of the Book of Mormon. They really tell us a lot about how we can protect ourselves from temptations. How we always need to be building up a protection...for when Satan comes at us with his numberless concourses of angels, we will be prepared in a way that will astonish them all. These chapters tell us a lot about how to overcome the forces of evil and build up a strength in our own lives. I dont have time to write anymore, I wish I had another little bit of time to write about what I learned but I will invite you all to read these chapters and really look for how we can apply them to our own lives.

I love you all so much and I can't wait to talk to you in a couple of weeks. Speaking of that, I dont know where we are going to be calling from yet, or where we will be, but I will find out for sure this week and I will let you know this coming Monday where you can call. I will have the number and everything. I love you all and I pray for you all every day, I will be praying for MOM a little bit more this week. Dont you go dyin on me! HAHA. I love you all and I really will be praying for your health mom, I am a little concerned about all that I read but I know that the Lord is always with us and will bless us.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!

Love,
Sean

Weekly letter!

2008-12-08T13:06:00.001-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Well just to start off I just wanted to say thanks for all of the e-mails. I sure do love you guys a lot.

We worked really hard this week and we were blessed for it. We didnt have 14 investigators in the church but we did have 9 new investigators this week. We were really blessed, the members are working with us a lot better and are really getting into the spirit of missionary work. We have received almost 30 references this month, the members are really great. It was a really special sacrament meeting this week because it was fast and testimony meeting. I really felt the spirit a lot, and I know that a lot of our investigators did too. We are working really hard right now with a family that we contacted over a month ago. They finaly came to church this week and the mom said that she is definitely going to be coming every week. They are really good people. They have two little daughters of 9 and 6 year old. We have a lot of other various investigators that we are working with too. Next week we are looking to have 8 more new investigators in the church and 17 total.

We really have our work cut out for us this week. I know that if we put our trust in the Lord we will be blessed. I was reading in Alma 40-42 yesterday. These chapters really outline the Plan of Salvation. I was thinking that we are so blessed to have the knowledge of this plan. Almost everyone here is Catholic and they do this thing where they put big speakers in a car and drive around really slow saying a prayer over and over, and people follow the car walking. They have usualy have 200 to 300 people following the car saying the prayer to the Virgin Mary.

I really am so grateful to the Lord that I have been blessed with such a wonderful family that all are active and blessed with a wonderful girlfriend who is strong and supportive to me. And of course, this opportunity to serve the Lord and share what I know with others. We are all so so blessed, I feel so bad when I do something or think somthing that I shouldn't, just because I have been blessed with so much and I am so far away from being the person that I should be all the time. But that's what this life is for, we are here to learn and progress.

I love you all so much and I want you all to know that I know that the Church of Jesus Christ is the only true and living church on the face of the earth, there is no doubt in my heart. I know that if we put our trust in the Lord and put Him first in all things we truly will be blessed.

I will send you the number next week in my e-mail, where you can call to talk to me on Christmas.

Love You All..!!
Sean

House Decoration Pics For Sean

2008-12-07T23:58:00.001-08:00

Pics From Sean Dec. 1, 2008

2008-12-02T22:33:00.000-08:00

Sean's E-Mail Dec. 1, 2008

2008-12-02T22:29:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Well just to start out I hope that everyone had a really good Thanksgiving week. It sounds like you all did a lot of fun stuff. Thanks for all the letters and all the love. This week was a little crazy because Elder Mazza went home. I was with the Zone Leaders for pretty much all Thursday , Thursday night and Friday until about 2 or 3. When my new companion Elder Martinez came in. It is really nice to have a companion who is not going home. He has only been out 4 months in the mission and really wants to work hard. It is really good to have a companion that wants to work as hard as I do.

So I have been sick since Thursday with a cold, yesterday was really bad. After we went and ate we came back to the house because I could hardly move, my body just hurt. But I am feeling better today, I just need to drink more water I think. Elder Martinez unpacked all his stuff while I rested for a little bit. We then had our weekly planning session which was really good. We are really excited about this week. We have a lot of work to do to make up for the last couple of weeks of not working very hard. He is a really cool missionary, he was in Merida before here and in a little ward of old people he said. He says that Cancun is really different. I dont really know how different it is because I have only been here.

This coming Sunday we are hoping to have 14 new people out to Church for the first time and 16 investigators in total. We are really excited because this coming Sunday is fast Sunday and that is always a really special meeting for everyone. We had a missionary program in the Stake Center with all the missionaries in our stake. It was an open house where people could come and see what goes on in the Church and all the organizations had a little presentation of what they do. We had like 38 investigators or non members there so it was a big success. Sadly we only got 1 referal for our area and that was from a member that was there, haha, but thats ok.

We are working hard and doing our best. Thanks everyone for all of your prayers and love. I can definitely feel the love. I love you all very much and I am glad that you are all doing good. Take care and be safe in all that you do.

Love,

Sean

Kira and Vicki singing!

2008-12-01T09:27:00.001-08:00

This is Vicki and Kira singing at the family Thanksgiving entertainment night :) They did a great job!

Weekly letter

2008-11-24T17:04:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

This letter is not going to be very long because we don't have a lot of time to write today.

This week was really different. I got a new companion who is going home this coming sunday....so that has been pretty interesting. I really hope that my new companion that is not going home soon.

Just to answer some of the questions that mom had in her e-mail. No my house is on the bottom and it is a lot bigger than my last house. It has an office and a living room and a separate bedroom and a bigger kitchen. It is really nice and I like it a lot better.

I am feeling a lot more fluent in my Spanish. I can understand pretty much everything and I can have a conversation with pretty much anyone pretty easily. There are still times when I don't know what is going on or what is being said because I dont have a HUGE vocabulary still. We get to see the President 2 times a month, for our monthly Zone Conference and for interviews, which we have today. We have District Meething once a week on P-Days and we have Zone Conference once a month. I don't know what we will be doing for Christmas yet. Elder McQuevey is still the Zone Leader of my Zone and is in my District . At the end of this month he will have had 9 months in this area....crazy!!

This week we had a really special opportunity to baptize a man in the Ward who has been active in the church for almost 5 years and has been investigating the church for 9 years. His wife ran into us on Wednesday and said that he needed to talk to us because he was ready to be baptized....so we had the interview on Thursday and he was baptized on Friday. The Bishop baptized him and it was a really spiritual experience. He cried almost the whole time. Almost the whole Ward was there for the baptism. It was really special for me to see the joy that he has and the joy that his family has. Now they are all members and they have a goal of getting to the Temple in one year to be sealed as a family for eternity. I am really happy for them!

Well I better go because I need to write one other e-mail before I go. I love you all and thanks so much for everything. I pray for you all every day and night.

Love, Sean

Pics From Golfing A Couple Weeks Ago At Spanish Oaks In Spanish Fork

2008-11-23T22:50:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving pics

2008-11-23T17:37:00.000-08:00

Hey Sean, it's Brooke. Dad emailed me these pictures and wanted me to post them. This is the family Thanksgiving at home...

New pictures!

2008-11-21T16:30:00.000-08:00

Hey family and friends, I am here with my new companion and he is writing so I thought that I would send you all the pics that I couldn't send yesterday. These are just some random pictures of the last couple of baptisms we had, and some other random pictures. I hope you like them.

Love,
Sean

Weekly letter

2008-11-17T10:17:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Well as I always say, another week gone by.

This week was a really different week, just because Elder Cabrera went home and I am getting a new companion. My new companion's name is Elder Masa. He only has one transfer left in his mission so this will be his last area. I guess they like to send the Elders that are going home here to this area, probably because it's one of the areas with the most baptisms. I really am grateful for everything that I learned from Elder Cabrera. He was a really good missionary. He really knew what the work was about and that it was not just for baptisms, but to really help people come to Christ and endure to the end. A lot of missionaries just baptize and forget about the converts and the converts go inactive within 3 months. I have a goal to not let any go inactive. The Lord really has blessed me with a good first companion.

This week was different because Elder Cabrera was getting ready to go home pretty much all week. We are pretty much all settled into our new house and it is pretty nice. Once again I don't have my camera with me because I am with the Zone leaders for the day until I get my companion. I stayed the night at their house last night and then have been with them all day today. We have not been doing much of anything today, just Preparation Day stuff. They are pretty cool guys. They are both Americans so we have been speaking a lot of English which has been a pretty good break. This following week I will for sure send some pictures, when everything settles down.

I'm glad to hear that everything is going good for you guys and that everyone is doing good. I love you all and thank you so much for all your support. Be safe and always rely on the Lord and you will never fail. Put your trust in the Lord and he will put his trust in you. Remember to always look for opportunities to serve others and share the Gospel. I love you all and pray for you every day. Oh ya the weather here is perfect. If anyone is thinking about visiting here, now is the time.

Until next week!
Love, Sean

Weekly letter

2008-11-10T13:07:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Well another week has come and gone so fast. I can't believe that this week will be my 6 month mark.....Crazy.

This week was really different than usual. Pretty much all we did this week was get our new house ready to move into. The lady that is renting it to us is a less active member of our Ward so we were doing a lot of service for her by working on the house. We painted the whole inside and painted some of the windows (the metal part). It was a pretty big project but it was good to have a little change for a few days.

We had a really good experience this week. We were with a family that is inactive and they are having some trouble financially. They were talking with each other about what they needed to do in their lives to have joy and peace. They told us that they were praying and trying to figure out what to do. We felt like we should visit them one night in our planning session. The next day we contacted them and the Dad said that he had been talking with his wife about their situation no more than 5 minutes before we walked around the corner....he knew right when he saw us that we were coming to talk to him. We had a good lesson with them and they are a good family. They were not at Church this Sunday though. We need to work with them a bit more and get them back active in the Church. They have a son who is 10 who is not baptized so we are going to work with the dad and get him worthy to baptize his son next month. I will keep you updated on that.

As for the rest of the week, we really didnt have much time to work. Moving in the mission is not very fun. We are in the new house now and its good. We don't have hot water at all so that is fun. Showers in the morning are amazingly cold....haha but its all part of the mission. We had our baptism on Saturday and that was really good. The lady that we baptized has been active in the Church for a while, she was even paying her tithing and stuff. She only needed to be baptized so we set a date and it was a really good experience for her.

As for the whole Christmas thing. I don't really need anything. Some peanut butter would be nice. They only sell peanut butter in little little containers and it is expensive. So I guess that is my only real request. Don't go spend a bunch of money on me for Christmas mom and dad. You guys are already paying for a lot. We will call the camera that I bought my present for Christmas. Thanks for the extra money. Dont feel like you have to give me money. I know you guys have expenses and need to save for the future.

My companion goes home this week and I will be getting a new companion next Monday. I will probably be in a threesome from Saturday untill Monday night.

That's about all I have to report this week. Thanks for all your e-mails and the pictures on the Blog site....they are awesome. I love you all very much and I am really excited to talk to you at Christmas. Have a great week! I was going to attach some pictures but the place that we are writing from this week is a little crappy and doesn't have USB hook-ups....I will send them next week. I love you all very much, thanks for your prayers and support. You are all in my prayers everyday also.

Love,
Sean

Weekly letter...a little late...sorry

2008-11-05T09:26:00.000-08:00

Hey Family and Friends,

This week was really good. It went by really fast for me. It seems like it went by really fast for all of you as well.

I am glad to hear that Halloween was fun for everyone and everyone survived the weekend. Halloween here is pretty crazy, it starts on the night of the 31st and goes until the 2nd so every night was pretty crazy. Oh ya mom, my house is on the roof of another house. Almost all the houses here have migshift houses on top of the house.

Dad to let you know I bought a new camera today. It is a Sony as well so the memory cards all work good with it. It is a 7.2 megapixel camera. I think that Elder Cabrera is going to buy my other camera from me. He wants to have a camera when he goes home. The camera was $280 and I am going to sell my camera to him for $100 so really it was only $180. It is a nice camera.

This week we were really blessed. We were flooded with new investigators. We did not have our baptism this week because we had Stake Conefrence on Sunday. We would have had to wait a whole week to confirm her so we are going to have the baptism this Friday and confirm her on Sunday. Wè are hoping to have a baptism every weekend from now on this month. We really have been blessed. We found 2 new families this week who are really good people and really receptive. We are hoping to have 11 new investigators in church this Sunday. We are going to be way busy this week with things to do. We pretty much already have all of our week planned out. We will see how everything goes. I can already tell that this week will go by really fast. This week Elder Cabrera said something that I thought was really good. He noticed that a lot of the people that we are working with have problems balancing there lives between spiritual and economical. I think that a lot of times we do that a lot in our lives. We don't put as much time into getting spiritual gain as we do getting economical gain. Just a thought that I had this week.

Brooke, ya I can check your blog that you have going. I check it every week. The video of dad saying "PLEASE"....was way funny!! I was laughing really hard.

The weather here this week was perfect! It was not too hot at all. It felt like Utah almost. The humidity seemed to be a lot less strong this week. There was a slight breeze and some clouds but it didnt rain very much. It was really nice. I am glad to hear that you are all doing good and everything is good and moving along at home. I miss being there with you all and joking around but I am so blessed to be here and be able to serve the Lord. I Love you all very much and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love, Sean

Brooke's weekend in Utah

2008-11-02T20:58:00.001-08:00

Sean's favorite cat!

Amberlyn and Grace

Kelli and Alleah

Brent

Cory

The kids

FHE carving pumpkins

Weekly letter

2008-10-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

Hey Family and Friends,

Well as I always say, another week gone by. This week was a good week, we have been working hard. We have a baptism this Saturday and 4 more lined up for next month. The work is moving along good and we are being blessed.

I am going to send some pictures with this e-mail so I will give you a run down on them right now. They were all taken today so I am wearing the same clothes. 1. This is one of it raining really hard one day. 2. This is me enjoying a really good Torta. It is a Monday morning tradition kinda thing. Go out and eat Tortas for breakfast. 3. This is me over looking the great city of Cancún, Mexico. 4. This is me learning how to play the guitar (I can play 2 songs pretty well. haha) 5. Again playing the guitar. 6. My companion and I before we came to write e-mails. Me trying to be hardcore or something. Well thats all the pictures I have this week. I will take some more at the baptism and send them next week.

My health is good, I weigh around 170 to 175. So don't worry I am doing fine with the food and stuff. Nothing really big happend this week, it was pretty much like every other week so far. But it was good, I felt the spirit a lot and my Spanish has gotten a lot better. I am really thankful that the Lord has helped me so much with learning the language. I am starting to teach a lot in the lessons and the people are understanding me so that is good.

I am glad to hear that a lot of you have taken the challange to read the Book of Mormon again. I know that it will bless your lives and the lives of your families. I know that you will have a stronger testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon also. Im sorry that I dont have a lot to write about this week. But I got some pictures off and if you guys were wondering what we do on our p-days thats pretty much what we do....that and clean the house. Thanks for all of your prayers and all of your support. I love you all very much and hope that you have a great week.

In 3 weeks I will be 6 months through my mission. Time is going by really fast. I love you all and you are in my prayers. Have a great week and be safe. Remember to read and pray everyday and you will be protected from the evil things of the world.

Love, Sean

Pictures

2008-10-26T20:26:00.001-07:00

Hey Sean, I'm home for the weekend and I took some pictures at the BYU game that we all went to...thought you might like them. And of course I thought you'd like the video. I hope you have sound!! :)

Weekly letter

2008-10-20T23:20:00.000-07:00

HELLO EVERYONE!!!

Wow I just have to start out by saying that I have such an awesome family. I am so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family. I can really see the love that we have as a family. A lot of people here have a lot of problems in their families....or a lack of love. Thanks for all the love that you have for me and for each other. I am here in the internet cafe writing this e-mail. They just turned on the music really loud and its some Eminem song....pretty funny. Sometimes we can't see how much we have changed until we really look back at things we used to do.

This week has been a really good week, we are still working hard with the Ward and working with the less active members in the ward. My companion goes home in 4 weeks. I was really blessed to have a companion like him to start out my mission with. He really has taught me good. I am still learning how to teach in Spanish but it's getting better. This week was really good at church, we had 6 investigators and 4 or 5 less active members come to church. There were 120 people that attended this week. It was the most that have been in Sacrament meeting since Elder Cabrera got here. So ya the work is moving along here good. We are working hard and the Lord is blessing us. I am glad to hear that some of you guys had missionary experiences this week. Keep up the good work. Remember that you don't have to convert non members, less active members are just as important as those people that don't have the gospel. If not more important because they have to gospel and are not living it. I am reminded of a quote from Jeffrey R Holland in one of his talks he said, " I am convinced that missionary work is not easy, because salvation is not a cheap experience...how can we ever expect it to be easy when it never was easy for Him (The Lord)". Missionary work is definitly not easy but the things that are easy in life are the things that we dont receive the greatest blessings for. I am certain that if we put the Lord FIRST in EVERYTHING that we do, we will be blessed beyond measure.

I have another challenge for everyone. We as a mission have started reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning, with a goal to finish by the end of the year. We all have a new copy of the BOM (paperback) and we are marking all the references to Jesus Christ with a color ( Lamb, He, Reedemor, Savior, ect.). Mark all the times that Jesus Christ is speaking with another color and all the Christ-like attributes with another color. I challenge all of you to start doing this in your personal study. I know that you will be blessed by doing this and your love for the Savior will grow. Your testimony of the Book of Mormon will become stronger that the Book of Mormon really is another testament of Jesus Christ.

I love you all and hope that you have a great week. Thank you all for your letters. Im sorry that I can't write you all back but I dont have a lot of time. I love you all and miss you a lot. I pray for you all every day and hope that you are all happy in life. Oh ya another thing, a lot of people here sit and watch TV like all day. I would challenge everyone to be a little more active this week in things that will bring us closer to Christ instead of watching TV or doing things that are not important in our life. The Second Coming is close and we need to be prepared.

Oh yeah, the picture of the tree is just a really big tree that I thought was cool looking. And the other is Elder Cabrera and I outside of our apartment this morning just before we came to write e-mails.
I love you guys....thanks so much for everything.

Love,
Sean

PS - Dad, we have not gotten to go to the ruins or anything yet but it's ok, I'm not really that interested right now in visiting the tourists sites. I will have plenty of time after my mission to come and see all that stuff. Im sure that we will go at some point but it's ok, im not sad about it.

Pictures

2008-10-16T16:35:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures we've received from Sean since he's been out...

His apartment...

His companion...

His bed...

doing his wash (I think)...

His sweat...

Him relaxing...

His purpose...

His sense of humor...

We love you Sean!!!

Weekly email

2008-10-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

Hey Family and Friends,

Well another week has gone by and we are just working hard and trying to be the best missionaries we can be. I still have a lot of room for improvement in that area. But things are going good. We are teaching a family right now, I think that I mentioned them in the last e-mail. They have a lot of problems in their house so we are helping them with some of their problems through the Lessons that we teach. Their two kids, Heidi and Darwin, will be baptized this month and hopefully next month the parents will be baptized. They can't get baptized unless they are married and they are not married so we are going to work on getting them married this month, or the next, and get them baptized. It is really good to see them making changes in their lives and wanting to have a better home for their kids. They know that they have problems and they want to change. The Lord is really helping them and blessing them.

We have been working with the Ward a lot as usual and been trying to get things going there. It seems like a lot of our work is helping the Ward to be better and helping the less active members. It is good to see changes being made in the Ward and in the hearts of the members. They are starting to help us with references, actual references where they introduce us to a family member and are they are in the lesson with us. 7 of our 11 investigators have come from references from the members. The other 4 are the family that we are teaching right now. So that just goes to show you how the work needs to go. I can see now how much I didnt help out the missionary program before my mission and how important it is to always be involved in missionary work. I know that probably every missionary says this, but I really want to do a lot of work with the missionaries when I get home and during my life. I really have come to love the work and love helping people come to Christ. I have started to see everyone as sons and daughters of God rather than just other people. I really wish that everyone would except the message that the Lord has for them but that's not how it works. My heart is pained when people say " no I dont want anything to do with God". I think, if they only knew the joy that comes from being a member of the church and having the knowledge of the Gospel, how happy they would be. I pray that they will all accept it in the future at some point in their lives.

Well I have a challange for all of you this week. I want everyone who reads this e-mail to write down 5 names of people that you think need the Gospel in there lives. Then once you have that, pray to find out which 1 of those 5 the Lord wants you to share the Gospel with. Then make contact with that person this week and get them prepared to meet with the missionaries in your area. I hope to get an e-mail from all of you next week telling me how your experience went. I know that you are all really busy with a lot of things but the Lord wants you this week to take some time and share the Gospel. I promise you that you will recieve more blessings than you can even imagine.

I love you all and thanks so much for the letters and all the prayers. I hope you all have another great week.

Love sean

Welcome!

2008-10-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone

This is Brooke, Sean's sister and I just started this blog so everyone can keep up to date with Sean and how he is doing on his mission. If you guys have any pictures or posts that you would like me to post here (hopefully Sean will be able to get on and see the blog from where he is) then please email them to me at brooke.m.wood@gmail.com and I'll post them. Thanks everyone for your love and support, I know Sean appreciates it!!