Last days as an AP

Make Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Pres and Sister Young

Transfers are today and we are going crazy.  So I might be getting transferred, I might not.  It depends if a missionary comes out or not tomorrow haha.  No really, it looks like I will be training in Brookings, which is on the coast. I'm way excited. It's a way pretty place and I get to ride a bike again so I'm pumped to be able to do that to. I miss the bike.

This week was pretty good.  We finished up zone conferences and then worked on transfers the whole week.  It will be a bummer to leave the 3rd Ward.  That ward is like home. 

We had a way cool experience happen the other day.  We were able to give a lady a blessing this week, and afterwards she told us that she knew it was from God because there were things said in the blessing that only He would know.  It was pretty humbling for me.  Taught me a lot about just listening to the Spirit.

Hope you all are having a bomb week,

Love Elder Woestman. 

Oh, and PS: if all of you could bear your testimonies on my Facebook wall that would be awesome!

Oh - mom - skype.  What time works for you on Christmas to do that whole family thing?

High Expectations!!

What is up my family?  This was another bomb week with Elder "H".  We have been doing Zone Conferences all over and have been setting up Facebook accounts and what not with missionaries.  It's cool to see the miracles that happen every day from Facebook. Who would have ever thought that Facebook would be a miracle - but it is. Some of the things we have been working with the missionaries is to have High Expectations. So Elder "H" and I got on top of ladders and taught everyone on top of ladders at the zone conferences. Haha - it was pretty sweet. The cool thing is that we are learning so much from President Young and his councilors.  It's been way fun. Soaking in as much info as possible and writing it down. 

One of the cool miracles that happened this week is that we had another good lesson with Race. That guy is way prepared - blows my mind how in tune he is.  He just gets it. I love it.  We were able to have the lesson at Brother "J"s house which is always a plus. Love you all. Hope your having a great week!

Love Elder Woestman

Thanksgiving

Whats up family!  Sorry last weeks letter was only a line.  Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and ate a bunch of turkey.  I was at a tight families home, they had some of the best pumpkin pie I have ever had - like literally amazing.  And normally I'm not one that jumps for joy with pumpkin pie. 

So, I have started to use Facebook in my mission. It's intense to say the least.  So many miracles can and have been happening with it.  Elder "H" and I are going around the mission this week to help missionaries with their Facebook and to get everything situated.  It makes sense that we could use it. I need everyone to make sure they friend me. 

Oh - cool story. WE were knocking on doors this past Friday and we ran into this guy named Johua, he is like 30 and going to school to be a teacher.  So he lets us in and feeds us pie with whip cream.  Way good - I am getting a lot of pie this week :), and he had a guitar.  So Elder "H" played him a song he had written about Christ.  Well the guy loved it.  Turns out he has a bunch of recording stuff.  So today for part of p-day we went over to his place to record.  And check it, one of his mics was from Taylor Swift's recording studio.  How cool is that.  He kept it in a nice wooden box. hahah.  People are awesome.  The cool thing is that while we were getting ready to record we were able to talk to Josh's friend about what we believe.  And they had a lot of good questions and took a Book of Mormon.  But what I liked about the whole thing and what hit me hard was, here is a guy who after 2 minutes invites us in, gives us pie. then has us come back to record a song - all out of kindness.  I love people.  I love how real people really are and how most people in the world are nice and genuine.  They want to help others and they want to have a good time. Good times.  People are awesome. 

Love you and I really appreciate all of you.  Thanksgiving really helps one think of what they are grateful for so thanks mom and dad for being awesome and always putting up with me and always showing me love - even though i am dumb a lot haha.  And thanks sibs for being there and always having my back when I have questions and for always helping me have a good time when we are together.  Thanks family for being close, even though we hardly ever see each other ( which could change by the way if we do what bob said once and buy a big farm and we all section it off - haha) but once every 2 years.  I feel like we have a way close family that is close spiritually as well as emotionally, which helps me out here and helps me to know how to eventually raise a family.  You guys are the bomb dot com and I am grateful. 

Love Elder Woestman

Whats up my family!

So the Elder Foster's visit went well.  After last Tuesday he came up to Elder "H" and I and told us that we had made everything go smoothly for him and he appreciated it.  Which was way nice because that weekend we pretty much were running all over the place trying to make everything perfect. 

Then we had a way awesome lesson with Donna. Our Elders Quorum pres and his wife invited Donna and her kids over and they made "Skyline Chili"!!!!!  How awesome is that. We had a lesson about the Book of Mormon and focused on the Book of Mormon.  Its funny how everything goes to that. Testimonies need to be built upon that because once we have a testimony of that then everything else just falls in line. 

We also had a great lesson with the "A".  He called us and wants us to teach his son so he can be ready when he turns 8 to be baptized.  It's cool because I worked with them last year and now they want to come back to church and get there son ready.  We were able to make a game plan with them and we talked about prayer.  Joshua, the son, agreed to say prayers every night with his dad, which will be good for the both of them.

Then we went down to Klamath Falls and the coolest miracle happened.  We were able to teach this lady - she is a single mom trying to figure out how to raise her 5 kids at home.  Her husband just left her 3 weeks ago - walked out and didn't look back.  The sister missionaries found her and then refereed her to a set of missionaries that I went on exchanges with this week.  When we got there she had told us she had been reading the Book of Mormon with her kids and she wanted to start coming to church.  We had a great lesson on just how the gospel and its values help families grow and how it will help her with her kids to grow up with good people that can help and build them.  Super spiritual to hear her growing testimony and feel of her yearning and desire to go for it. Miracles happen every day and I love it. 

We were also able to have a youth fireside yesterday in our ward.  It was a musical fireside so Elder "H" used his guitar skills and played a sweet song about the Savior that he wrote. It was a good fireside and the youth loved it. 

Over all life is awesome - working hard and seeing miracles. Loving it out here.! love you all,

Elder Woestman

So the homeless people in Eugene are crazy and are sleeping all over government property, demanding that they can sleep anywhere haha.  They call themselves " Who Ville"

Religious Round Table

Hey ya'll.  Today is going to be pretty short, we have been way busy.  We have had a general authority in town this whole week and been doing zone conferences.  His name is Elder Foster and he is intense.  He invited my companion and I to come with President and Sister Young to a stake conference this weekend in Roseburg. We went to the priesthood leadership meeting and he was way bold.  He was trying to get everyone involved that was there in his lesson but no one was talking and no one was even taking notes.  It blew my companion's and my mind that no one was taking notes.  A 70 comes in and everyone was just sitting there looking at the wall. !?!?! You could tell he was getting a little frustrated. What he talked about was pretty good. He was talking about ward council and how the ward council needs to actually council with each other. And then the auxiliary leaders need to council with each auxiliary, and then how families need to council with each other- and that's how we learn and grow. Tieing it in to how we need to inspire people and help them receive revelation. So my companion and I were thinking about how we can tie that into our mission, zones, and districts.  How we need to council and learn and inspire each other together.  The power of note taking = inspiration! hahaha. 

Oh and check this - my companion (who is Elder "H" now, he is tight. He plays the guitar really well and we are putting on a youth fireside this Sunday and playing music) and I got invited to a round table at a local school. The sophomore high school class is putting on this event and asking all the religious sects to come and teach about their religion!  How bomb is that.  So our mission pres asked us to go. The work is hastening.  We aren't allowed to like "preach" but they told us to bring religious script.  So we are bring a case of Book of Mormons - hahah. Oho yeah, watch out Eugene. I'm loving it here!

It's been a way fun week full of adventure and mayhem. :)

Love you all, hope you guys have a great week.

Elder Woestman

Transfer Week

This week was pretty busy week. We were working with President Young on getting all the transfers ready and planning all that stuff, along with getting cars, and housing all situated for all the missionaries.  It's hard to balance all the office stuff and working in my area, so if you all have any tips that would be awesome.

However, it was also busy on the missionary end.  Our investigator Donna had a miscarriage this week, which was really hard.  We were able to have a spiritual experience through it though.  We had a lesson with her and Pres Lowary ( the 1st counselor in the mission presidency) came with us and was able to relate with her because he and his wife went through that twice.  We were able to talk about why the gospel is on the earth; to bind us together for time and all eternity, and that we will see our loved ones again.  It's always hard in those situations to know what to say to someone, but something I have learned that as we listen to the Spirit, it will never guide us the wrong way.  It was a good heartfelt lesson. If you could all keep her in your prayers that would be awesome. 

This week we made bread - all by hand.  It is a less active member's recipe so we made it to get in their door - and it worked.  We had to go home early for Halloween so we made it then.  Then on Friday we took it over to their house and they let us in.  We were able to find out their concerns. . . the power of homemade bread! haha

Love you guys.  Hope your having an awesome week. :)

Love Elder Woestman

Primary Program

SO this week was awesome!  We were able to meet with all of our investigators with out anyone cancelling their lesson!  How sweet is that!  Donna and he boys are doing awesome.  This week was the Primary program and they were supposed to be a part of it.  The older son got scared but the younger one jump right up and went up with the other kids in the Primary.  It was way good for us to see that the Primary is taking a big part in fellowshipping her boys.  That way they want to come to church.  We had a lesson at her place this Saturday before church and the boys were talking about how much they love church and how they want to go.  And Donna just goes in and sits by who ever in the middle of the congregation, which is sweet.  She pretty much introduces herself to everyone.  We invited her to be baptized Saturday.  She is having a hard time understanding why she needs to be baptized again.  What she needs is that spiritual confirmation that it is true.  So we are having a lesson at the church this week and really just talking about the Spirit, how it works and how we can follow its promptings.  We are hoping that she will understand that when she knows Joseph Smith is a prophet then she can carry that understanding over to the need for priesthood authority and baptism.  Pretty much it always comes back to praying and gaining that testimony for yourself.  

We also had a lesson with Sandy about the moral force of women.  The talk giving by Elder Christofferson - pretty awesome.  She now understands that women are the best thing in the world in the church.  She had a lot of concerns about that.  We had our ward mission leader and his wife come teach Sandy with us.  Always good to have a women there! 

This week we are helping President with transfers - always a busy week before transfers, and the next week is going to be crazy too. Love it.
Hope you are all having an awesome week.
Love Elder Woestman.