4/17/14 Romans 5:14

Romans 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s ^atransgression, who is the ^bfigure of him that was to come.

This week was SWEET! Our goal for our zone was for every area to hit the standard of excellence (20 Lessons, 60% member present lessons) this week. We got so close! Out of 13 areas 11 made the standard. And one of the areas that didn't make it taught like 36 lessons haha. They just needed a higher member present percentage. It was a great week. The best quality week this zone has had for a long time. I'm so proud of the missionaries here. They are doing really good work. One thing I have realized since I've become a Zone Leader is how much influence leaders can have on the people they lead. All we do for this zone is encourage them, and have faith in them. When we truly believe they can do something and then we tell them that we believe in them, miracles happen. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have had to serve these missionaries here in the Springdale Zone. They are so awesome and I love every single one. 

Remember XXXXX? That lady I told you about last week? The one we OTM'd last Sunday night. We taught her on Wednesday and she is awesome! She came to church yesterday! She said that it was a lot to take in! She hasn't been to church since she was 4. She has had some really tough things happen in her life, things that she's trying really, really hard to overcome. And we are doing our best to help her! I'm so grateful when I get to teach people about Jesus Christ and the Atonement. It's real! He really can heal us. And we are working so hard to help her realize that. PLEASE keep her in your prayers! And please pray that we will know how to help her along this path.

Anyways, last week was amazing. This week will be even better. I love being a missionary. I love serving the Lord and the people here in the OTM. I chose Romans 5:14 because Elder Wadsworth and I have been studying about grace a lot recently. I love this verse because it explains a really important principle. We are under grace. Jesus Christ's grace is sufficient for us to be saved. That is why sin should have no dominion over us. That is why we should do our best to be our best. When we are truly converted to Jesus Christ, when we really have faith in him, like Nephi, we will abhor sin. We will hate to sin! And we will want to have good, righteous works. That is real faith in the Savior. Using his atonement and grace to bless our lives right now. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and I love all of you! 

Love,

Elder Sherwood

4/7/14 Ether 12:6

 Ether 12:6
And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that ^afaith is things which are ^bhoped for and ^cnot seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no ^dwitness until after the ^etrial of your faith.

Good Morning! This week was awesome and terrible all at the same time. Monday and Tuesday we had MLC in Tulsa. Wednesday and Thursday we were planning for Zone Training Meeting and doing weekly planning and our Stake Coordination meeting with the Stake Presidency and all the Ward Mission leaders in the stake. Friday we had Zone Training meeting in the morning and District Leader Training Meeting in the afternoon. Saturday we had both sessions of General Conference, and the Priesthood session, then Sunday we had both sessions of general conference. It was a crazy busy week where we had a lot of meetings and a lot of planning and sadly not enough proselyting :( But it was a fun week! 

General Conference was awesome! I loved the talks that were given. My favorite was Elder Holland’s in the Saturday morning session. I also like Elder Uchtdorf's where he talked about having gratitude in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in. We should be grateful for everything, even our trials. And not just after our trials are over. We should be grateful for our trials while they are happening! It takes some serious faith to do that. But I believe that if we can do that, the healing process will begin much faster and we will be made much stronger. 

Here is an awesome experience that just happened to us last night. We were at this apartment complex contacting a potential investigator that we met last week. They weren't available (it was pretty late last night, like 8:45). So we began walking back to our car. Walking through the parking lot, we passed a car with a lady sitting in the drivers seat, I smiled and waved but didn't think much about it until a few steps later when I felt a prompting to go back and talk to her. I justified not going back with reasons like it's late, it's dark, she might be freaked out if two strangers walk up to her car in a dark parking lot. So we got in our car and started to drive away when I told Elder Wadsworth I had seen her. He said we should go back and talk to her, half kidding. After thinking for a moment and after feeling the intense impression to go back and talk to her, we parked the car and walked back to hers. "Coincidentally" (although I believe there were no coincidences in the story) when we got back to her car she was getting out. We said hello and introduced ourselves. I simply told her that we were missionaries and that we felt like we needed to come back and talk to her. She looked at us and said "It's funny that you mention that...". She then went on to explain how she's going through some real challenges in her life right now, and she has seen signs of God appearing everywhere in her life recently. One thing that she said to us really struck me. Through eyes that were welling up with tears, she said "God doesn't want us to feel uncomfortable in our own skin right?" I was able to testify to her that no matter what she's done, or where she has been, Jesus Christ loves her. Heavenly Father loves her. And the message that we have can help heal her and help her to find the peace she needs. It was an awesome experience. 

I'm So grateful for the Gospel. I'm grateful for the Holy Ghost, who prompts us and shows "unto us all things whatesoever [we] should do". I love being a missionary so much. And I love all of you.

Love,
Elder Sherwood
 

 

We enjoyed a nice plate of scones Sunday morning before general conference :) I'm glad I've been able to keep that tradition up on my mission :) I think my companions have enjoyed it too :)

Mosiah 2:20-25

Mosiah 2:20-25 20 I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the ^athanks and ^bpraise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and ^cpreserved you, and has caused that ye should ^drejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—

 21 I say unto you that if ye should ^aserve him who has created you from the beginning, and is ^bpreserving you from day to day, by lending you ^cbreath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own ^dwill, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your ^ewhole souls yet ye would be ^funprofitable servants.

 22 And behold, all that he ^arequires of you is to ^bkeep his commandments; and he has ^cpromised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth ^dvary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do ^ekeep his ^fcommandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

 23 And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

 24 And secondly, he doth ^arequire that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately ^bbless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

 25 And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were ^acreated of the ^bdust of the earth; but behold, it ^cbelongeth to him who created you.

Good Morning! This week was a great week! We found 6 new investigators this week!! And we have two baptismal dates set for the end of April. Great things are happening here in Springdale. Today we are headed down to Tulsa for MLC which is going to be SWEET! President Shumway decided to have MLC in Tulsa once a quarter. So this time we are headed down to Tulsa for a couple days. It should be awesome. I will update you on the things we learn. I always learn so much from President Shumway. And now that I have my voice recorder you'll get to hear him speak one day haha! 

We went on two exchanges this week. Because we're zone leaders we go on exchanges with every district leader area and any areas that have a new missionary. So on Tuesday we exchanged with Praire Grove. I was working with Elder Hunsaker in my area and Elder Wadsworth was with Elder Wilson in Prairie Grove. It was a crazy because Elder Hunsaker and I were in the MTC together! It was just weird to think all the way back to almost 18 months ago in the MTC when none of us new what the heck we were doing. And then to be working together for a day in the field was awesome. Then on friday we went on an exchange with the Huntsville Elders. Elder McReynolds is training Elder Tompson. They are both awesome. This time I was in Huntsville with Elder McReynolds. Isn't it crazy that I'm just traveling around Northwest Arkansas teaching people about Jesus? It sounds crazy but it's so awesome. I have witnessed the Atonement of Jesus Christ actually work for people. I have seen it work in my own life. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that he really does help us and heal us. 

Here's a cool story, we were working on contacting former investigators this past week and we found this one old record for someone named XXXX. We decided to contact him. We knocked on his door and he immediately let us in. We asked him if he had met with missionaries before and he said yes and that he thought that he should get back in to it. He also said that he wanted to come back to church. He also said later that he wants to be baptized! Haha it was crazy! So in that first lesson we told him that we are here to help him learn and progress and we set a baptismal date with him. People are prepared everywhere. We just have to open our mouths and find them! I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love the peace that it brings to our lives. I love all of you! 

Love,

Elder Sherwood

Pictures from Arkasas

"A kid we baptized in Bentonville"

"First morning of the week we taught 1038 lessons, haha"

Elder Sherwood & Elder Stapley with the Sherwood family, no relation but Elder Sherwood thought it was so cool to meet a family in their area with his name.

 

"I'm not so proud of the first one but it is really funny haha. That's what happens when you put missionaries in a restaurant with tv's EVERYWHERE."

"Elder Stapely and me in front of our favorite BBQ taco truck, sooooo delicious!"

"Elder Stapley with his 'trunky papers' "

"Elder Bailey at the conference in Tulsa. I love that kid."

"Elder Stapely at the transfer point"

"Elder Olson, we were at the MTC together 17 months ago."

"Elder Koetting, former companion and awesome missionary"

"Elder Burr. He has been a zone leader in the Rogers Arkansas Zone, he's awesome."

Moroni 8:16

Moroni 8:16 Wo be unto them that shall pervert the ways of the Lord after this manner, for they shall perish except they repent. Behold, I speak with boldness, having ^aauthority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for ^bperfect ^clove ^dcasteth out all fear.

This week was a great week. It was a little rough but it was good. Elder Stapley went home on this week. Sad day. I already miss him. He was a great missionary and a really good friend. But he's on to bigger and better things. Anyways, my new companion Elder Wadsworth is awesome! He's a fantastic missionary and he has alot of enthusiasm for the work. We are ready to get out there and work hard. 

Last night we had a great lesson with a new investigator. His name is XXXXX. He is this 6 foot 7 guy and he's awesome. He and his wife were just married a couple of months ago and his wife is a member. He has been interested in learning about the church for years though. He played professional basketball over in Europe and in South America back in the 80's and 90's haha. He has been all over the world. He said the first time he ever saw missionaries was when he was in Brazil and they rode by on their bikes and he and his basketball buddies tried to chase them down! That was the first interaction he had with the church. But he's awesome, he wants to progress towards baptism. He is sincere, he wants to know for himself that all of this is true. He wants to have a strong testimony and a conviction of the message of the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. I'll let you know how it all goes! 

On Friday we had a mission conference in Tulsa! Elder Tad R. Callister (one of the presidents of the first quorum of the 70) was visiting our mission! It was so awesome!!! Half of the mission was in Tulsa on Friday. It was so sweet. I got to see alot of missionaries and friends that I haven't seen for a while. Pictures will be forthcoming. It was amazing. He spoke on the evidences we have for the Great Apostasy. And the need for a restoration. It was so cool. I can't even really begin to summarize what he said. I took a lot of notes however. It's not often that we get a general authority visiting our mission. 

The reason I chose Moroni 8:16 today was because I've been thinking about fears lately. How often we let our fears affect our lives. One of my favorite quotes is "courage is not the lack of fear, but acting in spite of it". It's so true. Our fears are really nothing when you think about it. Fear is the opposite of faith. When we have faith or courage, we might still be afraid of the out come. But true faith is hoping that the Savior will help you through whatever it is you are struggling with and just putting one foot in front of the other, even when you have to take those steps in to a little bit of darkness. You'll find that the Lord will bring light to our path after we have exercised a little bit of faith. And after the trial of our faith, we can look back and see that our fears don't really have much substance. Fear not, only believe. I love this work and I love the Gospel. I love Jesus Christ and I love all of you! 

Love,

Elder Sherwood 

"The Greatest Zone in the World!"

"Some colorful characters in the zone"

"The greatest zone in the world!"

Visiting the St. Louis Temple

Phillipians 4:13 & D & C 88:73

A little explanation before the e-mail:

Elder Sherwood’s zone had a plan…

Elder Stapley & Elder Sherwood rolled out this plan for their zone:

Millenial Mountain

Equation: 1 lesson per hour x 13 areas = 1001 lessons

“Don’t let the low standards and expectations of the world and others cause you to aim beneath your nobility and ability—dream big! What I know and have learned is that anything worth doing is not easy and that we can do anything that is not easy if we believe.” - Elaine Dalton

Phillipians 4:13   I can do all things through ^aChrist which ^bstrengtheneth me.

This week was AWESOME!!!!! I am really excited to tell you all how the week went so here it is! We finished the week with a total of 1,038 lessons taught. We beat the record by 247 lessons! 569 member present lessons! 68 new investigators! (also a new record). This was an amazing week. Miracles happened in everyone's areas. It was so much fun. Our week was full of meetings, we had MLC and a zone training meeting to plan for and stake conference was this weekend. So as zone leaders, we had alot of meetings and planning we had to do, so we didn't get as much time as we would have liked to proselyte, but we spent alot of time talking with the areas and getting them excited to get out there and work. 

One thing that I learned this week is that we perform below our potential way too often. Some of the missionaries in this zone that have been teaching 14 or 15 lessons a week their whole mission, taught 60 or 70 this week! They are realizing their potential. It's so much bigger than what they think it is!! These missionaries pushed themselves harder than they ever have before and they did amazing things. I chose Phillipians 4:13 today because it's true. We really can do anything with the help of the Savior. This week was a huge blessing. All of the prayers and preparation that happened this week is what made it possible. When you do the Lord's work, you are entitled to the Lord's help. And we saw His hand in our lives this week. 

Well transfer calls were on Saturday night. Can you believe it's already been 12 weeks since I arrived here in Springdale. I can't. Obviously Elder Stapley is headed back to AZ. He's really excited. And I'm staying here in Springdale and my new companion's name is Elder Wadsworth. I've only met him once at a Zone Conference a while back but from what I've heard he is an awesome missionary. I'm excited to be here and I'm excited for whatever the Lord has planned for me next. I love this work and I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to be serving the Lord and the people of the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission. I love you all! 

Love,

Elder Sherwood

 (e-mail from March 3rd)

D&C 88:73  Behold, I will ^ahasten my work in its time.

This past week was great. So much preparation for THIS week. Both Elder Stapley and I have been trying to overcome a nasty cold but we are feeling alot better. On Friday we traveled up to Rolla Missouri where we spent the night with the missionaries there and then on Saturday we continued up to the St. Louis Temple! It was an awesome day! There are no temples in our mission boundaries and of course if any missionary wants to leave the mission boundaries they have to get permission from President Shumway. So we had permission to go to the temple with a recent convert of Elder Stapley's that he taught in Rolla last year. She was going through the temple for her endowments and we were able to go!! It was so awesome. SOOOO much driving though. St Louis is really far away from Springdale Arkansas, haha. It was an amazing day. We were in the temple almost all day, from 8 am to around 3 pm. It was so nice to be in the temple after not getting the chance to be in one for the past 15 months! 

Anyways, we are going through a nasty snow/ice storm right now. These storms are the worst out here because they always start with freezing rain first, so you get this nice layer of ice on the ground, then that rain turns in to snow after a while. So you get a few inches of snow on top of an inch of ice and that makes everything really fun. Driving a car is like driving a huge sled. And walking is more like ice skating. It's great. 

Today is the first day that our zone is executing our equation.

1lesson/hour x 11 hours x 7 days x 13 areas = X    ;)

Our zone is so excited!!! I chose the scripture in the subject line because the Lord is really hastening his work. And if you aren't hopp’in on this train or as our mission president calls it, this "rocket ride", then you are really missing out! I love doing this work! I love the Gospel, I love teaching people about the gospel and about Jesus Christ. Pray for this zone! We need all the strength we can get! :) 

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Sherwood