Mosiah 4:27

Mosiah 4:27
Hey! Good morning Arkansas. So last week was a pretty sad week. Tuesday and Wednesday I said goodbye to everyone. I spent exactly 1/4 of my mission in Stockton Missouri. I feel like I grew up there. It was almost like leaving home again. It was so hard. But Bentonville is SO SWEET. It’s literally the exact opposite of Stockton though. It’s about the size of like Walnut Creek, maybe a little bigger. It IS the Walmart Capital of the world.

It is a full bike area. Meaning we don't have a car at all. But our whole area is pretty small. We are in the Bentonville 2nd ward. The area is only a few miles long and wide. The ward is so awesome. They are so missionary minded. I've heard Bentonville called Little Provo before. I guess Walmart recruits from BYU so there are a ton of members here and they are all returned missionaries so all they do is missionary work. It’s so sweet. The ward mission plan is run like a business. So organized so perfect. I love it.

My companion is awesome. His name is Elder XXXXX. He is actually from Pleasanton! That was pretty sweet when I found out about that. He just recently moved there after I was already out here though. So anyways, He is such a good missionary. All he wants to do is work hard. I love his attitude. He's so eager and willing to do whatever it takes. Which is so necessary in a full bike area.

We live really close to the rest of our district so we see them all the time. The YSA elders drive by us in their car all the time. It lifts your spirits so much just to see other missionaries out working. Finally we have something to do on Preparation day now! I think today we might go to this sweet museum called Crystal Bridges. The first few days were crazy. We didn't know where anything was or where anyone lived. It was pretty overwhelming at first coming from Stockton. But I love it here so far. I'm so excited to work here and get to know the people. Hopefully I will love the people and the area as much as I loved Stockton.

Anyways I am so stoked to be here. I love my companion. And I love being a missionary.

Ok I gotta go! I love you all so much! Have a good week! :)

Mosiah 7:30

So Saturday night was transfer calls. I awaited the phone call from my Zone leaders not so patiently. When the call came, I answered and they told me this. I will be shotgun training in Bentonville Arkansas! When you shotgun an area, that means that both you and your companion are new to the area. So you both have to get to know the area and the people. Training (obviously) means I will be training a brand new missionary! In Bentonville Arkansas! The Wal-Mart Headquarters haha! I'm SO STOKED!!

I am really, really excited to shotgun, and train, and be in a big city, but I am very sad to be leaving Stockton. I have grown to love this area and the people here. This little town has brought such a big change in me.

(Elder Sherwood to Mandy - Can you believe that!! SHOTGUN TRAINING! I"M SO SCARED HAHA!!!!! Just kidding, I'm really excited. and kinda scared haha.  Mandy - You will be great!!!!!  Elder Sherwood - haha thank you! :) I really hope so. I'm ready. I am nervous. But I have more faith in the Lord than ever before. And I need it.)

Conference was awesome. It was the first conference where I was really able to get anything out of it. Finally I have a good understanding of the gospel. It was so awesome to hear from the leaders of our church. It's funny how all I heard from that conference was about missionary work. Funny how your situation affects so much what you learn or hear. Jeffrey R. Holland on Sunday was my favorite talk. He's so awesome. I love hearing the testimonies of the Apostles. They aren't called Special Witnesses of Jesus Christ for nothing.

Dad- As I sat in the chapel on Saturday night watching the Priesthood session. My thoughts brought me back to all those years sitting right next to you every Priesthood session. Thank you for being so diligent. You are such an amazing example to me in my life.  (Don to Elder Sherwood - Believe me I was thinking of you Saturday night too.  I missed seeing you draw!  Elder Sherwood - Haha ya I missed you bringing random candy like jelly beans or little chocolates haha!)

Alright some cool things that happened this week:

We helped this member skin and gut some rabbits. I was able to skin a whole rabbit. We had rabbit chow mein last night. It's really good.

I also ate a squid at this Chinese buffet in Springfield. That was not really good. It was horrific actually.

Ya I'm really excited to shotgun. I HOPE they have a mission plan.

I love you all so much! And miss you all!!! :) Endure to every end, and enjoy the journey.

Alma 37:35

Alma 37:35    O, remember, my son, and ^alearn ^bwisdom in thy ^cyouth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.

Sweet quote I found:

"Only a life lived for others, is a life worthwhile"

                                             ~Albert Einstein

First of all, April 9th is my companion's birthday! Just sayin ;)

Also, thank you so much for the Easter basket! I love getting stuff like that from home. I love you guys :)

Also, how is my rock wall? Did the holds ever get taken down? That would be much appreciated if that could happen.

This week we had an awesome experience with one of our investigators. We have these two investigators out in XXXXX (45 minutes away, still part of our area), we went to teach them one day and this other lady, XXXXX, was there. I guess she is living with them now. Anyways, XXXXX is a former investigator, and is sober for pretty much the first time in her life. She has had an incredibly tough life, colorful background full of bad decisions. But she is really turning her life around. Anyways, after we taught the lesson, Lynn told us that when we walked in, she thought about bolting out the back door. She didn't run. She stayed. She listened. She learned and now she wants to be baptized. I am a witness of the real power that the message of the Gospel has in the lives of those who are willing to listen. XXXXX still has some roadblocks, but they are nothing that I know she can't overcome. Please keep her in your prayers.

Transfer calls are this Saturday! I've been here for almost 5 months! I love Stockton. I love the people. I love the work here. It would be so hard to leave here. Never have I been so frustrated, so happy, so lost, and so blessed. Missionary work is so incredibly challenging. I know that it is not my strength or my own abilities that carry this work forward. All I try to do is be in the right place, with the right attitude, with the right spirit, at the right time. And the Lord does the rest.

3 Nephi 12:10

(e-mail from 3/25/13)

3 Nephi 12:10    And blessed are all they who are ^apersecuted for my name’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

How's it going?!

This week was a bit slower than the past couple weeks. That really bummed me out. We had some snow storms later in the week which always slows down the work. This week in sacrament meeting, the talks were all about strengthening through the family. The speakers shared experiences about their families and how important what we learn in the home really is. It made me so grateful to be raised in the home that I was raised in and with the family I am blessed with. One of the speakers gave this quote in his talk from Barbara Bush- "What happens in the white house, isn't nearly as important as what happens in your house". It's so true. So much of the problems that society faces today could have and should have been resolved or prevented in the home. It's so important to "learn wisdom in thy youth" (scripture mastery? forget the reference). The Gospel of Jesus Christ is THE perfect plan to happiness. If people can unite in purpose with living the gospel as their goal, harmony with one another and true happiness is achieved.

This week we got two new investigators! I was on exchange with Elder XXXXX here in Stockton. We tracted in to this guy who is a theology major and a practicing Methodist. But he is really free form in his beliefs. He was a really cool guy. He let us in and we taught him about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. He had A LOT of questions for us which is always fun. He invited us to dinner in a week.

Tracting really has taught me a lot about human nature. Here's my observation: The people who are weak in their beliefs or morals, or just rely on the knowledge of others (their pastor, preacher etc.) are never open to discussion with us. They slam the door. The people who are solid in their beliefs, who stand firm for what they believe to be true are always open for discussion. Just an interesting observation. You can tell a lot about someone’s character by how they treat strangers.

This work is really hard. I have never done anything so challenging, but so rewarding in my life.         

"TRIUMPH usually comes from putting a little more "umph" into your "try."  President Thomas S. Monson.

1 Corinthians 1:27

1 Corinthians 1:27   But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.

We didn’t hear form Elder Sherwood on Monday and asked if it was due to bad weather, his response…hey! Sorry I couldn't email yesterday! We had a Zone meeting for some

reason on our preparation day. So we are taking our preparation day

today! No storm related problems here, haha.

Good Morning!

Yes, I got the cinnamon bread! Thank you so much! I missed that stuff.

Haha I don't really have any ideas for the easter bunny. Ties are

always needed :) other than that, I trust his judgement.

Alex: Your letter was awesome! It is crazy to think you will be on AWE

in a year! I'm sad I won't be there for send off and run in. But

you're right, my letter and Taylor's letter should be waiting for you

:)

Earlier this week, I was feeling very discouraged. The pressure of

missionary work is very heavy. I've never had so much responsibility

placed on my shoulders. Sometimes I really can't believe the things I

am able to do. The past two weeks have been awesome. When I got to

this area we were teaching 4 or 5 lessons a week. And now we teach at least 15

every week. It’s been so awesome to see the work here grow. The Lord is

hastening His work, all we have to do is make ourselves worthy to be

an instrument in His hands.

I've been thinking about experiences to share with you guys, but I

realized that every single day here is a miracle to me. Thinking about

my life before my mission, the type of person I was, and the type of

person I am now. It's easy for me to stand on the doorstep of a

Southern Baptist chaplain and bare testimony of the Book of Mormon. Or

to meet a stranger in a flea market and teach him about the

restoration of the gospel right there. These moments are common in the

life of a missionary. And every single one of them is a miracle if you

think about it. I love being a missionary. There's no greater work in

the world.

I have a perfect record on never leaving a home without something

being read from the Book of Mormon by the way. Consistency and

diligence is crucial.

P.S. Oh ya! I made the spicy grilled chicken last week! It was awesome! Thank you so much for the recipes!!! :) love you mom! Hope your day is going well!