HELLO!!! 

   Week four of the MTC has been a good one! Basically we do the same thing every day but it's so good. And so fun! Lots of hilarious things happen all the time. Like the other day my companion peed her skirt and yes I'm still laughing about it right this very second. I think that I'm just appreciating more the funny things that happen that I may not have thought were funny before. And like, I'm really happy. Happy to be here doing what I'm doing. So laughing happens!! 

   I only have two weeks left in the MTC! Unless my visa hasn't come yet lol. But none of us have heard anything about visas so we're just kind of assuming that all is well and that in two weeks from now we'll be on our way to Lisboa. I'm so excited!! 

   I have shocking news.. my district thinks I'm CRAZY. haha who's shocked? No one. My companions are always like "Sister Wood, we're glad that you can just be yourself and not care what other people think." And my teacher is always saying that he's not laughing AT me, just WITH me. It's way fun. Seriously the Elders give me SO MUCH SASS. But I give it back because sass is my talent. I don't want to bury my talent! 

   So I've been studying a lot about grace. I've read some talks in the last few days about the grace of our Savior and how we can use His Atonement not only to repent of our sins, but also to improve ourselves and have the strength to overcome trials. The grace of Jesus Christ is not just for when we can't do anymore. It's not for when we are at the end of our rope. It is for EVERY DAY, all the time, in all we do. Jesus Christ's Atonement is never ending. We can use it all the time! And through it we can do all things the Lord asks us to do. I feel like I have to remind myself of this all the time.  Through Jesus Christ and because of Him life is SO GOOD! :) How lucky are we to know of Him! 

   Portuguese update: It's coming, slowly but surely. Conjugation is actually THE PITS. But really, I know Heavenly Father is helping me so much. I get really frustrated sometimes because there is so much I want to say that I simply can't. But then I get over myself and look at all that Heavenly Father has already helped me learn. And I'm so grateful! And I'm working on patience. :) (PMG pg. 120) 

   That's about it! I love you all a ton, and pray for you every day. THANK YOU for your examples and love! 

-Sister Wood 

Fun Facts..

-I've had the song What A Night stuck in my head for the past week. Literally. Is that baaad dooododoodooo

-I see Alexis and Kenzee all the time and it rocks

-Madeira. You know, like the island in my mission? Well, Madeira means wood! Irmao Lemperle calls me Sister Madeira. I have an island. 

Talks and Vids that are good: 

"In the Strength of the Lord" by Elder Bednar

"His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox

...and on Youtube search "Unleashing the Dormant Spirit: Advice from Elder Busche" 

All are great!!