Enduring Well to the End

mini hermana wood! now we just need her to stop drinking. :)

bishop invited us to lunch!

we had to traverse this to get to our lesson with kevin!

did everyone watch conference this week??? it was so inspiring!!! i'm up to my eyelids in the spirit!!! i loved every second - the general women's meeting, too! everything was just so amazing. i'm printing out all of the talks as soon as they're available - not waiting for the liahona this time. :)

gringos unite

let's not forget the true reason we come together for conference.

just kidding. :)

in other exciting news, this week i completed 14 months of living in the jungle cities of perú without once getting e coli. :) i did get nibbled by a pig once, so that streak is over. but, what i'm learning is that you're "respectable" in the mission (as a sister) when you reach 14 months. (as an elder, that apparently happens at 20 months.) with these 14 months and all this respect, i'm also learning about the blessings that come from obedience. i'm doing a challenge called "purificandonos," or "purifying ourselves." it's basically a 40-day fast of things that drive away the spirit (even small things). i made a list of everything i do, say, or think about that drives the holy ghost away, and i've committed to "fasting" from those things at least until november 2nd. it's not easy, but it will be so worth it!! god is strengthening me as i strive to purify and consecrate myself!!!

we got permission to eat as a zone in the mall after conference!

zone conference

i love you all and hope you can find ways to consecrate yourselves in the coming weeks! this week, i read an amazing quote about hope by elder neal a. maxwell: "those who look forward to a next and better world are usually those anxiously engaged in improving this one…real hope is more than wishful musing…hope is realistic anticipation taking the form of determination - a determination not to merely survive but to endure well to the end."

smile, hermana wood and jesus love you! :)

hermana wood

More from this week's message to Hermana Wood's dad:
i was reading my father's blessing you gave me before i left for the CCM in 2015. i've read it a couple of times while i've been here, but this time was super special, having 14 months in the field. i realized as i read that every promise you gave me has been fulfilled in some way, and everything you blessed me to have or to do i now have or have done, even in small ways. there are still many adventures ahead! but, tears of gratitude were in my eyes to know that i have a father with enough faith to give me (a crazy, hopeless, then-19-year-old) a blessing like that, and to know that i had enough faith to be able to see the blessings flowing into my life. thank you for that blessing, dad, and thank you for everything you do for me. i miss you so much. i hope you have a great week! love you!