Transfer 9, Week 1: I Have A Spanish Companion

Hey everyone,
       How's it like back home? Is it super warm yet, or are you getting hit with all the rain northern Wyoming is? It has been such a wet week, I'm starting to miss the sun again. Anyway, this week was pretty great to say the least. It has been super crazy, and full of major hiccups. 
       So to start I should probably put a few people at ease. No, I didn't transfer. I'm still serving in Cowly and Byron. I just shipped off my 7th companion to Kalispell. So I am now on number 8 (including the MTC). I've gotten to know a lot of people on the mission, that's for sure. His name is Elder Matthews, he is from West Jordan, Utah. And yes he is a spanish speaking missionary. I can tell this transfer is already going to be a bit different than normal. The other new thing about him, is that he lives a very sad life. Haha not really, he just can't eat good food. Elder Matthews has a gluten allergy, so it's going to make this transfer different, that's for sure. 
       Anyway, the week was kind of broken up in 2 sections. Part 1 was end of last transfer with Elder Lewis. We honestly spent a crap ton of time packing. I never knew someone could take so much time to pack. And to complicate the matter a little bit, our roof was getting reshingled from the hail storm we had last week. Fun times being trapped inside. 
        Wyoming transfers are different. Missionaries leaving the zone head out the night before transfers, because of time schedules for everyone else. So that leaves the other missionaries waiting in trios, or temporary companionships for a whole day instead of a few hours. So Elder Walker and I got to know one another a lot better than we already did, spending a whole day doing service and other fun activities. 
One of those fun activities was a bit of service that I never want to repeat. We were asked to come help clean out a basement, which doesn't sound bad at all, until we got there, and they added that it was infested with mice. Yuck!!! I doubt I've ever been so sick to my stomach in my life. 
       After the new missionaries arrived, we let Elder Matthews unpack, and get ready for the transfer. Immediately after we had to run to a baptismal interview for an investigator of Lovell 1,4, Levi. That was great, and it was so cool to see all the hard work among the district starting to pay off some rich dividends. 
      Other than that, It was a pretty traditional week. A lot of finding, and testing out Elder Mathews's spanish skills. We were able to find a couple of potentials that way which was way cool, and I can't wait to sit there and be completely confused about what my companion is saying while he speaks spanish. Haha. It will definetly be a great transfer. 
       The opportunities are real and will provide for new chances for us to learn and grow. I can't wait to see what we can do as companions here in Wyoming. It will definetly be a blast though. I love you all, and hope you have a great week. 

Love,
Elder Sherwood

Pictures ... only 1

Elder Lewis leaving.

Transfer 8, Week 6: I Made A Tie!

Hey Everyone, 
     How are we doing today? Are we having fun, or not? Is school almost out? Haha. Life on the mission over this last week actually have been pretty cold and wet. We've gotten a lot of rain. It is almost crazy to see how much has accumulated. 
     This week has been full once again. It was great. We went from activity or highlight to another almost non stop. Not all of them were exciting, but it definitely was nice to be able to be busy. 
     To start, on Monday we went hiking. Actually, I got dragged into hiking. The other elders always seem to want to do something no matter the planning time they took. So we went hiking. It sucked. It was wet and we had really thick fog. The trails were muddy, and they left me and one other elder so far behind. It wasn't the greatest to be honest. It would have been fun, but like I said, poor to no planning. 
     On Wednesday, we had zone council in GreyBull. That is always a lot of fun. I felt like I learned a lot about Leadership and the responsibilities I need to make sure I am following and completing. After Zone Council we also started exchanges with the zone leaders. I got the privilege to go to Powell with Elder Callister. We had a fantastic time there. Elder Callister is such a great Missionary who I will miss for sure when he goes home. :(
     While on Exchanges, Elder Callister helped me build a homemande tie. That was a new experience for sure. I never knew that it was easy to make a tie. But I quite enjoyed it, and may do it again in the future. 
     We did a lot of good work there, then for the rest of the week we had fun activities for finding lined up when we weren't in lessons. One of the fun activities that we were able to participate in was helping brand some cattle. That was an oppurtunity I did not want to miss for sure. It was my first time ever branding, and it was a lot of fun. Wrestling those calfs and then assisting in what I can. 
     This week went by super fast. It was awesome. I love working the Lord's work and doing what I can to assist in what I can. We are able to constantly find a new person to teach every week, and it is providing new ways for me to learn and grow as I keep going. 
     Well, I think that just about wraps it up for this week. There haven't been too many new developments with individual investigators. But that 's ok. I hope you all have a fantastic week, and had a fantastic Mother's Day.

Love,
Elder Sherwood

No pictures..... :(:( sorry 

A sister in the a ward in Powell, WY sent this picture after a dinner appointment.

Hey Guys, 
     It was so great to talk to you all yesterday and catch up. I loved it. But either way how are you doing with reading the Book of Mormon? Is it as good as you would hope or like? I sure hope that you are still reading even with all the other stuff that you have to do. 
     Today, my mind is drawn to the spiritual gifts that Moroni talks about in Moroni chapter 10. Which spiritual gifts do you have? and which ones do you see in others? Developing these gifts is kind of like building muscles. President Nelson gave us a great equation for buiding spiritual power in our lives that may be directly related to the strength of our spiritual gifts. It is:

                                                       Faith + Purity = Power

     As we have and exercise faith, we build the desire to repent of the things we have done. Through repentence we become pure. And when you combine the 2 together, you can receive power and strength to do what God needs us to do. 
     Well, I hope you have had a great week and are excited to keep moving foreward as we go. Its only 1 year left till II comee home, and I can't wait to see you all again. 

Love,
Elder Sherwood

Mother's Day Skype call

Transfer 8, week 5: The Traffic in Billings Reminds Me of Utah

Hey Everyone,

          Is it spring anywhere yet, or just the ends of winter? Because I feel like we should be seeing a lot more flower buds than we are out here in Wyoming. It has been rainy and cold almost non stop this past week. We need the water, but this might be a bit much. Anyway, how are we all doing today? Is it warm anywhere else? haha. This week has had it's ups and downs no doubt, but overall I think it went by pretty flawlessly. So, I'm feeling contrite right now.

         Starting off this big week, your probably all wondering what I was doing in Billings,  We had zone conference in Billings this week. It was really good and I enjoyed it. We're only about an hour and a half from Billings, so we had to leave around 7 am to get there. But it was a great day of learning and instruction fr me. President stressed keeping our mind on our purpose this time.

           We also had interviews with President Larsen Friday afternoon. That is always great. As always, they went a little over, but I love the time I get to spend 1 on 1 with President Larsen. It always makes me feel good inside and motivates me to keep going forward. 

          The rest of the week went pretty much like normal. We had our lessons with our current investigators, and learned a lot from one another. We were able to find a new person this week, which turned out to be a bit of a miracle. We have been trying to contact this man named Derrick for the whole transfer, and we were about to drop him because we couldn't contact him. But we decided to try 1 last time on Saturday. Turns out we found the right time to try. Because we talked with him for a bit, and got to know him, we now have another new person to teach. Yeah!

           There was a Baptism that happened this week in Lovell 3rd ward. It went really well, and I am so excited both for Tyler, and for the energy this may add to the stake regarding Member Missionary work. I'm so grateful to be apart of this work, and all that it entails. 

           I know this week was short, but I think that is pretty much it this time. I am looking forward to this next week and what we can accomplish. I hope you all have a good one.

Love,

Elder Sherwood

no pictures... Sorry