Everyday Miracles

I went to the temple again this morning with Sister White and Ma Allen. We went last Tuesday as well and I'm going to try so hard to make it a regular thing to go with Jorgi Anderson, Ma, and Sister White {Jorgi was sick this week and couldn't go}.
It was actually a small miracle to be able to go this week. To earn money for my mission, I have been cleaning and babysitting for members in my family ward. I forgot that Tuesday is Temple Day, so I told Sister Hatch I would clean her bathrooms because her family was coming into town. By the time I remembered, it was too late and I was already committed. The Lord knows the importance of temple work and must have been watching over me, because on Monday morning, Sister Hatch texted me asking if I would come in that day because her family would actually be in town later that night. So I was able to clean Sister Hatch's bathrooms in the morning and Sister Fox's in the afternoon {like I do every Monday}, earning $116 {a portion of this was from the previous Monday at Sister Fox's} and the opportunity to attend the temple this morning.
It was so great to listen once more to the blessings I received my first time through as they were pronounced for the dead. As I was sharing this sweet experience with a friend, he mentioned that he likes to think of those blessings in times of trial and he tries to realize how the Lord is already helping him. I really like his comment because it is so true. The Lord is helping us so much already, we just need to open our eyes and find those blessings He has laid before us.
I am so thankful that I have great family friends that support me and that there is a temple so close to me that I am able to attend regularly. I know the importance of temple work for the dead, for without it our ancestors would not be able to partake of the same blessings we have. As I attend the temple, I know that I will receive numerous blessings as I help the dead. This gospel is true and God's way is the only way to eternal life.

My List of Reasons to Serve a Mission

Recently, I have been thinking to myself about why I want to serve a mission. My report date is fast approaching {even though it doesn't quite feel like it is} and I'm trying to remember all the reasons that gave me the desire to serve. I'm noticing that Satan is throwing little subtle things in my way to steer me off my path to serve. I just want to add in that I am so thankful for this blog because it has given me a way to put down my ideas and remember how important my decision is. Anyways, I just want to make a list on why I want to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

1) I am a lover. I love everyone I meet and even those I haven't met. I want everyone to be happy. Because I have the truth and way to happiness, I want to share that with others and help them find their own happiness.
2) I love to serve. I have always loved to help people, whether with big service projects or with simple daily tasks. What better way to help people than by serving a mission? 

3) I know that my Redeemer lives. Because of His infinite mercy, I can be cleansed of my sins and live with Him again. I can also live with my family for eternity. This knowledge is such a great blessing in my life and has brought me so much happiness. I want others to have the happiness I have.
        {As I write this post, I have come to the realization that all the reasons I have to serve a mission revolve around love: Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's love for me and everyone else, my love for them and the gospel and my love for other people. I am noticing that love is the number one factor in my choice to serve.}
4) I know it is the right thing to do. Heavenly Father has someone out in Alabama for me to connect with and teach spirit to spirit. I need to follow His direction and timing if I want to truly be happy.
5) It will help add some direction to my life. I have attended a whole year of college and have absolutely no idea where I want to go with my education. I've heard many stories of friends figuring out what direction to go after they had served a mission. I'm hoping I will be so in-tune with the Holy Ghost that I will easily know which direction the Lord wants me to go.
6) People change for the better in the mission field and I'm hoping I will too. Right now, I have no time management skills and I am the worlds biggest procrastinator. I am decent at scripture study and prayer but there is definitely room for lots of improvement. With a schedule as consistent as the mission one I am about to live for the next 18 months, I'm hoping something will stick.
7) It will help my testimony grow. As I teach others the things that I know to be true, I know my testimony will be strengthened. It will be impossible for it to not grow as I focus on only the gospel for a year and a half.

I know that serving a mission is not going to be easy but I know it will be so worth it. My mom shared with me some words of wisdom as I have been preparing. She told me that I will have the opportunity to get married or go to school or do a number of other things in the future but I will never have the opportunity to serve a single mission by myself ever again{I'll probably serve with my husband on a couples mission}. Now is the time for me to serve and have these experiences by myself. They will benefit me and my family in the future and I will be so thankful I have them. 

Missionary Bucket List

There are still 44 days until I report to the Missionary Training Center {but who's counting?} and instead of just sitting around waiting for the time to pass, I have decided that I'm going to help time along by filling my days with babysitting to earn extra money and crossing things off my bucket list. The only thing is, I don't have a bucket list. Like, at all. I'm just thinking for things to do before I report, but I don't even have a list of things I want to do before I die. How sad, right? So, I turned to my close friends on Facebook and asked for some ideas of what I could do. My friends are pretty creative. I used a lot of their ideas and threw in some of my own and came up with a pretty good list, so good that I'm not sure I'll be able to cross everything off by June. But here's hoping! I present to you readers, my missionary bucket list. Enjoy! :)

My Missionary Bucket List

{things to be done before I report}

 *Read the Bible all the way through                           *Drive a motorcycle/quad 

                       *sew a dress for the mission           

 *Spend a whole day with each family member          *Go camping with cousin Shannon

           -learn something new about them            -have lots of adventures with her

*Visit all the Arizona temples              *Tell those I love how much they are loved, then show them

                                   *Learn more sign language                        *Go stargazing 

           *Explore my town and find new things to love about it                    *Visit the zoo       
 *Make thank you cards for all who have influenced my life 
         -Young Women's leaders, family, friends, etc.          
  *Create the PERFECT new cake flavor                                                         *Blanket fort
                    *Do a temple session every week           *Go fishing            *Karaoke   
      *Fly kites             *Tie dye t-shirts               *Glow-in-the-dark bubbles             *Messy twister
               *Picnics              *Spend an ENTIRE day watching Disney movies
     *Visit temple square                            -hopefully in PJ's!                      *Learn how to dive 
*Hike the San Tan Mountains           *Watch a movie at a drive in theater    
                      *Visit a museum                     *Water balloon fight                             *Garden
*Bury a time capsule with my BFF                              *Make my own birthday pinata 
     *Write all my missionary friends       *Have a bonfire with friends            
               *Hand out a Book of Mormon to someone with my testimony written inside
   *Participate in many service projects              *Go rollerblading 

I hope you enjoyed reading this list as much as I enjoyed making it. Feel free to use any of these ideas, and come back and tell me how they went! I'll be posting future posts about how mine turn out, so be sure to come back and check up on me. ;)

Temples and the Plan of Salvation

So last night, I went through the Gilbert Arizona temple for the first time and received my endowments. It was such a special experience, to make promises to Heavenly Father and to have Him make promises to me. My favorite part was listening to the blessings bestowed upon me. So long as I am obedient and clean, I will always have those blessings. Our temples are sacred places and that is why we don't speak of what goes on inside outside the walls of the temple. But I can say this. The covenants that I made last night are the same covenants that I have heard and kept my whole life. I am so thankful that this church is consistent with its teachings. Because my parents raised me in the gospel, I find that it is going to be easy to keep my covenants and be true to Heavenly Father.
Here are some pictures of me and my parents in front of the gorgeous Gilbert Arizona temple.

 I am definitely a Momma's girl. She is my best friend and I will miss her terribly when I leave for Alabama, but because she was sealed to my Dad in the Mesa, Arizona temple, I know I will be with her for eternity, so this short separation of 18 months will fly by.

My parents are amazing examples for how I want to live my life. They have taught me to serve with love and how to center my life on Christ and His gospel. I would not be where I am today without them.








I have such a strong testimony of temples and their part in the Plan of Salvation. When I was 9 years old, we learned that my mother was expecting another child, a baby girl. Being the only girl with three brothers, I was so excited and happy to be getting a little sister. Months went by and the baby grew. Mom went to regular check ups and little Marissa was as healthy as could be and quite active. Then, Mom went to a check up and the baby wasn't moving. I was quite young, so I might not have all the details, but what I remember being told is that the umbilical cord was wrapped around Marissa's neck and she passed away. Our family grieved for the loss of this precious soul that we never even had the chance to hold, but we also rejoiced. Our little Marissa was so perfect and was needed back in heaven. She had some greater work to do beyond the veil. We all need to come to Earth to receive a body, but we don't all need to stay. I miss my little sister dearly, but I know that I will see her again someday. Because our parents were sealed in the temple and my siblings and I were born in the covenant, our family will be together forever.  When I go to the temple to perform baptisms for the dead so that they may have the opportunity to accept the joy of the gospel, I imagine that Marissa's spirit is in the room with those that she has taught.

Why I Chose to Serve

I am a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I have decided for myself that I want to serve the Lord wherever He chooses to send me. Can I say how annoying it is to me that some people are wrapping sister missionaries up in a generic package just because of the announcement President Monson made about the change in age for missionaries to serve, allowing sisters to serve at 19 instead of 21 and elders to serve at 18 instead of 19. I actually had one guy friend sigh in frustration when he heard I was planning on serving. I could tell that he assumed my motive for going was because everyone else was going. I can kind of understand where he was coming from as a returned missionary (and looking for a wife). But when I explained my story, he was totally cool with me. I just hope that people don't think I'm mindlessly following the crowd because I'm not in a relationship and a mission seems like a good idea, which it most definitely is. So, here's my story on how I came to desire to serve a mission for the Church.

My mother served a mission in Columbus, Ohio and loved it. She learned so much and really grew spiritually out in the mission field. I loved hearing mission stories, but I didn't love how it felt like Mom was telling me to go myself. Mom wasn't outright telling me I had no choice but to serve a mission, but she was trying to push the idea of it. Truth be told, I was very against the idea of serving myself. My greatest desire when I was younger was to be a wife and mother and I was hoping I wouldn't make it to 21 and still be single. In my naive mind, 21 was "old maid" status and there was no way I was going to wait around till then just to serve a mission.

So, that was my mindset for several years. Until the missionary age change was announced, and even then, I only began to consider it as an option. Three weeks before I was to leave for college at Brigham Young University Idaho, I met and started dating a boy I met in my home Young Single Adult ward. It wasn't too serious, but we went out several times before I left and we grew close. While I was at school, we still kept in close contact, Facebook messaging and talking on Skype daily. The weeks went by and we grew closer. It was hard because I couldn't balance school work and meeting new people while I was still focused on someone back in Arizona. Plus, I wasn't sure if anything would come of this relationship. He was 24 and had decided that he didn't want to serve a mission himself even though young men are strongly encouraged to do so. Ever since I was little, I have known that I want to marry a returned missionary in the temple. I want a strong priesthood leader who can lead my family. Honestly, I'm not completely opposed to marrying someone who couldn't serve a mission for medical reasons or something like that. But when someone doesn't serve simply because he doesn't want to serve the Lord, well that's saying something. Please don't think I'm too critical and picky. This boy is so good and he will make a wonderful husband and father someday, just not for me. Then, one day while studying my scriptures, the idea to serve a mission entered my mind. I thought about it. What if I showed him how important this was to me by serving myself. He still had time to serve a mission, so maybe he will change his mind. Over the next few days, the thought of serving a mission was on my mind constantly. I studied it out and fasted and prayed, asking the Lord what He would have me do. Then one night, I received my answer. As I was saying my evening prayers, I was overwhelmed with warmth and good feelings. The Lord wanted me out in the mission field, and I knew I needed to serve.

I like to think that I really have been "called to serve." Most people have always wanted to serve a mission and willingly and excitedly submit their papers. It's not that I grudgingly put mine in, it's just that my excitement to serve has grown since mine were submitted. When I opened my call, I didn't cry tears of happiness and I wasn't overwhelmed with excitement. In fact, I was a bit underwhelmed. I had been praying the three weeks I was waiting for my call to come in the mail to be sent to the Mormon Battalion site in California. My family and I had visited there over the summer and I kinda knew what would be expected there. Several of my friends on campus got called to their dream missions, so I figured I would be sent to mine. Imagine my disappointment when I read Alabama Birmingham instead of California like I had been praying for.

This experience affirms to me that the Lord sends you where you are needed. Perhaps there is someone in Alabama that only my personality can teach. I imagine that there is someone who is waiting for me personally to come share the gospel with them. I couldn't be happier to serve in Alabama.

Each day my excitement and anticipation grows. Alabama may not have been exactly where I wanted to go, but if Heavenly Father needs me there, that is where I will go. Look out Alabama, Sister Woodard is coming for you!

Cliche Initial First Post

I wasn't planning on doing this, but now I've decided to jump on the band wagon and create my very own sister missionary blog. And I'm kind of excited about it. So with this first initial post, I suppose I should introduce myself.
Hello world! My name is Emily Woodard, but you can call me Emmie. My best friend hates that, after 9 years of knowing me and calling me Emily that I've all of the sudden switched my name for some crazy reason, but I love being called Emmie. I'm not entirely sure why, but I do. It might have something to do with the fact that I like to be unique and try hard to stand out. After 17 years of turning when someone exclaimed "Emily!" only to discover that, once again, I wasn't being addressed, I decided that it was time for a change. But please don't get me wrong. I absolutely love the name my parents chose for me. It's just that I feel Emmie helps me to be the confident and fun loving person I'm trying so hard to be.
Sorry about that long winded paragraph about my name! It is nice, though, to thoroughly explain the reason behind the name change. Now, on to more exciting things besides my name.
I am the second oldest of four kids and only daughter. Dancing and theater are my life, along with making others feel their true potential as sons and daughters of God. I've just realized that I might have a gift for helping others see their potential and to be happy. {I'm really not trying to brag. I just want people to know how truly amazing they are.}
If I were stuck on a deserted island, the three things I would bring with me would be my hairbrush, all my dance shoes {which only count as one item ;) } and my scriptures {cheesy, I know, but I've grown to love them and desire to search them more}.
I'm the creative type and have always enjoyed English and working with the creative part of my brain to form something that didn't exist before. These reasons are most likely why I find mathematics difficult. But I'm trying to push past that and convince myself that I should go for a business degree. I want to actually learn something and not just get a degree in something that I'm already good at because it would be easy to pass the classes. Now let's see how this actually turns out.
I have a feeling this blog is going to be good for me. While I love listening to people and helping them get the love they deserve, there are times where I wish I could talk without being interrupted and share my feelings. When I go to someone I trust to unload my heavy burden, I don't always get what I'm looking for: a listening ear. They mean well, wanting to offer ways to lighten my load and sharing words of wisdom, but the one thing I truly want is someone to just listen. So I thank you, reader, for listening to my story. You don't have to read it all the way through. You can just skim it, or look for the most interesting parts. I don't really care what you do with the words I have typed out. It's just nice to have the option of talking, or rather writing, without interruption, to get all of my thoughts out for someone to look at and process. Thank you for this gift you have given me.
I will try to keep things interesting here on my blog, but it might turn into crazy randomness as I try to be heard and as I prepare to serve the Lord.
Thanks for reading! And if you have any questions about me or my blog, feel free to comment!